Part Of What’s So Fascinating About Ianthe Is That In Our Cast Of House Heirs Raised Deep Within The

Person: “What’s your favorite song?”

Me with no object permanence: “UhHhHhh, it’s hard to choose.”

Artist Anastasia Trusova floods her canvases with vibrant colours and textures. "Textured graphic impressionism".

my hot take as someone who has experienced the lowest of lows in terms of severe depression and anxiety and executive dysfunction: the whole “not everyone is neurotypical karen” mindset is legitimately damaging and destructive and ultimately will make you feel worse and more isolated

the HtN exchange between harrow and ortus leaves me weeping because. ortus was only a child during the creche massacre. he was left with no peers, no friends, with an abusive father pushing him to fulfil a role he was never going to be able to fill. and he grew up into an adult who did nothing as two children were hurt, beaten, poisoned, starved. 

and harrow was a child deprived of nothing a child needs to live but everything they need to thrive. deprived of love, and care, and warmth and touch; born into a blood debt she can never hope to repay. it’s no suprise then that she grew into an angry and cruel creature who hurt others just because she could. 

and their exchange abt this in HtN just gets me because. like.

ortus tells her he is sorry, because he was an adult and they were defenseless children, and he knows his parallel suffering cannot absolve him of his inaction. he knows he cannot change the past but he can stand for her now, and maybe that can still count for something. and harrow apologizes to ortus, because she realizes nothing, not even the hell of her childhood, will never excuse how she treated him. but she can honor him now, defend him now, belive him now.

im just. idk. something abt two people who were hurt, who are hurting, who hurt each other, coming together and saying that they will stop. that the cycle will not continue. even though nothing they do now can fix the cruelty of the past, even though they both know that whatever they do now could never even begin to tip any kind of cosmic scales; despite all of this, they will do right by each other now, even though it is too late. even in death and after it. weeping.

Honestly, one of my favorite things about GRRM's writing in asoiaf is how it turns the reader's bloodthirstiness against them.

Take Theon in ACOK, you are cheering in his final chapter because finally! Just desserts for that arrogant foolish bastard!

You read how the Bolton's have him captured in ASOS and say "Heh, good riddance".

And then... you read Reek chapters and with growing horror, you realize who is the person narrating. And suddenly, this need for payback, for him to face justice, doesn't feel that righteous anymore. No person should go through this.

The same goes for Cersei, her blaze of cruelty and scheming catches up to her when the sparrows imprison her. FINALLY, justice! and... you can only stare in horror and disgust at the walk of atonement scene. There is no vindication to be found here.

Artistic Movements in Arcane: Art Nouveau

This is part two of a series of analysis’s of the influence of real life art movements in arcane (part one). The last analysis focused on Art Deco, which is pretty much Piltover™ (but don’t worry, there’s more). Now, let’s take a dip down to Zaun, with:

ART NOUVEAU A misconception to clear up: this is not Art Deco. Yes, it is also called Art (insert French), but it is something completely different. Capishe? Art Nouveau came about in the 1890s/1900s era. The movement is about flowy lines, intricate detail, the female form, heavy inspiration from nature and biology, and odd curves. It was popular among the growing middle class and a fascination with the beautiful bits of sciences. There are a few similarities between the two, but a lot of differences. The fluid, asymmetrical curves of Art Nouveau, and Zaun, contrast the sharp decadence of Piltover’s Art Deco. Though it is not quite as visually obvious as the grunge/punk aspect of Zaun, once you see it, it will be everywhere. And while we see some of the core themes of Art Deco ingrained into the character of Piltover, the presence of Art Nouveau is just inside of Zaun in so much of its spirit.

Arcane Art Nouveau

versus IRL Art Nouveau.

Firstly, let’s address Zaun’s use of Art Nouveau throughout its environment. You’ll see lots of curves and twists going on, intricate ironwork, and glasswork. And of course, the big mural of the lady that Vi jumps by. Zaun is partially underground and its main industry is mining. They are literally called “fissure folk”. Obviously, they would have plenty of the raw materials lying and metalworking skill around for Art Nouveau. The background artists knew what they were doing. Not only were they thinking about what would be available in Zaun, but also about the skill and artistic appreciation the Zaunites have. It is so easy to think of Piltover as refined and cultured, while dismissing Zaun as a dump, which is something do in real life with rich people culture versus poor people culture, but by using a style that is very detail oriented, it gives more attention to Zaun’s age and culture.

But why Art Nouveau specifically? Why not some other detailed art movement? Simple: the core values of the movement. Art Nouveau is all about nature. Those hallmark curves are inspired by the way vines and insect wings grow. It may be puzzling, as Zaun doesn’t seem to have a lot of greenery, but that’s what makes it even more valuable.

In this shot of the fancy chembaron boardroom, you’ll see a lot of plants. Aside from being pretty, plants are kind of a status symbol. They take resources like good soil, air, sunlight, and water, which Zaun doesn’t have much of. Plants are life, and life is something Zaun craves.

This is Ekko’s Firelight tree. When he found it, he knew there was hope for Zaun to become a better place, to be revitalised. Trees clean the air and give life. Again, we see how Zaun craves life.

Jinx’s bug bombs feel especially more ironic considering how Art Nouveau is all about life, and these bombs are all about death.

Even without constant access to nature, people are imitating life through the inanimate materials they have. Zaun is crafty, innovative, and hungry for just a chance to breathe easy and drink clean water.

Speaking of Jinx, another focus of Art Nouveau is the feminine figure.

And wouldn’t you know it, the main characters are two sisters from Zaun?

In fact, I would argue that Jinx is the most Art Nouveau character. Though she dresses in a grunge/punk style, it’s really more about the aura she exudes. She is someone who has had all the people she loves die around her or leave her. Her machines bring death, sometimes good, sometimes bad. She, more than anything, desparately needs life and nature. Her movements have a certain lithe flow to them, and her hair… well, the animators sure had fun with that. Jinx is the face of Zaun, wild, unpredictable, tragic, and craving for life.

While there is so much more I could say about Art Nouveau in Arcane, this is about all I’ve got right now. More art analyses are on their way.

d'you ever just. think about gideon and harrow as two people who lost everything, had nothing their entire lives, and then just when they had each other in a more positive way. another sacrifice. another loss. and then in htn they still have nothing. a fucked up temporal lobe and a well to stick a soul in to show for it all. DO YOU EVER JUST ---

Some sketches and perhaps a wip

I recently started reading the tlt books and these boney lesbians have my heart 😔🙌🏻❤️

thEy hAd aN aRgUmEnt