caramelsilver | A big rambly rant on Narnia

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A big rambly rant on Narnia

Narnia fandom really has two fandoms. If you don’t believe me, then you are not in the Narnia fandom. It took me awhile to understand this and it took me even a longer time to get to terms with this. As a reader I think it’s great, but as a writer it makes me very frustrated because I don’t know which camp I’m in. Let me explain:

There is the original fandom on fanfiction.net, the fandom that write fics based on the books and their fics are nice and pretty sugary. With straight off battles and the good people are good and the bad people are bad, and there are not many grey-zones. There’s no… meta in their fics. Here, Peter is a nice guy, and Lucy has never been drunk in her life. You get my drift.

Then there is the fandom that sprung up after the movies came out, on LJ. They talk and interpret and are not satisfied with the Narnia C.S Lewis wrote about. They talk politics, economy, law and how it really would be to rule a country. Their fics are magnificent.

Why is this relevant? Because I have a confession to make: I am really struggling with my Narnia fics. I don’t know which part I’m part of anymore. One part of me wants to keep writing fluffy pieces because I don’t want to offend my old Narnia friends and my beta, and the other part just want to say screw it and stop posting my stuff on ffnet. Because I really feel that my recent fics (An Art to It and For Duty’s Sake) really clash with what they want over at ffnet.

And what’s the main thing that’s holding me back is my beta. She’s brilliant! I admire and fangirl her so much (you have no idea how happy I was when she offered to beta for me!) but I feel that my view of the characters has changed so much from her view of the characters. (I blame

bedlamsbard ) I’m actually really considering changing beta because it’s really cramping my writing and I feel so horrible!

So what I’m working up to say is this: I have been writing this fic for awhile now (it was supposed to be for the

femgenficathon)

(and it’s really, really not going to fit well over at ffnet, and I’m not sure if my beta is going to like it and I don’t want her to have to beta this bigass fic that she essentially don’t like, so… )

But the thing is that I’m stuck! And I’ve also lost the second chapter when my comp. died. And… would any of you like to just read it and give me some reactionary comments? Not a fullblown beta, don’t need that just yet, I just need to know that what people think and maybe make some comments on if you think the characters are acting like they should and stuff?

Okay this was rambly and confusing. But it was nice to get that off my chest at least.

Also, read my semi-meta on why I don’t like Peter/Susan.

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There are totally two fandoms in the Narnia fandom. With me I noticed that on ff.net they go by canon and can be pretty elitist when it comes to the movies. Anything different from the book, even if they're expanding on a certain scene, RUINS IT FOREVER. (I for one loved how in the first movie they expanded on the air-raids.)
The fandom on livejournal is open to pretty much everything and brought slash and incest into the story, pretty much dubbing it a fandom like every other (it's official now xD).

With me I don't know which side I'm on. I'm not very happy with some of the changes they're doing on VDT and on PC, but it doesn't make me hate them. And I adored the first movie!

So yeah, I can see your problem has more to do with fanfiction, but once I saw the topic I was like "I KNOOOW". =P

I am sooo glad that I'm not the only one who thinks so.

And I agree that they are very elitist over at ffnet. Or, to be more correct, they are very elitist at the Lion's Call and they post their fics at ffnet.

And I adored both the movies and I love all the fics that have resulted from it and I don't understand all the hate. Just tag it with movieverse and avoid it if it annoys you so much.

A lot of fics make it clear that it's movieverse. I mean, the second you see Suspian you should know it's movieverse. I don't see how Lucian is any better. =P

(I'm actually content with both.)

Oh, but Lucian is totally canon (or at least have some basis in canon) haven't you read VOTD? /sarcasm.

I don't see it. I, personally, really don't like Suspian (stupid ship name too) not because its not canon, but because I couldn't see it, and the kiss at the end was unnecessary.

You can write both types of fic, can't you? You don't have to sommit to either part of the fandom ...

Have you seen both types? It's rather hard to mesh the more book-based with the movieverse fic. And writing both types is just confusing.

It's very hard to mesh! And my head is getting all weird and my characters is getting all... fucked up.

Well I can. But I'm starting to feel that my heart might not be all in it and it gets a little heartless and... flat. But yeah, it's not like I'm quitting that part of fandom, but I might be picking sides.

OH GOD I know what you're talking about. I don't know if you've seen some of my more recent fic (my narniaexchange and some England!fic) but when I posted the England!fic over at FF.net the first thing I got was backlash for being OOC (because Peter wasn't a perfect gentleman and because Lucy was angry). And while at the same time I enjoy some of the book canon, it's inconsistent and unrealistic, and with the movies there's just a greater reality and depth.

I don't even want to post my narniaexchange over at FF.net for fear of what the book canon elitists will think. :/

I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who thinks so.

I didn't know you posted on ffnet! Also have I missed one of your fics? Link?

I knoooow! I was actually scared of posting my narniaexchange fic there. They HATED the fact that Lucy got drunk.

And yeah, I love the books, but the movies gives me character development!! And for some reason Lewis wasn't very fond of character development.

Oh god how would they take Jadis in my narniaexchange? *hides at thought*

Um, I'm on my brother's iToucb right now so I can't link directly, but if you go to my fic journal,

suridasu, and scroll down the first one is called "the only things that echo" (Lucy POV) and the companion piece is "our lost kingdoms" (Peter POV).

And yeah, Lewis' characters don't really grow except for when made necessary by plot (Edmund's redemption, but we don't really get to see that, not really).

I think they would either love it or be so shocked they won't know what to say. (I, at least, thinks its awesome!)

Then I shall go and read those now.

Edmund is the most dynamic character in the whole series- which is also why I like him the best.

I feel like it would shock them. I think I'll just leave them to their bookverse stories.

Yay! :)

So very, very true. That's why he's my favorite too. Well, that, and Skandar Keynes does a really awesome job playing him and also, I'm shallow. ♥

There's nothing wrong with being shallow. But while I love Edmund I can't look at Skandar in a sexual way because he's younger than me and that's just weird. But I do believe that under eye-candy in the dictionary there's a picture of William Moseley.

Writing review as we speak=)

Well, yes, but he's older than me so I can see him in that way. I understand what you mean about not being able to see guys younger than you in a sexual way, sort of. Heard of Justin Bieber? He's my age, so not really younger than me, but he looks like a guy I knew in 5th grade and yet people older than me are obsessed with him. *shakes head* WillMo is pretty too! :)

:D

I have been waiting for a big rambly rant like this because, some of the reasons you stated? Are why I’ve been so hesitant to go crazy in the Narnia fandom for so long.

the fandom that write fics based on the books and their fics are nice and pretty sugary. With straight off battles and the good people are good and the bad people are bad, and there are not many grey-zones. There’s no… meta in their fics. Here, Peter is a nice guy, and Lucy has never been drunk in her life. You get my drift.

Then there is the fandom that sprung up after the movies came out, on LJ. They talk and interpret and are not satisfied with the Narnia C.S Lewis wrote about.

In my experience with the latter fandom I’ll say that there aren’t just two groups. Far as I know, there are people in the bookverse crowd who are also brilliant in world-building, based on the books alone. I myself devoured a lot of the movieverse fics that sprung up after LWW came out, and…I still prefer the bookverse, thinking in it, writing in it. Not because I am feeling like I’m sticking to “just what CS Lewis wanted”(an attitude that irks me about some elitist fans) but because it’s closer to my heart.

Just as an example, I’m one of those who didn’t like Peter’s characterization in the PC movie because I love how in the book, he can be a good-natured 50’s schoolboy one moment and then be issuing orders and cutting off people’s heads the next.(Hee. I had to emphasize that because I was so awed/horrorstruck/fascinated as a child when I read that scene) I missed that Peter in the movie. That’s not to say that I’m completely horrified at the idea of him drinking excessively, or flirting, or liking men, in fanfic, because what I think is, we have what CS Lewis gave us and we are so free to extrapolate on that.

Just tag it with movieverse and avoid it if it annoys you so much.
True. Actually, that’s why I’m having a tricky time of thinking up my fic for LJ—my personal thoughts on the characters, while not making anyone the perfect angels that some elitists want everyone to be, spring off the bookverse. And I know most fanon is movieverse and I just can’t meld—my Edmund is mellow and mostly even-tempered, for instance. Maybe I should just stop thinking in terms of “FF.net” and “LJ” and just write :p

One thing that annoys me supremely from the first set is, for a fic to be considered “a proper Narnia fic”, it has to conform exactly to their religious standards. I’ve seen an extraordinarily well-written slash fic condemned unnecessarily just because it deals with homosexuality. Meanwhile, some fics about characters discovering religion get lauded just for that, even though there’s zero characterization and heart in them. *shrugs* I don’t know about them but I just see the story in a story—there are other places to have religious debates.

I guess you are right about the two groups. I guess it's just that to me, the fics that came after the first movie isn't really movieverse because it was so much like the book. Like, you don't tag it movieverse just because you used Orieus and the ages from the movie, do you? (I didn't at least.) And you are right, there are tons of great bookfic! I am not saying otherwise. Elecktrum has the best fics I've ever read (and I have to keep reminding myself that her fics are not canon) and she only posts her fics on ffnet.

I was also one of those who did not like Peter's characterization the first few times I watched PC. I can't write that Peter, but I do draw some inspiration from it. What I liked so much about PC was that I actually got some emotions! A thing I missed so much when reading the book. I hated that we got nothing on the fact that they went from ruling a country (and being adults!) to schoolchildren again. And that's what the movie-makers gave me, even if they did it slightly wrong.

I don't think you should worry about your writing. I write mostly bookverse too, I have only written one fic set in PC movie verse and that was a fic consisting of four drabbles per chapter; (chapter one was about when they arrived at the beach and I mentioned the tunnel like cave, chapter two was when they entered Aslan's How and the Centaur Honour Guard and chapter three was when they left through the three.) And even then, I couldn't write Peter as he was in the movie, I physically couldn't! What I was going to say is that people don't care if it's movie or bookverse (not here on LJ at least) just write a good story.

I am so with you about the religion thing. Have you ever been to the Lion's Call? That's were the elitist folks come from. They are so religious, can't stand slash, or anything AU, and most of their fics which they praise is religious crap based off the bible to make fit Narnia. I find it boring. I never go looking for fic on ffnet anymore. Firstly because it's basically drowning in Mary Sue fics, and two, the rest is pretty boring and unoriginal. I have a few brilliant authors on author alert, so I let the fic come to me. I still post all my fics over there, just because its easy and... why not? But I have felt a decline in people reading and reviewing because of my new unconventional writing style.

Just... write your story and screw everyone else. Post it and have fun.

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A big rambly rant on Narnia

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