After Action [COMPLETED]

[GR] "NOSTALGIA"

Written 12 February 2019

Hmm. Now that I think of it, I have actually made my own render of real-life characters in my stories. It's one thing to include the famous personalities known around the world, or those who are currently serving the government agencies of their respective nations; adding someone who is locally famous―but not regarded as a public figure―is kinda . . . challenging, to say the least. For one, I just cannot ask them: "How old are you right now?" "Where do you currently live?" "Are you in a relationship with someone?"―and all other seemingly-innocent questions in a casual manner and say, "Oh, I just wanna insert you as a character in my novel, just because." It will eventually end up becoming guesswork after guesswork―just so you can actually make an accurate render of that particular person. Such is the case of [MIDNIGHTGODDESS]―Shiela May Familaran.

Quick background: I actually had the audacity to add her as one of the "last episode new characters" in the coda chapter of 'The Christmas Excursion', as a friend to both Jayson de la Rosa and Mara Archer―both fictional characters within my own rendition of the world we live in today. How did that idea come to life in that particular story? It stemmed from an unlikely combination of ideas that ended up becoming a currently-stalled "special project".

For those who have followed this page for a long time, it is no secret that I admire both Shiela May Familaran and Andy McNab―they're both the reason why I have written 'Fear in the Cube' from start to finish. (My source of inspiration to actually write a novel, however, came from Robert Ludlum.) I have admired them for reasons different from each other. My admiration with Andy McNab stemmed from the fact that he is a "been-there-done-that" guy; he was once in the SAS before writing the first of his 'Nick Stone' thriller series―barring his first novel, 'Bravo Two Zero', which is non-fiction. His writing style is raw, rough, and no-nonsense, which has grown on me since. With Shiela May Familaran, however, I have slowly come to admire her, as I burned my eyes with each and every page of 'Montello High: School of Gangsters', because she is perfectly capable of presenting a world that is bleak and unforgiving, all while staying true to the tried and tested conventions that made up contemporary Filipino literature. She has a certain way with words that will seep its way into your heart, akin to sweet poison served from a wine cup coveted by all that is the Holy Grail.

And by reading their novels, I have actually conjured a totally audacious plan: to write a 'Montello High Trilogy' spin-off, with battle-hardened former special forces operatives as the main actors. It was my own way of paying tribute to them. Unfortunately, I have decided not to pursue it, because I was not given the 'go' order from Shiela May Familaran herself―nor she gave a clear 'no' to the idea, either.

That got me thinking, after wailing in despair for not receiving her "blessing" on the matter: if that didn't work, why not try a different approach? And that "different approach" was to actually include her, in a cameo role of sorts, on the "Coda chapter" of 'The Christmas Excursion'. And man, I've never expected her to write "Battlefield Shonen" as part of her reply on Twitter; that really made me laugh like a madman because, for me, it felt like dejà vú.

Ahh, the fun times.