(no subject)

[jack]

My link about the question of Susan came up in the pub last night. Some thoughts hopefully of interest are percolating and may surface at some point. (Also see livredor here.)

However, one I am (apparently) contractually obliged to relate. Health warning: do not attempt to describe refinements to this point of view to sonicdrift when she is carrying hot and/or staining liquids because it breaks her.

"It's a shame they didn't go back to England, grow up, set up Stargate Command, and return after a few hours of Narnia time with modern weaponry. Or return just long enough to swipe some submachine guns from a bunker[1]."

(Of course, in the books, the idea of returning at least long enough to plan is raised, but correctly in my opinion, discarded because they realise the wardrobe won't let them play those sorts of games[2])

But just imagine it! The Pevensie commando team, fading camouflaged across the landscape, and ambushing the witch at the height of her power, Peter leaping from the trees with a Sten gun in each hand.

"Go ahead, Tilda Swinton! Make my day."

Of course, there's still the necessity to match the characters up. My first instinct was:

Peter Pevensie <-> Jack O'Neill.
Edmund Pevensie <-> Teal'c.
Susan Pevensie <-> Samantha Carter.
Lucy Pevensie <-> Daniel Jackson.

Peter and Edmund and Jack and Teal'c are the warriors. Peter and Jack are the leaders, the boldest, the battle hardened. Teal'c and Edmund have been through the most, which gives them a sort of gnomic certainty.

Susan and Sam are the most rational, sensible ones, sometimes forced to be too serious. And let their hair down with the youngest member of the team, despite being friends with the oldest.

Lucy and Daniel are the youngest, most inexperienced, most impulsive, curious and intelligent members of the team, and somehow the heart, the ones the story has been about from beginning to end.

However, I can see other mappings too.

[1] Not sure what was standard WWII infantry weapons, despite a brief check on wikipedia.
[2] My reading a book about a magical world and *not* immediately wanting to set up a series of experiments to study it is a major event, I think I need to consider that later.

Comments

[robhu.livejournal.com]

You are awesome.

I want to see this written up as a short story :P

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I thought a story was the obvious idea, but I don't think it would actually work. I think the strength is all in the idea and the imagery "Tilda, Swinton...", and actually writing require (a) a plot and (b) actually merging the characters somehow (even if you ignore a rationalisation) and I think it would just fall flat. Or perhaps that I couldn't do it justice, anyone else would be free to try (I'd love to see).

In fact, though, just saying it gives me more ideas for wonderful moments:

* Lucy meeting Tumnus and being adult, obviously having them kissing rather than just being friends. Maybe Lucy better be Amanda Tapping for that, though.
* Peter/Jack meeting Aslan WIN WIN WIN. The sarcasm! The furry mane cuddling!
* A pitched battle with Nazi minotaurs!

[naath.livejournal.com]

I think you've got the time difference the wrong way 'round - time goes much faster in Narnia so much so that they lived out years and years in Narnia only to arrive back hours after they had left. A few years later in our world they go back and many many years have passed in Narnia.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I think it normally happens like that, but I think it's unpredictable, so they *might* find it the way round they want. I was sure at some point someone found it to be the other way round than they expected, but now I think of all the occasions, it seems consistent that a trip to Narnia lasts no time, and between trips Narnia ages a long time.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Look at the shiny fanfic! Shiny! These aren't the temporal inconsistencies you're looking for! Watch the shiny fanfic, left, right, left, right...

:)

[ilanin.livejournal.com]

High technology never works in adjoining shadows. You know that.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes. Right. Nevermind.

[nakedtoes.livejournal.com]

This is a fun Dark Materials/Narnia crossover, which isn't totally excellent (I'm pretty sure it doesn't fully hold together), but worth reading if you have some free time. Also, I totally can't remember how to do html anymore. Doh!

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

if you have some free time.

Well, I think that's a pretty negligible risk, but I put the link aside :) The idea of comparing Pullman/Narnia is such an obvious one, but I'd like to see how *some* stories treat it :)

Also, I totally can't remember how to do html anymore. Doh!

You *seem* to have used html correctly any more...

[fluffymormegil.livejournal.com]

The standard-issue armament of a British infantryman in WW2 was the Lee-Enfield .303 bolt-action magazine-fed repeating rifle. Also used were the American Thompson .45 submachine gun and the British Sten 9mm submachine gun (possibly the cheapest-to-produce submachine gun ever designed).

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I got some of the names from wikipedia, but don't really have a feel for what they'd be, in terms of modern weapons, or in terms of charging rhinocerontes of stopping power.

[passage.livejournal.com]

If we said that the AK47 was developed by a Russian fed up that the Germans had much better weapons, and that the result was probably still a bit worse than what they had, but surprisingly cheap and durable, would that help?

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

:) Yes, somewhat, thank you.