After confirming the ticket situation with Natsugaya, I grabbed a couple con passes from him and hopped back in the line, which when I was talking to Natsu was actually pretty short...but by the time I walked all the way to the entrance for the back of the line, then up through the barricades to the back of the line itself, it had grown a bit. Not terribly, but enough to put me decently far behind him. The line slowly chugged forward, and I prepped myself to try my luck again.
However...shortly after that, the girl at the booth pulled out a ladder, climbed up and flipped over the sign above her terminal to change it from "Morning Musume Sign Session, 2:30PM - Lottery" to "Morning Musume Sign Session, 2:30PM - Sold Out".
All the tickets were gone.
You could feel the hearts of the entire line sink, as I walked out I saw unhappy faces all around and even a couple girls crying...after all, this was the last Morning Musume sign session of the convention and everyone's last chance to meet the members. I wasn't totally let down yet, though...there were still a few options left.
Steve got the one ticket from Natsugaya, which shot that chance for me...but it ended up being a REALLY good thing that he got it because it was announced a month or so ago that JunJun, Steve's favorite member, would leave the group (along with LinLin and Kamei Eri)...so this actually was the last chance he'd have to meet her face-to-face (as far as I'm aware he's still trying to work out attending a show or two on MM's fall tour, hopefully JunJun's graduation concert but we'll see...haven't talked to him in a while though...). Even without that knowledge, Steve was nearly in tears knowing he'd get the chance to talk to her again.
Carlos was over with the Japanese fans, they had done the same thing we tried to do only they fared MUCH better. Almost all of them had exhibitor's passes, like Carlos, so they had been going through the line for probably an hour before we even got into the con center...and there were like 30 of them, obviously with that many people constantly going through the line they had much better luck getting tickets than the 4 people that were in my group. Carlos got a ticket from one of the Japanese fans, but he actually wanted to give it to one of us since he'd been to every sign session so far but one anyway.
However, that wasn't so easy. Anybody with a good understanding of Japanese culture should know...that ticket didn't belong to him, it belonged to that group of Japanese fans who had worked together to ensure everyone got a ticket. He tried everything he could to get it to one of us...but he was told that, if he didn't want it, he should give it back to the person who gave it to him so it could go to someone else in the group.
Ed was NOT happy about the situation, for good reason...most of the Japanese fans had been to almost every sign session so far, and a good portion of them actually HAD made it into every session. Why should they get to go again when there are other fans who've only been to one session, or even to none at all? But...again, it was the group's ticket and so it would go to someone within the group, who had put in the effort to go through the line all those times (Carlos told me some Japanese fans went through 7 or 8 times, even x.x). Carlos did his best to explain that, but to this day Ed is still unhappy about it. I can't blame him...but still, I understood right away that we more than likely wouldn't get the ticket. So be it...
Anyway, in our time discussing the ticket situation with Carlos, some people standing by the ticket booth noticed another MM sign session ticket sitting under the counter, and all hell broke loose. People swarmed the booth, offering the girl at the booth money and yelling about how that ticket should have gone to someone etc etc...it was nasty, to say the least. I wasn't about to get anywhere near that...
I realized at this point that just standing around near the ticket booth wasn't doing me any good...pulled most of the money I had on me out of my wallet and started offering it to people in exchange for tickets. I ran over to where the sign session would be held and just yelled in the general direction of everyone standing around, stating that I had money for a ticket...tried to walk into the line to see if anyone waiting for the session would be willing to sell, but security stopped me at the entrance and asked if I had a ticket. I just yelled at the people in line, "150 euros for a ticket! Anybody!?"...of course, no sellers.
Walked over to where the guys were standing, away from the session...Carlos mentioned that he had asked the unofficial "leader" of the Japanese fans about giving one of us his ticket, but all that got him was a very, very nasty look. Carlos took a big risk doing that, actually...have to say I really appreciate his effort in trying to work something out for us.
And then, suddenly, it hit me...there was no way I'd be able to get into this sign session. And at the FNAC sign session, I had saved the REALLY important things I wanted to say to Aichan for later in the convention because I figured I would be able to get into at least one more...and here, disappearing before my eyes, was my chance to tell Aichan how much she means to me.
To say I was upset would be a MASSIVE understatement. I'll admit, I stomped my foot, shouted something I won't repeat here haha...I was nearly in tears. Excuse my language, I honestly felt like a little bitch standing there in that state...but the situation at that moment just SUCKED. I was crushed...
Then I remembered that Steve didn't really care too much about Aichan's autograph...so I ran over to him and handed him the fan I had been using over the course of the convention, asking if he would get it signed for me. He gladly obliged (thanks again Steve ;______;)...not the same as talking to her, but at least it was something.
So I headed over to find a spot to watch the sign session from...then I ran into Shiori.
(going to go ahead and just quote my recollection of this from a conversation I had with a friend on IRC, apologies for the weird format and switching of tenses, etc...but I'm going with this because it best captures the emotions of the moment - also, unless otherwise noted, everything said here was in Japanese)
[01:22am] CatchFiveBats: So Shiori comes up and is like "hey" and I say hi back
[01:22am] CatchFiveBats: She's like "I got in"
[01:22am] CatchFiveBats: And I just kind of go "congrats..."
[01:22am] CatchFiveBats: And there's some silence, then I say "there was some really important stuff I wanted to say..."
[01:23am] CatchFiveBats: Or, actually..."There was some really important stuff..." And Shiori went "...that you wanted to say?", finishing my sentence for me lol
[01:23am] CatchFiveBats: And I just nodded
[01:23am] CatchFiveBats: Then she said it would be hard since she's a Japanese fan (I guess the staff is more forgiving with foreign fans...since the staff are so familiar with Japanese fans - I mean, they're at every event - it's hard for them to "break the rules", so to speak), but if I wanted I could write a note and she'd hand it to to Aichan and point me out again
[01:23am] CatchFiveBats: And I agreed, of course
[01:24am] CatchFiveBats: Then her friend came up and Shiori explained the situation
[01:24am] CatchFiveBats: And her friend was like "ahhhh, that'd be hard..." but we just went for it anyway
[01:24am] CatchFiveBats: So I got a piece of paper and a marker from various people, and Shiori and her friend and I are like...leaned down on the floor at the convention center, in this massive crowd of people waiting for the session to start, as I rush to put together this note
[01:24am] CatchFiveBats: I tell Shiori and her friend what I want to say and they collectively help me make it sound pretty lol, get the right words in there and all that
[01:25am] CatchFiveBats: While we're writing the note the session starts and the girls all make their way on stage, so people are cheering and moving around, it was pretty hectic
Photo 1
[01:25am] CatchFiveBats: Once the note is finished I give it to Shiori and kind of do a "good luck" look/hand motion, and she does it back haha
[01:25am] CatchFiveBats: And I get to a spot where Aichan can see me
[01:26am] CatchFiveBats: Then right at the last second, as she's going through the line, Shiori comes up and is like "I'm really sorry, but that's just too hard for a Japanese fan. If you want though, I can point you out and you can yell it?"
[01:26am] CatchFiveBats: And I'm thinking "oh god, this is crazy, but what else can I do"
[01:26am] CatchFiveBats: So I just agree haha
[01:27am] CatchFiveBats: She hands me back the note, and I start memorizing what I wrote so I'm not just reading it off...
[01:27am] CatchFiveBats: During this time, obviously the sign session is going on, people all around me cheering and shouting the members' names etc...it was a little weird just standing there and I felt bad not being in my usual "HEY AICHAN, AICHAN" state haha, but I had to concentrate
[01:27am] CatchFiveBats: At some point during all this, Hexi (who got into the session) tried to point me out to Aichan, but she basically doesn't speak any Japanese so Aichan had no idea what was going on
Photo 2
[01:27am] CatchFiveBats: And then, at a later point...Carlos also tries to point me out to Aichan...but there's staff in the way so she doesn't see me (NOTE: this was a huge, HUGE act of kindness on his part...he's an Aichan fan as well, obviously, and he took precious time that he could have used to talk to her to try and help me out... ;_____________;)
[01:28am] CatchFiveBats: Neither of them told me about this beforehand, they must have just randomly decided to do it while in line I guess lol
[01:27am] CatchFiveBats: Also, while Shiori was in line this huge ouendan demonstration (NOTE: it was actually Gamushara Ouendan, btw...wasn't loving them so much at that moment, honestly >.<) started in the next booth over, and it was LOUD
[01:28am] CatchFiveBats: I'm flipping lol, there's no way I can yell over that. At one point I catch Shiori's attention when she's in line and mouth "URUSAI" ("IT'S SO LOUD", basically) and point around me
[01:28am] CatchFiveBats: And she just kind of gives me a look like "no choice!"
[01:28am] CatchFiveBats: So I just suck it up hahaha
[01:28am] CatchFiveBats: Then Shiori gets up to the front of the line and staff starts talking to her, they pull her aside as she digs through her bookbag a lot. I'm not sure what happened, but there was a long delay...then eventually they let her go ahead
[01:29am] CatchFiveBats: When she gets up to Aichan, she points me out
[01:29am] CatchFiveBats: And I just belt this stuff hahaha
[01:29am] CatchFiveBats: I was so focused on projecting that I don't know how long Aichan looked at me or anything, I just remember finishing up and Shiori's friend (who was after her in line) had already made her way past Aichan and Aichan seemed to be focusing on what was up there >.<
[01:30am] CatchFiveBats: Then this random older Japanese lady who happened to be in line is looking at me with this shocked look hahaha, but when we make eye contact she smiles and gives me a big thumbs up
[01:30am] CatchFiveBats: Like "good job!"
[01:30am] CatchFiveBats: lol
[01:31am] CatchFiveBats: Then that Japanese lady, once she gets to Aichan, ALSO points me out
[01:31am] CatchFiveBats: And there's staff in the way again, but he sees me so I kind of signal for him to move, and he does
[01:31am] CatchFiveBats: And I wave at Aichan for like the 100th time, and she waves back...at this point she had to have been like "jesus what the hell"
[01:32am] CatchFiveBats: Then, later in the session, I catch Aichan's attention again, cup my hands to my mouth and yell "I'll always support you!"...but she doesn't hear it clearly, cups her hand to ear and leans in like "...hm??", then I yell it again...and she cups her hands to her mouth and yells back "arigatou!" and smiles, and we wave ;_______________________________;
[01:32am] CatchFiveBats: Then, after the session
[01:32am] CatchFiveBats: Shiori comes up and gives me a like...thumbs up/thumbs down look
[01:33am] CatchFiveBats: I give her a so-so hand signal
[01:33am] CatchFiveBats: And she tells me Aichan said she heard
[01:33am] CatchFiveBats: And I'm like "OH THANK GOD ;_____;", thank her for the billionth time (and a couple more times) lol
[01:33am] CatchFiveBats: After that, Shiori asks to take a picture together :D
Photo 4
[01:33am] CatchFiveBats: Then the Japanese lady comes up
[01:33am] CatchFiveBats: And says (in English) "I told her you love her and are working hard studying Japanese for her!" and I thank her haha...so random, but so nice of her...
...and thus ended the sign session. In the end, I feel it actually was better that I didn't get a ticket for this session, as what ended up happening likely made a bigger impact on Aichan than if I had just normally gone through the session. If it hadn't been for Shiori, though... >.<
Even as many times as I thanked her at the convention, I still can't thank her enough for everything she did ;______________;
Anyway, one thing that wasn't mentioned up above...they had boxes at the sign sessions that you could put presents for the members in. I had brought a present for Aichan and, right after the session ended, I got the attention of one of the convention staff and had them put it in the box for me.
Photo 3
After the session was completely over, I regrouped with the guys, got my fan back from Steve (with a beautiful new autograph on it~) and we all just kind of hung around.
Photo 5
Soon, though, somebody came over and told us that he saw MM exit the convention center and get on airport buses.
They were leaving.
Continued in the next post~ lolol
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