Courage Dear Heart.

~~~

I… I don’t even know what to think. I’ve been cautiously optimistic about Netflix Narnia, I’ve defended Greta when people have taken her completely and unfairly out of context, I’ve been looking forward to seeing Magician’s Nephew finally get adapted; things have generally looked okay, though of course I was always cautious.

But this? I mean, it’s SO insane that I have a hard time believing that it will go through (though I know I shouldn’t be surprised), and I would like to believe that enough backlash could halt them in their tracks, or that Douglas Gresham or someone else from the estate could put their foot down, or that there’s just something we’re not understanding about all this to begin with. But, taking a step back from that optimism that I so need and just looking at it on its face… holy cow. HOLY COW.

It does not get more blasphemous than this, really. Even if you’re not Christian, this is still outrageous and completely against the spirit of Narnia. I can’t fathom them even considering such a thing and there’s a horrible growing dread in my stomach thinking about them actually doing it. I can only imagine Jack is absolutely rolling in his grave.

I’m truly at a loss for words for how horrifying and offensive this is. This is NOT a piece of media that you can reinvent however you want. When you’re taking on an openly Christian work with a large Christian fanbase, you treat that with respect. Aslan is not just a leader, just any authority figure, just any lion — Aslan is THE Lion (even my phone knows it, because it autocorrected to a capitalized Lion when I wrote it the first time!). He’s not just an allegory, he’s literally supposed to be the ACTUAL Jesus, in-universe. If the dialogue in VotDT about coming to know him by another name in our world wasn’t clear enough, Last Battle EXTREMELY BLATANTLY describes him no longer appearing like a lion and switches to a capitalized He. This isn’t just disrespecting a figure that people ascribe Christlike attributes and themes to, this is disrespecting Jack’s representation of the real, actual Savior. You do NOT play with that lightly.

Aslan is male. Christ is male. I’ve seen people make arguments that God could be anything and so they choose to call Him a she or a they just to defy the idea of Him being a man, but He came down to this world as a man and calls Himself male. There’s literally nothing further to discuss. He has the final word on what He is, and as far as I’m concerned, that final word was had long before human life was even on this earth. We don’t get to decide what we want Him to be. Even if you’re not Christian and therefore don’t believe that you’re disrespecting a real God, it’s nevertheless disrespectful to believers everywhere and that alone should give one pause before committing to something like this.

I saw the actual cctv footage. It happened just like he said. He rented a scooter. He drove in a straight line down side of the road. He turned to go into 9-1 and the wheel locked up. He tripped and fell over on the sidewalk, and immediately got right back up to check on the scooter. Police foot patrolling the area came over to check on him; he was honest that he’d drank at dinner, so they took his scooter license. That’s it. Nothing damaged. No one hurt. No charges. He was immediately transparent about it with us.

The way media has been hounding him, calling him blackout drunk, playing the wrong cctv footage, saying he could have killed someone, calling for him to be expelled from BTS, and talking about him serving time in prison… is THE MOST RIDICULOUS THING I HAVE EVER SEEN.

In part it’s because media loves to build people up then tear them down. But also there’s all the corruption and murder of investigative journalists by the current administration to cover up.

It hurts to see Yoongi apologize again for something so small. Drinking culture being what it is in Korea, watching him trip and get right back up, and seeing this three-week-long shitstorm… it’s left such a bad taste in my mouth that I haven’t posted about it, because this blog is supposed to be a happy place that focuses on positive things.

But considering the tone of Yoongi’s post just now, and how many k-celebrities are driven to take their own lives after this kind of relentless harassment, I feel like just ignoring this circus would be neglecting someone I love. So I left a detailed encouraging comment on his post.

I urge you to take a moment to write a heartfelt message of support on Weverse right now. I really feel like he needs to see it to draw strength and regain perspective. He needs to know ARMY is not ashamed of him. He needs to hear it over and over that we love him and aren’t going anywhere.

Apobangpo.

— ig.rkive

240612 Jin's Tweet

다녀왔습니다!

I'm back!

i. Peter had thought many times about dying for his brother, killing for his sisters, as all oldest children do.

ii. He'd imagined it a hundred times: how if his mother and father were ever killed, he'd get some low-skill job and make sure Lucy's clothes still fit her as she grew. How he'd make fists and fight dirty if Susan was ever threatened. What he'd do if Edmund ever had to flee the country on a dark, windswept night.

iii. Yet when he heard Susan's horn that day, he still froze. Only for an instant, he thought, "this can't be my job, right?"

iv. The blood on his sword shone red when it was all over. When he wiped it on the grass, the stain it left was almost black.

v. They'd put Susan in his arms when he was two years old. Peter didn't remember it, but he knew he'd been waiting for her till then. He wasn't a real person until he was a brother.

vi. And when they walked back to the pavilion, Rhindon bumping Peter's hip, all he could say to his sisters was, "I'm sorry I didn't come faster."

vii. The High King was almost obsessive in the way he cared for Rhindon. When he grew older and required weapons larger than those made for a child, he obsessed over them too.

viii. He told the others, in no uncertain terms, that if it ever came to it in battle, they were to leave him and live. As their brother and high king, he commanded it.

ix. The first time Edmund risked himself for Peter's sake, Peter didn't speak to him for a week.

x. He was oiling his sword when Edmund found him. "See, the thing is, Peter, being brothers goes both ways. If you can love me enough to die for me, than I get to love you just the same."

xi. Peter agreed with him then, to avoid the argument. He was sick of not talking to his brother. Yet privately, he knew that Edmund was wrong. That sacrifice was Peter's special prerogative, as the first-born.

xii. Back in England, his mother noticed that Peter had become more fastidious. She didn't notice that his protective streak has grown - and maybe it hadn't, really.

xiii. It was uncanny, how Peter would always show up just when his siblings needed him. He'd round a corner, and there was Lucy stamping her feet and scowling at a bully. There was Susan, crying, and now his knuckles were bloody.

xiv. He cleaned the blood off in the sink so carefully. The water ran red for a second, and it almost seemed black.

xv. When Caspian asked for the High King's advice, looking so very young, Peter jerked his chin towards the sword a Caspian's hip. "Be ready to use that," he said. "Keep it clean, and close."

Peter, lying in Susan's bed with his fingers curled tightly into the fabric of her skirts, dried tear tracks on his face and Susan singing quietly in an effort to comfort him. Her fingers pick apart the strands of his hair and he falls asleep only to wake up an hour later with screams on his lips.

Peter, wrapping his arms around an Edmund who has returned from war and murmuring frantic thanks to the Gods for keeping him alive. He presses kisses on Edmund's forehead, cheeks, nose and eyelids, and considers the idea of never letting any of his siblings out of his sight ever again.

Peter, sitting on the High King's throne at the age of thirteen and wondering if he is worthy of this, if he deserves this, if he is capable of this. He is thirteen and barely knows anything about anything and he is High King who should know everything about everything is he worthy is he deserving is he capable he does not know—

Peter, in Lucy's room sitting on the floor with his back pressed to her bed, allowing her to braid flowers into his hair as he stares at the wall. The Victory Parade is in a few hours, but they lost many soldiers and people and Peter has lost sleep and sanity and good friends. Narnia has won but Peter has lost.

Peter, carrying a candle to the Castle Library at two in the morning and pulling out a book about children's fables. He cannot sleep, might as well distract himself. The candle dies down and the sun comes up, and Peter drags himself back to his quarters to get ready.

Peter, who locks himself in his chambers and does not come out for days and days, who refuses food and drink and buries himself under his blankets and stares out the window with blank eyes and slack eyebrows, who does not speak and does not cry and pushes his face into his pillow and screams for the nightmares to go away please I'll do better I just want to sleep please stop please—

Peter, who wants peace and contentment, but cannot help but go to war. Peter, who is quiet and introspective but needs to be loud and abrasive because he is High King. Peter, who wishes he could put down the sword that he wields as easily as he breathes.

North Rhine-Westphalia