Harold, Morgan, Chapter 9, a nod to Anastigmat, and dread visuals

[rthstewart]

So, in preparation for another trip to the oral surgeon, I posted the conclusion to the Two Hearts Chapter of Harold and Morgan, here.  And yes, we get the Director's point of view -- a strange place to be, certainly.  And Happy Birthday to therck !!!

anastigmatfic 's pic fic contribution to Morgan and Harold gets some backstory, with more to come.

I realized that my visuals, such as they are, for the banking districts of Narrowhaven were strongly influenced by my time in Siena, Italy and the contrade of that gorgeous city.

Contrada Capitana dell'Onda (the contrada of the Wave)



Contrada della Selva (the contrada of the Forest)


An intersection in Siena where Onda and Aquila (the Eagle) meet



Thanks also to the new readers who have joined on.  I so appreciate knowing I'm not toiling alone.

I suppose I should say something about the portrayal of the Director.  It's complex and not something I've done before.  I've tried to capture a Type A dominant, arrogant, confident man, father, and successful businessman who is watching his adult daughter with a much younger upstart swain/seducer whom he believes his inferior in every sense and yet Linch must look to that younger man to protect his children in ways he cannot.  That's not something Linch is going to accept easily and it's not a pretty process to see the anger, conflict and hypocrisy.  He is a highly controlling personality (and yes, he would do lots of mansplain) who really has had the floor give way beneath him and during a very stressful time. 

Comments

[varnafinde.livejournal.com]

My review over at ff.net got so massive that I'll move some of it over here. I opened Notepad and kept a running review while reading Ch 9, which gives me a much longer review than if I finish reading and then try to recapture what I ought to say.
So, two sections from my review that I post here instead of at ff.net.

The Director is right, to some extent, about the Pevensie's less than brilliant background. "uneducated, poorly capitalized, no family, no history." I would say that he underestimates Narnia, though - "a tiny land that depended on luck, magic, and the provenance of the Divine to survive." Or rather, he underestimates the provenance of the Divine - and thus, underestimates "the Narnian children chance had placed on thrones".

Also, you show the us the Narnian sense of kingship. A King serves, first and foremost. He owns the lands and the people, and therefore it is his duty to serve them and protect them. They owe him their allegiance, nothing else, but even that is not a prerequisite for his service.
"How could someone give something and ask nothing in return?"
That's the way the King serves because it is the way Aslan makes himself a servant and a protector of his creations.