December the First.
Dec. 1st, 2025 08:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hannahWaiting for mail after a federal holiday is a study in impatience and adjusting expectations. There's a lot of frustration on waiting for luxuries in ways there wouldn't be if I was waiting for necessities, most of it fairly minor and petty. On the flip side, it's fairly easy to distract myself and move on for a little while, at which point there's other things needing my attention.
In other sources of anticipation, it's apparently going to snow sometime tonight and through the morning, and it'll be the first snowfall of the year. With that, the waiting is still from human hands, but much less directly than the networks and supply chains that make up the post office - though it's still got me restless over something I'm very much looking forward to.
In other sources of anticipation, it's apparently going to snow sometime tonight and through the morning, and it'll be the first snowfall of the year. With that, the waiting is still from human hands, but much less directly than the networks and supply chains that make up the post office - though it's still got me restless over something I'm very much looking forward to.
Recipe: "Cheesy Bacon Potato Soup"
Dec. 1st, 2025 07:53 pmysabetwordsmithI made this today. Now I regret all the leftover mashed potatoes that I've tossed in the past. If you have leftover spuds, this is well worth considering.
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Star Wars AU
Dec. 1st, 2025 06:18 pmsenmutAO3 Link | To Find A New Hope (3216 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Original Female Character(s), Asajj Ventress, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, Aayla Secura, CC-5052 | Bly, Original Male Character(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Episode: s02e21-22 Twilight of the Apprentice
Summary:
"Pel," Atin muttered, "if your first Force Vision gets me kidnapped by a Hutt, I'm naming Kifra my best friend." The Kel Dor was nowhere to hear that threat, as Atin tried to figure out how in kriff she was supposed to find one karking kid in the middle of the desert.
Her buir'e were probably going to wish she was old enough to one on one, no matter what. Yes, she had gone to her spirit-mother for training. It wasn't her fault Pel had dragged her, and possibly Kifra, into a long-distance Force Vision. As he, so recently settled in that gender, couldn't leave Dorin, she had to do the leg work. And she wasn't alone.
"Why in all the galaxy does it have to be here?" Asajj hissed.
"You know as much as I do, and I did say you didn't have to come with me," Atin answered as levelly as possible. "Now, how do we find this kid Pel saw?"
"I presume it has to do with the Force, so you will seek, and I will guard you," Asajj said with more patience. Atin did not smile, but she knew full and well that Asajj loved her and saw Atin as an heiress — now that Mother was missing.
Atin shoved that off, and looked around the outskirts of what passed as a city… and beckoned Asajj back up into the ship. They had enough supplies and fuel; Atin would park them away from this life-sucking void to have a better chance of catching any Force wisps.
Three things happened almost as one. Atin was prepping to set them down outside a moisture farm's boundaries, Arseven found something in the 'droid-net that made him wary, and Asajj hissed in a breath as her eyes went unerringly to the horizon, not the farm.
"No, not here, not yet," Asajj snapped. "That way, go," she demanded.
While this was technically Atin's mission to complete, she had no reason to deny her spirit-mother's instincts, and did low-atmo flight in the direction she'd been given.
And, once she was out of sight of the sun-strong Force signature at the farm, she felt the secondary, lighter one that Asajj must have latched onto. What even was this going to be, when Tatooine was not exactly on the galactic map for 'famous Force users'.
"Arseven, what is it you found?"
[R2-D2 entry, specific to geo-location. Details redacted, deduce R2-D2 located there once, at minimum.]
That… that was very unexpected. Arseven had extensive memories, and kept the pulse of the 'droid-net for Atin's family, with its labyrinthine levels of access. Granted, the one Arseven could access had been hastily walled off, protected by those droids that had maintained their memories and allegiance to the Republic, but anywhere that droid might have been was a possible location in Skywalker's or Amidala's past.
And there was someone with the Force there, almost blinding to Atin when she looked with that awareness.
"Pel, I am putting a stink bomb in your quarters," she muttered before telling Asajj what Arseven had said. The Dathomiri frowned, then gave a sharp nod.
"I must be right then, about what is ahead."
Asajj held back — this was her heiress's quest — but remained where she could see events unfold. Atin had, at her suggestion, dropped some of her shielding. Asajj didn't think this particular Jedi would harm the girl, yet she was ready to throw a Force Choke to protect the girl, if the man had gone insane.
Ahsoka had mentioned ones she had found, driven insane by the genocide of their people.
She wasn't prepared to see a man that looked twice the age he should coming out of the hovel to see who had parked a scout ship beside his bantha herd. It was one more point toward that karking anooba on the Emperor's leash really being Skywalker. If she had only managed to kill him at Yavin…
"Hello there," came the voice she easily recognized, and the Force felt cautious but not hostile around him. With that, she did emerge.
"Now, Kenobi, don't go flirting with the child," she purred, pleased when his eyes went large and he reached toward his belt. "Especially not when she is of your line."
"All I did was say 'hello', Ventress," Kenobi answered, forcing himself to a less battle-ready stance.
"This is General Kenobi? He looks older than any of my uncles," Atin said, adding more confusion to the mix, and making Asajj laugh.
"Redheads shouldn't live under dual suns; I'd be glad to offer you much better places to lay your head, my dear old nemesis."
"I'm very certain my answer to that is 'no'," Kenobi said, before taking his eyes back to Atin.
"Good," Atin said. "As I'm not sure I'd want you anywhere near my other clan."
Asajj wondered at that, curious what was setting her heiress firmly against this man of her past.
"I'm sorry, but perhaps introductions are in order," Kenobi said. "At least for my sake?"
"Atin Tano."
Asajj's earlier words, those clone-dark eyes, plus the name all were hammering at Kenobi, and she could see it, despite the man's attempt to sweep the emotions away.
"My fair skin cannot endure these suns; do invite us in, my dear Kenobi?" Asajj said, and he helplessly turned to lead them in, a gesture that left it up to them to follow.
Obi-Wan settled his former enemy — who was remarkably pleasant — and the hostile stranger that seemed to be his grand-padawan's kin with an eye to defusing whatever had brought them here.
"Kenobi," Asajj began, "this began with my student's Force Vision, but I noted your presence, and decided that perhaps you could enlighten us as to the blazing Force Beacon not so far from here?"
Atin seemed content with that question, but her eyes, so like Co — he cut that off — bored holes into him for his answer.
"He was brought here to escape the Purge," Kenobi said, a truth, but not all of it.
"Because of Vader?" Atin accused immediately, and he could not, quite, keep from flinching, leading to her using some choice words in at least three languages.
Asajj rested a hand on her shoulder, and the girl, no older than Ahsoka at Christophsis, Obi-Wan thought, settled.
"The point stands, Kenobi. If the not-so hidden one belongs to either the gundark or that senator woman, and a Vision has been had, he is likely no longer safe here."
Obi-Wan blinked; how could Asajj know not only that Vader was Anakin, but who the mother would be?!
"Oh please. Do you think Atin is my student by chance?" Asajj purred. "Ahsoka paid a visit to me after the confirmation, so that she could enlist my aid to better protect Atin until Atin was fully trained in her ways.
"And the funeral was obviously of a pregnant woman. Deception in that would be needed, hmm, if she had been suspected to be carrying a child?"
"How was it confirmed?" he asked, instead of answering anything.
"I was taken, when I was very small, and my parents had to rescue me," Atin said. "The fact he took me instead of outright killing me planted the idea." She glared at him. "She was out there fighting still. Had been fighting since she was only a little older than me now… and you're on this sun-scorched rock with a sitting target."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes at the accusation in her words. "I thought I needed to guard the last hope of the Jedi. Your mother was — always — in the midst of the men. I could not fathom that she had survived when so many died."
Asajj made an indelicate noise at that. "You never could see the full potential in her," she scoffed. "But, admittedly, she was aided by that captain of hers."
Atin flashed her sharper than human teeth in a smile at those words. "Fives was right," the girl told Obi-Wan, and he had to shuffle through his memories, so far back, before going pale with shock. "My uncles were used by making them flesh-droids in truth. My buir'e have stolen back the ones they could."
"I… that is much to digest," Obi-Wan said, as the memory of the men becoming nothing more than uniform spots of malevolence returned to him. "You said… 'was'?" he asked in a gentle tone.
"She's not dead," from Asajj overlapped "She disappeared," out of Atin's mouth.
"After facing Vader on Malachor," Atin continued. "The other former Jedi involved refused to give me the coordinates, but Arseven got it out of their droid."
"We went, she and I, but could not find Ahsoka," Asajj finished. "I sought for her spirit in the Force, but it is not there." She then glanced over into a corner. "Unlike the one sharing your abode."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.
Atin snorted. "It's a little trick from Asajj's tradition. The dead can be useful sometimes."
"So they can be," Obi-Wan agreed, having learned more from Qui-Gon Jinn during his exile. "Back to my reason for being here, it has not changed. I … will have to find a way to cloak him."
"Kenobi, don't be an idiot. If the boy has been revealed to a more distantly connected Force user, do you really think the gundark won't feel it soon?"
"This planet is a shield of its own," Obi-Wan said weakly.
"No, no it's not, and you're endangering my cousin," Atin growled.
How had she decided on that tack? No, Ahsoka had claimed Anakin as 'brother', so in one way it made sense. In all others, given her own confession of abduction, and Vader likely being responsible for Ahsoka's loss, it did not.
Togruta, vod'e, and clan — they never used logic for naming kin ties.
"I have nowhere else to take him."
"Spirit-mother?" Atin asked, maybe implored, and Asajj set her jaw firmly.
"Kenobi, give me your hands," Asajj said, reaching out. "I may not like most of the main clan she lives with, but I will not allow Sithly manipulations to harm them for hers, and Ahsoka's, sake."
"I'm sorry, but weren't you a Sith's disciple?" Obi-Wan asked to cover just how uneasy he was.
"Bah. I am a Night Sister, and those days were long gone even before I helped my pet deliver her child."
Atin laughed, sharp and short. "Do you want me to call you 'harpy' since she's not here to do it?"
It was Asajj's affectionate yet sad smile at the girl that made Obi-Wan actually reach for the hands, to prove he was safe, even if he thought there was no way he would go wherever Atin lived.
Asajj had been certain Kenobi was free of the Sithly traps — there had been residue, but Kenobi had dealt with it. Then came the negotiation with the farmers, which had taken right up until Luke found out the Empire might kill his family when they came hunting.
Atin had set the long course, dropping Asajj back on Dathomir. Luke was so unshielded that he could feel the planet before they even grounded for her to leave.
Now, having made certain neither of them were present as she set her course, she had time in hyperspace to actually talk to the pair without Asajj needling the Jedi relic.
"No, you can't know where we're going," she answered Luke's first question, then looked at Kenobi. "You're not the only jetii to survive."
"Obviously your mother," he began, but she shook her head.
"I meant of your Order. She was not, remember?" When the man flushed she continued. "Buir made her promise to not leave us, those that were rescued, us kids, because someone had to teach the useful bits to me and my sibs."
"Her," Kenobi murmured, considering. "And you are warning me because there is a connection?"
"Yes. I've heard a few stories about Kenobi-and-Vos as I grew up."
That rattled the Jedi pretty hard. "Master Saa or Master Secura?" he asked once he had his equilibrium back, well-aware that Luke was listening — and feeling in the Force — to all the emotions.
"Mama Aayla," Atin said. "Bly was in physical contact with her when the order hit, and that gave him just enough to stun her instead of kill, though he hunted her after, knowing she wasn't dead. But his chip was malfunctioning, and she was able to snap the thing with the Force, to free him."
"Chip? Like the ones in the slaves?" Luke asked, giving Kenobi time to digest the revelation.
"Huttese chips just explode," Atin said bitterly. "Death would be preferable to ones that made you mindless flesh-droids who killed those they were supposed to protect."
Luke blanched, then nodded. "Yeah… rescued?"
"It started with my mother and her captain, figuring out how to neutralize the chips, how to work the men past their trauma. I'm told they weren't always able, very early on. Then giving them a choice to settle in Sanctuary, which is the name of where we are going," she said, knowing it wouldn't tell them where in the galaxy it was. Granted, if Pel came up, Kenobi would guess, but that would be after Aayla and Wolffe decided the threat level. "The other half of the choice was to join the Rebellion. Some did.
"But no one holds it against the ones that chose living free and safe."
"Your mother helped in the Rebellion I take it?" Kenobi asked.
"My mother helped build it, shape it, guide it." Atin sat tall in her chair. "She was learning every Force trick she could, freeing my uncles, and recruiting on both sides of the Separatist line to fight the Empire."
Kenobi met her eyes on that, and stroked his beard a moment. "She was one of the best and brightest," he said, "and the Order did so very wrong by her."
That … Atin hadn't expected that. She could accept it, could move past her lingering antipathy to this man.
Obi-Wan had watched Luke's openness actually win the girl over. He was rather glad Luke hadn't actually picked up on the girl being younger, given how driven Atin was, especially in teaching Luke the most basic Force shielding for polite company among other users.
He was awakened by them coming out of hyperspace, but per their agreement, made no attempt to leave the cabin he shared with Luke, a narrow space with two bunks and storage beneath them, looking over as his ward noticed the change and awakened.
"We're out of hyperspace. Atin will be landing us, no doubt, as she has not put us into a new jump," Obi-Wan said.
"Do we always notice it?"
"Long time spacers do. Those who grew up in space will. And Force users, as the fullness of the feeling of being surrounded is somewhat muted in hyperspace."
"Good to know."
A short time later, the ship was definitely landed, and Obi-Wan waited for the word to get out.
That came when the astromech, Arseven, came and opened their door to lead them out.
"I suppose she went ahead to warn the others," Obi-Wan said.
"It feels… light. Warm? Soothing," Luke said, measuring his awareness around him as Obi-Wan and Atin had been teaching.
"If it is a refuge for those wronged by the war, I suppose it would," Obi-Wan said, not willing to reach out like that, to feel the betrayal of the men, of their grief for the Jedi. He and Luke followed Arseven, and were led into a docking bay that only held one other ship at present, a beat up single-man Aether-Sprite.
Ahead of them was a clone with gold bars on his cheeks, and beside him, a blue Twi'lek that Obi-Wan had seen grow from foundling to Master. Atin was off to the side, kneeling down in a deep hug with a Twi'leki girl still in the dainty stage of true childhood.
"Master Kenobi," the woman said in a calm, measured tone.
"Can we dispense with titles, my old friend?" Obi-Wan asked, and then she was in motion, prompting him to meet her. The hug, he had to admit, felt very good to his worn and frayed spirit.
"Obi-Wan," she murmured.
"Aayla," he answered her, before stepping back a little and looking at the clone. "Bly." It was so complicated in his heart. Could Cody have resisted if the order had come while they were together?
"Obi-Wan," Bly replied. "Rex and Wolffe will probably slip for General, but you remember how they were."
"Luke, come with us," Atin called. "We'll get your things later, but I want you to meet my little sister, and we'll show you where we live."
"Okay."
Once the trio were departed, Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Sister?"
Bly actually chuckled, while Aayla linked an arm around Obi-Wan's to be his guide. "Clan remains fluid, and need not have blood, though technically speaking, they are half-sisters," she said with a smile. "Kifra, our daughter. They have another sibling, who is fully by spirit, and also vod to all of the men, but you will not be meeting him just yet.
"Rex is off-world, helping the Rebels at present. And while we are not pleased at Atin's decision to take such risks while she was away training, we are pleased to welcome you, and your ward."
"How much did she tell you?"
"All of it. And we will do what we can to help Amidala's son protect himself, we promise."
"For now," Bly said quietly, "you are to follow our standard care routine for a survivor of the war."
"I have had — "
"No one with whom you could work it out, you only just learned what happened to us, and I know our ad is as diplomatic as a rancor," Bly said, cutting him off. "I love Atin dearly, but she has her mother's stubborn and bluntness down to a fine art."
"I think our Captain gets some of that blame," Aayla said with impish humor. "But he does tend to phrase it better."
Obi-Wan took a deep breath. If Aayla could learn to smile, after all she had been through, he would try their way. Even the Force thought this was for the better, and that helped him relax into their care even further.
~So he is there, and another Jedi of Father's extended clan,~ Pel recapped from the long mental conference with Atin and Kifra.
~Yes, but we have not mentioned we are in the Dorin system or who you are. Might piece it together, but I wanted our parents to get a feel for the Jedi first.~
~Of course. I know all of you will help Luke build the basics. And then, when Mama Aayla says, I will come to help with the mental side of it.~
~Alright. I don't know where your vision will lead us, Pel, but… I think something shifted.~
~So the Sages believe,~ he assured her. ~Sleep well, my sisters.~
~You too,~ Kifra said, before shifting to be more comfortable in the bed with her big sister. "It has to get better, right?"
"We're going to try hard for that," Atin promised her, closing her eyes. She just wished her mother could be here to help them, as always.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Original Female Character(s), Asajj Ventress, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, Aayla Secura, CC-5052 | Bly, Original Male Character(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Episode: s02e21-22 Twilight of the Apprentice
Summary:
When Pel has a vision, and shares it with Atin, she gets to do the legwork.
To Find A New Hope
"Pel," Atin muttered, "if your first Force Vision gets me kidnapped by a Hutt, I'm naming Kifra my best friend." The Kel Dor was nowhere to hear that threat, as Atin tried to figure out how in kriff she was supposed to find one karking kid in the middle of the desert.
Her buir'e were probably going to wish she was old enough to one on one, no matter what. Yes, she had gone to her spirit-mother for training. It wasn't her fault Pel had dragged her, and possibly Kifra, into a long-distance Force Vision. As he, so recently settled in that gender, couldn't leave Dorin, she had to do the leg work. And she wasn't alone.
"Why in all the galaxy does it have to be here?" Asajj hissed.
"You know as much as I do, and I did say you didn't have to come with me," Atin answered as levelly as possible. "Now, how do we find this kid Pel saw?"
"I presume it has to do with the Force, so you will seek, and I will guard you," Asajj said with more patience. Atin did not smile, but she knew full and well that Asajj loved her and saw Atin as an heiress — now that Mother was missing.
Atin shoved that off, and looked around the outskirts of what passed as a city… and beckoned Asajj back up into the ship. They had enough supplies and fuel; Atin would park them away from this life-sucking void to have a better chance of catching any Force wisps.
Three things happened almost as one. Atin was prepping to set them down outside a moisture farm's boundaries, Arseven found something in the 'droid-net that made him wary, and Asajj hissed in a breath as her eyes went unerringly to the horizon, not the farm.
"No, not here, not yet," Asajj snapped. "That way, go," she demanded.
While this was technically Atin's mission to complete, she had no reason to deny her spirit-mother's instincts, and did low-atmo flight in the direction she'd been given.
And, once she was out of sight of the sun-strong Force signature at the farm, she felt the secondary, lighter one that Asajj must have latched onto. What even was this going to be, when Tatooine was not exactly on the galactic map for 'famous Force users'.
"Arseven, what is it you found?"
[R2-D2 entry, specific to geo-location. Details redacted, deduce R2-D2 located there once, at minimum.]
That… that was very unexpected. Arseven had extensive memories, and kept the pulse of the 'droid-net for Atin's family, with its labyrinthine levels of access. Granted, the one Arseven could access had been hastily walled off, protected by those droids that had maintained their memories and allegiance to the Republic, but anywhere that droid might have been was a possible location in Skywalker's or Amidala's past.
And there was someone with the Force there, almost blinding to Atin when she looked with that awareness.
"Pel, I am putting a stink bomb in your quarters," she muttered before telling Asajj what Arseven had said. The Dathomiri frowned, then gave a sharp nod.
"I must be right then, about what is ahead."
Asajj held back — this was her heiress's quest — but remained where she could see events unfold. Atin had, at her suggestion, dropped some of her shielding. Asajj didn't think this particular Jedi would harm the girl, yet she was ready to throw a Force Choke to protect the girl, if the man had gone insane.
Ahsoka had mentioned ones she had found, driven insane by the genocide of their people.
She wasn't prepared to see a man that looked twice the age he should coming out of the hovel to see who had parked a scout ship beside his bantha herd. It was one more point toward that karking anooba on the Emperor's leash really being Skywalker. If she had only managed to kill him at Yavin…
"Hello there," came the voice she easily recognized, and the Force felt cautious but not hostile around him. With that, she did emerge.
"Now, Kenobi, don't go flirting with the child," she purred, pleased when his eyes went large and he reached toward his belt. "Especially not when she is of your line."
"All I did was say 'hello', Ventress," Kenobi answered, forcing himself to a less battle-ready stance.
"This is General Kenobi? He looks older than any of my uncles," Atin said, adding more confusion to the mix, and making Asajj laugh.
"Redheads shouldn't live under dual suns; I'd be glad to offer you much better places to lay your head, my dear old nemesis."
"I'm very certain my answer to that is 'no'," Kenobi said, before taking his eyes back to Atin.
"Good," Atin said. "As I'm not sure I'd want you anywhere near my other clan."
Asajj wondered at that, curious what was setting her heiress firmly against this man of her past.
"I'm sorry, but perhaps introductions are in order," Kenobi said. "At least for my sake?"
"Atin Tano."
Asajj's earlier words, those clone-dark eyes, plus the name all were hammering at Kenobi, and she could see it, despite the man's attempt to sweep the emotions away.
"My fair skin cannot endure these suns; do invite us in, my dear Kenobi?" Asajj said, and he helplessly turned to lead them in, a gesture that left it up to them to follow.
Obi-Wan settled his former enemy — who was remarkably pleasant — and the hostile stranger that seemed to be his grand-padawan's kin with an eye to defusing whatever had brought them here.
"Kenobi," Asajj began, "this began with my student's Force Vision, but I noted your presence, and decided that perhaps you could enlighten us as to the blazing Force Beacon not so far from here?"
Atin seemed content with that question, but her eyes, so like Co — he cut that off — bored holes into him for his answer.
"He was brought here to escape the Purge," Kenobi said, a truth, but not all of it.
"Because of Vader?" Atin accused immediately, and he could not, quite, keep from flinching, leading to her using some choice words in at least three languages.
Asajj rested a hand on her shoulder, and the girl, no older than Ahsoka at Christophsis, Obi-Wan thought, settled.
"The point stands, Kenobi. If the not-so hidden one belongs to either the gundark or that senator woman, and a Vision has been had, he is likely no longer safe here."
Obi-Wan blinked; how could Asajj know not only that Vader was Anakin, but who the mother would be?!
"Oh please. Do you think Atin is my student by chance?" Asajj purred. "Ahsoka paid a visit to me after the confirmation, so that she could enlist my aid to better protect Atin until Atin was fully trained in her ways.
"And the funeral was obviously of a pregnant woman. Deception in that would be needed, hmm, if she had been suspected to be carrying a child?"
"How was it confirmed?" he asked, instead of answering anything.
"I was taken, when I was very small, and my parents had to rescue me," Atin said. "The fact he took me instead of outright killing me planted the idea." She glared at him. "She was out there fighting still. Had been fighting since she was only a little older than me now… and you're on this sun-scorched rock with a sitting target."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes at the accusation in her words. "I thought I needed to guard the last hope of the Jedi. Your mother was — always — in the midst of the men. I could not fathom that she had survived when so many died."
Asajj made an indelicate noise at that. "You never could see the full potential in her," she scoffed. "But, admittedly, she was aided by that captain of hers."
Atin flashed her sharper than human teeth in a smile at those words. "Fives was right," the girl told Obi-Wan, and he had to shuffle through his memories, so far back, before going pale with shock. "My uncles were used by making them flesh-droids in truth. My buir'e have stolen back the ones they could."
"I… that is much to digest," Obi-Wan said, as the memory of the men becoming nothing more than uniform spots of malevolence returned to him. "You said… 'was'?" he asked in a gentle tone.
"She's not dead," from Asajj overlapped "She disappeared," out of Atin's mouth.
"After facing Vader on Malachor," Atin continued. "The other former Jedi involved refused to give me the coordinates, but Arseven got it out of their droid."
"We went, she and I, but could not find Ahsoka," Asajj finished. "I sought for her spirit in the Force, but it is not there." She then glanced over into a corner. "Unlike the one sharing your abode."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.
Atin snorted. "It's a little trick from Asajj's tradition. The dead can be useful sometimes."
"So they can be," Obi-Wan agreed, having learned more from Qui-Gon Jinn during his exile. "Back to my reason for being here, it has not changed. I … will have to find a way to cloak him."
"Kenobi, don't be an idiot. If the boy has been revealed to a more distantly connected Force user, do you really think the gundark won't feel it soon?"
"This planet is a shield of its own," Obi-Wan said weakly.
"No, no it's not, and you're endangering my cousin," Atin growled.
How had she decided on that tack? No, Ahsoka had claimed Anakin as 'brother', so in one way it made sense. In all others, given her own confession of abduction, and Vader likely being responsible for Ahsoka's loss, it did not.
Togruta, vod'e, and clan — they never used logic for naming kin ties.
"I have nowhere else to take him."
"Spirit-mother?" Atin asked, maybe implored, and Asajj set her jaw firmly.
"Kenobi, give me your hands," Asajj said, reaching out. "I may not like most of the main clan she lives with, but I will not allow Sithly manipulations to harm them for hers, and Ahsoka's, sake."
"I'm sorry, but weren't you a Sith's disciple?" Obi-Wan asked to cover just how uneasy he was.
"Bah. I am a Night Sister, and those days were long gone even before I helped my pet deliver her child."
Atin laughed, sharp and short. "Do you want me to call you 'harpy' since she's not here to do it?"
It was Asajj's affectionate yet sad smile at the girl that made Obi-Wan actually reach for the hands, to prove he was safe, even if he thought there was no way he would go wherever Atin lived.
Asajj had been certain Kenobi was free of the Sithly traps — there had been residue, but Kenobi had dealt with it. Then came the negotiation with the farmers, which had taken right up until Luke found out the Empire might kill his family when they came hunting.
Atin had set the long course, dropping Asajj back on Dathomir. Luke was so unshielded that he could feel the planet before they even grounded for her to leave.
Now, having made certain neither of them were present as she set her course, she had time in hyperspace to actually talk to the pair without Asajj needling the Jedi relic.
"No, you can't know where we're going," she answered Luke's first question, then looked at Kenobi. "You're not the only jetii to survive."
"Obviously your mother," he began, but she shook her head.
"I meant of your Order. She was not, remember?" When the man flushed she continued. "Buir made her promise to not leave us, those that were rescued, us kids, because someone had to teach the useful bits to me and my sibs."
"Her," Kenobi murmured, considering. "And you are warning me because there is a connection?"
"Yes. I've heard a few stories about Kenobi-and-Vos as I grew up."
That rattled the Jedi pretty hard. "Master Saa or Master Secura?" he asked once he had his equilibrium back, well-aware that Luke was listening — and feeling in the Force — to all the emotions.
"Mama Aayla," Atin said. "Bly was in physical contact with her when the order hit, and that gave him just enough to stun her instead of kill, though he hunted her after, knowing she wasn't dead. But his chip was malfunctioning, and she was able to snap the thing with the Force, to free him."
"Chip? Like the ones in the slaves?" Luke asked, giving Kenobi time to digest the revelation.
"Huttese chips just explode," Atin said bitterly. "Death would be preferable to ones that made you mindless flesh-droids who killed those they were supposed to protect."
Luke blanched, then nodded. "Yeah… rescued?"
"It started with my mother and her captain, figuring out how to neutralize the chips, how to work the men past their trauma. I'm told they weren't always able, very early on. Then giving them a choice to settle in Sanctuary, which is the name of where we are going," she said, knowing it wouldn't tell them where in the galaxy it was. Granted, if Pel came up, Kenobi would guess, but that would be after Aayla and Wolffe decided the threat level. "The other half of the choice was to join the Rebellion. Some did.
"But no one holds it against the ones that chose living free and safe."
"Your mother helped in the Rebellion I take it?" Kenobi asked.
"My mother helped build it, shape it, guide it." Atin sat tall in her chair. "She was learning every Force trick she could, freeing my uncles, and recruiting on both sides of the Separatist line to fight the Empire."
Kenobi met her eyes on that, and stroked his beard a moment. "She was one of the best and brightest," he said, "and the Order did so very wrong by her."
That … Atin hadn't expected that. She could accept it, could move past her lingering antipathy to this man.
Obi-Wan had watched Luke's openness actually win the girl over. He was rather glad Luke hadn't actually picked up on the girl being younger, given how driven Atin was, especially in teaching Luke the most basic Force shielding for polite company among other users.
He was awakened by them coming out of hyperspace, but per their agreement, made no attempt to leave the cabin he shared with Luke, a narrow space with two bunks and storage beneath them, looking over as his ward noticed the change and awakened.
"We're out of hyperspace. Atin will be landing us, no doubt, as she has not put us into a new jump," Obi-Wan said.
"Do we always notice it?"
"Long time spacers do. Those who grew up in space will. And Force users, as the fullness of the feeling of being surrounded is somewhat muted in hyperspace."
"Good to know."
A short time later, the ship was definitely landed, and Obi-Wan waited for the word to get out.
That came when the astromech, Arseven, came and opened their door to lead them out.
"I suppose she went ahead to warn the others," Obi-Wan said.
"It feels… light. Warm? Soothing," Luke said, measuring his awareness around him as Obi-Wan and Atin had been teaching.
"If it is a refuge for those wronged by the war, I suppose it would," Obi-Wan said, not willing to reach out like that, to feel the betrayal of the men, of their grief for the Jedi. He and Luke followed Arseven, and were led into a docking bay that only held one other ship at present, a beat up single-man Aether-Sprite.
Ahead of them was a clone with gold bars on his cheeks, and beside him, a blue Twi'lek that Obi-Wan had seen grow from foundling to Master. Atin was off to the side, kneeling down in a deep hug with a Twi'leki girl still in the dainty stage of true childhood.
"Master Kenobi," the woman said in a calm, measured tone.
"Can we dispense with titles, my old friend?" Obi-Wan asked, and then she was in motion, prompting him to meet her. The hug, he had to admit, felt very good to his worn and frayed spirit.
"Obi-Wan," she murmured.
"Aayla," he answered her, before stepping back a little and looking at the clone. "Bly." It was so complicated in his heart. Could Cody have resisted if the order had come while they were together?
"Obi-Wan," Bly replied. "Rex and Wolffe will probably slip for General, but you remember how they were."
"Luke, come with us," Atin called. "We'll get your things later, but I want you to meet my little sister, and we'll show you where we live."
"Okay."
Once the trio were departed, Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Sister?"
Bly actually chuckled, while Aayla linked an arm around Obi-Wan's to be his guide. "Clan remains fluid, and need not have blood, though technically speaking, they are half-sisters," she said with a smile. "Kifra, our daughter. They have another sibling, who is fully by spirit, and also vod to all of the men, but you will not be meeting him just yet.
"Rex is off-world, helping the Rebels at present. And while we are not pleased at Atin's decision to take such risks while she was away training, we are pleased to welcome you, and your ward."
"How much did she tell you?"
"All of it. And we will do what we can to help Amidala's son protect himself, we promise."
"For now," Bly said quietly, "you are to follow our standard care routine for a survivor of the war."
"I have had — "
"No one with whom you could work it out, you only just learned what happened to us, and I know our ad is as diplomatic as a rancor," Bly said, cutting him off. "I love Atin dearly, but she has her mother's stubborn and bluntness down to a fine art."
"I think our Captain gets some of that blame," Aayla said with impish humor. "But he does tend to phrase it better."
Obi-Wan took a deep breath. If Aayla could learn to smile, after all she had been through, he would try their way. Even the Force thought this was for the better, and that helped him relax into their care even further.
~So he is there, and another Jedi of Father's extended clan,~ Pel recapped from the long mental conference with Atin and Kifra.
~Yes, but we have not mentioned we are in the Dorin system or who you are. Might piece it together, but I wanted our parents to get a feel for the Jedi first.~
~Of course. I know all of you will help Luke build the basics. And then, when Mama Aayla says, I will come to help with the mental side of it.~
~Alright. I don't know where your vision will lead us, Pel, but… I think something shifted.~
~So the Sages believe,~ he assured her. ~Sleep well, my sisters.~
~You too,~ Kifra said, before shifting to be more comfortable in the bed with her big sister. "It has to get better, right?"
"We're going to try hard for that," Atin promised her, closing her eyes. She just wished her mother could be here to help them, as always.
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Call for Prompts
Dec. 1st, 2025 05:19 pmysabetwordsmithdialecticdreamer is running a prompt call all month in December! Leave prompts, get ficlets. \o/ MOAR GOODEEZ for everyone!This whole month I hope to fill with prompted stories, to celebrate my lovely readers and surviving the first quarter of the twenty-first century. It’s been jam-packed with crises and chaos, hasn’t it? Time to take a story break… or thirty.
( Read more... )
Season's Greetings!
Dec. 1st, 2025 04:09 pmgimmighoulcoins posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
holiday_wishesHello all! I learned about this comm this year and it's such a sweet idea, I'm excited to take part! No worries if folks can't fill my wishes, of course, but thank you for looking at my list at all - and may everyone's holiday season be wonderful!
1. Dreamwidth Points - Dreamwidth's paid time features are so great, and I keep finding more and more icons I like, so points I could put towards paid time or additional icon slots would be very appreciated!
2. Fic Recommendations - For Hazbin Hotel or Pokemon Horizons. Both are new favorite media I got really into this past year, and finding fic for large fandoms like Pokemon and Hazbin Hotel can get a little overwhelming, so I'd love recommendations of your favorite fics! The main things I'd like to read for Hazbin are: Husk/Angel Dust fic, or fic with a focus on Abel, Sir Pentious, Lucifer, or Emily. For Horizons, I'd be interested in fic focused on Friede, the friendship(s) between Roy, Dot, and/or Liko, and the bond between Roy and his team, as well as general slice of life on the Brave Olivine before the timeskip. In either fandom, I'm not interested in crackfic, character/ship bashing, porn without plot for Hazbin/smut fic in general for Horizons, or fics containing character death. Also, if you're recommending a fic for Pokemon Horizons, please note that I'm watching the English dub, and want to avoid spoilers for anything after HZ089, "Where the Adventure Leads," thank you!
3. 100x100 Icons - I can always use more Pokemon icons, and especially would love icons of any of the new Mega Evolutions in Legends Z-A or the characters Naveen, Taunie, Lida, L, or Mable from the same game, or icons of Friede, Cap, Roy, Dot, Liko, or any of their Pokemon from Pokemon Horizons!
4. Digital Giftcards - to Barnes and Noble, Hot Topic, Amazon, or the Nintendo eShop; you can DM me for my email address!
5. YouTube Recommendations - I'm a big fan of YouTubers who create content focused on art and character design, such as GinjaNinjaOwO, Momopurin, Prickly Alpaca, and TheStarfishface. I'd love to add more to my subscription list!
Again, thank you for checking out my list, and whatever you're celebrating or observing this time of year - if anything - I wish you the very best time!
1. Dreamwidth Points - Dreamwidth's paid time features are so great, and I keep finding more and more icons I like, so points I could put towards paid time or additional icon slots would be very appreciated!
2. Fic Recommendations - For Hazbin Hotel or Pokemon Horizons. Both are new favorite media I got really into this past year, and finding fic for large fandoms like Pokemon and Hazbin Hotel can get a little overwhelming, so I'd love recommendations of your favorite fics! The main things I'd like to read for Hazbin are: Husk/Angel Dust fic, or fic with a focus on Abel, Sir Pentious, Lucifer, or Emily. For Horizons, I'd be interested in fic focused on Friede, the friendship(s) between Roy, Dot, and/or Liko, and the bond between Roy and his team, as well as general slice of life on the Brave Olivine before the timeskip. In either fandom, I'm not interested in crackfic, character/ship bashing, porn without plot for Hazbin/smut fic in general for Horizons, or fics containing character death. Also, if you're recommending a fic for Pokemon Horizons, please note that I'm watching the English dub, and want to avoid spoilers for anything after HZ089, "Where the Adventure Leads," thank you!
3. 100x100 Icons - I can always use more Pokemon icons, and especially would love icons of any of the new Mega Evolutions in Legends Z-A or the characters Naveen, Taunie, Lida, L, or Mable from the same game, or icons of Friede, Cap, Roy, Dot, Liko, or any of their Pokemon from Pokemon Horizons!
4. Digital Giftcards - to Barnes and Noble, Hot Topic, Amazon, or the Nintendo eShop; you can DM me for my email address!
5. YouTube Recommendations - I'm a big fan of YouTubers who create content focused on art and character design, such as GinjaNinjaOwO, Momopurin, Prickly Alpaca, and TheStarfishface. I'd love to add more to my subscription list!
Again, thank you for checking out my list, and whatever you're celebrating or observing this time of year - if anything - I wish you the very best time!
Soricel's wishlist
Dec. 1st, 2025 08:25 pmsoricel posting in holiday_wishesHi everyone! This is my first time doing this, and I'm a little shy about it, but here goes! I would love it if you...
1.) Rec'd me some stuff! Right now I'm mostly on the hunt for webcomics, anime, C-dramas, or audio dramas of the modern-day slice-of-life variety, ideally with little to no romance and at least a couple queer characters in the cast. Also happy to check out some fics that fit this bill, even if the original fandom doesn't.
2.) Ranted at me about stuff you love! It's always fun for me to hear about things people are into, and often people's enthusiasm rubs off on me and I check out things I might not otherwise. I'd love to hear about what/who you love and why.
3.) Commented on a fic or podfic of mine, especially this pe-canon Raven Cycle thing starring the 300 Fox Way crew. It's probably my favorite fic I've written, and sadly it remains uncommented upon. :(
4.) Are a nonbinary person in your 30s/40s/older and would like to be DW friends or even better email penpals and share experiences/tips/etc.
5.) Told me about something you did/tried to do this year that made you a little happier and that I might wanna try too.
I think that's it! I love that this is a thing! Thank you! <3
1.) Rec'd me some stuff! Right now I'm mostly on the hunt for webcomics, anime, C-dramas, or audio dramas of the modern-day slice-of-life variety, ideally with little to no romance and at least a couple queer characters in the cast. Also happy to check out some fics that fit this bill, even if the original fandom doesn't.
2.) Ranted at me about stuff you love! It's always fun for me to hear about things people are into, and often people's enthusiasm rubs off on me and I check out things I might not otherwise. I'd love to hear about what/who you love and why.
3.) Commented on a fic or podfic of mine, especially this pe-canon Raven Cycle thing starring the 300 Fox Way crew. It's probably my favorite fic I've written, and sadly it remains uncommented upon. :(
4.) Are a nonbinary person in your 30s/40s/older and would like to be DW friends or even better email penpals and share experiences/tips/etc.
5.) Told me about something you did/tried to do this year that made you a little happier and that I might wanna try too.
I think that's it! I love that this is a thing! Thank you! <3
Come In Clutch
Dec. 1st, 2025 08:52 pmpennyarcade_feedI mean, I gotta make comics and stuff because it's a big part of my job. And Tim Sweeney and I probably wouldn't get along in real life; some people are literally too smart to talk to and I think he's probably one of them. I really, really want him to be wrong that AI will be involved in all future (game) production but I'm afraid he isn't.
Birdfeeding
Dec. 1st, 2025 02:17 pmysabetwordsmithToday is cloudy and cold.
I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a cardinal.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 12/1/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
It's snowing quite briskly now, falling almost straight down, like one of those animated holiday cards. Pretty. I wound up with snow all over my coat.
EDIT 12/1/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
I've seen a mourning dove.
The snow has decreased to a light flurry.
EDIT 12/1/25 -- I've seen one female and two male cardinals plus a dark-eyed junco. I also saw the sparrows on the suet feeder. :D Didn't take them long at all to find that this year. Sometimes it takes a week or more.
EDIT 12/1/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
There was a mourning dove on the porch when I went out.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a cardinal.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 12/1/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
It's snowing quite briskly now, falling almost straight down, like one of those animated holiday cards. Pretty. I wound up with snow all over my coat.
EDIT 12/1/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
I've seen a mourning dove.
The snow has decreased to a light flurry.
EDIT 12/1/25 -- I've seen one female and two male cardinals plus a dark-eyed junco. I also saw the sparrows on the suet feeder. :D Didn't take them long at all to find that this year. Sometimes it takes a week or more.
EDIT 12/1/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
There was a mourning dove on the porch when I went out.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
12 Days of Christmas - Thing #25
Dec. 1st, 2025 04:13 pmsmallhobbitEvery year I offer to write ficlets for friends which will be posted between 26 December and 6 January. This year is no different.
My range of fandoms can be found on AO3, where I'm Small_Hobbit, where, if you're not already aware, you can see the sort of things I write. Do note that there is no guarantee in the way my brain will work, but I will attempt to produce something you like.
Therefore, if you would like a ficlet, please comment below with your AO3 name if you have one and I don't already know it - not essential, I will make sure to let you know when yours is posted if you don't. And include your preferred fandom and character(s) (can be a pairing, several characters, or just one), together with a prompt. The prompt may be seasonal or not, as suits you.
And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
My range of fandoms can be found on AO3, where I'm Small_Hobbit, where, if you're not already aware, you can see the sort of things I write. Do note that there is no guarantee in the way my brain will work, but I will attempt to produce something you like.
Therefore, if you would like a ficlet, please comment below with your AO3 name if you have one and I don't already know it - not essential, I will make sure to let you know when yours is posted if you don't. And include your preferred fandom and character(s) (can be a pairing, several characters, or just one), together with a prompt. The prompt may be seasonal or not, as suits you.
And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
'Twas ever thus....
Dec. 1st, 2025 03:53 pmoursinThere was hoohahing going on last week on bluesky anent people pirating books on account authors do not need the money and should be creating for Love of Art.
And I will concede that when it comes to Evil Exploitative Academic Publishing Empires, I cannot get my knickers in a twist over people downloading papers for which they have not paid the extortionate fee, none of which goes to author of the paper or the reviewers who reviewed it for the journal in question (wot, me, bitter?) - in fact I will be over here cheering or offering to use such library access as I have to get access and offer a copy.
But honestly the Average Author of fictional works is not making molto moolah but is probably supporting themselves by doing something else or being supported by someone else (hey, Ursula K Le Guin? e.g. mentions somewhere she was a housewife when she first started out) and writing is not their sole occupation or source of remuneration.
And even writers who we look back on as Important and Successful had their money problems: Hardship grant applications to the Royal Literary Fund... show authors at their most vulnerable:
Nobody goes into writing for the money: today, professional authors in the UK earn a median income of £7,000, according to the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society. Looking at the starry names awarded grants through the RLF’s history makes clear that the challenges are not new. However, Kemp thinks the problem has become more acute in some regards. “The kinds of deal you get with a publisher as a mid-list fiction writer has gone down, down, down, down, down.” Twenty or 30 years ago, such writers could survive; it is now much tougher, he says. Big publishers are “paying large amounts of money to a small number of writers”. A “tiny percentage actually survive on what they’re making from writing.”
But looking back over the history of the fund:
“On the one hand there are people like Joyce and DH Lawrence, who are early in their careers, and indeed Doris Lessing, who are struggling to get going, who have made a mark but are finding it hard to make ends meet. And at the other end there are people like Coleridge, and more recently Edna O’Brien, who have had stellar careers, and you’d have hoped actually were doing OK, but the vicissitudes of a writer’s life mean that sometimes it goes to pot.”
I wonder how far the All More Complicated Stories behind the need are in the documentation, though:
Many documents show writers at the most vulnerable times of their lives, often in precarious positions early in their careers; everything from feeble book sales to illness to messy marriages to grief is chronicled here.... Nesbit, author of The Railway Children, wrote in an August 1914 letter that the shock of her husband’s death “overcame me completely and now my brain will not do the poetry romance and fairy tales by which I have earned most of my livelihood”.
She was, as I recall, the principle breadwinner of their polyamorous menage and support of its offspring. (Personally we should have danced on Hubert Bland's grave.)
Peasina's Wishes
Dec. 1st, 2025 01:35 pmpeasina posting in holiday_wishesHello friends,
I’m pea, a 30-something podficcer, Pokémon-fan, and craft-lover from the UK 👋 This is my eighth time participating in Holiday Wishes, and I look forward to the kind, wholesome interactions this event encourages all year. Thank you so much to anyone who grants any of my below wishes. You’re amazing!
1. DW Points – This was my first year having a paid DW account, and I love having access to extra icons, polls, and the search function! Any number of points you’d be kind enough to gift me would be extremely appreciated.
2. Female YouTuber recs – It’s always lovely to find a new YouTuber to binge, and I’d love to support more women making videos about topics I enjoy such as crafts, hobbies, LGBTQ+ themes, video games, and Pokémon. Some of my current favourites are: brattyxbre (zines), Emma Thorne (religion, LGBTQ+ rights, conspiracy theories), Karen Puzzles (jigsaw puzzles), Kyra/Strawberry Pokémon (Pokémon TCG collecting), Memoria (video games), Royalty Soaps (soap and candle making), and Shiny Catherine (Pokémon shiny hunting).
3. Paid Discord things – If you have any of those free trials of Discord Nitro to give out, I’d love to be the lucky recipient of one, especially from 22 Dec onward (when I’m taking part in a Discord-based fan event that’s always easier with Nitro.) My Discord username is ‘alittlesunshine’ – feel free to friend me. I also have a wishlist associated with my account with two cute profile add-ons I’d love to have, if you’re feeling extra generous.
4. Comments on any works in the PokePodProject collections — I co-modpokepodproject, an event that aims to create a fic and podfic for every Pokémon, and I would be delighted if the participants got more attention on their works. I’d appreciate it so, so, so much if you showed them (fic and/or podfic) some love. All are under 1k/10 mins. Here are some links to help you navigate:
Gen one: AO3 Collection | Spreadsheet of Works | Audiobook Anthology Downloads
Gen two: AO3 Collection | Spreadsheet of Works | Audiobook Anthology Downloads
5. Something to open for Christmas – I don’t really get gifts at Christmas, and not to sound shallow, but I do really enjoy having something to open. If you’d like to send me a little surprise, I’d be so grateful and will probably cry happy tears. Here’s a few things I like, if it helps: purple, pink, wax melts (citrus, coffee, sugary scents), stickers, sweets/candy, beads, handmade items (I LOVE crafts!! anything you made will excite me), Pokémon (especially steel and fairy types and any gen one Pokemon), and fruit-themed items. Please DM me for my address 💖
Thank you for looking at my wish list, and thank you again in advance for your kindness if you grant any of my wishes. Happy Holidays!
I’m pea, a 30-something podficcer, Pokémon-fan, and craft-lover from the UK 👋 This is my eighth time participating in Holiday Wishes, and I look forward to the kind, wholesome interactions this event encourages all year. Thank you so much to anyone who grants any of my below wishes. You’re amazing!
1. DW Points – This was my first year having a paid DW account, and I love having access to extra icons, polls, and the search function! Any number of points you’d be kind enough to gift me would be extremely appreciated.
2. Female YouTuber recs – It’s always lovely to find a new YouTuber to binge, and I’d love to support more women making videos about topics I enjoy such as crafts, hobbies, LGBTQ+ themes, video games, and Pokémon. Some of my current favourites are: brattyxbre (zines), Emma Thorne (religion, LGBTQ+ rights, conspiracy theories), Karen Puzzles (jigsaw puzzles), Kyra/Strawberry Pokémon (Pokémon TCG collecting), Memoria (video games), Royalty Soaps (soap and candle making), and Shiny Catherine (Pokémon shiny hunting).
3. Paid Discord things – If you have any of those free trials of Discord Nitro to give out, I’d love to be the lucky recipient of one, especially from 22 Dec onward (when I’m taking part in a Discord-based fan event that’s always easier with Nitro.) My Discord username is ‘alittlesunshine’ – feel free to friend me. I also have a wishlist associated with my account with two cute profile add-ons I’d love to have, if you’re feeling extra generous.
4. Comments on any works in the PokePodProject collections — I co-mod
pokepodproject, an event that aims to create a fic and podfic for every Pokémon, and I would be delighted if the participants got more attention on their works. I’d appreciate it so, so, so much if you showed them (fic and/or podfic) some love. All are under 1k/10 mins. Here are some links to help you navigate:Gen one: AO3 Collection | Spreadsheet of Works | Audiobook Anthology Downloads
Gen two: AO3 Collection | Spreadsheet of Works | Audiobook Anthology Downloads
5. Something to open for Christmas – I don’t really get gifts at Christmas, and not to sound shallow, but I do really enjoy having something to open. If you’d like to send me a little surprise, I’d be so grateful and will probably cry happy tears. Here’s a few things I like, if it helps: purple, pink, wax melts (citrus, coffee, sugary scents), stickers, sweets/candy, beads, handmade items (I LOVE crafts!! anything you made will excite me), Pokémon (especially steel and fairy types and any gen one Pokemon), and fruit-themed items. Please DM me for my address 💖
Thank you for looking at my wish list, and thank you again in advance for your kindness if you grant any of my wishes. Happy Holidays!
season's greasons
Dec. 1st, 2025 09:01 amyarnofariadne posting in holiday_wishesHello and happy holidays! May whatever your celebrations are be joyous, restorative, and blessed if they are religious.
1. Craft supplies donations for schools. Of course check with your local schools to see if this is something they really need, but I was until recently a TA in a special school and we were absolutely desperate for craft supplies that no one was donating. Fabric, even just in scraps, is especially valuable this time of year. Anything you have in your stash that you're not using, please see if you have a local school (particularly a special school) that could make use of it!
2. High quality, durable cat toys. My little guy is joyously destroying every toy he gets, and I simply don't have enough money to be replacing them at the speed he goes through them. I'd happily take recommendations (not Kong), or if you want to send me physical items, I'll have contact info at the bottom of this post.
3. Stickers. I'm long distance with one of my partners and we write lots of physical letters. I like to decorate the envelopes with stickers but my stash is running low and I'm having trouble finding cool stickers I like - most shops I find on Ko-fi and such are based in the US, and getting anything sent from the US is a very hit-or-miss prospect these days. I will again take recs - UK-based shops preferred, since I know most of the EU (understandably) won't ship to us either - or if you have spares you'd like to get rid of, contact info is at the bottom of this post. Themes I like: cats, mythology, folklore and folk art, vintage florals, spooky/witchy/Halloween things, hearts.
4. Washi tape. Same note as with the stickers - I keep finding local artists listing washi tape on their website and it must be going out of stock within minutes! No one seems to be able to keep it in stock, unless there is some vast washi tape-making supply shortage of which I'm unaware. If you have recs or any physical items you'd like to get rid of, I'm happy to take either.
5. Dreamwidth points. Always appreciated!
6. One more player for Vampire Heist. I'm running a homebrew D&D mini campaign on StartPlayingGames and we're one player short of starting. If you'd like to (fictionally) force the British Museum to repatriate some stuff, come play with us!
7. Anything off my Giftful wishlist. The wishlist is here and contact info's at the bottom of this post.
8. Commissions. I recently left my job because for a number of reasons it was killing me, and while I'm very happy with having given myself the gift of mental and physical health, I could use some work! I offer both writing and editing commissions, and I especially love editing, so if you've got some writing you'd like eyes on - anything from fic to novels - I'd be happy to help.
9. Eyes on my writing. It's really a struggle out there for writers trying to keep scrapers from stealing their work, and I've had to lower the visibility of my writing past what I would ideally have. All my writing is available for free onyarnofariadne_writes, though you do have to join the community (I'll swiftly approve - I'm just trying to keep out the bots). I'm in the process of cross-posting to my website as well. My books are also available for very low prices, and I'm happy to send out review copies for reviewers.
10. Word of mouth. Following on from the above, if you enjoy what I write, please tell someone! Writing reviews on Goodreads/Storygraph/Pagebound is always a kindness, and even just telling a friend you think would be into what I write would be very much appreciated.
You can DM me here on Dreamwidth, or send me an email at victoriacaroline at tuta dot com.
1. Craft supplies donations for schools. Of course check with your local schools to see if this is something they really need, but I was until recently a TA in a special school and we were absolutely desperate for craft supplies that no one was donating. Fabric, even just in scraps, is especially valuable this time of year. Anything you have in your stash that you're not using, please see if you have a local school (particularly a special school) that could make use of it!
2. High quality, durable cat toys. My little guy is joyously destroying every toy he gets, and I simply don't have enough money to be replacing them at the speed he goes through them. I'd happily take recommendations (not Kong), or if you want to send me physical items, I'll have contact info at the bottom of this post.
3. Stickers. I'm long distance with one of my partners and we write lots of physical letters. I like to decorate the envelopes with stickers but my stash is running low and I'm having trouble finding cool stickers I like - most shops I find on Ko-fi and such are based in the US, and getting anything sent from the US is a very hit-or-miss prospect these days. I will again take recs - UK-based shops preferred, since I know most of the EU (understandably) won't ship to us either - or if you have spares you'd like to get rid of, contact info is at the bottom of this post. Themes I like: cats, mythology, folklore and folk art, vintage florals, spooky/witchy/Halloween things, hearts.
4. Washi tape. Same note as with the stickers - I keep finding local artists listing washi tape on their website and it must be going out of stock within minutes! No one seems to be able to keep it in stock, unless there is some vast washi tape-making supply shortage of which I'm unaware. If you have recs or any physical items you'd like to get rid of, I'm happy to take either.
5. Dreamwidth points. Always appreciated!
7. Anything off my Giftful wishlist. The wishlist is here and contact info's at the bottom of this post.
8. Commissions. I recently left my job because for a number of reasons it was killing me, and while I'm very happy with having given myself the gift of mental and physical health, I could use some work! I offer both writing and editing commissions, and I especially love editing, so if you've got some writing you'd like eyes on - anything from fic to novels - I'd be happy to help.
9. Eyes on my writing. It's really a struggle out there for writers trying to keep scrapers from stealing their work, and I've had to lower the visibility of my writing past what I would ideally have. All my writing is available for free on
yarnofariadne_writes, though you do have to join the community (I'll swiftly approve - I'm just trying to keep out the bots). I'm in the process of cross-posting to my website as well. My books are also available for very low prices, and I'm happy to send out review copies for reviewers.10. Word of mouth. Following on from the above, if you enjoy what I write, please tell someone! Writing reviews on Goodreads/Storygraph/Pagebound is always a kindness, and even just telling a friend you think would be into what I write would be very much appreciated.
You can DM me here on Dreamwidth, or send me an email at victoriacaroline at tuta dot com.
Choosing Health Insurance: Two Unobvious Marketplace Deadlines [US, healthcare, Patreon]
Dec. 1st, 2025 06:23 amsidereaCanonical link: https://siderea.dreamwidth.org/1888828.html
Hey, Americans and people living in the US going through open enrollment on the state ACA marketplaces who haven't yet enrolled in a plan for 2026!
Just about every state in the union and DC (but not Idaho) proudly touts an end date to open enrollment sometime in January. This year for most states it ends January 15th, but in CA, NJ, NY, RI, and DC, it's January 31st, and here in Massachusetts, it's January 23rd. (Idaho's is December 15th.) [Source]
That sure sounds like the deadline is sometime in January.
No, it kinda isn't.
( tl;dr: Just assume if you want insurance to start Jan 1, the deadlines are to enroll by Dec 8 and to pay for the first month by Dec 15. Important deets within. [950 words] )
This post brought to you by the 220 readers who funded my writing it – thank you all so much! You can see who they are at my Patreon page. If you're not one of them, and would be willing to chip in so I can write more things like this, please do so there.
Please leave comments on the Comment Catcher comment, instead of the main body of the post – unless you are commenting to get a copy of the post sent to you in email through the notification system, then go ahead and comment on it directly. Thanks!
Hey, Americans and people living in the US going through open enrollment on the state ACA marketplaces who haven't yet enrolled in a plan for 2026!
Just about every state in the union and DC (but not Idaho) proudly touts an end date to open enrollment sometime in January. This year for most states it ends January 15th, but in CA, NJ, NY, RI, and DC, it's January 31st, and here in Massachusetts, it's January 23rd. (Idaho's is December 15th.) [Source]
That sure sounds like the deadline is sometime in January.
No, it kinda isn't.
( tl;dr: Just assume if you want insurance to start Jan 1, the deadlines are to enroll by Dec 8 and to pay for the first month by Dec 15. Important deets within. [950 words] )
This post brought to you by the 220 readers who funded my writing it – thank you all so much! You can see who they are at my Patreon page. If you're not one of them, and would be willing to chip in so I can write more things like this, please do so there.
Please leave comments on the Comment Catcher comment, instead of the main body of the post – unless you are commenting to get a copy of the post sent to you in email through the notification system, then go ahead and comment on it directly. Thanks!