If this sounds like a lot to do in one morning, well, that would
be because it streched well into the afternoon. Soooo, we were, um, a
teensy bit late to the 'thon (and we escaped the car park without a
ticket). And seeing as all the people with enough manners to arrive on
time had taken all the seats, Aderyn and I made ourselves a little cushy
OBSSE fort on the floor in the back of the room. Oh my, how many people's
heads suffered my misdirected coin tosses from behind the sofa? Following
the traditions set on buses and classrooms everywhere, the back was the
best place for this duo, as we were whispering and giggling and snarking
and otherwise disrupting the polite hush of the other viewers.
Well, that's how it was *most* of the time.
Everyone found enough energy to run out to the ice-cream truck during
"Redux II," which was a fairly energetic hour in general. The OBSSE posse
had to let the pence and pounds (1 and 2 denominations are coins) fly for
Our Saint's compassionate command of "If I can save you, let me." It's a
small world after all as I found that Scullyists around the globe
appreciate the wisdom of TBO's brother's "You're one sorry son of a
bitch." Clink, clink, clink. And the humor of Scrunchy Face knows no
international boundaries.
Aderyn, la artiste, also found time to henna-tattoo me my very own
ouroborous with expert precision. :-)
I've seen the bloopers too many times to laugh anymore, but it was a true
joy to watch people seeing them for the first time. :-)
Then, we watched "Triangle." Before Mulder was even dragged onboard, the
room suddenly was crackling with energy. Now in its 14th hour (it *was* a
Marathon, after all), with participants in pajamas and eyes dreamily half
open, the UK Scullython became alive and kickier than the curry we had for
dinner (yum). People sat up at attention, eyes brightened, speech became
frequent, loud, pressured (clinical term), and overlapping. Why? The
Terrible British Accents, of course! Ev'rybody had somethin' to say.
"Oh, that accent! Like that sounds like *anybody*!"
"I mean, listen to that! First he's Scottish---" [A finger stabs the air
at an invisible map of the UK] "-and then he's Cockney!" [Finger draws a
southeastern line and stabs at another point] "C'mon! It's a completely
different country!"
"And that! Where's *he* from?!?!" [Whah's he froom?!]
The indignant discussion continued for another 10 minutes until
someone suggested they chuck pence instead to protest. Oh, the copper rain
that fell from all corners! Heck, when I caught my breath after laughing
to myself in the corner during the entire exchange, even I had to throw
some money in for Kersh's "We goin' to Jamaica!" debacle. And ya know,
they were 100%, completely correct on every point (though I confess to
tittering even today when I hear "Whah's he froom?!" in my head). :-) It
was a perfect treat for me during my Cultural Exchange. In fact, it was
one of the few points of Cultural Exchange that didn't involve
taste-testing every single treat attendees brought. "[Cadbury Crunchy...mint
Clubs...Digestives--which have no laxatives in them <wink at the UK crew>
(Homer drool).]"
We were up until 4am at this slumber-party 'thon, when everyone
tucked into their sleeping bags. I continued my missionary duties five
hours later when we awoke and watched "X-Cops," now a hit on both sides of
the Pond, even with people who have never seen "Cops." I loved everyone we
met and am so grateful that my first overseas excursion involved so many
lovely hours with natives who made me feel at home, 4000 miles away.
AJ and I crept into the 'thon, some two hours late <oops>. We spotted the prime location immediately - behind the sofa. It was not exactly the best position for viewing episodes, but it was an excellent place to set up the OBSSE creative corner. We multi-tasked our way through the 'thon, by writing, painting tattoos, eating snacks, and TALKING as quietly as possible throughout the whole affair (we really *tried* to be quiet, dammit.)
We saw lots of those videos that came from anonymous sources and have Not! in front of them. Those videos were of particular interest to me - as were the season seven episodes like "Ted Danson II" which if you'll permit me to be so frank, was a load of [censored to protect the innocent]
There were many fine snacks on offer. Most of them were covered in chocolate, which suited everyone just fine. We cracked open the wine at about 1am, and watched the final episodes - "Tithonus" and "Milagro." I discovered that Pixy Stix and red wine are the perfect combo - although a few sips of this particularly lethal cocktail was enough to make me doze through the last forty minutes of the 'thon. We awoke to watch even more XF the next morning - the boobalicious "En Ami", and finally "X-Cops" - when I got to gaze at something I'd waited months to see - the bubble gum pink hair. ;)
