#fun fact: August was originally meant to be a sort of self insert

[klutzytomb]

Meet August Devlin

[annacwrites]

the wip list

Alright, gang. Buckle up. This is going to be a long one, and at this point I can’t even bring myself to be sorry about it. I meant to put this off but then I started thinking about it, so here we are (at 1:05 in the morning when I have to work at 8:30, what am I doing?). 

I’m going to break this down in a couple of ways—fanfiction vs. original fiction, fandom (if it’s a fanfic), series/universe (if it’s in one), and then the individual books themselves (if I have the ability to do that, because quite frankly, for some of these I don’t because I have no idea what the titles are or where I’m splitting the story yet).

Also, “WIP” is an incredibly broad term here. In some cases it means I’ve already written the whole thing but I plan to 100% rewrite it (and haven’t started yet). In some cases it means I’ve written half of the thing but haven’t finished yet. In some cases it means I have it all outlined but haven’t started writing yet. In some cases it means I haven’t really touched an outline on paper yet but I have it all worked out in my head. Take the “in progress” part of WIP with a grain of salt.

(Putting this whole thing under the cut because it is so freaking long. I apologize if the read-more doesn’t work on your dash. Idk what tumblr is doing.)  

Starting off easy—the fics:

Harry Potter: (JKR can fuck off with her transphobia and cultural appropriation and all the other stupid and fucked-up shit that she’s done/promoted but, as I said to my friends, she can pry my next-gen fanfics from my cold dead hands. Cursed Child is not canon in my life because I’ve never read it and I don’t care what nonsense she came up with.)

The “In Your Arms I’ll Stay” universe (Tedtoire/Scorose): 

The first fic in this universe is the first fic I ever finished. 110k words followed up by a ~137k word sequel. It is a disaster and a half but it’s also my baby and I fully intend to rewrite it one of these days. It is full of standard Tedtoire trope-y nonsense—best friends since childhood! two-year age gap! jealousy about other relationships! obliviousness!—and at 15 I thought it was a really good idea to try to turn it into a mystery too, which is a mistake that I have every intention of rectifying because it was unnecessary and I just didn’t know how to do drama and tension back then. 

Anyway. It will probably be two parts again when I rewrite it because one part per school year just works, yeah? We’re covering Vic’s fifth/Teddy’s seventh year and Vic’s sixth year/Teddy’s first year out of school over the course of these parts.

Within this universe we also have Heartbeat and Bone, which is a Scorose fic that I’ve written probably 75% of already but have no intention of actually finishing before I rewrite it. I want to get the stories in the right order so that I can get details straightened out, so Teddy and Victoire get the rewrites first and then I’ll be revisiting this fic. Also full of trope-y nonsense (and my continued acceptance of the headcanon that the Heads have their own dormitory at Hogwarts, because it’s just too much fun that way).  

some things were meant to be (Tedtoire):

Oh god, another fic with a cliché title taken from Can’t Help Falling In Love. I have zero regrets because it fits them perfectly.

This one is... half-done? I fully intend to finish it but I need to finish the outline first. It was my 2019 NaNoWriMo project and I am 100% just writing it for the lols (and because Teddy and Vic are like... my comfort ship where writing is concerned). I wanted to play with a different universe and change up their relationship and roles at school a bit, but once again... trope-y nonsense. It’s unavoidable with them. There is obliviousness everywhere. 

Star Wars: (it’s Reylo, okay? It’s Reylo. I don’t want to hear it about how the ship is ~so terrible.~ That is literally the furthest thing in the world from a hot take, you can’t say a single thing that I haven’t heard before, and I’m a grown adult and can do what I want. Bite me.)

looking for the map that leads me home (Reylo): 

Stole the title on this one from We Take Care of Our Own by Bruce Springsteen, because why the fuck not, right? 

To put it simply: musician AU. To put it a little less simply: he’s got a dead career, she wants to have even the slightest shot at one, Rose is the best, Poe’s a singing heartthrob, Finn is a love-struck goofball. You know, all that fun stuff. The entire thing is based on a playlist that I made and every chapter has a song that acts as its theme. I haven’t touched it since January 2018. I want to finish it eventually but it’s not really at the top of the priority list. 

There’s a few other fics from other fandoms that I’ve started and never finished but the odds of me touching them again are like... nonexistent, so I’m not including them here. I’ll update this post if anything changes on that front (but it probably won’t).

Now for the complicated part—the original fiction:

Maker’s Magic 

This is a trilogy (or at least, it’s supposed to be). This is also a rewrite of the first story I ever finished—the fantasy novel that I wrote for my first-ever Camp NaNoWriMo back in August of 2011, when I had literally no clue what I was doing at all and essentially stole the plot structure from The Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and built my own story around it. This is not a good way to write a piece of fiction that you want to publish, kids, but it is a damn good way to get your feet wet when you’ve never really written before.

I am reworking this story entirely from scratch. The characters are... kind of the same as the original story. Kind of. Maybe. I’ve changed a few names and merged a few people together and scrapped some others and entirely shifted the backstory of pretty much everyone, but... they’re definitely still the same, right? 

Basically, at this point the plot is really only similar to The Obsidian Trilogy in that we’ve got a trilogy, we’ve got some elves, and it’s your standard good vs. evil fantasy story (in its own unique fashion, of course). I’m still working out the details of this rewrite, but this is kind of the Holy Grail of all of my writing projects and the one that I’m most concerned about getting right, so I’m anticipating that I’ll be in it for the long haul on this one. I’m hoping I might be able to get a draft of the first book done this year, but... we’ll see.

(I also don’t want to give too many details about this project, ‘cause it’s the one that I’d really like to maybe publish one day, so...)

The Willow Hill universe

This started as a single story plus a standalone sequel set in the same universe, conceptualized when I was fourteen and missing horseback riding terribly (so yes, it is a story for all those Weird Horse Girls™ out there). I wrote a good portion of it, then deleted it, then rewrote the entire thing, then deleted it again a few years ago because I was no longer satisfied with the writing quality (after hitting top 100 on the Teen Fiction list on Wattpad way back when, so... I didn’t do too badly as a 16-year-old, but the writing still sucked). I’ve been promising a rewrite to my Wattpad followers since 2016 or something like that (2014? Whenever the hell it was that I deleted it the second time) but haven’t delivered at all.

I now envision this universe as a duology plus the aforementioned standalone sequel, except it’s not entirely fair to call it a YA duology in that the first book is definitely YA, but the second is more romance-y?

I originally just revealed the main character’s endgame relationship in the epilogue of the story, but I love both her and her boyfriend and their relationship so much that I decided that I’m going to be self-indulgent and write the story of them actually falling in love with each other, so that’s book two (so really, you don’t actually have to read book two to understand anything, I’m just writing it because I want to and it’s also kind of a present to anyone who read the original story when they were also a teenager and is now an adult who wants to read other stuff). 

Book one is now about the teenage struggle of crushes and trying to figure out what it is that you actually want out of your life and what you value (I say “now” because it was definitely way more self-insert-y the first time I wrote it and it is decidedly not at this point). It’s also sort of a love letter to trainers who are amazing and the kind of person we should all be so lucky as to be coached by.

These characters are my comfort characters where original fiction is concerned since they’ve been bouncing around in my head for the last ten years or so, and I’m hoping I can get at least the first book rewritten in the next year-ish, partly because I’ve been promising it for so long, and partly because I just really enjoy this world and I want to get back to it again.

The Coffee Shop Chronicles

AKA, I lived in one coffee shop on my university campus for pretty much the entirety of my college experience and it was a very inspiring place to be, so this has less to do with coffee shop AUs and more to do with the fact that I met several of my favorite human beings on this earth over a vanilla chai latte and mutual sass with the baristas.

(One of said baristas is very near and dear to me and introduced me to another regular who is now a very good friend with the statement “You’re both sarcastic assholes. You’ll love each other.”) 

None of the characters in this universe are based on actual human beings whom I know, but I liked the idea of the campus coffee shop serving as this thing that tangentially connected all of these people to one another, much in the way that I am tangentially connected to god knows how many people via my barista friend. Essentially, the idea is that the stories in this universe are all standalone, but the characters sometimes cross paths with one another at Caffeinated, so it’s sort of... Easter-egg-y in terms of who pops up where in which story. 

Currently I only have two stories in this universe that are legitimately plotted out, but there is room for any number of spin-offs based on whichever characters show up in those stories (or don’t—that’s the fun of it being a coffee shop. The barista is the only reliable character). Those two stories are as follows:

Chance Encounters (title so totally subject to change, also stealing the terribly summary from the Wattpad draft that never saw the light of day):

For Bennett McGuire, things with guys just didn't seem to want to go her way. From the disasters that were her attempts at dating in high school to the problem that had been Elijah Becker, she hadn't exactly had the best luck. With all that in mind, it made perfect sense to swear off dating until she finished college—that is, it made sense until one frozen day in February when Gordon Evans walked into her life. After that, who was to say what would happen?

What’s Your Metaphor? (once again, enjoy the terrible summary from the Wattpad draft that never was. I am cringing reading it but also too tired to come up with anything better):

"What's the point?" 

It's a question asked widely, for all sorts of reasons, and it's one that April Hayes didn't know the answer to any better than anyone else. All she knew was that she had her plan, and she was going to stick to it, because it was the only thing that seemed to have any sort of logic to it in her life. The things she thought, the things she believed—well, they all fell before the plan, because she didn't have time to ask herself "What's the point?"

That is, she didn't have the time to know the answer—her answer—until one guy by the name of Drew Collier showed up and made her consider things that she had never even thought of before.

High Blood

Yinz can go read my WIP introduction post for this one. It’s a fantasy story. Just for the hell of it, here’s the summary from said WIP introduction post: 

At the age of seventeen, Thessaly of Averak had a choice—take the crown of her people and her place as her father’s heir, or set it aside to become one of the High Warriors, dedicated to protecting their people and the country that her long-dead ancestor Enred built after leading its citizens out of a long and bloody war. Amidst raids and famine at the borders, she gave up her crown to better serve the people that her family rules.

Ten years later, all is quiet. At least, all is quiet until Beca’s pendant is stolen by a thief who disappears into the night on the journey back from the summer palace, Tess gets herself stabbed, and the discovery is made that the rock-solid foundations of their family’s claim to the throne—and the peace that depends upon them—are laced with hairline fractures.

(I didn’t write anything to speak of for Camp NaNo July 2020 and actually wound up deleting my project for this on the NaNo site because my dad was hit by a car while cycling the Friday before the weekend when I was planning to write like... 30k words to catch up, so obviously I gave up on that plan (he is doing well now, thank you for asking). I’m hoping I’ll get around to this one eventually because this particular universe arguably has the most potential for having multiple stories set in it, fantasy-wise.)

Emerson’s Lights

Natalie Flynn has been best friends with Evan Acheson practically since birth. They've stuck together through thick and thin, from her braces in seventh grade to his jump to stardom as a singer-songwriter their freshman year of college. 

She’d do anything for him, but spending a week with him on tour involves a lot more than she bargained for, culminating in the turn of events that is Caleb Blake, lead singer and primary songwriter of opening act Emerson’s Lights, moving into her house for the better part of a month.

She always knew there would be complications being the best friend of a rock star, but this? This was one that she didn’t bet on.

(Aka, girl meets boy in a band trope. Yay.)

(NaNoWriMo 2020 project)

The famous musician story (this thing doesn’t have a title right now and I’m not even going to try)

Stupid, trope-y nonsense idea that I came up with for my own personal amusement and nothing else. I’ve written a few chapters of it but genuinely have no idea where this falls in the hierarchy of things that I want to get done. Long story short, she’s in grad school for history, he’s a famous musician in town recording for a new album, they meet in the library, she pretends she has no idea who he is, and shenanigans ensue.

And that is where I think I’m going to leave it. There’s four other stories that I can think of off the top of my head that I could theoretically add to this list, but they are legitimately just ideas right now so they can be added at a later date when they’ve manifested themselves a little more strongly. There’s also another quartet in the Willow Hill universe that I came up with in high school that could theoretically be added but I think I might just steal those character names and give them their own little world instead. We’ll see.

Basically, if you didn’t get the point from this list: I am working on a lot of things, and when I say I’m writing, it could mean literally anything on this list (or any of the other ideas that I have floating around). The stories/universe here are the most likely candidates for my time, depending on whether I’m doing a deep dive into my writing or just playing around with something fun, and hopefully (god, hopefully) I’ll be able to move one or two of these to a “completed works” list in the next year(ish). 

(Or at least, as complete as a draft ever gets before you start going in on it again.)

[flowermikonotebook]

Meeting Toshihiko Seki - Part 4

I had this finished a month ago but once again like usual, real life gets in the way of me editing it. But it’s time to finish like I swore I would, even if it took me this long. So here it is, the final day of meeting Toshihiko Seki & perhaps the most important day with lessons to be learned & a total fangirl confession...oh my!

Again, as a disclaimer, what’s written is entirely my personal opinion, although I’ve striven to the best of my ability to recall as much as possible purely from memory. All my questions are Saiyuki related. It’s a long read, so TL-DRs beware, and I meant it when I say it’s long. Otherwise thank you for stopping by and enjoy!

Sunday, August 7th: The Third Autograph and the Last Q&A

The time change was probably throwing me slightly off (Vancouver is two hours behind Houston time). Nonetheless, it felt great to wake up a little “earlier” than usual when in fact I was sleeping my longer usual hours on the weekend! Besides, Saturday’s events had left me tired to say the least. I decided to take my time that morning prior to going to the last autograph session & go on a short ride through Vancouver’s SkyTrain high speed rail and take a few pictures for my family.

But! By roughly around noon I was back at the Vancouver Convention Centre for one last autograph from Seki-san. My final CD choice for today would be Sanzo’s Character CD from 2013. Still, a part of me kept regretting not having brought back up items to be signed (I had intended to bring one Minekura wall-scroll but ultimately forgot to grab it from my room).

The Autograph Tables with Romi Park (from the AniRevo Closing Ceremonies Video)

Same as the previous days, I lined up in the VIP line with my CD in hand. Tara was already there in line and we started talking while we waited for the autographs to begin. I took a look to the side and spotted Seki-san along with Shiori & other helpers walking by to the wall far to our right. Nothing stood out other than them eventually coming back around to behind the dividing curtain behind the autograph tables.

I can’t remember how soon it happened after that, but as I continued to talk with Tara & another fan about wanting to find some other item to get signed, suddenly the loudspeaker came on: it was Seki-san speaking in English!

What a random, out of nowhere moment, and I only wish I could remember exactly what he said! All I can recall is him coming on the loudspeaker with a really warm voice saying “Hey! This is Toshihiko Seki from…” and I believed mentioned a few of the series he worked in, along with something how much fun he was having being here. The atmosphere had certainly changed since Friday when he first met up with fans and seemed much more reserved. I noticed this too when I met Suwabe Junichi at AX, but I’ll go into analyzing that some other time. What I am saying is, there’s certainly an effect and a period of guest seiyuus “warming up” to meeting international fans and I’m happy that Seki-san had felt so welcomed and warmed up to us.

Not much later after Seki-san spoke on the loudspeaker, he and Shiori stepped out from behind the curtain and walked to the autograph table. Like on Saturday, we’d let some of the regulars go first, since after all we had at least one signed item already. Before I knew it, my turn to get my autograph came. The next thing I knew, I was wishing I’d kept my “flowermiko” name card I had saved from AX and regretting I couldn’t find it because the moment I got to the table Shiori tells me “today we got more time, so he can sign the album with a dedication to you.”

.  .  . .  .  .

 Needless to say, I was scrambling to find in my bag pen & paper so I could scribble down “FLOWERMIKO” for Seki-san he could copy & autograph my CD. Oh, but getting it signed with my name wasn’t going to be the kicker at all.

As Seki-san is signing my Sanzo Character CD, he suddenly asks me (and Shiori translates) about the meaning behind “flowermiko”. Precisely he asks “Is it a nickname of some sort?”.

You know, one thing is over the years of being a Saiyuki fan coming up with an Original Character/self-insert/you-get-the-drill thing like most fangirls do because you want to romance a guy in the series cause you ain’t into BL either and who cares if in my own private RPs I get to confess & romance Sanzo. But…having to more or less CONFESS to otherwise Sanzo-sama (or Seki-san anyways as the voice of Sanzo) that “flowermiko” is a “code name” for my own original character for Saiyuki is something that would have NEVER -EVER- CROSSED MY MIND that it would happen!

With a thousand thoughts scrambling through my mind & starting to feel a tinge of embarrassment, I try to put together as much of a mildly simple & generic explanation as possible. For the curious, “flowermiko” stands for “cherry blossom miko priestess” which is the code name for my OC “Tenjou Sakura”.

But thoughts pulled together and what felt like taking an inner deep breath, I tell Seki-san “’flowermiko’ is a character inspired by Saiyuki as a ‘companion’ character to Sanzo more or less.”  Simple enough answer, right? However, to my sheer embarrassment and Seki-san’s amusement, he appears to see right through my answer as he looks at me rather very amused and says -very- assured of himself “Ah…I see” (and I still hear this in my mind as “naru hodo” just as he said it).

Honestly, I don’t know if he was more amused at my silly answer, or the fact that I was so flustered about confessing that, or that to him it was pretty obvious the precise kind of Sanzo fangirl that I am. I’m sure my friends would’ve had a field day seeing me in the moment, hah hah (or even better, how much I was flailing my arms and legs in bed later back at my hotel that night thinking back all that actually happened). But I recall back on it fondly. I’m sure it wasn’t anything new to Seki-san to hear how much fans like Sanzo, but I stand by what I’ve been saying since I began writing this: if it wasn’t for how Seki-san has voiced Sanzo and for so long, I don’t think I’d be half as much into him. Minekura-sensei of course created the character, but it’s all Seki-san that truly brings him to life. What can I say? I love Sanzo <3

And after all of that, Seki-san hands me my now autographed CD with a “To flowermiko (from) Seki-san”. I smile and thank him for signing it and we shake hands one last time before I exit the autograph area.

Score! Got Sanzo’s Character CD autographed with my nickname.

As I walked out of the autograph area, I had this lingering feeling that I really wished I could have gotten something else autographed by Seki-san, but what could I? Silly me had left back up items to be signed at home. But I figured for all I knew perhaps in the albeit small dealer’s room, I could find something Saiyuki I could get him to sign. So, I made a quick round around the dealer’s room but found absolutely nothing.

Feeling a little disappointed, I went back to the autograph area to see how Tara & the others were doing. Tara was already lining up to get some more things signed for friends back home. When I tell her how I couldn’t find anything else to get signed, she suggests “Why don’t you get your bag signed?” At first I blinked at her thinking the idea was odd but it quickly began to sink in, well why not?! I was a bit hesitant at first thinking that I didn’t have any fabric markers or anything but Tara told me Seki-san had plenty of different markers at the table.

No room for argument there, so it was decided: I would get my old but beloved baggy autographed. As we talked with the same girl from earlier (she’d lined up again as well to get her badge autographed) I had a sudden idea: I recalled from multiple Saiyuki books that I bought that quite often when an interview with Seki-san was included or some sort of autograph, he would often sign it as “3ZO” (because by now we all agree he IS Sanzo, right?). Most of you probably know it, but the number three in Japanese is pronounced “San” which is also the first kanji of Sanzo’s name is “三” from “三蔵” (San-zo). So, if I could just be this little bit greedy, I wanted to ask him if he could sign my bag exactly like that.

Without hesitation, the moment I get to the table I tell Shiori I would like to have my bag autographed, as well as if she could ask Seki-san if he could sign it as “Sanzo”. I wasn’t sure at first if he’d do it or not, but the writing on my bag spoke for itself: as soon as Seki-san switched out to a better marker that he liked, he wrote “三ZO” followed by his actual autograph.

And like they say, pictures or it didn’t happen, hah hah.

~*~

A close up of Seki-san’s “三ZO” autograph.

I can’t remember how many times I’d seen his “三ZO” autograph through different Saiyuki books, anime guides, shikishi, etc., so between ever getting to meet Seki-san & getting his autograph, getting his Sanzo autograph was the cherry on top of the cake! One more time, because I’d never get tired of saying “thank you” to someone so special to me, I thanked Seki-san and stepped away from the autograph area as things began to wrap up. I ran into Tara & our other friend and showed off my now autographed baggy. I’m so glad she put the idea on my head and convinced me to get it signed—if I hadn’t I think right now I’d instead be kicking myself for it instead of writing about it!

With the last autograph session over, I went wondering about the convention for about an hour while waiting out the time to line up for the last panel. And before I knew it the hour flew by and I was back to the area where everyone lined up for panels. I noticed that the same Japanese girls from the previous day were there once again. I waved hi to them, though I still felt like kicking myself I didn’t even know how to say a thing in Japanese. Honestly, I worry about silly things like “omg, what are they going to think of the big plus sized girl…” not that things like that should matter, right? It’s like I have this incorrect thinking that in Japan there is a stigma against pochacco (“plus size” and there is), because am plus size, I would come off as an unapproachable person. As it turns out, by the end of my time at the convention, I’d learn how completely wrong I was about that.

Perhaps because I had my Saiyuki ita bag with me, it sent off the right signal I am just another fangirl. So, the next thing is I’m suddenly approached by the duo with one of them holding her phone in her hand. Even if we were unable to talk because of the language barrier, she had “Google Translate” open on her phone to try to ask me if anyone had asked Seki-san about the “Saiyuki Reload Blast” anime. I didn’t think about anything else other than I had to somehow reciprocate the effort and try to answer back! I had to think a bit to figure out Google Translate’s garbled version of the question (which came out something like either Saiyuki Blast Bombs or Saiyuki Explosions…), but once I did, it was funny to hear myself pronounce “Sa-i-yu-ki Re-ro-do Bu-ra-su-to” but at least it was clear I understood. So, I type in on my own phone’s Google Translate to reply that none had asked about the new anime but that they certainly were more than welcome to get up and ask during the panel.

A small back and forth starts between the two girls, as if trying to convince one or the other to go up and ask Seki-san about the new Saiyuki anime project. One of the girls is not able to convince her friend to ask, but rather convinces her to say something to me, so she’s tells me in English “I’m shy”, then both look at me with probably the same idea, heh heh. Not that I had any excuses to not ask since I’d gone up to mic before, but I felt that everyone should have a chance to ask Seki-san something and I’d already asked four questions by then (not even counting the Meet & Greet ones!). But well, as I like to say in these situations... “if we must we must.” Besides, it was true none had asked anything specifically about the Saiyuki anime and I was just as curious to know what Seki-san had to say about it. As we made our way towards the panel as the line moved, I started thinking how exactly to word my question. I had every intention now of lining up right away to the mic the moment Shiori called for it, and if this was the only question I got to ask in the panel, I had to make it count!

I’m glad I got thinking that way, because in contrast to the autograph session being less busy, the final Q & A was a full house! No sooner that Shiori ran through the house rules for one last time & called people to the mic, several members of the audience got up. Considering I was right at the front, I ended up being about 5th or 7th in line! The line itself this time was VERY LONG, so there was a high chance not everyone would get to ask a question and certainly no chances for lining up again, so yes, I had to make it count!

As agreed with my new friends, after ten minutes or so in line, my turn comes & I run the question in my mind one last time before turning to the mic. I turn to Seki-san and ask “If you’re allowed to share anything at all, what can you tell us about the upcoming ‘Saiyuki Reload Blast’ anime and/or what can we look forward to from it or from your role as Sanzo?”

As soon as he finished sharing his answer & Shiori jotting her notes, we learned that Seki-san as well as the other seiyuu did not even expect Saiyuki would even get another anime at this point in time— they were all very surprised. I quickly chimed into the mic “yes, even we as fans were all surprised” although I had always hoped this would happen sooner or later. Seki-san added that, at the same time, it makes him a little sad to think this will be the “end” of Saiyuki (Minekura has stated this is the final arc of the series), but like all things, everything has to have an end & has to come to an end. Nonetheless, his intention is to make the end a good one. In addition, Seki-san didn’t know (as of the time when I met him at AniRevo) what the anime project would be (TV anime or otherwise) but that he personally hopes it will be a movie.

Of course, by now we know from Saiyuki FESTA 2017’s announcements that the Reload Blast project will be a TV anime. Nonetheless, I was more than grateful to hear what he had to say about the upcoming anime. If anything, it increased my hopes for the series as a whole to be revitalized along with its fandom. Yet, there was ONE more thing I knew I had to say and what I felt was my mission all along and my one chance to get it accomplished.

I spoke up again, first, once again thanking Seki-san for all the hard work he’s put into this series and for sticking with it for so long. Next, came my final message:

“On behalf of the entire International Saiyuki Community, please tell Minekura-sensei for us that we are rooting for her, Hoshi-san, Hirata-san, Ishida-san & Seki-san and wish them the best— that even though Minekura-sensei’s health has been so bad, we will be with her & the Saiyuki boys until the very end of the journey.”

I might never find out if Minekura-sensei will ever get it, but I trust Seki-san will without a doubt let her know. My hope is that she’ll know she has so many international fans that support her all the way, even if we’re spread all over the world.

But if anything seems to signal that Seki-san will tell Minekura-sensei my message, it was that he seemed really impressed with my statement once Shiori translated it to him. Before I realized it, I was hearing Seki-san speak as Sanzo one last time...

“ARE YOU READY, BASTARDS?!” our “Sanzo” spoke out loud and clear. I am ready. No: We’ve been ready for this for a long time.

I made a small bow as the audience clapped for Seki-san and walk over to my seat. That felt like a wonderful parting gift if I can call it that. I came in to the first panel thinking at most I’d get to hear Seki-san only say ONE line as Sanzo. Turns out, I was beyond spoiled.

And so many others went by until time ran out and only one more question could be asked. But before said last question, Seki-san first begins saying he never knows what’s going to happen on these fan panels because heck—we even made him sing the previous day! Just as the last question is about to be asked, he suddenly shouts “NOI’MNOTGONNASINGAGAIN!!” Shiori translates and everyone in the audience bursts out laughing.

I don’t recall the exact last question but I believe it was Gundam related. But it was more painful to realize it was now over. Shiori gave the go for Seki-san to share his last few words. Seki-san thanks everyone for coming and says he has really enjoyed himself these past three days and that he’d now also be rooting for the Canadian Olympic team as he really had a great time in Canada (the Olympics were currently taking place at that time). Shiori then calls the panel to a close and everyone claps as she and Seki-san leave the stage. Several of us wave at him (myself included) wishing him farewell and a safe trip back to Japan. So many mixed emotions between happiness & sadness. My dream had come true. After so many years, it finally came true.

Once Shiori & Seki-san went behind the enclosed area out of sight from the rest, me & Tara walk up to each other, hug and say goodbye to each other wishing safe travels. Next I turn to my two Japanese friends. I give them the “thumbs up” –mission accomplished. They both come up to me and give me a hug!! I was just too happy and elated ,I asked them for a fangirl group hug. I think the moment of Saiyuki fandom love was going all around for so many of us.

We were ushered out of the room as it had to be readied for next panel, so me and the girls step outside to an open corner. Then, my friends started showing me pictures from Seki-san’s different performances in stage plays. I commented in one of them he really really looked like an old man (lol, I did actually say “jii-san” hah hah). I really wish I would have been able to say something more, but still we were able to communicate and exchanged twitter accounts and followed each other. They asked if I was going to the closing ceremony but I explained I had to go and get ready for my return home. We hugged again and I waved goodbye as I walked out of the convention center.

Lesson learned: When it comes to things you love, not even language barriers will stop fangirls from helping and reaching out to each other, especially us Saiyuki fans. Having learned that makes me really happy.

As I thought about that while walking down the boardwalk away from the convention center, I happen to run into Shiori. I stopped to thank her for all her wonderful translations and interpreting, asking for her name so I could remember her. We shook hands and I thanked her again for all her incredible work interpreting for Seki-san.

The Victory Round: All Three Autographed CDs

What a weekend that had been. All the feels settled in back at the hotel, at the end of the journey. I felt so happy because I got to meet Seki-san but so sad I already had to say good bye to him. But what’s a lifetime experience if you don’t get all the feels and write about it, right? Writing all of this has taken such a ridiculous amount of time, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It gives me a chance to travel back and when I think it all seemed so surreal or wonder if it was all a dream, I know it wasn’t: it did happen.

~*~

Closing Remarks

Bringing back Seki-san’s pic…because he IS SANZO.

The road was long & so was the delay writing this, but from the bottom of my heart, to anyone reading this, if you read through every one of my posts, really, a big THANK YOU. I know it was a ton to read, but thank you for taking the time to read through this and for letting me share with you my experience of making one of my biggest dreams & fangirl moments of my life come true. Truly, I am grateful.