. Saturday, May 4, 2002... np: Say Anything - X-Japan Oh...Shiori...I cried when I saw. Thank you so so much. ;_; Everyone go sparkle at Shiori's Bound mini-gallery. Thank you thank you... *huggle* I love the way Tokyo Darling is looking, by the way - I'm glad to see its revival... Have to go work on a project for my mom, but I'm going to put up new layout after...blah... she cackled @ 10:56 a.m. Friday, May 3, 2002... np: Someday - Houshin Engi Not feeling all that much better, but blah. I'll live, and I'll feel better tomorrow when I wake up. My-chan, if you didn't know already, there's street date for Karekano DVDs now...I think May 22? Now! a list of seiyuu I would marry simply for their voices. So, anyone who does yummy boy voices? -Wakaba Murasaki. I think any girl would marry the Akito voice. Mmmm. "Ne? Nani shi ni kita no? Okaranai kara." -Hisakawa Aya. Yuki Yuki Yuki Yuki. I think she's #1 choice. -Matsumoto Rica. *_* I just finished watching end of ep 8 of Trigun. *SQUEAL* That voice! That singing! -Okamura Akemi. Uh, maybe not, I just want to marry Nokoru so I take what I can get. -Orikasa Ai. " Sore wa desu ne... Boku wa, Eiri-san no koto, kono yo de ichiban aishiteiru kara desu yo." Mmm. Hey, I don't have any guy seiyuu on this list at all...unless Akito's seiyuu is a guy, I'm not quite sure. -Kazama Yuuto. There we go. -Paku Romi. Mmmmm. Ken and his angsty goodness. -I must say Seki, since he's my favorite guy seiyuu, but I actually like him more for his acting skills than the voice itself. :D -What list would be complete without Ogata Megumi and her....her Ogata voice? -Ueda Yuuji, Okiaru Ryuutarou, Inoue Kazuhiko (let's face it, I'm just a Furuba h0), Suzumura Kenichi, Ishida Akira, Yuuki Hiro, Sakamoto Chika, Niiyama Shiho, and last but not least, Koyasu. (The list for worshipful girl voices is slightly shorter. Hayashibara, Yukino Satsuki, Miyamura Yuko, Honda Chieko, Mitsuishi Kotono, Kuwashima Houko, Matsui Naoko, Horie Yui, Kawakami Tomoko, Shiratori Yuri...is it, I think. Add whoever does Mawata and Haruko/Tsubasa's voices, can't remember.) Well. that was...pointless. But fun. she cackled @ 10:54 p.m. Friday, May 3, 2002... Ugh. I feel awful. I had THE worst day...I had more ish with my sister, once again about NOT FUCKING DOWNLOADING ATTACHMENTS FROM PEOPLE YOU DON'T KNOW. Only it was a UCLA address (and my sister is absolutely dying to get into UCLA). I try to explain that since the message body is empty and the address seems to be a personal one rather than admissions@UCLA.edu or whatnot, then... But no. She goes absolutely insane. Insane. She bursts into tears since I refused to download Mystery File, shrieks at John to get in the car, and storms out the door. He comes upstairs basically going What The Hell, and I try to explain it. He then gets annoyed and tells me to basically be quiet and not put him in the middle by telling him this. He takes off with my hysterical, sobbing sister and leaves my mother to deal with me. I once again explain to her why it is a BAD IDEA to download this stupid file, but while my mother listens she decides it would be better to risk a virus infection than to have my sister going postal. I open it, it's a program file, I go Shit and everyone makes me open it, so I do and it doesn't do anything except freeze the comp. Once again, shit. Meanwhile my brother is muttering over it and then I start going crazy and sobbing, since I made my sister cry and I knew she was angry at me, and since I'm basically 90% sure she's not getting into UCLA...I guessed she'd probably blame ME for that somehow now...and everyone seemed mad at me...so finally mom and aniki and I went off to Circuit City to buy new virus software so I put my mom out $50 for this little episode...I couldn't stop crying, I felt so terrible... My sister and John came in the door around 8:30, they'd gone off to her uncle's place to try it on their computer (note how she doesn't listen, just by my explaining WHY you don't open files from strangers you'd think she'd be considerate of everyone else's computers? no?) but of course it didn't work THERE either. She didn't look at me after she came in, and I didn't look at her. I'm not sure if she's going to forgive me for this. I don't think I'm wrong, but I spent the entire day hating myself. Passionately hating myself. I haven't made a person cry like that since I can remember, except my mom and that's different because when I make her cry when we fight, I'm always crying with her. All I could think was how I'd either made everyone in my family angry with me, or I'd put them out terribly on my account. And how I must be the most terrible, ugly, disgusting person ever if I could cause all that damage in a day. I cause so much shit for everyone around me, especially my family. I must be a terrible, terrible person. And I'm not done crying yet since my mother had me stop before I was ready today, and so if you'll excuse me, I have to go finish sobbing... she cackled @ 09:48 p.m. Friday, May 3, 2002... Hmhm. Baked cookies, as per usual when I'm home alone for the day. Also finished my spiffy Seishirou/Subaru novel doujin yesterday...the kanji in it is a bit hard for me to read, but I can follow most all the dialogue and Subaru's thoughts, so I was happy. Thing is, I checked the publishing time and this thing was published in 1999. This is really nice, because it feeds onto a lot of fairly recent manga ideas in X, even though in this doujin Subaru's Wish is different. The doujin, for those interested, is called "Himawari" and while it's set in X continuity, it's very much a Tokyo Babylon doujinshi. The story feel and setup is the same. I like the idea of the book setup as well - there are six pages of illustrated doujinshi to start the story, and eight pages at the end of the novel. The story opens on a woman, saying, "I understand. I'll let myself be killed. Because that person had to marry that other woman for the sake of his business. But he knows that it's hurting me, so he'll be happier if I die...because he's kind. He's so kind he did that, even knowing it would hurt himself, too." Sei-chan asks the woman, "You love him that much?" "Yes. I love him. Even when I die, I'll still love only him....because I know I was born to meet him." "And are you happy being killed for his sake?" "Yes...though I think it might hurt him...if I could be killed by him, I'd be happiest." Sei-chan smiles and lets sakura fly, and the woman smiles at the cloud of petals around her. "You'll understand it someday: who you were born to meet...lovely. I haven't seen such lovely sakura since I first came to Tokyo with him..." Her hand falls and blood spatters, and Sei-chan replies, "Unfortunately, no matter who I meet, I don't believe I'll ever know that feeling." Subaru is on the Quest For Sei-chan meanwhile, and meets girl named Honami. Was this girl in TB? @_@ Like a side case or something? I get that sense because they talk a lot about some past incident where they met before (woman named Sister Maria was killed by Sei-chan) and Subaru erased her memory of what happened. Honami is incidentally a very, very cute character that bears a strong resemblance in personality to Hokuto (dum-dum-duum!). She knows that she's met Subaru from sometime before, and confides that she's even aware of a gap in her memory. Subaru realizes she has power, and basically prepares himself to erase her memory again, but she's just so charming. They become friends, and Subaru tells her about Hokuto (minus the details), and she sort of falls in love with his description of her. "It was my sister's dream to get married." "Oh? Oh? So did her wish come true?" "No...my sister died five years ago. In an accident." ('It wasn't an accident. I might as well have killed her myself. If I had not been swayed by 'that person', if I had only won the Bet with 'that person', it wouldn't have happened.') "I see...so her dream ended. But you and I are still alive, so we ought to make our dreams come true and work hard enough for your sister's sake...aaah~ I'm sorry to say something like that, but really I have no idea WHAT to say in a situation like this." "Thank you very much." "But geez, you sure are polite. Did you even talk this stiffly to your big sister?" "No. Though I said she's my big sister, we were actually twins." "Luckyyy! I'm an only child, so I've always wanted a big sister. Yoshi! I know! You can be my big brother!" "........" "You. Had a big sister. I. Am an only child. So. You will be the big brother, and I will be the little sister. Isn't that a fun idea?" She seemed to remember something. "Oh, wait, Subaru-kun, how old are you?" "Twenty-one." "Whaaaaaat! Oh no, then I'll have to be the big sister!!" "...how old are you?" "Twenty-two. Ahh~~~ now I can't call you Oniichan~~~!!" At the sight of Honami so shocked she was about to cry, Subaru couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Don't laugh!!" "I'm sorry." Laughing even as he apologized, Subaru wondered how many years it had been since he had last laughed like this.... Blah, anyway, Subaru gets called in to exorcise the woman from the beginning that Sei-chan killed, as she's been haunting the guy she was in love with. As usual she's a very conversational spirit, and she of course gives Subby the details on the one-eyed asassin that killed her. GASP! SEISHIROU-SAN! X8 scene, blah blah...well, anyway, it was a really good story. Very TB-ish, and I was pretty fond of Honami's cuteness...and at $2, I got about 50 pages of story, and it kept me entertained. Wheee...I wish there'd been more Sei-chan in it though. When Subaru bombards him with WHY did you kill the lady and WHY are you making our lives hell and WHY WHY WHY he's just, "kimagure nan desu - riyuu nante arimasen. ee, tada no kimagure desu yo, mukashi Subaru-kun to 'kake' wo shita no to onaji desu" :D which leaves Subaru to ponder that his life is hell because of Sei-chan and his habit of doing things "on a whim". Wheee! I didn't necessarily agree with all the characterization in it, but still it was a clever doujin. Happy. she cackled @ 01:45 p.m. Thursday, May 2, 2002... Oh yes, and someone asked for my autograph at Fanime. No, I'm not kidding. Scary guy. If I didn't know better I'd say he was stalking me. >_>; I ran into him at con four years back and struck up a conversation, saw him at every con since, then ran into him at Mitsu, and...and he scares me. He's obsessive. ("*cackles evilly* She's FAMOUS nooow~!!!" "???" "SHUT UP.") If you say so, then I will ganbatte and keep working through the series. :D But I'm super-happy that Wolfwood is in the next episode to see; I wanna watch now...funfun. I have to poke at Ali for the Fanime pictures. I want that picture from karaoke of the cross being molested. It amused. (Audience: Nooo~~!! You can't DO that to the Wolfwood cross~!! Evil!!) she cackled @ 06:51 p.m. Thursday, May 2, 2002... Neesan: Can you open this file on your computer? It won't work on the mac. Meimi: Sure. *opens forwarded email and downloads*attempts to open* It won't work here either. What's it supposed to be? Neesan: Huh? I don't know. Meimi: ...what do you MEAN, you don't know? Neesan: *vaguely* Think it's from some professor. Never mailed me before, weird. Meimi: ........ That's what I get for trusting my sister to have better sense than not to open attachments from people she doesn't know. Moron. she cackled @ 06:44 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, 2002... Which Fruits Basket Character are you? I took the Furuba test and got...eeeeh? ...Haru? O_O But #2 was Shigure...then I took at again and got Aaya #1!!! and still Shigure #2...but I expected Kagura. *sweatrain* Kagura or Shigure or Aaya, but Haru isn't that different except he's not hyper (but I think Aaya banner fits me~)... Kikyo-chan, lucky, getting Rin...I like her. You're right about the umeboshi ne. I'm really not into the whole online test thing, but it is Furuba, and more Aaya on my blog is never a bad thing. FIFTEEN episodes?!! O_O That's more than half the SERIES! Would I be missing much if I just...skipped to ep 15? I've seen nearly 1-8 (missed the end of one or two of those) and ep 14 now. ;_; It's cute and all, but...I'm starting to get a tad bored. The beginning episodes just seem...I don't know, evasive? It doesn't seem like foreshadowing, more like they're sidestepping whatever point the show's trying to make altogether and never really getting into any particular character's head, while making halfhearted attempts to hint that, "yeah, we WILL get to a story sometime, maybe, and say the hell's going on". I don't doubt that it's good because it has the potential, I just think it needs...early hooking value. T_T Oooh. Miruku video Chara. Oooh. she cackled @ 10:27 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, 2002... I know I haven't had enough sleep. We all know I haven't had enough sleep, so. Why does my body insist that I've had enough sleep by waking me up at six AM? Two days in a row? I KNOW I didn't have enough sleep yesterday. And I got Subaru/Hokuto on the crack pairing test. I'm jealous of the people who got Ruka/Mikage. Found the Tarzan AMV on DirectConnect this morning. If you can find it, download it. I promise it's worth your while...I can't wait to see it when I get home today. AP testing, SAT and SAT2, and exams are all creeping up sloooowly. I'm ignoring them all at the moment. What with blowing off school in favor of con preparations last week, and having Friday off this week, I almost feel as though I'm not in school at all. Leslie is devising a plan to get us to both AX and AX NY. With stick figures and diagrams. The plan begins with us going to AX and getting kicked out on account of Leslie stalking Watsuki. I love her. she cackled @ 09:55 a.m. Tuesday, April 30, 2002... np: Diving - Chikyuu Shoujo Arjuna Q: Since Akio compares himself to Lucifer, does that mean that Akio himself is Satan? Ikuhara: Yes. (Well, his answer was to the affirmative, anyway. Ufu. Someone else asked if he thought Pokemon was evil.) And can anyone tell me when Trigun gets...less of a filler show and more of a series? I hear so many good things about it, but in the beginning episodes thus far, my attention is simply not glued to the screen. While a series like, say, Bebop, isn't one where you really find out a lot about everything for a while...Bebop held my attention from episode to episode in a way the beginning of Trigun isn't. But then I chalk Bebop's hooking value up to having "Ballad of Fallen Angels" so early an episode, since that's the episode that seems to really get people wanting to watch more. Blah. she cackled @ 08:46 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, 2002... ...um. Wow. Even just a half-hour nap in class does wonders. @_@ I really do turn into a depressive bitch when I'm behind in sleep, huh. I napped in history class and woke up feling ever so much better. I'm somehow wired that when I don't sleep, I use all energy for walking and vaguely functioning, and reroute all energies for smiling, being nice, and having self-esteem somehow. o_O Ingrid, if I get a copy of the picture of the Ryuuichi/Shuuichi photo, I'll scan it for you. I browsed through con pictures but only saw the Shuuichi (but like Les said, the Ryuuichi really blended in ^^ I only recognized her due to her giant pink bunny plushie). The picture we took of them was adorable, though. "Wai~~!! Sakuma-saaan!!" Jin, not to promise anything, but at least I'm discussing AX with my friends. Les wants to go to school in Boston, but get there early so she can go to NY AX. She came up with the absolutely brilliant idea of having us fly to NY for the con, during which we will already be in *school*. @_@ CRAZY! So I'm suggesting we pack it up earlier in the summer for the CA one, which would be a lot less stressful, more fun, and less expensive. ^^; We'll see; I won't talk to my mom about it for maybe two weeks yet. Best to let the Fanime sting wear off. Back to Fanime babble...while listing cosplay excellence, I forgot to mention the absolutely DROP-DEAD GORGEOUS WEISS GROUP. They were eating when we sighted them in the small hours of the morning of Sunday, but I begged Ali to go bother them for a picture (good thing, since we never saw them again). *drool* I was standing quite far away, but they were splendid. They had Aya, Omi, Nagi, Farfello, and Crawford (don't remember if there was a Ken). *_* I personally had no idea if the Nagi was a boy or a girl at the distance I was standing, but auuuugh!!!! GORGEOUS!!!! They all looked really wonderful, but the Nagi...!!! *___* PRETTY!!!! Um um um...I still feel like I'm missing out on cosplay mentions...though at the Ikuhara panel, a girl asked if he would cosplay as Sailormars again if he returned to Fanime next year, and he said that he had hired pro makeup artists, etc, and the entire affair cost him about $1000 O_O no way! So he won't do it again. ^^; Um um...we actually marveled at the previous con's number of Wolfwood cosplayers, realizing that it must be a really annoying cosplay to do. The cross in crowds and dealers room must be killer. The thought had never struck me before, but indeed as we got in line for the dealer's room, a Wolfwood behind us explained to a friend, "the PROBLEM isn't that it weighs (??? like 15 pounds? O_O), the PROBLEM is that it's 4 feet by thirty-eight inches..." Insane. Oh! There was actually a really excellent bunny-costume Haruko running around with a guitar and all, though didn't get a photo...looking through online galleries, apparently the girls playing cello and violin as an AX fundraiser in front of the dealers room (they were really good O_O) were from the Houshin Engi group as well? I saw the Taikoubou at karaoke, but missed the Fugen??! NOOO! And there was a SUUPUU?! Ah well, the best ones were Nentou's sister (name escapes me at the moment), who I liked especially because of the way she made a crown, and the Taijou Roukun with the floating feet. And I had seen a Youzen walking around Saturday morning from the car, but completely missed him the rest of the day. Drat. Also, some people dressed up as...those things from Tenchi Muyo? Those red and blue cylinders that Ayeka has that blink when they talk? They lit up and everything, though I never saw them move and wonder how they did so. ^^; I saw pictures of the SEELE boxes too! The things people think up...also, there was a very cute Chuchu running around too. Let's see...some of the winning questions at the Ikuhara panel...I don't remember it all, sadly, and didn't take notes. There was actually a question about what will happen at the end of the movie when Anthy and Utena run out of gas, but I don't remember the response. Q: You said last year that you do not have a girlfriend. Are you still single? Ikuhara: Yes, still. Me: In the movie song, "Toki ni Ai wa", is the way that the song reflects images of the end of the TV series something done intentionally? Ikuhara: In what kind of image do you mean? Me: Like they were seperated at the end and met again in the movie... Ikuhara: Yes. That was very intentional. Q: Is the Utena Car an automatic or a stick-shift? XD Ikuhara: Ummm....manual...I guess? Q: Seeing as how anime girls are not drawn anatomically correctly, would it be the same for boys? Ikuhara: ...you mean, lacking certain parts? (meimi: he was a lot more blunt than that, actually ^^;;) Q: Yes. Ikuhara: Well, the reason that we never show it is because, to some fans, size matters...and we don't want girls saying, "Ah! THAT isn't MY Touga!" and so this way each fan is content to have her own seperate fantasies intact. (meimi: the panel was hysterical by that point...I think there was more to the answer but I missed it in the laughing) Q: Do you notice any big differences between fans in America and Japan? Ikuhara: I think fans everywhere are basically the same, but I also think Japanese fans read a lot more into the show...but there are also fans who look into it so much, and come up with very confusing conclusions, and so I'm sure that they know more about Utena than I do... (meimi: les started kicking the back of my seat violently ;_;) Q: Are there any characters in the series that you wanted to put into the movie, and then are there any characters that you like better in TV than movie, or vice versa? For example, do you like one Shiori better than the other? Ikuhara: (meimi: I think he didn't answer the first part) Being a director I'm not able to play favorites with my characters, because if I had favorites, it would put me at a disadvantage while directing...so I have no favorites, in order to do my job well. Q: Who is your favorite character, and what character did you find hard to bring to life? Ikuhara: My favorite...I would have to say...is Chuchu. As for characters that were difficult...I like Saionji...Anthy... (meimi: more, long list of characters I don't remember...I think he mentioned something about them at the end though) Q: You have described the movie as breaking out of the fantasy world to live in the world of adults, even if that other world is more painful. Is there any specific event in your life like that, making you want to create this point in the movie? Ikuhara: Yes, I'm doing it now...living in America, having to learn English... Q: I've heard that you controlled all Utena-related projects, so I assume you did so with the game as well. The character of Chigusa shares a similar destiny as Mikage, was this intentional? Ikuhara: While I did have control over all Utena projects, the game is the sole exception...I was very busy with the TV series at the time, and it was being produced without my knowledge anyway. I am unaware of the contents and am unfamiliar with the character of Chigusa, since I didn't make the game. Q: What advice would you give people trying to get into the animation industry? Ikuhara: Ah...I'm more the exception to the rule than anything else. I actually went to school for graphic design, but it was so competitive that I tried for a spot in animation. I wasn't exactly dying to get into animation, but I took the test at Toei and got in...but since I lived in the country I didn't know that most people don't get hired that way. They really just hang around anime production companies day after day, and eventually get hired...so if you're pursuing a career in animation, I'd advise you to hang around a company without a security system... There were also some excellent questions with long answers I can't recall. Some asked about his current projects in America (I don't remember the response, just that a project exists and he's making a company, and his current project, he will probably produce the work but not direct it), some asked about the process of animation from storyboard to finished product (but the answer got a little mixed up in interpretation so I don't really remember)...a lot of questions this year about character design. He said that he and Chiho Saitou had originally decided on a pink uniform for Utena, but Ikuhara realized he liked it better black, and so he switched it at the last minute when animation began. But at that point, Chiho had already started drawing in color for Utena in the pink uniform, so he was afraid she'd get mad at him for changing it...so he brought over pictures of Utena in both colors, and tried to make her pick the black one so he wouldn't get in trouble with her. But she still liked the pink one better, so he eventually had to say that he liked black better and that it would be animated that way... ^^; she cackled @ 02:53 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, 2002... Skipped AP session. Ate an 80 cent cookie that I didn't really taste. Am being cold and rude to people right and left, just because I know if someone brushes me the wrong way today I'm going to lose it. Adding on to the "why I suck" list below, John asked about my permit in the car, and I was just, "Can't you please LET IT GO?" It's the only thing he can think of to make conversation about, and it's mom who's supposed to make the appointment when she has time, and all anyone ever feels like telling me is HOW STUPID I AM FOR BEING A YEAR LATE in getting it. I know, I know, I know. I know it's not just my own problem either, it's shit for everyone else around me as well. But there's not much to be done about it *now*. I just wish I could be left alone. Kikyo-chan, arigatou. Demo ne, atashi wa mada fuan na no. Doushite ka na. Tada..."konna iyana jibun na no ni, douyatte hito wa atashi no koto suki ni narun darou" to omotteru. "Kitto, tada atashi ni amaeteru dake ja nai?" to. "Konna iyana atashi ni wa 'yada, kirai' tte ienain ja nai ka na? Sore dake no koto ja nai? Sonna koto iu yuuki attara, kitto atashi nanka to hanasu koto mo shinai deshou?" Tokidoki, sonna kimochi ni narun da. Hontou no koto ja nai tte wakatteiru no ni, sonna kimochi wa tomerarenai. Dare ni datte konna hi aru deshou? Jibun no koto wa iya to omotteru no wa, marude shikatanai mitai ni. Kyou wa kaeru toki, sugu ni neru. Fuan wo kesu you ni ne. Soshite, sono ato ni okiru toki, genki ni naru kamo. Tada, nandaka tsukareta. Karada mo kokoro mo...ne. she cackled @ 12:41 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, 2002... I feel really, really miserable. I forgot to recharge my cel card, so I lost about 100 paid minutes that my mom paid for. I'm behind in my math class. I finally caught up slightly with sleep, but feel so stupid and awful about myself that I'm still in a bad mood. I think I'll be antisocial today, and skip out on the AP prep. Which is obviously a bad idea, but I don't care. I spent $20 more at the con than I was supposed to, max. Stupid me. I took off my nail polish this morning and spilled the remover all over the table. Luckily it didn't seem to stain since I mopped it up quickly, but in the excitement I forgot to finish taking off the polish. All my nails are polish-free except one, and it makes me feel stupid. By the end of the con I was feeling miserable, like everyone was avoiding me and hating me, even though that probably wasn't the case. There is a difference from knowing that people love you, and feeling that people love you. I guess the difference is that with the first one, you're afraid people only love you because they feel obligated somehow. And I had a terrible dream last night where all my friends and family were there, and I was awful to them. Awful. But the worst part was that the things I said in the dream, are things I would say really, if I didn't know better. Like I just lost all control in the dream and let every bad thing come pouring out. And I can't say it was just a bad dream, because it could come true. Shit. Even my grandmother was in the dream. Even my cousin, who I snapped at and called a moron. And I don't remember what I said to Ali, but we were in the fine arts classroom and I started screaming at her and some other girls. I'm so, so tired. And miserable. And I know I can't do anything right, and I just can't stand myself at the moment. I'm so stupid. Honestly, you'd think I work at it or something. God. I want to go home already. Go home, and get some more sleep, sleep for the whole day till I feel lethargic and then maybe I'll feel ready to face the day. Class. she cackled @ 08:25 a.m. Tuesday, April 30, 2002... np: Superman - Five For Fighting Iyaaaan I wish this AMV had won...by the end of that video I was all ready to marathon Esca again. Poor Van. For anyone's future reference, in the CCS candy pin series, there is a Cheshire Eriol. But Ali got the last one at the place selling them for $3, and I found it again at Dokidoki... Meimi: How much? Woman: $9. Meimi: ! WHAT?!! So...right. I didn't even get a pin this year. How depressing. ;_; she cackled @ 07:45 a.m. Monday, April 29, 2002... *yawn* Slept in class a lot today...I'm still exhausted. I'm going to eat when I get home, then crash. More con stuff...my Shiori costume, which I had been terrified would be too small, ended up being insanely too big for the most part. I looked at pictures we took and I almost cried, it looked so awful and *huge*. I should have zipped it up the back instead of velcroing it down the side. If I wear it again, I'm going to put a zipper in back and take in the sides of the blouse. Will probably reposition the velcro of the skirt too. Meimi: *conclusively* Uke. Ali: STOP IT. Meimi: Uke uke uke~!!! XD Ali: ;__; I'm not uke! Why do you keep saying I'm an uke? Meimi: ...you REALLY want me to explain? Ali: ...yes... Meimi: Okay. See, if you WERE seme, then back when I called you an uke, you would have.... *in one swift movement, slams fist against the wall behind Ali and invades her personal space. seriously.*about an inch from Ali's face*in cold seme tone* "I. am. not. the. uke." .......*niko*...is what you WOULD have done, but instead you whined about how you weren't the uke, see. :D Ali: O.O ... Meimi: *scoots back from Ali's face slightly*niko* Ali: ... O.O Meimi: But, even if you did that nobody would take you seriously at this point, so just give it up. Uke-ness is your nature. :D Ali: ...so I'm doomed... *somewhat later, in the hotel room! Ali is in the mood to assert herself as seme, an impossible feat!* Les: *sitting on a fairly small armchair*leeer* Well, Ali, you could come sit HERE with me. Ali: *leaps on Les' lap* Les: *blinks*.... *leers and points at me* XD Meimi: *leaps onto the chair too* Ali: O.O Les: *starts groping Ali* Ali: ! Meimi: *hooks her legs around Ali's waist so she can't escape* Ali: !!!! ;___; STOP IIIT!! Ali's mom: *walks in* Us: XDXDXD Ali: ;__; Ali's mom: (I guess Les motioned for her to take a picture?) You expect me to take pictures of this...inappropriate behavior? Ali: *FLEES* So...right. :D Les is the seme, Ali is the uke, and I am apparently reversable. And girls weighing probably...250 pounds...dressed as girls from Bakuretsu Hunters...made me want to cry. I'm far from thin (and wouldn't dress like that if I were), but that's absolutely ridiculous. I don't even like seeing skimpy cosplay on thin girls - maybe three years back a girl was clad in naught but a miniskirt and duct tape. Yes. Duct tape. And each time I saw her through the day, the pieces of duct tape seemed to be getting gradually smaller...and smaller... T_T Ughh..must go. Want sleep. T_T she cackled @ 02:34 p.m. Monday, April 29, 2002... This is the con summary rough draft. I'm sure I've forgotten things. And I'll put up the Ikuhara panel seperately, I'm too tired to try to remember it now. Saturday April 20, 2002 Decision for Shiori cosplay is made, with less than a week till con. Frenzied shopping trip, and sewing begins. Sunday April 21, 2002 Pre-con hype begins. "Do you realize that AT THIS TIME NEXT WEEK, we'll be...?" This is Megan's fifth year of Fanime, Ali's fourth, and Les' third. Friday April 26, 2002 8:00 AM The Shiori costume is still unfinished. 12:52 PM The Shiori costume is STILL unfinished. 3:00 PM The Shiori costume is definitely still not finished, but I decided to give it up and finish in the car, so Ali painted my nails as we waited for her mom...who was supposed to pick us up... 3:45 PM ...but didn't pick us up till THEN... 4:05 So we FLED to Ali's place, GRABBED their stuff, met Les, piled into the car, and started on our merry way...terrified that we were going to hit SJ five o'clock traffic and miss the reg deadline at six. "....hey. XD And you guys thought Can't Fight the Moonlight was BAD?" "......yeeeeeeees..." "But!!! I now have.... *pulls out CD* The DANCE MIX OF CAN'T FIGHT THE MOONLIGHT!" "NOOOOOOOOO~~~~~!!!!! XDXDXDXD" We did in fact hit the traffic, and really didn't think we'd make it...but thanks to the lovely people at Fanime keeping us at Santa Clara convention center three years in a row, we were able to run at top speed to the reg table without getting lost at all...with maybe three minutes to spare. Love. Ali and I wanted to go to the guest reception but Les did not, so Ali and I got our tickets and we set off to the hotel. My costume was still unfinished, but at this point was wearable...I just needed to finish the tie on the collar and add ruffles to the stockings (neither of these things got done ^^;) Everything that night was thrown off by opening ceremonies running late, and the guest reception was no exception. While waiting in line... Girl: *walks by*jii* SHIORI! Meimi: *wave* Girl: O.O ... *runs off* Meimi: ...okay... A few minutes later... Girl: *returns with a girl in tow - a girl dressed in an elegant orange Bara no Hanayome dress, carrying a bouquet of orange roses and wearing an orange wig* Juri: O.O ... Meimi: O.O ... Us: *GLOMP* I LOVE YOU~~~!!!!!!!!!! Sadly did NOT get a picture! ;-; Then the reception. I got the impression that it had been well-organized during previous years, but this year it was just chaotic. I wouldn't have minded, since this gave the opportunity to talk to anyone you wanted as long as you wanted...BUT, damnit, there were maybe two labelled tables, and almost everyone had their badges covered or flipped around. So the only guests I knew were guests, were the cosplay girls from Japan, and Ikuhara. I was overcome by a fit of shyness and was too scared to go up and talk to him at first...but I finally mustered up the courage and sat and talked to him. O.O I was really nervous. He tried to speak in English to me, but I had trouble understanding him, so I spoke in Japanese...iyaaaaan. I was. just. dokidokidoki. I thanked him for Utena, and told him I was writing a paper in class about the movie, and told him I loved it because I noticed new things every time I watched. He asked how I knew Japanese...not much else. I was really scared. ^^;;; After that, Ali and I set off to eat dinner, and then went to the karaoke contest. The people in last year's awful contest were pretty awful as a whole, so I was thinking it would be easy for me to make finalists...but no way. The list was packed (whereas last year they had trouble scrounging up at mere 30 contestants), and of the 30 I would only say about maybe...10? were bad. Even the bad ones managed to be amusing - girls dressed as Kakyuu and Tin Nyanko sang the Eva theme, didn't know the words and ended up making up mumbly sounds for lyrics, but did some really hilarious dancing. XD I didn't stay to find out who won, but the girl who sang "Ask DNA" from Bebop was the best in the prelims. We didn't finish till around two AM, so we drove back to our hotel and crashed... Saturday April 27 I wanted to get to the Kanon showing at eight, but obviously that wasn't happening since we hadn't gotten to sleep until about 3:30 AM. We managed to haul ourselves to the hotel for the Ikuhara panel at ten. We were late, but luckily he was even later. ^^; I'll try to type up a full transcript of what I remember from his panel soon...there were some fabulous questions in there, and some really sick ones. It frightened me to realize that I knew enough Japanese to realize the translator was, er, editing Ikuhara's sick answers. XD After that I think we went shopping? I think this was the best shopping year I've ever had. Doki Doki Station wasn't the only place with doujin this year, so I did not have to put up with their CRAPPY RIPOFF PRICES where they make like $10 and $20 profit. XP So I spent only $80 but got basically everything I wanted. ^^ I bought... -three Utena trading cards (Ruka in the Akio-car, Kozue snuggling up to Anshii in the arena car, and an epilogue-style picture of Kozue and Miki and Tsuwabuki at the piano.) -a Fruits Basket print of Yuki. *DROOLS* THIS IS THE MOST GORGEOUS THING I'VE EVER SEEN. THERE IS NOT A PRETTIER PICTURE OF HIM. -a clearfile (?) of Subaru and Seishirou. -four doujinshi, all of them made up of short gag comics. I am in love with the Yaoi-con booth. I LOVE THOSE PEOPLE. They have entirely fair prices with everything small at $8. I bought two Furuba (one with a gratituous three-page-long Yuki shower scene O.O), a Seishirou and Subaru one that was almost all novel (but only $2 and nice cover so okay), and a Digimon02 one...Jin, I think we've drooled over this one. The cover has Takeru as the Kaizer, Yamato dressed as Wormmon, Ken in a frilly dress, and the back cover has Daisuke as Patamon. XD The contents were pretty amusing. -a set of TaikoubouxYouzen doujinshi stationary -Utena movie shitajiki -and from Mitsu (...) I bought the Hana to Yume with the Mayu story, Houshin Engi 22, and we perused the entire yaoi manga section looking for random series with pretty art...but we rarely like the art. I bought the only one we liked (that wasn't part of a series missing first volume) called "Bokura no Oukoku". I've really never bought generic yaoi random manga before. -and three new Copic and an eraser~~ We met Kix-tachi in the dealers room but went off to do our seperate things...Kiiix, so sorry I didn't call youu~!!! ;__; Our schedule was SO packed. I don't remember what else we did with the day. Later on we decided to go see the music video competition though, which deserves much praise. Les had picked the prelims over karaoke the night before, so she'd seen it all and told us about it. There were some EXCELLENT videos. Les assured us "Tarzan and Su" would win best overall, and indeed it did. I'm going to download that as soon as I find it - it's two characters from Love Hina (the main guy (Keitarou?) and the tan girl) lip-synching to this techno Tarzan song. O_O The worst part was that besides the lip-synching being done PERFECTLY, the scenes FIT PERFECTLY. It was the obvious winner. :D But there was some other excellent stuff, though I didn't like all the winners best. The action catagory had a truly excellent Bebop video (but an Endless Waltz video won, which I thought couldn't compare to the excellence of Bebop). The drama catagory's winner was a Kenshin first OVA video called "Snow-Covered Dreams" which was good, but an Escaflowne Van-centered video called "Supervan" tugged at my heartstrings (so I wanted it to win ^^). Van is my favorite character, and they basically took every really touching scene from the series and put it in one video. There was also a pretty decent Wolfwood memorial video. Let's see...the humor catagory...the Love Hina one was such a clear winner. However, they had a Chair music video. I kid you not. O_O To a song about a chair, with images of anime characters sitting in chairs. The parody catagory was really excellent, and I think it was the best catagory overall. ^^ There was "Escaflowne E.R.", which was a perfectly-edited parody of the ER opening sequence (think images of Millerna at the operating table, Van trying to restart Hitomi's heart ^^;;;), and I thought it was so splendidly-done that it ought to have won for editing alone. The winner was "Batman Big O", beginning with the words, "This video is dedicated to all the people who thought that Roger was really...Bruce Wayne's son." Cue Big O scenes looking suspiciously ripped off from Batman, played to the Batman theme song. ^_~ I can't remember the other parodies now, just that I pretty much enjoyed them all immensely. After that we set off to karaoke, and I sang "Sweet" from TB and then Ali and Les and I got up to sing "You Get to Burning". Was fun, and we left around two AM. Sunday April 28 Today...um. We got there around ten and went to a CG workshop, which was supposed to be a photoshop tutorial but ended up being another program. The guy leading the panel kept pushing this program and talking about how much more handy it was than Photoshop for CG. Everyone wants it now. =_=; Went back to the dealer's room. I didn't buy anything. Les bought the Nobuteru Yuki X design sketchbook from Doki Doki Station for like $200. CRAZY. O_O They had the Clover one too - that is SO MINE. Not now, maybe, but I WILL HAVE THAT. It's really pretty. And slightly (slightly) cheaper. Then Les, her mom, and I ran off to catch what was left of the GAINAX anime showing. We caught the last five minutes of FLCL, then watched the new anime that just came out - Abenomashi Mahou Shogentai? I think? It was raw and everyone spoke in Osakaben, but I managed pretty well. The first episode was boring. Painfully boring. Most people walked out. Then in the last three minutes... People: *turn into mushrooms* Main characters: *pose with the mushrooms* Us: ...okay, NOW this is GAINAX anime. :D The second episode was excellent. From what it looks like, it seems that GAINAX is poking fun at all the cliche genres of anime. The basic idea is that there's a boy and a girl (their names escape me) whose families work in a shopping center. Said center seems to be somehow magically balanced by statues throughout the center representing Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko, and Genbu...until one day at the girl's family shop, the pelican statue representing a god falls and breaks. The shopping center goes wild, and the two kids find themselves in another world. The second episode focused on parody of anime like Lodoss, that sort of fantasy stuff based on video games. WAS ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS. Sometimes the screen goes into video game format, some scenes are fast-forwarded through...just fabulous stuff. The next episode will focus on the space genre...I'd watch more for sure, and I'd reccomend it (but subtitled). It's not as good as their other stuff, and the first episode is so sickeningly dull, but if you can get through it it's pretty cute. Oh, and there's no real opening sequence. Just stock from the previous episode set to Hayashibara tunes. T_T Went back to the dealers room in hope of sales, but everyone seemed pretty content to pack up their stuff to bring home this year as opposed to giving it away. Went to closing ceremonies just to see the Tarzan video again. :D Um...just random stuff...took LOTS of pictures with Ali's digital camera. There were some truly excellent costumes this year. I'd say the best costumes were the TV-boy from FLCL, Kakyuu and Tin Nyanko, and a Houshin Engi group but particularly the Taijou Roukun. She wore long pants, and had wired them to 'float' in back of her! *_* There were also two girls dressed as Shuuichi and Ryuuichi. I spotted the Shuuichi first, but then noticed the Ryuuichi standing off to the sidelines and we got pictures of them together (Les remarked the girl dressed as Ryuuichi probably never got stopped for pictures ^^;). Um um um...nothing in particular was popular this year for cosplay, it was a steady mix of really excellent costumes. There wasn't as much Utena as last year, but what there was, was excellent. There was the Bara no Hanayome Juri, a Bara no Hanayome Utena, a movie Anshii that was LOVELY, a Saionji, a TV Utena, and a basketball-playing Utena. Was a Gai running around with a Gekigangar plushie. A truly lovely Faye-Faye. Quite a few Sakura running around. Oh, and some Hikaru no Go cosplayers - I saw Akira at karaoke and then Hikaru walking around. A great Mahoutsukai tai! group as well, that had the club there. Had quite a few Wolfwoods, but nothing like the overwhelming amount of them from last year. Oh, at karaoke on Friday, one of the MCs stole a Wolfwood cosplayer's cross and dragged it up on stage to molest it (we have pictures XD). I'll add to this as I remember stuff that happened..probably spelling and grammar is REALLY bad T_T but remember I got 3 hours of sleep from Sunday to Wed, got 5 hours on Thurs night, and 6 hours or less both nights of the con. I'm exhausted. she cackled @ 07:11 a.m.

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. Meimi? is sixteen (tanjoubi 11/18), is generally a genki person, but her cheerful and innocent appearance masks an evil fangirl mind. XD Sparkles at friends, drawing, shopping at Mitsuwa, manga, shounen ai and yaoi, fangirlism as a way of life Has been reading Houshin Engi, Nervous Venus, Fruits Basket Has been watching Utena, CLAMP School, Chobits Has been listening to Chara, Sailormoon Wishes she could stalk Imonoyama Nokoru, Seguchi Touma, Hayate, Sasame, Souma Yuki, Souma Ayame, Souma Akito, Sei-chan, Youzen, Ran, Ishida Yamato, Ichijouji Ken Wishes she could also stalk (albeit with less enthusiasm) Kusakabe Maron, Sumeragi Hokuto, Ohkawa Utako, Awayuki Himeno, Awayuki Mawata, Haruhara Haruko, Souryu Asuka Langley, Katsuragi Misato, Sakurazuka Setsuka Can be found by email at meimi@strawberrymoon.net or AIM at KSaintTail Current layout: CG of Meroko and Takuto from the new Tanemura Arina manga, "Full Moon wo Sagashite". I still haven't read it, but am determined to watch the anime because of my Honda Chieko fangirlism. Meroko's design is the cutest thing ever, and combine that with Honda Chieko's voice and I'll be stuck watching whether I like it or not. maybetomorrow - archive - playlist fanfiction - pitas allegretto applesauce atashi.blog aqua stranger basic black cat's delicacy chicken scratch complete strangers december23 den of otakudom disintegration dreams of sakura echoes from the void eyes unclouded faded memories freetalk fuuma's shoes green tea ice cream headphones save lives illegible scribbles kaijuu ga iru kudaranai kyoko legal alien lime rain one dimensional pensieve selective memory somedays good somedays bad technomancy that damn duck the bishounen diaries the letters from no one tsubasa uncommon valhalla which way is up? winnow in thy abraxas jin sarah shi-chan shiori .

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