Starting with the NFE stories - they were great to read through (a stretch, though - I only just got through them all before the Reveal, and didn't get to the Madness) and all good in different ways. Two that were standout for me were:
revisionist history, by underscored -
terrifically full-on, powerful AU Last Battle story, with action galore - physical, moral, psychological, emotional and theological, as the Friends work through a
lot, and achieve a lot as well. Susan-focussed, but starring everybody (though the aged Polly and Digory heroically elected not to slow down the rescue mission).
Stick In the Mud, by
transposable_element - wonderful story of the great hearts in the Marsh peoples, and how they respond to the coming of Jadis's Winter -
utterly Marshwiggle! (Can't say higher than that!)
And to round out the post - some good stories from round the internet. (some of them good news stories, some of them just good stories as stories.)
1. The steep road down from the Bao Loc pass, and truck driver Phan Văn Bắc glanced behind to the passenger coach coming down behind him - travelling far too fast he thought, and looked again into the rear vision mirror - and saw the driver struggling desperately, and the passengers waving, gesturing for
help - the brakes had failed! and..
here's the story, but to be brief - he manoeuvred to let the back of his truck take the crashing weight of the coach, and rode them both together, jammed together, down the pass, holding both heavy vehicles on his own screamingly stretched-to-the-limit brakes. And saved the lives of everybody. Phew!
2. Probably most of you have heard this story? But I hadn't and I loved it. Of an eighty-year-old UK man with Alzheimer's - to the extent that he was getting physically and emotionally abusive to his loved wife, and not recognising his son. But his son found (I think he had advice from the local support group) that his father, a former not-terribly-successful singer and entertainer, was a hundred times more relaxed and better cognitively and
everything when he drove him round in the car and encouraged him to sing all the old songs he knew. And viral video, and record deal, and all followed, but what I really, really liked was
the stunning and very moving obvious love between the son and his father captured in this in-the-car video. Strenuously recommended, even if you don't like that kind of music - Quando, quando, quando - video about three minutes. :)
3. A little while ago, I posted wondering if Sir Nigel Loring had been a model for Reepicheep (no, I decided). Now I've stumbled across another possible. This isn't a good news story, because war and battles are never good, and it's definitely not news, but it's certainly a story, though I only know the slightest scrap of it.
In 1569 the north of England was ablaze with the Northern Rebellion (anti-Elizabeth, pro-Mary Stuart) and 22-year-old
George Carey was part of the force fighting for Elizabeth. The fight of course went into Scotland as well (which was in other turmoil for its own reasons at the time) and Dunbar Castle ended up besieged by the English forces, including reckless, gallant (clever?) George Carey , who challenged Lord Fleming , t he commander of the castle to single combat, and
won! (and was knighted for it, and it's a great way to get yourself noticed in a war, which is why I said maybe he was being clever, not being Reepicheep, but there you go.)
One of these days, when life's not so busy, I'll look up the full story - I know he won the duel, but I'm afraid I don't know if Lord Fleming then said sportingly "All right, you can have the castle."