Archive | November 2011

November Giraffe Call Open!!

Nov12

The call for prompts is now CLOSED!

The Summary is here on DW and here on LJ.

For the next 25 hours, I will taking I have taken your prompts on the theme of Family.

I will write (over the next week) at least one microfic (150-300 words) to each prompter. If you donate, I will write to all of your prompts,

If you have donated, I will write to every prompt you left.

In addition, for each $5 you donate, I will write an additional 500 words to the prompt(s) of your choice.

I’m playing with my incentives again.

For every linkback I receive, I will post another 50 words on a story (See the poll for setting here on DW and here on LJ

If I get three new commenters or one new donator, I will write a setting piece (setting chosen by poll).

And, of course, donations are always well-received:


If I reach $35 in donations, I will post an additional 1000-2000-word fic on the subject of the audience’s choice. Reached!!

If I reach $65, I will write at least 2 microfics for everyone, whether or not they donated.

If I reach $95, I will write to every prompt I get in the next 24 hours (limit 4 per person) – or third prompt for each original prompter. At this point, please allow up to 5 weeks for the writing to be completed.

If I reach $120, I will record a podcast of an audience-choice story and post it for everyone to read. Also, everyone who tipped will get double wordcount.

If I reach $150, I will release an e-book of all of the fiction written to this call and the last one. At this point, please allow up to 6 weeks for the writing to be completed.

I’m still saving up for the giraffe carpet, which will be installed the first week of October November December (still can’t find a plumber, sigh)!


This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/170868.html. You can comment here or there.

Friday Morning

Nov11

Been sick for a couple days, which throws everything off. Sort of moping around eating too much – not a good idea while trying to diet, but the carrot cake was really, really tasty.

Hoping for a productive weekend, though. There’s stuff I want to do – now all I need is the energy to do them!

We missed the window for buying garlic to plant in the local stores. Buying it online is shipping-expensive. But it’s one of those things we use a lot of, and being able to plant it would be awesome.

Looking at this icon – I haven’t knitted since we moved. I don’t know that there’s time around nano, but maybe in December I’ll start again. The newest Knitty’s out, and there’s stuff in there I want to knit.

This post is kind of all over the place – which suits my mood, too. Not really a bad mood, just a random one.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/170477.html. You can comment here or there.

The RoundTree Siblings Prepare for Thanksgiving – Stranded World – Donor Perk

Nov10

This takes place at least a year after the nano-book, and a bit after most of the other stories of this family. Each of the dates, except Gregor, have appeared before.

Winter:
“If it’s too much, I’ll understand.” Encountering his family for the first time was certainly something to be ready for, entirely aside from the cultural connotations of “bringing a girl home to meet his mother.” “But I would love to have your company, and my mother would love to meet Mila and Henry.” He gave Marina his best charming smile. “For all of our oddities, we’re a family of very good cooks.”

“As long as you’re certain it’s no imposition, and as long as I can bring something,” Marina decided, helped, he was sure, by the way her children were bouncing up and down and making puppy eyes at her.

“I’ll be sure to find out what we’re lacking this time. Thank you, Marina. I’m so glad you said yes.”

Summer:
“So,” Bishop said, moving chess pieces around on the back of his notebook. “We’re doing Christmas with Mellie’s family. Spring Break, we’ll spend a couple days with my family. And that leaves Thanksgiving for Summer’s family, right?”

“It’s the only holiday my family really gets together for anyway,” she nodded. “So it’s the best bet for meeting the most of them, and the most fun dates. It’s almost a contest,” she grinned. “Winter usually defaults, and Spring usually wins.”

“Are we your ace in the hole?” Bishop looked like he couldn’t decide whether to be happy about that, or mildly offended. Summer was hoping on happy; it would make everything else easier.

“Yep.” She kissed them both on the cheeks. “My beautiful aces.”

Spring:
“Do both of us a favor, okay, and don’t try to map my family.” She loosened her lover’s tie and deftly traded out his expensive-and-showy cufflinks for another pair, less showy but equally nice. Winter would notice, and her mother would appreciate them.

“It’ll upset them?” He tightened his tie again. He was overdressed for Thanksgiving, so she’d gone a little further out there to complement him.

“It will give you a headache, and amuse them at your expense.”

“Don’t tell me your entire family are tanglers?” He pulled out one of her mis-matched earrings and replaced it with the matching hoop.

“No, no, but they all work with the strands in one way or another, and getting us all together can be… messy.”

“Messy.”

“Yup.”

Autumn:
She stared at the letter for a few minutes longer than required. She’d been fairly certain her Tattercoat lover would say no, but that hadn’t stopped her from asking. Either he’d give in eventually, or get tired of her asking and leave her. Inasmuch as they were together enough for him to leave.

She picked up her phone, then, and dialed. Not Tattercoats. She knew better.

“What is it, my lovely Autumn flower? No, don’t tell me, I can read the calendar. Has that knave you call a lover let you down once again?”

“Gregor….” she protested weakly.

“You know I’m right, lovely girl. And no, I don’t have any other plans for the holiday.”

“Thank you,” she sighed.

“You know I’m always there for you, beautiful.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/169737.html. You can comment here or there. comment count unavailable

I do believe it’s Thursday, Right?

Nov10

Yesterday, a 70F day in mid-November, I stayed home sick (actually sick, but mostly a mild office cold I was trying to beat before it was no longer mild), wrote 3500+ words, over 2100 of which were for my Nanowrimo, and sorted the last of the apples.

I need to get back into the swing of house stuff before it’s too cold to do anything, but the plumber prospects are at least looking up.

Newest house weirdness: it appears that, sometime along the line, someone actually taped the drywall corners…

…wait for it…

…with masking tape. *facepalm*

~~

[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith is taking ideas for future fishbowl themes here.

And if you have not yet read her epic Igor’s Creature, I strongly suggest you do so now. Right now. Go. I’ll be here when you get back.

~~

[personal profile] meeks has worked her magic again, and it’s thematic to my nano!

Go see her sketch of Autumn, updated.
(and on LJ).

~~

And Rix_Scaedu has two amazing new pieces up:
Tales Behind The Verses: Between Eighteen and Nineteen – Part 1 and Astrith.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/169674.html. You can comment here or there.

“Just Be Yourself”

Nov9

From rix_scaedu‘s commissioned prompt.

A continuation of the Three-Way story.
3-Way originally posted here and on LJ, continued here (LJ) and then here (LJ and then
Here (Duet) and Here on LJ – and then here: Preferences (LJ) and here (and on LJ).

“I was hoping you’d be my girlfriend.”

Ahouva stared at Basalt. “You ripped out Kendon’s guts because you wanted a girlfriend? There’s got to be an easier way.”

“That was Jeremiah,” he demurred. “I beat them down until they yielded to rescue you.”

“I didn’t need rescuing!” More quietly, she added, “I was doing fine. I’d finally gotten to the point where I could make Kendon happy, where he didn’t yell at me much at all.” Now she was going to have to do it all over again with this guy. More subdued, and a bit nervous, she added, “you’re not going to be like Thorburn, are you?”

“Like him how?” he asked carefully. His knees were still touching hers. She should pull away, but she didn’t really want to.

“I’ve seen Ceinwen crying, when she doesn’t think anyone was looking,” she muttered.

“I’ve seen you do the same thing,” he countered, and she winced.

“Sorry! I don’t mean for anyone to see me; I’m just overreacting.”

“And you don’t think Ceinwen was?”

“Should I?” she asked nervously. “She seemed so level-headed, not a mess like me.”

He shook his head. “Damn. All right, this is going to tricky, isn’t it?”

“You could give me back?” she offered timidly.

He shook his head. “No. No, I’m not going to do that. After this, Kendon’s going to be worse than ever before.”

She winced, swallowing a comment. He’d just made things worse, no matter how you looked at it. “Then… tell me what you want from me?”

“Hold on, I’m still on your last question.” He smiled ruefully. “I’m kind of slow, so you have to be patient with me, okay?”

She nodded, not certain if the “hold on” meant to be quiet or not. That got her a real smile from him – he had a very nice smile, when he tried – and then a thoughtful sigh. “Okay. The short answer is, Thorburn and I took away different things from being under cy’Linden last year. I don’t know what he’s doing to make Ceinwen cry – I hadn’t known she was crying, though that explains some of the things Penny’s said – but I don’t want to do anything to make you cry.”

She stared at him. Kendon hadn’t liked her crying, either. “I can try not to cry…” she offered. Obviously she had to get better at hiding it.

He shook his head. “That’s not what I mean, Ahouva. I mean – you asked if I was going to be like Thorburn. And I’m telling you no, I don’t want to be like that. I don’t want to be like Kendon, either.”

“Okay?”

He frowned, and she, wondering how she’d managed to upset him already, cringed. That just made him frown more deeply.

“Every evening, I’m going to ask you if I have done anything to upset you. I’m going to want – and order –to know everything, so if you have to write it down in a notebook to remember it at the end of the day, do that.”

“Okay?” This sounded like an excuse for punishment waiting to happen, but maybe she could change her definition of “upset?”

“If something bothers you badly enough that you want it to stop right away, tell me right away. Right then. Even if we’re in public.” He touched a finger to her nose. “I do not want to be upsetting you.”

She winced again, and nodded, because he seemed to want her to agree. “Okay? I mean, yes, sir.”

He sighed quietly. “Okay.” He seemed to be willing to let it go, at least. Maybe she’d be able to work around it. “On to your second question.”

She was getting lost. “Okay?”

“What I want from you.”

Oh, that one. She nodded, eyes down. “Yes, sir.”

“It’s Basalt,” he corrected gently. “I’m really not fancy enough to be sir for anyone.”

“Yes, Basalt.” She peeked up at him. “Not ‘master’ either?”

“Does it – be honest with me – make you happy to call someone master?”

Yes. No. Yes? “Maybe?” she offered carefully. “When I called Kendon master, sometimes it made him happy, and sometimes it made him angry.”

“But what about what you like?”

“I like having my owner happy with me!” Why did he keep asking what she liked? Why wouldn’t he tell her what he wanted out of her. “I like knowing what the right thing to do is!”

He sat back, lips closed tightly, and Ahouva quailed. Now she’d done it. Now he was going to be mad at her, and he was going to … what was he going to do? She peeked at him cautiously. She didn’t know what came next with him.

He had his face in both hands. “This… is going to be interesting.”

“You can still give me back.”

“No. I won’t.” He dropped his hands. “When you came here, you were a mouthy, bright, clever new kid. I liked you like that.”

“Nobody else did,” she muttered.

“Even if that’s true, which I doubt, they don’t matter, do they?”

Now he was on ground she understood. “No, master.” She smiled cautiously at him. “What you want is what matters.”

“Exactly. Good girl,” he added, saying the words very carefully. She shivered at the good feelings his words sent through her, as condescending as they were. He was happy with her?

He patted her shoulder gently. “What I want is you to be yourself. And I think that’s going to be trickier than I originally thought.”

She nodded, biting her lip. “How will I know what you like, then?”

“Mm. If you really bug me, I’ll let you know. But look, Ahouva, I’m really not that bright, and you are.”

“I’m not that clever. Kendon had to correct me all the time.”

“That’s because Kendon is an asshole, not because you’re not smart. When you came here, you thought you were pretty bright, didn’t you?”

She dropped her head. “I was stupid. I didn’t know how the world really was.”

“You were smart – are smart. You just didn’t know how to handle this place.”

“Kendon was teaching me.”

“Kendon was teaching you how to be a good little pet.”

“Isn’t that what being Kept is?”

“Only if that’s what your owner wants. What I want, as I said, is a girlfriend. You. Smart, mouthy, and clever.”

“Oh.” She blinked at him uncertainly. “What if I can’t be that anymore?”

He sighed, and, before she could say anything else, pulled her into his lap and cuddled her against him. “Then we’ll have to figure that out together.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/169433.html. You can comment here or there.

This Last Giraffe Call by the numbers

Nov8

I had 13 prompters in Livejournal and 6 in Dreamwidth = 19 total
The gave me 33 prompts in LJ and 9 in Dreamwidth = 42 total (or an average of 2.21/person)

I wrote stories to every one of those 42 prompts.

I had 6 donors, for a donation total of $95.

From those donors, I have written 9 stories and have 2 more to write.
I have yet to write the $35 donation-level story and the setting piece, as well.

Dragons Next Door and Addergoole topped the settings-stories, with 14 Addergoole stories (2 more to go) and 9 Dragons next Door stories, including the linkback incentive story and one technically not part of the Call at all. I’ve got the extra story to go there, too.

I created a new setting (The Aunt Family) and ended up writing 5 stories in that setting; I also wrote three stories in what might be a continuing setting (The Shadow Rebellion) and a new story in each of two settings from the earlier prompts (Bug Invasion and Unicorn/Factory).

I also wrote nine one-offs, ranging in genre, type, and mood all over the board.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/168869.html. You can comment here or there.