So this past weekend, Adriann and I flew up to San Francisco to meet Deana and Lauren for Yaoi Con 07. I had super high hopes for the weekend and was so overwhelmingly excited to get to take a random trip with my girlfriend, and though some aspects were a letdown and others just downright depressing, the majority of the weekend was still fun, and getting to hang out with Deana and Lauren is always worthwhile! So here’s the lowdown:
Virgin America
So our flight was due to leave at 4pm. We left work at 2pm, which should (and would) have been just fine…had we not run into TWO accidents on the way. Basically, the traffic was moving incredibly slow and as we inched our way to the dreaded LAX Airport, we realized that we should have left even earlier. And here we had almost wanted to leave at 2:30 and thought we’d have plenty of time!!
So our plan was to park at the long-term parking less than a mile from the airport and take a complimentary shuttle to the airport. Well, we got lost because the freeway spat us out on La Cienega going the wrong way, so Adriann pulled a Mr. Toad and u-turned in the middle of the street and got us semi back on track. We were so late that at this point we probably had 20 minutes to catch our flight. Clock ticking, we decide to park wherever we can find, no matter what parking garage it is or how much. I see a sign that says “Free Parking: Next Left” and scream as much to Adriann to relay it to her. We bust a left and are greeted with two yellow parking signs. The one on the right appears to both of us to say “Free LAX parking” so we pull in. There’s no ticket to grab at the booth, and we’re in such a hurry that we’ve already stopped caring, so we just pull up and park on the second level at the first free spot.
As we’re leaving the parking garage, we realize we may not be in the right place, but we hop on the shuttle that is across the street and hope for the best. The shuttle takes FOREVER because obviously nobody else on the bus was in a hurry to catch their flight leaving in T-minus 15 minutes. We’re freaking out, worried about the parking situation and the slow driver. Of course, our stop is the LAST one, and some girl calls the shuttle for a pickup, so the driver has to pause to wait for her (ended up being at the wrong terminal anyway!). Finally, finally, we get off at the proper place and rush in. We see Virgin America and run to the counter and spot the happy little gay boi behind it.
Exasperated, I say, “We’re here for the 4 o’clock flight to San Francisco!!”
He laughs and says, “It’s been delayed until 5pm.”
At this point, we release our breath and are hysterical with happiness. We get our boarding passes, grab our stuff and proceed through security and have a seat at our terminal. A delayed flight seemed like such an incredible thing. We figured getting to Frisco at 6pm isn’t too bad and we can wait it out and maybe grab a bite to eat (we hadn’t eaten much for lunch — some cheese and crackers — because we had to take our checks to the bank). As we’re waiting at the terminal, the lady comes on the intercom and lets us know that the flight may be delayed longer due to a flat tire. We’re thinking, “Okay, no worries! As long as we leave by 7 or so, we can still have a good evening in the city!”
5pm rolls by. 6pm. Finally, they let us know that our flight’s been canceled. The plane was in bad shape apparently. Something about the flat tire getting caught in something or something something dark side… Either way, they let us know that they were going to try and get as many of us on various other flights as possible. The rest of us would have to wait for another plane to fly in and take its place.
Long story cut a bit short, our flight didn’t leave until 11:30pm. Yep, we were stranded at the airport for around 7 1/2 hours. Virgin America ended up giving Adriann and I vouchers for $100 off our next VA flight as well as two $10 meal cards to eat at the airport. And in their defense, their planes are effing AWESOME and I’d love to fly with them again…but I feel like we’ll never get to our destination. x.x
So yeah, Virgin America = small domestic fleet and horrible mechanics but really awesome planes with plenty of leg room, nice seats, and video game, movie, and music consoles built into every seat.
Oh yeah, and our return flight was delayed about 2 hours. ;)
Yaoi Con
Having gone to Anime Con several months ago, I guess I assumed Yaoi Con was going to be just as big and just as overwhelmingly cool, with rows and rows of doujinshi (fan comics) and Deana and I had plans to buy Yaoi Paddles that said Seme (dominant/top) and Uke (submissive/bottom). But the dealer room itself was really…small. I was underwhelmed so much that it was disappointing to say the least. I had thought previously there would be two dealer rooms, so after I’d perused the entirety of the first one, I assumed there’d be more. Then, we found out there wasn’t…and I was a bit peeved.
The highlight of the dealer room, however, was a picture I found, drawn and Photoshopped by one of our favorite artists that we had previously met at Anime Con. At AC, we bought bookmarks from her (I got a Draco one, Adriann bought a Snape) and Adriann also got a cute little chibi Remus keychain. This time, she had a picture…
It’s really…really…really…hard to describe how beautiful the picture is. I’d love to scan it and show you all, but I feel like the artist may not want that. Let me attempt with words to describe it. If you don’t like Yaoi or are weirded out by Snape/Harry pairings, please don’t read.
It’s fall. There are leaves scattered and falling, casting beautiful shadows over a gray statue bust. The bust is of Severus Snape, probably standing over his grave. Harry Potter stands before it, leaning in, his eyes mostly closed and his nose brushing the cold, unyielding stone of Snape’s. They are mere inches from kissing, a small hesitation between them, and the look on Harry’s face is just so heartbroken and overwhelmingly beautiful.
Again, I don’t know how my words could do it justice. I stared at it, told the artist how incredible it was over and over again, and bought it on the spot. $9. $9!! I basically walked around with the picture in front of my face the whole way home. It made my heart ache. It’s not even so much about Snape and Harry being together romantically as it is about Snape’s dying wish to see Lily’s eyes that haunts me and that makes this picture so much more than anything I’ve ever seen. She captured a weird moment that I could see being cannon in the series, even if it isn’t and I know that. I’ve never really been so overwhelmed by a picture. I’m still in awe.
It inspired me to write, so I started a brief ficlet that’s mostly canon but slightly slashy. If anyone would like to read, please let me know. I may post some here.
Okay, so back to a recap. I forgot to mention that a girl cosplaying Lucius Malfoy verbally spanked me for hanging out with Gryffindors (I was Snape, btw, and Deana was Sirius and Adriann was Remus). It was pretty funny and randomly cute. After the dealer room, we basically left the Con and went to visit the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a little terrifying for me, considering I hate bridges (you know…the whole “over water” kind of thing…), but being with Adriann there, knowing she’d always wanted to see it like this, made me extremely happy. After that, we ate at a little Chinese place and didn’t have much time for anything else. I will say, though, that downtown San Francisco is sooo similar to New York. It was pretty cool.
After that, we had tickets for the Bishounen Auction. For those of you unfamiliar with bishounen (or “bishies” as they’re called), bishies are basically “pretty boys”. They don’t necessarily have to be gay, but at Yaoi Con, it helps! ;) The Bishounen Auction is an event where bishies are auctioned off to the waiting crowd and the boys you bid on are yours to um…”do with as you please” until 2am. They had rules and such, but it’s basically a chance to bid on a pretty boy date for the night. If I were a manga artist, I’d have bid on a boy to draw, because the bishies they had were EXQUISITE.
Without going into incredible detail, there were a couple boys in drag (singing songs morphed to yaoi standards from things like the Producers and other musicals), a couple who more or less had sex on stage (clothes on, mind you), and others who put on an awesome Lestat Vs Captain Norrington show that honestly lasted for fifteen minutes and came complete with a cast, soundtrack of Pirates of the Caribbean music, and great costumes! The guy playing Lestat was lovely, as was Norrington.
A couple of the bishies sold for over $1,000, which blew my mind. There was one cute boy who had dark skin and wore a white wig, had kitten ears and a tail, and was beautiful. I…wanted him. =^__^= I’d have bid my life savings for him. He was awesome.
Ehem. So yay for Yaoi! I got some nice mangas and a GREAT picture. All in all, the bishie auction and Snarry picture made Yaoi Con worthwhile and hanging out with Deana and Lauren made the rest of the weekend an awesome trip, though quick!
And this weekend…I might get to see Angel!!!!!! :D :D this is huge news for me. <3
