arilin

Halloween story!

I'm going to follow the not-exactly-a-tradition of using "fifth Wednesdays" for posting bonus material that's not connected directly to the serial—or in this case, connected at all. Instead, you're going to get a new 4,000-word Halloween story! This is about twice the length of a normal chapter posting. The story's tentatively called "Eat the Rich," and features my two demon characters, Shyirae the cat (who's appeared in a couple other stories, including another Halloween one) and Kyden the mo...

Chapters 1–6 free!

Starting today, I've set the first six chapters of "Saida & Autumn" as free for everyone, rather than just the first two. If you're a not a patron (yet?), this might give you more of an idea of what the serial is like!

1: The Beanstalk
2: It Wasn't Just You
3: 2018-10-11 15:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post

Checking in…

 So, the serial is plugging along—I admit I'd like to get a bit more feedback from folks: comments about what you like, and yes, if there are things you don't like, too. I'm aware the pace is a little slow, and focused a lot more on characterization and world-building than on "macro things," which I hope isn't too much of a disappointment. Both Saida & Autumn are facing problems, neither of which can really be solved by stomping things to dust. (As far as we can tell from here, at lea...

From BFCC to Mensura College

“Wait, didn’t Arilin teach somewhere called BFCC, not Mensura?”

Yes. Well. Therein lies a story. Or several stories. And an ongoing retcon.

Cast your mind all the way back to…um, sometime in the mid–2000s. I don’t remember which year. It’s not that important. In addition to the famous-slash-infamous Macrophile.com, there were other macrophile forums. I can remember Lava Dome Five, Lofty Bearing, BigFurs, and Off...

Next week (and beyond)

The serial is going to take a break next week, but there will still be a full-length post! The August 8th post will be an article about the setting—how it morphed from a shared world on a role-playing forum in the mid-2000s to now. Since August this year has five Wednesdays, not the usual four, it’s kind of a bonus post. Also, it’s going to be free to everyone.

I don’t know if I’ll do this every five-Wednesday month, but…okay, I’ll let you in on a (not so) secret. True slice of l...

Saida & Autumn 6: Buckle Down

“They weren’t going to take them at that price.” Jonry spread his hands apart, trying to fix Saida with a patronizing let me ’splain to you expression as they walked. It didn’t make him look authoritative, just constipated. “I know how much we’re eatin’ on the installation costs, but trust me, it’ll work out.”

She suppressed a sigh. As much as she liked the theory of these “walking one-on-ones,” it was an unconscionably hot day, approaching 94 degrees, with wha...

Saida & Autumn 5: Volunteer Work

“Are you humming under your breath?”

Autumn frowned down at the hyena who’d asked the question, a broad-chested, thirty-something dude in tight blue jeans and an equally tight purple tee. Tom stared right back up, unfazed, grin even more maniacal than usual.

“Yeah.” She resumed her work—watching little volunteers at a dozen tables within her reach repacking bulk dry goods and produce, from rice and beans to fresh fruit, into family-sized bags for distribution. The tables sat ...

Saida & Autumn 4: Sunset

This time the walk seemed—almost normal, even with a couple drivers tapping their horns at her. (Autumn explained they were just letting the Rha know they were underneath her, although she’d figured that out.) A forest Saida had seen in the distance a few minutes ago turned out to be part of a huge municipal park, three blocks wide and at least eight blocks long. The trick for the two giantesses would be finding enough empty space for them among the sports fields, jogging paths, gro...

Saida & Autumn 3: Higher Grounds

When Autumn had led her out of the Beanstalk, Saida hadn’t expected the rabbit to head right for the main campus road. More precisely, for the sidewalk that ran along it, set a good two meters lower than the road’s surface to make it harder for small cars and big paws to accidentally meet. “There’s only one coffee shop I know of on our scale that’s not in the Student Union, and it’s back closer to where I’m staying.”

“The one by Professor Row? I know it. But I was heading to ...

Thank you!

Thanks so much for your support so far! I'm thrilled. The serial is so far still on schedule (paws crossed), so the next part will be out on Wednesday.

The next part is also the first one that will be patrons-only! If you're supporting at the $3/month level or above, you'll be able to keep reading. If you're not, I still love you, and I'll try to have more things for you to read—some installments might be available at the $1/month level or even free again, if they're sufficiently standalone....

Saida & Autumn 2: It Wasn’t Just You

Another glance toward the rabbit showed that her smile hadn’t returned, but she didn’t look hostile, either. She looked toward Saida expectantly, long ears up.

Picking up her beer and the plate of pizza, Saida headed across the room to the table, setting both down and taking the opposite seat. Across from the younger woman, the cat finally realized how much taller the rabbit was: at least a hundred feet high, not counting the ears. It was extremely uncommon for her people to be th...

Saida & Autumn 1: The Beanstalk

Two months past her twenty-seventh birthday, Saida Talirend could still usually pass for a college student, but she’d begun to feel self-conscious about it, as if her monthly stays at Mensura College perpetuated some kind of fraud. As a relative of a tenured professor here, though, she had the right to rent a little studio in the staff housing area—and there weren’t any places off the campus a cat woman whose ears broke the eighty-foot mark could fit.

Mensura’s Student Union b...

Well, this is exciting!

(And a little terrifying.)

Here's the plan: my Patreon officially launches on Monday, June 25th. (If you're here early, surprise!) The first serial, Mensura College: Autumn & Saida, will start on Wednesday, June 27th. The idea is to have one chapter posted every week.

How long will the serial be? Honestly, I don't know at this point; this is a "slice of life" story, and while there are character arcs I want to complete, I don't quite know how long it'll take to get t...