#judge of mystics

[saphaburnell]

Pre-Order Char & Ash

Pre-Order the paperback via my publisher to get a signed copy and art card!

The Mystic Realms keep a tenuous peace after centuries of war. Forged into the Realms’ only Judge, demi-god Caleb Mauthisen is both peace maker and executioner of the Mystic Truce. Warrior-priest of preventing collateral damage amongst the Humans’ neutral space of Midgard. When Caleb is called to the charred remains of a scorched Sacred Grove outside Dover, rumours reignite tensions as Ares warns of war’s whisper. High Queen Selyka is hiding something in the roots and petals of her Fae Courts, and it smells of rot and ash.

Someone is burning the Groves planted from the bodies of fallen soldiers, eliminating their chance to rise again as sentient plants: Fae. Blasphemy and act of war in a single matchstick. Is the only Fae-cursed Mystic War Veteran left next in the line of fire? Tuija Draganova, immortal outcast bogatyr fights off the curse consuming her, and stands by Caleb’s side. Lives intertwined by love and shared combat.

Caught between the Mystic Truce, Ares’ demands for answers and concern for his cursed lover’s safety, Caleb descends into a roiling adventure to find the perpetrators and staunch the flow before the Mystic Realms lose faith in him and in peace. Little does he know the perpetrator Stana stole something far more precious than belief in gods and heroes.

Char & Ash is an emotional and captivating mythpunk / godpunk supernatural fantasy and the first novel in the mythic Judge of Mystics Saga.

[skyxiiocrkblog]

That one frame in the trailer…

(An edit of the scene undercut)

An edit for you all as a treat 😋

[skykiuwu]

I am maybe possibly sorry

[itsdrawingmen]

That perfect moment, that last tear you shed, All you've done in bed, all on Memorex All 'round 'round your head, All 'round 'round your head

So I have this extensive post-canon that has been developing in my head...

where Yoosung does get assaulted by Saeran in a heroic act of self-sacrifice. The doctors try to salvage his left eye, and the initial prognosis of the treatment seems pretty good, but his cornea is too badly scarred.

As the optimist he is, Yoosung gets his hopes high. Zen is his confidant through the healing process, angry at him for getting himself into trouble, but proud of him for getting his life together (and he does get it together briefly, seeing himself now as a hero, and becoming more confident).

Then, however, all of Yoosung's hopes are shattered as he is told that the sight in his left eye is not coming back, and he is left to come to terms with his permanently changed life. Zen is the first to hear the news, as Yoosung calls him from the hospital bathroom, sobbing into the phone, completely devastated. Zen hurries to the rescue, takes him for a bike ride, tries to get him to look around and understand that little is actually changed, that what matters is his perspective, and even seems to cheer him up a little. He stays over at his for a little while, but ultimately is again consumed by work, and Yoosung is left alone to cope with his new life.

He is faced with the fact that his sacrifice has not made him a 'hero', but instead he is now a 'burden', who has trouble doing even the things he was good at. As a result, he crumbles unto himself, and slowly stops getting out of bed at all. He spends his days mostly sleeping, avoiding opening his eyes as much as possible. He tries to maintain an online presence, but Zen eventually catches onto him being weird and more and more absent. He tries to invite him to places, but Yoosung finds excuses, and at last Zen shows up at his apartment, getting him to open the door after a little back-and-forth.

Yoosung, of course, tries to play it cool, but it's pretty much impossible in his state. His apartment is a mess and he himself hasn't showered in days, he's skin and bones, and his eyes are red with near-constant crying. As Zen realizes what has been going on, he is instantly alarmed, and decides to intervene. He mobilizes Yoosung to keep him company working out, trying to turn his mind to the positive instead of what is lost, and Yoosung honestly tries, if mostly for Zen and not for himself, but by then he's so malnourished and confused he breaks down. Zen realizes that it's serious, and takes matters into his own hands. He moves into Yoosung's apartment, makes himself a nest on the floor of his bedroom, and gets to work. He gets Yoosung to try making simple schedules, keeps him company constantly, motivates him to eat, shower, and move his body, and in general tries to put Yoosung back on his feet, metaphorically and literally. He's firm but gentle as he tries to get through to the Yoosung he knows and cherishes.

One time Yoosung can't even bring himself to walk to the shower, so Zen carries him. There isn't much of him to carry, though, and Zen can't help but notice. He stays there talking to Yoosung while Yoosung sits in the stall, and even washes his hair for him. He doesn't think in the moment to feel any kind of awkward.

They spend a lot of time talking, and Yoosung confesses to feeling worthless, good for nothing, and to having seriously contemplated ending his life. Zen, suddenly faced with the very real possibility of losing him, decides to make it his mission to help him. Seeing him so weak and being the one he relies on stirs something in Zen, and he finds himself getting more and more affectionate and protective. Yoosung appreciates, and is very responsive, but his progress is unsteady, and for each little victory he lapses back into hopelessness.

Little by little, however, he becomes more and more stable, and finds it in himself to get professional help. He starts studying again, and Zen starts noticing more and more often how inconvenient it is to have two people living in a tiny one-bedroom apartment. However, as he's planning to return, both realize they've gotten too used to living together, and Zen is still wary of leaving Yoosung alone for long, so the decision to move in together to Zen's apartment comes naturally.

They still talk a lot, hang out, and are very affectionate with each other. As Yoosung is finally getting back his energy and positive outlook, he finds himself more and more smitten by Zen, who opens up and lets his guard down in Yoosung's non-judgmental presence. His brash kind heart and well-articulated (if sometimes completely misguided) opinions captivate Yoosung, and he really notices his passionate sincerity, lust for life, and how good he is at his art. Zen himself is by then long enamoured by Yoosung's outlook on life, his honesty, his deep and compassionate understanding of people, his comfort in being weird, and his way of always finding something to admire.

The first time they kiss (Yoosung refuses to acknowledge that as a proper kiss) goes absolutely haywire. They're watching some kdrama when Yoosung, set in a romantic mood, suddenly finds the courage to ask Zen if he thinks he could love him like that. And for some reason, Zen decides that the best way to handle virgins is to go straight for the jugular, and kisses him right then and there just for the hell of it. It probably has something to do with 'all men being wolves'. Yoosung is VERY not thrilled with such a rapid progression of events, he panics and breaks away, and Zen himself immediately catches the nastiest flashback, comes undone, and almost tells Yoosung to get lost and to never come back. Thankfully, with some patience and care from that same Yoosung, they manage to sort it out and agree to go slow. Which would prove turbulent, as Zen, who has promised himself to never again fall for a man, is suddenly reminded why that's come to be in the first place, and Yoosung is kindly offered a glimpse into the world of gangs and teenage delinquents, where the stronger devours the weaker and where little Hyun Ryu has been devoured more times than he can count. They both kinda sorta don't know what to do with each other, and tiptoe around getting closer for a while, trying to understand who they are now and what it means to their roommate situation.

But they will get through it, and Yoosung will get his 'proper' first kiss, pretty like in movies, that he has dreamed of and imagined so many times.

[puppygirltitties]

Fountain isn't as bad as Mystic Mine but god is Runick just a fucking demoralizing deck to play against

💖💖💖

[lullybaju]

i guess i experienced in person the emotion towards the japanese lucky cat history some days ago when my cat showed me the way to find my glasses after looking for them everywhere all day and failing miserably

[tainoodles]

Katrina’s Official Elder Post

I kind of had to skate by her birthday in the last post, but here I will show off her absolutely adorable elder look. I mean, that little hat :) 

[neolxzr]

Who is leo tsukinaga and what is he from im intrigued about that fandom

he's from ensemble stars!! it's basically a mobile rhythm game (and an anime) about pretty idols lol

theres like. 50ish main characters and 15 idol groups i Think and they all have varying music styles and aesthetics but beyond the surface level stuff this game has some of the most absurd writing ive ever read. none of these people are normal and i mean that very affectionately

leo is a member of the unit knights and is its former leader!! he's a genius music composer and a silly silly guy who i love dearly

[linhmiu201]

Press F to pay respect to our Vanderwood, he never ceases to amuse us. :) He's basically promoted as Seven's nanny now. Give him some spotlight please Cheritz. 🙏🙏

Finally, I read the Judge End. It's sad how the RFA basically torn apart (I did agree that there should be a name change but throwing away the name and breaking apart ain't the same thing... *insert sad V emoji*) And it's absurb how harsh you would need to act in order to unlock it. At least now I totally understand why it only took a few 'soft' choices to lead you to the other ending, and why Cheritz seems to push us into getting Forgive End. They feel the need to sink us with lessons about forgiveness and keep saying that's the right thing to do because of Korean culture, I suppose. Be warned, this is just my own speculation.

When I was in junior high school, a certain Korean TV series was aired at noon. It was unfortunate that I had to go to school every afternoon so I didn't get to watch all of it, but that series left such a big impression on me. Its name is Phantom, an SBS series about hacking and cyber crimes. I remember this detail the most: a girl was cyber bullied to the point that she committed suicide. At that time it was so unfamiliar to me that I remember it even now. If you guys read Chinese web novels then you'd know that the netizens there don't really care if news posted online is truthful or not. If it is said that this celebrity or that idol had an addiction, committed adultery,... then they'll just assume it's true, and swarm said celebrity's Weibo with hate speech. And do you know about a case where an actor in Japan was revealed to have a girlfriend, his fans felt so angry and 'betrayed' that they pressured a production he was starring in to cancel his role? In the end, he got removed from his role for real. Does this feel familiar? That's right, it's Zen's route in a nutshell right there, where Jaehee was so worried about MC and Zen dating, because she knew fans would turn hostile to Zen once they found out he had a girlfriend "who weren't themselves". I don't know what's it like in other countries, but here, in Asian countries, many of the netizens are just so... uncultured, if I dare say. It's not only these 3 countries, but probably all over the world, cases of cyber bullying are still happening. How convenient it is for people to just hide behind the screen and spit cruelty at others or play god. They curse and sneer at prople who they think that were in the wrong, while maintaining a high sense of moral for themselves.

With VAE, you can see such behaviors reflected in the 'wrong' choices, for example:

Rika: My thoughts are evil. No, it's all because of my head. This head of mine can think of nothing but dark things.

Rika: I wish this head of mine would stop working... So that I won't do anything. So that I can't do anything.

The players then have to choose from 2 options, including:

Maybe you've been too obsessed with saving others that you forgot how to save yourself.

Or:

You know, that'd be the way you can be the least of help for others.

To reach the Judge End, we need to choose the second choice (alongside a series of fixed choices before that of course). Honestly, that choice is way too cruel for me, we're basically telling her to shut down her brain and stop functioning here (which she did, she fell into a coma), but in order to reach Judge, I can't help but choosing it, since I knew even 1 'wrong' choice could possibly lead to Forgive and that sweet free talk would remain unlocked forevah. If judgement goes too far, it's no longer judgement but pure cruelty... is what I think Cheritz is trying to tell us here. They're telling us to be more understanding even only a little bit, and don't take malicious pleasure in judging other people, even if they are wrong, because you never know whether a life would be lost due to such malice. For me, sometimes it's hard to tell whether I was pleased to see Rika brought to jail since I felt bad for those she hurted, or because of pure pleasure in playing justice defender where you get to curse the bad person all you want. If it's the latter, then it's bad - said Cheritz, probably.

Oopsie, I nearly forgot I took this picture. The wording is harsh, but I laughed for that savage line of Jumin. xD This is the Judge End where RFA members were utterly disgusted by Rika and shooed her away from their lives. It was all fun and games I honestly think their reaction was understandable given how badly hurted they were when suddenly we were introduced to a "Rika's Circus"... How could something be both hilarious and cruel at the same time?? Seven being the narrator, Jaehee's and Yoosung's exaggeration, Zen talking in monotone, especially Jumin's high-pitched voice and Vanderwood's "why the hell am I here again?" confusion, they were so hilarious I couldn't stop chuckling. ......Sorry that I laughed, what's the password for Wi-Fi in hell?

Entertaining as it is, the "Rika's Circus" thing is still something Cheritz made to guilt trip us. It wasn't real, it was only a dream MC had, but after laughing, we started to feel guilty. Brilliant, I must admit.

Anyway, although I did feel bad for her since V's route actually I still consider what she did is wrong, and no excuse for her actions. You and I, we can understand her, like her, but should never justify her crimes by blaming her past and mental illness. Likewise, V haters could hate him all they/you want, he kinda sorta deserves it with what he did wrong, but don't point fingers at him for the crimes Rika did. Oh yeah, now that I think about it, Saeran is a combination of both V and Rika, don't you think? He was a mentally unstable innocent like V who was exploited and suffered by Rika's hands, then became an abuser himself like Rika. Remember who locked and chained? MC in her room, starved her, verbally abused and kinda sexually harassed her? And then guess who had to sneak in to give MC food to eat hm?

My point is, these 3 characters are flawed as hell and they did so many annoying wrongdoings, but instead of purely hating them, how about trying to understand them? - was probably what Cheritz wanted to convey. Not my words since I have love-hate relationship with them where sometimes I hate them and sometimes I don't. And I still can't like Rika one bit if you ask me, never was, never will.

If you guys read this till the end and agreed with me, then you'd probably love this underrated masterpiece too. It's a parody that whichever fandom you go, you'd still see people using it... the ultimate scene we don't understand but can still enjoy... xD

[seishun-emergency]

youmight think i am weird for this but i think knights for the most part have pretty good music

[daikijaphet]

I actually drew this a long time ago but never shared it because I wasn’t satisfied with how it came out at all (is a month a long time? lol idk) but I am so in love with this idea I wanted to share it and maybe get some motivation to revisit it again because it is literally so cute to me and I love him so much.

Original messages attached for context lol

[ryanranney]

Great Scot

Not else the land itself Without Highland sky Or Lowland lochs The power began before Ye what a land above all In the realm of the spirits call Where gods did meet To settle the work of man Lest no other place be found To extol rule One such a scape Would harness There can be no other That all would agree Of Heaven’s host When reign first fell to earth Look to the circles of old Even ancient…

[slytherinshua]

Zanna! I l just started to watch Superband (it's taken embarrassingly long to start ahaha) and I'm only 13 mins in. I just finished Ha Hyunsang's audition (I felt so sorry that he had to go first 😭), I felt like I was going to ascend or something oh wow. His voice is so captivating. I can't wait to hear more of it throughout the show ahaha (and Lee Suhyun was right, he is cute but we already knew that lol)

AHH OMG KSDJKSD 🥹🥹🥹 i really need to rewatch it cause it's been almost 2 yrs so everything is getting foggy in my brain BUT YEAH DAMN HYUNSANG WENT FIRST DIDNT HE??? but we all knew he'd make it just from his audition :(( his voice :(( GOD IM IN LOVE W HIM 💔💔💔 and the way he's improved so much since then too ??? HE MAKES ME EMO

i wish we saw more of sangyeop before he got eliminated like i don't think the clip of his audition was very long... and i don't think he made it past auditions either... also iirc some of my faves on the show were dpole, mellow kitchen, isaac hong, and there was this one pianist i loved but i forget his name lmao

[alteredphoenix]

Thinking about how my dad and I got into a spat this morning over whether or not Dracula was real and wondering how to turn that into a fanfic.

[judahmaccabees]

Tech Report

Technical Aspects of the Distortion infecting planet Earth, created by a Sorcerer{'s pair}:

Mercy and Severity,

Displacing Hope,

An Idol Shorne,

Usurping Wisdom,

Itself,

A tainted law,

For power over others,

At their expense,

Covertly,

A long and windy road,

Where pigeons poo,

And thieves cavort,

Glaring upon stolen towers;

A Gift unmerited, returned,

Their Inversion Recorded,

Their worms inverted,

Eternal

The Warnings Come After the Spells.

- Doc

- ETERNITY

G

[nosferatufaggot]

I'm downloading Mystic Messenger..........