When I first added cat-girl to the character roster, I wasn’t actually sure about that decision. She started out as a one-dimensional “slut” character. Actually, I’m kinda not joking about that. We initially met cat-girl because she wanted to help to advertise the bakery (I don’t even remember how she found her way into the story, honestly). She immediately went out wearing nothing but fifth-element bandages (you know, those white bandages that Milla Jovovich wore) and caused a couple of car accidents.
Throughout the rest of the story, she was barely even comic relief. She was pretty much an exhibitionist slut who just wanted to show and use her body in any way possible, and Lily and Sabby basically had a full time job just trying to keep her from getting them in a whole heap of legal trouble. I think comic relief is the best way to describe her, but maybe more accurately, she was a sweet and well-meaning thorn in everyone’s side that they just kept around because she made the bakery a lot of money.
I mean, Lily wouldn’t even describe some of the stuff she “wore”. Not just because that would have made this the kind of story I didn’t want, but because she was embarrassed. I mean, one time she wore nothing but a ribbon. Another time, well… Lily was too embarrassed to say, but when Lily and Sabby made the mistake of relaxing the boundaries a little, she came in in full leather fetish gear. And, let’s say, it was the type that didn’t cover much but if someone had taken even the smallest liberties… would have put her into a very vulnerable, immobile, and difficult to escape from position she’d have enjoyed very much. If you get my meaning.
Quite frankly, I don’t understand why Lily and Sabby didn’t just kick her to the curb. I would have…
I wasn’t sure about that decision right up until her redemption arc. And then, suddenly, she turned out to be more of a tragic character than anything. I mean, poor girl wanted to be a housewife. How did she get here from there?
We never really found out, and frankly, I should probably explore that. It might make a good short story.
Anyway, the moment she was “redeemed”, I guess, was the moment we found out her real name. “Anathema”. Set apart. But sometimes anathema is a word used in a negative way. When I saw that word (when I was trying to figure out what to name her, I actually looked up names that mean “set apart” or something like that) I knew it was perfect for her.
It’s an unusual name, too.
And then she turned out to be one of the most… beautiful characters of the whole story, if a little undeveloped, I suppose.
I love how her character arc turned out once “the boss” set her in the right direction. She then turns right around and tells Lily right to her face that she’s being selfish. Who else could get away with that? But… this is Anathema. She never shies away from saying what she thinks. Or doing what she wants. It’s just that what she wants… changed.
So at the end, I still kind of regret what I did with her character, but she turned out to have a fairly important role in the story, and she’s perhaps the character that has the most… notable change of character in the entire story. And truth be told, not having to rein her in anymore was a relief. That girl always wanted to push the envelope and I was always fighting with her to keep her body to herself. If I’d let her, she woulda at least nailed Lily (though as she explained, she did know it was a bad idea), probably Crystal (bad girl!), and probably would have tried to get everyone together at the same time. But I didn’t let her do any of that. She kept it out of work… mostly. There was that one time…
But at the end of the day, I’m not going to retcon her out. She did serve her purpose. Even if I probably should have reined her in a little better.
I don’t think I ever mentioned her last name, did I? Well… I won’t here, either.