AW, Chapter 15, Stepping Stones (and other things)

[rthstewart]

So, the whopping (and I do mean whopping) Chapter 15 is up.  I thought of splitting it, but once you read it, I think you'll see why I didn't.  No historical notes, really.  It pretty much speaks for itself.

The first 4,000 words of Chapter 15 (with a notable exception in the first couple of paragraphs) repeats Chapter 1 of Rat and Sword Go To War.  Then, it goes off in a different direction.   I had really wanted to get this chapter up before Rat and Sword as they are so closely aligned and this is how I'd intended it -- the AW update first and then Rat and Sword.  I'll start posting Rat and Sword later in the week on ff.net so they can all be read together in one place.

I'll take this opportunity to signal boost the writers and artists of the Narnia Big Bang stories. They are wonderful and please check them out.  Every one is a wonderful, original contribution.  I've so enjoyed them all and tomorrow is the last one!  A huge thanks to snacky for running a wonderful Big Bang and to heverus for my beautiful art.

Also, REMIX.  I didn't do the official one, but musesfool has open season Remix Madness 2012!  Post if you are willing to have your stories Remixed and then pick a story from those who have signed up!  No word limit!  No assignments!  No pressure! (and if you've ever had the urge to fix anything I've done, HAVE AT IT).  I have signed up and I noticed that snacky edenfalling therck and vialethe have as well as others whose work I know and love. 

Errr, right, signing off now and it's what you were expecting.  I think this fleshes out a lot of Rat and Sword, plus stands on its own.

Comments

[elouise82.livejournal.com]

Forgot to mention in the review - I love that Helen finally did follow the Lion, and that he spoke to her. His comfort and care for them, his children, stands in sharp contrast to John's selfishness and injured pride, and it's wonderful that Helen finally gets to see that her children do in fact have a father figure who loves them, and that at the same time he doesn't take away anything from her own role.

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

Thank you for commenting here and reviewing on the story. I've commented before how as I age, my self inserts have become the paternal and mother figures. Helen's frustration and worry about her children's secrets is the sort of thing I identify with readily. The frustration and difficulty of single parenting is also something I have huge sympathy and respect for.

John is, from the povs presented (and we've not seen his side of it at all) a jerk. So much of that is period, though. He's a traditional, conservative man, he goes to war to protect his wife and family and, as happens, they change. He changes. He pours all this energy into his eldest son of whom he is very, very proud and well, that's a disappointment too. I'm sort of thinking aloud here -- I've had in my head where John ends up, how he is reconciled and he's not there yet. I thought a lot about Edmund's VERY mature statements to his mother and they may be unrealistic except... .if envy of Peter and desire for paternal approval were part of the reason for his weakness with Jadis, as presented here, 20 years can be enough time for the outlook he presents there. And I think the confidence of Aslan's love and Morgan's loyalty and love all give him that strength.

As for the discussion of God and apostles, that's all been on my mind. We were in Rome and so stood on the place where Peter was martyred. We are in the post-Easter, pentecostal and apostolic part of the Catholic liturgy which I know very well though of course won't be participating in any more. One reason I wanted to get this chapter up was because, for me, anyway, its ideas about the road of holy men and women, of zealots and martyrs (regardless of faith tradition) was really resonating with me personally.

Thank you again!

[elouise82.livejournal.com]

I just started wondering about John last night - in The Last Battle, he is shown as being in Aslan's Country along with the rest, and so I figured you probably had a change of heart planned for him somewhere along the line. I'd also kind of missed that we were only seeing him through Helen and his children's eyes - as the Four's perceptions of their mother proved, they aren't always the best judges of their parents, and Helen is obviously bitter and going to impute negative connotations to everything he says/does/might ever possibly think. So while you can't get around some of his actions, he might be able to mount some small defense, at least.

I'm glad to think there will be reconciliation in the end.

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

The absent parent and partner (whether by choice or not) and the unconventional family appear over and over -- Edmund from his Narnian family, Lucy from hers, John estranged from his children and wife, the widow Mrs. Goodwin, Richard who won't see his children and Africa wife again, Kwong Lee's separation from her Hong Kong family and her son's separation from his wife and child, Tom Clark's absent wife, George's distance from his wife and daughter. At this point, I actually need a proper, traditional family, I suppose -- which Kwong Lee and Lin Kun probably best exemplify. As I mention in the beginning of AW 15, from Walker Smythe's perspective, they might win the war, the battle for the family is probably lost. John's journey will take some time -- the war's not even over yet so it's going to drag on a while longer. I do need to think about what his reaction is to Susan in the SOE. I think he's probably been very, "Oh that can't be right. She's just a pretty little girl" and Edmund may be the one to deliver the message as Edmund is in a position to do so. I'll n eed to think about that. I've not intended a huge full blown subplot of Edmund in DC. There are a couple of things that will be fun, there's a person or two I want him to meet, and there's the conflict I can set up. I also need to look at some biographies and figure out who is in DC in 1943.

Anyway, thank you again for gifting soem of your precious time!

[h-dash-h.livejournal.com]

I must admit, I'm kind of hoping for at least a glancing encounter between Edmund and his father, even if nothing is resolved. Or even if John himself barely appears. It would give us the first direct look at what John's doing. But as always, I trust your choice of scenes in the end.

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

Teal Deer
There needs to be a scene. It's funny -- I wrote this before. There are particular scenes that have been in my head for a very, very long time. Mary and Asim on the platform, Edmund declaring himself at Conclave and Susan gatecrashing moments later, and now, another, Lucy falling from a tree on to Asim. I've been putting her in trees since at least Palace Guard in anticipation of this. It's WHY I put her in trees. And so it is here with John and Edmund. There first is a dinner scene in 1948 where it all begins, where Peter is late and the others are delivering some bad news and Helen and John are clueless about it all. There are Chinese noodles. There are stern words and a draft article. Then there is a pub and then there are scenes after. Lines from throughout the story, "Do you desire the truth or the lie?" and other things will happen there.

I've given very little thought at all to what to do with John before 1948. So, I know where he ends up and I need to think about how he gets there. What does he think of Susan? What does he think of Edmund? is Edmund really so sanguine about this? Just how angry is John with Peter?

So, yes, I do need to start that arc. I know where it ends. I just need to get there.