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Saga - OT Somewhere Out There (OC Revolution Summer Challenge; Squibs; one-shot)

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by Findswoman , Aug 30, 2018.

  1. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Author: Findswoman
    Title: Somewhere Out There
    Era: Saga—OT (3 BBY)
    Characters: OCs
    Genre: One-shot; drama, family
    Summary: A Squib shopkeeper hears news of her lost brother—and is faced with an important decision soon afterward.
    Notes: Written for the OC Revolution Summer 2018 challenge:
    I thank @Raissa Baiard for much-needed beta-reading and for so enthusiastically encouraging me to bring these characters back. @};-


    Gleebaloola Flhaskhalhoosa owned an antique shop in Coruscant’s CoCoTown district.

    Well—to call it an “antique shop” was like calling Imperial City a “charming little town.” It was a vast showroom of fine objects from across the galaxy, ranging from exquisitely crafted estate jewelry to magnificent furniture. The middle-aged, red-orange-furred Squib had opened the shop years before, after retiring from a long, successful career as a scavenger and treasure hunter. She had personally collected most of her merchandise during her extensive Galactic travels; whatever hadn’t had been brought to her by friends and family from throughout the Squib Polyanarchy. Her bangles clinked and her colorful skirts swished as she conducted potential customers through her shop; her beady black eyes sparkled as she entertained them with tales of the exotic locations and outlandish adventures that had brought her her many and varied wares. Each visitor to the shop received from her a toothy grin, a friendly wink, an exuberant greeting, and an equally exuberant leavetaking.

    None knew of the worry that gnawed at her.

    It was about her brother: Deebeeneebeedee, the second youngest (she was the second oldest). Though their family unit was renowned throughout the Squib Polyanarchy as collectors, treasure hunters, and scavengers, he had chosen a completely different professional path and entered the Rhinnal State Medical Academy. It figured, in a way: he’d always been the one rushing to get the medkit when one of his siblings or cousins accidentally got cut with a jeweled vibrodagger or inhaled toxic dust in some centuries-buried underground treasure chamber. At any rate, after graduating Rhinnal with honors, Deebs (as his siblings often called him) had gone into regular practice on Thyferra, becoming quite successful. At one point he had even been written up in the Coruscanti Weekly’s annual list of the Inner Rim’s Best Health Professionals. Gleebaloola had clipped his profile for her datascraps.

    And then, just about a year ago, he had closed his practice without any warning and left Thyferra. No one had heard from him since.

    Gleebaloola made it a point to check all the Polyanarchy holobulletins each day for any news of him (because Squibs stick with their own)—but there was nothing, always nothing. Of course, with this war on, anything was possible. That, and the whole COMPNOR thing about rounding up non-Humans and shutting down non-Human-run businesses. A few other members of her family unit working in the Mid Rim had fallen prey to them; what if they’d cracked down on Deebs and his practice, too? At least her part of CoCoTown seemed safe enough for now, though there’d been that thing with the Ithorian food cart down the road… she tried not to think about that. (She sure missed those peanut-sauce noodles, though.)

    So yes, she was worried. What had happened to poor old Deebs? Was he dead, or was he still somewhere out there? Could she find him again, just as she had found so many other treasures—that emerald brooch in that thrift shop on Vagran, that King Narmlé-period sugar spoon in the Theed Palace kitchen trash compactor? There was no way to know. She could only keep smiling and telling her stories.

    * * *​

    Then, one day, the holotransmission came.

    Gleebaloola had gotten the notification on her wrist unit one afternoon while wrapping up a Chandrilan porcelain tea service for a customer and ran to her back office to receive it as soon as closing time struck. She almost fainted when the projector sprang to life with an image of her brother in bright blue light that was almost the same color as his fur. In his typically genteel, educated, and (as M’ma always said) “most exceedingly un-Squibbish” manner, he told her where he was and what he was doing. His words replayed themselves in her head as she went about her business in the days that followed:

    Good day, Gleebs, old thing. I hope this finds you well. I am well aware that I have much explaining to do, not only to you but to M’ma and P’po and everyone within our family unit. Without a doubt you have been worried sick about me (an expression that always makes me smile—that is the one ailment no one at Rhinnal ever trained me to cure!).

    “You lookin’ at a true-green, real-live High-Alderaan-style arm-wah right there, mhm! Finest Kashyyyk wroshyr wood, you bet!”

    So—(and here he sighed)—I shall tell you where I am. I shall tell only you, because you have always been my Gleebs that I could tell anything to, when the others just laughed. But I entreat you, by the Great Junk Heap of the Ancients, to say nothing of this to anyone.

    “If I do declare and exclaim, ma’am, that fire-ruby necklace looks koovy on you! You wait just a tick or two, I getcha the matchin’ anklets, mhm…”

    Gleebs, please do not be shocked. I have joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Yes, that is the same as the Rebellion everyone is talking about, but I do not care. I simply have seen too many innocent beings wrongly wounded, even permanently injured, at the hands of Imperial military forces. They’re often too frightened to tell me the details of what happened to them, but I can tell even so—the E-11 rifle leaves very distinctive burns.

    “Oh ho, ain’t you lucky, you found my Grizmallti convor, mhm! Just you take a looksee at that sheeny-shiny black ’namel finish. Stuff dreams is made of, you bet!”

    But yes, at any rate, I have joined the Alliance, and I am working as a medic at a base of theirs on Atollon, in the system of the same name within the Lothal Sector. The facilities leave much to be desired, indeed, but I am doing well, and my presence is much appreciated, as I am one of only two medics presently stationed there. (Not counting the 1B units, of course.)

    “Aw, isn’t that singin’-box a pretty beaut! Best Gand lacquer, ’longed to a great Findsman of yore gone by… but don’t you try and wind it up, you’ll getcher life force sucked right out, mhm…”

    So. (Another sigh.) You will be wanting to give the rest of the family news of me, I’m sure. But I must earnestly beg you not to—for my safety, for my patients’ safety, for the safety of everyone around me. Tell them only that I am alive and well, and using my training to its fullest, in the service of great good.

    “Now that one, I’m not for complete and total sure. Cousin Mleeanna insists it’s a Rakatan incense burner, but Uncle Joobadooboo says Korribanian chafing dish. Me, I say it’d be awful drop-dead gorgeous on your end table, you bet!”

    Well, I must take my leave for now. I’m expecting a patient in a few minutes, and I’ll need to consult the dossier beforehand; it’s a rare-species case. One of the challenges of my new position, I suppose. (He chuckled.) At any rate, please give everyone my love, take good care of yourself, and once again—tell no one. Flhaskhalhoosa out.

    “Ooh, you wants the tiara and eardrops and brooch set too? Extra-koovy! I’ll ring you up right straight-up now!”

    So—now that Gleebaloola finally knew where her brother was, she was even more worried than before. But at least he was still out there, somewhere.

    * * *​

    One Taungsday afternoon, close to closing time, a Kubaz entered Gleebaloola’s shop. The cloaked, goggled figure made straight for the counter, not turning to either side to look at merchandise. Gleebaloola felt her hackles twitch: this was clearly not a customer.

    Nevertheless, she greeted the newcomer with characteristic enthusiasm: “Top o’ the rotation be yours! How might I possibly assist you this fine day, sir? Or... ma’am?”

    “You were right the first time,” replied the Kubaz, speaking Basic in a gargly, gravelly voice. “The fact is, I believe it is you who may be able to assist me.”

    “You may rest insured that I be atcher service.”

    “Well, then.” The visitor leaned forward over the counter. “I know your kind are, shall I say… plugged in to sources of information that few others are—”

    “Why, yesindeedsiree! Polyanarchy InfoHoloBulletins, Scavengers’ Weekly, Collection Consortium H-Notes—”

    “—yes, yes, of course. Well, it is information that I am after. A certain piece of information that is worth a significant sum of credits to my… er… employer. And being a generous sort, I am willing to share that sum with whomever may be able to provide me with that information. To wit:” The Kubaz leaned forward and lowered his voice. “The whereabouts of any base or cell connected with the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Planet, system, sector. I’m sure a well-connected Squib like yourself knows of at least one or two, now, hmmm?”

    “Well, er, now, let’s see...” Gleebaloola considered for a moment. The Alliance to Restore the Republic—that sounded familiar—wasn’t that where Deebs had said he had gone? She thought back to his transmission...

    Yes, that was it: I have joined the Alliance, and I am working as a medic at a base of theirs on Atollon, in the system of the same name within the Lothal Sector. There it was: planet, system, sector—everything.

    “How much, you say?”

    “I didn’t yet, but it would be five hundred and fifty thousand. At very least.”

    Five hundred and fifty thousand! Gleebaloola’s ears perked up. That would be enough to finally replace the clankety old Cargohopper with that T-16 Mark III she’d had her eye on...

    But I entreat you, by the Great Junk Heap of the Ancients, to say nothing of this to anyone...

    And she could use the leftovers to have the storage bunker reroofed...!

    You will be wanting to give the rest of the family news of me, I’m sure. But I must earnestly beg you not to.

    And maybe even replace that one rickety display case with the door held on with spacers’ tape! (Because someone had already tried to steal one of the Kuati Deco crystal cocktail glasses, and she couldn’t have that again…)

    For my safety, for my patients’ safety, for the safety of everyone around me.

    “Well?” The Kubaz’s demand pierced her thoughts.

    Gleebaloola swallowed, then looked up, fixing her round black eyes on his round red goggles. “Sorry,” she said. “I gots nothing.”

    “You have nothing?”

    “Nopes, nothing.”

    “Really. Nothing at all on any cell or any base connected with the—”

    “Naught-o.”

    Silence for a moment. The Kubaz drew a hissing breath of frustration and disappointment, then: “Fine. Goodbye.”

    “Tweedle-oo. Come again.”

    The cloaked form flounced out of the shop. Gleebaloola locked the door behind him and turned out the lights in her showroom. Then she retired to her back office and sank into her armchair.

    “You’re safe, Deebs,” she sighed. “You’re safe out there, you bet.” ¶

    Yes, the title is from the eponymous song in An American Tail (1986), which likewise concerns a mouse sister pondering the whereabouts of her mouse brother…

    This is the second appearance of both these Squib OCs. Gleebaloola was introduced in Sai-perimetry at Gleebaloola’s, You Bet!, and Deebeeneebee is the medic in Turn Your Head and Cough; or, The Checkup. The familial connection between them is new to this story, however (Gleebaloola is given no surname in Sai-perimetry).

    Grizmallti convor and Maltese Falcon references: All credit for this goes to Raissa Baiard, who suggested it when I was stumped about what kinds of merchandise to feature at this point in the story (I also rather lazily lifted the Gand music box from Sai-perimetry).

    Ithorian food cart with peanut-sauce noodles: Borrowed with gratitude from Mira_Jade’s Even Without a Voice, entry 3, which is also set in the CoCoTown district.

    Wookieepedia links:
    Cargohopper 102: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cargohopper_102
    Junk Heap of the Ancients: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Junk_heap_of_the_ancients
    Kubaz (Garindan/Long Snoot’s species): http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kubaz. After writing this I noticed that the Canon side of the article says they cannot speak Basic, but the Legends side says they can—so that’s what I am going with here.
    Narmlé (ancient Naboo king): http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Narmlé
    Rhinnal State Medical Academy: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Rhinnal_State_Medical_Academy
    Squib Polyanarchy: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Squib_Polyanarchy
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2018
  2. Raissa Baiard

    Raissa Baiard FFoF Artist Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 1999
    Gleebaloola returns, you bet! :D It’s such a joy to see your loquacious shopkeeper again. With her exuberant sales patter peppered with “mhm’s“ and “you bet”s , she’s one of the most distinctive characters in your OCedarium—and that’s saying a lot! And to make it even more fun, we get a Squib two-fer, with the “most exceedingly un-Squibbish” Dr. Deebeeneebeedee Fhlaskaloosa, the doctor who put Zeb through all sorts of medical indignities in Turn Your Head and Cough. It’s neat that you’ve made these two siblings; they’re so different—swishy, swirly, colorful “Gleebs” and serious, deliberate “Deebs”. Yet it makes sense that in a family big enough to have both a second oldest and a second youngest, at least one would march to the beat of a different drummer. I love how little Deebs is described as running for the medical kit when a family member
    Eek!:eek: The perils of treasure hunting! (I suppose they’re just lucky no one was flattened by a boulder a la Indiana Jones! ) For all their differences, they’re obviously very fond of one another. Gleebaloola saves all the articles about her little brother’s professional success (and I really like “datascraps” as a GFFA-ication of scrapbooking:) ) and she is the only one he trusts to know his whereabouts when he disappears to join the Rebellion.

    The depth of her concern shows in the way his message replays itself in her thoughts even as she’s outwardly her usual cheerful, chatty self, selling the virtues of her eclectic stock—and I love the variety of wonderful items she has for sale (and thanks for working in the Grizmallti Convor! I love it and some day I’m going to have to borrow it to set The Maltese Falcon in the GFFA! ) I love all her little stories but especially:
    Hooray for KOTOR references! It’s nice to see that Cousin Mleeanna of the ancient Kiffar account book is still out there finding treasure!

    Then that nosy (in more than one way) Kubaz, who is definitely not a customer comes in. He’s quite the obsequious little spy/info broker, isn’t h, buttering Gleebaloola up by telling her how “well connected” she must be. The librarian in me adores that list of Squib trade journals—another way you’ve built up a unique culture for the species [face_love]

    Poor Gleebaloola—between the flattery, her naturally talkative nature and open disposition, and the temptation of those fabulous improvements she could make with the Kubaz’s credits, it’s a real temptation not to tell what she knows! But Deebs has impressed the seriousness of his mission on her, even invoking the Great Junk Heap of the Ancients—and it clearly does not get more serious than that for Squibs! So for once, Gleebaloola has nothing to say...not that I ever doubted she would sell out her dear Deebs! And it’s lovely how you tie everything up with the “out there” motif. Now she knows where, and she knows she’s done her best to keep him safe, because she’s kept his secret.

    I loved seeing both your fascinating Squibs again and I love how you’ve tied this story in with its predecessors, in the items Gleebaloola has for sale, like that Gand music box (don’t wind it up!) and the mentions of the base on Atollon (we know who that “rare species case” is! :zeb:) It’s always a treat to see more of your incredibly well-drawn and distinctive OCs! (And it gave me a great reason to reread the earlier stories :D) Here’s hoping we see more of Deebs and Gleebs, mhm, you bet!
     
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  3. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Thanks so much for reading and commenting, as always! @};- It was great fun to write both these characters again, and doubly so to put them together in the story, even if it was for a slightly more serious kind of story than either of their previous appearances were. You probably know that I'm a sucker for a good "mismatched friendship," and I figured why not bring that into the realm of family too—there are some cases of that kind of difference even between siblings and other close family members within my family. (I think I must also have had my favorite British sitcom on the brain: Keeping Up Appearances, with the social and economic differences between Hyacinth and her three sisters.)

    Oh, treasure hunting can be dangerous to your health, you bet! This Squib family was blessed to have Deebs on hand for those situations, and probably even in the case of boulder flattening he would have been right there with whatever help he could offer. That urge to help and heal became his calling in life, and his family—especially Gleebaloola, his dear big sister to whom he could tell anything—are rightly very proud.

    You are very welcome about the Grizmallti Convor, and I have to express my gratitude to you for suggesting that when I had a block about what wacky objects for her to pitch in her shop. And I always enjoy working in a good KOTOR reference when I can—that world was so well done and gave us such a detailed firsthand view of the "history" of the GFFA. (It had a very cool look and feel design-wise, too!)

    Nope, definitely not a customer—long years of experience make that manifestly clear to our heroine. :p She does get just the slightest bit buttered up, it's true—she really and truly is plugged in, and of course an experienced trader and treasure hunter like herself would keep abreast of all the journals and sources. (Hmm, maybe I should do a little bitty fanon post now! :D )

    It really is a temptation for her for all those reasons you mention, and I imagine her coming pretty close to blabbing. But when she thinks about it and weighs what's at stake—she didn't get where she is in her profession by being dumb, after all—her love and concern for brother outweighs all of it. Just knowing that he's safe "somewhere out there" for now, even just for now, is more important to her then any of those fantastic improvements to her shop. And it gives her hope to carry on, too, just as it did Tanya Mousekewitz. :)

    Well, thank you so much, as always, and I am so glad you enjoyed both this story and its predecessors! It's always fun to deploy a little intertextuality here and there and tie previous stories together—and wonderfully unified universes like yours and @Ewok Poet 's and @Mira_Jade 's and so many others have provided such amazing models to me over the years. So yes, thank you once again—you bet! :D
     
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  4. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Excellent seeing Gleebaloola and Deebs, that indomitable doctor [face_laugh] having a family connection. Oooooh, I could so feel her temptation so she could replace and upgrade [face_mischief] but then her brother's entreaty not even to tell the family where he was convinced her she certainly didn't want to reveal anything to someone with who knows what motives. :p =D=
     
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  5. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Yes, Deebs's earnest entreaty, combined with her sisterly love for him, wins out in the end over the possible shop improvements. She knows she'll have other opportunities for those—but Deebs, he's the only Deebs she has, you bet! [face_love] Thanks as always for reading and commenting. @};-
     
  6. Vek Talis

    Vek Talis Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 12, 2018
    =D= All around wonderful!

    You had me teetering on the edge of: Will she sell out her own brother?

    Surely, he could have escaped when the Imperials arrived, and she could have gone on to get that Mark III. Right? :D

    Great fic. :)
     
  7. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Thanks so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed this. :)

    Oh, she was teetering a bit herself—more than a bit, because the prospect of that 550,000 credits and all those improvements sure sounded good, you bet! But her better self won out in the end.

    "Jein," as the Germans say. But that would be a pretty risky gamble, of course. I imagine, and Gleebaloola certainly knows, that there will be other opportunities for her to afford the Mark III. (For example, if she sells the entire High-Alderaan-style furniture set, and not just the arm-wah.) :p

    Thanks again for reading and enjoying, as always! :D
     
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  8. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2005
    A great little character study here. I like your description of Gleebs - her swishy skirts, clanky bracelets, orange fur - she seems like she would have been quite at home in Haight-Ashbury! I can see her and her family scurrying throughout the bins and piles and dusty corners of abandoned properties, searching (and finding!) little lost treasures. A born saleswoman, that one! Honestly, though, I would be a sucker for the fire-ruby necklace, and
    well, that could have been me. Why not buy the whole set? (Tbh, the diva daughter actually owns two tiaras...) :p

    I like how you set up the idea of Gleebs being the nonstop businesswoman, always looking for the best sale, wheeling and dealing -- then faced with the biggest "business transaction" of her life: 550,000 for...her brother.
    That's her dilemma. Is everything truly for sale? Is money the ultimate priority? Gleebs is tempted - all those things she could get with that money! And she justifies it by saying, oh, he won't get caught. He's too smart. But should she risk it? Could she live with the fact that she sold out her brother? Ultimately, she decides that blood and family trumps commerce.

    One other thing that I liked was the dialect difference between Deebs and Gleebs. His is the decidedly non-Squib, "genteel" speech, reflective of his education. This sets him apart even more from his family. Gleebs uses the dialect of CoCo Town, a mishmash of the various languages that ring through the district.

    Speaking of, I liked that undertone of warning as the nonhumans are disappearing. I think that although Gleebs seemingly tosses it off, she is concerned about the fate of her neighbors. Without that happening first, Gleebs would not have been suspicious of the visitor who is so eager to find word of rebel bases. If the empire would eliminate the Ithorian noodle dealer for the crime of Existing While Nonhuman, imagine what they would do to a nonhuman rebel? I think she would have been less cautious if she hadn't seen it happening right in her own neighborhood.

    Great story, and fun to see this character again!;)
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2018
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  9. Mira_Jade

    Mira_Jade The (FavoriteTM) Fanfic Mod With the Cape star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2004
    Ack!! I never replied to this vignette after enjoying it so thoroughly. :oops: Let me rectify that now. [face_blush] :D

    First off, I have to mention again, just how wonderful you with building up descriptions of your OCs - especially your non-Human OCs! Your Gleebaloola has such a plethora of verve and personality and life for just a few thousand words of prose! I love all of the details you provided - from her bracelets to her skirts to her dialect. I can perfectly imagine her and her cluttered, exotically stocked shop in equal measure. [face_love]

    And Deebs! Deebs of the Turn Your Head and Cough variety! It was wonderful to see two separate story threads come together to make an even richer world. Like has been commented by readers above, I found it fascinating to see the genteel speech of Deebs' message juxtaposed to Gleebs' more colourful accent and sales tactics! But, no matter how vastly different, there was such a clear, near tangible sense of love that connected the siblings. (And can I squee for the An American Tail reference? That was one of my favourites as a kid. [face_love]) Deebs wouldn't trust Gleebaloola with such detailed, sensitive information without a deep affection binding them; instead, he could have just kept his silence entirely. But his trust paid off - even if Gleebs was tempted by the amount (what self respecting Squib wouldn't be?!), she still has her honor, and that honor helped her realize that there are some things you can't put a price tag on. And a good thing, too! With the worrying anti-non-Human sentiment building (and, again, you honored me with the mention of Roneb! [face_love]), who was to say just how the Empire would have honored its promise of a reward? No, much better for her to keep her head down and make it through to the other side - or, maybe, somewhere down the line, actively help to bring about that new order like her brother is doing? [face_thinking] [face_mischief]

    In short, this was a wonderful character study, and I very much enjoyed getting to know your OC! Thank you so much for sharing. =D=
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2018
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  10. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Wouldn't want to ignore these wonderful newer comments—thank you all, once again! :)

    Thank you so much for reading and commenting, as always! :) Yes, I agree with you about Haight-Ashbury (and having once lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, I got an extra smile from that)—she's got the swishy-hippie thing going for her in spades. She definitely has some fine specimens in her shop, that fire-ruby jewelry set among them—why not go whole hog, indeed? :D

    Right on—she's got some serious decision making to do in that moment, both in deciding between her brother and the 550,000 credits and reevaluating the wheeling-and-dealing approach that has been her MO her whole life up till now. But Deebs's earnest entreaties, combined with her love of him, win out in the end. She knows when not to wheel and deal.

    Thanks! I had a lot of fun with this aspect, and as mentioned above I had in mind both instances like that from my own family (though not as pronounced, admittedly) and things like the speech and social differences between Hyacinth and her sisters in Keeping Up Appearances. Plus, who says all Squibs out there have to talk "like Squibs"? :D

    Yep, definitely—she is no dummy and can absolutely pick up on what's happening in her neighborhood. Things like "that thing with the Ithorian food cart" are definitely in the back of her mind as she weighs Deebs's entreaty in her mind against the Kubaz's offer.

    Well, thank you so much once again—always a pleasure to see you here! :)

    Well, thank you too, as always, and it's all good—RL happens to us all, and I am always stoked to see your reviews whenever they come! :)

    Thanks, I really appreciate that from someone who always does such a great job of setting scenes too! :) She is completely in her native habitat in that cluttered, colorful shop, and it only made sense to make its colorful chaos match her. To her it's the best place in the Galaxy, you bet!

    Yep, that's him, one and the same! :D Again, his being Gleebaloola's brother is new to this story, but I just have such fun with those "mismatched" dynamics that I couldn't resist. There can still be great closeness between two beings that are that different—that's something I've always believed.

    Yes, of course! That's one I remember with great fondness, too—all the more so when my son got to see it in his 1st-grade class. [face_love] Who doesn't choke up when they hear that song?

    Yep, even now she is still his Gleebs that he can tell anything to. [face_love] He knows he can trust her, and the fact that Gleebs feels that is what keeps her to succumbing to the temptation of those 550,000 credits. (And hey, it just goes to show that not all Squibs are greedy hagglers! :p )

    That's the other thing that leads her to her decision—it's not at all clear to her whether she can really trust this stranger to come through on this promise he's so glibly making, especially with all these other fishy things happening all around (like the shutdown of Roneb's cart—and thank you so much once again for letting me borrow her—I'm sure she was quite a staple of CoCoTown's food scene while she was in business!). And we shall see what's down the line for Gleebaloola—she may have some further thinking to do on these lines... [face_thinking]

    You are most welcome, and thank you once again for your readership and comments, which always make my day! :D
     
  11. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    I actually came and read this before, however I am here from the Read and Review thread, this time.

    This was an excellent piece, full of very well thought-out world building with the Squib family group, careers, family and species traits, and periodicals that your protagonist reads to keep up with Squib affairs.

    It's kinda lucky that the aspiring Rebel emphasised that his sister not tell anyone, rather than trusting that she would not, since she had such a ready list to spend any reward on!

    Do you mind if I refer to Gleebaloola's store in my own universe, and possibly that King Narmlé-period sugar spoon, as well?

    I was almost rooting for that poor Kubaz; he seemed to be pretty heavily invested in her as a source of information.

    Great stuff.
     
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  12. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Ack, how did I manage to miss this? :eek: Thanks so much for reading and commenting, as always, I-5! :)

    Thank you! So glad you enjoyed this—it was a lot of fun to write all those little details. Squibs are a very colorful and fun species already, and they do stick with their own, so I figured some useful periodicals and news outlets would make it all the easier for them to do that within such a big galaxy.

    Yes, I think that might have been part of what was behind his repeated exhortations to her Not to Tell Anyone—he knows her effusive personality and talkative, open nature could potentially lead to a “loose lips sink ships” situation.

    Oh yes, of course! And I know I’ve given the OK via PM too, but again, yes, indeed, I’d be honored for her and her shop to be referenced in your stories. :)

    He kind of was—he figured for sure he could get her to talk given both the networks Squibs are known to have and the chatty nature associated with them. Her response came as a bitter and frustrating disappointment, I’m sure—but he and his EMPLOYER will just have to deal, methinks! :p

    Thanks so much once again, always glad to have you here! :)