Fanime 2010: Day 4
It was a chaotic morning. The guys stuffed their clothes into suitcases and played League of Legends while I meticulously folded my dirty laundry into my suitcase.
We spent the next few hours shopping. Protip: Don’t put off your shopping till the last day in hopes that everything will be marked down. Instead, you’ll find that not only is everything still the same price, but that lovely large-breasted anime figurine with the removable skirt you’d been ogling for days might also be gone (sigh).
My goal for the day was to purchase the perfect gift for Steven. He has a purple Pikmin plush he adores, and I had spent the last three days searching for a friend for it. Unfortunately, the purple one is the only cute one and Steven only likes cute things. I considered something Prinny-related, but I didn’t know enough about Disgaea to get him something I know he’d enjoy.
Sadly, the thing Derrick had been wanting for days, a shirt that cleverly played on the word “hentai,” was completely sold out. We also found that the Miku concert tee was now only available in small. Derrick and Sam moaned in agony.
Derrick was considering getting the shirt anyway, since he is able to fit into a small, but he prefers not to because it emphasizes his moobs (man-boobs). However, luckily for him, I saw that the display shirt that was hanging above us was a medium. After buying that for $37 (I guess it was worth it for the official Miku t-shirt), Derrick also purchased a small plush Suicune that he lovingly cradled for the rest of the trip.
Watching Derrick play with his Suicune, I was reminded of Steven. I honestly thought my boyfriend was the only one who could spend hours playing with small plushies and hug them when sleeping. Guess not.
The Pokémon plushies available were all new-gen, so I didn’t keep my expectations high. However, after walking around a bit, I saw surrounded by a mass of Naruto keychains and other useless paraphernalia: a small Charmander plushie.
Steven is very specific. He loves cute, small plushies to play with. His favorite Pokémon has been Charmander since he was in the second grade (which is also when he pooped his pants).
To my dismay, I discovered it was fuzzy (not soft and silky like Derrick’s Suicune), but Derrick insisted it was cute. Remembering that Steven and Derrick think alike, I trusted his judgment and decided to buy it. And the fact that this was the only Charmander we had seen at Fanime and that I couldn’t be too picky.
After handing me the Charmander to look at, the vendor seemed to forget about me and walked away. I shifted my eyes.
Julia: He walked away…
Derrick: Yes, he did.
Julia: What should I do…?
Derrick: You wait.
So I did. And I paid for it. I later asked Derrick if he knew of my kleptomaniacal intent and he said, of course, that he does know me, after all. I asked him why he stopped me and he bellowed, “IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A GIFT!”
Oh. Yeah.
Sam ended up not buying anything at all. We later spotted a beautiful Clannad artbook and Sam strongly hinted that he wanted it. In fact, I think he may have said something like, “I WANT IT.”
Derrick and I said something like, “You can get it as a birthday present to yourself!”
We did end up splitting the cost of it and told Sam we bought it for me just for shiggles. For some reason Sam believed us. What an idiot. We did eventually reveal that it was for him, though, and he was really happy.
Before splitting for SoCal, we stopped by Target. Armed with several bags of candy and two tubes of Pringles, we were ready to leave for home.
Goodbye, Fanime. See you again, hopefully!