The botched movie poster for Kill Chromus.
Saturday - Hawaiian Donkey Punch!
Saturday started off as a bit of a drag.
Artful and I forked over $10 for a day's worth of wi-fi. I needed to access the internet in order to check my e-mail and get in touch with another internet pal, Amy. Art needed to see if his ninja drop-off made the ACen message board.
Getting what we needed from that series of tubes, we were on our way. There was a quick meet-up with Amy, since she was attending the con with her friends and they needed to make it to the Naruto fan panel. Art needed to make it to the Nabeshin panel. And I needed to finish scoping out the dealer's room. It was agreed that Amy and I would meet up again during the ren'ai/dating sim panel. But while we hung out, I got to tool around with her wooden sword.
The botched movie poster for Kill Chromus.
With plans in place to meet up later, I went to the convention centre alone.
I wanted to go back to the dealer's area so I could grab any swag that I wanted now that my manga collection was complete (for the moment). It was a new day and my feet weren't killing me yet!
Pain free and fresh for the day, I was able to appreciate all that the dealer's room had to offer: A rainbow assortment of swag, merchandise, knick-knacks, and other pretty pretty things I can't afford danced before my eyes. Cosplayers roaming about, providing numerous photo-ops. Overpriced and unhealthy concession foods, which were a relative reprieve from the Hyatt's price gouging eateries.
And then I found the last R.O.D-the-TV backpack in the hall. This was the only piece of swag I'd be getting for myself, and so I took the rest of my time taking pictures of cosplayers.
Yu-Gi-Ohs! They're Yuuuuugilicious!
Pipiru piru piru pipiru pi...
Naru Punch!
One Piece cosplayers signify that it is almost Pirate Central...
I found the cutest (and most likely the only) Yotsuba cosplayer at ACen. Armed with my "badge of honour" from yesterday's raid, I set to capturing proof that I am a terrible, terrible human being.
So, it was back to the Hyatt.
I avoided the terrible traffic congestion that came with going through the walkway. The weather was nice - sunny and warm - and the distance between convention centre and hotel was much short when one actually walked outside. Plus, cosplayers could walk about in their bulky costumes and not worry about getting any wings or horns snapped off.
As I approached the hotel, I was quite bothered by the smell of cigarette smoke, but saw a familiar afro and suit.
/b/tard Tom!
I hung around the smoking area with Tom and his friends, just killing time until Artful stumbled upon us. I was reluctant to leave my fellow /b/rotha, but I knew that I'd bump into him again. Just a matter of how soon it would be.
Off to the Negima panel Art went and I caught a quick nap. I woke up just in time for him to return - and Adam and Chromus stopped by as well. I made fun of Adam's e-celebrity and mocked his prolific achievements while one certain thing was left to gather dust... That's right, that aborted Princess Nine fanfic you never did get around to.
We discussed our plans that evening: Iron Editor for the cornboy and the limey, while I'd indulge my boyfriend and his games involving courting fake girlfriends. So off we went to get in line for Iron Editor...
The line was long, but at least there was some entertainment provided.
The fan favourite band, The Spoony Bards, were playing an assortment of anime themes, video game music, and other random selections.
One was were never bored at ACen, that's for sure.
Before Artful and I booked it for the ren'ai panel, Adam mentioned that it'd be a kick if Artful asked: "How do I get the catgirl?" I retorted that it'd be even funnier if I asked it myself. Egged on with that challenge, Artful and I made our way to the panel.
Suffice it to say, it was a bit of a bore for me. At least Amy was there, so we passed notes like schoolgirls with random running commentary on the whole thing. It went on this way until I asked the question.
Afterwards, I said good-bye to Amy and it was time to get to the improv panel before it filled up. The cosplay masquerade was letting out, so the main programming hall was becoming quite crowded. It was quite the sight to see lots of people in costume and gearing up for the Saturday night rave.
For anyone who has been to an anime convention, it is a lot of fun, but also quite draining. While cons can run smoothly for the most part, cracks were beginning to show this year: panels were cancelled or rearranged at the last minute, lines and lines of people were shuffled about haphazardly, and there were whispers that the con staff were ready to stage a bloody revolt at the end of this event.
It just so happens that Artful and I got caught up in the middle option: shuffled about in a line. The main programming area was divided into 3 rooms, with the main ballroom (the rave) and two split off rooms, where one of them had the improv. The outer hall had limited space, and so what Artful and I thought was the improv line was actually the "Your Favourite Anime Sucks" panel line, but that line also blended in with the dance line. It turned out that the improv line was shuffled off against the wall. When it came to the doors opening and people going through, the improv room was filled up.
Defeated, Artful and I went off to find Adam and Chromus at the karaoke.
There was some ruckus when guys dressed up as cardboard robots advocated the robosexual movement of "robee". "Down with yaoi. Up with robee!" Deciding to join in on the noise - and to bug my sempai some more - I was yelling with the pro-yaoi side.
We didn't stay for very long as we tried to get into the second improv showing. This time, guests of the convention (some voice actors) were hosting an 18+ improv show. Fortunately, with our IDs out and ready, we managed to make it in. What a treat. The "Doo-run-run" game was a great warm-up, and from there, it only got better. There were a lot of comments about each voice actor's sexual kinks and proclivities... some of it involving anal sex, dolphins, horses, and how to put ball gags on pigs.
I was thoroughly entertained. Art passed out half-way through.
It was sometime after 1 AM when we made our way back to find Adam and Chromus and invited them up to our room to finish off my liquor.
Bottlecaps were a hit! They were such a big hit, that our little Saturday night soirree got a visit from con security.
So the soirree was more of a flop and it was time to find more people to party with so I could pawn off my bottlecap mix. I suggested that Artful take his gigantic cooler and food with him since between the four of us, we couldn't eat all of the snacks and stuff he'd packed, and it'd be nice if we gave food away to the malnourished con-goers. Proving that if he could heft a little girl over his shoulders, he surely could do the same with a cooler, we were off.
Embittered con veterans were unavailable, and so we randomly climbed the stairs (what with the elevators being busted) and spotted random doors left open and asked around if there were any parties about. We finally made our way up to the 9th floor, where we caught a door that was just open.
Approaching the people who owned that room, we asked if there was a party in there. Sadly, no. But they happily took some food off our hands.
Then this big burly guy standing outside of the next door down asked us if we were looking for a party because he was currently bouncing for one. What a coincidence!
A table full of liquor, loud music, people stumbling around and yelling... Jackpot.
Setting the cooler down by the liquor laden table, some guy randomly offered me a barely filled cup of something he mixed together. Being polite, I took a good long swig, thinking that such a small amount was harmless. I was very very wrong. Coughing and gagging, I asked what the hell was in it.
"A little bit of everything on this table... and over there," he responded, nodding at the little counter that was also piled to the brim with bottles. He called his concoction Shattered Dreams.
Appropriately named, for in that first sip, the future with me as a homeless wino flashed before my eyes.
Feeling warm and socially lubricated, I stumbled about to find /b/tard Tom! Who was in the middle of trying to help a very very inebriated 4channer back to his room, but not doing a good job as he himself was quite, well, incapacitated. Now, I keep mentioning this guy, and aside from the 4chan related videos, this is the only picture I could take of him:
Before Chromus and Adam could duck out, I had one more shout-out for all the Anime Reality/AGW/random internet people that couldn't make it.
Artful and I were left behind, imbibing but not getting too carried away. Just enough to get buzzed and appreciate the trainwreck sight that came with drunkenness.
Things of note that happened in this swinging shin-dig:
Eventually, we realized it was almost 4 AM and we really really should get some sleep. Before leaving, we thanked our host(s) - namely, the people this room belonged to. One of them looked a bit like Adam, and so afterwards, we joked that he "Adam 2.0 - not made of corn, but of oats and barley." Anyhoo... the gracious hosts were higher up on the ACen staff pecking order, and the whispers of bloody revolt weren't rumours. A lot of people were pissed off at this year's management for their inefficiency in many areas. This may or may not affect my decision to come back to ACen next year, but it is yet to be seen if they'll shape up.
Hopefully so. If not, there's always blogging about Anime North in Toronto.
Trudging back to our room with cooler in tow, Artful and I turned in.