I'm not in pain. That's a miracle. As I crawl out of bed, I realize that mayhaps I should rephrase that.
Mani: OK...
I'm not in MUCH pain...
Limboing 'til it hurts might impress the ladies (yes, I am STILL flirting
with you all), but it certainly makes for a painful morning
day. I drag my sorry hide into the bathroom, taking care to step over Charles
in the process and not trip over my suitcase during the trip. The others
begin stirring somewhat, muttering quick greetings as they attempt to return
to slumbering. In the bathroom, I turn the handle to the shower...
...and it comes right off!
Mani: Dude! The
shower's been skanked!!
Numerous cries of obscenities and demands for blood rise up from the
Brotherhood of Room 254- unlike a number of our con-going brethren, we
refused to contribute to the phenomenon known collectively as Con-Whiff...
Anywho, the day began anew after a quick trip with Neil to procure more funds, and then return to the hotel and do battle for another parking space. Lo and behold, we actually found the same spot that we had left (next to the Dyslexia-Mobile- another classic case of 'If you don't know, then please don't ask'). As we returned to the room, it was decided that I should undergo my first transformation of the day. As I donned the gas mask, I knew that it indeed was time.
* Mani is now known as Psycho_Mantis *
As I’ve learned in the past, the presence of Psycho Mantis gets some interesting reactions from the masses…
- Heading up to the con suite with full gas mask and trench coat, I
come across a group of conventioneers in the hallway who jokingly wondered
if things were ok within the hotel. I gave them the thumbs up and announced
"The area is secure!" I guess a gas mask elicits that sort of comment.
- I learned that there was ANOTHER Psycho Mantis running about! I saw the guy briefly in the Con Suite at one point, but it was after I had removed my mask and left it in the hotel room. I wish I had run into him earlier, as I'm sure we could have had a wicked mental battle with much chair, statue, and plant-flinging.
- Running into a couple of members of the Fujikoma tribe in the Dealers' Room, we laughed and joked a bit about the convention, Unico (the Mapster was dressed as Toby), and somehow got on the subject of exgirlfriends. Playing upon a little Metal Gear Solid humor*, I then removed the gas mask and clutched my head, screaming, "I'm sensing EVIL!! And... MURDEROUS INTENT... from both of you!!"
* In MGS, Psycho Mantis explained that he wore the gas mask to shield
his mind from knowing the thoughts of those around him, and by removing
it, he would instantly be bombarded with their thoughts. Once you defeated
him in the game, he actually asks you to put the mask back on him so that
he can be by himself before he dies.
After parading around like FOXHOUND'S golden-boy nutcase, I decided to head back topside and don the backup costume. And with a little help from Leo and Kim, I was able to undergo my second transformation of the day.
* Psycho_Mantis is now known as Generic_Black_Mage *
It
took a little while to adjust to being partially blind in the mask, but
eventually I was able to get around without bumping into too many walls.
See, while the mask was thin enough to be seen through, it was still black,
which obscured my vision somewhat. I think next time, I'll have my glasses
on underneath that thing. I debuted down below with Kim as my escort, who
seemed to enjoy showing me off to her friends and declaring proudly "Look
at what I found!" I was officially an object =D
Eventually, we split up and went our separate ways, which left me wandering about the convention, snickering at the expressions of those around me. While some merely looked confused as to whom this freakish character with the massive straw hat was, others nodded knowingly, and several pictures were taken. Among my favorite incidents was running into an Aerith, Tifa, and Yuffie of FFVII fame, who seemed to get a kick out of seeing an old-school Final Fantasy character running about. I've had communications with both Aerith and Tifa since AWA, and <shameless plug> I really think you should check out Echo, Ms. Tifa's website </shameless plug>.
After posing for a few pics and running into a few familiar faces (like our Kitty-Cat cheerleading from the limbo competition the night before, who officially dubbed me 'Rubber Band Man'), I ran into Ian and Derek (who, as-per-custom, called me Dr. Zayas once more) in the lobby. Me and Ian (who at this point has been looking for Russ for the majority of the day) started wandering about at that point, with me posing for the occasional photo, and Ian conversing with the occasional face or three that he recognized. We got into a long conversation with a friend of his down in the lobby at one point [ What up, Lank! =) ], where we discussed everything from costuming, the bad-assed nature of the Monk from FFT, and the best way to construct Ronin Warrior-esque armor. It was also at this point when we caught a glimpse of a large... nay, a MASSIVE Servbot (circa Megaman Legends) walk by in the lobby- egad, that thing was friggin' huge. Several swears of wonder and shock were heard by just about everyone in the area at the time.
It
was also at this point where I was given another idea, one that is still
a running gag with me and a few of my friends. At one point, a guy comes
by and joins our conversation and makes the joke about how the Black Mage
should be angry as to how the White Mage is always keeping him down and
stuff, and how he needs to rise up against his oppression. Of course our
trio nearly collapsed a lung from laughing, but in my mind, a new character
was born....
You will be seeing a lot more of this guy around Club Ninja in the future :)
Late Evening
The first thing that needed to be done to insure that the evening got off on the right foot would be acquiring certain inhibition-reducing beverages, otherwise known as booze. Me and Ian take a trip out from the hotel and find ourselves driving about the area, trying to find a liquor store of some sort- it was like Katsucon all over again, except we actually FOUND a place (eat that, you Virginian swine). After browsing the store and determining that we would get the most bang for our buck by purchasing the cheapest vodka we could get away with, we settled for a nice shatter-proof bottle of Popov brand Vodka. As I reasoned, if there's anything the Russians should know a thing or two about, it's vodka.
Of course upon returning to the hotel, the crew had something to say...
Jason: Dude!
This stuff's for winos!
[Yet strangely, this did not stop him from buying the rest of the bottle from us later that evening...]
Several of us split up to tackle our own late night activities, with me, Ian, and Russ (who we were finally able to locate) hanging around the room. It was at that moment when I received a phone call, one that I wasn't quite expecting, but was welcomed nonetheless.
Raphael: Wasaaaaaaaaap!
| Name:
Raphael
Class: Artist/DBZ Fanatic Powers: An artist of much potential, Raph is a good friend of both Mani and Ian. His love for Akira Toriyama and Dragon Ball Z have no known bounds. |
We were expecting Raph to show up sometime over the weekend, though we weren't quite expecting him late Saturday evening. After meeting him down in the lobby, we give him the semi-tour of the facilities (or as much was allowed, seeing as the Dealers' Room was closed), and introduce him to the man that makes Raph's own love for DBZ seem paltry in comparison.
Yes. He met Derek =)
We return to the room and trip out a bit more, before receiving another mysterious phone call... uncertain as to who it might be, it was decided that the best way for me to figure out who was calling was to, yes, answer the phone.
Jason: Hey,
is Josh up there?
Mani: Nah, stepped
out for a sec. Should be back in a few though.
Jason: Cool-
you guys want some company?
Next thing we know, the room is swarming with a few of Jason and Josh's friends, along with several of THEIR friends as well. And of course the moment I step out into the hallway, I run into me ol' bud Sunny, who is invited in to hang as well. Portfolios of the artists in the group were shown off as inebriated con goers got involved in four-player games of Crash Racing, alcohol was shared, and an intoxicated challenge at Ridge Racer Type 4 was issued. Whereas before it had been just a humble gathering of friends before, it had now evolved into a full-fledged room party.
Of course Josh was none-too-pleased when he returned, and proceeded to clear the room out with violent authority. =)
After leaving Josh and Jason in the room to discuss a few things, our tribe continued to wander about and take in the late-night activities at the hotel. Of course as per custom, my path led me to the dance, which was just getting underway downstairs. It was still (relatively) early in the evening, so things were pretty calm as far as dances go. As more and more people showed up (unfortunately, most of which were guys), things began to speed up some. But upon noticing large groups of people sneaking away, I stopped one of the guys and asked him what was going on. With a quick smile and a motion of his head, he declared three words...
"Techno. Main room."
The Rebellion Dance had begun.
. . .
... and almost as soon as it got started, it was shut down. It would appear that plans had already been made to use the room at that hour, and said plans did not include our little dance. Of course I was a little peeved at the time, but then I felt pretty bad about it- they were about to show a movie, and we had assisted in clearing out every chair in there in a matter of minutes. It was a testament to efficiency, yes, but I could see where it would be a pain the arse for those that had to set it back up. Gomen nasai, guys. =)
With the Rebellion Dance shut down, and the other dance dying slowly, I began my infamous Aimless Wandering once more, and lo and behold, stumbled across... The Anything-Goes Limbo Competition. My life suddenly had meaning again.
The rules to Anything-Goes Limbo were pretty simple- the object was to get under the bar by any means necessary, as long as no part of you touched the ground. That meant that we no longer had to literally bend over backwards to get under that thing. I arrive upon the scene and am announced as the previous night's winner to a bit of applause, and a few outright challenges by the masses, T.J. in particular. It was officially on once again!
Of course once we get started, who should I notice sitting in the area, but none other than Kris, Adrienne, and Masumi, who would offer the occasional word of encouragement or two...
Kris: You can
do it, Bob!
Mani: (Bob?)
Anything-Goes Limbo is much more difficult than your standard limbo-fair, as we all learned on that evening. While we all put forth our most valiant of efforts, one by one we began to drop off. Attempting to crawl under the bar, TJ is hindered as said bar gets snagged on his, ahem, manhood, and eliminating him from the competition...
TJ: I may lose,
but I lose like a MAN!
...and while attempting to make it under myself, I get snagged too, eliminating me as well...
Mani: I DEMAND
the room number of any woman that can make it under that!
Among the survivors, there were two that frightened me the most- the first was a very skinny Asian dude, whose skills just had to be seen to be believed. I fear the possibility of running into him next year. The second was a petite young lass that didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat as she negotiated the Mistress of Limbo. Many sat in awe and shock as she not only did her thing, but did it with next to no effort whatsoever.
And no, I didn't hit on her. She was, like, 14 or something :-)
Once everything was said and done, another Limbo Challenge was issued, that being the infamous Doubles Competition, which lives on in infamy to this day in my eyes. It started out innocently enough- you and a partner of your choosing had to negotiate the rod as normal, but it had to be done while back-to-back. Not being one to back away from a challenge, me and T.J. teamed up, and Team Manly was born!
After a certain point, where the powers that be deemed that the bar was too low for any mortal with a spine to negotiate, the rules were changed slightly. Instead of being back-to-back, members of the audience would make a suggestion as to how we would have to go, and it was at that point that I realized that there are some truly sinister individuals at these conventions. I mean, these are the sorts of people that should not be among normal members of society. Not only was the infamous 'Shirt Rule' in effect, but several members of the audience were taking pictures of the ordeal, which, with our luck, are probably posted over amateur gay porn sites all over the internet by now. I think that I'll suplex our cross-dressing Ranma associate the next time I see him =D
Bruised, beaten, and pretty humiliated by the time everything was done,
and nearing 5am, no one really seemed to want to call it a night just yet.
Several of us hung around in the lobby and conversed, trying to figure
out exactly what to do next; it was at that point where a large group of
semi-drunken guys led by Steve Bennet of Studio Ironcat fame made their
way through, and announced that a party was still going on in one of the
video rooms. Me, T.J., and several others followed along, and upon entering
said video room, caught a glimpse of what was going on…
The Booty
- You got 'Parasite Eve: Remixes' Soundtrack!
Quote of the Weekend
This occurred shortly after Jason, one of Josh's friends, caught sight of a lovely young lady in the lobby dressed as Major Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell. The costume itself kicked a severe amount of booty, but it was upon observing from the rear one noticed that she was looking a bit... cheeky, so to speak. After catching a glimpse of her nicely-thonged posterior, Jason shares his feelings on the subject.
Jason: Ohmygod,
it's an ass!!
The Judgment
Did AWA 2K kick an unholy amount of keister? But of course. Could things be improved? Sure, things can always be changed for the better. I really didn't miss not seeing the Cosplay this year, so that aspect really didn't bother me. I got to see old friends, and I made several new ones as well. I went into the weekend expecting to have fun, which I did. Complaints? None to speak of. Suggestions? That we be given full authority to beat the unholy hell out of the delinquents that we catch vandalizing the hotel at future cons. But all in all, I must say that the AWA 2K experience was truly worthwhile. You can believe that I'll be returning next year!
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