Following Your Departure From the Expedition to Arcadios

[favoritebean]

Mommy,

I can’t begin to tell you how unhappy I have been. I just want to go home, even after all we went through. Doesn’t even matter that I’ve been away for 49 years, and covered dozens of solar systems. This entire trip has been a colossal nightmare. Of course, you were there in the beginning, so you know.

Comments

[penpusher]

A real wrenching and twisted tale filled with all sorts of juicy (pardon the space roaches) details!

Certainly this is a set-up for a caper involving Jelica, Xirxie and the travel to the International Space Station Jail. We already know that's going to go wrong, but just how wrong and who will it touch? And will Xirxie just escape or will she create some horrendous situation that would cost more than any gambling debt?

I have to say if Xirxie is counting cards, she's clearly not doing it right if she's continually losing!

[i_17bingo]

I love all of the details that are unfurled as the story goes on, from space roaches to five hearts. There is a lot of expectation-subverting going on here, and I love it.

[bleodswean]

Use of an epistolary style here really works fantastically well for this story! I loved all the rich detail and the tongue-in-cheek asides! Especially the five hearts!

[halfshellvenus]

Space roaches! And then the fact that they brought tragedy. *pangs*

No one listens to the Captain, I mean Father, these days.
This was a nice way to introduce several details at once.

This poor girl-- it's hard to make a choice between home and your parents. Those are usually on the same side of any choice, and when you split them, either choice will leave you with regrets. In this case, more than most.

I do love that one of Jelica's brothers is named Scoots, though. It makes him sound more boneheaded than she implied.

[rayaso]

This was so much fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The details were great, especially the space roaches, which seem to have caught a lot of other readers' attention. You know you've hit a home run when that happens. I love the way you gradually unfold that your narrator is not human, and deal with the true horror of space travel -- all those years with the same people!