Channy's Trip to the Americas (or How I Saw a Pop Idol and Met a Pretty Princess)

[Channy]

So in case you've been MIA on the forum for a few days, you may have missed me raving about two things: going to a Hatsune Miku concert and meeting Flare. Both totally amazing things in themselves and just blew my weekend away by combining them. First, let's start with the trip itself.

WARNING: Influx of pics ahead.

So me, my friend Lauren and her friend Anthony are huge Miku fans and bought VIP tickets (basically early entrance and access to merch) as soon as they went on sale months ago. Here is a brief recount of our previous attempt at a Miku concert which shows how stoked we were about finally getting to go this time. We'd agreed to take Lauren's Honda Element since it's roomier than my Subaru Impreza for 3 people. But Lauren's not very confident about city driving. Which is fine, I'm okay to drive in the city... I've driven in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver on a few occassions but Seattle.. yeah, it's a bit bigger.

Along the drive, I saw a

Spoiler: dealership that reminded me of Lith

, some

Spoiler: bitching windmills (Lauren was napping and wasn't able to get a closeup as we got nearer but I was like.. enthralled by these majestic looking mother fuckers)

and an

Spoiler: endless array of nothingness.

Seriously.. flatness as far as the eye could see. It was kinda unsettling because there's this lake in the middle of nowhere or a random group of trees and I live in a valley and am used to seeing trees everywhere on the mountainside or a river running between the mountains and here.. nada.

So we get to Seattle and spend the first 45 mins driving in one large circle trying to find the I-5 to get towards our hotel. We found WaMu theater which is good but our hotel is 30 mins away. So I'm driving while Lauren's trying to navigate from her slow-as-fuck iphone, trying to dodge these random ass roundabouts at every semi residential intersection (seriously, who the fuck thought this was a good idea??) and almost ran over an entire family as they jumped out into the street from behind a vehicle where it was clearly not a crosswalk. I mean, I live in a hippie town full of jaywalkers so I got quick driving reflexes but still.

So we finally get onto the freeway... and it dawns on it. The preparty. We have to come back to this area anyway and we only have an hour and a half.. do we stay and eat or go and check in? After much deliberation, we stayed and found a TacoBell and Lauren changed into her Senbonzakura cosplay for the preparty. There were a couple other

Spoiler: cosplayers there (this girl was so cute and alluring I just found myself entranced by her dancing anytime I saw her.. :| )

and the merch was good but the music was meh.

And speaking of the music.. there's one DJ who was cosplayed up and starts playing a

Spoiler: Miku song with game footage.

All happy sunshine and rainbows. And then he

Spoiler: starts screaming.

. And

Spoiler: it's getting weird.

And then

Spoiler: he's naked.

And

Spoiler: then we're back to happy ingame footage.

So we get to the hotel, we're kinda wiped. Go to sleep around 1am. Drip drip drip. 7am, something wakes me.

Spoiler: There's a leak in the roof. (but we didn't pay very much for the joint and it's supposed to be close to an Olive Garden so we suffer through)

The other two are sleeping through it but it keeps me awake. Thankfully we have.. cartoonnetwork(??) so theres anime on but it's anime I hadn't seen before so I'm lost but whatevs. Lauren wakes up, hears that there's a water advisory after having a drink and then continues to puke profusely throughout the afternoon. But she soldiers on and will go for Miku.

We leave early since we have VIP but also to go get Olive Garden. Again, Lauren's out of her and her phone is so shit that we literally drove in the same circle about 8 times around our hotel, never even getting slightly close to it when it's maybe 10 mins away. Knowing getting to WaMu is also going to cause troubles, we finally abandon the cause and head for the city center, but I'm pretty salty about it at this point. We do get to see the

Spoiler: Space Needle though,

which is neat.

And the concert. omg.

Spoiler: I don't have too many pics

that I wouldn't have to tweak the glare out severely but I got so many and so many videos to relive this moment. Basically it was just amazing. And I don't care if it's just a picture on a screen or some other bullshit it is legit awesome and in that moment when you have the crowd around you chanting in unison and bouncing to her beat, she commands the stage just like any other pop star and there's no denying it.

Here's a video of one of the better songs from the same tour, earlier date in Japan.

Spoiler: Here's my goofy face though

It's 12am and Flare is texting asking how it is and I'm in the stadium bathrooms peeing but just can't contain my excitement and I'm responding instantly because she's such a sweetheart.

...Sorry, no pics of that.

So we head back for the hotel. Plunk in the address, get going.. seem to find it okay but seems odd. We're right next to a Denny's and we pull in for food but there's another hotel location right here. And the Olive Garden we were looking for. Turns out we were at the wrong one the entire time.

 

[Channy]

Part 2: A Flareful Encounter

Next day, and I can’t wait to see her. And it’s weird, to want to see a friend so much like this, I don’t get weird over my regular friends. But she’s an e-friend so there’s a sense of familiarity but mystery (omg is this a blind date of sorts??) because that’s the sort of butterflies in my tummy feeling I have.

And we&#8217;re late meeting her and her sister (and hubby? Lol) at the mall >_<. So not making a good impression here. 45 mins I finally arrive, Lauren and Anthony abandon me for a HotTopic and I&#8217;m like, well shit okay I guess I&#8217;ll just wander to the foodcourt and try find her. And I&#8217;m wandering and aimless and I don&#8217;t see her and something punches my gut like &#8220;crap did we take too long?&#8221; I can&#8217;t get the wifi to work on my phone properly, trying to send her messages that I&#8217;m here now. Look around, the weird Asian fellow cleaning tables is looking at me weird but I still can&#8217;t find her.

And then there she is and she&#8217;s like a walking glowing ray of sunshine that I am so inferior to this Goddess how can I even be in her presence. .___. And it&#8217;s funny because she says she&#8217;s shy but she&#8217;s making better at the conversation than I am, but we both laugh nervously and we hug

Spoiler: (SHE&#8217;S HUGGING ME BUT I AM THE SCUM OF THE EARTH TO THIS GODDESS)

and then we start walking and talking and it&#8217;s getting easier.

We head back to the Barnes and Noble and hang out, where we see POP figures that remind us of Lith, and laugh about DBZ and its neverending series. We loiter around the crossword puzzle books, still chitchatting about the differences in geography for us, landscape, snow, how my family&#8217;s flat roof caved in one year due to heavy snowfall. We ramble about other US vs Canadian differences and I give her a Toonie (THE GODDESS HAS ACCEPTED MY TITHE), a two dollar coin as a gift. We wander around some more and then the four of us decide to have lunch. Chitchatting with her and her family is weird because it all comes so easy, despite her sister asking questions about how we met (am I sure this isn&#8217;t a date?) and how long we&#8217;ve known each other. Lunch goes deliciously well except for the moment where I&#8217;m telling a story and emphatically gesture, thus spilling nearly a pint of water all over myself. (I have embarrassed myself in front of the Goddess, I AM SCUM.)

We go back to BnN and hang out front where

Spoiler: we take pictures with her photographer sister

and skype with some of you, trying (and failing) to send a very brief clip and lack the innovation to come up with anything longer for all of TLS.

At one point I look at her, straight face and say &#8220;I want to hold you in my arms like a Princess&#8221;

Spoiler: and continue to swoop her up into my grasp&#8230;.

Though I fail to stand heroically with her as I&#8217;m not that strong.

Spoiler: And off course we have time for one final shoutout for Lith, both smiles and frowns that she couldn&#8217;t be with us.

But as the Miku afterparty event starts and my friend is texting me, we go inside. Flare and her family need to leave to try and beat the rushhour traffic home and it is with a heavy heart that I see her leave, though not without a few more tight hugs and a promise that we&#8217;ll make this happen again soon.

 

[Shademp]

THE FLANNY ;____;

 

[Flare]

OMG some of these pics totally make me look stupid. I mean my face. WHAT WAS I DOING IN THAT PIC
I can really make some odd faces. Like whoa. That's some professional weirdness there. But there's also some really good ones so yays! Channy is so sweet and cute <3

And yes I was shy-ish. Why wouldn't I be? I've never met an online friend before! In fact I thought you did good at keeping conversation going too, during the times I was quiet. But apparently I'm good at not showing that I'm shy, because others have told me I don't act shy when they first talked/met me either, though I feel shy. So... hooray?

Also, don't you feel bad about being late! I had to exchange a swimsuit top at Victoria's Secret anyways and the damn store only opened at 11am. So I ran off to do that while waiting.

Anyways, I loved reading this write-up, it was thoroughly enjoyable and really sweet. So cool to think I've met you in person now! And I did have lots of fun, it was really really awesome.
And pshaw, I am no goddess. I'm a friend. <3 (But you can call me goddess it's really cool) If you think good things of me, it's because you're a good person too. Though I am most assuredly a sweetheart. And so are you!

 

[Lex]

Aw guys that's totes adorbs <3. Sounds like a fun trip!

 

[Tennyo]

I ship it.

So. Hard.

 

[Ghost X]

Spoiler: I concur.

 

[Hisako]

Fuck damn you motherfuckers and your whole "I'm having a great time hanging out and having fun in general like a regular human being" shtick, you nerds

Spoiler

Fo real tho dawww

 

[Joe]

This was disgustingly cute.

I demand more.

 

[lithiumkatana17]

YOU GUYS ARE SOOOOOOOOOO CUTE!!!

 

[Ami]

Surely nothing more needs to be said, amirite?

 

[Channy]

I have completely forgotten a few other

Spoiler: little anecdotes

like how I don't think too many Americans were pleased by being passed by a Canadian Honda Element on the freeway but fuck them, Imperial scum

and

Spoiler: pieces of the trip

such as when we hurried to Spokane and ordered Olive Garden to take home, the guy saw my Miyazaki shirt and was chitchatting, asking my favourite movie, how the musics are awesome and it's like, the best waiter/server convo ever that I'm like "You're so awesome, here, take the last of my 15 American dollars as my tip!!"

but none of it matters anymore because this is the official Flanny thread.

Sorry Flare, not all of them are the greatest and even beyond THOSE we still got some pretty bad outtakes. xD

 

[trash panda]

Ami, I think you meant to say "Flangirl".

I too am a Flangirl.

 

[lithiumkatana17]

Yeah, just wait until all three of us get together Channy, then it's gonna be a bitchin' episode of TLS Gone Wild.

 

[Channy]

Ami, I think you meant to say "Flangirl".

I too am a Flangirl.

omg quoted for truth <3

Yeah, just wait until all three of us get together Channy, then it's gonna be a bitchin' episode of TLS Gone Wild.

Videos so many videos, TLS will explode

 

[Shademp]

then it's gonna be a bitchin' episode of TLS Gone Wild.

Just think of the..."scientific opportunities"!