BANG! POW!

[rthstewart]

The Narnia Big Bang is in full swing and you should go check it out!

We have the creepy gothic circa regna tonat by deathsblood
And the delightful caper,The Red Leather Trousers Escapade (1/17) by wingedflight21 (Eustace, Jill, pineapples, and a mongoose who thinks he's a squirrel)
And To Every Thing There Is a Season by edenfalling (which I am going to read now read last night and it's fabulous)
 snacky also has a poll up.

There is also wonderful art up for the stories by heverus, i_autumnheart, caitriona_3 and sophiap

My thanks to the folks on AO3, guest(s), mattador and Samizdat, for the kudos.  (Given that Samizdat is the name of one of my favorite Star Wars fics from the 90s by Shura4, I really did a double-take when I saw that handle).

I was going to put this behind a deep (new LJ! scissors) cut that was all navel-gazing about how as of Friday after 29 years, I am no longer swimming in the Tiber, but have pulled myself out of that river and decided to cross the Thames.  I mention this only as I know a lot of you have been down this road (and swum this river), and so probably understand the general vibe of anger and regret.


(Also, I'm sorta kinda floundering on something with the latest AW update, so that's got me hand wringing.  Sunday?  Maybe Sunday?  if you are interested in hearing me flap, fluster, and ramble, drop a line or ping me.  Here, have a paragraph!

Helen tried a different tactic. “Over the summer, did you hear anything from Susan, or about her through Peter? What did you suppose she was doing?”

Digory looked thoroughly flummoxed. “I recall Peter saying Susan was visiting Washington and New York? Sightseeing?” He shook his head. “I’m afraid it was uninteresting to both of us, Helen, and I paid it very little mind.”

“Shopping,” Polly said crisply and with a hint of disapproval that put Helen’s back up. “Peter shared Susan’s letters with me when I asked and she wrote me once or twice. Susan was excited about attending a formal dinner at the Embassy when Churchill visited. She told me what she wore and where she bought her shoes.”

Oh Susan, you clever, clever girl. Helen knew for a fact a great deal more had occurred during even that dinner. The Official Secrets Act be damned, she had to ask at least one question, though the answer already appeared plain. “So you do not know any reason why Susan or Edmund would be drawn by inclination or background into espionage?”

“That’s preposterous!” Polly said immediately.

Comments

[varnafinde.livejournal.com]

"“Shopping,” Polly said crisply and with a hint of disapproval that put Helen’s back up."

This indicates to me that for the rest of her life, Polly will never know the truth of what Susan did in America ...

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

I think you are right. Also, my thoughts are very much with you and your fellows this week given what begins tomorrow.

[varnafinde.livejournal.com]

Thank you. For my own part, I guess I will read the newspaper headlines and probably some internet articles, and leave it at that. There are many that feel that there has been some information overload this winter. One newssite has announced that they will have an anti-trial button, which will hide all news of the trial from the screen, so that people may have the chance to ignore it.

It affects city life to some extent, though - the streets around the court building have been closed off, not as I first thought, for security reasons, but to give room for all the "mobile homes" of newspapers and newsagencies from all over the world. There's security if you want to enter the building, though.

The experts disagree whether he was insane or not. His only regret is that he didn't manage to do even more. But that alone doesn't make him insane, only cruel. He claims self-defence on behalf of the society, and that he deserves a medal for his brave work.

It's going to be hard for all those who were involved. Some of them will be called to testify. I cannot imagine how I would feel about something like that. I'm sure they will appreciate kind thoughts from friends around the world.

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

I completely understand that information overload. On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I didn't go near the coverage. I couldn't. I'm sure this is much the same. Cordoning off streets and security screenings are a routine event in my world and I'm sorry that this is something that you have to deal with.

When my husband and I traveled in Rome 23 years ago, the Italians had a very heavy and armed presence in the airports as they had been dealing with their own brand of terrorism for years. We were shocked and intimidated by the machine guns. Now, in our post 9/11 world, we didn't even blink at the security presence. Nor did our son. We assume there will always be people with guns and uniforms and metal detectors. It is not an improvement, psychically and sociologically, but the shock and discomfort is something one become acclimated to.