A New Friend

[xifeng]

Work was not worth writing about, other than to say that if you have enough money to own three different pieces of property, you should be sure you have enough money to PAY YOUR FUCKING MORTGAGE on three different pieces of property. When you don't, and I have to get full copies, meaning the complaint and judgment, which usually evens out to about 10 pages and thus $10 per file, on every single last one of your foreclosed properties, I come to the conclusion that you deserve to die. Thxsomuch for your attention to this matter.

Today, a skinny little black-and-white cat clambered about on the porch. (I learned about this the same way I learn about all potential cats: I caught Callice screaming at him/her/it.) Initially, I wasn't sure if it was a kitten or if it was just an extremely small and malnourished adult cat, and put out some food and water for it; it let me pet it, though didn't purr discernibly, and puttered into the yard to thrash around and heroically climb the bushes. It turns out that the grey cat who is Callice's archnemesis is the black-and-white kitten's mommy. She allowed it to get up on the porch and eat some of the food I put out for it; the kitten's response was, basically, "nom nom nom i has many kibbles" and the momcat's response to my being there was closer to, "Well, okay, you might be all right even if the Ferocious Parti-Coloured Beast doesn't want us here."

Callice was Not Happy about the fact that I petted the kitten and then petted her with the same hand, but she graciously condescended to receive pets anyway.

Thus, we disprove m0mmy's hypothesis that Callice mightn't be threatened by a kitten (her theory is that a kitten could show Callice how to use the litterbox, and my theory is that Callice, if left alone with a kitten, could kill and eat it and then destroy the Midwest with a flood of pee).

I may be going to Bloomington tomorrow. I may also be waiting until Monday, since that's when the books are actually due and the odds of my having work for then are pretty slim, but I'd rather do it when class isn't in session and there's a place to park.

Also, because it is Friday, here is a meme I stole from dethorats! This one is behind a cut, in case you don't care about my rich fantasy life, which is not of general interest. :D


1. Pick one of my characters, any one.
2. I will tell you the origin of his/her/its name. [WARNING: With me, this is liable to be "it came to me" or "it felt right".]
3. I will tell you some random facts surrounding his/her/its creation.
4. I will give you a brief summary of his/her/its backstory, if you desire. Indicate yes or no.
5. You may ask me up to ten questions about the character.

Characters I am at all competent to discuss:

RP Madness
Saul Varthema
Tsai Sin-feng
Meredith Lynch
Akita Yukichi
Fujioka Shirôzaemon

T3h n0v3l OMG [WARNING: Spoil0rz may lurk in the darque troubled waters.]
Ketau
Salki
Teigu
Elina Vandel
(If there's a minor character who intrigues you, go for it, but be aware that the answer may be, "Duuuuuhhhhhh...")

Other Shit What I Done Wrote
Anna
Miadhán ni Míbhain
Taren Derai


Have fun. :D

Comments

[shake-the-stars.livejournal.com]

I live to serve. :D

Onomastics: Yukichi was named for nineteenth-century educator Fukuzawa Yukichi. Internally, he was named after his father, in a sense (the "kichi" kanji is the same as in his father's name, Kichibei; men in feudal Japan were often named in this manner). I don't remember just where the name Akita came from; it's probably the surname of a historian, and I probably picked it up whilst I was copying out the bibliography of a Japanese history book. The names seemed to fit together, anyway. XD

Amazing Origin!: Yukichi has about a three-year tradition of existence, and began as an extension of a character I was going to write about in a story that never materialized. (This story was so well-thought-out that the characters weren't even named.) Samurai in general, and the Tokugawa period in particular, had been fermenting in my brain for several years, and exploded, with RPtastic results. Yukichi is really wish-fulfillment, in a sense; tall, handsome, gregarious, skilled with a blade, fractious, and above all Manly, he probably epitomizes the phenomenon known as Lee Is Being a Guy on the Int0rw3bz.

Career Highlights: Born in 1654, the eldest of three sons and his father's favorite, Yukichi got into trouble regularly at an early age, a trend which was to recur with disturbing frequency. In 1671, when he was 17, Yukichi's lord died at an advanced age without heirs, and his han was reorganized, effectively forcing Akita p�re to turn ronin and take up teaching to live. Their greatly reduced lifestyle did not appeal to Yukichi, who, after about six months of intermittent warfare with his father, hit the Tokaido in search of better opportunities. He really didn't find many of these, although he did find Fujioka Shirozaemon, the love of his life.

Yukichi works, when he works, as a bodyguard or sell-sword; both have given him ample opportunities to meet girls. He has had a myriad of adventures, one of which almost netted him the death penalty, and most of which have contributed to the greying of Shirozaemon's hair in the 15 years of their relationship.