A is for Antlers, a story of Addergoole Yr41 for the Giraffe Call (@inventrix, @AlphaRaposa)
To stryck‘s prompt. Antler will always remind me of @Inventrix’s Addergoole character Leofric, and then of his son Vidrou, and so I took it out one step further to his son, by the girl in the icon.
Ce’Rilla sh’Orlaith by Accalon and Vidrou sh’Cynara by Leofric
Anyway! Forward to Year 41…
“He has antlers. Antlers, Eleri, isn’t that adorable? Well, antler buds.” Laufeia ran her hand over her new Kept’s skull, pushing his sandy hair out of the way to reveal the little nubs that would be antlers in a year or two.
He didn’t pull away, because he’d been ordered not to move. But he hadn’t, yet, been ordered not to speak. “You should let me go.”
“Oh, that’s silly.” Laufeia smiled indulgently at the boy and spoke over his shoulder to her crew-mate. “Isn’t he adorable, El?”
“He might be right, Fei. You now that there’s people you shouldn’t mess with. He could be, especially if he has antlers.” The redhead brushed her hand through the boy’s hair.
He once again did not pull away. His eyes were fixed on Laufeia. “Your grandmother and my grandfather have a history. You should let me go before my grandmother finds you.” He thought about that for a moment, and then altered his sentence a bit. “My grandmothers.”
“And what about my grandmother, mm? And how do you know my lineage?”
“I made a hobby of lineages, before I came here. And I asked my family a lot of questions.” He seemed to stretch, even though he still could not move. “You should let me go.”
“I’m not going to let you go. That would be silly.” Her laugh belied her nerves, trilling up too high. “Besides, I’m sure your parents were Kept, and their Keepers survived it, didn’t they?”
“I’m not sure my sister’s dad did, actually.” The boy sounded more thoughtful than anything.
“Fei…” Eleri was backing away slowly.
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/525842.html. You can comment here or there.
Signal Boost Poem Updated, Giraffe Call Still Open! #promptcall
The Signal Boost Poem has been updated with
![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kelkyag‘s helping couplets, rix_scaedu‘s Signal boost couplets, and @scath’s signal boost couplets.
If you have boosted The Giraffe Call or its stories, please let me know and I will add more couplets.
If someone wants to art any given couplet, I will write two whole stanzas for any art I can use when finishing/posting this.
The Giraffe Call is still open!!
I have written, to date:
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y
And we are $15 from two random prompters getting free 500-word continuations!
| Buy an Extension |
| 500 words $5.00 USD 750 words $7.50 USD 1000 words $10.00 USD 1250 words $12.50 USD 1500 words $15.00 USD 1750 words $17.50 USD 2000 words $20.00 USD 100 words $1.00 USD |
If you haven’t prompted, please stop by and leave a few prompts. Currently open letters are:
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H- I
If you haven’t signal boosted, please do, and send your friends!
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/525632.html. You can comment here or there.
Signal Boost Poem – The Works of Thorne from A-Z
A for Aelfgifu, for Audrey, and Autumn,
Addergoole, and Aelfgar’s myriad daughters.
What happened to Ayla1, with her glowing light?
Three kids, PhD, and a beautiful wife.
Mrs. S.2 keeps her magic in rows of black jars.
With herbs that can woo, can charm, can stop hearts.
And Autumn3 can read all the strands of existence,
‘Cept those of the heart, where she meets some resistance.
For Affection, Attachment, near and apart,
A for the Answers, Academics, and Art.
B is for Basil, for Begley, for Beryl,
For Bugs whose invasion is sorely imperiled.4
Begely5, the Beagle brought low by a thug,
His attack’s cause? Unanswered Brotherly Love.
While Beryl6, she struggles, ‘twixt magic and teen’hood,
Not yet an Aunt, nor child, between “could” caught, and “should.”
And Basil7, who watches, trying at love and life,
Summer’s friend is a good one, through her blessings and strifes.
B is for brothers, and battles, and buds.
For blossoming, blooming, biting, and blood.
C is for Cole, and Cyanara, and Cxaidin,
For the Cracks8 in the world where the boogeymen came in.
Sgt. Cole Hampton9, so brave and so very bold,
Who’d think that his night could be lonely and cold?
Cynara10 has tasted the cold and refused it
Or at least – Kept du Jour – somewhat confused it,
Cxaidin11, the dragon, pair-bonded with Zizny,
Knows of the loneliness as a distant cold mystery
C is our clutch, our cadre, our crew.
C for what comrades can shape you into.
D now for Doug, and for Deborah, for Daisy,
For Doors12 through the worlds, op’ning strange and hazy.
Daisy went to the river, the unicorns’ bride.
Ready to give, they instead took her life.
The Brontosaurus sits there, glaring at the world.
Wishing for wings he could proudly unfurl.
Deborah is stuck in an impossible strait:
The maiden Aunt, pregnant, and magic must wait.
D for the dolors, the deaths and distractions,
For Durability born out of sadness’ subtraction.
E for Evangaline, Eluned, and Eralon,
For evidence of cultures that have come and then gone.
Evanagline, Aunt to a family of women firm;
Herself just a strong, determined to make them squirm.
Eluned, the moth-girl, whose Keeper is mean –
She means well, but can’t from the past break clean.
And Eralon19, the god, comes down from the skies
to speak through his oracle when things go awry.
There’s strength in silence and strength in a voice,
Strength in standing firm, and in making your choice.
F is for Fuchsia, for Fallon, Fusefauna,
For the Factory20 making a hell of nirvana.
Fuchsia21, with Pepper, is learning of Keeping,
The hard way, the only way, with love and with weeping.
Fallon22, a sister, a mother, an aunt,
But not Aunt, trying, the best that she can.
Fusefauna23, of C.A.K.E., a Thundesitioni hero,
Living here, on Earth, keeping our streets clean.
F is for fame, and for figures so tall,
Paragons, role-models for few or for all.
G for Garfunkel, for Girey, and Genique.
For the goats that they ride ‘cross terrain steep and bleak.
Garfunkle, so angry, so tight, and so tense,
Holding in all his anger for fear of the mess.
1. Aelgifu, called Ayla, is an Addergoole:TOS character who first appears here.
2. Audrey, Mrs. S, is the narrator of much of Dragons Next Door. Her first story was here.
3. Autumn is one of the seasonal siblings of Stranded World. Her first unlocked story is here.
4. The Bugs invaded in Bug Invasion. Their first story was here.
5. Begely, the Beagel, is a character in Addergoole: Year 16. His first story was here.
6. Beryl is the niece of an Aunt in The Aunt Family/a>. Her first story is here.
7. Basil is Summer’s friend in Stranded World.. His first unlocked story is available here.
8. The Cracks are… pretty much what they say, in the Cracks ‘Verse. The first story is here.
9. Cole is the leader of the Facets of Dusk Team His first story is here.
10. Cynara, called Cya, is an Addergoole:Yr9 and Post-Apoc character who first appears here.
11. Cxaidin and Zizney are the Dragons Next Door. They first appear here.
12. The Doors open up between worlds in Facets of Dusk.
19. Eralon is the god in Eralon Explains, after The Second Restriction.
20. The Factory is the Factory half of Unicorn/Factory ‘verse.
21. Fuchsia and Pepper are Addergoole (Year 14) characters. Their stories are here.
22. Fallon is the sister of an Aunt in The Aunt Family/a>. Her first story is here.
23. Fusefauna is a superhero alien; she appears here.
This is the signal boost poem!
Let me know here if you signal boosted The April Giraffe Call.
For each platform boosted, I will post 2 couplets.
For each new prompt to the Giraffe Call, I will post 2 couplets; if they reference a signal boost, I will post four.
Signal boosts to new/unique/uncommon platforms will also get 4 couplets.
If you wish to draw an art of any stanza, I will post Two Whole Stanzas. <3 art.
Boooooooooooost!
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/513013.html. You can comment here or there.
Z is for Zoology Sparks, a story of the Aunt Family for the Giraffe Call
To Ellenmillion‘s prompt, with a side of stryck‘s prompt.
Zenobia is an Aunt from the Aunt Family; her stories are here. Prompting her was kelkyag
Zenobia was taking an interest in zoology.
She hadn’t done this solely, or even primarily, to irritate her family, although it served this purpose admirably.
It entertained her to speak to the relatives about other species that might exhibit the spark. “And what about octopuses? They have so many hands, can you imagine them reading a tarot? It would have to be a waterproof tarot, of course…”
That hadn’t been the one that had really irritated them. Zonkey, Zonkey had really gotten to her nieces and nephews. They already thought that she was more than a little zany, and, of course, she was stubborn in her refusal to die or otherwise give up her position, but zonkies? Really? Worse was when she added two to the family stables.
But there was, as there always was, a method to her madness. First, she did wish to know if there were other animals that would show what her family called the spark. There was, of course, The Damn Cat, who was clearly a cat above the rest. Were there others?
For some reason, despite his reluctance to have her look into his own past, the Damn Cat was more than willing to help Zenobia in her studies into zoology. “Stick with mammals,” he advised. “Fish are food. So are birds. And frogs…” He shuddered at the idea of frogs. “And probably stick with the females of the species.”
“Why females?”
“There is a reason your Aunties have the spark. And never mind that your Unclies have it too. Trust me.” The cat sat down on her zoology text. “The zonkies were a good start.”
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/525440.html. You can comment here or there.
Giraffe Call Still Open! Need a new prompter/donator/someone with a Z!
My Giraffe Call is still open!
At the moment, I’ve written
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y
My counts so far:
Prompter Count: 24
Extra Prompt count: 1
Donator Count: 6
Total letters to be written: 37/26
Which means I have open for prompts: – A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – k
(and, for every new prompter/donation, another letter)
I’ve been combining a lot of prompts, and counting the prompt for either the primary theme or, if it’s a shared theme, splitting it 50/50 between prompters and counting it as half a story for each, but I’m really short on Z’s, only one of my donators left me a Z and I’ve already written 1000 stories to his prompts. And I have a Z, folks!
So please signal boost! (I need to update the poem with current-count 6 couplets) Or, if you haven’t prompted yet, go prompt.
Or there’s always
| Buy an Extension |
| 500 words $5.00 USD 750 words $7.50 USD 1000 words $10.00 USD 1250 words $12.50 USD 1500 words $15.00 USD 1750 words $17.50 USD 2000 words $20.00 USD 100 words $1.00 USD |
(and leave a Z prompt)
We’re $10 from being able to afford the accessories for the foyer, and $15 from two extra continuations. If we get to $80, and/or if the letters get up to M again, I’ll do a second (or third!) non-English letter once I get all those done!
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/524988.html. You can comment here or there.
Y is for Yoshi, a story of Boom for the Giraffe Call
2011, just as the war began. Fae Apoc, for lilfluff‘s prompt
They had a Ranch.
At the moment, they were a bit crowded on said Ranch. It had one old farmhouse and a small cabin, and they had all of Mom’s crew, and-then-some.
Yoshi and Viddie were sharing a tent, sometimes with Ruki, while Mom and Uncle Howard worked on building new houses – cabins, Uncle Howard called them. Yoshi thought they were awesome.
He knew, in a fuzzy way, that something bad was going on with the world. Sometimes he’d catch the grown-ups taking about it – Uncle Leo, usually, but sometimes the others. They’d talk about the gods that had come back.
He’d asked his mother, when he caught her attention between moving-supplies-around and building-buildings. “Gods? I thought we didn’t believe in gods.” She coughed and changed the subject, thus indicating to Yoshi that he was going to have to try harder.
He tried Uncle Howard next, only to get not only a brush-off but a half-hour lesson in house-building.
He knew better than to ask Uncle Leo, at least if he wanted an answer based in reality. Uncle Leo told the best stories, but they were still stories.
So he cornered The Refugee, Mom’s latest Kept. He was still new, and didn’t know, yet, how to avoid being cornered.
“So. Gods.”
“Um.” The Refugee – Gaheris, that was his name – blinked at Yoshi. “The ones in Vegas?”
“Yes. I thought gods were a myth.”
“Oh.” This one had also not yet learned to tell Yoshi to ask his mum. “Well. That’s what they’re called, because they’re old. But they’re a lot like your mom’s crew, really. Just bigger and more powerful.”
“Bigger and more powerful than Uncles Leo and Howard?”
“And smarter than your mom, and more clever than your Aunt Zita.” Gaheris nodded solemnly. “They’re very old.”
“Wow.” Yoshi wasn’t sure he believed him. He wasn’t sure that such creatures could exist. But it was something to think about, at least.
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/524749.html. You can comment here or there.
Giraffe Call Open: A-Z
Today’s Giraffe Call Theme is based off the Blogging from A-Z Challenge.
Over the next 2 weeks, I will write one fic to prompts for each letter of the English Alphabet – one prompt per person; a second prompt for donators.
If I receive enough prompts/donations to write a prompt for each letter of the alphabet, I will write two bonus stories to non-English (real or fictional) letter themes.
Leave as many prompts as you wish. Please leave your prompts in the form of:
A is for Apple
C – Cephalopod Creeps.
and so on.
I will list the letters here. As one becomes “full;” i.e., 4 or more prompts, I will cross it out.
If I get a large number of overlapping prompts, I may ask people to re-prompts with new letters.
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z
– A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J
Prompter Count: 23
Extra Prompt count: 1
Donator Count: 6
Total letters to be written: 36/26
Donations go towards summer renovations: still working on the foyer! I want to make a new bench, a storage area, and a slippers-for-guests arrangement. It’s an 8×4 space; budget is $300.
If I get two new prompters or one new donator, I will write a setting piece (setting chosen by poll) explaining something about one of my universes.
At $20 in donations, I’ll order pizza!
At $25 in donations, I’ll finally have enough for the hardwood boards, and find a hardwood store in Ithaca! – REACHED!
At $40 in donations, I will choose 1 non-donater at random to receive an additional microfic as well. – REACHED
At $50, anyone who donated $7.50 or more will have a copy of “Alder by Post” mailed to them if they wish. – REACHED
For every $50 donated, I will do a one-hour livewrite on Etherpad or googledocs during the next month.
At $65, I’ll write a third microfic to the prompts of everyone who donated. – REACHED
At $75, I’ll buy the accessories for the storage area. And post pictures!
At $80, I will write two extra 500-word continuations – chosen by prompters picked by random number generator.
| Buy an Extension |
| 500 words $5.00 USD 750 words $7.50 USD 1000 words $10.00 USD 1250 words $12.50 USD 1500 words $15.00 USD 1750 words $17.50 USD 2000 words $20.00 USD 100 words $1.00 USD |
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/509529.html. You can comment here or there.
First and Last Frost Dates
Getting impatient?
Three resources for last frost date by area:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/freeze-frost-dates/#b
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/2007/02/14/average-frost-dates/
http://www.victoryseeds.com/frost/
(these read between May 2 and May 31 for last-frost for my approximate area).
here’s a map for the UK: http://www.vegetableseeds.net/category_s/153.htm
and another: http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/adjust-dates-uk.php
Something not entirely clear for Australia: http://www.geocities.com/mastergardener2k/frostaustralia.html
Of course, even with a chart, it helps to look at the weather on a day-to-day basis at the beginning and end of the season.
And I’ve planted some peas and put my first butternuts in the ground.
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/524305.html. You can comment here or there.
X is for Xeno-everything, a story for the Giraffe Call
All of my X prompts were to people for whom I had already written all of their allotted prompts, so I mushed them all together; have something strange for free.
When the Introductory Team went to a new planet, they made sure to bring samples of their culture with them.
There were three reasons for this.
The first was the human habit of hospitality and guest-gifts; if you were going to drop in on someone unannounced, it was polite to bring a present of some sort.
The second was to test for xenophobia. A new culture’s response to common human artifacts would tell the Team a lot about the culture: did they fear the new? Did they step back from common, everyday objects?
The third reason was very related to the first and second, and was what the Introductory Team was all about, in the end.
When they landed on Cunnel Six, the Team brought three of their best xenolinguists, their xenobiologists, and their xenoempaths. They also brought their gift bag of common items – a xylophone, a box of xocolatl, knitting needles and yarn, bread, and so on – and their gift-giver.
Matthiew Ornan had done this now on seven planets. He bowed carefully to the first representative from the Xantusia people, and then, even more carefully, imitated their greeting as best as his human body could.
The Xantusia – an approximation of the words they used for themselves – looked to human eyes like large bipedal lizards; their greeting involved clasping their hand-like appendages together tightly and then turning their back on the person they were greeting. They made clicking sounds – the xenolinguist told Matthiew they were approval, and his own empathy agreed – when he did a similar gesture.
“We bring you gifts.” He paused while the xenolinguist translated. “Things from our home, as tokens of our good-will.”
He watched the Xantusia as it picked up the box of gifts, its claws tinkling over the xylophone. Early studies of their broadcasts had shown that the Xantusia had a similar instrument.
“Xinpahzian.” It tinked its claws against it. “Lii-eer.”
Matthiew needed no interpretation to recognize kin.
He bowed again, hiding a smile. If the Xantusia could be made to recognize them as kin, than the rest of his job would be so much easier.
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/524123.html. You can comment here or there.