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» Legion World » LEGION OUTPOST » Bits o' Legionnaire Business » "Solace in a Stellar Night" (with illustrations by Lee and others) (Page 2)

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Author Topic: "Solace in a Stellar Night" (with illustrations by Lee and others)
Greybird
Brother of Dawnstar
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Thanks to Fat Cramer for such an extensive commentary, and apologies for not responding earlier ... I wanted to let it percolate in the mind a bit.

{ I wanted to take the time to reread this, once I came to terms with the winged Lar ending. It really is a very enjoyable story, well-written (which I would expect from you) and well-crafted. }

That a work merits a re-reading is a quite high compliment. I'm glad it was that provocative for you, and I thank you.

I'm curious: Do you think your initial reaction would have been different if Lar's new wings had only been described? That is, if Kyle Baxter's illustration hadn't been present?

{[...] what is particularly interesting is the added insight into Starhaven - not a Starhaven travelogue, but a few details give us a picture of this as a real world, separate from Earth, but not so alien that this formerly Earth-bound race would have been uncomfortable on settling there. }

I had intended that, without overloading the reader's attention while doing so. Many ideas I'd had about Dawnstar's home had percolated up from my subconcious over the years, amplifying on the few ragged hints we'd had from Levitz's writing. (More of it, actually, came from Gene Colan's art in "LSH" v2 n311 that showed Starhaven, her parents, and tribal elders than it did from Levitz.)

{[...] A few other characters, some ceremonies and the use of "Starhaven" words contribute further to the picture. (Are those native words and marriage ceremonies or did you make them up?) }

They were intended to evoke Lakota words and cadences, from my having known a few such folk over the years ... and anything more, well, let's just say that languages evolve over a thousand years, eh? They'd have to have some words coined for a new life setting, as well.

The ceremony was my own design, although I did venture to have the scientific fact of elliptical orbits picked up in symbolism, and this is an old pattern for the interaction of science and religion. Kyle Baxter picked up on it for the necklaces worn by Lar and Dawny in the final illustration.

{ Of course, Starhaven would have "advanced" genetic technology/research - they didn't arrive with wings, after all - but I don't recall this being addressed before. }

Advanced enough, I always felt, for the physical damage done to Dawnstar by a malevolent "spirit" to be quickly repaired. It made no sense for this to be left hanging. If the reboot had been delayed by a year or two, I believe we'd have seen her made physically whole.

Others had pointed out that many couples who were deeply in love would, indeed, want to share physical abilities if it were made possible, as Starhaven's gen-tech could do for this couple. Lar gave more than he received, in this sense, but I saw him as being restless enough to strike out in a bold direction.

{[...] Drake's confiding in Mon-el about Dawnstar is great. I can't imagine brash, tough Drake speaking about a woman he truly loved and revealing his feelings to just anybody. Mon-el would have been a good choice, having suffered denial of physical contact himself for so many years. }

You're the first to pick up on what I intended as a departure for both of them, and to reinforce that parallel. Neither character was especially forthcoming or open, emotionally, and that gave them more in common than they ever realized.

{ Also, the fact that only R.J. was invited from the Legion reinforces the bond that R.J. and Lar Gand have had - which was certainly reinforced during your dreaded TMK years - }

I hadn't known this last. My reading of TMK admittedly has holes in it. I dreaded seeing many elements during those years, but I wouldn't have at all minded seeing that. Unfortunately, as it was with (the early) Coipel, I couldn't get past the deficiencies in the art ... and as it wasn't with DnA, I couldn't endure Tom and Mary's uninformed fannish excesses. If R.J.-and-Lar was reinforced, that was atypical for them, as this was rarely done for any relationships.

{ but, even if unexplored pre-TMK, those two might have been the Legion's father figures and would have shared some distance from "the kids". }

That feeling was indeed present when I wrote the story. The first impulse of their friends would have been (and was, as it turned out!) to throw a party. Yet R.J. was able to see that these were two more earnest souls who wanted something more reserved in initially celebrating their bond.

{ I do have to wonder how much Silverale it would take to get Lar and Kal tipsy, let alone drunk ... I would have thought Lar couldn't get a buzz from alcohol, which would have removed yet another "escape hatch" from his troubling memories. A quibbling point. }

Did Daxamites have some physical difference that prevented such an effect? It's entirely likely that I missed some allusion to that from the "Adventure" era. I find it quite probable that Kal would occasionally surrender to its effects when out of his own century. Nine ice cream flavors weren't nearly enough {g}

{ I guess what bothered me about Lar's wings was the same aspect which bothered me with Tasmia's wedding mutilation, chopping off her finger. The idea of deforming one's body as an expression of love just doesn't sit well with me. }

I'd see it as re-forming, not de-forming, and it wasn't taken solely out of expressing his love. Lar would be the kind of man who would find such a step fascinating or compelling out of his own motives, even above its being a tribute to or delight for his soul-mate. All of this would be part of his reasoning, along with (quoth the omnipotent author) a delight in wings for their own sake. Yet his main motive, I'd say, was to gain abilities and new perspectives.

One frequent criticism of the Daxam/Krypton characters was that they had no notable or nonarbitrary (think of Kryptonite) weaknesses. I'd find it quite likely that they would be lacking some of the sheer nuance of flight, the subtleties of making atmospheric effects behave toward their chosen ends -- short of sheer super-strength forcing air and vapor to do so. The Starhavenites would have been likely to build up endless lore and technique about how to tame a wild atmosphere, after several centuries of doing so up close and in the teeth of the winds. Lar may have simply been delighted to find a way to physically tap into that knowledge.

As for the comparison to Tasmia's ritual in the Legion continuity: It was dramatic, to lose a finger joint, but what did it gain her? Nothing, but it did give her pain. Such symbols have deep roots, even in our own Earth cultures -- look at what I see as the pointless ritual of circumcision. Lar lost nothing that he'd already had by taking on wings, and he gained new abilities, deep affection, and a sense of personal drama ... aren't those wings better than a cape for intimidating the Bad Guys?

I admit that the mutilation may have bothered me, when Levitz put it into the downward curve of his closing stories for the Legionnaires. It seemed too much of a throwback to barbarism in a more enlightened era. That could be my foible, though, since such gestures will still be far from gone 1000 years hence.

{[...] With Dawnstar, he acquires a family as well as an equal life-partner. }

I point out, for those who don't know, that the names of Dawny's parents and brothers are not made up, the former appearing in several stories, and the latter being noted in "Who's Who in the LSH" from 1988. That her brothers were fraternal twins was my own extension upon the vaguest of hints in the few lines that Levitz wrote about them.

Dawnstar was, indeed, more of a potential life partner than Tasmia was for him. I know that will be disputed by many (other) Shadow Lass fans, but the portrayal of her relationship that I saw was far more of a feminine submission to him -- not quite clinging, as FC phrases it -- than I really cared to see. The mutilation/ritual for wedding herself to him, when he was dying, was only part of this. Love is the heart of any relationship, but it can't be the only bond, if a couple wants it to endure.

{ It's not unusual for people in our time to adopt the religion and cultural ways of their spouse, so I guess wings are just a 31st century aspect of this. If he's happy with it, who am I to question this? }

You have every right to question it, if you don't think it coheres. I believe that some -- not necessarily FC -- might question it, despite his feelings and desires, because we in our own time are not used to thinking of how the human norms could be improved or extended. That makes many of us skittish about what could be done with genetic sequencing or "fault" detection.

Some who abused such tools created historical or literary nightmares. It's hard to imagine changes to the human(oid) template. I'd be the last to say that such reservations are inherently wrong or irrational. Scientists aren't necessarily moral beings, nor are those who pay for or control the ends for their research.

I did want to have some portrayal in this story of what an extension of one's capabilities would be like. Mon-el may have done it most of all for love, but it remains, to me, a change coming from worthwhile principles as well.

And apart from all of that, wings are damn sexy {g} ... but you'd expect a pteraphile to say that.

{ Dawnstar and Lar really are quite an excellent match, character-wise and power-wise. }

I'd thought, on a quite direct level, that two such Legion speedsters would be impatient with others for not keeping up with them, at least from time to time in what surrounded their team's adventures ... and that such shared impatience would be a bond, over the longer run.

{[...] Would Dawny and Lar have gotten together even if Tasmia were still in the picture? They might well have. It's a more logical, mutually supportive and beneficial relationship, in my opinion. }

I couldn't have said this better. Tasmia will always be one of my favorites, with a huge and rarely shown potential -- the latest, Lightle-drawn "Legion" shows her capabilities beautifully. Yet keeping any couple together primarily because one of the man's potential partners came along before the other, in serial storytelling terms? That never made sense to me.

This also applied, o'course, to Drake and Dawny ... a work of beauty as a relationship, in how their turns of heart were explored, but one that finally went past its natural limits. Wildfire deserved to move forward. (And with a body, even a pseudo-construct, which he should have kept.) So did Lar Gand.

[ February 01, 2004, 06:53 AM: Message edited by: Greybird ]

From: Starhaven Consulate, City of Angels | Registered: Jul 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Greybird
Brother of Dawnstar
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A bump for newcomers ... I just received an e-mail with enthusiasm about this story from a Legion and Dawnstar fan in Australia. (I've invited him here.) It still amazes me how such interests can be shared around the whole planet in a matter of minutes.
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Doctor One
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I just read this for the first time. Wonderful story. Thanks!
Juan

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Invisible Brainiac
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Agreed. It's very well-thought out, and I found myself totally absorbed by it. Every single word ties together quite nicely. And the accompanying illustrations provide just the right touch.

--------------------
Loss: How does the galaxy cope w/o the Postboot Legion?

Titans Idol - vote for your favorite Titans members!

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Greybird
Brother of Dawnstar
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Shameless bump after seven months. I've also mentioned this story to members of Elfwood, where I have some non-fan-fiction work on display, and its auxiliary Elftown. If they scanned Bits more generally, I wanted them to see it.

I also suggested this story to Gigglebot Girl, who wanted to get to know the Legion better. A story like this can bring forward many elements of past Legion narratives (here, pre-reboot). Others, such as the Matter-Eater Lad fanfic, take new tangents, but can help explain what anchors some of the in-jokes around here!

And for those I've invited or given links to as Greybird in other venues, my name-at-the-moment of GoldenGreyEagle is a tribute to the Teen Titans, wherein the Legion's universe of characters is crossing over before being "relaunched" by DC in two months.

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Greybird
Brother of Dawnstar
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I ran across these "micro" renditions of Dawnstar and Mon-el, taken from how they appear in Kyle Baxter's artwork for this story. They're by "Spaz" and are from the Website of our member White Witch, a.k.a. Lady Kat.

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