The Narnia Theory: How to Separate Fiction from Reality in Alterhuman Discourse

Lexidius “BlackStatic” Storm, 2024-2025

Alterhuman Non-fiction, Discourse, Fandom Meta

!! CONTENT WARNINGS FOR MENTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING TOPICS !!

IF ANY OF THESE TOPICS ARE TRIGGERING OR DISTRESSING TO YOU, PLEASE TURN BACK NOW AND DO NOT CONTINUE READING. OTHERWISE, PROCEED WITH CAUTION. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Over my last 20 or so years growing up on the internet, much of that time has been spent engaging with fictional media and discussing the characters, worlds and events of said media online in various fandom spaces. Much of my early adolescence was spent on IRC chat servers and fan site forums - shout out to PKMN.net for being one of those first places I hung out between 2006 and 2009 - and this was often in the form of roleplaying as original characters within these fantasy worlds.

However, as an alterhuman teenager with then-undiagnosed neurodivergence at the time, being new and uneducated on virtual spaces and how to engage with them safely often posed difficulties when learning where to draw the line between fiction and reality. The escapism that roleplay and fandom can present is often a welcome relief from the struggles of everyday life and it can be extremely tempting to log on and shut off to the outside world, living within the fictional world of an online game or as the self insert character of a particularly compelling roleplay. And there is nothing wrong with having these outlets - as a fictionkin with beliefs in reincarnation and multiverse theory, being able to imagine myself “back in my former lives” can be incredibly cathartic after a stressful day. There are also times when fiction can present as a healthy outlet for real-world traumas or forms of psychological distress to be processed and recontextualized within a safer, imaginary environment in ways that can be beneficial and therapeutic for healing past pains and grievances.

The problem, though, arises when people get stuck in this fiction-based mindset and express difficulties in separating this virtual world from the tangible one.

In my last two decades or so online, I have been on both sides of the fence when it comes to others seeking to find mutual escapism within a fictional world. A recent phenomenon within fandom spaces, especially amongst fictionkin, is persons seeking out others who feel a particularly strong connection to these fictional universes and looking for “canonmates” who share similar source media. Oftentimes, this can include particular divergences from canon events within the source media in the form of “fanon”, “alternate universe” or “AU timeline”, and searching for a canonmate from a specific AU becomes a priority for these fictionfolk.

Now there is nothing inherently wrong with this intimate of a connection to the source media, nor with the longing for kinship amongst others who feel similarly; a lot of fandom experiences are formed through a mutual understanding and appreciation with the source media on this deeper level. The problems, however, arise in these situations when three things present themselves:

A) the person struggles to differentiate between the established canon of the media and fanon or personal beliefs (known as “headcanon”).

B) the person struggles to differentiate between the fictional world the media exists in and the physical world, where certain laws and societal expectations may not align.

C) the person begins to project these headcanons/fanon beliefs onto themselves or others, failing to recognize how certain perceived canonmates may not match with these expectations.

These examples can often lead to experiences of dissociation, depersonalization, existentialism and potential abuse within fandom spaces, particularly among roleplayers and even moreso amongst alterhuman people who identify with the fictionkin label. In extreme cases where fiction and reality are not kept separate, example B can potentially lead to a strong detachment from reality and cause a person to act problematically and may raise concerns about the committing of immoral acts or crimes (eg. in a source media where murder is normalized, a person who is fictionkin with a homicidal character may feel as though physical assault is justifiable within the real world; it should be noted though that this fictional hypothetical is an extreme example and should not be used to profile any real-world individuals who resonate with this kind of media as inherently murderous people).

Thankfully, problematic behaviours are generally frowned upon by society and fandom spaces will for the most part try to prevent individuals from blending fiction and reality too heavily. Any actions that could be seen as immoral or unjust within the real world are often met with heavy criticism and a particularly vocal percentage of fandom individuals will make these views clear by screening or “policing” fandom of immoral actions and particularly problematic content.

This isn’t without its own problems, though, as discourse between “pro-fiction” and “anti” spaces grows rampant within fandom. This discourse can lead to harassment, stalking and bullying of individuals within fandom spaces, often leading to serious real-world consequences for the persons being targeted. Many individuals caught up in this “pro vs anti” discourse - particularly over certain portrayals of a character or scenario ocurring within the media - can end up with people experiencing prolongued negative effects to their mental health; in extreme cases, some persons regularly exposed to this kind of heavy and inflammatory discourse may be drawn to attempt self harm or the taking their own lives, with these feelings stemming from controversial and heated fandom opinions online.

This is not okay, especially regarding younger persons within fandom spaces. Everyone should have the right to engage with fandom and media in whatever way they like, provided that no harm is being done and no problematic or immoral actions are being endorsed or acted upon outside the realm of fiction. This also has the effect of painting these fandoms and their source media in a bad light, disallowing these spaces to be safe and accessible for newcomers.

So how do we prevent these dangerous and problematic situations from happening in the real world, while still allowing individuals the right to express themselves freely within a fictional setting?

Allow me to present to you something that I like to call the Narnia Theory.

One important thing to note about storytelling is that although there are likely many influences from day-to-day life that shape the characters and their narrative within a made up story, presenting very impactful themes that can have deep emotional resonance to real world events within the lives of the reader, a story set in a made-up world is still fictitious and should be treated as such. While it is true that a real-world scenario can exist wherein a child can indeed be tempted to do wicked deeds by a mysterious stranger with a plate of Turkish Delight, the credibility of an evil ice sorceress from a magical frozen land inside the back of a wardrobe is yet to be proven as factual. As far as the reader should be concerned, the fantasy world of Narnia exists purely within the pages of the book and when it is time for the reader to return to reality and pay a monthly electricity bill, empty the dishwasher or feed the family dog his dinner for the night, our wise talking lion and his whimsical friends in Narnia are conveniently placed on pause back in the folded pages of the book to return to at another time. Aslan hadn’t gone anywhere and the Ice Queen hasn’t won yet - they’re just being put back in the wardrobe for later.

The important thing then, especially for people regularly exposed to and/or engaging with high levels of discourse around fictional media, is to master the art of:

A) being able to keep Narnia safely confined within the wardrobe in a way that doesn’t let the lion escape to do damage in the outside world, while at the same time,

B) not belittling or invalidating the people currently engaging with the wardrobe, who see the internal Narnia as a place that feels just as real as the world outside of that wardrobe, or possibly even more real than the external world.

There is a practice that was taught to me by a good friend of mine, a theatre director at my local drama club, which has served me well when performing as Benvolio for our 2025 performance of Romeo and Juliet. Before each rehearsal, our director instructs us to close our eyes and imagine a door into the world of Verona, which we enter through to “step into character” for the duration of our performance. While the actors are through the doorway, they are fully in character and embracing the roles of the fiery Tybalt, the playful Mercutio, the arrogant Paris and the lovestruck Romeo. But when rehearsals are over for the day, each actor is advised to step back out of character again, closing that door and keeping the Montagues and Capulets safely locked within, where Benvolio doesn’t have to try and part a fight in the street with the real-world equivalent of Sampson and Gregory. With Benvolio, Juliet, Friar Lawrence and the rest of the characters contained in their own Narnia Wardrobe, the cloak of that character has been hung up on the shelf to come out again at a later date and, beyond the boundaries of that padlocked door, no murders are taking place and no lovestruck teenagers have to be exiled from Verona for their bloodshed. These things are still very real and prevalent on the stage, within the context of the story Shakespeare is trying to tell convincingly, but the stage is like an enclosure for the animals to be contained in. Narnia’s lion is leashed and won’t go running off into the audience to maul anyone for sleeping with Lord Capulet’s daughter.

There’s some difficulties, of course, to mastering this practice of stepping in and out of the wardrobe. As a Benvolio fictionkin who spiritually resonates quite strongly with the role I have been given by my director in this play, there are times when I have to remember that my past life memories don’t necessarily dictate what I have been told to portray on stage. I may wish to reenact my kin memories in a very specific way that reflects on the version of Benvolio that I was in my own particular recollection of Verona - an anxious young man who strived to keep the peace at his own expense, someone who shakes in his boots when confronted by the judgement of Prince Escalus as his cousin Romeo faces exile - but my director’s vision of Benvolio is that of a rebellious, hotheaded punk who bites his thumb in Lord Capulet’s face just as confidently and mischievously as Mercutio lifts up the skirts of Juliet’s nurse and mocks her for having the promiscuity of an old hare hoar. These are things I have to keep in mind when I put on the Stage Benvolio cloak and, when requested, keep the Kin Benvolio standing in the doorway where he may step in at times but isn’t always needed.

Sometimes, it’s okay to have one foot in Narnia and one outside Narnia. Provided, of course, that the sword is kept on the Narnia side.