every single time cornelia funke describes dustfinger speaking to flames “lovingly” to try to console or cajole it all i can think of is how he’s essentially dirty talking this fucking fire like
*screams, clanging of swords, the roar of the Prince’s bear*
Dustfinger: hey how ya doin lil mama lemme whisper in ya ear
I always thought of it more like the way you speak to your pet? Like Dustfinger talking into his hands like he’s got a tiny kitty in there and he’s trying to get it to walk three steps forward and headbutt his hand.
One of my strongest headcanons is that the one night Dustfinger spent in Elinor’s house at the beginning of Inkheart was one of the worst nights of his life. He cleared the books off of a little section of the floor next to the bed (the idiot hates sleeping in beds because he thinks they spoil him and he won’t be able to sleep on the ground again when he gets home) and just laid there all night feeling incredibly guilty about what he was doing and what he was about to do, betraying Meggie and Mo. All the books and the tight attic space made him feel trapped. He was too scared of Elinor back then to even think of touching any of her books, and books make him miss home and frustrate him because he can’t read them properly anyway. I think Elinor’s house symbolizes one of his lowest points.
Penhales 