Dandelyon's Worlds

For the 2014 A-Z challenge, I'm doing ficlets in a new fantasy world, featuring catkin and other fantastic beings.  Here is the A-Z prompt list, with links to the posts as I write them. As I write this, I'm still hoping for prompts for many letters of the alphabet.  Thank you in advance for your questions, prompts, and comments!


You can find links to my flash fiction, to my serialized story, Fireborn, and to my poetry and songs over at my new (under construction) website, www.wyld-dandelyon.com.

You can also find some of my fiction, poetry, worldbuilding, and artwork over at www.tornworld.net, along with the fiction, poetry, world-building, and art of my talented co-creators there.

If you miss my old, long-winded landing page, you can find it and the landing pages for various projects by searching on the "landing" tag.

to celebrate ellenmillion's new Unicorn Key oracle deck!




You can ask for a free card or a paid reading here: https://wyld-dandelyon.dreamwidth.org/476764.html

Thanks!

Challenge #4

In your own space, make a list of things that you wish existed in fandom or elsewhere, and/or that you'd like someone to create or do for you.

So, things I wish for, besides the general stuff like more time and more health and more money, all of which matter, and none of which are gonna happen.  I have all the time in the world, just like everybody else, even if the chronic illness means I so often can't do as much as I want with it.  I also will acknowledge that some of the things I wish for aren't possible, or are so vanishingly unlikely that either way, I'm acknowledging that it's OK to want things you will never get, and it's also OK to express that wish as your truth, regardless of the realities of living in this world.

So, I'll list a few things, the stuff that comes to mind right now.  But my biggest impossible wish is for a TARDIS.  It would make going to cons with my instruments so very much easier!

1.  I got a looper from another filker, but I don't have the technical skills to set it up.  I'm sure there's a you tube video, but I'm still struggling to get my house back in order after the roof leaks and get my bedroom painted and still be doing music and writing (and maybe painting again soon).  I have a friend who said he'd come over and help me get things set up, but with covid and his own creative projects it hasn't happened yet.

2.  I'd love to find a remote (probably via zoom) role playing game to play in, something with an emphasis on roleplaying rather than fighting or rules-lawyering.

3.  I want more than one FAWM event in the year.  Certainly I couldn't sustain that level of focus on just one of my creative endeavors year-round, but I find the playfulness, inspiration, and creative connection of that event very valuable and energizing. 

4.  I want NaNoWriMo to happen in some other month than November.  November is just way too busy every single year for it to work as well for me as, say, January would.



This entry was originally posted at https://wyld-dandelyon.dreamwidth.org/460018.html. Be welcome to comment wherever you prefer, but be warned that LJ has not, under the new management, been sending me notifications of comments. I will check LJ periodically, but life being what it is, commenting on DW will likely get you a faster response.

Challenge #3

In your own space, put some favorite characters into an AU, fuse some favorite canons together, talk about your favorite AU/fusion tropes, or tell us why AU/fusions aren’t your cup of tea.

I'm not sure what to do with this challenge. I've focused on original fiction rather than fanfition, to the extent that I have had time for writing (and reading, for that matter), for a very long time. It's not that I object to crossover fanfiction or exploring alternate ways things can happen, just that there's only so many spoons, only so much time and energy. Occasionally I've come a bit that I very much enjoyed.  But I don't write it and don't seek it out.

Alternate universes can be fascinating in general.  I read a lot of urban fantasy, which is basically alternate universes compared to today's world (It's certainly alternate to have a world with overt, flashy magic that is otherwise much like the one we live in.)

And I also have really enjoyed working in shared universes, and I miss the creative boost of bouncing ideas off other people in that kind of shared endeavor and getting inspiration from their ideas and thoughts in that cooperative creative mindset.  I miss it, especially Torn World, which was very active for a while.

Similarly, I miss role playing games, both tabletop and LARP.  I'd love to find a group doing a game via zoom where I could sit back and play a character.  I don't think I could do a good job running a game while also writing novels (I think either the game or the fiction would suffer from lack of mental bandwidth), so I don't want to try to gather a group around me, at least not at this time, though I miss running games too.

 

This entry was originally posted at https://wyld-dandelyon.dreamwidth.org/459637.html. Be welcome to comment wherever you prefer, but be warned that LJ has not, under the new management, been sending me notifications of comments. I will check LJ periodically, but life being what it is, commenting on DW will likely get you a faster response.

Challenge #2

In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private.

First, I am very much a fan of making my goals "most days" instead of every day. That way, one day missed doesn't make me feel like I've already failed at a goal, and thus I'm

So, as I said, I am doing January Practice Month, which is a less formal precursor to FAWM. The goal is to practice some music every day (or most days) in January, to get the music-oriented part of the brain moving and the physical skills in better shape to support writing lots of songs the next month.

I'm definitely doing FAWM. FAWM is February Album Practice Month, and the goal is to write 14 songs (which is enough for an album) in the month of February. One of the guiding principles of FAWM is that you get better at things if you practice doing them, and songwriting is worth practicing. Another is community--it's a fun and supportive "place" to be. The first year I joined, I got only a couple of songs and counted it a win because I knew without it I wouldn't have gotten any songs at all that month. Every year since then I've written more songs than the last year, with more than 30 (!) last year.

This year I'm not going to try to increase the song output, though if it happens I won't complain. But last year I had too good songs to learn (in terms of being able to perform them reasonably well) right away and a few songs I still love, and I'm happy with that. This year my goals are to keep on writing fiction while songwriting, and to have a higher percentage of songs I love. If anyone wants to join us, it's at FAWM.org, and the site opens for people to make preparations tomorrow.

And maybe I should actually make an album!

I need to get my bedroom finished so I can get a comfortable bed and stop sleeping in the same room I do music and writing in. That will at least mean I'm sleeping better and I have hopes that creating more of a work and sleep separation will help me to get more done. The walls and ceiling are at least repaired, though not perfectly, and painting has started.

I want to post more on Patreon. If I can get more regular at posting there, so I feel less imposter syndrome, I would like to get more patrons too.

I want to get a sewing area set up (for the sewing machine, the hand-sewing can be done anywhere) and a painting/crafting area too. Eventually.

And there's more too. I really do seem to want to do all the things, don't I? Or at least a lot of them. So I'll add resting enough and eating healthy and being kind to myself. This entry was originally posted at https://wyld-dandelyon.dreamwidth.org/459272.html. Be welcome to comment wherever you prefer, but be warned that LJ has not, under the new management, been sending me notifications of comments. I will check LJ periodically, but life being what it is, commenting on DW will likely get you a faster response.

Challenge #1

In your own space, update your fandom information!

Fannishly, I guess I'm primarily a filker, though I love so many stories in print and other media.  I've been filking since my very first convention, Windycon One or Two, and that led to so many wonderful things in my life.  I got to play an autoharp there, which prompted my wonderful siblings to convince my father to buy me one, and that has led to so much of the joy in my life.  The music was a solace through college, where I was very much a misfit, and a joy at nearly every convention I've attended over the years. 

I write songs too, though I'm not as prolific as some of my filker friends.  Filk is what led me to learn about and try FAWM, which is February Album-Writing Month.  The challenge is to write at least 14 songs in the month of February--that is, enough for an album.  The first time I joined, I got a song or two, and counted it a good effort, since that was more songs than I'd have written otherwise.  One of the premises of FAWM is that practicing a thing makes you better at it.  So far, that has proved to be accurate, since every year I've written more songs in February than the previous year.  Last year I got more than 30!  (I'm still astonished).  I spent months getting to really know the best songs I wrote then, so I'm not aiming to keep up the increase in quantity this year.  Instead I'm hoping to increase quality and to also manage to keep up writing at least a little fiction on a daily or almost daily basis.

Writing.  I write fiction too, though not as prolifically as I want to be doing.  Some of that is the emotional and physical chaos.  I'm (still) working on getting my bedroom renovated so I can buy a new bed, and there are still things I haven't found after repeatedly having to hurry to move stuff out of the way of things like roof leaks so they wouldn't be damaged, or out of rooms that had to be emptied and repaired because of those leaks  Writing takes mental bandwidth, so all the things that steal that bandwidth slow me down.

Art.  I paint and do fabric arts.  The fabric arts I love the most are time-intensive, sewing lovely things by hand.  A lot of them owe a lot to crazy-quilt, bringing diverse fabrics and colors and threads together to repair a thing or make something new.  i do some machine sewing too, but the chaos in the house has not been helpful for that either.  The hand sewing is also a meditation for me, sometimes a prayer for the world, that all of the diverse people and beings of this world can come together harmoniously and in beauty.

This started out as a dress.  Initially I repaired the top part with some of the dark blue flowers you see here, but eventually that didn't hold and I turned it into an altar cloth.  I am slowly lining the last unlined bits, and hope one day to have reinforced the fragile initial fabric enough that it won't need any new repairs.

This is a painting I did of a frog leaping into the sky.  I took the picture with the paintbrush on it, and decided I liked the whimsy of having it look like the frog is grabbing it.  The painting is acrylics on an 8 inch square canvass.

So, that's a little about me and my creative life.  It's that openness to creativity, both making your own and celebrating what others make, that drew me to and keeps me in fandom, I think.  Nobody here tells me it's a waste of time to sing a song, read a book, or sew flowers and butterflies on something old.

This entry was originally posted at https://wyld-dandelyon.dreamwidth.org/459071.html. Be welcome to comment wherever you prefer, but be warned that LJ has not, under the new management, been sending me notifications of comments. I will check LJ periodically, but life being what it is, commenting on DW will likely get you a faster response.

If you haven't yet, come ask for a card!

I'm feeling better, more centered and focused, after doing a few readings. The one (or more) card draw is still open, if you might want a card. You are welcome to stop by!  It's interesting that doing things for other people can be so helpful  in getting my own spirit in better shape.  I guess that's part of what draws me to the cards.  There's magic in so many things, but the magic in community is, perhaps, the best magic I've found.  And doing readings helps me connect to people and to myself at a deeper, calmer level than a lot of the other things I do.

I have also gotten some painting done in the room that I bought curtains for mumble months ago.  The walls and ceilings needed more work than I'd hoped, and work involving high levels of dust (like sanding replastered spots) is not a thing I can be in the room for, so the work took a lot longer than I'd hoped.  However, finishing it up started moving faster after My Angel's doc put her on a daily asthma inhaler, and she started panting less and having more energy.  The walls and ceiling aren't perfect, but they're so much better than they were.

Before Omicron hit, we took the curtains I bought myself (again, way too long ago) into Menards and picked a paint color.  I'd been imagining using something like a powder blue, but the blues just didn't look right with the curtains.  At the end I was torn between two shades of pale purple, and finally decided on the "sleepy purple" for the name, as a good omen for good sleep in that room once we get it done.

We also did a bunch of cleanup in the laundry room, getting ready to put a table in there to make the room more comfortable to use. 

I have done a little writing and music practice.  Not as much of either as I'd planned, and I have plenty of other things on my to-do list besides, but paradoxically, spending time doing readings has helped me tackle all the other things that need doing.

I had plans to go grocery shopping yesterday, but looked at the covid numbers and decided it was a better idea to just make an order and have it brought to me.  I know it costs more that way, and that I'm vaccinated and boosted besides, but I feel for our poor doctors and nurses facing so many hospitalizations.  My mother was an operating room nurse and after that a public health nurse, and I know that that profession can be stressful in normal times.  I have the ability to stay out of the pool of people who can get infected and spread the disease, and with my asthma and allergies and other issues, I know I am one of the people who might get really sick if I got a breakthrough case.  So I'm staying at home as much as I can, except for the occasional jaunt in the car to park near pokestops and play the silly game.

So, if you want a card for the new year or for creative inspiration, please stop by and ask for one!  One card is free, though tips are always welcome. 

And Happy New Year, everybody!
 

 

 

This entry was originally posted at https://wyld-dandelyon.dreamwidth.org/458878.html. Be welcome to comment wherever you prefer, but be warned that LJ has not, under the new management, been sending me notifications of comments. I will check LJ periodically, but life being what it is, commenting on DW will likely get you a faster response.

So, in my last post, over here, I'm doing a one (or more) card draw.  I invite you to come over and request a card!

But also, I wrote a little about my five-card draw over on my Patreon, Dandelyon's Five Card Circle Spread, I wrote a little about the layout I'm using for five-card readings and have a picture of the table I'm doing the readings on, with a picture of the altar cloth I've done so much applique and embroider on.

I made it public, for now, so you can check it out without subscribing to my Patreon.  I hope you'll feel welcome to visit me there.
 

This entry was originally posted at https://wyld-dandelyon.dreamwidth.org/458596.html. Be welcome to comment wherever you prefer, but be warned that LJ has not, under the new management, been sending me notifications of comments. I will check LJ periodically, but life being what it is, commenting on DW will likely get you a faster response.

Well, yesterday was frustrating.  It took the cable guy a lot longer than expected to change things out, and then we ended up with a new router too, so I had to figure out how to reset the password and tell all the devices in our world how to connect to the new internet source.  But enough of that. 

It's been too long, and I want to do readings for people!

As always, new friends and old are very welcome.

About the readings,

You can simply ask for a single card (with the usual option, for people who tip, to ask for a clarifying card if something isn't clear). The guitar case below is my personal PayPal link, featuring my own artwork, which still inspires me even though it isn't Tarot-related.

I am also offering a five-card reading for $25, or if you want a larger reading we can discuss costs. A signal boost for readings or for the Patereon will allow you to ask for a clarification card on some part of this reading, if you have a question after reading the reading.

Regardless of the length of the reading, you may ask about real life or a creative project, even for a character you play in a game. I can draw a card for you to meditate on, one to represent the Guide you need right now, or to get you unstuck. I can draw a card for your protagonist or villain, can draw a card or cards for you to use as writing or art prompts, and I can modify a more-traditional five-card spread into a prompt for a story focusing on plot or characters or a little of both. Let me know if you have any particular request.

For free one card readings, you can pick from my decks, including the Brian Froud's Faeries Oracle, the Daughters of the Moon Tarot (one of the round decks), or the Shapeshifter Tarot. If you want a Guide to companion you in the new year or the holidays, the Susan Seddon Boulet or Fairies Oracle both work well. If you don't pick a deck, I might pick from any of the decks available to me.  I do have a lot of other decks, so any deck I've read from before is available if you tip.

The first card is free (though tips are always appreciated, and especially right now as buying a new boiler broke my budget). However, I understand all too well that when people don't have cash or spoons that is generally when they most need inspiration. Don't be afraid to ask for a card if you can't tip.

When you tip, it's helpful to me for you to mention it here so I can connect your Paypal information with your request. Tips should be at least $2 (Paypal charges fees). If Paypal doesn't work for you, drop me a message and we'll work something out.  (Hopefully the Guitar Case below will still properly link to Paypal.)

I will reply to all requests here unless a request arrives after I edit the post to declare the draw closed.  I intend to leave it open for several days at least, but in the unlikely event that I get more requests than I can easily handle, I will officially close it.

Thank you, Blessed Be, and may the new year be low-stress, productive, healthy, and joyful!

Status: Open!

As always, while I work hard to offer insight and inspiration, all I can legally promise is entertainment. See my "Dandelyon's Readings" page if you have questions.

This entry was originally posted at https://wyld-dandelyon.dreamwidth.org/458405.html. Be welcome to comment wherever you prefer, but be warned that LJ has not, under the new management, been sending me notifications of comments. I will check LJ periodically, but life being what it is, commenting on DW will likely get you a faster response.

I am trying to remind myself there are a lot of sick and grieving people out there, and to be patient, but when I waste a lot of time trying something simple (order groceries) and the website keeps giving me error messages and I call for help and wait on the phone for help and get disconnected three different times, and still don't have my groceries, well, I'm out of patience and focus for the night. Tarot tomorrow, I hope, though I'll have to go grocery shopping and deal with the cable guy and I find having to go out (or stay in) and deal with covidland exhausting.

I did manage some guitar practicing while on hold. How is it that it hurts more (in term of wimpy calluses) to practice stuff than it does to perform in a filk circle? This entry was originally posted at https://wyld-dandelyon.dreamwidth.org/458140.html. Be welcome to comment wherever you prefer, but be warned that LJ has not, under the new management, been sending me notifications of comments. I will check LJ periodically, but life being what it is, commenting on DW will likely get you a faster response.