Ok we all talk about the Pevensies' trauma at returning to Earth at the end of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and their trouble readjusting to life there again but think of all the funny/good parts too

They return from the country, and their mom is surprised when all her children hug her at the station. Even Peter, who thinks he's all grown up. Even Edmund, who went away surly and withdrawn. She doesn't know her children haven't seen her in over a decade.

They miss their dear Cair Paravel, but they absolutely do not miss its chamber pots. Indoor plumbing is amazing.

It takes a while to remember how modern technology works, though. How many heart attacks did the siblings give their parents or the professor because they walked into a dark room only to turn on the light and find the children sitting there in the dark. (They were by the window! There was still plenty of light from the sunset! They would have gotten a candle in a minute!) The kids sheepishly remember oh yeah electricity is a thing.

(Edmund has a new electric torch in Prince Caspian. He was so excited to get that torch. Almost more excited than you'd think a kid his age would be, and his parents expect Peter at least to tease him, but the siblings all agree light in your hand at the touch of a switch is terrific.)

Suddenly getting really high grades in some subjects and terrible in others. Their grammar, reading comprehension, spelling, vocab, even penmanship? Amazing. History and geography? They don't remember anything. One time in class Susan forgets Earth is round and wants to die.

Also they can never remember what the date is supposed to be because Narnia uses different months and years. They can estimate time really well by looking at the sun though, and Edmund at least can always tell which way is north etc without thinking about it (again, using the sun)

Okay but how many times did they go to pick something up or reach something and realize they are so much shorter and less muscled than they expect? It's a common sight to see Peter climbing on counters to reach a top cabinet, grumbling about how he's High King this is demeaning. (No he never takes the extra five seconds to grab a stool. He will climb that shelf.)

Peter and Susan being delighted because they are no longer almost thirty. (In a few years Edmund and Lucy will tease them about being old and their parents will not understand.)

Lucy doesn't have to deal with periods anymore for a few years yet. Susan might not either. Heck yeah

Lucy loves to climb into her siblings' laps and be cuddled. In Narnia she eventually she grew too big, but now she is small and snuggleable again. Peter is her favorite, and if she's upset, he'll tickle her and tell bad jokes until she's smiling again, but really she loves cuddling with all her family. She grew up without her parents; how many times did she just want to crawl into her mom's lap and her mom was a world away? Imagine the first time she realizes she can now. Or, imagine one day, a cold and grey sort of day, when the rain is pattering against the windows, and it sounds like the rain on the windows of the Professor's house, that first day they went exploring. It sounds like the day they played hide and seek. It sounds so like the rain on the windows of Cair Paravel, that if Lucy closes her eyes she can imagine she's back there, having tea and chatting with Mr. Tumnus before the fireplace of her room, and soon the rain will stop, and they will go out on the balcony and wave to the naiads and the dryads and the mermaids, who have come out to enjoy the rain and visit one other on the banks of the Great River winding past Cair Paravel down to the sea.

But if Lucy looks out the window, all she'll see is the rain over London, so it's not only a cold and grey sort of day, it's a lonely sort of day too.

Susan and Edmund are playing chess in the living room (and they must have studied with Professor Kirke, thinks their mother, because they certainly weren't that good when they left). Lucy goes over to Edmund, and oh dear, thinks their mother, now he's going to call her a baby and be horrible to her, but instead he picks her up and puts her on his lap without even taking his eyes off the chessboard; it's simply a matter of course.

"Doesn't the rain sound familiar?" says Lucy in a solemn, wistful way.

Their mother doesn't know what that means, but her siblings must, because Susan says, "Yes, Lu, it does,” and Edmund gives her a little hug with his free arm as she tucks herself under his chin to watch the chess match.

(Five minutes later there is a crash from the next room as Peter falls off a counter. Their mother does not understand the words he must have picked up from the Professor, but he's grounded for them anyway. His siblings have no respect for their High King, because they refuse to stop laughing.)

They had not gone far before they came to a place where the ground became rough and there were rocks all about and little hills up and little hills down. At the bottom of one small valley Mr. Tumnus turned suddenly aside as if he were going to walk straight into an unusually large rock, but at the last moment Lucy found he was leading her into the entrance of a cave. As soon as they were inside she found herself blinking in the light of a wood fire. Then Mr. Tumnus stooped and took a flaming piece of wood out of the fire with a neat little pair of tongs, and lit a lamp. "Now we shan't be long," he said, and immediately put a kettle on. Lucy thought she had never been in a nicer place.

What Lucy Found There | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The main reason I wish the Narnia movies went on is so I could see Peter Pevensie growing into an adult. This kid was forced to grow up so fast; he had to fight for survival and lead an army when he was just a teenager. Seeing him actually come into his own and make a life for himself would be so rewarding. Watching this guy pick a major that he likes, discuss career options he might like with his dad, use the family car to visit friends on the weekends...it’s required for my mental health, okay?

None of this to say that these are the only things that constitute a “normal life.” There’s no shame in not doing secondary education and/or not having a career plan! I'm just thinking about Book!Peter being a nerd and studying for exams at Professor Kirke's...I want to see him fall in love with some niche humanities progam, no matter how many people tell him could do more in other fields!! I want to see Peter study medieval theology and dabble in Latin and Ancient Greek...I want to see him ramble about his projects on walks with his friends...I want to see him get published in some obscure journal, to which Lucy responds by throwing a whole party.

Really, I just want to see Peter pursue his dreams

👀👀👀

Tried my best to find that post but no luck, I guess it's just internet debris now :((

Worry not, I'm going to write everything I remember in this post

We start with these two. Parallels aside, they didn't have to line up in either of these scenes, they did. This is what they do. They are a group. And no matter how interesting each of their individual personalities are, their meanings are diminished, if not non-existent, without the others' to contrast them.

Coming to the topic of body language, have you noticed how they stand in their lines?

Their positions always have a meaning. In the ruins of Cair Paravel, they stand in the positions of their respective thrones.

Entering Aslan's How, they let Caspian lead the way. Out of the four of them, Peter's in the lead, Lucy and Susan are in the middle although not exactly in sync, and Edmund brings up the rear. When Caspian stops, the Pevensies' gait changes- they are royal again- Peter and Susan start and are followed by Lucy and Edmund.

Contrast this with when they are entering Cair Paravel. Edmund leads, torch in hand. Peter let's the girls follow and is at the end. Doesn't it seem they have an unspoken system for every situation they are in? With a distinction between when they're just siblings and when they're Kings and Queens? Notice how there's no "Susan, you're on my foot!" or "stop shoving!" here.

The last one is interesting because their pairing within the line changes. Uptil now, it's usually Peter-Lucy and Susan-Edmund or Peter-Edmund and Susan-Lucy. This Peter-Susan and Edmund-Lucy pairing is a rarity. The older ones are being barred from Narnia, while the younger ones are told they have more to learn. This changes their usual balance.

Now, let's talk about their 'roles', spoken or unspoken, how they let things be done by the ones who are 'supposed' to do them.

Edmund is the first to enter the ruins of Cair Paravel, and he's the first at this gate, yet he doesn not open it. Susan is second and is followed by Peter. Peter is the one to open the gate and he does it only once Lucy is joined them. High King Peter takes charge here.

At the stone table, note that Lucy and Susan are in the middle. The boys stand at a respectful distance while the girls approach the table, symbolic of their significance years ago when it cracked. Although Susan was there too and shed just as many tears, Lucy- Aslan's darling daughter- is the one to touch it.

Let's go back to the endings of the adventures. In lww, notice how Lucy and Peter are leaning towards each other, notice how Edmund and Susan are a little to the side, notice there's a wider gap between Susan and Lucy. (I will never shut up about the Pevensies' relationships with each other, especially the difference between Peter-Lucy and Susan-Edmund but one post at a time). When they leave Narnia, they do it together and they do not look back.

In pc, they leave one by one, only when prompted to do so. Notice how this time Susan and Peter are huddled together.

Leaving Narnia in Votdt is interesting. For the first time the Pevensies (even though there are only two of them) are not side by side. I see this as symbolic to their growth. In the end, Peter and Susan- the ones who usually disagreed on everything- found a way to stick together, whereas Edmund and Lucy-who have a hard time believing in their own individuality- finally believe they are not in the shadows and grow into their unique, individual selves.

Finally, we talk about the Pevensies' line when they're missing a person. I've been thinking a lot about this ever since @puddleglumms sent me this ask.

In the first one, Edmund is right in front of them. Even though their line is incomplete, they are still a group. Notice how close Peter, Susan and Lucy are standing. Contrast it with the second picture. Edmund is in danger, he could be dead for all they know, at least two of them blame themselves for losing him. Notice the distance between them now.

This brings us to the last part. Three of them line up with no hint of a fourth. This is a specially tailored nightmare for Lucy where she is no longer a part of the group but it is creepy for us to see this too. It just seems so wrong.

Imagining them lining up once they're dead and realising they're missing one is heartbreaking. Do you think they'd stand as close as they used to? Do you think Edmund will see Lucy and Peter close to each other and miss his companion? Do you think Lucy will be jarred by the absence of the only other female in their group? Do you think Peter will be horrified to know he's the only older one here?

There are so many more instances I can include in this but then the post would be wayyyyy longer. This covers most of what I wanted to say.

the sweet air of narnia

Fandom: the chronicles of narnia Relationships: Lucy Pevensie & Susan Pevensie & Peter Pevensie & Edmund Pevensie Characters: Lucy Pevensie, Susan Pevensie, Peter Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie Secondary characters: Mrs. Macready (once), Professor Digory Kirke (twice), Robert Pevensie (once), Randall Bagshot OC (once) Tags: the chronicles of narnia, post-lww, narnian air, narnia withdrawl Status: complete Length: 8 works, total of 6,174 words Summary: After the Pevensies fall out of the wardrobe, they are found immediately by Mrs. Macready. To her credit, she does not spend much time panicking over what looks like the four of them suffocating on nothing. OR: the pevensies fall out of the wardrobe and suffer withdrawal from narnian air. an angst-y series with a hopeful ending.

♛♚ start here | whole series on ao3 ♚♛

Something that got me thinking:

I'm in a Narnia fans Facebook group and recently someone posted about how the one thing that bothered him the most about VDT the 2010 movie was how of all the things they've changed, they kept the albatross at the Dark Island, because it makes no sense in the context of the movie.

I commented on maybe because they put it in, because of how iconic the whole scene was and of course here's the line, "Courage, dear heart". But the more I thought, the more I wasn't sure if I remember the albatross saying the line. I spent some time browsing for a clip of the scene untill a fellow member commented that the albatross has indeed not said the line to Lucy. I thanked that member and made a notion how VDT feels off because Aslan isn't a tangible presence in the story and found myself agreeing, that in the context of the movie, the albatross makes zero sense. I'll elaborate here:

Sure, there were changes, even major ones in both LWW and PC. But in both, Aslan was a presence to be reckoned with. Without him, efforts felt shortfallen and misguided. In LWW the children would not win against the witch. Say what you want about that river god and walking trees, the old Narnians were fighting a losing battle without Aslan. But not VDT. Just think about it: Untill the Pevensies get into Narnia, it's fine, but then it's like, they sail to the Lone Islands, get captured, managed to escape and learn about the Green mist™, who kidnaps locals because it's very naughty. Immediatley they get a supposed magic mcguffin sword, are told to get the whole set of 7 and place them on some magical table so the Green mist™ will be vanquished and released the poor sods it's hoarded over the time. Note how I never mentioned Aslan and it's the same hecking plot of the film. All mentions of Aslan in the film, however, like "he sent us" and "that's his sword" and "his table", etc. feel contrived and forced. Someone followed up my comment, saying how I put into words why VDT doesn't feel Narnian.

Because it's Aslan. Without Him, it's just another generic fantasy world.

With all the news we're getting about there's some serious goings on about the Netflix project, that's now what I'm afraid it'll happen and it will suck. So to anyone on the project with any shred of artistic integrity of any sort, learn from this, please.

My problem with Uncanny Pevensie Children ideas is not just that it goes against the text (we see PLENTY of them post-LWW, and are also specifically told that the bulk of their Narnian time sleeps in their minds until/unless they return there), but even more that these approaches imply either that 1) their time in Narnia damaged them, or 2) that becoming unsettling and inhuman and Other is a good and cool development for human children. Or maybe even both!

And both of those ideas are antithetical to the nature of Narnia and Narnian adventures and the will of Aslan.

Narnia Fic Recs - Post LWW

This is part of a short fic rec series to spread some love for Narnia authors, they aren’t in any sort of order other than the really long ones are on the bottom.

A lot of these stories are on ff.net which I know is a pain of a site to use, however, I sorted through a lot of Narnia fics to find these and I think they deserve some love. I did check if anything was on ao3 and put that link instead if I could find it. Please give these authors some love, kudos, favorites, comments, etc. They’re all great and it’s always fun to find older fics!

If y’all have any fic recs you can send them my way, or if you know if any of these authors are on tumblr let me know. I’ll be releasing more rec lists sorted roughly by era so look out for those under #lillys fic recs

This list is more miscellaneous, one Prince Caspian fic, a few around VotDT, and a couple about Susan. There are also general author recs at the end with authors that have a decent amount of fics to look through. 

Passing Down the Crown by Elecktrum

Rated Gen, 4.5k words

Fic about how hard it is for the Pevensies (and Peter specifically) to help make Caspian the king of Narnia and only coming back for a short time. 

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by Elecktrum

Rated gen, 8k words

Fun fic with world building starting in VotDT but Edmund and Lucy describing the Golden Age. Dawn Treader was a real dragon and it’s an interesting expansion of star mythology in Narnia, it’s written to feel more like a myth retelling. 

Knight of Narnia by ElouiseBates

Rated K, 5k words

A short fic of Edmund knighting Eustace during Votdt, then a bit of his further adventures. Really great at showing his mistakes but also his growth.

The Difference by Ariyah

Rated K, 700 words

Eustace’s mom, Alberta, reflecting on her son and how he’s changed.

Of Knights and Butter Knives by Quecksilver_Eyes

Rated Gen, 400 words

Basically a cute fic of Eustace getting knighted by Peter when they’re all back in England. 

The Queen’s Return by HonorH

Rated gen, 4.5k words

A Problem of Susan fic that has some light shipping with an OC near the end and is generally positive rather than overly angsty while still dealing with the trauma. 

Never a Friend by Elecktrum

2k words

A conversation between Peter and Tirian in Aslan’s Country about Susan, (or the Problem of Susan) which I love because it shows that Susan doesn’t have anything to apologize for and her siblings definitely know her better than distant friends of friends.

Authors

Ao3

Elecktrum

https://archiveofourown.org/users/elecktrum/

I can’t lie or even try to hide it, Elecktrum is one of my favorite authors in general, and definitely one of the best Narnia authors I’ve ever found. I was so surprised that their work doesn’t have more love on Ao3, though that’s possibly because I think it might have been backdated so people just haven’t seen it. Overall the stories are non shipping fics, though there are some background ships that can be cute. Their stories and series are already on the list above, and 99% of their stories are connected to the same world, but there are very few that CAN’T be read as stand alone’s, so go read whichever ones strike your fancy. 

@quecksilvereyes

https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quecksilver_Eyes/

They’re on Ao3 and Tumblr and they have a bunch of drabbles and ficlets on a bunch of the Narnia ‘eras. Most of the fics have the Pevensies (but not all) and there are some shipping fics if that’s what you’re looking for. 

Fanfic.net

Adalet - https://m.fanfiction.net/u/94096/

Tons of really good fics, generally one shots but some good long ones too. 

Lirenel - https://www.fanfiction.net/u/241274/Lirenel

She has some long series that are interesting, and just a lot to read from if you’re looking to binge Narnia. 

These two don’t have current stories but it’s good to find older ones and I think all the long series are done.

A Narnia, Narnia boy...

I have a dilemma: since watching that LWW musical in 2002, I (almost) made Narnia my whole personality. Should I pursue Narnia content creation (reels of animatics, memes, lore and context discussions, theories, etc) as a sideline and shelve other personal projects?

I find most Narnia reels in different platforms really sad. They're mostly edits of the movies, Pevensies = Hogwarts Founders, and the actors then and now. I can think of other things those Narnia reels can be about.

I would love to make and post them, but I also want to write and draw my own stories. I'm currently rewriting my book (for the hundredth time), done plotting my comic, and plan to draw artworks that I can sell in cons in the near future. Of course, I also have a day job.

It's a real struggle to think about. For now, Narnia isn't getting much noise online, probably because there aren't new adaptations yet or because it's being gatekept by religious Christian fans. I'm also a little burnout from all the artworks and writings I'm doing for work and on the side. So I really don't know.

the article screenshot you posted does say ‘prequel,’ not ‘first’. I don’t see what’s wrong with placing it at the forefront of the show if it’s chronologically first, though. they did the same with the witcher. the last wish was published second but chronologically its events were first, so they started the show with the events that took place in the last wish. unless the show could find some way to really make aslan and whatever came before the pevensies intriguing in like a, foreshadowing sense?? I don’t know why it’s necessary to start from LWW. but also I’m biased bc I really like the magician’s nephew. so I’d love to see that first.

It says "prequel novel" but then says the plan put it "at the forefront instead of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe".

I think that looking at the macro-structure of the series, LWW is the book that belongs first. There are a variety of reasons why this works better

LWW is built so that the audience has Lucy as a perspective character discovering Narnia. You stumble into this world in the middle of it and begin learning about it beside her. MN is structured differently because it's book 6. MN is much slower paced because it exists to give the story behind Narnia-- we know what's coming so Lewis can make us wait longer and a lot of the story tension comes from finding out how all the pieces fit together to get us to Narnia. But in LWW Lucy enters Narnia in the first chapter, on page EIGHT. in MN, Narnia is created in chapter nine, over a hundred pages in (of a book that's less than 200 pages). This works for MN because by that point you've already read five other adventures in Narnia-- you know what you're waiting for and so you're willing to wait for it. But if you're new to the series, then it might not be great to withhold Narnia for over half of the first installment. And when Narnia DOES show up, it's a very early form of Narnia--instead of seeing a thriving magical world, you see it's very beginnings. That's great but if you haven't first seen things like the Beaver's house, the white witch's castle, the thrones at Cair Paravel etc. I don't know that the limited view of Narnia that we get in MN is going to capture you in the same way. I think the lamppost is a good concrete example: LWW has the iconic magical enchanting moment of stumbling through the wardrobe to find this lamppost in the middle of a snowy wood. It's probably the most iconic image from the series. But part of that wonder comes from the mystery and oddity of it. If instead of that, you see first the London street lamp being broken off, carried to Narnia, growing up as it's created, and then return to the that same lamppost... it's not bad but it doesn't evoke the same wonder.

Secondly there's the framing of the Pevensies. The Pevensies are more important than the other Friends of Narnia, not just because they have more story time dedicated to them but because of their actual role in the narrative. They are the four most important kings and queens of Narnia, especially Peter as the High King, and they hold a privileged place in the narrative because of that. The only character more important than them is Aslan. In it's publication order, the series starts with them and ends with them (even though Narnia itself doesn't). The Last Battle parallels its ending to LWW, not MN, We end with the Pevensies talking to Tumnus. (We see Digory and Polly and some of their MN supporting characters, but the focus builds to and comes to rest on the LWW characters). And even the books that the Pevensies aren't in, their presence is felt because they're legendary figures in Narnia (unlike Digory) and because there's always a thread of connection maintained to them (Silver Chair has their cousin, they appear in both Last Battle and Horse and His Boy, and even in MN where the connection is most tenuous, there are narrative links back through the lamppost, Digory himself, Jadis, and the mention of the wardrobe at the end). MN doesn't have links through the others in that way. In fact MN is the most disconnected book (or arguably Horse and his Boy) but it roots itself in the Narnia canon by very firmly connecting itself to LWW (which is fitting in itself- if MN=Genesis and LWW= gospels, in the resurrection Christ is the new and better Adam, and the beginnings of a new creation are instituted, so the fact that these two books have mirrored narrative elements and plot points that tie tightly into each other works really well). All that to say, if you start with MN, you frame Digory as the main character of the series. And he's not. He's briefly in LWW and then you would have four solid movies/seasons before he shows up again, in once again a fairly small role in LB. This undercuts the narrative importance of the Pevensies on the one hand, and on the other hand sets the audience up for disappointment because if they are introduced through MN and bond with Digory as their main protagonist they're going to be let down (even more so for the Polly stans).

Third, I think it's very intentional that MN is placed right before the end. The beginning of Narnia and the end of Narnia are placed back to back in Lewis' order. It's preparing you for the end by revealing the beginning. There's also maybe something to be said about the tone of MN perhaps being a shade darker than the earlier books (thinking specifically of Charn, but also Uncle Andrew as a character, and the general idea that Digory is essentially responsible for letting evil into Narnia.). There's a lot of hope and light at the end, but I think it's a better precursor to LB than it is an introduction to the series (I mean, just think of the difference in perspective it would make if the first glimpse of another world you get in the series is not a faun with parcels under a lamppost in the woods, but instead the dying and desolated Charn).

Minor point, but in the same vein, I think it's more fitting to see Jadis first through Edmund's eyes and only later see her in the more brutal, less disguised form you get in MN.

And just in general, LWW is sort of The Chronicles of Narnia epitomized. That's why it stands on it's own most easily. It has pretty much all the elements that make Narnia what it is. It sets your understanding of Aslan and Narnia, and sets your expectations.

Ultimately I think if they're looking to appeal mainly to people who love the books (and the existing movies) then it wouldn't do any harm to start with The Magician's Nephew. But for those who will be NEW to Narnia (particularly children) I don't think MN is a good starting point. And I worry that if they do that, they'll shoot themselves in the foot.

BUT. For me personally... I think the Disney Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe movie is close to a perfect adaptation, and despite it's flaws and changes, I adore the Prince Caspian movie too. So I don't care nearly as much about getting a Netflix version of those two because I already have a much beloved live action adaptation. I'm much more excited by the prospect of Silver Chair, Horse and His Boy and Magician's Nephew (if we can get a good adaptation of the other two I would love that but any doubts I have about Netflix being able to produce good Narnia content are doubled for Dawn Treader and quintupled for Last Battle). I so badly want a good movie version of the later books. So if all they give me is one good Magician's Nephew movie, so be it.

heads up to my followers that I am finally going through all the notes on my "Pevensies returning to Earth after LWW" headcanon post so there's a bunch of reblogs coming in my queue. block the tag "soft post lww headcanons" if you don't want to see that wall of text on your dash a zillion times

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA + COMPLETE SOUNDTRACK [I]

I’m thinking about all of Peter’s interactions with the leader of the wolves in LWW, both in the book and the movie. Each has the scene of Peter killing the wolf, but the movie adds their confrontation at the melting waterfall. I really, really appreciate the addition of that scene at the waterfall. 

A reminder of what happens there: Peter, Susan, and Lucy are crossing the river with the beavers, the ice under their feet is melting, and then the Witch’s wolves arrive. Mr. Beaver is telling Peter to kill the wolf. Susan and the wolf are both telling Peter that he has the chance to give up and walk away. Peter is frozen. He keeps the sword--that he was just given--trained on the wolf, but he so clearly doesn’t know what to do. He and his sisters have been running for their lives, but this is Peter’s first time facing a fight-to-the-death. The waterfall breaks before he has to make a decision, but this scene shows how much of an ordeal every fight is for Peter.

We might be used to adventure movies with life-or-death stakes and sword fights, but Peter isn’t. He’s never had to to live that as a reality. He’s just a kid, one who’s to young to go to war in the human world--one who’s probably thought about what he would do if he could fight alongside his father, but has never had to deal with the immediacy of strike now or die.

Peter eventually fights the wolf at Aslan’s camp. Susan and Lucy are in a tree, the wolf just below them, and Aslan makes it so Peter goes in alone. The book narrates what Peter is going through: the panic of throwing himself into that situation (“Peter...felt he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do”); each choice being so, so important (“...though this all happened to quickly for Peter to think at all--he had just time to...plunge his sword, as hard as he could...into its heart”); and the disturbing details that he couldn’t have prepared for (“Then came a horrible, confused moment...its bared teeth knocked against his forehead, and everything was blood and heat and hair” pg. 252).

In the book, we can hear descriptions of Peter’s feelings, but the movie has to display them. The waterfall scene takes all of that--the dread of joining the fight, the panic of what to do--and lets it sink in. We see the fear on Peter’s face. We see how overwhelming it is for him. Yet, through all of that, we watch Peter see the threat--that the waterfall is about to drown them--and do what’s necessary to keep him and his family alive. It’s no coincidence that he plunges his sword into the ice, just as he later plunges it into the wolf.

Neither the book or the film try to gloss over how harrowing every part of this is. Even after he’s victorious against the wolf, Peter and his sisters have to deal with the loss of adrenaline, the weight of what just happened: “[Susan] and Peter felt pretty shaky when they met and I won’t say there wasn’t kissing and crying on both sides” pg. 253. In the movie, all three of them hug on the forest floor, very much teary-eyed.

TLDR Peter was given that sword. He didn’t ask for it. However, he happened to be handed it in a time of need. A sword is a heavy thing, but Peter took it up.

That might be a simple action, but it takes so much.

okay so i’m trying again, this part of LWW always gets me: 

When at last she was free to come back to Edmund she found him standing on his feet and not only healed of his wounds but looking far better than she had seen him look--oh in ages; in fact, ever since his first term at that horrid school which was where he had begun to go wrong. He had become his real old self again and could look you in the face. And there on the field of battle Aslan made him a knight.

What I have been thinking about all week about this is that...it Edmund’s restoration doesn’t happen after he turns back to Good or making up with his siblings or even after his Talk with Aslan Himself (which surely entailed Forgiveness).  It isn’t until he’s had the cordial that he is Restored. 

Father Christmas tells Lucy about the cordial: “If you or any of your friends is hurt, a few drops a few drops of this will restore them.” It follows that if Edmund has been healed in Spirit/Restored to his former self, that he was also hurt in Spirit. You cannot be restored from a wound if you are not first wounded. His Sin stems from that hurt, as it so often does, and only wounds him more. 

It reminds me of a little this Matthew verse: And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

But Edmund is no longer afraid--he finds both Forgiveness from Aslan and he finds Healing from the very sister he himself most often wounded with his sin. 

𝘼 𝘽𝙍𝙊𝙆𝙀𝙉 𝙈𝙄𝙍𝙍𝙊𝙍,  a whisper , ⠀some foreign tongue pinching his skin ⠀. ⠀it’s his face staring back ⠀. ⠀they are playing ⠀( in ⠀the ⠀𝑀 UD ) ⠀at being soldiers ⠀, ⠀until it’s no longer make believe .   tobacco still sticks to his skin ⠀, ⠀like a fleeting echo and he swore he’d give it up once the trenches were past ⠀, ⠀ but god ⠀, ⠀his lungs long to feel that tainted air .

they ⠀⠀are not his children

⠀⠀❛ ⠀⠀𝖮’ 𝖢𝖴𝖱𝖨𝖮𝖲𝖨𝖳𝖸 , 𝖫𝖨𝖪𝖤 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖲𝖳𝖠𝖱𝖲 . 𝖡𝖴���𝖭𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖴𝖯 𝖨𝖭 𝖠 𝖯𝖤𝖳𝖳𝖨𝖢𝖮𝖠𝖳 𝖮𝖥 ⠀⠀𝖢𝖮𝖫𝖮𝖴𝖱𝖲. 𝖳𝖨𝖫𝖫 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖯𝖤𝖳𝖠𝖫𝖲 𝖥𝖠𝖫𝖫.⠀⠀ ❜

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀little ⠀⠀⠀boy ⠀⠀⠀wonder ⠀⠀⠀( 𝖊 𝖕  ! ) 

𝖗  o s e s ⠀, ⠀ their deep red blemish ⠀, ⠀ sometimes he found them amongst the snow ⠀. ⠀. the first blush of colour ⠀– ⠀ not  𝖻𝗅𝗈𝗈𝖽  spilling in soft drops to meet the white ⠀– ⠀ liquid blue battling the sky and grey ⠀, ⠀as the clouds merge like cotton in a storm. 

they were hard to pick with their army of thorns ⠀, ⠀ its own plague of decorated medals, each more treacherous than the next ⠀, ⠀ edmund knew . ⠀ and just like nails ⠀, ⠀ over and over till red lines grate against his skin beneath the itching cuffs of his shirt ⠀. ⠀𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 singular, repetitive motion, his eyes search for the red amongst the fields of white.

the house ⠀– ⠀ even that   ,   crumbling at the edges they cannot see  .   old brickwork ( 𝐼 t will not stand, not now    ,   not ever   ,   can you not see those beating winds of anger ?) , mould in the attic with the fold down stairs and the looming threat of smacking your head on the ridge ⠀. ⠀ the house too  . .  in its own absent field and  , ⠀ ‘ oh if that were true you’d never see your friends now, would you?” their mother laughs   .   edmund wonders ,

so strange

friend ⠀, ⠀ a 𝖽͟𝖾͟𝗋͟𝗂͟𝗌͟𝗂͟𝗏͟𝖾͟ 𝗌͟𝗇͟𝗈͟𝗋͟𝗍͟

but he moves away from the window, the glass and its make-believe painting of ⠀(  ‘ what is narnia ? ’ ) ⠀like a shadow he leans against the wall ⠀, ⠀a father  not yet home from the war ⠀, ⠀ strung on wounds not yet healed and their stitches drawing his shoulders straight and sharp like a ⠀⠀      toy soldier

⠀⠀puppet ⠀⠀whisperer

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀❛ ⠀⠀E  VEN ⠀⠀A  ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀T RAITOR ⠀⠀❜

edmund wonders

like some detached memory ⠀, ⠀ his tongue running over his lips ⠀, ⠀ if those blue eyes knew what they were seeing ⠀. ⠀𝑙 akes   , ⠀ absently drifting and a slow tug of air as if there was a rollup perched between his lips ⠀. ⠀ a lump catches in his throat .

a familiar look ⠀, ⠀ and his brother ( 𝑚 - agnificent 𝑜 ‘ ne  ) looms as if on command to his thoughts ⠀, ⠀ half a smile that doesn’t quite reach the stains of mud from their battle worn flesh and bones.

dad ⠀. ⠀ it always falls short of an utterance ⠀. ⠀ and they leave ⠀, ⠀ his shoes biting on the floor ⠀, ⠀ the silence blessed to the winding eyes that drill into the space between his shoulder blades  ⠀ 𝑒 dmund knows he’s watching ⠀. ⠀ almost a whisper ⠀, ⠀ half parted lips, ready, ready to

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀. ⠀⠀ .⠀⠀nothing .

the door falls shut

sometimes he regrets not looking back ⠀. ⠀ but there will always be other days to fight this war ⠀. ⠀ 𝖧𝖴𝖭𝖣𝖱𝖤𝖣𝖲     of other days left now ⠀-- ⠀ an eternity to conquer these fleeting moments ⠀⠀an e ternity to dream of what’s better ⠀⠀than this ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀UNFAMILIAR ⠀⠀⠀⠀HOME .

I've started breaking up the chronicles of narnia into little mini series in my head.

such as

the pevensie trilogy (lww, pc, votdt)

eustaces trilogy (votdt, sc, lb)

Jill's duology (sc, lb)