The AX Report 2000
by Xoth, Master of Black Magic
Day 3: A Farewell to Arms
(And the People They Were Attached To)
Awake again before almost everyone else, once more I snuck out
to get that long sought after breakfast. After studying the map of the
resort complex in the AX handbook, I concluded that the shortest way to
the nearest McDonald’s was not the way we had gone to Denny’s the previous
night. So I set off in another direction and walked. And walked. And walked
some more. Ultimately I came to a sign that said “Turn Back Now, While
You Still Have Some Dignity Left.”
Note: Actually, it said something along the lines of “Sidewalk Ends; No
Pedestrians Allowed.” But it amounts to the same thing, in my book.
This was just too much. The Masquerade, the rampant censorship,
the outrageous prices—and now there was no way out of this accursed hellhole.
I had reached its limits and was confronted with a cliff a mile high. Once
again I was on the verge of one of my trademark attacks, the Xoth Atomic
Total Freakout. Fortunately, a few other lost people wandered by and saw
me shaking and wheezing uncontrollably. After a few moments, I noticed
them gaping at me and quickly withdrew into my shell of humiliation. With
that incident taken care of, I retreated to the room, the perplexed stares
of my would-be audience following me all the way.
Sadly, it was the day that Pyxie, Pokey and Sky would be leaving
our little band of FFMLers. The couple was going to Las Vegas, and Sky
was heading home in the evening because he had summer school on Monday.
But before they left, there was one thing we absolutely had to do: take
photos of all the crap everyone had bought! We also took pictures of actual
people, most of which I cannot show for fear of getting sued by a conservative
watchdog group. And most of which involved either Sky or Daran. ;D Or me.
XD
XD XD But there were good pictures too.
Note: Truthfully, there weren’t that many perverted pictures. Most of the
ones I took, anyway, are clean. Now if only I could have set myself up
better.... We did actually take pictures of the stuff we’d bought, though.
|
Don't ask
me how we managed to cram all that
merchandise
in that small room in the first place;
I'm exaggerating
for humorous effect here!
|
Now it was time to say goodbye to Pyxie and Pokey, and each of
us handled it in his or her own way. Locke, for example, gave them goodbye
hugs. Golbez gave Pyxie his Record of Lodoss War tape to copy and
promised to win a round of DDR for them. Sky also gave them a promise,
vowing to smoke two joints in honor of the couple. Johnmog, true to his
moogle heritage, did a little goodbye dance. Daran gave Pyxie a goodbye
hug and Pokey a goodbye kiss. As for Mabis and I, we just stood there silently
and waved. For their part, Pyxie and Pokey promised that, if they won big
in Vegas, they would give each of us an equal share. Since I haven’t gotten
any money yet, I can only assume they didn’t win.
Note: No, it wasn’t nearly as complicated as all that. If it had been, they
would have missed the bus to the airport. ;) And do you really think anyone
would share their winnings with a bunch of online acquaintances? If they
did win anything, it probably was only enough to cover what they paid me
for their stay at Disneyland. Even then they probably lost it all again
on the slots. ;)
After consoling ourselves by blowing more dough in the exhibit hall,
it was time for me to get off of my feet and vegetate for a while. To do so, I
first dragged myself all the way over to the Disneyland Pacific Hotel
and watch some anime in the video rooms with Sky. Due to the irregular
schedule, we first saw an episode of You’re Under Arrest! (much
to Sky's annoyance) then we got to what we had come for: Escaflowne.
It was rather strange to me; it was only about a half-hour long, and it
seemed almost as if it was an episode in the middle of a series. Later
I realized that the Escaflowne movie was showing in the “film room,”
while we had been in “Video Room 5” or something. I thought I was going
to see the movie when really I had seen an episode of the series. Boy did
I feel dumb!
Note: I may act it a lot of the time, but I’m not that stupid. Really I’m
not. I knew what I was going to see, really. This is just me writing stuff
to make myself look stupid. I’m really quite knolegebl—knowlegeb—knowlegi—...smart.
Quite smart. Really.
When we returned to the room, Golbez had some more friends over.
As usual, we watched more anime, played more games, and messed around.
Eventually, Golbie’s friends took off, and Daran and Mabis ditched us to
attend a fanfic writers’ panel (Mabis’ choice) and a yaoi panel (obviously Daran’s choice ^_^). Of course, we wanted to actually have dinner,
so Sky, Golbie, John, Locke, and I dragged one of Golbie's friends back
to Denny’s, this time driving there in this big white—thing that
Sky calls his truck. ;D Once there, I finally managed to find what had
eluded me since Thursday, the day I arrived: breakfast. Well, breakfast
at 7pm, admittedly. Denny’s Grand Slam, a cheap yet filling breakfast plate.
I won’t get into the semantics of whether it counts as breakfast or dinner,
so don’t argue. ;P
By the time we were finished, it was about time for Sky to take
off. So we all piled into Sky’s, err, vehicle, and he returned us to the
hotel. Since we were all goodbyed out, he got considerably less fanfare
than Pyxie and Pokey did. Still, that didn't discourage him any. After
giving each guy a rib-breaking bear hug (except for Golbez’s friend, who
gave him a cautious handshake and a wary look), off he rode into the—well,
not the sunset, it was already dark by then. The point is he took off.
Whether or not he made it home in that ancient Mazda pickup no one knows....
Note: I would assume he did make it, seeing as I’ve been chatting with him
on IRC practically every day since I got back. Whether he made it home
with or without incident, however, is still unknown. ;)
Now full of food, we were also feeling full of mischief. We decided
to do something wild and daring. But what?.... Of COURSE! We would go
to the film room and sneak in to catch the last half-hour of the Escaflowne
movie! Not only was it crafty, it was also a statement—namely, you can’t
beat down the people. Go ahead, tell us the Masquerade is all sold out,
shut us out of Escaflowne, kick us out of the video rooms for “indecent
exposure.” They can take away our hentai, but they can never take away—our
freedom!!! So, our little otaku hearts burning with a sense of purpose,
we headed to the film room ready to throw the Man some sticks and disobey
some civility. Or something.
Sneaking
into Escaflowne—or so we thought.
|
Everything was going according to plan until we got to the film
room. There we were greeted by the enemy: ushers! But we came prepared.
Golbez would provide a distraction by seducing the usher and luring him
away, and the rest of us would sneak in. Of course, we didn’t tell Golbez
about this, and he was insulted that we thought he would sink that low.
So with Plan A shot, we went ahead with Plan B: create a loud noise in
the hallway and make a dash for the doors when the usher went over to investigate.
Unfortunately, no matter how loud the noise was the usher didn’t come to
investigate. And we soon found out why: not an usher but a security guard
came to investigate. And when he found out what we’d been doing, he was
not happy. However, thanks to Locke’s sweet talking (and several of my
$20 bills), he let us off with a warning. Finally we got into the room
when we asked the usher if we could, and he shrugged and waved us in. |
Note: Can you imagine? Otaku as left-wing radicals? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—
ahhh. There was no grand idealism behind our going. We just decided to
go. Why at the very end, I don’t know. But the result was the same; the
ushers let us in without objection. Although I left to use the bathroom
and was stopped coming back in, they decided to let me in again anyway.
So it all worked out.
Anyhow, because we came in at the end I didn’t really understand
the stuff that was going on, so I can’t offer much of a review here. (Not
YET, anyways. ;) So after the movie, we returned to the room and did stuff.
What it was I don’t remember. Therefore I can only assume it involved alcohol
or some sort of illegal substance. ;D But at some point Daran and Mabis
returned from the panels and the Utena movie. We learned from them
that the movie was even more queer than the series. Anyways, Golbez also
returned from Utena (we lost track of him after getting into
Escaflowne) and, well—I don’t remember much. Either it was an entirely
forgettable evening after that, or the alcohol killed those particular
brain cells. :D
Note: There was no alcohol present that evening. Particularly since at that
point most of us were underage.
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