autumnmuse

Today is cloudy, mild, and wet. It has varied between light rain, pouring rain, and "the air is water" outside. We need the rain, though.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen any.

EDIT 5/18/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder, and a few small birds.





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This week, the poetry of Polychrome Heroics is on sale for half price from Monday, May 18 through Sunday, May 24. This series is superhero fantasy. It features themes of heroism, coming of age, diversity, identity kink, family of choice, friendship, and cultural engineering. Sale prices range from $5 to $319, so hopefully there will be something for everyone.

Prices on open epics are locked at the time of opening; however, if anyone wants to donate to open epics and buy poetry, spending $100 will get you the quarter-price rate on the new poems, regardless of the rate on the open epic(s) you support. There are no open epics at present, so you may open one if you wish.

We are repeating the special discount for purchases of $100 or more, in which you get poetry at 25% of its original price instead of 50%. (Note that this increases the amount of poetry you get, rather than reducing the amount of money spent; the point is to get this stuff off of my desk. Yes, I can afford it.) That size of donation also makes you a k-fan which comes with some other perks, like a year-end collection of a poetic series. If several folks want to bundle their orders to make the $100 threshold and have one person send it all, that's okay; you'll get the discount and I'll list all your names as donors, but you'll have to decide amongst you who gets the k-fan credit. If you host a pool, please close it the day before the sale closes, so you have time to collect funds and turn them in on time.

Some of the poems are in sequence of related action, so in places there are prerequisites before a poem can be published. They can be sponsored at any time, just might have to wait for publication until something else gets posted first. Those are marked accordingly. I have also made lists of poems which unlock sequels, and poems which have prerequisites.

Linkback perk: The following poems have verses left to reveal. Boost the signal for this half-price sale and tell me which poem you want to extend.
"A Sense of Weather Changes"
"The Loving Embrace of Night"
"Generations of Cooks Past"
"Homefree and Clear "
"One Bite at a Time"
"Mishpocha"
"Changing Your Nature"
"Besa"





About characters and storylines: The storylines feature multiple characters, so if you want poems about ONE specific character, look closely. The thumbnail descriptions here give some indication who features in each poem. The storyline pages are adding precise, complete information about which characters appear in each poem. If you need more than what's already visible, you can ask me.

About timing: If you want maximum choice, shop early. We usually send a batch of things to my father near the end of a sale, and those poems will be posted as I have time.

About pools: Yes, you can combine your funds with other prompters to get the quarter-price rate. Yes, you can combine your funds with other prompters to buy a bigger poem. Yes, you can offer to match donations by other people. However, the wordsmith is not also a math whiz! After several attempts to find a way that I can work with pools and matches, I have concluded that this is over my head. (I did figure out how to avoid generating fractional pennies, though: all initial prices are now whole dollars, which means they cut evenly into halves and quarters.) So if you want to host a pool or a match, make a post for that in your blog or other venue, then comment here with what you're doing and include a link to wherever the discussion will be. You figure out the poems, you collect the funds, and when stuff is fully funded, you send me the money and the list of what it's for. Then I'll post the goodies. Please close the pool in time to collect donations by the end of the sale, so I can start posting pool poems no later than the day after the sale.

Before placing your order, please check this sale page to see what is still unsold! I will try to update the page as things sell, and it's likely to be the case that some poems will be marked SOLD before appearing in posts. People often buy things in batches, which means that selling gets ahead of posting. Also sometimes people ask for the same thing at the same time, so that not all overlaps are preventable. If you have alternate instructions in case you request something that has just sold, please include that in your message; otherwise I'll email you back and ask what you want to do.


Poems that unlock sequels: "Your Emotional Abilities"

Poems that have prerequisites: "A Beautiful Paradox"

FOR SALE
18 poems, $3,322 ÷ 2 = $1,661
prices from $5 to $319


BROKEN ANGELS (2 poems, was $323, sale price $161.50

"A Proper Community Is a Commonwealth"
Story Date: Mid-February, 2016
Summary: Boss Blaster watches Pressnall Pocket Neighborhood go from a site plan to a community with new residents.
329 lines, was $165, sale price $82.50

"Play Off the Energy of the Crowd"
Story Date: Saturday, June 18, 2016
Summary: Shiv takes up Boss Blaster's offer to treat him at the food trucks.
316 lines, was $158, sale price $79


KRAKEN (3 poems, was $154, sale price $77)

"The Frequent Passage from Hand to Hand"
Story Date: April 2002
Summary: Kraken appreciates BookCrossing.
56 lines, was $20, sale price $10

"Filled with Things You Don't Know"
Story Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Summary: Marjane works on library decor and gets a new assistant.
98 lines, was $49, sale price $24.50

"Lágrimas da Floresta Tropical"
Story Date: Monday, November 17, 2014
Summary: Pinion and Camberhawk team up with Kayapó forest guardians to stop a logging incursion.
170 lines, was $85, sale price $42.50


RUTLEDGE (5 poems, was $867, sale price $433.50)

"Nothing Like Looking"
Story Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Summary: Aria visits Rutledge as part of Many Paths Up the Mountain.
466 lines, was $233, sale price $116.50

"Your Emotional Abilities"
Story Date: Saturday, May 30, 2015
Summary: Amethyst gives Johan some ideas about accommodations that might help cope with his current challenges.
366 lines, was $183, sale price $91.50

"Shag Carpet Cuddles"
Story Date: June 2015
Summary: The Vermont Shag Carpet Cats love snuggling with people.
19 lines, was $10, sale price $5

"A Beautiful Paradox"
Story Date: Friday, June 5, 2015
Summary: Johan loses his temper
259 lines, was $130, sale price $65
Available for posting after "Your Emotional Abilities" has been sponsored and published.

"Learning New Skills"
Story Date: Sunday, June 12, 2016
Summary: Wrenley Immen teaches her new neighbor about gardening.
311 lines, was $311, sale price $155.50
Double price for research.


OTHER POLYCHROME POEMS (8 poems, was $1978, sale price $989)

"The Four Marks of True Repentance"
Story Date: Monday, August 13, 2013
Summary: Three former child soldiers move to America.
953 lines, was $477, sale price $238.50

"When Everyone Around You Has Theirs Bowed"
Story Date: Sunday, April 6, 2014
Summary: Therapy for men's genital injury tends to focus on loss, but Marvis Willing knows the proud history of eunuchs.
304 lines, was $152, sale price $76

"Let's Go on This Journey Together"
Story Date: Monday, September 29, 2014
Summary: After breaking his arm, Linus gets a lot of support from his friends.
638 lines, was $638, sale price $319
Double price for research.

"Hear a Thousand Stars Singing"
Story Date: Night of Sunday, October 25, 2015
Summary: Fascinated by the idea of becoming a robonaut, Quain takes up stargazing.
28 lines, was $15, sale price $7.50

"Far Stronger Links"
Story Date: Friday, September 4, 2015
Summary: A coworker's loss inspires support at work.
515 lines, was $258, sale price $129

"Aim a Little Above It"
Nagi deals with a young man who tries to rob her.
260 lines, was $130, sale price $65

"Formidable Tasks of Adaptation"
Story Date: Sunday, March 20, 2016
Summary: Denim has had enough of her parents' shit.
359 lines, was $180, sale price $90

"Upholding It, Wherever Found"
Story Date: Thursday, November 3, 2016
Summary: Gail Somerville works for Interpol, but feels increasingly uncomfortable with it.
256 lines, was $128, sale price $64

Today is cloudy, mild, and damp.  It seems to have drizzled earlier.

I fed the birds.  I haven't seen much activity yet.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/16/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/16/26 -- I sowed sunflower seeds gathered 10-8-25 along the south edge of the east-west strip in the prairie garden. That's the end of that envelope of seeds, and also all the sunflower planting in the prairie garden.  \o/

The sun has come out somewhat, but the air is warm and humid. :P

I've seen more sparrows and house finches at the hopper feeder, along with a grackle.

EDIT 5/16/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 5/16/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 5/16/26 -- I planted the water jug of partial shade flowers in the forest garden.  I planted the water jug of 20th Anniversary wildflowers in the middle north-south strip of the prairie garden.  Of the various jug experiments (fruit trees, native grasses, native wildflowers, and mixes) the mixes were by far the most successful as something out of the batch always grew.  I do have two surviving tree seedlings and a couple of milkweed seedlings.

EDIT 5/16/26 -- I trimmed grass around the support wire for the telephone pole, added fresh topsoil around it, then sowed cypress vine seeds.

It's been drizzling off and on today, so I haven't gotten a lot done, but I managed some things.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.