driftfleet | may-time mingling (starstruck!)

Entry tags:

may-time mingling (starstruck!)

Who: Starstruck crew + visitors
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Aboard the Starstruck!
When: The merry merry month of May

[ there's been a tiny regime change and doubtless some debriefing after that masquerade! have at it, starstruckers. mingle away! ]

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[ ...

........

oops. ]

...Well it's not that ... bad... I mean... it's... sure.

I assure you -- [ she smiles, amused ] -- the name wasn't chosen at random. Quite the opposite. But if I tell you why, you can't repeat it.

[ Oooh, it has ~secret meaning~! That gets him to perk up. ]

I won't, I promise!

The dog's a bit of a grumpy old stray whose affections are hard to win, but not impossible. A bit banged around. A bit unloved, in his time, I imagine. Not unlike his owner. [ ... ] Have you ever had the opportunity to learn Max's full name?

No, um. He usually just ignores me when I try to talk to him.

[ Lots of people do that with Alistair. ]

[ her answer is a single word: ] Rockatansky.

Oh, so... you named the dog after him.

[ Makes sense. ]

He actually talks to you?

He does. For a given definition of the word talking. Perhaps it's more accurate to say I talk with him, and he on occasion deigns to give me a response. It's a work in progress.

That... sounds a little more accurate.

...It really was a bit like talking to a rock. Which occasionally grunts. I knew a fellow back home - called himself Sten, though I think that was his rank, not actually his name. He was a bit like that. Actually, I think he talked more than Max.

Give him time. He talks more. [ ... ] Perhaps I shouldn't be proud of it, but I named the dog the way I did in order to tease the owner. Not that it means you should like the name any more or less, I suppose.

[ in the end, it hardly needs to be justified to anyone. ]

It's all right - I'm used to it.

[ Being ignored. It's kind of the story of his life. ]

Anyway, I do like the name better, now I know there's a story behind it. It makes more sense.

And yet I concede I've no talent for naming things. Not truly. Lovely story aside, it's not exactly the most thoughtful name. Had it been my dog, however, I might have named him Dodger.