The Wordsmith's Forge

I got to thinking about how people discover aspects of their identity. I've heard a few people say that therapy helped, and a lot say it didn't help or made matters much worse. So what does work consistently? Reading! I've heard many people say they discovered things about their identity from reading, and so have I. If you are confused or unhappy about some aspect of your identity, then reading seems to be a robustly successful way of working on that. Stack up a bunch of material featuring characters of all different orientations and just read your way down that to see if anything resonates with you.

So I took a list of romantic orientations and started going down it to see how many I've filled just from my own writing. Some of these are specifically listed in character notes or shown in scenes, while others I've added as my best authorial guess since many characters (and some cultures) don't know these terms. Some are strongly featured in entries while others are more background. For a general listing by series, see my QUILTBAG Characters page; and here's one on Sexual Orientations in My Characters.

I have tried to represent as wide a range as possible. If you think a character fits something where I haven't marked any, go ahead and suggest that. If you don't see yourself in the mirror yet -- or you want more of a favorite -- then feel free to prompt for any of these during any relevant prompt call.

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This poem came out of the August 15, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from curiosity. It also fills the "trust" square in my 7-31-17 card for the Cottoncandy Bingo fest. This is the free epic for the October 3, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl meeting its $200 goal, selected in an audience poll. It belongs to the Cuoio & Chiara thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

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This poem came out of the September 5, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from mdlbear and wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "Northern / Southern Lights" square in my 9-3-17 card for the ladiesbingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by mdlbear. It belongs to the Hart's Farm series.

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Here is my card for Round 5 of the ladiesbingo fest. This bingo challenge celebrates the various shades of relationships amongst female characters. It's intended to raise the amount of female-centric literature available. All modes are welcome here: het, slash, femslash, poly and gen. All media/formats are welcome, including poetry; fanfic and original material are both acceptable. Some of the content may be NSFW. Read the FAQ and rules first. The signup post is here. Anyone tired of womenless mainstream entertainment, but not sure what to make? Get a card for inspiration. (See all my bingo cards for 2017.)

I thought this might be an effective way to attract some new readers. It's also useful for developing some of my series with female leads or other characters as a prevailing feature. Consider The Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia, Hart's Farm, Path of the Paladins, Schrodinger's Heroes, and Walking the Beat. In other series such as An Army of One, Fledgling Grace, and Monster House there's at least one F&F or F/F relationship amongst a more widely scattered cast and plot. Polychrome Heroics is kind of a unique case because 2/6 of Damask (Mira and Maze) are female; and of course it has other kick-ass superheras. Among the sweeter examples is actually the relationship between the supervillain Fortressa and her minion Socket, plus all the rest of the Pit Group are also women.

If you'd like to sponsor a particular square, especially if you have an idea for what character, series, or situation it would fit -- talk to me and we'll work something out. This is a good opportunity for those of you with favorites that don't always mesh well with the themes of my monthly projects. I'll still post some of the fills for free, because I'm using this to attract new readers; but if it brings in money, that means I can do more of it. That's part of why I'm crossing some of the bingo prompts with other projects, such as the Poetry Fishbowl.

Underlined prompts have been filled.


LADIESBINGO CARD

Magical Creatures	Spells and Geases	The Writing on the Wall	Northern / Southern Lights	Orgasm
Daily Rituals (Morning Routines / Nightly Prayers / Meal Times)	Love without Hope	Documentation	Something is Concealed	Fission
If only you'd notice me: Yearning and obliviousness	Wonder	Wild Card	Unrequited Love	Push and Pull
Rape / Non-Con	Something is Destroyed / Demolished	Poetry	Teacher	Icy Politeness
Fuck or Die	The Company of Strangers	Laughter	Opposite Sides of the Track	Betrayal

This poem is spillover from the July 4, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from alatefeline and chanter_greenie. It also fills the "feast" square in my 7-1-17 card for the Winter Fest in July Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Antimatter & Stalwart Stan thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

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This poem came out of the August 1, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by an image from Artcarnage on Minds that I stumbled across, and by the "WILD CARD: death" square in my 11-1-16 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. It has been sponsored by daisiesrockalot.

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You know you've picked a good one when your husband does this.  Mate selection = WIN.

One time I was in a grocery store line, listening to all the women complaining about all the things their men wouldn't do.  Not having a dog in that fight, I didn't say anything.  Apparently this was weird, because after a while one of them turned to me and said, "What about you, sweetie?"

I shrugged and said, "Mine cooks East Indian feast food."

This is what you get when you select for personality and life skills, rather than a pretty face and a big dick.

I heard rustling and scratching outside my office window.  There in the bushes were a pair of cardinals, fluttering around and courting.  The male had a mouthful of something which he passed to the female.  Aww!  <3

EDIT 5/24/17:  Also today I spotted an indigo bunting perched on the pot hanger above the barrel garden.

Thanks to a donation from ng_moonmoth, the poem "Everything That You Are Chasing" is now complete.  Calliope and Vagary talk about the pursuit-withdrawal cycle.

DW user Stardreamer is posting the story "Birthday Surprise," of which the first three (of planned four) chapters are up.  Stan takes Lawrence out for a very special  day.  And night.  :D  As far as I know, this is canon, although it's a bit later in the timeline than what I've been writing so far.