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antishurtugal_reborn2024-07-15 08:23 pm
Eragon Used FRUSTRATION!
It's been noted several times before just how often Eragon and Roran get all frustrated, so I decided to go through all four books of the Cycle and do a count of every use of "frustrated" or "frustration". Then I decided to copy each passage that specifically refers to Eragon or Roran or Saphira (since she's basically an extension of Eragon), so we get these moments in context.
Eragon:
Total Count: 15
The stone had given him nothing but frustration and anger, and now it would not even let him sleep! ~Page 29
Saphira was a balm for Eragon’s frustration. ~Page 46
He leaned on one elbow and stifled his frustration. ~Page 60
Frustrated and terrified, he turned his tear-dampened face toward the heavens and shouted, “What god would do this? Show yourself!” ~Page 72
Frustrated, he tossed the tinderbox to Brom. “I can’t make it burn, especially with this blasted wind. See if you can get it going: otherwise dinner will be cold.” ~Page 96
The stone remained motionless as he stared at it, sweating and frustrated. ~Page 113
They continued south, tracking the Ra’zac. It frustrated Eragon that no matter how fast they went, the Ra’zac always stayed a few days ahead of them. ~Page 114
He got most of the questions wrong and became increasingly frustrated. ~Page 180
Frustrated, he punched a nearby wall, bruising his knuckles. ~Page 193
Frustrated, he tried again, only to feel it slip out of his grasp. ~Page 198
He began to remember several of the ancient words, though nothing happened when he uttered them. He wanted to scream with frustration. ~Page 221
Eldest:
Total Count: 18
Burning with frustration, Eragon settled cross-legged by Ajihad, keeping watch over the body. ~Eragon, Page 12
Once the camp was out of sight, he broke out onto the road and ran down the dirt track, channeling his frustration, anger, and even fear into speed. ~Roran, page 43
She wasn’t a slattern, roared Eragon. He pounded the wall in frustration. ~Eragon, Page 67
As Eragon experimented with various configurations, he quickly became frustrated by a simple fact: it seemed impossible to get the two sets of bands parallel so they would lie flat together. ~Eragon, Page 148
He scowled. “No, but... it was... Oh, I don’t know!” He banged his fist on the table with frustration. ~Roran, Page 183
She lashed her tail with frustration, breaking a sapling in two. She seemed perilously close to tears. ~Saphira, Page 206
Below, he heard Saphira howl with frustration ~Saphira, Page 317
Eragon recognized the symptoms of Oromis’s mysterious illness and lashed out with Zar’roc. It was a low thing to do, but Eragon was so frustrated, he was willing to take advantage of any opening, no matter how unfair, just to have the satisfaction of marking Oromis at least once. ~Eragon, Page 321
Eragon ground his teeth. He could stand insults to himself, but not to Saphira. She was already moving when his pent-up frustration, fear, and pain burst within him and he whirled around, the tip of Zar’roc whistling through the air. ~Eragon, Page 348
Frustrated, Roran said, “What would you do, then? You can’t lock her away, and I believe Frewin has proved his devotion more than—” ~Roran, Page 483
Eragon dutifully memorized their many names and titles—as he knew Oromis would expect—and did his best to maintain a calm demeanor, despite his growing frustration. ~Eragon, Page 551
Dismay rooted Eragon in place. He had accomplished what he wanted to, but it seemed to have changed nothing between him and Arya. He balled his hands into fists and hunched his shoulders and glared at the ground without seeing it, simmering with frustration. ~Eragon, Page 554 (YIKES)
Eragon gritted his teeth with frustration. Say something, Saphira. You can convince her to abandon this harebrained scheme. ~Page 565
It’s as if he can anticipate my every move, thought Eragon, frustrated. ~Eragon, Page 599
Brisingr
Total Count: 25
“To what end?” When Eragon did not immediately reply, Roran uttered a frustrated exclamation. ~Roran, Page 18
Saphira skidded to a stop in front of the tunnel and roared with frustration that she was unable to follow him into the narrow enclosure. ~Saphira, Page 42
Saphira howled with frustration and then reluctantly walked to the mouth of the cave. ~Saphira, Page 42
He was frustrated by the direction the conversation had taken and eager to change the topic as quickly as he could; he had not contacted the queen so she could berate him as if he were a mere child. ~Eragon, Page 56
He longed to be with her, but she had rejected his advances, and that tarnished his affection with hurt and anger, and also frustration, for while Eragon refused to accept that his suit was hopeless, he could not think of how to proceed. ~Eragon, Page 92 (MORE YIKES)
He longed to tear something apart with his hands, as if an act of destruction would relieve the pressure building inside of him, but the urge only heightened his frustration, for he dared not move. ~Eragon, Page 112
In his heart, he howled with frustration and longed to break free of the stifling constraints of good manners and polite conduct and to climb on Saphira and fly away to somewhere peaceful. ~Eragon, Page 142
Frustrated, Eragon said, “Yes, but you do not have to become better or worse than you are now, only different. ~Eragon, Page 193 (you ASSHOLE)
We might be able—Eragon stopped and pounded his leg in frustration. Blast it, I’m an idiot! I forgot about Aren. We could have used the energy in Brom’s ring to help defeat them. ~Eragon, Page 199 (Yes, Eragon. You are an idiot)
Roran stared at the round, flat stone he held cupped in his hands. His eyebrows met in a scowl of frustration. ~Roran, Page 241
Although he was frustrated, Eragon refrained from complaining, for he realized that it was inevitable he would have to travel slower with any but elves or Kull. ~Eragon, Page 251 (How goddamn magnanimous of you)
Frustrated, Eragon stormed out of the circular chamber buried deep under the center of Tronjheim. The oak door slammed shut behind him with a hollow boom. ~Eragon, Page 262
Despite the importance of the process, Eragon found it exceedingly tedious and frustrating. ~Eragon, Page 263
It was, as Orik had said, the most delicate part of the process and, in some instances, had been known to drag on for a frustratingly long time. ~Eragon, Page 263
“And everyone noticed your frustration,” said Orik. ~Eragon, sort of, Page 267
If that happened, he thought he might break the stone table in the center of the room out of frustration. ~Eragon, Page 320
Saphira roared, frustrated that her prey was escaping, and whipped her tail across the dirt, flattening a dozen more soldiers. ~Saphira, Page 418
Inheritance
Total Count: 42
Eragon shrugged, embarrassed by his lack of education. It frustrated him that, while growing up, the elves had enjoyed decades upon decades of study with the finest scholars of their race, and yet his own uncle, Garrow, had not even taught him his letters, deeming it unimportant. ~Eragon, Page 20
A terrible frustration welled up inside Eragon at being delayed once again. He tore his sword from its scabbard, lifted it over his head, and shouted. ~Eragon, Page 23
The realization did nothing to sate Roran’s frustrated curiosity, though. ~Roran, Page 106
Frustration welled up inside of Roran as he beheld the lowered gate. He had hoped to be able to sail straight into the main body of the city and avoid getting trapped on the water by the guards. ~Roran, Page 121
The longer he fought with Arya, the more frustrated Eragon became. He won two of their matches—barely, frantically, with desperate ploys that succeeded more by luck than skill, and that he never would have attempted in a real duel unless he no longer cared for his own safety—but except for those isolated victories, Arya continued to beat him with depressing ease. Eventually, Eragon’s anger and frustration boiled over, and all sense of proportion deserted him. Inspired by the methods that had granted him his few successes, Eragon lifted his right arm and prepared tothrow Brisingr at Arya, even as he might a battle-ax. ~Eragon, Page 152, twice. (A battle-axe is NOT a throwing weapon, you moron)
With his lessons from Glaedr, he made what would have been considered exemplary progress under normal circumstances, but given the situation, both he and Glaedr were frustrated with the pace of his learning. ~Eragon, Page 168
Elva had not had the temerity to laugh then, but she remained obdurate in her refusal. Her stubbornness frustrated Eragon ~Eragon, Page 178
Frustrated, Eragon cautiously pushed out his mind toward her—alert for the slightest hint of intrusion from anyone else—but to his alarm, he felt only a soft, indistinct pressure surrounding him, as if bales of wool were packed around his mind. ~Eragon, Page 189
Saphira roared with frustration and veered away from the wall as she flapped quickly to gain altitude. The two dragons spiraled around each other as they climbed into the sky, biting and clawing with furious abandon. ~Saphira, Page 216
The taste of ashes filled Eragon’s mouth. He was shaking; tears of rage and fear and frustration clouded his eyes. Arya was injured—perhaps dead. Nasuada was gone, captured, and soon she would be at the mercy of Galbatorix’s most skilled torturers. ~Eragon, Page 233
Eragon growled with frustration and closed the book. “I don’t have time for this. It’s too big, and I’m too slow of a reader. I’ve already gone through a fair number of chapters, and I’ve seen nothing having to do with the Rock of Kuthian or the Vault of Souls.” ~Eragon, Page 249
Frustrated, Eragon broke off. The description of Doru Araeba was interesting enough, but he had read other, more detailed accounts of the Riders’ city during his time in Ellesméra. Nor did he enjoy having to decipher the cramped runes, a painstaking process even at the best of times. ~Eragon, Page 252
Just sitting on her back as she fought against the turbulence was tiring, while for Saphira herself, it was a miserable, frustrating struggle made all the more difficult by knowing that it was far from over and that she had no choice but to continue on. ~Eragon, Page 305
At last, frustrated, she roared and loosed a jet of flame from her maw, illuminating a small area of the surrounding ice crystals, which glittered like gems ~Saphira, Page 307
Two times then Eragon recited their names, yet the stone remained as stolid and unchanging as ever. Finally, frustrated, he said, Maybe we’re in the wrong place; maybe the entrance to the Vault of Souls is on the other side of the stone. Or maybe it’s on the very top. ~Eragon, Page 334
It frustrated him that he was unable to puzzle out Saphira’s true name. ~Eragon, Page 343
The hours crawled past, and Eragon grew increasingly frustrated. His time was running out—ideally he and Saphira should have left for the Varden the previous day—and yet no matter what he tried, he seemed unable to describe himself as he was. ~Eragon, Page 346 (How about “a whiny little brat with anger management problems”?)
He bounced on the balls of his feet a few times, wondering where to go, and then he set off at a brisk trot toward the heart of the ruined city. After a few seconds, his frustration got the better of him and he increased his pace to an all-out run. ~Eragon, Page 347
Frustrated, he scooped up a pebble from the ground and, as Eragon had taught him, said, “Stenr rïsa.”
The pebble remained motionless. The pebble always remained motionless.
He snorted and tossed it by the side of the road.
His wife and unborn child were with the Varden, and yet there was nothing he could do to kill either Murtagh or Galbatorix. He clenched his fists and imagined breaking things. Bones, mostly. ~Roran, Page 367 (decided to quote the entire passage here because holy shit. THIS is the character people are naming their babies after??)
This time he would have fallen had Elva not grabbed the back of his tunic.
“Even farther,” she said. Then, “Stop! Farther.”
“I can’t,” he growled, his frustration increasing. “Not without a running start.” ~Eragon, Page 406
It took his battalion longer to extricate itself from the column of warriors than it had to join it. Frustrated, Roran continued shouting, trying to get them to move faster. “Quickly, you sorry dogs! Quickly!” ~Roran, Page 414 (such a great leader, taking it out on his own troops)
His hopelessness turned to frustrated rage, and he wrenched at his invisible bonds. “How is it you can do this?” he shouted, straining every muscle in his body. ~Eragon, Page 425
Rage and frustration boiled within Eragon. They had been so close to striking at the king, and still they were helpless before his spells.“Get him!” he shouted, both with his mind and his tongue. ~Eragon, Page 456
Murtagh and Thorn thanked Umaroth, and then Murtagh cast a glance in the direction of Urû’baen and said, “We should be off.” He looked at Eragon again. “Can you remember the name of the ancient language now, or is Galbatorix’s magic still clouding your mind?”
“I can almost remember it, but …” Eragon shook his head with frustration. ~Eragon, Page 474
“As you predicted,” he retorted, frustrated that she had been able to discover what ought to have been the deepest secret. She could not have eavesdropped upon him and Nasuada—his wards would have prevented it—and so far as he knew, no one had told her or Solembum about the existence of the eggs or the Eldunarí. ~Eragon, Page 519 (but don’t bother to try and find out how she knows, you turniphead. Because it’s not as if that’s a state secret or anything)
When you look at it like this, it's downright chilling. Every single time one of these characters gets frustrated, it's because the universe isn't catering to their every little whim, or because an enemy isn't rolling over and letting them instantly win, or worst of all when Eragon is ANGRY because Arya told him no and he refuses to accept it. He and Roran are a pair of disgusting manbabies.
no subject
One of my favorite book series takes place in a setting that has so normalized queerness that the word "transgender" does not exist. It's like normal and expected for folks to try magical HRT to see if it suits them with the same kind of weight as friends going and trying on dresses together.
This would actually have been a great opportunity to show a cultural clash between Eragon and Oromis, but for a Sue, Eragon is remarkably weak willed. Or for Eragon to make a decision of some kind.
no subject
:D Term doesn't exist in my series either. It's referred to as "being in the wrong body" and such.
Yeah, he's pretty unusual as Sues go in that regard. He's selfish and whiny, sure, but he also rolls over astonishingly easily when some supposed authority figure tells him to.
This is actually why in my spitefics the young Galby and Morzan both grow beards and eat meat (and Morzan cusses all the time). It's purely a "screw you" to the elves.
no subject
I know it's been a while, but I've been meaning to ask - what series is it?
no subject
It is the Tales of Inthya series by Effie Calvin. This is a series of presently five sapphic romance novels in a setting that has so normalized queerness there is no special term for it. There are of course still problems and tasks and responsibilities that our protagonists have to deal with on their way to the end of the story.
Basically this series is what I was mentally comparing The Eldritch Heart to when I was sporking it (I have got to get the next chapter out, there's still some more off-the-rails shit in that book). Everything Cox does poorly, Calvin does well. If you want specific recommendations for which book to start with, I have Opinions xD