Name: Surrogate
Story: Tales From the Neighborhood
Plot Thread: Grant/Scott/William
Colors: Warm Heart #14: Blame
Styles and Supplies: Life Drawing, Gesso, Watercolors ("Stories that revolve around a love triangle often presume the presence of would-be binaries: a hero and a villain, the righteous and the evil, the good and the bad. But what happens when the roles are blurred and no one is out to hurt the other? In Ida Lupino’s 1953 drama The Bigamist and the recent dark comedy television series DTF St. Louis, the focus is on the humanity of all three characters within their marriages and the ambiguity of their actions. Taking a cue from the sympathetic nature of these characters, write a short story that involves a love triangle that is similarly even-keeled. How can you experiment with point of view, humor, or dramatic circumstances to create a narrative in which all members of the triangle are imbued with equally powerful traits of complexity and pathos?"), Tempera ("Queen of Cups reversed indicates someone with blocked psychic abilities and an emotionally unstable nature. In this reversed position, the nurturing and compassionate qualities associated with the Queen of Cups become overshadowed by moodiness and irrational behavior. This card warns of being excessively self-sacrificing or getting entangled in emotionally draining relationships. It urges you to take time for self-reflection and regain a sense of emotional stability and self-care.")
Word Count: 2,998
Rating: PG
Warnings: Discussion of Divorce
Characters: Grant Thomas Hanby, Scott Hanby, William Curtis Hanby, Lucy Hanby, Rebecca Thomas
Summary: Complex family situations get in the way of family planning.

( Surrogate )

( Sim Pictures and Notes (345 words) )

Name: Rejection
Story: The Fulcrum
Colors: Light Black #12: Leave, Warm Heart #4: Pain
Styles and Supplies: Silhouette, Life Drawing, Novelty Bead (End Love, Ok Go, given here), Stain ("When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor." - Elon Musk (This is way more important than Elon's dumb need to go to Mars, though, which is apparently what that quote was about.))
Word Count: 1,688
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Characters: Setsiana, Qhoroali
In-Universe Date: 1912.5.4.5
Summary: Setsiana tries to make use of her dream.

( Rejection )

Name: The Power of Suggestion
Story: The Fulcrum
Colors: Light Black #22: Push, Warm Heart #20: Conceit
Styles and Supplies: Silhouette, Life Drawing, Modeling Clay ("head resting on their shoulder" from here)
Word Count: 924
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Characters: Setsiana, Qhoroali
In-Universe Date: Night of 1912.5.4.4
Summary: Setsiana has a dream.
Notes: Using this probably-not-intended meaning of "conceit": "A novel or fanciful idea; a whim."

( The Power of Suggestion )

Name: Everything's A Competition
Story: Tales from the Neighborhood
Plot Thread: Paige Hanby Singularity
Colors: Realgar #6: Dull
Styles and Supplies: Life Drawing, Silhouette, Gesso, Glue (A proposed get-together with a love interest might have to be postponed until much later tonight or perhaps another evening, Aries. This could make you a little blue. Your insecurity might even get the better of you. Does your friend not want to meet? Don't fall into this kind of thinking. Accept that there's a reason and go with the flow. You'll enjoy the date that much more for the delay.), Tempera (Knight of Swords reversed signifies a lack of strategy, where actions are taken without much thought or consideration for the consequences. It suggests a tendency to rush into situations without a clear plan, leading to hasty decisions and potential conflicts. This reversed Knight warns against reckless behavior and encourages the need for patience and careful deliberation. It serves as a reminder to slow down, reflect, and align actions with a well-thought-out strategy in order to avoid unnecessary conflicts and achieve the desired outcomes.), Novelty Bead (disaster bisexual, given here)
Word Count: 3760
Rating: PG
Warnings: A trans character being misgendered/deadnamed for the first part of this, similar to in the first Grant story, also just general teenage drama, because Garrett
Characters: Paige Hanby, Garrett Thomas, Esther Bren, Benjamin Thomas, and brief appearances by Grant, Scott, Scott's dad, and Garrett and Benjamin's dad
Summary: People change. Garrett has trouble dealing with it.
Notes: This is the plot thread that was previously just called "Singularity" - it's named after the character whose real name is a spoiler for the first couple scenes of this piece.

( Everything's A Competition )

( Sim Pictures and Notes (337 words) )

Name: The Last Day of History (Nightmare Edition)
Story: The Fulcrum
Colors: Beet Red #30: Live to fight another day
Styles and Supplies: Reimagining, Nubs, Chiaroscuro, Panorama
Word Count: 2324
Rating: T
Warnings: Non-Graphic Gun Violence
Characters: Setsiana
In-Universe Date: Night of 1912.8.5.1
Summary: Setsiana has a nightmare.
Notes: I've been posting the early parts of this story (so far up through the very long chapter where Cusäfä is introduced) to a critique site, and the consensus was that the first part of this story (this post) was not a good opening. Since the worldbuilding that's introduced there is not strictly relevant until the end of part one, I redid that scene as a nightmare that Setsiana has after they come back from the T'arsi Fair and she is introduced to guns for the first time (so, basically between this post and this post). I do want to revise it again based on additional feedback I've received on this version, but I figured I would post this second revision here.

This is also the first installment of a Beet Red Nubs tapestry that I'm going to be using in the future to write missing scenes from completed stories or Tales From the Neighborhood plot threads. I have ideas for most of the prompts, but most of them are not scheduled yet, and thus won't be posted for at least another year. I figure this can be both Nubs and Reimagining, since it is a rewrite but is now also chronologically during a period of time that was skipped over, initially.

( The Last Day of History (Nightmare Edition) )