#WHY is this labelled as mature

[pasta-pardner]

sixguns & innuendo

[saphira-approves]

Something something professional artist jargon something something insert art knowledge here—whatever I want to talk about the book covers

So you’ve got Eragon, with a 3/4 portrait of Saphira; she’s giving a benevolent side eye with almost a Mona Lisa smile, she’s got that gleam in her eye, she’s looking at you but not head on—listen, this was the whole reason I picked up the book in the first place when I was eleven, she was so clearly full of life and personality and I just really wanted to meet her. It’s a really good glimpse of her character before even opening the book. She’s engaging you, but also maybe judging you a little bit, and she has a lot of thoughts but she’s going to keep them to herself for right now, thank you.

We’re skipping Eldest for right now because I have a point to make. Shush.

For Brisingr, we get a perfect side portrait of Glaedr, the grumpy old man. He’s not even side-eyeing the viewer like Saphira does; he is eyes forward, goal-oriented, noble and regal and, unless you’re worth his time, not really going to bother with you because he has Important Business to attend to. He is The Last of the pre-Fall dragons, his Rider is The Last of the pre-Fall Riders, he represents a bygone era that will never fully be resurrected, but can still inspire the present to fight for the future; he is no longer fully his own dragon, but a Relic, a Memory, a Symbol. He’s not anxious about it the way Eragon or Saphira might be; he has grieved for a century, he couldn’t be anxious about it if he tried. But he knows that keeping his integrity intact is important, and so this is how he presents himself: Noble. Regal. The Survivor. The Last.

Fírnen graces the cover of Inheritance, bookending the original series by almost perfectly mirroring Saphira—and seriously, it is so satisfying to line the books up with these two at the ends. Though he’s got a 3/4 profile like Saphira, Fírnen is much more reserved. No Mona Lisa smile, no mischievous gleam in his eye; he simply looks at you, and you look back, and you wonder what he’s thinking. He is, in fact, a lot like Arya—anyone who’s read the previous three books up to that point and hasn’t been spoiled for the ending might be able to guess, just from this portrait, who the final egg would hatch for. It’s also a perfect expression for the Final Book, with the fate of Alagaësia and the dragons hanging in the balance: what world does this mysterious dragon emerge into? A war-torn apocalypse? A hard-won victory? What does his future entail, and thus, what do the futures of our favorite characters entail? You ask him so many questions, but all he will ever do is stare deep into your soul with his somber, too-knowing gaze.

And now for the main event:

My beautiful precious son, the red-scaled Thorn, staring you down from the covers of both Eldest and Murtagh. I have loved the cover of the second book ever since I first picked it up, and my appreciation has only grown with time; needless to say I was very excited when the Murtagh cover dropped, and I got to see both of my favorite characters in one place. For both of these, Thorn takes the same stance: a full-frontal combative position, looking You, The Viewer directly in the eye, daring you to judge him, daring you to get in his way. I’ve always had my own opinions about what lay behind this show of force, and the context we get in Murtagh does not disappoint. He may be terrifying, he may be the scourge of the war, but underneath all that, Thorn is terrified. He’s traumatized, he’s claustrophobic, his body is too big for his age; he is painfully young still, and yet treated like a dragon ten times his age because that’s how he looks. He’s also sweet, and playful, and cares so much about his Rider, and wants desperately to keep Murtagh safe and happy. Just like Murtagh, he hides all of that—the fear and the softness both—behind a visage of ferocity, playing into the fears and preconceived notions people have of him, warning enemies away so they can’t get too close to what will actually hurt him. He dares you to try. He’s terrified you will try. He will fight tooth and nail if you do try.

[harringroveera]

They really fall in love with each other in every universe

[saltoru]

gojo doesn’t have impossible standards for his s/o, but one thing that’s nonnegotiable for him, is that he always needs to know where you are.

“call me when you get there” he’d say as you prepare to head to work. and if you were to forget, prepare for a dozen texts inquiring about the status of your existence.

“c’mon, sweets,” he’d murmur as he turns off his car and climbs out the door. “i’ll walk you up to your apartment.” he clasps your hand in his and doesn’t leave the area until you’re safely settled into your home and your doors are locked.

“stay on the line,” he’d say over the phone when you’re exploring a new part of the city. you had overestimated your abilities to navigate the tricky roads, and now you’re not sure where you’re supposed to meet your friend. “don’t hang up til you get there”

“see ya later, baby,” he’d hum, cupping the left side of your face with his palm as he runs his thumb across your cheek before leaning in for a quick kiss. “i’ll go after i see you walk through the doors”

gojo’s demands are really just ways that he shows he cares.

[evermoredeluxe]

“if you want break my cold, cold heart just “i loved you the way that you were,” if you wanna tear my world apart, just say you’ve always wondered” vs “it was unnecessary, should’ve let it stay buried” something something about romanticizing your own past life so that you don’t feel skeptical about dredging it back up again, but then later realizing that following through was wrong all along… something something about regret consuming you…

[moonelnone]

I forgot if I ever posted this eueu

[randomalistic]

ATTENTION! THIS IS A

❤️💛💙GLOINK QUEEN APPRECIATION POST❤️💛💙

Totally not the only one I can draw..

I guess him too

[king-crawler]

The only good line in ralph breaks the internet

[thedawningofthehour]

Linking this again because there's a lull on the blog and it got hardly any attention when they first posted it and that's bull.

I can't link here4thebooks for some reason, but it's their animatic they clearly put some work into it so please watch it and love it.

[starrmarr]

Always in a bathroom, overwhelmed by whatever’s going on but still feeling myself. I’m such a lady, really. Proud of how I carry myself and whatnot, blah blah.

[duncneydivorce]

What makes Crystal such an interesting character is that she is the physical embodiment of the most insufferable kind of privilege in a viciously misogynistic society.

She’s the princess of a very racist and classist kingdom and benefits from these things, but she has little to no agency among her family and peers with the most extreme example being the moment she’s sold off as a paramour to a dictator (by her own sister!) Her lack of agency and how she finds ways of keeping her privilege in this system directly correlates to her promiscuity.

Crystal eventually earning the title of the ‘people’s princess’ is honestly so fitting. ‘People’s princess’ is in of itself an oxymoron if you think about it for more than two seconds, which is the perfect summation of her character. I do think her desire to help people and her love for her husband came from a genuine place, she’s a rebellious spirit who never looked down on someone for their status, but she does all these things from her position of power. She wants to help the subjects of her kingdom but not enough to rebuke the privilege she gets from their oppression. She wants an exotic husband for whom she rebels against her family’s prejudice and traditions to marry him but won’t ever stand in solidarity with him when he actually needs it.

I’ve said it before but Pietro/crystal are basically the less warped and twisted version of Heathcliff/Catherine from Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. The novel is a gothic dark romance that examines race, gender and class as the foundation to the destructive whirlwind of Heathcliff and Cathy’s romance. The dichotomy of oppression and privilege Cathrine has as a high society white woman and the racism Heathcliff receives as a Romani boy are examined through the abuse they endure. If you’ve read the novel you’ll notice about a million parallels but there’s one moment in particular that always stands out to me.

People often bring up the instance when the two are trying to reconcile after Crystal’s affair and there’s still some tension between them, in this moment Crystal tells Pietro that if he ever tries to retaliate by having an affair of his own she will have her people imprison/ exile him.

Compare that to a moment in Bronte’s novel where a young Heathcliff and Cathy have a childish argument and in a moment of frustration Catherine yells at him, prompting one of the housekeepers to flog him. In their defence I don’t believe Crystal or Cathrine were trying to be malicious, in fact they come off as very childish and bratty. The problem is that when Crystal threatens Pietro like this she actually has the power to do that. This is what defines the relationship between the two. I feel like their relationship problems wouldn’t have been nearly as dramatic and messy if it wasn’t for this enormous power imbalance between them, it’s the direct source of discord in their marriage.

Considering the fact that multiple members of her family have tried to bring back slavery, I don’t think it’s fair to say she’s the worst of them, in fact Crystal has arguably done the most good out of her family. But perhaps what makes her so uniquely frustrating is what a massive hypocrite she is. How well this is handled varies on the writer.

Crystal is a Catherine Earnshaw, a Shiv Roy, a (significantly less evil) Cersei Lannister. Heck she has more in common with Emma Frost than most mutants do! I have love for all of these characters and find them very compelling but to me the moral failings of their hypocrisy, their complicated access to privilege and the lengths they’ll go to keep it is the core to their characters. I genuinely enjoy Crystal and think she is sympathetic and has redeeming qualities but she’ll never be a hero to me, her heroism, activism and ally-ship exists only in the comfort of her own margins. But that’s what makes her an entertaining character.

[whatsfourteenupto]

Shaun ends up getting the Doctor to listen to his music first. Mostly because they’re way more entertained by Shaun’s record player than they are Rose’s (admittedly extensive and extremely well curated) collection of playlists. There’s a lot of 70s/80s involved, they get strangely fixated on Billy Joel, and three days later there’s a keyboard in the TARDIS.

[klownkoster]

The first of 2 canvases from yesterdays magma with @abbyroseflame24 and @marclef!!! My first magmas with them and it was so so fun thank you both again, its been really nice meeting and getting to know you two <33

[nunalastor]

Sources

"Dad Beat Dad." Hazbin Hotel, created by Vivienne Medrano, season 1, episode 5, A24, 18 Jan. 2024. Amazon Prime Video, https://www.amazon.com/Hazbin-Hotel-Season-1/dp/B0CLM8LHS7. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

[canadian-riddler]

They should have just made a whole show about Starscream possessing people to troll Galvatron