Archive | December 2014

December Meme Day Seventeen – The Cats! (@inventrix)

Dec17

The Meme

Today’s prompt is from [personal profile] inventrix: the cats

Oh, twist my arm!

Kitties kitties kitties!

T & I have three cats right now – Oligarchy, Theocracy, and Meritocracy. We got Oli & Theo about a month after Drake died, in June of 2012.

Drake was our Sugar Cat, my diabetic flesh-eating fluffy happy monster for whom I wrote Tales for the Sugar Cat (a fund-raiser). He was with us for about twelve years – not nearly long enough – and died two years after his foster-brother, the first cat Sam & I had together, Gatsby. They are both still keenly missed.

But I made it about a month before I started looking for a new cat. I wanted siblings, I wanted boys. Siblings because Gatters and Drake, not related, had never gotten along great, boys because the girl cats we’d encountered – roommates’ girlfriends’ cats – had been miserable.

The Humane Society had no sibling pairs and wanted $150/kitten.

The next shelter over had a lovely pair of marmalade brothers with extra toes, but they adopted them out while we were filling out the paperwork.

We ended up finding our boys on Criagslist, just 4 blocks away. Little poofballs – we’d been looking for shorthaired marmalade kitties; these were longhaired grey-and-white. But they were friendly, they liked being handled. And I didn’t want to live any longer without cats in the house. Home they came!! We tossed around a bunch of names for them; for a week they were Thing One and Thing Two, or Lefty and Righty (Each has one white sleeve).

They were born in March; they came home in June. A year later, T. found three kittens in our hedgerow.

A while later, the three – who wandered and came back, wandered and came back – were down to one, who liked to stand in the hedgerow and yell at T. We started feeding her kibble, and T would move a little closer every day. Eventually, she would tolerate being petted.

We named her Sullivan, because my dad had a yard cat named Gilbert who was all white, and she was all black. But as I found myself cooking meat scraps before we put them in the compost bin (which she was eating out of), we realized we were keeping her. She needed a name in trend.

Sullivan became Meritocracy o’Sullivan. And as she started getting friendlier – as it started getting colder – we very politely shoved her in a cat carrier and left her at the vets for three days before bringing her inside.

And that’s the story of my kitties.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/867065.html. You can comment here or there.

Changes in Policy, a ficlet of Addergoole

Dec17

This one comes with a warning: If you already actively dislike the Addergoole staff, this is not the story for you.

I don’t usually say things like this, but I’m in a foul mood today, I wrote this for fun, and I don’t want it to turn into a discussion about how Regine et al are evil stupid horrible monsters, please.

That being said, story:

On occasion, the staff at Addergoole found themselves needing to implement a new policy.

Their school had been entirely experimental at the outset, and none of the three founders had all that much experience with teenagers. Their first policy changes had involved the sheer violence of teenagers – something they might have picked up from Lord of the Flies or Heathers but learned on their own quickly enough.

Their second policy major change came about because of the secondary purpose of the school – to ensure genetic diversity after the coming storm – and the quaternary, to allow Regine to study the genetics of half-breeds. They had not expected students forced together by pseudo-Keepings to form lasting bonds (although they had expected some of the Crews to last). For the most part, those couples formed by Keeping did not last – but some couples, however formed, stuck together through the four years of Addergoole and beyond.

A later policy change was implemented much more quietly, and very few students ever saw it in action. Once again, they had failed to allow for exactly how violent teenagers could be, and at the same time failed to realize how badly a former Kept might react to a Keeping that, by their new rules, was closely-monitored and carefully mentored.

The original Keeping had been skating the edges of acceptability: the boy had isolated his Kept, treated her like a pet, and controlled every aspect of her life for a school year. When a routine visit found her Keeping him post-school, however…

They had pulled in her Mentor, his Mentor, Solomon, and Mendosa, and just barely managed to talk her into releasing what was left of the boy. He had survived – but only just, and it would take Caitrin and Mendosa three years to put him back together.

The Addergoole staff had always encouraged their alumni to find each other. After that, however, they started asking more questions.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/866797.html. You can comment here or there.

December in Alder, a partial summary

Dec16

What Follows is now available in print!

Feedback Requested
December Theme Poll

Fiction
Arrangements, a continuation of Live-In – modern/IRL ‘verse
The Border, a continuation of Itty Bitty Package and Courier Duty – Space/Colonies/?? ‘verse
Next on the Tour, a story of Science!
Cali, Femdom, Catgirls in Tír na Cali
Discoveries on the Colony
A Physical Detail, just a minor thing (a writing exercise)

Serials
Jumping Rings – Chapter 12 – Choose
Edally Chapter 17 – Hit First, Reassess, Hit Again
Edally Chapter 18 – When Making War, First Make Tea

December Meme
The Meme Post
Day One – TV
Day Two – Garden Plans
Day Three – Snow
Day Four – Farmville
Day Five – Plotting Methods
Day Six – Fire, Fire, Fire!
Day Seven – Budgeting
Day Eight – Obscure Factoid
Day Nine – Doug
Day Eleven Rolling the Dice
Day Thirteen Favorite Games
Day Fifteen Shopping places?

Fiction!
The Powers That Be, a continuation of Visiting the Family thru Still in the Family, in Aunt Family
Rumors about the Family, a story start for the Aunt Family
The Cat’s Paw, a continuation of Cats & Grannies thru Family Secrets & Cat Secrets
Warm Visions & Warm Family

Moving On To Number Eight a storybit of Addergoole Yr 22

The Annual Sacrifice, a story of Dragons Next Door (or at least a teaser)
When the Time Comes Around (Turn, Turn, Turn), a story of the Stranded World

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/866324.html. You can comment here or there.

December Meme – Day Thirteen (shh)

Dec16

The Meme

Today’s prompt is from [personal profile] lilfluff: Your favorite games

Ooh!

I like games, although I am not the board game fanatic that some of my friends are. I grew up playing gin rummy with my dad, Uno with my grandmother, Yahtzee with family & Monopoly whenever I could get people to play with me. My first fiance and I played Pente a lot, and he made a stab at teaching me chess, but i have little patience for strategy.

And, of course, I’m a gamer, so there’s things like World of Darkness – Vampire, Werewolf, Changeling, etc., in primarily Live-action but also tabletop forms. I’m facinated by EarthDawn/ShadowRun but have never played them. And, while we’re talking about roleplaying, I enjoy playing in my own settings most of all.

Computer games: I try not to get too involved, or I lose months. I liked Flight Rising until they were mean to Djinni, at which point I lost interest completely. I was utterly into Glitch until they folded, much sadface all around. And currently I’m into FarmVille, much to my enjoyment and consternation.

Games! I like playing Scrabble with my husband, although he almost always wins. And we’ve been playing Carcasonne lately, and I really enjoy that a lot.

I suppose “my favorite” game is the one I’m into at the moment, whatever moment that might happen to be.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/866155.html. You can comment here or there.

December Meme – Day Fifteen

Dec15

The Meme

Today’s prompt is from [personal profile] eseme: Favorite places to shop for the late shoppers

Urrf.

This is trickier than it sounds for me, because my shopping is so specific to the person. My mom asked for a cast-iron pan for christmas, for instance, and my dad asked for a lined polarfleece pullover. One of those we buy locally, the other via massive online searching.

Let’s see, though.

Barnes & Noble, of course, especially if I’m in a hurry. ThinkGeek, SockDreams, and Lee Valley for quick go-tos for online/catalog shopping. Etsy 😉 And, of course, Amazon.com.

We generally do a first run of our local outlet mall, but since we don’t have a proper mall in our area, most of our shopping will end up being online – in addition to the above list, there’s also LL Bean/Eddie Bauer. Oh, and Spice House.

To round out the list, we also like Uncommon Goods, for that little something unusual.

And that’s… about it. Where do you shop?

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/865955.html. You can comment here or there.

Arrangements, a continuation of Live-In

Dec14

Written to [personal profile] perfectworry‘s commissioned continuation of Live-In

Adrian was home late for the fourth time in a week. Sara ordered pizza, washed the dishes from last night’s dinner, gathered all of her dirty clothes and his into a pile, and tried not to swear at the mess.

This was his third week of his job, and they’d held him late almost every day. He was new, he wanted the money, and he “didn’t have anyone at home.” Not, at least, the way his bosses understood having someone at home. Roommates didn’t count.

Sara got the wash in and sat down with her budget book. Adrian had insisted on paying rent the minute he’d gotten a paycheck, but the thing was, somehow it wasn’t making her balance any bigger.

She opened a document – and swore as the pizza arrived. How had she gotten any work done before Adrian moved in? How had she had any time at all to think?

She put the pizza in a warm oven, snatching just one piece, and managed to get a couple hundred words scribbled before the laundry was done. That finished, she was just about to sit down to work again when Adrian stumbled in the door.

He looked like shit. Pretty eyes sunken, complexion sallow, hands wrinkled. His work clothes were just as wrinkled, and his tie was twisted at the bottom, as if he’d been fiddling with it.

“Clothes off,” she demanded, like she had the right. “Into the tub, right now.“

“But dinner…”

“I ordered pizza, and you can eat in the tub. Come on, boy. Clothes.”

Like a good obedient boy, he stripped off his clothes.

“In the tub, come on with you.” She started the tub, coaxing him every step of the way, putting in some of her favorite bath oil and setting up the silly little caddy that she never used. “Here, in.”

She took a moment to look at his bare butt, purely out of aesthetics, and then she was setting a plate of pizza on the caddy and fussing at him until he was up to his shoulders in hot water.

Since they’d come this far, it seemed reasonable to sit down on the toilet, lid closed, and eat her own pizza while Adrian, slowly, so slowly, relaxed. “What happened?”

“June called off. I think she quit, actually, but nobody tells me anything. And then everything she screwed up was suddenly my fault, and I had to stay late to fix all of her mistakes, and then later to do my own work.” He thumped his head against the back of the tub.

“Stop that.” She slid a folded towel behind his head. “I gotta ask… is it worth it?”

He opened his eyes, two dark pools studying her. “I don’t want to mooch off you.”

She took a breath. “Adrian… you weren’t. You were doing all the housework and more than half the errands. You were… you were pretty much being my housewife.”

He didn’t say anything for a minute. He bit his pizza, so she bit her pizza. He took another bite. She took another bite.

He swallowed, sipped the soda she’d brought him, swallowed again. She’d never watched his throat so intently. “Can I have a floral apron?”

Sara’s laugh was half because of the joke, but it was half sheer relief. “You can have as many aprons as you want. The minute you quit this job.”

If you’d like to see more of this story, I bet there’s more to be written. Just drop a tip in the the tip handcuffs:


Next: Agreed.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/865782.html. You can comment here or there.

The Border, a continuation of “Itty Bitty Package” and “Courier Duty”

Dec14

After Itty Bitty Package ane Courier Duty. To [personal profile] thnidu‘s commissioned continuation.

Want to bring a specific more, please to my attention? Go here.

Pregnant? Pretza was unsure if she was more surprised at that or at his correct assessment of her as female. It must be the way she was carrying her package, against her stomach and chest and under her clothes.

It was a gift, and she should not kick the tires on a gift rover too much. “Sir.” It was no trouble at all to make her voice sound tired or stressed. “I need to get -“

He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Where everyone with any sense needs to get, of course. Orion Free Territory is just over that hill. But there’s a Corbetian contingent between here and there, girl. And you may not be my daughter, but I won’t hand you over either way.”

He took her hand. “This way.”

Tip Package 😉

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/865297.html. You can comment here or there.

The Powers That Be, a continuation of Aunt Family (@kelkyag)

Dec12

First: Visiting the Family
Previous: Still in the Family

Rosaria found herself watching, much as she did with children, much as she had done as a child. She’d angered Evangaline, and she didn’t blame the girl at all for that. They did tend to meddle, the older women in the family. They spent so long being young, chafing under the meddling of those older than them, and then they were old, and found themselves meddling.

The truth was, they had, Rosaria and her peers, grown old with Asta as Aunt. They knew Evangaline was stronger, they knew she was different, and none of them knew what to do about that.

Watching Willard and Evangaline, Rosa was coming to another understanding.

“I’m proud of you.” Willard thumped a hand on Evangaline’s shoulder. “For what that’s worth.”

She grinned at him, a wide and open expression. “I’m pretty proud of me, too.”

“You’re not one that didn’t dodge the bullet, are you?” He smirked about it, the way nobody who lived in the family did – at least not where women Rosaria’s age could see. She remembered – she wondered if her peers remembered – being that age, and sniggering about things when their grannies were away.

“Oh, no.” Eva’s chin lifted. “I’ve known for a long time.”

“I wonder what Asta thought about that, mmm?” Willard’s eyes were twinkling. It had been years since Rosaria had seen him – but it had been decades since she’d seen him smile like that.

“Well, from what she told me…” Evangaline shifted, putting her weight evenly on both feet. “I think she was relieved. She always knew she was a place-holder, you know. She always knew she wasn’t the actual power of the family in her generation.”

Next: https://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1274555.html

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/865037.html. You can comment here or there. comment count unavailable

December Meme – Day Eleven (Yesterday) Roll dem bones.

Dec12

(reference: http://gosimpsonic.tumblr.com/post/54091186115/roll-them-bones)

The Meme

Today’s prompt is from [personal profile] thnidu: Rolling the dice.

Oh ho ho I could go so many… okay, two or three ways with this.

The first that comes to mind is the literal. I have, like any good pen-and-paper gamer, a bag full of dice, most of which have more than six sides (I have some D4s because they amused me; I don’t think I’ve ever used them in a game).

The thing is, although I’ve been playing tabletop games on and off since college, and although I learned HOW when the kid down the street ran D&D for me back in high school (My guy friends who had a regular game wouldn’t let me play with them. Seriously), most of my gaming career has been LARPing.

No, not like that movie. Well, maybe a little bit. (Not like the Supernatural episode, either.)

I did World of Darkness (Vampire, Werewolf, Changeling, Mage…) LARP, which wasn’t boffer and was rock-paper-scissors. No dice involved! I tended to describe it, offhandedly, as “I spend my weekends pretending to be a vampire. Or a werewolf.” And it really is just make-believe.

You see, I never outgrew make-believe. Other kids stopped playing with me, but I kept thinking up the stories. Once I found out I could get other people to write stories with me – or read and engage in those stories – I was right back on the playground, having the time of my life.

So rolling the dice comes from, for me, a very similar place as writing. I’m playing in a fictional world, and I love it.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/864808.html. You can comment here or there.

Next on the Tour, a story of Science! (@rix_scaedu)

Dec11

The new engineering intern was nice, in a terrifyingly curious, infallibly polite sort of way; he was also strikingly handsome and very sweet, in a way that still didn’t quite clash with the office as a whole. So Cara had used the social version of elbowing and punching to get to the head of the line, and she was now showing Dr. Darryl Quinlan around the facility.

The facility tour was the best way to see if a new intern was going to last, giving Cara yet another reason in addition to “and he has lovely eyes” to take over the duty. She had won the last three pools, and had a reputation to maintain.

“Is that…” Darryl shook his head. “No, that was the wrong question. What is that?”

Cara’s eyes swept over the hall. They weren’t in a laboratory wing; everything down here was plans and stolen technical specs. What- “Ah.” She smiled, although her eyes were on Darryl’s microexpressions. “That would be Jane. She’s – well, technically, she’s a failed experiment.”

“She looks… like the T-X.”

“Oh, we get a lot of good ideas from movies like the Terminator series. But Jane isn’t liquid metal, and, unfortunately, she was supposed to be a human-appearing android.”

“I’ll note…” Darryl spoke slowly, and his body language suggested he was intrigued and cautious. “You didn’t mention that she wasn’t a killer robot.”

“Well, right now she works in HR.”

Science! has a landing page here.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/864627.html. You can comment here or there.