The Wordsmith's Forge

So far 4 people have linked to the prompt call.  One more and we get a bonus story of 1000 words!  Please signal boost if you can.

Stories have been posted for the 14 prompts received so far.  If you haven't prompted yet, you still can -- the call will probably stay open for a couple more days.  From the latest batch, I really like "Island Whales."

This is part of my activity for Asexual Awareness Week. If you missed the beginning of this story, back up and read Part 1.



Quinn: "Oh yes. Then your people would wind up poking around, because they're nosy unmannerly Americans for the most part, and that would piss off Ash, who is our tech support. You do not want to piss off Ash. So of course, you would make a pass at her too, which would piss her off because Ash is asexual."

Jean-Claude: "Oh, come now. Everyone enjoys sex -- especially with a vampire of our line. If the woman is not madly in love with you, then you must be doing something wrong. Merely allow me to come for a visit and I will gladly show you how such things are to be done."

Quinn: "Jean-Claude. Mon ami. We have HAD this conversation before. Ash is ASEXUAL. She is not interested in kissing, fondling, groping, petting, licking, biting, sucking, or fucking ANYONE. Ever. At all. It is like --"

Jean-Claude: "Like the amoeba, yes yes, I have heard it before."

Quinn: "NO, she is NOT an amoeba, or a snail, or a jellyfish, or God help us, a coffee table! Ash is a PERSON who happens not to be interested in you. Get that through your thick head."

Jean-Claude: "I regret my prior remark about the coffee table. It was ill-done of me to say such a thing. I was merely shocked by what you were saying. It makes no kind of sense."

Quinn: "Well, it makes sense to Ash, who handles our electronic security, and believe me if you piss her off she will wipe the entire programming from your jet and then you'd be STUCK here. Which is so not happening because you are not coming into any territory of mine ever again."

Jean-Claude: "Our security is quite good. Do not dismiss it so readily."

Quinn: [Laughs.] "Jean-Claude, I have seen your security. I wouldn't trust it to secure my liquor cabinet. Hell, I wouldn't trust it to secure ALEX'S liquor cabinet, which I break into regularly."

Jean-Claude: "If it is alcohol you wish, mon ami, you have only to say so. I will bring you a case of the finest wine in exchange for the use of your airstrip. The matter really is quite urgent."

Quinn: "Sure it is. Something in your life is always on fire, and not in a good way."


[To be continued in Part 3...]

 ... inspired by fairytales.

I'm posting this in honor of Asexual Awareness Week.

Schrodinger's Heroes  is an apocryphal television show about quantum physics and keeping the Earth safe from alternate dimensions.  If you're not familiar with it, you can browse the menu page.  The following images may make more sense if you have read the descriptions for Melannen's characters and my characters.  LOL_Heroes is a branch of LOL picspam inspired by Schrodinger's Heroes.  See post 1 and post 2.

These pictures all deal with cake as a symbol of asexuality.  Popular phrases include "Cake is better than sex," "Cake for everyone," and "The cake is never a lie."  Full-size pictures appear in the "Cake" scrapbook file.


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The first bird to rediscover the suet feeder on my office window ...

... was a sparrow, this morning, clinging to the underside of the feeder like they're not supposed to be able to do, the way the woodpeckers usually do.  They are ingenious little creatures.

It took less than 2 minutes for another sparrow to notice that food was available.  Hee!

siege is doing a free channeling weekend Oct. 28-Nov. 2.  Your choice of Tarot cards or spirit guide, and asking the first question from each of them is free.  Donations get you more questions or more cards.

This is part of my activity for Asexual Awareness Week.  Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.



This category differs from the others somewhat. Urgent situations are rarely planned, and sometimes involve people who aren't already close. This can make them good for introducing characters to each other. Conversely if they happen between people who do know each other, they tend to change the nature of the relationship. Also, such urgent situations happen infrequently in everyday life, but they appear more frequently in the high-tension atmosphere of fiction.

Childbirth. Attending the blessed event entails providing a lot of moral support for hours under high stress. It can create a bond with the baby as well as with the mother. When planned, this opportunity is only offered to the closest family members or friends, barring professionals. But it can happen by surprise in very awkward circumstances, a popular motif in fiction.

Saving someone's life. Quick action in a life-threatening situation demonstrates how much one person values another. This can create a strong sense of connection, and sometimes obligation. It often, though not always, entails personal risk for the rescuer. This is fairly typical for military buddies or police partners, etc.

Risking your life for someone. Placing someone else ahead of your own life shows their importance to you unequivocally. This often, though not always, involves trying to save or protect another person. While it can create a sense of gratitude, it frequently causes anger as well -- someone who loves you will generally object to you endangering yourself, even to protect them. Military and police buddies protect each other regularly.

Making emergency decisions for someone. This reveals both how well you know the person, and how much you care about them -- whether you know what they would want, and act on it even if it differs from your personal preference. Unlike some of the other options, in this one the initial action is often outweighed by the aftermath. Both characters have to deal with the results of the decisions, good or bad.

Deathwatch. Dying can be as intimate as giving birth. Staying with someone while they pass is an act of love; so is providing moral support to someone sitting deathwatch for a family member or other person.  Many soldiers and police have done this for someone.

my_partner_doug tipped me to this page of obscure punctuation marks.  I knew several of them, but others were new to me.  My favorite is, of course, the last one.  I'd love to have that on a t-shirt.

I pay attention to punctuation in constructed languages too.  One version of my desert language has dashes where the vowels would be, or a spear for a long vowel, with the vowel marker written above the line.  That was the interim between not writing down the vowels at all and writing them as proper letters in line with the consonants.  I also like putting reversed punctuation marks at the beginning of questions or exclamations, as Spanish does, which makes them easier to read.

haikujaguar has released her science fiction story "Family" about Vasiht'h and Jahir.  It features an in-depth look at one of her "odd couples," a practical Glaseahn and an enigmatic Eldritch.  I'm really pleased that this came out during Asexual Awareness Week because this is one of the best relationships I've read in terms of being both intimate and nonsexual.  They're primary partners and a mainstay of each other's lives, just ... not in a usual way.  I love these guys.  I think you will too.