Friday Yardening

Today I raked the leaves off the wildflower garden.  In the process, I discovered some bulbs that I'd forgotten about.  Some are blooming in pale blue, possibly striped squills.  The others look like grape hyacinths but haven't opened yet.  A lot of the other plants are sprouting too: comfrey, echinacea, yellow coneflower, some of the wild grasses.

Crocus are done blooming.  Gold currants have buds on them.  Raspberry canes are leafing out.

Archetypal Characters Bingo Card 4-1-16

Here is my card for the Archetypal Characters Bingo fest on allbingo. It runs from April 1-30.  This fest features iconic character types. (See all my 2016 bingo cards.)

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. I've had a few requests for this and the results have been awesome so far. 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 may 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.

ARCHETYPAL CHARACTERS

The Igor	The Shrink	Lady Knight	The Messenger	The Genius
Mad Scientist	The Healer	Bruiser with a Soft Center	Fish Out of Water	Unsullied Hero
Gentle Monster	The Patriarch	WILD CARD: The Teacher	Obstructive Bureaucrat	Classic Villain
Shapeshifter	The Rebel	Person of Mass Destruction	The Mentor	Living Legend
The Lovers	Pint-Sized Powerhouse	The Broken One	The Idealist	The Veteran

Story: "What Little Boys Are Made Of" Part 1 of 4

This story fills the "meet the parents / family" square in my 1-4-16 card for the trope_bingo fest.

This story belongs to the series Love Is For Children which includes "Love Is for Children," "Hairpins," "Blended," "Am I Not," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys,""Saudades," "Querencia," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," "Touching Moments," "Splash," "Coming Around," "Birthday Girl," "No Winter Lasts Forever," "Hide and Seek," "Kernel Error," "Happy Hour," "Green Eggs and Hulk,""kintsukuroi," "Little and Broken, but Still Good," "Up the Water Spout," "The Life of the Dead," "If They Could Just Stay Little," "Anahata," "When the Wheels Come Off," "Against His Own Shield," "Coming in from the Cold: Saturday: Building Towers," and "Coming in from the Cold: Sunday: Shaking Foundations," and "Coming in from the Cold: Monday: Memorial Day."

Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Tony Stark, Howard Stark, Master Tom, Obadiah Stane, Master Ewan.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Howard Stark's A+ Parenting. Child abuse and neglect. Rebellion. Tony Stark's misspent youth. Brief references to underage drinking, sex,and other unwise activities.  Obie. Because Obie Is Always a Warning.
Summary: According to canon, Tony Stark is a blacksmith. This is how that happened.
Notes: Craftsmanship. Competence. Gentleness. Trust. Creativity. Friendship.

A note on feedback: While it's not necessary to comment on every post I make, remember that I don't know who reads/likes things if nobody says anything. Particularly on long stories, I've discovered that I get antsy if there's nothing but crickets chirping for several posts. So it helps to give me feedback at least once, even if it's just "I like this" or "This one doesn't grab me." First and last episodes are ideal if you rarely feel inspired to comment in the middle.

I also have a list of favorite photogenic scenes from the whole series for fanartists to consider, partly compiled from audience requests.

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

( Read more... )

Story: "What Little Boys Are Made Of" Part 2 of 4

This story fills the "meet the parents / family" square in my 1-4-16 card for the trope_bingo fest.

This story belongs to the series Love Is For Children which includes "Love Is for Children," "Hairpins," "Blended," "Am I Not," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys,""Saudades," "Querencia," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," "Touching Moments," "Splash," "Coming Around," "Birthday Girl," "No Winter Lasts Forever," "Hide and Seek," "Kernel Error," "Happy Hour," "Green Eggs and Hulk,""kintsukuroi," "Little and Broken, but Still Good," "Up the Water Spout," "The Life of the Dead," "If They Could Just Stay Little," "Anahata," "When the Wheels Come Off," "Against His Own Shield," "Coming in from the Cold: Saturday: Building Towers," and "Coming in from the Cold: Sunday: Shaking Foundations," and "Coming in from the Cold: Monday: Memorial Day."

Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Tony Stark, Howard Stark, Master Tom, Obadiah Stane, Master Ewan.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Howard Stark's A+ Parenting. Child abuse and neglect. Rebellion. Tony Stark's misspent youth. Brief references to underage drinking, sex,and other unwise activities. Obie. Because Obie Is Always a Warning.
Summary: According to canon, Tony Stark is a blacksmith. This is how that happened.
Notes: Craftsmanship. Competence. Gentleness. Trust. Creativity. Friendship.

Begin with Part 1. Skip to Part 4.

( Read more... )

Story: "What Little Boys Are Made Of" Part 3 of 4

This story fills the "meet the parents / family" square in my 1-4-16 card for the trope_bingo fest.

This story belongs to the series Love Is For Children which includes "Love Is for Children," "Hairpins," "Blended," "Am I Not," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys,""Saudades," "Querencia," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," "Touching Moments," "Splash," "Coming Around," "Birthday Girl," "No Winter Lasts Forever," "Hide and Seek," "Kernel Error," "Happy Hour," "Green Eggs and Hulk,""kintsukuroi," "Little and Broken, but Still Good," "Up the Water Spout," "The Life of the Dead," "If They Could Just Stay Little," "Anahata," "When the Wheels Come Off," "Against His Own Shield," "Coming in from the Cold: Saturday: Building Towers," and "Coming in from the Cold: Sunday: Shaking Foundations," and "Coming in from the Cold: Monday: Memorial Day."

Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Tony Stark, Howard Stark, Master Tom, Obadiah Stane, Master Ewan.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Howard Stark's A+ Parenting. Child abuse and neglect. Rebellion. Tony Stark's misspent youth. Brief references to underage drinking, sex,and other unwise activities. Obie. Because Obie Is Always a Warning.
Summary: According to canon, Tony Stark is a blacksmith. This is how that happened.
Notes: Craftsmanship. Competence. Gentleness. Trust. Creativity. Friendship.

Begin with Part 1, Part 2.

( Read more... )

Story: "What Little Boys Are Made Of"

This story fills the "meet the parents / family" square in my 1-4-16 card for the trope_bingo fest.

This story belongs to the series Love Is For Children which includes "Love Is for Children," "Hairpins," "Blended," "Am I Not," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys,""Saudades," "Querencia," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," "Touching Moments," "Splash," "Coming Around," "Birthday Girl," "No Winter Lasts Forever," "Hide and Seek," "Kernel Error," "Happy Hour," "Green Eggs and Hulk,""kintsukuroi," "Little and Broken, but Still Good," "Up the Water Spout," "The Life of the Dead," "If They Could Just Stay Little," "Anahata," "When the Wheels Come Off," "Against His Own Shield," "Coming in from the Cold: Saturday: Building Towers," and "Coming in from the Cold: Sunday: Shaking Foundations," and "Coming in from the Cold: Monday: Memorial Day."

Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Tony Stark, Howard Stark, Master Tom, Obadiah Stane, Master Ewan.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Howard Stark's A+ Parenting. Child abuse and neglect. Rebellion. Tony Stark's misspent youth. Brief references to underage drinking, sex, and other unwise activities. Obie. Because Obie Is Always a Warning.
Summary: According to canon, Tony Stark is a blacksmith. This is how that happened.
Notes: Craftsmanship. Competence. Gentleness. Trust. Creativity. Friendship.

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

Here ends "What Little Boys Are Made Of." Thank you all for sticking with the series this far! I love your input. Final thoughts on the story overall are welcome, in addition to reactions on this specific chapter.

I also have a list of favorite photogenic scenes from the whole series for fanartists to consider, partly compiled from audience requests.

A note on feedback: While it's not necessary to comment on every post I make, remember that I don't know who reads/likes things if nobody says anything. Particularly on long stories, I've discovered that I get antsy if there's nothing but crickets chirping for several posts. So it helps to give me feedback at least once, even if it's just "I like this" or "This one doesn't grab me." First and last episodes are ideal if you rarely feel inspired to comment in the middle.

( Read more... )