ysabetwordsmith | Story: "Little and Broken, but Still Good" Part 16

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Story: "Little and Broken, but Still Good" Part 16

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," and "kintsukuroi."

Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Nick Fury
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Minor character death. Bullying. Fighting. Suicide attempt (minor character).
Summary: This is the story of how a little boy named Flip grows up to save the world a lot.
Notes: Hurt/comfort. Family. Fluff and angst. Accidents. Emotional whump. Disability. Sibling relationship. Nonsexual love. Parentification. Manipulation. Coping skills. Asking for help and getting it. Hope. Protection. Caregiving. Competence. Toys and games. Comic books. Fixing things. Martial arts. Gentleness. Trust. Role models. Military. BAMF Phil Coulson.

Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15. Skip to Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21.

"Little and Broken, but Still Good" Part 16

For his tenth birthday, Flip asks for a human anatomy puzzle and a filing cabinet. The human puzzle will be fun to play with, but also useful for learning about bodies. Flip is studying anatomy in science class at school, and vulnerable points in karate. He likes the way that ideas from different lessons can fit together. The filing cabinet will be ideal for saving finished paperwork and extra blanks. He's building up such a big collection that he's running out of room for binders in his bookcase. This way, Flip can keep his just current favorites in a binder.

Mom laughs and says that a filing cabinet isn't a real present, and he should pick something else. She takes him to buy a filing cabinet anyway, though, at a thrift store. Flip finds the perfect one tucked into a dusty corner of the office section between two dilapidated desks. His filing cabinet is tall and black, marred by scratches that gleam silver against the obsidian surface. Every drawer locks with its own unique key, all fastened together on a metal ring.

"That's the one you want?" Mom asks, although Flip hasn't said anything out loud.

"That's the one," Flip says, and she gets it for him. Flip loves it instantly.

While they're at the store, Flip also spots a bicycle. It is a girl's bike and loud pink, with blue handles and a white seat. It needs a bit of work, but it's only ten bucks.

"Is a bike an okay birthday present?" Flip asks.

"It sure is," Mom says.

He gets the bike too.

He gets a broken arm falling off the bike a week later, but it's so worth it.

Alexa's present comes a little late, because she has found -- somehow -- six issues of classic Captain America & the Howling Commandos comics. Flip spends hours reading and rereading the comics, even though the pages are awkward to handle with one arm in a cast. Finally Alexa takes pity on him and holds the comics for him to read so that all he has to do is say, "Page, please," and she turns it for him.

Flip falls in love all over again when he discovers the team of misfits who save the day. Each of them has a different knack, and he can see how they work together. Dum Dum Dugan handles explosives. Jim Morita is silent and serious, adept at karate. James Montgomery Falsworth is something of a clown, but also a highly trained fighter. The jazz trumpeter Gabriel Jones speaks both German and French, which helps him connect with the Frenchman Jacques Dernier, who is adept in subterfuge and forgery. Flip likes the fact that some of the Commandos have subtler skills than just shooting the bad guys.

Then there is Bucky, Captain America's best friend. Flip knows that Cap needs somebody to watch his back, because he's always so busy watching everyone else's that he gets shot a lot. Unlike the other boys, Flip has never wanted to be Captain America. He knows that he's not a hero. Now he traces his finger over the shadowy figure of Bucky standing guard while Cap sleeps. Flip thinks, not for the first time, that it would be a grand adventure to be the guy who looks after the hero. Somebody has to do it.

* * *

Notes:

See the anatomy puzzle, filing cabinet, and pink bike that Flip gets for his birthday.

The Howling Commandos have appeared in many versions. I'm using the one from Captain America: The First Avenger. They're led by Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Dum Dum Dugan is the explosives expert. Jim Morita knows karate. Montgomery Falsworth provides some comic relief. Gabriel Jones speaks foreign languages. Jacques Dernier handles subterfuge.

Leadership means taking care of your people. That way, when you need it, they'll take care of you. There are tips on how to be a good and caring leader. Know how to take care of other people and yourself.

Most heroes don't think of themselves as heroes. It's one of those titles, like shaman or master, that's meant to be bestowed by other people. So don't argue. Just say thanks if you appreciate their work.

[To be continued in Part 17 ...]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Flip riding a girls' bike in that era... even if he repainted it, I think he got some extra dodging and avoiding practice! But it's so very /him/, at least the way you've portrayed him, that it /works/.

Thanks for posting this.

>> Flip riding a girls' bike in that era... even if he repainted it, I think he got some extra dodging and avoiding practice! <<

Yep. It's a dilemma presented to many impoverished boys -- whether to ride a girl's bike, or have no bike at all. Which they choose can tell you a lot about their personality.

Flip doesn't see anything wrong with a girl's bike, even though it's not what he would've chosen new. The fact that bullies pick on him for it, well, they're already doing that anyhow and Flip already thinks they're dumb jerks. Not much change.

>> But it's so very /him/, at least the way you've portrayed him, that it /works/. <<

Yay! I'm glad this resonates for you. In the movies, Phil seems like a very soft-spoken man who is not obsessed about machisimo. So I wanted to explore that, because it's a rare trait in America generally but unheard of for marines and spies and other BAMFs.

Even though a girl's bike would lead to fewer scrotal injuries.

As a kid one of my 'tricks' was swinging to side saddle on my 'boy' bike.

>> Even though a girl's bike would lead to fewer scrotal injuries. <<

Very astute point. I have to admit one of the nice things about having a female body is no long having that vulnerability -- and being able to ride a girl bike without anyone staring.

>> As a kid one of my 'tricks' was swinging to side saddle on my 'boy' bike. <<

I've done that. I was far more inclined to ride without using the handlebars though. It always reminded me of flying, to be able to turn the bike without using my hands, only shifting my weight to bank.

Winter Soldier, pink Schwinn, just saying.

I never was that confident.

The funny thing is, I know (and have seen riding around) a lot of guys who ride "girls' bikes" (not pink, but without the extra piece of frame) because they argue, quite reasonably, that all it achieves is giving you something to hit your crown jewels against if you have to stop suddenly. In fact, my "bike guy" tells me girls' bikes are more likely to get stolen these days because they are much easier to resell due to higher demand. Maybe eventually, "girls' bikes" will just be "bikes" and the ones with the extra strut will die out... Not that that would help Flip back in the day.

Flip thinks, not for the first time, that it would be a grand adventure to be the guy who looks after the hero. Somebody has to do it.
Well, isn't it nice to know he'll grow up to fulfill his dream? :)

Edited 2014-07-04 12:32 (UTC)

That style of frame is known as a step-through, and although is traditionally seen as a female bike, it didn't start off that way, and back in the day when bikes were used by various shop-boys for delivery, most of them had a 'step through' frame as it made getting on and off quicker. They became associated with female riders, as you couldn't ride a bike with a top strut in a long skirt and jacket. (Maybe if you were wearing Rationals, but that was daring enough without riding the wrong type!)

IRRC The rationale behind the 'boys' frame used to be that building it that way made for a lighter bike, but I've always thought it was asking for a painful 'bike meets bits' accident.

Can you tell I've just finished curating an exhibition on the blasted things?

(There was a rather large bike race this weekend in the county I work in, and part of the route ran by the site I manage. Summer exhibition this year was therefore on historical cycling...)

I am now officially cycled out.

Back to Flip though - I love his pragmatic approach and willingness to work to get what he wants.

Oh, thank you for telling me this! I find stuff like that really interesting, and it makes perfect sense! :)

I love it when the audience crosstalk adds to the appeal of what I'm writing.

You're very welcome! I can give you a list of some of the stuff I read when researching the exhibition as well if you'd like. Some of which, like HG Wells, and Conan Doyle will be available via Project Gutenberg.

Was pretty interesting to research, as I am distinctly not a cyclist myself.

I'm not a cyclist athletically or by passion or anything. It's simply that in the city where I live, bikes are the fastest way to get around. Sure, a car is technically faster getting there (outside rush hour, that is), but parking is a nightmare almost everywhere, so you waste a lot of time parking, and then usually walking from your very-far-away parking spot to where you were actually going. (Unless you use a commercial parking garage and pay an arm and a leg). Public transit is really good, but still, waiting for the next tram or bus and/or changing at the hubs usually takes more time than just taking the bike, at least for most of the places I go to regularly. So, I use my bike pretty much every day, and couldn't help developing an interest. *g*

So, yes, I'd like to read your sources please. :)

I shall dig it out and post

Ones that I can remember off the top of my head:

Fiction:
Wheels of CHance - HG Wells
War of the Worlds - HG Wells
Three Men on a Bummel - Jerome K Jerome.
The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist; The Adventure of the Priory School - Arthur Conan Doyle (both are in the The Return of Sherlock Holmes collection of stories.
I think there's also quite a few mentions of cycles etc in some of DH Lawerence's work>

Non-fiction
Wheels of Change - Sue Macy
Fancy Cycling 1901 - Isabelle Marks
Cyclopedia: It's All About the Bike by William Fotheringham
The Literary Cyclist - Kevin Schaeffer

Children's books that reference bikes (we've put all the above books, and these children ones I'm about to list out for people to read as part of exhibition

Miffy's Bicycle - Dick Bruna
MY first bicycle - Susan Akass
Mrs Armitage on Wheels - Quentin Blake
THe Bicycle - Colin Thompson (lots of wonderful quotes about cycles in this one)
Monsieur Albert Rides to Glory - Peter Smith & Bob Graham.

Thank you very much!

I really appreciate all the content you're adding here!

You're welcome. I like to think other people will enjoy the books too - part of the reason we put copies out in the exhibition.

The Fancy Cycling is hilarious for some of the suggested poses etc. You read it going 'that's just not going to end well....'

>>You're welcome. I like to think other people will enjoy the books too - part of the reason we put copies out in the exhibition.<<

It's wonderful when displays can turn people on to new things like that.

>> The Fancy Cycling is hilarious for some of the suggested poses etc. You read it going 'that's just not going to end well....' <<

*giggle*

I think my favourite is two cyclists riding in parallel, holding a wooden pole at shoulder height with a third person hanging by their feet from said pole.

That one's not in this selection of photos http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/gallery/2013/jun/13/edwardian-stunt-bikers-in-pictures?picture=410604207#/?picture=410604848&index=16 but some of the others are.

I quite like the idea of the jousting though!

Wow. The jousting is impressive. I've seen live jousting on horses too. It takes a lot of skill to hit a palm-sized target at speed.

>> That style of frame is known as a step-through, and although is traditionally seen as a female bike, it didn't start off that way, and back in the day when bikes were used by various shop-boys for delivery, most of them had a 'step through' frame as it made getting on and off quicker. <<

That makes sense.

>> They became associated with female riders, as you couldn't ride a bike with a top strut in a long skirt and jacket. (Maybe if you were wearing Rationals, but that was daring enough without riding the wrong type!) <<

Oddly enough I've seen people cope with a long skirt just by bunching and wrapping it around their legs. What won't work is a narrow skirt over a straight bar.

>> IRRC The rationale behind the 'boys' frame used to be that building it that way made for a lighter bike, but I've always thought it was asking for a painful 'bike meets bits' accident. <<

Yeah, it's not safe with a bar there. People can get really injured, boys more than girls.

>> Can you tell I've just finished curating an exhibition on the blasted things? <<

Ah, that explains it. But thanks for sharing! This was fun to read.

>> Back to Flip though - I love his pragmatic approach and willingness to work to get what he wants. <<

Yay! Those things are so much a part of his character, I figure they must have grown in early.

Bunching the skirt nowadays, would be acceptable. Victorian/Edwardian period, safe to say not!

There were skirt protectors designed to stop it catching in wheels/chains.

Rationals and bloomers were the next step in cycling wear, but only the young and daring women wore them. We have a pair on display, they're rather lovely things. No real signs of wear, so we think they were robably just worn the once, and then put aside as bit too daring....

It's actually been a pretty fun exhibition to work on - there was a cycling cafe based out the building in the 1900s so we could tell that story. I had an excuse to read a lot of literature that features cycling. (Three Men on a Bummel, couple of Sherlock Holmes stories amongst other things)

For instance, although everyone associats HG Wells nowadays with science fiction, he was a keen cyclist and wrote a whole novel about a drapers assistant on a cycling holiday. And War of the Worlds has a whole segment where a cycle comes in handy.

Turn of the century, cycles were seen as the vehicles of the future. And of course, they were far more accessible to those of limited means, and they freed women to be allowed to chose where *they* wanted to go.

I'm glad you liked the information I shared, its nice to be able to pass it on again!

>> Bunching the skirt nowadays, would be acceptable. Victorian/Edwardian period, safe to say not! <<

Point.

>> It's actually been a pretty fun exhibition to work on - there was a cycling cafe based out the building in the 1900s so we could tell that story. I had an excuse to read a lot of literature that features cycling. <<

That is so cool. I'm glad people are keeping history alive.

Literature, hrm, there were knights on bicycles in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Then in Turtledove's WorldWar series, there are several places where characters travel on bicycles because that's all that is available with so much of the infrastructure smashed or in alien hands.

Oh yes, I forgot Mark Twain in my list, and I think I perused it briefly.

It's such a privilege to be able to do what I do, and I love being able to pass on information from history.

Holding history in my hand, literally sometimes!

thank you for all the resources you are sharing! OMG I will never be done reading the internet when interesting people keep posting new steampunky stuff! (And I love that you reminded us that Bloomers were also called Rationals, I'd forgotten that!)

<3!

Schwinn for the win!

And, baseball.

(not sure when Steve will be ready to read that series.)

Darnit, now I want to read all the things about Gabriel and Dernier, especially since I've previously been tipped to the fact that Dernier is Resistance. ... I have a type.

That would be a sweet pairing, I agree. I like French men, or French-Canadian ones. I've written several.

In some of the later stories, Steve and Bucky have recovered enough to talk about the Howling Commandos more. They need ways of closing the gap, connecting past to present, and that's one place where talking helps -- once they're far enough along that they can tolerate it, and they have a new support network in place.

Commando kin. We need some grand or great-grands.

Sooth.

Someone wrote a Jim Morita that's still alive, who's got his grandkids all trained to know that Steve is kin, so even if he's not got much time, Steve's back is got.

"Get me some fish tacos, this man doesn't know them. You'll love this."

if it's not too spoilery, AoS has a little bit of that...

"the Frenchman Jacques Dernier, who is adept in subterfuge and forgery"...
and who OF COURSE is listed last :-)

To be fair, I was going on the list that I found online. But it did make sense to put Jacques last.

Home advantage always goes last?

That makes sense.

"Dernier" means "last, final" in French.

I name checked him in a fic just recently.

??? "name checked"? That sounds like a fanfic term I don't know.

it's 'straight' more than fanfic. Can someone elucidate, I've been in my cups and am mainlining Bucky.

(Just that I wrote Steve mentioning Dernier saying something he didn't in MCU canon, but has in fanon.)

Ohhh... OK, GIMF, I think I've got it now. IOW, you mentioned him in a fic you wrote, although you didn't write him in as an appearing character. Yes?

I thought that meant looking up the spelling or meaning of a name to make sure you used it right. Guess I have a different perspective.

My first thought too, but it didn't seem to fit.

Correct. Steve has had to see a battlefield strewn on his streets, on his home (Bucky) despite Dernier's hopes.

I think a filing cabinet makes a *great* present! So does the anatomy "puzzle" -- great teaching tool. The only problem with those is that there's empty space where the muscles ought to be; I'm finally learning the names of a few of them, more than half a century after learning all the bones in 9th grade biology.

>> I think a filing cabinet makes a *great* present! <<

I think so too. However, some families have a rule about not giving presents that are too practical. In my family, clothes are acceptable if A) it's something the person has asked for and/or B) it's nicer than what they usually get. But some people don't like clothes as presents because they have a practical aspect. Matter of taste and culture. Notice that Flip is habitually picking one thing for fun and one with a practical use.

>> So does the anatomy "puzzle" -- great teaching tool. The only problem with those is that there's empty space where the muscles ought to be; I'm finally learning the names of a few of them, more than half a century after learning all the bones in 9th grade biology. <<

True. It's harder to find the more complete puzzles and they are usually for subsets of body, like a hand, rather than the whole thing. Scale issue.

My dad liked to put oranges and socks in my stocking, as well as walnuts.

He'd not known a man, so the large quantities of bananas of his own childhood were never revisited.

I can remember, when I was little, oranges were harder to come by, and sometimes used as stocking stuffers. Candy too. But mostly it was tiny games, like jacks or dice games.

I know someone who always asks for socks, and nobody will buy them as gifts except for me and one other person.

kumquats.

This puts the thing into words! I get really excited when fics I'm reading have at least a head-nod towards the moment when you realize that it would be great to get to be the person who backs up the hero and keeps an eye on them. I don't want to be socially important to a large group of people. I would, however, like to support the person who is.

>> This puts the thing into words! <<

Yay, I'm glad you liked it!

>> I get really excited when fics I'm reading have at least a head-nod towards the moment when you realize that it would be great to get to be the person who backs up the hero and keeps an eye on them. <<

Sooth. Most heroes need backup. It's something I try to pay attention to in my writing. So much of the mainstream has this loner thing going, it's neither pleasing nor impossible when that's the rule rather than the exception.

>> I don't want to be socially important to a large group of people. I would, however, like to support the person who is. <<

Then you are very valuable. Followship is a vital skill but not much respected these days.

Me, I'd get lost at an event without my minions. (The title is their idea. They have buttons, which they bought themselves.)

Thank you. I have noticed that there's a lot of emphasis on leadership in just about every aspect of life. While I can lead and even enjoy it in some settings, I enjoy making myself useful to whoever is leading more. It's not a skill I've seen emphasized as something that should be learned.

>> Thank you. I have noticed that there's a lot of emphasis on leadership in just about every aspect of life. <<

Yes, there is. It has its uses, but ah ... who are all these leaders supposed to LEAD if nobody's taught how to be a good follower? It sucks if there are 20 people and none of them have any followship skills. They fight. The job doesn't get done, or not done very well.

>> While I can lead and even enjoy it in some settings, I enjoy making myself useful to whoever is leading more. <<

I enjoy leading. Following is tiffy for me, because I can only follow someone I respect who is competent at their job. But for the right person, I make a terrific second-banana. For a lot of things, my skills are best suited to doing work rather than running a whole organization -- there are different levels of leadership skills.

>> It's not a skill I've seen emphasized as something that should be learned. <<

Here, I wrote an article on this topic:
http://www.ic.org/balancing-powers/

I have no idea how people expect it to work if no one follows. I just don't know. Wrestling for dominance has its place, but it's not actually always that productive.

I'm... kind of picky about who I'll follow as well, though I can follow most people. I draw a line in places where I really don't think they understand what they're doing, but that gets smoothed out if they're willing to explain when I ask or at least assure me that they do have a plan. People that I trust to lead and who have proven themselves get my best though. Those are the people I'll try to anticipate the needs of and take over little details they're too busy for before the problem even comes up.

Thank you for pointing me towards the article! I will keep the tab open and read it in the morning. If I try to read it right now, I won't be able to communicate about it properly.

I like to think I'm much more of a follower. If I have to cover for the one in charge, that's one thing, or take the lead in something smaller that builds toward the bigger picture that's another but I don't like permanently being out in front.

I'm not nearly as organised as Phil/Flip but I do like the idea of being the support for the heros!

Being permanently in front is a exhausting to me. I tend not to enjoy it much. I'm fine with being first mate the entire time, but being captain is usually more than I'm up to giving. I am getting better at it though.

How organized I am is complicated. Most of my own belongings seem scattered and messy though it is easy for me to find what I need. When I'm organizing for a cause, I'm... a little obsessive about it. I need my notes to be complete even if it means going back and filling them in later. I need everything to be in an order that is intuitive. Everything should be labelled. My high school Biology teacher talked about the "bus test" where if you were hit by a bus, someone needs to be able to pick up your notebook and know exactly how everything happened. I tend to follow that rule when I'm organizing for a community or cause.

Oh! I read your article this morning. By the definitions given there, I definitely display a trend towards followship. I'm not sure if I'm a particularly good follower, but it is what I like and how I prefer to act.

Edited 2014-07-07 16:50 (UTC)

>> Being permanently in front is a exhausting to me. I tend not to enjoy it much. I'm fine with being first mate the entire time, but being captain is usually more than I'm up to giving. I am getting better at it though. <<

It's good that you know yourself, your abilities, and your preferences. Do what works for you. There is usually a glut of leaders and a dearth of followers.

>> My high school Biology teacher talked about the "bus test" where if you were hit by a bus, someone needs to be able to pick up your notebook and know exactly how everything happened. I tend to follow that rule when I'm organizing for a community or cause. <<

That is an awesome rule and I wish more people would follow it.

>> Oh! I read your article this morning. <<

Thank you!

>> By the definitions given there, I definitely display a trend towards followship. I'm not sure if I'm a particularly good follower, but it is what I like and how I prefer to act. <<

From your descriptions, it sounds like you're a good follower. Really. I could wish for half that skill.

>> I like to think I'm much more of a follower. If I have to cover for the one in charge, that's one thing, or take the lead in something smaller that builds toward the bigger picture that's another but I don't like permanently being out in front. <<

That's fine. It's a really valuable role.

>> I'm not nearly as organised as Phil/Flip but I do like the idea of being the support for the heros! <<

The world needs more people like you. I'd be thrilled to have that kind of help. I think most organizations or leaders would. You should have no trouble finding opportunities, and anyone who tries to shove you out front should be abandoned in favor of someone who will appreciate what a treasure they've been offered.

>> I have no idea how people expect it to work if no one follows. I just don't know. Wrestling for dominance has its place, but it's not actually always that productive. <<

Exactly. I've seen this problem a lot. Okay, part of it is because I won't follow just anyone, but a lot of people seem to be either unwilling to follow anyone ever or just don't know how. So there's almost always an argument, and it just wastes time. People need to have followship skills as much as leadership skills.

>> I'm... kind of picky about who I'll follow as well, though I can follow most people. I draw a line in places where I really don't think they understand what they're doing, but that gets smoothed out if they're willing to explain when I ask or at least assure me that they do have a plan. <<

That's sensible. Another toxic trend is pretending that followship should be blind. Quite the opposite, a good follower is alert and responsive.

>> People that I trust to lead and who have proven themselves get my best though. Those are the people I'll try to anticipate the needs of and take over little details they're too busy for before the problem even comes up. <<

See now, that's the kind of thing that makes me say you're a good follower. It's exactly what a leader needs. Ideally, the leader should be a big-picture person and the follower should be a details person. A big-picture person usually won't remember to make sure the copy machine has paper in it and all the apppointments have been written in the community calendar. That's what the detail person is for. And most detail people aren't happy being asked to design vision statements or make large-scale plans. The world needs both kinds.

>> A big-picture person usually won't remember to make sure the copy machine has paper in it and all the apppointments have been written in the community calendar. That's what the detail person is for. And most detail people aren't happy being asked to design vision statements or make large-scale plans. The world needs both kinds.<<

You know, this helps explain why I have some of the problems that I do. I'm all about details and sometimes that screws with my ability to lead properly. Thank you for explaining this!

>> You know, this helps explain why I have some of the problems that I do. I'm all about details and sometimes that screws with my ability to lead properly. Thank you for explaining this! <<

You're welcome! In general ...

Leadership skills:
* Deciding WHAT things to do
* Long-range planning & vision
* Large-scale projects and whole institution
* Sees the forest
* Imagination
* Coaching people to develop their skills
* Anticipating and avoiding possible problems
* Keeping things on track.

Followship skills:
* Deciding HOW to do things
* Short-range planning & implementation
* Small-scale projects or department
* Sees the trees
* Organization
* Supporting people in what they do
* Anticipating and meeting others' needs
* Keeping track of things

Most people have a mix of leadership and followship skills. Most also have a preference for one or the other role. That's okay.

Then there is a lovely idea I got from my friend Bard Bloom, called situational authority. It means the best cook runs the kitchen, while the best gardener runs the garden, and so forth. Each person leads in their own area(s) of expertise, and follows someone else with better skill in other areas. Because everyone is good at some things and not at others, this is why it's ideal for people to have familiarity both with leading and with following.

While I don't have any footnotes for this, and thus it may verge toward being suspect, there are intimations that this was the procedure in certain First Nations, that your chief for a specific task was someone that knew it well- and sometimes it resulted in Europeans conducting negotiations with utterly Not This Office persons.

It is historically recorded that some tribes had multiple leaders. One common division was having a War Chief and a Peace Chief. Another was having a Chief and a Lead Hunter. Many tribes had a woman, usually a grandmother, who led the domestic matters. Most had a medicine person in charge of spiritual affairs such as the timing and organization of ceremonies. Then there were often other subgroups such as lodges or hunting societies or mystery groups who each had their own leader for internal activities.

Because humility is a virtue traditionally lauded in most tribes, people usually knew followship skills. Leaders were not imposed from outside but rather were the people that others naturally turned to for advice.

If you look around today, you can still see echoes of this in Pow Wow organization. There is usually a Head Man Dancer and a Head Lady Dancer. Then there is the Drum, which is a group of people drumming, and a major part of the organizational structure because they will be signalling a lot of what happens, not just providing background music. Finally there will be one or more people in charge of the event, who may be called the Announcer or Master of Ceremonies or whatever.

I think situational authority actually fits how I tend to think of things? If someone knows about something better than I do, they should lead because they'll understand interconnecting parts better. If I understand about it better than they do, I should lead because I'll know. This actually feels like it makes the most sense socially.

Yes, exactly. I do a lot of that.

In Bard Bloom's World Tree setting, it's a Cani concept called "affan." They have contests to establish affan, which are called "choofs." There is an entertaining outsider's description of a sample here:
http://sythyry.dreamwidth.org/177882.html

Ever since I encountered the more detailed description in the gaming manual, I've been in love with the terms. I can lay out the description once, have a name for things, and people will know what I mean.

I have never heard of this before and find it very interesting! It seems like it would also lead to pleasant interactions, depending on how choofs are done.

Thank you for sharing this concept with me! It took a little Google-ing to determine what was actually going on here, but it was well worth the effort!

>> I have never heard of this before and find it very interesting! It seems like it would also lead to pleasant interactions, depending on how choofs are done. <<

Choofing is a major part of Cani life. Cani puppies choof early, deciding affan in matters such as funny noises (this was the topic of another Sythyry post) or games. Adult Cani choof over domestic, professional, or political matters and there are timeframes for it. For instance, the affan-cook may be choofed once a month, something that everyone enjoys because FOOD! Political leaders may be choofed once a year, usually, or sometimes several years. Choofs tend to be public in varying degrees, so family matters are attended by the family, and a business choof might be enjoyed by a whole town.

For a human example, the Celts used to have an official poet for each town, and contests to see who would hold the "chair." These contests were enormously popular and drew large crowds as the poets would compete to see who could make the best verse.

When you get to reading my stuff, watch for hilarious culture!fail moments in "Over the Old Bridge" as people argue over what leadership and authority mean, and how they are to be gotten, and who should be consulted on which matters.

>> Thank you for sharing this concept with me! It took a little Google-ing to determine what was actually going on here, but it was well worth the effort! <<

You're welcome! I'm glad I could help. If you like my writing, you'd probably enjoy Bard's too.

Something else I forgot to mention: I write both leaders and followers.

If you're into original work as well as fanfic, I recommend that you check out my superhero series Polychrome Heroics. Stalwart Stan and Antimatter are one pair where you can see a leader and a follower starting out in a lousy dynamic in "Look at Me" but getting better over time. Later in their thread you'll also get to meet Fiddlesticks and his sidekick Hefty. There are also a couple of superhero dispatchers -- see Groundhog in "Wherever We Find Them" and Cheersquad in "Over the Old Bridge" (which also has Junket, a teleporting chauffeur).

If you're into science fiction, I have two projects that feature large fluent teamfamilies: Schrodinger's Heroes (led by Alex) and The Blueshift Troupers (led by Lane). Both use situational authority a lot, so you'll see different characters leading or following depending on the challenge at hand.

Edited 2014-07-07 22:56 (UTC)

Thanks! I'm always looking for recommendations on what to read. I primarily read fanfiction because I'm most comfortable with long-term characters that I can bond to, which pushes me towards stories about characters I've already read about or longer series. I'll look into these though! ^_^

>> Thanks! I'm always looking for recommendations on what to read. <<

Yay!

>> I primarily read fanfiction because I'm most comfortable with long-term characters that I can bond to, which pushes me towards stories about characters I've already read about or longer series. I'll look into these though! ^_^ <<

Oh, you are going to have so much fun if you find one of my series that you like. First, I lean heavy on character development; most of my popular series are character-driven. Second, the audience chooses what gets built up the most based on whatever they request. Some of the series are BIG and have been running for several years. Others are smaller.

This is my Serial Poetry landing page. You can find descriptions of all the poetic series there.

I already pointed you to Schrodinger's Heroes which has fiction, poetry, and various other stuff.

The really fun thing is that you can watch for any of my prompt calls -- I usually do the Poetry Fishbowl on the first Tuesday of the month, Crowdfunding Creative Jam on the third weekend, and sometimes the Torn World Muse Fusion if or when that happens. Request more of your favorite character or series. Ask me what happened after this or before that. All the stuff you wonder about in a regular canon that gets answered in fanfic -- we can do that right in canon with crowdfunding.

Just make sure you've got time to spare before you dig in. People have lost whole weekends this way, and describe it as flypaper for eyeballs.

xD I am not very worried about time. I currently have a lot of free time and an eagerness to see examine things.

This sounds really exciting! Thank you, I really will look into these!

There is no greater joy than to have a ton of free time and discover a giant pile of new stuff to read. And it's free; all the stuff that's published on my blogs or websites can be read by everyone. If you hit gaps, you'll see prices on the parts that have been written but not yet sponsored.

How does the sponsoring thing work out? I'm not really in an economic position to do it, but I'm curious about your system?

>> How does the sponsoring thing work out? <<

You can sponsor a specific item that has been created and priced. Standard prices are $5, $10, $15, $20 for poems depending on length and the epics are $.50/line. Sponsoring a poem reveals it to the public and you also get nonexclusive reprint rights in case you want to put it in your own blog or somewhere. Payment via PayPal, check, or other methods can be arranged depending on donor preference; the standard button is for PayPal, which is in my LJ profile and appears on Poetry Fishbowl posts.

You can also put in any amount greater than $1 for the general fund, or into an open epic. Plenty of people on short funds have bought just a verse or two.

I've had some people commission stuff too. Prices are higher if it's really specific. I've composed wedding poems several times, for example.

>> I'm not really in an economic position to do it, but I'm curious about your system? <<

More details on the Poetry Fishbowl may be found on its landing page.

If you like my work, there are many non-cash support methods. Actually the perk poem from the July fishbowl still has four verses left, which can be revealed by people linking to the unsold poetry list or to any poem they like from the July session. Click the poem tag and you can see the recently posted poems.

Have more questions? Just ask.

Oh, wow! That's super-cool! Thank you for explaining that and the helpful links!

I'm glad I could help. Crowdfunding is really fun. I enjoy the audience interaction and I like talking about it.

There are lots of different styles. If you look on

crowdfunding you will see many projects that have different parameters.

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Story: "Little and Broken, but Still Good" Part 16

Exellent progression!

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