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Omake "The Writing Process"
Today I thought I'd share a bit of what actually happens
when I write one of these AzuDai fics. (Or any other story
for that matter--I write both fan and original fiction.)
I start with a concept and just let the ideas flow. Most of
the random humor in my stories is totally unplanned. (And
speaking of writing styles, I write a mix of comedy/drama,
as you've seen, though I much prefer comedy.)
The Bonklers are my favorite AzuDai characters, as well as
my favorites to write for. When I sit down to write a
chapter I think:
"OK, what totally random thought will Osaka come up with
this time?"
Or:
"OK, what outrageous stunt can I have Tomo pull this time?"
And then Kagura's in the middle trying to stabilize her two
fellow Bonklers. It's crazy, I tell you!
Once again, I'd like to thank you all for reading and
reviewing! I do appreciate reviews, though I won't force
you to do it.
Osaka sleepily woke up and yawned. She'd just been dreaming
about what would happen if there were a candyfloss stand at
the top of Mt. Fuji.
"Mmm..." she said as she put away the bed. "I feel like
there was something I'm supposed to remember today...Gotta
remember! On the ball! On the ball!"
Osaka wandered over to the bathroom and then she saw it in
the mirror. Written on her forehead was a single word:
OKINAWA.
(Osaka recognized a word even though it's reversed in the
mirror? Well, given her knowledge of kanji, it could
happen!)
"Oh yeah!" she remembered suddenly. "Today's the Okinawa
trip! Gotta get ready!" She ran back to her room.
The night before, Osaka had asked her little sister to
write OKINAWA on Osaka's face in pen so she wouldn't forget
about the trip. On the ball! Yay!
Osaka headed to her closet. "What am I gonna wear?" After
rummaging through her clothes she decided on a nice
sundress and a white hat.
"Ah, this looks nice," she thought as she packed her
suitcase. "Wonder what Kagura's gonna wear?"
AFTER Osaka had packed her suitcase (remembering not to
pack her bag and wallet--on the ball) she went back to the
bathroom and showered, now that it was safe to wash OKINAWA
off her forehead.
Osaka went downstairs and fixed up a quick breakfast: two
eggs, a bowl of cereal, and a nice steaming cup of coffee.
Usually Osaka ate more for breakfast (a bigger bowl of
cereal, another cup of coffee, and scrambling the eggs
instead of just cooking them) but she was excited about the
trip.
She flipped on the TV and decided to check the weather
report.
"Patchy clouds over Tokyo today," announced the newscaster,
"and as for other areas...light rain in Hokkaido and
Aomori with temperatures in the mid-20s...Sendai, a bit
warmer, mostly clear skies, 28 degrees..."
(The newscaster's weather-tour down Japan interested Osaka,
but it probably doesn't interest you, so I'll skip it.)
"...and finally, down in Okinawa...wow! Let's go to our
live cam! Clear blue skies, clear blue waters...and 33
degrees! If you ask me, it's a perfect day to visit the
beach, especially Okinawa's famous Manzamo Beach!"
"Yay!" Osaka shouted happily and burst into song. "Oki...
Oki...nawa...nawa...Ooo-kinawa! Oki...Oki...nawa...nawa...
Ooo-kinawa! Oki...Oki..."
Osaka turned off the TV and went back to her room, still
singing happily. She grabbed her suitcase and headed out
the door.
Osaka said the customary "Itte kimasu" to her parents, and
after hearing the customary "Ohayou okaeri" (which her
friends told her was old-fashioned) she walked to school as
usual.
On the way to school Osaka noticed that one of the clouds
looked like Osaka Tower and wondered if it was a greeting
from her friends in Osaka. Then Osaka wondered what they
were going to do in Okinawa anyway and made a mental note
to ask Chiyo-chan when she got to school.
"Ano..." said Chiyo-chan when Osaka asked her, "I could
tell you, but why don't you look at Yomi's guidebook? It's
more fun to look at the pictures!"
"OK!" said Osaka, and she did so.
At the airport, the girls decided to eat breakfast at a
McDonald's. Osaka was first in line.
"I'd like a hash brown, please," she requested. "And please
put it in one of those little paper bags."
"OK..." the cashier replied, a little confused by Part II
of Osaka's order (since at McDonald's they put hash browns
in those little bags anyway).
But Osaka did get her tasty treat, and for only 100 yen.
"Why'd you ask for the little bag?" Tomo asked her once
they'd all sat down to eat.
"I'm gonna pretend it's sata andagi," Osaka replied. She'd
read about sata andagi that morning in Yomi's guidebook.
"Ever had sata andagi before?" Tomo asked.
"Chaunen." (Nope.)
"What's it taste like?"
"I dunno...But it looks like this!" Osaka showed Tomo the
hash brown, still in its little bag.
Tomo sweatdropped.
"Osaka, you're somethin' else, you know that?" said Kagura,
grinning.
"Yes, I know that," Osaka replied innocently.
"Really? How d'you know that?"
"Because you just told me."
Kagura sweatdropped.
And then, everyone said "Itadakimasu!" and began to eat,
while chatting about the latest news, what they were going
to do in Okinawa, etc.
After landing in Okinawa, the girls decided to check out
Shuri Castle.
"Haisai!" Chiyo-chan happily greeted Okinawa.
"Ahh...that's 'ohayou-san', right?" asked Osaka.
"That's 'konnichiwa', you baka!" Tomo replied. Turning to
Kagura: "And don't you start with me, you busty brat!"
"We're ALL bakas!" Kagura replied, deciding to absorb the
quip rather than deflect it.
Osaka smacked Tomo upside the head and walked away.
"What'd you do that for?" asked Kagura, catching up to her.
"That was totally unexpected. Even though it DID put Tomo
in her place!"
"Because," replied Osaka, "being called a 'baka' is a big
deal in Osaka." She was uncharacteristically serious all of
a sudden.
"Really? In Tokyo we say it all the time."
"But in Osaka it's really a big insult," explained Osaka.
"Don't you have a word like--"
"Yeah, we say 'aho'."
"I knew that."
"But it doesn't hurt like being called a baka," Osaka
finished.
"Oh...I didn't know..."
"It's OK, Kagura."
"I'm sorry for all the times I called you a baka," Kagura
said sincerely.
"It's OK," Osaka replied, hugging Kagura. Her usual smile
was back. "Ichi-go ichi-e," she said happily.
"That's right," agreed Kagura, grinning.
"Naa," said Osaka, "let's team up with Chiyo-chan and
explore Shuri Castle."
"Sounds good to me," replied Kagura, even though she wanted
to have a little alone time with Osaka. Maybe later. "Let's
go find her before Tomo traumatizes her."
"OK," said Osaka, giving Kagura a peck on the cheek before
they went to look for Chiyo-chan.
They caught up with Chiyo-chan and the three of them went
to Shuri Castle, which according to Chiyo-chan is "sui
ugusiku" in Okinawan.
"Wow, you've been studyin' Okinawan, haven't you, Chiyo-
chan?" Osaka wondered.
"Uree, bicchun," Chiyo-chan replied. (Okinawan: "yeah, a
little.")
"Itta koto ga wakaranai demo OKE," Kagura stated bluntly.
(Japanese: Dunno what you said but OK.)
At the castle, Osaka became fascinated by the shiisaa
(stone lions).
"Hey, a shiisaa!" said Osaka. (Kagura wasn't around--she'd
decided to explore the front hall and wait for Osaka and
Chiyo-chan in there.)
Osaka turned to Chiyo-chan. "Chiyo-chan, how do you say 'is
that a shiisaa' in Okinawan?"
"Aree, shiisaa yaibiimi?" Chiyo-chan replied. "I think..."
she sweatdropped.
Osaka pointed to a shiisaa. "Aree, shiisaa yaibiimi?" she
asked, trying it out.
Chiyo-chan smiled. "Uree, shiisaa yaibiin!" (Yeah, that's a
shiisaa!)
Easily entertained, Osaka ran to another shiisaa. "Shiisaa
yaibiimi?"
Easily entertained, Chiyo-chan joined in. "Shiisaa
yaibiin!"
After a couple more rounds of this, they went inside to
meet up with Kagura.
But they weren't expecting to see--
"Whoa! A whole LINE of shiisaa!" Osaka shouted excitedly.
The sound echoed over the entire front hall and attracted
Kagura's attention.
"Guess they're back," she thought with a grin. "Might as
well see what they've been up to. This oughta be good..."
Osaka pointed to a shiisaa. "Shiisaa yaibiin!" (It's a
shiisaa!)
Osaka pointed to another shiisaa. "Shiisaa yaibiin!"
Osaka pointed to another shiisaa. "Shiisaa yaibiin!"
Osaka pointed to Kagura. "Shiisaa yaibiin!" she said, this
time with a goofy grin.
"Huh?" thought Kagura. "Must be Okinawan. I'll ask Osaka
about it later..."
Chiyo-chan humored Osaka. Or rather, she tried to. "Aree,
shiisaa aibiran!" (That's not a shiisaa!)
"Chiyo-chan's so cute when she's flustered," both Osaka and
Kagura thought.
"Naa, Chiyo-chan," said Osaka, "how d'ya say 'kirei'
(pretty) in Okinawan?"
"That's 'chirii', I think," replied Chiyo-chan.
"A new word...and a little flirting," thought Osaka. She
turned to Kagura.
"Kaaguraa," she said, trying to say Kagura's name in an
Okinawan accent, "chirii yaibiin!" (Kagura's pretty!)
"Somethin' bout me," Kagura said. "Osaka, did you just say
my name in an Okinawan accent?"
"Tried to."
"Uree, Kaaguraa chirii yaibiin yoo!" (Yeah, Kagura is
pretty!) Chiyo-chan agreed. Unlike Osaka, Chiyo-chan was
simply acknowledging Kagura's good looks, with none of the
meaning behind Osaka's simple statement.
"She doesn't understand what I REALLY meant by that," Osaka
thought. "Ah, well, she's only 12, she wouldn't get it
anyway. Let her hang on to her Chiyo-chan-ness."
Kagura laughed. "Uh...what ARE you two saying about me?"
Osaka went over to Kagura and told her. In her ear, she
whispered.
"Ahh...Kagura, why are you blushing?" asked Chiyo-chan
innocently.
"Ahh...don't worry about it, Chiyo-chan," replied Kagura.
And that was all they had to say about the subject.
For dinner they all went to the buffet at the hotel.
"Hey, Yomi!" Kagura called out. "You and me! Eating contest
right now!"
Yomi turned around and pounded her fist with her palm. A
surprisingly determined look appeared on her face.
"As of now, the diet is OFF!" Yomi announced. "I WILL NOT
be outeaten!"
"About time she got off that stupid diet," thought Tomo.
"What is it this month? A watermelon-free existence?" Tomo
shuddered. "No watermelons? I couldn't live like that!"
Osaka and Chiyo-chan immediately headed for the champuru
table.
"Hey, look! Champuru!"
"We're in Okinawa, so we've GOTTA eat this, right?"
Osaka became fascinated by the different kinds of champuru
on the table.
"Goya (bitter melon) champuru!"
"Fu champuru!"
"Somin champuru!"
Finally, Osaka settled on somin champuru, having decided
that goya was probably too spicy for her.
At the table, everybody happily discussed the day's events
until Tomo made some stupid crack about Kagura's eating
habits and--
"Tomo," Kagura said through a mouthful of chinsuko, "I
oughta reach across this table and--and--aaackkk!"
A piece of chinsuko slid back in Kagura's throat!
"Kagura!" Tomo shouted, jumping up. "What happened?"
"She's choking, aho!" yelled Osaka, jumping up too.
"Wait, Osaka!" shouted Tomo. "My dad says I'm really good
at pounding people's backs, and I'm gonna prove it!"
"Tomo, sit down!" Yomi joined the fray. But the energetic
girl was already out of her seat and around the table.
Kagura was already pounding her fists into her own stomach
while gasping for air. Tomo pulled back her arm and let
loose a karate chop.
"AI-YAH!" Tomo yelled.
Kagura's answer to that was a strangled, hoarse scream that
reminded Sakaki of a cat choking on a hairball.
"She's turning pink," said Sakaki, now deeply concerned.
"Shimatta, dame da zo," muttered Tomo. (Translation:
Dammit, this isn't working!) She proceeded to punch
Kagura's back, now with her fists. Kagura continued to
punch herself in the stomach.
"Tomo, be careful," cautioned Sakaki. "You're hitting a lot
of sensitive bones there." But she had to admit it was much
better than doing nothing.
Suddenly Kagura threw back her head and her face began to
fade to its usual tan.
Kagura's breath came in big heaves.
"YOW! Tomo get off my back!" was the first thing Kagura
yelled after catching her breath.
"Yay! She's OK!" was the first thing Tomo yelled.
"What just happened?" Yomi asked.
"I felt it come loose, so I swallowed it," Kagura answered.
"Couldn't waste such a tasty piece of food."
"Are you sure it was still tasty..."
Kagura got up and turned around.
"Thanks, Tomo," she said sincerely. "I guess you ARE useful
after all."