Archive | March 17, 2012

Voices, a story of Bug Invasion for the March Giraffe Call.

Mar17

For [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith‘s Prompt.

After All in Your Head and Out of Their Minds.

All round, hosts were rejecting their symbiotes. The Earth was rejecting the Bugs. The faeries were taunting the invaders, the ghosts were haunting them; even the Things were fighting off the aliens. Nobody wanted them there anymore. Nobody wanted a creature in its head. Nobody wanted the bugs on their planet.

Nobody, it seemed, except Josh.

^*^They are rej^*^ecting their riders,*^* his symbiote whispered in his mind. ^*^They are kil^*^ling them.^*^ The simple statement came with layers of meaning: We didn’t know they could do that. No race has ever rejected us before. Are you going to reject me? Are you going to kill me.

“They are,” Josh muttered. He was staring at the fence penning them in, holding the hosts close to one another. “They’ve never been alone. They don’t know what it’s like to be left alone with the voices.”

^*^I am a voice,^*^ the symbiote pointed out quietly. ^*^And you do not mind me?^*^

“I don’t mind you. Look, we could get out this way.”

^*^Out? Why Out? This is where the Home is.^*^ The concept for Home in the symbiote’s mind seemed to consist in part of the-family-I-keep-around-me and in part the-place-where-I-sleep.

“Home is… humans have a saying, okay? ‘Home is where the heart is.’ I don’t like this place and, besides, the bugs are losing. Eventually, the humans are going to swarm this place. And they’re already figuring out forced separations.”

^*^I do not want^*^*^ to be sep^*^arated.^*^

“Me neither, buddy. You’re the only voice in here that makes sense.” And, besides, since the symbiote had taken up residence, the other voices had gotten a lot quieter. “And you don’t think I’m crazy.”

^*^You make more sense than most hu^*^mans.^*^ The symbiote fell quiet for a moment. ^*^Not here. Down there. There the fence is thin^*^ner.^*^

“Got it.” Humming to himself, Josh went about making his escape.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/301189.html. You can comment here or there.

Navigating Lannamer, a drabble of RIn & Girey for the Giraffe Call

Mar17

For Rix_scaedu‘s Prompt.

Reiassan has a landing page here.

After “Under Scrutiny”.


Girey followed Rin out into the hallways of the labyrinthine mess her people called an Imperial Palace. “Do you ever loose people in here?”

“All the time. Usually strangers; children learn young to navigate by the mosaics on the floor.” She pointed at the thin green border and thicker red line on the patterns under their feet. “See? This is how I know I’m in the right wing.”

“You follow the floors.” He shook his head, but noted the floors nonetheless.

“We follow the floors.” Despite – or maybe because of – their earlier argument, she was cheerful, smiling at him, dragging her fingers along the stone walls. “And the walls, and if all else fails, the ceilings.”

“The ceilings. You…” He fell silent as, coming on an X-shaped intersection, they could hear another conversation.

“One of my agents swears he saw the Bitrani prince in the market in Ossulund, with a Callenian woman. Are you certain?”

“We executed the Bitrani King in the main square in Arinoss. We jailed every courtier her had and executed those who showed skill with the sira. We’ve taken their support base.”

“But left them their prince.”

Girey hadn’t realized he was grinding his teeth until Rin set her hand on his wrist, just over the bracelet she’d put there. It was one thing to know it, another to hear the elimination of his people discussed like dealing with an infestation.

“If their prince is a captive of a Callenian woman, he’s hardly a threat anymore, is he?” the first voice laughed, as they rounded the corner. “Not in… Lady.” The speaker bowed low, his layered qitari brushing the ground. “Princess Arinyanca.”

“Uncle Esnees.” Rin’s voice was icy. “And I’m sure you haven’t yet met my companion, Girey.”

Next: Sun-on-the-Water (LJ)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/301055.html. You can comment here or there.

March Giraffe Call: Spring Cleaning Lyn’s Queue!

Mar17

The call for prompts is now OPEN!

I am now taking prompts on the theme of “Weren’t you going to write…?” Leave one or many prompts, and I will write (over the next month) at least one microfic (150-500 words) to each prompter.

This month’s theme is a little different; it’s an attempt to knock some of the balls out of my rafters (where they get stuck when I have too many balls in the air). Did you hear me say “I want to write about…?” or think I should write more on a story? Now’s the time to bring it up.

Need ideas?
More-Please tag
This discussion of my queue


Prompting is free! But Donations are always welcome.

If you have donated, I will write to one extra prompt of your.

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

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

At $30 in donations, we’ll get take out. Reached!

At $40 in donations, I will post an additional 1000-2000-word fic on the subject of the audience’s choice.
Reached!
At $50, anyone who donated $7.50 or more will have a copy of “Alder by Post” mailed to them if they wish

At $70, I will write two extra 500-word continuations – chosen by prompters picked by random number generator

At $75, we will upgrade our wheelbarrow to an AWESOME CARD

At $100, I will write three extra 500-word continuations – chosen by prompters picked by random number generator

At $130, I will record a podcast of an audience-choice story and post it for everyone to read.

At $150, we’ll upgrade the awesome cart to awesome-cart-with-sides and be able to haul EVERYTHING!< Also I will release an e-book of all of the fiction written to this call.

If I reach $200, I will hold a mid-month Call on a single setting of the readers’ choice. Everyone who tipped will get wordcount-and-a-half

For more information on Giraffe Calls, see the landing page.


Donate below

Art by Djinni!
I also take payment by Dwolla

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/300617.html. You can comment here or there.