Not AU exactly -- AW through a blurry, malfunctioning telescope

[rthstewart]

In the following, we now cover 15-16 years, and this goes places I did not intend, and we end up not in AU exactly, but maybe. It's not what I'd intended. The first part is re-hash of the commentfic and I blame lady_songsmith for the prompt that took us to the Amazon and then anastigmatfic for where we’ve ended up, however improbably. The very end is new.

Comments

[elouise82]

Given Susan's single-mindedness when it comes to Rat and Crow business, I have been sort of assuming all along that the problem is with both of them: Susan pushing Peter to get involved in things that make him horribly uncomfortable, as well as sort of shoving her involvement in his face, trying to force him to acknowledge the necessity of it and to hear him say he accepts it. Peter, being both stubborn and the High King, doesn't exactly respond well to this, and so ends up being more critical of her than maybe he would otherwise.

Which would also explain the difference in Peter's attitude between Susan and Edmund - Edmund respects Peter's boundaries (limitations?), and doesn't flaunt the Rat and Crow business in his face, nor does he try to manipulate Peter into doing what he, Edmund, thinks is best (or if he does, he is better at it). Whereas Susan can't keep herself from thinking she knows best how everyone's life ought to be run, and if they don't get there on their own, well, it's up to her to shove them in the right direction. Result: tension!

[rthstewart]

I asked the question below of making the distinction -- there is whether Peter's seeming double standard is consistent with his character as written or whether it is out of character. I will say that folks are making some assumptions about Edmund. But taking out the seeming hypocrisy, does it make sense that Peter and Susan would be at odds over this? That regardless of what was done in Narnia, what he perceives is being done now strikes him as immoral as much as it strikes Susan as a morally necessary -- the dirty necessity of espionage vs the battle against communism. Is that a legitimate, credible tension?