Two fanfic writers collide...

Due to crazy circumstances involving my current extensive travels of the U.S., the opportunity arose that Push and I would be close enough in proximity that we might actually be able to meet face to face. We already knew each other's true identities (yeah, that's right, her real name isn't ShouldIGetOutandPush and my real name isn't Zyra, isn't that shocking?) so meeting in person wouldn't compromise already-previously-lost anonymity. The timing worked out, and this evening we finally got to talk face to face.

So, what is she really like in person? Two words: total bitch. Okay, that's not actually true. Not even remotely. While we had shared one awkward phone conversation mostly because I am terrible at talking on the phone, this, while a little weird at first, eventually had us falling into our usual e-mail conversation without all the hassle of typing. And no typing lol, just literally laughing out loud. While admittedly it is a bit strange to have these out loud conversations about Star Wars that we usually keep as a closeted secret from friends and family (except I totally talk about Star Wars with my brother and some of my cousins, though definitely not about the Han and Leia relationship) it was nice to be able to talk about it and meet the person behind the e-mails.

Of course there were initial jokes about whether or not one of us was really using this whole thing as a ruse to murder the other or take all their money. Or maybe one of us was really a perverted old man. But honestly, it seemed like an awful lot of trouble to have gone to before hand with such an elaborate ploy. There have to be easier ways to reel in a victim aside from trading e-mails about Han and Leia and writing chapters and chapters of stories about them in the hopes that maybe sometime in the near future you might be able to convince the other person to come close enough during a cross-country road trip so you can eat their liver and wear their flesh as a hat.

These meetings can be risky, as I'm sure some of you know. I've had people who on paper I thought I'd be best friends with and then in person? Not so much. My first college roommate was like that. We wrote letters to each other the summer before (yeah, pen, paper and stamps) and I swear I thought I'd found my new best friend. I think it took me thirty-seven seconds upon meeting her to realize that that was not going to turn out to be the case.

It turns out, we were both who we said we were. I think I came home with all of my credit cards and none of hers. She stopped at my hotel and we drove a mere half-mile to get something to eat and she said she wasn't sure if I'd actually get in the car with her. Maybe we're both naively trusting, but it seems to have worked out okay so far. And you can all now be jealous that we got to sit around and talk about Star Wars and our stories and what not. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. I mean, I don't know why I should've expected anything else coming from the person who not only knows the nerdiest things about me, but the one who I probably e-mail more times per day on a daily basis than anyone else. For the record, we do both have other friends and other things in our lives, so please don't be worried about that! I think she said herself when we were talking about this sort of thing that yeah, we're weirdos. But we're functioning weirdos. There's a huge difference.

So fortunately that all worked out so we can continue to e-mail each other without the cloud hanging over our heads of, "I really didn't like her in person." Or at least that's how I'm coming away from it. She may have an entirely different opinion! In which case I figure I'll have a pretty empty e-mail box in the near future. The only downside is that the chances of us meeting up again are pretty darn slim. Normally we are at least 2000 miles and a time zone or two away from each other. But hey, who knows?

We also agreed that adding captions to Han and Leia pics in the blog posts is a fantastic idea to continue on each post. So have at it. And thanks for dinner :)