zazzander

[zazzander]

It's been a rough few days on the run

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Aeneas but the only context I have is Aphrodite speaking to Piper in The Lost Hero and various cameos in other medias. But he has a very specific design in my head so.

[zazzander]

some wolfstar + regulusito

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Paris and being both on the inside and, forever and indelibly, on the outside in his family (and society)...

He's unquestionably one of their brothers, a full brother from the king and queen, even. But he also grew up for most of his youth not in the family - and not just not in the family, but in a life entirely opposite to that of free princes; an enslaved herdsman.

He has undoubtedly adjusted - and quickly - to being a prince, absorbing what he needs to blend in, not just as part of the family, but as a prince. But only to a degree; even exiled princes are still princes, knowing of their lineage and having their dignity and education. Paris has none to little of that. He hasn't had the same education for as long, hasn't been steeping in the same culture and attitudes for his whole life.

And then there is his effeminacy. Even if one gives that the royal family might both have more than a touch of that in quite a few of its members and that wouldn't put him on the outside, then Paris still is too much of it. In everything, the way he makes himself look, the way he behaves - but also his attitudes, weaving into the above. Because sure, you can be a bit effeminate, but if you don't value martial skill and effort and kleos and doing your (manly) duty... That puts him on the outside, because his attitude to the (elite) views on war and kleos and all that is very much not normative or "acceptable".

And maybe all of this would be true even if he'd been raised in the family his whole life like any other of his siblings, maybe it would not, but that possibility/question again has Paris on that inside-outside balance...

[zazzander]

I need to talk about the sons of Priam and the sons of Telamon and how their dynamics compare/contrast to each other right now. I had a post earlier during book club, but I wasn’t able to fully articulate my thoughts because of book club, so now we’re back with a more in depth post. 

Paris and Teucer are (to a degree) the less desired sons of kings, Paris by prophecy and godly circumstance and Teucer by nature of his birth. On top of that, they both favor a bow and arrow in the face of war. Where Paris fights and deals death from afar, separate from his brethren but especially Hector, Teucer is right there in the thick of fighting at Ajax’s side. His brother’s tremendous, seven-hide shield protects him as they fight together. They (Teucer and Ajax) seamlessly fill the gaps in the other’s defense and offense. In the field of battle though, being an archer is not looked on as favorably as wielding a spear or sword — something repeatedly remarked upon by the narrative. Paris and Teucer are less skilled in close combat than their highly noble brothers, Hector and Ajax. In this way, no matter how many foes they slay during the fighting, they bring less honor to their fathers than their brothers. 

Paris should have been raised as a prince. He was born fully and without doubt in the confines of a legitimate, noble marriage between Priam and Hecuba. Yet he was cast away due to prophecy, given to a slave to be exposed, and having survived that forced to grow up beneath his station from birth as a shepherd (slave) on Mount Ida away from his family by blood. Teucer on the other hand, is a bastard (as Agamemnon states within the Iliad), and as such is implied that he should have been raised on the fringes of the royal family, which he was not. Instead, Telamon raised him within his own palace alongside Ajax. Teucer is seemingly above his station. They have the upbringings the other “should” have. 

It makes you wonder how often Paris and Hector looked upon Teucer and Ajax and wished that is who they should have been. But there will always be a gap between Paris and Hector. Their circumstances ensured it. Hector loves Paris fiercely, but he does not understand Paris on a fundamental level. Paris has lived a life that Hector has never seen, has never experienced in any similar capacity. Teucer and Ajax understand each other perfectly. They have never been apart. Teucer has always had most, if not all, of what Ajax had. 

Hector cannot understand the notion of choosing his personal happiness over that of their people’s safety. He has never lived with wanting before. He does not understand why Paris clings so fiercely to that which he earned. His decision to return to battle despite Andromache’s pleas is selfish, for Hector does want the glory that fighting will bestow upon him. He will not submit to a life of slavery, something his very own brother has experienced for years. He would rather die in battle and be remembered as a prince that fought for their home than as a father that chose to be with his family.  Yet in the same breath, it is sacrificial. He does want his family. He loves them dearly. But he, not Paris, is the protector of their city. He is the greatest fighter at the Trojans’ disposal. He must always return to the field of battle, even if he also desires to be with his wife and newborn son. 

Paris knows that Hector loves him and will do anything for him. To some degree, he does abuse that in how resolutely he refuses to give up Helen and his place among his blood family, now that he has been returned to them. He earned these things for himself. Hector was given them. Why should he be the one to let go? Does he not have the same right to happiness that Hector has had all along?

I’ve lost my train of thought a bit, but yeah… how often do they wish that they were as close as Teucer and Ajax? How often do they wish things could have been different? It must sting to see what they should have had reflected in someone else. 

[zazzander]

i've been thinking about paris' arming scene before his duel with menelaus, and the special attention brought to the fact that he dons his brother lycaon's corslet (which fits him as they're the same size). the rest of the armour seems to be his own.

i had a real OH! OF COURSE! moment reading richard martin's notes to the lattimore edition, where he points out that paris, as an archer, has had no need of close combat armour until that day, so he has to borrow! and i think it's such a delicious indicator to clue you in why no one, including paris' closest family members, seems to imagine for a moment he's going to survive mortal combat against menelaus (who you can bet does not need to borrow others' equipment to fight man on man)

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genuinely where did riko find the time in the d1 exy and college classes on a ravens schedule to mentally physically and emotionally torture or orchestrate the mental physical emotional torture of like 15 different people plus keep up star player appearances plus pay people off plus plot more rancid schemes i would love to know what scheduling app he uses

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"Paris kidnapped Helen" did he also kidnap her two servants because why else is Aethra in Troy? (Maybe because Helen decided to leave and a queen must travel in style)

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what is the son of exy without his mother, a bird without its wings

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I can perfectly imagine him being all charismatic and charming in front of the cameras like that

♟️🦊

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morning walk to practice

+ kevin fanboy

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Gonna post a tone of aftg stuff I've drawn this past month

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MY BABY, who is about to commit war crime but whatever. Isn't he cute? :) He don't bite

[zazzander]

Brief notes on armour description in the Iliad, and Paris' armour.

Greaves being called beautiful (and having silver "ankle clasps") seem to be formular - the line appears with Paris', Agamemnon' and Patroklos' arming scenes, exactly the same.

However, Paris' arms/armour before the note about the greaves are called beautiful, something not echoed either in Agamemnon's or Patroklos' arming scenes. Agamemnon gets that whole big description of his chest armour and shield, but, despite the rather impressive looks on them, they're not called beautiful. Achilles' first set of armour, that Patroklos dons, gets some brief description, but not as beautiful.

Paris' armour is never otherwise really described what it looks like, but the insistence on it being (very) beautiful is consistent. There's that brief line about the helmet strap being "much-embroidered", an in Book 6, we get a line where his arms/armour gets called very beautiful while he's dandling it. As another brief comparison, when Odysseus and Diomedes arm themselves for the night raid, that gets described as them "donning their terrifying armour". So, while greaves can be beautful and always are described so, armour in general doesn't seem to quite be so... except for Paris'.

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Doodle

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theyre matching 3s in this universe :)

[zazzander]

love at first sight