bluebright_l

Lots of stuff I like, and some stuff I make.

[theblackparadeisdead]

Awesome how every single theon chapter in acok is just him like "and then i dug the hole i put myself in even deeper and people keep telling me to put the shovel down but I won't listen to them because im gods most specialest boy in the world and everyone else is stupid because they like my sister more than me because she kills people WELL I CAN KILL PEOPLE TOO" like yessss go loserlord ruin your own life

[jaehaeryshater]

Robb and Theon in The Kiss of Judas

🎨 art by the talented @shripscapi

This beautiful and, in a way, breathtaking (at least in my opinion) artwork has been in my mind in concept for at least a year, and has been beautifully brought to life by Liesl. I have always felt that there was an almost biblical element to Robb Stark’s arc and his betrayal, by Roose Bolton, Walder Frey, and most pointedly, Theon Greyjoy (though the latter was done with less malice, but then again, that is not a prerequisite to betrayal). Robb Stark is a young king with good intentions, wanting the best for his people, but whether from greed, a want for revenge, or a wish for belonging, he was killed. His murder in of itself was at the hands of Roose Bolton and Walder Frey’s men, but being that those men were not particularly close to Robb nor was the king fond of them, the impact of their betrayal comes mostly from the shock and gore of it all, as well as the disregard for the revered tradition of guest right. Roose Bolton and Walder Frey have a direct hand in Robb Stark’s death, but Theon Greyjoy’s betrayal of his self-proclaimed “brother” has an indirect part in it too (it is to be noted, when I say betrayal, I do not mean to imply that Theon owes loyalty to the Starks, the family that took him from his home as a boy; I am not of the opinion he does, but Theon describes his own actions as betrayal, for personal loyalty to Robb). It is a matter of debate if Theon would have been able to return to Robb without being intercepted by his father if he had chosen to try and warn his friend that the Ironborn were preparing to launch an attack instead of allying with the North. What is not up for debate is that Theon’s capture of Winterfell weakened the North and its morale, bringing into question how they should move forward. On a more personal level, Theon’s claim of having murdered Robb’s younger brothers, Bran and Rickon, was devastating to the young king. The grief was what inadvertently led Robb to sleep with and ultimately marry Jeyne Westerling. While the Freys likely would have tried to betray Robb at some point, if Robb had followed their plan to marry a Frey girl, he would have probably lived for some time, at least to ensure a Frey/Stark heir. Theon does not have full responsibility for all these acts, but his betrayal certainly weakened Robb. Robb and Theon were close as Jesus and Judas were, despite the “kings” being warned or otherwise knowing better. Judas betraying Jesus is more impactful than if it had been another other apostle, just as, in my opinion, Theon betraying Robb is more impactful than Roose and Walder doing the same. On a more general note, while Robb did not die on a literal cross, I do not find it to be a coincidence that he died at a dinner. Robb’s story likely is purposefully inspired by biblical elements, along with being informed by various other historical figures, which I will elaborate on below.

With the iconography in my commission, my intention was for the piece to contain symbols that could pass as something you could find either in a Bible from times past or a Westerosi history book. Liesl’s art is beautiful and too polished, given modern methods, to pass for something found in a medieval manuscript, but it does look like it could be a descendent of such a thing. Medieval art is too archaic for my liking so I had purposefully set out with this compromise in mind, and Liesl’s art style was the closest to my vision. The weirwood is specific to Westeros and the in-world religion of Robb, but the halo is more biblical in nature. My intention was not to portray Robb as perfect or pure-intentioned, certainly not as selfless as the Christian depiction of Jesus. The iconography is meant to be more saintly in nature. Saint is not synonymous with perfect, anyone who knows an extensive amount about saints knows that there are saints canonized that weren’t particularly good people in their lifetime. My particular inspiration was Edward the Martyr, king of England (before William’s conquest). Edward died at the age of 16 under guest right. He was killed by a group of guards, his own people, on his stepmother’s estate. His death, too, was described as Christ-like. Here is a quote from a recount of his death:

“Those magnates had agreed among themselves a wicked plot: they were possessed of so damnable an intention and so murky and diabolical a blindness, that they did not fear to lay hands on God's anointed. Armed men surrounded him on all sides… The venerable king had with him very few soldiers, since he did not suspect anyone, trusting "in the Lord and in the might of His power” — it was just as the Jews once surrounded our Lord… They were seized by a single madness, an equal insanity ... The soldiers laid hold of him: one on his right-hand side drew him towards him, as if he wished to give him a kiss; another grabbed his left side firmly and gave him the death blow.”

Who does that sound like???

I love the idea of Robb as a figure similar to Edward the Martyr. He is a boy-king, and not particularly religious or impressive in feats (though Robb, having bested Tywin thus far in the story, is significantly ahead of Edward in terms of his military). Their death is tragic and they are exceptional, not for being great men, but for being innocent children thrust into a role and then martyred. Thus their stories turn to legends and they are seen as holy or saint-like in nature. Though Robb worshipped the Old Gods, due to his maternal family’s legacy and beliefs, it is not all that far fetched he could have a cult dedicated to him or be revered by the Faith of the Seven later on in Westerosi history.

Concerning other symbolism, I will acknowledge that Robb’s youth is exaggerated here to drive home the point of him being little more than an innocent child. He has not grown his beard yet and he is dwarfed by his furs. His clothes are meant to intimidate, make him look regal and intimidating. But really, it makes him look like a kid. Theon is portrayed as an adult, five years Robb’s senior. He is not meant to be malicious and his love for Robb is not false. He still betrays him all the same, that’s the tragedy of it. Robb knows he is king, knows he should keep a distance from Theon, many have told him. But yet he is informal here, having removed his glove so Theon can hold him. Robb is not relaxed, but that is not due to a lack of affection or some sort of stiffness around Theon, but rather to create an effect of a dead boy walking, rigor-mortis. Theon’s clothes aren’t meant to have any symbolism about him. I looked at all sorts of biblical art and depictions of the Kiss of Judas to decide what colors I wanted Theon to wear. I saw a lot of reds and whites, but I didn’t like that for Theon. I saw gold as well, but we didn’t want to default to House colors as that is overdone. The result was giving Theon the most luxurious clothes possible. Black was an expensive color and velvet an expensive fabric. His garb is more expensive and showy than the King’s himself. That is because Theon is exceptionally vain and Robb is not. Theon has all sorts of jewelry and even has pearls on his boots. Who does that???? It’s so gaudy and impractical, I love it for Theon. The pearls will eventually fall off and he will have wasted a fortune, but Theon does not think about practicality like that. He is a guarded person decorating himself with bits and baubles to give himself some sort of purpose or comfort that is not there. He subconsciously wishes to trick people into thinking he is secure and has value, when he feels no sense of belonging anywhere. No wonder his father bullied him.

My endless thanks and gratitude to Liesl @shripscapi. I love your work and appreciate you. Everyone should follow her account and check out more of her art because it is beautiful. She is a joy to work with and very thorough and dedicated. She has been very flexible and patient with me in the months making this and my past commissions. I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with her, she is one of my favorite and most respected artists in this community. And thank you for anyone who has stuck here and read this, I obviously a passion for this sort of stuff. I love to ramble and this is my hyper-fixation so I’m very excited about this.

[pjharvey]

agnostic is lowkey the funniest belief system it's just like yeah idk it's none of my business

[thehungriestcaterpillar]

As an agnostic

Yes

[designcouncil]

Lark and Bower / Sarah Ward - 2020

During lock down, without a loom or studio, she started stitching small woven patterns by hand, using leftover yarn and a lot patience. What began as a way to keep going became a way of working.

Now, even with her full studio back, she still creates these tiny, time-consuming pieces. They're not made to be worn or sold fast, they're made to be seen, to remind us that weaving is an art, not just something for clothes. She uses waste yarn, old stock, and plant fibers to avoid adding more to the pile of fast fashion.

via @arthunter.me and @larkandbower

[ickaimp]

Just updated my Ao3 profile and realised it’s old enough to legally drive in the US. 😂

Got it in March 2010 and the user ID is four digits long.

Reblog with when you got your Ao3 account and how long your user ID is.

[bluebright-l]

2011 with a 5 digit user ID. I feel ancient lol

[medievalthymes]

"i asked chatgpt" okay well i asked the weird gay court jester and he gave me a foreboding omen in the form of a riddle. we are not the same

[beelze0-0]

I am hungry

I have been hungry

I was born hungry

What do I need?

Prints available here

CW: blood

(ID:

image 1: a still life of Communion, golden chalices with red liquid, a candlestick, cloth, and a small dish.

image 2: a grassy field in pitch black, a spot light illuminating a herd of sheep with glowing, reflective eyes, and the legs of a man standing among the sheep, his eyes are also glowing.

image 3: The door way of a church with the doors open revealing a forest at night, and bloody handprints on the walls.

end ID)

[orsanedraws]

i missed MMs 3 year anniversary...........

here's the spontaneous illustration i did in a couple of sittings cause i wanted to paint a spooky thing with a background lol

[parkchanwoohoo]

I'm so ass at measuring distance that if I woke up in a Saw trap and the only requirement was to "run 30 ft, give or take a foot or two" I would still fuck it up and get slaughtered

[parkchanwoohoo]

"How tall was the suspect" I dunno doc everyone taller than me is 6 ft and everyone shorter than me is 4 ft

[parkchanwoohoo]

I know 80 degrees is warm and 40 degrees is cold. If you told me it was 65 degrees outside I would stare at your blankly until you were like "Wear a sweater" or something. Or "Don't wear a sweater." In fact skip the number I'll just go outside myself

[parkchanwoohoo]

If I woke up in a Saw trap and the only requirement was to roughly pour out about 4 pounds worth of sand into a jar I would just ask him to kill me without wasting either of our time

[parkchanwoohoo]

Stop telling me to look up dyscalculia. I already know about vampires

[rush-the-stars]

am always obsessed when someone says to a character “call off your dog” about another character.

[lnaliazmcithilien]

every time I do a web search, right at the top I have AI info dumping on me

just give me the top result please

[flootzavut]

Swear in your search request. I know it sounds ridiculous, but the most effective way I've found of it not doing the AI summary is just to add "fucking" go my search.

[aahsokaatano]

Holy shit

[flootzavut]

You're welcome! I can't claim credit to have come up with it, but very happy to spread it around 😄

[foone]

A Song Of Mice And Fire

[foone]

What the fuck is redwall

[oliviawebsite]

the groundhog reportedly saw "a blood red sun. in the foreground a massive wheel framing the sun in the sky. the wheel has ceased to turn". nobody is sure what this means but its probably fine

[failchild]

severance + screenshots

[girlkaramazov]

j. strong in a league of his own FOREVER

[girlkaramazov]

someone on reddit called him a self-made nepo baby. which is hilarious

[guerrillatech]

[sealinne]

same moment different angle

[bonnibeldam]

[whitmerule]

The bullet bandolier over the skirts is a look. 😌

[zwoelffarben]

these pictures of a platoon of og antifa drag queens manning a gun bigger than my car better not awaken anything in me.

[velartis]

Franz Kafka, 1912

[dark-augustine]

Me to myself