#instead of using the opportunity to get some development for BOTH characters

[biblicalhorror]

Honestly iiiiiiii kinda hate how they resolved the whitney/canaan/kimberly drama. I get where whitney was coming from (specifically re: kimberly lying to her) but she's had a whole summer to cool off and she's spent it apparently lying to everyone around her about not missing kimberly. And I've posted before about this, but I really don't think it was fair to expect kimberly to want to bring it up literally 1 day later in front of all their friends before she even knew what her and canaan were going to be. I wish the writers handled her side of this with a little more empathy and grace because yes, what she did was selfish and impulsive, but canaan and whitney had been broken up for awhile by that point, which in my mind means that the only thing kimberly really did wrong in this situation was lying to whitney about it, and again, I think she would have told the truth if the confrontation had been in private. It kind of seems like whitney threw a temper tantrum and decided to ice her friend out of her life instead of talking about her feelings or allowing any kind of dialogue, and then she only forgave her when she broke things off with canaan and essentially groveled at her feet taking full responsibility for the whole thing. Literally all she did was kiss a boy and then not want to talk about it immediately afterwards.

[ivesambrose]

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 🥂

1. 2. 3.

Do I dare ask how 2023 has been for y'all?

Pick the image you feel the most pull towards or have been seeing around you a lot, if you feel drawn towards multiple, so be it. 🤍

To book a personal reading with me DM or email me at Ivesambrose@gmail.com

Personal services

Winter Specials

Thank you for the tip 🌹

𝓟𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮 1

Your central theme is rising from the ashes. You're in the process of the most intense metamorphosis yet. A new dawn, a new day, a new life.

You'll feel empowered, passionate and obsessive about your pursuits. You'll allow the old skin to be ripped off of you and you'll no longer be scared to be you.

This year brings you connections, admires, collaborations, unions both in personal and proffesional life.

There's a certain duality in you that you haven't explored yet, but you will in the coming months.

You'll have good health for the most part compared to the previous year. Your family will be taken care of. The hope and assurance you may have lacked from them will come through. It will feel warm and refreshing. (Goes for chosen family too)

Romantically, you may be focused on your career or just living your life a lot. But someone might want to build a legacy or long term relationship with you.

If you're already coupled, the focus goes to building what you have and looking after domestic affairs and see things bloom.

Proffesionally, you will have your most successful and blessed year. Money shouldn't be a problem and even if it seems like it, your needs will always be met and you'll still have more.

Some of you might enjoy ghe fruits of your labour extensively. This goes for the ones who work solo or run their own business etc

Academically, you might feel a bit disinterested. Might move out from your home or change subjects. Take up something completely new. Might face your fears and push through but make it a point to follow your inner calling for the most part.

Themes centered around relationships and partnerships are significant this year as well opportunities coming out of the blue that call you to heed your intuition and step out of your comfort zone or limiting mindsets, that will inevitably lead to travel, progress and new experiences.

Make the best of this year, it'll feel like you're finally on the journey you've been preparing yourself for all this time.

𝓟𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮 2

Your central theme is using your emotions as your guiding force, using it as fuel and not seeing it as weakness. Quieting your mind so you can listen to your instincts more. Healing from things you don't speak of, that you've felt have persistently held you back from your potential and finally taking the lead. You'll feel like the main character in your life finally, instead of seeing everything through the lens of a side character no one remembers.

You'll feel motivated to follow what makes your heart happy. You may be faced with choices a lot this year, a lot of this or that in several aspects of your life. Trust yourself to make the right decisions.

You'll be learning about your mind and body this year, so incase you go through ups and downs in your health you'll be able to manage it but also guide others too.

Romantically, you might as well get your happy ending. I see that you're mostly focused on the complete picture. Not bothered with what is going on in between too much. So you'll get what you're manifesting eitherway.

Proffesionally, a rebirth or evolution will take place. Something new that will grow overtime. You'll be driven about it. So success will be imminent.

Success in academics as well, feeling proud of your achievements.

Themes around revolution, personal development, healing generational trauma, humanitarism, technology as well being open to the unknown will also be prevalent this year.

Learn to make amends and embrace the breakthroughs this year has to offer you.

𝓟𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮 3

Your central theme is related to wealth, inheritance, change of lifestyle, receiving help, building a legacy and feeling more secure. Some of you will see a success or change they did not see coming, it was hidden for the longest time.

Some of you may even be leaving poverty behind for a more financially secure life.

You'll find yourself blooming, physically especially. A glow up in your looks and quality of being is going to be imminent. Focus on health, beauty, food, routine etc as well. A lot of you will be experiencing vivid dreams, strange synchronicities etc too will be learning about esoteric subjects, occult or the subconscious mind a lot. You'll also be receiving success and recognition or you might be building your steps towards it that will eventually pay off in the long run.

You'll feel like this old self or image of you has died. You may even mourn it for some time but will feel more powerful, confident and self assured once you're past that.

Romantically, you'll be feeling desirable and might attract a lot of suitors. Your self concept will improve exponentially, so will your standards. So nothing less than what you want. Your intuition will be at all time high. Fear no one and nothing. Some of you might also be moving to a new house too or might end up owning something in your name.

Proffesionally, although you might deal with competition you won't be too worried. You know your skills, you'll have your resources, your work will speak for it self and you will stand out.

Friendship, community, discoveries and gains are also some of the themes surrounding you this year.

Let your imagination create for you. You'll soon realize there's so much power in allowing yourself to receive what you desire by simply being instead of doing too much.

[lilimaginebean]

jjk men AU!bnha (character x reader)

🎋 characters: geto, gojo, nanami, toji, choso, sukuna, yuta, megumi, yuji

🎋 notes: in honor to both mangas which finished in 2024. if someone wants me to request, I don't mind, writing helps me to relax :))

🎋masterlist

suguru geto

he was a pro hero, consistently ranked among the top four. However, he turned into a villain after realizing he was forced to save not only innocent people but also corrupt and mean individuals.

quirk: manifestations of the 1000 curse, can manifest 1000 japanese spirits under his orders

he saved you from a cruel rich man, who forced you to be his “slave” in order to pay your parent’s debts

when geto saved you he discovered you were quirkless. he decided to protect you and let you live with him, since you were pretty and resembled his quirkless mother

to his surprise, you turn into the most competent and skillful person in his band, leading him to esteem and appreciate you more.

you became his more confident member and his lover too

“Sweetheart, show this monkeys how is this done”

gojo satoru

he is the strongest pro hero and is considered the strongest hero in the country. most of the times he is top 1

quirk: manipulation of space

he discovered your existence the moment you rank top 1 in the poll instead of him. how the fuck did this happened?

after that poll, a rivalry started between you two to see who was the real top one. Whenever you met him, you always exchanged witty comments, and Gojo loves it.

he deeply admired you, but his pride won't let him admit it publicly.

when he was requested to participate in an international mission, he asked if he could bring you along. The government accepted it, and of course, you were not going to turn down this opportunity.

spending time alone during the mission helped both of you develop a strong bond.

“darling, tell me one thing, how come we are still fighting for top1 when we could be top1 couple”

nanami kento

pro hero that retired after the death of one of his intimate friend. after that, he turned into a teacher of the prestigious academy ua

quirk: mass manipulation

the first meeting was when you helped him find his class. You were both a teacher and a pro hero.

you always met him for lunch on the rooftop.

you helped him feel comfortable in his environment. After weeks, you turned into friends, and after a month, you were dating.

while you were saving the city, he stayed home, completing tasks so that when you returned, everything would feel comfortable.

He loved to brag about how amazing of a partner you are.

Always prepared breakfast for you, leaving a rose next to it with a small note saying, "You can do it."

“maybe you could stop saving that many lives and start taking care of you”

toji fushigiro

He is quirkless and considered himself an antihero. He worked for heroes or villains, choosing whoever offers the most money.

He had known you since you were little; both of you ran away from home, tired of the family abuse.

You grew up on the streets, helping one another, and eventually began living together in an apartment.

Both of you are like Bonnie and Clyde, completing all the missions together.

Although Toji used to accept all the tasks, he would deny any missions that might involve you getting hurt without hesitation.

Initially, you were just casual partners with Toji. However, a week ago, he confessed his feelings to you, and you officially became a couple.

In the end, he secured a legal job assisting the police in catching criminals. Both of you relocated to a new place and decided to start a family.

“i would rather kill for you than die for you doll, dont take any offense”

choso

A villain captured by the government made a pact to be free, agreeing to work as a hero.

quirk: blood manipulation

He became a barista the day he met you. After an exhausting day saving lives, he decided to enter a café just to get some rest.

You were the waitress who served Choso. You were so gentle with him, and he found you so pretty that he fell in love with you.

He decided to apply for the job, and you accepted him because you were his fan.

He retired from being a pro hero when he realized how much you suffered because of him and decided to propose to you.

A year later, you owned the cafeteria with your son running around the place.

“babe, blood manipulation could be a great spectacle in the open mic of thursday, idk why don’t you let me”

sukuna

He is the most feared villain of all time, known worldwide, but heroes can never capture him.

quirk: alchemist, he is able to changed every materia into whatever he wanted

You met him when your mother asked his mother if he wanted to play with you. When both of you were 10, the other kids ignored you because you were quirkless.

he asked you out when you were 12

He wanted to be a pro hero; however, after seeing how society started to treat him for being quirkless, he began to hate humanity.

One day on a mission, the heroes decided to save quirk users before quirkless people. During that mission, you died.

He was able to make you come back alive with a ritual. From that day on, he despised humanity.

“tell me whatever you want, I will give it to you. you deserved this, and more babygirl”

yuta

he was the youngest pro hero ever, at the age of 16

quirk: mecha controlling

He had Gojo as a mentor, but his wife provided him with even more support.

He met you when he gave a speech about superheroes at the UA Academy. When you asked him one question, he realized your existence.

It turned out that you were his childhood friend, but you lost contact when your family moved to Hokkaido.

Yuta decided not to make a move on you, afraid that he might manipulate you because you were his fan.

You asked him to mentor you, and he agreed to help you after classes.

you were the one who took the step and asked him out

“there is my #1 hero, you did it amazing on the practice”

megumi fushigiro

He is a student from U.A. who wants to become a pro hero.

quirk: 10 shadow manipulation

In his final year, he was selected as one of the top three along with Yuji and you.

Both of you met during the initial task at UA Academy. In that task, you saved him, and as a sign of gratitude, he invited you for coffee.

You finally entered UA Academy, and both of you were in Class A. On the first day, everyone already thought you two were dating.

He used to go to the other side of town just to accompany you so you wouldn’t have to travel alone.

You were the couple of the academy from the moment he asked you to be his girlfriend after winning the tournament.

“i wouldn’t be here if you didn't help me first, stop underestimating yourself”

yuji itadori

He was a student who wanted to be a pro hero and was selected as one of the top three.

quirk: physical overpower

He met you while both of you were taking the exam for the provisional ID of a pro hero.

He accidentally hit you while you were trying to keep the civilians safe.

After the exam, he decided to formally apologize. You tried to make him feel less guilty by saying you also received your license. Additionally, you complimented him, admitting he excelled in the exam and that he was amazing.

He asked you out before you both departed, and you nodded excitedly.

Things didn’t work out since he was too busy trying to be the best student. You decided to stop your hero formation and move to another city.

You reconnected with him one day while he was walking down the street and found you exiting a store. In the end, you became a veterinarian.

He asked you once more, and you gladly accepted again.

“this time is going to be different, trust me. I will make it work”

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

pt XVI good omens season 2 (still not traumatic) episode 3 EDINBURGH

HELLO IT'S ME IT'S THE OFFICIAL GOOD OMENS MASCOT WHY DO I STILL KEEP INTRODUCING MYSELF IDK. If you don't know who I am, thank God and Satan for their mercy and flee. Also, the day after I post this, I'll be watching the last three episodes on livestream for the first time so. You know. I'm hyped on the energy of this being my last day not enveloped in tears. Take the summary:

Before the episode starts, someone asks why Crowley said in the last episode that Aziraphale couldn't fall because look at him, all angelic when Crowley looked the same as starmaker. I reply that "Crowley thinks he deserved it, he sees Azi as something beautiful and untouched while he probably sees himself as idk marked in some way so god kicked him down."

I am told that I am learning too fast to weaponise the narrative to induce angst. So then I say oh, I go too fast for you. Tears ensue.

The episode begins! Everyone shrieks about Edinburgh, David Tennant, how it is their favourite episode, and SCOTTISH CROWLEY.

We open with lesbians being gay, and then Muriel enters as Inspector Constable! They are very sweet and very determined to do their job right, and they are adopted by Crowley and Aziraphale just like Jim.

Crowley sits on Aziraphale's chair's arm. The maggots all swoon.

Fine, I also swooned.

Aziraphale gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-mansplain-manipulate-manwhores his way into getting Crowley to give him the Bentley keys (BOUNDARIES. BOUNDARIES.).

WHAT PLENTY OF USE DO BOTH OF YOU GET OUT OF THE BOOKSHOP?

The really ineffable plan is whatever the fuck was happening in Aziraphale's brain when he somehow went from London to Edinburgh via Loch Ness (check the map) and then proceeded to disguise himself as a detective who pretends to be a journalist.

Crowley slays in sleeve garters and a cardigan keeping house in the bookshop meanwhile, does not sell books, instead cleans with Jimbriel and periodically yeets book stacks into corners when distracted.

Aziraphale reads his old diary entries about Crowley, a (6000+) 13 year old with a crush.

MINISODE MINISODE. They are in Edinburgh during the mid 1800s. Victorian outfits, check. Scottish Crowley, check. Capitalist Karen Aziraphale, che-wait what.

Huh. Well. There's a wee bit of body snatchin' going on, to sell to doctors for medical research because there aren't enough murderers, and to make enough money to survive.

Aziraphale channels his inner capitalist judgemental Karen and ruins that plan, come on Aziraphale you have religious trauma but you're better than this, and long story short, Wee Morag dies after Aziraphale realises his error, her friend Elspeth has to sell her corpse for pennies, and is about to commit suicide with laudanum. Azi, oh god. I'm glad you underwent character development at least.

NOW CROWLEY HERE SLAYS. I KNOW THIS IS AZIRAPHALE'S PERSPECTIVE AND IS BIASED. BUT WITH THIS POV, CROWLEY SLAYS.

He calmly educates Aziraphale about how his whole "the poor have more opportunities and you shouldn't give them money or they'll lose the virtue of poverty" is absolute bullshit, and he does this understanding Aziraphale's situation and not losing his temper.

The framing. The framing of the shot when they see Wee Morag and Elspeth sitting down on a step and explaining their situation. Aziraphale stands above, bustling with righteousness, and judges them. Crowley sits down. He sits down next to them, rather than taking the high ground. He meets them where they are and empathises. It is the fact that he is fallen and damned that makes him behave really divine and sorry I wrote a whole hymn on him have it I'll stop rambling just know I love him.

I think his amusement is a facade so hell won't think he's genuinely being good. I think he's morally grey and incredibly brave and kind.

When Elspeth is bouta kill herself with the laudanum, Crowley grabs it and drinks it himself, and grows tiny and then huge, absolutely high off his head. David Tennant takes the opportunity to travel Scotland from east to west in terms of accent variety.

He gives us the good message of NO DYIN'. NO MORE DYIN'. IT'S NOT ON. And then forces Aziraphale (who doesn't want to ruin her virtuous poverty) to give the girl all the guineas he has in his pocket, and tells her to go off and start a farm or something. BUT NOT JUST PRETENDY GOOD, BE PROPERLY GOOD.

He then gets pulled into hell. To be punished for this. Aziraphale is frightened and heartbroken for him, looking around desperately, and we find out that Crowley didn't meet him for a while after. And later he wanted holy water. To protect himself? He got punished by hell. For how long? The whole month in between the incident and the diary entry? There can't be anyone better at punishment and cruelty than hell.

Sorry I'm just screaming here.

Never mind fuck I started this summary really happy and bouncy and listening to a dance playlist. Dionysus by BTS and Italian pop is still playing and now I'm crying.

Is this the natural progression. Fuck I'm crying. Sorry guys something else happens with Aziraphale politely talking to a phone and Crowley smiling really beautifully while unsuccessfully trying to manipulate two lesbians into a relationship and something about a visit I don't care everyone's being morally dubious as usual and then lovely Scottish music outro I CAN'T FUCKING ELABORATE I'M SITTING HERE CRYING OVER CROWLEY.

right summary done, time to go sob, lmao i thought i wouldn't cry today over good omens HAHAHAHA still not traumatic eh HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[lurkingshan]

Helloooo, Shan! This is a bit out of left field but it’s something I’ve been wondering for a while. BL has developed more as a genre and shown itself to be increasingly sociopolitically aware (whether or not it effectively engages with that awareness beyond marketing is another thing), do you have thoughts on any sort of progression of how women and girls have been portrayed? Or observations on the general state of women and girls in BL? It seems to me their roles have become meatier, not just one-dimensional femme fatales or fujoshi. Or am I projecting a false narrative of genre evolution? 🤔

Hey Megan, thanks for sending! I love an out of left field ask. And I agree with you, I do think there has been a clear evolution in the way women characters are portrayed in BL, and I have been making note of it where I see it.

It used to be that female characters in BL were mostly just there to be antagonists, either as villainous femme fatales trying to break up the couple (like Plern Pleng in TWM) or fujoshis inserting themselves into the main couple's relationship in really inappropriate and fetishizing ways (like Pang in Love Sick). Even the precious few decent women characters from early BL (like Manow from UWMA) are still really only there as side characters who provide support to the boys and/or a bit of comic relief. Women in early BL were either problematic or kind of an afterthought in the narrative.

But more recently there have been BL dramas featuring women who are more fully fleshed out and actually a crucial part of the story. This is not linear and consistent, of course--there are BLs airing as we speak, like Knock Knock Boys and Blue Boys, that are still relying on women as primary antagonists--but there has been some growth. Here are some of the characters I find particularly notable in regards to the role they play in the narrative:

Ae Ri, The Eighth Sense

Ae Ri was a notable character because the narrative set us up to think she was going to be a typical femme fatale. She seemed to like Ji Hyun and we were naturally inclined to assume she would be an obstacle to him pursuing Jae Won, until the show completely turned that on its head and made her a knowing ally instead. It was a delightful surprise and she remained an important support and get a grip friend for Ji Hyun throughout the story.

Nara, La Pluie

Nara is another in the category of the subverted femme fatale trope, but this show took that much further by writing her with so much empathy and making her a fully fleshed out character with her own arc and even the start of a new romance by the end. It is still the best treatment of an ex-girlfriend character I have ever seen in a BL.

Fujisaki/Pai, Cherry Magic

Speaking of trope subversion, let's give a shoutout to these two corrective takes on the fujoshi archetype. Each version of this story did it a bit differently, but the common thread was that Fujisaki and Pai only wanted the best for their friends, and kept a firm line on how much to interfere in their relationship. Fujisaki is gentle and kind, offering small encouragements and nice gestures. Pai is much more of an enthusiastic fangirl so I was a bit weary at the start of her story, but the show used her fannish interests as an opportunity to model respectful fan behavior and I was quite pleased in the end.

Yiwa, Wedding Plan

And of course, I have to mention the current title holder for best female character in a BL, Wedding Plan's Yiwa. She is not only a great character in terms of having a fully formed personality, clear motivations, and a great set of relationships, she is also the engine that drives the entire narrative. I am still kinda amazed she exists.

This is separate but related to the recent increase in GL content and GL side couples in BLs, which is also getting steadily better. And I want both! I want solid GL dramas where the girls own the narrative, and I want BLs to write women better when they choose to include them in the story. I'm encouraged by the progress we've already seen.

[illusianation]

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE:

The stark differences in reception to Carol’s and Daryl’s arcs in The Book of Carol

When a show makes its audience work overtime to either rationalize, or completely pan its choices, there’s a fundamental disconnect between the producers, writers, and the characters they’re supposed to understand. It’s frustrating when the fans can see the potential in a character or dynamic that the creators don’t seem to fully grasp, or worse like with #TWDCaryl , choose to exploit the shit out of it for purposes that just seem illogical on all fronts.

For years, inconsistencies in both Daryl and Carol’s storylines on the flagship left us trying to bridge gaps that should have been addressed at the time. Historically, the audience has always had to make sense of the disconnect, but nothing compares to what we're seeing now.

Carol’s current arc in The Book of Carol, is actually making brilliant amends in that regard. Melissa has such a strong sense of who Carol is—her trauma, her growth, her motivations—and she’s not just acting; she’s advocating for a coherent, cohesive story. Melissa continues to prove that when you have a deep understanding of your character, strong advocacy for said character, and the ability to execute the vision, amazing things are possible.

On the flip side, watching Daryl get almost the opposite treatment makes it clear what’s missing. It’s not just a missed opportunity, it’s genuinely sad when you know the character, what he is capable of when given the right depth and development, AND what the actor can do with it. Without a clear understanding of why or when the actor has to explain what's happening by literally retconning his own character instead of showing it in the performance, we get a Daryl who, at best, feels like a hollow shell and at worst, a different person entirely.

The saving grace is supposed to be the dynamic of Carol and Daryl and the sorcery that Melissa and Norman create when they’re together. The Ole Caryl magic is undeniable, not just because of their chemistry but because they make each other better—both the characters and the actors. The creative team’s failure to capitalize on that, and even worse, cheapen it, especially when it’s so obvious and beloved by fans, is just an insult to the core audience and the biggest waste of rich opportunity.

Even if S3 pulls it together, it won’t completely undo the damage already done. We’ve seen the show pull itself together before—S9 and 10 are proof that with the right focus (and leadership), characters can make sense again in the larger story. But they need to get back to what works, and fast. The time for retelling old storylines and recycling old scenes is over.

Some of the fans are still here, waiting for that spark, but the clock is ticking, and the cost has already been too high. The narrative needs to stop feeling like a jumbled mess of mischaracterizations and creative whims and get back to the grounding force, the HEART & SOUL of the story, Carol & Daryl on the same path forward together.

[willtheweaver]

A writer’s guide to forests: traveling through the woods

Getting from point A to point B is something that both people in real life and the characters of your story will have to figure out. Whether as a means to get to a plot point, or as a part of the plot itself, travel presents opportunities for the writer.

Hack ‘n slash- Where paths are nonexistent, your characters will literally have to blaze a trail (the ‘blaze’ in this case has nothing to do with fire. Instead it is a trail marker made by carving a mark into a tree. The mark resembles the white patch seen on the forehead of mammals, most often horses.) Being the pioneer is slow going, especially if the undergrowth is thick and requires clearing. Cut bamboo can go through the foot, poison oak and poison ivy can give a nasty rash, and biting insects can make life miserable. And then there is the matter of marking the trail. A character on the run will not want to advertise their location and will do their best to keep their trail hidden. But for others, they will want to mark the trail. Stone cairns, arrows, blaze marks in trees, and even sticks and knotted grass can point out the path to other travelers. This can be helpful to others, but it can also present a danger. Thieves and outlaws can create false trails that lead travelers into a trap or ambush.

Game trails- Animals have their habits. They like to take the same path between places. Over time these develop into trails that crisscross the forest floor. For a character on the run, or those who needs to make haste, these are a tempting choice to follow. But be careful. Some animals are able to traverse terrain too difficult for humans (narrow ledges, near vertical faces, and the gaps underneath fallen trees are not fun places to be). And your characters may encounter more than deer or rabbits. Predator species hang out around game trails as they can be fruitful hunting grounds.

Existing paths and roads- Roads can range from simple dirt paths to paved highways. These will be the most direct routes between the principle settlements in your story. Prosperous areas will have well maintained roads with travelers and patrols using them frequently. Characters may also encounter watchtowers, farms, and inns along the way. Poorer regions, those affected by war, or more remote regions will have less well maintained roads, fewer travelers, and few to no amenities between towns. And if your characters can use the roads, expect hostile armies, outlaws, and highwaymen to use them as well. And where the roads go may be limited to the most populated regions, forcing your characters to leave the path if they want to get to isolated villages, caves, temples, or even a wizard’s tower.

Use the water- Of course, you can have your characters forgo land transportation and use the rivers, lakes, and seas. Rafts, ferry boats, and ocean going ships are all viable options. It should be noted that these are not perfect solutions. Rapids and waterfalls will force characters back onto land until they find gentler waters. Storms can delay or sink vessels, and cold winters will freeze water over. Of course, a frozen river or lake is just an excuse to get out the ice skates. Droughts will dry up streams and small lakes, and recent rains can turn placid waters into unsurvivable whitewater.

Up in the trees- Hate to burst your bubble here, but swinging from vines is something that only exists in fiction. If you try to do this in real life, it will not work out well…provided you can even find sufficient vines or fig roots. Of course, in your story, you are free to do what you want. Nothing is going to stop you…well except maybe for your readers and the critics who will pan you for using what may be considered an overused and unoriginal trope. Other options include bridges, cable cars, or even zip lines.

Taking flight- Of course, the forest will not pose an obstacle if your characters can simply fly. This can be achieved by characters that possess wings of some sort. They could have a winged mount, or they could hitch a ride on a vehicle like a helicopter or ultralight plane.

Underground- If in doubt, take a cue from moles and dwarves. Tunnels can serve the same function as roads, with all the benefits and drawbacks included. Of course your characters will also have to be aware that cave-ins are a real and present danger. These can be natural, or deliberate sabotage. And your characters best hope all the recent tunneling hasn’t awaken any ancient evils from long ago…

[mystiffox]

— badsansuary: days 22 - 24

yeah, let me be fashionably late for this. these prompts were made by @owl-bones !! i'll take any reason to show my selfship with night🙏 you understand. yes, every prompt i draw will be a diff au each time. yes, i have enough aus for this (with varying degrees of lore)

said au notes (+ last year's badsansuary art!) are under the cut:

Day 22: Paint -> Creative Arts AU

i have a couple of modern aus which are more or less all slice of life aus, and this one's just the trope of artist/artist so i don't need to explain much. main difference beyond that is that night is just not goopy LMFAO

i do wanna add that dream is also featured here because. its coldsunset poly (im dating both of em) for all the aus, its just a highlight on me and night bc of the prompt theme (note: my interpretation of dream is she's transfem and uses any pronouns fyi)

Day 23: Foolish -> Swapped!Medieval AU

now the medieval smoothie au has Much More Lore this time, especially since we've revamped it recently. it's gotten to the point of au-ception. because we're insane. in fact, this isn't the only swap au we have (i coined it as the Scales Swapped Timeline) and i might even draw the other swap (Royal Swap TL) if the opportunity arrives :]

the gist of this is that night swaps with dream! me and gillan (the fairy in the art) still work in dream's kingdom, its just that there's an excess of positivity instead of negativity. this leaves her kingdom oversaturated in positivity that they can't even process loss or any sort of negative emotions- and night can't be close to her because he starts to physically hurt (possibly even start dying) from the positivity, which forces him out the kingdom.

his crown is one of the few things he has that came from what is now dream's own kingdom (it doesn't fit him well, but he can't bare parting with it). i'm the one of the first to seek him out to try and improve kingdom relations in hopes of recovering the balance.

there's a lot to unpack there.

Day 24: Royalty -> Original Medieval AU

WE ARE SO BACK and i am enjoying this revamp to the fullest rn !!! we r embracing this fully by attempting to ocify the extended smoothie poly by humanizing designs and adding a bit more fantasy elements into the world. that's why most of these have human and skeleton variants btw (this will be a theme in my art)

the apple twins? dragon hybrids now. me and gillan? shapeshifter and fairy respectively. oh, and the lil' tiefling kid that present time night was reminded of when seeing his past self? that's the adopted kid in the new lore post-truce hehe. i didn't write it properly but "the person" that young passive says is meant to be "the person we love"

i would like to blame gillan for pushing the thought of a child into the au i am now very much attached to the child (their name won't be revealed yet tho). they're a young knight in training that just stuck to me and never left and now they got a whole ass family. w development

it's never not interesting to explore night's character with the au, i just love the dynamic we have despite the complicated history.

will i elaborate on this? that's a very good question. maybe ask me and i'll provide crumbs anyway! here's last year's stuff

i had the same goal of doing some prompts from night's days + the last free days, but they were gonna connect to each like this- but as you can tell, i didn't get far LMAO. at least i've done better this year tho

[deerabigailhobbs]

Okay, so after sleeping for a while I realised that the Bucky and Abigail ramble was bad because it's essentially putting her back with Hannibal and Will, and it would be hard for some kind of earnest relationship to develop with the characters if Abigail is trapped under Hydra's roof without it feeling like Stockholm syndrome.

SO new idea. It starts off the same, Abigail fleeing during Mizumono, somehow ending up in the MCU and getting into a car accident and Bucky finding her. But instead of going back to Hydra, he flees with her. The encounter with Steve flips a switch he's not even fully aware of. And once she comes to, she does get the opportunity to leave. In fact, Bucky wants it, hoping that once she's out of sight he can go back. Report his mission.

And Abigail does leave, wanting nothing to do with this stranger. His cold demeanor and violent eyes reminding her of too many people. But once he saves her again (not sure how yet. Maybe a mugging) she decides to stay.

Que the slow bonding. Abigail opening up about her past, Bucky his present. Abigail giving him a name "I can't just call you soldier." Switching from motel to motel on the run from Hydra, no matter how much Bucky's mind is fighting to go back. And more I can't think of rn cause headache.

Also Bucky being surprised by Abigail's gun skills

(and the fact they both have to use weapons against their will, one knowing it and the other not. Both being used to kill and Abigail helps him come to that realisation because she's been there before ahhhhh)

[aguyinthepubliceye]

BREAKING MY SILENCE...

my partner and I have been watching different Ride The Cyclone productions. So far we've watched the off-broadway 2016 production (and just in case i'm mistaken, its the one played by Gus Halper, Alex Wyse, Tiffany Tatreau, etcetc. I will also be referring to this one as the OG even though is not cus im too lazy to type allat again), and some of t he more recent ones done in universities. I think it shocked us both to see the differences in the script. I mostly have qualms and complains around Mischa and Ocean's character. Mischa's has to do with how he's portrayed rather than the scripts, like Ocean's. In the newer ones, Ocean is portrayed as such a mean girl especially with the whole improvisation thing. They made her so superficial when in the original it really felt like she was trying her best to (as repetitive as it sounds) be her best and change the world positively even though it gave her a feeling of superiority for believing she is better than anyone else, that it came from HER being capable of changing the world. And by the end instead of reviving herself, she revives Jane and comes to terms that this is how she will affect the world, through giving someone else the chance to live again. That also means that Penny might not even remember her, and that's a whole lot development for Ocean cus she's not thinking about what her mark will be in the world and the changes SHE will make, but rather giving someone else the opportunity to live is purely selfless cus she gets absolutely NO reward, not even personal achivement or nourishment. It's just character development which kind of looses her effect when she's turned into a smart ass MEAN mean girl with airs of moral superiority that make no sense when she's bullying just because. Basically, yes she does think she can change the world but her superiority comes from moral and ethics, not just cus she's like 'im just better than anyone else cus im so slay yas girlypop'. They just pushed it too far with some of the stuff they changed/added (I will admit the improvisation bit was funny, if only it didnt ruin her character ((imo)) I feel like Mischa is being interpreted much more dumb than he actually is. They make him SUUUCH a himbo but almost fully negatively. It seems like they are putting characters in boxes. I enjoyed the OG because - much like he himself says - he gets hyped about things BUT in Halper's interpretation conserves that ''gangster'' more or less serious/chill persona and it's not just some loud ass class clown type of character. We didn't watch much of talia but even thinking of those interpretations singing Talia clashes so much because it feels so dumb'd down compared to the 'og' since he's kind of stupid and silly so it feels like Talia really is just a silly first love, he's being delusional and shit like that. Instead of the Mischa we first saw who already seemed far more realistic and less stereotypical, so it makes more believable for him to be so in love with Talia and that being the whole argument of his desire to live. GRANTED WHAT WE SAW ARE UNIVERSITY PRODUCTIONS so im not sure they were full on actors but still, it bothered me so much to see that twice, i had to get it out of my system bro. No hate to the actors tho these things happen, whateverrr anyway gus halper slayed that role, i have yet to see a Mischa that has so much ACTUAL passion and doesnt dumb down his rage thanks for listening im done yapping please dont yell at me thanks x2!!

[ruegarding]

hi, quick question, how did you feel about Beryl Grace's character and how she was written?

hi! overall, beryl is another character that falls into the "interesting concept, not elaborated on in canon" category. in pjo, she's not particularly developed bc of her distance to the main character and narrative. in hoo, where she's directly related to a main character, she's flat, zeus is flat, hera is flat, thalia is barely relevant, and jason's entire character suffers from hoo being inconsistent and poorly written, which means anything that, arguably, should be done well doesn't hold up.

in pjo, beryl’s character isn’t very fleshed out, but she’s a side character to a side character, so it's understandable. she's also dead, but when she was introduced the majority of parents we knew abt were alive, so it wasn't too big a deal (this changes drastically w hoo, where there are more dead parents than living ones).

her existence answers a few questions: why doesn't every mortal parents know who their child's godly parent is? bc some of them cannot handle it. why did thalia run away? bc her mother coped w her mental instability by turning to alcoholism. why does thalia want to join the hunters? bc she wants stability. why can't thalia return home? bc her mother's dead. a lazy way out, maybe, but, again, beryl is a side character to a side character. the implied depth of beryl's character, that thalia cared enough to not only check on beryl's well-being after being revived but also feels enough guilt abt leaving that it's used against her soh, does a lot of the heavy lifting.

in hoo, we learn very little abt beryl's character, despite the fact that she is now connected to a main character. in fact, beryl's inclusion in hoo doesn't do much.

is beryl given depth now that she's closer to the narrative? not really. thalia had to raise jason bc beryl was always self-absorbed, so she and jason don't really have a relationship, therefore nothing to explore. and also the implied depth from pjo is removed bc actually thalia stayed bc of jason and doesn't care abt beryl. so, if zeus went back to beryl, had two children w beryl, that would imply that he loves her, right? no. bc why would we take this opportunity to imply that zeus cares abt other ppl and make him a multi-dimensional character. what does it mean that beryl unites two pantheons by having a greek child and a roman child? don't know. rick never explores it. why was jason sold to one direction? bc hera sucks and beryl's self-absorbed. how was jason able to recognize thalia's face despite last seeing her when he was two (or three??)? did hera tell jason abt thalia as he was growing up? was it all part of hera's big plan? don't know. probably. is jason and thalia's relationship an important focus of the series? no. do we explore the ramifications of beryl being a celebrity w children? no. where does jason's idea of what a mother should be ("caring, loving, selflessly protective") come from? not established. probably thalia...? was it necessary that jason's mother was beryl and not literally any other absent parent? no. was jason and hera's relationship explored in hoo, at least? if u settle for "kinda."

i can not overstate how little beryl shows up in hoo.

there's also a separate issue in how her disabilities are handled. like i say often, this is a series abt disability and therefore these things matter. she explicitly has an addiction and is coded w bpd and she and zeus are villainized for both of these things.

compare it w may. may can't give luke what he needs bc of her disability and it's approached w empathy and portrayed as a tragedy. similarly, hermes loves her and helps her how he thinks is best. and despite this, the audience can still empathize w luke's anger bc none of this changes the fact that he did not get what he needed as a child. that's how u write a complex relationship fitting for a main character of a series abt disability.

instead, beryl is written as incredibly shallow and repeatedly described as "unstable." she likes zeus bc he's powerful and he gives her attention. she caught his attention for shallow reasons and she wanted to keep it for shallow reasons. zeus is written like the villain for leaving, bc obviously he's also shallow and only there bc she gives him attention. this entire situation would be a tragedy if it were written w a modicum of care. it was a no-win scenario. he could have stayed forever, he could have made her immortal, and she would still be unstable, be unsatisfied. she put her entire well-being in his hands, and there is no way he can make her happy forever. it's sad! the love could've been there and it wouldn't've fixed anything!

boo sort of tries to add depth to her character and relationship w jason, but, again, it doesn't hold up bc jason doesn't have a relationship w her. for the two (or three??) years he lived w her, she doesn't even raise him. thalia does. jason doesn't see multiple sides of beryl. almost everything he (and the audience) knows abt beryl, he learned from thalia's crash course on why their mother sucked. the only exception is this promise beryl made, that she'd come back for him, except jason's already come to terms w the fact it's a broken promise, that beryl was never coming back for him, before the story begins. rick never establishes any redeeming quality of beryl's, or beryl's influence on jason, so jason's rejection of her doesn't pack any emotional punch bc...what exactly is there to reject? to let go of? why would the audience be attached to her? why would jason be afraid of becoming like her when there's nothing in the narrative to suggest they're similar?

it's not tragic. it's not triumphant. it's lackluster.

[tvlandofficiall]

since you think seam will be a secret boss, what do you think their motive will be for fighting us?

i personally think that, over the course of the game, seeing how strong the heroes have become, they start to have hope for the future. they've been trying not to, because they know these hopes will inevitably be dashed - better to not have hope in the first place, so that it doesn't hurt when they're proven wrong, right? but they just can't help themself.

so the fight is basically one last desperate attempt to snuff out their own hope. if the heroes are strong enough to beat seam, seam will finally let themself have hope that maybe this messed up world really can be fixed, and they will lend the heroes their strength to help them do this.

i have more thoughts on this matter but i have trouble putting thoughts into words...!

i'm going to take this ask as an opportunity to tangent about something i've wanted to tangent about for a while, but to make sure i answer everything here, let's break it down;

this question is one i see a lot. it's a pleasant surprised to see you've pitched it as something with an answer you've thought about, because most often i see it used as a counterargument proposed without an answer. "why would seam want to fight us? they're a nihilist!" is something i've seen in a few threads and comments sections when the topic of seam as a boss comes up. but being a nihilist doesn't make them a flat character – undertale has a whole separate character that is a bit of a nihilist, too.

but seam isn't just "sans but again", either – toby fox simply likes to play with character foils across both of his games and these two have just as much that sets them apart as they have in common.

i like your idea – of the trio casting off being so-called "heroes" and challenging fate itself instead. seam beginning to develop cracks in their bitter and cynical attitude towards them as a result could certainly be an interesting turn for their character to take. overall with seam, a part of what makes predicting them tricky is that they're a shopkeeper who'll almost certainly get new big chunks of dialogue with each chapter. think about how much of their dialogue is situation-specific across both chapters – and think about how much dialogue shopkeepers get in general! and their secretive personality certainly doesn't make them an open book. that said, we do still have a good foundation of other things right now that could motivate seam to fight us. seam loves to fight, has a bit of a bitter 'tude towards the trio thus far, is curious about what might've happened to jevil, and seems to want our shadow crystals for something. (see my big seamnalysis for me going more in-depth on all that.)

these are all left as dangling threads – points of intrigue that could be touched on again at some point in the future. and if they are, all of them could make for interesting boss fight material! my personal pet theory is that i like the idea of seam wanting us to get stronger so they can finally have a good fight again, but another idea i've been entertaining lately is that if they do want the shadow crystals because of some more directly gaster-related reason, maybe it's out of curiosity. after all, gaster exists on a higher level of fate than even the light world – and given his ties to the prophecy and to us he seems pretty concerned with making sure nothing shakes up the status quo. to know everything about fate – not to change it, just to know it – that'd be an interesting motivation too, even if that idea leans more towards something i'd like to see explored in fanwork than it does towards a prediction i would feel certain making about the game itself. there's a lot you could do and a lot there to work with!

[dress-and-impress]

(cal if you see this pls dont read it has spoilers)

Now that The Dragon Prince Season 7 has been released and the processing has died down imma just share smth right her right now... the whole "Ezran vs Rayllum" thing did not affect me AT ALL while watching it. Was totally unfazed by it becasue I knew they were gonna all be friends again by the end of it... and have no opinion about who was right and who was wrong (That's not to say I didn't feel weird about it. I very much did). So, here is my presentive of each character in this situation:

(picture obviously from a poster of TDP promo)

Ezran:

As every Ez stan knows, he's a young king and has many difficult and challenging decisions to make. He was NEVER prepared to take the throne and when he did it was with such honesty, patience and love for EVERYONE, human, elf and even villain (as per talking to Aravos and Karim about their views and perspectives). BUT when the love he had got taken advantage of, he lost it. Like I would too if you spend all this time building a bridge (hypothetically and in a way literally) with people perceived as "the enemy". His perception of the world became a blur and the innocence he had was shattered in a million pieces. When Callum left he was undoubtably confused but MORE determined to put his fathers killer to justice instead of asking why (like he usually does).

Callum:

Now he's a very controversial side because you either love him or hate him. Very quickly though i find it really strange how he keeps saying that Rayla does everything for others and wants to do something "for her"; the quazar diamond scenario in season 6 and at the oddly adorable bridge scene at the end of season 7. To put it quite plainly, Callum has no idea how to make himself happy, so he makes other people happy. But you're probably thinking "Callum pissed off Ezran and ditched his brother for his gf". Yes. He did. Callum was a mediator in the situation (or tried to be) and once he knew both sides couldn't be happy he had to choose. Ezran, his half-brother and King who has kingdoms and allies that support him no matter what. Or the girl he loves and spent years thinking about and wants to make up as much time as possible with her AND who regretted running away without asking for any help from Callum.

Lets refer back to the moments before Rayla decided to leave (on Callums birthday). She was determined to find Viren and finish what they started and Callum didn't want her to so they made a compromise. BUT THEN Rayla left as we know. Alone. With nothing.

Rayla:

We have no idea what Rayla spent those 2 years doing trying to find Viren but lets list a few things we know (from when she breaks Runnan out of prison); She had to say goodbye to her birth parents who she thought she was going to bring back from Virens coin, is banished from her home and cannot go back and is basically determined to have some form of stability in her life. Quick note, Rayla and Callum are not concerned about Aravos because they think he's still in the pearly.

Rayla has made a lot of impulsive decisions throughout the show and it should be expected that she would betray Ezran's trust and make things difficult for Callum to prioritise the need to get AT LEAST ONE OF HER PARENTS HOME SAFELY. Her mind was an utter blur and filled with emotion she didn't know how to express. The only thing Rayla wanted to do was solve the problem. TAKE ACTION on the one thing that's making her feel that way. She's done it before and will continue to do it.

So to sum up watching that scene and processing it, you need to understand all sides. The emotion, the determination and challenges that came across the three of them. It gave their characters development and gave us an opportunity to explore WHY the characters feel the way they feel or make the choices they choose to make. It was never a "right or wrong" thing but more so gaining growth and maturity that decisions need to be made regardless of how painful it may be.

[the-100-days-of-junkan]

Day 82

Another one that I love!~ Gonna be a lot of those from here on if you couldn’t tell!

Junko’s the Ultimate Fashionista (in the english release at least but hey Ultimate Gyaru has to have a little crossover right??), so of course she handles Mikan’s wardrobe the moment she’s allowed to. So . . . Extremely cute scene of her having Mikan try out clothes to see what she does and doesn’t like. 

An opportunity for Junko to pamper Mikan, AND i get to draw Mikan in a sweater???? Heaven. Also like are we all in agreement that sweaters just look fuckin amazing on Mikan?? Like I admit, I think I just like drawing Sweaters on Mikan but they just make her look so much cuter because of how god damn cozy she looks in em. 

Unfortunately that’s all I have to talk about for that topic? I think? So instead let’s shift over to a recent development involving Junkan!

I’m in the midst of working on the Junkan Christmas Eve comic, which hopefully will be getting posted on time a few days after this, and during the process of making there’s been something new with my current abilities.

I have officially hit the point of proper freehanding on these two.

Y’see this probably won’t make too much sense but i’ll do my best to explain. 

So normally when it comes to sketches I’ve done things a bit less proper compared to more professional artists. I usually get a little start on the anatomy, and then just start sketching all the character details and moving out from there. It isn’t often that I do a full sketch for the basic anatomy of a character, I only do it when I really wanna not fuck up a pose. And as you also know up till now only one piece in this event was drawn normally. Everything else is a sketch that i cleaned up and colored, or just a sketch. 

This is because generally speaking I can’t do art using my normal pen tool without a sketch to work off of, it requires a lot more finesse to use the G-Pen both because of the larger shifts that can occur in line width, and the slightly looser feel it has compared to my Pencil Tool. 

That’s all to say that I have drawn Junko and Mikan so many fucking times that I can just, draw them without proper sketches now. I’m at a point where I just need to draw the head, torso, and legs for an anatomy sketch, and then with the G-Pen I can just, draw from there. That’s big for me personally, and also fucked up because god how even??? There hasn’t been a drop in quality either so far, i’m still able to refine the expressions and i haven’t fucked up with the arms too much yet, I’d even say it’s resulted in some of my favorite Junkos and Mikans period.

Now, the catch is that again, this is only Junko and Mikan. I could prooooobably get to this point with Mukuro eventually just because her design is much simpler compared to other DR Characters? I struggle with getting her colors right rather than linework, but that’s about it and still not really useful in my main line of work unless I memorize every character that’s ever existed, and it took like 150 fucking times for Junkan I can’t do that for an obscure RPG character that I might get commissioned once and then never again. 

It’s also not something that I think i’ll apply to my normal Junkan works, because I am a perfectionist to a fault when it comes to pieces I care about and I want to make sure every detail these is exact. I need to be meticulous for ship art like this, every detail is important. And I can maximize that with sketching.

This new skill is basically useful for one thing. Speed. 

I pride myself on my efficiency, even if I have waned over the years due to burnout and overwork, when I get into it I can fuckin move with my art. And so if I need to say, make a 28 page comic in under a month? Being able to mostly skip an entire phase of the art process is very, VERY useful, ESPECIALLY because it’s a comic. Something which generally takes more time than my normal art by nature of it’s format and what it involves. When making the Comic for Day 60 it was all sketches, which was equally fast but could leave small imperfections at the time that either went under my radar or I just let slide because i was trying to be efficient. 

This is basically perfect for having to speedrun a Junkan comic, it’s all the speed with the usual amount of visual quality.

So in short . . . I’m turning into a nightmarish hell machine but specifically for drawing Junkan. I am genuinely curious how much farther I can go up from here, like, what the hell else could I be capable of with this???? Am I just gonna learn how to fuckin beam the art onto the canvas with my brain???

Moral of the story is just get mind numbingly obsessed with a ship and I guess you’ll get better at stuff??? I have no idea, i’m still kind of processing the comedic value of what this year has been because I was desperate for these two to make out. 

As always, Reblogs, Comments, and Little Notes in the Tags are appreciated!~ They always make my day!~

[lurkingshan]

Every time I see a Wedding Impossible GIFs on my dash I keep thinking that when it's over I'd love to read your take on what went wrong with this show. In a form of a very spiteful rant preferably.

(the show probably doesn't deserve too much of your time but I am just very VERY curious and had to share)

WELL! I was considering just letting this show go quietly into the night, but I will take this excuse to do a good rant instead.

*cracks knuckles*

You asked what went wrong with this show, but truly, nothing went right with it. From top to bottom, it's an utter waste of a good premise and a total destruction of the rare opportunity to get some positive queer rep into a het kdrama for a broader audience than will ever be reached by a ql. Let me list the most glaring problems:

They made Do Han a supporting character in his own narrative. Do Han, his sexuality, his desire and need to hide who he is to protect himself, and his desperate plan to avoid a life he doesn't want is the core of the story. Despite that, the story treats him like a minor supporting character with limited screen time and virtually no interiority or character development that made any sense.

The relationships were poorly written and the bonds were not believable. Ah Jeong was meant to be Do Han's ride or die bestie, but nothing in their scenes together or her behavior towards him suggested this was actually true. They seemed more like acquaintances who were friendly enough but had no real loyalty to each other, or even like she was a random actress he hired to play his wife. And Ji Han and Do Han had no brotherly bond or affection to speak of; their relationship consisted entirely of Ji Han throwing tantrums and demanding things for no reason other than he wants them, and Do Han trying to avoid being forced into them.

The leads were terrible people and the show did not realize that. Do Han's brother and best friend entered into a romance while she was engaged to Do Han. Ji Han thought it was a real relationship and did not seem to feel any guilt about pursuing his brother's lover. Ah Jeong was under a contract she agreed to as both his best friend and as a job to protect him and did not seem to care that she was breaking her commitment and threatening his safety. They gallivanted around flaunting their relationship in public with no regard for Do Han or his reputation whatsoever. And the show tried to convince me that Do Han was the selfish one in this scenario for the great sin of being gay and not just fucking off and getting out of the way of their relationship. Ji Han and Ah Jeong were never held accountable for what they did to him; instead we got to watch many scenes of Do Han being shamed and berated. Anyone who contributed to the writing and depiction of this can get fucked.

Every element of the story was poorly written and the resolutions were either unearned or so badly set up that they fell flat anyway. Do Han was being harassed and stalked and the story only barely cared about this. The family drama was boring and the grandpa character was a mess of contradictions who changed on a dime depending on the demands of the plot. There was no chemistry to speak of between the leads. The romance was utterly unbelievable and developed so poorly that it was impossible to care about whether these two assholes got together. The show used romcom tropes randomly to fill time even if they didn't fit. The final episode was stuffed with cameos by actors with personal connections to the cast and crew in the hopes it would distract us from what an unsatisfying conclusion it was, and the whole thing ended on a bizarre wedding gag that didn't work at all. The only good part was Do Han coming out on his own terms and leaving to go live his own life in New York, but the way they framed that was so gross I couldn't even enjoy it.

Most importantly, the messages of this show were deeply, unforgivably homophobic. This story went out of its way to tell us over and over again that Do Han is a selfish coward for being closeted, that his sexuality is a burden for his loved ones, that his family and friends are the real victims for having to deal with him, and that he was the one in the wrong for trying to protect himself. At no point was he allowed to get truly angry at the way his family and friends were treating him; he remained benevolent and shouldered the guilt and blame for everything, despite doing absolutely nothing except try to live an authentic life. At every turn the show depicted his siblings and grandfather and friend being hateful and/or careless with him, but then told us it was Do Han's fault for being who he is. They wanted us to blame the gay character and sympathize with a brother who resented him for not being the straight business leader he wanted him to be, and a friend who betrayed him without a second thought. The show argued passionately that the lies Do Han told to protect himself were the real problem, not the homophobia and hatred and rejection he faced every day of his life. It was an abysmal and offensive message and exactly the opposite of what a responsible piece of media would be trying to communicate.

I don't know if the people who made this show are actively malicious or just deeply incompetent, but they had no business telling a story involving a queer character if they were going to do it like this.

[blasphemousclaw]

What was life as a member of Caria like? It’s weird that, despite ruling over the academy, they have their own study hall and preceptors on the exact opposite side of the region to Caria manor. At any rate — I would assume Caria went through like, four phases? Pre-academy, post establishment as royalty, and then Rennala’s children with Radagon. And of course to the present day.

I’m so glad you asked… this was the perfect opportunity for me to start organizing a collection of Carian-related lore text and I went a little insane and wrote an entire treatise on Carian culture. I hope you enjoy this frighteningly in-depth wizard family analysis

CARIAN CULTURE AND PRACTICES

We know that the Carians were descended from a group of astrologers who lived in the Mountaintops of the Giants, implied by the Sword of Night and Flame (the Carian royal family’s ancestral sword) description: “Astrologers, who preceded the sorcerers, established themselves in mountaintops that nearly touched the sky, and considered the Fire Giants their neighbors.” This group of astrologers must have at some point migrated down to Liurnia and established a society there.

I get the impression that the Carian astrologers might have once been quite numerous, since as you say, the Carian study hall is rather far from Caria Manor — perhaps at their height, they were pretty spread out across Liurnia. I’ve also said before that the Carian Filigreed Crest description might imply other layers of nobility and a wider society among the Carian astrologers, as it mentions Carian knights guarding multiple “princesses” (it’s also possible that “princess” was a noble title among Carian society before Rennala established herself as a queen, as the Discarded Palace Key description is said to be “passed down to Carian princesses” but Rennala was the first Carian queen).

Speaking of princesses, there is strong evidence that Caria was a matriarchal society: though we don’t have much information about Carian society, in the few scraps we have, only queens and princesses are ever mentioned. We also know that Ranni is the youngest child, and yet Iji names her as heir to Caria, suggesting that she might have primogeniture over her older brothers. The Carians also have ties to the Nox people (affinity for the night/moon/stars, the art of puppetry/fate manipulation, silver tear technology at Raya Lucaria and in the Albinaurics, the Nox Swordstress statue in the Church of Vows), which also seems to be a matriarchal society judging by the fact that the Night Maidens and Swordstresses are the highest clerical ranks.

There are many other details that characterize Liurnia as a unique region in the Lands Between that developed apart from the Erdtree: I’ve mentioned before that the nobles in Altus and Limgrave dress in distinctive robes…

This style of dress does not appear anywhere among Liurnians. Instead, the Carians and their knights dress in a distinct color scheme of royal blue and red, ornamented with glintstone in different shades. The sorcerers of Raya Lucaria also dress in the same red and blue, and I think that this style of dress actually comes directly from the Carians! The Queen’s robe item description is stated to be a “robe indicating the highest order of sorcerer.” We also know that the Academy’s name “Raya Lucaria” itself is named for the Carian royal family, no doubt added when Rennala took over. So it makes sense that the Carians had influence over the sorcerers’ uniform too!

Liurnian characters also have a distinctive way of speaking apart from the rest of the Lands Between; every single Liurnian character in the game is played by a Welsh voice actor speaking in their native accent (including both Raya Lucarian sorcerers and Carian-affiliated characters).

The Carians’ standout trait is their mastery of astrology and glintstone sorcery — they craft their own spells and use a distinct royal blue glintstone. Their knights were renowned for their skill in both swordsmanship and sorcery, and notably, some of the Carian knights are trolls, who are viewed as equals in Carian society! Another important magical role is the office of preceptor, which directly served the royal family as experts on reading fate within the stars. Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, The Carians had great influence over the Academy. After charming the sorcerers with her lunar magic, Rennala presided over a new sorcerers’ conspectus: called the Lazuli conspectus, these Academy sorcerers studied Carian sorceries and believed the moon to be equal to the stars.

GOLDEN ORDER INFLUENCE

Power dynamics in Carian society changed drastically when the Golden Order sent Radagon to subjugate Liurnia, and Rennala ended up marrying him: there was a peace brokered between Caria and Leyndell, symbolized by the entwining gold branches and blue glintstone of the Glintstone Kris, a “ritual blade once presented to Leyndell by the Academy of Raya Lucaria to celebrate their newfound peace.”

This peace began an era of coexisting ideas… As Rogier says, “the Golden Order was pliable enough to absorb practices that contradicted itself in the past.” Radagon himself began to learn sorcery from Rennala, and he also had an authority over the royal preceptors (commanding them to don masks as a vow of secrecy). Golden Order devotion also began to spread through Liurnia alongside sorcery. The Converted tower and the Converted Fringe tower in Liurnia show a coexisting of Golden Order faith and glintstone sorcery — there is a statue of Marika inside, and to complete the puzzle, the erudition gesture must be performed in front of her.

This theme of entwining cultures is also reflected in the Carian royal family themselves — Rennala and Radagon’s three children inherit two lineages, the moon and the Erdtree, entangled in their very blood.

Unfortunately though, this was not exactly an equal partnership… though Caria manages to stay independent, they are now inextricably tied to the Golden Order, which was not always a good thing. The telescope item states that “during the age of the Erdtree, Carian astrology withered on the vine. The fate once writ in the night skies had been fettered by the Golden Order.” Whether this description is referring to Radahn or not is a whole other post, but the simple fact is that the Golden Order is the reason why the Carians’ power is in decline. The three royal children also seemed to struggle with their dual heritages and loyalties, especially Ranni as both heir to Caria and an empyrean of the Greater Will.

Of course, we know that in the end Radagon essentially dealt the death blow to Caria’s influence in Liurnia. The Queen’s robe description states that when Radagon left Rennala, her heart went with him, “and then, those at the academy realized. That Rennala was no champion, after all.” Rennala’s weakness led the Academy to rebel against the Carian royal family and launched Liurnia into civil war. And with Rennala’s heir killing herself in the Night of the Black Knives, and the Shattering war breaking out, Caria’s power is now a shadow of its former self.