#not to mention aravis as a character

[iamchickenhearmesquawk]

Just saw a screen rant article saying the horse and his boy should be skipped in Netflix’s adaptation of Narnia and I’d hear them out if it was about the orientalism because that would make the book tricky to adapt for modern audiences but not impossible (just look at fics or even headcanons that dive into aravis lore or just expand on calormen culture in general to be more 3 dimensional there’s some incredible fan writers out there)

The reason was that it’s “the weakest book in the series” 🤠

Like just, as a story. 🧍‍♀️

I will not stand for aravis erasure

[kegbasher]

For the book asks 📚: 1, 15, 19, and 20

1. book you’ve reread the most times?

i’m a big rereader partially bc my memory is shit and partially bc i find each read of a book is a unique and enjoyable experience lol but the book(s) i’ve read the most have to be the Chronicles of Narnia. obviously the nostalgia factor plays into that and the fact that they’re children’s books means they’re quick and easy reads, but i find the hope and sense of adventure in the series just so refreshing and inspiring so I’ll grab one of the books whenever i need a bit of that. i’m actually planning a narnia tattoo bc the series was so formative for me

15. recommend and review a book.

if literally anyone else asked me this question it wouldn’t have been nearly as hard but we’ve read so much of the same stuff and have recommended most of the rest of it to each other already and i scoured my storygraph and nothing stood out that I haven’t recommended but think you’d like sooo i’m gunna be annoying and hype up a recommendation i’ve already given you 😬 Gregor the Overlander is the first book in a series by Suzanne Collins (of Hunger Games fame) and it follows the story of this kid who falls down a grate in the laundry room of his apartment complex and finds an entire civilization underground. there are humans down there, but there are also sentient giant bats, rats, roaches, and spiders which sounds a little weird but if a book manages to bring me to tears over a damn cockroach, you know it’s gotta be good. it’s also probably part of why i like bats so much lol but anyway Gregor finds out the underlanders have a prophecy about him which he wants nothing to do with til some shit happens. it’s similar to percy jackson in that you’ve got this prophecy outlining the story and setting up expectations but it keeps you on your toes and is still so intriguing to actually watch it unfold. it’s middle grade but it’s complex and like the Hunger Games it doesn’t shy away from heavy topics and deals with them realistically but in a way that’s accessible for a younger audience if that makes sense? also i love the characters and the way they interact with each other so much. i know i’ve mentioned it to you before but the two main characters remind me a lot of Shasta and Aravis in The Horse and His Boy and that’s just such a fun dynamic

19. most disliked popular books?

i answered this in slightly more detail in my last ask but i am an unapologetic Sarah J Maas and Colleen Hoover hater 😬

20. what are things you look for in a book?

at the very base level, a story and characters that are compelling to me. i read mostly sci-fi and fantasy, but as someone who studied and teaches literature, i do actively try to read a little bit of everything. it’s good to get out of your literary comfort zone sometimes lol that being said, the writing style can really make or break a book for me. i’ve picked up books with really intriguing premises and then struggled to get through them or didn’t finish bc the style was distracting or not to my taste or sometimes just plain not good… i admit to probably having higher than average standards for that kinda thing but a lifetime of reading (aaand taking dozens of literature classes) can do that to you lol

[notallthosewho-wanderarelost]

Also a friendly reminder that the reason Susan was no longer a friend of Narnia wasn’t because she was girly and liked lipstick, but because she stopped believing in Narnia due to wanting to seem grown-up. Like the Lewis quote about having a fear of childishness and wanting to be very grown-up, Susan put the appearance of maturity over actual maturity.

When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.

The problem with Susan being “interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations” isn’t the nylons, lipsticks, and invitations, it’s the being interested in nothing except that. It’s the fact that she stops believing in Narnia and in Aslan.

Nylons, lipsticks, and invitations are more or less just the English version of what she liked back in Narnia in a queen, and she’s always presented as being a good queen. We even meet a similarly girly character in The Horse and His Boy, Lasaraleen, and the story explicitly tells us that the more tomboy-ish Aravis is wrong to belittle Lasaraleen for being girly.

It may also be worth noting that we get the nylons, lipsticks, and invitations quote not from any of Susan’s siblings, but from Jill Pole. Some disdain coming through in the quote would be in character for Jill, who’s young and decidedly a tomboy and not big on “girly” things. The other Pevensies are pretty silent on the matter of Susan- like maybe it’s too painful for them to talk about, or Lewis can’t have them talk about it because the discussion wouldn’t fit well into a children’s book.

Lastly, I think it’s worth mentioning that Susan’s story is the closest to that of Lewis himself. He was raised religious, became an atheist as a teen, and then went back to religion as an adult. And Susan’s name means “lily”- a flower that’s associated with Jesus in real life and with Aslan in Narnia. Her siblings have significant names, so Susan’s name was probably carefully chosen too.

And what flower covers the sea at the uttermost east, closest to Aslan’s country? Lilies.

Yearly Reminder that C.S Lewis encouraged his fans to write fanfiction about Susan Pevensie becoming a friend to Narnia and reuniting with her family once again.

Literally inviting his fans to write Susan’s adult, angsty character development with a happy ending.

Do your duty fans. Write that fanfiction.

[francesderwent]

so far the stranger things narnia character types I feel most certain about are:

Nancy = Susan

Steve = Eustace

Robin = Jill

I’m more on the fence about the following but I will mention them:

Mike = Lucy

El = Tumnus (or Caspian)

Max = Aravis

[thedreadvampy]

wait how is the Last Battle racist? I'm not tryna start shit, I'm just genuinely curious since it's my least favorite narnia book so I only read it once when I was 8 and I'm white so I wasn't really aware of that kind of thing & don't really remember what happens except that they die and swim up a waterfall

Oh um YOU HAVE UNLOCKED A THEDREADVAMPY RAMBLE TOPIC

So it was my absolute favourite book as a kid so I'm not trying to shit on it here. And I don't actually think it's the most racist book in the series (that is UNILATERALLY The Horse And His Boy) but it's sort of where Clive Staples lays out his socioreligious ideas very explicitly so.

the underlying peril is that the Lying Cult-Creating Ape has used a misrepresentation of Aslan to grab power, and part of his power grab involves calling in the Calormene from over the border. They then take advantage of that to turn him into a puppet (because he's obsessed with his own cleverness and pretty shit at planning) and they take over Narnia, enforcing worship of their god Tash, enslaving the animals, cutting down the trees etc.

Throughout the series the Calormene, who are the ancestral enemies of Narnia, are described as a race of dark-skinned, greedy, violent and wicked people and are very, very explicitly coded as Muslim (largely Arab/North African but with some South Asian trappings).

In the interests of accuracy, it's more Islamophobia than racism.

There is a Good Calormene in the book, Emeth (I loved Emeth as a kid), and he's rendered good through his faith - he believes in Tash, but has a strong moral core and believes that it's his religious duty to do right by the Narnians and resist the tyranny of the Calormenes. At the end of the book, Aslan says that Tash (who, remember, is the god of a heavily Arab-coded people) is the god of death, decay, cruelty and darkness, and he is the god of light and good and life, and "anything good you did in the name of Tash, you did for me, and any evil done in my name was done for Tash" and that's why the Narnians who did awful things in the name of the Aslan cult don't get to go to Narnia Heaven but Emeth does, and Emeth renounces Tash, takes Aslan as his god, and goes to Narnia Heaven at the end of the world.

So far this is largely the "Narnia is a Christian allegory" thing writ large, it's evangelical but largely religious rather than racial. But it's not just about religion - consistently throughout this book and the others, Calormene's otherness is emphasized through reference to their race and foreignness as well as their religion (which really only comes up in this book specifically). All the Calormenes are described as dark-skinned and 'oddly dressed'; all Narnian humans are explicitly white and usually blonde.

At one point, which even as a kid I was a bit 😬 at, Jill, Eustace and Tirian disguise themselves as Calormenes to sneak past a Calormene encampment in the dark, and they do this by rubbing dark berry juice into their faces to darken their skin ("nothing but oil and ashes will make us white Narnians again" says Tirian).

In the whole series, which frequently features Calormenes as a secondary antagonistic threat, Emeth is one of only two Good and Righteous Calormenes. Forgive me if I dive into my lifelong hatred of The Horse And His Boy, but despite that ENTIRE book taking place in Calormen, the only other Good Calormene is Aravis in that, who is *checks notes* a girl fleeing forced marriage with the intent to get out of her home culture and move to a ~civilised~ place, who is savage and often casually cruel ~in the manner of her people~ and has to be taught kindness by the Secretly White Protagonist. Although the book mentions some nameless Calormenes going to Narnia Heaven, every single Calormene with a name or a line in the whole series other than Emeth and Aravis are explicitly barbaric, cruel, sadistic, greedy, venal, fanatical and/or corrupt. This is a criticism of Narnia as a whole, not just The Last Battle, but The Last Battle brings it into sharp focus because other than The Horse And His Boy I think it's the only book with named Calormene characters.

Honestly the Last Battle is very clearly working to mitigate the racism of preceding books. Like, this is the book that explicitly says Calormenes Aren't All Evil (But Their Faith Is) and Emeth is a delight, he was one of my favourite characters as a kid, but the thing is that in trying to address the racism, Clive Staples has to explicitly talk about his ideas about race and religion and they are uhhhhhhhhhhhh he's a white man from the 50s is what they are. He's very much framing Emeth and the nameless Calormenes that enter Narnia Heaven as One Of The Good Ones and the implication that Calormenes are Generally Wicked remains to a pretty big degree.

Tl;Dr it's not the Most Racist Narnia book by a long shot, but the racist assumptions underlying a lot of the series - that Brown People Are A Scary Vaguely Muslim Other and All The Goodies Are Obviously White European-Coded Christian-Allegory People - is a lot harder to ignore in the books where Calormenes play a major role.

[tenebrius-excellium]

You know, as funny as this is, random side thought: I actually run into the "C.S. Lewis gave children weapons" bit on this site a lot. It seems like one of the most frequently mentioned things about the franchise on Tumblr, and I've always wondered why. I personally never took an issue with it. On the contrary, I thought it was admirable. "They're kids, they shouldn't fight wars" - just don't.

Times were tougher then

Literal world war, people were dying en masse

Lewis understood a crucial thing: Of course kids shouldn't fight in an ideal world, but it's illusory to expect that they won't have to.

The world isn't ideal, life happens, parents will come short in ways and cannot spot/solve all of their children's problems for them. They're humans, they just can't. They're occupied with their own problems. Some crisis' are out of adults' control too.

Evil doesn't make halt before kids either.

So better be prepared than not. Stay in shape, do some sparring. When you're a kid stuck in a scary, shitty, abusive situation, you wish someone gave you a proper weapon (a tool to defeat it!).

Lewis understood another crucial thing: Children love to be seen, to be taken seriously, to be given attention and responsibility. It's how God sees them. To give a child something of true value is only appropriate to their worth. They aren't inferior to grown-ups, they are world changers just as much as their adult peers. They are capable of having wise, important thoughts, and they are deserving of being heard and listened to and invested into.

Lewis furthermore understood the importance of learning. Peter, Eustace, Aravis - they all underwent a great learning process of taking responsibility for themselves and others. Aslan never let them face more than they could take on when he trained them.

Lewis also understood that facing a school bully and facing your arch enemy on the battlefield are not too different from each other: What matters in the end is the quality of your character.

And finally, Lewis understood that it was never really about the fighting itself. What really counts in the Chronicles of Narnia is whether you have the Lion on your side or not. Aslan is the one who roars, Aslan fights the great and final battles. The weapons are sticks against him and everybody knows it. Amen.

Lewis: okay I'm writing a story what shall I put in it? *spins wheel* ...Father Christmas... *throws dart* ...giving the children weapons... *pulls words from a hat* ...except the one who betrayed his family because of... *rolls a die* Turkish Delight

[awfullybigwardrobe44]

Narnia Week, Day 5

The Horse and His Boy

Prompt questions by @nothinggold13 !

Favorite character(s) from this book?

I struggled a lot coming up with an answer for this, actually. I love Cor and Aravis greatly for separate reasons. I love Aravis’s ferocity and confidence, yet humility when she meets Aslan. I love Cor��s kind of natural quietness and humble background, and I think it would contribute to his ability to be a great king. 

But as for characters who really stand out in my mind for this book, I have to say Lune, oddly enough. It’s been forever since I read this book, so maybe some of the other characters would be my favorite if I reread it before answering this question, lol, but I just really love Lune. He’s a very Soft Dad Figure, and he’s kinda this image of the perfect loving, affectionate, warm father. And I like to believe that he became that father figure for Aravis, too. 

Also, shoutout to Hwin. It’s been forever since I read this, like I said, but I will always remember her greeting to Aslan. She goes to him immediately, knowing he presents the Utmost Danger to her, a horse, but she literally says “you may eat me, if you like.” She’d rather her life be given up and even suffer if Aslan decided that was what he wanted, and I think that’s the epitome of loving, trusting faith. 

What about this book stands out most in your memory? Are there specific scenes, feelings, themes, or ideas that have stuck with you the most?

Most of you probably know this, but my favorite scene in this book, and possibly in ALL of Narnia, is the scene with Cor and Aslan on the mountain pass. This was one scene I used to read over and over and over and over again. The atmosphere of it is so beautiful--misty mountain pass, with sun beginning to shine through. Aslan shows up, sees that Cor is afraid, comforts him, says “tell me your sorrows” (my HEART), reveals to Cor that he has been guiding him and directing him and even disciplining him all along, throughout his whole life. I love that Cor doesn’t know who Aslan is, and yet is completely overtaken with awe and, I believe, love the moment he sees him. I love that the sun is shining FROM Aslan. I love that Cor slips out of his saddle and falls to his knees because he just can’t help himself. The “who are you?” “Myself.” 

I have always loved the part where Lewis says that Cor didn’t know what to say, but “knew he needn’t say anything.” Just the significance of that one line hits me so hard. Even here, Aslan is a comfort to Cor in somehow reassuring him that he doesn’t have to worry about what he’s going to say. And the lion’s kiss, and Aslan disappearing in a swirl of gold... 

And as if that wasn’t enough to make your heart burst, Aslan leaves him water to refresh him. And if THAT wasn’t enough, you realize that Aslan was guiding Cor up the mountain so that he didn’t fall off the ledge. And if THAT wasn’t enough still, you learn that Aslan guided Cor straight to where some nice Narnians could help him out, give him food, and let him rest. 

Just. Aslan literally takes care of every single need of Cor’s here. Spiritually, he reveals himself to Cor, teaches Cor about him, who he is, etc. Emotionally, he takes away his anxieties, allows him to tell him about the horrible time he’s had (”tell me your sorrows), reassures him that he doesn’t need to DO anything (”needn’t say anything”), and shows him love and affection. Physically, he gets him water, food, and rest, not to mention protects him from falling and solves all of his problems essentially by putting him right where he can get help from the right people. 

That scene is beautiful. Seriously one of the best in all of Narnia, in my opinion.

[thefrostfallathenaeum]

Chapters: 13/? Fandom: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Aravis/Shasta | Cor Characters: Aravis, Shasta | Cor, Prince Rabadash, Lasaraleen, Corin (Narnia) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Calormen, Archenland, A somewhat grimmer future, Mentions of rape (nothing graphic), Implied Violence, Mentions of Attempted Suicide Summary:

Something went very differently, and Cor and Aravis never met. As two enemy nations crown their new rulers and are faced with the threat of imminent war, Aravis and Cor find themselves dreaming of a mysterious boy and girl, and a life that could have been.

[ao3feed-bakusquad]

Charley Horse

Charley Horse by Aravis

Kirishima doesn't feel like he's excelling at the rate his classmates are. Plus, he's pretty sure he has a crush on his... friend (?) Bakugou.

Words: 1949, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Kirishima Eijirou, Bakugou Katsuki, Mentioned Midoriya Izuku - Character

Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou, Bakugou Katsuki & Kirishima Eijirou

Additional Tags: Mental Health Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Insecure Kirishima Eijirou, low-key pining, Pre-Relationship, sometimes Bakugou has tact but this is only kind of one of those times lmao

Read Here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/21439489

[teabooksandsweets]

The Horse and His Boy has always been one of my favourite Narnia books, and I am glad to say that this hasn't changed at all. It's also by far my favourite title. In fact, I dare say, it's my favourite book title in general, not only out of the Narnia books.

I love the way this book is written, from its style through its structure to its characterization. Having read the series only in the chronological order before, it's really interesting to see how Lewis' writing evolved over the course of the series. I can't say it got better, as it was wonderful from the very beginning on, but there is a visible sort of development, which is especially apparent in the characters and world building.

I love the way Shasta/Cor and Aravis are written – both of them are lovely people, but their behaviour is awfully much influenced from their upbringing and experiences. Shasta's distrust in other people, which lead to a sort of selfishness, and Aravis' privileged aloofness, which lead to a sort of ruthlessness – both of which they slowly but steadily grow out – are not part of their natural personalities, not part of their souls, but of what they are taught to be. Both of them have practically opposite backgrounds, but they come down to the same thing: In order to dare to be as good as they truly are, they need to learn about the good in others, and learn to believe in it. They make a wonderful pair. I also very much adore the horses – Hwin's gentle steadfastness and Bree's pompous fallacy are wonderfully written. It's especially of note that, despite them being Talking Horses, Lewis truly showed that he knew horses, and how to write them. They didn't feel like humans in horse bodies – they were truly horses. I also love the other two kids – in some ways, Corin and Lasaraleen are even more charming than the protagonists, although I don't like them more (or less) than them. They are lovable and engaging side characters and simply a joy to read about. I even think they'd get along really well – not at first, certainly not, but they both have such amazing temperaments that would at least be very entertaining to watch interacting. I also really loved the Hermit. He's a fascinating character and I would love to know more about him. I wonder, if maybe he is also a Star or some other, well, unusual person. That aside, it was lovely to see the adult Pevensies – they all were exactly what they were. Susan, the Gentle Queen who didn't fight though she could, and Lucy the Valiant in chain mail and helmet, Peter the Magnificent fighting giants, and Edmund the Just making peace and plans.

In fact – it's lovely to see a glimpse of the Golden Age, which brings me back the extended world building. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the land and time of Narnia were so full of a very particular, tight sort of magic and enchantment. We knew little of the times before, and even less of the lands beyond. At that point, the World of Narnia and the Land of Narnia could have been one and the same, or else, if there had been more lands, they could also been enchanted. And then, all the more of that world we saw was so, so much later. It's amazing to actually see a story happen just a few years after the Long Winter, in two completely different countries, that existed beside Narnia all the time. Just think of it! According to Lewis' own timeline, the events in this book happened fourteen years after the Pevensies came to Narnia, so the children had not been born at that time, but all the adults we see had. There has been normal life in these countries all that time, and for some reason that does feel quite amazing to me, although I can't really explain how and why. It's just a really different feeling for the story – not better or worse, just different. It's also interesting to read a story from the perspective of characters who were born in the World of Narnia, and even more so to read one from the perspective of characters who didn't grow up in the Land of Narnia. It's the only book with no relation to our world, and that's very intriguing.

My favourite scene? I don't know. Probably Aslan's appearances in various shapes. His role was quite unusual compared to His appearances in the other books, and written in a particularly interesting, and sensitive way. The things He said to Shasta/Cor and Aravis were so very individually relevant, and their effect on them so very significant. His encounter with Bree, I dare say, seemed to have a message that went beyond the pages of the book, but I don't want to put anything into Lewis' words that might not actually be there. It's more of a personal feeling than an actual interpretation.

As for the supposed racism in this book, that I know some people will talk about: Do yourself a favour, and educate yourself. To be honest, I suppose me saying this is of no good use, but I don't want to actually discuss this, beyond saying that a lot of the complaints show some underlying racism themselves, and even more so a severe lack of understanding of this book, as well as various Middle Eastern cultures and religions, both ancient and modern. There's so many remarks on this that are made up of dramatic misinformation, and also an uncomfortable array of people who claim to care for social justice, but at the same time seem to believe all sorts of bad and untrue things about the people they supposedly want to protect, yet obviously don't respect. (It his unfortunate, but certainly not Lewis' fault, that some Islamophobic Christians have a dreadful idea of Islam that somehow resembles the Calormene Paganism, but, so do some of the people who accuse Lewis of Islamophobia.) This is on the racism related to real people.

As for the supposed racism inside the story, I dare say, if anything, the Calormenes show more of it than anyone else, and even that is very limited. I already noticed in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, that Lewis preferred to portray the Calormenes in a fairly neutral, and even more so a very interesting way, describing them as a wise, wealthy, courteous, cruel and ancient people. He did this in a way similar to how he described Trumpkin's face, and I've mentioned before that I absolutely adore how Lewis used to set “good” and “bad” adjectives side by side, simply using them as what they are, rather than a form of judgement. He also did this for the personalities of various characters – such as Edmund and Eustace – and on plenty of other occasions and matters. It's also of note, that all criticism of Calormen was in regards to its politics and some traditions, and never were the people portrayed to be bad based on their race, which played no role at all, or their culture, which was described to be a very beautiful one.

Personally, I find the Calormenes to be highly fascinating to begin with. I mentioned the difference reading the books in the original order makes in regards to the world building, and – with The Magician's Nephew not yet written at that time – I wonder how the Calormenes got to Narnia. I mean, not only how, but from where. Of course, the Telmarines are already proof enough, that after the creation of Narnia there have been people from our world getting there, long before the Pevensies came, but also – long after Frank and Helen came. And that's the interesting thing. Because the Creation of Narnia shows that it happened when in our world, it was the late 19th century, we cannot know since when Lewis had that in mind. The Telmarines were pirates, and the Calormenes seem to come from a very ancient, at least pre-Islamic (if not older than that) Middle East. And at this point, I wonder, was Narnia meant to have been created earlier?

I think it wasn't. I actually think they seem so old, because of the very long time they've been in Narnia! (I mean the World, of course.) Narnia isn't an antique or even medieval world, even though many make it out to be. From the very first book on, Narnia was almost modern – they had the lamppost, after all, even before we learned how it got there, they has sewing machines, fairly modern books, houses that resembled actual modern houses like the house Coriakin lived in, and all sorts of other things that show that there has been a sort of modern influence in Narnia all the time. The Telmarines could have been more or less modern Pirates, who somehow had to adjust to the place, and so did – even earlier – the Calormenes. They used what they had, and somehow adjusted to a live that, even a thousand years after the Long Winter, seemed older than that. And while the Calormene religion is, in terms of inspiration, based on Babylonian religions, the actual religion of the Calormenes is based in their world, and while not religiously True, based around at least one very real deity, which proves that they actually developed the cult around Tash through Tash and on Tash, after coming to Calormen. They might have been normal, modern people from somewhere in West to South Asia, who applied knowledge of their own ancient religions to what they saw in Narnia, and while only a few decades passed in our world, their old and new views and experiences mingled over the millenniums that passed over in Calormen into the culture we finally got to see. I mean – think of the Pevensies, who went on to become quite medieval in style and manners, too. If they could come to Narnia as completely modern people, and then change like that in less than fifteen years, why shouldn't others do so over thousands and thousands of years? I think this is all quite fascinating. Some might think that the fact that Narnia is not really an “independent” world makes it somehow less interesting, less intricate, but I think the way people get there, and bring things into the world, and change and adjust them, is amazing and a completely different sort of world building.

Also!!! It has been hinted that there are even more countries than the ones we know!!! Which is so amazing!!! And makes me so excited!!! The world actually goes on beyond Calormen!!! And Calormen is huge, oh my!!!

By the way, I love the name Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah, and I suppose Hwin also is short for a horsey name. According to Wikipedia, it's probably a contraction of “Hwinhynym”. That would be nice!

I cannot really choose a serious favourite quote (there's just too many!) so I'll go with this one: “Even though Education and all sorts of horrible things are going to happen to me.” I also don't really think I have a favourite chapter.

[clubofbooks]

The Horse and His Boy (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book Three) - C.S. Lewis

I got bored halfway through this one and took a break from it. But overall it was a good book. 

I enjoyed the main characters and their story lines, especially that they all wanted better for themselves so decided to escape from the life they were given. 

I didn’t like Aravis at first because I thought she was to set in her ways to be of any help to the other three, but when she was determined to get back to them after they split up in Tashbaan I knew she was loyal. I was really fond of the two horses. 

I felt so much sympathy for Shasta/ Cor. He should have been so sad to learn that the man that raised him was willing to sell him to a stranger without blinking an eye, but he took it as an opportunity to do what he always dreamed of. He never thought about giving up in any tough situation he found himself in, he was so brave.

Lewis had a hell of an imagination, I’ll give it to him. When I started the Narnia series I wasn’t expecting to read about multiple countries with so many different creatures and people. I assumed that Narnia was the only setting in the series, but I’m pleasantly surprised.

I’m wondering if all of these characters are going to somehow tie together in the end. I hope so. So far Lucy, Edmund, Susan, Peter, and Aslan have been a constant, and the White Witch has been at least mentioned in each book. There was nothing about the professor in the third book so we’ll see if he pops up another time. I’ve been waiting to read further about the first King and Queen that surfaced in The Magician’s Nephew, not sure why though.

I find it odd reading about the four Kings and Queens of Narnia knowing they will go back into the wardrobe at some point to resume their old lives. 

I thought the ending of this book was cute and had a happy ending except I would have liked to read more about how the horses got along after finally reaching Narnia. Do Narnian horses roll? 

[ao3feed-bakudeku]

by Aravis

Recovering from an injury, Izuku just wants his damn heat to end. And for Bakugou to explain why he gave him Ground Zero merch as a get-well present.

Words: 1565, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki, Todoroki Shouto, Uraraka Ochako

Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku

Additional Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Pro Hero Midoriya Izuku, Pro Hero Bakugou Katsuki, mentioned Endhawks, Major Character Injury

[kelizmormont]

Narnia Fandom Read Along - March: The Horse and His Boy

Favorite Quote: “‘Please,’ she said, ‘you’re so beautiful. You may eat me if you like. I’d sooner be eaten by you than fed by anyone else.’” HWIN IS SO UNDERRATED

Favorite Character: Aravis. I’m always a sucker for female characters who dress up as men to escape and go on adventures (I blame it on Mulan). A close second is Hwin. ✨They are a dynamic duo✨

Favorite Chapter: Aravis in Tashbaan. I like learning about the Calormen culture, and it’s very exciting when they are sneaking around the palace. I also I have to mention that even though Lasaraleen is painted as a silly girl, she still helps Aravis escape and does all she can so that she can go and live the life she wants. (Btw I am not trying to suck up to @lasaraleen by saying this, I just think she’s a solid friend lol)

Favorite Scene: Shasta meeting Aslan in the mist. I think this is one of my favorite Aslan encounters, mostly because he just starts out as this Voice that’s kind of ominous and full of power and then Shasta slowly realizes what he is, and when the mist clears he just falls at Aslan’s feet.

(FYI I haven’t been giving ratings because all of the books are 5/5 for me, so I just don’t even bother lol)

[nothinggold13]

Which Narnia character(s) do you think are the most underrated?

I’m gonna say Peter Pevensie. I know he’s still well-liked in the fandom, but very often he gets brushed aside in favour of Edmund, and he deserves BETTER.

Any character who has not yet appeared in a movie in generally underappreciated outside of the book fandom. Sure, everyone LOVES the Pevensies, (I do too, who am I kidding?) but a lot of them don’t know the other friends of Narnia. So basically Digory, Polly, Jill, Cor, and Aravis.

Eustace Scrubb. He did appear in one movie (and I suppose 2 of the BBC adaptions) but I still think he’s underrated.

It’s beginning to look like I just think literally every character deserves more love… which is probably true.

Aunt Letty. She took 0 nonsense from Jadis, and handled being thrown across the living room like a pro.

The housemaid at the Ketterleys, who was having a beautifully exciting morning.

FRANK AND HELEN. The first King and Queen of Narnia!!!

Corin. He’s absolutely ridiculous and wonderful. 

Wimbleweather the Giant. He makes a mistake in battle and then cries about it afterwards, and he’s just a big giant baby that needs a hug. 

Trufflehunter the Badger. I’m extremely grateful for a character whose entire mantra is “I don’t change. I hold on.”

Doctor Cornelius! 

Ramandu’s Daughter!!!

Also in the movie, Drinian is a GRADE A CHARACTER. I don’t remember anything particular about him in the book (except that he’s supposed to be good looking), but his lines and the other characters’ reactions to them in the movie is hilarious.

Rilian! He’s a good, utterly devoted boy. 

Tirian! Also a good boy. A little bit rash sometimes, but faithful and good-hearted.

Jewel the unicorn. Brave and noble and loyal and he also tells Jill stories!

Puzzle the donkey. Absolute sweetheart. Deserved a better friend than Shift (and got some.)

Poggin the Dwarf. He was brave, and he was also polite enough to ask Tirian and then Jill’s permission before smoking his pipe.

Emeth. Precious boy. Misled, but ultimately faithful and good. Lucy likes him, so you know there must be something special about him.

Now, if there’s any characters I didn’t mention, it’s probably because they’re so underrated that I honestly forgot about them. All the good Narnian characters deserve all of the love.

Thanks for asking!

[nylonsandlipstick]

I'm not doubting you about the 'cs lewis wasn't racist' but can you share the receipts so that I can use them when people argue w me about this?

Absolutely!!!

The thing about the racism claim is it’s mislabeling what Lewis truly did. Do I approve of how Lewis portrayed the Calormene as a whole? No. But is it racism? Not at all. What Lewis shows us is more of a cultural insensitivity which is still common to this day. There’s a really big difference between cultural insensitivity sprung up by ignorance and just straight up racism. And labeling everything racism really begins to dilute the meaning of the word until it hardly means anything to anyone it should impact.

So, to start: the meaning of the word racism. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race,” race being defined as “a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits.” So now we know what we need to look for.

Knowing the definitions, if you actually read The Chronicles of Narnia thoroughly you’ll see that racism isn’t brought up and that any prejudices against the Calormene people doesn’t have to do with their skin color or their culture (at least, their culture as a whole). What I mean by the culture “as a whole” is that while Lewis isn’t prejudiced against the whole of the Calormene people, he does make some differences between Calormen and Narnia to make Calormen the foil for Narnia, specifically in the religious aspect.

What a lot of people can’t seem to wrap their heads around is the fact that Lewis was Christian and he really did try to incorporate Christianity into his books (although into Narnia unintentionally at first) and while I see that a lot of people understand this to a degree, they don’t fully comprehend it and don’t really see it in his writings. With the Susan aspects, people think that because Lewis is a Christian, he’s saying that femininity is godless and in turn that makes him a sexist because women can’t be feminine. All of that is untrue.

In the aspect of the Calormen religion, Lewis didn’t make them a nation of “non-Aslan believers” just to hate on them and their faith. Lewis grew up in a Christian household, lost his faith during his early adulthood, became a pagan, and when he returned to Christianity he was “kicking, struggling, resentful and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape” (Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life; 1955). Lewis knows different faiths, he’s not some guy who spent his entire life as a steadfast Christian with no doubt in the world and one to ostracize non-Christians. He doesn’t look at the Calormene in a hateful, anti-Christian view, but instead as a people that believe in what he thinks to be the same things as the Narnians just differently (I’ll get into what I mean by that in a bit) and are ruled by poor leaders (at least that we see of in the books, I don’t remember clearly if Calormen ever had any very admirable leaders that were liked throughout Narnia).

What I like about Lewis is that he acknowledges that question of “if I believe in x deity, what happens to the other people that believe in y deity?” (it’s such a deep and philosophical question that any theologian asks themselves at least once in their lifetime and a great use of soteriology). He not only acknowledges that deep theological question but also basically states his whole view of Calormen in this one quote from The Last Battle:

“I and [Tash] are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him.”

This basically means that those who worship Tash and are virtuous and good people are actually worshiping Aslan, and those who are immoral and who worship Aslan are in fact worshiping Tash. So, not only does this establish Aslan as a greater and mightier being in the Narnia universe (considering all of the other minor deities, I see him as God but with a Zeus-like council of other gods, more Mount Olympus-esque) and Tash as the more evil of the two (I don’t think he’s necessarily Satan but more of a hateful being) but it also shows that Lewis doesn’t view the Calormene people as villainous or even erroneous for their faith in Tash, more as if Tash was just their Calormene name for Aslan (as God has several different names depending on the language). It also doesn’t make the Calormene people villainous, only full of people who could be virtuous and people who could be immoral as any kingdom in any place could be. He essentially humanizes them and addresses gray areas instead of making it all black and white by having one people be good (the Narnians) and another be bad (the Caloremene).

Seeing as Lewis really heavily focuses on the Christian aspect of his books, I really do think it resonates in his books that he doesn’t have this whole idea of “these are the Christians and these essentially are Satan-worshipers” especially how he took a lot of inspiration for Calormen from the Middle East and bits from Central Asia.

Why I include this argument is because there are arguments against the Calormene faith being seen as one of the major points in the counterargument for Lewis’s alleged racism. Seeing as Calormen is inspired from the Middle East and the Middle East is predominantly Islamic, a lot of people also see this as rather perverted anti-Islamic propaganda. Which is wrong. Because the only reason why the Calormene religion would be at all similar to Islam is because of any influence pre-Muhammad religions may have had on Islam which more so boils down to culture and less to actual belief systems. I remember reading once, I can’t pinpoint exactly where, most likely on the Wikipedia page of something to do with Calormen or The Horse and His Boy, that the Calormen religion is most likely influenced by early Canaanite and Carthaginian religions, the Carthaginian religion just being more of a Phoenician continuation of the Canaanite religion. This makes sense since all three religions are polytheistic and require sacrifices, specifically of the human kind (although last I read, it hasn’t been completely confirmed that human sacrifices were done for the Canaanite religion; it’s been confirmed that the Carthaginian religion did, in fact, practice human sacrifices, even that of children) and the Calormene religion even follows how the Canaanite religion was polytheistic yet monolatristic (this coming from the word monolatry which is the belief of many gods, i.e. polytheism, but with a more consistent worship of only one deity). I believe the reasons why the Canaanite and Carthaginian religions are more likely to be Lewis’s inspiration for the Calormene religion were because of G.K. Chesterton’s book The Everlasting Man (a book that Lewis wholly admired) and E. Nesbit’s depiction of Babylon (this I especially see in Lewis’s cultural development of the Calormene in their use of “Tisroc” as the name for their ruler, and their use of “may he live forever” whenever the Tisroc is mentioned).

Now, to move away from the religious aspect, Lewis really doesn’t portray any racism because there’s no hate against the Calormene people coming from the Narnians (who the narrative paints as a great nation with few flaws when controlled by the Narnians or the Pevensies). When Susan and Edmund go to Calormen in The Horse and His Boy, they don’t portray any racist ideologies. They’re not hateful toward any of the Calormene, they’re not grossly rude. They just find it an odd kingdom and that’s about it. It’s different from Narnia, Narnia which is full of what should be mythical creatures and talking animals and few humans.

The Narnians and Archenlanders happily accept Aravis, a Calormene noblegirl, and even marries Cor, a boy who seems to fall more under that European-inspired ethnicity. Not only did Lewis write Aravis out to be a heroic character, she’s also in a mixed relationship which was still heavily frowned upon and unaccepted in 1954 when the book was published. Nowadays we don’t blink at an interracial relationship (well, most of us anyways) but just to put it into perspective, the Supreme Court of the United States didn’t legalize interracial marriages throughout the entire U.S. until 1967, over 10 years after the case of Loving v. Virginia which actually imprisoned a white man and a woman of color (she identified as Indian-Rappahannock but was reported as also being Cherokee, Portuguese, and African American) for marrying because it was against Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws. So, it’s pretty obvious that Lewis was very ahead of his times in that one aspect that seems so minuscule to us now.

On to other Calormene characters that were depicted well, we also have Lasaraleen and Emeth. Lasaraleen is a frivolous girl who cares more about dresses and dinners than fighting but she’s not evil. She’s not seen as less than the Narnian or Archenlandan(?) characters because of her skin color. She’s scared and frivolous but a good friend to Aravis who helps her escape Tashbaan so that she can continue her journey to Narnia. Whether you see her personality as being sexist is a different argument, but it’s blatantly obvious that Lewis doesn’t see her in a racist manner. She can actually be a bit admirable if you like that she pushed through her fears to help a friend escape to safety.

Emeth is one of my favorite examples as to how progressive and forward-thinking Lewis really was and this is going to veer a little bit away from the race aspect but it’ll really emphasize what Lewis was truly trying to do with Calormen by depicting it the way he did. Emeth is a Calormene officer who is very devoted to Tash, which Aslan later reveals to actually be a devotion to Him through his noble motives. By having Aslan accept Emeth into His Country even though he believed he was worshiping Tash in specific, Lewis is depicting Inclusivism. Inclusivism has two fields of thought which basically boil down to either a) the Traditional kind which states that a believer’s own views are absolutely true and believers of other religions insofar as long as they agree with that believer or b) the Relativistic Inclusivism which states that there are Absolute Truths and while no living human has yet to establish those Absolute Truths, all of humanity has partially established those Absolute Truths. I’m going to say that Lewis leans more towards the Relativistic Inclusivism in terms of Emeth. For more conservative and traditional Christians, it’s such a wild ideology to follow and has actually caused controversy within the Christian community for Lewis to have put into his books. I don’t think it helps that Emeth’s name means “truth” in Hebrew and was probably Lewis’s way of saying “this is what I believe to be true.” What I’m trying to say with all of this is that Lewis could have used a pagan white-European-inspired kingdom to depict this ideal, he could have made up a kingdom that was Viking- or Anglo-Saxon or whatever-inspired to depict that idea of Inclusivism. He could have completely left out Emeth from the plot and have used a different moment or a different book to portray Inclusivism. And yet he didn’t. He purposely chose a good man from a  Middle Eastern-inspired kingdom who believed in a deity from a polytheistic yet monolastric faith and used him as an example for an ideology that’s not anti-Christian due to it’s actual Biblical support yet still so controversial within the Christian community.

I think that’s all I’ve got for now. It feels like I’m picking out small things but with Lewis he didn’t seem to write anything he didn’t feel was important to the plot (and actually important, not J.K. Rowling-type “important”) so there’s not much to actually go on in terms of anything Calormene. I think the reason why people want to claim racism is because nobody wants to delve deep into Lewis’s writing because they’ll end up face-to-face with his ideologies and they’re not easy more many people to stomach, whether Christian or atheist. They’re radical in Lewis’s veracity in his belief in them but they’re so non-traditional and more progressive than most of us in the twenty-first century will claim to be. I know there are a lot of people like Philip Pullman, who’s an outspoken atheist critic, and J.K. Rowling, who will say that they get that his Narnia books are Christian but won’t take the time to dissect it as a Christian piece and instead take the stories out of context and put it to modern day standards. I don’t know if it’s just because he’s a Christian writing in the mid-twentieth century, apparently too close to our times and ideologies and too far from the more conservative and bigoted ideologies of the earlier decades and centuries for us to be able to put his books up to our current views and standards, but I know for sure if someone like Jane Austen had written anything like the Narnia books, there wouldn’t be such an outcry for racism and sexism and etc. I mean, look at Oscar Wilde. He’s idolized for his literature and his sexuality yet everyone brushes over his gross antisemitism.

Anyways, I’m rambling and this has already been long enough. I hope this helped! If I find anything more that I can add to this argument I definitely will. If you have any more questions or there’s something else you want to ask about, you’re totally welcome to as well!

[paravelhq]

Do you have any plans for other canon skeletons, like Aravis, Col, Colin, Dar, Darrin, Lasaraleen, Shar, and Tran?

𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓  𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐋𝐘  𝐍𝐎𝐓,  𝐍𝐎.  my  reasoning  for  the  archenlanders  is  that  i  find  it  unrealistic  for  almost  the  whole  of  the  archenlander  court  to  have  come  to  narnia  with  king  lune  !!  however,  if  somebody  wanted  to  bring  any  of  those  characters  in  and  apply  with  their ��own  ideas  then  i  wouldn't  be  opposed.  i  think  i’d  rather  writers  apply  for  the  mentioned  archenlander  muses  that  way;  others  may  think  up  ideas  i  might  not  and  save  any  archenlander  lord  skeletons  from  sounding  like  the  same  concept  with  a  different  name.  right  now  i  don’t  really  have  any  ideas  off  the  top  of  my  head  for  any  more  archenlander  lords.  in  terms  of  aravis  and  lasaraleen,  i  did  consider  it  but  i  don’t  think  it  makes  sense  for  them  to  travel  to  narnia  at  this  moment  in  time  because  we  never  know  when  the  plot  of  the  horse  and  his  boy  may  take  place  !!  i  would  be  willing  to  make  an  exception  for  lasaraleen  over  aravis.