Today we grabbed breakfast and headed out to American Dream; this was the last day of BotCon and there was no way I was missing any of the action.
Prime and I made a quick loop of the dealer room, then we made our way to the panel room.
We took in two panels: 50 Questions with Scott McNeil and the Cyberverse script reading. Both were fantastic; Scott was hilarious as always–the man has a quip for everything!–and the Cyberverse panel was both fun and enlightening. (Seems we have some Transformers fans among those voice actors!) Easily one of the best ways I have spent an afternoon.
Afterwards, we hit up the dealer room and got a few last minute items. We got a couple of Jada metal figures, a Bumblebee plush, some Beast Wars cards that are Japanese (and we’ve never seen them before), a couple of metal figures, among other things.
We saw DA before the end of the convention; when he said goodbye, I managed to hold myself back. Once he had left, I couldn’t keep it up.
There were tears. Of course, there were tears. I just can’t hold them back on the last day. I wear my heart on my sleeve at BotCon; when the last day finally arrives, I feel it. Deeply and bitterly.
After everything had shut down, Prime worked some of his magic and got me a ticket to SeaLife in the mall proper. So I went on a solo tour of the aquarium.
It was fantastic. Really. My mood improved immediately. I got some souvenirs from the gift shop: a plush shark that I named Fin and a pair of dolphin earrings. I also got a set of souvenir medallions, which weren’t at the Mall of America location. So I made out fairly well.
I also had some gelato from Illy Café. Mint, chocolate, and tiramisu. They worked extremely well together.
When we got back to the hotel, Prime and I noticed a dolly in our elevator, so we snagged it and loaded up Skids. Once that was done, I got us dinner and we relaxed.
We’ll be leaving tomorrow. There will be an update. But I’m already looking forward to next year.
As the Furmanism states: It never ends!
Iacon East 
Leaving you 2 bummed me out so much but alas I had to switch hotels from NJ to NYC in order to leave on time for my flight back home the next day. I said it then and I’ll say it again – I know I’m a far cry from the Transfan you 2 met 25 years ago. Might seem like Transformers don’t interest me anymore or that I care more about things Marvel or (gasp!) football. I still hope the familiar DA you’ve known manisfested now and then.
I don’t have to, but I still keep choosing to go to Botcons wherever across America. Not just to still enjoy this fandom, products, media, voice actors, city locales, etc. but above all, have a blast with the Silver Defense Team. Thanks for being better friends than I have been to you 2… 🙂
~daiAtlas
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