little help here?

[bedlamsbard]

*throws things at "Old Timber to New Fires"*

Now. If Caspian happened to be stuck in the Golden Age (roughly middle of everything, seven to ten years in, post-sixth fiancee), what would y'all want him to see and/or notice and/or freak out about?

Set-up is, at this point, middle of what will hopefully be a fast and dirty war with neighboring Belgarion on the western border. Peter and Edmund in command, about a year or so post the amnesia inicident, around half the army is present, but half the army is still twice as the size of Caspian's PC army (no, this thing I can talk about in detail for ages). Susan is at Cair Paravel, Lucy is farther south dealing with bandits coming out of Telmar (also something that's come up; hello, Caspian knows nothing about Telmar). I may or may not actually take Caspian all the way to Cair Paravel; it depends on how fed up I am with this story by the time I get past the battle and the sex. Oh, yes, there is fighting and sex. We are talking about me here.

*sigh* I need to stretch out what I've shoved into a few hours into a few days, because seriously, I don't think Peter or Edmund care that much about Caspian showing off. He's just going to be handed down the line until some foot soldier ends up staring at him and going, "He has a Telmarine name. We are at war with Telmar. HE MUST DIE NOW."

*throws more things and regards "Be Like Water"*

Comments

[almostinstinct.livejournal.com]

Would he be freaked by a woman running things? How freaked would he be by Lucy on campaign? What about Mr. Tumnus?

Uhm. Well, ASIDE from the talking animals, maybe the so-called technological "advances" (you said you thought Narnia had regressed while the Pevensies were away) would surprise him?

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Lucy's nowhere in the area, so all he's getting is mention of Queen Lucy taking care of the Telmarine bandits, who are really Telmarine regulars without banners.

*considers* This is Caspian about two years after PC, a year or so before VotDT. So he's more or less accustomed to talking animals and centaurs and dwarves and so forth, but the sheer number and their skill...this is the lost glory of the Golden Age, but I'm doing a poor job showing it. I keep concentrating on trees rather than forest.

I know something went extinct between the Golden Age and Caspian's time. Phoenixes, definitely. And there's a large percentage of Narnians that simply aren't represented in Peter's army because they're White Witch followers still...minotaurs are the most obvious answer.

The camp is a riot of color – Narnian crimson is most prominent, but nearly every other color Caspian can imagine is represented as well. Caspian can only stare speechlessly, trying to marshal his thoughts beyond by the thousand little gods, what did we do to this country? because this is why it’s called the Golden Age of Narnia, the Great Summer, the Flowering. It’s so far beyond his Narnia that thinking of what must have happened to Narnia to decimate it so badly, down to the shards of the country he holds, is painful.

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

Ignore that post, I registered what you'd included *after* I whipped hit send. *smacks forehead*


I don't think they need to go to Cair Paravel. It will extend the fic a lot longer than you probably want, justifying the trip; and it's really the interaction between High King Peter/Narnia that he needs to see, with any enlightening details about Edmund/the bond/their brotherliness/their fellow kingliness, the troops (loyal, fierce,non-humans), their sisters, how many *more* Narnians there are than in his time, how important the health of the natural world is for a sane country/king, how little Caspian knows about his own people's background, more info on Aslan (now that Caspian can contribute to the discussion in a way that might be different from what Narnians would think)...lots of stuff. With fighting and sex thrown in. *nods*


Ok, *now* it's dinner time!

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Going to Cair Paravel would let Caspian see the following things: Lucy, Susan, Cair Paravel, Lucy killing people, the Shifting Market, the harbor, the Narnian Navy, a better look at the Aerial Corps, Peter killing people (HA LIKE HE NEEDS TO SEE MORE OF THAT only of course this is Peter killing people in his home), various dignitaries from all over Narnia, the shit that the Pevensies put up with on a daily basis (what, assassins again?), Lucy grown up, Susan completely disdainful of him, and the way Peter interacts with, uh, the castle. But no, it's not necessary, and it would be pretty self-indulgent, and there's no real point.

The point of "Old Timber" is to show the lost glory of the Golden Age. Like I said to almostinstinct up above, I keep going trees instead of forest. And I honestly can't think of any reason why Peter and Edmund would care about Caspian once they've ascertained he's not a threat; they've got bigger things to deal with. ARGH. *beats head into wall*

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

All that stuff would be *fun*, but unless there's a valid reason to take him there, it's merely writerly vanity to put it in. *nods*


Well, *how* does Caspian get there? *Why* is he there, and why can't he get back the way he came? Do they believe he's who he says he is? If so, they'd have a responsibilit to look out for him, even though they think he's dim or inconvenient or whatever. That may still not allow for getting him back to the Cair, because they *are* fighting a battle, here; but it would give them a reason to have Caspian on hand while there's things going on that you want him to observe.

How do you think Narnia would react to Caspian being there? Would she recognize him as one of her Kings-to-be? Would he twinge a nerve or two, without recognition, just making them all uneasy as it reverberates via the link? How would the earth-bond that Caspian/Narnia has interface with Peter/Narnia(Edmund)'s much, much stronger bond? Caspian might want to pry around and find out more than he was told, discreetly (spying on 'em!), and *that* could affect his decision in later years to hare off on the DT instead of completing the bonding process.

The device that Caspian travels back in time with could be 1)stolen or 2)broken. So they'd either have to get it back, repair it, or find/create another; which might require them to head back to the Cair, where they'd have better resources. A legitimate reason to go!

Hmm...I wonder what might happen if somebody had blown the horn, in need or jest, and *Caspian* showed up there...? What would he have that would qualify as "help" and how would he get back home...? Ok, maybe a tangent, ignore that. *laughs*


Hmmm, some more...perhaps somebody *else* from Caspian's time went back there, via that device? And then the horn called *him* to help track him/her down? A time-traveling assassin (from Galma, heh!)...I dunno, something's brewing in the back of my mind...*prods it*

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, ten thousand words in, most of those questions have already been answered. (Sometimes I think that half the problems Narnia has comes from Peter deciding, "HELL NO I WOULD RATHER SHOOT MYSELF IN THE HEAD THAN MARRY YOU," to seven different women. This one came from fiancee number three. *dramatic sigh* And somehow it's still around thirteen hundred years later, despite Peter and Edmund's fervent attempts to destroy it.)

(Narnia recognizes Caspian; it's Peter's trick to see if Caspian's really telling the truth or not. Narnia can't process having more than two people bonded to her at the same time except under very special circumstances; this isn't one of them, so the bond more or less cuts out of Caspian because Peter's there, and he's got one of the strongest bonds ever. The same thing happens in the Petaverse: with Peter and Peta in the same space, Narnia can't process or understand having two of them, and since Peter's bond is stronger, despite the fact that Peta was the one bonded to this Narnia, the bond defaults to Peter. Caspian's bond isn't as strong as Peta's or Peter's, so he hasn't been getting much anyway, especially since there wasn't the kind of magical damage done to Narnia after the Telmarine era that there was after the Long Winter, and Peter more or less got the brunt of that anyway. I was thinking of this in the context of the Petaverse earlier today, and the principle is the same.)

*broods*

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

I wonder, though , how much of *Peter's* problems with women/finding a fiancee come from *Narnia* not wanting to share him with any unauthorized/unapproved people? Edmund gets by, because of the bond and it's limitations/perameters. But a wife, now...I think Narnia says "screw tradition", he's MINE. *laughs*

Interesting to think that for Narnia it's been 1300 years and the bond's still strong; yet for the guys, it's been a year.A year for them to try to get used to being "alone" and then BAM! There they are again. *muses*

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

*snort* Most of them? Of the seven, I'd say four were probably Narnia's fault directly -- the one who caught smallpox, the one who ran off with her sweetheart, the one Peter threw out, and the one Susan threw out. The other three -- not so much, probably. (That's the spy, the White Witch worshipper, and the liar, who wasn't even Narnian, and she claimed she got knocked up while Peter was amnesiac. Now, Narnia could have been responsible for her eventually confessing -- but most likely not.) I don't think she minds him having lovers, because he's not serious about it, but an actual bride... Now that's just competition. (And if she wants to make a point to him in terms more specific than just images and impressions, then it's Edmund she uses, which Edmund is not happy about.)

(cut scene from "Old Timber", where Peter assigns members of the Royal Guard to watch Caspian)

“Be honored,” Amarate explained. “He must think you’re important. For one reason or another.”

“He never assigns members of the guard to any of his fiancées,” Orlenda said.

“Why bother?” Peter said. “They never last anyway.”

“One of them will eventually,” Kaikura said. “And then where will you be?”

“Eternally grateful that Su will finally stop pestering me about leaving an heir for Narnia,” Peter said. “Which I have - three of them, which should be more than enough. Besides, I think after Edalene there are rumors of a curse.”

“There were rumors of a curse after Meriel,” Edmund said. “Once is chance, twice is coincidence, three times is conspiracy, and seven times is just ridiculous.”

I'm not sure Narnia actually has a concept of time, though. I mean, she does, but not as humans understand it, and I think she has a better concept of it when she's actually bonded. When there is no bond, she's -- hibernating? She can't act.

(Now, the question is, how much of Peter's bad mood during PC is due to him having Narnia in the back of his head sulking, and how much is due to him just being Peter?)

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

Narnia wouldn't mind him having lovers in part because Peter's usual preferences lie with men, which she probably wouldn't see as rivals...the "fertility" aspect. (Now, if you ever lose your mind and go for the mpreg, you'll have to re-do some thinking! *rotflmao*)


I was thinking about her concept of time, too. She'd be frozen and unable to act, but not *unaware*. She'd know what was being done to her "body"-aka the land-and the decimation of her people, losing her King, etc, but unable to snap herself out of the moment. Trapped in terror and horror, and no perception of it easing as the centuries and millenia went by...just feeling unending pain...so no wonder she's rather crazy by the time Peter shows up and time starts moving for her again.

I think a LOT of Peter's bad mood was due to Narnia's influence; but the methods of expressing it were *him*. You know? He's very direct (hahaha!) and so there's not going to be brooding in corners, or beating up on trees to take out his aggression or cutting himself or something...he's going to take charge and kick some ass, and BEAT his authority into the hides of anyone he has to to get shit done.

Narnia's perception of Peter hasn't changed, you know. *She* sees him as her High King, Peter the Magnificent; and that probably brings it out in him, even more. *muses*

But even without that influence, I bet Peter would be cranky. He's very protective, and not being able to DO SOMETHING would piss him off.


I'm waiting to see what kind of "talk" Edmund has with Narnia. Because yes, he did agree to bond with Peter to help out, but they had NO idea what they were getting into...and it's hardly fair *or* "good" to make him a passenger in his own body whenever she gets the urge/whim/need...it strikes me that Narnia is concerned with *her* needs, first; and then with Peter' needs. She doesn't register anyone else much. You said she vaguely sees Susan and Lucy as people Peter cares about, but doesn't care about them much herself; and I don't think she cares about the Narnians themselves all, either-she doesn't need *them*, to survive. Their responsibility is to *her*, like worshippers to a goddess... But I do wonder what she thinks or feels about Edmund, who is the vehicle through which she can do certain things for or with Peter; who is Peter's main support, which allows hims to help *her*. SOMEBODY has to tell her to back off, so that Peter doesn't lose his mind, and, as you say...Edmund's the sanest of the lot of them (scary, no? *laughs*)


*ponders stuff*

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Dude, if I ever lose my mind and go for the mpreg, then we'll all know I've gone off my rocker, considering things I consider perfectly normal include shapeshifting, possession by a talking country, resurrection, crossovers with Batman, LotR, and Chestomanci, incest via talking country, and at this point I'm going to be quiet because I've clearly already completely lost my mind and I really don't see how I can get more so unless I get out the body-snatching, mpreg, and wingfic. Well. The body-snatching is already there.

*nods* Exactly. It's forever for her. Although I'm kind of curious now whether the Long Winter or the Great Autumn was worse for her -- my money's on the Great Autumn, because of the Dying Times, real physical damage to the land. After all, the White Witch was aware of Narnia as sentient being and she wanted Narnia under her subjugation (and winter preserves, as mentioned at some point earlier). The invading westrons....weren't. (Hi, maybe I'll write this story to get my mind of "Old Timber.")

Narnia's perception of Peter will probably never change. The second he sets foot on Narnian soil, she's his -- absolutely. And she's stuck in his head more or less permanently as long as he's on Narnian soil.

I'm trying to figure out a rough timeline for when everything happens. Initial binding immediately after the coronation, three to five years till the ritual, then we have Peter fleeing, fleeing for the hills to get away from Edmund, shortly followed by Peter vanishing for a year, then getting back and Narnia taking over Edmund for a little bit, which he was not happy about -- then, another year or so later, "Old Timber," where there is Peter and Edmund tension because they haven't been in close quarters since the second time Edmund got possessed.

I wonder if anything anyone can say can make Narnia back off? I don't have any trouble seeing Narnia attempt to justify herself to Edmund, explaining what's happened to kings in the past so that he can keep Peter sane. She's learned over time that there has to be someone, after all.

[dikela.livejournal.com]

I don't think Peter or Edmund care that much about Caspian showing off. He's just going to be handed down the line ...

However little they care they can't just "hand him down the line". Consider, he tells them that he is from the FUTURE. IMHO, they would keep him somewhere close. Set a watch on him, yes, but otherwise forget him. So he is hovering in the sidelines, asking questions, and trying alternately to get noticed by the kings or to fade into the background.
And how are you going to address their disappearance? Does he tell them, and if not -- why? If he does, why do the trip gaily after the White Deer? Or maybe Caspian just knows the bare facts: they disappeared in the Western Woods, and no other details.

I'm trying to figure out a rough timeline for when everything happens. Initial binding immediately after the coronation, three to five years till the ritual, then we have Peter fleeing, fleeing for the hills to get away from Edmund, shortly followed by Peter vanishing for a year, then getting back and Narnia taking over Edmund for a little bit, which he was not happy about -- then, another year or so later, "Old Timber," where there is Peter and Edmund tension because they haven't been in close quarters since the second time Edmund got possessed.
I wonder if anything anyone can say can make Narnia back off? I don't have any trouble seeing Narnia attempt to justify herself to Edmund, explaining what's happened to kings in the past so that he can keep Peter sane. She's learned over time that there has to be someone, after all.

Initial binding immediately after the coronation, yes, would it be *blood* binding then, and when he grows up a little -- the ritual?
Do you think Narnia can take over Edmund against his will? IMHO, he is a little too strong for this. I think, she asked and he agreed, but yes, he was unhappy. Unhappy with possession, I mean, not the sex. And if, as you say, Narnia can "attempt to justify herself to Edmund", then he can explain the necessity of backing off a little. He does have the second strongest bond with her, after all, and she must feel his love/concern for Peter.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

They've set the Royal Guard on him. And they refuse to let him tell them anything of the future -- remember, at this point Edmund's had hijinks in the past before, and they both understand how knowing what will happen in the future could do to the timeline. They understand the concept of time paradoxes. I'm not sure why they understand them, but they certainly do. And Caspian does try to explain what's happened a few times, but he's shut down every time.

Oreius held up one hand. “Peace, Caspian. Do not speak of the future, for the wheel turns as it will and to try and turn from the herdsman’s path will cause the world to shatter and break. It is best to exist solely in the present, lest we be distracted from the path by things we cannot change."

As far as Narnia's concerned, Edmund's given her permission into perpetuity, never mind that he didn't know what he was getting himself into when he agreed. And there's almost nothing he could do to fight her off or force her out -- after all, she's a powerful nonhuman entity, eons older than him, and made of magic, not flesh and bone. If she wants him, then she'll have him. And I'm not necessarily certain that Edmund has a bond with her at all. Edmund's a vessel; he can't feel Narnia except through Peter. I don't think Narnia's aware of him as person for -- a pretty long time after the ritual; she gets more "human" the longer she's bonded to someone.

[franceica.livejournal.com]

Now, if you ever lose your mind and go for the mpreg, you'll have to re-do some thinking! *rotflmao*

*stares* *wonders* Who'd the male that's going to be pregnant? Seeing what Narnia is doing to Peter last we heard, it'd be Peter you know. And that would be biologically Edmund's child. Ah, sorry, my mind is so screwed!

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

*whimpers* There is most certainly not going to be mpreg. I have done my share of knocking people up with Peta, and she's female.

ineptshieldmaid, avoid this thread-you don't wanna know!

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

SHHhhh!!! *claps hands over your mouth*

Don't encourage her, she's far gone down the slippery slope as it is! You may have noticed that she *says* she won't write something because it's "crack" and then the next thing you know...*rotflmao*


Well, the last go-round was Narnia topping Peter via Edmund's body; but normally (heh, "normally") the bond works so that the King's partner, usually a woman (his wife, the Queen, which Narnia doesn't want *Peter* to have-a rival), is physically the one taken over for Narnia's use in fertility rites/othr stuff, as needed. So LOGICALLY, if the word can be applied to mpreg, it should be *Edmund* that would get pregnant, which would delight him no end, I'm sure. That's one of the major reasons why *he* volunteered for the role, to prevent any incestuous kids screwing up the succession, etc. *snorts*

But bedlam might go ahead and make it Peter, just to fuck with his head some more, because that's always fun.

Omigod, I'm just imagining Caspian's expression...! Not to mention explaining it to Susan and Lucy, who'd be confounded no matter *which* brother got knocked up. Maybe *both*!!! *rotfl some more*

Re: ineptshieldmaid, avoid this thread-you don't wanna know!

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

*hands over ears* LALALALALALA NOT LISTENING.

I knocked up Peta. Isn't that enough?

Re: ineptshieldmaid, avoid this thread-you don't wanna know!

[franceica.livejournal.com]

Peta doesn't count.
She's female. It is perfectly normal for her to get pregnant. *cough*

Re: ineptshieldmaid, avoid this thread-you don't wanna know!

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

She's Peter. Doesn't that mean anything at all?

(Funny thing is, she's the second genderswapped male character I've knocked up. First one was Dani Messer, from CSI:NY. *thoughtful*)

Re: ineptshieldmaid, avoid this thread-you don't wanna know!

[franceica.livejournal.com]

Maybe *both*!!!

OMG

You put this scene in my brain and I can't stop laughing now. Both of them? What would Susan and Lucy think! My god!

Re: ineptshieldmaid, avoid this thread-you don't wanna know!

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

...I hate you all.

If I want to knock up male characters, I have genderswap, ducks.

[lassiterfics.livejournal.com]

What if he's thinking like, "Score, second chance with Queen Susan!" And there can be time and memory discontinuities in which he remembers the feel of her kisses, but she doesn't remember him at all, having never met him. And for a moment he thinks he understands a bit of the Pevensies coming back to Narnia, of being forgotten by something precious. But Caspian and Susan are both of them monarchs, graceful and courtly; he offers her his arm, she takes it, and they are both of them smiling when she says, "Let me show you the gardens." [Symbolic fantasy botany goes here. Roots that cure, flowers that poison, leaves that I dunno do something else. Some plants he recognizes from the illustrations in Cornelius's books, and a few he's never seen before. A couple cures diseases he's never heard of. He ponders taking a flower back with him to his time. Would it live? Has the earth and water so changed in 1300 years that this flower would die? Was it meant to die?
"These are my favorite," says the Queen, plucking a flower with casual grace as she walks by, and holds it to him. He breathes in and doesn't recognize the scent.]

With Peter and Edmund too busy with the war to care about Caspian, so why not just have them foist him off on Susan. Keep him out of trouble or whatev. "Here, Su, deal with this." After Caspian is done being amazed at the glory of the army, a fed-up Peter and Ed send him to Cair Paravel, where he can be amazed at civilian life and the court.

Foreshadowing about seafaring would also be fun. Like, Susan takes him out on one of the ships or something and Caspian is like, "WOW, THE OCEAN IS AWESOME." And they can have a conversation about homes and true homes ("What is it like where you're from?" asks the Queen, and how can Caspian even begin to answer), and Caspian talks about how Aslan's Country is the true home of all Men and Talking Beasts, and Susan says, "All countries are the countries of Aslan. Seek Aslan in the things you know and love, for these things will keep you honest."
"I see," says Caspian, but his tone is distant, his eyes are on the horizon and the sea breeze dances through his hair.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, Susan's not around. (Because I have to make my life hard, apparently.) The war's important enough to end quickly, but it's not important enough not to leave someone in Cair Paravel, and the default for leaving in Cair Paravel is Susan, especially with Lucy otherwise occupied. So he gets Peter, who's crazy in completely different ways (hi, only year away from amnesia! I have no idea how I come up with this stuff), and Edmund, who's...well, this is grown-up Edmund, who really doesn't give a damn about Caspian. They have a war to fight here.

(Can't go to Cair Paravel, Peter can't spare an escort to get him there, and there's unrest in the land he's still running around putting down, because everybody takes his disappearance as a good time to riot.)

Oh, man, I didn't even think about the comparison between the Pevensies in Caspian's Narnia and Caspian in the Pevensies' Narnia. Must use that somehow. Plus -- this is Warsverse, so Peter and Caspian have a History. ("I will come back and kill you", much?)

Plants. Huh. Who can I pawn him off on that he'll notice that? The healers?

[lassiterfics.livejournal.com]

That's what I meant, foisting him off on Susan in Cair Paravel, removed from the boys. Say he helps to relay a message (or something) or ask for reinforcements/supplies, so he rides Gryphon-back to Cair Paravel. He sees Narnia from the air, so, prime location for waxing poetic about the glory of Narnia from there. The last time he flew Gryphon-back, it was also in the middle of a war, but it had been at night and he hadn't been able to see that much. Unlike now. Have the earth and water changed so much? he thinks, and he looks at gorges that are rivers and valleys that are lakes, a living map below him made out of fairy tales and lost history, and he thinks, Yes.

Sure, why not a healer. Maybe some sexy Dryad, all like, "In Archenland, they crush this root and strain the pulp for love potions."
"A potent aphrodisiac, is it?" asks Caspian.
And she laughs. "Not at all. It is not roots and berries that make humans fall in love."
And then they have sex.