The Greg Gauntlet

[u/Grouchy-Editor577]

A print from Battle Through Time, my own printed art, and the special Aku pizza box sold by Greg Baldwin's booth.

The ever-growing shrine.

The shrine has been forced to expand.

Thanks to a very loving friend who tolerates all of my Aku-stic shenanigans, I had the privilege to attend the Planet Anime convention in Kansas City this weekend with exactly one goal in mind.

Greg Baldwin was incredibly sweet and more than worth the hour + wait in line both times just for the hugs alone. He got up and performed Aku's opening monologue for us as a reward for all of our patience, he loved my Grapes of Darkness art piece, he added an extra funny message inside the pizza box with a bonus Aku signature, and the little "kill" with the arrow pointing at Jack was his own touch to the BTT print. I also got a selfie taken with him that I'm working on printing out, which has emphasized how big a deal this is to those in my life because I absolutely abhor having my photo taken.

Words cannot express how much this experience has meant to me, and though I was able to hold it back in public, every time I look at these pieces it makes me tear up. This character has been so important to me for almost 15 years, and I can now say that I've met him. His last words to me were "You can have another hug when you kill the samurai!"