So I'm back from Furnal Equinox! I thought I'd post about here with a picture of me in costume rather than a big lengthy journal. It just seems like a way to save space.

This convention marks my first time suiting, I was really nervous about it and could barely get to sleep Friday night. I was worried I wouldn't be able to play the character or become too uncomfortable too quickly in suit, or that I'd somehow manage to destroy it on my first outing. Fortunately though Saturday rolled around, and with the help of  catmonkshiro I put on my suit for the first time proper saturday at about noon and walked through the convention. The body of the suit was quite managable, while the legs were big and bulky the upper body was quite cool and I was able to stay relatively comfortable in it for the entire 6 hours I was suiting. The head on the other hand was a little warmer than I was expecting, even with the fan built into it. I had to take several breaks in the headless lounge and unfortunately expose my ugly mug to the other fursuiters. Fortunately though I don't think anybody got any pictures of me with my head off. But I did purchase a head guard for future outings and I should be able to tolerate longer periods of time in suit as I get used to the experience and possibly get a bit in more in shape bike riding this year.

Walking through the convention was... I don't think there were words to describe it. I got comments left and right about how much people liked my costume and there were sooooo many pictures. (Which reminds me, if you see anybody posting pictures that include me, please let me know! I want to see.) but a lot of people couldn't seem to tell it was a dragon, I was asked by several people what I was (But being mute I had to have my handler Shiro answer for me.) Shiro was an excellent handler. Always making sure I was aware of things outside of my field of vision and checking on me repeatedly and answering questions from people passing by. I really don't think I would have had nearly as much fun without him. All in all it was a very rewarding experience, it was really nice for the first time to feel like a real female and be accepted as such, even if it was in a fairly limited venue (And most people probably knew it was me anyhow) I'll definately be doing it again, and I'll be getting in some practice in the mean time, but I certainly won't be throwing out my lyonshel prosthetic for hotter days when suits will just not do. I'll likely be making a few alterations to the costume to make it more prepared for next time. I will be pinning the sleeves and anklets in place so they don't slide, and attaching a cross strap with a buckle to the suspenders so they don't try to slide off my shoulders. And I will likely be glueing the dread decorations in place. After finishing for the day and taking off my suit, I noticed two decorations fell off just as I was turning the head over to air dry. So I have no idea how many of them fell off in the convention center. But I didn't find any when I went looking the next day. It could be anywhere between 0 and half a dozen. It's difficult to tell, honestly.

What else about the convention... I spent friday doing commissions in the artist's alley next to people significantly more talented than myself, including the mighty  angrboda who I had no idea was going to be there. That was a very pleasant surprise. I got a commission from her that she did beautifully, I will share it eventually but it's not ready quite just yet. I went out to the Mandarin with Shiro and others on Saturday after the fursuit parade. I think I managed to eat my body weight in lemon chicken. And I got to say hello to Heather Burton again. (She's always so nice) She really liked my costume. And umm... I didn't stay long on Sunday, just attended a panel on character design and got some sources for learning to some basics for comic paneling for my next big art project. (besides Jalyss Dislikes Skyrim) and... then I came home.

So what do you think of my suit? I think it's nice to feel pretty... (I really don't get that feeling very often) And make sure you let me know if you spot any pictures of me! I want to see! (And now I'm off to let Beastcub know how the debut went)