Fictionalize Yourself

We are getting ready for next week's block party/fundraiser (command performance/popular demand. :rolleyes:) As usual, it'll be the entire week plus Labor Day weekend. Unlike the usual gigs, this one will be online too (Daiba's providing the link through his personal setup, which he feels is far more secure than any outside links.)

We're all signed up for classes and the "lunchroom" has been signed for (same deal as last semester [thank goodness the chancellor knows us from aforementioned semester].) We're also contracted to help in the tutoring center and with the visually impaired center ("reading" textbooks for those who cannot read them due to vision problems/legitimate learning disabilities.) The people working in the Reading Center adore Yun since he has a photographic memory (he's caught several mistakes in the texts he's worked on [albeit he's still getting used to using a computer instead of a calligraphy brush].)

The "hunters" are helping the kobudo instructor teach his class (it keeps them in practice without them actually going out "on patrol" or anything like that, plus they do impromptu demonstrations during student breaks to burn off some of their excess energy.) They're using the school's weapons instead of their own or borrowing Shigure's (fewer casualties that way.) They are also wearing their actual uniforms in the class instead of street clothes (they're more comfortable in their traditional uniforms when fighting ["less constrictive"].) They are packing extra bento as well.

Speaking of bento, everybody's gotten into the habit of stopping at the little sandwich cart at the Wednesday farmers market to the point that the gentleman who usually works it calls ahead to his main shop to send a truckload of sandwiches for us the moment he sees or hears one of us arriving (the shop isn't that far away, plus he has help from other franchisees, with whom he shares the profits of our stopping by.)

Oops, gotta go. Someone's picking a fight with Majima and he's carrying his shotgun.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
Sitting there looking West over the Kidron the young Captain closing his eyes thought about that day nearly twenty years ago when he left his native Motherland, his Ojczyna. So it seemed extremely fortuitous when his Colonel asked, “It’s been a long night, Seren. The deputy commander and I have told you all about how we got from Jerusalem under the Mandate to now, so why don’t you tell us how you came to be here?”

“Aluf Mishneh, you can probably tell I am no sabra but Sh'erit ha-Pletah, a survivor.”

“No more of that Colonel stuff, Captain, Shaul,” interjected the Deputy. “We are about to ride this half track to eternal glory so drop the honorifics, it’s just Moishele and Motta.”

“I was raised within two miles of Sobibor by a loving couple and after they both died I found myself rescued by the Mossad LeAliyah Bet.”

“Wait a minute there, Shaul, you lived so close to a Death Camp, yet survived?” Colonel Gur asked in a slightly amazed voice.

“Quiet now, Motta, we have had our turn, let Shaul tell his without interruption,” Moishele was the only man who could cut off the Colonel, “let him tell us how he ended up in the 35th Paratroopers.”

“That is precisely what I trying to do, thank you. In the spring of ’47 as the Communists began tracking down anyone associated with the Secret Polish Army, the TAP, my Papa called me aside.”


‘Pawel, come here, I have some things to talk to you about.’

‘Yes, Tata, is it about all of those strange men coming to visit you and our friends in the village?’ I naively asked.

‘No, this is about you, luby sym, my dearest son,’ my Papa replied,” what do you know about how you came to be here?’

‘Mama, may she rest in peace, always told me she found underneath a cabbage leaf,’ here I threw out my ten-year old chest before continuing,’ but I know the bialy bocian, the white stork, dropped me down our chimney.’

My Papa smiled and may have even laughed a little at that, ‘No, my dearest Cecylia made me promise to tell you... hmm. Tell you what, can you tell me the earliest single memory you have?’

I closed my eyes real tight and was quiet for what seemed an eternity and then said, ’Tata, I remember a trotting motion in the dark and the cold. Someone bundling me up and pushing me out from the dark onto some rocks, but it wasn’t dark any more. Then we were riding the road in the cart. It seems like your hair didn’t have any grey at all and Natusia was a much younger mare. We drove up to our house and Mama came running out, grabbing me from the seat, and just hugging me so tightly. It’s blurry, but I remember.’

‘That was my Cecylia, still alive, and a much younger mare and Papa.’ The thought of his bride, who had been dead for a little over two years then, made my Papa pause and blink in the cool spring air. ‘Do you also remember the piatek nos she lit two candles on the table, blew out all the lamps and made you go to bed early?’

‘Of course, Tata, I knew you two stayed up late into the night whispering at the table. And I remember because that is what you told me all the Izraelity used to do the night before Sobata, Friday when the Sun went down, before they were all taken away.’ I remembered the former with trepidation, fearing my Mama and Papa had a secret, and the latter with pride. I was always proud when I remembered one of Tata’s stories.

‘That night Cecylia let me know she knew she was sick and would die,’ my Papa actually sniffled a little at the memory. ‘She made me promise that as soon as the Germans,’ here Papa turned his head and spat loudly on the ground, ‘were gone and it was safe, I was to tell you how you came to be here. The Russians, ’here the spitting was repeated (expressing deep hatred from the days when the Tzar and Kaiser partitioned up the Ojczyna), ‘chased out the Nazis, only to replace them with our own Communists. It will never be really safe now until some day we rid ourselves of these Russianized Poles. That is why you will have to leave.’

‘But Tata, my place is here at your side, at the side of our friends in Wolczyny.’

‘No luby sym, my dearest son, your place is not here, it is too dangerous. See, that first ride in the cart that you remember so well was the day I brought you home. Natusia and I ran across a little frozen lad of three dressed in a coat obviously made for his Mother wandering between the tracks and the road between Sobibor and Wolczyny one fine spring morning. I stopped and put the little lad on the bench with me. While lifting him up I found a thick envelope in the coat lining. Taking it out, I saw it had too many big words for me but knew my Cecylia would be able to read it. So I swaddled you in a blanket and put you in one of the empty barns with my milk and lunch and Natusia for company and headed off to your doma. Once at the house Cecylia read the letter to me. It seems you were the son of a brave woman who had torn a board out of the boxcar she sat in and pushed you outside onto the tracks. Your real Mother loved you so much she saved you by giving your Mama and Tata the son they could never have. You are Shaul Adamski, born 7 June, 1939 to a Jewish family in Krychow, not Pawel Pilecki the Pole, found 23 April, 1942 by a Catholic family in Wolczyny.’


Just then the radio operator called to Motta, “Colonel Gur, General Uzi Narkiss has given the approval.” With that Aluf Mishneh Modecai Gur gave the order to start our engine and took the headphones to order the 35th Reserve Paratroopers into action after hearing from Uzi “Motta, keep thinking about the Old City all the time.” His Deputy Sagun Aluf, Lieutenant Colonel, Peles and Chief Rabbi Schlomo Goren grabbed other headsets to coordinate actions.

Captain Ben David continued, “that day I thought my life would end. My Mama not my Mama, my Papa not my Papa. But it explained all the stories I was told of the days when the Izraelity lived among us, while their ashes swirled about us form Sobibor until there tore it down when I was five. Papa dressed me up and got some of the strangers, who were ex-Secret Army members passing through Wolczyny, to sneak me over the border with them. From there they got me to a displace person camp in Austria where we learned what happened after Uncle Witold was arrested. I found out that the Papa I had left crying had no chance to cry when they shot Dawid Pilecki. The neighbors buried him with his beloved Cecylia in the church graveyard the day before Wolczyny was burnt to the ground by the Communists. Mossad LeAliyah Bet smuggled me to Palestine just before the War of Independence and I took the name Shaul Ben Dawid in memory of my Tata.”

About half way across the Kidron sitting halfway back in the half track the Rabbi noted, “Shaul, your Polish Mama and Papa were surely one of the Thirty-Six Just, Lamedvavniks, to keep you safe from harm virtually within sight of Sobibor.”

Motta added, “And I thought I had a good story, starting as a child in the Old City to commanding the Paratroopers who will have the Temple Mount in their hands.”

By this time the Lions’ Gate was clearly in view, with an Israeli M113 armored personnel carrier clanking down the cobblestones. Moishele concluded, “And by my calculation, Captain Shaul Ben Dawid, that makes today your thirtieth birthday.”

With that Gur and Peres heard Schlomo begin Kaddush. Looking over they saw that Shaul’s MkII helmet had a neat round hole and the open eyes of Shaul Ben Dawid, once Pawel Pilecki, the first Israeli casualty in the Old City who died at 11:31 local time 7 June, 1969, felled by a lucky shot by a Jordanian of Palestinian extraction with a 7.62x39mm AK-4, Talut, who was in turn shot down.:confused:


Pax et amore vincunt omnia... radarmark
 
My caseworker met Asami. Actually, she :mad: him off. Luckily for her, I was able to get him to find something else to do other than emptying a full magazine into her head (she threw Dunhill because the ash grey :kitty: wanted to smell the new intruder.)

Redirection sometimes pays off.

Anyway, I gave her a "what-for" she won't soon forget ("You're not the mistress of this household, just a guest. I have given everybody the "thumbs up" to rid their aggression all over you if you even think of repeating that action with any of the animals here. Do you understand?") When she saw a Gatling gun pointing right at her along with several other weapons (including a pulse cannon and a grenade launcher,) she backed down real fast.

I didn't tell her that the magic users have marked her in such a way that, if she tries that again, they will take care of the matter (and Seishiro will kill without any qualms.)

Dunhill's okay (a tin of Meows' Delight tinned food and time with Asami and her favorite wand toy calmed her down.) She was so happy to have special time with her favorite humanoid...

Oops, gotta go. Looks like Madame Torogai and Seishiro are adding something to their spells, and it doesn't look or sound like the additions are going to be pleasant.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
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Several of the guys are :mad:. My refrigerator's still not working properly and there's a pool of water leading from it into the kitchen. Funny thing is that the manager fiddled around with the refrigerator's thermostat Friday morning, turning the temperature down. I had to toss a dozen eggs and two gallons of milk because they went bad.

Suoh's playing with both Tiger Lily and Dunhill (one is chasing a feathery wand toy, the other is going after a sprig of catnip tied to a pseudo-fishing rod, switching between them.) Asami went to an outdoor range to "let off some steam" instead of playing with Dunhill (Madame Torogai gave him a piece of her mind for neglecting the furred purrson, causing most of "the clan" to laugh at his expense [he's more than a head taller than her, plus he's a "businessman" and used to being on the "giving" end rather than the "receiving" end of a rather abrasive punishment].) Madame has given Asami orders that he's to play with Dunhill before he leaves for school and after he comes home or else.

I wonder if he's going to challenge her... :rolleyes:

I taught Tanda how to make my vegetarian chili pot pies and pseudo-Athenian spinach pastries (he wanted to learn, and I didn't have much to do.) He's also asked Kei to teach him how to make the different noodle dishes the personal secretary knows (I think he'll pester Suoh for his recipe input later on this week.)

Oh, and we bought out the apple guy, a honey purveyor, the mushroom vendor and the pheasant vendor Saturday plus we outdid the poor "entertainment" (again.) Someday, they'll learn not to challenge my guys, especially since several of "the clan" made their scones and clotted cream in the entertainment industry where they're from.

Gotta go. Dunhill's chasing Softened Tiger and Dragon's Wing, and the chasees look like they'll turn against her very soon.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
Majima and Jin learned firsthand not to irritate Madame Torogai. Heck, Mad Dog's still babbling about wolves bigger than he is, eagles as big as a twin-engine Cessna and tortoises as big as Mount Fuji.

We had "opening day" for the "block party"/fundraiser today (so much singing and dancing that almost everybody's asleep after taking care of sore throats, sore fingers/hands and sore feet.) The :kitty: acts were a hit, too (especially the triad vs. yakuza :kitty: fight.) The kid that Sakuya helped through breast cancer recovery talked with him, giving the lead singer of Lucifer an update on his status (still in remission) and exchanged e-mail and Facebook addresses. I won't say that I'll never be on Facebook, but it's highly unlikely that I'll join.

The people who were responsible for Belinda's allergy attack that led to her stroke had to relinquish their positions in the restaurant (the curses placed there caused several problems for them, including frequent employee turnovers.) Depending on how well the new guys are, the onmyoujin just might remove the spells.

Oops, gotta go. I'm going to be rather busy tomorrow.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
The "clan" is sick and tired of all of the hoopla around 9/11 (rightfully so, in some cases.) They understand the trauma that occurred a decade ago (I showed them what I could find online, and they all experienced something similar in each of their own realities.) They spent a couple of minutes in silence, heads bowed, to remember the honorable dead, then went on with their each of their chores.

The :kitty:s were rambunctious as usual, not caring what day it was. The latest delivery from the pet supply house included several new toys (seems the store wanted some models for their advertisements, the PR guys and the drivers immediately thought of our clowder, put two and two together, and came up with "instant adverts".) We (those of us who owned/are owned by :kitty:s) signed the necessary paperwork, and both Takaba and the store's in-house photographer went to town. Before and after the photo shoot Takaba and the in-house photographer compared their equipment, ranging from camera bodies to light meters (our photographer has a fan of his own. :rolleyes:)

Oh, and we have a few new members of our "clan" (SCREAM.) A veterinarian and his clinic's staff and several of the nonhuman residents/clients arrived while I was gone. The veterans of our organized chaos took everything in hand in my stead, easing the newbies into our "clan" almost seamlessly. Ryoutou had a bit of fun with them before Madame Torogai had fun with him (he had to change his trousers after he got back, from what I heard [they really reeked from the physical evidence of his fear].)

Oops, gotta go. Shiro (a :kitty: from the latest group) is looking at me in a "Please play with me" way.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
I have several new classmates in my Gaelic class (yep, members of the "clan".) I help as many as I can both in and out of class with their studies (being multilingual is a PitA if you ask me.) I had to threaten a few with Madame Torogai (none of them took me up on the "offer" [can't imagine why... :rolleyes:].)

Jin and I ended up partnered most of the class with several of the others orbiting us. They all mentioned that they were a bit confused when I conversed with the instructor because I pronounced almost everything slightly different than Sean (our teacher.) I explained to them that he speaks with a Dublin dialect while mine is more a combination of Aran Islands and Limerick. Kei called Daiba, who pulled up the wikis for all three places I mentioned, and printed out the information he got when we got home.

Anyway, it was kinda cute listening to the strange new dialect that came from "the clan"'s members (a combination of Japanese/Chinese/offworld and Irish.) Sean and I kept reminding them to relax and just learn the words and meanings, worrying about pronunciation later.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
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Yun was jumped last night, but the people who tried to rob him ended up in the hospital (massive blood loss can do that to you as can hamstringing and similar injuries.) Seems that they attacked him because he looked like a lone, defenseless female. They were lucky they didn't attack Balsa, Shigure, Clare, the female members of Circus or the female shinigami (some will kill, you just don't know ahead of time which ones.)

I'm getting Yun a custom t-shirt with the 'slogan', "So, if I stab you to death but you don't say no, it's not murder either?" on it (attributing it to master simon, the person I saw who posted it somewhere else) to wear whenever he wants (the other "hunters" might get one, also.)

We bought out several vendors today including the apple guy, the honey guy, the mushroom lady and the pheasant lady. We performed for our "supper", much to the poor entertainers' embarrassment (upstaging them seems to be par for the course. :rolleyes:) Tanda sang a few traditional songs from his culture (not bad for an amateur if I do say so myself) while Cross took a break to discuss what they were going to sing next.

Jin interrupted an attempted robbery with a poisoned blow dart (where he hid it, I don't know and I'm afraid to ask.) Mon then knocked the second perp out with a well-aimed vertical palm strike (the bruise was hidden nicely by the perp's hair) while the lookout was taken out by Yogi (who had to pay for a replacement honeydew melon.)

We then went to the university's library after putting our purchases away, and had fun taking out several banned/challenged books. A few of "the clan" members asked why they were labeled as banned or challenged, and I explained the reasons behind each individual book. Several of the reasons for the challenges upset the guys due to the stupidity (Madame Torogai said that she felt that Twilight should be banned for stupidity, which I personally agree with, but I gave her a calm lecture about not restricting anybody else's reading material.) The few topics that upset them the most were "witchcraft", language (as in Mark Twain's use of the word "******",) death, religion and "personal" identity. We're passing the books around (when someone's done with the book and someone else wants to read it, it's traded for a book that the recipient has finished but the giver hasn't read yet.)

We're also getting ready for another block party since the weather's still rather nice. Suoh's having fun with Tiger Lily and a feather toy he picked up at the pet supply store we usually do business with and Circus's "lion" tamer wants to borrow both TL and her feather toy (he won't use her without getting both her royal consent as well as her "staffpurrson"'s [he doesn't want to be on the receiving end of a Suoh tirade].)

Ah, gotta go. :kitty:s are giving me the "shot across the bow".

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
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Everybody eligible for flu shots got them today. We had some excitement with a couple of "the clan" and a woman at the store we got our shots at, though. Wren had to slap Mad Dog (guy flew a few feet, bouncing around on the floor several times before finally coming to rest [Mad Dog :mad: off several of "the clan" with inappropriate behavior, and Wren just slapped him before anybody carrying had a chance to draw his/her weapon].) Wren just told him to shut up and take it like a man before he was slapped a second time (guess he woke up on the wrong side of the futon today.)

We also went to the Farmers Market, picking up more apples, pears, honey and fresh bicolor corn. A few guys picked up some sweets (Takaba picked up several bags of caramel apple-flavored popcorn while Yogi grabbed freshly made double decker fudge) and one of the guys from the other Circus ship (can't recall his name right now) picked up several plants that he's set in his makeshift greenhouse on board ship (he's quite proud of himself.)

A couple of "the clan" asked me why I was refusing to buy any cantaloupes and I replied that I wasn't chancing a possible listeria infection. They looked up what I was talking about when we got home, then apologized profusely. They told me that they were missing the taste of fresh cantaloupe but couldn't understand why nobody carried them recently (like in the last month.) I told them that I understood because I haven't been able to find yellow watermelon (one of my vices.)

Oops, the :kitty:s are getting into it with the dogs. Gotta go.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
The "clan" has finished breaking their fasts (the ones who fasted this year.) Asami learned his lesson last year, breaking his fast with rice balls instead of bourbon.

We didn't go to services this year because several of the people were trying to play matchmaker, not taking the phrase "Not interested" into consideration. Alas, I missed the memorial service, but the guys did an impromptu service (heck, most of them also lost relatives and/or friends [and we won't discuss the shinigami delegation!].)

It was difficult last night because the local baseball team won, going to the next round, and it has been even crazier today with all of the celebrating. Personally, until the fate of the world depends on who wins a game or sporting event, I don't care. The only ones who do care in my "clan" are the oddsmakers. I think one can understand why they would care.

Several of the guys have been noshing pink ribbon bagels and pink cookies (we bought out the school's pink cookie supply for the weekend and the local branch of a bakery franchise's pink ribbon bagel supply.) We also picked up :kitty: and dog food that is donating part of their profits to breast cancer research and to a charity that helps after a breast cancer diagnosis (animals eat, worthy causes get some additional funds, everybody wins!)

The :kitty:s are sporting their pink harnesses, too (several strangers have remarked how cute they are.) Sakuya and some of Circus's seamstresses altered several of the harnesses by trimming them with blue (for the male survivors) that are worn by the tomcats.

Speaking of which a couple of my neighbors are causing some trouble with the :kitty:s and several of the humanoids are sighting in on the neighbors. Yep, gotta go.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
Seishiro got :mad: today with one of the neighbors. She let her dog run loose, and it attacked a couple of kids and several :kitty:s. He (Seishiro) retaliated by casting a spell, using her dog as the sacrifice. Gave her what I could call a two-for-one-sale (she was nearly killed and her dog died in the process.)

If she survives, she's not getting another dog if any of the guys have anything to say about it.

What was interesting was the doberman from upstairs avoided Seishiro the entire day, as did all of the :kitty:s. I guess he gave off the "smell" of Death rather strongly.

Oops, gotta go. One of the neighbors is giving five of "the clan" a hard time, and Kurusu's taking off his gloves... :eek:

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
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We had some excitement at the laundromat earlier today. Ryuuji used his right forearm to deal with a couple of washing machines that didn't work (they are even more useless now due to the multitude of bullet holes in them from his Gatling Gun.) We won't have to pay for the damages, though: seems there were several complaints about those particular machines for a couple of months (Ryuuji's the only person to deal with the situation so "creatively".)

We're going to have fun this weekend introducing the newer guys to the festival of Halloween. I've already made arrangements with my friends Tyler and America to stash the candy at their place. We also have several books that we're going to read by candlelight (relax, we have a treasure trove of candles to read by.) I can't wait to see their reactions to my usual pair of authors [Poe and Sheridan le Fanu].

We also had a substitute instructor last week and this past Tuesday in our Gaelic class (a lady from Connemara.) She was flabbergasted when she saw all of "the clan" members sitting in the classroom. The poor instructor found herself trying to figure out how to work with so many different dialects of non-English (including a definite Kansai dialect.) Took her aback when he asked her how to say Gatling Gun in Gaelic *headdesk moment*, but not as much as when one of the wanzer pilots asked how to say "wanzer key" in Gaelic.

Tovarish and a few other :kitty:s are going to the outside vet office for some stuff early next week. Right now, they are getting their nosh in their carriers to let them get used to being in them again. Hopefully they'll be okay in transportation other than Wren because he has an exam.

Oh, a few of the guys want me to kinda announce that they're participating in the NaNoWriMo thing going to start next Tuesday, just as a writing exercise. I've already hidden as much of the liquor and the other "questionable" substances I could find as well as the participants' credit and debit cards. :D

Oops, gotta go. Subaru's looking for Roy Mustang for some reason. Something about setting an apartment on fire to stop everybody from listening to a "faking"? :confused: :eek:

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
The :kitty:s got a treat this past weekend after they got their shots/chips. Several of "the clan" bought gladiola stems for the :kitty:s to play with, including a few that are what I call a burnt orange color. Several of the people at the last farmers market of the usual season remarked that the flowers were a perfect color for the Halloween season. We also went fiscally nuts at the apple vendor and the mushroom vendor (none of the other booths piqued our interest.)

I introduced "the clan" to a couple of varieties of apples that I remembered from my misspent youth: winesap and Wolf River. The apple guy introduced me to a new variety that I just adore: Lemon Tart. It has undertones of lemon that are strong enough to pucker the lips without the acidity. Asami picked up 10 pounds of those apples (he abhors sweet flavors.)

Anyway, today I had an appointment with my caseworker at her office. Seems she had some troubles with the :kitty: delegation and didn't like the way the humanoid delegation reacted to her taking her frustrations out on the :kitty:s. She told me that one of the guys pulled out a multi-barreled gun that wasn't there a moment before (Ryuuji) and she demanded that he turn in his concealed weapons license (he will not get his right forearm amputated again, thankyouverymuch!) She was even more upset about the fact that I wanted to decide when/where/how I get my funds. I told her that a) I didn't want to wait unnecessarily to sign my checks to be deposited, b) I didn't want to carry 20 $10 bills (especially in areas that had armed/strong-arm robberies) and c) I didn't like being treated like a someone without the sense G!ddess gave an amoeba.

Oy, the "faker" is at it again, and it looks like Kazumi, Kirishima, FeiLong and Majima are going to teach her partner a lesson or two about being with a "lady". Gotta get out the earplugs. :eek:

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
We held our Veterans/Armistice Day "celebration" on campus and made plans to go to the winter powwow tomorrow night as well as our annual Folk Fair excursion. We might take some time to go to Tellabration next weekend, too (if we're not roped into staying the entire weekend [bribes of Navajo fry bread have been circulating throughout the entire clan, so there might be some who'll stay...].) Emba and Yuuen are planning to wear their moccasins tomorrow night, perhaps participating in an intertribal dance or two, showing off their prowess on the dance floor. Emba said he might don the stuff he wore when he arrived in this dimension along with his moccasins (PtBs help us all if he does!)

The Halloween excursion was successful, the freezer's filled with candy to dole out here and there/now and then. Several attempts were made by strangers to snatch the treat bags, but the security detail took care of all troublemakers (Shigure's weapons stash made a huge impression on several thieves [:eek:] as well as Emba's hunting spear's "business end".) I think 65% of the thieves wet themselves, even before they faced the shinigami or the onmyoujin. Then there were the yakuza and the "hunters"...

We are going to go to an indoor farmers market Wednesday (hopefully not making a spectacle out of ourselves and/or the actual entertainers like we do at the outdoor ones.) Most of us are looking forward to interacting with our favorite vendors, clearing them out of their apples/honey/kettle corn/etc.

The :kitty:s and the dogs are giving a new neighbor a really hard time of it because she loves to smoke in areas that are off-limits to those with lit cigar/ette/s. Asami told her to smoke either in her apartment or at the other end of the front walk so everybody can enter/exit whenever needed (which was when the non-humanoid delegation took matters into their paws.) I picked up a pack of Dunhills for him (she tried to bribe him with an el cheapo cigarette when he only smokes Dunhills. :rolleyes:)

Oops, gotta go. Another battle of wits with an unarmed opponent. :rolleyes:

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
Everybody's asleep but me, and tomorrow's going to be even busier.

You see, it's Folk Fair Weekend, and, if you've paid attention (and the check hasn't bounced :D), you'd know that practically everybody's busy. Add to that, there's a new "feature" over the winter months: winter farmers markets. The Saturday market is supported by the county. Emba, Yuuen, Tanda and Madame Torogai spent so much time perusing the stuff that I was afraid they would be escorted out.

The "clan" reconnected with old friends, remembered ones that weren't there this year, and made new ones, plus the "veterans" of the Fair introduced the rookies to the sights, sounds and smells (especially to the fry bread! :eek:) The poor cook for the "American Indian" booth!

Narazaki's been camping out with the reenactors (again. :rolleyes:) He seems to enjoy doing so for a weekend or a bit longer, trading stories of what's been happening with everybody while cooking outdoors.

A few members of the "clan went to Tellabration, a celebration of storytelling (said it was boring.) They ended up telling stories about some of their adventures here, omitting clues as to where they live (security reasons, y'know.) They also told some :kitty: stories about their adventures, including the bike rides.

Oops, gotta go. There's some "discussion" about whose moccasins a neighbor happens to be wearing, and said "discussion" involves a hunting spear. Emba, let me take care of this.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
We're back from the Folk Fair (we had the usual situation with the American Indian food booth [yep, the "Fry Bread Situation"].) We also picked up some non-edible items from the Fair, too (Emba and Yuuen adore their new leather shirts, and they asked if the lady could copy the same patterns from their moccasins into the shirts [she said she'll try to when she has the time].) Emba promised to trade some fresh hides for the service, and he's going out later this week to hunt.

The new guys chose not to have any of the beer served (they said American beer is like marital relations in a canoe fucking close to water.) They'll invade the liquor stores/departments near my apartment tomorrow.

The :kitty:s got some new toys and several of the guys also picked up Japanese fans (the human powered kind) and FeiLong picked up a Chinese fan (ditto.) Tao picked up a Chinese puzzle box ("I'm saving it for a present.") as well as a nice comb and brush set for the Dragon.

Oops. Gotta go. There seems to be a mass exodus of armed members, and the onmyoujin are starting to cast.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
Almost everybody else is sleeping off the "stuff yourself until you don't want to see another turkey again!" dinner, the meat supplied by the hunting party last weekend. Emba and Yuuen sent most of the deer hides to the lady decorating their shirts (they promised to do that in trade for her work.) The :kitty:s got Turkey Tidbits, a turkey-flavored crunchy :kitty: food.

I introduced everyone to a new treat: pumpkin ice cream tarts. Asami gave his to Takaba, taking an extra helping of curried pumpkin soup as well as cranberry chutney (said it was perfect with the roasted meat.) Takaba, Yogi, and twelve other guys demanded that I show them how to make the tarts (so they can have them as often as desired, I guess.) I might show them how to make peppermint ice cream pies/tarts while I'm at it.

We're foregoing the sales today. We find them not worth the time or the hassle, especially knowing that the shinigami sometimes have "clients" due to human stupidity/greed. I'm going to check out the prices for some stuff I might send out to my out-of-town friends Saturday (the kitchen's suffering the slings and arrows of copious baking for my in-town friends.)

The "local" football team won, and several of the neighbors "celebrated" a bit too loud (especially after one of the opposing team was kicked out of the game for unnecessary roughness or something like that.) I didn't watch or care who won because the fate of the world doesn't depend on who wins or loses a game. There are far more important things in life.

Oops, I caught a few guys trying to sneak some more of the pumpkin ice cream. Gotta go before they get sick.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
The guys found out exactly why I refuse to go to any store other that the grocery store on Black Friday. When they read about the woman who used pepper spray on other customers to get a gaming system, they all used the same incredulous tone for the same question: WTF? Ditto the older man who was accused of shoplifting a video game cartridge (the man was beaten by police and/or security guards from what I read.) The same for the armed robbers/muggers who stole other people's legitimate purchases.

We're going to pick up some stuff later this week to send out to friends (which reminds me: gotta get the addresses for a few people I know online who I feel deserve something non-"big box" store.) They ("the clan") agree that getting something that reflects a person's true ideas/ideals is much better, and, if it is something that contributes the majority of its profits to a worthwhile cause, so much the better.

The :kitty:s had a blast eating the new food on Thanksgiving (crazy :kitty:s.) Unfortunately, a few also had some pumpkin (luckily, RED and the other vets were here to help take care of them before things reached "critical mass".)

Oops, gotta go. Some of the guys are going after the neighbor who gave the :kitty:s the unnecessary pumpkin, and one of them is Ryoutou. :eek:

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
Living in luxury has its downside, but shall we accept the good and not the bad? The stores moved the opening time up from 5 am to 12 am. It is traditional for me to arrive about 1 hour before opening to laugh at those who have been camping for a long time next to the front door, sometimes for 24 hours. They look like smurfs. Usually they are sitting in lawn chairs and some have tents, knit hats and gloves against the cold (in a city of heated buildings). Its true that they get in first and get special pricing on expensive items, but they are still funny. When I finish laughing at them I laugh at myself.
 
Everybody has their holiday purchases all wrapped and put away for the Festival of Fried Food or for Christmas. I found out that they also bought stuff for the :kitty:s and the dogs (can't leave them out.)

Ryoutou had fun with the neighbor who slipped the pumpkin to the :kitty:s: he slipped the guy some special brownies, using both prune paste and chocolate Ex-Lax (a laxative.) And "the guys" are afraid of me when I use my April Fool's mantra? :confused: I hope the neighbor survives the onslaught.

Tovarish broke a couple of her wand toys (she's got only two speeds: asleep and Jim Carey in The Mask on meth.) Luckily neither Kei nor Suoh were hurt when the toys snapped. Suoh redirected her attention by lightly dusting her with plain flour (she was a bit offended by the act, but submitted to the slings and arrows of outrageous human-style bathing afterwards [couldn't get the right amount of saliva for a proper :kitty: bath].)

All of the :kitty:s have their winter coats in, as do the dogs. The human/oid members of "the clan" got their coats out of storage, and are giving away the ones that are outgrown. There was a coat collection box on campus where we dropped them off before going for replacements, so the guys know where the coats/jackets are going.

We also have some new members. *scream heard in several different planes of existence* Seems that some of the new guys are werefolk, but of a different kind. I can't quite describe what I mean, just that they have two forms, but not quite what anybody here's used to. They dropped in while we were preparing for our late class. Luckily, there were enough "veterans" to take the new guys in hand while those of us with late classes got to school. They're lucky that it's still relatively warm, only in the low- to mid- thirties F. here.

Oops, gotta go. One of the new guys is being harassed, and I think he's a were by the way he's looking at the offender like an anatomy experiment.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
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