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cottoncandy_bingo fest. This fest encourages people to create and share material focused on what is variously called fluff, schmoop, gentle fiction, light reading, comfort reading, positive thinking, chicken soup for the soul, or anything else that offers a fun alternative to usual run of sex, violence, and angst of modern media. I'm hoping to attract some new readers for my writing.
"Drawing the Triangle" takes place in Torn World, a science fantasy shared world. (If you're new to this setting, start here.) Long ago, the world was shattered into isolated fragments of spacetime. Now most of those barriers have fallen, but the marks remain on the people and cultures of today. The Glifai in particular have three sexes -- male, female, and no-gender -- which they celebrate in a dance called the Trefoil. (This story has been submitted to the Canon Board but not approved yet.)
Begin with Part 1, Part 2.
Fandom: Original (Torn World byellenmillion)
Prompt: Consummating the marriage / union
Medium: Fiction
Summary: Omorth, a person of no gender, needs to find a male and a female partner for the Trefoil Dance.
Content Notes: Flangst. Developing relationship. Asexual protagonist. Cuddling. Trust. Commitment to multiple partners. Dance as passion. Performance as consummation.
"Drawing the Triangle" Part 3
[1515.01.21]
The second round of cuts proved brutal. Omorth and Tremarda lost Levarelta because, it turned out, he contradicted Master Vronaleffi's ideas as well as Tremarda's. Darthein and Assri lost Urelv for no specific reason, just a slightly lower overall score compared to the other female applicants. Then Assri dumped Darthein in favor of joining with Boronatho and Shrafoi, whose no-gender partner had been cut for weak ankles.
Omorth and Tremarda glanced at each other. They didn't have to invite Darthein into their trefoil. They could try to entice someone else, or split up, or even wait for another tryout. But Boronatho was firmly partnered now, and Klonaim had just settled with Flai doing the lifts, so there went both of their early choices. Darthein certainly had the classic look and considerable skill. They didn't want to try again with a different troupe, either.
"Let's ask him," Omorth said.
So Tremarda walked over to the visibly drooping Darthein and said, "We need a male partner. Would you like to try the next tenday with us?"
"Yes, please," said Darthein. "I've been admiring the two of you, but well, I didn't want to shake things up ... and then everything just took a tumble ..."
"We're happy to have you," Omorth assured him, coming up behind Tremarda.
The three of them fit together comfortably. They did well in the practice sessions. They also discovered similar taste in costumes. The Apprentices were allowed into the Costuming department to see what they liked from stock outfits. They would need to agree on something to wear in their debut recital if they passed the final cut.
The wardrobes lined the walls of the room, tall cabinets made of dark polished wood. They used time crystals to preserve the costumes. The deep red crystals gleamed in their enclosed sockets. Within those wardrobes, fabric would last for years, and even the most fragile costumes made of flowers or butterfly wings would survive between multiple performances.
Tremarda admired a costume decorated with dainty sprigs of bleeding hearts. "I like this one," she said.
"Lovely shape, but pink isn't your best color," Omorth said.
"That costume also comes with white flowers," said the wardrobe attendant, pointing toward another cabinet.
Darthein put down the velvet vest he was holding. "Maybe we could do something with ephemeral costumes in our recital," he said with a nod to the skirt of rose butterfly wings in Omorth's hand.
"That would be wonderful," Omorth said.
* * *
[1515.01.24]
They talked about dancing, of course, but they also talked about other personal things. Darthein mentioned his favorite fiction series. Tremarda described the sights of Faajaffug. Omorth shared lai fascination with exotic pets. They even managed to get out to a poetry reading one evening.
Then one afternoon, Darthein and Omorth were relaxing together while Tremarda went to get her hair styled. The two of them chatted idly about sex and romance. Darthein enjoyed the company of women but, it turned out, had not engaged a lengthy relationship since Third Form in school. Omorth admitted to being asexual and just not interested in most of the things that occupied everyone else's interest.
"Do you like to cuddle?" Darthein asked abruptly. "I like to cuddle. There's this joy boy at Painted Faces who's built like this --" he held a hand about a foot away from each hip "-- and comfortable as a couch, with a registered specialty in cuddling."
"Could I get his card from you?" Omorth said. "I love cuddling. It's just hard to find someone who enjoys it for its own sake instead of wanting to take it somewhere that I don't."
Darthein nodded vigorously. "I know exactly what you mean. Girls will have sex with a boyfriend, but when they start thinking about cuddling, what they're really thinking is husband. That's just not what I want. I've poured all my energy into dancing -- this is the only commitment I want to make."
"Hm," said Omorth. That was something al had not thought of before, the possibility of finding dance partners who might consider the trefoil a primary relationship, instead of secondary to a marriage. Curious, Omorth stretched out on a couch and beckoned to Darthein. "Come here and see how we fit."
They fit, as it turned out, just as well on the couch as on the dance floor. After a bit of experimentation, they wound up with Darthein on the bottom and Omorth spread over him like a particularly charming blanket. Darthein made a happy purring noise. "I could do this all day," he said.
"We have practice in half an hour," Omorth pointed out.
"All right, until practice," Darthein said.
Tremarda bounded in then, her hair freshly styled and floating around her like a dark cloud. "You won't believe what I just heard!" she exclaimed. "Boronatho, Shrafoi, and Assri just decided to leave. Then Klonaim, Flai, and Eluthorn said they wanted to go too. So they're all going to approach the avant-garde troupes together. That means there's no final cut -- it's down to twelve, and we're in!"
"That's fantastic," said Darthein.
"It really is," Omorth agreed, "though I'll miss Assri."
Then Tremarda tilted her head curiously and said, "Why are you two sprawled on the couch like that?"
"We're cuddling," Darthein said. "We both like it, and you know how hard it is to find someone who doesn't have the wrong expectations."
"So very true," Tremarda said. She had told them about her last, rather disastrous relationship in Faajaffug, which had ended when the young man tried to convince her to stay with him instead of studying the Trefoil Dance in Affabreidalam.
"Maybe you have the right idea, Darthein, just sticking with the joy houses. At least there people know how to be professional and don't cling like a piece of tickweed."
Darthein sent Omorth a thoughtful look. Omorth nodded. "Come join us if you like," Darthein said to Tremarda.
So they rearranged themselves on the couch into a comfortable cuddle for three. "This is nice," Tremarda said. "We should do more of this."
"After practice," Omorth proposed.
In the dance studio, they tried excerpts from different performances that they liked. The troupe had a folder of one-act dances for new trefoils to use in their debut recital. Everyone was poring over it, now that the specter of the final cut was gone.
"I think we should do the One Heart dance," Tremarda proposed.
"That's archaic," Darthein said.
"It's still in the approved repertoire," Tremarda said. "Omorth, what's your opinion?"
Omorth perused the illustrations accompanying the text. "I think it's romantic," al said. "Look, Darthein, you'd be dancing in a snug jumpsuit, and Tremarda would be in a floor-length silk dress."
"We wanted to do something ephemeral with costumes, though," Darthein said.
"The notes say only the base costumes are defined. Dancers get to decorate them as desired. So we could use any of the flower or feather accessories, for instance," Omorth said.
"We already found the bleeding hearts. What about string-of-hearts plant? It has heart-shaped leaves on long vines," Tremarda said.
"What about linked heart butterflies? They have that design on their wings, we could put it on a costume if we can't find actual butterfly wings," said Darthein.
"That would be lovely -- and butterflies symbolize luck and prosperity," said Tremarda.
"I like it," said Darthein.
"Let's do this," said Omorth.
[To be concluded in Part 4 ...]
cottoncandy_bingo fest. This fest encourages people to create and share material focused on what is variously called fluff, schmoop, gentle fiction, light reading, comfort reading, positive thinking, chicken soup for the soul, or anything else that offers a fun alternative to usual run of sex, violence, and angst of modern media. I'm hoping to attract some new readers for my writing."Drawing the Triangle" takes place in Torn World, a science fantasy shared world. (If you're new to this setting, start here.) Long ago, the world was shattered into isolated fragments of spacetime. Now most of those barriers have fallen, but the marks remain on the people and cultures of today. The Glifai in particular have three sexes -- male, female, and no-gender -- which they celebrate in a dance called the Trefoil. (This story has been submitted to the Canon Board but not approved yet.)
Begin with Part 1, Part 2.
Fandom: Original (Torn World by
ellenmillion)Prompt: Consummating the marriage / union
Medium: Fiction
Summary: Omorth, a person of no gender, needs to find a male and a female partner for the Trefoil Dance.
Content Notes: Flangst. Developing relationship. Asexual protagonist. Cuddling. Trust. Commitment to multiple partners. Dance as passion. Performance as consummation.
"Drawing the Triangle" Part 3
[1515.01.21]
The second round of cuts proved brutal. Omorth and Tremarda lost Levarelta because, it turned out, he contradicted Master Vronaleffi's ideas as well as Tremarda's. Darthein and Assri lost Urelv for no specific reason, just a slightly lower overall score compared to the other female applicants. Then Assri dumped Darthein in favor of joining with Boronatho and Shrafoi, whose no-gender partner had been cut for weak ankles.
Omorth and Tremarda glanced at each other. They didn't have to invite Darthein into their trefoil. They could try to entice someone else, or split up, or even wait for another tryout. But Boronatho was firmly partnered now, and Klonaim had just settled with Flai doing the lifts, so there went both of their early choices. Darthein certainly had the classic look and considerable skill. They didn't want to try again with a different troupe, either.
"Let's ask him," Omorth said.
So Tremarda walked over to the visibly drooping Darthein and said, "We need a male partner. Would you like to try the next tenday with us?"
"Yes, please," said Darthein. "I've been admiring the two of you, but well, I didn't want to shake things up ... and then everything just took a tumble ..."
"We're happy to have you," Omorth assured him, coming up behind Tremarda.
The three of them fit together comfortably. They did well in the practice sessions. They also discovered similar taste in costumes. The Apprentices were allowed into the Costuming department to see what they liked from stock outfits. They would need to agree on something to wear in their debut recital if they passed the final cut.
The wardrobes lined the walls of the room, tall cabinets made of dark polished wood. They used time crystals to preserve the costumes. The deep red crystals gleamed in their enclosed sockets. Within those wardrobes, fabric would last for years, and even the most fragile costumes made of flowers or butterfly wings would survive between multiple performances.
Tremarda admired a costume decorated with dainty sprigs of bleeding hearts. "I like this one," she said.
"Lovely shape, but pink isn't your best color," Omorth said.
"That costume also comes with white flowers," said the wardrobe attendant, pointing toward another cabinet.
Darthein put down the velvet vest he was holding. "Maybe we could do something with ephemeral costumes in our recital," he said with a nod to the skirt of rose butterfly wings in Omorth's hand.
"That would be wonderful," Omorth said.
* * *
[1515.01.24]
They talked about dancing, of course, but they also talked about other personal things. Darthein mentioned his favorite fiction series. Tremarda described the sights of Faajaffug. Omorth shared lai fascination with exotic pets. They even managed to get out to a poetry reading one evening.
Then one afternoon, Darthein and Omorth were relaxing together while Tremarda went to get her hair styled. The two of them chatted idly about sex and romance. Darthein enjoyed the company of women but, it turned out, had not engaged a lengthy relationship since Third Form in school. Omorth admitted to being asexual and just not interested in most of the things that occupied everyone else's interest.
"Do you like to cuddle?" Darthein asked abruptly. "I like to cuddle. There's this joy boy at Painted Faces who's built like this --" he held a hand about a foot away from each hip "-- and comfortable as a couch, with a registered specialty in cuddling."
"Could I get his card from you?" Omorth said. "I love cuddling. It's just hard to find someone who enjoys it for its own sake instead of wanting to take it somewhere that I don't."
Darthein nodded vigorously. "I know exactly what you mean. Girls will have sex with a boyfriend, but when they start thinking about cuddling, what they're really thinking is husband. That's just not what I want. I've poured all my energy into dancing -- this is the only commitment I want to make."
"Hm," said Omorth. That was something al had not thought of before, the possibility of finding dance partners who might consider the trefoil a primary relationship, instead of secondary to a marriage. Curious, Omorth stretched out on a couch and beckoned to Darthein. "Come here and see how we fit."
They fit, as it turned out, just as well on the couch as on the dance floor. After a bit of experimentation, they wound up with Darthein on the bottom and Omorth spread over him like a particularly charming blanket. Darthein made a happy purring noise. "I could do this all day," he said.
"We have practice in half an hour," Omorth pointed out.
"All right, until practice," Darthein said.
Tremarda bounded in then, her hair freshly styled and floating around her like a dark cloud. "You won't believe what I just heard!" she exclaimed. "Boronatho, Shrafoi, and Assri just decided to leave. Then Klonaim, Flai, and Eluthorn said they wanted to go too. So they're all going to approach the avant-garde troupes together. That means there's no final cut -- it's down to twelve, and we're in!"
"That's fantastic," said Darthein.
"It really is," Omorth agreed, "though I'll miss Assri."
Then Tremarda tilted her head curiously and said, "Why are you two sprawled on the couch like that?"
"We're cuddling," Darthein said. "We both like it, and you know how hard it is to find someone who doesn't have the wrong expectations."
"So very true," Tremarda said. She had told them about her last, rather disastrous relationship in Faajaffug, which had ended when the young man tried to convince her to stay with him instead of studying the Trefoil Dance in Affabreidalam.
"Maybe you have the right idea, Darthein, just sticking with the joy houses. At least there people know how to be professional and don't cling like a piece of tickweed."
Darthein sent Omorth a thoughtful look. Omorth nodded. "Come join us if you like," Darthein said to Tremarda.
So they rearranged themselves on the couch into a comfortable cuddle for three. "This is nice," Tremarda said. "We should do more of this."
"After practice," Omorth proposed.
In the dance studio, they tried excerpts from different performances that they liked. The troupe had a folder of one-act dances for new trefoils to use in their debut recital. Everyone was poring over it, now that the specter of the final cut was gone.
"I think we should do the One Heart dance," Tremarda proposed.
"That's archaic," Darthein said.
"It's still in the approved repertoire," Tremarda said. "Omorth, what's your opinion?"
Omorth perused the illustrations accompanying the text. "I think it's romantic," al said. "Look, Darthein, you'd be dancing in a snug jumpsuit, and Tremarda would be in a floor-length silk dress."
"We wanted to do something ephemeral with costumes, though," Darthein said.
"The notes say only the base costumes are defined. Dancers get to decorate them as desired. So we could use any of the flower or feather accessories, for instance," Omorth said.
"We already found the bleeding hearts. What about string-of-hearts plant? It has heart-shaped leaves on long vines," Tremarda said.
"What about linked heart butterflies? They have that design on their wings, we could put it on a costume if we can't find actual butterfly wings," said Darthein.
"That would be lovely -- and butterflies symbolize luck and prosperity," said Tremarda.
"I like it," said Darthein.
"Let's do this," said Omorth.
[To be concluded in Part 4 ...]
