In which I have issues with pairings and loyalty.

[hardparade]

I've been debating about making this entry for AGES and I feel like it's about time. At least it will help me sort out my own thoughts maybe [Poll #1219266][Poll #1219266]

 

Comments

[fakebody.livejournal.com]

Can I just take this oppourtunity to say:

I read that Will/Anna/Skandar threesome you posted a day or two ago and IT BLEW MY FUCKING MIND.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Really? Really?? But you're not even in the fandom and it's not even -- *blushes* EEE.

[breathe-me27.livejournal.com]

While Will/Skandar is definitely my Narnia RPF OTP, it is impossible to deny that hotness of Skandanna. I mean, I don't read fic about them but...just think how pretty their kids would be!

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

I DIDN'T EVEN THINK OF THAT. THAT IS A VERY GOOD POINT.

[thisissirius.livejournal.com]

WHY DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS ENTRY? I WAS QUITE HAPPY LIVING IN MY LITTLE RIVER THAT RUNS THROUGH EGYPT, OKAY. IDK, IDK. YOU MADE ME READ THAT STUPID AWESOMELY WRITTEN AND WONDERFULLY AMAZING STORY OF YOURS BUT I WILL NEVER EVER EVER SHIP ANNA/SKANDAR, EXCEPT OF COURSE WHEN I DO.

OH, JEN, YOU HAVE NEVER MADE ME SO UNDECIDED BEFORE D:D:

I WAS QUITE HAPPY WATCHING MY INTERVIEW!VID OF SKANDAR AN WILL AND THEN THE SKANDAR AND ANNA BIT CAME ON AND I WAS ALL UNCOMFORTABLE BECAUSE OMGHOTWHUT. AND THEN AND THEN -

THEN YOU ADDED PICTURES AND A POLL AND NOW I AM EVEN MORE CONFUSED D:D:

SKANDAR/WILL FOREVER! *CRIES BITTER TEARS OF CONFUSION*

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

I'M SO SORRY BB, BUT I HAD TO. THE WHOLE THING WAS DRIVING ME CRAZY AND IT GOT TO THE POINT WHERE I COULDN'T DENY MY FEELINGS ANYMORE AND SO I HAD TO MAKE AN ENTRY AND...*WHIMPERS* WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN.

I'm so glad you're freaking out and undecided like I am too, though. Like, that sounds evil, but at least there's someone who understands my ~conflict~. ACK. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. *cries with you*

[alexi-lupin.livejournal.com]

LMAO AT THE POLL WE'RE ALL SPLIT SO EVENLY LOL!!

OMG DON'T DENY THE HOTTNESS, SRSLY! THEY DO LOOK SO GOOD TOGETHER AND YOU WROTE THEM HAVING HOT SEX AND NOW I CAN'T THINK OF THEM WITHOUT IT SO I'M FUCKED ANYWAY, AREN'T I?

BUT THIS SHALL NEVER DIMINISH MY LOVE FOR WILL/SKANDAR. MAYBE THEY CAN BOTH EXIST IN PARALLEL UNIVERSES.

Srsly, I ship so many conflicting pairings in HP that I had this dilemma earlier and decided "Oh screw it" and shipped everyone lol. The only thing is I don't ship R/Hr, and I like to think it's out of loyalty to H/Hr, but really, I just don't like Ron that much, and I think he's a weird match for Hermione.

[alexi-lupin.livejournal.com]

ALSO LMAO DID YOU SEE IN THAT COMM SOMEONE HAD AN ICON OF SKANDANNA WITH BANDANAS? I LOLED IRL XDDD

[lettersandliars.livejournal.com]

i am very obviously pro skandanna. but i like any ship, basically, as long as it doesn't include ben.

but skandar! anna! they're so pretty! i bet it almost hurts them sometimes to be so pretty! and i can just imagine skandar being such a boy when they were filming the first movie, and having this huge secret crush and teasing her all the time, and she just lets it slide because she thinks he's being sweet and--

=/

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

as long as it doesn't include ben.
LOLOL I LOVE YOU FOR THIS.

Yes. Yessss. Omg stop it you're making me love them more. But that's exactly what I was going to talk about and then my entry got too long, lol. But like...yes, because he had that whole "girls are icky!" thing, and was like, terrified of them, and hated hugs etc etc, and I can imagine him having a secret crush like you said and NOW he starts being more bold about it and complimenting her all the time and he's like, infatuated, and she doesn't quite realise...ohhhh I need to write them.

D:

Why the guilt?

[hollymurph.livejournal.com]

It's fiction. Wonderful make believe. You can have as much as want, whenever you want, about whoever you want. There is no point in loyalty issues. And it's obvious it's wanting you to write it anyway.
So write it. Please.

Holly

Re: Why the guilt?

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, I know. I know all of this, and that I'm being kind of irrational. :( I'm trying to get past it because, obviously, I do really want to write them. I think I'll end up writing them anyway. XD

[seekingvega.livejournal.com]

Well, I guess that answers my question about Will/Georgie ;)
And... Idk, Anna/Skan still seems a little weird to me... I mean, there're so cute on the pictures and all but stil... idk, I guess I'm a bit like you, I can't really see Skandar with anyone but Will... even if OMG THIS IS DRIVING ME INSANE!

Well, I think you should give Anna/Skan a try because anyways you are an amazing writer <3

Tchusss, Sam.

PS : I hope you understood it all beacause I'm French and my english is not that good =P

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Oh, I meant to reply to you before! I'm sorry. :( I didn't want to hurt your feelings, I just generally don't write Will with girls. ;)

It seems weird to me, still, too. But at the same time I really like it. Argh, I don't know!! I probably will end up writing it.

I did understand everything, your English is really good! :)

[hotfruits.livejournal.com]

I understand your problem, completely! At first, I was all about Peter/Ed, and I totally still am. But now a days, I prefer to read stories about them, rather than write them. But I've got some stuff written and saved up till I get out of my funk.

Now, I love Caspian/Edmund...and Lucy/Edmund.

WTF? I've never been one for hetero pairings before, but I read a Lucy/Edmund fic awhile back and fell in love.

And last night, I sat at the computer for close to an hour, writing Lucy/Edmund fanfiction. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4376384/1/War)

I'm still all about Will/Skan, and on occasion Skan/Ben...but I can't pair Will or Peter with anything that isn't Skan or Edmund.

Ehhh, he's too gay DX

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

OHHH, THAT PICTURE. I FORGOT IT. ACK.

It's funny, for me this problem has only occurred with the RPF. I only ship Peter/Edmund. I have read Peter/Susan and enjoyed it before, but it has to be incredibly well-written or I just don't bother, because I'm generally not that keen. Peter/Edmund is basically the only pairing I read in terms of the fictional pairings. I guess I'm sort of curious about the other ones, but...I don't know. I never thought about them before. *wonders*

[dee-lirious.livejournal.com]

OKAY, SO I'LL ADMIT I HAVEN'T READ YOUR SKANDAR/ANNA/WILL BECAUSE I'M OBVIOUSLY A TERRIBLE PERSON, AND IT WILL BE RECTIFIED IMMEDIATELY, ONCE I GET THROUGH MY FLIST (HOMG, THERE'S SO MUCH STUFF TO FILTER THROUGH) AND THEN READ THE LAST CHAPTER OF CORRESPONDANCE AND FLAIL OVER THAT AND THEN TAKE SOME TIME TO RECOVER.

BUT SKANDAR/ANNA IS SORT OF AWESOME AND I HAVE THIS THING WITH ANNA WHERE I DIDN'T WANT TO LIKE HER AT FIRST, BECAUSE, HONESTLY, I'M JUST SO JEALOUS OF HER BECAUSE SHE'S GORGEOUS AND AMAZING, BUT THEN I STARTED TO LOVE HER BECAUSE SHE'S BASICALLY THE MOST ADORABLE FEMALE CREATURE EVER.

ALSO, 'SKANDANNA' IS LOL.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

YOU'RE NOT A TERRIBLE PERSON. READ IT, DON'T READ IT, I DON'T MIND. ♥ BUT FEEL FREE TO FLAIL WHENEVER YOU LIKE. I know what you mean about going away and then having to go through 932482347 pages of flist. *sympathises*

It IS sort of awesome omg. I had that with Anna too, btw, partly also because I hated Susan so much in LWW, and then I watched the audio commentary and I was like "SHE'S SO LOVELY" and now I have this giant crush on her, so, you know, the hating failed.

I KNOW. BANDANAS. BASICALLY.

[amortentia-x.livejournal.com]

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Haha it's nice to know YOU take it as seriously as I do!! I was a bit worried about making such a long ranty post, but, you know. Sometimes fandom is SRSBSNS. XD

I'm glad you know what I mean. I think it is a slash vs. het thing a lot of the time, too, like you said. I prefer slash, so when I first saw people shipping Will with girls, I was like NO, HE BELONGS WITH SKANDAR. So now I feel like I'm being a hypocrite by shipping Skandar with a girl, you know? *sigh*

[suborbital.livejournal.com]

Awww there goes another slasher.

*pins a het badge on you*

I have to admit, I ship W/S, but I've never really gotten the impression it was anywhere but in my head. If you're talking about most likely ships in RL, then even I can see Skandar has mad nervous awkward super smitten feelings for Anna. I think I told you why in our private chat, so I won't bring it up here. Writing wise, that doesn't interest me. But in RL, I totally think he wants to bop her socks. it's so obvious. He's all over that girl.

My W/S team is getting smaller and smaller! :(

*pouts and wanders off*

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Nooooo. I'll always be a slasher. :P W/S will always always be my OTP in this fandom. I can promise you that. :)

I think it was some parts of our conversations that got me to this point in considering S/A as a pairing. Not that that's a bad thing! And I think...I don't know, I guess I agree, I see S/A as more plausible IRL than W/S, but that's kind of irrelevant to me. I mean, it doesn't really affect how I feel about the ship. I've never cared about 'canon' ships in fiction, so I don't really care about whether an RPF pairing is 'real' or not. At least not as much as I used to. I know exactly what you mean though.

It's not getting smaller!! I'm still on it!! *clings*

[moogle62.livejournal.com]

I AM INDECISIVE AND UNHELPFUL IN ALL THINGS

Also, pretty new layout for you! And and and I have read alllll the recent fic, and I do mean to comment, but in case I forget or am just continually rubbish: :DDDD AND ALSO :D

Particular love for the sofa happenstance in the Will/Skandar/Anna thing. YOU KNOW. :D

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

LOL THAT'S OKAY, I AM TOO.

Thank you re: everything, it's okay if you don't manage to comment. ALSO AREN'T I SUPPOSED TO BE EXPECTING SOME ANNA/TILDA. *prods*

[kaiwynn.livejournal.com]

SKANDANNA IS LOVE. I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOUR INDECISIVENESS.
lol.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

*hangs head in shame* I'M WORKING ON IT.

[sensations.livejournal.com]

<.<

>.>

I HAVE DECIDED THAT I AM GOING TO BEG YOU FOR FRIENDSHIP.

y/n? friends?

[sensations.livejournal.com]

also you pimped my comm out, so thanks!

[jemmir.livejournal.com]

Eh, I am such an evil lurker...

Ok, let us start by telling you how I came into W/S....

One day, I read a really good written fic.

Yep, that was all that it took dear.

Why did I read it in the first place? Because I like Will and Skandar. Well, I never had any problems with Skan to be exact. Though I still would chose Will/Anna over Will/Skan, I have no difficulties pairing Will with Skan because I just don't have any problems with it. And it was just like a 'getting-to-know-a-new-person-process' the more I read other stories which turned out to be really fun. The pairing seemed right - just as right as my OTP.

Compare it with this pair: Ben/Anna.
That is a major no no. I cannot see the point of Susan/Caspian in the film (yeah, I know, they explained it already, but they didn't really impress me, they were just lame), it is the biggest epic fail ever, for me, it doesn't seem right at all, not as authentic and canon as Peter/Susan. Maybe if they didn't add that 'subtle romance thing', perhaps I would have paired Caspian and Ben with my favorites already. And that's why I am 99.9% sure that I will not read Susan/Caspian nor a Ben/Anna fic. And that also explains why I am not really into Ben.

Now, do I feel abandoning my OTP while also enjoying Will/Skan (and Skan/Anna)?

No. Not at all. Like I said, I like Will and Anna and Skandar too. Why would I find it wrong pairing them up with someone who is worth it?

Why do you deny it still?

My theory is that you have been focusing on Will/Skan too long and you are really determined that you are being disloyal pairing Skandar with Anna. You think Skan/Anna is right. So be it. Go for it. It's not the question of loyalty here, it's just the question of extending your prospects. You will still enjoy Will/Skan at the end.


Oh, and the last question on your poll - I actually meant yes not no. I, err, accidentally thought I chose the right one *scratches head*

*leaves you plate containing Skan/Anna cookies and one Will/Anna*

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

just like a 'getting-to-know-a-new-person-process'
That is kind of what it's like, isn't it? That's what I'm finding with this, anyway, and it's one of the things I love about new fandoms and new ships. I really enjoy it.

I agree with you about Ben and Anna. I could KIND OF see it happening, but it doesn't interest me at all except as maybe a background pairing. I absolutely hated the Susan/Caspian in the film, and if people are only pairing Ben/Anna because of that, then...yeah, that's dumb.

You know, I didn't think of you, even though I know you like both Will/Anna and Will/Skan. It's like the opposite to me because you like Will/Anna much more, but it's sort of the same situation. And you seem to manage just fine. ;)

I think another complication is to do with the slash vs. het thing, but that's not my own personal problem, I think it's just a fandom thing. Because I'm okay with slash, het and femslash, and the only thing I have problems with sometimes is writing het smut but I'm getting more okay with that the more I do it.

I think all it is is that I'm having to readjust the way I see Skandar, maybe. Because I've been so used to the way he is in my head, with Will, and everything, and now I'm adding a whole new dynamic to pair him with Anna, if that makes any sense. I'm definitely coming around to the idea, thank you for your input. :)

[alice-pike.livejournal.com]

Okay, so I totally agree with alexi_lupin as far as the OTP issue goes. I have my OTPs in almost every fandom I've ever even thought about joining, but I guess I'm not so strictly loyal to them as some people. I mean, I write/read fanfic to explore, not to shut out every other possibility that isn't my OTP. My MO is pretty much that as long as it's well-written, I'm down for almost anything, just to see what it's like.

BUT ON TO MORE SPECIFIC MATTERS.

YOU DO REALIZE THIS IS ALL OF YOUR FAULT, TOO, RIGHT? The only reason I'm even able to consider this is because of your fic. That whole 'well-written-and-I'll-try-it' thing up there? That pertains to The Night Starts Here. And I'd have to say that I'm completely down for Skandar/Anna because you made it work, and now that I see that it can be done, I want more of it.

And I can totally see where you're coming from about having either Will or Skandar a part of any het/threesome with them. It may be because I feel the same way as you do about Will/Skandar that I feel it should always be an element, but it's also about the transition. I don't think I would have bought into the Skandar/Anna if Will hadn't been there to begin with. Once he was and Skandar and Anna worked out their problems, and I was able to see how they worked together still with that safety net of Will being present, he became less important and they were free to go off and be their own pairing. IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE, IDK, I'M RAMBLING NOW.

But yeah, now that you've established it, they work. They complement each other and are totally cute together and everything else you've said about them. And also, remember that just because you ship them doesn't mean that Skandar can't OMG EVER BE WITH WILL. I totally understand what you're saying about the loyalty issue, but if you like it, you should write it and have fun with it. And I'm sure it will be totally hot and sweet and fabuluous when you do. And I think as long as you go back to Will/Skandar and feel most natural with that, it's still your OTP. I CAN'T REALLY EXPLAIN HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT THAT WELL, APPARENTLY.

[alice-pike.livejournal.com]

And my last 'N' to your question is not to you jumping aboard the ship because that you totally should do, but because you're not being ridiculous and I don't mind the whining, because I love discussing this kind of crap. </ being weird>

[ledashann.livejournal.com]

ZOMG. I'm such a creepy lurker.
Your freaking Skandar/Anna/William smut is just delicious.
I'm a huge Will/Anna fan and can't find myself shipping Skandar/Anna ever but personally...I don't think you shipping S/A is leaving the W/S at all. It's just adding onto it? I dunno.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Hee, that's okay!

Thank you so much.

I guess you're right, I'm definitely not LEAVING my original ship. I'm starting to accept it now, haha. :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/__sine/]

THIS IS NOT A GOOD DILEMMA TO BE FACED WITH UPON REACHING HOME AFTER A LONG DAY~ *cries*

I think there is a compelling case to be made for Skandar/Anna, but I don't think I'm quite ready to think about it. I mean, if you wrote fic I would probably read it, and they both look delicious so it would only be gorgeous X2 if they were shipped, but my OTPs are almost always exclusively slash (something that I'll probably have to examine one day).

Maybe it's just an arbitrary sort of delineation, but I'm not as comfortable with het RPS (unless it is terribly AU, like LOTR RPS extended fandom or something) as I am with slash RPS because there is a small element of the pairing being rather more unlikely when it comes to slash, as opposed to het, and this places slash mostly in the realm of fiction.

It's probably a mindset I have (which means that at some point I'll probably have to eat my words), and the example I'm going to give might have some inherent fallacy, but it's like how watching Ocean's 11 and shipping+writing fic about Pitt/Clooney feels slightly less wrong than watching Mr and Mrs Smith and shipping+writing fic about Pitt/Jolie before they got together. IDK, I think it's beause the probability of Pitt/Jolie happening is higher than Pitt/Clooney happening, and therefore the slash seems more anchored in the realm of fannish speculation rather than voyeuristic um, fan... thingum. Of course, this is based on the assumption that a heterosexual pairing is more likely than a homosexual pairing IRL, which may or may not be true.

Oh dear, I am not very coherent, am I? Um, I think my personal take on it would be more focussed on the het/slash conundrum and the nature of RPS, rather than Skandar/Anna itself. (As a side note, I've just noticed that I refer to real-person fiction as real-person slash - RPS - by default, while you referred to it as RPF at the beginning of your post.) Objectively speaking, I think that they are both extremely gorgeous and not mutually exclusive, but to ship/write fic about them may not be something that I would actively do. :D

That being said, there have been many occasions on which people have been converted to new pairings (or rendered more open to them) because they trust the author and read their fic regardless of pairing. In your case, I'd probably follow you onboard whatever ship you choose because your writing is just that compelling; het, threesome, foursome (omg) or whatever else you might think of. :D

omg, I have written a lot of words. :O

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

D: I'M SORRY. BUT I HAD TO SHARE THE DILEMMA. BECAUSE I'M EVIL.

I think I know what you mean. I didn't know what you meant at all, at first, and had to think about it while I did a load of laundry, and then I was like OH RIGHT, THAT MAKES SENSE, I CAN REPLY NOW. So I am.

I think if Will and Skandar actually got together IRL, I wouldn't be able to write fic about them anymore. I thiiink. It would just feel weird. I've been trying to think, does anyone actually write fic about real people who are actually together in real life? Does that exist? Because if it doesn't, this might be a widespread kind of feeling.

The thing is, I wouldn't like to say that the fact that it's slash has THAT much to do with it being less likely, but I suppose I know what you mean. I mean, I guess I don't really have any problems with het, slash or femslash whether it's real or fiction, whereas you have this issue, so. I've never really felt bad about it (except maybe when I read/wrote my first fic, or when I stood right next to Anna Popplewell D:) but yeah, I think I would if the couple was actually real. Maybe. It's hard to imagine though.

Anyway, I'm glad you mostly sort of support my decision. Which is only mostly sort of made. Also...*cough* foursome?

[annon-of-rhi.livejournal.com]

I had this trouble in my own fandom. I have my OTP in Jon/Spencer, okay, that's it, finito, the end. Except.... Jon/Brendon is omg so cuuuuute. And Spencer/Ryan is so awesome when it's done properly. In the end I just said, Fuck it, I'll read it all. And it works pretty good for me, because I can read these really lovely stories that are sweet and nice, then when I read my OTP, I get this sense of rightness that makes it all a hundred times better.

Um, I don't know if that made sense or not... it did to me, but then again, it is my head. I guess I'm just saying that it's not the end of the world if you ship more than one ship. I have twelve different ships that all contradict each other! But then I do have those one or two OTP's that make the world seem right when I read them. Don't feel too guilty about it, hon. It happens to everyone at one stage or another, I think.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

It's weird, I feel like I must have had this problem before, and I think I have, but it's never been this big of a deal. I never thought of what you said about returning to your OTP again after reading something else and getting a stronger sense of rightness. That sounds nice. :) Idk, it's kind of comforting to hear that after all this stressing out I've been doing. So thank you. :)

[fiere.livejournal.com]

I was going to say that realistically I doubt that she could find someone as young as him attractive -- but then I realised that I'm her age and I find him attractive so there goes that point.

[gossymer.livejournal.com]

My ships tend to follow two trends in fandom. Either they are OTC fandoms, where I am crazy mad in love with a particular character and will read pretty much any pairing with them whether it be slash, het or even femmeslash (Rogue in X-Men, Duo in Gundam Wing, Draco in HP, Chloe in Smallville, Faith in Buffy)....or they are more OTPs where there are two or three people I tend to focus on, and having one or the other removed from the equation makes me feel like something is missing (Naruto/Sasuke in Naruto, Peter/Edmund in Narnia, Edward/Roy in FullMetal Alchemist)

When it comes to Narnia RPS, my interests are a bleed in from the fandom fanfic which is Peter/Edmund. So I adore Skandar/Will. And while the pics of Anna/Skandar are so very shiny, they don't seem to click as much in my head as some of the other cast - maybe I need to see vids where they play off each other *shrugs*

I think I can trace it back to childhood when I never liked susan, and while I don't hate her in the movies, I'm not lovin' her yet. Anna is gorgeous but it's harder for me to squee over women - there are perhaps a handful of actresses that make me go *_* and they are far outnumbered by men. I AM TRYING TO JUSTIFY/UNDERSTAND WHY I DON'T LOVE THE PAIRING BUT I CAN'T, IT JUST IS.