Oh my goodness. Here I was, pleasantly surprised at the growth of the Vel/Kleya tag, only to be blindsided by this gem. What an absolute treasure. From premise to execution, you had me on the edge of my seat. I'm so, so invested in Miri, in finding a mentor in Kleya so starkly different from her other parent figures, in Kleya honoring Luthen's legacy by taking on an ideological "orphan" of her own and teaching her to fight a different sort of war.
I am, of course, a sucker for "tell me about my father" stories, and I'm eager to see Miri's get told. I'm intrigued by Kleya's connection to Lonni-- how none of his colleagues bat an eye at them being so friendly at Sculden's gallery, for one-- and I'm curious how Kleya felt about his death. Greater good or not, I doubt "my father killed your father and then himself" will be something Miri's happy to hear.
It's been said, but bears repeating: your world building is phenomenal. I'm *fascinated* at your look at a postwar galaxy. I've only just dipped my toes into Star Wars fic-- my style tends towards the short and (bitter)sweet-- but the atmosphere you've crafted here is one I want to drown in. I can't wait to see where this goes next! Thanks so much for the read! ^^
Thank you so much for this sweet and kind comment! It made me very happy.
I agree with you that the relationship Kleya builds with Miri (essentially, the mother-daughter relationship that Miri has never had) is an act of honoring Luthen's legacy. I'm close to finishing chapter two (its size scares me, but I genuinely hope the readers see it as a plus), and there will be much more about Kleya and Luthen's relationship. And we'll see how much it defines the way Kleya treats Miri.
"Tell me about my father" is Star Wars DNA. Star Wars is about anti-fascism and daddy issues. Miri's story, essentially, mirrors Luke's story.
You've made a great point about Kleya and Lonni's connection. I think they had established some sort of a dynamic — maybe it was just for the cause, but maybe it was something resembling camaraderie (although I'll side with Elizabeth Dulau here, Kleya couldn't afford real friends back then, Luthen was an exception.)
Thank you again for your kind words about the worldbuilding. Not to spoil it, but yesterday I wrote a scene for this fic that takes place at a big Coruscant candy store. It was very interesting to me to explore how the political environment reflects itself even in the selection of space candy — and the childhood memories different people of different species and socioeconomic circumstances have of the same place.
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MirrorMystic on Chapter 1 Sat 14 Jun 2025 10:38PM UTC
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marroniere_m on Chapter 1 Sun 15 Jun 2025 03:12PM UTC
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