Alphabet Meme

[sea_thoughts]

So... this was doing the rounds a while back, but I didn't have the time to join in, even though I wanted to. And then I thought this would be a nice way to give my friends Christmas presents, because you get to choose your present.

The format:

* Choose a letter of the alphabet

* Choose a word which begins with that letter

* Choose your fandom and the characters you want me to write about

* Sit back and wait for the result.

Fandoms: Sailor Moon (including "Exiles" stories); Fruits Basket; Harry Potter (I will attempt anything for you here, in the spirit of Christmas, so bring on your alternative pairings); Chronicles of Narnia; Doctor Who; Heroes; I'll even attempt Veronica Mars & House M.D., if you want, but I warn you, it might not be good.

List
A - phoenixfyre13: 'Almost', Ron/Hermione or Molly/Arthur
B
C - gijane7702: 'Christmas', Remus/Tonks
D - dark_branwen: 'Drunk', Remus/Sirius
E - dark_branwen: 'Electric', Veronica/Lilly
F - ayadec: 'Feeling', Angela Petrelli
G - dark_branwen: 'Grasping', Minako/Takehiko
H - discord_harmony 'Hope', Harry/Ginny
J - dejana: 'Jealousy', Susan Pevensie
K
L - vifetoile: 'Legacy', Chibi Moon/Sailor Quartet
M - fireflypenance: 'Missing', Rowena Ravenclaw/Salazar Slytherin
N - heavenly_pearl: 'Nightmare', Helios/Chibi-Usa
O
P - teh_maskmaid: 'Pop Quiz', Ken/Mamoru
Q - dejana: 'Quiet', Harry/Cedric
R - demandingvoice: 'Romance', Ami/Mamoru
S - heavenly_pearl: 'Secret', Percy/Penelope
T
U - heavenly_pearl: 'United', Shigure/Ayame/Hatori
V
W - barbara_the_w: 'Wonder', Remus/Tonks
X - shield_wolf: 'Xenophobia', Remus/Tonks
Y
Z - teh_maskmaid: 'Zero', Doctor/Martha

Comments

[dejana.livejournal.com]

Hmm, what the heck. I've been thinking about some things lately and it would be interesting to see your take on them. :)

J for Jealousy - Susan (Chronicles of Narnia)
Q for Quiet - Harry/Cedric (Harry Potter)

Greener Grass

[sea_thoughts]

Requested by dejana
Character: Susan Pevensie (Chronicles of Narnia)
Theme: Jealousy

"There were things he wanted to say to Su and me because we're not coming back to Narnia... He says we're getting too old."

"Oh Peter," said Lucy. "what awful back luck. Can you bear it?"

"Well, I think I can," said Peter. "It's all rather different from what I thought. You'll understand when it comes to your last time..."

Chapter Fifteen, Prince Caspian

Susan had hung the dresses from the wardrobe doors so that the creases would disappear and unpacked her lingerie. Now all she had to do was put away her hairbrush and make up and she'd be officially home.

"SUSAN!"

Lucy's voice carolled through the house, full of excitement. There was only one thing which could make Lucy that excited. Susan felt suddenly cold. She turned around, seeking something, anything to delay what was going to happen, but the door burst open and her little sister stood there, glittering with happiness and excitement.

"Oh Susan," she said, running forward and grabbing Susan's hands. "You'll never guess where I've been!" She began to dance around the room, making Susan follow her. "Edmund and me and Eustace all went to Narnia!"

"Eustace?!" Susan couldn't speak for the shock and the fact that she was whirling around like a dervish.

"I know!" Lucy replied. "He wasn't happy at first, he complained about everything and he was beastly to Reepicheep, but he's good now!" She stopped dancing and swung their hands from side to side as if they were about to play a game of Oranges and Lemons. "Oh Su, I wish you could have been there."

"You know that I'm too old for Narnia now, Lucy," Susan said, pulling her hands away. "We've been through this."

"I know, that's why I'm here, I wanted to tell you everything straight away, before I forget it all. Edmund's gone to tell Peter."

Susan looked at herself in the mirror: the new haircut, the new clothes. What Lucy was talking about seemed very far away now, not really relevant to her anymore. It was all very well to be excited about talking beasts and magic when you were a child, but she'd seen skyscrapers and the Empire State Building. Narnia seemed so... closed in comparison, so tame.

"Don't you want to hear about America?" she asked. "And everything I saw there?"

"But Susan..." Lucy stared at her. "I thought you'd want to hear about Narnia, about Caspian, about Aslan! Aslan healed Eustace after he turned into a dragon! That's why he's good now!"

Greener Grass

[sea_thoughts]

"Well, I don't. I'm never going back there, so I don't want to hear about it," Susan said, turning away. "Honestly, Lucy, did you really have to come running up here and rub my nose in it?"

Lucy took a step back. "But I... that wasn't what I meant at all! And that was my last time there." Her voice faltered. "Aslan said that Edmund and me can't ever go back there. Because we're too old now, just like you and Peter. So I wanted to share... I wanted to let you know what was happening. We went sailing right to the edge of the world, Susan!"

Susan began to unpack her make up. "The world's round, Lucy, didn't you learn that at school?"

"Our world is, but not Narnia. Ask Edmund, if you don't believe me. We rowed through a sea of water lilies and Reepicheep... Reepicheep rowed up a wave and went to Aslan's country." Lucy's voice quivered with unshed tears but she looked almost happy.

Susan was finding it difficult to breathe. There was a sharp, tight feeling in her chest, as if needles were digging into her heart. "Is that it?" she asked, keeping her voice even. "Because if you don't want to hear about America, I'd really like to finish unpacking."

"Susan, don't you want to hear anything?" Lucy asked, her voice frail with disappointment.

Susan took out her hairbrush. "If you want to discuss Narnia, you can discuss it with Edmund. Or Peter, if he's got the time to listen. I have to unpack and then I have to get ready for supper."

"Right..." Lucy backed away. "I'll... I'll go and talk to Edmund."

"See you at supper," Susan said calmly, watching as Lucy almost fled the room. She sighed: Lucy hadn't even wanted to hear about the Empire State Building, and she'd looked forward to showing her some photographs.

Oh well, what can you expect? Susan thought. She's just a kid. It's not her fault that she's still more interested in an imaginary world than the real one.

But her hands were shaking and she had to put the brush down and breathe deeply for a few minutes before she could continue.

Re: Greener Grass

[dejana.livejournal.com]

(extreme lateness power! make up! *transforms into Sailor Procrastination*)

I really, really like this. It's well in line with how I've come to think about Susan. She gets a raw deal, but she's not blameless either. I wonder, though, if Narnia would really seem that boring in comparison to the real world... but I suppose remembering a place isn't the same as being there, so over time Narnia would shrink away, like the childhood tree house that used to feel like a giant castle.

Thanks so much for writing this. :)

Re: Greener Grass

[sea_thoughts]

*lol*

I'm really happy you like it. And after reading your Caspian fic (hope to get that back to you this weekend), I can see how our mindsets coincide. I don't think Susan is totally to blame for her attitude change, it's puberty, but there is a way to get through puberty without turning into a souless party girl. I mean the point is that as a grown-up, Susan is only interested in "nylons and lipstick and invitations", she has no interest in an inner world or an inner life, she only cares about material things.

By the time Lucy and Edmund come back from VotDT, Susan hasn't been in Narnia for about two years. And the USA would seem much more impressive to a young, beautiful girl, especially if she's from the UK in the 1940s (rationing didn't end here until 1951).

Re: Greener Grass

[dejana.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that only is definitely the key word. That's what I always emphasize when I talk to people about Susan. It's not that she's interested in adult things, ohnoes... it's that she hasn't left any room for anything else.

Glad to hear you got my emails, I'm always worried they might not have gone through. :)

A Quiet Life

[sea_thoughts]

Cedric knows what they are saying about him. He's heard the rumours, he was there when the Chamber of Secrets was opened, he knows what it looks like. But Cedric is a Hufflepuff and he's not interested in what things look like, he's interested in them as they are.

Harry Potter may seem like a show off but the only time he ever draws attention to himself is on the Quidditch pitch; he may look like a skinny, small boy with glasses buthe somehow managed to defeat Voldemort and save the Philosopher's Stone. Now somebody has entered him in the Tri-Wizard Tournament and Cedric suspects that Harry is the last person who would do that, because Harry likes a quiet life. And maybe he'd have one if people didn't think keep trying to murder him, Cedric muses, thinking of last year, when Sirius Black almost stabbed Harry in his bed.

He dips his quill in the ink again and gazes at his homework for a moment. He remembers putting his name in the Goblet very well and he was amazed and proud to have been chosen. After he finishes his essay on antidotes, he'll go and have a bath in the Prefects' Bathroom and see if his suspicions about the egg are correct. And then... he should tell Harry. After all, Harry told him about the dragons and he didn't have to do that. Perhaps that's what makes him think Harry doesn't want to be a contender. If Harry had entered of his own free will, he would be eager to have every advantage. Right?

Or maybe he wants to warn Harry just to feel good. Anything for a quiet life. At least he doesn't have to worry about being murdered.

Re: A Quiet Life

[dejana.livejournal.com]

*scrolls around* Geez... you hardly got any comments back on any of these! That's not fair :( I'm sorry I took forever with mine.

This is a nice piece. I like to see how other characters view Harry. His whole experience would look very different from the outside.

Ooh, that last line really packs a punch. Brr.

Thanks :)

Re: A Quiet Life

[sea_thoughts]

I think people kinda forgot about them. *sigh* And I always like looking at Harry from a stranger's POV: he doesn't open up much, so he probably gave off a mysterious aura while he was at school. It would have been easy to project your fears onto him.

Ooh, that last line really packs a punch. Brr.

Thanks, that's what I was aiming for. :D