*g* It makes me giggle, too. But I have to say, one of the reasons I love good, civil story discussion is because truly, it's often unpredictable. In discussions of this nature, folks often find their assumptions about what others do and don't like, or will and won't enjoy, uprooted for various reasons. This has been one such discussion, which makes it a great deal of fun to read.

I was thinking, too, that this *is* an AU, and I wonder if sometimes I'm harder on AUs than I am on straight old stories, because I come to them hoping to truly see a character I recognize -- when really, that seems an upside-down expectation, from a certain perspective. Hmm. Thinky thoughts.