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thedistantstorm · 5 years

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Keep On Rising(Until The Sky Knows Your Name) 17

A story about how an orphaned Amanda Holliday comes to belong in the Last Safe City and the family she finds along the way.

(Or, the story of how Commander Zavala finds himself responsible for one Amanda Holliday.)

Chapters: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

This time: Zavala gets flung head-first into being Amanda’s Guardian. Eva stops by to see his charge.

Notes: I’m so sorry for taking a month off on this one! After a lot of consideration I’ve decided to finish this one off with the conclusion of chapter 19(maybe a tiny epilogue, we’ll see). I’d like to write more for them, but I think it would make sense to package each arc of their story neatly. Expect a sequel about them adjusting to life after Amanda’s injury, including the difficulties of Zavala’s work, and those who have to step in and lend a hand.

He swears he only dozes off for a second, but when he wakes, the light of the sunrise is bright in his eyes, and Amanda’s laying the wrong way in the bed, her head near the footboard. “How much longer?” She whines to Shiori, hovering above her.

“Twelve minutes. How’re you holding up?”

She flops face down with an exasperated groan. It’s enough of a reply.

“What are you doing?” Zavala asks, watching her.

“Stretchin’.” She puts a hand on her right hip, but winces when she pushes down.

“By laying on your stomach?”

“I gotta,” She tells him, turning her head to the side, mostly murmuring into her blankets. “Twice a day I gotta lay on my tummy or my hip gets all twisted ‘n angry.”

“Apparently,” Shiori floats over to her Guardian, “If she does this before therapy, it makes things easier.”

“Y’think the same lady will come in to make me do my leg circle-thingies? She was nice.”

“What?” Zavala looks to Shiori, who gives a Ghost’s impression of a shrug.

Amanda lifts herself up with her arms, shaking slightly. “Ain’t nobody told you anything, have they?” At the Commander’s deer-in-headlights look - which was really funny, she thought - she sighs. “They make me do all sorts a’stuff all day. I take medicine, then I do my exercises, then sometimes the doctor comes to see me. Then,” She stresses, overwhelmed with the thought of all these tasks, “They give me more medicine an’ I nap,” She flushes. “The medicine makes me sleepy.” She sighs. “You really don’t miss nothin’.”

He hums, rising from the rather uncomfortable chair to stretch himself, reaching first to the sky, then down to the floor before using the little en-suite to freshen up.

“When ya leavin’?” She asks after him, around the time when Shiori tells her she’s in the home stretch; Only four more minutes and she can roll back over.

He stands in front of the window on the other side of the room, not returning to the chair. “I am not. Not today. Not unless there is an emergency.”

Amanda absolutely beams at him.

The doctor pulls him out into the hall when he stops to see Amanda towards the end of her physical therapy session. If he’s intimidated by the rank of the man he’s talking to, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he hands Zavala a copy of every medical record they have on the girl, which Shiori immediately transmats it away, scanning and uploading every word to her internal memory and a tablet for Zavala.

“I’m estimating about two, maybe three weeks,” The man says. “The majority of her injuries were minor, leg excluded. Right now, so long as we can keep her eating and she puts on weight, all of her lab values should balance out, and she should be free to go. By then she should be completely mobile on crutches, and in a few months, if not sooner, she’ll be able to start using a prosthesis.”

“I did not expect it to be so soon,” Zavala admits, tucking one fist into the other hand behind his back.

“It’s a traumatic injury,” The doctor muses, “But an amputation is usually pretty clean. Her scarring is not as neat as I had hoped, however, and she will grow. Therapy will be the most important thing. She will compensate with her back and hips for the lack of a knee. Pain will likely be an issue. We’ll get her started on a regimen, but it will be imperative to keep up with it, in order to facilitate a complete recovery. The psychological aspects will be far more intensive. We’ll set you up with someone she can talk with.”

The doctor does not carry on for long before moving on to his next patient. When he goes, Shiori hovers in Zavala’s peripheral. “We have work to do,” She tells him. “A lot of work to do.”

Zavala would agree aloud if she pushed him to, but Shori can already sense he’s overwhelmed, so she opts for a gentler approach. She’s used to reading errant thoughts across their link, well aware that her very stoic, very in-control Commander is actually an anxiety-riddled maelstrom of emotion. He’s very good about not letting it show.

“We knew it would be all hands on deck,” She reminds him mildly. “We’ll take it a day at a time.”

His agreement is silent, between them alone. She shivers out of being in motes of light, her soundless fusion with him like a gentle reassurance, a reminder to breathe.

Two days later, Zavala comes to check in on Amanda mid-morning only to find Eva perched on the edge of the bed. Amanda is standing, holding both of the woman's hands for balance, sweating with the effort. A chair is behind her, to catch her if she falls.

Zavala waits in the doorway, not wanting to spook the girl and ruin her already precarious balance. She forces herself to sit without flopping, putting one hand on the arm of the chair, then the other, then controlling her movement.

"My arms feel like jelly," She grouses.

"New exercise?"

"Zavala!" She tilts her head in the direction of his voice, the cheer his arrival brings visible. Eva smiles.

"Hello, Amanda. I see you have a visitor."

"Eva and I had breakfast," She tells him, looking to Eva. "It was really good."

"I am glad you liked it," Eva tells her, patting the top of her hand. "I'm going to make those pastilleos I told you about. I'll have to bring you some."

She looks to Zavala while Amanda hums an excited mhmm! Zavala's blue gaze meets hers for a beat, giving insight to his gratefulness. When he'd spoken to Eva the day before, she committed herself to helping with keeping the girl's weight up without his prompting, but he was not expecting her to come through so quickly. Really, he should have known better.

"Well, I'm not just here for that," Eva says kindly, retrieving a bag she'd placed on the windowsill. She pulls out a tablet, handing it to the girl. “We have some decorating to do.”

“We do?”

Eva laughs. “My dear, we have to talk about your bedroom! You won’t be in the hospital forever, and when you get home you’ll need a place for-”She breaks off when Amanda’s face crumples. “Oh, don’t cry dear, it’s alright!”

She wipes the tears away from her face with the back of her hand, giving a nervous laugh as the other trembles, propping up the tablet. “I don’ mind whatever,” She says quietly, with a nervous laugh. “It’s fine.”

“Oh, come now, there has to be something you’d like-”

Zavala shakes his head, hardly a gesture at all, really. Amanda doesn’t notice, but it’s enough to silence Eva. He takes the tablet from Amanda without preamble, setting it aside and then leaning down. “Think you can stand again?”

She nods, and he offers her both hands, letting her use them for leverage to pull herself to a single shaking leg. He feels it buckle before she realizes what’s happening and dips, catching her before she’d ever come close to the ground.

“Sorry,” She murmurs, and he shakes his head.

“You aren’t hurt?”

“This happened earlier,” She admits softly. “I’m real weak, they said.”

“You haven’t been feeling well,” He muses, “And your body isn’t used to this. We’ll work on it.” She hums, snuggling into his embrace while he moves aside one blanket and sits in the chair with her in his lap. He reaches for the tablet. “But for now, I think Eva said there were some patterns with ships on them, and we should at least look at them.” He looks down at her, unsurprised by her unwavering gaze. “Did you tell Eva that you want to be a pilot when you’re older?”

“Oh, that’s lovely, dear!” Eva gushes.

“But-” The hurt in her voice cuts the conversation like a knife. They fall silent. She doesn’t have to speak it aloud for the two adults to understand what she’s thinking.

Then, “You have a habit of making the impossible happen,” Zavala tells her softly, whispering the truth against her hair as he searches through Eva’s round up of decorative options. “You made it to the City, fought the Fallen and lived to tell about it. Convinced me-” Her fingers curl over his arm in a pseudo-hug. He kisses her forehead when he cannot continue, waylaid by his emotional transparency. “You’ll fly, Amanda. Believe me.”

She twists to hug him for real, but it doesn’t last for more than a couple seconds. When she settles, she looks over to Eva. “Are there ones with li’l ships?” Her head rests against Zavala’s jaw as she helps him scroll through the images. “I really do wanna fly someday,” She admits quietly.

“There should be,” Eva answers. “And if there’s not one you like, we’ll figure out something different. You leave it to Eva, dear.”

#amanda holliday #commander zavala #found family #destiny fanfiction #shipwright september #(yes i know it's october but let's just keep this organized shall we)

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flowermikonotebook · 7 years

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Meeting Toshihiko Seki - Part 3

I know, I know. It’s taken me more than three months since Meeting Toshihiko Seki - Part 2 . Work life just got in the way leaving me with very little energy to write & and wrote what I could bits at a time. Nonetheless, this now is finished and I am almost finished with the rest. But for now, the second half of Saturday which involves the second autograph session as well as the second Q&A in which I will go down in infamy for forever making Seki-san....you’ll just have to read it

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!

Saturday Afternoon, August 6th: The Second Autograph and the Second Q&A

As soon as Tara & me were back outside and sunk in the last hour, it was time to head back to the Vancouver Convention Centre and line up for Seki-san’s autograph session, so we started making our way there. Hard to believe time had flown by so fast and it was already approaching 2:00pm, so no time to waste.

A very blurry view of the autograph lines, sourced from AniRevo’s media video.

We once again lined up in the VIP line, though we’d let a few go ahead of us since by now we already had at least one autograph (and then some if not more, heh). I knew that if it had been that I only could have gotten one autograph, it would go to the Heart Sutra cd, but since I’d already succeeded, my next choice would be my oldest Sanzo CD: Sanzo’s Song Collection.

I only wished I would have realized that I could have had more items signed, but I didn’t want to abuse Seki-san’s kindness. Besides, I was thrilled when I got to walk up to the autograph table for a second time and seeing that smile of his when he saw my second “Sanzo” cd and not to forget, he grabbed my hand into both of his for a handshake. I cannot stress enough how wonderful and sweet Seki-san really is and I really admire him for being so comfortable around so many strangers that can’t speak his own language. If there is one thing that I can say Seki-san and Sanzo have the most in common is their charisma: something just draws you in.

With no other items to be signed, I had another hour to kill, so I went to explore some other areas of the convention and visited the yukata-rental area. The lady managing the rental there (she was really sweet & cute) had a beautiful wa-lolita dress and we made plenty of conversation until it was time for me to go line up to get into the second Q&A. Whether it was just coincidence that I chose Sanzo’s Song Collection CD to be autographed that day or that I considered it my second most important CD, I would have never foreseen the role it would play next and how grateful I will be for whatever compelled me to have it that day.

Side quest bonus: The now autographed “Sanzo’s Song Collection” album

I walked back to where I’d first lined up in the morning and once again took a seat on the floor against wall closest to the escalator the VIPs were to wait by. Eventually, two Japanese girls approached me and with difficulty, try to ask me in English if this was the line for Seki-san’s panel. I replied with a yes, with my mind scrambling and kicking myself mentally thinking “why oh why do I not I speak Japanese” just as they asked if I could speak it, so very regretfully I had to say I did not. The best I could do was direct them by making hand gestures where to wait and then call them over when we were told to line up in front of the regular line. I could tell that they wanted to try to talk to me more (probably because they’d noticed my bag, the dead giveaway I was a Saiyuki fan), and I wanted to talk too. If I could have guessed I’d run into Japanese guests at this convention, I’d at least brought my phrase book!

But no time for regrets as we were directed to follow one of the volunteers and we were walked into the same panel room from this morning. Tara was already waiting inside, so I took a seat by her and watched as everyone else filed in. It looked like this time there were some more fans than the previous panel, but still not a full room. Shiori was adjusting something on the table before she would open the panel, so I quickly went up to her to let her know of the two Japanese guests I’d met and to let them know they could ask questions if they liked. She had to begin the panel so she wouldn’t get a chance, but told me it was nice of me to be on the lookout for them. That said and same as this morning, I took my seat as Shiori welcomed everyone to the panel, laid out the house rules before we would re-welcome Seki-san back to the Q&A table for more questions.

Yup. This is how you walk the walk towards the Q&A panel.

The microphone, thank goodness, had been moved to in front of the center walking isle where everyone was to line up to ask questions, so no more semi-blocked view for me. But I didn’t want to be the first to ask a question again, so I didn’t get up right away till at least two or three questions into the panel since not many lined up from the get go. Nonetheless, when my turned came, I would ask the second part of the question I didn’t get to ask earlier.

I smiled at Seki-san as I got to the microphone and began, “What was one of the most challenging moments Seki-san had while recording Saiyuki?”. Shiori translated the question and let Seki-san give his answer, letting him speak in Japanese on the microphone before she would translate to English. Seki-san commented that back in 2001 for the first Saiyuki anime, airing programs with religious-related content wasn’t considered acceptable in Japan (Saiyuki is based on Zen Buddhism), so for Sanzo’s “Makai Tenjou” chant, the producers came up with a fake chant that sounded something like a Buddhist prayer but it’s really just gibberish.

Who would have guessed! But this made me really stop to think! I always thought in the anime when Sanzo starts chanting for the Makai Tenjou, it sounds like it’s chant, but if you stop to listen closely, it never sounds like the text you read in the manga—you really don’t hear the “Gyaa tei gyaa tei” and so forth. We’re just given the illusion that Sanzo is chanting something so cool because we can’t understand the language; it’s not even Japanese!

I thanked Seki-san for the answer as he thanked me for the question and I’d went back to my seat. More fans would walk in during the panel, so Shiori would repeat the house rules a couple of times. Still it didn’t seem that many people were lining up for questions, so without a second thought, I lined up a second time, never imagining what would happen next.

First there was a question by another Saiyuki fan, which was requesting another Sanzo line (which I sadly didn’t recognize). Two questions later, another fan had a unique request: she (who now I know was @doodlebugdebz ) wanted for Seki-san to sing in character as Sanzo!

I think most of us were surprised by the request. Heck, it never occurred to me you could even ask guests to recite lines & only did so because someone told me you actually could. But there was a problem with singing! Seki-san said he apologized that he didn’t remember any lyrics to any of Sanzo’s song, but dear @doodlebugdebz kept insisting just to try even a little bit. I noticed some of the other audience members started to get really excited about the idea, but Seki-san kept apologizing that he honestly did not remember a thing. At that moment, I realized that I had with me the very thing that could make it happen: Sanzo’s Song Collection! The CD booklet had lyrics for several of Sanzo’s songs. I debated a bit on my head whether or not to speak up, but seeing so much insistence coming from the audience, I knew I had to do THE RIGHT THING.

And so…I shouted “I HAVE THE LYRICS!”. The whole room went silent and turned to look at me. Shiori asked quickly if they were in Japanese. I nodded “yes”. I can’t remember much of what was going on as I scrambled from the line to my seat, grabbed the CD from my bag, pulled out the booklet and opened it to show Shiori the lyrics were in fact in Japanese. I had no idea what Seki-san would pick as he looked at the booklet while I returned to my spot in the line. I think I handed it open to “Game” & “The Clouds Walk Away” but it went without saying, excitement was building up fast as we waited for Seki-san to surprise us with his choice. Before he began, he apologized in advance as this might not sound as “nice” as the recorded version and this is what they called in Japan something along the lines of “Hellish singing”. Seki-san took one last look at the lyrics and began…

♪ Sora takaku nobotta tsuki ga (The moon that rises high in the sky)

Itami o nonde michite yuku (Continuing to drink and fill up on pain)

Karamiau sadame no ito ni (In the thread of fate that I am entangled)

Mogakeba fukaku shibarareru (If I struggle, I become deeply bound)

Yowakunai mitomokeru (To see for myself that I'm not weak)

Kokoro o nakusu koto naku…♪ (I won't get rid of my heart)

*Source: Hold the Light Net (recovered through the Wayback Machine)

I could not believe what I was hearing, but I recognized it right away. Seki-san was singing TRIGGER (from Saiyuki Reload Vocal CD volume 1) right in front of us LIVE. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything more beautiful in my life nor would I have ever dreamed of hearing “Sanzo” sing live with my own ears. Needless to say, all of us in the audience shared the sentiment as we cheered in awe and excitement, myself bouncing on the balls of my feet. “Trigger” happens to be my all-time favorite Sanzo song so you can imagine the double treat this was for me.

As soon as he stopped, everyone in the room exploded into cheers & claps as many got up from their seats. Seki-san immediately began “I’m so sorry that sounded so horrible!” Awww, he was being so apologetic about it but none thought he sounded bad in the least! None of us would have guessed we’d get to hear him, or for that matter, convince him to sing live for us. I only wish at least that I could have recorded it but even now, I can at least remember the first two lines he sang and what Seki-san...what Sanzo sounds like singing “in person”.

Moving on and two people later, it was my turn to ask a question. I know I could not hide the smile in my face, so I began, “Well, first I’d like to thank Seki-san for singing ‘Trigger’ since that happens to be my favorite Sanzo song.”

As soon as Shiori translated that, Seki-san immediately face planted onto the table in embarrassment, pretty much with the “omg I can’t believe you actually liked that” look. We all giggled and laughed at his antics. There’s just something adorably cute about Seki-san’s reaction, in the sense despite being a veteran seiyuu, he still has his embarrassing/funny moments, heh heh.

But on to the actual question I had in mind, I asked Seki-san “What is one of the things you like most about Saiyuki?” Seki-san shared that he likes that the series is different– unlike most of the stories you see everyone trying to work together for the sake of friendship and benefit of all, the characters in Saiyuki (particularly the four main characters) never try to work together on purpose; it’s more of a “happens by chance” due to the circumstances in the story. I recall nodding to Shiori as she translated and commented on the mic while looking at Seki-san, “Yes, that is true,” as we all know how the fearsome quartet has behaved over the years. However, to put it into context, Seki-san suddenly switched to his Sanzo voice and quoted one of the most well-known lines in the series: “...from the day I was born ‘till the day I die…The Only Side I’m in is On My Own”. Once again, without even asking, Seki-san had spoken as Sanzo again. Whether he did something like this for questions from other series, I honestly don’t remember, but it goes on to reinforce that Saiyuki is a very special series to Seki-san.

Like before, I thanked him for answering my question and returned to my seat. As the panel drew near it’s end, Seki-san was asked to say a line from one of his characters from Gundam Seed (Destiny). First he let the audience know the line requested always tended to kill his voice. He set his mind to speak it, coming out in this really deep voice with the line requested, but after saying it, poor Seki-san really looked like he might fall off the table and needed a big gulp of water as well.

Finally, Shiori called the panel to a close, reminding everyone that tomorrow there would be one last autograph session as well as Q&A and to please join in. She then gave the nod to Seki-san to say a last few words, again thanking everyone for coming to the panel and that now he’d go let his voice rest lots so he could be ready for tomorrow. With that, we all waved good-bye to Seki-san, but right before he left, he turned around to look at me and reached out towards my Sanzo CD to make sure I didn’t forget it. I smiled back at him and nodded as I got up to get my cd as Seki-san left.

What a long, tiring but wonderful day it had been filled with so many memories. And while I planned to go to the Crunchyroll panel (which later I’d realize I might as well have skipped in favor of more rest), it dawned on me there was only one day left to spend with Seki-san and I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad this magical weekend was coming to an end. But as they say, it’s not over till it’s over and Sunday would prove to have just as many surprises in store.

...stay tuned for part 4 and the conclusion of “Meeting Toshihiko Seki”.

#flowermiko anirevo #flowermiko meets seki-san #Ani-Revo Vancouver #Saiyuki #Toshihiko Seki #Genjyo Sanzo #Seki Toshihiko #forever Sanzo

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