#ben is being the definition of problematic fav

[richincolor]

SomeThoughts about Netflix's Shadow & Bone

This past Friday, the highly anticipated Shadow and Bone series premiered on Netflix and fans of the Grishaverse all over the world logged in to watch their favs come to life. There was much discussion of the inclusion of numerous characters from throughout the Grishaverse and that diversity was a focus in the casting of the show, especially Jessie Mei Li who is biracial, therefore changing the main character’s ethnicity to biracial Shu Han. Unfortunately, that decision didn’t pay off to well due to the showrunner’s handling of Alina’s ethnicity. Twitter blew up as people shared their hurt and warned others about what to expect.

I had planned to watch the show and happened to see one such warning before I watched the series so I was prepared. I watched a couple of episodes, then called it a night. The next morning I was unsettled and reached out to my fellow contributors here on Rich in Color. No one had seen it yet, but Jessica said she was planning to as well. As we chatted, I felt that our conversation should be shared with our readers, so Jessica and I decided to write our thoughts down and have a conversation after she watched a few episodes herself.

Oh, and spoilers abound!

First off, before we dive into this conversation: Have you read the Grishaverse series? How much did you know about the story going in?

K. Imani: As everyone knows I love fantasy so I’m open to reading all sorts of fantasy books. I read the Shadow & Bone series a few years ago and enjoyed it. When the Six of Crows duology came out I read those too and actually enjoyed those better than the original series. Why - more diversity? It also expanded the world and the different perspectives of “Grisha” like folk from other cultures. It was very clear from the writing that Bardugo realized her first series was very lacking in diversity and worked hard to change it. I actually re-read both series during quarantine, so I had a fair idea of what the Netflix series would be about.

Jessica: I’ve actually never read a single Grishaverse book! I know, shocking. I only knew two things about the series going into the show: 1) Six of Crows is a heist book? 2) Ben Barnes is a person who exists.

The cast announcement for any show is always so exciting, and Shadow and Bone was no different. How did you feel about the casting -- before and after you watched the show? What did you think was done well, and what did you think could be improved?

K. Imani: Before watching the show I was actually a bit confused about some of the casting choices. I didn’t understand why 3 of the main Six of Crows characters were in the show and I honestly did not make the connection to Alina and Mal being biracial. Knowing that the Grishaverse is “Russian-based” and knowing that some ethnic Mongolians are considered Russian I just found it cool that the show cast a person who didn’t fit a Russian stereotype. Oh boy was I way off! Overall I was pleased with the casting and think all the actors did a great job. I liked the few changes they did make with casting actors of colors for other roles to round out the diversity of the world.

Bringing it back to Mal, I was confused as to if he was supposed to be coded as biracial. I missed the reference in the show, but I did read somewhere that he was supposed to be as well and that is what bonded him to Alina. If that’s the case, then how come Alina was the only person to experience racism? That thought continues to sit on my heart because it shows that the writers did not really think through how they wanted to express racism and included it for the wrong reasons.

Jessica: My reaction was basically, “I’m happy that other people seem happy!” since again, I had no context for the show. Casting on Netflix shows often seems to be a case of “cool, this is some exciting casting… but definitely could be better and even more intentional.”

K. Imani: “More intentional” That is the word right there! Making a story more diverse is wonderful and fully reflects the world we live in, however if you just randomly do it without thinking it through it comes off as insensitive. I know Leigh Bardugo used this show as an opportunity to make her story better (and I do not begrudge her of that fact) but when one doesn’t think it through, the criticism that is being expressed is a direct result.

Jessica: Sidenote -- I ended up watching a booktube video titled “Darker Jesper, Fat Nina, Shadow and Bone Casting Thoughts” on booktube channel Chronicles of Noria about the casting. Highly recommend checking it out. I also recommend this profile on Jessie Mei Li, who talks about being gender nonconforming.

Did any changes in the Netflix adaptation stick out to you? Were there changes you liked or disliked?

K. Imani: My favorite part of the adaptation is how well the show runners included the Six of Crows characters into the narrative. The storyline completely worked for me and connected the two stories together. I really enjoyed the Arken storyline (and the character tbh) as it was used to flesh out the world of the Grishaverse, which made the series much more interesting. I also liked the change of making Ivan and Fedyor a couple instead of just Darkling’s henchmen as it humanized them and actually made me like Ivan because they were so cute together. Though how that will come into play after the events of Episode 8 will be interesting. I’m a sucker for the Enemies to Lover trope so I loved that Nina’s & Matthia’s story of how they came together was included here. In either Six of Crows or Crooked Kingdom (I don’t remember), it was told as a flashback, but I loved that it was moved here as their “origin story”, so to speak, and how it connects to the events of the Alina timeline.

What I didn’t like...the casual racism. It really bothered me and left me sad the next morning. For example, a certain poster shown in the first episode had me physically cringe and I was upset that 1)  the production designers even created it and 2) no one, at no point, said that was a bad idea? Come on! It was horrible to see and I can imagine the hurt an AAPI would experience seeing that. And then, it got worse. Racial slurs thrown around a couple of times in the first couple of episodes to show that Alina is an outsider. They were jarring and took me out of the narrative. Having read the books I knew there was tension between the Ravkans and Shu Han, so I could understand what the show runners were trying to do, but it was actually never explained in show, hence making the racism feel random and just there for shock value.

Jessica: I saw tweets going around alluding to the racism Alina (and other characters to a less frequent extent) faced, so I braced myself for it. I’m only a few episodes in, and the instances so far were brief… but it just didn’t feel right. The foundation for this portrayal of racism wasn’t laid properly. And if the work of laying the foundation and really digging into what it means for the overall worldbuilding doesn’t happen… then why include it at all? Especially if it might be painful for certain viewers? I’m sure harm wasn’t the intent, but that’s the impact. Why not leave it out and let the show be escapism?

K. Imani: Jessica, the eyes comment took me out, not gonna lie. I audibly screamed. Anyone who has experienced a racist comment based on their looks felt that in their gut which is horrible when watching a show for escapism.

Jessica: Yeah, the eyes and rice-eater comments were especially frustrating. On top of it being a reminder of the racism Asians experience daily… it doesn’t make much sense. Like, canonically, do people in Ravka not eat rice? An American’s conception of racism isn’t necessarily going to make sense in a (Imperial Russia-inspired) fantasy world. But maybe I’m missing something since I didn’t read the original books.

And the eyes comment… whoof. When I was a kid, other kids would make fun of my eyes and ask me to, like, count seagulls because surely, I couldn’t see out of my eyes… And the other kids were also Asian! Internalized racism is so real. It’s disappointing that Shadow and Bone would include this experience as, I don’t know, discrimination flavor text. Surely there were better ways to portray discrimination that made sense within the Grishaverse…

Ellen Oh really said it so well: “If a writer is going to show racism against Asians, it's important to balance it with the beauty of all that makes us Asian also.” Where is the balance? Where is the nuance? Even if Alina’s Shu Han mother isn’t alive, couldn’t Alina have had a treasured Shu Han pendant? Just spitballing here. There were so many possibilities.

K. Imani: Exactly. I agree with Ellen and unfortunately there is no balance. That’s what makes it so hurtful. The focus is on how bad it is that she’s biracial and how bad the Shu Hans are for no specific reason. Because Alina is an orphan and grew up in Ravka, she unfortunately has no connection to Shu Han culture (or at least what is shown on screen) so all that she identifies as is Ravkan who just happens to look like a Shu Han person, but she doesn’t exhibit any pride in being Shu Han. Her ethnicity is just another obstacle to overcome which is all the more cringeworthy and why having Alina be biracial just to be biracial without thinking it through ended up being so problematic. Having her be biracial and using casual racism as an “obstacle” that she has to overcome is such a shallow interpretation of racism and shows the writers didn’t do the work to really think about the why the racism exists.

In addition to talking about what was done well and what went wrong or felt off about certain representation, it’s important to look at the “how.” How did this happen?

Jessica: I read on Twitter that one of the show writers is Korean and biracial -- which is awesome! I was really heartened to hear that. But at the same time, this highlights how important it is to have multiple marginalized voices in the room who can speak with some level of expertise. I don’t know the decision-making process that went into including this sort of surface-level, simplistic version of real world racism, but I wonder if anyone, at any point, said “is there a more nuanced and original way to portray this?” or “how will this affect Asian viewers?” Did someone bring it up, and they were overruled? What happened?

This absolutely isn’t a judgment on the Asian writers or staff on the show. When I’ve done collaborative writing, there were times I caught an issue and said “we need to be more sensitive about this” -- and there were other times when my teammates pointed out something I didn’t notice. It happens! That’s why it’s so important to have multiple marginalized perspectives when creating something -- especially when it’s a work as impactful and far-reaching as a Netflix show. Placing the burden of complex, nuanced representation on one, or a scant handful, of marginalized creators is just not going to work… and it’s not fair to the creators, either.

Frankly, this is a problem in so many industries -- film, publishing, games... there are so many “diverse” shows, games, etc with all-white or majority white teams. Good, nuanced representation can only happen when BIPOC / marginalized creators are the majority and have power behind-the-scenes. (This is why I’m really excited to watch the show Rutherford Falls -- half the writers room are Indigenous writers, as is the co-creator!)

K. Imani: Exactly! It’s great that one of the writers is biracial and Korean, but if she’s the only one how much input did she really have? I’m by no means knocking her experience but, say for example, that particular poster in the first episode. No one else behind the scenes found it problematic? There are many steps to a production process and that poster, if there had been more diverse voices present on the production staff instead of just 1 writer, would have been flagged as a huge problem and redone. The poster was supposed to be a “short cut” to show Ravkan/Shu Han tension but instead it came off as so profoundly racist and unnecessary. There are many other non-racist ways to explore the tensions between the two countries that could have been explored instead of just jumping to racism. And...as someone on Twitter pointed out, we never see the tension between the Ravkans and the Shu Han, but we openly see fighting between the Ravkans and the Fjierdans, so why were they not vilified to the same extent?

Jessica: Right. I’m definitely not saying racism can’t be portrayed in fantasy ever. But if you’re going to do it, make it make sense within the world. Don’t just use it as shorthand for “this character is Other.” I mean, experiencing racism isn’t what makes me Asian…

K. Imani: Boom! I’m going to repeat that for the people in the back...experiencing racism is not what makes a person Asian or Black, and if you are going to have racism in a work of art, be sure to provide balance to show all the other aspects of a person of color’s life.

Since we’re talking creators behind-the-scenes… which YA fantasy books by Asian authors do you think would make great Netflix shows or movies?

Jessica: I’ve got a list about a mile long, but I’ve cut it down to my top four:

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee

You’re welcome, Netflix execs who are totally reading this blog. Hop to it!

K. Imani: I second the Tiger at Midnight series! I loved the first two books and can’t wait for the conclusion in June. While not YA, the City of Brass series would make an excellent Netflix series. Anything Maurene Goo writes would be fun rom-coms (because we need those too!).

Jessica: I mean, with To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before complete… Netflix clearly needs to start adapting Maurene Goo’s books.

K. Imani: Yes, the people demand it! I don’t care which book, just grab one of them and get the production started.

On a final note, I do want to say that despite the criticism the show rightly deserves, there was much about the show that was enjoyable. The storytelling was strong and moved at a good pace, the costuming was on point, special effects worked seamlessly into the narrative, and even small touches such as how the Grishas used their small science was visually interesting. Book adaptations are always hard to pull off well and the Shadow and Bone production team did a good job overall. Their intention towards adding more diversity is a step in the right direction, but just didn’t do enough. Let’s hope they learn from their mistakes and improve for season 2.

[eurosong]

Undo my ESC '21 (semi-final two)

Good afternoon folks, and welcome to the second part of Undo my ESC – my annual quest to make the year’s Eurovision better (at least, for me xD) by making a feasible change in each country – it could be something as small as altering a lyric or a staging detail, or as big as a different artist entirely winning the NF. Semi-final one was here so let's jump straight into SF2!

🇸🇲 San Marino: We're thrown into the deep end here with a fan fav that doesn't do at all for me. I'm one of maybe 5 people on the planet who prefers Freaky by far, I guess? I'm happy for Senhit to be getting so much love and for the diminutive serene republic to finally have a shot at a good result - but I'm not so keen on the way it's been done. There's a bit of cognitive dissonance for me because my favourite thing about Adrenalina is Flo Rida's rap, but I don't like the idea of bringing in famed American artists like "ringers" to elevate a song above one with "only" local talent. I would be so tempted to give the rap part to local artist IROL instead to spit some hot bars in Italian.

🇪🇪 Estonia: I had hope this year, I really did, for my era of absolutely adoring Estonia at ESC to be revived after 4 painful years. There were so many good songs at this year's Eesti Laul, like those of Ivo Linna, Egert, Gram of fun, Heleza - but ultimately, my huge favourite was, as expected, Jüri Pootsmann. Anyone who followed this blog back in 2016 knows how much I adore Jüri and was desperate to see him get a redemption arc at ESC itself. Magus melanhoolia was one of the best songs of the season for me and one of the best stagings. As much as I prefer '20 artists to get their shot in '21, problematic Uku with his toxic ex vibes song will have to step aside and let the Jüri renaissance happen here.

🇨🇿 Czechia: I really dig Benny Cristo - he has personality, presence and his own enjoyable style. At first I was kinda disappointed with Omaga because I was expecting something more in the vein of Kemama, with more pronounced Afrobeat influences. But it has grown on me a lot too. My change? Add more Czech than just one blink-and-you-miss-it line, mate! (Article continues below)

🇬🇷 Greece: I see this being talked up as potential televote top 3 and I just don't get it. Maybe it's the way the chorus rhymes dance with itself three times (and uses the term rockin' romance unironically); maybe it's the way that there are better 80s-inspired songs both in ESC and many fallen tributes in the NF season... it just leaves me cold. I actually preferred Supergirl and my change would be for Stefania to bring something with some actual Greek flair.

🇦🇹 Austria: I’ll echo what I said last year about Österreich – how did they go from Conchita to a guy who wished he wouldn’t have gay kids like this? I find both of this guy's songs insipid in different ways and I would invite Pænda back instead to avenge her getting robbed with the beautiful Limits. Or give a second shot at glory to the incredible Cesár!

🇵🇱 Poland: Unpopular opinion, but I absolutely love The Ride, and I feel bad for Alicja, but I much prefer it to Empires. What started as an ironic fondness for Rafał's cringy uncle vibes ended up being genuine appreciation - it's one of the few 80s-inspired songs that sound like they actually could have come out of that decade rather than like modern pastiches. And Raf actually does have an awkward charisma. My change - insert some Polish! Poland does so well with natural sounding bilingual efforts in JESC, they should bring it to the main contest too!

🇲🇩 Moldova: I was lowkey prepared to be disappointed by Moldova - I actually enjoyed Prison a lot and the news that they were going in a completely different direction didn't sit so well with me. And yet, I also love Sugar. Natalia's power! My changes: get rid of that weird scene with literally egg on her face - too on the nose for me. And incorporate a bit of the stellar Russian translation, Tuz bubi, because I'm always going to be advocating for more linguistic diversity xD

🇮🇸 Iceland: Daði Freyr can literally do no wrong with me. Whilst it doesn't have the same intense extra-fandom hype that Think about things did, I think I like Ten years even more. Nothing to change here.

🇷🇸 Serbia: It's no secret that Hurricane were far from my favourites at Beovizija 20, and that I find this a downgrade for Sanja compared to her powerful '16 song. And yet... Hasta la vista grew on me a lot, and so has Loco loco. It's something that is definitely scratching an itch at this year's ESC and the burst of anarchic energy it'll provide will be amazing. I am seriously tempted to change to the acoustic version, though, which has all the attitude of the original but is more beautiful for me and lets the girls' voices shine more.

🇬🇪 Georgia: Georgia keeps serving acquired tastes, and as a patron saint of marginal genres and I love them for that. This year, they've gone for something that even many fans of Tornike find hard to swallow - gone is the roaring rock of last year, replaced with a much more contemplative, soft effort that reminds me a little of Lou Reed. I enjoy both songs, but I can't deny preferring 2020. At the same time, I admire the chutzpah required to send something so different. I just wish there could be a moment to properly showcase T's powerhouse vocals.

🇦🇱 Albania: It was an odd Festival i këngës this year, outdoors in the freezing cold and without the orchestra that makes the songs soar so much more for me. Karma is a perfectly respectable winner, albeit one that lacks the immediacy and rawness of Shaj, Ktheju tokës and Mall. In my ideal alternate reälity, Arilena Ara would have been invited back. She'd bring a song as beautiful as Shaj - and not do a revamp into English that removes its edge this time.

🇵🇹 Portugal: 2015-2020 was a full on Portugal stan era for me. I want to believe that this year is an aberration and that in 2022, our lusitanian neighbours will produce the goods once again. Because ending a colossal streak of not sending songs that don't include Portuguese for this? I am baffled. I wanted the anthemic Joana do mar, produced beautifully by Luísa Sobral, or the timeless Contramão, which sounds like it escaped a Nouvelle Vague soundtrack. Saudade, Por um triz or a number of others would have been grand too.

🇧🇬 Bulgaria: I wasn't expecting much from Bulgaria - I really didn't and don't like TGS and the majority of songs in Victoria's NF-but-not-really aren't my cup of tea. I was happy she got her second chance, but resigned to not liking the song much that would get picked. And then, my fav, which was last in many community ratings, ended up being her pick. I adore GUIGO and believe it has the possibility to do very, very well at Rotterdam and be one of the 'moments' of the evening.

🇫🇮 Finland: CRIMINAL how YLE treated Aksel - it felt like he wasn't the defending champion, and that Erika Vikman had won the previous year. They also - I believe, deliberately - split his vote by making his just one of a number of ballads, so of course what stood out most were the two decidedly non-ballady songs. Finland only two years ago had a single-artist UMK. They could and should have brought it back for Aksel. I'd hope Hurt would win it, because that song is stunning.

🇱🇻 Latvia: I was, and am, delighted that Latvia stuck with Samanta Tina. The lady lives and breathes ESC, even wrote a university thesis about it, and if she tried so many times, finally won and then DIDN'T get to go to ESC, I would have gone to LTV headquarters personally to remonstrate. I really like both her songs. The moon is rising is poised, powerful and like nothing else this year. The only thing I'd change is adding some Latvian because it's a gorgeous language and we've been waiting for ages to hear it again.

🇨🇭 Switzerland: Gjon's song is once again not really my cup of tea, or tears - but I enjoy it better than last year's and I'm glad he's back. Highkey wish it did include Albanian or Romansch like confused commenters last year thought it did.

🇩🇰 Denmark: There is literally no excuse for Denmark's treatment of Ben & Tan. I'm not even a big fan of their music at all, out to not even allow them to compete in DMGP to defend their win with Iron heart? Even though there are songs that competed in DMGP that I prefer a lot, most notably Står lige her, I would probably have let them have a proper second chance.

And the automatic qualifiers voting in this semi -

🇫🇷 France: For me, France had an absolutely enthralling, sincere, perfectly Gallic entry that hit me so hard in the feels. And whilst I respect Voilà, no, that wasn't it. It was Pourvu qu'on m'aime, easily one of the best songs I heard all year inside NFs or out. I find Voilà a little too mannered and affected, whilst PQM is a shot straight from Juliette's heart into mine. In my dream, it'd have won CVQD and be receiving the same love that Voilà is right now.

🇪🇸 Spain: Whilst it is getting next to no love in the fandom and seems quite forgotten, I find Voy a quedarme one of the best songs sent from this country in several years - and I say that having preferred Memoria. I am proud of Blas and love that he had a hand in writing this song. My change? He said recently that the staging in Rotterdam won't be inspired by the poignant music video despite wanting it to be - I would incorporate elements from it in the live.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Frankly, I think almost all the Big 5+1 brought it this year, with the notable exception of Germany. Embers is the banger that I never thought was coming from James Newman, and it's been one of the biggest earworms of the season. I wouldn't change anything about it - I'd just ensure that the staging replicated the energy of the video as much as possible!

[fictionxlover]

Ive been getting back into Days of our Lives and i was just curious. Who are some of your favorite DOOL women (past or present) ? And who are/were your favorite ships (past or present)?

When I first watched DOOL, Ejami was my ship. I know it’s problematic but they had that ‘we are a toxic mess but no one will accept me like you do’ vibe. the chemistry was good and they just have it.

Currently on Days my favorite couples are Stabi, Xarah, and sometimes Cin.

If you are looking for a more updated version of Ejami there’s Stabi (my fav). Gabi is my favorite because she has that Sami energy. she’s a mess. Has no problem going after what she wants and getting justice for herself. She’s a full on 🌪 with heels. Her and Stefan work perfectly like Ejami because they love the BAD and GOOD in each other. Both are ambitious af, and basically the pariahs of Salem. It’s a crazy mess but entertaining to watch these complex characters fall for each other while still being devious. Sadly Stefan is dead but you know he back in April

Xarah, I just find cute. I don’t watch a lot of their scenes but I love how it went from ONS to friends to co parenting to lovers sksks. It’s the bad boy/messy heroine trope but just works for them.

Cin is the us vs the world couple since Ciara is the daughter of supercouple Bo/Hope and Ben is the former serial killer of Salem. Ben has changed though and Ciara is the only one who sees the light in him. It’s very Beauty/Beast-esque. Personally, I sometimes find their story 😴 cuz it’s repeat of what we seen from them but Rob/Victoria kill it every time with there amazing chemistry so it’s still watchable.

my favorite female character is definitely Gabi Hernandez. I love the radical growth she had from being a naive heroine not sure about anything to ambitious messy vixen who takes no shit.

[siarven]

My OCs!

Sierra Craye

From: Monster

Sierra is nine years old, very sassy, often grumpy, and she’s befriended the monster under her bed. It keeps annoying her and she keeps annoying it back, it’s like she just got another sibling she never wanted. If anyone hurts it though they’ll have to deal with her, and nobody wants that.

Ava Elyssa Nichols

From: Dreams and Shadows

Ava is eight and her life revolves around Ben, her older brother, since her parents are both very bad at taking care of their children (they’ve got their reasons, still doesn’t help anyone though). Now Ben is gone, though, and Ava has no idea how to cope with that. Ava is afraid of the darkness and the monsters it holds, and she loves the family cat Amber with all her heart. I have a lot of plans for her ;)

Benjamin Alec “Ben” Nichols

From: Dreams and Shadows

Ben is twelve and the whole reason why his family hasn’t broken apart yet. He didn’t really have much of a childhood because he instead takes care of his sister, depressed father, and science-obsessed mother all the while excelling in school because he thinks that people expect that of him. And now he’s dying, more or less. Basically, he just needs a break.

Kiyera Sy

From: Dreams and Shadows

She’s fifty-seven and has given up on life after losing both her lover and her son. The only thing that#s keeping her going is taking care of the city’s abandoned pets and the carrier pigeons. She moved to Merreadon some twenty years ago. Before that she spent most of her life as a pirate queen fighting the very empire she now lives in (and despises, more and more). She sort of adopts both Ava and Ben halfway through the story.

Fiyare

From: Dreams and Shadows

Fiyare is probably five hundred years old, or older. She was once human before becoming a Guardian. She’s assigned to the Nichols family, and kind of failing at protecting them. It’s not really her fault, but she still feels like it is.

Azrae

From: Dreams and Shadows

A Natah (godlike being in the destruction category); God of Death, basically. They protects the Fallen and makes sure that they find their way. They’re on the nonbinary spectrum and prefer they/them/their or she/her. Ava can channel their powers. They basically helped raise Iuri even though they never asked for it, Iuri just chose them.  Azrare doesn’t understand what Iuri likes about them so much but since they loves Iuri (in the family sort of way... or is it?) they don’t question it. Azrae spent thousands of years in perpetual loneliness, not even really realizing that they were lonely, until Iuri decided to be adopted by them. And that was that.

Iuri

From: Dreams and Shadows

A Nanaël (godlike being in the creation category); Lady of Fire. She’s basically everyone’s favourite, exuberant, happy, upbeat. Nobody understands why she chose Azrae of all people, the gloomiest gloom to ever gloom. But since they’re both happy that’s all that matters. Ava can channel her powers.

Mikaën

From: Dreams and Shadows

A Nanaël (creation); Lord of Order. He’s the leader of the Nanaël but has sort of given up in reent years since every child he’s chosen during the last 300 years was either taken or killed by the Asim (the sort of magic-users). Ben can channel his powers, and he only chose Ben because Fiyare told him so and he trusts her.

Luzire

From: Dreams and Shadows

A Natah (Destruction), Lady of Chaos. She strongly dislikes being forced into roles she hasn’t chosen herself. She’s also completely bonkers and wants to destroy the universe. Ben can channel her powers. She’s been imprisoned since she brought on the last apocalypse. She’s not quite as imprisoned as everyone seems to think she is but she is still in there and hasn’t yet found out how to escape. Alasayr is her right-hand-man because she’s not powerful enough to contact her other friends allies.  

Alasayr

From: Dreams and Shadows

A once-human, now demon, who’s responsible for all the problems, or at least most of them. He’s Luzire’s right hand.

Ilien

From: Firewings/Feuervogel

He’s the Mist Rider, a mythical demon slayer. He’s very old, not quite six hundred years old (since the story takes place over a couple of years I’ll leave it at that). He hates his brother with all his soul, hates the demons, loves his dead little sister more than anything else, feels responsible for everything and loves Lirhin, his adoptive daughter, the way any father would. He does a lot of wonderful things but just as many horrible ones, for reasons only he himself knows. I’ve carried him around for roughly three years before I started writing firewings. He’s my problematic son and I love him.

Lirhin

From: Firewings

Adoptive daughter of Ilien. Her parents are dead and Ilien saved her. She’s very rebellious, makes a lot of mistakes, rights many wrongs and is overall a very active person. I love her as much as I love Ilien, but I can’t talk too much about her because most of it is the story anyways.

Jouka

From: firewings

Oh, Jouka, my boy! I’d almost forgotten you… damnit, now I want to write firewings again. Jouka is basically the most trustworthy, calm, amazing person ever, and he’s chosen problematic fav Lirhin as his project. He can also heal. Of course, he has his demons, too, but who doesn’t? Definitely a cinnamon roll :D

Alienor

From: Firewings

Oh, Alienor… She’s Jouka’s younger sister and can talk to animals, she’s also really good with languages and runes and so on.

Jeanna

From: Firewings

From timid girl to badass warrior rebel queen… I love her. She lost her mother and older sister when she was very young, and after finding out about a few things runs away to find herself a better home. Also she hates Lirhin very passionately. She’s a very tough from the outside and it might take years to get close to her but once you’re there she’s totally a softie. She doesn’t care if you like her and she’s mean to everybody, get used to it. If you’re her friend she’ll protect you from everyone, though. She’s also very bi.

Razouk

From: Firewings

He has the problem that everyone around him manipulates him, and that he’s probably not strong enough to withstand all of them because if everyone does it that’s pretty hard. He also has the problem that he’ll never be as good as his sister, at least not in the eyes of his master, whom he tries to please always and in any way possible. Too bad if you don’t even really know who your master actually is.

Arrick and Meena

From: Firewings

The crown prince and princess. They’re fighting to keep the country together while their father lets everything fall apart. Live is hard but they’re harder, and they’re also working harder.

Rheon

From: Firewings

He cares very deeply about his people, being City lord of a larger city… only problem: The King doesn’t do anything and everything gets worse and worse. What could be better than a little rebellion to put things right?

Skye/Lucifer (I’ll change her name when I get back to this writing project… at first the story took place on earth, when it was only Lucifer. Now that it’s another world entirely her name makes little sense.)

From: Morning Star

Lucifer Reborn, only she has no idea. She’s sixteen, typical teenage rebellion phase, sassy, aggressive, quickly angered, impulsive and sometimes even manipulative – but at the same time incredibly kind, and generous if she thinks you deserve it. Only problem: She’s the daughter of two preachers whose church is based on the vilification of Lucifer, and she’s spent most of her life knowing that something is deeply wrong with her but has no idea what. So, basically everyone who hates Lucifer knows who she is, why she has no idea at all, just very bad self esteem and a cynical personality. She’s aro-ace.

Meera

From: Morning Star

Skye’s mother. She just wants her daughter’s best and has no idea (how could she) what she’s actually doing to her. She’s kind of bad at letting go and accepting that Skye has to find her own path. She’s also one of the leaders of the rebellion, but not the mind – she’s the heart, the one who keeps everyone human, who’ll have to make sure that this rebellion doesn’t end up making everything worse than it was before.

Okazaki

From: Morning Star

My baby… he’s the psychic, the dream-boy, the only one who can save Alun – the only one who can save God. Only problem: He’s the shyest person that has ever been and is so deeply afraid of people that it’ll take everything he has to do this. He’s also very broken, deep down, lived in an orphanage most of his life and is currently the apprentice to a cartographer because he’s excellent at drawing and memorizing things. He has to learn that he can be the active one for once, too, not just let everything happening to him without putting up any sort of resistance. He’ll find a lot of great friends really soon though.

Echo

From; Morning Star

Skye’s childhood friend, and, like his name says, he sometimes thinks that he’s just Skye’s echo, too. He spends most of his time protecting Skye from her (often bad) choices and standing by her side. Only, he has to realize that he’s his own person, too, and that he deserves happiness as well. He quickly finds the perfect best friend in Okazaki thought!

Harmony

From: Morning Star

He’s a war leader. Great name for a war leader, right? Only, the name is kind of fitting, because while Harmony is an excellent warrior he also has so much heart. He might be the only one who can save Rayden from himself, and thousands of lives. He has a very dark secret, and he’s very gay. He’s the knight in shining armour, basically, the saviour, the hero with a heart of gold.

Rayden

From: Morning Star

Rayden is the Emperor’s only surviving son and heir to the throne. He’s also really, really horrible, but he wasn’t always that way. He’s a monster and he knows it, and he knows that his choices and those of his father led him here. He thinks that he’s irredeemable and maybe would be in the eyes of everyone else. Only, there’s also Harmony, and Harmony believes in him.

Willow

From: Morning Star

Willow is in her eighties or so, the Healer from Skye’s home village. She raised Meera, Skye’s mother, and is basically the only one (apart from maybe Echo) that Skye trusts completely, with everything. She helps Meera, and Skye, and is generally incredibly generous and warm and calming and helpful. She’s also very broken, deep down.

Icarus

From: Morning Star

He chose the name himself after feeling like he didn’t deserve his old one. The most broken of them all, incredibly old, immortal, and the only one whose mind didn’t break completely during Lucifer’s torture. He takes care of her other victims, and he hates lucifer with a burning passion for what she did to them, and to him. He’s the only one with a sense of self. He’s waited for Lucifer’s return since a few thousand years, but now that she’s back he has to see that Skye isn’t Lucifer. That she any help she can get, especially since every single one of Lucifer’s enemies knows who she is, while she doesn’t. The only way to find release for himself and for the Others is to help Skye save herself, after all.

Hawk

From: Morning Star

Roughly 250 years old. Mischievous, playful, always up for a prank. He needs to realize that sometimes you need to take responsibility to achieve anything in life. He might need to help Lucifer, and Cassandra.

Cassandra

From: Morning Star

Lucifer’s childhood friend. Roughly two and a half million years old. She’s the one who has to re-unite the Icari and the Oresh (similar to angels/demons) before they tear each other apart in the worst war the world has ever seen. She needs to realize that she has to do that, not Lucifer, even if she’s still very nostalgic. She’ll never forgive herself for not saving Lucifer, even though she really tried. Hard. She’s also bi. 

Kieran

From: Morning Star

Lucifer’s childhood friend. Roughtly two and a half million years old. Looks like he’s twenty-seven. He loved Lucifer, once, and blames basically everyone else for what happened to her. Most of all God. He’s very broken, and very lost, and though he thinks that what he does is for the best it really isn’t. Someone stop him, please…

Oh man, so many characters. And these are only three projects! I’ll add Icicle Soul, Burning Skies and Sky Citadel later, I think…Also not all those characters have stuff in their tags yet. I’m working on that :)

[damnmarauders]

honestly benadick is still one of my favorite characters

we are, however, in a fight rn because he is acting very biphobic at the moment. from the stand point of a person ben is being really shitty and were we to be friends in real life i would drop him like a hot potato for a while until he understood why what he said was shitty. from the stand point of him just being a character in a show he stands to grow a lot from this experience if the candle wasters address it (which i think they need to) and can be a great point for a heck of a lot of character development which i am all about