rthstewart: (Default)
rthstewart ([personal profile] rthstewart) wrote2012-04-16 10:17 pm

AW, Chapter 15, Stepping Stones (and other things)

So, the whopping (and I do mean whopping) Chapter 15 is up.  I thought of splitting it, but once you read it, I think you'll see why I didn't.  No historical notes, really.  It pretty much speaks for itself.

The first 4,000 words of Chapter 15 (with a notable exception in the first couple of paragraphs) repeats Chapter 1 of Rat and Sword Go To War.  Then, it goes off in a different direction.   I had really wanted to get this chapter up before Rat and Sword as they are so closely aligned and this is how I'd intended it -- the AW update first and then Rat and Sword.  I'll start posting Rat and Sword later in the week on ff.net so they can all be read together in one place.

I'll take this opportunity to signal boost the writers and artists of the Narnia Big Bang stories. They are wonderful and please check them out.  Every one is a wonderful, original contribution.  I've so enjoyed them all and tomorrow is the last one!  A huge thanks to [livejournal.com profile] snacky for running a wonderful Big Bang and to [livejournal.com profile] heverus for my beautiful art.

Also, REMIX.  I didn't do the official one, but [livejournal.com profile] musesfool has open season Remix Madness 2012!  Post if you are willing to have your stories Remixed and then pick a story from those who have signed up!  No word limit!  No assignments!  No pressure! (and if you've ever had the urge to fix anything I've done, HAVE AT IT).  I have signed up and I noticed that [livejournal.com profile] snacky [livejournal.com profile] edenfalling [livejournal.com profile] therck and [livejournal.com profile] vialethe have as well as others whose work I know and love. 

Errr, right, signing off now and it's what you were expecting.  I think this fleshes out a lot of Rat and Sword, plus stands on its own.
cofax7: climbing on an abbey wall  (Default)

[personal profile] cofax7 2012-04-17 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
YAY! Oh, that was good, and the meeting (at last!) of Asim and Lucy was all that was promised. Plus, EDMUND TOLD HELEN THE TRUTH!!! Woot! ::Dances::

Bravo!

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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! Lucy falling out of a tree and Asim falling in a dead faint has been in the head canon for a long time -- Helen was a recent development. I'm so glad you liked it!

[identity profile] florentinequill.livejournal.com 2012-04-17 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
My reaction upon seeing the chapter notification in my inbox? "SCREW PIANO PRACTICE, IT CAN WAIT." xD

Ditto what cofax7 said, though I kinda wish there had been more in-detail, sentence by sentence coverage of Edmund and Helen talking about Narnia but that's more my desire to know every little detail than flaw in the actual scene. It would mess with the flow/focus of the main story too much. *sigh* Darn. Oh well, I'll live!
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks so much for coming by and reviewing. I really appreciate it and I'm so glad you liked it! You want every detail sentence by sentence. It was ALREADY 18,000 words!! FAINT. But seriously, I thought about that, actually, and writing more of the dialogue and the reveal and then decided on a fade to black. Helen, to her credit, realizes that while all this is exciting beyond belief for her, her son is totally focused on the adventure he is about to embark upon. (She doesn't know that the point of TSG is a forward looking, OK, so NOW WHAT? ) It's a lot of fortitude on her part to be able to step back and put his needs first. It occurred to me later that she doesn't know that Narnia is all tied up in espionage -- if/when she does learn of that, she's going to come down really hard on any loose talk about it. Susan and Edmund have created QUITE a mess there.
Edited 2012-04-18 00:45 (UTC)

[identity profile] florentinequill.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
...Wow, that was 18k? That didn't feel like 18k. Yeah, that makes perfect sense...and oh dear, I wouldn't want to be a fly on that wall if/when Helen finds out.

[identity profile] h-dash-h.livejournal.com 2012-04-17 07:44 am (UTC)(link)
Oh my! So very much worth the wait! The discussion between Edmund and Helen just floored me. I was not expecting it, yet in retrospect the paths to it were all laid out so clearly. The overlapping voices of Helen and Morgan helping Edmund to confide in his mother, and the more tentative revelations from Digory and Polly setting up Helen to accept it. Not to mention her own spywork, and the fact that she had just in many ways revealed herself and the nature of her work more than she ever really did to Susan.

I also love that he presents it as the puzzle with, as the Professor long ago laid out, only one incredible solution, rather than just dumping it out there and daring her to disbelieve as these sort of scenes so often go. It was everything I could have hoped for in that scene!

The meeting of Asim and Lucy was absolutely wonderful as well, from the lack of a dream to the cataclysmic arrival, to the intriguing interlude with Alice Jones, a character of whom I very much look forward to seeing more. I love how she knows what's going on up to a point and just rolls with it, playing her part while taking advantage of what comes by.

And Helen makes the connection to the Wardrobe! And talks to the Lion! And still thinks of her former boss as His Lordship the Penguin! Yay!
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
I've wondered now if I really should have bothered with the meeting with Polly and Digory given that she gets the full story from Edmund a short time later. Part of it is just bad planning on my part and always making it up as I go. When I planned the meeting between Helen and Polly and Digory I hadn't thought that this was how the reveal would go. It's funny -- I've always know what I was doing with John but Helen has been more a WIP. So, here are.

You and some other readers have mentioned how these scenes often go -- I can't say I've read that many of them, so I don't know to what extent I've departed from the usual or adhered to the standard. I'm so glad it worked for you -- the earlier version had Peter telling Helen during that 2 week leave they get right before D Day and it's from his pov, not hers.

And Alice. She's been in the back pocket since the Give the Pevensies a friend comment fic. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with her, other than her being a helper/enabler for Lucy at school. At this point, Jack and Lucy are both stuck at school, though Jack's not in the state Lucy is, plus Jill and Eustace. I've not decided how to parse through those relationships yet.

And then finally yes, Asim and Lucy which has been planned since I first started putting Lucy in trees - earlier, actually. I don't remember now what my original outline called for in terms of their meeting. I THINK it was them all walking up the drive of Russell House in 1946 to meet Mary. But once I knew that Susan would be leaving school (sometime during Part 2), I knew this how they would meet. The hold up has been how to finesse their meeting at her school -- who was there -- and various ideas had Tebbitt, Walker-Smythe, Edmund and Peter present. Phew.. rambling now. I was really worried I didn't deliver on it.

[identity profile] min023.livejournal.com 2012-04-17 10:30 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, it's wonderful. Edmund and Helen, Asim and Lucy, Alice, the elder Friends. Squeee!!!!!
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you!
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[identity profile] adaese.livejournal.com 2012-04-17 10:51 am (UTC)(link)
A three handkerchief chapter. Helen, Polly and the Professor. Helen and Edmund. And at last, Lucy and Asim. Thank you!
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks so much!
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[personal profile] the_rck 2012-04-17 11:38 am (UTC)(link)
I feel so sorry for Lucy! I'm so curious to see where all this is going (I haven't read "Rat and Sword Go to War" yet. I will. I just have to get to it).

Thanks so much for writing!
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 01:03 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much! Rat and Sword will be up on ff.net and AO3 shortly. There's no rush! But thank you!

[identity profile] elouise82.livejournal.com 2012-04-17 01:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Forgot to mention in the review - I love that Helen finally did follow the Lion, and that he spoke to her. His comfort and care for them, his children, stands in sharp contrast to John's selfishness and injured pride, and it's wonderful that Helen finally gets to see that her children do in fact have a father figure who loves them, and that at the same time he doesn't take away anything from her own role.
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you for commenting here and reviewing on the story. I've commented before how as I age, my self inserts have become the paternal and mother figures. Helen's frustration and worry about her children's secrets is the sort of thing I identify with readily. The frustration and difficulty of single parenting is also something I have huge sympathy and respect for.

John is, from the povs presented (and we've not seen his side of it at all) a jerk. So much of that is period, though. He's a traditional, conservative man, he goes to war to protect his wife and family and, as happens, they change. He changes. He pours all this energy into his eldest son of whom he is very, very proud and well, that's a disappointment too. I'm sort of thinking aloud here -- I've had in my head where John ends up, how he is reconciled and he's not there yet. I thought a lot about Edmund's VERY mature statements to his mother and they may be unrealistic except... .if envy of Peter and desire for paternal approval were part of the reason for his weakness with Jadis, as presented here, 20 years can be enough time for the outlook he presents there. And I think the confidence of Aslan's love and Morgan's loyalty and love all give him that strength.

As for the discussion of God and apostles, that's all been on my mind. We were in Rome and so stood on the place where Peter was martyred. We are in the post-Easter, pentecostal and apostolic part of the Catholic liturgy which I know very well though of course won't be participating in any more. One reason I wanted to get this chapter up was because, for me, anyway, its ideas about the road of holy men and women, of zealots and martyrs (regardless of faith tradition) was really resonating with me personally.

Thank you again!

[identity profile] elouise82.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 11:19 am (UTC)(link)
I just started wondering about John last night - in The Last Battle, he is shown as being in Aslan's Country along with the rest, and so I figured you probably had a change of heart planned for him somewhere along the line. I'd also kind of missed that we were only seeing him through Helen and his children's eyes - as the Four's perceptions of their mother proved, they aren't always the best judges of their parents, and Helen is obviously bitter and going to impute negative connotations to everything he says/does/might ever possibly think. So while you can't get around some of his actions, he might be able to mount some small defense, at least.

I'm glad to think there will be reconciliation in the end.
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 12:56 pm (UTC)(link)
The absent parent and partner (whether by choice or not) and the unconventional family appear over and over -- Edmund from his Narnian family, Lucy from hers, John estranged from his children and wife, the widow Mrs. Goodwin, Richard who won't see his children and Africa wife again, Kwong Lee's separation from her Hong Kong family and her son's separation from his wife and child, Tom Clark's absent wife, George's distance from his wife and daughter. At this point, I actually need a proper, traditional family, I suppose -- which Kwong Lee and Lin Kun probably best exemplify. As I mention in the beginning of AW 15, from Walker Smythe's perspective, they might win the war, the battle for the family is probably lost. John's journey will take some time -- the war's not even over yet so it's going to drag on a while longer. I do need to think about what his reaction is to Susan in the SOE. I think he's probably been very, "Oh that can't be right. She's just a pretty little girl" and Edmund may be the one to deliver the message as Edmund is in a position to do so. I'll n eed to think about that. I've not intended a huge full blown subplot of Edmund in DC. There are a couple of things that will be fun, there's a person or two I want him to meet, and there's the conflict I can set up. I also need to look at some biographies and figure out who is in DC in 1943.

Anyway, thank you again for gifting soem of your precious time!

[identity profile] h-dash-h.livejournal.com 2012-04-20 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
I must admit, I'm kind of hoping for at least a glancing encounter between Edmund and his father, even if nothing is resolved. Or even if John himself barely appears. It would give us the first direct look at what John's doing. But as always, I trust your choice of scenes in the end.
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-22 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Teal Deer
There needs to be a scene. It's funny -- I wrote this before. There are particular scenes that have been in my head for a very, very long time. Mary and Asim on the platform, Edmund declaring himself at Conclave and Susan gatecrashing moments later, and now, another, Lucy falling from a tree on to Asim. I've been putting her in trees since at least Palace Guard in anticipation of this. It's WHY I put her in trees. And so it is here with John and Edmund. There first is a dinner scene in 1948 where it all begins, where Peter is late and the others are delivering some bad news and Helen and John are clueless about it all. There are Chinese noodles. There are stern words and a draft article. Then there is a pub and then there are scenes after. Lines from throughout the story, "Do you desire the truth or the lie?" and other things will happen there.

I've given very little thought at all to what to do with John before 1948. So, I know where he ends up and I need to think about how he gets there. What does he think of Susan? What does he think of Edmund? is Edmund really so sanguine about this? Just how angry is John with Peter?

So, yes, I do need to start that arc. I know where it ends. I just need to get there.
autumnia: Kings and Queens of Narnia (Pevensies (Aslan's How))

[personal profile] autumnia 2012-04-17 01:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks to you, I went to bed waaaaay past my bedtime last night. I just couldn't wait until this morning.

And now, after some hours of sleep, I am still in awe over that chapter and really, my absolute favorite scene was the discussion between Helen and Edmund about Narnia. The way you used Edmund here to reveal the truth is just so, so, so much better than in the original draft where it wasn't him. Having thought about it, I think Edmund has been the most accommodating of all his siblings to not completely leave their mother in the dark after all these years, especially since she pretty much was not given a choice about how her children grew up and the direction their futures are headed.

Part of it I think (at least this is how I've seen it) is not only because her words remind him of Morgan but because she has been pretty supportive of Ed's decisions on what he wants to do (using the language courses in school as example) and she wants him to be his own person and not worry about following in Peter's shadow nor what his Father wants (or cares) for him to do.

And..... I find I need to re-read this chapter again later, when I'm a bit more awake. (I'm sure I had some thoughts about Lucy as well, but can't remember them at the moment.)
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks so much. There was a lot about that initial scene I liked, in particular the whole bit about how she wanted to find out if Peter could kill and that she knew women who had been at the anti tank guns and listening to the fliers cry for their mothers as they were shot down. I really liked that she was trying to do that for Peter. I was sorry to lose the lines. I initially tried to work death and killing in here -- that she wants Edmund to be able to defend himself, that Washington isn't safe, and it just didn't work. And I was in her pov already with Digory and Polly and I didn't want to introduce Edmund's pov. So, here we are. I've not read that many "Pevensie tells mom the truth" stories so I don't know how this reveal is or is not like those. I'd already introduced the idea that Helen is providing to Edmund some of the same validation that Morgan did -- that's always been a fine line. I don't want to make him seem emotionally needy -- he never goes lookign for these things. In a chapter of AW in flashback Morgan says something nice to him at Leszi's farewell and Edmund reflects that when she says these things they fill a hole he isn't even aware of.

Helen is the same way and is able to perform a similar function. She sees that Edmund has labored under the disappointed expectation of their father and she's a fiercely protective mother. It's not the same for Edmund of course, but it does help anchor him and remind him of what he had.

You bring up a wonderful point that she didn't have any choice about how her children grew up and the direction they've chosen. (One possible way to spin this out that occurs to me is that once Peter becomes the disappointment John switches to Edmund which just disgusts Edmund).

[identity profile] jedishampoo.livejournal.com 2012-04-17 02:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks for the point to remix_madness! Wow, a lot of people are signing up there ... I missed the actual comm deadline by a few hours, though I meant to sign up.
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
I think I spotted a couple of things myself. I just need TIME
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[personal profile] matt_doyle 2012-04-17 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Curses! (very insincere curses) I just started reading The Stone Gryphon last week, and I didn't realize until I saw this that Apostolic Way had more chapters on ff.net than it did on AO3. So I stayed up until 2 AM reading.


I really like the interweaving of historical fiction with Narnia -- I love finding out in the notes at the end of the chapter which bits were real -- and I especially love how the religious element is handled, because it conforms to my own religious attitudes and prejudices very closely, XD.
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-17 03:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! Hello! And oops, yes, I'm not up to date on my AO3 posting anymore than I remember to post on the mirror DW account. Did you find Rat and Sword, speaking of moving from fan fiction to true historical fan fiction?

It's funny. Among some of the Narnia fen I am an immoral and godless pariah for smutting up Lewis' good Christian creation. Others complain that the work is too religious, though some have noted that at least it's presented in character rather than as a morality play. This most recent chapter came about during a very contemplative time for me -- the Easter season and after a trip to Italy where I spent far, far more time among the ruins of pagan ancient Rome. I was very interested in playing with the ideas of apostolic fervor -- that duty to do, and act, for the sake of a cause. From the Chronicles, I take a message of inclusion and tolerance, and it's always nice to be able to return to that. I'm glad it resonated with you!
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[personal profile] matt_doyle 2012-04-17 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
I read Rat and Sword, and was just as big a fan of that, too. :-)

I found the discourses on Narnian sexuality both fascinating and plausible, actually. Why should animal societies have human mores, even if they're sentient? They still have all the qualities of the species of "dumb" animals from whom they originated, and, well, they're all made according to their natures. And dryads are, well, nymphs... and going through their teenaged years, these were the behavioral models the Pevensies had around them. Hardly shocking that they'd adopt Narnian attitudes... and it's a really nice way of giving them more modern sensibilities once they're back in England, too.

I'm also a big fan of religious fantasy, because the religious element in most fantasy stories, even those where the gods are known to be real, often seems tacked on, unexamined... not a central part of life. Not, in short, like religion at all. There are all too few books which seem to approach religion, especially in fantasy worlds, with an appreciation of what religion means ot the religious, as opposed to "aren't these cool mythological trappings?" So yes. I liked the religion in here a great deal. I'm a very heterodox Christian universalist(small u -- the philosophy, not any denomination), so inclusion and tolerance are very important to me. Definitely a lot of resonance.

Out of curiosity, have you read Lois McMaster Bujold's Chalion books? Speaking of works that handle religion and apostolic fervor well...
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-17 05:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks so much, again! I've talked a lot about the incorporation of sexuality in this 'verse. Coming from other fandoms and even doing the reading that I did in this fandom, it was a shock to learn that even adult, heterosexual, consensual conduct was highly controversial if pre-marital. Aslan says to Bree, "I am a True Beast" and with the sexually prolific holly bushes in my yard, and with Lewis' incorporation of some of the racier mythologies (Bacchus, etc.), it seemed fair game for exploration. As you point out, and as I intended (I love it when that happens) it served multi-purposes -- it's fun to take animal behaviors here and try to translate them there and that exposure to alterantive cultures creates a platform tolerance and appreciation of diversity when they go back.

Bujold, oh yes. I love. her. The whole idea of seeing god-light in people was very much inspired by Cazaril's experience. I've wanted, badly, in this most recent scene, to have Asim describe Lucy as "like a burning city" as Umegat does. I didn't but the combination of Umegat's spirituality and Cazaril's worldliness and utility as the Lady's tool were among the inspirations for the character of Asim.
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[personal profile] matt_doyle 2012-04-17 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I wondered. Asim definitely seemed similar in ways to a less tragedy-stricken Cazaril.

[identity profile] lotl101.livejournal.com 2012-04-17 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
I'll leave a formal review when I'm done with class for today, but for now: alkdhjna;drhjgsldkjgr Happy Flail. The Scene That I Have Been Waiting For. The Other Scene That I Have Been Waiting For. Oh man. *Repeats happy flail* You have made my day!
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
I hope you enjoy it! And I hope you also notice that readers LOVE the poetry you contributed. Thank you so much!

[identity profile] lotl101.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
I very much enjoyed it! And will enjoy it again when I'm done with my scholarly writing and get to move on to my fandom writing and review.

No, I hadn't noticed anything about my poem, so thanks so much for letting me know! I'm actually really honored that my little bit of poetry is in something so huge and awesome as RaSGtW. I keep smiling when I think about it. Would you mind, if you have a moment, pointing me in the direction of any of the feedback?

Also, I've opted in for open season Remixing. Never having done this before, do you have any advice?
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
The comments about the poems are in Chapter 4 of the LJ. There's a lot of Caps-splosion and Tebbitt/Susan shipping but yes the poems are a hit. Readers are chiding me with, come on, Ruth. They are obviously in love given the words she's using and the poems he wrote for her.

As for Remix, there are two of them -- the regular, where you sign up and are assigned (and that one's closed). And there is the "open" remix now going which is anything goes, the are no assignment, just an open agreement to participate. You can look at other remix stories and you need an AO3 account to post your remix. By signing up you agree to be mixed and you can mix anything that isn't safe or is itself a remix. A remix is some variation on the original. Last year, in the big remix, Caleon wrote a lovely missing scene for me for Palace Guard. I took metonomia's story about Susan as Book of Judith and expanded it. You should use some parts of the original to "anchor" your story, but otherwise, you have at it. You can pick whatever you want that's been offered by others and you hope someone picks you -- though with that many participants and the short deadline, there's probably a lot more offers than actual writing.

Does that help? I'm currently looking at something from Snacky and Edenfalling as I know their work well. I saw a Vorkosigan I might want to do. I need to go back and look at the assignments of the last day, which as of this morning were already over 160. I'm not thinking anyone will pick up anything of mine to remix because it's all so long, but you never know.

[identity profile] lotl101.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 02:50 am (UTC)(link)
I shall head over and read them now. Thanks so much!

I think I may try something with one of yours. It'll be short, but I think I have an idea in mind. I'm kind of hoping someone will remix one of mine, but they're so short I have the opposite of you. And thanks!

(Anonymous) 2012-04-17 09:39 pm (UTC)(link)
I too stayed up late last night reading Chapter 15. Helen and Edmund's conversation more than lived up to my expectations. Is it just me or is Edmund's emotional maturity significantly improved upon his return to England?

I did not anticipate Asim passing out when confronted with Lucy. I got in trouble with my dog for distubing her sleep at this point in the story. (I might have kicked my poor girl I was laughing so forcefully.)

I'll look forward to seeing what comes next.

Doctor Dolly
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you, Dolly. Poor dog!

I've been thinking about the comment about Edmund's emotional maturity. And while it's hard to follow the timeline because I jump back and forth between pre, during, and post Morgan and pre and post Dawn Treader, I think we are seeing a pretty emotionally mature person at this point -- Narnia is over, his wife is dead, what is next? He's got some big decisions ahead of him -- big meaty, weighty, important things, but I do try to dial back the Ed angst. In my head, one reason why Aslan was able to send Edmund back was that ultimately, Edmund would be better able to handle it. Or it may be that my characterization is inconsistent. I'll need to be on the watch for that.

[identity profile] tamara-the-muse.livejournal.com 2012-04-17 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I only found your work a few months ago (shortly after chapter 14 of AW maybe?) and I've been remiss in commenting, but I do want to let you know how much I adore what you're doing here. Narnia really isn't my home fandom both because I haven't read the books in quite a while and because scrolling through the ff.net archive to find good fic gets tedious. So I'm so glad I stumbled across your stuff, because not only is there enough of it to keep me occupied for days, it's also well written and thought out and meshes well with the books and the world. The amount of research you've done is amazing and quite inspiring for this author who hates researching for fiction. (I love researching for academic papers, but not so much for fiction. Yes, I know that's not exactly logical. ~grins~)

Anyway, I've been poking through your blog a bit, and I wanted briefly to address the 'Not My Children's Narnia' thing. Personally, I really appreciate the incorporation of mature elements into the stories. Let's face it, not only have the four grown up around beings with non-western ideals, they're also adults. Most adults drink and have sex and swear, and not just the Godless among us. Just the other day a professor of mine was talking about the orgies thrown by various Popes (it was relevant to the class, honest!). I think by acknowledging that side of adulthood you've helped bring the Pevensies to life as three-dimensional characters. As I get older I increasingly appreciate authors who acknowledge the humanity of their characters (assuming the characters they're working with are human) and match their behavior with their age.

So yeah. Essentially what I'm trying to say is that I, at least, really like the direction you chose to take in writing your characters as adults who grew up in a different culture. I think it makes for a much more compelling read and certainly all your characters feel incredibly real to me.

(Also, given the rather amazing amount of incest-fic I found in the AO3 archive back when I was poking through it, I don't really think the fandom as a whole should be getting all up on its high horse about pre-marital, consensual, heterosexual sex. ~grins~)

Also also, I really, really loved Rat and Sword.

[identity profile] tamara-the-muse.livejournal.com 2012-04-17 11:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Also, I forgot to ask if you've read Ronald Hutton's "Witches, Druids, and King Arthur"? There's a whole section in there about Lewis (and Tolkein) and his relationship to Christianity and his writing. According to Hutton, at least, he came to Christianity later in life and never really left behind his former interest in pagan mythologies and was a lot more conflicted about the whole thing than he let on.
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
I have not read Hutton's work. In an earlier post, http://rthstewart.livejournal.com/63863.html, we discussed some of Lewis' own pretty complex background. There are voices in this fandom who insist that the Chronicles are strict allegory and "Aslan is Jesus. Get over it." I think Lewis himself wrote it was not straight allegory. The fan fic author's response goes further with "so what?"

To a point, I get the complaint. Doctor Dolly has mentioned that these books are used in evangelical Christian curriculum. They are taught as allegorical and the films for instance were very deliberately marketed and packaged for the American faith community. There is a segment of the fandom that feels very proprietary about the Chronicles and that adherence to Lewis' assumed Christian intent is paramount. These are supposed to be safe. Given however that we are in fandom culture that spins vids and stories about Maru the Cat and the octopus that stole the camera, nothing is off limits to the creative process.
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 02:20 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much! I think I got a friend request from you a while ago and went and read some of your entries then? maybe? I raise this because I spotted your discussion with your professor about rape culture and enthusiastic consent and I thought it was incredibly perceptive and I know that it influenced my thinking in the most recent chapter of Harold and Morgan. So, a belated thanks. I'd forgotten where I had read it.

The Not My Children's Narnia has been ... hmmm... a journey for me. It certainly shocked me the first time I got slammed for incorporating adult, consensual, heterosexual conduct. (A segment of the fandom routinely lumps incest with same sex pairings together btw). I whine and moan about it but I don't actually change what I write. Or, well, yeah, I probably have, some, actually. I set out to explore these issues for many reasons, and one of them was that when I first started reading the fic, I was very troubled by how negatively Spare Oom was presented and there was a streak of intolerance running through stories and forum posts that I felt was very contrary to what I had gotten from the Chronicles.

As I wrote in response to Matt up above, in not my children's Narnia, the differing sexual and bonding lifestyles of the beasts served several purposes -- it amused me, it allowed me to satisfy my biology research interests, and it allows me to use it as a shorthand for exposure to differing cultural norms that then were relevant when they did return. Admittedly my goals with By Royal Decree and H&M were not so lofty -- I love snarky, inneundo UST and sexy banter between couples and those stories are so common in fan fic and there wasn't any of it in Narnia.

Thank you also for reading Rat & Sword. Feel free to drop a comment if you are so inclined. I'll be posting the whole thing on AO3 and FF in the next week or so. But ohhh remix. right.

Thank you again.

[identity profile] sedri.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
That was lovely - thank you! I won't chatter about all the things that have been said above, but I will echo that it was lovely to see Edmund and Helen talking, even before he told her the truth. The moment when Morgan was almost mentioned was painful, but good. And of course, Lucy the sun meeting Asim - I look forward to seeing where that goes.

Thank you!
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[identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com 2012-04-18 12:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it.