"I can’t tell you what a relief it was to find this place!"
December 19, 2022 8:37 AM Subscribe
Two short speculative stories, written by people of color, that use a fantastically cozy teashop and restaurant to depict comfort and care. "Speaking of the service! They’re LGBTQ+ and undead-friendly, obviously, so that’s a plus." "Review for: Izakaya Tanuki" by J. L. Akagi praises a hard-to-find ozoni vendor. "Who’s that interesting hominid you were talking to?" In "Liz's Tea House" by Rodrigo Culagovski (MetaFilter's Own signal), space newbie Ana stumbles through a lot of beloved scifi stories on the way to making a home for herself.
Both stories were published this year and are thus eligible for you to nominate for 2022 awards.
This is a fundraiser-supported post. Thanks to jepler for bidding on this in the MetaFilter fundraiser auction this year!
Both stories were published this year and are thus eligible for you to nominate for 2022 awards.
This is a fundraiser-supported post. Thanks to jepler for bidding on this in the MetaFilter fundraiser auction this year!
jenfullmoon, I'm guessing "the silent soap opera fan" is, yeah! I think there are several cameos/references and I enjoyed spotting the ones I caught!
posted by brainwane at 9:40 AM on December 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by brainwane at 9:40 AM on December 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
Hi, brainwane, thanks for posting this! It was my first ever sale, and I recently made another sale to Future SF that put me over the line for SFWA membership.
You're both right about Murderbot, BTW, good eye.
posted by signal at 10:08 AM on December 19, 2022 [9 favorites]
You're both right about Murderbot, BTW, good eye.
posted by signal at 10:08 AM on December 19, 2022 [9 favorites]
signal, will you clue us in on the number of references to other sf works in the piece so we can really go to town finding clues?
posted by brainwane at 10:13 AM on December 19, 2022
posted by brainwane at 10:13 AM on December 19, 2022
I think it's seven, though some are really tiny, blink and you miss them.
posted by signal at 10:35 AM on December 19, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by signal at 10:35 AM on December 19, 2022 [2 favorites]
I caught:
1. Douglas Adams ("something almost, but not quite entirely unlike tea")
2. To Serve man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man)
3. John Scalzi (Space lawyer from https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OA63YO/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title)
4. Quake (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BFG_(weapon))
(In addition to murderbot)
posted by professorbs at 12:01 PM on December 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
1. Douglas Adams ("something almost, but not quite entirely unlike tea")
2. To Serve man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man)
3. John Scalzi (Space lawyer from https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OA63YO/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title)
4. Quake (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BFG_(weapon))
(In addition to murderbot)
posted by professorbs at 12:01 PM on December 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
also Breq's address in the safe (Ancillary Justice), and I think the space kitty privateers are from the Chanur books? that's six so far, who did we miss.
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 2:45 PM on December 19, 2022
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 2:45 PM on December 19, 2022
"Trash compactor filled with worms" is also on the smuggler's route off Lord Vader's Death Star.
Thank you, signal. Them's shiney words.
posted by k3ninho at 3:50 PM on December 19, 2022 [2 favorites]
Thank you, signal. Them's shiney words.
posted by k3ninho at 3:50 PM on December 19, 2022 [2 favorites]
"Cool place with a luxury-gay-space-communism vibe, but they let their AIs run their lives too much for my taste." ← looks, smells, walks, quacks and has a Contact division like Iain M. Banks' Culture.
(I'd given Murderbot at least they/them pronouns if not she/her.)
posted by k3ninho at 4:09 PM on December 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
(I'd given Murderbot at least they/them pronouns if not she/her.)
posted by k3ninho at 4:09 PM on December 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
Thank you! I can't wait to read these.
posted by jepler at 4:27 PM on December 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by jepler at 4:27 PM on December 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
Really enjoyed them both. Thanks, signal, for the story that was enjoyable on its own, but more so for the hidden references.
posted by AMyNameIs at 6:46 PM on December 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by AMyNameIs at 6:46 PM on December 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
That was really enjoyable! Thanks!
posted by vacapinta at 3:47 AM on December 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by vacapinta at 3:47 AM on December 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
Thanks all for reading!
The easter eggs:
Is that a Murderbot cameo at Liz's Tea House?!?~
Yes!
Douglas Adams ("something almost, but not quite entirely unlike tea")
Yes!
To Serve Man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man)
Yes! My introduction to SFF was a second-hand copy of "Galaxy, Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction", which included the story and used it for the cover illustration. It's stuck with me.
John Scalzi (Space lawyer from https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OA63YO/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title)
I haven't read that yet. I was thinking of Murd Blurdock, Space Lawyer , though I didn't really make it explicit.
Quake (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BFG_(weapon))
Yes, except it's a BF-Space-G
Breq's address in the safe (Ancillary Justice)
Yes
space kitty privateers are from the Chanur books
Haven't read them yet. The whole pirate-ship bit is the Starjammers from the X-Men, the cat lady is Hepzibah (who's actually a cat-skunk person, apparently), the 'bird-run space empire' is the Shi'ar, and the three sons are Cyclops, Havok and Vulcan, who, if you've read the books, you know are really into drama.
"Trash compactor filled with worms" is also on the smuggler's route off Lord Vader's Death Star.
I was thinking of the scene in the first Star Wars movie, where they fall into the trash compactor and a dianoga almost eats Luke.
Cool place with a luxury-gay-space-communism vibe, but they let their AIs run their lives too much for my taste." ← looks, smells, walks, quacks and has a Contact division like Iain M. Banks' Culture.
Yes!
(I'd given Murderbot at least they/them pronouns if not she/her.)
D'oh, you're right.
There's one more which is just a few words. I'll leave that one open.
posted by signal at 7:35 AM on December 20, 2022
The easter eggs:
Is that a Murderbot cameo at Liz's Tea House?!?~
Yes!
Douglas Adams ("something almost, but not quite entirely unlike tea")
Yes!
To Serve Man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man)
Yes! My introduction to SFF was a second-hand copy of "Galaxy, Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction", which included the story and used it for the cover illustration. It's stuck with me.
John Scalzi (Space lawyer from https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OA63YO/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title)
I haven't read that yet. I was thinking of Murd Blurdock, Space Lawyer , though I didn't really make it explicit.
Quake (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BFG_(weapon))
Yes, except it's a BF-Space-G
Breq's address in the safe (Ancillary Justice)
Yes
space kitty privateers are from the Chanur books
Haven't read them yet. The whole pirate-ship bit is the Starjammers from the X-Men, the cat lady is Hepzibah (who's actually a cat-skunk person, apparently), the 'bird-run space empire' is the Shi'ar, and the three sons are Cyclops, Havok and Vulcan, who, if you've read the books, you know are really into drama.
"Trash compactor filled with worms" is also on the smuggler's route off Lord Vader's Death Star.
I was thinking of the scene in the first Star Wars movie, where they fall into the trash compactor and a dianoga almost eats Luke.
Cool place with a luxury-gay-space-communism vibe, but they let their AIs run their lives too much for my taste." ← looks, smells, walks, quacks and has a Contact division like Iain M. Banks' Culture.
Yes!
(I'd given Murderbot at least they/them pronouns if not she/her.)
D'oh, you're right.
There's one more which is just a few words. I'll leave that one open.
posted by signal at 7:35 AM on December 20, 2022
I enjoyed Liz's Tea House a lot, signal! As well as the Culture orbital, it looks like that hegemonizing swarm might have escaped from the same bit of the hypersphere?
posted by ntk at 4:09 PM on December 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ntk at 4:09 PM on December 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
I enjoyed both of those immensely!
"Review for: Izakaya Tanuki" made me wonder how long carrots had been part of Japanese cuisine, so I looked it up. (Since about the 16th Century!)
I really liked the relationship in "Review for: Izakaya Tanuki" - how the narrator kept trying to make ozoni, even though it never quite measured up to the husband's memory - and how the husband really appreciated the effort, even if he wasn't able to completely hide his disappointment; and how the husband's sharing memories with Keiko that he'd never told the narrator:
And in "Liz's Tea House", I quite liked Liz's fib, her reason for it and the truth of the matter, and Ana helping to paint the flowers on the replacement.
These are both delightful! Thank you so much for sharing them with us, brainwane! (And signal - thank you for writing that splendid story!)
posted by kristi at 7:05 PM on December 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
"Review for: Izakaya Tanuki" made me wonder how long carrots had been part of Japanese cuisine, so I looked it up. (Since about the 16th Century!)
I really liked the relationship in "Review for: Izakaya Tanuki" - how the narrator kept trying to make ozoni, even though it never quite measured up to the husband's memory - and how the husband really appreciated the effort, even if he wasn't able to completely hide his disappointment; and how the husband's sharing memories with Keiko that he'd never told the narrator:
He’s never told me any of this before. Maybe because, like the kinako, the memories were buried over time.Those two details are among the bits that gave me a sense of a long, deep, trusting, comfortable, loving relationship, which is quite lovely, and not something you often get in fiction.
And in "Liz's Tea House", I quite liked Liz's fib, her reason for it and the truth of the matter, and Ana helping to paint the flowers on the replacement.
These are both delightful! Thank you so much for sharing them with us, brainwane! (And signal - thank you for writing that splendid story!)
posted by kristi at 7:05 PM on December 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
I caught some of the references, and came back here to check if I was correct in my guess as to what the "S" stood for. Thank you for the spoiler protected easter egg list!
posted by notoriety public at 7:30 PM on December 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by notoriety public at 7:30 PM on December 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Those are lovely - thank you (came here via FanFare).
posted by paduasoy at 3:04 PM on December 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by paduasoy at 3:04 PM on December 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
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