April bingo

[dialecticdreamer]

Here’s a sampling of my prompt fills for the spring bingo card. The main story arc has been a science fiction story set largely away from Earth, which added another challenge! I missed three prompts for a full blackout, but instead of swamping readers, I picked six as exemplars.

All of these stories are in the Redshift series, which began with “Terrible News.” To be honest, the stories spanned much of March and April, and together, story only added up to 54,427 words, which fits the Nebula definition of novel length..

Earth
Are We There Yet?

shark
Raiders (link to part one.)

eggs
Thieves’ Banquet (link to part one.)

gone fishing
A Hitch in Plans (link to part one

sunflower
A Helping Hand

windy
“A Ceres of Unfortunate Events” (Link to part one.)

Comments

the bitter-toothed lion

[dialecticdreamer]

I can't find a definition for this phrase, but it snagged in my brain and won't leave me alone! This is going to be FUN.

Re: the bitter-toothed lion

[ysabetwordsmith]

A search turned up:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3282530/Forget-sweet-treats-cats-BITTER-tooth-Felines-seven-taste-receptors-help-alert-poisonous-prey.html

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bitter%20tooth

Most likely, it means something like "sharp," "violent," or "dangerous." This could refer to a lion hide with the head and teeth intact, perhaps as a symbol of office -- or a live lion trained as a temple guardian.

Another possibility is that it was given as a divine symbol, because the lion is associated with Inanna.

Re: the bitter-toothed lion

[dialecticdreamer]

I've been toying with the idea of the phrase as symbolic of regret, actually. Think about it-- "The bitter-toothed lion has stalked me for years. Learning to sleep with one eye open was the easy part."

Re: the bitter-toothed lion

[ysabetwordsmith]

That is totally awesome and you should go with it! :D

Re: the bitter-toothed lion

[dialecticdreamer]

Here's another wikipedia-level overview

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~catshaman/history/0inanna/0law.htm

It's a jumping off place for my list of things to research, at least!