Saga Κρεμμυδανθοί (Onion Blossoms): A Bouquet of Fic-Gifts for Chyntuck

Kahara · Oct 11, 2015

Constellations (Part 2/2)

The flock of Elellumiwi went into a tizzy over the appearance of a frozen bag of skinned ipkas that Eira carefully separated and loaded onto a smaller specialized cooking tray along with a ration of the namana-shuura sauce and scrubroot vegetables.

Meanwhile, Zhincet and some others had gone back to the base camp for a few food supplies from there as well – predictably, they returned with griddle cake mix, which was one of the few foods that the mix of teachers and students hadn’t completely tired of after months of the same. Eira eyed the griddle cake mix warily and shone a light on it to check for bugs. Finding none, she passed it along to Vuka to cook and also handed over a few handfuls of celonslay to flavor the cakes.

Kyp and the Ysanna trio helped Kam shred leaves for a goatgrass salad. Kyp looked a bit doubtful of the project. (The Ossan plant they used wasn’t actual goatgrass, but Keena had long since identified it as one of the edibles growing nearby – endorsing it with the high praise of “this has never killed anyone recently.” And it did taste like goatgrass, more or less. Somewhat less.) Taj and Min brought out a temperature-controlled crate of Korosian sweet ice from the cargo hold. What Tionne had thought was a bouquet of flowers that Eira set off to one side proved to be a kind of dessert as well -- or at least the Elellumiwi present fell on the yellow-orange blossoms with such gusto that it seemed like the most likely explanation.

To her relief, Taj seemed to have realized that it would be better to keep the alcoholic beverages out of circulation with Force-sensitive teenagers on the loose, and provided something carbonated instead. Thank the Force. An intoxicated Kyp Durron wreaking havoc was not something that she would have to worry about, or at least not for now.

Vuka and some of the researchers had set up an enclosed campfire and some improvised wind-shelters for the gathering. Both of those things were becoming necessary as the night grew colder and the autumn wind began to pick up from its earlier quiet.

Later, the main part of the New Republic team began to drift back to camp as the sedative effects of heavy eating set in and they longed for the warmth of their sleeping bags. A few of the more determined Elellumiwi remained in a group by the fire, with Xim and the gopher-like chitlik Zarth curled up beside them. Althya had long since been returned to the warmer environs of the ship.

The wind was much louder than it had been, making eerily voice-like cries as it moved across the landscape. But Tionne had grown used to it over time and even found a kind of comfort in the sound of it talking through the ancient Jedi structures and the canyons that surrounded them.

Eira sang a song about a bird that fell in love with the moon that she had learned on Najiba as a child, accompanied by the small harp that Tionne had given her as a gift before leaving the crew. Llinos had always been fond of that song, and the other Elellumiwi also appeared to be drawn to the story it told. Possibly inspired by the atmosphere, Vuka and Min told ghost stories that they had heard from other spacers, which inspired Kyp and Keena to attempt to out-spook each other until Zy put a stop to that with a tale that was scarier still. Taj and Min played a duet together, each on some kind of woodwind instrument Tionne had never seen before (she was very curious as to how the mouthpiece worked, given that their lips were more canoid than humanoid in structure). The longing in the music was so strong that it brought tears to her eyes.

Kam, naturally, asked for the unfortunate tale of Tionne the ronto thief and was enthusiastically regaled with the entire story by Vuka. Tionne couldn’t help but wonder at his genuine delight at hearing the adventures of her younger self – while she wasn’t going to die of humiliation at having it mentioned, it had never been her proudest moment. The whole thing had been silly from beginning to end. And yet, Kam somehow managed to get her laughing at it too. Maybe it was that he just didn’t give a bantha’s rear for his own pride – as entirely separate from dignity – and the condition was contagious in proximity.

Then someone handed her the double viol in its case that she had left back in the base camp. She strummed a few chords, considering what to play.

“Oh, come on. We all know you’re going to sing it.” Kyp shook his head and shot her a look that contained actual, honest to goodness humor for the first time she could recall.

And if someone gave her an opening like that, she wasn’t going to not sing “The Ballad of Nomi Sunrider”, now was she? Llinos quickly picked up the structure of the new tune and accompanied her. It felt like old times with the two of them singing to a cantina crowd.

Soon it was clearly well past the teenagers’ bedtimes as much as they protested otherwise, and Tionne and Kam helped the crew clear up the remainder of the mess that the research team hadn’t packed off back to the camp already. Saying goodbye was difficult. It had really been too long since Tionne had seen these people, and catching up with them was bittersweet in a way. So much had changed and so much was still the same with them. And she too was changing and still a bit the same. But she didn’t have the empty feeling she’d had when she first left the crew, watching the Estrell take off without her.

With all of the tired teenagers and shivering reptavians squared away for the night, Tionne planned to head for her own bedroll soon as well. But she found herself drawn from the shelter by the sighing of the wind for a minute and paused there to look at the stars. The night sky on Ossus was one of the clearest Tionne had seen in all her travels; the stars blazed with an intensity that took her breath away. It looked as though Kam had also felt like stargazing, since she found him leaning against the landspeeder outside. She curled into the offered warmth of his arm around her shoulders and pressed a light kiss on the edge of his jaw.

No man who had spent the day trekking around in the dust of Ossus had any right to smell that good, she thought. They kissed again with more thoroughness before settling to watch the sky. It had been an interesting few months since she and Kam had made the decision to not push their mutual attraction but give it a chance all the same. There were good reasons not to rush into anything too quickly. Kam was still dealing with the process of integrating back into society after over a decade of induced amnesia and Sith mental conditioning – much of it spent living in a flattened emotional state that Tionne thought could probably be diagnosed as a mood disorder if not for the circumstances (and for the fact that it had mostly evaporated when he turned back to the light side of the Force). And Tionne was a complete rookie to the practical side of using the Force, as opposed to the historical aspects she had been gleaning information about for most of her life; she needed a lot of her concentration to go into her training. So here they were, seeking to maintain a delicate balance that Tionne knew made their progress as a pair seem glacial in its pace. But she felt surer every day that it was working.

In spite of the inevitable butterflies and anxieties that came with falling for someone, Tionne had always found that she defaulted to feeling comfortable around Kam. It was a different emotional realm from that of any romantic relationship that she could remember, not less passionately felt but with an underlying sense of being at ease – as though she had found something that she always knew was missing but couldn’t have named.

"You know, it's occurred to me that our sequencing is mixed up. First we had teenagers, then we went and took them with us to introduce you all to my family, and I don’t think either of us has so much as asked the other on a date.” She felt the quiet laughter rumbling in Kam’s chest, though she could barely hear it over the breeze.

“The more I learn, the more I think that nothing is really accidental.” He smiled and pulled Tionne closer, resting his chin on the top of her head for a minute. “Look at your old crew. They’re all smart, capable beings in their own ways, but not really ruthless enough to thrive living on the fringe. What are the odds of those people ending up in the same place? I get the impression that most of them were on the road to an early grave, but instead they found each other, helped each other – even somehow managed not to strangle each other living in close quarters.”

“A near thing sometimes, believe me.” She scanned the starscape for the pinpoint lights of a spacecraft already long gone from the atmosphere. “Funny thing, but I think they like you – even Llinos, and she’s a tough vweilu nut to crack. She never liked anyone I brought home.”

“Hmm. I’ll admit, I had expected them to be a bit more difficult in personality. Smugglers generally are. They weren’t at all what I thought they would be, and I’m glad.” Kam’s expression was hard to read and made more so by the night, but she thought she saw a spark of mischief. “Wouldn’t want to be in the bad graces of the in laws.”

“Don’t turn out to be a cultist of the Ember of Vahl.”

“I promise.”

“There, you’re set.” Tionne paused. “So the way that we met, a vagabond street musician with Jedi sympathies and a dark side adept who managed to ignore the obvious for weeks on end – that wasn’t a cosmic accident in your view?”

“I’m not exactly objective, but no.” Shifting his weight a bit in thought, Kam stretched and resettled. “I think we both had something to learn from crossing paths back then. You seemed – changed when I saw you last, before we met again. I was too, though I was foolish enough to think that I would lose all of the memory permanently.” Tionne squeezed his arm, probably more to reassure herself than Kam; she had met him back then and even the bare edge of his experience that she had perceived haunted her. “Now I think that the reverberations of an event are never really canceled, only changed.”

“Kam, I don’t know what kind of role fate or luck or choices might have played, but I’ll always be more than grateful to the Force that I didn’t lose you forever. I didn’t feel the way I do about you now, but I had begun to consider you a friend.” She smiled at his perplexed tilt of the head – one thing that, come to think of it, hadn’t changed since then. “Okay, so you were a really strange, probably ethically unfortunate and definitely unwise choice of friend – but a friend all the same. I really worried about what was going to happen to you, after. There was no reason for me to expect to ever know the outcome.” Tionne halted to let the tightness in her throat subside. “I’m glad you’re here. All the time. Every day.” She leaned into Kam’s hug.

“Same here.”

There was a constellation in the northwest that Tionne had learned to identify, the one that Trey had told her the Ysanna associated with the Tree of Ascent. That tree had actually turned out to be the hibernating Jedi Master Ood Bnar, and then been felled by an Imperial adept on awakening. In a way, she knew Bnar was a part of those stars now – and of the Ysanna, the Jedi, the Imperials, and even of herself and Kam as they stood staring up at the sky. Jedi philosophy was enough to give one a touch of vertigo on occasion.

Eventually, the temperature had dropped enough that both Jedi apprentices had to yield to the weather and head back into camp. Tionne thought of the nights at her childhood home on Rindao as she dropped off to sleep, and how her favorite constellation had been the one that locals called the Two Dragons (because it reminded her of the legend of Nomi Sunrider and her battle with the Hssiss).

Later she had been moving so often that she rarely had time to learn such details about the worlds where she set foot, but here and there she had picked up a few. And now there was also the Tree constellation, which reminded her of Kam, of Trey, Keena, and Rona, and of the breeze whispering through the ancient Jedi library at night. Maybe she would write a song about that, or maybe the song was already in the wind and needed nothing more. There was hope here, and the companionship of friends old and new -- and she and Kam were building something that she felt would have strong roots, however unlikely the origins might have been.

There was a sleep-muddled twitter from the next shelter where the Elellumiwi were resting as they sorted out the arrangement of claws and beaks so that they were out of the way of stomachs and wings. “Nice flowers,” she heard one of the reptavians comment to the others.

“Think they might have been decorative?”

“Nah.”

Notes:

Since there turned out to be so many references (mostly food, it seems ), I’ve put them in a Google document:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CDTtNC6d6N48aBRWs3TC2YmVNxR4UARSVfw7VJuw2O8/edit?usp=sharing

Playlist (yes, Kahara has turned to the dork side here ):

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SYGUYyCsR_rU5c3iqeiPi8MmKfv5QfStjSDDw13ZWg4/edit?usp=sharing

Congratulations: to Chyntuck and her husband! Best wishes for the two of you.

AzureAngel2 · Oct 11, 2015

So many beautiful stories! I am awed. And very sorry that I could not come up with one. The words did not come to me at all. I thought hard & long. Might I perhaps send you, dear Chyntuck, a drawing/ painting via the postal way? Pretty please? And something else that I am also preparing for mrsvos, Darth Gangrenous, Ceillean, Tyranus230 & his fiancé?

WarmNyota_SweetAyesha · Oct 11, 2015

Kahara - how fun! Tionne and Kam not a pairing you see often so that's cool. And the title! Love your attention to detail & the friendly/affectionate banter.

Chyntuck · Oct 14, 2015

Oh, Kahara You had me at the dramatis personae: Llinos, Elellumiwi spacer

You created such a wonderful backstory and a wonderful "adoptive" family for Tionne in this story, with the motley crew of the Estrell and its menagerie (Xim the Despot? cheerful hiss? ) The two Amarans are such characters, not to mention the Sarkan ("That whole mess with Daala couldn’t have had worse timing." ) I was trying to figure out a way to describe them, but then of course you gave it to me:

“Look at your old crew. They’re all smart, capable beings in their own ways, but not really ruthless enough to thrive living on the fringe. What are the odds of those people ending up in the same place? I get the impression that most of them were on the road to an early grave, but instead they found each other, helped each other – even somehow managed not to strangle each other living in close quarters.”
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(Is it acceptable to quote a paragraph from the story you are reviewing as what you meant to say?)

And of course, they had to tease Tionne about the ronto theft thingy, and you didn't tell us what it was exactly You're going to have to write that longer story now!

I also really enjoyed how Kyp-the-recovering troublemaker is hovering in the background, as if ready to strike until they put him to bed. Ah, well. At least he didn't get drunk.

All that food sounded scrumptious (except the somewhat-less-than-goatgrass, I think I'd rather have real goatgrass instead) and there was something really soothing about the serenity of the entire scene, especially in the transition from the large group teasing each other to the more intimate setting of Kam and Tionne's dialogue. Lovely moment of melty mush there, with of course the trademark Kahara wit:

"You know, it's occurred to me that our sequencing is mixed up. First we had teenagers, then we went and took them with us to introduce you all to my family, and I don’t think either of us has so much as asked the other on a date.”
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Yup. These people have a complicated life.

And finally, the Elellumiwi! Oh, the Elellumiwi! I love how you describe them huddling all together to keep warm and "sorting out the arrangement of claws and beaks so that they were out of the way of stomachs and wings". You have no idea how grateful I am to you for introducing me to this species! And of course, they would get the punchline:

“Nice flowers,” she heard one of the reptavians comment to the others.

“Think they might have been decorative?”

“Nah.”
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Thanks so much for this wonderful present!

Kahara · Oct 14, 2015

Nyota's Heart: Thank you very much. I've grown to like the idea of the Kam/Tionne pairing and so it's been fun to try to write it. Part of the appeal for me is that they might seem like very different people on the surface, and they are in some ways -- but there's a whole lot more to them than that first impression, and they share some really interesting common threads.

Chyntuck: Aww, you're welcome!

And I do the quoting thing all the time -- in fact, I think it's the main way that I figure out what to say in reviews at all. Tionne's old crew (minus Tionne) had been in notes for another story where it turned out they didn't work with the plot. But then I started planning this story and they seemed like just the people to explain something of what she was up to during those years of wandering. It's true that I'm very likely going to have to tell the story of Tionne's ronto thievery one day. (I suspect the shortened version comes to "but it followed me home.") As for Xim the Despot, he was heavily inspired by one of my cats. The furball in question has taken it upon himself to manage bedtimes and other aspects of human activity in the household, and gets rather imperious when things are not accomplished in the correct order and way.

"Kyp the recovering troublemaker" could pretty much be his canon bio too. I think he didn't mess up as catastrophically as in the Academy trilogy here, but he still has a bit of youthful angst and that Anakin-ish mix of insecurity and arrogance. I don't think Tionne or anyone else wanted to imagine the consequences of drunk!Kyp.

Re: the food description, thanks. I think I'd try most of it. Maybe even the un-goatgrass (then again, maybe not ). And I'm happy if the mood (and mush) came through well, since I was definitely going for a peaceful feel to things.

Yup. These people have a complicated life.
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They really do.

Thanks very much re: the Elellumiwi. I absolutely adore writing them -- it makes the dinosaur/dragon/phoenix/whatever fangirl and the sci fi/fantasy cultures fangirl aspects of my writing-brain both very happy -- and so it's been great to find someone else enjoys them as well, and does brilliant stuff with them. I will never quite be done squee-ing over how you've included them in your Eliskandro stories. So of course they had to be here in abundance.

I'm really glad you enjoyed the story!

Findswoman · Oct 14, 2015

Wow. WOW. I am so thrilled about how this project turned out. What a wonderful collection this has become, and what a wonderful tribute to our friend, thanks to all the wonderful work you fine folks have put in. Thank you, thank you all so much.

And the way everyone has worked in the prompts so differently, how all the stories interpret them differently, how different writers emphasized the different prompts differently… I’m just plain in awe. That’s what makes this such a bouquet, and it’s why I just love projects like this.

And since I’ve owed you all individual story comments for a long time, here goes:

Goodwood, “We’ll Have a Ball”: So much fun to see the characters from Silver Swarms of Ships again—it’s been a while! Given how things ended up there, I'm not surprised to see Chak and Mara married. After all the trials and tribulations of war described in Silver Swarms, it’s so nice to see them just able to enjoy their time together with music, dancing, and tasty food, and without (too much) worry that things are suddenly going to go catastrophically wrong the next day (a feeling that very realistically pervaded the diary). Of course, the sorrows and tribulations of war and of military life are still hanging in the background here, with the memory of the previous beloved and the fact that being “Glory-Crossed” isn’t all roses. But Chak at least got not only a wife and good friends but also some good stories out of it—somehow these yarn-spinning abilities seem very consistent with his character. Poor long-suffering Capt. Qeramo! I like him already.

Nyota's Heart, “Gentle Souls and Warm Hearts”: A very sweet little tribute to some of the standout beautiful elements of Chyntuck ’s own story: the snow-crystal jewelry and the gentle warmth of the Talz. The comparison of their culture with that of Alderaan is a poignant touch which it would be very cool to see developed further. And we even get to hear about another Azada shaman! Like Chyn, I’m curious about her, too.

divapilot, "The Way to a Princess’s Heart”: Oh, I just love the way you’ve done Han and Chewie’s repartee here! In particular, I just love the fact that you’ve “translated” Chewie’s dialogue instead of just giving descriptions of how he growled or roared or grumbled things. He really did steal the show in this—I can totally see him both as a capable cook (though that chyntuck pie sounds like heady stuff!) and a hearty trencherman (the image of him snoring with his hand on his belly is just priceless). But Han really shines too: his “creative retranslation” of his “don’t mess things up” comment was one of my favorite moments and so pricelessly in character—I could almost hear Harrison Ford uttering it in the same tone of voice as his “weapons malfunction” comment in the Death Star cell block.

Admiral Volshe, “Heroes”: Very powerful story here—go you for placing the “help for the downtrodden” prompt (one of the harder ones!) at the center of this. Srebro’s heroic indeed for running so many huge risks at once to rescue the Talz family: his "civil disobedience” of his superiors, the horrendous weather conditions, the danger of being spotted by the enemy. His "I’m here to help you” stood out for me somehow—I think it’s because you took the infamous “I’m here to rescue you” of the Saga and really turned it around into something very sincere. We get to see the whole gamut of Volshe specialties here, starting with a riveting battle/action scene that I could actually follow (that says a lot!) and finishing with a wonderful and life-affirming celebration punctuated with humor. Chef Gormaanda was a wonderful touch—especially for the way you depicted Chi-som’s incredulous reactions to her impossibly acrobatic maneuvers.

JadeLotus, “Unfurl Towards the Sun”: I find the juxtaposition of Vader plus wedding plus flowers really compelling somehow (and it may or may not be due to the fact that I own this Her Universe dress ). I always enjoy a good characterization of Vader (still my favorite SW villain after all these years), and you’ve done a superb job of showing that characteristic bright spark that lurks deep within him below all the layers of jaded evil—all brought out by a flower. Loved too the idea of the X-Wing as work of art, not only because of its workmanship but also because of the aura that it’s acquired from being Luke’s ship. The idea of Vader keeping it as a trophy of sorts really does make sense somehow (the trilogy never really seems to answer the question of what happened to it, does it?), as does the idea of him actually taking it out for a spin—he no doubt will have some flashbacks to the swashbuckling “yee-haa!” moments of his Anakin past. Another detail I enjoyed was the attire of the wedding couple, since I know in the past you’ve expressed a wish to see more non-Western wedding attire in SW—and now I’m curious about the background and culture of Ziti Adrasteia and her new husband.

Raissa Baiard, “Glamorous Hutt”: Mahvelous, dahling—she’s gorgeous! And she’s another member of the “mahvelously unconventional Hutts” club—never can have too many! Like Chyn, I just love all those little priceless touches, and I can imagine the lush and luxurious materials they must be made of—that big, fluffy, luxurious pillow is no doubt made of really fancy satiny fabric, with real gold on the tassels and real down inside.

Ewok Poet, “Nolevorution, Of Course”: This is a tour de force. I know you went back and forth a bit about what to write for this project, and when you first mentioned the basic idea of this to me (the conspiracy that turned out to be a festival) I had no idea that it would turn out to be in the form of a mini-Black Star spinoff—what a fantastic surprise! And here, in the ultra-anything-at-all-proof bunker, the intra-Triad repartee, and poor unfortunate Joak (I hope he someday meets someone who’s never heard of him or his “baby burp” dance!), we see same combination of keen, Kafkaesque wit and detailed worldbuilding that characterizes that wild-and-woolly epic. Right down to the zany “in case of black hole” precautions and even the (probably not totally unplanned!) “Buy Saygo!” blip. It’s so priceless how the three Triad leaders jump straight from quashing Joak’s paranoia about the Nolerday festival into a little paranoia of their own with that MEGA-ULTRA-SUSPICIOUS rubber quadduck (yay quadducks!)—they’ve almost got me wondering whether it will turn out to be something big and important in TBS after all! Indeed, I think I know which Sacorrian and which offworlder they mean—and whatever the implications for the bigger epic may be, I just think it’s so cool how you managed to achieve that tie-in in such a meaningful way. I love it when writers and their stories do that.
And given the way you’ve imagined Sacorria—indeed, the whole Corellian sector—as “the Balkans… IN SPAAAAACE,” that adds to this being a perfect tribute to a fellow Balkan (if that’s the word I want). Plus, your incorporation of her fanon fashion brands is a lovely touch. Bravissima all around!

Kahara, “Constellations”: What a colorful cast of characters! I am now hungering to read more about them and the no doubt fun and wacky capers that are alluded to throughout the story, including the infamous “ronto thief” story. If you ever decide to revisit the story you mentioned about the crew of the Estrell in their pre-Tionne days, do let me know; could be an interesting “origin story” of sorts for her, in a way. The aliens enthusiast in me naturally loves how many wonderful alien species and other bits and pieces you’ve integrated from the Legends canon (in true Kahara fashion—you’re one of the originators of the now time-honored “list of Wook links at the end of a story” practice, as I understand). But mainly I just think it’s so cool that the head honcho of the Estrell's whole “rescued strays” endeavor—from which our heroine herself has benefited—is not some big noble Human but a diminutive, playful vulpinoid. Indeed, the Amaran couple really shines at least as much as Kam and Tionne do. And, like Chyn, I think you did a bang-up job on the part-loving, part-querulous, part-witty banter of both couples, which is very believable and sweet. I don’t know these particular canon characters very well, but I remember that Tionne is a musician, so of course her observations at the very beginning of the different, distinctive sound of each ship really rung out for me.
And there are the Elellumiwi, in spades. I’m going to be unoriginal and second everything Chyn said about them, because I feel the same way. I can just picture them chowing down on those bouquets like there’s no tomorrow.
You probably can guess why I like the ship name Estrell. But besides that obvious bit and its resonances with the Spanish word estrella ‘star’, it's also calling to mind the Catalan word estornell ‘starling’, which is perfect given how the avians steal the show.

Once again, thank you all so much for bringing this project to life—I can't say it enough times. Nor, of course, can I say enough “congratulationses” and “best wisheses” to The Space Onion herself.

Findswoman · Oct 16, 2015

To the Chyntucks, with love.

Author: Findswoman
Title: In Search of a Hutt’s Dinner Music
Era: Saga
Characters: Mainly OCs at the court of Great Bonvika the Hutt
Notes: Look for a few Chyntuck fanon elements here and there! Many thanks to Ewok Poet and Admiral Volshe for beta-reading on very short notice.

At Great Bonvika’s villa in the meadowlands outside Gebroila, Nal Hutta, preparations were underway for a gala dinner party. The table in the Great Hall had been set with the finest antique porcelain, crystal, and silver from Great Bonvika’s extensive collections. Daises piled with luxurious cushions and throws had been prepared for three eminent visiting Hutts. Mouse droids whirred about, dusting and sweeping. Chef droids were busily at work in the kitchens slicing, dicing, chopping, chiffonading, broiling, braising, sautéing, and fricasséeing rich delicacies made from the Galaxy’s finest foodstuffs, all under the supervision of a jolly, rotund Swokes Swokes in an orange-and-teal checkered apron. The guests would be arriving in just a few hours; right now they were out on a tour of Bonvika’s magnificent grounds and gardens, conducted by the equally magnificent Hutt herself.

A broad-shouldered female Weequay in coveralls was sitting in the spacious butler’s pantry, a large basket of variegated flowers beside her. She had cut them herself from Bonvika’s vast display gardens, particularly the Malreaux Rose Garden and the Naboo Formal Garden (alas, the Dantooine Meadow Garden had had only a paltry yield that year), and she was busy arranging them in a large crystal vase.

The Weequay had just placed a deep cobalt-hued Ithorian rose between a rock-daisy and a dappled everlily when the door flew open. A harried-looking Theelin with curly purple hair burst into the room, holding her portable comm to her ear with one hand and gesticulating frantically with the other.

“What do you mean, Collegium Coruscantium can’t make it tonight?!” squawked the Theelin into her mobile device. The Weequay couldn’t help but smile to herself. This was Bonvika’s majordomo, Diva Marquisha, and kriffed if she wasn’t always tearing around the place like a decapitated Hillindor fowl.

“I mean they can’t make it tonight.” The voice on the other end was just audible, though somewhat distorted and staticky. “They have nothing to play. Their instruments got damaged in transit.”

“Damaged in transit? How?”

“Apparently there was a cage with a baby rancor in the cargo hold of their transport ship. During the jump to hyperspace it tipped sideways onto the crate with their instruments.”

“Wait, how does a baby rancor—”

“No, no, the cage. Anyhow, both double viols got smashed and the neck of Sarge’s theeyorba split right in half.”

“But there’s still Bekku and that Mandalorian flute player, whatever his name is . . .”

“All right, then, you tell me what they are going to perform from the vast, extensive repertoire of duets for baroque bes’bev and sakaboocha.”

Marquisha sighed and flopped down in a chair. The impact sent a cloud of tiny white and blue flowers fluttering to the floor. The Weequay bent over to pick them up, trying not to let Marquisha hear her tut-tutting.

“Look, can’t you just call up Knic Nagegem at the Nar Shaddaa Philharmonia Barokka and borrow a couple of viols and a theeyorba?”

“Nothing doing,” came the reply. “They’re in transit to the Theed Festival right now. They’re going early to take part in that benefit concert to raise money for the GYORM Scholarship.”

The Weequay, who was busy trimming the thorns from a large, dark red Malreaux rose, could barely stifle a titter. After years of working for a high-culture enthusiast like Bonvika, she knew well that GYORM stood for “Gifted Young Outer-Rim Musicians.” But it was also her native language’s word for “mud.”

“All right, fine.” The Theelin exhaled in resignation. “Bonvika will have a fit, but . . . we’ll just have to see what we can do. Marquisha out.”

The comm gave a final weak bleep and was silent. Marquisha shoved it into the pocket of her light-green pantaloons.

“Kiri-Aki, this is terrible,” she moaned. “I don’t what I’m going to do.”

The Weequay placed the Malreaux rose into the vase. “Can’t Great Bonvika get along without live dinner music just once?” she asked. She was on the point of adding that Gardulla managed to eat most of her meals without live music—and that, if absolutely necessary, she just pulled in the Ortolan nalargon player from the local cantina. But she thought better of it.

“Of course not. You know how she gets. Her digestion and all. Plus, her guests are expecting it. It’s gotten to be a thing, you know. Live dinner music at Bonvika’s, and all that . . . Oh, hello, Noakley. What is it?”

The Swokes Swokes cook had just emerged from the kitchen door, grinning exultantly. “Diva Marquisha, ma’am!” he exclaimed in a surprisingly high-pitched voice for one of his height and girth. “Everything’s ready! Come on in and have a little tasty-taste!”

“Sure, all right.” She followed him into the kitchen. A moment later, Kiri-Aki heard Noakley’s effusive tones extolling the flavor, ingredients, and health properties of some fancy dish or other. Then came a brief silence, then a few monosyllabic remarks from Diva Marquisha. This cycle repeated itself several times. At last the door swung open and Marquisha flounced back into the butler’s pantry, the cook close behind her.

“I’m sorry, Noakley. This is just not acceptable.”

“But Diva Marquisha, ma’am! The menu instructions clearly said ‘tomo-spiced kraken ribenes’!”

“It was tomo-spiced karkan ribenes. I’ll show you.” She took out her mobile device, tapped on its screen a few times, and shoved it into Noakley’s face. “See? Tomo-spiced karkan ribenes.” She enunciated each word as if speaking to a small child with weaker-than-average hearing. “And the Callosian spring vegetable soup. There isn’t supposed to be a layer of green film on top of a proper Callosian spring vegetable soup.”

The Swokes Swokes’s face fell like a rotten soufflé. “But Diva Marquisha, ma’am! This was my Aunt Smokie’s very own special recipe from when she served as court cook to the Queen Mother of Hapes!”

“That doesn’t matter, Noakley. We can’t serve this to Great Bonvika. You know how she hates it when her soup is greasy. You’re going to have to take this to the B’Omarr Order Children’s Home in the Refugee Sector or something.”

“If you say so, Diva Marquisha, ma’am.” Noakley trudged dejectedly back into the kitchen. Again Marquisha plopped down on a chair, burying her face in her hands.

“Oh, Kiri-Aki, what a catastrophe! What am I going to do?”

“Easiest thing in the Galaxy,” responded Kiri-Aki, not looking up from the Mycosia flower whose leaves she was trimming. “Order take-out.”

“Did you just say ‘order take-out’?”

“Why not?” Kiri-Aki shrugged. “We used to do that all the time at Gardulla’s. She had a flaky cook too. The guests never knew the difference.”

Marquisha paused a moment in thought. “Well, I guess there’s that new Lebnan place . . . it did get some pretty good reviews on Squeal . . .”

“Well, there you go.” Kiri-Aki thrust the Mycosia flower into the vase with a decisive gesture.

“Okay, that takes care of the food, but what about the music? If Bonvika and her guests don’t get their dinner music, I’m the one who’s going to get chewed out!”

“Well, doesn’t your little girl play ommni box?”

“Kiri-Aki!” A sudden, exasperated gesture from Marquisha scattered a pile of wispy greenery to two, if not four, corners of the room. “You are not seriously suggesting that I put Soozoo up there in the musicians’ gallery to play ommni box for a dinner party full of Hutts!”

Equally exasperated, Kiri-Aki dropped to her knees and set about retrieving the fallen foliage. “Look. We have to keep all options under consideration. Now you go comm that take-out place and leave this music business to me, all right?”

“All right, fine.” Marquisha stood up and took out her comm unit again. Kiri-Aki returned to her centerpiece. Within minutes she heard the sounds of her colleague ordering six large Hom mousses, ten orders of nerf-and-bantha shah-shliik, five kilos of Bababbb-harvested ghanuj, and several other delicacies of Lebnan cuisine.

* * *

A little later, Kiri-Aki was pacing through the halls of the staff quarters, applying her mind to the problem of engaging live musicians for the dinner party. She racked her brains to think of who on Great Bonvika’s household staff might have musical experience of any kind. But no one came to mind besides the three Bith conservatory students who made up the usual house ensemble, who were currently away on a gig in Coronet City—which was why Collegium Coruscantium had been engaged in the first place. Kiri-Aki herself had learned the basics of traditional Weequay drumming at the nunnery on Sriluur where she had been educated, and she thought she might still have her old hand drum somewhere. But that had been a very long time ago. Besides, Bonvika would certainly want more than a single drum for her dinner music.

Suddenly Kiri-Aki stopped in her tracks. She could just barely hear sounds of some kind from behind one of the doors. They were musical sounds: a gentle, harmonious plucking that sounded like a harp of some kind, over which an almost childlike treble voice sang softly in a language she had never heard before.

A closer listen revealed that the music was coming from one of the doorways toward the end of the hallway—the one with the airlock, as the gray box with the red light beside the door testified. These quarters, she seemed to remember, belonged to one of the two new agents. Could it be—could it just be—that one of them knew how to play music . . . ? But what if it were just someone listening to a music chip . . . ?

Kiri-Aki placed her hand on the door-chime button, then paused for a moment, listening to the plaintive melody emanating from inside. So haunting it was, so mesmerizing, that she almost wished could spend the rest of the afternoon just standing there and letting the music wash over her. But that was simply not an option, because the dinner party was in less than an hour and a half.

She pressed the chime. The music stopped. There was a loud thunk, followed by a long, sustained hissing sound from the airlock. At last the door slid open, and Kiri-Aki found herself face to face with a Gand Findswoman in coral-colored robes. She was resting one hand on a small carved wooden harp and gazing motionlessly at Kiri-Aki through golden compound eyes.

“How may Telfien be of service?” she asked in a meek voice.

“Sorry to interrupt—well, um—you see—I just wondered if—uh—” Kiri-Aki’s eyes darted nervously back and forth between her interlocutor’s masked face and the harp down at her side. There was something about the petite insectoid’s piercing, expressionless gaze that tongue-tied her.

“You are seeking musicians for the banquet, yes?”

“Well—well, yes . . . h-how did you know?”

“The Mists revealed to Telfien that you are seeking musicians for the banquet.”

“Ah. I—I see,” the Weequay stuttered, noting ruefully that under different circumstances she might have come out with something closer to “Well, ask a silly question.”

All was silent for a few moments. Telfien remained motionless; Kiri-Aki placed both hands in her pockets and shuffled her feet. At last the Gand spoke.

“Telfien is willing and ready to lend you her assistance.”

“Why, yes, uh, thank you—th-thank you so much!” At least that was one down. “Um—yes—well, now—”

Just then Kiri-Aki found herself interrupted by a silvery laugh and the words, “She has that effect on everybody, doesn’t she?”

Kiri-Aki spun around to face a gangly Human female with red braids—the second of the two new agents, if she remembered aright.

“Don’t be afraid of my colleague here,” said the Human again, addressing Kiri-Aki. “She’s a little quirky, but she’s really quite a dear once you talk to her for a bit. Is there anything we can do for you?”

“Why, yes, indeed.” Kiri-Aki felt strangely relieved to be talking to someone with eyes closer in size to her own. “I’m looking for anyone who can play some music at Great Bonvika’s dinner party tonight. Your associate”—she gestured to Telfien—“has graciously agreed to lend a hand.”

“Music at Great Bonvika’s dinner party?” The Human looked incredulous. “Why? What happened to that group from Coruscant?”

“They had to cancel.” Kiri-Aki did not feel like repeating the whole story of the baby rancor. “Do you . . . play anything? Or sing?”

“Me?” The Human woman gave another lyrical laugh. “Oh no, I’m afraid that music was one talent with which the Force never gifted me. Now Delphine here and that harp of hers—”

“Glockel Sternenkranz.” The Gand’s gaze was now fixed on her Human colleague. “Telfien has seen and heard you with her own eyes and earholes playing the wind instrument known as the sopranino sackpipe.”

“S-sopranino s-sackpipe?” W-what are you talking about, Delphine? I’ve never—”

“Telfien remembers distinctly. It was at the cantina on Ord Mantell. That elderly Duros spacer began singing along. Then those two Arcona joined in harmony on the chorus. Telfien cannot believe you have no recollection of that very . . . unique Taungsday afternoon.”

“Oh, yes, th-that!” Now it was Glockel’s turn to be shaky, nervous, and dumbstruck. “Well, I—I’m a bit rusty, but—sure, I guess I’ll—”

“Excellent!” Kiri-Aki breathed an inward sigh of relief. “See you both in the Great Hall musicians’ gallery at 1900 hours!”

* * *

Meanwhile, Diva Marquisha was back at her apartment just off Bonvika’s grounds, wrapping up the day’s flimsiwork in her study. A low, rhythmic dip-doo-ba-dip-dip-dip-ba-doo, punctuated at intervals with thwee and bwom sounds, floated in from the next room—the sounds of Marquisha’s daughter, Soozoo, practicing the ommni box.

Marquisha paused for a moment over the Imperial corporate earnings tax form she was filling out and listened. Perhaps Kiri-Aki was right—it was important to keep all options under consideration. Besides, according to the cheap plastoid Nilgé wall-chrono, it was only an hour before Great Bonvika and her guests were due to assemble in the Great Hall . . .

She put down her stylus and went into the next room. “Hey, Soozoo, sweetie?” she began, putting on the biggest smile she possibly could.

Soozoo, whose hair was at least as curly and as purple as that of her mother, stopped playing and looked up from her instrument. “Yeah?”

“How would you like to play your ommni box at Great Bonvika’s palace tonight?”

“At Great Bonvika’s palace?” The child’s eyes and mouth were agape.

“Yep. Up in that little balcony in the dining room. Whaddaya say?”

Soozoo sprang from her chair in a paroxysm of excitement, nearly knocking over the ommni box.

“ALL RIGHTY DOO!”

* * *

Finally the hour came. Bonvika and all her guests were assembled in the Great Hall. The sconces were lit, illuminating the jewel-tones of Kiri-Aki’s magnificent floral arrangement. Serving droids hovered about setting out the Hom mousse, ghanuj, and other dips, all of which had been judiciously transferred from their flimsiboard take-out packages to porcelain serving dishes.

Meanwhile, a very diverse little group had gathered up in the musicians’ gallery. Besides a Human holding a small sackpipe and a Weequay with a round hand drum, a young, purple-haired Theelin was setting up a half-sized ommni box, and a Gand was rubbing ammonia-laced water from a plastoid jug onto the strings of a small harp.

Once everything had been set up, someone whispered, “Okay, everybody. Hit it.”

Glockel raised her sackpipe to her lips and began a lively folkdance tune. Telfien struck her harp, undergirding the sackpipe melody with sparkling chords. Kiri-Aki beat out a complex, driving rhythm on her hand drum. Finally, Soozoo’s ommni box took up the bass line, thweeing and bwomming merrily.

All the guests declared they had never heard anything like it. ¶

The setting and most of these characters were introduced in some of my earlier Fragments and Miscellanea stories. See especially the first five listed in index portion of the OP.

Hom mousse, nerf-and-bantha shah-shliik, Bababbb-harvested ghanuj, and Lebnan food in general are fanon creations by Chyntuck based on real-life Middle Eastern dishes; read about them in her fantastic fanon post here. “Tomo-spiced karkan ribenes,” besides being the name of a Legends-canon dish, is also the title of the JCC foodies’ thread, which was started by Chyntuck.

The following are my own fanon: rock-daisy, Nilgé, Squeal, theeyorba (based on the real-life theorbo, a long-necked bass lute), sackpipe (based on the German word Sackpfeife ‘bagpipe’), sakaboocha (based on the real-life sackbut, an early trombone), and the Gand harp with the strings that need moistening before playing.

“Sopranino” is a real-life musical term, used to refer to instruments pitched higher than the usual soprano register (sopranino recorder, etc.). Hand drums are real-life instruments as well. On the drumming taught in Weequay monastic houses, compare the Wookieepedia entry for Ak-rev.

The ensembles Collegium Coruscantium and Nar Shaddaa Philharmonia Barokka and the GYORM Scholarship are fanon, as is the meaning of the word gyorm in Weequay.

The three offstage characters Knic Nagegem, Bekku, and Sarge are all based on real-life musicians: the conductor Nicholas McGegan, the sackbut player Wim Becu, and an actual lute player named Sarge with whom I played on a concert a long time ago (alas, I’ve forgotten his full name).

Bes’bev: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Bes'bev
B’Omarr Order: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/B'omarr_Order (though their Children’s Home is fanon)
Callosian spring vegetable soup: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Callosian_spring_vegetable_soup
Double viol: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Double_viol
Everlily: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Everlily
Gardulla Besadii: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gardulla_Besadii_the_Elder
Hillindor fowl: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hillindor_fowl
Ithorian rose: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ithorian_rose
Malreaux rose: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Malreaux_rose
Mycosia flower: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mycosia_flower
Nalargon: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Nalargon
Ommni box: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ommni_box (they really do have thwee and bwom pedals)
Refugee Sector: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Refugee_Sector

Chyntuck · Oct 16, 2015

SQUEEEEEEEE! Bonvika is back, she's back, she's back!!! And she's back with the entire crew, Telfien and Glockel and Kiri-Aki and Soozoo and more! I fell in love with Noakley the moment she was introduced as "a jolly, rotund Swokes Swokes in a orange-and-teal checkered apron" and I simply adore Kiri-Aki. There's something about a Weequay gardener who grew up in a nunnery that just steals my heart.

While I'm still on the characters, something jumped at me when I was reading this:

a Gand Findswoman in coral-colored robes (...) gazing motionlessly at Kiri-Aki through golden compound eyes.
Click to expand...

Am I right to be making a connection here?

There is so much I could comment on about this story, but two aspects were particularly entertaining. One was the music component -- of course there would be music in a Findstory, wouldn't there? With all the fancy instruments, the band names (even when they mean 'mud' in the Weequay language), the zany story of the baby rancor cage that crashed (oh gosh, oh gosh, what a disaster for those poor musicians) and the final description of the motley orchestra gathered for the evening.

Meanwhile, a very diverse little group had gathered up in the musicians’ gallery. Besides a Human holding a small sackpipe and a Weequay with a round hand drum, a young, purple-haired Theelin was setting up a half-sized ommni box, and a Gand was rubbing ammonia-laced water from a plastoid jug onto the strings of a small harp.

Once everything had been set up, someone whispered, “Okay, everybody. Hit it.”

Glockel raised her sackpipe to her lips and began a lively folkdance tune. Telfien struck her harp, undergirding the sackpipe melody with sparkling chords. Kiri-Aki beat out a complex, driving rhythm on her hand drum. Finally, Soozoo’s ommni box took up the bass line, thweeing and bwomming merrily.

All the guests declared they had never heard anything like it.
Click to expand...

Of course they never heard anything like it! This is an absolutely unique band, and it has huge potential for future stories involving you-know-who

The second aspect was the food. The confusion between kraken and karkan ribenes was priceless and I'd be very curious to know what the inspiration for Callosian spring vegetable soup could be. But there were also the food comparisons ("The Swokes Swokes’s face fell like a rotten soufflé" ) and the Lebnan place that got “some pretty good reviews on Squeal . . .” That made me squee even louder than the appearance of my little inventions!

And, well, there's Bonvika. She's so mahvelous that she steals the show even when she isn't seen in person. Because, you know. "You know how she gets. Her digestion and all."

SQUEEEEE again and thank you so much, Findswoman!

WarmNyota_SweetAyesha · Oct 17, 2015

Findswoman - how delightfully entertaining!!!! I could visualize every intriguing turn and twist of the getting prepped. Wonderful and seamless bringing in of all the different fanon elements and woot, I bet the music was lovely and exotic!

Findswoman · Oct 23, 2015

Chyntuck said: ↑

SQUEEEEEEEE! Bonvika is back, she's back, she's back!!! And she's back with the entire crew, Telfien and Glockel and Kiri-Aki and Soozoo and more! I fell in love with Noakley the moment she was introduced as "a jolly, rotund Swokes Swokes in a orange-and-teal checkered apron" and I simply adore Kiri-Aki. There's something about a Weequay gardener who grew up in a nunnery that just steals my heart.
Click to expand...

All right, 8 whole E's!I know I've done it now.

And thanks, of course! Between revisiting this cast of characters (and even getting to expand on their backgrounds a little, as you saw with Kiri-Aki) and all the crazy colors and instruments and such, this was just too much fun to write. I came very close to making Noakley's apron peach-and-teal-checkered, since those were my high school's senior prom colors (!), but eventually went with orange because I wasn't sure whether peaches would exist in the GFFA. (Well, I guess oranges don't necessarily exist in the GFFA either. But for some reason it didn't feel as weird as peach. But the main thing is, like everything at Bonvika's, it's colorful.)

The Weequay nunnery was riffing a bit on the established background of Ak-rev, the Weequay drummer at Jabba's Palace, who received his training in drumming at a monastery on his home planet dedicated to the god of thunder, Am-shak. I figured, why not have Weequay monastic houses for both sexes, and why not have drumming be part of the curriculum in both? Maybe someday I'll do some more with Kiri-Aki's early years.

While I'm still on the characters, something jumped at me when I was reading this:

a Gand Findswoman in coral-colored robes (...) gazing motionlessly at Kiri-Aki through golden compound eyes.
Click to expand...

Am I right to be making a connection here?

Click to expand...

At present, the most I can say is . But I can also say...

There is so much I could comment on about this story, but two aspects were particularly entertaining. One was the music component -- of course there would be music in a Findstory, wouldn't there? With all the fancy instruments, the band names (even when they mean 'mud' in the Weequay language), the zany story of the baby rancor cage that crashed (oh gosh, oh gosh, what a disaster for those poor musicians) and the final description of the motley orchestra gathered for the evening.
Click to expand...

I guess there is indeed music of some kind in almost all of my stories, whether I consciously put it there or not—I guess one writes about one knows about. Most of the instruments and ensemble names are concepts I've been carrying around in my head for a little while now, and most are based on things in real life (e.g., the RL basis for Knic Nagegem and the Nar Shaddaa Philharmonia Barokka is the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, led by Nicholas McGegan). I hope to do a proper fanon post on them at some point.

The GYORM Scholarship I invented for this particular story, as a way of getting the "help for the disadvantaged" component in there, and the acronym for "gifted young Outer-Rim musicians" just worked out so perfectly that I couldn't resist.

The part about the in-transit destruction of the instruments is based on various real-life stories of the same thing happening during air travel here on earth, and particularly on this one, which really did involve a theorbo). And yes, as you can see from the USA Today article, this kind of thing is a huge disaster for real-life musicians—makes me infinitely grateful that my own instrument isn't the type one carries with one on a plane!

Of course they never heard anything like it! This is an absolutely unique band, and it has huge potential for future stories involving you-know-who
Click to expand...

Thanks—and that's exactly what I'm thinking too! I'm already getting further bunnies from this; I'd love to do the story of Glockel's impromptu jam session at the Ord Mantell cantina sometime. (And yes, let's talk about those future stories...)

The second aspect was the food. The confusion between kraken and karkan ribenes was priceless and I'd be very curious to know what the inspiration for Callosian spring vegetable soup could be. But there were also the food comparisons ("The Swokes Swokes’s face fell like a rotten soufflé" ) and the Lebnan place that got “some pretty good reviews on Squeal . . .” That made me squee even louder than the appearance of my little inventions!
Click to expand...

Aww, thanks. It was just too impossible to resist a little homage to your foodies' thread, which I am so glad exists and which is one of the saving graces of the JCC. Callosian spring vegetable soup was just something I came across in the Wook when I punched in "soup"; one of the things that led me to choose over the other soups I found was the fact that it was apparently served at Dex's Diner, as a little homage to Dex's role in Anánke. No details were given on its taste or appearance, but I was pretty sure green oily film on top would be considered a no-no. As to the rotten soufflé and "Squeal," they just sort of... happened.

And, well, there's Bonvika. She's so mahvelous that she steals the show even when she isn't seen in person. Because, you know. "You know how she gets. Her digestion and all."

Click to expand...

Yep, that is exactly the idea of a character like her. She has SOOOOO much presence she's present even when she's not present.

SQUEEEEE again and thank you so much, Findswoman!
Click to expand...

You're most welcome, my friend! Thanks for all your kind words and support, and wishing you much love and happiness.

Nyota's Heart said: ↑

Findswoman - how delightfully entertaining!!!! I could visualize every intriguing turn and twist of the getting prepped. Wonderful and seamless bringing in of all the different fanon elements and woot, I bet the music was lovely and exotic!
Click to expand...

Thanks so much, Ny—glad you enjoyed it! It really was a blast to write, and that was largely because of all the different fanon elements (in which I include Chyn's), and as I said above it was an excuse to finally get some of my unpublished fanon about music into prose form. The music was indeed... indescribable, if nothing else!

Kahara · Oct 24, 2015

Findswoman

A visit to Great Bonvika's court is always an experience to be treasured! (Well, presumably unless you manage to provoke her temper -- but we just won't talk about that. )

Mouse droids whirred about, dusting and sweeping. Chef droids were busily at work in the kitchens slicing, dicing, chopping, chiffonading, broiling, braising, sautéing, and fricasséeing rich delicacies made from the Galaxy’s finest foodstuffs, all under the supervision of a jolly, rotund Swokes Swokes in an orange-and-teal checkered apron.
Click to expand...

Really liked this description of the bustle around preparing for the party. One gets the overall impression that while it's definitely a Hutt's court, the various colorful characters there are thriving in a way that those at Jabba's are not. I mean, I'm sure that one could get killed any number of interesting ways there, but any rancor kept in the building would probably be tromping around decked in finery and dribbling amiably on the guests. And the naming of the different special gardens was lovely -- great to see Kiri-Aki is here, and arranging the flowers!

The Weequay, who was busy trimming the thorns from a large, dark red Malreaux rose, could barely stifle a titter. After years of working for a high-culture enthusiast like Bonvika, she knew well that GYORM stood for “Gifted Young Outer-Rim Musicians.” But it was also her native language’s word for “mud.”
Click to expand...

As everyone said: (Given how many languages there must be in the GFFA, this happens less than it probably should, actually! I mean, the number of things that people can get hilariously wrong just between dialects of the same basic language is pretty impressive.)

Poor Noakley, he just wanted to make a nice meal. He seems like a sweet guy and definitely needs a hug. Still, it's good that Kiri-Aki knows the tricks of substituting take-out for the defense of Bonvika's digestion.

The idea of a B’Omarr Order Children’s Home is just as awesome as a Weequay nunnery -- with drums!!!!!!!!!

“The Mists revealed to Telfien that you are seeking musicians for the banquet.”

“Ah. I—I see,” the Weequay stuttered, noting ruefully that under different circumstances she might have come out with something closer to “Well, ask a silly question.”
Click to expand...

Glad to see Telfien and Glockel here! Since Glockel's name is from an instrument, is Soozoo's from the Japanese name Suzu that means "bell"? Or is that one just a coincidence?

“Glockel Sternenkranz.” The Gand’s gaze was now fixed on her Human colleague. “Telfien has seen and heard you with her own eyes and earholes playing the wind instrument known as the sopranino sackpipe.”

“S-sopranino s-sackpipe?” W-what are you talking about, Delphine? I’ve never—”
Click to expand...

*cough* As someone who hasn't practiced the violin in ... mumble mumble years, I feel Glockel and Kiri-Aki's nerves here.

“At Great Bonvika’s palace?” The child’s eyes and mouth were agape.

“Yep. Up in that little balcony in the dining room. Whaddaya say?”

Soozoo sprang from her chair in a paroxysm of excitement, nearly knocking over the ommni box.

“ALL RIGHTY DOO!”
Click to expand...

Okay, this was my favorite moment in this story, though the end is a close second. I think I need to find reasons to say "ALL RIGHTY DOO!" more frequently.

And the take-out "repackaged" in porcelain dishes!

All the guests declared they had never heard anything like it.

Click to expand...

No doubt! A performance not to be missed. I'll bet it was awesome.

Findswoman · Nov 1, 2015

Kahara said: ↑

A visit to Great Bonvika's court is always an experience to be treasured! (Well, presumably unless you manage to provoke her temper -- but we just won't talk about that. )

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for reading and commenting! You're right, things are not pretty when her temper is provoked, and now I'm curious to try exploring that in story form. But on the whole she's pretty easygoing for a Hutt (whatever that means!).

Really liked this description of the bustle around preparing for the party. One gets the overall impression that while it's definitely a Hutt's court, the various colorful characters there are thriving in a way that those at Jabba's are not. I mean, I'm sure that one could get killed any number of interesting ways there, but any rancor kept in the building would probably be tromping around decked in finery and dribbling amiably on the guests.
Click to expand...

Now that's an image! I can see it throwing some of the more... uptight visitors (cough cough Grand Duchess Peascodd cough cough) for a bit of a loop. Oh, the bunnies are multiplying...

And the naming of the different special gardens was lovely -- great to see Kiri-Aki is here, and arranging the flowers!
Click to expand...

Oh yes, Kiri-Aki's talents are many, and she is quite the Jill-of-all-trades here at Bonvika's court. The different garden names are based on the similar garden names you sometimes see at botanical and display gardens here on earth, and particularly on some of those at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens her in Madison, since that's the closest one to me right now and the last one I visited. Given the Naboo penchant for formal, highly ordered aesthetics of all kinds, I figure it makes sense for them to have some kind of tradition of very formal, symmetrical gardens, perhaps like English gardens of the Tudor era. And Dantooine is so meadowy and pastoral that a meadow garden seemed like just the thing, full of different wildflowers and thus different color schemes at different times of the year.

As everyone said: (Given how many languages there must be in the GFFA, this happens less than it probably should, actually! I mean, the number of things that people can get hilariously wrong just between dialects of the same basic language is pretty impressive.)
Click to expand...

That was pretty much my exact thinking. I know that issue has come up in some Star Trek incarnations from time to time: in Deep Space Nine, for example, Miles and Keiko O'Brien name their baby boy Sean, only to find out later that that means "swamp" in Bajoran. So why indeed not in the GFFA too? Could be a really good challenge theme sometime...

Poor Noakley, he just wanted to make a nice meal. He seems like a sweet guy and definitely needs a hug. Still, it's good that Kiri-Aki knows the tricks of substituting take-out for the defense of Bonvika's digestion.
Click to expand...

And the take-out "repackaged" in porcelain dishes!
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Kiri-Aki is a very savvy operator when it comes to keeping Hutts happy, or at least calm—she's had a long experience of this sort of thing working for not one but two Hutts in her lifetime (Gardulla as well as Bonvika). The trick of surreptitiously ordering take-out and serving it in fancy dishes has a twofold inspiration: (a) some advice I actually read at one point in some cookbook or entertaining book or magazine or some such about what to do when you have a dinner party and your originally planned food falls through, and (b) an episode of Are You Being Served? where the staff has to run the department store's staff cafeteria for the day and have to resort to... drastic measures. Plus, it was the perfect way to get some of Chyntuck 's food fanon into the picture!

The idea of a B’Omarr Order Children’s Home is just as awesome as a Weequay nunnery -- with drums!!!!!!!!!

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I just couldn't resist either one. Again, the idea of drums at the nunnery was inspired by the backstory of Ak-rev, and the B'Omarr Order Children's home seemed like a fun way to get in the "help for the disadvantaged" theme one more time, besides just being a funny juxtaposition (though here on Earth too there are longstanding traditions of monastic orders running orphanages and other charitable institutions).

Glad to see Telfien and Glockel here! Since Glockel's name is from an instrument, is Soozoo's from the Japanese name Suzu that means "bell"? Or is that one just a coincidence?
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Wow, I didn't know about that at all—that is a very cool correspondence that was totally unplanned by me, but I love it. I may have been thinking of the Suzu who's the main character's youngest daughter in It's a Wonderful Life—the one who gives her dad the petals he keeps in his pocket that are then missing in the alternate reality.

Glockel is of course meat to be reminiscent of the German word Glocke 'bell' (her full name is Marya-Glocke Sternenkranz), but it's also a nod to the German-Jewish diarist Glückel (Glikl) of Hameln, who lived at the turn of the 18th century.

Incidentally, the impromptu Ord Mantell cantina concert just might be my next plot bunny involving these two...

*cough* As someone who hasn't practiced the violin in ... mumble mumble years, I feel Glockel and Kiri-Aki's nerves here.
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That, of course, is a large part of why the guests would have "never heard anything like it." Though being at Bonvika's, they may have taken it for some kind of interesting and experimental modern compositional style.

Okay, this was my favorite moment in this story, though the end is a close second. I think I need to find reasons to say "ALL RIGHTY DOO!" more frequently.
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I think probably we all do!

No doubt! A performance not to be missed. I'll bet it was awesome.
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Aww, thanks! I imagine that was a very... unique afternoon, too.

Thanks, as always, for reading and commenting! Always much appreciated.

Raissa Baiard · Mar 29, 2016

How did I miss this?!? The nice thing about the Fanfic Awards is that I am finding all sorts of gems that I somehow missed the first time around. I simply adore Great Bonnivka's court. dahling! Her poor, harried staff, trying to deal with all of her impossible demands. Diva Marquisha may have the title, but I think we know who the real diva is.

It's wonderful to see your OC's here... Long-suffering Kiri-Aki, Glockel and Delphine, and of course, the always enthusiastic Soozoo (love the "It's a Wonderful Life" connection. I totally missed it before. For some reason, she reminds me of Gosalyn from "Darkwing Duck" )

The only thing I can say is ALL RIGHTY-DOO!

Findswoman · Apr 1, 2016

Raissa Baiard said: ↑

How did I miss this?!? The nice thing about the Fanfic Awards is that I am finding all sorts of gems that I somehow missed the first time around. I simply adore Great Bonnivka's court. dahling! Her poor, harried staff, trying to deal with all of her impossible demands. Diva Marquisha may have the title, but I think we know who the real diva is.

It's wonderful to see your OC's here... Long-suffering Kiri-Aki, Glockel and Delphine, and of course, the always enthusiastic Soozoo (love the "It's a Wonderful Life" connection. I totally missed it before. For some reason, she reminds me of Gosalyn from "Darkwing Duck" )

The only thing I can say is ALL RIGHTY-DOO!
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Oh, thank you so much for reading, Raissa! Glad you enjoyed this glimpse into the wild and wacky world of Bonvika's court. She is indeed the true diva of the place, even when she's not onstage. But even just serving as the majordomo to someone like that takes no small quantity of divine powers. Soozoo is kind of a composite of several different representatives of that "spunky, energetic kid" topos; I imagine that a kind her age living in such close proximity to an environment like a Hutt court would have to be long on spunk and energy—a diva in the making!

Many thanks once again!

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Saga Κρεμμυδανθοί (Onion Blossoms): A Bouquet of Fic-Gifts for Chyntuck

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