#i may not do daily art or follow one prompt list but by god will i be postin

[jesteraunt]

DAY 1: COMPANION

[childrensbread]

The 7 Heavenly Virtues: Faith

Faith and Deeds

💜 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?

Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.

If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 

Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 

You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 

You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. ~James 2:14-26 ✝️

Devotional

When we stop and ponder the opportunity we have as believers to do good works, it would serve us well to ask: "What on earth is the point in it all?" The Bible makes it clear that we are not to strive to achieve good works so that we will be praised by man. We're not in this for the applause of the crowd.

In fact, scripture often encourages us to serve in secret, and to give silently. Neither do good works earn us a ticket to heaven. So if our salvation is secured, some might ask: "Why do we engage in good works?"

Our good deeds are a response to the revelation that Christ paid the price for us. We release to others what we have first received from Christ ourselves.

You and I have not been saved by our good deeds, but we have been saved in order to do good deeds. Works and actions that God had planned long before we took our first breath or made our first ever to-do list.

Because we have received the ultimate goodness that originates from Christ, He empowers us to do likewise. We therefore do not perform these works in our own ability, but with Christ holding up our arms and helping us extend our hearts to humanity. It is not a result of our own strength but it finds its root in His sustaining hand.

The result of our good actions towards others is an overflow of Christ's love released into people's lives. God himself flows out of our lives, so we can be a conduit to show the love of Christ to the world. This in turn may fuel transformation in a person's life, and spark a desire and delight for them to follow Jesus, too.

Be receptive to God's still small voice, prompting you to show kindness to others, and to do the good works that He has prepared for you to do. Remember: your good works aren't your ticket to heaven, but they are your marching orders to display God's power here on earth! 💜🙏🙂

Source: Glorify App

Image: Fine Art America

My Glorify Referral Link: https://share.glorify-app.com/MRSPINO777 ✝️

[ryqoshay]

Putting on Hairs

Primary Pairing: NicoMaki Words: 877 Rating: G, probably, mild T at best AU: Werewolf (possibly others?)

----------

Author’s Note: It’s AU August, which is something in which I’ve not often participated, but adore the idea. Recently, @lonelypond tagged me to choose a prompt, which resulted in this lovely work. At least I assume it’s lovely based on the author’s prior work; I haven’t had a chance to read it, but intend to do so later today.

Anyway, the list has been simmering in the back of my mind for a few days. And I had a silly idea for a Cryptid Theater prompt as I walked to the kitchen for some water after waking up wa~y to early this morning. Then I couldn’t stop thinking about it and couldn’t get back to sleep. So I got back up and wrote this. And here is the sleep deprived, decaffeinated result.

Notes edited with credit to @daily-nicotine

----------

“I can’t believe you would do this to me!” Nico fumed as she paced around the dressing room.

“Whatever do you mean, Nicocchi?” Nozomi inquired innocently.

“Don’t play coy with me!” Nico paused to point. “You recommended this… this circus to me!”

“I did.” Nozomi confirmed. “As your agent, I thought this role would suit my client perfectly.”

“You mean you saw an opportunity to make fun of me.” Nico growled back.

Nozomi donned a hurt expression. “You don’t like the production?”

“It’s a joke!” Nico declared. “The whole thing is one big joke! I mean of course it is. A show about werewolves titled ‘Putting on Hairs’?! What else could it possibly be but a horrible, B-rate comedy? Or tragedy more like.”

“I thought the title was amusing.” Nozomi admitted.

“Ughn!” Nico threw up her hands and started pacing again. “This was supposed to be my breakout role! But instead, I’m stuck quipping about knees bending the wrong way during transformation! I mean that’s not even true!”

“You would know.”

“Of course, I would know! That’s my point!” Nico shook her head. “You would think nobody in this whole production has ever met an actual werewolf. Or anything else for that matter. I mean of course real vampires don’t sparkle. Gods, I hate Hollywood.”

“Well, you’re not exactly admitting everything to everyone yourself, now are you.” Nozomi pointed out.

“That’s not the point.”

“Oh?”

“I can’t work like this.”

“Mm?”

“This whole thing is a mockery of who I am.” Nico groused. “And don’t even get me started on that spoiled brat of a costar.”

“I thought she was nice.”

“Nice?! Did we meet the same person?”

“She’s also quite talented.”

“Well yeah, she’d have to be to get into a school like Waseda. Unless her mommy and daddy just bought her way into that place.”

“Money may have secured her enrollment,” Nozomi conceded “and her family’s influence certainly made connections for obtaining roles like this. But I’ve done my research, her skills are her own.”

“Well maybe she should just take my role and I can get out of this whole ordeal.”

“I’d say give it a chance. Give her a chance.” Nozomi pulled something out of her shirt. “I have a feeling good things are coming.”

“You and your cards.” Nico rolled her eyes. “Put that away. And button up. Geez.” As she was about to make another round, her gaze found one of the outfits that was to be fitted for her. “Oh, and have you seen this mess?” She paused to hold up the garment. “Where did they find this? It looks like a kindergartener’s first arts and crafts project.” She tugged at a tuft of fur. “Seriously, Teen Wolf had better material for crying out loud.”

Heating up again, Nico stomped the first few steps in her circle. For her part, Nozomi watched in calm amusement, waiting for what she knew would eventually occur.

Sure enough, the strap of Nico’s top slipped off as her shoulders narrowed. Then her skirt began to slide. However, the actress was too lost in her tantrum to notice. Of course, having done this very routine dozens of times before, Nico subconsciously stepped out of everything as if it was part of her plan. Within moments, the young woman had shrunk down entirely and what was left prancing was a pretty little Pomeranian.

Nozomi held back a chortle as the fluffball yapped away, still not having noticed her transformation.

A knock sounded at the door.

That startled Nico into realizing her state and she scampered behind a chair to hide.

“Come in Maki-chan.” Nozomi called.

“How… did you know it was me?” A young redhead asked, slowly opening the door.

Nozomi merely smiled in return.

Maki raised an eyebrow but didn’t press the issue. “Anyway, I thought I heard… barking?”

Now Nozomi laughed. “Maki-chan has good ears. Do you like dogs?”

Maki tilted her head with confusion. “I don’t dislike them.” She responded. “But I was hoping to ask Yazawa-san something about our roles? Is she here?”

“As if you don’t already know.” Nozomi smirked.

“What do you…”

“You can come out, Nicocchi.” Nozomi called. “Maki-chan’s here to talk.”

“What are you…”

Nozomi moved around the chair, stooped and scooped up the dog from behind it. Nico immediately began to growl and nipped at the arms holding her.

“Here you go.” Nozomi held out the fuzzy football toward Maki.

“Eh?” Maki balked.

Nozomi sighed. “I know you’re both actresses, good ones at that, but you can stop pretending you didn’t already sense each other.”

Nico stopped squirming and let herself be handed off to a still somewhat reluctant Maki.

“But, you’re… not like me…” Maki leaned in a little toward Nozomi “or her.” She indicated Nico.

“Nope. I’m not.” Nozomi nodded.

“Then how…?”

“I have my ways.”

“Hrm…”

“Anyway, I’ll let you two have your chat.” Nozomi slipped past Maki but paused in the doorway. “Oh, Nicocchi won’t be able to change back until she calms down a bit. Perhaps try sitting with her in your lap and petting her?”

“Buweehh?” Maki almost dropped Nico.

Nozomi giggled and was gone, leaving behind a flummoxed Maki to figure out how to talk with her apparent cryptid costar.

----------

Author’s Note Continued: So there we have it. It may feel like an introduction to something bigger, but for the time being, I’m calling this one and done. Maybe someday I’ll come back and expand on this with cheesy tropes and Hollywood mockery, but I have far too much of a backlog of ideas that I want to write for my current ongoing projects.

Also, the idea for Pomeranian Nico is shamelessly stolen from... someone I follow on Tumblr.* I’m about to pass out in my chair, so I’ll have to search for that later, but preemptive thanks to the individual who posted about that months ago.

And finally, no, I did not decide what type of cryptid or monster or whatever Maki is. Maybe she’s another werewolf. Maybe she’s a vampire. I dunno, and honestly, it’s not important for the sake of this little bit. Whatever she is, I hope Nozomi made it clear that she and Nico can sense that neither are normal humans, so she’s not spilling their secrets here; they already know. And Nozomi herself is... Nozomi; probably a witch or some other spiritual/magical/whatever human type.

Edit: *lonelypond located the original post for Pomeranian Nico, or woofnic as she is adorably tagged. Thank you lonelypond for the link and thank you daily-nicotine for the wonderful art and inspiration.

[floraone]

So, September is coming up, and with it smutember, and we’re doing it again! (At least I hope you’re with me, lol).

Just like last year, it runs alongside to the official daily word prompts on the official smutember blog: Smutember is an event that runs all throughout September for all fandoms. The following is meant as an addition, not a replacement. If you want to do daily prompts, please use the official words prompts (linked above). However, since daily prompts can be a bit intimidating (especially for a fandom corner that’s 25+ years old like ours and people in it have busy lives), as the resident smut advocate in our fandom, I again customized an alternative that can still incorporate the official themes.

Just like last year, down below you have a list of TROPE AND THEME PROMPTS. They’re a remix of sorts of last year’s tropes, with some you’ve seen before and some new ones, meant to spark a variety of ideas. The idea is that with these you can post once (or twice) per week instead of daily.

Be it for fanart or fanfic or any other sort of fanwork, tropes can be combined, (and they can be combined with the daily themes too), whatever floats your boat. Also, specifically: This event isn’t Usamamo-centric only. I will reblog any Sailor Moon content of any pairing as long as it follows the rules! (See below)

The aim of this event is to create sex-positive content together that celebrates a healthy depiction of consentual sexuality. Erotic fanfiction is a beautiful art, especially in a fandom of ours so largely cultivated by women and for women, as well as a strong inclusive focus on queer and gender-queer content and their creators!

What’s new: I’m taking a page out of the mini-bang’s impressive book, and when smutember is over, I will compile all entries that followed the rules into an online-only e-zine! This also means that art that may be too explicit for tumblr can still be included in the e-zine!

Here are the weekly trope challenges:

Reinvent a trope!

WEEK 1 (September 1st - 7th): Pick 1 or 2

🍋 Reunion Sex 🍋 Sex Fails 🍋 Second Chance Sex 🍋 You Talk In Your Sleep 🍋 Unresolved Sexual Tension 🍋 New Old Flame 🍋 Go Seduce My Archnemesis 🍋 Bedsharing 🍋 Sex with the Ex/Break-Up Sex 🍋 In Public 

WEEK 2 (September 8th - 14th): Pick 1 or 2

🍋 Make-Up Sex 🍋 Battle Couple 🍋 Mission Sex 🍋 Work-Out Sex 🍋 Accidental Pervert 🍋 Bathing/Shower 🍋 Pool/Onsen 🍋 Sexual Fantasies 🍋 Blind Date 🍋 Aroused By Your____ (pick a feature) 

WEEK 3 (September 15th - 21st): Pick 1 or 2

🍋 Established Relationship 🍋 “Thank God We’re Alive” 🍋 Caught In The Act 🍋 First Times 🍋 Introduction By Hook-Up 🍋 Pining 🍋 Locked In Together In A Small Space/ Trapped Together 🍋 Huddling For Warmth 🍋 Socially Distanced Sex 🍋 Stupid Sexy Friend 🍋 Caught In The Rain 🍋 Living Food Platter/Eating Off You 🍋 Shunga

WEEK 4 (September 22nd - 30th): Pick 1 or 2

🍋 Mutual Masturbation 🍋 Awkward/Clumsy Sex 🍋 Oh Crap There’s Fanfic Of Us 🍋 Talking In Bed 🍋 Fidelity Test 🍋 Fake-NOT-Dating 🍋 Mindlink 🍋 Sex Games 🍋 Tinder 🍋 Blackout/Quarantine/Disaster Warning/Weathering The Storm

RULES

1. Rating: These fics don’t necessarily need to be M or, in the case of Ao3, E- rated. Obviously, they are very, very welcome to be explicit for this event, but you can also go T-rated and stay in lime or ‘blacked out’-territory if you’re uncomfortable with writing explicit scenes! Both is perfectly and absolutely welcome! This of course also goes for fanart - your fanart may depict sexy scenes, but does NOT have to be explicit! (It can, though! Be aware that for tumblr’s guidelines, when sharing your art first, you may have to clip your images as a sort of preview. The original can then be sent to me privately to include into the e-zine!) 2. Minimum Age of Characters: Since this is a community event, if you do go explicit M rated material: age them up where necessary! So that everyone can be comfortable writing and reading these, let them be 18 at the minimum if they’re going to openly and explicitly wohoo. (16-17 is the global average age of consent worldwide, and also the average age for first sex among girls in many western countries. However, since most fanfic readers are located in the US, where the age of consent is 18, we’re going with 18 so that everyone can be comfortable reading!) If you go for canon fics at a time they are below this age, where you do not want to age up (say you’re going for an episode fix!) please stay in T territory for this event. 3. Off limits: Depictions of sexual acts that contain harmful, violent and non-consenting behaviour with non-consenting individuals (or those that aren’t able to consent, for instance because of their age, or state of mind among else!). If it doesn’t fly by law or the ICD in real life, please refrain from depicting it in the context of this event. This means that dubcon and noncon will not be reblogged for the event, so that people can be safely consuming the content without being triggered. All content will be screened in this regard, and I may contact you regarding trigger warnings. This is not at all to censor content, or that this content is in any form less valid (as long as it is properly tagged and not including characters that aren’t of age), but simply to ensure a safe environment for everyone reading. 4. Tag your triggers. Except the aforementioned limitation of harmful content, nothing is off limits. Explore your kinks! But if you write something that might be offensive to your readers, please tag it. This is ALSO a good way for your readers to find exactly what they ARE looking for! On Ao3 this can be done directly on the fic tags, for FF fics and fic links you can do it here on Tumblr via the fic post tags or in ANs. This is in consideration of your readers. 5. You can obviously post art for this event too. All previous rules apply here, as well. Unfortunately, Tumblr is now against tasteful nudity. That doesn’t mean you can’t link to a deviant art or similar account though, should you want to. And, since this year will include an e-zine at the end of it, all art will still be included fully in it. Here too, please tag your triggers. If you still want to post art on Tumblr, choose a T rated image - clip them where needed, or keep them (semi-)clothed, show us a heated kiss, etc! (Obviously we would love ALL the art and the nude body is a beautiful, wonderful thing, but obviously Tumblr doesn’t agree with us anymore!) 6. Have fun! Celebrate sexuality in an open, sex-positive way with us, try to be unapologetic about your likes while you write this, and appreciate the beauty that comes in the form of content with a largely female-gazing creator-base and audience! Smut in fanfiction has been beautifully put as the subjectification of sexuality (as opposed to  objectification). So let’s celebrate this art form together! 7. Reviews: No one is forced to review. It can be uncomfortable to review a fic that contains sexual acts for any number of always valid reasons. Keep in mind, however, that much like a Burlesque dancer on stage, putting out sexual content can also be very intimidating to an author, and nothing is more discouraging than silence when baring yourself to an audience like this. That being said: Both Ao3 and FF have the option to review in anon mode. That means you have the option to remain anonymous while cheering the author on all the same. Just like the Burlesque dancer, your resident smut authors prefer to go on stage to loud cheering - it makes it all less awkward for them, and feels a little more like a big celebration!

If you’re unsure what sex positivity entails and want to read up, I wrote a post about it here.

This event is not supposed to cause harm. This means that I will screen all content before I reblog it here, and include it in the e-zine. So that everyone of age can feel safe reading the fanworks in the event, dubcon and noncon will not be reblogged and included in the e-zine, and accurate tagging and content warning will be watched. This does NOT MEAN that you cannot post this material: your own desire to write it and someone else’s desire to explicitly read this material are valid. I do not entitle myself to censor. It just means it will not be reblogged and shared through the event so that everyone may feel safe to read to the best of my ability. (But, of course, remember that I, too, might be biased, and not discover subtle forms of it, either. We’re all, in the end, a product of our upbringing and society, and I cannot be completely unbiased.)

During the event, I will be posting all Sailor Moon Smutember contributions in this format on my blog if you @ me to the post.

The official hashtag for the event is #smutember2020 hosted by the official smutember blog. Using it helps people find the content who search for it as well as those who wish to block it!

[blodeuweddschild]

Tinsworth fics

Just a long list of tinsworth fics I really enjoyed!

I may add a few to this in the future but for now this is it ~

[[MORE]]

Completed:

Blood by icantwritegood

C.C. Tinsley, a sharp-tongued P.I. with an unwavering focus on justice and a need to give people what they deserve, is contacted by a mystery caller to help solve a murder in a quiet seaside town. His arrival is akin to a very big rock dropping into a very small pond.

The Goldsworths are a rich family with the entire town in their pocket. A stranger in their midst is not welcome, but he seems to refuse to leave, no matter the consequences. Someone was murdered, and he intends to find out who did it, and to give everyone what they deserve along the way.

The consequences come hard and fast. Some people just don't like what they deserve.

Catch me if you can by Chromission

A game of cat and mouse turns into an unexpected union.

How will it all end? Where will their allegiance lie? Who left their fake mustache at a crime scene -again?

Did someone say "slow burn?" -I think so!

There will be shenanigans, jam out sessions, mystery and wheezing. Some cameos from the BFU universe?

After the dust settles by nervous_artist

After Tinsley is abducted by some particularly nasty mob bosses, Ricky has to swoop in to rescue his damsel in distress.

The Ricky Goldsworth case files by luckysam78

a detective falls in love with his best friend, who happens to be a manipulative criminal mastermind but still has room in his heart for love. unfortunately, there are more obstacles separating them from each other than they expected

Ongoing:

Siberian Nights by icantwritegood (hiatus)

Holly Horsley's client is murdered. She hires private detective C.C. Tinsley to find out the who, what, and why of the situation at hand. Tinsley is a liar, a cheater, and a general bad person, who's not afraid of the grittier details in life. This is why she believes he can do it.

But what happens when he comes head-to-head with a wily hitman who is just as determined to come out alive as he is?

Letters left on your desk by Raisans_Grapeon

A series of one-shots in no particular order, detailing the 9 month exchange between detective C.C. Tinsley, and the infamous serial killer, Ricky Goldsworth, who's pseudo-name is "The Golden Killer" or simply "Gold." Almost all of the re-accounts are told via the various, and daily letters exchanged between the two foes, and focuses on the unlikely friendship that seemed to spur.

The Good Lie by icantwritegood

The Hand Of Fate by Greenoctober

C.C. Tinsley did not become a detective to cover up crimes. Certainly not for an asshole named Gold who he'd never even met. By god if he ever met him he'd put him in jail.

Ricky Goldsworth going by the name Gold is a hired killer, working for the Mafia to kill those that try to cheat them, not that he wouldn’t be killing anyways, its just nice to get paid for it.

The first time they meet in person was part of no one’s plan, or was it?

Rogues sleep by nervous_artist

C.C. Tinsley is the sheriff of a dusty western town. Set with the task of stopping a series of train robberies, he runs into a peculiar criminal with the name of “Goldsworth.” This criminal has stolen a lot, and Tinsley’s heart is next on the list.

We make quite a team by notmadejsbian

C.C. Tinsley isn't the biggest fan of Ricky Goldsworth, but when it comes down to tracking down a new notorious criminal, he's his best chance at catching this crook.

While following this case, the two learn more about each other's pasts, each other's feelings for each other and how fucked up the malicious Dr. Fear really is.

The art of murder and romance by henloamhere

C.C. Tinsley—a detective struggling to keep his head above the rising waters of San Francisco crime.

Assigned with the Golden State Killer, he investigates day and night. Each investigation leads to a dead end.

Ricky Goldsworth—a billionaire and playboy extraordinaire.

No one can say anything to incriminate him, whether it is because there is nothing to incriminate him with or plain fear of him, yet many are smitten at the Golden heartthrob.

Theories and enemies by justabagel

When Detective Charles C. Tinsley decided on this whole detective gig, he never thought that his vast knowledge of crime and murder would backfire on him. Now accused of arson, murder, and kidnapping, Tinsley is thrown into a whole new world of trouble. That’s when he meets Ricky Goldsworth, a serial killer with too much charm for his 5’10 body. The flirty killer offers to get the detective out of his jam in exchange for... what? Tinsley doesn’t know.

Death and all his friends by Chromission

C.C. Tinsley and Ricky Goldsworth haven't seen each other since Ricky dropped out of university without a word.

In 1967, the private investigator finds the chance to reconnect with an old flame he hasn't seen in 6 years.

As always, situations are rarely ideal or legal. At this point you can't tell if the Turkish cotton sheets are stained by blood or red wine.

The ongoing case of Ricky Goldsworth by hentailobster

*Old York is usually not a remarkable town in any sense of the word, but as if to make up for lack of activity it suddenly brings upon its citizens a double murder, a mysterious stranger and a lanky detective. Of course, he's been there for some time.

The tinman and the devil by snapdragonpop007

Tinsley had never wanted to go back home--he had closed that chapter of his life and burned it and started an entirely new book.

And then a case brings him back to Fayetteville, and as hard as Tinsley tries to leave, he finds himself stuck there, caught up in old cases and old blood and a man named Ricky Goldsworth.

wandering the roads of love by blowmedemons

decided to get all my tinsworth works in one place. for, yknow, easy access.

There’s no tranquility in death by killmongerrrr

“Is it peaceful?” He asks one night, sad eyes watching the jerky movements of his ceiling fan.

The bed dips as the spirit lies beside him. “No, it isn’t.”

___

CC Tinsley, along with his partner Francesca Norris, is a detective investigating a string of vigilante murders where victims are found disemboweled. Ricky Goldsworth is a medium who’s haunted by spirits. He kills their killers to help them pass on, but in turn is haunted by those he murders.

Killer on repeat by tinsworthisunderrated

My name is Richard James Goldsworth and I was a serial killer. This is the story of my life, well at least the crucial details. I’m telling you this because I need you to know my story. I am one of many stories that you need to find. This story begins in the winter of 1922.

Oneshots:

The very thought of you by notmadejsbian

In a world where Ricky Goldsworth is a detective and C.C. Tinsley is a serial killer, there's still an unspoken affection C.C. desperately wants to address.

Bang! by Greenoctober

Bang!

A look of shock crossed the face inches from Tinsley’s. The knife that had been held to his throat dropping as the man stumbled backwards.

Bang!

The man fell forward as a second gunshot echoed through the room. Tinsley looked up. Standing in the door to their apartment was his Ricky.

Alternatively by rydellon

He says “his ticket” with a loose tongue, because the ticket originally belonged to one Hamlet Christianson, who Ricky had borrowed the ticket from the night before. The man wouldn’t be needing it anymore, in fact, he would never need anything again in his life.

But the people on this train didn’t need to know that.

You talk too much, detective by Ourladyofresurrection

Prompt! From dogsareradical on tumblr: “Tinsworth for ‘are you drunk’ or ‘I’m fine.’”

In which Tinsley talks sweet to Ricky and Ricky pretends like he’s not flustered over it.

For what it’s worth (I’m desperate) by emptyswimmingpools

Tinsley doesn't like Goldsworth, but he's quite literally the lesser of two evils.

Or: a detective and a mobster must work together to defeat a much greater threat.

Wait for it by Agf

"I have you bang to rights and you know it. Just admit it," C. C. repeated for what could only have been the fourth time, but which felt like the hundredth.

"Your 'evidence' is purely circumstantial. You can't pin a thing on me," Ricky said, "Which makes sense, seeing as I'm innocent."

Then he winked.

Private Investigator C. C. Tinsley is certain that Ricky Goldsworth is the Sunset Killer. Ricky Goldsworth is certain that spending 24 hours messing with the PI is going to be a lot of fun.

The mysterious vanishing of C.C. Tinsley by Bergarahoe (flannelfeelings)

It's been a wonder for decades- puzzling the nation and all who encounter the story of the Sodder Family.

What happened to detective C.C. Tinsley?

[ibwhellospring]

Hello Spring Writing Event FAQ

I’ve decided to compile a list of questions I’ve seen on the main post, and others I could think about, so should anyone have a doubt it can be explained in one place. If your question/s isn’t/aren’t answered here, by all means ask me (here or over at my main @itsbuckysworld​), and I’ll do my best to answer you and include the question in this list.

READ THESE BEFORE ASKING PLEASE. 

I can’t begin the event on May 1st.

Absolutely no problem. I myself, the supposed “host”, will be out of the country and busy come May, but I’ll try to write in advance or just catch up/continue when I come back/am able to resume. You can do so as well if you want or just join whenever you can. 

I can’t do continuous days.

Neither can I! it’s not a race to see who keeps up with things the most or finishes first. It’s an exercise to practice writing and work out the creative muscles. Do it at your own pace, pick back up where you left off and have fun. 

 What if I can’t complete the challenge?

Well, for starters this isn’t a challenge. There isn’t a time limit or a prize. You can’t fail or succeed at this event. If you do 1 prompt or all 31 that’s fine and either way I’m grateful to you for participating.

Where do I sign up?

There’s no sign up. Just go ahead and do ya thang following the prompt of whatever day you’re on.

How do I tag it for you to find/reblog? What’s the tag for this event?

Tag your pieces using #IBW: Hello Spring 2019 and make sure it’s in the first five tags so it shows up when I search it. If you want, tag this blog (this one, not my main please) in your piece directly. Another tag to help you keep track of what day and maybe even make it easier for people to find on your blog, should you want to use it: is #ibwhellospringdayx replacing the x with the day of the prompt the piece is for. 

How long should it be?

These are short stories just to go quickly and serve as a creative exercise so 450 words. You can always do more but you HAVE to use the read more feature.

What else should be there?

I’d recommend the usual. The pairing of the piece if needed, the category of the writing with it’s proper warnings should it need any and the day and prompt that it fills. If you want you can follow this template. 

Is it just prose or can it be poems or headcannons etc?

You can write however your heart desires. Full paragraphs, AU’s, in a TFLN (texts from last night) format, Headcanon format or whatever you want

Is smut allowed?

Yes, but do mark it as explicit, put a read more feature no matter how long or short the piece is. Rape, abuse, non-consensual will be ignored.

Is it fictional characters only?

Yes, it’s fictional character only in the sense that I’m not recommending writing for the real person that plays the part. For example writing about Chris Evans. Write, instead, about any of his characters.

No, it’s not fictional characters only in the sense that OC’s are 100% welcome. If you want to use these prompts to help character development for your own pieces of fiction, go right ahead.

Are ships welcomed?

Yes they are but pedophilia and incest will be ignored and reported. If you have characters that are family and/or underage, write only platonic fiction for them. Also I’m on the fence about pieces that age up a character, so I might reserve the right to reblog them or not.

Can I add photos/gifs to my piece?

Yes, give credit to the owner if it’s not your piece of media, and if it’s explicit it has to be under a read more cut. 

I don’t write, can i draw instead?

I know this is called a WRITING EVENT, and was intended as so but fuck it, who am I to stop you from making fan art if any of my prompts inspired you to do so. God that’d make me cry of joy. BE CREATIVE! use this to help yourself out of a creative funk or whatever you need. 

Can I post on other websites?

Yes, but I beg of you that you post the piece in full here on tumblr. After all this is a tumblr event and this is where I’ll be giving updates and keeping an eye on stuff. 

Does my piece HAVE to have the word in it?

No. Your piece can be inspired by the word of the prompt. Only dialogue prompts should be directly on the piece, and you can alter them like for example separating them with pauses, or laughter or babbling from your character whatever you want. Just have it be there in essence.

What do you mean by first/last kiss?

You can write either a first kiss or a last kiss or about both. Same with good/bad luck. 

Can I post two pieces in the one day?

I’d recommend you don’t. Part of the fun of this is creating/having daily content. 

Can I write one piece for two prompts?

I’d recommend you don’t. Part of the idea is that you have to create or imagine something for each word, that’s the sorta challenge-y part of this. It can be easy to select all the words that relate and get them done with in one sitting but that’s not the point of this. While two prompts can be related (in a part one and part two and so on if needed, kinda manner) please don’t kill two birds with one stone, that’s not what this is for. 

Can my pieces be related to each other then?

Yup, if and however you want, you can relate them.

You’re a marvel blog, is this event Marvel only?

Not at all, it’s open to all and any fandom.

Will you reblog everything?

No. I am only one human and can only spot and read so much, besides I’m not in every fandom so you might write about characters I know nothing about, and while sure I can reblog it and give feedback on the writing itself, it’s not going to be of much help or much impact. 

If your question isn’t answered above, drop by any of my asks (here and/or over at @itsbuckysworld) and let me know so I can answer you and add it to this list.

[legion1993]

together forever!

AN: this is another piece for @icantlivewithyou for her 800 followers challenge! enjoy! ps. sorry about the long beginning i kinda lost track of what i was doing with the story... but it still works...

Prompt 54 “Let’s forget about destiny.”

pairing: Draco Malfoy x Reader

summery: there isnt one...

masterlist

another year had come and gone, hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry was one of the best things to ever happen to you, the best decision your parents ever could have made...

 over your years you mastered every spell you were taught, you learned spells to use in your daily life... you were favorite amongst all your teachers... 

well all except Snape but then again he really didnt like any student that wasnt in Slytherin, and even then he sometimes rarely tollerated them... as extra credit you were one of Hogwarts spell tutors...

 meaning basically you were the only student brave enough to tutor the students who needed extra help with their assignments. let me give you a hint as to which house had the most trouble with staying focused... 

thats right it was the Slytherin house... meaning you a Ravenclaw were the only ravenclaw dumb enough to say yes to the job... even for extra credit the other ravenclaws wouldnt do it...

but the only slytherin that stuck with the tutoring throughout the years was Draco Malfoy... he was dashing but fraternizing between houses was frowned upon, i mean if it happened it happened no one would dare stand in the way of soulmates...

 about a year ago to this day you and Draco had met outside of school. you were in diagon alley when he found you in the book store, you went to the 3 broomsticks to meet privately... 

to get a head start on some of the paper work for tutoring.. both you and Draco had turned 18 within a week or 2 of eachother... 

this was one of the reasons Madame rosmertta didnt say anything to anyone about you 2 being there together. she handed you 2 a complementary birthday butterbeer, and went back to her regular customers... 

Draco: “that reminds me i made you something... its just something i happened to make when practicing some art spells... this is to say thank you for not giving up on tutoring me...”

you watched him place a small box on the table in front of you, with the tap of his want he made appear a glass figurine of your house crest... you picked it up and held it...

 YN: “Draco i’m impressed you found a talent that you enjoy... well done... i am grateful for this token... all i got from my family was a fully paid 2 years away from home. just me myself and i... in a magic community just outside of paris...”

Draco: “kind of like a place of your own type thing... when do you move in?”

YN: “supposed to be going to check out the place over christmas break... did you want to come with?”

Draco: “so long as no one sees us that we know, we should be good... i’ll just tell my parents that im doing some travelling over christmas break and that im not coming home, that im doing some soul searching...”

You could only smile as Draco held his glass of Butterbeer towards you...

Draco: “to our final year at Hogwarts...”

YN: “may it shine supreme...”

you clinked your glass with his... thats when both of you felt it, a burning into your arms, it was like an instant connection... something that had slowly been building over the years. 

Draco moved closer to you, your secluded location now hiding your unforseen passion. 

Draco: “whats happening?”

YN: “i dont know its almost like we are magnetized...”

Draco: “its like a new string of feelings.”

your hands at that moment became intertwined.. it was like the force of 2 magnets being forced together, but the connection broke when a familiar voice broke the room...

Lucius: “Rosmertta, business is good i presume...”

Rosmertta: “its fine lucius, what can i do for you today?”

Lucius: “im looking for a place to host a private function is one of your rooms available...”

rosemertta had to think for a moment she knew you and Draco were back there... she made something up on the spot...

Rosmertta: “let me just go do an inspection of one room thats just come available... ill be back in a jiffy to bring you back there...”

lucius as impatient as he was, wasnt gonna argue with rosmertta... she came back there to where you children were and did a sound proofing spell on the room...

rosmertta: “you both need not be here right now... boy your fathers out there... flash yourselves someplace else far from here... ill cover your scents... ill also not tell anyone you were here...”

you both thanked her, grabbed all your things, holding hands you both thought of a different place, far from there... you guys wind up in an alley near the london station... you look at Draco as he does you, both of you searching for something that is there but shouldnt be...

Draco: “can i walk you home? or do you have to be home?”

YN: “i dont have to be home right away but i sense you wanna talk about what happened back in the 3 broomsticks...”

Draco: “can i try something?”

you nod unsure of what it is that he wants to do, at that moment it hadnt hit you... till he popped both of you to a room he had rented in the leaky cauldron, thats when he wrapped his arm around your waist slowly, he moved his other hand to cup your cheek, your body was starting to react... 

thats how it started, the sneaking around, the lying, the keeping it a secret from everyone. except for a few weeks in summer when draco would come to your secret place and stay with you, he also was kind enough to help you move some of your stuff... 

the start of the school year...

YN: “our last first day of school like ever... how the hell are we gonna survive next year...”

Hermione: “i dont know but if anything it will be awesome! when is the first quidditch game of the year?”

You had to think about that for a moment but as you were thinking you heard a voice like a whisper in your ear...

Draco: “meet you in the quidditch house i wanna talk to you about the upcoming game schedule...”

you didnt reallize it but you now had a goofy smile on your face...

Hermione: “okay spill girl!”

YN: “spill what?”

Hermione: “whats with the goofy look on your face?” 

you had to recompose yourself... you turned to Hermione and smiled lightly...

YN: “so for my birthday my parents got me a all expense paid 2 year home away from home type thing... they want me to experience my own world away from them for 2 years...”

Hermione: “what thats amazing! and congrats again on the big 18 i cant believe we will all graduate from here at 18.. but that smile on your face was one of a love struck girl... is there something your not telling me?”

YN: “no girl if i was in love with someone dont you think i would have told you by now...”

Hermione only had to think about that for a moment for she knew as well as you that there wasnt anything you girls wouldnt tell eachother. 

Hermione: “okay ive gotta go meet the boys ill see you for whats our first class together?”

You pulled out your class list and smiled...

YN: “potions... but right now i gotta go get changed and meet Draco at the quidditch tent, he is captain for slytherin he wants to discuss the game schedule or something...”

Hermione: “please be careful dont let that dick wad walk all over you... we will see you in potions... love you...”

YN: “love you too...”

you stalked off to your dorm to place down your bags, and get into your quidditch gear, making sure that you are not seen too long by many, but seen and marked as arrived... 

you headed down to the field. you arrived at the captains tent to find only one other captain signed in currently. you knew the other captains werent as worried about quidditch on the first day... but with Slytherin and Ravenclaw teams being the only 2 teams to ever make it to the semi finals for the wizarding world champs... 

lets just say that was part of yours and Dracos ploy to get to spend time together. sneak a few moments here and there... but this was the captains tent the one that ravenclaw and slytherin teams have shared for decades.

you entered the tent after sound proofing it... and smiled lightly at the sight of Draco all comfy on the lounge chair...

YN: “hey...”

that was all you had to say, Draco laid his eyes on you and got off of that chair so fast you didnt have time to blink... you also really didnt care... it was kinda fun sneaking around... 

Draco cupped your cheek and kissed you ever passionately... he knew that there was a very slim chance that you werent feeling the same way he was...

Draco: “god that train ride was dull and long... it would have been more fun if you had been beside me...”

YN: “i know but we have to keep up appearances... who has the practice field first...”

Draco: “hufflepuff... we have the evening slots...  which i guess is so they dont interferee with our afternoon classes...”

YN: “i can see if i can swap my slot with Gryphindor so i can put my tutoring slot this evening...”

Draco: “i guess my girl has 1st and 2nd years that also need help...”

YN: “yep my tutoring list is already growing and most studentz have only taken 1 or 2 classes by this point...”

that of course is when the earth shook... both you and Draco pulled out your wands searching for anything to be the cause... thats when you both recieved a fire message... because you both were also your house prefects... you both popped over to just outside the great hall where students and teachers were gathering... 

both you and Draco were called up front with the other prefects and teachers..

McGonigal: “teachers we need to try and keep the students calm... prefects your task is to keep your houses in order... Dumbledore and a few other teachers have gone to see about the school barrier... if its what we fear the school is about to be under war.. we have also sent owls to all the families of the normal and first year students... alerting them of the situation... they will have the option to pull their student home if they desire...”

Draco: “professor, what or who exactly is attacking the school?”

Mcgonigal: “death eaters... followers of you know who... now everyone to your stations and brace yourselves... and prefects keep in contact... leave all quarrels and bickering at the door... right now everyone in this room friend or foe is allied...”

the great hall where many a banquet and dinner and ball party whatever type of event was or had been held... the room this year was set up so from left to right it was Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryphindor & Hufflepuff... 

so over the last year and a bit, you and Draco could steal a few stolen ‘bickering’ exchanges... you two had developed a kind of love-hate relationship for the public eye... the daily prophet one year had a rivalry photo between your 2 houses... it was a huge deal... 

anyway back to the matter on hand. after settling your Ravenclaws down, your other prefect went to sit at the other end of the table as Draco now came to sit across from you. he noticed you putting your head in your hands and the pannic setting in, he decided that instead of sitting on his side he would come and sit beside you.... ‘pretend to be friendly’

Draco: “are you okay, YN?”

you turned your head slightly and shook your head, you were beyond scared right then you didnt know what might come out of your mouth...

YN: “no im not... what if your father is out there? are you really prepared to face him?”

Draco: “well i mean if it comes down too it yeah, but it will be alot harder for us to keep you know what a secret from the effects of whatever curse they decide to throw at any number of us...”

YN: “i know thats what i’m afraid of... i mean we have kept us a secret for almost 2 years... i think the world deserves to know...before everything goes to shit...”

thats when Draco got up and walked over to mcgonigal..

Draco: “excuse me professor but i think i know exactly what inspirational speech to give right now... may i?”

Mcgonigal: “of course mr malfoy...”

Draco stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat, thus making everyone in the room turn their eyes to him.

Draco: “we live in a world today where voldemort and his death eaters think they have a spotting chance at ruling both the wizarding world and the muggle realm... this is why hogwarts and other schools were started to train the younger genration of witches and wizards alike in the art and practice of magic. but today we are gathered for a different cause, our school is under attack, but i know we have all seen a change in the last few years here within these walls, within our lives, within our houses, we never cease to amazing ourselves and eachother. but one thing that has amazed me over these past few years, is how amazing YN of ravenclaw is... you know what she sits over there at the other end of her table because she exhausts herself every single damn day. tutoring, being a prefect, leading the ravenclaw qudditch team, and still going to her regular classes. YN you have changed my life in ways i can’t express in alot of words but i have several little words now that will change both of our lives... may all of you bare witness to this momentus moment. for if we live through this tragedy we will be in a time of celebration.”

Draco comes around the podium and stands on the stage in front of you...

Draco: “YN, lets forget about destiny, lets forget for a moment that we are under attack, or surrounded by our peers, lets pretend that its still summer and we are hiding in a alley way outside of london station hiding from my father, lets forget about what the world already thinks of us, and show the world what and who we can be together...”

this earned all the students and all the teachers to put their eyes from you to Draco as you now stood up to Draco’s getting down onto 1 knee...

Draco: “YN will you marry me?”

you started walking towards him slowly...

YN: “Draco you changed my world too, i was a little lost before you came into my life, i knew that there was something there from that first day till that day a year ago when we talked without hesitation or speech impediment, or stuttering or any barriers... i know a different side of you as you do me... i guess what i’m trying to say is: Yes of course i’ll marry you!!!”

the entire great hall bared witness as you ran up the stage and into Dracos loving embrace, tender arms holding you close, his lips then passionately kissing you with a joyous noise erupting from the entirety of the room. then Draco used his new found arts magic skill to forge you on the spot a diamond ring, he slid it on your finger and the kissing continued...

you guys were interrupted by several teachers including your house teachers and several others, then approached by your partner prefects, and your head boy/girl... then you were approached by Ron, Hermione, and Harry... 

Hermione: “YN girl, what i mean how, i mean when... i mean you said you werent interested in anyone...”

YN: “we wanted to make sure we were gonna last first before we told anyone... we have been sneaking around, and making excuses, making up little white lies, taking no small moment however small for granted...”

Harry: “well Draco i guess if YN ends up with anyone i suppose i should be happy she ended up with someone who wont break her heart...”

Draco: “ya well i know if i did that she would kick my arse... so im gonna avoid that...”

Ron: “i suppose i agree with both hermione and Harry but i guess i should add that its a good thing your both 18 now right...”

You and Draco looked at eachother and smiled...

YN: “yep during the summer within a week or 2 of eachother...”

Draco: “thank you all of you for supporting us... i’m sure...”

just before Draco could finish his sentance... the windows of the hall were blasted open... Draco you harry hermione and ron all crouched and huddled together, then looking up at the sound of a voice speaking from the smoke entering the room...

Lucius: “oh my my my what is happening here... it looks like a bunch of marry ment was going on...”

thats when Lucius spotted Draco and how defensive he was of you... then he noticed the ring on your finger...

Lucius: “boy get away from that girl.. or i swear i will beat you with my belt son...”

Draco: “never you cant make me...”

this made everyone clear out of the way... this was a wizards stance... kind of like 1,2,3 shoot... except it was cast your spells and see whose wins... Draco and you already having your wands ready prepared your shots...

Lucius: “Avarda Kadarva...”

Draco: “impedimenta..”

YN: “imperio...”

Lucius had his aimed right for you and Draco...

Draco Aimed his right at his father  that slowed him right down.... long enough for your spell to hit lucius and point him and one of the death eaters... 

this was the start of the great Battle of Hogwarts as well as your new journey of life with Draco... but thats another story for another time...

[kbrown78]

Monthly Wrap Up: October

Favorite month of the year, not just because it's my birthday month. It's a transitional period in nature that I love with it's bright colors and cold nights. I also love that it's a month associated with magic and myth, which I love seeing to stories. This month I tried to read all of my most Halloween books, with a few exceptions. There were a few rereads but it was mostly new reads this month. October started out on a high with the Call, but then slid downhill with several sub par reads. Then it finally took a turn, with A Natural History of Dragons and Rosemary and Rue, two first books in series. I read a total of 9 books and 1 comic book, and all of these books had elements of fantasy, a few were horror fantasy and 1 was a historical fantasy. I definitely had a month filled with magic and suspense, but I didn't enjoy most of the books as much as I had hoped to.

The Call by Pedar O' Guilin: I've talked about this book so much and have already posted my full review on it, so I'm going to keep it quick. Bleak world, terrifying villains, lots of suspense and gore, a good disabled protagonist and a cute romance. The Call was my pick for the PopSugar prompt “a book set during or about Halloween” since this seemed like a good Halloween themed book and Halloween is celebrated at some point during this book and it received 4 out 5 stars.

Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski: Are you afraid of the dark? In a world where there is 14 years between night and day, everyone in this story is eager to leave quickly as the night approaches. But 3 kids get left behind and the longer they stay the more questions they have about what goes bump in the night. It's definitely a suspenseful read and I do think adults can appreciate that element of it, even though it is clearly geared more toward a younger audience. I do think it's a good book but I didn't enjoy it as much because I knew all the twist that were coming and I didn't love the ending (more about that in my review). Nightfall received 3 out 5 stars.

Monstress Volume 3: Haven: This, as of right now, is the only comic book series that I follow. I really liked the first volume, I was so sucked into the world and I needed more. The second volume was pretty good, but it was a filler. The third book gets back to the main plot, but there's so much in this volume that it's overwhelming. More characters keep getting introduced and new mysteries arise, which was the main problem. I keep getting more questions added onto the ones I already have with very few answers, and at this point that's very frustrating. Most of the characters are pretty morally gray so you can never guess what they're going to do or why they're doing it. There are many questions involving the Old Ones (who are appearing more frequently) and the Shaman Empress. I do like the struggle that Mika faces, both internal and external, and I'm actually enjoying watching her and Zinn's relationship develop. Kippa is a pure bean who was become so strong in her convictions but is now in trouble because she was abducted by the cats for some unknown reason. The art is still gorgeous, I'm still intrigued enough to keep going and see if I get some answers, but if I don't soon I may have to call it quits with this series. Monstress Volume 3 received 3 out 5 stars from me.  

Lirael by Garth Nix: Man, this book was so bad. I already didn't like the fact that Sabriel was going to be pushed to the side to make room for new characters, but both of the new protagonists sucked. I hated both of them. Lirael grew up among the Clayr and while I am sympathetic to her being upset about how different she is, it's clear that this is to emphasize what a special snowflake she is, but also after many years of becoming an expert in the library, she still bemoans how different she is. The other POV character is a spoiled prince  who is pretty incompetent and doesn't really want to do anything with his life. The story in no way tied into the previous book and I didn't like the new conflict, mostly because the majority of the book was focused on the 2 protagonists living their daily lives and being irritating. There were some tropes used that I didn't like, the plot was boring, and the characters were so annoying. At some point I just gave up tabbing the book because the narrative wasn't evolving and the characters weren't changing. The one thing that I did like, similar to the world of Death and the Charter magic in the previous book, was the library of the Clayr. Everything about it I loved, from how organized it was to the magic rooms that contained entirely separate worlds. Like an entire story could have been set in that library. Lirael received 2 out 5 stars from me.

Torn by Rowena Miller: I've already posted my review on this book, but I'll sum up my thoughts on this book. It sounded like something I would really like. A young seamstress getting swept into political turmoil while her brother is growing in the anti monarchy movement. This seamstress has the ability to sew charms into her craft which is something that I've been looking for. This book also feels like it's set during the French Revolution, which isn't a time in history that I love but I like fantasies that are inspired by real cultures and time periods. At the start the protagonist was a real ingenue and I kept hoping for some development, but I didn't get that. There were several good points illustrated at the beginning, but they were presented in all the wrongs way. The book started out with a lot of potential and I was looking forward to it, but it became increasingly worse to the point where I was just glad it was done. Needless to say it received 2 out 5 stars from me.

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake: When I first read this book I liked almost everything about it. I liked that it was about 3 sisters fated to kill each other until 1 was left alive. I liked the dark autumn feel to it. I liked that the world felt fleshed out. The one thing I didn't like was the love triangle, and this issue came back with a vengeance during my reread. First, the love triangle itself was so stupid and unnecessary, but I could now see how much drama and miscommunication is the result of this love triangle, which grated my nerves to no end. I've already read the second book which I didn't like, and having that knowledge didn't help my opinion of the book or characters. I think I only liked this book because I remember my feelings of enjoyment the first time I read it, but I could also see that this book had potential for a whole series, but that doesn't continue. I did like the 3 sisters, but this time I could clearly see more flaws with them, and in general I don't like the romances. I really wish the friendships were given more of the limelight, like Billy and Arsinoe's. Three Dark Crowns received 3 out 5 stars.

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan: I've been wanting to read this series. I put it on my lists of books that I wanted to read before the end of the year, and so far the majority of those books were disappointing but this was more than satisfying. It's the life story of woman who studies dragons and this first book spans Isabella's early childhood when she first becomes interested in reading about dragons to her first journey to study mountain wyerms with her husband. I loved Isabella as a character and I loved that she was a women who was passionate about a scientific field when women weren't really supposed to be (this is set in an alternate Victorian England). As a woman this book appealed to my sense of girl power and as a someone with a background in science I loved how the study of dragons was developed. Since it is a fantasy of manners, which is similar to historical fantasy, it can be a bit slower but I didn't think the pacing dragged at all I really enjoyed the tone of voice in the writing, since the narrator is writing about her own life she has that sort of wry humor. I loved A Natural History of Dragons and so far it is my favorite book in the series, and it received 5 out 5 stars.

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire: It wouldn't be technically true to say I haven't read urban fantasy before. I've read YA urban fantasy like Harry Potter, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and The Mortal Instruments series. It wouldn't even be my first adult urban fantasy since I've read American Gods and An Unkindness of Magicians, but the first book in the October Daye series is a good portrayal of what comes to mind when I think of an adult urban fantasy. If I had to describe it in one word it would be gritty. This is definitely an adult urban fantasy, where the courts of various fairies mix with the California setting. October “Toby” Daye is half human and half fae, and works as a private investigator. Toby isn't always a likable person, but she is always sympathetic and she does have friends that care about her. There's a lot of trauma surrounding her, which made the villain of this book a bit more complicated. I don't normally gravitate toward crime noir stories but I think because the protagonist is a female and that there is a magical element it appealed more to me. This is definitely adult because of the violence, sex, and abuse that's alluded to in the story. I do plan on continuing this series (14 books but it's a quick read) and Rosemary and Rue received 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson: This was a disappointing finale. I'm still trying to work out how Rae Carson could go from the greatness of the Girl of Fire and Thorns to the mediocrity of the Gold Seer trilogy. I picked this one up because I wanted to finish the series and it was finally available in paperback. I didn't have high hopes, I just wanted the book to be at least as decent as the other books, and it still failed to meet that expectation. After finishing the book, I definitely think that this trilogy should have been a duology because this third book contributes absolutely nothing. The main plot is supposed to be a heist narrative, but there wasn't any suspense (I knew all the characters were going to fine so I wasn't worried about them), the plot dragged on and didn't make any sense most of the time (mainly because characters were making dumb decisions and nothing was explained until the second to last chapter), the villain was poorly written (like literally came out of nowhere and his motivations are stupid), and I got tired of reading about all of these very flat characters. I didn't even bother tagging it so there won't be a full review for this one. It was really boring and everyone survived and gets married, and all is forgiven. I just couldn't take it. I will say that once again the best part of this book was the beautiful color that did have a very fall theme, with brown, purple, and gold. I do hope that Rae Carson does write another book soon so that my love of her as an author can be revitalized. This was my pick for the PopSugar prompt “a book with a heist in it” and received 2 out 5 stars from me.

The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan: Continuing from where the first book left off, I thought Tropic of Serpents was a good book. Isabella goes on expedition to study dragons in the Mouleen swamps, and as is her character, bites off a little more than she can chew. I didn't love it as much but I still thought it was a 5 star read. I loved the friendships, I loved the scientific inquiries, I loved how complicated the plot was, and I loved Isabella. She's a strong character and continues to grow in confidence and as someone of prominence in the scientific community. Unless of last 2 books take an unforeseen turn for the worse this is definitely a 5 star series, and I'm glad I was able to end the month on this book.

[davidrmaas]

This following paragraph from Galatians is pivotal to Paul’s purpose in this letter. It stresses the oneness of God's people. The old social divisions are wholly inappropriate now that the promised “seed” of Abraham has arrived. To pursue a Torah-observant lifestyle re-erects old social barriers, especially, divisions between Jews and Gentiles. The Law was intended to keep Jews distinct from the Gentiles. Paul presents an alternative to the Law for the definition of the people of God. All uncircumcised Gentiles are outside of the covenant with Israel, not “sons of God.” They may only become members of the covenant people by undergoing circumcision (in the case of males) and otherwise adopting a Torah-observant lifestyle.  Torah Separates Jews and Gentiles (Galatians 3:26-29) - “For you are all sons of God through the faith in Christ Jesus; for as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ; There cannot be Jew or Greek, there cannot be bond or free, there cannot be male and female, for all ye are one in Christ Jesus. Now, if you are of Christ, by consequence you are Abraham’s seed, according to promise, heirs.” But the Law also distinguished between slaves and freemen, males and females. Women could not fulfill certain requirements of the Law because of periodic uncleanness due to menstruation. They could not fully participate in Temple worship and were restricted to the Court of Women at a further distance from the presence of Yahweh. Religiously speaking, under the Law women were second-class citizens of God’s people. To embrace a Torah-observant lifestyle restores this inequity. With the addition of “all” in verse 25 “you are all” refers to both Gentile and Jewish believers in Jesus the Messiah (“that the promise should be given to those who believe”). The Scripture declared that before the coming of the “seed” all things were under confinement, both Jew and Gentile. Now both are no longer under confinement to either sin or the Law; both become sons of God “through the faith of Christ Jesus.” If adoption into the family of Abraham is through the faith of Jesus, then believers do not enter this community based on the requirements of Torah. Paul stresses the word “all.” Both Jewish and Gentile believers have become “sons of God” through their attachment to Jesus. It is now “in Christ” that believers become true sons of God and “Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise.” This does not mean that ethnicity, gender and the like do not play roles in the daily lives of believers, but such distinctions are no longer relevant to right standing before God or membership in God’s covenant people.  Redeemed from under the Law (Galatians 4:1-7) - “But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differs nothing from a slave though he is lord of all; but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed of the father. So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental principles of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father.’ So that you are no longer a slave but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.” Paul compared the Mosaic Law to a supervisor or custodian assigned to guard a minor child and declared that believers are the “heirs” of the promise of Abraham (3:23-29). He now presents a similar analogy: the Law as the guardian and steward of a minor child until the time fixed by a father’s will. In Greco-Roman society, a minor did not enjoy full liberty and civil rights until he came of proper age. Thus, though by right destined to be master of the household, until the child reached the age of its majority, he was effectively no freer than a household slave; he was not free to do as he pleased. “Guardians and stewards” refer to two different functions: the person in charge of the heir (“guardian”) and another assigned to manage the heir’s estate. This state continued until the “time appointed by his father,” which corresponds to the “fullness of time” in verse 4. “Elemental principles” translates the Greek noun stoicheion, a term that referred to the basic components that comprised something larger, thus “element, first principal, rudiments.” It often referred to the elemental principles of an art, science or discipline (Hebrews 5:12). From this came the idea of “elementary principles.” To adopt circumcision was to regress to something rudimentary, to return to an earlier stage in God’s redemptive plan. To do so is comparable to an adult that chooses to return to the custodianship of the Pedagogue and the status of a minor child, though he possesses his inheritance (4:1-2). “Elemental principle” has in view the regulations of Torah. This is borne out by Paul’s usage of stoicheion in verse 9-10 with its list of Jewish calendrical observances:  “but now that ye have come to know God…how turn you back again to the weak and beggarly elemental principles (stoicheion), to which you desire to be in bondage over again? You observe days, and months, and seasons, and years.” “God sent forth his Son, having come to be from woman, having come to be under law.” The New Testament elsewhere states Jesus was sent from God, as well as others such as John the Baptist (Matthew 10:40; Mark 9:37; Luke 4:18; John 1:6; 3:17; 17:3; 17:18). “Having come to be from woman” points to the genuine humanity of Jesus. “Having come to be under law” stresses that he was born as a Jew under the covenant obligations of Torah; that is, until the fullness of time came. As in chapter 3, Paul applies temporal limits to the Law’s jurisdiction. Christ came in order to redeem them who were under the Law so that they could receive the adoption of sons. This refers to in the first place to Jews, especially Jewish Christians. The need to redeem or ransom implies that being “under the Law” was a form of bondage. Paul’s previous statement is conceptually parallel: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree: that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13-14). The result of this redemption is “adoption.” Men and women are not “sons” or “children” of God through physical birth but by means of adoption. All humans are God’s creation but not all are His children and heirs. An implication is that Jews likewise become sons by adoption; they do not automatically attain that position because of their Hebrew ancestry (cp. Romans 8:15, 8:23, 9:4, Ephesians 1:5). Adoption into God’s family is based on grace, faith and the work of Jesus Christ, not Hebrew DNA or the requirements of Torah. Precisely because the Galatians became God’s sons, He sent the “Spirit of his Son into your hearts”. The reference to the Spirit rounds off the long argument begun in Galatians 3:1 where Paul reminded believers that they received the Spirit from a hearing of faith, not based on the “works of the Law.” “Spirit of his Son” likely means the work of the Holy Spirit to conform believers to the image of Jesus; the same Spirit that prompted believers to cry out, “Abba, Father!” What greater proof of their acceptance into God’s covenant community could the Galatians have than the presence of His Spirit? Paul concludes his entire argument in the statement, “so that you are no longer a bondservant but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.” Believers who are “in Christ” are “heirs.” Since already they are “sons,” filled with the Spirit and heirs of the promise of Abraham, why attempt to seek what the Law could never deliver by subjecting themselves to the requirements of Torah? Summary To adopt the requirements of the Mosaic legislation inevitably means disunity between Jewish and Gentile believers in the covenant community, because one purpose of the Law was to keep the Hebrew people distinct from Gentiles. It also assigned women and slaves to lesser positions within the nation of Israel, especially in the worship life of the nation. The real issue is whether Gentiles are acceptable members of the covenant community AS GENTILES, or must they become Jewish proselytes. The Law’s function as “custodian” was to continue until the promised seed arrived; it was a temporary function for a limited period of time. Since the promised “seed” has arrived the jurisdiction of the “custodian” has come to an end. And because the custodial role is at an end, the old social divisions and inequalities are wholly inappropriate. All stand before God on faith, not ethnicity, gender or social status; all are now “sons of God” and “heirs of Abraham.” Jesus came “in the fullness of time” to redeem those “under the Law,” that they might receive the adoption. “Adoption” occurs after redemption from the Law, which demonstrates the imperfection and temporal jurisdiction of Torah. [Click here to Download PDF copy of this post]

http://finishedword.blogspot.com/2019/09/torah-keeping-means-divided-church.html

[plogan721]

Blogging is hard-Chapter 2: Making a schedule

Hello, and welcome to My Ambiance Life.

In today’s post, I want to take about blogging in general, not how to get started, not how to win at increasing traffic, but blogging in general.

Myths in blogging…

One of the myths I get when I am reading post from Pinterest, searching on Google, or anywhere else on the interwebs (Internet), is “blogging is dead”, “no one is interested in blogs anymore”, and phrases like that.

I am here to tell you that the way blogs got started might be dead, but the overall concept of blogs is not.  In fact, blogging is very much alive.  This is how blogging works for me….

You can do the following with a blog:

·         Use it as a follow up to a video

·         Offer products with the blog:  Talk about your subject, offer a free product (say a free guide), then if you are able, offer a course to further talk about your subject.  I have seen it a lot and it is something I am thinking about doing in 2020.

o   An alternative is to offer a service like freelance writing or graphic design service.  This also works if you are an organizer or party planner.

If you feel that your blog is dying a slow death, these ideas and many more can help bring new life into your blogging experience.  I not necessary say bring in traffic but help spruce up your blog.  Perhaps you are on a server that is limited, like Blogger.  Now I like Blogger and it is good for those who want to get their feet wet into blogging.  I have outgrown Blogger, as I have mentioned many times before.  I am also not a programmer, so Joomla, which is a website language that I would love to learn how to do, but WordPress is my go to language for the moment.  Maybe one day.  It is very easy to learn, and it takes no time to build up a website.

Scheduling a blog post, Part 1

I have learned something new in the past few weeks.  Schedule out your posts. There is a way for to do it on Blogger: 

1.       On the right side, you will see Post Settings

2.      Go down to schedule and click on it

3.      If you want the blog to post when you click on Publish, leave as it.  If not, click on Set date and Time.

4.      A calendar will pop up and you can click on a day of the current month or use two little arrows on the right side to advance a month ahead.  You can also click in the box for the current time or type in the time that you want.  Remember to highlight AM or PM.  Make sure you have the right time zone.

5.      Click Done when finished,

For WordPress:

This comes from WP Optimus (2014), but it still hold true today:

1.       Once you are finished writing your post, go to the right side of the panel of your post where the Meta-publish box is located. Click on Edit

2.      Set the date and time for when you want the post to publish.  The time will be listed as a 24-hour clock format, not 12-hours.  This is also called Military Time.  Ex. 1 PM is 13:00

3.      Click on schedule when finished.

Now you are able to schedule times for when you are on vacation, or too busy to write.

Scheduling a blog post, part 2

OK, the following was how to schedule when you blog post will publish to your blog.  Another thing I found out about scheduling is the art of writing when you feel the need to say something.  Christians call it, “God told me to tell you something that has been on my heart”.  Others say, “I have something to say, and I am not going to back down until I say it”.  Trust me, I do not have nothing to get “off my chest” (another saying).

We all have complaints.  In most Facebook groups I am in, it is having a rant, but there are tactful ways of complaining without getting chewed out by other.  I have learned the following.

1.       Do not say something just to get an audience.  In fact, do not expect for someone to respond with a “me too”, “I agree”, or “I feel the same way”.  Speak your peace and move on.

2.      If you journal, write the rant there.  You have gotten off your chest and you have left it in a place for you to see.

3.      Ask questions before you rant, especially if you are in a group setting. It is best to ask questions than to assume and get kicked out of the group.  You may still get kicked out, but at least you are not ranting blindly without all the answers.  Remember, there is no such thing as a stupid question.

4.      Calm down before typing

5.      If you are in a group setting and you are still angry, do not announce that you are leaving the group.  Just leave and let go.

When situations are treated with kindness, you will have a better result.

Scheduling a blog post, part 3: know when to write

OK, confession time:

I have set up all these day the type of themes I want to put in this blog.  Some weeks it works out great, while others, not so much.  It is embarrassing, and I do not have any hard copies to remind me of what I am supposed to write about.  For example:  I write my journaling prompts posts on Wednesday instead of Thursday, Motivational Monday becomes motivational any day, and so on.  The only thing that has been constant lately is that I do not write and post on Saturdays and Sundays.  I have a solution for that.  I am picking two days out of the week to write, posting them on the days that I pick (probably Monday and Wednesday or Thursday) Friday may be a bonus day, and I am scheduling them so that they automatically post.  Everything has been edited complete with pictures.

Why am I saying this:

My schedule is full, and I need to take time to do things carefully. 

My takeaway for this is simple:  take time for you.  I know I have mentioned some portion of that to you in the past few posts, but I am serious as always. 

Yes, I need an audience, clients, and viewers, but I also need me, and I need to continue my spiritual journey with God.

If you do not have that, then what is life.  I am not saying that life is meaningless, but your life has meaning and a purpose.  We all need to find that purpose and it is not always about making money.  I know I push making money, but you are not going to die if you do not make a 6-figure salary.  Make enough to allow you to save and to live on the daily.  This means if you need toothpaste, make enough to buy it.  Same with your home.  Make enough to afford a decent home for you and your family.  It does not have to be a 5-room mansion with a 3-car garage, it can be an apartment with a parking space, but not a one-room boarding house where all 6 of your family members sleep in it.  If this means you have stay in that one -room for a moment, fine, but aim higher.

In other words, you can change your situation.

Have a good day.

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[limejuicer1862]

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.

The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Lyn Coffin

author of poetry, fiction, drama and translation has published more than thirty volumes of poetry and prose, most notably The First Honeymoon (Iron Twine Press), a collection of her short fiction, and her poetic translation of Shota Rustaveli’s 12th century epic (Poezia Press.) Lyn has twice been a Wordsworth Poet in Seattle. Her poetry has won an National Endowment for the Humanities award and a Michigan Council for the Arts grant. Individual poems have won various awards, including the Jeanne Lohmann Poetry Award and first prize in StAnza’s Scottish International Poetry Festival Muriel Sparks’ competition (2018).

Lyn’s poetry was part of the International Poetry Festival in Soria, Spain (8/2017). This Green Life, her New and Collected Poems, were featured at the 2018 Soria International Poetry Festival, which also celebrated the publishing of the collection in Spanish (Pregunta).

Lyn has had short plays produced on and off Broadway, Malaysia, Boston and Seattle. Her translation (along with Nato Alkhazashvili) of Dato Barbakadze’s “Still Life with Snow” won a translation award from the Georgian Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection.

Lyn’s fiction has been praised by Joyce Carol Oates and Alice Fulton, among others.​

“Falling off the Scaffold has, in a sense, no characters at all, only the projected personaes of two people unknown to each other; yet it respects the contours of reality and gives us, in a most unusual form, a story about illusion and self-deception.” – Joyce Carol Oates, from her Introduction to Best American Short Stories

​“Coffin’s fiction shows evidence of an original and delightful intelligence. Her lively and memorable characters speak as if they are possessed by forces slightly beyond their control, in voices brimming with wit, intelligence, cunning, and love. The structure of her stories unfolds with such grace that one forgets the skill it takes to produce such ‘effortless’ architecture.”

– Alice Fulton, Winner: American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature

She has taught at several American Universities, (Michigan, Detroit, Washington), as well as in Malaysia and Georgia (Ilya University). She has also taught translation and Creative Writing at The Shota Rustaveli Institute in Tbilisi. She helped launch the 1st official Mexican Book Fair in Toluca, (8/2015) and lectured at the American University in Cairo in (3/2016). Widely praised translations include Standing on Earth, by Mohsen Emadi, (PhonemeMedia Press), translated from Iranian, with the author’s collaboration (9/2016) and The Adventures of a Boy Named Piccolo (Salamura), by Archil Sulakauri, translated from Georgian with Veronica Muskheli. This book, featuring illustrations by Vaho Muskheli, was displayed at Bologna Book Fair (10/ 2016). (Transcendent Zero)

Lyn’s translations of Nikoloz Baratashvili are featured in a book published by The Museum of Literature in Tbilisi. This volume includes all Baratashvili’s original poems, Boris Pasternak’s Russian translations, and Lyn’s English translations. Professor Harsha Ram of Berkeley, a scholar of Georgian and American poetry, said “Overall, if one were to compare these translations to Pasternak’s, one could say that while among Pasternak’s translations there are genuine masterpieces… they also take radical liberties with the original, while Lyn Coffin has achieved her success without permitting her own poetic sensibility to muffle Baratashvili’s own plangent voice.”

The Interview

Who introduced you to poetry?

My father introduced me to poetry. He would give us kids a dollar for every poem we memorized. I believe my first attempt was- As I was going up the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there. I met him there again today. I wish to God he’d go away.” Poetry caught on with me like wildfire moving across a forest without harming the trees. I loved the sound of it, the magic of rhymes. And I had already been caught by metaphor. My first creative writing ever was done in response to a prompt in first or second grade. The teacher asked us to describe ourselves and I wrote something like: “I am rectangular and made of wood. There is a hole in my head where people pour in ink.” (Something like that.) The teacher was wildly enthusiastic but I remember a lot of the kids thinking I had misunderstood the assignment in describing a desk. My father’s taste in poetry was narrow- I only heard him thoroughly praise four “poems”- one the speech from Julius Caesar- “There is a tide in the affairs of men…” The second, Masefield’s “I must go down to the sea again.” Kipling’s If which usually petered out after six lines or so. And “The Ballad of Yukon Jake,” by Edward Paramore, Jr., a parody or whatever it is which was so successful my father constantly misremembered it as having been authored by Service himself. My father was a businessman who had left the halls of learning (Brown) rather early under interesting circumstances, and (as he would be the first to tell you)not the intellectual my mother was. But. He loved to recite poetry and loved to hear us recite it to him. I think once I got $2 for reciting “The Hollow Men” at dinner. I also had friends who knew and loved poetry, including one early boy friend who left a part of “death shall have no dominion” scrawled on a piece of note paper taped to our cottage door (I thought he had written it, which I believe was part of his somewhat nefarious intent). I remember my parents told our plumber on the phone they had left instructions for him and when he found my friend’s poetic offering, he tried to make sense of it in plumbing terms. There were also assorted teachers who introduced me to certain forms of poetry. I remember a professor of Greek talking about Sapphic lyrics, and being so inspired I wrote this: “Poetry is all around us, everywhere you look. Stems ending in a liquid Is a lesson in my grammar book.”

2. How aware were and are you of the dominating influence of older writers, traditional and contemporary?

One is never aware enough. Growing up, I was very aware of the presence of Carl Sandburg, and wrote a parody for the Miss Halls School yearbook about my life, told in Carl Sandburg fashion. A few months later, I got a letter from him praising my poem, but by then I had “moved on” and now was enamored of Robert Frost (I’ve never quite shaken him- especially “Design”- the darkest poem I think I’ve ever read)- so enamored of Frost that I threw away Sandburg’s letter (which had committed the unpardonable sin of not being written by Frost). I don’t know much- I especially regret my lack of knowledge of foreign poets. I’ve always been embarrassingly ignorant. One example (a prosaic one)- My cousin was reading a book- I asked her what it was and she said “The Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant”- “Oh,” I said. “Who’s that by?” A pause. “Well,” she said. “It’s by Guy de Maupassant.” Another pause. “Some people know him as Guy de Mo-pass-ann.”   “Oh, Him,” I said.) I have had the great good fortune to stumble upon or be given the chance to become familiar with two GREAT poets most Americans have never heard of- One is Jiri Orten, a Czech (Jewish) poet, killed in the Holocaust and Edward Hirsch has been a great supporter and wrote about Orten’s “A Small Elegy” in my translation in his “How to Read A Poem,” saying it was/is one of the poems he most loves. I hope readers will look up Orten- but avoid the “other” translation. The man means well, but English is not his native language and the translations are (imho) very bad. I also “ran into” the 12th century Georgian (as in the country) poet, Shota Rustaveli and his epic poem, The Knight in the Panther Skin. This is a fantastic narrative, written in shairi (an old Persian form which I also used in my translation; shairi is sixteen syllable lines, rhymed aaaa, bbbb, etc., etc.) Shota wrote 1661 quatrains. The translation took me well over two and a half years. But it won the SABA Award, and that was really nice. I have a dear ear/sensibility as far as Whitman goes and I am only lately learning to edge in to Ginsberg. I have a soft spot for Billy Collins. I’ve written several “paradelles,” and hope some day he will see my “Paradell on Love” and write me about it. (Billy, are you there?)

I wasn’t aware of Poets Against the War, which I think was a crucial movement, until I met Sam Hamill later in (I was going to say “his life,” but it was/is mine, as well)— I copy-edited Habitations and I’m really proud of that. I am minorly aware of contemporary Seattle poets. We have a really active scene here- Jed Myers comes to mind, Judith Roche, Michael Dylan Welch for haiku, Carolyne Wright, Sharon Cumberland. And an only partially-discovered Tom Brush. I love the work of Ilya Kaminsky and Alice Fulton. I am aware of the dominating presence of my teachers, especially Radcliffe Squires (almost forgotten) and Donald Hall.

3. What is your daily writing routine?

This answer is easy. I don’t have a daily writing routine, and I don’t want one. I don’t like routines. Even things I do like seem to pall when they’re on a regular, daily basis. Sometimes I write a whole lot, sometimes nothing. I try to pay heed to that small voice (of a devil, an imp, an angel) and write when I have something to say. I don’t believe (for myself) in journal-writing, or workshops that operate from “a prompt.” If a prompt is used, I ask that everyone who has written a response

(if he or she is willing) read the response to the group. I find it somehow crushing or discouraging to have bunches of people writing and then going on to write something else, without any Communication taking place. The belief seems to be that the act of writing is crucial but what is written doesn’t matter. But sooner or later, when one operates in such a context, I think one comes to feel- If the thing that is written doesn’t matter, neither does the act of producing it. (I hope this makes sense.) I think prompts and exercises make it easier for the writing teacher, but are (not to overstate things) death for the writer, especially a beginning writer. I had a friend who was a writing teacher with me at the University. His classes always involved prompts and his homework involved complicated exercises- “Write a scene in which two people talk and each has a secret he or she does not communicate to the other.”  I commented once that I don’t write like that, write in response to “prompts” and he said, “I don’t, either, but it makes writing easier to teach.” If students can’t come up with an idea, I suggest they plagiarize. If you try writing a story or a poem you have loved (unless you have it memorized), your writing will creep in around the edges. I like to compare the teaching of writing, and writing itself, with taking a class of young kids to the Natural History museum. And you’ve prepared this lecture on the Native American way of life and as you go in the door, one kid yells, “Hey, a dinosaur!” And they run off to the dinosaur room. You can try to corral them and force them to listen to your lecture. But I think it better to go with the urge, the instinct, and do an impromptu lesson on dinosaurs.

4. What motivates you to write?

Uh. Well- This is one of those questions. The standard answers I can think of- 1) I dunno, I just always have; 2) That’s like asking what motivates me to breathe. Writing with me goes back a long way- I’ve thought of myself as a writer, or known myself to be a writer, since first grade. Motivational questions are always difficult questions, I think- very complicated. “Why?” has many roots. Even something like “Why did you have cheerios for breakfast?” (as I did this morning) could be answered Because they were out of Rice Krispies. Because I’ve had too many eggs recently and wanted a change. Because I wanted something to put under fresh fruit. Because…. Well, you get the idea. I write because I can, because it seems to me one way I can contribute to the world,because nobody stops me, because I’m a terrible bowler. More seriously, I like reading and I admire authors and as a young child, I “wanted to do that.” Writing releases uncomfortable emotions in me. Writing satisfies uncomfortable ambitions in me. But really- in our end is our beginning- I dunno, I just always have.

5. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

When I think “young,” I’m thinking elementary or high school (first). Let’s start with the short stories- I remember three short stories that really made an impression on me, and only one of them is known to me now. That one, by Richard Connell (I just looked it up- I read it way before author’s names were important), is about a big game hunter who hunts another hunter. I don’t think that had any influence at all. I don’t remember the titles or the authors of the other two- One was about a civilization in the future that had one pill a year to eat- The baby in the family ate a bottle of them and blew up. The other story was about a husband who is cheating on his wife (this one was high school) and he “sports with his mistress in the shade” and then she asks him some question, and he responds that he sleeps around but he only shares ideas with his wife. I don’t think any of these stories had any influence on me at all. Ah. I know. The one story I read early which Did have an influence was “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.” Many times over in my life, including in “The Gift Horse,” which I think is the best short story I’ve ever written, I’ve written or tried to write stories that carry over into the afterlife, that don’t end when there main character or narrator dies. As for poetry, I read Sandburg quite a bit and ended up writing a Sandburg parody that was published in my high school yearbook. Somehow it ended up on Sandburg’s desk and he wrote me a short letter praising my poem and predicting great things for

But by the time (a year later?) I got the letter, I had moved on and discovered Robert Frost. I was embarrassed to be “found out” as a lover of Sandburg and I threw the letter away. (I wonder if there’s a copy somewhere in the Sandburg archives- Or a copy of my poem? If only….) “If” and “The Hollow Men” were great favorites. I feel that I’m failng this question (which interest me a lot), so let me quote my first “independent, non-assigned” poem as a way of making up for lost memories. (I wrote this in my first year at college): “Beyond night’s

harvest/ moon-scythed/ fierce tigers stalk./ Green glades/ deep rain-dark

woords/ sheathe cool white claws.” (I regret the “fierce” very much.)

One stray memory- I liked The Little Prince as a child and have read it

countless times, usually when I’m trying to learn a language.

Whether it’s influenced me, I don’t know. I love(d) the little fox,

especially where he discovers there are no hunters on the little prince’s

planet and is really excited about it. Then the little prince tells him

there are no chickens, either, and the little fox says, “Nothing

is perfect.” Ah. I remember one poet I read early who I also remember

had a big influence on me, and that was Stephen Crane. His little nugget

poems (“But the man ran on…”) or “I eat it because it is bitter/ And because

it is mine” (if I remember rightly) paved my way to haiku. I used to discuss

haiku with Sam Hamill, and I remember his brilliant translation of and

interpretation of the famous Bassho frog haiku. Sam explained that

the frog jumped into the sound of water, not the water itself. Somehow,

that explained a lot to me. I have written a lot of haiku. hummingbird/

hovering/ both of us….

6. Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

I had the great good fortune to translate Standing on Earth, (Phoneme Media) the poems of Mohsen Emadi, an Iranian poet living in exile in Mexico. Mohsen’s work uniquely fascinates and inspires me. Mohsen knows more about everything literary than any other person I have ever met. Through Mohsen, I became acquainted with the work (in translation) of the great Spanish poet, Antonio Gamoneda. I came close to meeting this archetypal, mythic poet when I was in Spain last summer. I still hope I will be able to tell him in person how much I admire him.

Reading today’s writers is always something in flux. I will do a reading in Ann Arbor in March with Keith Taylor, and I admire him tremendously. I seem to gravitate to poetry of place, and his is definitely a “planted” voice. I admire a poet named Jed Myers, a Seattle poet. I remember when Jed was just starting out and now he has found his voice. Jed not only writes poetry but he reads a lot and always has suggestions for me. He writes essay from his double perspective of poet and psychiatrist. It was Jed who turned me on to Robert Wrigley. I’ve only read two poems by Robert Wrigley, and I loved both of them. I will be reading more. There is a poet in my poets’ group whose name is Tom Brush. He hasn’t published much, but his is a terrific, uncompromising presence in today’s poetry world. There is a wild and outrageously wonderful Georgian(as in the country) poet named Irakli Qolbaia- I think he’s published a few poems in France and a few in Georgia, but he is close to unkown. And wonderful. The last poet I would mention is Ilya Kaminsky. His poetry is wonderful and he himself is a spirit to inspire and lead us. I love his work. I notice there are no women on this list. I admire Judith Roche’s poetry- She is another Seattle friend. I knew Alice Fulton at Michigan. I loved her poetry then but I have lost track of her. I admire the poetry of Carolyn Forche but don’t know it really well. There is so little time and so much poetry to read!

7. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?

How do you become a dog owner? I’m being facetious, obviously, because the question is problematic, hovering halfway between “How did you become a writer?” and “How does one become a writer?” I became a writer by writing lots of stuff and having some people like it enough to publish it. “How does one become a writer?” Some people think writers are born, not made. If one keeps writing, one is a writer. If one calls oneself a writer, one is a writer. Actually, the more interesting question (to me) would be- When does one fail to become a writer (when one wants to be)? THe answer would be- I don’t know- Never? I know plenty of people who write gibberish (on the net, for instance) and are taken seriously as writers. When do you become an adult?- You can assign a year, a state of mind. My son once asked me- “When did you first feel old?” and I fired back, “When did you?” (He was about 30 at the time.) But the question is not Why but How? Is this asking for a recipe? There isn’t any. The closest we get these days is to keeping a journal, and I don’t believe in keeping a journal. There’s a joke/ riddle somewhere- “How do you get a dog out of a box?” Answer: He’s out. I’m not grasping this as I should, probably, but “How do you become a writer?” Answer: You’re a writer. How did you become one? A writer of what? For what? To what end? I’m glad this question comes so near the end, because I basically don’t get it. At least not the way it should be gotten.

8. Tell me about writing projects you’re involved in at the moment.

Ah. Writing projects at the moment are varied— even scattered, I think you could say…. First of all, I spent this evening going back over my novel, The Aftermath. A friend had helped me by marking up a manuscript— inserting quotes, taking out quotes, making various and sundry complaints. I fixed a lot of small stuff. I’m not sure I’ll be able to take out 80 pages, as she suggests, however. This is a novel about a woman who is drugged and raped. The prologue moves very quickly, and leads one to expect a detective thriller or a crime novel, I suppose. But The Aftermath is quite different. My reader didn’t like the time I spent on labor and delivery. But it shows where my protagonist’s mind is…. Sigh. Another project involves Zipf’s law. I became fascinated when someone told me about word frequency, and I found Zipf’s law, listing the 100 most frequent words in English. I have been writing a story a day, increasing the number of common words I leave out. Tonight, I was up to 80, and I think I shall stop there. The story narrators are sounding more and more insane. (Available on my blog, at http://www.lyncoffin.com) Another project I worked on today was preparing the second edition of Rustaveli’s The Knight in the Panther Skin. I am going back over this huge epic, trying to make the caesuras appear more regularly, as Rustaveli himself apparently did. Before, I just put a pause in wherever I wanted. But now I am informed, and reformed. I also looked at Angel Guida’s book of poems, Espectral. I hope to co-translate this before the summer. And I worked a tiny, tiny bit on writing lyrics for a melody that is being composed by my friend, Nino Basharuli. The topic of the song is “Seattle.” So there you have it. I did quite a bit of work on a number of different fronts. So much needs to be done. Thank you very much for interviewing me. Thank you for putting this series up on the web. If there is any mainstream publisher out there who would be willing to read the first 40 pages of The Aftermath, please contact me right away.

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews: Lyn Coffin Wombwell Rainbow Interviews I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me.

[floraone]

1, 19

Yay!! Hellloooooo love ♡♡♡

1. Where do I typically get my ideas.

It’s the one thing I don’t struggle with at all: ideas. I have them. I may not always know how to all fit them it place, but I do have ideas, and love to share them. They come from anywhere really; discussions, classes, movies that excited me OR annoyed me and made me rumminate my thoughts on its what-ifs… Like, if I take Yugen for an example it obviously was playing with the theme of “what was missing in canon that I want to add, and what do I want to keep.” So I started chucking everything I found either problematic OR so perfect I couldn’t really add to it, and then I still had room to play with every headcanon I ever had or assimilated via fandom. Second in came the current political climate. I wrote a story where the world is being saved from hate itself - so I was allowed to factor in what I found is going horribly in the world as of now. It made writing it more impactful to myself.Then the details; what are they doing, what are they talking about - this draws heavily from my own experience. And while it is VERY important me that I don’t write “myself” but stay in character, it’s always easy to imagine what they would do in my place, and branch off from there. So, anything gets recycled that I experience, I mostly even don’t notice it - I read a LOT, daily. Anything from the daily online newspaper fix and other fanfiction to science fiction and lots and lots of non-fiction. I go through books like other people go through… I don’t even know. My apartment is a library. I have custom made selfmade shelfs to fit them all, even when I DO throw stuff out regularly that wasn’t a 100% to my taste. And added to that - I WATCH a lot. Mostly series that I watch together with my husband, and documentaries on anything cool. Add to that my experiences as a regular jane and a rather specific education, and I can honestly say that some or most of my ideas are probably a jumbled mess of inspiration drawn from any of these outlets without me even really realising it.

Most important, though: I KEEP all my ideas. I write lists on my phone memo pad, and if they come up elsewhere on the internet as I talk to people and bounce ideas around (brainstorming or simply being asked specifics about my plot is also SO helpful to me personally, especially to fit all my ideas into the right places), for instance, I will make screenshots. And if I talk to friends and colleagues I am known to whip out my phone as well- people are never offended when I tell them I need a minute to write down what we just talked about cause it’s so impactful to me that I don’t want to forget about it. Ideas are fleeting, and however we think we will definitely remember this stroke of genius (however idiotic it turns out to be in the end), it’ll definitely be gone if I don’t preserve it.

Now, what I’m definitely lacking tho is the TIME to put all these ideas into action. I currently have a “master-list” of fic ideas where I collect a sort of database for ideas for fics. Some of those are little more than prompts, others have 20 page scripts already. It currently spans 22 fic ideas, and most of these will most likely never see the light of day. I simply don’t have that kind of time and sadly I do need to go and earn a living, lol.

19. What’s my best advice for writing action scenes.

Again with the word “advice” - I don’t feel like this is an area where anyone can or should give “advice” - writing is highly individual, and what works for me doesn’t neccessarily have to work for anyone else. So, again, here’s simply my personal opinion and experience on what worked out for me.

Action scenes are maybe THE most difficult thing to write imo. Especially in an overall romance genre where people are here for the relationships and characters and not so much for the action. Which means, for me, that the action scenes need to be on point, and not too long, but even more impactful. So, these are steps I follow in my head, more or less consciously.

1) Cinematographic imagery. I like to go at these scenes from a ‘what would this LOOK LIKE" angle. These are superheroes, so, I go big. Energy pulses that push them soaring through skies, shattering glass, cement and asphalt breaking apart, buildings tumbling. Especially with using Rei, I tend to go big on the fire descriptions. The fire needs to cackle and crack and lick, objects she sets it to go ablaze, she can fire it like wildfire and occationally things explode. Which brings me to point two.

2. The stakes are high, the effects are big, so it wouldn’t be realistic if there weren’t injuries and casualties involved. I’m very much against glorifying violence, so it’s very important to me to also point out the costs. And those costs tend to be very graphic in my writing. Huge bloody gashes, skin sizzling away under acid, bone showing through burned and mangled skin. Which is why, when I use a big and giant epic battle scene, the aftermath will always be painful and bloody. Who turns to violence pays a price, even if it wasn’t their choice and it was always in defence. So any huge battle will always include injuries on ALL the parties. And they stick around in their healing phases in follow up scenes if they were gigantic. Even if it’s just in flinches and a hissed breath through clenched teeth as they have to move around the healing residues of it. Though luckily, Manga!Mamoru has healing powers, of course. (Tho I try use that sparsely, of course. The guy is no god. He has his limits.)

3. I tend to use a very fast paced language in action scenes. Short sentences. TRYING to refrain from my kilometer long, relative clause heavy comma sentences. Action scenes are a very reactive, sudden thing. Things happen fast and they need to react fast. No time to think or plan and just to act, and the language should reflect that. Both the aspect that describes what is actually happening and the emotive reactions to it. Which brings me to point four.

4. They are fucking scared. Even if they manage to swallow that fear and let instinct take over to go badass, underneath, I try to never forget that these are teenagers fighting monsters, risking their lifes. There will be adrenaline, and panic, and no room for very much rational thought. It all happens too fast and they are going on fight or flight auto-pilot. And this will at least partly be the case however routine or everyday the encounter has become. There will always be that moment where they could have misstepped and died a bloody death in someone’s fangs or tentacles.

Brings me to five:5. Creative monsters. In Ikigai especially I tried to write monsters that I find interresting. I used pop-culture references by using Godzilla and Mothra-like enemies, monsters from Video-games, and sometimes some from canon that I found especially interresting to tie back to canon. By using monsters that I liked, I knew what they could do. And I had fun while writing it.

6. I choose fighting styles. Usagi gets Jujutsu from me, sometimes even Aikido elements. A fighting style that uses speed instead of strength, that needs to be clever to use their opponent’s strength against them. And then I watch Youtube tutorials on these styles’ basic moves. Plus, these tutorial instructions come with very useful vocabulary for how to implement these moves into writing!And then sometimes, like in Yugen, I move from combat to magic. I had a very fun time turning those twirly 90s dance sequences into powerful fighting in Yugen. Making something so obviously “girly” the biggest asset in a battle, the biggest weapon, more powerful than any martial arts move I could give them. Girl power and all.

And, last,7. I get myself in the mood. I listen to very fast paced dramatic, epic music. Mostly the score from action movies even (like, I find the wonder woman theme song from the new films to work like MAGIC) and imagine my fast paced action sequences to it. Go through them in my head one by one. And then put that song on repeat as I write. It helps me write clipped and fast-paced, and keeps me in the dramatic tone.

So there, three cents on action ♡ Would be curious to know what YOU think works best!