#casting Caspian for example

[iforgotwhaticalledthis]

Rae Morningstar and Loneliness: An Analysis

SO something that occurred to me recently is how much being alone effects. well. everyone in Fable(not like everyone everyone but like,a not insignificant amount of people.) Their society is shown to be one of few(if not the only) thriving communities, and lots of people deal with being alone either before they join the cast, or during. Take Ulysses. when he shows up in Fable, he has to grapple with the fact that he is the last of his race. Same with Ari- being one of the last of the Aether. And for characters like Icarus, Caspian, and many many others, they have to deal with being alone before they find a community of people they can be around and trust. One such case is Rae Morningstar.

At the start of the story, Rae is alone. Almost everyone has some form of connection. Icarus, Centross, and Easton have ominous bane. Momboo, Jamie, and Easton are family. Haley already knows Momboo. The only people without any connection are Athena, Will, and Rae. Will's not really around much, and well, Athena had a retconned family so it doesn't really affect his character. (Though i totally do have thoughts about this post retconned Athena and stuff but this is a Rae post). However, by the end of the series, Rae is deeply embedded in the community. He was alone once. and he tries his hardest never to be again.

Rae's lowest moments are when he's alone. In season 1, when Enderian makes him that offer, he probably wouldve taken it in a heartbeat, if not for the fact that if he did, he would be Alone. (and also that he might be used against his friends) In s2 when he finds out he and Icarus are brothers, he is so desperate to hold on to that relationship. I think its why he's so desperate to keep that connection. He doesnt want to lose his brother again. Also the beginning of S2 IS SO bad for him. All of his friends, his family all gone. he's alone yet surrounded by the people he knows. He mentions how bad it wouldve been if not for Ocie- the one person who can relate to him. Someone that stops him from being completely alone. Then theres the sculk arc, which, do I even have to explain? In s3 , Rae gets mad at Centross. A big reason is because Centross left him alone. And when Icarus starts to isolate, later on, what does Rae say, in concern "I just don't want them to be alone." Rae was alone before. so now he tries to make sure that no one else in the community is. For example, he reaches out to everyone. He's always the one people go to for help, so that when they need it they won't be alone. See where Im going with this?

Another thing. Each and every time Rae met one of his partners? Bot him and the partner have been alone. Take Caspian- I mean Cas was alone in the prison, he was isolated. And Rae had been banned from seeing Jamie and Athena was being kept away. The two people he was closest too at the time had left him- even if it wasn't their own choice. When he met Aax, everyone he knew and loved had forgotten him. And Aax had been sitting alone in a cave. Waiting for Theo to return. Even when they first met, Aax was alone, being the only one to escape from the Telchins, and Rae was trapped in a home where he had no one to turn to. When he met Fenris, ,he was alone, having run from his home to keep people safe. And Fenris was alone after being turned into a wolf who couldnt even talk to other animals. for possibly centuries.

Even in smaller things, he doesn't want to be alone, like when he learns Centross and Fenris forgave Ven. He doesn't know how to deal with that anger, now that he's alone in it. He gets tatoos so that he wont forget these people, so he'll never be alone. And at the end of hist story? He and his family turn into gods. He'll never be alone, not even in death.

Anyway i just had some thoughts. if you noticed any inaccuries/have any points to add/ disagree with any of my points please reblog! i want to see waht other people think. Also i might make a follow up on how loneliness affects other characters, this really got me thinking

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Shut the presses and stop the door, this is what makes this series sit comfortably in my brain after all these years. Do you know why I love Voyage of the Dawn Treader? Because it is Narnia and One Piece all in one...er, I guess the shared DNA of Gulliver's Travels is more apropos. Third written, fifth chronologically, needs to come after Prince Caspian because guess who's back! We start to transition our main cast, Edmund and Lucy are back for their last time bringing a new relative in Eustace who is a little shit that will grow and be back later.

Seriously, it's a lot like One Piece. We come back into Caspian's reign and there was this nice plot point in the last book about lords sent out to sea. The new King wants to go on an exploratory adventure and seek them out. So we go island hopping and wacky shit happens on them. I didn't even have to re-read this one because I remember it so well. I love it, it's as foundational to my fantasy tastes as anything. Eustace learning a lesson about greed, the dark island...but the ending.

The final stretch of Dawn Treader. The story starts with finding the lords but the last act ends up being a journey to the edge of the world. Just the sheer imagery and imagination behind capturing such an idea and fully realizing it. I love it, even if it ends on one of the more overt Christian aspects. Still a great line from Aslan about Lucy's last time in Narnia; "You know me here so you can know me better there." Which really is just about fantasy teaching moral lessons.

Man really just went and spun the best description of glimpsing paradise across the edge of the world in plain English at the level a child could read and it stuck with me. But it's also such a wonderfully weird ending. Seriously though, it's aphantasia when you can't see things in your mind's eye right? Based on experience I think I have some degree of that. The journey to the end of the world is a rare, rare exception. The sea of lilies, the great wave...for some reason it's one example I can see so vividly. That's pretty cool and I'd like to think an author like CS Lewis would take it as the highest compliment.

[casbastian]

Real, gonna add a couple of my own thoughts bc.. i can

I wish they had more time for side characters, some of them at least deserved background cameos at the end if nothing else

And the main ship… i will forever believe Maddie and Caspian should’ve been sibling coded i stg

Honestly if i couldve seen maddie, justine and caspian as a friend group i think it wouldve healed my soul bc justine hates caspian for some unclear reason (maybe he was an ass to her on that call before she called maybe, would make sense given the context) it wouldve been funny as hell having them both be frenemies but besties with maddie. This is turning into a rant about how much i want this but idc, theyre all “loser” only children with no friends outside each other PLEASE it wouldve been the cutest case of found family ever

Speaking of family i wouldve died, DIED to see cary and caspian make up and cary get a chance to finally be a good dad to caspian, him just dipping from the plot WOUNDED MEA (at least he got a proper send off, sorry justine

The amount of side characters who just blipped out of existence in season 2 will never not hurt me

Jesus im being negative as well.. uhh.. positive things is i really liked how they animated maddies hair, i liked mists :3 faces, caspian as a character just >>> i love a man i can kin and simp for at the same time.

I rlly liked Chandas demon form. Tbh i wish more characters got redesigns/ alternate forms. Mainly the UIs, chanda being the only one to really self actualize his appearance feels like wasted potential to me.

Tbh theres just a lot of characters i wish we could’ve seen more of and get in their head better

Maddies grandma existing in ep one and then never existing again 😔

Reminds me like.. the maddie being bullied thing felt so important at the start but then it’s entirely resolved in one episode. Not saying i enjoyed seeing her getting bullied cuz i definitely didnt but it felt.. idk like what was the point if it was gonna be wrapped up so soon? Not that i can think of a better way to have handled it lol

Speaking of bullying what was nicoles deal 😭 i NEED to know why she’s beefing with caspian so hard because she fucking HATES him. I guess he’s just the classic autistic “quiet kid” and hes getting all the stigma that comes with that

Another thing is you could argue that a LOT of characters in this show especially in the main cast are autistic. Also a lot of characters are kind of assholes lol… so a ton of autistic assholes. We love that tbh (not David tho, autistic maybe but he was patient even with casp post time skip and 💀 bro i mean given the situation he probably couldnt afford to get angry about it considering the task at hand, but I certainly wouldve had something to say) in all seriousness tho i do love how autistic coded a lot of characters seem it makes me happy.

The animation is.. inconsistent in quality at times

Every once in a while (this isnt a great example but its what i have saved) theyll have the characters move their heads a bit or smth to be more fluid ig but there isnt enough frames or smth so it looks choppy. Other times it looks amazing but i can think of at least two times, both in s2, one with pope and one with casp where that happens (pope talking with renee at that bar and caspian talking to maddie on the plane while he’s comparing mist to a tumor)

I have more takes i just worry im being mostly negative at this point and while i could come up with more positive things to say as well, its getting late, or early depending on how you look at it 💀

Gn/gm all my lovelies and if you haven’t seen pantheon.. go watch it rn i stg we’re gonna fight if you don’t 👊 💥 /lh

Assorted Pantheon thoughts

Just recently finished watching the show and wanted to put my thoughts down somewhere, full spoilers under the cut

Going to be forever salty with how poorly this series was treated by AMC, between being stuck on their shitty streaming service and being written off for tax purposes

Overall I think the first season is a bit stronger than the second, the emotional hook of Maddie's relation with her dad was amazing and I don't think the second season was able to get something quite as compelling

that said I do think it was the right call to kill off David at the end of the first season

In general I feel the first two episodes are an incredible start

One of the best complements I can give to the first two episodes is that they were able to get my mom who never watches animated stuff like this onboard with the show

Chanda's uploading scene was disturbing in the best way possible

I really liked Chanda's role in the first season even when he turns in an antagonist you can understand his logic and motivations

Unfortunately he felt underutilized in season 2

Wonder if Chanda and the others could have fought Holstrom alongside Caspian, they could still have the same fate but it would make them feel like they have more of a contribution instead of something that needs to be gotten out of the way before the main event

The direction of the show was consistently amazing, a few moments that stood out to me was Chanda looping the virtual office, Laurie's message getting cut off transitioning to the credits of episode 7, Caspian exploring Yair's removed memories, and Maddie with all the simulated realities in dyson sphere

In general I feel like they did I good job making the digital world feel different from the real world with the editing, the more actiony fight scenes for the uploaded characters, and the more crazy digital character designs both before and after the 20 year time skip

In particular I like how the fight at the end of season one looked with Chanda and David modifying their appearances, exemplified that the feeling of difference between the worlds really well

Caspian's fake abusive family was really interesting to watch play out over the first half of season 1 and the reveal of him being a clone felt shocking yet makes perfect sense

really liked the unstated horror that Hanna/Rachel was probably going to be killed to push Caspian

I need merch of rice cooker MIST yesterday

Seriously look at her

Middle of season two felt maybe a little formulaic, with them trying to find a UI that would be the right one to cure over several episodes

That said I feel the ideas they explored with the various UI's where really interesting so I don't think its that big of an issue

From what I understand the show was always meant to be two seasons and the cancellation did not effect that, but I really wish the last two episodes could have been a whole season, there is so much interesting stuff going on there

Though I am impressed how much they managed to fit in those two episodes, in particular I liked seeing what Maddie was doing over the 20 years

Really wish we could have gotten a scene of Maddie deciding to upload if nothing else

definitely plan to rewatch the show at some point to see what I catch on a second go around

it might sound like I am being a bit more negative on season two, but I still really enjoyed it, and it got me thinking a lot, especially the last two episodes

Overall I would give it a 9/10

Seriously fuck AMC

[nothinggold13]

Things the people in charge of Netflix’s Narnia series should do:

Read all the books before beginning. Not just the book they’re currently working on. Know all the stories before going in.

Make notes about how the stories connect. Make sure they know how one book leads into another. Note how the characters grow and behave from one book to the next. Narrow down the continuity. Understand the overarching plot.

Make notes on continuity errors, as well. Come up with answers for each of them. Know which ones can simply be removed, and which ones need to be explained. If there are conflicting details, consider carefully which ones to use, and what will best serve the story.

Consider the timeline. Make certain they know all the characters’ ages and how long each story takes. This will make it easier to to figure out the best order to film & produce the stories. The schedule is tight between some of the books, whereas there is plenty of time to spare between others. Those in charge should be experts on this before they begin.

Most of these come down to this: know all the stories. I daydream a lot about what the series should have and what it shouldn’t. I post about it a lot. I think a lot about how scenes should look and what could be added while still remaining true to the greater story. And let’s be clear, I would be thrilled if any of those ideas came to life. But this is the most important thing the producers need to know. They need to know all the stories. They can’t go into this one book at a time. They can’t get by with only a vague idea of what comes next. To properly produce this series, they need to fully understand the timeline, the characters, and the worldbuilding. And sure, that’s true of producing any series. But with Narnia, and the way the stories are sometimes disjointed from one another, and the constantly changing cast of characters, it’s so important to know the central point of each of the stories, and how they connect to one another. From The Magician’s Nephew to The Last Battle, 49 years of English time are covered, as well as thousands of years of Narnian history, and the years don’t always match up. The 7 books span a lot of time, characters, and content. So there it is. All other things I would love to see aside, the most important thing is understanding every story fully. There is so much to know and love and understand.

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Gold Turtle Necklace from Ancient Colchis (modern-day Georgia/South Caucasus) c. 450 BCE: this necklace was crafted from 31 turtle-shaped pendants, each one made of g0ld

The necklace was discovered during excavations at a site known as Vani, in Georgia (the country, not the state). Ancient Vani once served as the religious and administrative center for the Kingdom of Colchis; as I've previously discussed, Colchis was also known as the homeland of the fabled Golden Fleece, and to much of the ancient world, the Colchians themselves were renowned for their skills in goldsmithing.

The turtle pendants on this necklace are all decorated with ornate filigree and granulation patterns. The eyes of the 30 smaller turtles were originally made with glass inlay, while the eyes of the largest turtle (seen in the center) were made from drops of gold.

As this article also notes (translated from Georgian):

[This necklace] is unique because of the zoomorphic depiction that it presents. Among the known examples of goldsmithing from antiquity, the depiction of a turtle is not attested anywhere other than the Vani necklace. 

The local origin of the necklace is primarily indicated by the stylistic unity of the pendants with other examples of Colchian goldsmithing. It should be noted that the land turtle depicted on the pendants was widespread in Colchis.

The excavations at Vani have uncovered lots of other artifacts made by Colchian goldsmiths. These artifacts include temple ornaments, zoomorphic figures, pieces of jewelry, diadems, headdresses, hairpins, drinking vessels, and appliqués, among other things, and they've provided some really valuable insights into the unique goldsmithing traditions that existed among the peoples of Colchis -- and the myths that evolved as a result.

A few of the other golden artifacts from Vani:

Top: headdress ornament featuring an openwork design, c. 350-300 BCE; the central panel of this piece depicts a stag and three other deer, while the frame is topped by two lions and several rows of birds; Bottom: a diadem with a set of temple ornaments, c. 400-350 BCE; all of the panels along the front of the diadem depict scenes of prey animals being hunted by lions

Top: necklace with a series of ram-shaped pendants, c. 400-350 BCE; each pendant was forged from two separate castings that were sealed together to form a complete shape, and the ears/horns were then soldered onto each piece; Bottom: set of bracelets with boar finials, c. 460-440 BCE

Set of temple ornaments that depict two pairs of riders on horseback, c. 400-350 BCE

And a map showing the location of modern-day Georgia (just for reference):

As this map illustrates, Georgia is nestled right at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, with the Black Sea located on one side and the Caspian not far from the other; it is bordered by Russia to the North and by Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to the South

Sources & More Info:

National Geographic (Georgian): Golden Kolkheti

Atinati: The Golden Kingdom of Colchis

Smithsonian: Summary of "Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice: the Golden Graves of Ancient Vani" Exhibition

Burusi (Georgian): The Archaeological Discoveries at Vani

Quaternary International: A Modern Field Investigation of the Mythical “Gold Sands” of Ancient Colchis and the “Golden Fleece” Phenomena

[demigodofhoolemere]

“Susan doesn’t get to go to Heaven with her siblings because she decided she liked lipstick and parties!”

One, there is a very simple reason Susan does not show up in Aslan’s Country with the others at the end of The Last Battle: she’s alive. Her siblings are in Aslan’s Country because they are dead. Susan is not there because she is not dead. That’s literally it.

Two, it’s a massive oversimplification of the text to try to boil things down to ‘Aslan finds mature femininity sinful’ or ‘she can’t be saved because she grew up’ (or my least favorite, saying she’s cast out because she “discovered sex”, which I find a pretty inappropriate statement to make about a very young teenager and a complete misunderstanding of the actual situation). The “problem of Susan” is not that she can’t go to Heaven because she grew up. Her story is that she struggles with her faith and allowed her desire to seem grown-up and part of the in-crowd become her driving influence, forgetting what was most important. It is not meant as a dig at femininity, it is meant to show a loss of priorities.

When Susan is in Narnia and faced daily with the truth, it’s easy for her to believe, but whenever she’s presented a challenge that will require an intentional show of faith, she always seemed to struggle (for example, in Prince Caspian she’s shown to intentionally choose her doubts over what she felt deep down, and thus took the longest to see Aslan again). After leaving Narnia the second time and readjusting to life in England, as time went on it would have gotten easier to gradually forget her faith when the evidence is no longer clearly spelled out in front of her, and eventually her memories that she once knew were true came to feel like nice childhood stories instead. With those memories, and consequently the testimony that once came with them, no longer real for her, she could allow herself to prioritize other things such as self-image. The story is not trying to say that liking to feel pretty is some sort of sinful indulgence, it’s trying to demonstrate how we can get distracted from what matters when we place too much importance on how the world sees us.

The point C.S. Lewis was making was that it’s important to be humble and not lose yourself in trying to appear so smart and so mature to others. Critically, Susan’s story is not just Susan’s story — it is Lewis’s story. Lewis was raised Christian but became an atheist and turned much of his focus on looking intelligent and grown-up, and when he came back to his faith later in life, he looked back on his choices feeling foolish for trying so hard to be so grown-up because it blinded him to what mattered to him. There is a difference between simply maturing into an adult, and becoming the specific kind of grown-up who tries to be grown-up, which is the particular thing that irritated Lewis and something that he frequently touched on in his works.

I wouldn’t know where to look for the quote now, but I remember Lewis saying that Susan was the character he related to the most because of her struggle. He had to intentionally choose his faith and act on it, and it wasn’t always easy. He understood how hard that can be and knew firsthand how one could let oneself forget if they’re not actively working at it. Lewis was not a misogynist who had it out for Susan — he WAS Susan. And on the other hand, Susan can be Lewis. Susan can find her belief again later in life. He specifically said as much, that she can find her way to Aslan’s Country in her own time and in her own way. He chose not to write that story because something as big as the process of returning to your beliefs and being intentional about it through every difficult step was more mature material than he really wanted to write (contrary to the myth that he simply died before he could get around to it, though I suppose in any case it’s true that he died before he ever might have changed his mind). But the simple fact that that would have been the plot is all the proof anyone needs that Lewis imagined a happy ending for her where, eventually, she comes to be with her family in Aslan’s Country.

To say that she was banned from getting to Heaven is patently untrue. Susan is merely living out the rest of her natural life and taking the longer route back to Aslan. That’s no bad thing by any means. There’s no reason her journey should be exactly the same as her siblings — she is not Peter or Edmund or Lucy, she is herself, and different individuals have different stories. Hers is longer and filled with more bumps and is, frankly, the more ordinary and more relatable for many people. The only “problem of Susan” is how often most of this gets misinterpreted or missed altogether.

[octolingo-writes]

JRWI Characters and what musicals I think they’d like (going purely from what musicals I’m familiar with so this might be biased and I apologize)

Gillion feels like the kind of guy to like the Phantom of the Opera, purely because the music style seems like it would REALLY appeal to him (it’s loud!! And it’s more traditional operatic music which I also feel would fit him). Plus, the Phantom doesn’t win which Gill would appreciate (I think Pretzel would like it too).

Chip I think would be a Music Man fan, or Guys and Dolls. Stuff with lots of chorus-y parts and fun dancing. Music Man has tap dancing which I think Chip would really enjoy, plus the main character in MM is a scammer/traveling salesman and Chip could probably relate. I know a lot less about GaD, but it’s purely a vibes thing. The music seems like Chip would like it.

Jay, I think, would be a fan of more “traditional” musicals, but not to the degree of Phantom. She’d be more fond of Wicked, for example. I think she’d probably be reminded of her sister a lot watching that show, which could either be a good or a bad thing. And Wicked has some really cool special effects that I think Jay would really like, given her knack for inventions.

These two aren’t PCs but I feel obligated to do them anyways: Lizzy and Caspian would be Heathers and Les Mis fans, respectively. Heathers is loud and super fun and swears a lot (lmao) which feels like the type of music Lizzy could get behind. I think she’d like singing along with Veronica’s parts, she seems like she’d sound a lot like Veronica when she sings. With Caspian, I feel like Les Mis is a very elegant musical, and Caspian is a very elegant character. I think it would be the kind of musical to make him cry honestly. And it’s similar to opera, which I feel like would be popular in the Undersea.

I’m not going to do ALL the other JRWI PCs, that would take forever (I might do them later but not now). I’ll list a few if they seem very obvious:

Harlem would like Hamilton. It’s a rap musical, and it’s we know Harlem is a fan of rap. I think he’d cry when Phillip dies, not that he’ll admit it. Also, Legally Blonde! I think he’d be super embarrassed that he likes it so much, but it’s got the crazy, overdramatic vibe that he would like in a musical. I’m not sure if there are disco-style musicals, but if there were he would love those.

Br’aad and Sylnan would both be Beetlejuice fans. This is partly cause I saw an animatic of them with “Dead Mom” as the song and it killed me inside, but I think they would like it! Br’aad would definitely appreciate the humor, and both of them can relate to unlikable father figures (understatement). Sylnan might also be a Les Mis fan cause he can relate to the poverty-stricken lifestyle a little more than Br’aad, and I think Cosette would probably remind him of Katherine.

Alastyr would like The Addams Family. It’s got a super weird cast of characters I think he would enjoy, plus, super fun music! It’s not so serious that it would be a downer to watch but it’s got a message hidden under all that eyeliner and tango dancing. I think he’d like Wednesday a lot.

Taxi strikes me as Dear Evan Hansen kind of guy. While I personally don’t like DEH that much, I think the emotional-ness of it would really appeal to Taxi, and as far as I know there aren’t a lot of really loud and angry songs (besides “Good For You”). I don’t know if he would fully relate to Evan, but he could certainly sympathize.

Rumi/Elaina would like Six or Phantom. I think they’d like dramatic musicals with a lot of strong characters, and Six absolutely has a cast of strong female characters Rumi could get behind. Phantom, on the other hand, would be a relatable one for them. The Phantom’s whole character is that he hides behind a mask, and Rumi is literally a shapeshifter. Plus, they would love all the costumes in that show.

Dakota, and this may be a hot take, would like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I just feel like all the bright colors and the different song styles would be really eye-catching for him, plus, it’s got some humor! I think he’d like the Pharaoh character especially (Pharaoh is based off Elvis in that musical and he’s hilarious).

Well, that’s it for now! I tried not to repeat multiple times, so I hope I didn’t make any far reaches. Feel free to comment or reblog with your own ideas; I’d love to see them! I was working with my musical knowledge, which is a bit lacking at times. I’m not too familiar with some of the classics. Thanks for sticking around to read all these :D! Hope it was worth your time!

[selkiewife]

hey, do you have Theon fancasts to recommend?

This is such great timing because I had recently been thinking about Theon fancasts for making some book gifsets. 

I really like Matvey Lykov in the role of Arman from I Am Dragon

I also really like Garett Hudland in the role of Murtagh from Eragon

And Matteo Martari in his role as Francesco Pazzi in I Medici.

I also like Miles Frank who is a model- but he hasn’t done any movies I don’t think, which makes editing hard.

And there is also Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe:

I mean look: he even has Smiler! And he’s even on a ship in the third film. 

I am definitely hoping to use these actors for some edits I want to make soon since I am planning on hosting a Theon Month on @theon-appreciation. It will be a book based celebration similar to the recent Dany Month and upcoming Jon Month. I just have to get my shit together and decide which month to do it- Maybe March? Or May?

But... as always, my heart of hearts casting of Theon still is and always will be Alfie Allen. 

I know people say that he doesn’t look like book Theon, but for me he IS Theon. It’s just an emotional thing for me. And with any Theon fancasting, it is still always the attitude that is the most important to me and Alfie has Theon’s attitude. And when I re-read the books, I do sometimes picture him in my mind. And then sometimes when I read the books, I picture Theon being much closer to the above fancasts. I do really love book based gifsets that still use Alfie for Theon because then it feels like he is getting to actually act some of those amazing book scenes- like the Godswood scene, for example. But I also really love seeing fancasts that are much closer to the book description. 

So please, send me your Theon fancasts recommendations as well! I definitely love fancast suggestions. Especially now that I’ve been making more gifsets! And thanks for the question!

[yamayuandadu]

Do you know of any attempts to reconstruct a hypothetical Proto-Semitic pantheon? I'd be interested in reading something like that but I haven't come across anything even remotely resembling such a thing. (Also be interested in a Proto-Afro-Asiatic pantheon but that looks even more remote).

I do not think it's possible in the first place and I think it's good the field generally abstains for quests for such phantasmagoric entities considering how the focus on "reconstructed Proto-Indo-European pantheon" basically resulted in some combination of reinventing Jungian archetypes and hyperdiffusionism over and over again. I don't think it's bad in principle but the results are often... dubious to put it very lightly. Additionally, ultimately religion and language aren't necessarily correlated, and cognate names of deities won't necessarily tell us much. For instance while the Ashtar from 1st millennium BCE sources from the Arabian Peninsula certainly has a name cognate with that of Ishtar, it's hard to deny that Ishtar shares more "religious dna" with Sumerian Inanna, Hurrian Shaushka and Elamite Pinikir. A good example of this is also the case of Hittite religion - Hittite is undeniably an Indo-European language, and yet the Hittite pantheon was largely patterned on Hattian, Hurrian and Mesopotamian ones, with no trace of particularly many figures resembling the reconstructed PIE gods. Another problem is that there is no purely "Semitic" pantheon - ie. one with gods with names exclusively drawn from a language which can be assumed to be Semitic - in the oldest known sources, casting doubts over whether such a thing ever existed, especially as the Ancient Near East was a very linguistically diverse area (you can’t really discuss Akkadians and Amorites without Sumerians, Hurrians, Elamites, Kassites...). The a-list gods in Ebla - Ishara, Kura, Barama, Dagan, Hadabal (aka NI-da-KUL), Astabi - with the exception of Hadda and Resheph seem to come from some linguistic substrate (or multiple); Akkadian and Sumerian pantheons are virtually impossible to fully separate as are the cultures; and so on. The development of pantheons was much more complex than the models promoted by some PIE religion researchers would make one believe, and on top of that there is always not necessarily accounted for variation. We can't actually say for sure that the religon of Pontic-Caspian Steppe or the Fertile Crescent was uniform in the times proposed for the proto-Semitic or proto-IE languages!

[im-in-love-with-pizza-bites]

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#i had to give them my fucking info to watch the stupid zoom meeting my school forced me to go to yesterday 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Yours, Mine, Ours: MasterList

Single-Dad!Chris Evans X Single-Mom!Reader

Series Summary: Your husband Caspian Richardson Senior died while serving in the military, so you move your three sons to Boston, MA. Where you meet an actor and his sweet daughter.

Series Warnings: Death of a spouse/parent, divorce of parents,

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490 notes • Posted 2021-07-16 13:32:12 GMT

#4

The Gentlemen Test

Holland Brothers X Sister!Reader, Harrison Osterfeild X Holland!Reader

Summary: You tested your brothers and Haz to see if they're gentleman.

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523 notes • Posted 2021-05-26 01:56:29 GMT

#3

Hello I love the way you write of Surprise tony x daughter reader could you do part two please. Wherein the reader is struggling to get better but it leads to worse. She's trying because of her family but deep inside she was tired and wanted to give up but she couldn't. The avengers could see it and they felt sad and guilt and so much feels especially tony. Even through that the reader is still happy and trying to hide the pain she felt so when its her father birthday, she decide to spend her time to them without knowing its her last time that the reader will spend her time. (In short she died) and also I wanted to see what happened next, what the avengers and tony felt after that. Sorry if its long request, I just want to find a very angsty fic and this one is the one I like the most. Gehehe I like angsty stuff. (Wanted to find a fanfic to cry on)

Goodbye

Tony Stark X Daughter!Reader, Avengers X Teen!Stark!Reader

Summary: The avengers and your friends find letters you wrote them before you died.

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573 notes • Posted 2021-05-20 15:29:07 GMT

#2

if it’s not too much trouble to ask, maybe a scenario with the mcu cast in which the reader is a young artist. something along the lines of billie eilish for example. if you’d prefer to just write a select few of people then i’d be just as happy with that! either way, cheers. <3

Being A Young Artist And Apart Of The Marvel Cast

MCU Cast X Teen!Reader

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592 notes • Posted 2021-07-01 03:47:12 GMT

#1

For your summer themed prompt event, would you mind doing a Bucky Barnes x child reader? Maybe reader is around 12/13 years old and lives with the avengers using prompt 18?

Water gun fights and the Arcade

Bucky Barnes X Child!Fem!Reader, Avengers X Child!Reader

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779 notes • Posted 2021-05-26 22:27:18 GMT

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[author-a-holmes]

hey!!! so for one of ur underwing challenge questions, i was wondering about how you found your faceclaims so far? did you have them as an idea for a faceclaim at the start of making the characters or did you happen to find them later?

Faceclaims vary for me honestly.

I always had a very solid idea in my mind of what I wanted Reilly to look like, and really the only person I can ever imagine playing Reilly is Ben Barnes. The shoulder length black hair, slight beard, and most importantly those dark might-as-well-be-black eyes. For Reilly those features are all integral parts of him. The black eyes are a mark of his mothers Desert Elf heritage, the beard helps him pass unnoticed, the long hair means he can bend and it helps him hide his features from pursuing guardsmen. None of those features are things I could change, and still have Reilly be Reilly, so Ben Barnes as his face claim was not only my best option but also my only option.

To be honest, when it comes to Reilly’s face claim, I’m not even 100% sure which came first. My love of Barnes as Caspian in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, or the creation of Reilly Mosswolf.

Stella is another strange one as Amanda Seyfried, in small part, sparked the seed that grew into Stolen. She did a photoshoot where she was leaning against a wooden surface that sort of looked like a bar, and it got me thinking about what sort of secrets could be whispered behind the barrier that her long hair provided.

So my main two, the face claims sort of came about at the same time as the creation of their characters, in one way or another.

For the other characters in Stolen, I do have face claims but they’re usually “If you could cast your dream actor in this role, who would it be”. I don’t adhere strictly to them, and they definitely came after the creations of the characters.

Most of the time I will create a character, find an actor I’d love to cast as the character in a movie or tv show, and then try to create a weird mix of the person in my head, and the actor I’d cast, in Artbreeder, and then I’ll use the Artbreeder image as a character reference guide, when describing them in the book.

Dara, for example, I always knew she was tall, broad shoulders, honey blonde hair in natural loose curls to her jaw, blue eyes. Stunning. So when I went looking for a face claim, it was the height I was mainly searching for because If I was going to cast someone, that’s her main defining feature. I eventually settled on Gwendoline Christie for Dara, and then tried to recreate her face, and Dara’s features in Artbreeder. 

As for how I find my face claims; Fanpop. I go to Fanpop and search through their celebrity listings. I’m not a big celebrity follower, so having an archive of famous faces helps me spot someone who might work, and then I google their name for better pictures.

Thank you so much for the question! <3

[hanadanmin]

Shadow and Bone

Sub : why they made villains so attractive?

So.... i found another great series on Netflix and this time, it's a Young-Adult novel adaptation. I actually left the YA world after i graduated high school. I used to collect those YA novels such as Dark Instruments, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, etc. But when i came back to K-pop world, i immediately ditched them. The YA novel world seemed stagnant whereas k-pop world kept moving forward. This resulting a mass exodus of YA novel fans to kpop (i saw many YA tumblr accounts converted into a kpop stan accounts). Anyway...

I'm not saying that i'm back to YA world, it's just that i'm so happy a YA novel actually made it's way to Netflix and got an excellent adaptation. The last time a series were this good is... Harry Potter(?). Percy Jackson failed to meet my expectation, same as Divergent and Mortal Instruments. When i watch Shadow and Bone, I actually thought that it was not a YA adaptation but an original series such as Kingdom or Virgin River. But when i found out that the main character is a young female who happens to have a mythical powers that could change everyone's life, my brain starts to gave this... "you know this is a typical YA novel plot right?". So i did a little bit research on this series and turns out i was right. IT IS A NOVEL ADAPTATION!

But damn... the production value for this adaptation is so good, i hardly expect that this came from a YA novel. I mean, i know Netflix could adapt novels into a brilliant series such as Bridgerton but Shadow and Bone is a whole different level. Their costumes, set, cg, and even the cast are amazing. They really invested a lot for this YA novel adaptation. And also... ekhm... casting Ben Barnes was such a brilliant idea because he just fits the Darkling character. He's also really charming. His gaze, his seducing smile... oh God i need to lower my gaze for this man.

But anyway, i was actually surprised when i see Ben Barnes on this show. For a sec i thought he was Seneca from Hunger Games, but then i realize i knew his smile. That is Prince Caspian! You see, i had a major crush on prince Caspian when i was on 5th grade. I cut my hair short to look like him and even had this wild dream that i got cast as Prince Caspian's daugher. Of course i realize that me and Ben Barnes has a huge age gap, that's why i thought being Prince Caspian's daughter is the least i can be, haha. And now I'm shocked that he has a (SPOILER ALERT 🚨) kiss scene with someone my age! Well, Jessie is actually 4 years older than me but still.... Jessie even said that he used to fangirl Ben Barnes during Prince Caspian era and would kiss his poster back then, and now she can actually kiss him and got paid as well?! That's just my childhood dream come true for her.

Anyway, back on track. I do realize that Ben Barnes character, the darkling, has more charms compared to Mel, Alina's love interest. Mel is just an ordinary boy who wants to help his childhood friend (who later became his lover), and the darkling is someone who wants Alina for himself (to control his dark powers). Essentially, The Darkling character is bad. But for some reason this character is more appealing compared to Mel. Mainly because Mel is a good character, and the Darkling was... complex. He used to have someone he loved, but then got killed in the hands of Grisha hunters. So he made the Fold and turn humans to this ugly monsters protecting the Fold. And now he tries to control Alina by seducing her and trap her in his little caste. Everything about The Darkling is... appealing. Meanwhile Mel is... boring.

You see, this is why shaitan is so easy to follow. Bad and evil stuffs are considered to be something that are "out of the norm,". Breaking the rules seems like a fun thing to do because we finally break out from this boring routine of being good. For example, which is more appealing? Going to a bar, karaoke and having fun at the club or going to masjid and pray? Or another example... which is more daring to do? Drink alcohol or coca-cola? Both of the drinks are same, they were created for fun occasions, but why is alcohol seems to be more appealing? Of course, because it contains evil thing for our body. It is more appealing because it is forbidden. Forbidden things tend to create more adrenaline, such as forbidden love, forbidden place, forbidden acts. If humans do the forbidden things, their brains suddenly thought "Oh, i was so brave on breaking the norm,". This is why humans are easily lured by shaitan, because bad things are... like i said... designed to be daring, challenging, and fun. People will say : reading qur'an, shalat 5 times a day, going to masjid, where are the fun in that? Because there are no challenges. Instead we have to obey God and do his commands. People not knowing that obeying God means peaceful and good life. They won't have to face consequences in the after life. But like i said "Mel's character is boring, so i choose The Darkling instead,"

This is why so many people are rooting for The Darkling & Alina more, because they thought both of them had chemistry. Yeah... the chemistry exist because the audience knew that their relationship is forbidden. I mean, as much as i love Ben Barnes. His character is just pure evil... and for that, i won't root Darklina. But, i do love Ben Barnes so i just assume that i love his character due to the fact it is played by Ben. If they cast someone else, i'm not sure i will like the Darkling this much (Astagfirullah please save me from charming evil characters).

Oh by the way... seriously! You should watch Shadow & Bone... IT IS REALLY GOOD. Here is the link, go watch it yourself :

[something-tofightfor]

I really hope Ben stays away from anything live action Disney. He needs something better. I’m not digging this Darkling crap. I wish he had a better agent and better decisions with his career. He has so much potential to win awards and make great films/series.

Short answer: He’s going do do what he wants because as an actor. He’s made a name for himself and has earned the right to take/try out for the roles that he wants… and as fans, all we can do is sit back and watch, even when we disagree. I don’t think there’s any actor or actress that I can think of that I enjoy that has taken on GREAT roles every step of the way… but I’ll agree that this is frustrating for me.

Longer answer: I agree. I think that Disney live action movies are a waste of time. The Jungle Book was incredible, and the CGI/cast were phenomenal, but I feel like everything since has been super lackluster… specifically Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. I’m not sure why they feel the need to remake every single movie into a ‘live action’ version… it’s unnecessary, CLEARLY a cash grab (because the originals are still incredible and classics and don’t NEED to be updated). As much as I love Ben, and think he looks SUPER YOUNG … the story of Rapunzel is meant to be about an 18 year old girl. Ben is nowhere near 18. Pairing him with a girl in a love story that is MEANT to be 18 is not a good choice. Voice acting is one thing - because it’s cartoon characters and older voices… but that’s not what live action is. I already have an issue with the age difference between The Darkling and Alina in S&B (or, I guess I should say what I THINK the age difference will be onscreen, because who knows WTF they’re going to do there) … and two projects in a row like that would be hard to take. I think that a huge issue with fancasting (especially with him) is that people don’t care about the character in question per se, they just want to see an actor or an actress that they like in a specific part. For example… Ben as Sirius. The pictures that people seem to always use for this are literally more than a decade old - he looks different now He’s not 26. He’s not Caspian age anymore. They get it in their heads that someone is PERFECT for a part, and then even if it doesn’t make logical sense at the present time, won’t let it go. (Batman, Flynn, Sirius, The Darkling …. but LB got her wish 8 years later) 

He does have a lot of potential, but at the same time, he’s only able to work with the scripts that he has available, as well as with the studios that will allow him to audition for the parts they provide him. He seems to be having fun on set with the S&B cast, but unfortunately, when he’s out in large groups (at that dinner, in the dance party video) it’s painfully clear that there is an age gap between him and the rest of the main cast. I don’t want that for him, (not that what I want matters, but) and would love to see him do something else in the vein of Gold Digger (which I enjoyed a hell of a lot more than I thought I would) or even Jackie and Ryan or Westworld. 

He hasn’t made a movie since J&R, and that’s a damn shame. I know he had to switch agents/reps early 2019 because his old agent quit, and it seems like whoever he’s working with now has been working hard to keep his name relevant… but again, doing the SAME convention twice in the span of 7 months, not doing ANY smaller more intimate conventions in the United States, or outside of Europe? It makes no sense. He has so many fans in other areas of the world, it just seems like he’s really limiting himself in both the way he presents himself to people at events like conventions and with the roles he takes/tries out for/focuses on, and I’m curious as to why. He owes the fans nothing, and I have to hand it to him - he seems to be super focused on making sure that everyone that meets him/that he works with gets the attention that he feels they deserve… but that doesn’t mean that I want to see him languishing away in mediocre roles for the rest of his career, however long that may be. 

Thanks for your message! 

[dancing-lawn]

A Letter to the Creators of the Netflix Adaptation of Narnia

As some of you may already know, Netflix will be adapting the Chronicles of Narnia. Now, I don’t want to get my hopes up too much. The Magician’s Nephew was meant to be adapted not long after Voyage of the Dawn Treader came out, and that was scrapped in favor of Silver Chair, which is a dead project too. But, if the stars do happen to align and Netflix manages to adapt the series, I will be a loyal fan and supporter of the creators of the TV/film franchise. 

Everyone has their own opinions on how the Narnia series should be adapted. Some believe that the religious tones should be enhanced, while others believe they should be lessened. Some want the series to be more gritty and serious, while others want it to be light and child-friendly. Some want to see accurate representation and an expansion of the Narnia universe (what are the other countries like? who is to say that all of Narnia is white, straight, and cis?) while others want it to be an exact adaptation. All of the concerns about Netflix adaptations are valid, especially given the importance of the Narnia series for many children around world as well as the undoubtedly religious aspect of hte series. Taking too many liberties may alienate the Christian community, whilet taking too few will ostracize fans who wish to see the books adapted to fit 21st century political, social, and cultural sensibilities. 

I have my own opinions and hopes for the series: mainly, that I would love to be offered a richer picture of the Narnian universe, from what Calormen and Archenland are like, the political and social climate of the Golden Age, to the early reign of Frank and Helen. I think if done right, delving into these aspects will show a new side to Narnia, when it has been seen by most mainstream media as simply a Christian allegory while other fantasy series and given broader platforms and deeper analyses by the average consumer. 

But, what I hope above all else that the Netflix production of Narnia captures is the spirit of the series. I believe for many kids who first read the novels, the religious tones go unnoticed. For many, Narnia is arguably the first example of escapism fiction, where children have authority and power, when they usually go ignored and silenced by adults. 

Indeed, for C.S. Lewis himself, Narnia was not intended to be first nad foremost a Christian novel. He has said multiple times that he didn’t envision Narnia as allegory, and that he developed the plot and fantasy before he realized the similarities to Christian themes. He created Narnia from a dream of a lamppost and a faun in a red scarf, and it was that dream that carried him through seven books, that saw the birth and death of a world. 

Instead, Narnia is an amalgamation of several cultures and themes. He incorporated Celtic fairytales alongside Judeo-Christian themes, as well as Greek mythology and astronomy. C.S. Lewis was a scholar before he was a Christian (he was a strong atheist before meeting J.R.R. Tolkien who convinced him to rejoin the Church) and it is his scientific reasoning that informs much of the series. As a result, to write off the Narnia series as “just” a Christian book, thinly veiled as fantasy, would be false on multiple counts, and I hope the Netflix producers see the series as more than that.

For me, Narnia is not about Christianity or even religion. Instead, Narnia is about rediscovering magic and joy, when all seems hopeless and you have no power or control over your own life. The Pevensie children are sent off to live in the countryside with a stranger after the Blitz, passive actions of their political reality. Still, when they enter Narnia, they encounter the White Witch, who seeks total control over the world. In the world that the Pevensies are brought up in, age equals authority and power; even the older siblings try to control Lucy, and much of the early sibling interaction between Edmund anad Lucy has to do with him seeking authority over his younger sister. The other books, too, show this conflict between children and authority figures: Diggory versus Uncle Andrew, Shasta versus his adoptive father figure, Prince Caspian versus Miraz, Eustace and Jill versus the stifling intellectual environment of their school and families.

What Narnia offers each protagonist is the opportunity to discover their own power and give them the opportunity to control their own narratives. Each character is active in his or her own story, rather than reacting to circumstances beyond their control. Certainly, they have guidance. But, Aslan’s help is rare, and often, the children save themselves. They make mistakes, but they also atone for them and move forward. Narnia shows children that they do have power, even if those around them don’t recognize or appreciate it. 

At the same time, the series condemns authority figures and adults for forgetting their inner child. The books are not saying that adulthood is bad (Frank and Helen are positive adult figures, as are Diggory and Polly in later books) but rather, many adults lose the joy, courage, and creativity they once had as children, becoming cynical, shallow, and cruel as a result. Uncle Diggory’s obsession with appearances is mocked, when the Talking Animals mistake him for a tree; Miraz is defeated by his superstitions. The “problem of Susan,” often cited as sexism on Lewis’s part, is another example of this theme: that true maturity means accepting and celebrating the wisdom of childhood. 

What a successful Narnia adaptation should do, then, is not preach Christianity or present a meaningless adventure, just for the sake of showing off advanced CGI, but tell us that even in times of darkness, you can still hold onto hope, you can still atone for your mistakes, and you can still have agency over your own destiny. The people around you may belittle and disrespect you, but that doesn’t take away your power unless you succumb to it. 

It is hard to keep fighting, to keep having that hope when everyone around you has given up. But what the Narnia series shows us is that we can change the world and we do have an impact. That spirit - of courage, of dedication, of hope - is what I hope that Netflix manages to bring to the screen, above plot minutiae, cool CGI, and Christian allegory. 

Narnia was never about playing it safe, finding a home, or having blind faith in a god. Instead, Narnia is about the struggle of finding yourself and believing in something against all odds, and that maintaining hope is not futile or useless but worthwhile and powerful. To Netflix, to Matthew Aldrich, to the incredible cast and crew that will be starting soon on adapting the book series that changed my life, I am excited to see you take on this challenge and show to the world the greatness of the Pevensies, Aslan, and Narnia. Good luck and courage, dear hearts!

[demigodofhoolemere]

I posted 6,463 times in 2021

138 posts created (2%)

6325 posts reblogged (98%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 45.8 posts.

I added 7,003 tags in 2021

#marvel - 2052 posts

#marvel streaming - 928 posts

#spoilers - 799 posts

#chronicles of narnia - 616 posts

#wandavision - 554 posts

#wandavision spoilers - 514 posts

#disney - 447 posts

#wanda maximoff - 414 posts

#the falcon and the winter soldier - 356 posts

#tfatws spoilers - 323 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#i don’t know if i’m doing a series of these lol but after the caspian one i also needed some hufflepuff eustace content to be in the world

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Things I have never gotten over and never will: the Pevensies finding the ruins of Cair Paravel and realizing how so much time has passed that all the things that were not so long ago commonplace for them are now merely dusty echoes serving the only proof of the lives they lived

140 notes • Posted 2021-05-06 21:02:54 GMT

#4

Those are definitely Darcy’s hands, I feel alive tonight

275 notes • Posted 2021-01-16 08:04:41 GMT

#3

Today’s installment of “Aslan lines that knocked the wind out of me”:

498 notes • Posted 2021-05-10 01:39:35 GMT

#2

Okay I am 100% invested in the mystery of WandaVision and I’m dying to see how things unfold but honestly I hope they know that they’ve created an odd-couple sitcom that I would totally just watch as is anyway

703 notes • Posted 2021-01-16 07:33:12 GMT

#1

“Susan doesn’t get to go to Heaven with her siblings because she decided she liked lipstick and parties!”

One, there is a very simple reason Susan does not show up in Aslan’s Country with the others at the end of The Last Battle: she’s alive. Her siblings are in Aslan’s Country because they are dead. Susan is not there because she is not dead. That’s literally it.

Two, it’s a massive oversimplification of the text to try to boil things down to ‘Aslan finds mature femininity sinful’ or ‘she can’t be saved because she grew up’ (or my least favorite, saying she’s cast out because she “discovered sex”, which I find a pretty inappropriate statement to make about a very young teenager and a complete misunderstanding of the actual situation). The “problem of Susan” is not that she can’t go to Heaven because she grew up. Her story is that she struggles with her faith and allowed her desire to seem grown-up and part of the in-crowd become her driving influence, forgetting what was most important. It is not meant as a dig at femininity, it is meant to show a loss of priorities.

When Susan is in Narnia and faced daily with the truth, it’s easy for her to believe, but whenever she’s presented a challenge that will require an intentional show of faith, she always seemed to struggle (for example, in Prince Caspian she’s shown to intentionally choose her doubts over what she felt deep down, and thus took the longest to see Aslan again). After leaving Narnia the second time and readjusting to life in England, as time went on it would have gotten easier to gradually forget her faith when the evidence is no longer clearly spelled out in front of her, and eventually her memories that she once knew were true came to feel like nice childhood stories instead. With those memories, and consequently the testimony that once came with them, no longer real for her, she could allow herself to prioritize other things such as self-image. The story is not trying to say that liking to feel pretty is some sort of sinful indulgence, it’s trying to demonstrate how we can get distracted from what matters when we place too much importance on how the world sees us.

The point C.S. Lewis was making was that it’s important to be humble and not lose yourself in trying to appear so smart and so mature to others. Critically, Susan’s story is not just Susan’s story — it is Lewis’s story. Lewis was raised Christian but became an atheist and turned much of his focus on looking intelligent and grown-up, and when he came back to his faith later in life, he looked back on his choices feeling foolish for trying so hard to be so grown-up because it blinded him to what mattered to him. There is a difference between simply maturing into an adult, and becoming the specific kind of grown-up who tries to be grown-up, which is the particular thing that irritated Lewis and something that he frequently touched on in his works.

I wouldn’t know where to look for the quote now, but I remember Lewis saying that Susan was the character he related to the most because of her struggle. He had to intentionally choose his faith and act on it, and it wasn’t always easy. He understood how hard that can be and knew firsthand how one could let oneself forget if they’re not actively working at it. Lewis was not a misogynist who had it out for Susan — he WAS Susan. And on the other hand, Susan can be Lewis. Susan can find her belief again later in life. He specifically said as much, that she can find her way to Aslan’s Country in her own time and in her own way. He chose not to write that story because something as big as the process of returning to your beliefs and being intentional about it through every difficult step was more mature material than he really wanted to write (contrary to the myth that he simply died before he could get around to it, though I suppose in any case it’s true that he died before he ever might have changed his mind). But the simple fact that that would have been the plot is all the proof anyone needs that Lewis imagined a happy ending for her where, eventually, she comes to be with her family in Aslan’s Country.

To say that she was banned from getting to Heaven is patently untrue. Susan is merely living out the rest of her natural life and taking the longer route back to Aslan. That’s no bad thing by any means. There’s no reason her journey should be exactly the same as her siblings — she is not Peter or Edmund or Lucy, she is herself, and different individuals have different stories. Hers is longer and filled with more bumps and is, frankly, the more ordinary and more relatable for many people. The only “problem of Susan” is how often most of this gets misinterpreted or missed altogether.

962 notes • Posted 2021-09-28 16:56:38 GMT

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[joannalannister]

I'm not sure who to ask this question, and I tried Googling, but came up with no answers. Why is it that iron is so prominent in ASoIaF? There's the Iron Throne, Iron Islands, Ironborn, Iron Price, Iron Bank, Ironwood, etc. So just curious why that's the element GRRM chose to use/focus on so much. BTW, I love all your lovely blogs! 😊

Thank you so much! I love these kinds of questions! We would probably have to ask GRRM to know for sure why iron inspired him in ASOIAF, but we can speculate!

Iron features prominently in folklore, including in-world westerosi folklore: “A child’s rhyme echoed in his head. Oak and iron, guard me well, or else I’m dead, and doomed to hell.” Interestingly, this rhyme is not invoked by any highborn POV, only by Dunk. And Davos remembers something similar: “A knife in the heart, though…even demons can be killed by cold iron, the singers say.” Even lowborn Will of the Night’s Watch, from the AGOT prologue, takes comfort in cold iron.

Perhaps it’s only a smallfolk superstition, but I’m inclined to believe the smallfolk remember a truth the nobility have forgotten. Whether they remember or not, lords often build their gates and doors of oak and iron. For example, one enters the Great Hall of Winterfell by “wide oak-and-iron doors,” big enough to ride a horse through. More importantly, Winterfell is guarded by “massive oak-and-iron gates” though by the end of ACOK they’re hanging “charred and askew”. Combine this with @racefortheironthrone​‘s idea that Winterfell was built as an engine to fight the Others, and I think GRRM’s grand design might be getting a little clearer. All the stuff listed here is going to be important in the War for the Dawn:

“Winterfell…grey granite, oak and iron, crows wheeling around the towers, steam rising off the hot pools in the godswood, the stone kings sitting on their thrones…how could Winterfell be gone?” 

Winterfell isn’t gone. Just dormant. 

Winterfell lies dreaming, waiting to be reborn in oak and iron and granite. There’s magic in Winterfell’s walls. (More about Winterfell here.) 

I know you didn’t ask this part, but I think we need to explore the question of “Why oak?” before we tackle “Why iron?” Oak trees represent strength and steadfastness, endurance and long life. The oak is considered a holy tree, closely associated with pagan gods of Northern Europe, and GRRM is aware of this association. In King’s Landing, “The heart tree was an oak, brown and faceless, yet Ned Stark still felt the presence of his gods.” The Ghost of High Heart also associates oak with the old gods. 

“Oak-trees have always been regarded as great protectors and guardians of the virtuous.” A fitting tree for Duncan the Tall to be invoking. Arya herself is called an oak tree. The oak has a duality to it, with “deep roots [that] penetrate as deep into the Underworld as its branches soar to the sky.”  

“The Sanskrit word, ‘Duir’, gave rise both to the word for oak and the English word ‘door’, which suggests that this tree stands as an opening into greater wisdom, perhaps an entryway into the otherworld itself.” [x]

I don’t know if there will be a connection between oak and the Others, or if oak is just symbolically important in the War for the Dawn, but it will be interesting to find out. 

“Of all the trees in Britain and Ireland the oak is considered king” and we know what GRRM thinks of kings: “a king protects his people, or he is no king at all.” Oaks are a popular fantasy element. C.S. Lewis used oaks and other trees to fight alongside the Narnians in Prince Caspian and of course Tolkien had the Ents, some of which resembled oaks. I don’t think GRRM’s trees are going to get up and start walking around, but I think ASOIAF themes support the idea that even the trees oppose those who would seek dominion over you. The Others are certainly seeking dominion over the earth. The walls of Winterfell are going to fight against them, oak and iron and granite, and protect people. 

So, what about iron? Because you’re completely right to pick up on the iron motif. GRRM references iron from the very beginning. In the prologue of AGOT, when Wymar Royce battles the Other while Will climbs a tree (not an oak but something GRRM calls a sentinel … which is not a real type of tree but GRRM’s own fantasy brand of evergreen) … Will is mentioned to have “cold iron”. 

He whispered a prayer to the nameless gods of the wood, and slipped his dirk free of its sheath. He put it between his teeth to keep both hands free for climbing. The taste of cold iron in his mouth gave him comfort.

He’s unwittingly invoking oak and iron. And remember, the Others leave Will to be killed by wight!Wymar. Could the Others have killed Will? Did Will’s iron make any difference? idk, GRRM isn’t saying, but I hope we get more definitive information in future books. “Cold iron” in literature has historically meant any weapon designed to draw blood, but I don’t know if GRRM is making a distinction between iron and steel. 

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ASIDE: What is the difference between iron and steel? I didn’t know so I had to look it up: 

Steel is a mixture of several metals (this is called an alloy) but most of it is iron and often some carbon. Steel is harder and stronger than iron. Steels are often iron alloys with between 0.02% and 1.7% percent carbon by weight. Alloys with more carbon than this are known as cast iron. Steel is different from wrought iron, that has little or no carbon.

Something made of pure iron is softer than steel because the atoms can slip over one another. If other atoms like carbon are added, they are different from iron atoms and stop the iron atoms from sliding apart so easily. This makes the steel stronger and harder.

Changing the amount of carbon added to steel will change its properties:

Hardness

How easily it bends

Ductility: can it be made into thin wires

Strength

Is it magnetic

Will it rust (or corrode)

Steel with more carbon is harder and stronger than pure iron, but it also breaks more easily (brittle).

Iron is an element and a metal. It is the second most common metal on Earth, and the most widely-used metal. It makes up much of the Earth’s core, and is the fourth most common element in the Earth’s crust.

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I’m out of my depth here, but I would like a chemist or metallurgist to discuss the potential carbon-content of Valyrian steel and relate that to the fact that all known life on Earth (and probably Terros - with the exception of the Others, probably) is carbon-based, and then tie that into ASOIAF’s life-affirming themes in the War for the Dawn. 

something something carbon as a life force in the Valyrian steel being anathema to the Others something something steel made with human blood sacrifice something something…

Has someone already written an essay about this? If so, please link me. 

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In the meantime, we can consider iron in folklore. Iron is believed to repel fairies. GRRM has said that the Others are like “the Sidhe made of ice” and the Sidhe are the fairy folk of Ireland. So when Westerosi invoke “oak and iron" to guard them, I think this is a remnant of the cultural memory of the Long Night. (I’ve talked about the Others here and in my tag for #the Others.)

(There are other scraps of cultural memory that recall the Others. For example, in TSS, Egg hears vicious rumors about Rohanne Webber from the smallfolk:

“Four,” said Egg, “but no children. Whenever she gives birth, a demon comes by night to carry off the issue. Sam Stoops’ wife says she sold her babes unborn to the Lord of the Seven Hells, so he’d teach her his black arts.”

Obviously these rumors about Rohanne were not true, but demons coming by night to carry off babies is eerily similar to the deal Craster has with the Others in exchange for protection.) 

What’s special about iron? Pliny the Elder, who lived in the first century, believed that iron could protect and heal people, and some of these ideas persisted well into the 20th century. 

I don’t know if the potential magnetism of iron is important but idk, the heroes probably have to go to the North pole, that might be important. 

Also, “iron can attract and conduct electricity, focus and release it, store it as magnetic energy, or disperse it by returning it to the earth. Iron can change form. It can be made molten, fluid, and malleable, and then set into unbending forms of our design.” Considering that ASOIAF is about rebirth and duality and transformation and shapeshifting (please see this post about Tyrion - please click), iron is thematically important to ASOIAF, to our malleability, our rebirth. 

Victorians believed that the first iron found was in meteorites. “Of course, even today, iron still seems magical in many respects. It is the most plentiful metal in the universe. All iron was initially forged in the hearts of stars, and only gifted to the cosmos when they exploded in supernovae. This stardust is in each of us; it is what makes our blood red.”

Consider:

Dawn, forged from the heart of a fallen star. 

The Daynes of Starfall are one of the most ancient houses in the Seven Kingdoms, though their fame largely rests on their ancestral sword, called Dawn, and the men who wielded it. Its origins are lost to legend, but it seems likely that the Daynes have carried it for thousands of years. Those who have had the honor of examining it say it looks like no Valyrian steel they know, being pale as milkglass but in all other respects it seems to share the properties of Valyrian blades, being incredibly strong and sharp.

The iron content in Dawn is probably important. 

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(GRRM has said that, while the Daynes share the violet eyes of the Targs, they’re not the same ancestry. I’m guessing that Dawn and Valyrian steel are like that too, parallel in their formation but different. (There is a term for parallel evolution in biology but from completely different ancestors. Biologists, help me out!))

EDIT: @victorvontooms supplied the term I was looking for: convergent evolution. That’s how I think of Daynes vs Targs and Dawn vs Valyrian steel, both made to fight the Others but forged completely differently.

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Also, Tyrion tells us:

Dragonbone is black because of its high iron content

(No one shows the dragon bone in ASOIAF as black!! But it is!! Dragonbone is black!!! 

^^Detail of art I commissioned from @bidonica, showing the dragonbone as black!! Will I ever stop screaming about this? No!! It’s my desktop, it’s so important to me!!! Not that I ever see my desktop through my tab forest but it’s the principle of the thing…)

Anyways, “Dragonbone is black because of its high iron content”. If that doesn’t set off the Others’ alarm bells, it should. I really think the Others dislike iron, not just Valyrian steel, and we have these giant high-iron content, fire-breathing beasts coming for them. 

In terms of the setting, I think GRRM might be invoking a lot of iron imagery to suggest humanity’s Iron Age, a period that extended into the early Middle Ages in Northern Europe. All this iron carries connotations of a time long, long ago.

TV tropes actually has a great little article on cold iron, suggesting that iron is part of some magic vs technology symbolism.

The Iron Age is generally understood as the period during which the technology to make iron items — particularly weapons — spread from the Hallstatt culture in western and eastern Europe during the 8th century BCE. […]

Clearly, the peoples of this extended period did not one night go to sleep in the Bronze Age and awaken the next morning in the Iron Age. There were considerable overlaps as the technology of iron developed and travelled throughout the European continent by way of trade. This also appears to coincide with a violent period of history, with hill forts springing up all across the British Isles, particularly in the southern regions. […]

The Britons had a reputation for being small in stature yet fierce warriors, and possibly adept at magic. They seemed to be able to appear and vanish at will from among the trees of the forests and among the hills. According to some early Roman accounts, the Britons would spike their hair with white lime and cover their bodies in swirling patterns of blue woad for battle, possibly to enable them to vanish into the pattern of clouds in the sky or reflected on the surface of lakes. This resulted in a belief that they could appear out of thin air and make their getaways via ‘portals’ in lakes and rivers. Some have suggested that this is where the myth of the fairy folk began. These ‘fairy folk’ who used ‘magical’ tactics were armed with bronze, which was no match for the iron blades of the invaders. Therefore, iron became known as the enemy of the ‘fairy folk.’ [x]

I’m not sure that the magic vs technology war applies to ASOIAF (idk maybe it does!) but what I would say applies to ASOIAF is a war between the Old Way and the New, obviously a reference to Ironborn culture, but something I think applies much more broadly to ASOIAF as a whole. 

Right now in ASOIAF there is a war between the Old Way of doing things by dehumanization, led by men like Tywin and Randyll and Roose, and the New Way of doing things by valuing people’s humanity, spearheaded by people like Jon and Dany and Brienne. 

So people paying the iron price in blood, sitting the iron throne … I think that’s all representative of the Old Way, something outdated and tired and without forward motion or progress. Something that is (hopefully) on its way out. 

Just as the early Britons’ bronze swords yielded to iron, I think we’re witnessing in ASOIAF the iron Old Way (metaphorically) yielding to … I don’t know yet…kindness? valyrian steel? idk, ask me when the books are done. 

Whatever it is, we have to be careful. Iron can be a force of good (repelling the Others), but it can be terrible too. We have to be careful. Because the iron is in our blood. The potential to dehumanize is inside all of us; as Professor Moody would say, “Constant vigilance!” Or as GRRM might say, the war is inside us. We’re all capable of great acts, and terrible ones. We have to choose. And we have to be careful. 

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“There are more esoteric explanations, like iron being seen as the lifeforce of the earth, or associated with lifeforce because blood smells like iron.“

“All iron was initially forged in the hearts of stars, and only gifted to the cosmos when they exploded in supernovae. This stardust is in each of us; it is what makes our blood red.”

The War for the Dawn is a war between life and death … a war between life and something worse than death. 

It’s a war for our humanity, it’s a war for the earth itself. It’s a war for our flesh and blood and bone. 

I said … way up above now … I said the trees are fighting for us against the Others’ dominion. Not the way Tolkien’s trees fight, but still they’re fighting. 

GRRM likes to trick casual readers into thinking his world is nihilistic … but deep down, it’s not. The Magic wouldn’t have saved Daenerys from the flames if it was truly uncaring. 

In this war, (almost) everyone’s pulling for us, I think. We’re all in this together. The weirwoods and the ravens and the Children of the Forest and all the elements of life, all the way down to the iron in our blood … it’s all rooting for us. Winterfell is rooting for us, with its fires deep within the earth and its life-giving waters rushing through its walls “like blood through a man’s body” and the earth is rooting for us, lending us its lifeforce of iron to oppose the Others. 

But we have to stand. We have to fight for it. 

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So there’s lots of possibilities right now in terms of what Iron means as a motif. Ask me again when we have more books and maybe I can talk more. 

PS - I think those bankers are gonna fuck people over in twow. Watch out for them. This might be my Lannister bias tho. 

EDITED TO ADD: 

@essayofthoughts replied to your post:

Iron swords were the first really meaningful weapons (bronze dulled too quickly) and would sometimes by ritually broken and sacrificed due to their value. An iron or steel sword that has been used and let get rusty, when polished will “bleed” the bloodiron back out. 

Oak and Yew have significance as life/death dichotomies in tree folklore. Without English Oak the British Empire and Navy wouldn’t have happened. Oak mistletoe is sacred bc Oak as a hardwood would almost never grows mistletoe, also ties into its status as kings of the forest. Oak once cut and aged is one of the hardest woods out there and even a modern steel knife can’t easily cut aged oak (speaking from experience; my home is made with century old oak beams). Oak also ties to dryads and hamadryads - life from trees in myth -and technically all dryads are of oaks. idk why but the dryads thing makes me think of the children of the forest

@nobodysuspectsthebutterfly replied to your post:

re the first war against the Others– the First Men didn’t have iron as such, they were bronze users. Iron and steel only came to Westeros in sufficiency with the Andals. (Possible proof of the theory that Ironborn are not First Men, but from somewhere else? As their islands are a great source of ore.) What little iron the First Men had was rare and treasured, almost magic to them probably. See Jon’s description of similar among the wildlings today (including the bronze-working Thenns).

Think of the First Men fighting the Others with their bronze, failing. Except for the few who have help from the CotF and are using dragonglass too. And the very few with their rare iron, they must have considered it magic– no wonder it became part of a crown! And then the Last Hero somehow got a sword of dragonsteel– even more magic–and saved the world.

Though interestingly the Others may hate cold iron, but it can’t kill them. See them checking out Waymar Royce’s sword before approaching him, it’s only regular steel. Iron defends, but dragonsteel, Valyrian steel, that’s the game-changer.