Originally I wanted to show you all how to make a nice dinner, but… it has not gone as planned. A wonderful artist named Barlee drew a picture of the ensuing chaos.

Kir-tat gave me a link to Elves from her DeviantArt page, and I think I got about as much traffic from her than I’ve gotten in the entire lifetime of the site so far. For one evening it was the #6 most popular “recent upload” on DeviantArt. I’m really, really proud of that. The credit for the sheer prettiness of her art is hers alone, of course, but I’m happy to have been a catalyst for it, in my own small way.

My favorite comment from her page, by Cielle Du Ciel:

I had I hard time telling if they were male or female, too… I’m wondering if their adrogyny was intentional, so as to represent the story and its four versions. Whether or not it was, that’s how I understand this piece, and I love it. It combines perfectly all the different versions of the story, I think, a beautiful and perfect way to get its message across. I could comment on everything, but, I think reading the story speaks for itself.

On that note, I have to laugh a little bit with those who are so preoccupied with the idea of it being “yaoi”. Read the other versions, guys, the one *kir-tat happened to link isn’t the only one.

(Only about one in 20 people read all four versions, sadly.)

Of course, this is the Internet, and the very next comment (which has been blocked, and the author lost to the sands of time) reads:

i love the detail great pic but are they lesbians

*HEADDESK* They are if you want them to be, sir. They are if you want them to be. That was the point, if you will.

Besides this, I’m still a little worn-out from the post-creative afterglow that is finishing First and Last and Always. I promise that this is a temporary thing; Fanime starts in six days and counting, and cons never fails to give me a kickstart, just from the sheer wonderful fannish energy I pick up. So far I’m planning to hang out around Rem’s table in the Artist Alley for a while, and I have a few other offline friends to see, but that’s about it so far. If anyone would like to meet me there, please let me know! I love meeting new people at conventions (except for this guy), and it always blows my mind a little bit that people are actually reading this site.

A friend of mine linked me to a little bit of pre-Fanime hilarity, which… really has to be seen to be believed. Enjoy!

At the moment, I plan to commission a different artist for each version of Elves, but I’m not sure. Either way I’m sure I’ll have Ten-chan return in the future. What do you think?

It’s very fashionable right now to donate money to Haiti, but please be careful where you donate; anywhere money flows, there will be unethical people trying to take a cut, and even legitimate organizations can be astoundingly poorly managed. Charity Navigator seems to be a good place to check things out first; they don’t have the resources to check every charity, but they rate most of the big players. Personally, my Haiti-bound donation went to Doctors Without Borders.

On a lighter note, I’ve been spending a lot of time wandering RedBubble lately. My friend Caitlin introduced me to it back in August, when I bought a print of her “Tokyo” project, and I keep coming back, usually just to explore. They have a great talent pool, and their print quality is fantastic if you feel the urge to buy something. One of my favorite recent finds is JenniferB. Really, I think the best way for me to introduce her is to shut up and let two of her poems speak for themselves:

1. I Want To Fuck You With Words
2. To be continued…

Some of her writing is a bit morbidly uncomfortable, but I think it’s still worth reading.

In site-related news, I’ve commissioned Ten-Chan to illustrate one of the Elves stories I finished back at the end of 2008. She says she should be finished soon, and I’ll post it appropriately as soon as I can.

We cannot even blame the economy, because sunshine is free!

This is a very large problem, in need of great consideration. I think it is too big for one small catboy to fix.

Still, that does not mean I cannot try, especially not if I can get some help from all of you. As an exercise in public health, I would like everyone to join me in a little bit of solar appreciation. The next time a day of sunshine comes to your area, please make for yourself a nice lunch. Of course this should be a lunch of healthy, nutritious food, but I think it is best to avoid “diet” food, because I would like this also to be an exercise in public happiness, and “diet” food is usually not very tasty.

Then, take this lunch outside, find a nice place to sit, and eat it. Bring your friends! Bring children if you have them, or just set a good example. Make sure that anyone you bring has made a lunch, too, or bring enough to share.

That is all, really. Take a small step in the right direction.

Always,
~Catboy

( The art is by Jandruff! )

This time, Rio found me.

“Are you following me?” he asked, almost laughing at the absurdity of it all. I turned at the sound of his voice and found him leaning comfortably across the counter. “You know, I could have given you my number and saved you the trouble.”

“I don’t even know your name.”

“No, no you don’t, actually.” he said, his eyes glittering as he straightened and looked me up and down. With a faint smile, he brushed a speck of dust from his shirt, running his slender fingertips against the tiny antiqued-gold nametag pinned there. “I’m Rio. How may I help you?” His voice dropped, just slightly, as he tilted his head, looking at me as if he meant something more than jewelry. “What do you need?”

When I think back and wonder when I began to fall for Rio, I come back to this moment, to the way he looked at me, the way I saw myself reflected back in his eyes. It was the almost-lilt in his voice that caught me, the beautiful, casual weight of that question. “What do you need?” A small, happy noise forced itself out, deep in my chest. I handed him my watch without a word.

For a moment he considered it, holding it to his ear to hear it tick. “It’s just a broken crystal,” he said. “Call it… twenty-five, probably.”

I nodded, licking my lips. The seams of his pants were sewn with soft pink thread, highlighting his long legs and the gentle sway of his hips, and my mouth went dry as I watched him walk to the workbench in the back of the store. “Twenty-five. Right. Okay.”

“I think… ow!” he cut his finger on a stray fragment of crystal. “Uff. Yeah, I don’t have this size…” he gave his fingertip a slow, thoughtful suck as he set the watch on his table. “I think I need to grind one to fit… can you come back in an hour or so?”

“Sure. Yeah, I can do that.” His tongue was very pink, bright against his lightly tanned skin. I tried not to think too much about it as I turned to leave. Behind another counter, a very small, beautiful woman, dark and elegant in her inky-blue dress, gave me a wicked, knowing smile.

The little bell over the door tinkled as I returned, and I found her sitting astride Rio’s lap, her arms around his shoulders as she watched him work. He held a tiny blowtorch between his fingers, peering at something through dark goggles as he kissed it gently with the flame. “Your friend is back,” she murmured.

“I should take care of him, then,” he said, switching off the torch. “Shoo.” He slid her gently off his lap and swatted her affectionately across the rear. “Cute little pest.”

She smoothed out her dress with cheerful indignation, turning to make a face at him over her shoulder. I tried not to stare at the enchantingly simple, trim audacity of the movement. She glanced from me, to Rio, then back again, and leaned over, whispering into his ear with an evil little smile.

Rio pushed his goggles up onto his forehead, canting his head to the side as he listened to her. “I’ll think about it, yes?” He looked up at me, accepting my payment, and fastened my watch around my wrist, gentle and secure. “Jacqueline likes to tease. You’ll have to excuse her. She’s half French, and she’s inheirited some of their…” For an instant his grip tightened, his fingers and the band reminding me of nothing so much as a soft leather cuff and the insistence of its chain. “…perfect centuries of coquetry.” He seemed to savor the phrase, almost as though he were reciting it.

I must have given him a strange look, because after a moment he shook his head sadly, as if I’d missed something important.

His voice went flat, almost formal. “I’m so sorry for the delay.”

I looked down at my watch, tracing my fingers along the crystal’s edge, feeling the perfect fit as I wondered what I’d done. “Some things are worth a wait.”

“Yes,” he said, his bright blue eyes looking through me as he paused to think about it. “The hard part is deciding which ones they are.”

That isn’t Tybalt, for those of you who enjoy Tybalt artwork, but you can expect to figure out who it is in a future story. Given my slow output that will probably take a while, but I’d love to hear your speculation if you have any.

Just in time for Christmas, Tanko has given her permission for us to post the first Tybalt pictures ever! She drew them for The Tears of Anael when it was published in the YaoiCon 2004 fiction anthology.

Tybalt is very pretty, but in these pictures he is also very naked! Please use your best judgement before you click on the story.

Thank you and Merry Christmas,
~Catboy! =^.^=