In the end, Peter has always loved Narnia more than he could ever love Aslan. It is a simple, undeniable truth of the High King’s soul, woven into the fabric of his very being with untearable thread.
This is not to say that he does not feel love for the Great Lion. He loves him dearly, remembers fondly the feeling of warmth and bravery the mere mention of Aslan had brought to him that very first day. He loves him for the gifts he has been given, and therein lies the truth. Peter’s love for Aslan inevitably returns to what Aslan has given to Peter. The High King is not ashamed of this. Every musing on the Lion returns to the gifts of a family, a kingdom, and nothing more.
His love for Aslan can never be as steadfast and endless as Lucy’s faith, as bright as blossoms in spring. It can never measure up to the gratitude and relief forever kindling in Edmund’s heart for a sacrifice made out of love. Peter doesn’t fault them for their love for Aslan, for their unwavering faith and trust. He has always held admiration for the way their hearts don’t seem to struggle with the task of loving both Narnia and Aslan. Even Susan’s quieter, more reserved love outshines his so easily, not unlike the sun under which she was crowned. Peter’s love for Aslan pales in comparison to what he sees whenever his siblings speak of the Lion, is quickly cast into shadow in the light of their devotion.
His heart has always refused to split his love as much as his siblings manage. It can only ever find two paths, intertwined and crossed over as they are. Peter loves his family, and he loves Narnia. He loves them fiercely, loves them with every beat of his heart, loves them to the point of pain. He loves them with blood and tears spilt upon eager soil, falls upon enemies, declares victory in the name of Narnia and her sovereigns. He loves them with his sword in his hand, his crown on his head and fire in his heart.
Peter has always loved Narnia more than the Lion, and he finds peace within this fact. He doesn’t linger upon doubts, doesn’t compare it to his siblings. He has a family and country to look after, people and borders to defend, a sword in need of wielding and an army waiting on his command. There is no use in fearing that which he cannot help.
Aslan must have known that Peter’s love could never extend beyond those in his care. He supposes Aslan has always seen the depths and limits of Peter’s heart and perhaps chose him for this very reason. After all, is it not what Aslan asked of him, standing upon a hill all those years ago? How can the Great Lion condemn someone so utterly devoted to what was entrusted to him? Aslan has given him a throne, a kingdom to love, people to care for. Who can fault Peter for taking those gifts, for holding onto them with bloodied hands and ragged breaths, for loving them with everything he can ever hope to give?
Narnia is loved deeply by her High King, loved with every breath she takes through his lungs, loved with every foe that falls to his might in defence of her. She holds on tight; blood-soaked, alive and humming with joy. Her High King offers a love greater than his soul to her and her people. She takes it eagerly and loves him viciously in return.
(written for @narnianetworkvoyage 16: favorite characters - peter pevensie)
A criminally underrated line of foreshadowing in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is this:
“The coats were rather too big for them so that they came down to their heels and looked more like royal robes than coats when they had put them on.”
I just love that image. Right at the start, Lewis tells us that these four children look like kings and queens, and I think too often we just skip over it.
I want an online quiz that assigns you a hobbit family last name. Are you a Baggins? A Took? I want fist fights over who is assigned what in true fellowship fashion.
what’s really ironic about the “just let everyone get infected w covid!! herd immunity!!” arguments now is that letting the virus run rampant through the world has actually achieved the opposite: everyone may get infected, but then they’ll just keep getting infected. delta infections didn’t protect against the original omicron variant. omicron BA.1 doesn’t protect you against BA.2.12.1. none of them really protect you against BA.4 and BA.5. mass infection is not going to create mass immunity, it just means that with every infection you’re rolling the dice on what this unpredictable and very creative virus is going to do to you
On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission opened its long-anticipated
rulemaking on measures to stop corporations and other commercial actors
from abusing people’s personal data. In June, the agency
announced that it was considering this rulemaking to safeguard privacy
and create protections against algorithmic decision-making that results
in unlawful discrimination. Today it released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPR”)
on the topic. This is the first step in building a formal agency record
for potential regulations that would be based on public comments about
“commercial surveillance and data security practices that harm
consumers.”
In a nutshell, when you use Relay to visit a website or use an app, your
phone will send an encrypted signal to INVISV, which will then pass
that request along to a second relay point which is operated by the
Fastly, a content delivery network. This has the effect of separating
your IP address from your data traffic, with neither INVISV nor Fastly
having all the information required to know which data was sent to which
phone.
[[NOTE: I’m not advocating for this new carrier, I’m just making a note that it exists and will be watching to see how it preforms as it is released]]
“The need for protections against companies’ over-collection and
retention of sensitive data has also come into stark relief as state
prosecutors subpoena tech companies for private information about people
seeking reproductive healthcare information and services.”
“Big Tech has shown again and again that they will choose monetizing user data over protecting individual privacy, and the federal government
has been reluctant to offer serious regulation,” she says. “So if
people want to keep their information private, especially when it comes
to reproductive care, the time to learn the basics of online privacy is
now. Some of my favorite resources are the Our Data Bodies project, the Tech Learning Collective, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.”
[[NOTE: Worth looking at the links in that last paragraph, particularly Our Data Bodies project]]
tiktok age-protects cock jokes unless u send ur drivers license/passport to prove ur over 21. kill everyone now
this is what their support sent me. doesnt help every social media is copying tiktok atm the future of the web looks so grim rn. interent anonymity is in critical condition
I feel like signs like this of where the web is going are the number one sign to delete accounts on sites like TikTok and start using places that prioritize privacy even if their methods are imperfect. Any nugget of privacy you can get is crucial now.
Install duckduckgo and decentraleyes, use signal or element instead of discord for sensitive discussions, try not to post your face or name at all, and if you do don’t do so extensively.
Make a DRM free music repository and for the love of God install an adblocker, hell if you have the free time make your own website and rss feed!
Make the web work for you instead of being a passive product. If a forum or site asked for like my id or passport to prove I was able to register or access parts of it a few years back I would think it’s identity theft, and now it’s just something that people view as fuckin everyday shit. Christ!!!
And uninstall TikTok! Uninstall Facebook Instagram any shit unless u know what you’re getting into and put up several layers to stop tracking. Like. God. Dystopic shit here.
so let me get this straight. hbo aquires sesame street (an educational television show that was publicly broadcasted and free that has impacted millions of children), put it behind a paywall, and has now taken 200+ episodes off of its service which are now effectively “lost”
in all seriousness sesame street is such an important piece of living media. it has been around for DECADES and from day 1 shined the importance of diversity empathy and education for children in a fun way. their mission statement is “Helping Kids Everywhere Grow Smarter, Stronger, and Kinder”. it’s been such an influence for so many people at a formative age. it’s creators made it w the intention that it could be a res source for underprivileged kids and help them prepare for kindergarten. it is meant to be accessible !!!
