LINKDING

<blockquote>“There is the past and the not-past,” Heron said, blood dripping from their arm onto the nightingale floor. “Which is this?” “The not-past, you idiot.” Dog grunted as he peeled back Heron’s sleeve. He was in Heart of Storms, shoulders tense and eyes alive with lightning. With a tsk, he tore off a clean strip of bandage. “Hold still.”</blockquote> ➤ I love this!??? About an undefined relationship that is nonetheless vital to the characters involved (one male, one nonbinary)

<blockquote>“Nah. We are one hundred percent shit-outta-luck,” she said, voice high and brittle as she leaned back from the computer. She gave a tight little laugh as she gestured at different possible trajectories, the different deflections achievable with nukes or booster rockets or heroic space missions. The wall of screens in front of us showed projected death tolls and ecological changes, with a lot of graphs that dropped sharply right at the end. “Earth is, uh … not to be melodramatic about it, but, absolutely doomed.”</blockquote> ➤ this is AMAZING

<blockquote>As far as I know, dying in a malfunctioning shuttle does not violate the treaty. But I’m not a politician. (Seivarden finds herself in the hands of the Presger. If they even have hands.)</blockquote>

<blockquote>A drawn-out annexation, a hammered dulcimer, an old-fashioned entertainment titled Sovereign of Tavern Dancers and the story of how One Esk first found its voice.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Leia was not adopted. She was stolen in the middle of the night and registered to House Organa with forged papers. This was kidnapping, a class one felony, and her parents could be executed -- unless she returned voluntarily to her rightful father. Immediately. A man called Grand Moff Tarkin explained this to Leia when she was eleven years old.</blockquote>

<blockquote>One man can alter the course of history. A random encounter leads Duv Galeni to change his mind and return to Komarr.</blockquote> ➤ aaaaaa this is so great!! actually challenging the unchallenged imperialism of the original books!

<blockquote>He's shivering as he emerges from the pod. No surprise, he was frozen for like a billion years. I do all the stuff on the script, all the "Fear Not! You are a welcomed citizen of our Utopia!" stuff while I'm toweling him off. Apparently he's about as good as I am with awkward silence 'cause it's not three seconds before he starts making small talk. "So, how'd you get to be a. . ." He waves his hand. "A Tour Guide To The Future?!" "Yeah." The guy smiles gratefully at me. "I imagine you had a lot of training. . . ?" "None whatsoever!" I chirp. He looks confused. "Allocator chose me because I incidentally have the exact skills and qualifications necessary for this task, and because I had one of the highest enthusiasm scores!"</blockquote> ➤ this story is weird and incredible and I was very surprised to be having feelings by the end given how much I was giggling through most of the story. I love it.

<blockquote>Nobody pays attention to a slump-backed brownish girl with droopy-lidded eyes. She's got all the genes that make her look Less Human, according to the Important powers that be.</blockquote> ➤ this story is incredible. Great narrative voice, great characters, worldbuilding, etc. Main character is autistic, and author is too.

<blockquote>My mother had daughters year after year, and one by one, my father devoured us. There were only three names allowed in the family, and only three children. There was the oldest, who was always Ruth, and the middle child, who was always Susan. The youngest was “the baby” or simply Baby. When a new daughter was born, she became the baby. The former baby became Susan, and Susan became Ruth—and Ruth vanished. Telling the story like this, it sounds as if we knew what was happening. We did not. I am telling you this so that it will not be a shock to you, the way that it was to me.</blockquote> ➤ gosh. wow. this is really good.

<blockquote>Five undiscovered texts pertaining to the life of Ea-Nasir.</blockquote> ➤ I love this structure for the story, and how it allows to build out the whole world and culture around Ea-Nasir

<blockquote>A bend in the river, three thousand years ago.</blockquote> ➤ I'm not totally sure I'm following everything that's going on, but it's still really really good. Battle of Tollense River c. 1250 bce

<blockquote>"Did you win your year?" "I sure did," she said. "By a mile."</blockquote> ➤ a really good fic for a book I didn't care for at all - impressive!

<blockquote>Often, human settlements contain layers of habitation, one built on top of the other. One site can have many unseen features hidden beneath it. People are the same.</blockquote> ➤ an archeologist from space is on a team to investigate sites on Earth, along with an earth-born cultural attache. Yay for intercultural communication and space and science and stuff!

<blockquote>“you have learned love but not self-consciousness, because love does not beget self. there’s no need for heart and body to love; no need for mind or soul though you have both, programmed for one and grew the other like a struggling sprout in a crack on the pavement, just for him, just like him. ” The Passenger and the Computer, in the midst of the all black everything. Time once more has meaning, and humanity must be redefined.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Feral Desert Child and Former Stormtrooper Learn How To Food, Beleaguered Resistance Pilot Watches With Love And Horror</blockquote>

<blockquote>The currents seemed to pull the empty ache out of her, as though her body were just a translucent husk. And then the sound of her heart beating inside her would remind her it was time to surface, and she would feel the slight throbbing of her body asking to live, and reluctantly, made aware again of her natural place above water, she would rise.</blockquote> ➤ about a free-diver in the mediterranean. A lovely story of grief and loss and living, well-grounded in its setting.

<blockquote>The Jewel of Athat was mainly a cargo ship, and most spaces were narrow and cramped. Like the Outer Station, where it was docked, it was austere, its decks and bulkheads scuffed and dingy with age. Inarakhat Kels, armed, and properly masked, had already turned away one passenger, and now he stood in the passageway that led from the station to the ship, awaiting the next.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Voud sacrificed the frogs, and said the appropriate prayer. Then she asked her first question. "Is Ytine going to remarry?" "She's free to do as she likes. Your brother Irris has been gone more than a year, and he was never a particularly good husband; no one would blame her." "He was a drunk," said Voud. "He never did what he should." "A fair description," said the crane. "Unfortunately, your question is the sort I warned you against; I don't know the answer. Ask Ytine herself."</blockquote> ➤ part of leckie's godsverse

<blockquote>Down at the riverfront at Kalub, the little gods congregated in clouds, flies and dragonflies and even small birds approaching would–be travelers. They scattered out of the way of wagons and carts, circled over the flagstoned road and then re–formed.  Umri walked through them, careful not to jostle or hit. The citizens of Kalub paid deference to a host of more powerful gods, including the river itself, but it was wise to be wary of even these tiny things. A small bird lit on her shoulder. “Take me with you, I’ll see you safely to your destination!” it chirped. “No thank you,” said Umri, “I’m seeing someone off.” The tiny brown bird cocked its head, eyeing the bag in her hand, but flew off without saying more.</blockquote> ➤ part of leckie's godsverse ➤ the one with the deposed god and the treasure at the bottom of a lake

<blockquote>She wore no jewels, only the short trousers of a ball player and an undecorated armguard that covered her from wrist to elbow, her hand curled into a fist to hold it in place. She wasn't jumping or crouching, only standing, her arms at her side, her head tilted just slightly, as though she were listening to a voice only she could hear.</blockquote> ➤ Politics and religious/political games ➤ part 2: http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/she-commands-me-and-i-obey-part-2-of-2/

<blockquote>A little girl who missed the sun suffered a terrible act of cruelty. This is what happened to Margot, after.</blockquote> ➤ this is based on a short story I've never read, but it's perfectly possible to follow this fic without being familiar with the source material

<blockquote>The Regal Copper Laurentius accidentally acquires a captain, Tharkay spectates, Temeraire is Not Actually an Orphan, and no one really knows who's leading France. Someone should probably get on that, considering England is at war with the place.</blockquote> ➤ AMAZING. An au in which all the humans are dragons and all the dragons are humans.

<blockquote>Everybody knows about Thrull. Thrull like legend among us folk—biggest, greenest, meanest, nastiest, and dirtiest of all—with one big difference: legends false, Thrull true. We tell the story of Thrull and the reindeer feast, and the story of Thrull and the Mountain Witches, and the story of how Thrull wrestled Winter and wed Summer on Grandmother Rock, and the story of how Thrull broke Stone Peak making love, but the best story I know, that the story of Thrull and the Askin’ Man. Now pour some hard stuff for yourself, and pour a glass for me. Set your tape deck down and listen. This tells the day Thrull got smart.</blockquote> ➤ I love it! a story about guest rights and how to use the rules towards your own ends, told from the pov of a sentient nonhuman pov (implied to be a troll or something similar). ➤ Also I'm very pleased that Thrull is a female character, which I wasn't expecting from the title and the opening paragraph

<blockquote>Rey wears her hair in three knots, the way she had when she was a child, so that her family will recognise her. But she’s not on Jakku anymore, and she knows now: they’re not coming back.</blockquote> ➤ awwww yeah, a fic all about people's feelings about hair, and I didn't even have to write it myself!

<blockquote>King Laurent said, "There is a child." "I see!" said Charls, who didn't. "His family are unable to care for him. He was brought here by my late uncle," King Laurent said. "I would appreciate it if you would take him on as an apprentice."</blockquote> ➤ Charls' pov is amazing, and this whole fic is just a delight

<blockquote>Based on some sketches by SimplyIrenic of Enjolras as a female Resistance leader. After being shot down over Calais in the Battle for Britain, Polish pilot Feuilly is rescued by a Resistance cell lead by Enjolras, a modern day Joan of Arc.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Rey knows something about pulling things apart. Putting them back together again is where the real challenge begins.</blockquote> ➤ defs here for Phasma & Rey!! Author tags this Phasma/Rey but like. This is clearly gen. But I would totally read Phasma/Rey!

<blockquote>She can hear Clarice explaining, in her reasonable voice, that Madeleine — bereaved twice over, made vulnerable by an experimental drug — has invented a shadow-self to love, and perhaps they should unpack the racism of its manifestation, and didn’t Madeleine have any black friends in real life? “I wish we could see each other all the time,” says Madeleine, sixteen, on her back in the sunny field, long hair spread like so many corn snakes through the grass. “Whenever we wanted.” “Yeah,” murmurs Zeinab, looking up at the sky. “Too bad I made you up inside my head.” Madeleine steels herself against the careening tug of Sylvia Plath before remembering that she started reading her in high school. Instead, she turns to Zeinab, blinks. “What? No. You’re inside my head.”</blockquote> ➤ the ending makes me so happy!

<blockquote>translation help (codex lucis) FROM: Cara Falco <msadventurerby-yahoo.com> 21/11/2013 15:03 TO: Stephen Greenwood <s.t.greenwoodby-chr.ox.ac.uk> hi we have a page of the codex lucis & need it translated asap. it’s the missing prophecy so there isn’t anything online. can u help? thanks cara</blockquote> ➤ I love the juxtaposition of the very different concerns of the various academics and of Cara

<blockquote>My name is Lieutenant Tisarwat, and today I’m going to tell you about the rise of Anaander Mianaai.</blockquote>