Monday 18 November 2002

Pic of the day: Who's that on my screen?

Living next door to Dani

It's over. Like, totally. The last day and farewell. The car. The whole thing. I can hardly believe it, after these years. After how much it changed my life, my very identity. I can't imagine getting used to it. I know I shall, eventually. All things pass in this world. And the memories remain. Oh yes, the memories remain. But today was the last time. Today was moving day. The end.

The end of The Class Menagerie.

Goodbye to some of my best furry friends of the last couple years. The delightful pouncing vixen Lisa and her good and proper roomie the British mare Cindy. The health fanatic time planner kangaroo Mike, the ever failing babe magnet lizard Scott, the gruff caffeinated Texan hawk Brad, the lazy computer-loving cat Kevin, the big strong shy sugar- addicted bull Tony. The arrogant slightly retarded lion Biff and various other supporting cast, and not least: Dani.

***

Dani is a mouse. A gray mouse.* If you thought "the mouse that roared" is a ridiculous concept, wait till you see Danielle Rosalina Murrieta wield her clipboard with supreme maiming power. Of course, in the TCM universe animorphs are not actual size; yet it is her energy and determination that makes her such a force to be reckoned with. She is rather small and wiry actually. But with the power vested in her as a RA, and the ever faithful clipboard, she stands up to anyone foolish enough to break the rules. That doesn't mean she is not a bit of a mother hen when the rare opportunity arises.

*(In Norwegian, the expression "gray mouse" is used to describe a woman who is, or at least feels, unremarkable and unattractive and unimportant. Much of romance literature is about gray mice finding love and attention, discovering that they are not so drab after all.)

Dani is the most enigmatic of the bunch, and to the very end we really never learn all her secrets. While most of the furry college students either fall in love or try to get some, she remains secretive and aloof. Does she have no heart for such things, is she shy behind that professional facade, or is she sacrificing her love for another's happiness? Any of these could fit her. Apart from her drooping eyelids she could have been quite attractive, and her understated but genuine smile has won the heart of many a reader. Including the guy who made the fan-pic I use as my Windows wallpaper now. And including me, I guess. After all, we rodents have to stick together.

***

Oh yes. It was on the Class Menagerie forums that I first met the Furry community online, with all its quirks and charms. And eventually realized that I was one of them ... minus the gay hugs and plushie fetish, though. The were-porcupine that I experienced being in a dream is quite a metaphor for me: Suspended between humanity and a state of overly defensive isolation outside the species. Able to go both ways but not able to decide which.

In real life, I guess I would never get close to a Dani-like girl. It has always been the Lisa-like girls who broke through my bubble of isolation. The active ones, the ones with initiative, the ones who pursue rather than being pursued. Then again, I seem to be approached mainly by girls who like male comrades, who want to be one of the boys, rather than the romantically inclined. (This makes sense if you know me ... I am the guy who prefers fluorescent tubes over candlelight.) And Dani is a no-nonsense girl who doesn't flutter her lashes; she is also treating people with respect as long as they don't break any rules. Perhaps we could get along ...

(*Insert self-insert TCM fanfic here.*) (Hey, not that kind of "insert"! Hentai no baka! Self-insert fanfic is kinda like a compromise between fan fiction and daydreams, where the writer imagines himself or – usually – herself as part of the story. I suddenly realized now why boys don't usually compete in this genre. *blush*)

Will I ever get used to not living next door to Dani ...?