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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Saga SOUL OF LOVE AND BRAVERY (AN AOTC-ERA AU)THANKS and A REQUEST(7/15/05)

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by GunraysLawyer, Sep 29, 2003.

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  1. laurethiel1138

    laurethiel1138 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 6, 2003
    First?

    GL,

    What a ride. I can't believe it's over (well, for now, anyway...).

    Ivo's really grown on me during this story, and I found an unexpected kinship with Dormé (seeing as she's a musician). I almost felt as though Kalinda was Canon instead of AU. You've really succeeded in creating a whole and consistent universe, which sucked me in from the start.

    I can't wait for The Return of The Brave. I feel as if I miss Kalinda already.

    Just a question: Will your short story be about Ivo finding about Luke? If so, I can only imagine the shock he'll get when, to paraphrase a diminutive Jedi master, he realizes "there is another".

    May the Force be with you,

    Lauré :)
     
  2. DarthBreezy

    DarthBreezy Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 2002
    I'll give you my long awaited reply within a few days (It's a busy weekend for me off boards) BUT a quick comment;

    As for when Ivo will return, assuming that my Beta will continue to put up with me, I think that the next will be a four or five post story called "Succession" and then I will likely start "The Great Game," another Epic set 2.5 years after ROTJ.

    [face_dancing] [face_dancing] HELL YEAH!!! [face_dancing] [face_dancing]
     
  3. Arriss

    Arriss Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 1, 2002
    Dormé and Padmé have grown close so I know it?s hard for them to part, even if it is for the better good. :) I imagine they?ll still keep in contact and visit one another?while they can.

    LOL at Ivo. Poor man! Anakin doesn?t want to give himself away but he already has and Ivo knows it. I?m kind of surprised Ivo didn?t knock Anakin upside the head to knock some sense into him. :p In all, Ivo is a good friend to my favorite Jedi.

    Grinning, the auburn-haired, gray-eyed Ivo Arzhan said, ?I love you.?

    ?Good.? Dormé replied.


    Instantly reminded me of the exchange between Han and Leia in ESB. ;)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Ahh, the epilogue comes back to your other story. =D= As Obi-Wan would say, ?Good job.?

    Yes, what did happen to Anakin? How could not have seen through the deception? Alas, fear will do that, especially when that fear is near and dear to your heart? *sniffle*

    Wonderful job on your story. It?s sad to see it end. I?ll keep my eye out for the other ones you mentioned or you could send me a PM too. ;)

     
  4. MissPadme

    MissPadme Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 9, 1998
    I forgot when you started this but if anything, I admire you've been able to stick with it this long!

    I look forward to more of your weaving the Ivo-verse with canon.

    --MissPadme
     
  5. Darth_Lex

    Darth_Lex Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 17, 2002
    First, catching up. ;)

    The Dorme/Elica showdown was marvelous. I particularly enjoyed the way you used shifting POV to give us so many different perspectives. As usual the Kalinadian noble viewpoints are my favorite - because they're so creative, and so well defined.

    Oh, and I have to say, Padme's gasp at realizing the true nature of the insult was priceless. :D

    Great chapter of Farewells as well. If only Anakin had taken up Ivo on that offer.... :(

    And of course great epilogue to connect TAF and SLB.

    As for the story as a whole - Bravo. =D= =D= =D= Almost two years in the making - what an incredible effort. You've kept me entertained, and often entranced, by the depth and detail of your Ivoverse. It's great to hear there will be more upcoming. :D

    Congratulations on completing this big endeavor. Great job! :)
     
  6. qingauk

    qingauk Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 12, 2002
    You see I have been so engrossed in the story that I forgot Ivo was thinking back to when it happened and that it started out with him and Vader in a conversation. That is what was in the back of my mind when I posed that question previously. I had forgotten that he was with Leia and it was actually 20+ years after what I was reading currently. Clever you are! But I will miss this and I will be waiting for that PM to let me know what comes next.
     
  7. PadawanKitara

    PadawanKitara Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 31, 2001
    I also lost track of the beginning of the story. I was so caught up in the details. I would love to read more
     
  8. GunraysLawyer

    GunraysLawyer Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 23, 2003
    Happy Fourth of July!!! [face_flag]

    I hope all in the U.S. are enjoying their long weekend, while celebrating the beginning of the 230th year of the Independance of the United States.
     
  9. dianethx

    dianethx Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2002
    Oops, should have commented sooner.[face_blush]

    On Cat Fight, Ivo's manipulation of Obi-Wan was highly amusing. ?Well, perhaps then, you should trust him to do the right thing when confronted with the choices and opportunities that such a situation might present.? Gotta admire Ivo for being so deft at using just the right touch of irony and admonition to get Kenobi to agree.

    And the whole movement of women across the floor of the ballroom in a dance of stalking tigresses was wonderful. And then Dorme letting Elica have it. Classic!


    On Farewell, this was so sad knowing what was to come...
    In later years, Ivo would reflect that these bonds weighed heavier on him than any chain could have, but he also knew that he would gleefully have taken them up again. These bonds of friendship were sacred. Sanctity did not always equate with ease. To realize that Anakin would become Vader and yet Ivo would remain his friend must have meant much to the Dark Lord. Ani should have taken Ivo up on his offer and saved the galaxy a lot of pain - or maybe not. He did need to be there at the end to kill Palpatine.


    On Epilogue, a nice tie in with your Absent Friends.
    This pretty much says it all.
    Now, the Padawan was a broken man, but an Imperial Noble: Anakin Skywalker, the Lord Darth Vader.
    What went wrong, Anakin? How did it all go so wrong?


    Great job with this story. Full of glory, angst, rich in world-building and yet human in its very core. Wonderfully done.

    =D= Bravo!



     
  10. GunraysLawyer

    GunraysLawyer Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 23, 2003
    A cheap and easy up, as some have yet to comment....
     
  11. GunraysLawyer

    GunraysLawyer Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 23, 2003
    Just a quick note to ask for a moment of prayer and reflection for the victims of the unfortunate events of this morning in London.

    As someone who was on atrain into midtown Manhatten on 9/11/01, I can but sympathize with the victims, but truly feel viscerally for those caught in the Chaotic aftermath of such an event.

     
  12. CrystalKenobi

    CrystalKenobi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2003
    Sorry I could not reply with everypost, but I did wanted to say this was an excellent story and I enjoyed it very much. Thanks for the pms also. I look forward to more of your work in the future.
     
  13. geo3

    geo3 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2002
    I?m truly, deeply sorry to be late in offering my congratulations and regrets on the ending of this wonderful story. It's ending happened to coincide with a time when I've been more away than here.

    What a journey it has been. You?ve created an entirely new world, peopled it with such vivid and believable characters that I fully expect them to pop up in the films, and told such an interesting story that I?m truly sad to see it end.

    Bravo!!!!!

    Your epilogue made me go straight back to your earlier story, ?To Absent Friends, Lost on the Field of Battle,? in search of the scene where Leia finally begins to give in to her need to know more about her family. Here it is, in part:

    This elicited no response from the man behind the desk. Leia continued to glance at the group of holos. She stopped short at a holo seemingly taken at an official function. It was of three young men. The one in the center in the dark green uniform piped in blue complete with fur-wrapped, plumed helmet held under his arm was obviously a much younger Ivo Arzhan. To his right stood another young man in grass green and a black breast plate, who appeared to be a younger, less bald version of the general who had brought her to this cabin. Finally, she stared at the man on the right in maroon and black with a brown surplice thrown over his shoulders. She looked hard at him; he was young, sandy brown haired and had the bluest of eyes. It dawned on her that he was the same man that her mother eternally stared and smiled at in the still.

    A voice came from behind her, it sounded more than slightly sad, ?That?s a quick group shot from the Protector?s ball at the Commonwealth?s embassy on Coruscant just after Geonosis ?.It was the night that Dormé and I announced our engagement to the public. It was one of the last times that things were truly normal.?

    Without turning, Leia spoke, her voice carrying a hint of relieved triumph. ?So, you keep it because it reminds you of better times, before the Empire.?

    ?No, Princess. I keep it because it reminds me of two of my best friends before the Galaxy descended into madness and scarred us all. The Empire or the Republic would have made little difference in that.?


    So... in SOLB you have brought us to that point. The point that represented "the last time when things were truly normal."

    In re-reading this passage from TAF, I realized just how clearly Ivo?s personality was developed and portrayed even then. Leia wouldn?t have caved for anyone else, I?m sure of it. And now, having read SOLB and enjoyed all of its delights, I see the whole scene in TAF so much more clearly. I REALLY recommend the story to any Ivo fans, as well as A and P fans, who haven?t read it.

    Thanks for a great read, and for all the effort and care and loving detail you have poured into it. I hope it?s not out of place to say?. I look forward to more!
     
  14. QueenSabe7

    QueenSabe7 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 23, 2001
    :(

    So sad it's over, but those last posts were so good! Im glad Elica got what was coming to her, Anakin and Padme are finally together (for now), and Dorme and Ivo are happy. :) It was a wonderful story and I hope you feel compelled to write more about Ivo and Dorme and co. The epilogue was very intriguing. o_O Im for sure going to hit up the sequel next, but Ill def be checking to see what youre writing next!
     
  15. GunraysLawyer

    GunraysLawyer Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 23, 2003
    Just anote, I plan to post my last thanks, replies and a few surprises either late tonight or tomorrow night. So, if you wantto get a comment in...Do it now!
     
  16. Darth_Scroobius

    Darth_Scroobius Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jun 1, 2005
    I found your story a few days ago and have just completed it (I'm a quick read). I have not read "To Absent Friends" but I do have it bookmarked. Who'd have thunk that someone with maybe a handful of lines in the movies could be spun into this compelling character. I would call Dorme a semi-original character, since you breathed far more life into her than I thought possible even when I started reading. The story is also only half-AU, more like canon-plus, your additions do not materially change the story just give it a very different twist (not counting the duel of course).

    One nice thing about being a newbie is that I can read through most or all of a story without having to wait days between posts. I'm not sure how people could keep up with the dizzying array of characters and relationships being exposed to them over such a length of time. You spin an amazing rich and complex universe. I stand in awe of your imagination.

    I also deeply respect your characterizing ability (if that's not a word, it should be). Plot is important (obviously), but who cares about a plot if the characters aren't interesting? And even relatively minor characters in your story are interesting. It's obvious you've put a lot of time and effort into creating this work. Thank you for allowing us to enjoy it.

    EDIT: Well, now I have read "To Absent Friends" (told you I was a quick read). I think having read this story gives that one a lot more emotional punch. I'm not sure if the reverse would be true. I would love to see a sequel to either story.
     
  17. Sophronia

    Sophronia Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2004
    I'm still re-reading the entirety of SL&B in hardcopy, but thought I'd better respond before your final replies come through.

    I love your take on the universe, especially the Kalinadians, who are very well realized. You have put an amazing amount of detail into their world and background. You did a wonderful job with Ivo, and he did mature throughout the story.

    You brought Dormé to life and made her believable. Her romance with Ivo was very nicely written.

    Your portrayal of Padmé and Anakin also rang true. I think the best explanation of Anakin's mentality came through after his return to the Lars Farm:

    Padmé had not found what she had expected when she arrived in the garage with the tray of food.

    She had expected Anakin to be upset, or even to think himself a failure. But the violence of Anakin?s feelings had surprised her. They were like a summer storm at the Lakes: wild, uncontrolled and loud.

    She had not expected that touch of megalomania or the deep anger at Obi-Wan, the man whom Anakin had praised as wise and powerful on Coruscant. Finally, she decided that his was all a convenient mask for Anakin. Behind it, he could hide his hurt and his self-hating sense of failure. It was, she had reflected, too convenient to be allowed to stand. So, she had decided to get him to take it off.


    And the passage is a great preview of the other mask he will use to hide much of the same emotions.

    Your supporting characters are vivid and their individual personalities come through with even brief glimpses.

    However, I think you rush your ending.

    What of Lani and Genty? What of Korva and his fiancée? Does Dormé's mother reconcile to Ivo and does she ever comprehend (or at least accept) her daughter's desire to be more than her musical gifts?

    And I do not think the epilogue suits the story. I think it relies far too heavily on the reader being familiar with To Absent Friends. I think the epilogue would make a lovely addition to that story, but just does not sit well here. I think I would have preferred (what, you didn't ask for suggestions from the peanut gallery? :p )seeing the other part of Dormé's dream come to pass:

    This time, she shivered in the cold of a late spring night. She felt strangely unsteady, and she heard the sound of shovels working earth. She barely contained her scream as she looked down and saw a limp body with a face she knew, being clasped by a kneeling man in a dark cloak. The face was Padmé?s.

    But these are just my opinions. Take or leave them as you will. Over all it was very nicely done.
     
  18. GunraysLawyer

    GunraysLawyer Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 23, 2003
    Final replies, thanks, bows, etc. will be tomorrow, when I log on to vote in that big, and sometimes distasteful, popularity contest known as the Fanfic awards.

    Good luck to all my nominated readers....
     
  19. GunraysLawyer

    GunraysLawyer Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 23, 2003
    Well, we have come to the end of a nearly two year journey in the world of the Kalinadians.

    At this point, I would like to give my thanks to my wife, who posts here under the screen name of Classified (Sorry, she likes her anonimity. ;) ) for all of her support and helpful commentary and to the readers who have been here since the start of "To Absent Friends." I do not mean to slight newer readers, but I have an affection for my own La Vieille Garde. Though, I do promise never to refer to them as 'Grognards.' (N.B.: Wargamers have already appropriated it. If you don't believe me go to www.grognard.com)

    Above all, I must thank my ever loyal Beta: Geo3.

    She has put up with my more than occasionally bad writing and occasional pig-headed stupidity. Not to mention the occasional lobbing of grenades on her threads. I speak nothing but the truth when I say that SL&B would not be the story that it is without her input.

    As to many questions raised abou the future of the 'Ivoverse':

    Ivo Arzhan will Return in "Succession," set bewteen SL&B and the 'Ivoverse' version of ROTS, in Early August.

    I expect "The Great Game," set 2.5 years after ROTJ to begin toward the end of August, but no later than Labor Day.

    SO, watch you PM boxes!!!!

    That leads me to a request:

    IF I HAVE EVER PM'D YOU AN UPDATE NOTICE, PLEASE PM ME WITH AN INDICATION IF YOU STILL WISH TO BE ON MY PM LIST!

    Final replies later tonight (EDT).



     
  20. GunraysLawyer

    GunraysLawyer Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 23, 2003
    Yes, yes, I know, I missed a self-imposed deadline for final replies....

    Unfortunately, the practice of law has been far busier than normal for a mid-summer, and I simply haven't had the time. For any one intertested, anm example, I just spent most of two days writing and editting a 14 page letter to another lawyer concerning his inane and inapplicable boiler plate objections to interrogatories in a 6 or 7 million dollar federal case. If any one can tell me how the current loads (in amps) on a steam turbine's back-up power system can be subject to Attorney-Client privelege and thus, non-disclosable, with a straight face, I'd apporeciate it.

    Hopefully, tomorrow... Hopefully.
     
  21. Errine23

    Errine23 Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    May 18, 2005
    If any one can tell me how the current loads (in amps) on a steam turbine's back-up power system can be subject to Attorney-Client privelege and thus, non-disclosable, with a straight face, I'd apporeciate it.

    Good heavens! Wish I could help there, but alas, the firm I work for is strictly bankruptcy. Not exactly an adventuresome section of the law. :D On the other hand, if you ever need someone to yell at an over-agressive creditor just holler! >:)
     
  22. Darth_Scroobius

    Darth_Scroobius Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jun 1, 2005
    Ask and ye shall receive:

    While discussing details of the relevant case with my client, we had a discussion regarding amperage requirements of the steam turbine's back-up power system. This discussion was relevant in that the legal liability involved in primary propulsion system failure and the cascading effects of such failure are pertinent to the present case. The communication, and any information contained or expressed therein, are therefore subject to Attorney-Client privelege and thus, non-disclosable.

    Be careful what you wish for...
     
  23. GunraysLawyer

    GunraysLawyer Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 23, 2003
    Ah, but the amperage loads in and of themselves are not-priveleged outside of the context of said communication. In other words, the tech specs of the system exist, are available without invading the communication, and do not in any viable way infringe on the client's right to communicate with their counsel for purposes of obtaining legal advice.

    Sorry, can you tell that I'm at work.... ;)
     
  24. GunraysLawyer

    GunraysLawyer Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 23, 2003
    Just a quick announcement....

    Those of you on my PM list, check your in-boxes in the AM of 7/26.
     
  25. GunraysLawyer

    GunraysLawyer Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 23, 2003
    UP for any one who wants to reread it.
     
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