Amazing NFE Stories

[rthstewart]

snacky and aurilly have run an amazing exchange.

There are stories and books that I read occasionally that make me abandon any hope of ever at my advanced age becoming a true writer because the works are so gorgeous, so clever, so stunning. I've come to feel that way about The Rule Threes Raid written for me.

There are a number of other NFE stories that are just astonishing. (I'm running out of adjectives). There are a number of stories with different takes on AU Aravis, AU Silver Chair and playing with concepts of memory, who forgets what and when and how and the role Tumnus plays in it. That's something that is lovely about the NFE is that there are often in a single exchange, multiple interpretations of related ideas. It's really cool.

I'd already recc'd The Case of the Descending Debutante, which I loved, and if you are a fan of the corkscrew British comedy genre, the acerbically dry and quintessentially English wit of Wodehouse coupled with the wackiness of Douglas Adams, you must, must, must read
Psmith Giantslayer
(8859 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis/Psmith - P. G. Wodehouse
Rating: General Audience
Relationships: Mike Jackson/Rupert Psmith
Characters: Rupert Psmith, Edmund Pevensie, Mike Jackson, Susan Pevensie
Summary: Or, how the glorious Affair of the Motor Car on the Senate House Roof became the rather more alarming Affair of the Enormous Giants.

(Psmith, however, was enchanted. "Such nobility of mien,“ he told Mike. "Such an air of enterprise and derring-do! Who is this paragon of Cambridge manhood, may I ask?”
“I think his name is Pevensie,” said Mike.)
... "Your sister?" said Mike, a little doubtfully.
"She's in her final year at Girton," said Edmund. "Did some time with the Women's Auxiliaries as a driver near the end of the war. Dab hand with a screwdriver, is Susan."
Psmith shook his head sadly. "I was given to believe that Girton was naught but a lonely outpost in the wilderness, practically a shack surrounded by howling fens," he told Edmund. "How very glad I am to hear that this was mere calumny. We should be honoured to accept the assistance of this beauteous lady mechanic."

 

I loved this one too, with Jill, Silver Chair AU where Eustace and Jill stay, and ENTWIVES

to pluck up that which is planted
(5221 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types
The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Relationships: Jill Pole/Eustace Scrubb
Characters: Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Rilian, Entwives - Character, Aslan
Additional Tags: SCAU, Everybody Lives Nobody Dies, Aslan is a jerk but only kind of a jerk, So is Iluvatar tbh

Summary: Narnian welcomes its visitors from Earth and Middle-earth alike, but being allowed to stay there? That’s a different story. Jill doesn’t take it so easily as the Pevensies. (Because she’s Jill.)
Two dark, interesting takes on Aravis and Narnia AU

Oathkeeper
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Characters: Lucy Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, Aravis
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dark, Book: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
Summary:
She is the Sun: fierce and bright, glorious and intense, unforgiving and everlasting.

And

The Tisroc and the King
(7375 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Aravis/Shasta | Cor
Characters: Aravis, Shasta | Cor, Prince Rabadash, Lasaraleen, Corin (Narnia)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Calormen, Archenland, A somewhat grimmer future
Summary: Something went very differently, and Cor and Aravis never met. Now, in the aftermath of battle, a King and a Tisroc must be buried, and two enemy nations must crown their new rulers.

Comments

[aurilly]

Part of me is embarrassed by the avalanche of squee I unleashed on the poor writer of the Wodehouse crossover. They must think I'm a lunatic. But another part of me would do it all over again, because it is THAT wonderful. I feel like I've had the fic equivalent of a $1,000 bottle of wine. It's not like it's ruined wine for me, and I'm not going to go around comparing all other wine to that bottle. Magic struck once, and it's almost like a different thing from wine itself, a thing that will never happen again. But it'll be this lovely memory to take forever of what it's like to have something distilled from all of my deepest hopes and dreams--both conscious and subconscious--and put out in front of me in a most perfect form. If you haven't read those books, you should! I really think you would love them. There's a piece of Psmith that reminds me of Gerald Durrell's older brother Larry, but MORE. Mike & Psmith and Psmith In the City are free on both Gutenberg and the Kindle store. And they're pretty short. There's a third one called 'Psmith, Journalist' (which is what the title of the fic was clearly a riff on), but I'm not as keen on it. Then there's a fourth called 'Leave it to Psmith', which is a crossover with Wodehouse's Blandings series. It is superlative, but unfortunately has no Mike. That was the one I read first, actually, and it was my favorite Wodehouse book, but now when I reread it, I almost have to skip over the romance parts (Psmith falls in love with a girl), because, after reading the Psmith/Mike books, I can't really buy it anymore. Their friendship is that ridiculously extreme. I'm pretty sure Brideshead Revisited was inspired by them (I know Waugh was a big Wodehouse fan).

I tried to go through the treat collection first and give those some love since I think most people go through the main one first. I can't wait to settle down later this week and tackle the main collection!

[rthstewart]

RAWR. I had a reply and lost it. Anyway, you may have gushed but seriously that's one of the best fics I've ever read. It deserves it and I'm glad to see some people who I know follow me going to check it out. I can't wait to figure out who it is. I've realized that only Brits can capture that certain quality in these corkscrew comedies. PG Wodehouse still claims 2 of the top 10 positions in Abe Books best British comedy -- with 3 Men In A boat sandwiched between them.

Sometimes you read a fic and immediately give up any pretense of being a writer -- it's THAT good and this surely is.

I really felt that the work gifted to me is extraordinary as well, just, well obviously written for me by someone who knew exactly what I wanted, and worked rthverse into it.

It's funny, I was thinking about Waugh and BH today while walking the dogs and wondering at the inspirations for Charles and Sebastian. And I definitely see some of the Durrell in all of this, too. Though I've always loved My Family and Other Animals the most.

It's a glorious work and I hope it gets lots of praise. BTW, have I reviewed yours yet? And thank you for an awesome exchange

[aurilly]

You have reviewed mine! ;) But don't thank me. I just did the tags. It's all snacky, lovely person that she is.

And yeah, for all that I would never expect or even hope to get another exchange gift like that again, what did happen was that for about five minutes, I was sort of down on myself. Like, why do I even bother trying to write? I'm never going to write like that. And I've always subscribed to the theory that the only person who can write the thing you most want to read is yourself... But clearly this proved that motto false. Anyway, I fish-slapped myself out of such thoughts. If everyone in the pool were Michael Phelps, no one would be, and the point is just to have fun, so stop it, self.

[edenfalling]

Hey rth, not Narnia but definitely something relevant to your interests!

Where Your Loyalties Lie, by cadesama: Mara is tasked with taking the Imperial Prince on an important mission.