Feathering the Nest

So I missed this earlier because I was out shopping all day. dialecticdreamer is hosting Feathering the Nest. Leave prompts, get ficlets!

If I earn $75 in tips, I’ll post a bonus story, in which Shiv is asked to help Tolliver give Simon a present. (I know, it’s incredibly vague, but anything more is a spoiler, and I want readers to enjoy this one!)

Totally adorable story ^ by the way. :D

Poem: "If You Don't Stick Up for Them"

This poem is spillover from the June 4, 2019 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from erulisse, readera, zeeth_kyrah, zianuray, and rix_scaedu. It also fills the "Injury" square in my 6-1-19 card for the Cottoncandy Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by fuzzyred and ng_moonmoth. It belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. This is part of a set telling how Shiv came to join the Ebonies & Ivories; it comes after "The Smallest Decisions" and before "Getting Close to a New Guy," "The Supreme Quality for Leadership," and "Work Worth Doing."

WARNING: This poem contains graphic violence that may disturb some readers. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It features life in a squalid and brutal gang, Boss Batir, the inside of Shiv's head is always a warning, vulgar language, reference to past malpractice, leading to past violation of medical neutrality, issues due to past foster care and child abuse, graphic child abuse (Shiv is under 18 here), graphic beating with a belt (leather end and buckle end), severe pain, blood and gore, ostracism, abandonment, attachment damage, inappropriate first aid of serious injuries, flashbacks from preceding trauma, betrayal, drifting consciousness, and other mayhem. It is all hurt and no comfort; the comfort comes later in this set of poems. Survivors of child abuse or other interpersonal violence are advised to think twice about this one. If these are touchy topics for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before deciding if this is something you want to read. It's a useful bit of Shiv's backstory, but the gist of what happened has already been mentioned in other poems.

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Poem: "Getting Close to a New Guy"

This poem is spillover from the June 4, 2019 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from erulisse, readera, zeeth_kyrah, zianuray, and rix_scaedu. It also fills the "Talk to someone who's new" square in my 6-1-19 card for the Cottoncandy Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by fuzzyred and ng_moonmoth. It belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. This is part of a set telling how Shiv came to join the Ebonies & Ivories; it comes after "The Smallest Decisions" and "If You Don't Stick Up for Them," before "The Supreme Quality for Leadership" and "Work Worth Doing."

Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes the aftermath of a bad beating, which is child abuse because Shiv is under 18 here, pain and misery, impaired decision-making ability, breaking and entering, poverty, being adrift in a largely unfamiliar city, minor medical details, approach by an unfamiliar gang member, recruitment into a gang, dithering over relationship dynamics and risk assessment, along with other angst. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.

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Poem: "The Supreme Quality for Leadership"

This poem is spillover from the June 4, 2019 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from erulisse, readera, zeeth_kyrah, zianuray, and rix_scaedu. It also fills the "Talk to someone who's new" square in my 6-1-19 card for the Cottoncandy Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by fuzzyred and ng_moonmoth. It belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. This is part of a set telling how Shiv came to join the Ebonies & Ivories; it comes after "The Smallest Decisions," "If You Don't Stick Up for Them," and 'Getting Close to a New Guy" and before "Work Worth Doing."

WARNING: This poem contains intense and controversial topics that may disturb some readers. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes telepathic spillover of pain, the aftermath of a bad beating, which is child abuse because Shiv is under 18 here, hiding injuries, recruitment into a gang, come-here-go-away, various uses of superpowers, strong receptivity to telepathy with very mixed results, deception, emotional trauma, flashbacks, bad tape, resistance to help, touch aversion, references to past abuse, wild defiance, Brown getting stuck with first aid duty beyond his skill because Shiv won't tolerate a hospital, messy medical details, Shiv attempting to work while injured, and flatly refusing to rest, so Boss White finally knocks him out with telepathy, sexual assault triggers, and other angst. This is the main comfort part after the hurt part of the set. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before deciding whether this is something you want to read. It's a major part of Shiv's history and would leave a gap, but the gist has been mentioned in other poems.

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Notes for "The Supreme Quality for Leadership"

These are the notes for "The Supreme Quality for Leadership."

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Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas Eve to everyone celebrating it!  :D  We've had a good holiday season here, with several family and community gatherings and several shopping trips.