Reply To: Chibi Pa 2014

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    wwwwhhhhoooo
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    After an arduous journey of over 1,000 miles (as the crow or modern-day aircraft flies), a tired Who was greeted by good friends, some of whom he was meeting in-person for the first time. Couldn’t have asked for a better welcome wagon!

    HOTEL VIEW:
    http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g463/wwwwhhhhoooo/Chibi%20Pa%202014/IMG_20141123_103155_337_zps1a84b15a.jpg" />

    Except, somehow it did get even better, as I was escorted by Dagon and company–something about “someone’s been waiting for you” I was too tired to comprehend words–through the artist’s alley, past the dealer’s room, and over to a certain autographing table…where Petrea looks at me, rises from her chair, hugs me, and says “it’s nice to finally meet you in-person.” (Meanwhile, Who is almost too flabbergasted to react, thinking “isn’t this supposed to be the other way around?”) I’ve never had an instantaneous experience like it before in all my years: when the weight of the cumulative sum of all the hours and days and months of backbreaking, soul-crushing manual labor from my day job was suddenly gone, lifted away. I felt not only validation for all the work I’ve done for this fandom, nor merely a temporary reprieve from the day-to-day ills of life as, say, offered by a vacation: I’ve passed a milestone in my life and feel more at peace for it; as Tolkien might phrase it, in that moment “many lines of care were smoothed away and did not return.” I can confidently say you’ll never meet a kinder soul than Petrea.

    Meeting “the man himself” Matt Miller and his wonderful wife, along with Darrel Guilbeau as well as the filmmakers behind The Akira Project all added to what I can only describe as a carnival within a festival within a dream. I’m thankful they all could attend and am very thankful they chose to spend some time with us; I hope they took something memorable away from the venue as well. Everyone was so nice!

    Cheers also to every Tenchi fan I met along the way! From collectors and fellow old-school junkies to artists of the drawing, composing, and cosplaying persuasions, you all helped make this a “Tenchi-con” of sorts. Thank you for supporting a series we’ve all grown to love…and, for reasons still unfathomable to us all, are still crazy about! And lest I forget, hats off to the staff and coordinators of Chibi Pa for bringing us all together.

    Special thanks to fans of the Tenchicast who showed up to offer pleasantries and support. I’m not alone in saying we were all quite taken aback (we have fans?!), and we’re so grateful that people have enjoyed what we’ve done over the years and continue to do now and into the future: we do this for YOU fine folks! 1,000x THANK YOU!

    PICS:
    http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g463/wwwwhhhhoooo/Tenchiforum%20Banners/d8c06ace-0824-44e4-a203-673d9dfc5992_zps56403cd5.jpg" />

    http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g463/wwwwhhhhoooo/Tenchiforum%20Banners/34a3e0dd-b631-4c5f-8afb-ebe938c29715_zpsd2b22f4b.jpg" />

    http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g463/wwwwhhhhoooo/Chibi%20Pa%202014/447a0eea-9923-4175-a485-0162ca5ff53f_zps60be9f5f.jpg" />

    http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g463/wwwwhhhhoooo/Chibi%20Pa%202014/1c524db9-52de-4085-a11c-ca36264738dd_zps64361178.jpg" />

    I think the biggest personal thanks goes to those I call my fellow road warriors, con-goers, panelists, forum members and, most importantly, my good friends: Dagon, chucklocker, Nil Admirari, Crazed, and evilpii. It was so much fun to meet up with you all (most of you for the first time), and it was revitalizing in ways I can’t even begin to articulate (as Bob Seger once said, “see some old friends, good for the soul”). Thank you all for your work with this fandom, for helping me with various projects over the years, and for being my friends. I love you guys.

    [attachment=0]tenchicast_takes_chibipa.jpg[/attachment]

    Here’s to the future and many, many more years of Tenchi-themed goodness and good times along the way!