yuletide_pinch_hits | Member Posts

A beautifully written, atmospheric riff on Pet Sematary, among other things, in which the women of a Korean-American family living in a small, mostly white town have the power to resurrect the dead. They only use it on small animals, primarily to resurrect their beloved pet rat Milkis every time he dies of old age, which is about every three years. (If the author hasn’t kept pet rats, I will eat my hat.) Theoretically they could resurrect humans, but family lore says it’s a very, very bad idea. Despite extreme temptation, the two teenage sisters do not try to resurrect their mom when she dies in a car crash. But when the older sister, Mirae, drowns in the river, her younger sister Soojin can’t resist…

This isn’t the kind of story that’s built around surprises – we know from the beginning that sometimes dead is better, and the whole idea of forbidden resurrection is about refusing to accept the fact of death, so that also must come into play—but rather about the journey. The book has a water-drenched, hothouse atmosphere, all claustrophobic relationships and emotions too intense to bear. It’s a bit spooky but mostly an exploration of grief and love via creepy magic. I thought it was great, but rat lovers should heed the note below. (Which is too bad because the pet rat character is great.)

Content notes: The same pet rat repeatedly dies of old age and is resurrected, a process which involves some physical mutilation of the corpse. This part didn’t bother me but the rat does also die one painful and violent death, which did. There is also a flashback story to earlier generations involving a chicken that gets repeatedly killed in a cruel way. Lots of body horror. The story is centrally about grief.

fabrisse

The run-offs will be held on June 16. Early voting is expected to take place June 8-12, but that isn't set in stone.

Joyce Griggs is in the lead for the Democratic run-off for District 1 Representative. The Republicans don't have a run-off for this office because the Trump endorsed candidate won.

Buddy Carter didn't make the Republican run-off for Senator. I'm thrilled, but Chatham County (my county) gave him 60% of the Republican vote. There's no Democratic run-off because Ossoff was unopposed.

The Republicans also have a run-off for Governor, and it's between the two loathsome candidates who have been sniping at each other since January, Rick Jackson and Burt Jones. My candidate for governor didn't win, but I'll happily vote for Keisha Bottoms come November.

There's a run-off for Lieutenant Governor on both sides. Nabilah Parkes, whom I support, is in the run-off. Fingers crossed.

My picks for the Labor and Insurance commissions didn't succeed, but my guy with the high school diploma is the Democratic candidate for the Farm commission. I'm very, very please with that, but mildly disappointed on the other two.

Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin both lost their shots against the sitting Supreme Court Justices. This may stem from the Ethics Investigation that was launched because they both stated on the record that they supported abortion rights. They got an injunction against it for violating their first amendment rights, but how many people just saw the initial investigation. Rankin came very close. There were less than two percentage points separating her from the incumbent, but the incumbent hit 51.1% of the vote to her 48.9%. Jen Jordan lost by 19%.

I'll vote again in June. I'll hope Joyce Jones and Nabilah Parkes come through for the state. I think they're good candidates.

topaz_eyes

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

senmut

Pick a year from 1975 to 2026. I'll tell you a favorite song, TV show, book, or movie from that year and why. (You can pick your media or leave it to me.)

settiai

Oh, hey! I just realized that our office is closed on Friday as well as Monday, so I get a four day weekend!

I'm going to try to do some grocery shopping after work on Thursday and maybe pick up a 12-pack of Corona to see me through the long weekend, and then I'm going to plan on not leaving the house for the entirety of those four days.

Current Mood: excited

rachelmanija

Erica Skyberg is a 35-year-old teacher in a small town in South Dakota who’s just realized that she’s a trans woman. Or rather, the knowledge that she’s a trans woman has finally become impossible to suppress. Unfortunately, she’s deep in the closet and the only other trans person she knows is Abigail, who is 17 and the only openly trans student at her high school. Erica is in the stage of identity where she can’t think about anything else; Abigail is fine with carrying the banner of being out but would really like her life to not be just about Being Trans.

Erica comes out to Abigail, who is equal parts annoyed and fascinated by the chance to take on the role of being a mentor to an adult. Their relationship is definitionally inappropriate, but not predatory or harmful. Abigail can be a lot and Erica has enormous issues with self-esteem and boundaries, but they’re both essentially kind and well-meaning people trying to just live their lives in a world that has cast them as Public Enemy # 1.

This novel is also essentially kind. It’s a very warm and often pretty funny look at two people who have one somewhat random thing in common and create a relationship based on that one thing, which becomes a relationship based on more than that, and how the repercussions of that relationship spiral outward and affect others: Erica’s ex-wife, Abigail’s boyfriend, Abigail’s boyfriend’s mother, a lonely student who wants to be friends with Abigail, the woman running against an anti-trans political candidate who is guaranteed to win, and many more.

Content note: Obviously transphobia and internalized self-hatred are central to the overall story, but it’s not the kind of book where people are constantly getting slurs screamed at them.

I will mention, since it’s a mistake that I made, that Emily St. James is not Emily St. John Mandel who wrote Station Eleven.

Recommended by Naomi Kritzer. Thanks!

lydamorehouse

The first thing I did Monday morning was invite my computer to drink an ENTIRE CUP of coffee. Not sure why I did that, but I literally just held the cup over the keyboard and FUMBLED it. I think we all know perfectly well that computers do no like coffee, nor really any copious amounts of liquids inside their electronic brains.

I am crossing fingers right now? But after letting it dry out for a whole day, I do *think* I may have a working laptop again.

Coffee no longer gets to be even on the same surface as my laptop, however.

musesfool

what a fucking wild night of sports. the Mets scored TEN RUNS in the TWELFTH INNING and the Nats brought in a position player to pitch, and the umpires had to call the replay officials to find out if that was allowed! Spoiler: It was, because it was after the 10th inning? Or something? If you're within a regular 9-inning game, I think you have to be losing by 8 or winning by 10 before it's allowed, but apparently the rules change in extra innings. who knew? #LFGM

ANYWAY. It was bonkers, and then I turned away just in time to see the Canadiens score the winning goal in OT in Game 7!!! I would have been okay with either team winning, and now I just need them to beat Carolina and whoever comes out of the West to win it all and lift the Cup!

And tomorrow, the Knicks are back in action and will hopefully do well and go to the finals! #go ny go ny go

*

Current Mood: shocked

senmut

AO3 Link | Save Us (5590 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars [2008] - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Leia Organa, Ahsoka Tano, Yoda, Plo Koon, Ensemble
Additional Tags: Time Travel Fix-It
Summary:

Leia just needed some time to herself. A Force Anomaly gives her a different type of time to deal with.

Save Us

Shortly after Bespin

In the course of trying to hold up her part of leading the Rebellion, hunting for leads on Han, and being hope for the survivors of Alderaan, Leia rarely had time to herself. One too many people trying to extend sympathy on a major Alderaanian holiday had her demanding time to herself.

Luke was gone with R2-D2, C-3PO had been co-opted by Intel, and who knew what trouble Chewbacca had found with Lando. She checked out a speeder bike, logged a course to go survey the moon they were on, and just let herself escape.

She had a blaster, survival gear, and too many emotions to escape. The speeder bike became an extension of who she was, as she navigated by the seat of her pants, enjoying the rush of air around her.

"Commander Organa, there is an anomaly building near where you logged your exploration," came across her comm in the helmet. She didn't sigh; no, this was a greater invitation to escape while still being the consummate Rebel.

"Understood. Will get eyes on and report back, Control."

She'd have to find out who had been on duty, and be nice to them for remembering her rank instead of her title.

Not much past that, she could see the anomaly, a swirl of energy with the false illusion of a dark place limned in murderously red lighting. She pulled up far short of it, bringing out binocs to see it better.

The device only showed the energy swirl.

Putting it down, Leia moved forward slightly on the bike, ignoring its protest at idling and barely throttled motion. The illusory place looked as if a barrier was dropping, and almost ghostly figures exchanging blows with proscribed lightsabers.

"Why isn't Luke here," she muttered rhetorically, using one hand to rub at both eyes, before peering into the swirl again.

One ghostly figure remained, seated in meditative pose, looking almost like no one Leia had ever seen.

Almost. Memories of her father's study, a woman in a cloak and armor, the hood tented high above her sparkling blue eyes, and the impish smile when she looked directly at Leia's hiding spot came back. Leia remembered orange-toned hands clasping her father's, and the sheer presence of the person when they moved past to leave.

The presence had easily been as imposing as she would learn Vader's was, but with the warm promise of a sun-drenched hike in the plains as opposed to the slicing cut of desert-burning winds.

Leia knew that memory had a name, one that came to be applied to key intel agents that could buy great strides forward, or open full populations to the Rebel Alliance.

Fulcrum.

As if the ghostly one could touch her thoughts, that illusion opened her eyes, and looked directly at Leia across the distance.

"Save us."

Two words preceded the anomaly spiraling out at a rate Leia could not have outran even if the speeder bike had been at full throttle… and the galaxy ceased to exist as Leia had known it her whole life.

After Felucia & Wasskah

Anakin rested his hands on Ahsoka's slim shoulders a moment longer, then gave a lopsided grin at her. "I know I just got you back, but we won't be leaving right away for the Resolute. Thought you might appreciate a day and night in the calm of the Temple before we go rescue Rex and the Admiral from plotting campaigns without us."

She looked at him in that skeptical way she had, before giving him a sly grin in turn. He half-wondered if she was seeing through the excuse, and chose to believe she just had mischief of her own to get into.

"Alright Skyguy. I'll be at our ship when you comm me tomorrow."

"Try not to get in trouble?"

"Right back at ya."

They turned to part, with Anakin going to acquire a speeder, and Ahsoka — after considering her options — going to one of the meditation rooms she preferred.

Leia felt as if she had been turned inside out, twisted like a wet rag, rung out, and then laid out to dry by the time the anomaly stopped reshaping the galaxy. She managed to bring herself to her hands and knees — apparently the speeder bike had not come with her — and fight the roiling nausea down. Opening her eyes was a mistake, and she shut them swiftly, before depending on her other senses.

Moist, plant-and-soil rich air, sounds contained as if in a smaller room, and… a voice talking to her like she was a scared anooba pup? She tried harder to make her ears focus, to understand the soft, calming words.

"…kay, you're going to be okay, just stay still."

"Not moving," Leia managed to say. "World's still spinning opposite the galactic spiral."

"Given I just saw you appear from nowhere, I'm kind of not surprised."

The voice sounded young, but with a sort of confidence that Leia recognized from herself, or Winter. That kind came from being tested by life.

"Where am I?" she asked, since the owner of the voice seemed to be handling her sudden appearance with aplomb, worrying more of getting Leia settled down than the weirdness of it.

"The Jedi Temple. Which means someone's likely to come check on us, given that was a massive Force ripple."

The Jedi Temple?! But that was imposs — no. Wait.

Save us.

"Luke, when I get my hands on you! The Force things are supposed to be your problem, not mine!"

"Hmm, I don't know that name. And I don't recognize your uniform… sort of like the Alderaanian guards? But not quite."

Alderaan. If Leia was in the Jedi Temple, and she had to believe it with the way her day had gone so far, Alderaan survived. The Republic was still whole, but…

"Don't think I am insane for the question I am about to ask," Leis said quietly, measuring the cadence like a speech in the Senate, "but what year is it?"

"Nine seventy-nine, Ruusan Reformation calendar. Not really up on translating that to Huttese or anything other than Shili's world system," the other person said. "I dimmed the lights a bit, in case you want to try opening your eyes?"

Leia shifted onto her butt first, folding her legs in front of her, an unconscious mirror of the ghostly Fulcrum, and tried that. She was looking at a … small version of the woman that had been her father's friend? Same species, anyway, maybe a relative, given the markings.

Two full years before Empire Day. She wanted to hyperventilate, but the strength of will she'd found in resisting the torture probe on the Death Star helped her hold that at bay.

"My name is Leia Organa — yes that family — and before I got caught in an anomaly I was scouting, I was on a moon, far far away from this world, and a full generation in the future."

The girl tipped her head curiously, then nodded. "I am Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Padawan. I'm only here tonight and part of tomorrow, because my Master is being kind enough to let us both have a rest from the war.

"But if you're really from the future, you know things that could change history, and that means I really need — "

Her words cut off as the door to the room opened, and a small non-human of a species unlike anything Leia had ever seen walked in, using a small staff to help support him.

"— a Jedi Master." Ahsoka smiled brightly. "Master Yoda, we have a Force puzzle. Her name is Leia Organa."

"Hmm, find such, often, my line does." He walked over to be beside Ahsoka, and then settled himself to a sitting pose as well. "Strange, moves the Force. To you, padawan, the Force has brought this piece. Wisdom, yes, wisdom is needed."

Leia caught the slight eyeroll and sense of Ahsoka knowing she didn't have that trait. It actually made her want to smile, but … how could she? She didn't know anything of this era, other than one burning fact.

The so-called Chancellor was prepping the galaxy to transform it into an Empire, and there were no Jedi in her time. Well, except Kenobi, so briefly, and Luke, fumbling his way forward.

"Master Anakin said we were heading back to our unit tomorrow, but now you're here to help her!" Ahsoka said with bright cheerfulness.

Anakin.

"Skywalker?" Leia hesitantly asked.

"Yes!" Ahsoka answered, even as Yoda's ear tip twitched a bit.

"Right. I am certain now that the energy field meant to grab Luke. And he wasn't even on planet!" Leia muttered.

"Hmm?" Yoda inquired.

"My friend Luke, he's the only Jedi I know. And his father was Anakin Skywalker."

"Uh-oh," Ahsoka said, skin flushing a deeper orange. Yoda merely sighed, shaking his head, before looking at the padawan beside him.

"With you, she stays, this night. Decide tomorrow, shall we. Now, care given; needed it is."

"Yes, Master Yoda." Ahsoka bounced to her feet, and then offered a slim hand down to help Leia up, doing so with … a refreshing surge of energy? Leia had half-felt something like that from Luke, when he was worried she was running herself into the ground.

"I… thank you. Both of you. I need to not go near the Senate, but at least part of my assistance will require a meeting with my… with the Senator of Alderaan."

"In the morning," Yoda promised, but made no move to rise again, staying as the other pair left.

Ahsoka frowned at the condition of the apartment. It really didn't help that Obi-Wan still lived here, that none of the three of them were even in the Temple all that often. But the state of the place really showed that as she opened the door and brought Leia inside.

"I got sent to my Master in the field, and he and his Master have been in the field since mine was Knighted, so… there's technically three of us living here, when it should only be two. I could probably find a set of quarters that are empty for you?

"Or you can take the couch and I will crash in my Master's room. He won't mind. And the couch is comfortable, for all it's now on at least the fourth person living here and sleeping on it."

Leia had to smile, to cover for her horror that this kid — how could she be anything else — was in an active war zone. Yes, Rebels had a lot of younger members, but the war… wasn't like anything her older Rebels had said the Clone Wars were.

"I can take the couch. I… is there a datapad I could use, to make my notes, prepare for talking to the Senator and others?"

Ahsoka grinned. "You're a politician; I have seen Senator Amidala using her spare time to work out what to say like that."

Amidala. The woman that both Leia's father and her mentor called the Mother of the Rebellion, despite dying on Empire Day. And this girl knew her.

Ahsoka was moving to a small box of odds and ends, came up with a data pad. From the flick of fingers over it, she was backing it up elsewhere, checking the power, and finally she handed it over.

"Basic connection to the Holo Net, ready for you to set up a password! While you do that, are you hungry? I need to eat something. Any food preferences? There's probably teas. Water of course. Won't be any milk currently; I made sure to clear out things like that my last trip back."

"No dietary restrictions, if it's a little spicy, that's good, and I'll trust your choice on the tea." Leia settled on the couch, removing her belt with the blaster and various pouches. Oddly enough, despite knowing the Emperor was on this world, she did feel safe.

Ahsoka vanished into the kitchenette, and Leia got to work.

Anakin had made it back earlier than he'd intended, due to Padmé having an early committee meeting. He slipped in, hearing voices in the eating area, spaced it out because Snips was a lot better than he was at making friends, and headed that way. He found himself pulling up short, though, as the stranger sitting at the table with Snips looked so much like Padmé just before Geonosis.

He knew that was impossible.

"Snips, who's your friend?" he asked, hoping he'd managed casual.

"Hey, Skyguy." Ahsoka grinned over at him. "I guess the Force decided I needed a new friend, huh?"

"That is an interesting way to look at it," the stranger said, smiling, and that only intensified the familiarity.

"Anyway, this is Leia Organa — yes that family as she told me — and we have to meet with Master Yoda in not quite half an hour, along with the Alderaanian senator, and whoever else Master Yoda chose. Force things, in a big way."

"Huh."

Okay so that wasn't the best response to the info-dump, and now that he focused on the Force, something he tried not to do, it was… expectant? Humming? Anticipating something?

"Anakin Skywalker, as she might have remembered to tell you," he did make himself say, before continuing into the kitchen to zap a meal for himself. "Am I supposed to be at this meeting?"

"I didn't volunteer you, and set a timed message to warn you that was where I was. But you weren't not invited either," Ahsoka answered. Her words made him remember why he didn't pay close attention to the Force on Coruscant; it started clanging discordantly.

"If it's all the same, Snips, mind if I go check the Twilight over and let you handle this?" Anakin said, once the Force stopped thrumming at him that he should not go.

"I don't mind; I kind of feel responsible until I know Leia is in good hands with what she has to say."

"Good."

"I… after you explained about Jedi not actually being part of families, I have to say thank you for keeping that meeting calm," Leia said quietly as she walked with Ahsoka toward the meeting room. "I can't see any of Luke in that man, other than… the pressure? The feeling of something innate to him?"

"That's the Force, and yeah, my Master has a lot. I bet a kid of his would radiate it." Ahsoka caught Leia's hand and squeezed. "Pretty sure when the war is over, Skyguy will probably retire from the Order, because it doesn't fit. He might go Altisian; they do allow families."

Leia grimaced, but was glad for the hand, because Ahsoka had reacted, during their discussion of possible futures, with flat out refusal to allow it to come to pass. Apparently the clones were not the enemy? And the Jedi were stretched very thin commanding them? Leia was looking forward to winning her father's trust enough to get a better picture of it all.

"Don't worry. The Force sent you here to help. We'll find the right path to kick the Sith in their teeth and protect people," Ahsoka assured her with all the confidence of youth. Leia even remembered being a little like that… but it was tempered by remembering the woman named Fulcrum, whose every smile had held grief.

The longer she was near Ahsoka, the more she suspected Fulcrum was this Togruta grown up. She didn't know why that stayed with her, any more than how she was more aware of the pressure — the Force, Ahsoka said — all around her.

"I mean to make that happen, even if I have to figure out a big enough distraction to get close enough with a blaster," Leia muttered.

Ahsoka gave her a grin for that, before she straightened herself up at a door, and led Leia inside.

Leia saw her father — so much younger! — next to the one called Master Yoda, and there was a large being of a species Leia didn't recognize. She was beginning to curse, even more fully than ever before, that the Empire had gone so fully human-centric. The other being present, that Leia dimly recalled from her father's holo collection, was the Pantoran Senator of this era. Leia could have sworn that Ahsoka seemed even lighter in spirit for that reason, and she was really starting to wonder if Luke's Jedi weirdness was contagious.

"Master Yoda. Master Plo Koon. Senator Bail Organa, and Senator Riyo Chuchi," Ahsoka began, having shifted to focus on Leia, gestures made in each direction. "This is Leia Organa, and I truly did watch her just appear out of thin air, with the Force swirling all around her."

"Organa?" Bail questioned, and Leia watched him take in the uniform as well as her braids.

"Yes," Leia answered him firmly. "I was adopted, have known that all my life, but I was raised by you and mother to live up to your stations and the expectations for all people."

He smiled at that, nodding. "Spoken as a true daughter of our houses," he agreed.

"Padawan Tano, as the one present at her advent, do you mean to stay for this meeting?" Master Koon asked in a gentle voice. "We are aware of your recent brush with death and the trials entailed on that world, and would excuse you."

Ahsoka centered, and the impression of a youth almost vanished, giving Leia a better glimpse of that woman from her father's study. "Masters, Senators. The Force brought Leia to me, specifically, and I feel it is my duty to stand by her for that, as well as to be the ears of the Vod'e to this meeting, since none are present."

The way the ancient one almost softened in his eyes and ears, and the fact that the tall Jedi Master literally straightened with pride told Leia that Ahsoka had made a good impression. She saw her father's faint worry; he hated seeing the young take on terrible burdens. And the other Senator, one of his allies all the way back to this time, just smiled, as if expecting no less.

"Harm, certain knowledge of future events, can bring," Yoda began. "Ask Master Koon, I did. Gifts of his people, make private our words, hmm? Help to cloak knowledge, prevent theft of it by others, he can. Agree to this, do you, young Organa?"

Leia wondered, eyes going to her father who gave a slight nod, before Ahsoka rested a hand on her arm.

"Master Koon is a Kel Dor, who are natively telepathic. He is also a Baran Do Sage, in addition to being a Jedi, and can help your mind's protections," she explained more fully. Leia had the impression that her father approved of it being put in plainer words, and neither Jedi objected.

"I don't think anyone in this room is going to care for what I share, but even though I will miss every connection I held dear in my life, I want to prevent the death, the destruction, and the collapse of everything my father told me of the galaxy before I was born." Leia squared her shoulders, and looked at the Kel Dor Jedi. "If you would, Master. And I'll try not to regret that the Rebellion never had such protections."

"We are all certain that the portents must be terrible, for the Force to have acted in this fashion," Riyo said firmly, "and we will do all we can to both use the knowledge for the better of all, as well as to take care in not leading to worse."

The Senator's words, coming from someone who didn't look much older than Ahsoka herself, were met with avowals from the others, before Master Koon gathered their minds into a private meeting.

After having her mind buttressed, and with a promise to join them soon from Plo Koon, Ahsoka had dutifully left with a mission. It had been drawn out by Leia being unaware of the men existing in her time, the general impression that the men had been considered the evil of the war presaging the end of the Republic, and the awareness of where the real Sith threat sat in the chain of command.

She would sift through her connections with the men, and try to determine how their blinding loyalty to the Republic, and their devotion to those Jedi that they cared for, could possibly lead to an end game with the Sith in charge.

Bail had openly embraced Leia, promising her that he would maneuver the Senate more subtly, and begin investigations to nibble at the web of corruption in that body enabling the Sith. Master Yoda had gone to his meditations, while Senator Chuchi left with Leia's father.

That left her alone with Plo Koon, whose paternal worry over these men she had to meet had done him no harm at all in her eyes.

"You could have handed me off to Ahsoka, but didn't. Why?" she asked, just to get a better feel for the nebulous threat at something in her young friend's life because of who the Sith was.

"The Chancellor was keen to foster a deep relationship with the boy who saved his homeworld, over a decade ago," Plo told her. "Ahsoka can guard her knowledge, look for ways to mitigate that until I can arrive and convince the young man to allow me to help him, alongside her investigation into the men themselves.

"But you might well trigger a failsafe, if you were to ever state clearly who the Sith is in his hearing."

Leia's eyes went wide as she realized what Plo was saying, and she had to take a deep breath. "So… Anakin Skywalker is both at risk and possibly a risk in himself, without knowing it?"

"Yes. As we never, ever had reason to suspect."

"Right, far better for me to aid you and your unit. I'm no pilot, but I do understand tactical command, and I am a decent shot."

Plo inclined his head. "And, if you wish, we can begin opening the nascent Force ability I sense in you. You are older, but strike me as someone who grasps all tools to move forward for the better of all."

"Me? No, Luke is the one with the Force," Leia protested, and yet…

… she'd known he needed her. She'd found him. She had been aware of the mood of people around her…

"It is part of you, possibly sublimated by outside persons to protect you, given the murder of the Jedi in your history."

Leia took a deep breath. "Alright, but I don't want to use a lightsaber. I like my blaster."

Plo chuckled. "My Commander will quite like that attitude."

Leia was not to mention the truth of the Sith, and she was fine with that, understanding the necessity of secrecy. She couldn't do nothing, though, not when she had been primed for politics or battle by life. Politics was barred, even as a new aide to her father because of what she knew, and joining Plo as an Alderaanian volunteer soldier was her safest way to keep helping.

Wolffe was suspicious of her from the first meeting, while he reminded her very strongly of several die-hard military men that had found the Rebellion as their haven against the Empire's destruction of individual system militias.

Their first battle, a combined ground and space assault saw the suspicions thaw gradually, as Leia ably handled the tactical display and telemetry, allowing Wolffe to divert another officer directly into ground support.

"Commander," Wolffe said, after the hours of managing from the flight deck had come to an end. "You have a good eye for seeing the holes in a net maneuver. Wasn't certain of your call with Squad Delta, but you cut fatalities by at least ten percent."

"A little too much experience running battles as the under-gunned, under-manned side of things," Leia said. "I could use more formal training than what I've picked up, Commander Wolffe."

"Once we're in hyperspace again, I'll work with you on that. I'd like a few pointers on the guerrilla tactics you brought to bear in the space battle."

She held her hand out to him, and he shook it, sealing their choice to be allies more firmly.

Meeting up with the 501st — Leia was trying desperately not to think on that unit designation from her own era, and who led it — let Ahsoka catch up with Leia while the two senior Jedi had a talk that was going to be difficult at best. Leia noticed Ahsoka was holding herself in almost a listening pose every time they paused in their tour of the Resolute, all the way back to Ahsoka's quarters.

Leia noticed it was a dual cabin, showing the Jedi shared living space even on campaign.

"What's eating at you?" Leia finally asked. "Did you make progress on your mission? I haven't been able, as an outsider, to figure anything out, even if Wolffe has been re-mediating my military theory."

"If Wolffe's gone that far, you won't be an outsider long," Ahsoka said before shaking her head. "I have a theory, but I need for my Master to be brought up to speed to be able to prove it, because I'm going to have to get away from GAR medical equipment with a man or two.

"I'm positive they cannot volunteer for what we need done, and that hurts, but I know my brothers. They would if they could. So, I will make that choice for them, and then we'll know."

She'd kept her voice low, even though they were definitely private. Leia approved, and felt a twinge, remembering being the teenager who had to be very careful in what she said and where.

"So what were you listening for?"

"The men," Ahsoka said. "I know why Master Plo is here, and I was trying to make sure my men are as calm as they can be right now, because at least some of them are going to react when the Force storm breaks on them.

"It's part of why I, and Master Plo, were convinced that somehow the Sith will use them for the murder of the Order. They're so deeply imprinted on us, and that would be very Sithly, to use that against both the vod'e and the Jedi."

Leia nodded. "I see the bond between Plo and his men. It's … breathtaking, in many ways."

"Yeah. And we just want to get as many of them alive as possible to the other side of the war, see them learn to just be people with their own goals," Ahsoka said sadly. "Every loss… especially now, knowing what you lived through, it — "

She cut herself off abruptly as the Force pressed in all around them both, full of fear and anger and rejection, swirling and cutting like desert sand caught in a simoom. Ahsoka looked unerringly in the direction of where Plo and Anakin were, before a sheen of white covered her eyes, and Leia knew this was the apparition that had chosen her. The warm sun-drenched plains ghosted along every nerve Leia had, as Ahsoka focused her will, channeled the Force to contain and hold the simoom away from them all.

Leia didn't speak, didn't do anything but lock her own focus on Ahsoka, throwing her will into the padawan's efforts to shield both units from the destruction.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the anger and rage gave way to hope and grief, then even that faded, and Ahsoka wavered, falling heavily back into the cushions of the couch they shared, the white gone from her eyes, the blues of her lekku distinctly faded.

"Oh Skyguy, you better be alright," the girl said softly, before weakly lifting a hand and floating a nutri-paste pack over to handle her immediate need for fuel.

"Can you tell what… anything?" Leia asked. Maybe it was just being on a ship of the 501st, but the rage had felt so much like Vader.

"I think he chose healing, but it was very close. My poor master. Whatever the Sith has done to him… it's at least half as nasty as what's planned for my brothers."

Maybe… maybe Leia's imagination wasn't so far off. But if that was the case —

— oh she was glad Luke would never know that. And she would ask Plo to help her truly see Anakin Skywalker as someone separate from Darth Vader.

Leia waited until they were into hyperspace, then slipped into Plo's outer chamber, the one he used as an office. She hadn't wanted to ask questions, as they had actually had a campaign to see to. The absolute ferocity of Anakin and his people had been well-directed at least, and the campaign short.

"I know you can't tell me things that are Skywalker's to protect, but… is Ahsoka and their unit safe now?"

"From the manipulations on that boy? Yes. All removed. We are shuffling battle plans to keep them at the front and away from Coruscant for now," Plo said.

"Ahsoka said she had a working theory about the men," Leia offered. "In case she didn't get a chance to tell you that."

"I knew it would be in safe hands with her. But you have something else you need of me; the Force is heavy with it."

Leia looked down at her hands, gathering her thoughts together. She looked up with a firm jaw and a steel spine. "I believe I knew Anakin Skywalker, the Sith version, in my time. And it was not … good. I need to know how to separate those pieces, to be more fair to a man that my friend so obviously respects."

"Ahh, I see. I will gladly meditate with you, and help you reinforce the boundary between the man he will not become and the one that he is, my young friend." Plo tipped his head. "Do you wish aid in… the not good part?"

Leia drug in a deep breath, then nodded once, decisively. "It's not pretty," she warned.

"I had no doubt."

The first indication that Ahsoka, and Anakin, had solved the mystery of the clones was when most of the unit reported a headache after a full briefing from Open Circle's High General. Leia glanced at Plo, who nodded briefly to her.

It was technological, a monstrosity that could have stripped them to nothing but following orders. There is no need to burden them with the knowledge just yet.

Wolffe didn't complain of one. It was still odd to think her conversation at the man she saw as a teacher and mentor in her growing ability to use the Force to measure a situation.

The device was destroyed, in the actions that led to his cybernetic eye.

What now?

Ahsoka, a detachment of her men who do know the truth, are coming for you. Skywalker and Kenobi will be bringing the proof needed to a full Senate meeting. She, you, and the squadron of men will be on hand to provide support. Others will also be present.

Leia let her satisfaction with this plan seep through. She would ensconce herself in her father's party, most likely, unless Ahsoka had different ideas.

And she would see the Emperor unmasked… hopefully dead… all because she investigated a Force anomaly. Privately, she was just as glad it had been her, not Luke, with the turns this had taken.

Epilogue

"Your mother is very eager to meet you, even if you are closer in age to us than a daughter could be," Bail said happily. "All of your effort, bringing a viewpoint we needed to restructure the Senate and the courts has been marvelous. But I feel ashamed that it's taken two years to get to a point where I could take you home."

Leia smiled brightly, having been fully in her element after Palpatine came crashing down, serving Alderaan and the galaxy by advising her father. She had paid attention to those former Separatists — not that she had known them as such — in the Rebellion, had listened to Mon Mothma debate the old ways with such people.

That it could make for a better Republic helped her lay to rest the ghosts of a future that could never be.

"We've had so much work, and I would not have been happy to put it aside for a short time. Now I can focus on learning my place in our family now." She accepted the hug he offered her then.

"Word came from my friend Amidala," Bail said as they walked to his waiting ship. "She had twins. She said that she was so struck by your calm and resolve that she chose to name them Leia and Luke, in your honor."

Leia paused, the Force running over her spine in knowledge of that moment. "I have a feeling, Father, that those names were meant to be," she finally said, a gleam in her eye for knowing just who the father was, even if that wasn't open knowledge yet, not with the Order doing its own reorganization. Bail tipped his head, considered, and then breathed out.

"I think… you are correct. I would certainly have stepped up for a child of hers, had things gone so poorly."

"Well, the galaxy will just have to deal with two of me in time," Leia said firmly. She thought she almost heard Fulcrum laughing softly in her mind, as she looked forward to a future shaped for the better.

senmut

[podfic] Looking Forward (25 words) by xia_pods
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Lost Boys (Movies)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: David (Lost Boys)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Audio Format: Download
Summary:

Audio Length: 1min 6s

David surveys the house, and chooses

Podfic of Looking Forward by Merfilly.

fabrisse

As always, after voting, I feel shriven. I'm in Georgia. The primary is officially tomorrow, but Sis and I managed early voting last Wednesday. It wasn't just in and out, though, I had to wait nearly two minutes.

I selected the Democratic Primary. My hope is that the Republicans can implode without help. Two of our leading Republican candidates for governor, Burt Jones and Rick Jackson, have been running some of the nastiest attack ads that I've ever seen. My one wish for Wednesday morning is to find that neither of those clowns either heads the ticket or is in the run-off (which is required if no-one gets a clear majority; it only takes the top two).

I'm somewhat hopeful that Buddy Carter -- my current congress critter -- won't make the top of the Republican ticket for Senate. Why, you ask, am I so hopeful? Because in what was his Congressional District, I've seen only one yard sign for him. Jon Ossoff was unopposed on the Democratic ballot, thank heaven.

For some of the "lesser" offices -- I don't think any office is lesser, quite frankly, but they get treated that way -- Ballotpedia, and indeed the candidates themselves, were unhelpful. I ended up choosing two candidates without university degrees. One was the only farmer running for the Commissioner of Agriculture; the other was a pro-union activist (Georgia is a "right to work" state) who was running for Commissioner of Labor.

I picked the only candidate for Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner who had no past affiliation with any insurance company.

Most importantly, I voted for Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin. They are running for different State Supreme Court seats against incumbents who have supported the dismantling of women's health care and just generally lean right. I hope neither of these ladies ends up in a run-off.

My one emotional pick is for Representative. I would like Joyce Griggs to get the nod. I think she has a reasonable chance. She's a combat veteran who is in favor of affordable housing, appropriate health care subsidies, and a woman's right to choose. In a ten minute conversation with her, I also found out that she's anti-death penalty, something that doesn't really matter at the Federal level at the moment. If she makes it onto the November ballot, I've offered to be the nice white lady who sits and nods in the background. She said she might take me up on that in certain areas of the Congressional district.

Keep your fingers crossed that we don't have too many run-offs, although, at this stage, they are internecine fights. Run-offs can make people dig in to the extent that they won't support the candidate who wins if it's not their favorite.

We'll know on Wednesday.

twistedchick

I am so tired of white-supremacist Republican performative smugness.

senmut

AO3 Link | The Right Bait: Zaknafein's Tale (1800 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 3/3
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Vierna Do'Urden, Jarlaxle Baenre, Drizzt Do'Urden, Original Drow Character(s), Guenhwyvar [Legend of Drizzt]
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Rape Aftermath, Ensemble Cast
Summary:

With the right bait, even a deadly predator can be captured... or so they thought. In time, this leads to a fuller family than Drizzt could have dreamed of.

The Right Bait: Zaknakein's Tale

"Zaknafein, father of Drizzt and Vierna, I have a question I may only ask once of you. I swear by the life you gave both of your children, I wish you to know freedom. Will you accept life once more, and help guide us, as well as your grandson?"

The man who had known peace since choosing to die in the place of his son very nearly told the known, and despised, voice to drop into the Abyss. Yet, he was a tactician, a man who had learned to weigh all options, determine the least harmful lie, and build his successes from there.

A grandson? His son and daughter named in the request? And any priestess would of course swear by her own life, being as self-interested as they were, but the phrasing of it was so odd.

"I will."

The room was blissfully dark, only three people near him as Zaknafein fully processed that yes, he lived again.

Four, actually, as he turned his head to see the exhausted face of his daughter on the pillow beside his. She gave a faint smile, then closed her eyes, obviously choosing trust for the others present.

The hat and eye-patch — left eye today — proclaimed his lover as one of those other presences. Opposite him was his son, grown strong and more mature in all of his lines. The young drow, likely just of an age to be schooled, was unknown to him, but a death memory flickered up.

Grandson.

"Can't a man come back to life in privacy?" he managed to say, shifting to get upright, at least sitting that way.

Drizzt was the one that moved to help him do so, putting a bolster behind his back.

"Well, someone had to be on hand to protect your daughter, and keep this pair from spiriting you back to their home among the goodly ones," Jarlaxle proclaimed.

Drizzt snorted. "I'd hardly do so, and Kastan, he's teasing."

"Grandfather would be welcome, Father, but that doesn't keep Aunt protected."

Zaknafein's eyes shot to his son in shock, having presumed it was the elder child that had born progeny. Drizzt gave the barest shake of his head about the subject, and he let go of it.

"So where are we?" he asked instead.

"A fascinating place called Skullport," Jarlaxle said, dropping on the bed at Zak's hip when Drizzt gave ground. "We have acquired a villa, fortified it, and made it a safe haven for your children to share."

"Vierna is on leave from her duties at the Temple of Vhaeraun," Drizzt said. "I was persuaded to bring Kastan over, as he's been training this last year with me or the Sword Mistress. And my sister does need protection while she recovers."

"I am only here a few days," Jarlaxle decreed. "But my outpost here is aware of the villa, and will keep an eye out for any dangers. Your son," and he flourished a hand in Drizzt's direction, "is known to them, and able to work with them, to a degree."

"Hmm." Zak carefully didn't say anything that might tangle him up too quickly in Jarlaxle's plotting; he had a family to re-learn… or just learn anew. "Kastan, is it? Planning to help your father get me back in shape?"

"If you wish me to," Kastan said, his eagerness mostly masked.

"Good." Zak reached a hand out to Jarlaxle then. "Help me up, old friend," and it felt good to not layer that with the nuances they'd had to use to avoid Malice's suspicions, "so my daughter can sleep. I'll get those tales later, since your time is more limited."

"Gladly." Jarlaxle did so, and didn't even tease much as Zak stopped to embrace his son hard, before clasping the young one's shoulder in passing.

Jarlaxle did leave after a few days, and that let Zak focus on what his new life entailed. He was in one corner of the sofa that was the sole piece of furniture in the main room, tucked against a wall, Vierna wrapped in a quilt with her head on his shoulder. He never would have thought this possible, but not only was he savoring it, but she seemed to be as well.

The other two were in the middle of the open space, practicing footwork of a style that Zaknafein did not actually recognize.

"Tell me your tale, Vierna."

"Not much to say. Your death… your words, maybe? Made me brutally aware of the waste of life. I missed Drizzt, for all I did not yet understand that was what I felt. You not being there actively hurt. And the drawn out war with Hun'ett was… just piling up more deaths.

"And I walked away, once I had the whispers of my Lord encouraging me. Jarlaxle found me in the city I was originally staying in to learn my new place. Once he told me Dinin had secured your body in the House fall, I had a goal, and this place was more suitable to gain the experience and lessons I needed." She then sighed. "We did not expect my brother, my Lord and I."

"He is still strange then?"

"Oh, that's one word for it. He likes going out under the skies of the Surface, and he is entirely too good, but he is my brother, my wean-son, and we have decided that our family comes ahead of deities."

"As long as yours remembers not to set you at odds with me," Drizzt said mildly, showing he was paying attention, even as he kept up the steps of this teaching.

"Goes both ways, brother-mine," she sing-songed at him. Zak had to chuckle at them, before tapping out a question on her arm.

"The boy?"

She considered, then tapped her answer back. "They hunted him, using the boy as bait. Neither the mother nor Briza survived it."

Zak winced a bit; he had no doubt that both women had learned the skill of Drizzt's blades in a swift hurry for endangering any child, let alone one he might have suspected as being his own.

"So how did you come to be here, Drizzt?" he asked, slowly stroking Vierna's hair.

"Went above, with help from the svirfneblin maps and gear. Kastan and I found a human family, protected them from danger, but those who came to investigate helped us find drow like ourselves.

"Kastan needed to be safe, somewhere he could learn and grow strong."

"But Father will be quite happy when he can explore the Surface more," Kastan interjected without a mistake in the complex foot shuffle he was practicing. "He does go, now and then, but never for long. And I haven't lacked for anything, from him, since he rescued me from the one who bore me."

"The followers of Eilistraee have a community nearby. They trade here, and learning of my sister's presence, her need for resources as she grew stronger, led to our choice to ally. I only brought Kastan over this time because we knew it would be soon… and he is able to defend himself adequately.

"Which made the journey safer."

"Looking forward to helping make that skill shine."

Drizzt turned, looking at his father. "No need to push, to rush it, or to be more than firm, not now. Neither of the Twins would ask it of our young."

Zaknafein saw something in that need to speak up, to challenge the way Drizzt himself had learned… and he found that he approved strongly.

"No. It will be good, to take time to see how the mistakes happened, work out better habits with practice instead of force," he told his son, and Drizzt relaxed again.

Privately, Zak was damn glad the boy would stand up so firmly to him… proving the strangeness had definitely survived.

A message had come for Drizzt, and though he'd been loathe to leave the rest of them — Kastan just now training, Zaknafein gathering his stamina back, and Vierna recuperating from performing a resurrection — he had not been able to decline the need for his abilities.

"Go on. I don't need stamina to end most threats," Zak pointed out. "Your sister can and will push past this for spellwork. And your son is already better than third year students."

"I'll return, as soon as I am able," Drizzt promised, before gearing up. Zak wanted to ask questions about the tube of long crossbow bolts, and the slightly curved staff, but he would hold them for later.

Kastan watched his father leave, then squared his shoulders and looked at Zak.

"Teach me more?" he asked, the look on his face one that Drizzt wore when he had set on a course and would not be dissuaded.

"Let's practice that elf style he's been working with you on, see how we can better adapt it," Zak offered, and Kastan nodded.

"I just… he won't let himself go be true to himself, not fully, until he's certain I can protect myself."

"Then, grandson, he's going to be holding himself back a long time… because he loves you, and seeing you grow up matters as much to him as it ever did for me. Only he gets the chance to do so.

"Don't rush finding maturity and skill because you think you're holding him back. He wants to be there for you."

Kastan considered those words, took a deep breath, and then smiled. "Right. Then I need to train up to be able to go with him, to the lighter things he should be doing, as a compromise!"

Zak laughed, low and soft, nodding to the reasoning. He'd never want to go above, but if Drizzt ever needed him to, he would. For now, he helped his son the best he could, by helping his grandchild.

Drizzt slipped in quietly, watching as Kastan and Zak sparred, less a teaching moment and more of a joyful testing of skill. He'd only had to be gone five days, as the trouble had been local and magic had delivered him back here for his quick aid.

He knew both were aware of him, proud that it didn't break his son's concentration, and just enjoyed the scene. He didn't mind when Vierna slipped up beside him, just shifting to be her leaning wall, his arms around her waist for added support.

"Not such a terrible life we have now, little brother?" she asked, rather than fuss at him being so protective of her. She was nearly past the drain, after all.

"When I laid eyes on Kastan that first time, I knew everything had to change. But… I never saw this. I never knew we would be a solid family, in ways that matter."

She leaned back against him, head resting on his shoulder, humming quiet contentment.

"We'll keep this strong," she vowed, and he gave a sharp nod, joining her in that intent.

musesfool

Usually, I shower at night, but last night, I stayed up too late reading and didn't feel like delaying bedtime so I put the shower off until this morning. While I was in there, I noticed a spider, but it was on the far wall, and I was naked and without my glasses, so I let it live and it disappeared somewhere (the whole room is tiled, floor to ceiling, so I don't know where? but also. I don't want to know where).

This evening, I had to wash my hair, so there I was back in the shower, and I turned off the water and stepped back while I was lathering the shampoo, and there was the spider, dropping down from god knows where right in the middle of my shower!

So I had to get out - with my hair still full of shampoo - grab my glasses and a paper towel, so I could kill it, because come the fuck on, spider, that is not okay! The shower is sacrosanct!

It's a good thing I still have to stay up for an hour to detangle because I would not have been able to go to sleep right away after that, omg.

*

Current Mood: shocked
Current Music: if it's a mess you're in, i'm in

musesfool

Yesterday, I made these ricotta cheesecake bars, for which I had to shell 62g of pistachios (oh, the humanity!), and they are okay, but either there is not enough butter or I had too much graham cracker crumb because the crust does not cohere. (I used pre-smashed crumbs because that is what I had and probably used too much. Recipes really should give you some sort of measurement beyond "7 or 8 graham crackers, crushed" for these things.)

I also made KAB pretzel rolls (half the recipe) and as always, they are delicious, even if the whole boiling step is annoying. I definitely recommend them, and if like me, you never remember that they have a small amount of butter (2 tbsp) that needs to be softened ahead of time, you can always just substitute the same amount of olive oil, also like me. *wry*

With the LIRR on strike, I'm not going into the office this week (I had already decided that anyway), so I didn't have to do any other baking, and I just bought some spring mix and grilled chicken strips so that'll be lunch for the week.

*

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: the way you changed my life, no no, they can't take that away from me

peppermint_shamrock

( Gen Prompt Bingo Round 29 - 1 Works )

topaz_eyes

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

senmut

Wagers [Podfic] (44 words) by blackglass, with, with
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Helena Bertinelli/Vic Sage, Dinah Lance/Oliver Queen
Characters: Dinah Lance, Helena Bertinelli, Oliver Queen, Vic Sage
Additional Tags: Double Dating, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming
Summary:

A podfic of Wagers by Merfilly.

"Vic's being awful quiet."

senmut

accessing archived data (1045 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Tron - All Media Types, Tron (Movies)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Tron/Yori (Tron)
Characters: Tron (Tron), Yori (Tron), Alan Bradley, Lora Baines-Bradley
Additional Tags: Epistolary, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Long-Distance Relationship, Pre-Canon, Movie: Tron (1982), background rising fascism bc of the MCP, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Slice of Life
Summary:

Two paired programs communicate between their work cycles, and unknowingly document the beginning of a new era on the Encom System.

beatrice_otter

Does anyone work on the Open Doors project at AO3? Or know someone who does? I am trying to do something similar on Ad Astra, and need some advice from someone who knows the OTW archive software better.

Specifically, there are a couple of people who had accounts and fic on the old Ad Astra archive who are now dead, and we would like to make sure that their works are preserved by transferring them to the new archive. We would like them all to have the same format that unclaimed works imported by Open Doors have on AO3--"by name [archived by archivist]". We have successfully achieved that with shorter works, but I'm trying to import a fic with 363 chapters and half a million words. It cannot be imported; the archive times out. I thought that if I imported the first chapter and then uploaded the rest of the chapters manually, it would work, but trying to import only the first chapter timed out the archive as well. Then I thought about importing another work that would import, changing the title and chapter text to the one I wanted, and then manually adding further chapters. But it's listing it as just "Archivists" in the author space, without the name of the original author.

Help!

ETA: figured it out myself!

Never mind, I figured it out myself!

The issue is that when you are uploading a fic for someone else, you are required to put their email in the box so they are contactable. This person is dead and I have no idea what their email address was when they were alive, so I put in the archivists' email. So the system decided that it was just by Archivists despite having the name of someone else and having the box checked that it was someone else's fic that archivists was posting.

I made up an email to put in instead, and it posted as "by name [archived by archivist]" just as it should.

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And The River Drags Her Down, by Jihyun Yun

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Dead Poets Society Fan Fiction: "circe Regna tonat (it thunders through the realms)"

meme time!

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The Right Bait: Zaknafein's Tale

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