The Three Jaguars Webcomic Kickstarter!

Nov14

Guys, if you don’t already know that haikujaguar is awesome, you’re seriously missing out.

But her newest Kickstarter project is just absolutely wonderful!

Three Jaguars Web Comic!

A beautiful how-to on small art business – in cartoon jaguar form! Go check it out!

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/419137.html. You can comment here or there.

Read “Morning Shake-Up Call,” then leave a prompt

Nov14

Read Morning Shake-Up Call, by rix_scaedu, to my prompt.

Then go leave a prompt, please! The prompter’s story only gets updated with new prompts!!

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/418879.html. You can comment here or there.

Equipping, a sequel for the Giraffe Call

Nov13

To Flofx’s commissioned continuation of The First Quest

Equipping

It was still, technically, summer, at least. That was their main saving grace.

They’d been prepared for a field trip, maybe an hour outside, wandering around a creek bed. Sancha’s shoes weren’t as impractical as a lot of their classmates’ had been – sandals with a flat heel – but once they’d gotten wet, they were pretty much useless. And after “Sancha’s little incident,” they’d gotten not only wet, but a little bit ripped up.

“You can’t have turned into the sort of monster that gets really thick paw-pads or anything, could you?” Fritz examined her feet critically. “You don’t have any cuts, just a couple shallow scrapes.”

“I’m not a monster!” The fact that she had to lisp that around new, long, sharp teeth made it a little weaker a protest than she’d have liked.“Well, at least you’re not a vampire. That would have been the shortest vampire-lifespan ever. What with the burning sun and all.”

“Still not a monster.”

“Mm-hrrm. Well, we need to add finding you shoes to our equipment list. I wonder… hey, up there.” He pointed up the bank. “See, grasshopper, you were right. The river led to shelter.”

“Those are just camping cabins.”

“Roof and a fireplace, probably running water.”

“Probably locked?”

“Pshaw. Don’t worry about locks.”

It turned out they didn’t have to. One of the cabins was wide open, its door swinging on its hinges. The car was gone, but they’d left the radio going and food burning on the stove.

“…York City appears to have vanished, we repeat, vanished. It is not our belief at this time that this was a nuclear attack. We repeat, we do not believe this was a nuclear attack. It is believe that this is the work of the so-called Returned Gods.”

“Oh, shit, them again?” The Returned Gods had been getting louder and louder since mid-June. Chaos in the streets, demanding tribute, demanding to rule cities or even countries. But this was the first time things had gotten that bad.

What was worse was the expression on Fritz’s face. “Yeah. Things are just going to get worse. Okay, grasshopper, this just went from a get-home quest to a survival quest. Let’s see what they left, assume they’re not coming back, and take everything we might be able to use.”

“Fritz… you’re scaring me.” The whole day had been scary. Her new teeth and her new monster-claws were pretty terrifying. But up until now, Fritz had been treating the whole thing as a game, and that had made it endlessly more bearable.

“I know, grasshopper, and I’m sorry. If I could have let you float along longer, I would have. But if they’ve taken New York… the world just got really, really messy.” As unexpected as his seriousness, the hug he wrapped her in was tight and warm. “So.” And then, just as quickly, he was smiling. “What do you need to equip for a quest?”

She could handle this like a game. She really could. She glanced around. “Food. Clothing. Shelter. We still need shelter, if we assume we can’t stay here. And a weapon, right?”

“There you go.” Fritz patted her shoulder. “You’re going to level up any day now.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/418674.html. You can comment here or there.

Being Cya’s, a random drabble

Nov13

Early in Year 15, outside the Addergoole School

If there were things Pellinore had expected when he’d gotten shanghaied into a collar right out of school, they hadn’t been this.

He hadn’t expected being told to get a part-time job, and then, when that one failed, another one – and if he had, he wouldn’t have expected to be allowed to keep part of his paycheck. He hadn’t expected to be pushed into taking community college courses.

And he had not expected to be standing in an elementary school office.

“I’m here to pick up Yoshi Dayton.”

The elderly secretary looked at him over her glasses. “And you are…?”

“Pellinore.” He had a legal last name, the sort that didn’t start in oro’ or sa’. Sometimes it was hard to remember that. “Pellinore Wayne. I should be on the list…?”

“Ah, yes. Miss Dayton is very organized.” She flipped the book open. “ID, please?”

He showed his driver’s licence – something else Cya had made him get. The secretary looked up at him with a very sharp glance. “And you’re her nanny and housekeeper, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Close enough.

“She has a new one every year, you know.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Yoshi had told him that. Helpful Yoshi.

“You’re cuter than the last one, though. Well, I’ll call Yoshi’s teacher. Good luck, son.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Pellinore shifted from foot to foot, waiting, wondering what his life had become.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/418454.html. You can comment here or there.

Alder By Post October ready to Go!

Nov13

Alder by Post: October is ready to go and will mail within the next two days!

If you donated at least $7.50 to the last Giraffe Call, or $50 or more within the last year, and are not already on my mailing list, please let me know if you would like a copy of the Post mailed to you.

If you have not donated, single copies or a subscription are available here

A full description and pictures by the wonderful eseme are available here.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/418080.html. You can comment here or there.

If I were an ice cream cone…

Nov12

To @dahob’s questions in response to this post this morning.: I have characters one through 23. Ask me something about them, or something about one or two or three of them!

Character number 9: If I were an ice cream cone. How would you eat me?
“Ahh…” Ahouva is not sure how to handle that one. “Quickly, I guess, so you wouldn’t get me all sticky.”

Character number 17, if you could be a fruit, what kind of fruit would you be and why?
Nilam laughs uncomfortably. “A fruit? Okay, that’s one thing I haven’t gotten accused of. I mean!” He blushes hotly. “Probably an apple, decently sweet, a bit tart, and I take a bit of work to chew on.”

And then rix_scaedu‘s:
How do 19, 5 and 11 get on?
Æowyn and Ciara are a bit cautious around each other; they’re very strong personalities and not immediate friends. Æo doesn’t really want anything to do with Gar, and, although he finds her cute and rather pleasant, he has that angry-man’s angry response to a girl who doesn’t warm up quickly to him.
Gar would probably get along fine with Ciara, and vice-versa, but Sylvia doesn’t really approve of Ciara, so they don’t have much chance to find out.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/417896.html. You can comment here or there.

The Things That Pop Into My Head (Cya, Yoshi, and another)

Nov12

Sometime after Yoshi’s time at Addergoole

“You…”

Yoshi watched his mother’s voice move without sound for a while. From long experience, he could tell that she was angry and trying not to show it, probably to protect the skinny cat-boy… cat-person at Yoshi’s side. The cat-person wearing her collar.

“Son, when I asked you to watch my Kept while I was out, this is not what I had in mind.”

“I know.” He couldn’t help squirming a little bit, and not just for said Kept’s sake. “But you said we could play, and he’s very good at Tlaca… the body Word, and so we thought we’d…” He gestured with his hands, not really explaining anything.

“And then you just, I don’t know, happened to get lucky, and you impregnated my Kept?” She raised an eyebrow. She knew as well as he did that he was always lucky. Although this one was sort of iffy on the positive-luck scale.

“Yeah?”

“Mmm….” As uncomfortable as it was, Yoshi had to admit it was kind of interesting watching his mom not have a plan. “We’ll figure it out. This is not what I meant by wanting more grandkids, by the way.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/417683.html. You can comment here or there.

25,000 (and six!)

Nov12

Thanks in large part to a nanowrimo meetup yesterday morning-afternoon, I managed to reach 25,000 last night!

The last line of this part of my nano project:

It was fun watching his Keeper blush. Quintus didn’t have much time to enjoy it, though; just then the room fell suddenly silent, and he was overtaken with an urge to stare at the stage and the Director.

I had a lot of fun last night with people asking me questions about my characters to help me round them out, so I’m going to continue it here.

I have characters one through 23. Ask me something about them, or something about one or two or three of them!

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/417297.html. You can comment here or there.

Read Potted Autobiography Of An Implacable One,” by Rix-Scaedu

Nov12

Read Potted Autobiography Of An Implacable One, by rix_scaedu.

Then go leave her a prompt or seven

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/417253.html. You can comment here or there.

Doug, 100 words, going out

Nov7

Summer between Years 8 and 9

"Go out," his father had said.

And, despite being a grown man, with grown sons of his own, Doug listened when his father told him something. Partially because Luca Hunting-Hawk had been a good but authoritative figure, but partially because his father was also his boss.

So he’d gone out. A three-week vacation at a place far in the hills. A "retreat" of a sort he could enjoy. Survivalism.

He could tell the women there expected him to be surprised to see them. They were tough women, sleek, pretty. He just smiled.

Doug knew all about tough, sleek, beautiful women.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/416859.html. You can comment here or there.

Alder's Grove Fiction

The Worlds of Lyn Thorne-Alder

The Three Jaguars Webcomic Kickstarter!

Read “Morning Shake-Up Call,” then leave a prompt

Equipping, a sequel for the Giraffe Call

Being Cya’s, a random drabble

Alder By Post October ready to Go!

If I were an ice cream cone…

The Things That Pop Into My Head (Cya, Yoshi, and another)

25,000 (and six!)

Read Potted Autobiography Of An Implacable One,” by Rix-Scaedu

Doug, 100 words, going out