#Vodt

[multifandumbmeg]

Alright I'm thinking about Edmund Pevensie again. I'm thinking about the nerve-grinding way society doesn't give him enough credit.

I'm thinking about the way his intelligence was used against him to enable his abuse.

You see, people forget that Edmund is an extremely smart character and he takes pride in that. It becomes central to who he is as an adult. He becomes the strategist amd diplomat. His hobbies are chess and playing politik. If we look at how he behaves in the beginning of LWW, he appears to be a classic case of gifted kid superiority complex. He's very bright, a bit of a shithead, but naive-

Because he's a child. And the thing about children is they tend to give people the benefit of the doubt unless or until they learn the hard way not to. Smart kids tend to feel like they have an almost "plot armor". But real life isn't like the movies, where villains give off all the signs and hints from the beginning a smart kid knows to look for. Also, these kids are not aware how much malice there is the world and the sneaky thing about abusers is they hide their red flags and maltreatment until you're emotionally or situationally trapped/entwined with them. But the thing is, even if an abuser shows some red flags early on, a kid is going to overlook those- as are many adults, but especially children, because they're vulnerable and confused by inconsistency. So when the White Witch momentarily snaps at him on their first meeting Edmund clocks it, freezes, but then she reorients her mask and his as-of-yet untraumatized by abuse brain autocorrects the interaction to have been misconstrued in his own mind. After all, villains are always evil. They don't save you from a guy with a knife, invite you on their sleigh to get warm, give you treats for no reason (because of course, he doesn't know her ulterior motive), and offer to make you a prince. Except yes, they do, but the intricacies of grooming are not known to most children, especially in the 1940s.

So when people say "he sold his family out for candy!" they're forgetting the whole plot by refusing to see the situation from Edmund's perspective as C. S. Lewis intended.

From Edmund's perspective, he's a kid being traumatized by the air raids, torn away from both his parents, experiencing behavior completely typical of "acting out" due to a situation in life they have no control over. Then he meets a magical, maternal woman in the woods who is nice to him and asks him to bring his family to meet her- not even really a favor, it seems, a completely inocuous request. When he makes the connection that Peter would be royal if he was, and of higher rank, she implies they could be made servants almost jokingly to assuage him of worry that their arrangement would consist of typical rules that would continue to render him a middle child chafing under Peter's somewhat authoritarian grip. Even if he truly believes he can make Peter wait on him, he's likely imagining ordering Peter to bring him things and fantasizing about being allowed to do what he wants or make decisions without his older siblings chastizing or pulling rank on him. Not like, whipping him while laughing maniacally. Is it nice? No. But it's certainly not EVIL.

And of course, it helps that the candy was enchanted to be as addictive as crack, not that a literal child who has never done drugs and was not told that would realize that.

So then he gets to the Beavers' and they talk about the White Witch as some vile, evil sorceress which directly conflicts with his personal interactions with her, plus Mr. Beaver unintentionally making him feel stupid for not knowing anything Narnia or the prophecies. That hurts his pride for his intelligence yet again, so to make sense of it, he writes it off as untrue because he's still pretty confident in his abilities. Then he decides to just go back to Jadis himself, since she was nice and more pleasant to be around than all this secret police, secret revolution, ancient prophecy shit.

And is completely and totally blind-sided when she turns on him.

So how exactly did he sell his family out? When she yells at him he instinctively blurts out where they are not so that they'll die and he won't, he still doesn't conceptualize the danger yet. He blurts that as a child attempting to assuage an adult that is angry at him, which is exactly what children are TAUGHT to do- acquiesce, obey- especially back then. At least in the movie it is painfully clear he doesn't grasp the true danger until he is brought down to the dungeon at knife-point and hears her set the wolves out. THAT is the moment he realizes he has totally miscalculated and now he and his entire family are in grave danger.

So he gets humbled real quick- by being held against his will in sub-human conditions, beaten, starved, continually threatened and manipulated, a literal PRISONER OF WAR as a CHILD. Then everything he does in captivity from that point is in attempts to protect those around him and minimize the violence he is unintentionally causing (except he's not causing any of it, the responsibility lies entirely with the abuser, but his initial mistake has completely rocked his ego and left him questioning every thing he does while drowning in ever-mounting shame).

But back to his intelligence. After being rescued, he is determined to reorient his intelligence with the new knowledge of evil in his mind, and use it for good. And wonderfully for him, he succeeds by clocking and carrying out what will be the decisive blow on Jadis with her staff. And he even barely lives to tell the tale! And presumably use this intellect time and again during the Golden Age as well as the entirety of Prince Caspian.

Interestingly, though, I would argue this same intelligence is once again wielded against him by the force of evil mist and Jadis in VOTDT. He comes back to Narnia without Peter, where he should now have seniority (and after all that character development, now totally ready to take the reigns!) and he's immediately shelved by Caspian. And Caspian, bless him, has a great heart and is a great leader, but is a little bit of a himbo and is deeply insecure. So the devil gets into Edmund again because his intelligence is being held against him by the narrative always giving him opportunities to use it- and he now knows from experience he can use it well- but not the authority to exercise it at will. See the entire Midas pool scene.

In addition, he's put in charge of Eustance, who is soooo much like he was at that age (and frankly worse). Here you have another prideful, very intelligent and deeply naive, sometimes selfish kid. And it grates on him severely because he is so hard on himself, and thus hates that which feels a bit too familiar, but also you can see he desperately wants to prevent what happened to him from repeating with Eustace. But he can't. Because only Eustace can control that, and he has to learn the hard way just like Edmund did. When he does, Edmund is pretty devastated.

Edmund's final confrontation with the witch- and evil itself- is the most painful reminder of what he's actually been through to those who don't want to pay attention or completely ignored the undertones in LWW. Jadis' "temptation" for Edmund is this:

"I can make you my king. I can make you a man. Give in."

Ewwwwww. But anyway, this reveals so so much about his mind and his relationship to that woman. Edmund is terrified of her. Her offer of kingship no longer tempts him, it disgusts him. He's both terrified of power and terrified of being without power. Being in control and forced to carry all the burdens is terrifying and stressful, but not being in control and being vulnerable is equally horrifying. Jadis is both the thing he fears and admittedly extremely powerful, so a part of him recognizes that her ability makes her capable of protecting him, making him more powerful, and taking away the burden of being in charge himself. But choosing her also means not being in control, not having any power, being permanently victimized by her. It's a catch-22.

So one final time, Edmund's intelligence is his trap. Someone without his intellect and pragmatism (and trauma) wouldn't even be tempted by Jadis in this scenario. They would see nothing of use there. But Edmund does see it, because he's been a strategist and a king.

And he's been a victim and a plaything.

So one last time, his intelligence saves him, and lets him save the world. He sees through her false bargain and knows the hideous reality it hides. He knows that no matter how scary it is to take charge and face his fears and all the danger around, it's better than the alternative. And he's strong enough to handle it.

Lastly, it's who Edmund becomes despite everything he endures that makes him such a fascinating, impressive, and three dimensional character. He's the most human one out of the bunch: a contradiction of crippling anxiety, lust for power, desire for protection, and a mind so sharp it gouges himself as often as it mangles others.

Intelligence is a weapon, but it cuts both ways. What better weapon for a dual wielder than a double-edged sword?

[stargender-lilandil]

caspian fled from Telmar late into the night, threatened to die by his uncle and knowing not where to go. being a medieval story, and him having little time to prepare, he probably chose a distinctive star to go in the direction of

he could have shared this information with the centaurs and animals of Narnia he lived with. they are able to grow in strength and intelligence as a group, and eventually as a people. in that approach as a leader, he gains the skill and bravery to sail through unknown waters. he enjoys the flash of morning starlight across his sword so much it isn’t long before he rises early to learn the blade well.

on the Dawn Treader, he finds himself wishing he could follow its path again, knowing that it is far behind. but still, the “blue star” that he is told to route towards stirs up a feeling of comfort. much brighter than the one he fled by, but all the same otherwise.

at seeing Lilandil in their human form, he is struck by their beauty- not just by their appearance but by how being near them makes him feel. soothed.

they smile knowingly, and trace onto his hand the place in the sky of the first star he navigated and nodded.

to which he knew this star, and only this star, could be by his side in marriage. for there was no one he held faith in more as a man, nor had cared the most for the narnian people by their mere presence.

[dawntreaders]

anyone else remember this tcon: voyage of the dawn treader (2010) deleted deathwater island scene where caspian’s greatest desire turns out to be peter the high king or was that just on the four-disc extended cut

+ bonus crop & bts

[klaineharmony]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Caspian/Lucy Pevensie Characters: Lucy Pevensie, Caspian (Narnia) Additional Tags: Fluff and Angst, Post-Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Alternate Universe, Book: The Silver Chair Series: Part 3 of Sea and Stars Summary:

After Rilian's capture and Lucy's expulsion from Narnia, Lucy and Caspian find themselves in England, and have a moment to reconnect, regroup, and breathe.

I finally finished the third part of my Lucy/Caspian AU, and I am so happy to have it out in the world. If you haven’t read the previous stories, I highly recommend starting at the beginning - this is a VoDT and Silver Chair AU, and won’t make a lot of sense if you don’t have the backstory.

[crazy-narnian]

ya know….for as underwhelming as the movie adaptation was for the voyage of the dawn treader book…a small part of me has always secretly wished that Peter and Susan came back to Narnia again and joined their siblings Edmund and Lucy on the voyage to the Lone Islands with their cousin Eustace and King Caspian just so they could mess the accuracy of the movie up even further and create a completely separate storyline where in the end all the Pevensies and Eustace get to stay in Narnia forever, Susan and Caspian would get married, and they’d all live happily ever after….or maybe not…given what happens in the silver chair…but that’s just my take and idk if any one else feels the same…?

[vault-of-dark-thoughts]

I can’t help but think that I and/or a lot if my friends aren’t going to survive the next 4 years.

[freakcliff]

back at it again with the colonialism in prince Caspian it's something I think about so much because it's clear that cs lewis and the guys who made the movies didn't think hard about that aspect and saw it much more as a classic rightful heir evil uncle story but like the Telmarines came over to Narnia took their land and killed most of their people and then tried very hard to erase any sign of their culture. so like I watch the movies and you get to this part where Caspian and Peter are fighting and Caspian goes you ABANDONED Narnia (false, the meanest way to describe something peter literally didn't have control over) and Peter is like well Narnia would be better off if the Telmarines had never come here (objectively true. justified. at worst a bit rude to say to the one Telmarine trying to help them) idk where im going with this I just can't be the only guy saying it. don't even get me started on vodt

[thegiftofaslan]

I don't think Edmund carries the guilt of his betrayal forever. When we see him in Prince Caspian and VODT, he seems much more reflective about it and acknowledging of his mistakes than guilt ridden.

Do I think there would be some days or moments of that guilt sparking up in him? Absolutely, that'd happen to anyone if they were caught off guard and reminded of their worst moments. But I think Edmund does learn to forgive himself during his reign with his siblings, and it seems apparent by the way he conducts himself and talks about it in the later books

[stargender-lilandil]

I like to think of what the Dawn Treader and its crew would be in a contemporary universe

I think Caspian would be a historian/archeologist looking to interview and study the voyages of the seven lords (with a family connection)

Lilandil joins as an astronomer trying to observe stars only visible offshore with their telescope and gives everyone (especially Caspian) perspective on celestial science and being nonbinary (and always has a niche constellation myth ready )

Rhince and his daughter (in the film) are returning to the mother from a trip and ✨find family✨in the crew

Lucy and Eustace are young actors on their way to a remote shooting and Lucy (who plays a swashbuckling heroine) is trying to help him not lose this job

And Edmund is there to be with his favorite sister (and also just to get away from everyone else) and finish the book he’s writing

idk if Reep would be a human sailor or an trained animal going with Lucy/Eustace

the mummy kind of vibes

[dawntreaders]

smooth sailing

n$fw version on wherefigsIie on twitter :)

[narnia-renaissance]

I have no idea what this is actually from, but I 100% saw Lucy and the Sea Girl. 😍

CASUAL Chappell Roan

[healerqueen]

The Chronicles of Narnia: 5, 7, 8, 11, 15

5. do you have a favorite character? who?

I love so many Narnia characters so much, but I think Lucy and Aslan are my very favorites. They're just so special. There's something profound about Lucy's joy and delight in Narnia and Aslan, and in Aslan's character. I had a special liking for Caspian growing up, but I don't love him more than other special characters now. (Though I enjoy reading about him even now. I just started rereading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.)

7. how does the story compare to your initial impressions of it? has it surprised you yet? how? I first read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when I was 8 years old, so I don't remember my first impression of that book or a couple of the others. I distinctly remember my first experience with some of them, though. I think my liking for all of them has only grown over the years, and I haven't fallen out of love with them. I remember sneaking downstairs to eavesdrop when my mom was reading aloud The Magician's Nephew to my older sister in the evenings. I was creeped out by it at the time, and was disturbed again when I read the book for myself. I like it better now, and I appreciate the beautiful parts of Magician's Nephew as well as the chilling ones. It was good to discover the wonder in that book later on. But I like it just a hair less than the other books. As for The Last Battle, I have a definite answer for this one. I first read it when I was 12 years old, and I didn't enjoy it quite as much because it's a tragedy. I also didn't like Tirian, probably because of what he did to save his friend at the beginning of the book and also because I wanted him to be like Caspian and Rilian, and he wasn't. Since then, after rereading the book and hearing @thejoyousjester talk about it, I've changed my mind about The Last Battle and about Tirian too. I think it's beautiful, even when it's uncomfortable. And I think Tirian is actually more likeable, noble, and admirable than his predecessors, a man of good character to the core, and the kind of character I value most of all. 8. what questions are or were you most excited to learn the answers to while experiencing the story for the first time?

I remember reading the first chapter of The Horse and His Boy for the first time, which was a huge event and very exciting to me. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew something big was happening when the Tarkaan showed up riding his horse. I think I was also riveted by the moonlit horseback chase scene with the lions. As the adventure unfolded, I'm sure I remained excited to find out what would happen. 11. if you were put in the main character's position, how well would that go for you on a scale of 1-5?

I think I have Lucy's wonder and joy, but like Susan, I might not have enough of an adventurous spirit to enjoy exploring an unfamiliar world. @thejoyousjester tells me I'm like Jill in all the best ways, which is an honor, since I always admired Jill (especially in The Last Battle). I think I would remain steadfast when tested and endure hardship willingly. And I think a love for Aslan would drive me. I hope I'd do as well as the main characters would. Perhaps a 4? 15. what time are you most likely to be found reading/watching this story? (time of year, time of day, season of life, whatever makes sense to you)

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: winter or spring Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Horse and His Boy: summer (I'm currently squeezing in a VODT reread before we really get into fall.) The Silver Chair: late fall/early winter (I'm planning a reread soon.)

[crazy-narnian]

Anybody else wish Caspian called out to either Lucy or Edmund at the end of the vodt film as they stepped into the water portal to go back to England with Eustace and say, “Give Peter and Susan my best”, BECAUSE I DO!

Granted, Peter and Susan did already say their farewells to him and Narnia in pc, but friends can pass along their fairest greetings to one another even if they’re worlds apart. Plus, Caspian must have been thinking about them during the first three years of his reign (as I like to think) because why else would he rebuild Cair Paravel, hmm?

[prettylittlelifeforms]

i vodted :)))

[checoleclerc]

Hey, kinda out of the blue, but I was looking through your random edmund moments gifs, and I was wondering if you had the moment where he lies down after seeing the vision of the white witch in vodt

Hello, dear nonni!

I do actually have that giffed! I giffed it almost 5 years ago, wildly. Not second by second, I don't think, though I can fix that and make the whole gifset if you want. But the one I've already made is here.

Thank you for your message! ^_^