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CON REPORT: YAOI CON 2003By LLLFriday:Arrived in San Francisco International around 10:30 a.m. After finding the airport shuttle (not an easy task as there were no signs), I hopped aboard and was deposited in front of the hotel. Met up with the Y-crew (Poo, DC, Artemis, Susan, Jana, and Devil Kitty) in the hotel lobby. Since registration didn't open until 4 p.m., we decided to make good use of the time and do a bit of sight-seeing. After braving the San Francisco bus system (not bad!), we made it to Japan Town and hit the main mall. We went to the bookstore (can't remember the name) and it was wall-to-wall manga! And, I swear, it was like they new the convention was going on that weekend, because all of the Yaoi titles were right up front. (Found out later that the store is always arranged thus. Lucky San Franciscans!!) I purchased a Usagi Ujimbo calendar for ISOE and got myself a very nice J-E, E-J dictionary and a couple of very thick grammar books. I could really open my own Japanese instructional bookstore at this point. After the bookstore, we broke into separate groups and thus proceeded the "Where are they now?" hour, during which those of us who knew where we were asked about the various others who went missing now and again. Finally, we all gathered together and went to lunch. Sushi, of course. Also, we had some EXCELLENT plum wine (Hanasen, I think). The Maitre D let us take the bottle with us so we could find our own. Never did, though. So sad. Next up: Chinatown. Another bus trip took us to the famous location. We stood in awe of the Pagoda, which denotes the entrance into Chinatown. We walked...and walked...and walked...and walked, looking for some store that DC remembered selling Gundam Wing stuff. Oh, and a liquor store to find the Plum wine. There were a ton of stores selling some really pretty jade, and clothing, and bags, and... It was hard not to stop and gawk at every store. Didn't find the wine. Did find some GW things, though I'm not sure it was the same store DC had in mind. By then, it was nearly 4 p.m. and we decided to head back to the hotel for registration. Most of the routes led uphill (San Fran, you know?) so we picked the path of least resistance. Poo wanted to take the cable car back to the hotel, but it would have taken us too far out of the way. Sorry, Poo!! On the way back to the hotel, DC and I stopped at the record store when I saw that the new Bond album was out. A classically trained string quartet with a rock edge. They're terrific! Once back at the hotel, DC, Artemis, Susan and I headed to our room to put down our purchases. I got a phone call from LS, asking how everything was going. Since I'm all innocent and stuff, the fact that she was asking really detailed questions about when I was going down to registration, etc., raised no suspicions. I should have known better. After ALL of her protesting that she would NEVER come to Y-con because she was afraid of the GW fans (don't know why!), there she was in the lobby, looking all smug and stuff. She is evil. 'nough said. Although, Ayame was VERY glad that Hatori had deigned to show up at the con. Hee! Registration was an interesting affair. Rather than the usual cattle call, there was a, well, cattle call. They handed out letters and we were called in groups. Those awaiting their turns were kept entertained with, what else, yaoi anime! Gravitation was showing and Artemis and Susan, who cosplay and excellent Shuichi and Yuki, were sitting directly in front of the monitor, studying the reference material closely. Quite funny! After registration was done, it was time to get into the cosplay spirit. Duo and Heero arrived at the con and Hilde (yours truly!) made an appearance as well. We all went to the GW discussion group while LS went to Yaoi Bingo. I was a little nervous, after all, Hilde IS Heero's rival for Duo, right? But, the boys protected me valiantly and everything was fine. Met lots of folks at the panel, especially some authors I'd heard about or read but never met. Always fun! Once the discussion group was over, I headed over to Yaoi Bingo to find LS. And what to my wondering eyes did appear? Why it was Shiki, the con mascot! This man is so pretty, words don't begin to describe it! He was running around in black leather pants and an undone black shirt handing out bingo cards. Five over here please! As for the game, the rules were, win a game, you get a choice of stripping the bingo bisshie or getting a prize. Ah, Harley. The bingo bisshie. Just think Hugh Jackman about 10 years ago in partially removed military fatigues. *sigh* 'Twas a beautiful thing. There were many more guys at the con this year and three of them won in a row. All but one chose to strip the bisshie, making for some interesting pictures! Finally, Harley was down to a little pair of leather briefs. The lucky woman who got the last bingo got to go behind a screen (to the GREAT disappointment of the rest of us!) to witness the final unveiling. The briefs were tossed atop the screen as proof. We heard quite a bit of giggling from the winner. Lucky thing! At last, they emerge, the winner smiling and Harley disappointingly clad in a robe. Oh well. I'm sure the con made a killing off of the event so it's sure to reappear next year! Hung out with LS for a bit after the event. Then she went to bed and I went to find the others. DC, Jana, Duo, and Heero along with two girls cosplaying Drs. J and G (very good costumes, BTW) and some other people were in the upper lobby, having fun with a couple of Duo and Heero plushies that Jana made. The things they were doing with those puppets. It was hilarious! Finally, realizing that I'd been up for over 24 hours with the time change and all, I wisely decided to crash and prepare myself for the next, fun-filled day. Saturday:Got up early Saturday morning and LS and I began our adventures in the Dealer's Room. We won't go into the total damage. It's too depressing. I finally got to meet Tricia in person! She's terrific and so talented! I have aspirations of writing original slash fiction and she is definitely an inspiration. LS and I also hit the art show to see if there was anything we wanted to bid on. There wasn't too much, however, as always, I was enticed into bidding on a Kitsune piece. Most of my art purchases (a conservative nine in all) were from Sihaya and Ponderosa in the hallway and Artist Alley. Love them both! Guess I feel proud about putting her through school single-handedly. ^__^ Went to breakfast with LS and then we attended the Male-Male Eroticism in Edo Japan workshop. Very interesting! The panelist discussed the history of love between men during the height of the Samurai rule and the effect it had on the literature and art of the day. This was the culture that led to what we now know as Yaoi. Didn't do too much in the way of workshops on Saturday after that. LS and I hung out with the rest of the Y-crew and caught lunch at the Thai restaurant in the hotel. Tricia was there with her mom! Her mom is as cool as she is. My mother wouldn't be caught dead at what basically amounts to a porn convention. Then, it was time for my very first panel. Jade invited me to be on her Writing Lemony panel, along with several other, very talented writers. I was extremely nervous, but that didn't last after I got my chance to speak. Never have had much difficultly opening my big mouth in public. ^__^ Each of the panelist touched on a different aspect of writing, including keeping the mood and the psychology involved. I talked about, of course, writing AU, since that's almost all I do. After my panel was over, I met LS for the Fruits Basket discussion group. We were cosplaying as Ayame and Hatori, so were quite a hit at the panel. However, our thunder was rightfully stolen by my darling otouto-chan, Sihaya, who crashed the panel as Yuki in the pink dress. She was a riot!!! Here is a terrific pic of her. After the discussion group, I rushed to the second installment of the AMV workshop while LS went to the Girls Wanna Know panel. I headed there as soon as the workshop was over. The GWK panel consists of a panel of gay men who basically answer any question the audience might put to them about being a gay man. They are simply the best!! There were many more panelists this year. The two regulars, David and Scooter X, were joined by a great group of friends. This is definitely a highlight of the con and I hope it remains a regular part of the program. LS and I skipped the cosplay contest in favor of dinner. And, I had to find a vacuum bag to pack the four hand-painted pillows I bought in the Dealer's Room. I don't know WHAT I was thinking! However, I found the bag and a helpful member of housekeeping brought a vacuum up to my room, allowing me to condense the pillows, and my Hilde and Ayame costumes, into a minuscule size. That evening, we met up with everyone for the Bisshie Auction. Saw Sihaya in the hall in an excellent Hisoka (Yami no Matsuei) costume. She had even drawn on the curse sigils. Very impressive! This time, there were 20 hot boys up for sale. Some crowd favorites returned, like Shiki, M, and, my personal favorite, shy kitty boy. Next year, he's all mine! ^__~ There were several real characters in the auction and none of the guys were ashamed to explore their bi-curious sides! It got pretty raunchy at several points when previously auctioned bisshies took it upon themselves to strip the current bisshie and commence in make out sessions on stage. The crowd loved it and I'm sure the Y-con treasurer was thrilled with the results! Shiki came in at a respectable $360 or so. A Neo cosplayer went for $400 because he kept refusing to strip. If only he knew that that made up want him all the more! And, finally, there was Harley. He was the last one up and the bidding for him came down to the official Yaoi Con artist and the guest of honor, Sakurai Shushushu-sensei. It was intense. The price shot up as Harley preened and posed for the audience, wearing only a pair of angel wings and leather briefs. Eventually, Sakurai-sensei ran out of money. But, never fear! The audience came to her rescue. Donations flew her way (LS and I gave her $40 to the cause), and the poor woman looked like a deer in headlights as she held a large wad of strange US currency. The bidding paused at $550 to allow Sakurai-sensei, or rather her translator, to count how much money she had. The grand total: $1000. That was it for the auction. Congrats Sakurai-sensei!! I heard a rumor that Harley will be a uke in her upcoming manga. *DROOL!* LS and I decided to skip the dance if favor of sleep. I actually went looking for the others and found DC and Jana having fun in the lobby with Jana's Heero and Duo plushies. So cute! Pictures were being taken of Dians and Susan (Duo and Heero) and the doctors J and G. I left them to go practice my songs for the karaoke contest and then hit the hay. Sunday:Got up at a decent hour and got breakfast before going to the Karaoke contest. I wore the t-shirt I'd bought the day before from PL Nunn. It was a picture of the G-boys in lingerie! Hilarious! The songs ranged from "Sobakasu" from Kenshin to a VERY impressive "Messiah" from Angel Sanctuary. The contestants were all very good. Especially as last minute entry, a Japanese girl named Hiromi. She blew us away and rightfully took first place. I came in at third place, having sung "Amethyst Remembrance" from Yami no Matsuei for the qualifying round and "Real Folks Blues" from Cowboy Bebop for the finals. Not bad, considering it was 10 a.m. I was mainlining hot tea, let me tell you. Won a couple of nice manga and some other good swag. During the contest, the video room was showing Kizuna 3 and LS and I keep hopping between the contest and the video room. Love that OVA! *sigh* We also caught part of Boku no Sucky Sucky, an absolutely hysterical Boku no Seku Hara parody. Must see the entire thing one of these years! LS and I checked on our pieces in the art show and then got a bite to eat. We split up after that. I went to the Original Yaoi panel, wonderfully hosted by Tricia. I learned some very good tips for how to get your original works published. It's daunting but not impossible! After that, LS and I stopped by the What's Your Kink panel. Anything goes at this panel. It's basically a chance to reveal your innermost, most whacked-out fantasies. I didn't have to guts to speak up. ^__^ LS and I left the panel to attend the art auction. It was pretty tame compared to some other auctions I've attended. All of the prices were kept to reasonable amounts and we didn't go broke. The best part was that several of the members of the Bisshie Auction were the art, er, whores. They walked around, showing the pieces to the audience. The winning bidder got the artwork, plus the right to spank the bisshie. Nice! Closing ceremonies were next. I won and award, along with LS, for my entries in the t-shirt and flier contests. I took pictures in Home Depot and at the Washington Monument, wearing last year's con t-shirt and holding up this year's con flier, respectively. We got some very nice jewelry! That pretty much did it for the con. After that, our only concern was where to get dinner before the exodus to the airport began. I hung out with Sihaya in Artists Alley for a bit, just chatting since I hadn't really had a chance to see her much during the con. Love my otouto-chan!! ^___^ After about an hour and a half spent trying to round up everyone, a huge group of us went to an Italian restaurant across from the hotel for dinner. Then, LS and I gathered our things and headed to the airport to return to depressing reality. And, so ends LLL's report for Yaoi-Con 2003! Also see LS's Y-Con report!! |