Quixley Prepares for Frankenstorm

There are all sorts of things going on down here in the Northern Domicile, but I haven't got around to writing about them yet for the very same reason that I have things to write about.  How about that.

Right now, of course, what is happening is that we're about to be pounded by Frankenstorm and possibly all die.  It's very exciting.  I'm not really supposed to say that because Alfredo doesn't want anyone to panic, however.  He's decided that we have to keep the curtains totally closed so that no one notices anything unusual about the storm outside.  I'm not sure what he'll do if the power goes out, and I'm not sure how he's circumventing the fact that about half the denizens of the Northern Domicile have smartphones these days either.  Somehow I bet this is going to get out of control.

Wow, listen to that wind howling.

I'm actually posting about the Southern Domicile, because Rochester has concluded that everyone down there is mature enough to handle news of their possible impending demise.  They seem to have decided not to get too fussed about it.  Or at least Quixley, who has been IMing me off and on all morning, isn't too fussed about it.  Although he's pretty laid-back generally, so maybe he's not the best test specimen.  Anyway,  he sent me this picture of himself a bit ago and I had to share it with the world in general:

Quixley tries on KEP's boots

KEP was kind enough to share her boots with Quixley, as you see.  (She's pretty cool that way.)  They look rather fetching on him, don't you think?  Totally his colours.

The other news about Quixley is that he has a new boyfriend.  His name is Quellidore and they met playing WoW.  When he told me this, I was like, 'Didn't you just have a new boyfriend you'd met playing WoW the last time I talked to you?' but Quixley explained that no, no, that was like months ago and it's so over now.  Quellidore is totally different.  I dunno.  Quixley's always assuring me that his newest True Love is totally different from the others, but they always turn out to be really high-maintenance.  I wonder if he'd have better luck if he'd, like, meet them in person first.  But who knows?  Quellidore might actually really be different. 

I personally suspect that part of Quixley's problem is that he's been on the rebound for a long time, sort of.  He had this boyfriend in school -- his name was Quenevire -- and they were together for a few years, and then broke up (I don't know why; Quix won't tell me), and I think Quixley never really got over him and just sort of throws himself into relationships so he doesn't have to think about it.  Or possibly he was really on the rebound for a while and sort of fell into that pattern and got stuck.  It's been like five years, though.  It makes me wonder whether he should just look up Quenevire and see if they have any chance of rekindling things.  But,  you never know; maybe one of these online things will eventually work out.

The Southern Domicile Celebrates Flag Day

What, you say?  Flag Day was months ago?  Well, yes, Flag Day was indeed months ago.  But the Southern Domicile had been feeling a bit glum, with most of their friends off living it up in the Big Apple, and so Rochester decided that everyone's spirits would benefit from a good Flag Day celebration.

One of Leprosy's talents is a sense of ceremony.  Give him an occasion, and he can put together an incredibly elaborate ritual for it.  So Rochester gave Leprosy charge of the details of the ceremony.  After some grumbling about how there weren't nearly enough animals to do it proper justice, Leprosy came through.  So here they are: the Southern Domicile, beflagged.

Each of them tried to choose an appropriate flag.  Rochester has the state flag of New York, of course; the Fox has the state flag of Massachusetts, where he's from; Leprosy has a Yacht Commodore flag (AJD's not entirely sure why he chose that one, but apparently he was adamant and seemed pleased with it); Quixley naturally has a flag in his own colours; and Meph has the creepy pirate flag because it's all ironic and stuff.  Look how happy he is.

Barry somehow missed the memo that the ceremony was happening.  He's been mopey ever since he found out that the Northern Domicile is in Duke Ellington's old place, and so Leprosy wrote him out of the ceremony.  Naturally he responded to this by interrupting the whole thing and dashing out into the middle of it with the most attention-grabbing flag he could find.

It's not clear whether Barry's relationship with Leprosy can ever be repaired.  Rochester's rather miffed at him too, because he's concerned that Leprosy will refuse to share his ceremonial talents ever again.

Butterfinger and Alcindarias played the role of audience; here you can see them looking on, bemused.  Neither of them really got the point, although they were agreeable enough to pacify Leprosy's need for an audience.  Alcindarias didn't get the point because in the Wild Mythic Federation, no one bothers with rituals like this.  The WMF doesn't really have any concepts of nationhood or anything like that; they're a bunch of individuals who have a loose confederacy for purely practical reasons that do not include the emotional.  Butterfinger didn't get the point because there wasn't any hugging.

Despite the hiccough in the middle, Rochester pronounced the ceremony a success, as it served its desired purpose: now no one is thinking too much about missing the Northern Domicile because they're all too busy taking sides in the current kerfluffle.  Also, Rochester got to have a moment of patriotism, and that pleased him mightily.  He's very proud of being from New York.  AJD says he doesn't want to relinquish the flag now.