AoS + Text Posts Pt. 17/?

so so sorry to all the underrated faves i couldn’t fit on here (farmer maggot)

(i know butterbur was kind of in the films, but he got way way way more depth and dialogue in the books and was like a flushed out character rather than a quick cameo)

<3

I'll call it The Jedis of March.

Let's face it, we all wish it had ended this well.

As a rebuff to the “Harry Potter is a himbo running on adrenaline and dumb luck” take: the difference between how Hermione is smart and how Harry is smart is similar to the difference between how Sticky is smart and how Reynie is smart in the Mysterious Benedict Society (a great series that I highly recommend for its wonderful representation of different kinds of intelligence): one utilizes pure information and memorization, the other utilizes mental flexibility and deduction. Both are equally valid, albeit different, forms of intelligence.

To illustrate further: at the beginning of the Mysterious Benedict Society, Sticky aces a test because he had all the information on the test memorized. Reynie aces that same test by figuring out that the answers to each question were hidden in the other questions on the test.

Friendly reminder that Bucky Barnes read "The Hobbit" when it first came out and therefore he is a Tolkien-adjacent character. And a huge hot nerd.

Sam: I have a feeling they might be a part of the big three. Bucky: What big three? Sam: Androids, aliens, and wizards. Bucky: That's not a thing. Sam: That's definitely a thing. Bucky: No, it's not. Sam: Every time we fight, we fight one of the three. Bucky: So who are you fighting now, Gandalf? Sam: Ev- How do you know about Gandalf? Bucky: I read The Hobbit. In 1937. When it first came out.

Oooh, tell me about "Steve blipped"!

This one is built off the question: What if Bucky survived the Blip at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, and it was Steve who turned to ashes? Written from Bucky’s POV, this one is kind of an angst-fest. I don’t have the full thing drafted out, and I’m not sure when I’ll ever finish it, so here’s a snippet of the beginning:

————

“Bucky.”

It was Steve’s voice, with something in it that yanked Bucky back ninety years to the days when Steve was a sick little kid, frightened and unsure behind his bravado.

And then Steve turned to him, blue eyes wide—and collapsed into a column of grey ash.

No.

No, no.

No.

He never remembered stumbling forward, never remembered landing hard on his knees. He only remembered the sick horror clambering up his throat, the ash dissolving between his fingers even as he clawed at it, tried to gather it.

NO.

A barrage of neon blue death rays, aliens, childhood illness flashed behind his eyes—all the things that Steve had faced, had fought through, had survived by sheer force of will…

…only to be defeated now by a simple snap of fingers.

It was unthinkable.

It was true.

Bucky’s world reeled. He bowed his head and let the despair take him, waiting for his own body to dissolve.

It didn’t—and there lay the true tragedy.

Till the end of the line, they’d always said.

He had never wanted Steve’s line to end first.

Petition to start referring to Susan Pevensie's arc as "The Tragedy of Susan" rather than "The Problem of Susan." Her arc is not defined by the "problem" of growing up; it is the tragedy of forgetting she is a queen.

In Prince Caspian, we see the seeds of this. "It's no good behaving like kids now that we are back in Narnia," Peter tells her when she is afraid of entering the treasure chamber in the ruins of Cair Paravel. "You're a Queen here." Aslan does not chide her for being too grown-up to believe in him; he lends her his breath for bravery so that she can stop listening to her fears. Susan's "problem" in this book is in fact that she behaves more like a child than a queen.

In many ways, Susan's arc parallels Prince Rilian's in The Silver Chair. He is the Lost Prince; she becomes the Lost Queen. He is enchanted to forget who he really is. The Green Lady twists his birthright so that he is going to conquer his own land and rule as a usurper--the land where he is meant to be the rightful ruler! He unconsciously trades his role as the true prince for a false kingship (similar to Edmund trading his birthright as a true king of Narnia for the Witch's false promise to make him a prince ... hey, you'd almost think this was a theme or something).

Susan likewise trades her identity as queen for a false substitute in England, exchanging the substance for the shadow. She is a child pretending to be a grown-up, not actually being grown-up. Lewis never says there's anything inherently wrong with "lipstick and nylons and invitations," but they are merely the outward trappings of society. What makes a person a king or queen comes from inside. When Rilian returns to Narnia, he is instantly recognized for being a prince, despite his lack of a crown or any of the other formal trappings of royalty. He is recognized because he is no longer hidden by the armor of the Green Lady--and so he looks like himself. In fact, he not only looks like himself, he looks like his father. (Which is also how Lord Bern recognizes Caspian in the Lone Islands, despite Caspian not having any outward proof of his kingship--Caspian looks and sounds like his father. Shasta is recognized as a prince because of his resemblance to his brother--oh hey, we've got another theme going.)

Susan has put on the armor of the world, and in doing so has lost herself as queen. That is what makes her arc a tragedy. But! There is always, always hope. Rilian is rescued. Shasta is restored to his true identity as Prince Cor. Edmund is redeemed. Aslan breathes on Susan. Caspian's kingship restores right order to the Lone Islands. No one is ever irredeemably lost.

Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia.

Even when they themselves have forgotten who they truly are.

“What if I write it and it’s bad-”

WHAT IF YOU WRITE IT AND ITS GOOD? WHAT IF YOU WRITE IT AND ITS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED? WHAT THEN????

Oh my god oh my god Faramir put Éowyn in (okay something closely resembling) the HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR’S CELESTIAL MANTLE.

*it’s not clear when you first look, but it’s showing stars in the celestial sphere. I swear.

McCluskey, Astronomies and Cultures of Early Medieval Europe

(X)

Shut up I’m having a fan moment. Clenching my fists. I love the stupid star mantle. This mantle is a celebrity to me.