the deep moans round with many voices

I hate my life and all my current writing projects (including the prompt fill I am still working on from the last mini-ficlet prompt meme I opened, ARGH, that thing is made of kudzu and frustration but I am GOING TO BEAT IT eventually), and I just want to do some tiny finger exercises to hopefully clear out the cobwebs in my brain so I can focus again.

Here is a link to my Genprompt Bingo card.

For those who prefer lists to graphics, the open squares are: Exploration, Missing Persons, Biography / Autobiography, Virtual Reality, Plays and Scripts, Violence, Anticipation, Rich and Poor, Warning Signs, Cherished, Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold, Winter, WILD CARD, Honey, Cowardly, Mentors, Angst, Energy Beings, The Tower, Another Year Older: Birthdays, Monsoon, Kids / Babies, Something Useful, Heat, Explorer

If you would like to claim any of the open squares, please choose a prompt from the card, add one to three characters plus a scenario or mood, and I will write you a ficlet of at least 100 words.

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Obligatory small print:

1. I reserve the right to veto any fandoms I don't know well enough to write, and ask you to please try again.

2. Crossover prompts are fine. On the off chance that anyone wants to read a snippet from any of my original worlds and stories, ofic prompts are also fine.

3. In this challenge, WILD CARD means to grab any prompt from the complete round 15 prompt list. I reserve the right to veto any such wild card substitutions and ask you to please try again.

4. Genprompt Bingo fills do not have to be gen! (The 'gen' refers to the squares, which do not automatically presuppose shipping.) Just be aware that I'm not great at romance, so if you request shipfic, it will come out fairly low-key and may end up as ambiguous gen anyway. Porn is unlikely, though you can always ask.

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Fill List

1. A Matter of Record: Biography/Autobiography, Aravis! For musesfool, 275 words. [Tumblr crosspost]

2. Which Constrains Them To Alter: warning signs, NejiHina (or Hinata+Neji), something about them partnering up for political upheaval of the hopeful kind? For runespoor7, 550 words. [Tumblr crosspost]

3. Many Happy Returns of the Day: Another Year Older: Birthdays - Someone among the Iron Fist and/or Defenders characters having their next birthday after making their new friend(s) in the show. For sholio, 450 words. [Tumblr crosspost]

4. Interrogating the Text from the Wrong Perspective: Plays and Scripts, with Cimorene and Mendanbar watching a play that was written in their honor. For wistfulmemory, 125 words. [Tumblr crosspost]

5. Aim High: Mentors - Vorkosigan - Alys, Ekaterin, Laisa. Or Gregor and the next generation. For joyeuce01, 250 words. [Tumblr crosspost]

I have a new genprompt_bingo card, for Round 15!

This is a wonderfully low-pressure challenge, since fills only need to be 100 words long. I am going to black this card out eventually, but I make no guarantees how long it will take me to get there. :)



( my card )

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Prompts in BOLD have been filled. Also, a list of story links will go here as I write. :)

1. A Matter of Record - 275 words, July 2019, Chronicles of Narnia, biography / autobiography
2. Which Constrains Them To Alter - 550 words, July 2019, Naruto, warning signs
3. Many Happy Returns of the Day - 450 words, July 2019, Defenders (MCU), another year older: birthdays
4. Interrogating the Text from the Wrong Perspective - 125 words, July 2019, Enchanted Forest Chronicles, plays and scripts
5. Aim High - 250 words, July 2019, Vorkosigan Saga, mentors

6. At the Appropriate Time - 250 words, Aug. 2019, Chronicles of Narnia/Harry Potter, heat
7. Wild Honey - 100 words, Jan. 2020, Chronicles of Narnia/Harry Potter, honey
8. I Believe the Children Are Our Future - 1,425 words, Jun. 2020, Chronicles of Narnia, kids / babies
9. Between the Saltwater and the Sea-Strand - 3,515 words, Oct. 2020, Naruto, monsoon

I finally finished my genprompt_bingo card... so of course I went out and got a new card for a different bingo challenge. *wry*

The challenge in this case is ladiesbingo, for stories about relationships between two or more female characters. Which is so totally up my alley I couldn't resist. :)


( my card )

I'm a little unsure how to handle a few of these -- for example, farce is really not my forte -- but we'll see how it goes!

Rules: 500 word minimum per fill, fills must focus on relationships between two or more female characters, no more than one borderline fill per five fills. (See community FAQ for definitions of borderline fills.)

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ETA: Prompts in BOLD have been filled. Also, here is a list of story links!

1. Between the Light and Darkness - 800 words, Oct. 2018, Chronicles of Narnia, chiaroscuro
2. Find Me a Find - 725 words, Nov. 2018, Enchanted Forest Chronicles, soulmates
3. Opening Bid - 1,050 words, Dec. 2018, Vorkosigan Saga, habits and routines
4. Roll for Seduction - 1,175 words, Jan. 2019, Homestuck, sigh no more, ladies
5. The Virtues of the Beast - 625 words, Feb. 2019, Chronicles of Narnia, ship and captain / mount and rider

6. Room for Coincidence - 700 words, March 2019, MCU, roommates / sharing a room (WILD CARD)
7. Free Time and Other Unicorns - 1,675 words, March 2019, MCU, magical creatures
8. What Wind Is to Fire - 1,375 words, March 2019, Chronicles of Narnia, noble gasses
9. For Everything Which Is Yes - 575 words, April 2019, Black Jewels, the company of strangers
10. Every Cowgirl Sings Her Sad, Sad Song - 2,675 words, Sept. 2019, Homestuck, use of symbolism

11. The Fruits of Her Labor - 600 words, Oct. 2019, Homestuck, touch
12. No Friend Like a Sister - 1,450 words, Jan. 2020, original, siblings
13. The Three Sisters of Tumbledown Creek - 13,775 words, June 2020, Chronicles of Narnia/Naruto, someone gains purpose.
14. Building Bridges - 6,400 words, Sept. 2020, Chronicles of Narnia, the bridge.
15. The Common Woman's Gold - 1,100 words, Oct. 2020, Chronicles of Narnia, a member of the underclass (urchin / beggar / outcast)

16. Whilst You and I Keep Ourselves Warm - 1,625 words, Nov. 2020, Chronicles of Narnia, hurt/comfort
17. Narutostuck: The Deepest Secret Nobody Knows - 750 words, Feb. 2021, Homestuck/Naruto, underage
18. A Long Road from Home - 1,675 words, Feb. 2021, Darkangel Trilogy, illness
19. Go Forth To Meet the Future - 1,900 words, March 2021, Chronicles of Narnia, wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey: time travel

December 5: I spot a Vorkosigan Saga tag over on the right. Exposition? Is it a series you've read before? (for Grumpy_Old_Snake) [Tumblr crosspost]

I am now trying to remember how and when I first discovered the Vorkosigan series. I think it may have been via the purchase of a used paperback copy of A Civil Campaign? Which is a decidedly weird entry point, but I literally cannot pick up that book and read an excerpt without getting sucked into rereading the whole thing and laughing so hard tears run from my eyes, so you know, there are worse introductions. *grin* Then I used the little timeline cheat sheet in the back to read the rest in chronological (rather than publication) order.

That was probably sometime after 2003, but definitely before 2006; I can't be more specific.

First and foremost, the books are entertaining. I mean that as a high compliment! If a book of fiction does not provide enjoyment to the reader, it's failing at its most basic task, but catching and holding attention is harder than one might think. Bujold makes it look effortless. I think the most important ingredients are characters with strong and distinct personalities and goals who have enough agency to make things happen without being so overpowered that they encounter no serious difficulties and obstacles on their paths. Bujold is also good about maintaining emotional reality, so when characters ought to be shaken or excited or angry about events, they get shaken or exited or angry or whatever. And of course these books are like catnip if you have a competence kink: lots of intelligent, capable people facing huge problems and solving them.

Bujold doesn't seem hugely interested in the 'hard' science of her settings, though she's clearly put some thought into the physics of space colonies and wormhole jumps and weapons and whatnot. She's more interested in biology and sociology, which I think is neat. That's also an unusual perspective for military sci-fi, but I think the books are stronger for the combination -- the wars and politics lend bite and edge to the bio-ethics, and the sociological conundrums humanize the realpolitik and guns.

I'm not really in Vorkosigan fandom, insofar as it exists, though I've read some Vorkosigan fic over the years. I'm happy with canon as it is, and even if I wanted to add stuff or fill in gaps, the twisty, kinetic nature of Bujold's plots and the wit of her dialogue are not things I am remotely qualified to imitate.

(Ekaterin and Gregor are my favorites, though Miles runs a very close second.)

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December Talking Meme: All Days

narniaexchange reveals are up!

I received the wonderful In Exile by therck, which follows Prunaprismia after the end of Prince Caspian. Go read it, it's awesome. :-)

And I wrote Queen Lucy, the Firebird, and the Death of Koschei the Deathless for rthstewart: In which Queen Lucy of Narnia and Princess Elena of Vinyedvyeri go on a quest to defeat Koschei the Deathless, rescue Elena's brothers, and incidentally get Lucy back home after she was carried off by a magical bird. (2,700 words)

[AO3 crosspost / ff.net crosspost]

Many thanks to autumnia for the beta!

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So, thoughts on the story. rthstewart's basic request was for a happy ending, delightful characterization, and to laugh at least once. Some subsidiary ideas included pagan and/or mythological influences, somebody doing something s/he shouldn't be doing but succeeding anyway, and a crossover with one of Lois McMaster Bujold's universes, either Chalion or Vorkosigan.

( go read the story first, please! )

(P.S. The conclusion I used for Lucy's folktale -- "and if they have not died, they may still be there today" -- is actually a typical phrase from Hungarian folktales. The Russian variant runs more like, "I was there at the feast and they gave me soup to drink, but it ran down my beard and not into my mouth," which clearly doesn't fit Lucy as the narrator. Also I think the Hungarian ending just flows better. Please forgive this minor inauthenticity!)