Beyond - Legends [ISRR] The Morning After (Jaina/Lowie AU)

[Before anyone starts to get angry... ]

{This started off with the simple idea of a Jaina/Lowbacca mushfic for another forum, which then evolved into a radical AU; but there's no Jaya/Lowie in what I'm posting now, no mush either: it started with a feeling that I needed to explain some of what I was doing in advance, and grew into a bizarre 1500 word introduction.

The intended sequel, the 'real' story (or is that "the real 'story'"?), might appear later, but it will come here only with the approval of the Mods.

I'm really not quite sure what to make of this, so let me know what you think, people. Or, alternatively, ignore this post, wait for the 'fic proper, and then compare notes on your reactions...}

***

?The Morning After?

[From Spoken in the Stars: An Anthology of 100,000 Years of Galactic Prose and Verse, ed. Chek?nzynikk O. mh?N., L. O?K. Aonish Jones, and V.K. Lizalla (Drall, 1138.421)]

Translator?s note: the short Xaczik story entitled Grozdrrl, composed according to tradition by Low Bacca himself, but more cautiously assigned by scholars to a gifted poet of the Drrrlykam Era, is rightly regarded as a minor classic of Galactic literature. But the leap the translator must make to put the text into a human language is a long one.

The short Xaczik story was a popular form among writers of the Drrrlykam Era, both Wookiee and non-Wookiee ? a brief and dramatically coherent piece, typically constructed around a single idea, emotion or incident: the Xaczik phrase conventionally rendered as ?short story? would be more literally translated ?single-staff? or ?one-post?. But even among Wookiees, even when it was stil a living tongue in Thikkiiana and the Wartaki Islands, Xaczik was regarded as an aran, a ?difficult language?.

Sudias? famous statement that compositions in this intricate dialect were valued for their inherrent ?difficulty? should not, however, be taken to mean that the intentions of authors or the expectations of readers were dominated by the technical brilliance demanded by the form. Rather, both writers and readers valued the ?one-post? because of the complexity of thought and expression that the challenging idiom allowed: in the words of Chal Tobuck, ?Xaczik is a reward for thought?.

The reward remains, but it is buried treasure, now, locked in a language that even specialists would hesitate to claim fluent understanding of. The modern translator faces the double problem of trying to capture the complex and subtle meaning of the text, and conveying it to the reader in a language very different from that in which it was originally expressed. But that has not discouraged modern renderings of this particular story, and it is known to many who speak not a word of Xaczik, nor even Jowiiwook or Wookar.

The three most famous modern versions are Ovio?s ?Sky Passion? and the prose and verse translations by Surrel, ?Dawn Light? and ?Morning Glory?. The multiple interpretations collected under the title Thirty Kinds of Sunrise ? A Partial Translation by the Chiss writer Teyrn are less well-known, though deserving of a wider audience.

I can makes no claim to match the text?s previous translators for literary greatness, and my debt to them will be evident to any reader familiar with their versions. I am profoundly grateful to my friend Venza Lizalla for asking me to, in her own words, ?answer the challenge? of translating Grozdrrl; but in line with the overall goals of this anthology, my aim has been simply a ?new translation?, rendered ? inasmuch as such a thing is possible for a Drrlykam Era Xaczik piece ? in straightforward modern prose.

It might, of course, come as a surprise to some readers to find Grozdrrl presented as narrative prose at all; but the human distinction into prose or poetry is alien to Xaczik; the translator?s convention - for that is all it is - is largely defined by whether or not a piece contains dialogue in Jowiiwook or Shyriiwook. Grozdrrl, of course, though often translated

 

Well we got a great crash-course in the Shyriiwook language and its sub-dialects

 

SOOOOO....

You're pushing the limits, posting the backstory first, and hoping not to get banned?

Will there be more?

And when will you write Yuuzhan Vong again?

 

Spike: Well we got a great crash-course in the Shyriiwook language and its sub-dialects

From a certain point of view...

Vc: SOOOOO....

You're pushing the limits, posting the backstory first, and hoping not to get banned?

Not quite, no... I don't personally see anything inappropriate in this 'fic - it contains oblique references to a semi-legendary Jaina/Lowie relationship (in a strongly AU context) and off-camera allusions to half-breed human/Wookiee kids...

Maybe it doesn't work ( ), but I see it as an experiment in language and meaning, where I hope the reader almost has to think about intent, translation, POV and subtext - though, to avoid confusion, I should say that in that sense, it has nothing directly to do with the Rishathra rules here, and certanly isn't intended to "challenge" anything in that sense...

Bear in mind that this 'fic wasn't written for these boards and has in fact been available elsewhere for two months...

Will there be more?

That however definately depends on whether the Mods approve...

And when will you write Yuuzhan Vong again?

When someone vongforms some hoojibs?

- The Imperial Ewok

 

*pokes* I don't even know what a hoojib IS.

 

[image=http://users.bigpond.net.au/hooly/208-personalities/chrpic-plif.gif]

SW bunnies?

- The Imperial Ewok

 

Oh. Already done it. They're called Tazerrats now.

 

So this guys idea of history is based on a Wookie-dominated society? Interesting, very interesting...

Actually what this fic reminds me of is my brief time spent lurking on the Tolkien Language List, where people much smarter than I discuessed the complexities of etymology. This, I understand a bit better, and languages are really fascinating things.

~Lurker

 

Vc: Oh. Already done it. They're called Tazerrats now.

Well, I think one of them grew up into a highly appropriate Monty Python & the Quest for the Holy Grail parody...

("You silly sod! It's just a rabbit!")

And you just gave me an idea about a hoojib called Spliff. My hoojibs are producing hoojibs - well, what do you expect, I guess?

lurker: So this guys idea of history is based on a Wookie-dominated society? Interesting, very interesting...

Aye, that's why it's an AU... there's one line in the actual 'fic itself that suggests where the fundamental change took place...

Actually what this fic reminds me of is my brief time spent lurking on the Tolkien Language List, where people much smarter than I discuessed the complexities of etymology. This, I understand a bit better, and languages are really fascinating things.

Thanks! I'm not much of a linguist myself (probably something to do with grammar and phonetic qualities in Scots varying wildly according to register - you guys didn't think I spoke English, did you!? ) but that was pretty much what I was going for!

- The Imperial Ewok

 

[Deep breath... okay, the 'fic has been approved!!!

Thanks to LadyPadme and all the ModSquad people who read it over with a suitably jaundiced eye - you know who you are, even if I don't!

Any excessive squickiness that remains is still my own fault, of course - but is probably due to rewriting something innoccuous just to avoid potential misreadings...

Needless to say - if this is met with deafening howls of protest, then I might have to rethink my POV on the parameters here (and yes, that would be my responsibility too!)... but I hope you enjoy it!! ]

















?The Morning After?

Low Bacca, captain of the Ciiirdrrrlykam, stepped through the hatchway into the main hold of the old freighter, whistling happily ? and stopped short in his tracks, mid-stride and mid-note ? slammed abruptly to a halt like a ship dragged out of hyperspace by an interdiction field.

Jiyhna, the Drrrlykam?s human first mate, was kneeling in front of an open access-hatch in the forward bulkhead, soldering the seams of a coupling-sheathe shut with an oxy-torch.

It was a sight he?d seen countless times before ? the Crrrlwook girl was one of his oldest and closest friends, and they had shared the old freigther for three standard years now, captain and mate. He should have been no more shocked by the sight of her than by the hair on the back of his own paws.

But today, now, this morning?

His blue eyes tickled the bare soles of her feet, then flicked up past her tool-hung utility-belt, following the curve of her spine until it disappeared under her crop.

After last night?

Now it was different.

?Jiie?grr!? he roared.

She glanced round at him and answered with a good-natured human grin, pushing up the tinted goggles that were her only protection against the heat and sparks. There would be spark-burns on her shoulders now, he realised - but what was wrong with that?

Hairless human skin wasn't as tough as Wookiee pelt, but he couldn't imagine Jiyhna buttonned up from toes to throat in layers of tailored fabric like a Chiss or Falleen. They shared the same civilized attitude to clothes - rarely more than a loose vest and a pair of shorts, pouched and pocketed to carry tools in. He vaguely remembered some fuss about whether it represented "cultural slavery" back when he'd been a kid, but it had never bothered him.

Until today, anyway.

?Nah-Geyy?nuh?? he asked, with a wave of his arms to indicate his enthusiasm.

She blushed, stood up, and asked, in human, if he knew where the hydrospanner was.

?Hurrh!? he agreed, beaming broadly back at her, glancing around for the tool. But his eyes strayed back to her, and he strolled over, clamping his heavy paws on her hairless shoulders, and grined down at her.

?Yhh?grr-n?Huuh-Ji?

[I know,] she blushed back.

For a moment, they kissed, and pressed their bodies aganst each other, his fur against her skin, tongues tasting each other?s lips.

Then, blushing fiercely, she broke away.

[I need to get back to work, Low], she whispered, looking down at his toes.

She pulled down the mask over her eyes again, as though to hide her blush, and he rolled an affectionate phrase at her, ruffling her hair, then folding his arms across his chest and watching her turn back to her work.

She fired up the oxy-torch again, and went back to her welding without another word.

Behind her, he stood silent and upright, watchful and calm ? outwardly, every inch a Wookiee captain aboard his own ship.

Outwardly.

Inside, his stomach felt as if it was dancing, and he didn?t know if it was terror or delight.

Humans were so different, their moods and ideas so alien to Wookiees ? even Jiyhna, who had grown up with his own family as much as she had with her own human clan, even Jiyhna, who?d been his friend and comrade for so many years ? first at the Jedi Academy, then with Five Brothers Squadron in the war against the Chazrakh, and finally, alone tog

 

I know I approved this, but this fic is such a jumble of contradictions I hardly know where to begin. I'm personally completely squicked out by the idea, but I have to hold up with the focus group decision on ISRRs. On the other hand, I find it to be very well written in terms of descriptors, backstory and dialogue.

Wookiee nookie. Who knew?

 

Trust McEwok to twist the whole Star Wars story around in a different direction and make the Wookiees the masters

 

In a really strange, ?Planet of the Wookiees? kind of way, this works for me. But what does that say about me?

Last night, they had seemed to need no words ? they had been two halves of one perfect whole; but now, she was a human again, and he was a Wookiee, and their hesitant attempts to reach out to each other only seemed to remind them both that the gap between them was parsecs wide ? as wide as the spacelanes between Kashyyyk and Corellia were long.

But if you look beyond the furriness of one of the characters, (or the color of his fur?) it?s really no more than two individuals who come from different stations in life, (slave and master) and different species (race?) that fall in love with each other despite their differences. It happens now, and it happened during the days of slavery. True love knows no bounds?

Hhan had been part of the family, formally adopted by Uncle Chewie as a brother, and that was how Low had always known him. Uncle Hhan ? even if other people did sometimes make the mistake of thinking he was some sort of pet, or a sort of live counterpart to Artoo and Threepio.
Han a pet?

Interesting how things sort of fit in reverse - the debt of honor owed by Han?s family, Lowie being responsible for Han/s death, and Jiyhna stepping up to take up the life debt.

And this:
He?d always thought of himself as a normal, red-blooded Wookiee. He?d had a huge teenage crush on Aunt Malla ? herself every bit as much a hero as Uncle Chewie ? and he?d dated for several years with Colonel Rabba Kyysh, whose Wookiee father had been one of the Empire?s greatest TIE pilots, and who now served as the Remnant?s liason with the alien Chiss in the Unknown Regions.


Hhan had his own family as well, of course ? and Low had happy memories of his visits to the Solo clan-village on Corellia. Hhan?s wife Lowya, busy in the kitchen ? bare feet, white apron and braided black hair. His father Jyhnashhh, introducing him to the mind-kicking human drink whhshkyy. And the three bustling man-cub children who came racing out of the hut to meet him, hugging his legs and scrambling around his feet ? Jiyhna, Jowshyrn and Anakin.

A very interesting look at the Solo clan from Lowie?s POV. ?Man cub? made me think of Mowgli from The Jungle Book. Heehee. Shouldn?t Anakin be Anhakkyyn though?

Very interesting? in an ?Ewok kind of way. It left me pondering certain things, which is what good writing ultimately should do. And is it weird that this 'fic made me think of Disney fics in comparison? Well, there are a lot of Disney interspecies relationships, you know? [face_defensive]



Angel

 

OK, I liked it except for one part....the armpit hair. I hate armpit hair!

 

LP: I know I approved this, but this fic is such a jumble of contradictions I hardly know where to begin.

Thanks for doing the work, LP - and in a way, framing it as a "jumble of contradictions" makes me feel a lot better about some of the structural and storytelling flaws...

Spike: Trust McEwok to twist the whole Star Wars story around in a different direction and make the Wookiees the masters

And why not?

Angel: In a really strange, ?Planet of the Wookiees? kind of way, this works for me. But what does that say about me?

You're a "Planet of the Wookiees" kind of girl?

Do you look anything like Helena Bonham Carter?

And what's the equivalent of a plot-bunny on the Planet of the Wookiees?

Because you just gave me one...

But if you look beyond the furriness of one of the characters, (or the color of his fur?) it?s really no more than two individuals who come from different stations in life, (slave and master) and different species (race?) that fall in love with each other despite their differences. It happens now, and it happened during the days of slavery. True love knows no bounds?

Yes!

It's hard to write intelligently or expansively on a theme of "yes, that's exactly what I wanted people to get out of it!" ( ) but thanks, and yes, and yes, and thanks...

Han a pet?

I bet Leia would like the idea...

And Jabba could be female in this AU!

Interesting how things sort of fit in reverse - the debt of honor owed by Han?s family, Lowie being responsible for Han/s death, and Jiyhna stepping up to take up the life debt.

Aye... it's just a straight swap, in some ways - but I thought the characters still behaved like you'd expect them to with the turnaround in roles. Am I allowed to enjoy seeing what happens to them when I do things like that too?

" "

Aye. That's also a hint at how Rabba came to be working for the Empire of the Hand in The Courtship of Mistress Jaina...

Which I need to write more of...

A very interesting look at the Solo clan from Lowie?s POV. ?Man cub? made me think of Mowgli from The Jungle Book. Heehee.

Yep!

I wanna be a man, mancub
And stroll right into town
And be just like the other men
I'm tired of monkeyin' around!

Oh, oobee doo
I wanna be like you
I wanna walk like you
Talk like you, too
You'll see it's true
An ape like me
Can learn to be human too

And am I allowed to be proud of my own unconscious for throwing in that reference without articulating it mentally to me?

Shouldn?t Anakin be Anhakkyyn though?

Not necessarily - an is a Shyriiwook word for "master" or "craftsman", and there's a small green bird on Kashyyyk called a mallakin (malla = 'precious green'; another point of contact between Aunt Mara and Aunt Malla! )...

So (a.) I've done far too much thinking about Wookiee languages and (b.) I was imagining "Anakin" as a Wookiee name meaning something like "little craftsman"...

But "Anhakkyyn" looks kinda cool, too..

Very interesting? in an ?Ewok kind of way. It left me pondering certain things, which is what good writing ultimately should do. And is it weird that this 'fic made me think of Disney fics in comparison? Well, there are a lot of Disney interspecies relationships, you know? [face_defensive]

Nothing wrong with that - like I said, it was at least partially unconsciously deliberate... and thanks again for such a great and thoughtful review!

Can I just hold you up here for a moment as the perfect reader?

JediCallista: OK, I liked it except for one part....the armpit hair. I hate armpit hair!



Thanks, though!

- The Imperial Ewok

 

As soon as I read of "Palbacca's" demise at the end of the Empire, I realised we were dealing with a Wookiee professor. As well as the slight misinterpretations common to History like Galactic Basic or even claiming it was a precursor to Modern Wookiee speech. I reckon Napoleon would laugh at the innaccuracies we write about him now in the same way.


PALBACCA FOR EMPEROR!

 

The Imperial Ewok

You're a "Planet of the Wookiees" kind of girl?
Well, I imagine Iego to be far different actually?

Do you look anything like Helena Bonham Carter?
LOL! Not at all! At least I don?t think so.

And what's the equivalent of a plot-bunny on the Planet of the Wookiees?
Larger/taller hoojibs? Perhaps without fur?

Because you just gave me one...
Yay!

Yes!


It's hard to write intelligently or expansively on a theme of "yes, that's exactly what I wanted people to get out of it!" ( blush ) but thanks, and yes, and yes, and thanks...
You mean I got it?

I bet Leia would like the idea...
Yes, but I doubt Han would!
[image=http://www.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/9/96/250px-Hansolo.jpg]

And Jabba could be female in this AU!


Aye... it's just a straight swap, in some ways - but I thought the characters still behaved like you'd expect them to with the turnaround in roles. Am I allowed to enjoy seeing what happens to them when I do things like that too?
Aye, absolutely! You?re allowed! It was rather brilliant actually.

That's also a hint at how Rabba came to be working for the Empire of the Hand in The Courtship of Mistress Jaina...
Got it!

Which I need to write more of...
Yep! *cracks whip*

Yep!
Thanks to you, I?ve had that song going around in my head all day, and every once in a while I feel like dancing the jig to it?. ?I wanna be a man, mancub?Oh, oobee do...?

And am I allowed to be proud of my own unconscious for throwing in that reference without articulating it mentally to me?
You?re entitled! But I blame you for the image of Mowgli that is now superimposed over my mental image of Jacen.

Not necessarily - an is a Shyriiwook word for "master" or "craftsman", and there's a small green bird on Kashyyyk called a mallakin (malla = 'precious green'; another point of contact between Aunt Mara and Aunt Malla! )...

So (a.) I've done far too much thinking about Wookiee languages and (b.) I was imagining "Anakin" as a Wookiee name meaning something like "little craftsman"...

But "Anhakkyyn" looks kinda cool, too..
I should have known you had a reason for leaving Anakin?s name unchanged? I bow to your superior knowledge of Shyriiwok. I am impressed, particularly since I have zero knowledge of the Wookiee language.

and thanks again for such a great and thoughtful review!
You?re welcome!

Can I just hold you up here for a moment as the perfect reader?
Aw, shucks! *bows and preens*

 

Wacky: um, not quite... this is a full-on AU, where Wookiees, not humans, became the dominant species in the GFFA, so Palbacca really is a Wookiee, and Jowiiwook really is a Wookiee language...

Angel: Well, I imagine Iego to be far different actually?

Oh? Lots of long beaches?

LOL! Not at all! At least I don?t think so.

No?

Well, still, your heart's in the right place!

*makes wookiee noises*

Larger/taller hoojibs? Perhaps without fur?



Yay!

Yippee!

" "



You mean I got it?

Yub yub, Princess!

Yes, but I doubt Han would!

Depends on how AU the AU is...

" "



Aye, absolutely! You?re allowed! It was rather brilliant actually.

Shush! Flattery!

Got it!

Yay!

Yep! *cracks whip*

I'm working! I'm working!

*enjoying this way too much*

Thanks to you, I?ve had that song going around in my head all day, and every once in a while I feel like dancing the jig to it?. ?I wanna be a man, mancub?Oh, oobee do...?

*is very worried about that coming from you*

You?re entitled! But I blame you for the image of Mowgli that is now superimposed over my mental image of Jacen.

"It's an improvement"?

I should have known you had a reason for leaving Anakin?s name unchanged? I bow to your superior knowledge of Shyriiwok. I am impressed, particularly since I have zero knowledge of the Wookiee language.

You?re welcome!



Aw, shucks! *bows and preens*

Don't mock!

...

- The Imperial Ewok

 

o.0 Y'know, by all rights, this should be completely and totally wrong...

And so, I bow to your superiority, because you've made it so that it's not. Not so much, anyway. (chuckles)

Congratulations, captain! You've gone where no author has dared go before, and gone well!

Peace~ Ari.

 

Leona: First time I read this I enjoyed it... enjoying it even more posted.

Thanks - and thanks!

ari: o.0 Y'know, by all rights, this should be completely and totally wrong...

And so, I bow to your superiority, because you've made it so that it's not. Not so much, anyway. (chuckles)

No?

Congratulations, captain! You've gone where no author has dared go before, and gone well!

"Captain"?

- The Imperial Ewok