Some thoughts on my NFE fic

[wingedflight21]

Posted my NFE fic up to ff.net tonight so if you'd like to read it, "the girl from beyond the world's end" can be found here.

And now for some thoughts. I guess I should put a spoiler warning here? SPOILERS AHOY. Ok, we're good.

Comments

[pencildragon11]

I read GBWE when it was posted and Did Not Get It. This commentary was very helpful, and I went back and read it again and wow. I was definitely squinting for E/J, but Incompetant!Tirian and Dame Pole and the whole comparison with Rilian was very good. Thanks for writing!

[wingedflight21]

Ah, that's completely fine! I know it can be hard to read a fic that jumps around through the timelines like that - especially when two of the main characters remain the same and it falls heavily into AU territory! I'm glad the commentary helped!

ALSO thank you again so so much for the fic that you wrote! It's absolutely glorious and everything I never even knew I wanted and hilariously actually plays with a concept I've had in the back of my mind of the Pevensies being descended from other Kings and Queens of Narnia (although my own headcanon is, of course, different.)

[rthstewart]

Oh gosh, Tirian is secretly working for the Calormenes?? You MUST GIVE THIS US. I love your AU-verse.

[wingedflight21]

I really really want to write this, too! I don't know when, because GAH so much other stuff, but I want to so very much. (I've gotten to the point where I actually think /better/ of Tirian if he's in collusion with the Calormenes.)

[metonomia]

OH MY GOD PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WRITE THAT AU WHERE RILIAN IS HELPING THE CALORMENES. PLEASE. You do the dark AUs so well and that just HAS to happen.

aldkjwpaoeijar now I'm trying to figure out why he would - does he have a Calormene mother, maybe? Is he just that sucky that if they offer him like, governorship or something, or even just to let him live, he'd do it?

WANT.

(also, I know I read your NFE but I don't think I actually reviewed it, so going to fix that now!)

[wingedflight21]

Oh, I hadn't even thought of it being such a dark AU so much as a bit pessimistic, but it really could be, couldn't it? But yeah, I'm just full of all sorts of clues about why and how etc and I really need to get this down on paper, I really need to.

I think it's mostly because he just isn't very good at being king - just doesn't have the talent for it - and then the Calormenes come and say they'll make him head of the province once Narnia is theirs - basically leaving him in the same position, in his view - yet will provide a lot for the former country as well. Because Narnia would become a part of Calormene, and the Tisroc (may he live forever) provides for his empire, etc etc etc. So in Tirian's mind, this proposal means only good for the country but he also recognizes that there are plenty of Narnians who wouldn't hold the same view, hence keeping it a secret

[pencildragon11]

TIRIAN'S MOTHER WAS CALORMENE.

Because WHY ELSE would he meet his father in Aslan's country and NOT HIS MOTHER?

[metonomia]

Well, I'm pretty sure that unfortunately that's because Lewis is kind of a major ass when it comes to lady characters.

But I would just love to see the story where Tashlan is like, a thing already, in some ways - I have a hard time believing that no one ever intermarries across countries/cultures/faiths in the Narnia world, and it would be super interesting to see a Narnian king who certainly believes in and follows Aslan (as we do see Tirian very fervently doing) but has also been raised with Calormene culture, which would no doubt include references to Tash even if there was a conscious decision not to have the heir to the Narnian throne worship Tash. ESPECIALLY in a world where a variety of deities factually exists - the Calormenes think of Aslan as demon more than god, but don't deny his existence, and the Narnians mostly seem to just ignore Tash, but there he is in LB, and we do have Bacchus and others wandering around. It's a very interesting complexity and I don't think that many writers work with it!

/ramble

[lady_songsmith]

then it occured to me that the whole book would make more sense if Tirian was actually working with the Calormenes to help them overthrow Narnia.

This. Now. Snap to it!

[wingedflight21]

Ha. I have so many thoughts on this already that I think I'll just have to. Not as if I've got anything else to write *sideeyes all these other half-written fics*