*bounces*

[bedlamsbard]

God, I needed that "new story, everything is going well" flush after the mess of "Old Timber" and "In Constellated Wars."

Comments

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

New story?!! What? WHAT?!!! *bounces, too*


And In Constellated Wars was NOT a mess.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

It's the PC fic where Edmund and Caspian go off to Cair Paravel to get their armor! And Caspian's quiet, so I don't even want to accidentally drown him or have them get attacked by a...okay, I should let them get attacked by something. Huh. Maybe a unicorn? Something very Narnian that didn't answer to Susan's horn. Unicorn? Griffin? Dragon? Nah, that would have been in the final battle and we would have seen it.

"In Constellated Wars" was a mess to write. I didn't even get the new story flush from each piece, just from the original. But this is one POV, relatively straight-forward, no major conflicts. (Also, it's Edmund, and Peter's simmering anger at the entire world kind of hurts my head after a while, and Caspian's naivete makes me want to throw him off a cliff. But Edmund -- Edmund's good.)

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

Wyvern? Basilisk? Wild lion? The first two would take teamwork to kill, distract, or escape from; and the second would initiate a discussion why it was all right to kill *this* lion but not *that* Lion.


Edmund might get upset at things, but he's normally controlled and intellectually focussed...he'd probably be thinking "damn!" and "how can I use this?" at the same time.

I liked the way your Edmund and Caspian interacted. I think if he's ever going to be told anything personal about the four of them (and believe it), it would have to be from Edmund. He's got too many issues of one kind or another with the others.

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

oi, question. How old would you say Edmund was in LWW, filmic version? Or how old could we fudge him as since he's clearly 15/16-ish in PC and only a year's supposed to have passed?

I'm trying to figure out how long I can legitimately hit Bacchus with a stick for. I mean, I know boys have hormones at the age of ten, but I'm thinking able-to-handle-plus-maturity-to-refuse. ie, when he became the competent little bastard we know and love.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

I put him at twelve in LWW and thirteen in PC, which is about a year older than book canon gives him. Like, my estimating point for the Pevensies' age is Peter, and I want him to be seventeen or eighteen in VotDT (so I can, uh, send him off to another war), so in LWW he's fifteen, Susan's a year younger, Edmund's two years younger than her and Lucy's two years/a year and a half younger than him. Or you can estimate off the British school system; Edmund's finished his first year of boarding school in LWW; Lucy's going to start hers in PC.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Basilisk! "...and then Caspian looked at the basilisk and died," Edmund finished. "Very sad. Terribly sorry. Hope you didn't need him." "I think we'll manage," Peter said.

*cough*

Ooh. Maybe something part-human, like a manticore or a sphinx. I wonder if I'm leaning toward "good" Narnians or "bad" Narnians here?

Which also sucks to write, but at least it's not, "I will kill everything in the entire world," which is Peter, and, "OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON I DO NOT UNDERSTAND also I am more entitled than you," which is Caspian." And since he's not currently with Peter, he's not in one of his constant evaluations of Peter's mood and/or sanity.

Edmund and Caspian's relationship -- at least my Edmund and Caspian -- is kind of interesting, because they're the ones who most look at each other as equals. I mean, Edmund is a king of Narnia, but -- to an outside eye -- he's going to look like the "spare." And he's younger than Peter, and less physically threatening. And Edmund realizes a lot earlier on than Peter that Caspian has some stuff going for him.

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

To an outsider's eye, and to their own young, raised in Britain eyes, too...and if Edmund is a spare, then what are Susan and Lucy? But yes, I think Caspian would feel more comfortable with him for those reasons, and because Edmund hasn't been in his face since they met, either. He hasn't had an agenda like fighting with Peter, or talking about their god all the time, etc. Just quietly observent and *there*, where he needs to be at the right time.

I'd love to see something that would bring home to Caspian what Peter said, that "Edmund is a King of Narnia, too". I keep thinking of dragons, but I don't know what you intend to *do* with them, other than have him riddle one out of its cave sometime. *grumbles*


Stray Narnians in the woods of either kind-would they attack or avoid? They'd likely know by now that the Kings and Queens were back, via the relative/friend/neighbor grapevine.

I think some wild, neutral creature might be better-it's a direct threat they'd have to work together to fight, it would promote reliance if not outright trust, and comraderie. You say Edmund realizes Caspian has some good points-true...he's basically a kind-hearted, decent fellow, just out of his depth in a strange culture (which leads to all of the other problems you may or may not have him inflicted with or perpetrating in the future-he's not Narnian so there's only so much anyone can expect him to *get*). He *is* a good fighter-Peter's not a fair standard to judge anyone against.

You know, it must be strange to him to witness their sibling interaction, too. I've got an older brother and a younger sister, so I take it for granted. But he's an only child and didn't have many playmates (if any), so he might find it fascinating to see them fight and then laugh and support each other. *muses* I think it would doubly sting, then, to have them dismiss him, because he'd be feeling a bit wistful, maybe, wishing to belong? Just a little.

Hippogriff! Feathered serpent (like the South American legends, the ones that've got wings and fly, ugh). Russalka! Gorgons! Sirens!

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Oh my God russalka. Because, if I remember my Russian mythology correctly, they're two young men alone in the forest and they're going to be tempted. And the russalka will be very curious about whether or not Edmund and Peter and Co. are pro-all Narnians or just "their" Narnians. It's less of an attac and more of a confrontation, a test, if you will.

Thematically, we're more or less back to the fallen glory of old Narnia here; a lot of the story is made up of the ruins of Cair Paravel, the way the land has changed -- it should feel similar to "Old Timber" in a way, though it's looking at said glory from afterwards rather than during. Edmund already has a better rapport than Caspian than Caspian thinks. (And Caspian's, like, completely freaked out at the moment, because this is post-"In Constellated Wars" and post-"Long Forgotten Wars", so he's nice and quiet. Thank God.)

*cocks head* You know, it's interesting that people tend to tell me I get the sibling interaction, because I'm an only child, and I don't spend enough time at my friends' homes to see how they interact with their siblings. Hmm.

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

You see them as people, as personalities, that interact with each other according to their traits-and it happens to fit well with how they'd be as a family. There's reasons that the eldest is usually too responsibility-ridden for their own good, the youngest is often the most petted (or spoiled); the middle kids tend to be either really screwed up or good at negotiation, sometimes both (heh!). I know you said you're an only, but I think you *do* "get" them.

I've always thought that Narnia's real power comes from her feminine representatives. Warrior centaurs, dwarves, etc...all the tough guys in battle, on ships, in mines-they're all very well. But what makes Narnia really "Narnia"? Her dryads and naiads, the living trees and waters of her. That's part of what disturbed me in the movies, how they effaced the feminine principals almost entirely. *frowns*

So I think it might be interesting to see how the guys would deal with some kind of very female threat...given that there's a truce on, would they kill first, run, try to talk, fight just to protect themselves while talking, etc? How's their will-power, btw?

Only Russalkas, or a combined force of somethings? How big a threat are you talking?

I just thought-what about kitsune?! They're not good *or* evil, more like trickster spirits. Female, human-shaped, yet powerful in their own way.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

What do you mean, they're people? *wide eyes*

Well, it's not really like there's a big feminine aspect in the books, either. (Hi, Lewis. Let's talk.) And what we see a lot of in the movies is Narnia in times of conflict, when it's really the masculine types that are needed for fighting -- although I'm very fond of the fact that Adamson did put in female fighters. (I've seen female dwarves and centaurs, at least.)

It's not really a major threat, I don't think. Just -- something very Narnian, but changed in that way that all of Narnia's been changed since the Golden Age. My thought is confrontation on the way back from Cair Paravel, because hey, it's not like there's been anyone wandering around there for a while, so how's that going to look? Or maybe at Cair Paravel. Huh.

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

A single female dwarf in some kind of armorish-looking outfit and a single female centaur waving a sword, but neither shown fighting, do not a female "presence" make. If there were more than that in the movie, they sure didn't spotlight anyone. But that's not what I was talking about.

I don't mean the people of Narnia in general. I'm talking about how the naiads and dryads were physically a part of Narnia, the land itself, especially the latter. They both live partially *inside* her, they're surrounded by her of feed from her much more directly than others would (feeding from the soil as opposed to eating grain or apples produced by it). The Telmarines were afraid of both the water and the trees, again especially the latter; and it was the dryads rushing into the battle, that turned the tide, even though they had no weapons as such. One of the first signs of something wrong in Narnia is the trees going silent, and conversely, the trees responding means Narnia's mending.

These beings are female, thus a "female presence".

Yet the movie gave us no hint of water people, other than the big showy "god" of the river; and all we got of the dryads was some floating petals and then Ents. It wouldn't have taken much to put some women in flowing dresses with leaves and flowers in their hair and showing them stepping into and out of the tree that was their other self, or have some naiads in the water, helping pull enemy soldiers down, or something. *shrugs*


But all that is irrelevent to what you were commenting about. I was just trying to clarify what I meant.

I think it would be an interesting idea for Edmund and Caspian to meet up with some "other" Narnians, yes. It's a very good question-are they freeing Narnia to be herself, for the citizens to be *themselves*, All of them, and stop the killing-or are they just trying to save the parts of Narnia that they like?

And if dryads *are* the historical "memory holders" of their society, being the potentially longest-lived beings, there'd be some on both sides who'd remember the earth-binding of High King Peter, and the subsequent wedding, that included everyone; or to know someone, a parent or grandparent, who did. The dark Narnians, or any neutrals, may want to test and see if that holds true.

So, right, it wouldn't have to be a conflict necessarily. Hmm...if it happened *at* Cair Paravel,now that Narnia's awakened and the bond to Peter is reactivated (and the awareness of Edmund would therefore be there, too), would the Cair *allow* anyone to harm them? That might be one way to convince the challengers of their authenticity, right there.

I'm going to dinner. Too much thinking! *laughs*

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Hmm, yes. And we're still back at confrontation, not conflict.

The Pevensies' relationship to Cair Paravel is kind of interesting, because it's all four of them -- Peter to the greatest degree, but the others as well. So if they get confronted at Cair Paravel -- this could get very interesting.

Sorry I'm being cagey; it's just that I have a pretty good feel for what I want to do with the story now.

I'll pretend to be mature and suck it up.

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

You're under no obligation to tell me stuff, especially if talking about it will over-complicate things. :)

I'm just nosy. \o/


You *have* said that Narnia, and thus Cair Paravel, recognizes the others as important to Peter, so there *is* an awareness of them, to whatever differing degrees...and you've also said that Narnia and Edmund have learned to deal with each other, for Peter's sake, so again, there's recognition there, more specific. *thinks about it*

It *could* get very interesting. *grins*

Re: I'll pretend to be mature and suck it up.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

And now there's post-story, uh, not-porn (http://bedlamsbard.livejournal.com/285074.html). Where I realized that writing Peter/Narnia(/Edmund) creeps me out.

I will be interested to hear what you think of the story, when it's done.