#fes rereads eldest

[eliza-makepeace]

so i have some Thoughts™ about eragon turning into an elf-looking guy and they're not pretty.

to me it all seems like "elves are cool everyone else is not cool" and it clearly stems from paolini himself thinking that, but also *in story* i think it's worse.

first off, a big part of who eragon is, and what his struggle has come from, is being human. I don't like how it differentiates him from the rest of his family, from roran and garrow, from selena, and even from murtagh! it's like he rejects his whole history for something he thinks it's better. in eldest he says "this is what he was always intended to look like" and i'm like "how about no?".

he gets bullied by the elves (looking at u, vanir) bc he doesn't look like them and how could the first rider since the fall be a human and not an elf?!? the offence, the horror! the minute eragon resembles them is the minute vanir suddenly is all like "i like you now lol". and they do it without asking eragon whether or not he wants to look like them! he just wakes up the next morning and is like "oh, look at this.......i look great :)"

and tbh even if he likes it, it's a no no from me. like, part of the reason he wants to look like this is bc he thinks arya will like him better this way! (and then proceeds to keep asking arya about it even when she says no...like, my son, it's not your appearance that is the problem. stop fucking insisting. you're starting to look like a bit of a jerk)

and then there's the whole thing about the scar. he could've had it healed, he was the one who didn't want it healed in the first place! and then he goes to the oath celebration, they change his appearance and they erase his scar and he's fine about it? like. he *could have healed it* if he'd wanted to. and not even entirely btw, he could've done what murtagh did to essie's scar, reduce it and make it not hurt but keep it as remembrance of past pain. (btw i also think it's a really low shot when eragon says to murtagh at the burning plains "i'm not like u, i don't have the scar anymore" .......like, bro. this is not the "win" you think it is)

#the inheritance cycle #eragon #eragon shadeslayer #fes rereads eldest #i still have some things to say about this but i can't for the life of me remember them

[livlepretre]

“In the burgeoning morning light, as the sun gilt her hair like honey and the blood trickled down her face, she could almost be…”

This is THE defining line for me of After The Fire, But Before The Flood - both the original line in Chapter 2 and the call back to it in the final chapter (which urgh, be still my beating heart, that ending still destroys me) - and I think it just really captures the haunting beauty of your writing style, and how utterly compelling your stories are to read.

This line pops up in my head so often when I think of Elena and the doppelgängers (and Klaulena by that virtue). It is just *chef’s kiss*

Anyway, I love you and your writing - and am merrily rereading The Stars Were Shining Brightly between FE updates. Have a lovely day! xxx

^my heart exploding as I read this message

seriously you have no idea how much it makes me grin like a complete fool when I read that ATFBBTF quote-- that fic is like my eldest child and it always makes me so happy when it’s mentioned. And that’s one of the lines I’ve always been most proud of.

Also also also I’m feeling mad joy that the circularity of the ending stands out to you because I’ve always wondered if I lost my mind drawing that circle, but maybe not??? 

And funny you should mention SWBS! That fic is on my mind A LOT lately as we head into fall-- I’m going to dust it off and finish it once the holidays get a bit closer! (I’m thinking Novemberish or possibly December for the updates to start coming out again) 

💙💙💙

#appl3cookies #asks #fic ask game #atfbbtf #swbs

[eliza-makepeace]

murtagh and roran are surprisingly similar in certain things. i'm re-reading eldest now, and there's many moments in the roran pov chapters where he says something and I think to myself "that's so murtagh coded"

#it shouldn't really come as a surprise but considering these two people haven't met as of yet... #they're both very focused and driven #roran has a very similar no nonsense attitude to murtagh #they'll both do whatever it takes to ensure the satefy of both themselves and the people they have to protect #roran struggles with it more bc unlike murtagh he's never had to do that kind of thing before #while murtagh has grown up like that #and they'll both logically think something isn't morally okay but they'll do it if they think its the only way #ive marked some moments throughout the book but im reading it in my phone #so i can't properly search for them atm #but i will eventually #murtagh #murtagh morzansson #murtagh tornacsson #roran garrowsson #roran stronghammer #eldest #eragon #the inheritance cycle #safety* #fes rereads eldest

[eliza-makepeace]

it seems to me like eldest tries really hard to make it seem like arya has a lot of personality and complexity as a character and frankly it's not really working imho. like. there's a scene that really frustrates me. where we're told that she and eragon sit and talk about their families, their lives and whatnot, but that dialogue just. doesn't exist. how the hell am i supposed to see her as something other than a clear attempt from paolini to create "ideal woman who is so perfect and wonderful and yet will eventually fall for our protagonist"? give her some depth! make it make sense to me that eragon would be interested in her, aside from the fact that she's oh so beautiful. paolini makes him literally say to her that he cares about his friendship with her, but tbh i don't think any of us do either because their friendship has never been properly developed. most of the time it's eragon's inner monologue going "wow she's so pretty and wonderful and has such stealth and her figure and her hair and omg she'd never be with me :(" and her being mean to the dwarves or smth.

#fes rereads eldest #yea i'm sorry the way arya is written infuriates me #nasuada is allowed to be her own person as a character in a way that arya is not #and that's the tea #and tbh i kinda like that murtagh is all like 'oh she's just so clever and elegant' it feels like he's actually adding info #every time eragon starts praising arya on the other hand i'm a bit skeptical tbh #and i'm not the biggest murtagh and nasuada fan myself #i've accepted that's where we're going tho #but the whole arya thing... hopefully she'll get a bit more depth in brisingr... i think she did but i don't remember #she seems to me like the kinda character a teenage boy would write about as a 'fantasy' thing #oh....wait....hold on a minute.... #i also just find the elves really pretentious and i can't really stand their holier-than-thou attitude #and arya has that all over #its clear to me paolini wanted to make the elves just wiser and more knowledgeable than anyone else #but he accidentally made them into self-righteous hypocrites #shit this post has turned into elf-slander #sorry :) #maybe i'll write a proper elf-slander post at some point #i think someone already wrote one that was absolutely wonderful and accurate but i can't really remembmer #anyway

[eliza-makepeace]

Fes’ Eragon re-read part.... idk 5 or something

istg the intention is to re-read eragon, not to make a constant analysis of murtagh and just him but i just love him, i’m sorry. it’s beyond my capacity to control this. He’s on the way!

wanderer!murtagh’s origins. “he stood tall and straight” so he does...

this was SO BADASS of eragon. hardcore, but badass.

the mystery of murtagh’s fake beard: where did it come from?

grumpy murtagh my beloved.

has arya ever thanked murtagh, or appreciated the fact that he saved her by carrying her unconcious body? i don’t think she has.

he’s a boy with a plan! and he’s happy to help his friend!

he’s ready to fight off a shade even though, unlike eragon, he can’t do magic, so there’s a much higher chance for him to die. he protecc.

this description is fucking sending me sfhsdfsjf. i too gaze moodily into the distance. constantly.

during this reread i’m finding eragon really endearing, and that feeling just increases every time he says something of the sort... this is too cute. he’s decided that murtagh’s his brother. funny and sad that when he finds out murtagh actually *is* his brother he won’t be so happy about it.

my sweet prince.

@ paolini: let murtagh say fuck. #1

he also cares for eragon! i love how supportive and helpful they both are for the other. shame it all gets wrecked in eldest :(

brothers. they’re brothers. selena would be so proud and happy that they truthfully care for each other so much. also... it must have been an interesting emotional experience for murtagh to have someone be affectionate towards him with no ulterior motive (bc eragon doesn’t know who he is) and also really terrifying bc of the crippling fear of losing that bond the minute eragon actually does find out who he is.

my precious feral child. he and anakin skywalker really would like each other lmao.

so human!tornac has been dead for a few months, at the most. horse tornac has been in murtagh’s care since he was a foal, and “for many years”... horsegirl murtagh named him after tornac, while tornac was there, alive and well. he’s so weird and sweet in his love for tornac, it’s so funny. also, i hope he can get tornac back :( i’m sure he misses him like hell.

moody murtagh is something that can actually be so personal. 

@ paolini: let murtagh say fuck #2.

this is the most siblings interaction they’ve ever had. the eldest one dealing with burnout and the younger one unknowingly annoying him.

grumpy murtagh my beloved.

no one like a 16 year old to be the beacon of well-meaning idealism.

murtagh: ???????????

#fes rereads eragon #eragon #the inheritance cycle #murtagh morzansson