Have visited the Anything Goes School of Masquerade Arts Home Page since July 27, 1998.
San Diego CC 1999
-Walk About
-Masquerade
-The Chronicles
-Closing Credits
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Saotome Family Feud The Chronicles of AGSMA The Chronicles of AGSMA (Not the Chronicles of Narnia), SDCC 1999 Are compiled by individual members of AGSMA, each with a different point of view and color. Stardate: August 8, 1999 Sunday Location: San Diego Today marks the Arrival of Morrigan Heh, I got to show Emily the SDCC98 Masquerade video. It was badly recorded...but she was able to get an idea of what to expect! As well as a sneak peek of my Misato cosplay. I also got a phone callfrom my sweet Mike, informing me that he arrived safely from Maryland! *It was his birthday as well* We talked a lot and finally realized we (Emily and I) were tired...causing us to go to sleep. I sacrificed the couch for her, as I slept on the floor...don't get me wrong, I like the floor! Besides...the couch is too short for me and my legs would hang off ^_^ Heh, I am evil!font> Stardate: August 9, 1999 Monday Stardate: August 10, 1999 Tuesday Today marks the Arrival of Ranma-chan Principal Kuno: .... Morrigan: Nothing much happened in the morning for us. We did play Mario some more though! By this time we were at level 4 or 5! In the afternoon, we went to go pick up Mike from his hotel. I was a excited to finally meet him in person! Though...we could not find his hotel...heh! Good thing he found us though....Claudia was very loud ^_^ We then went to the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. I was very excited to go, I love plays!! We were going to go see "Cymbeline", by Shakespeare...and the tickets were only $8.00 too! Yatta! It was very nice inside!! I was just so impressed...coming from El Paso...poor deprived child that I am and all ^_^ The play itself was very comical and romantic! I enjoyed it greatly!!! During intermission...I had the BIGGEST urge for an Espresso. So I decided to volunteer my Father to buy me one ^.^ Unfortunately we only had 5 minutes for a break...and it was very very hot. I clearly remember reading a sign saying "No food or drinks in the theatre!!" What is a girl to do? Here I am thirsty and limited to time...so I did what and rational and honest person would do! I snuck in the drink! Of course, with failed cooperation from Emily.... I managed to succeed. (Though I am convinced they did see me ^_^) tee hee hee.. Overall, I loved the play! I hope to go next year to see another play!! We then took Mike back to his apartment, and said our good bye's. I must admit though...it was very awkward...but I got over it...besides, it is expected! Can you guess what Emily and I did at home? Yes, we played Mario again! ^_^ ...and what a game it was! Trunks: Hey you know. I think that San Diego thing is coming up this weekend. Maybe I should do what I always wanted to do to the Jin outfit, after AX.... Revision 2.5! For this revision, I wanted to redo his shoulder spikes, since 1. They were sticky (ewwww) because the paint didn't like the plaster I used) 2. They aren't sharp and can't hurt a flea 3. Even though they are strong, they are at risk for chipping. I decided I would revert to the original Version 1.0 spikes, which totally ruled and were durable. So the new spikes were going to be sharper, more pliable and slightly longer since I would fit them over the old plaster spike bases. Production was going well until it was time for them to dry. And while they were drying, I got an itch. An itch to go to Disneyland! Weeeeeeee! I mean, with an annual pass, how can you go wrong. So like a good unproductive cosplayer, I run off to Tarzan's Treehouse (to say that I suffered thru it), Matterhorn, BTRR, and Pirates. Of course, I come back tired and in no mood to paint the newly dried spikes. So....slack! Ranma-chan: Approaching the convention center would have been just another day had it not been for the enormous banner saying "Comic Con International" that was draped gracefully across the front. P-chan and I had teamed up to do some volunteering again, and the time was passed by singing a myriad of songs--just like last year. Stuffing bags is one of the worst, but where else can you grab free stuff and see it before the regular con attendees? Hungry upon finishing the shift, we were en route to Horton Plaza on foot (the buses didn't start until Day 3), and P-chan presents a choice between fast-food and Hooters. I didn't care either way, but thought he would chicken out of going to Hooters and called him on it. We ended up going there after all. After that, we cruised the Gaslamp Quarter to look in some antique stores, then headed back to Chateau d'Esperon. For once, costumes were not my immediate concern as I had met Ucchan previously in the week to start work on my Ran-chan-original outfit. Stardate: August 11, 1999 Wednesday The day started out pretty much the same until volunteer work was over. P-chan and I headed for an old bookstore after work and went back to the convention center around 5PM so he could obtain his pre-reg badge and so I could sign up for my third volunteer shift. But due to disorganization, P-chan came out with his badge first despite his extremely longer line. I got what I wanted--Pre-Reg 8:30-11:30, and went back to Chateau d'Esperon for South Park and sleep. Trunks: Ah, it might be nice to have a script. So I dig up an old script that was originally intended for Anime Expo. When last year we were planning a motley anime skit. But that script was quickly filed away in favor of the same universe Capcom script. Continuity counts for alot. But since our Phantom Menace script was being censored and edited far beyond recognition, we had decided on reviving our motley cosplay skit for SDCC. And so be it! It took a while for it to click that hey, Jin and Ranma have the same last name. But instead of a straight out brawl between the two, we decided to add more humor to it, especially since historically all AGSMA skits have had a strong element of humor, and as it stood right now, Family Feud: Saotome vs. Saotome didn't have too much. So after submitting the script to the other members of AGSMA, with very minor modifications to the script, the plan was finalized. Morrigan: Yes, the slothful girls were awaken once more! B..L..A..H~! Well, today was a big day...Sea World!! Yea! I haven't been there since I was five! After more or less getting ready, we went to pick up Mike again. From there, we made it to Sea World. I must say, from first glance...I was a bit disappointed! My Father has no sense of direction...so it was our job (Mike, Emily, and I) to remember where we parked! I think we got a special for tickets.... a four pack for $100.00. Not bad, considering we got a free camera as well! Once in there, we followed the "Recommended Schedule". Of course after ridding the "Shipwreck Rapids" ride ^_^ Well, it was fun and we got semi-wet (Or in Emily's case, drenched) and had fun... but the commercial looked more exciting!!!!! -_-' We then went to an aquarium type place.... where we saw a REAL TAKO! (My pet octopus is TAKO) I was happy ^_^ Afterwards we watched the Dolphin Show, it was good. The thing I wanted to do the most was see the Sharks though! So, that’s exactly where we went afterwards. More disappointment...all I have to say is FALSE ADVERTISING!!!!!! Following that we took a lunch break...then went to see the penguins ^_^ PEN PEN's!! We also attended what was to be our worst memory from Sea World...the Shamu Show.... or as they called it "Shamu's house of douse". That was where they made a mockery of Shamu to really bad hip hop music! My Father then dragged us to this "Hospitality" place where he sat to drink free beer.....I was most upset at this! Later on taking advantage of it though! ^_^ We did get to go on the motion sensor ride, Arctic Ride...or something like that.. There we saw Whales...Baby Beluga! It was a very creative ride I must say! (And Claudia was armed with Pocky!) I then convinced my Father to go drink more "FREE" beer, while Mike, Emily, and I....went to the children’s place! There we frolicked and danced among little 5 to 7 year olds...as well as go in the tube maze's. We were restricted from a lot of things though!!! Blah! Finally, we called it a day, left Mike off at his apartment, and left home. Yes, more Mario games!!!! ^_^ We got all the way to level 8 by this time...yatta! We also play Pocket Fighter.... as well as get ready by this time...yatta! As well as get ready for the convention! ^_^ Stardate: August 12, 1999 Thursday San Diego Comic Convention, Day 1 1. Jin in his white Pilot gear vaguely (and I do use the term very loosely) resembles Hiro-kun's white suit outfit (even tho' Jin shows more chest) 2. Jin hits on most every girl in the skit (or planned to) so he is being a playboy (from his Cyberbots days, before he had Chun Li and Morrigan fighting over him in his Marvel Vs. Capcom days) 3. I still like the song, and I know when my cues are! But the matter of making Ucchan find her Bust A Move CD, was a completely different story Morrigan: FIRST DAY OF SDCC99!! Emily was even more excited! ^_^ She is such a cutie! I was cosplaying as Misato Katsuragi, and Emily as the sweet Kasumi Tendou. They have the exact same personality as well! I was set with my Pen Pen and Emily with her broom....it seemed like nothing could go wrong! Then...it happened.. Well, my Misato dress shrunk (Or I got taller) since the last time I wore it to SDCC98....heh. So I was constantly pulling it down. Well, I was fixing my panty hose and pulling them up so you could not see the dark brown area on the hose,...then it happened. *TEAR* Yep, they tore...a lot too. Ack! Emily helped out with clear nail polish though! My CHEAP, EVIL, IRRATIONAL, BLAH, Father refused to buy me new ones... "Oh well, tough luck!" was what he told me. Blah! What could I do? Well, I swung my backpack over my right shoulder (For the run was on my right leg) and covered it up. It seemed to work out good.. So, we went to pick up Mike (Who dressed as Junta from DNA^2) then proceeded to the Convention. While waiting to cross the cross walk, I ran into Ucchan....strange huh? Well, she explained the AGSMA skit to me...which was very good, and we decided to meet at 2 PM so she could give me the script. We managed to make it in the convention without having to wait too! Got to love Pre. Registering! My Father also made a very pessimistic comment about my cosplay...."You don't look that good! The AX Japanese cosplayers were better...why didn't you work as hard as they did? I can still see your run!" Ack! With this, I got VERY mad and ran off...heh, sorry Mike and Emily! That was very mean.... and I was having a bad morning...I didn't need to hear that! Oh well...that is my Father everyone! After ditching my Father, Emily, Mike, and I walked around the dealers room. It was fun! We got to play this "Bust a Move" type game called "Dance Dance Revolution", at the TOKYO POP booth. It was really neat because the control was a pad that you stepped on. I won a Sailor Moon CD game, Mike won a magazine, and Emily won a sticker...tee hee hee ^_^ Hmmm, a lot of people didn't know who we were. Well, a little more for me because Misato is a more distinct cosplay.. Don't get me wrong, Emily had her Fan Boys as well! "Wow! I really love Kasumi, she is my favorite character!" tee hee hee... We also got to see some Anime.... which was good. I think we saw Ranma, Battle Athletes, and Fushigi Yuugi. I also met up with Ucchan to see the script, it was very funny! We left the con at about 6 or 7 PM...and went to the "Old Spaghetti Factory" to eat. My Father did not inform us that the Ice Cream was FREE, (We didn't order since we each had to pay for ourselves.... and well, money is money) until after we asked for the bill and were ready to eat. We were VERY upset! Then we went to drop off Mike and head home. We had a lot of fun our first day! I spent all my money though! Emily and I ended our night with a good game of Puzzle Fighter! Ranma-chan: BRING ON THE CON!! Pre-Reg--you gotta love it! You sit down, meet people, do very little work, and there are-usually-no problems. That went rather quickly--a little too quickly--but at least I was done with volunteering this year early and could spend the rest of the con having fun, going to panels (which I only went to one), and worrying about the masquerade. I walked through the main doors and didn't expect to be as overwhelmed as I was--I mean, wasn't I supposed to be _used_ to this thing from last year? So I ran around real quick to soak things in and met back up with P-chan. We went to the Sandman panel at 12:30, but because of difficulty in hearing the panelists and little sleep (I forgot to mention we got there at 7AM) it was boring and I had to get out of there. We went to lunch and split up to meet at, BIG SURPRISE! D.C.! (ed. note--see last year's journals.) I started at one end and walked booth to booth, just like last year. About halfway throught the first aisle (2400), it occurred to me how stupid this was--I mean, with the obscene amount of sensory input at the convention, how could anyone be able to remember when and where they saw any one of the millions of items that they wanted? Then genius struck. I would obtain a map of the floor, marking off where I've been with an X if there was nothing interesting (or if the interesting stuff was overpriced) or a circle around places with decently priced merchandise. And some notes on the side for the extremely good stuff. In the next 3 hours I had covered the east half of the con, and was heralded by a few as a genius for my idea. What can I say? When you're hot you're hot, and (in Fat Bastard voice) I'm dead sexy! Stardate: August 13, 1999 Friday San Diego Comic Convention, Day 2 This is the day where Emily spends all her money! She bought these two Fushigi Yuugi stationary sets...and got $5.00 off for her good looks! She was very very happy of what she bought! We also got some free tickets to go see Mononoke Hime...we were to meet Widya and company there. Now all that was left was to persuade my Father! Easy right.....that’s what I thought, or hoped in a way! The big highlight of our day was being able to see the voice actors of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. It was sooo great, I loved it! I also got to met Ranchan as well as P. Kuno! Of course, we met so I could give Ucchan the Bust a Move CD...heh. We watched some more anime afterwards...I think they were Saber Marionette J, a Japanese non subbed one, and...*Blah* Cowboy Bebop! Ok, I must complain about Cowboy Bebop! It was very very inaccurate as well as stupid! Yes, coming from Mexican decent and having lived in Tijuana...this cartoon was horribly stereotyped! For one, they DO NOT wear Sombreros anymore! Tee hee hee, I thought it was funny to do that...but it could be insulting in a way! Another thing I must point out is that rich Butler Alfred looking guys are NOT what bar tenders look like over there! Well...I also didn't like the story line,...heh. And for all you confused people out there, yes, Mexicans can speak Japanese! *sarcasm* -_-' Well, after much walking around and, little children asking me if they can hold my gun,...we decided to go persuade my Father about the Mononoke Hime movie. Well, I failed...and miserably! But that day marked the day WW10 struck at his house! And it wasn't very pretty...but I wont go into detail! Poor Mike and Emily who wanted to go...and I could not do anything...I felt useless...Blah! I still feel bad about it....my Father is very evil as well as easy to contradict! Oh well, we fought a lot, and I think I did a good job at it too! ^_^ Yes, do not get me mad unless you are prepared to hear all I have to say! ^_^ Can you guess what Emily and I did that night? PUZZLE FIGHTER ....and this time it was an all nighter! Trunks: One day before I plan to visit. Hrm. I guess I'd better complete those spikes now.... So I take em outside and spray em silver like the rest of my armor and when dry, affixed them to the jacket. Simple! And some minor adjustments to the jacket to get Full Metal Madness (Cyberbots) version Jin. That entails changing the kanji design on Jin's back to a Japanese style sunset. So I made a whole new back to the jacket. I was done with that by 10 PM. Nice! I can go to bed. Oh but Ucchan and Ranma-chan are 2 hours away slaving on their costumes. I hear about frogs and not having a black wig and the like. *sigh* Now if they had heeded my advice 2 weeks ago when I warned them about wanting to do this skit, maybe they wouldn't be in the predicament. "Can you go out to get the black wig?" No way was I going to bring my Mousse wig for that. And a few well placed calls tells me that long haired black wigs were all sold out in my area. So they would have to make due with this wig over here *snicker* and my lovely extension that Morrigan had brought for me at Anime Expo. What a sweetie huh? And saves our heiney ponytail wise. So as I figured, they'd pull an all nighter slaving away just like at SDCC98, but I go to bed early. *clonk* Ranma-chan: So P-Chan and I split up as I needed to get my Friday badge from the volunteer desk and check in my bags at the art show :) I tried to relocate him where he said to meet, at the convention's capital, but he wasn't there, not 5 minutes later when I checked the second time, not 30 minutes later when I checked the third time. So I toured the west half of the con solo and was done with scouting halfway through the day. How many other people do you think could say that they had 95% of the con handled by midday Friday? I stumbled upon Principal Kuno at one of the booths. We were supposed to contact via walkie-talkies, but he brought his the day before when I didn't, and after a day of unsuccessful hailing attempts, he decided not to bring it this day. I explained how I "Did a Trunks," meaning that I checked e-mail at one of the booths that had a computer. Heh, heh, heh. So, quick re-cap: we've got 2 1/2 days left, and all I have left to do is the Massage Booth, Dance Dance Revolution, and the masquerade. Until Ucchan says that we are to meet Morrigan upstairs to discuss the masquerade. I was happy to meet one of the latest members of AGSMA, recently inducted at AX by Trunks' recruiting efforts. Time is short, so we parted companies for the time being, and then proceeded to the art show, where I bid on two pieces and won!! I got a painting of Chun-Li and a Mars Transformation computer piece for $15 apiece. The really cool ones I wanted, the Ranma group in the car, and the Vader black and white piece were just a -little- out of my price range. Of course I didn't know that the paintings I bid on were mine until Day 6, so I apologize if you think this journal is too non-linear. Upon closing of the exhibition hall for the day, Ucchan, Principal Kuno, and I went back to Maison Guerrero to work on costumes. The frogs were the only thing left to do on Ran-chan, but they were four-looped frogs, not straight ones! So I spent the night constructing the frogs so that they looked proper. Then I hand-stiched them on. Taking breaks with e-mail, hearts, and AIM, we mirrored one year ago when we burned the midnight oil into... Stardate: August 14, 1999 Saturday Today marks the Arrival of Trunks San Diego Comic Convention, Day 3 We departed for the convention center, checked in for the masquerade, and scheduled a rehearsal for 2:15. We cruised the hall again. I received a much needed massage and bought Transformers the Movie. After 13 long years of living with a copy of a rental, I decided that enough was enough and bought the thing. We rehearsed, ate, and unloaded Trunks's car to start preparing for the masquerade. When we got to the room, we hailed Ucchan to no avail to try and let them know that on-site parking had freed up. Trunks, Morrigan & Co., and I then proceeded to cruise the hall one last time before final preparations for the masquerade began. So we made final preparations with little time to spare and 5 half frogs to sew on (still!). I shaved, put on lipstick only (time was very short) and had to safety pin on 3 frogs to the shirt. Talk about going on-stage in an incomplete costume. But a few dress rehearsals later and some quick photo ops, and the masquerade began. Circle, performance, more photo ops, and then REST! while waiting for the award presentations to end. We were all surprised when they called our number, as we didn't expect to win, especially with the sound system screwing up (the master videotape of the masquerade has no audio portion and neither did most of the audience, we believe.) Anime Pavillion liked our "Saotome Family Feud" and the "Sailor Jamboree" so much that they split the award betwen us, giving either $50 cash or $100 in store credit to each group. That's 2 in a row at SDCC for AGSMA!! Unfortunately, Trunks and Morrigan both had to leave, not to attend the final day of the con. But we can always meet up at the next con! And thus, Day 5 came to a close. Morrigan: THIRD DAY OF SDCC!...as well as final for us (Emily, Mike and I). Of course Emily did her beautiful Suzaku no Miko, and today I would be Asuka Langley Soryuu, in school uniform. It was an awkward morning, but not for Emily and I! Besides, today we were too meet up with Ucchan to practice at her house.... as well and my sweet Trunks. Emily was eager to meet Trunks, or as she called him the Cosplaying King..."He is everywhere...he as done so many Cosplay!" Tee hee hee ^_^ So we arrived at Maison d'Ucchan to see that Trunks is sitting out there...with no one else in sight! So we figured she was late.. Emily and Trunks met and all three of us just conversed while waiting. Plus I got to see my Shinji Kun once more...or at least 70% of him. Not long after we got there, Ucchan and Company arrived. Though I had already met them all, I did fool Ran chan! ^_^ We all got together, picked up the stuff, and decided to depart to the Convention. We left in two cars, Ranchan, Trunks, and I in one, and Ucchan, Emily, and P.Kuno in the other. One car would communicate with the other through Walkie Talkies...it was fun hearing the conversations. After our search for parking space, Trunks changed into Imperial Chris, and we made our way to the convention. I was to meet Mike (Shoma) at 10, Trunks had to get in line for a badge, and Ranma went to the Masquerade meeting. Well, I also had to wait for Jon...but he.... *Sniffle Sniffle* stood me up! -_-' While waiting for him, we did run into Trunks and Ran chan though. Evil Trunks made me take solo pictures of Imperial Chris with his EVIL camera!! Blah! Now it was time to walk around the dealers room! Perfect! Four unknown anime characters (Who do not go together at all) walking around the convention...we got a lot of pictures ^_^! I think Shoma got was the most recognized though.. The best thing did happen though...MARVEL VS CAPCOM was up! Yatta! Time to see Eternal Slumber! Trunks and I convinced these two guys to let us have a chance to play! *Insert Evil Cute Girl Decoy charm* ^_^ We began fighting...heh, Trunks had this confused look on his face...He did not know how to work a Dreamcast controller worth beans.... and I.... well, neither did I. I almost killed his Morrigan until he killed me...and didn't get to show me Eternal Slumber either.. so I did then next best thing, beg the guy who was previously playing to show me. He did too, and it was great to finally see it! Then uncontrollable Emily pops in....she saw one of her biggest dreams! Real Tasuki earrings!! We stayed at the anime booth for a while, while she drooled on the earrings. "Oh my god Claudia! Oh my god! Look!" Was what she kept telling me. She is too cute! We decided to go watch an Anime while Trunks left with Ranchan somewhere. We were accompanied by Mad Mike, and I finally found Jon! All of us went to go see Ranma.... again. I had to leave early to meet up with Ucchan and Company to go practice. We had to wait for a while for other groups to go before us though. That gave up time to listen to the tape...it was great! I must compliment Ranchan with the great voices! ^_^ Finally, we got to go on stage, and practice. Alright, everything is ready. Mike, Emily, and I all went to go eat while my Trunks and Ran chan went to Horton Plaza for batteries. We then met up again, and decided to go walk around the dealers room again. This time I was equipped with Shinji kun...yatta! We got a lot of pictures as well. Then Ran Chan and I decided to play "Dance Dance Revolution" again. Ran chan was great! While I on the other hand kept messing up...I am not made to dance...not even in a video game! We then went back to the masquerade room to get ready. Wow...were we short with time. Ran chan was fixing his shirt, P.Kuno was painting Ucchan's arms, Trunks was modeling Ranchan's wig, while was clipping his bangs...(Sorry Ranchan!), and Emily and Mike were blowing up Ranchan's breasts...well, ..balloons. Like Trunks said, the first batch were uneven, but eventually, we got a good size! Way to go Mike and Emily...they can put that on their future resumes! Time was getting shorter, so I quickly went to get Bulleta on. Heh...I had forgotten my red lipstick...so I had to deal with Rouge..(Like it really matters!) Emily and Mike left to go get their great seats, while we waited back stage to go on! We practiced some more, and took a couple of pictures too. Finally, we were to go on. I was a bit nervous...I was hoping people would understand it! Deprived Comic Con.! Well, we got a good opening applause...but while we were on...I think everyone was lost. Heh, oh well, screw them! I think we did good, and I got to flash my bloomers! After our skit, we got interviewed by some people...who did not impress me.. It was a "Children’s Show" I couldn't show my guns or flash my bloomers!!! Grrr...so I looked like Little Red Ridding Hood. How depressing! Their questions didn't get anywhere either! -_-' But when they asked me, "Why did you choose to dress up like your character?", I replied, "So I could shoot my guns and flash my bloomers" ^_^ If I can't show them, I'll just talk about it then! We then took more pictures, and then Trunks had to leave! He did change into Shinji though! We said our good bye's and then he left! Well, were exhausted, so Ranchan and I collapsed while Ucchan and P.Kuno talked. We were not expecting to win because they screwed up our sound!! Blah! While we were waiting for them to announce the winners, Emily and Mike came to cheer us up. And my Father to discourage us! He told me "Lets go, you wont win!" That was mean!! Blah!!! But we showed him, when we got tied for Best Representation of Anime (From Anime Pavilion) with Sailor Jamboree. We were so happy, we started jumping and hugging each other! ^_^ My first award...yatta! Well, It was time for me to leave...I said my good bye's and that was it.. I wish I could have gone to the Convention on Saturday though.... but oh well! We left off Mike and headed home...to pack! Blah, it was sooo late....and finally we went to bed! Trunks: I wake up bright and early to dash off to San Diego, Maison Ucchan for the meeting at 8, just incase I needed to tie up some loose ends. I get there on time, but obviously, Ucchan runs on her time and is late. There is a nice little sign for me and Morrigan to please wait for their return. So I recline in the Dark Chariot and wait patiently for 8:30. 8:35, a pickup swings by and I greet Morrigan and her local friend, Emily. Morrigan in her Asuka outfit and Emily in her beautiful Suzako no Miko outfit. I was in 70% Shinji gear. (like that's absolutely hard). So I hand off the duplicates from AX to Morrigan and we sit and wait until 9:10, when Ranma-chan, P.Kuno and Ucchan finally return. They were recording the darn tape! Also quite annoying was that they did not get my pass as I had requested. So that means I had to wait in that huge line to get my badge. Grrrrrrrr. I kept my end of the deal. I brought the curtain of Eternal Slumber, Jin and wig for Ranma-kun. They were supposed to have the barstools, kettle, Alita and Ranma-chan. So at least all the costumes were done. Or so I thought. Morrigan had brought a huge package of Pocky and chocolate covered coffee beans to try to stay awake, after she and Emily had a little too much Puzzle Fighter the night before. It wasn't until 9:40 that we got in the Dark Chariot and Neverending Camry and drove off for the convention center. We had the walkie talkies and conversed between cars with synonyms for death, such as autopsy and mortuary. That would be needed for our emcee intro. The convention opened at 10:00. But there is darn construction all over the original parking lot where we parked last year. So we were forced to park a block and a half away in a structure. At least it was a covered parking lot so the Dark Chariot wouldn't collect heat like it has a bad habit of doing. I parked on the ramp to the second level. With Asuka and Suzako no Miko, I joined the fray as Imperial Chris. I was out of Shinji and into Imperial Chris in 5 minutes. The boot overlays did not agree with the amount of walking and the terrain so I had them removed. Until I got to the con. I should have known that upstairs held the registration. What's worse? We realize that Ucchan forgot the kettle at home....Doh! The line was long, but actually not too bad since when I got there, they opened up a whole new side of cash registers (20) which doubled their speed. So it was almost a walk through line. I was very pleased. Got a bag of stuff and a happy little badge. No longer were typists used that took alot of time, but people just wrote in their own name. I quickly went to room 7B after registration to join up with my team who was turning in the precious soundtrack to SFF. I walk in the door and immediately see Lisa and Brian (in Resident Evil Gear) Lisa immediately recognized who I was, and she would be the only one for that day. Which is what I expected. The yellow feather obtained from Tiffy was perfect! Now I got a chance to put on the boot overlays for the laces effect. Also saw Widya in casual wear waiting for cosplayers to arrive. We hook up Emily and Mike with backstage passes as stagehands for AGSMA. As soon as the tape was turned in, I wanted to go with Morrigan and Emily and we caught up with Mike (Shoma) to cruise the dealers room. We waited at 11 PM for Jon Okita, but he didn't show, and we figured he was probably going to be late. How hard is it to spot a Shinshengumi anyway? While we were waiting, I convinced Morrigan to take a few singles shots of "Kid Goenitz" as I sometimes call Imperial Chris, for the homepage. As a group, we got many more pictures than we would have alone. Even though no one had a clue who we were most of the time. With Asuka near me, I looked more like Imperial Shinji than Imperial Chris, but no one is the wiser. Not alot of Rurouni Kenshin stuff around, and most of it was left over from Anime Expo. So not much to be bought. Mike needed to run off to the bathroom, so we needed to kill some time near the front doors. The Marvel booth had a pair of Dreamcast set up, with Marvel Vs. Capcom. Ho ho ho! So I got a chance to go against Morrigan and try to show her all the moves that I had been describing to her over AIM. Morrigan Jin vs. Morrigan Chun Li. Hrm. That's a familiar sounding team, isn't it? But the controls only have four buttons and I kind of forgot how to get Eternal Slumber. But I managed to show her Blodia Vulcan before she picked off my Morrigan. But time's running out! And I know it's not going to happen. Morrigan's already seen Blodia Punch from another game so to quickly end the match, and show Morrigan special moves the hard way.... GREAT CYCLONE! I'm a bad boy. I should have let her win. hee hee. But afterwards, we let the Dreamcast expert kid go at it and show Morrigan the Eternal Slumber. She absolutely loved the move and told me that I had taught her the exact correct pose to use for Capcom Double Date Drama. Ahhhhh. *feels all warm and snuggly*. We were slated to rehearse at 2:15 PM so when 1:30 was rolling around, I departed to get lunch and change into Shinji, look for batteries for my dying camera, while the other three went to go watch Anime. So I trek all the way back to the car and drop off the Imperial Chris outfit, which, as I took it off, took a bit of reparable damage. I'll need to fix that later. And back into full Shinji gear, which is perfect into changing into Jin later since I use the same shoes and socks for both costumes. I munch on my packed lunch, and meander back up to 7B. While I get off the escalator up, I see in the registration area a little blotch of purple. There's only one person that can be. And changing into Soujiro mode, I dash into the area, sneak past the open window door and *snicker snack*! My right hand grabs cute little Nicole Misao by the nape of her neck. She didn't even hear my little "Hai" as there was a scream heard all around the convention grounds. Greeted Jon Okita who brought her along casually while Misao was still pale white and in utter shock. I think I really did scare her. She wouldn't talk to me after that....hmmmm, I wonder what I did to do that? Just used godspeed, that's all. Not even Jon knew of my presence until he heard a shriek of terror. But I apologize to poor Nicole and offer her to hit me if that made her feel better, but she was -still- in shock. I had a rehearsal to hit. Now Asuka had a Shinji. Now Morrigan informs me that Shinji doesn't always have to be depressed, but he also has a lame smile, so I went with a little of that before depression mode Shinji just for variety. Asuka and Shinji (both school gear) got alot of pictures together. And we rehearsed on the mock stage to the music about two full times before we were kicked off my the half time act. But we listened to the tape on Ucchan's boombox a couple more times to get the cues right. I had a tough time selling to Morrigan that she needs to be ultimately psycho with Bulleta when I call for her, but finally she agrees. It's about 3 PM and my camera batteries are out. I need to go to Horton Plaza. Ranma-chan wants to go too for food. Morrigan, Emily and Mike need to meet at 4 PM to go eat dinner. So the next meeting time would be 5:15 PM upstairs. Since Ucchan wanted to go the the Chris Bachalo signing, she had insisted that me and Ranchan get the replacement kettle at some antique store in the gaslamp district. So we grudgingly agree and wait by Bus C to take us to Horton. 5 minutes later, Ucchan and P.Kuno join us. The signing is full. They can't go, so they join us in our trip to Horton. I get my batteries and a raspberry iced tea at Long Drugs and then we head up for more food. When lunch was done, Ranchan and I were going to head back and move the SFF stuff to 7B from the Dark Chariot. So we placed the kettle finding duty back on Ucchan. By the time we got back to the convention center, it was 5:00. But we chance going to the car to get the stuff anyway. I move the car down to the first level and we head back. We're about 10 minutes late but we have all the goods, and set up camp at room 7B. We've got an hour before the masquerade started, so me, Ranchan, Morrigan, Emily and Mike all head off to the dealers room one last time. Morrigan got another shot at Dance Dance Revolution and I completed a promise to Margaret by returning to Alternative Video Warehouse to talk to her and exchange E-mail. She didn't have a business card for me! *pout* Back upstairs and it's 6 PM. We need to be ready, in costume, with all props, and photo taken by 7:30 PM. Not a problem right? Well not until I find out that Alita needs her arms painted and Ranchan still has to sew on 5 frogs to the shirt. *faint* So I end up not being in the Jin outfit until 7 trying to get them ready to go. I make the necessary adjustments to the Eternal Slumber curtain to reflect P. Kuno's height. And we start to work. After 30 minutes and only 2 frogs sewn on, I tell Ranchan to pin them on and fix them later. He was stubborn but eventually gave in *waves hand before him*. Alita was going on schedule. Unfortunately, I had to be the dummy for Ranma-kun's hair and braid while Morrigan clipped the bangs. I got hair all over the place. At about 6:15 Morrigan departed to change into Bulleta. Emily and Mike aided in blowing up Ranma-chan's br....balloons. The first two were drasticaly uneven. So we had them blow up another so Ranma-chan would at least look even. We kept on forgetting props here and there while waiting in line for the polaroid picture for the judges and tech staff, so they could recognize just who was supposed to be on stage next. We rehearse in the far corner of the Green Room. The COSP ML photo gets taken. We manage to get in the circle of thanks before our number was up. The masquerade started 20 minutes behind schedule. Not bad when compared to two hours. We were skit number 15. All the under 13 skits go first at the convention, so we were about the 7th adult skit to go on. We got a decent reaction to the title, Saotome Family Feud, since I suspect many people knew about Ranma 1/2. But the crowd was absolutely quiet and stunned during the rest of the skit, like "what is going on there?" Later we find out it's the sound to the audience, even tho we could hear it perfectly on stage. With little to no fan support, thinks looked pretty glum But we still tried our best and that's all that mattered. I'm glad the team got together for this con to be on stage, with all the trials that had happened throughout the year. Not to mention refurnishing the Jin, Alita and Ranma-chan costumes had been on our agenda for a while. It's almost 10 PM, and I want to get back to Anaheim before midnight. So the group takes a few re-enactment shots, and I change back into Shinji to let Bulleta have a picture with Shinji. Then, with the Jin costume, Eternal Slumber and Ranma-kun wig back in tow I head off for the Dark Chariot. Halfway there, I realize I left a bag in 7B. ARGH! I trek back up to retrieve it, with mild resistance from con security. Lucky I did get it back, it had my first roll of film that was completed. Invaluable. So we'll try this again. I make it all the way to the parking structure to find that it's all locked! How am I supposed to get out? I manage to go around the structure and find a way into to the Dark Chariot, but we're still locked in! About 20 minutes later and lot of screaming and yelling and waiting at the exit, a guard arrives and lets me out. 1 and a half hours later on the 5 freeway north, I find myself in my own comfy bed to retire quietly. Stardate: August 15, 1999 Sunday San Diego Comic Convention, Day 4 And it didn't disappoint! I got many requests for photos and was videotaped while playing Dance Dance Revolution. I beat Normal Stage, 3rd level. Not bad for someone with no rhythm and who can't dance. Althought I was a girl at the time... We sent in our request for a copy of the masquerade and, while the rest of the party didn't mind waiting for the video, I had to see it immediately. That's how I learned that the video didn't have any audio. But fear not, for the audio was recorded on a computer, and through the miracle of technology, a proper masquerade tape will be born! But after a while of watching with no sound, I left one to play the game one last time. So we pre-registered for SDCC2K and had our end-of-con banquet at Asaggios. Unfortunately, pressing matters prevented me from staying longer in San Diego, so this was the final day of my 1999 SDCC. But I had a great time as always, met wonderful people, and got a lot of stuff. So until next year, keep on cosplayin'! Morrigan: We leave for El Paso! You know what? I was actually, in a sense, glad too! I could not stand my Fathers two cent comments about me and my cosplay...ask Emily all about it! But living with him was literally HELL! *Sigh* Too bad I couldn't attend the last day of SDCC! Oh well... I missed everyone sooo much! Ucchan, P.Kuno, Trunks, Mike, Jon...all of you guys were great to hang out with! Heh.... oh well, back to reality. We left my Fathers house about 10 in the morning. Emily and I were happy about all the stuff we bought. Finally, it was time to board.... I left my Father with a big smile saying, "I am soo glad to go home! Bye.." Heh, I am evil! ^_^ The flight was nice.... Emily and I dozed off a couple of times...but it was nice. I was happy to see my beautiful Mother, and I am sure Emily was happy to see her's. Well, I suppose that is all! Minna, I miss you a lot, can't wait to see you at SDCC2000! Saraja.... ^.~ chu Trunks: Back to life as usual. Not really in the mood to repair the damage Imperial Chris took. Or Jin for that matter. Just take it easy. Oh so nice to find out that we actually won! Woo hoo! Sure, it doesn't have the same effect as being there, but just knowing it just makes my day! As well as the $20 from Anime Pavilion don't hurt much either! Even though I find out about it second hand from mail over the COSP ML. It's still good news that I'd never turn down. And yay! That means Morrigan got to experience a win with the team. That was absolutely great! A nice ending to a very mellow convention in my book. And as for my agenda for this convention, let's see how successful I was: Mission 1: Take a picture of Chris with a microphone - failure Mission 2: Debut Imperial Chris - success! Mission 3: Karoake with Claudia - failure Mission 4: Do Cyberbots Style Jin Saotome - success! Mission 5: Show Claudia Eternal Slumber, Blodia Vulcan, Great Cyclone - success! Mission 6: Try not to do things last minute as a team - absolute failure Mission 7: Revise Jin's shoulder spikes to Version 1.0 - success! Mission 8: Hidden Agenda #5 - failure On to the chilling conclusion! Episode 4! Saotome Family Feud is a production by AGSMA ©. Anything Goes School of Masquerade Arts (AGSMA) ©. The Anything Goes School of Masquerade Arts (AGSMA) and all content, including pictures, on this page (unless otherwise noted) is copyright to AGSMA, and cannot be used without prior permission. This page hosted by this Provider. |