It was an interesting experience to write a story entirely from the point of view of a cat. Well, actually, this one was born when I was writing another, more light-hearted one from this kitty's point of view (which I probably will never finish), but I kept thinking of all the sad things she must have witnessed if she was around since Shizuka's childhood, and I had to write this.
This cat (who was named Hanako-chan by a very young Shizuka, btw ^___^) was born because every time I tried to picture Haruka, I'd always see him sitting somewhere sunny, and for some reason, a cat would sneak its way onto his lap. He so seems like a cat person... so I started to think what the cat would have thought of the events that were going on as Shizuka grew up. Shizuka's illness, Shizuka's recovery, Haruka's illness, his eventual death and Shizuka's reaction, which is precisely what is going on in this paragraph.
I've often noticed that pets can tell when their owners are upset, but they don't seem to really understand what is going on. When I'm angry my cat will cringe away from me without understanding I'm not angry at her, and when I'm sad or ill she'll pester me for attention all the time, inadvertedly cheering me a up a bit. In this case, Hanako-chan didn't understand that Haruka had passed away and the reason Shizuka couldn't breathe properly was because he was crying; she only understood that there was something wrong and she tried to fix it the only way she knew how: by purring and cuddling the loves of her life.
This story isn't written linearly. It's focused on milestones in the lives of Shizuka, Haruka, and yes, Hanako-chan, who starts as an abandoned kitten needing care and attention but eventually grows up and starts seeing what she could do for her Love and her Beloved (Haruka and Shizuka, respectively).
There are huge time jumps that aren't signalled by anything more than a "then" or "one day", because you can't expect a cat to have a good grasp of time. This is also why the grammar is so simple. I practically only use "and", "or" and "but" as connectors during its entirety. I had to give the idea of a cat's mentality with the way this was written, and long run-on sentences were one way in which I tried to achieve this. Seen independently, this paragraph (which is comprised of only one sentence) is almost painful to read, but it helped the overall mood, and was in fact one of the most important events in Hanako-chan's life (and Shizuka's, but this is not his story, even though it is). She was losing her Love, and her Beloved was going through something she couldn't help him with. It's a turning point; after this, nothing will be the same. Shizuka will soon after recover completely from his illness and his parents will deem him strong enough to stop wearing the kimonos, and he won't have as many chances to spend time with Hanako-chan because he will start attending school properly (in my head canon, he was so sick that he had to be home-schooled), and the only times they would spend together were when he'd sit down in his grandfather's spot in the sun and remember him.
I considered changing that whole "sitting in the sun" for "sitting in the shade", which would have made more sense and would even sound better, but that's the image I had of him... sitting in a pool of sunshine, with a cat on his lap and telling stories to a Shizuka who was sickly.
I have to say that the reason I was so taken with this fic was how it was written. It feels like it's from a cat's pov. Usualy with fics like this it's no different from reading from a human's view. Which removes the point of writing from that particular mind-set.
Also, Haruka DOES seem like a cat person, though I always figured I thought that because I was one. Hahaha.
Cats really are like that though. They know what your feeling even when you don't actualy physicaly show it. Their VERY in tune with your emotions.
Yup, I did put a lot of thought into it... that's exactly my problem: I tend to overthink everything, to the point where it blocks my inspiration and I can't put things to words. >_<
For every finished story you see here, there are at least five that were never completed. :P
I loved using such an unreliable narrator. It made things difficult (I couldn't use Haruka or Shizuka's name, for example) but some part of me loves a challenge. :)
No, both Doumekis seem like cat people. They're not loud, they can keep still for long periods of time, they make no sudden movements and are innately very kind... all qualities that cats love in people.
Hahaha... I have the opposite problem. I don't usualy think things through enough. O.o I just get a little spark of an idea in my head and OFF I GO! It's no wonder I try to stick to one-shots and drabbles. ~.~
I have about fifteen fics in my "In Progress" folder on my computer just begging to be finished...
I think that's funny. ^.^ I can say I'm quiet for the most part (No matter HOW loud I might come accross online sometimes, IRL I'm not...) but I'm actualy pretty hyper for the most part. I'm almost always moving. Which three of our cats just take without a care. But I have to be REALLY cautious of how I act around Kiseki because she was abandoned when she was little and we suspect possibly mistreated by whoever left her. So I have to make sure I don't spook her.
Even so it certainly says something for a cat's love when they keep coming to sleep at your feet even when you accidently kick them off the bed at least once a week... ~.~; I feel terrible every time it happens but she comes right back the next night and all is forgiven.
I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my stories, and if I can't get them to say say exactly what I want them to say in exactly the way I want it, then I abandon them... which is a pity, because there are a few that were really promising. -_-
The funny thing is, I'm naturally more of a dog person... I'm loud, clumsy, play rough and have a way of giving orders that makes dogs fall over themselves to obey (I'm not kidding. I can take impossible dogs for a walk and keep them in line, and even my aunt's spoiled poodle shuts up his yapping when I tell him to, when he's never obeyed her). Dogs love me, while cats keep their distance... but I love cats better! XD
The only cat that's ever loved me back is Dido, my lovely tuxedo kitty, but I've had her since she was a kitten... she's had time to learn to trust me. It took her two years to stop being spooked by my laughter. ^^U
(but testament to how much of a dog person I am is that I managed to teach my cat a few commands. She sits up and begs -though very reluctantly- learnt not to get on the table, not to chew on my plants, not to get on my bedroom; learnt the commands for "get in", "food", "bug" -meaning: go catch it-, "stop that" and "let's play"... plus a couple of commands she taught me. ^^U)
I fight with the charactors until they say/do what I want. I'm stubborn. Though some of them are easy and some I'll never, ever get right... Thank God Watanuki comes easy because Doumeki is suprisingly impossible to deal with. -.-;;
I kinda fear dogs... I was bitten when I was little. Some dogs I'm fine with. Like I used to walk my cousin's Boston Terrior. And my nephew has a rescued female bitbull who likes to curl up in my lap and lick my face. ^.~ Thing is, while I'm kinda weird about dogs in general, they like me... o.o With me, cats AND dogs both come to me without hesitation. Even the usualy mean ones. ~.~ Mom's the same but with a wider variety of animals. (We've had some weird things through our yard begging for food. Even a fox once...)
I've got Kiseki trained to sit up on her hind legs to get food from my hand. lol But she sort of gives me this look as if to say "I'm humoring you". XD Billy is sort of a show-off. I dunno about training. But he's ALWAYS jumped up on my mom's sholdor. It's really amusing. Always gets a laugh from guests. And Trouble... That one thinks he's a ninja and a puppy. -.-; Scaling wall hangings... And then doing all sorts of dog things like playing fetch and drinking from the toilet. We even made him a doghouse by cutting a door in an old cardboard box and flipping it upside down.
Doumeki is hard for me to write, too! Contrary bloke... it'd be easier if he sometimes shared what is going on in that pretty head of his.
I've been bitten a few times (once when I was five)... hissed at and scratched badly by cats... but I've never let that stop me. I'm sure if I'm perseverant or just dense. XD
My cat seems to believe she's a dog, too. She bites and chews everything. It's the one bad habit I was never able to rid her of. :P
I get bitten and scratched by cats every single day but I still love 'em. The thing with dogs though is that when I got bitten it was really bad and I was really young. And it shook me up.
I really need to get up some pics someday soon. Uwah... Wait until you see Trouble. He just gets bigger and bigger. X.x I can hardly pick him up anymore.
This cat (who was named Hanako-chan by a very young Shizuka, btw ^___^) was born because every time I tried to picture Haruka, I'd always see him sitting somewhere sunny, and for some reason, a cat would sneak its way onto his lap. He so seems like a cat person... so I started to think what the cat would have thought of the events that were going on as Shizuka grew up. Shizuka's illness, Shizuka's recovery, Haruka's illness, his eventual death and Shizuka's reaction, which is precisely what is going on in this paragraph.
I've often noticed that pets can tell when their owners are upset, but they don't seem to really understand what is going on. When I'm angry my cat will cringe away from me without understanding I'm not angry at her, and when I'm sad or ill she'll pester me for attention all the time, inadvertedly cheering me a up a bit. In this case, Hanako-chan didn't understand that Haruka had passed away and the reason Shizuka couldn't breathe properly was because he was crying; she only understood that there was something wrong and she tried to fix it the only way she knew how: by purring and cuddling the loves of her life.
This story isn't written linearly. It's focused on milestones in the lives of Shizuka, Haruka, and yes, Hanako-chan, who starts as an abandoned kitten needing care and attention but eventually grows up and starts seeing what she could do for her Love and her Beloved (Haruka and Shizuka, respectively).
There are huge time jumps that aren't signalled by anything more than a "then" or "one day", because you can't expect a cat to have a good grasp of time. This is also why the grammar is so simple. I practically only use "and", "or" and "but" as connectors during its entirety. I had to give the idea of a cat's mentality with the way this was written, and long run-on sentences were one way in which I tried to achieve this. Seen independently, this paragraph (which is comprised of only one sentence) is almost painful to read, but it helped the overall mood, and was in fact one of the most important events in Hanako-chan's life (and Shizuka's, but this is not his story, even though it is). She was losing her Love, and her Beloved was going through something she couldn't help him with. It's a turning point; after this, nothing will be the same. Shizuka will soon after recover completely from his illness and his parents will deem him strong enough to stop wearing the kimonos, and he won't have as many chances to spend time with Hanako-chan because he will start attending school properly (in my head canon, he was so sick that he had to be home-schooled), and the only times they would spend together were when he'd sit down in his grandfather's spot in the sun and remember him.
I considered changing that whole "sitting in the sun" for "sitting in the shade", which would have made more sense and would even sound better, but that's the image I had of him... sitting in a pool of sunshine, with a cat on his lap and telling stories to a Shizuka who was sickly.
Reply
I have to say that the reason I was so taken with this fic was how it was written. It feels like it's from a cat's pov. Usualy with fics like this it's no different from reading from a human's view. Which removes the point of writing from that particular mind-set.
Also, Haruka DOES seem like a cat person, though I always figured I thought that because I was one. Hahaha.
Cats really are like that though. They know what your feeling even when you don't actualy physicaly show it. Their VERY in tune with your emotions.
Reply
For every finished story you see here, there are at least five that were never completed. :P
I loved using such an unreliable narrator. It made things difficult (I couldn't use Haruka or Shizuka's name, for example) but some part of me loves a challenge. :)
No, both Doumekis seem like cat people. They're not loud, they can keep still for long periods of time, they make no sudden movements and are innately very kind... all qualities that cats love in people.
Reply
I have about fifteen fics in my "In Progress" folder on my computer just begging to be finished...
I think that's funny. ^.^ I can say I'm quiet for the most part (No matter HOW loud I might come accross online sometimes, IRL I'm not...) but I'm actualy pretty hyper for the most part. I'm almost always moving. Which three of our cats just take without a care. But I have to be REALLY cautious of how I act around Kiseki because she was abandoned when she was little and we suspect possibly mistreated by whoever left her. So I have to make sure I don't spook her.
Even so it certainly says something for a cat's love when they keep coming to sleep at your feet even when you accidently kick them off the bed at least once a week... ~.~; I feel terrible every time it happens but she comes right back the next night and all is forgiven.
Reply
The funny thing is, I'm naturally more of a dog person... I'm loud, clumsy, play rough and have a way of giving orders that makes dogs fall over themselves to obey (I'm not kidding. I can take impossible dogs for a walk and keep them in line, and even my aunt's spoiled poodle shuts up his yapping when I tell him to, when he's never obeyed her). Dogs love me, while cats keep their distance... but I love cats better! XD
The only cat that's ever loved me back is Dido, my lovely tuxedo kitty, but I've had her since she was a kitten... she's had time to learn to trust me. It took her two years to stop being spooked by my laughter. ^^U
(but testament to how much of a dog person I am is that I managed to teach my cat a few commands. She sits up and begs -though very reluctantly- learnt not to get on the table, not to chew on my plants, not to get on my bedroom; learnt the commands for "get in", "food", "bug" -meaning: go catch it-, "stop that" and "let's play"... plus a couple of commands she taught me. ^^U)
Reply
I kinda fear dogs... I was bitten when I was little. Some dogs I'm fine with. Like I used to walk my cousin's Boston Terrior. And my nephew has a rescued female bitbull who likes to curl up in my lap and lick my face. ^.~ Thing is, while I'm kinda weird about dogs in general, they like me... o.o With me, cats AND dogs both come to me without hesitation. Even the usualy mean ones. ~.~ Mom's the same but with a wider variety of animals. (We've had some weird things through our yard begging for food. Even a fox once...)
I've got Kiseki trained to sit up on her hind legs to get food from my hand. lol But she sort of gives me this look as if to say "I'm humoring you". XD Billy is sort of a show-off. I dunno about training. But he's ALWAYS jumped up on my mom's sholdor. It's really amusing. Always gets a laugh from guests. And Trouble... That one thinks he's a ninja and a puppy. -.-; Scaling wall hangings... And then doing all sorts of dog things like playing fetch and drinking from the toilet. We even made him a doghouse by cutting a door in an old cardboard box and flipping it upside down.
Reply
I've been bitten a few times (once when I was five)... hissed at and scratched badly by cats... but I've never let that stop me. I'm sure if I'm perseverant or just dense. XD
My cat seems to believe she's a dog, too. She bites and chews everything. It's the one bad habit I was never able to rid her of. :P
Reply
I really need to get up some pics someday soon. Uwah... Wait until you see Trouble. He just gets bigger and bigger. X.x I can hardly pick him up anymore.
Reply
Leave a comment