Archive | August 2012

Countdown to Addergoole Year 9: Meet Brydan!

Aug7

52 29 Days To 52 Weeks

For the 52 days leading up to the 52 weeks of Addergoole: Year 9, I will be posting something Addergoole-related (almost)every day.

Today I introduce Brydan!

Brydan is a vivacious strawberry blonde woman in denim short shorts and a pink tank top. Brydan is cheerful, friendly, a “sexual healer.” As if to highlight her lightness to her half-sister Ivette’s dark, Brydan has tiny, flightless golden-yellow feathered wings, and a tiny tail of matching feathers.

In her last year at Addergoole, she has remained sweet and cheerful throughout. She is often the cy’Linden other cy’Lindens send to talk to other cy’rees, because she is least likely to offend.

And today she’s here to answer your questions!

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/384407.html. You can comment here or there.

Countdown to Addergoole Year 9: Ask Me Anything!

Aug7

52 29 Days To 52 Weeks

For the 52 days leading up to the 52 weeks of Addergoole: Year 9, I will be posting something Addergoole-related (almost)every day.

Today: Ask me anything about Addergoole, faerie apocalypse, or the characters!

(if it’s too spoilerific, you may get a very silly answer)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/384059.html. You can comment here or there.

Reusing, Upcycling, out of ideas

Aug6

So I freecycled 2 short (3′?) particleboard shelving units, thinking I could make a kitten tower from them, but they’re not going to work for that.

They neither match each other nor anything else in the house, not even my other particalboard shelving. And I’d like to do something towards having matching stuff, not the other direction.

Other than repainting them, does anyone have an idea for upcycling these shelves?

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/383836.html. You can comment here or there.

Prompt Call(s) – Rix’s and Mine!

Aug6

[personal profile] rix_scaedu‘s Prompt Call is still open until Tuesday her time. Go leave her 14 prompts! (or less. I’m just enthusiastic.

Of the awesome stuff from this call, I most recently enjoyed On the Edge of Disaster, set in the same universe as her Rensa stories, and Testing a Theory, which makes me want to write a crossover with her into my Science! ‘verse

Speaking of prompt calls!

I am taking suggestions for my August 18th Rabbit Safari call.

Current suggestions include:
Storms and droughts.
Lost or forgotten things.
Fight ALL the oppressions!Fuzzy? (the first thing that comes to mind with rabbit)
Skins and furs
Legacies and fate
herefore adventures and quests, possibly with furred people.

And why it’s a Rabbit Safari:
Here’s a sheet. And a sheet with Theocracy.

My grandmother gave me those sheets when my parents built their house; I was 5. That makes them thirty-one years old. And they’re in bad shape, but I love them.

My mother recently brought down my childhood bed, which now lives in the upstairs as a guest bed. And I want to redo that space (Which is currently a mess, as [personal profile] eseme can attest; the paneling goes every which way, there’s neither door nor blinds, the floor is industrial linoleum, and so on). Not a full redo, because that’s going to require ripping out the walls. That’s down the road several years. But enough to make it nice for company. New sheets & blanket. Curtains and blinds. Mom’s providing the door. A rug. Maybe a piece of art for the wall.

And the bunnies! I’m going to work around that sheet, even though I can’t really put it on the bed. Have a new pillowcase printed at Spoonflower, turn the old sheet into part of a stuffed bunny pillow, maybe frame one of the bunnies.

So, while my bedroom is giraffe-and-safari themed, this one is going to be bunny-safari themed. And if that’s a bit juvenile… well, it might be a kids’ room someday, too. 😀

*bounce*

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/383582.html. You can comment here or there.

Weekend Fun!

Aug6

This weekend, my friend [personal profile] eseme came to visit!!

We/I took her to
3 wineries
2 farmstands
1 Indian restaurant
2 craft stores
1 Wegman’s
and 2 closed Hydroponics stores.

She taught me a little crochet, enough to finish the baby hats for my cousin’s new triplets, met the kittens, tried out my beginnings of a guest room, and ate of the good food we cooked her. All in all, it was an awesome weekend.

Now all I need is some sleep 🙂

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/383385.html. You can comment here or there.

Beyond, a story of Bug Invasion for the June Giraffe Call

Aug5

For [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith‘s continuation of Poison, a Bug Invasion story

The symbiotes had been talking about poison.

Paula couldn’t always hear everything; sometimes her symbiote shut her out. But this conversation just kept going on, so she could fill in the parts she missed easily enough.

%*&^ …and it tastes like the nectar… ^&*%

%*&^ …but it deteriorates their neural processes… ^&*%

%*&^ …the HomeLand sun never left one feeling this relaxed… ^&*%

%*&^ …too much can cause failure of the organs. It kills them. Look at this one; it is killing it. And it keeps drinking. Its symbiote should stop it. ^&*%

%*&^ No no no no no no no no, no no! ^&*%

%*&^ …It is poison for us as well? ^&*%

%*&^ Not poison. Pleasure. Sweet Pleasure. Pleasure that must keep going. ^&*%

%*&^ No no no no no no no no, no no! ^&*%

And so it went. Fallon’s symbiote was further gone than Fallon was, chittering angrily at anyone who got close. It, not Fallon, was going to be the one who tipped his body over the killing point.

“Addiction.” She wrested control of her body back from her symbiote – it was easier, the more sugar she ate. It got jittery. “Do you have addiction?”

Eli’s symbiote blinked Eli’s eyes at her. “We don’t have that word.”

“You wouldn’t. It isn’t a hive word, it’s an individual problem.”

“Is it why you eat poison?”

“We eat poison for pleasure. I have told you that already. It is why we don’t stop eating poison when it’s killing us.” Or gambling. Or shopping. Or hoarding.

“This addiction makes you… Keep doing pleasurable things?”

“Or things that are normally useful. Eating. Storing for winter.”

“Why do you have addiction?” Eli’s symbiote was becoming uncomfortable – its eyes were twitching – but so was Eli. His hands were jittering and his shoulders beginning to shudder. She recognized the symptoms – the subconscious found tiny ways to take over.

She couched her next words carefully. Eli had less control than many of them, and he was generally twitchier and more secretive. “I don’t know what happens that makes people more likely to be addicted. Nobody’s entirely certain. Some people think it’s upbringing, or neurochemicals, or some combination.”

“Nerochemicals…” The symbiote went off on a long string of the bug language. Paula’s brain-rider provided imperfect translation; all she could tell right now was that the bug was very upset.

Finally her bug took over.

%*&^ You are reading what she is saying incorrectly. ^&*%

%*&^ If their brains are different then they are buhdeparp… ^&*%

That word had no translation Paula could understand. Outside? Sideways? Beyond? Beyond what?

%*&^ You see that this is not true. They are within. Held to their families. They have no buhdeparp ^&*% Paula’s voice was very calm, very soothing, as her symbiote tried to convince Eli’s of… something. That their addicts weren’t beyond something?

%*&^ But they do not know. If they are truly different… ^&*%

%*&^ They are not. ^&*% This time, Paula could hear the bleed of thoughts. If they were, perhaps this would mean freedom.

Freedom? For their jailers?

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/383029.html. You can comment here or there.

Countdown to Addergoole Year 9: Character interaction meme!! Ship my chars!

Aug3

52 33 Days To 52 Weeks

For the 52 days leading up to the 52 weeks of Addergoole: Year 9, I will be posting something Addergoole-related every day.

Okay! I have a randomized list of 21 students, teachers, and Staff from Addergoole.

The students are currently from Cohorts 5 through 9; the staff and teachers are staff and teachers.

If you give me a pair of numbers (or 3 numbers, but no more than 4 numbers) and a situation, I will write at least 100 words of the situation.

For instance:

6 and 12 wake up in bed together. (“Eeep!” “Did you really say eep? Come on, relax. I’m not going to do anything horrrrid to you.”)

2 and 16, genderswapped (She batted her eyes, trying it on for size. Yes, this would work. And if the Professor didn’t like girls… well, somebody would).

Once a character has been used twice, I’ll sub them out for someone new.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/382875.html. You can comment here or there.

Countdown to Addergoole Year 9: Ahouva, Ciara, Jovanna

Aug3

52 33 Days To 52 Weeks

For the 52 days leading up to the 52 weeks of Addergoole: Year 9, I will be posting something Addergoole-related every day.

Today: parts of a character development meme!

Ahouva
9.) Who does your character trust?
Before Addergoole, Ahouva had a few friends she trusted well. She trusted her parents to a certain extent – they never directly betrayed her trust, but they were not all that reliable. And she trusted most people to be dishonest but non-malicious. Most importantly: she trusted her own beliefs, understanding, and perception above all else.
Before she is Kept, at Addergoole, Ahouva trusts her friends – Jovanna, Æowyn, Ceinwen. After she is Kept, Kendon begins a slow breakdown of those bonds, and uses the Bond to encourage her to trust him and distrust herself.
At the time of her chapter, she really doesn’t trust anyone at all.

Ciara
10.) Can you define a turning point in your character’s life? Multiples are acceptable.
The moment the man she believed to be her father left her and her mother. Ciara was seven, her older sister was nine, and her younger brother was three. Her mother fell to pieces, and Ciara and Soleil ended up taking care of everything by themselves.
By the time their mother was on her feet again, Ciara and Soleil had gotten used to being in charge, and their mother continued to rely on them more and more. When their mother remarried (Ciara was twelve); their “new dad” expected to get step-children in the deal. He didn’t expect small self-reliant spitfires.
The karate and dancing lessons were his way of apologizing and getting them out of the house and hoping they could learn to be kids, all in one. And they were another turning point for Ciara – and for Soleil, although she went in a different direction.
Convincing Luke to take her on as a Student was her most recent turning point.

Jovanna
11.) Is there an animal you equate with your character?
Despite the fact that Timora is the one with horse ears, Jovanna strikes me as very horsey, very storm-mare sort. She’s steady and calm until she’s not, and when she goes, she goes like the wind.

Maybe that’s a gazelle and not a horse.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/382542.html. You can comment here or there.

Countdown to Addergoole: Words

Aug2

52 34 Days To 52 Weeks

For the 52 days leading up to the 52 weeks of Addergoole: Year 9, I will be posting something Addergoole-related (almost) every day.

Today: Words and Workings.

The world of Faerie Apocalypse has spoken-Word-based magic, based on 11(*) Domains and 11 Manifestations, controlled by a number of modifiers, which together can do just about anything in the world.

For a few examples: Cynara digs basements by using Abatu, destroy, with Eperu, earth, modified with a series of Greek words (usually Delta for level, and then the words for cube, level, and smooth). In lieu of a large series of tools, Howard has Meentik, create, and Unutu, Worked Objects, and a long series of specific Greek words for the tools he needs.

(for more on the Greek, see It’s All Greek to Me).

With Buli (ignore) and Kwxe (energy**), you can walk through a fire unscathed. With Aistrigh (transmute) and Tlacatl (Flesh of Makers***), you could turn tears into blood. Want to kill power to an entire building? Abatu Hiko (electromagnetic energy).

Those are Worked magic; each Ellehemaei (fae) also has an innate power. The pure-blooded of any given breed all have the same powers, but every half-breed’s power is different. Porter makes Doors to anywhere. Aelgifu exudes a calming light. Professor Shira Pelletier sees the future. And so on.

There are those that speculate that the Laws that bind all Ellehemaei (the things that make, for instance, Keeping possible) are just an immensely complicated Working. Only the Gods who made those Laws know, and they’re not talking.

(*) 11 that most fae know of
(**) All translations are loose, not exact
(***) Makers: sentient beings, prim. fae and Ellehemaei
(****)Thanks to Inventrix for the Workings examples, and Capriox, whose character Howard is.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/382404.html. You can comment here or there.

Sentences I love, from my life

Aug2

“When we bought our house, my father gave me my grandfather’s hammer.”

“My mother brought her pick-up truck down and we went to the hardware store to buy lumber.”

(T:) “If we’re going to be hoarders, I’d rather hoard something we can just take to curb and they’ll take away for free.” (re. our growing collection of glass jars)

(Hob:) [If I was getting a wedding present] “You guys would get a home depot gift card.”

<3 my life

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/382120.html. You can comment here or there.