Don't call me Little Washuu

I'm the full-size, industrial-strength Washuu!

Now let's come up to the lab, and see what's on the slab ...

I see you quiver with antici-

-pation....

 

A Introduction for the Newcomer:

Ellen KuhfeldHi. The real, official, drivers-license name here is Ellen Kuhfeld. But since I'm a writer and a fan, I've written under several pseudonyms, the most important of which has been Rose Prescott.

For one thing, I've recently retired from my job as a museum curator. As a curator, I wrote quite a few articles and such under the Kuhfeld name. Museums are institutions that greatly value reputation. I have a tendency to be politically incorrect and a speaker of unpopular truths, not to mention writing mysteries and fanfiction. Thus, I also wrote as Rose Prescott to avoid cross-contamination of reputations. (A friend and I had a business together as the Rose and Nefr Press, whence the name.)

I often use the term "cooties" to quickly express the idea of ritual contamination – it's understandable to everyone in America from the age of four up. Using two names is a way of keeping two separate swarms of cooties from interbreeding. Life can be easier that way. I'm using Rose a lot less these days, since the museum no longer need fear ritual contamination from me. There is much to be said for keeping all one's karma in a single basket, keeping only one set of books.

Which doesn't explain why I go about calling myself Big Washuu, does it?

Washuu isn't a pseudonym. She's a persona, or perhaps an avatar. I've always been a bit of a mad scientist, and lately I'm quite an anime fan. (Anime is Japanese animation.) One of my favorite anime is Tenchi Muyo!, and in that show I feel great kinship with Hakubi Washuu – one of the most famous mad scientists in all of anime. For an admittedly-limited readership, calling myself "Washuu" is as efficient a way of getting personality across as "cooties" is for getting across the idea of ritual contamination.

In the show, Washuu can switch between two bodies – an early teen, or a mature adult. Because of a youthful (but adult) tragedy, she prefers the younger form. It saves her from a lot of potential romantic entanglements. And to strengthen that, she insists on being called Washuu-chan.

Now "-chan" is one of those hard-to-translate Japanese honorifics. It's an affectionate diminutive, and there is no directly equivalent English term. The translators used "Little Washuu", which is at best a partial translation. Since I'm large, more the size of the adult Washuu, I insist: don't call me Little Washuu. I'm the full-size one.

Big WashuuHere are pictures of the two forms of Washuu - Little on the left, Big on the right. She is with Tenchi in both pictures, so you can see she gains quite a bit of  height as she ages!

Sit down, and enjoy the site of a storytelling mad scientist. I had a great time doing it. And there's more to come.