#this was my first time drawing crow in like 2 years

[nebulousboops]

Hey. Hey @matchamabs. I was your secret santa. Take the Clive and Crow friendship. Clive is terrified of that child.

Also accompanying fic can be read here!

@layton-secretsanta

[ominous-feychild]

✦ MY WRITEBLR INTRODUCTION ✦

Hey! I've been here for a while and I've somehow amassed a shocking amount of followers and mutuals, so I figured it's finally time for me to force one of these out for you guys!

(And you know... a masterpost... when I get around to it. 😅😭)

About me:

✦ Barlowe (she/her)

✦ In my early 20s

✦ A writer of 10 years ✦ working on novels for 6 of 10!

✦ Less dedicated to—but still interested in!—drawing, animation, photography, and cinematography

✦ AuDHD and a grey lesbian (aka I'm leaning asexual) ✦ (my writing may or may not be a special interest)

✦ I have a whole bunch of other neurodivergencies besides AuDHD but I don't think y'all want me to get into all of them, haha. ✦ oh, and I say "haha" a lot. I apologize in advance.

✦ I think I'm hilarious and make jokes constantly

✦ I use a lot of emojis and tone tags to help convey tone. Please forgive me if it's annoying, it's to cope with my inability to communicate. /lh /hj

Masterlists:

✦ General ✦ Worldbuilding ✦ Sun and Shadow ✦ The Arcane Rifts ✦ Rising From the Ashes

(will be added eventually)

My Obsessions:

✦ Fantasy, horror, mystery, action, and exploration of realistic characters' reactions to the things they go through.

✦ Fairy tales, mythology, and folklore

✦ "Ye Olde History" and language

✦ DIVERSITY!!!

✦ Explorations of "evil-coded" characters and abilities--aka, not just showing them as evil. Show them as people (for characters) and tools (for abilities)!

✦ Traumatizing my characters just like I've been

✦ Traumatizing my characters in ways I haven't been!

✦ Learning!!!

✦ Talking way too much about the things I like to the point that I need to make a whole separate post to share it so it doesn't clutter my intro post... oh, hey, why is this linked?

✦ THE AESTHETIC!!!!

My Aesthetics:

Those who've been following me for a bit probably know that I adore "the aesthetic" and try to make my posts look nice... even if there's no real reason to besides that it gives me a little serotonin. Here's my favorite aesthetics!

✦ Starry; night sky ✦ Dawn / dusk ✦ Sunrise / sunset

✦ Nature! ✦ Forestry ✦ Cottagecore ✦ Rustic ✦ Ocean

✦ Literally all of them, please and thank you

My Writing:

✎ Sun and Shadow

Everything goes wrong for Freya Ula when she leaves her simple life as a fisherwoman to get engaged overseas. Her ship gets wrecked, she finds out her dad's been hiding secrets from her for her whole life, and, oh, she gets framed for a terrorist attack. Wait, WHAT!? After the city's greatest detective is attacked and disappears before she could consult with him, Frey has to enlist the help of his kid and her would-be fiancée to find out who framed her and clear her name. If only Crow was half as good a detective their dad was supposed to be.

Main characters: Freya, Crow, Daleira

✦ Urban-esque high fantasy ✦ purposely very tropey in places ✦ however, as always, I love throwing in curveballs. Wonder what's played straight and what I'm going to emotionally destroy you with. Definitely won't be Crow.

✦ Slow-burn romance between Frey and Crow ✦ immediate interest between Frey / Daleira ✦ oh, look, it's a love triangle? ✦ JOKE'S ON YOU, IT'LL ACTUALLY BE POLY ✦ it's just... going to take a while.

✦ Lesbians, lesbians everywhere ✦ though Crow is actually genderfluid and uses they/them for the first book ✦ despite barely having anything written I've already plotted a bit of book 2 ✦ I desperately need help.

✦ Unsurprisingly is a detective mystery with action mixed in ✦ I'm not typically a romance writer, I excel in action fantasy ✦ please have mercy on my soul

✦ Lots of magic, it's high fantasy + victorian aesthetic ✦ (aka "gaslamp fantasy" if you've heard of it) ✦ Frey's got sun-themed magic ✦ gasp, I know ✦ Crow's got shadow magic ✦ wonder why this sounds familiar ✦ Daleira's got, hm, well it's also shadowy! ✦ spoilers 😘

✦ About to be updated en-masse for a writing contest!!!

��� The Arcane Rifts

Ghosts of past tragedies haunt the town of Kavo after decades of neglect. Fantastical creatures desiring nothing but fear and destruction hide in invisible tears in reality. Gangs and the police are at constant war with one another, there's a shapeshifting monster running amok, and the mayor's assistant suddenly wants a disabled orphan kicked to the streets. A year ago, Gene was discovered in the forest on the outskirts of town, half dead, amnesiac, and unable to even speak the local language. As he had nowhere to go, he was brought to the orphanage of Kavo for a place to stay. Now Caspar, the assistant of the mayor and the man who funds the orphanage, wants him kicked out. When Gene's left to the cold, cruel streets of Kavo on his own, he has to navigate through a town ravaged by decades of neglect and intrigue. Has the corruption truly been purged from the government? Why are godly forces active in Kavo, a small town in a backwater country? And most importantly--will Gene survive?

Main Characters: Gene, Tazin, Mislav, Ludmila, Rada ❧ Gene and Tazin for book 1 ❧ the other 3 start being MCs books 2 and 3 ❧ I guess Nikolai is also a MC tho

❧ Industrial-era rustic high fantasy ❧ mixes fantasy, action, horror, and mystery! ❧ oh helloooooo "ominous feychild" origin? ❧ very strong folkloric and traditional fantasy inspo ❧ except I mean "traditional fantasy" as in ❧ "we don't understand this magic stuff but we're used to it" ❧ not "travel the world adventures!"

❧ VERY involved story with strong themes of discrimination, poverty, exploitation, trauma, and the recovery from trauma ❧ each main and secondary character is one flavor of discriminated against or another in-universe ❧ obviously I try to write it respectfully, but you can't really write bigots being bigots "respectfully"

❧ Has two "main plots" going on simultaneously; technically three ❧ I periodically give the reader updated "character guides" ❧ like they get more recent plot info added kinda like a red-string board to keep you, the audience, up-to-date with info you might've otherwise missed ❧ I think it's really cool and people seem to enjoy it ❧ I know it seems like a lot but please give it a chance

❧ I've literally plotted out pretty much the entirety of the first and second books, and know most of how book 3 will go, yet there's very little out for the current version of the story ❧ part of that is because I'm paused on the 3rd draft

❧ There's lots of timeskips throughout the first two books, but they're mostly to age up the protagonists! Gene, the MC, starts the series at 7. I promise it's not a kid's story though.

❧ The "secondary MC", Nikolai, is the police chief investigating magical stuff going on at the same time. They tie in with the main story involving Gene, though won't appear to for a long while.

❧ The "golden child" series I love more than SaS; however it's on hiatus because I promised people to work on SaS first and SaS is more popular as a romance-focused story. :/ ❧ I would never be salty about that.

Taglist:

For everything: @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives @48lexr @aalinaaaaaa @thecomfywriter @an-indecisive-nerd

@seastarblue

For Worldbuilding: @paeliae-occasionally @pluppsauthor @thelovelymachinery

For the Existentials: N/A

For the Avatars: @thelovelymachinery

For Sun and Shadow: @mysticstarlightduck @paeliae-occasionally

For the Arcane Rifts: @paeliae-occasionally

For Rising From the Ashes: N/A

For the Storm Avatars: N/A

For the Order Avatars: @thelovelymachinery

For the Magic Avatars: N/A

For the Fire Avatars: N/A

For the Water Avatars: N/A

To be tagged in tag games: @honeybewrites @aalinaaaaaa

Ask and ye shall be added

Divider by @cafekitsune

[forecast0ctopus]

Any advice on drawing McCoy? I’m not used to drawing ancient wrinkley bastards (affectionate) and it’s surprisingly tough v-v

FOR SURE lmao i made. a diagram. just a warning that i am going to be irritating and long winded because u just hit a topic i really like sorry lmao

so first off i did some traces just to show whats there vs redraws to show my interpretation

ive said this on other asks but again jsyk, tracing isnt bad!! its a tool. theres some stuff with intellectual property and whatnot but using tracing to study shapes and forms is a really valuable practice.

also just taking some time to learn facial structures and anatomy is super useful, reading what bones and muscles are where and how they interact with one another. taking this info and staring in the mirror and moving your face around and thinking about it. just really furthers understanding of how the face works. trying to sound normal about this but i love anatomy and motion and physics and whatever

anyways im going to go through all the numbered points so there's no confusion. 1. forehead lines - self explanatory. more prominent when brows are raised 2. crows feet - at the outer corners of the eyes, more prominent when smiling or squinting 3. nasolabial folds - the folds that go from the corners of the nose to the corners of the mouth. more prominent when the mouth is wide, like smiling 4. brow furrow - self explanatory, most prominent when brows are furrowed. mccoy tends to have two right next to his eyebrows, kirk has one in the middle. everyones face works different lmao 5. chin crease - caused by how the chin and lower lip interact. 6. nasojugal groove - start from the inner corners of the eye and can extent over the cheeks. everyone has these and idk why people dont like them i think theyre really cool!!!! but Society. i guess. :/ 7. eye bags - caused by the skin sagging beneath the eyes. mccoy isnt even that old in tos i think hes meant to be mid 40s by the end of the 5 year mission, hes just got really prominent eye bags lmao 8. idk what the name is for these, but when the mouth is wide and pushes the skin to the sides, these folds sometimes form outside of the nasolabial folds 9. philtrum - the groove above the upper lip. i dont usually draw this but mccoy's struck me as prominent enough that i usually draw it on him 10. masseter - the muscle that moves the jaw up and down. its a pretty rugged muscle and while i wouldnt say mccoy's is especially prominent, it kind of extends that nasojugal groove from certain angles/positions 11. orbicularis oris - mouth muscle, usually easier to see when lips are pursed or frowns are pulled. mccoy's is pretty prominent from 3/4ths or side, his mouth tends to protrude in profile 12. this isnt a muscle but more of a line defining the planes of the face, but since i drew it i felt i should explain lmao

a few points:

im an animator i tend to exaggerate and emphasize certain things so i usually make him more square.

i like to combine eyebags and crows feet for brevity/flow, same with nasojugal grooves, eyebags, and masseter lines. my approach is always subject to change based on pose, expression, reference image, etc.

i take out details that i deem redundant or cluttering and keep what details i need to make things feel Right

all this info is applicable to any character of any age, its just in how you apply it and facial proportions that willl change how old a character is perceived to be

there's a lot more with drawing a Character rather than an Actor, just because the features are there doesnt necessarily mean things will feel correct? its very much in the mannerisms and poses and expressions

i only went over my approach to his likeness but not really body type or posing or anything idk if u want that i could always try to answer that later haha

_______________

anyways all that info kind of exists nebulously in my brain while i draw its not like im sitting there thinking Must Draw. Nasolabial Fold...... i jsut do what feels right with the visual info i have. also i love specificity in faces.... i dont like to be a hater but when every character is drawn the same it pisses me off a little lmao. so

also dont take my word as The Only Way to do anything i just draw how i like to draw and no one should feel like these are things that Must be done to be a good artist or anything do whatever the hell u wanna do

[tcustodisart]

What are some cute moments that occur throughout the different acts that aren’t necessarily in the game but live in your head rent free?

Oh, this one is going to be a long answer, because there's a lot of squatters in my head and there's a lot to be unleashed. Let's start with this doodle with the boys playing lanceboard at camp and continue under the cut. Lots of cringe and brainrot incoming, so brace yourself.

Act 1:

Connie is constantly bickering with Astarion over him stealing his journal. Gale suggest to cast arcane lock on it, but Connie knows it won't stop that gremlin from reading it so why bother.

This sad pile of rugs is where I imagine Connie sleeps in Act 1. Additional Astarion line: "Damn darling, you live like this?"

During the first romance scene Connie tells Shart about his family, about how he and his brother know the city inside and out, about his parents and the tavern they run, about the trap incident. It's the most he talked to someone who wasn't his family or his crow in years. He wishes that night would never end.

Connie sends letters to his family via Faust, he stops after entering Underdark.

Act 2:

I mentioned it before that Connie is not taking the Shadow Curse very well. He misses the sun, misses the grass, he's unable to contact his family, Shart has distanced herself from him. Karlach notices it and tries to cheer him up. They end up having long talks almost every night. That's the moment their friendship evolves from just friends to besties.

When Connie finds the second warding bond ring, he wishes he could give the other one to Shadowheart, but finds the moment inappropriate. He ends up giving her the ring at the beginning of Act 3.

Act 3:

I have a lot of stuff for this act.

This is inspired by one of Jaheira's lines: "'The Cub and the Crow'- sounds like a cautionary tale. As it probably should." Connie draws her a mock up cover for a kids book. Jaheira sticks it to the traveling chest (I mostly store food there, so to me traveling chest = fridge).

Connie goes through a serious breakdown at the start of this act (after a companion is abducted), he ends up crying and saying that for the first time he doesn't believe they're going to make it, that he'll never hug his mom, never hear his brother sing again, won't be able to tell his step dad that he saw Darkmaw the Wicked. He's being comforted first by Jaheira and then by the rest of his party.

His favorite armor gets damaged one time, he's very upset about it. But the next morning he finds it magically repaired (Astarion fixed it, from the start of Act 3 they become besties).

This wip that I'm very slowly working on happens during act 3. Connie makes some flower crowns and talks about how his mom taught him to do that. I'm not going to say more, because I really want to finish that comic.

Connie has a deal with Popper that he'll pay him double for every night orchid he finds (I actually did that in game, I bantered him more money for the flower than he asked for, I love that little guy so much).

This one is more funny than cute but when Connecticut Tav was younger and still lived in Baldur's Gate he used to visit Sharess's Caress pretty regularly because it was the best way to practice drawing people. He really enjoyed talking with the workers there, he eventually convinced them that maybe creating an union isn't such a bad idea. He ended up being banned from entering the brothel because of that. So when the party approaches it to meet Voss, he's very nervous that the owner will remember him (she does). There's a dialogue in my head but it would work better with some visuals, so maybe one time I'm going to draw it.

In my head, the cottage they end up living in is Connie's old hunting hut. So after the conversation with Shadowheart about her plans for after defeating the brain, he suggest that it would be the perfect place to go. He then draws the house to show her how it looks like, tells her that it's surrounded by a forest, there's a lake nearby, a small stable that can be turned into a barn if needed, and that he's not sure about the quality of the soil, but he did grow some herbs there, so maybe it's going to be good enough to grow flowers.

At the end of the game Connie decides to stay in Baldur's Gate for a while to help his family fix their tavern (which was heavily damaged). He tells Shart to go the house I mentioned before, because he wants her to start her new life as soon as possible + because it would be better for her parents. He stealthily puts his journal in her stuff with a note attached to it saying that he finished it this morning and she can read it if she wants to. He also gives her Faust so she can write him letters whenever she wants to. After 2 tendays he arrives at the cottage with some gifts (night orchid bulbs and a pamphlet about how to take care of them, there was supposed to be another gift, but he wasn't able to find it just yet, but that's for another story).

Epilogue party (because I'm that insane):

It's been sitting in my wips for more than two months, so I don't know if I'll be able to finish it. But during the party Connie and Shadowheart take 10 minute brake to visit the place from the first romance scene. They have a very similar conversation like before, but their roles are reversed now - It's Connie asking questions about Shart's current life. "Tell me something about yourself, but no tadpoles, weird artifacts, petty goddesses. Something about you."

[wolffe-makes-art]

Part 2 of me using this meme for my ocs (Part 1 here).

Warning for my really, really old art from when I first stated drawing and also blood + cigarettes this time around!

It's Thorne Crow's turn!

So of the Death Omens characters I'd argue Thorne has gone through the most change. When I first made Thorne I was really into making agile, assassin like female characters. She was supposed to be quick and nimble rather than an absolute powerhouse who brute forces her way through every fight. I also loved suppeerrrr long hair back then. It was about a year or so after that original drawing that I decided to give her a change. I wanted Thorne to be more of a brawler type character, for her to have a tough/rebellious vibe, and for her to look like she's gone through some rough situations to get to where she is today. She got a broader/muscular build, her signature vest, more scars, and her hair got chopped short. And all her following updates/redesigns would follow that same trend (with small changes to color palette and hair length; her first redesign gave her essentially a pixie cut in comparison to her current wolf cut, for example.)

There has been a few things that've stayed the same however. The hunter brand on her arm, for example, has made some changes in appearance and location, but its always been there. She's also always had her dark hair, a cigarette on hand, and a knack for gathering a concerning number of injuries during a fight.

(Also her long hair has made a comeback before, in an au design!! Ironically she is an actual assassin in this au lol)

[tea-potato-gt]

My reactions and memes I thought of while reading the new “Shot in the Dark” book by @marydublinauthor @bittykimmy13 @kendsleyauthor for the first time! 🥰😆

Part 2 here / Part 3 here / Part 4 here / Predictions / Pirates AU

*spoilers*

——————————————————————————

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

*looks at this post* me trying to imagine Russell Crowe with wings.

Who’s Damian? 👀👀👀

Chapter 3

This exchange, “Do you want more wine?” “I think i love you, Sylvia” was giving…

Chapter 4

Alice being baby, 🥺🥺 “a gift for keeping me company” 😭😭👻🤍

“Someone was in the house with me. Humans.” 🧠My brain🧠:

Okay, Alice to the rescue?! Slay queen! Slaaaayyy!… *Alice’s face distorts* OMG I shouldn’t be reading this so late at night 😟😨😭🫠🫥😰 I is scared 😟

Chapter 5

OooOoo Jon’s POV 👀👀 *looks through book* no Cliff Pov? 🤔 I guess Cliff is also 3rd wheeling his own book lol 😂

What a crazy how I met your mother situation. Jon: “Oh yeah, my best friend shot her.🧚‍♀️🔫 Then we kidnapped her and held her hostage for days. 🤷‍♂️”

Chapter 6

The boys at Sylvia (from this chapter onwards):

How Sylvia sees herself Vs How the boys see Sylvia:

Jon speaks Spanish??? 👁️👄👁️ that’s new

Chapter 7

Cliff and “The Other” 💀💀💀 (get wrecked Jon)

Draw me like one of your human girls🧚‍♀️✍️📖🧍‍♂️

Sylvia asking what everthing is has extended my life by three years 😌🥺😊

Chapter 8

How Sylvia sees her interactions with the boys:

Sylvia: “by your definition, you are a monster.”

*“The Other” gives Sylvia a handkerchief to keep warm* Part of me: aww that’s so nice 😊 The other part of me: Eeeeewwww 😷🤮🤢 who knows where that thing has been??? Girl don’t touch it!

*Sylvia escapes from the box and planning to go outside* Me: okay then what? You can’t fly? How can you escape if you don’t heal your wing?? 🙄

Chapter 9

Sylvia: I’m NEVER gonna tell these hunters ANYTHING 😤😡🤬

*Jon gives her a piece of chocolate 🍫 and shows her basic human decency*

Sylvia: “I lied to you”

Chapter 10

The boys based on their physical descriptions, or lack there of…

Apparently, Jon is built like a freaking tank💪, while Cliff is just a dude🧍‍♂️? 🤷‍♀️

Jon: “What, are you gonna leave again? Over this?” Sylvia🧚🏼‍♀️:

Sylvia: Okay! From this point on, I won’t say ANYTHING else to these hunters. 😤😡🧚🏼‍♀️

*gets a Pop Tart*

Sylvia: “my sister would live these”

*And here we see the start of Sylvia’s Pop-Tart addiction.*

Chapter 11

The disrespect the boys showed to my girl Alice😭

The boys at Sylvia after she reveals her magic:

Chapter 12

Jon at Cliff after he gets bit:

Sylvia asking for help to heal Jon. Voice: “You ask a gift of us?”

Jon and Sylvia at eachother:

——————————————————————————

It was at this point, while reading, I looked up from the book and realized the sun was rising. 🌅🌄

👁️👄👁️

Part 2 here

[ideavian]

Your art and the style you have can only be compared to a resplendent dream. I'd love to know about your history in art, ie, your inspirations, how long you've been creating, and the story behind your fascination with distinctively ornate birds. My guess for the birds is Articuno, but what do I know?

Thank you so much!! That’s so nice of you to say akskkssk the birds are not really based on articuno sadly but articuno is one fine bird. Would love to catch it in Pokémon go one day 😔

I’ve been drawing birds for some … 8 years now? It started out less as birds than as colours in shapes tbh, like this one from probably 2016:

^Brought to you by sketch express and its 3 whole layers on my iPad 2. I think the first such bird drawing I ever did was based on a particularly nice sunset I saw :) I drew a whole series of these elements-based birds but I can’t find them anymore…

After playing around with that for a few months I started taking requests for birds based on anime characters like this one (mid 2017)

^rip Lelouch Codegeass you were a real one. I mostly drew characters from bungou stray dogs and That One Obscure Chinese Anime which. Really didn’t work that well in hindsight considering that the designs were more casual than what this style was suited for. But that’s where I started basing birds on people :3

And then in 2018 I got into a little dress up game called Love Nikki and started using the costumes as inspiration and also ran an art request blog, so I was drawing stuff like this for maybe four years? Also I got involved with an art club associated with the game so I was drawing a lot. Most of my stuff from around this time is on this blog!

(August 2018, June 2019, September 2020, August 2021. These are very representative of my personal growth because if you look at my signature you can tell I changed from a cat person to a crow person)

In the summer of 2022 I started doing commissions and got to see a lot of of people’s OCs! It was a lot of fun honestly and I think some of my best work was from then tbh. I think seeing other people’s character designs in different styles really helped me with learning to work with different elements and compositions and such :3

(August 2022, June 2023. Finally got a proper watermark because if I didn’t use them I’d get cancelled so hard on Chinese social media)

And also I discovered genshin character designs around that time and really vibed with the amount of detail on them :D I know people complain about how complicated they are a lot but my style only really works with complicated designs alsjsk

(April 2023, January 2024. Found out about lighting this year and it’s so exciting)

And that’s my bird drawing journey so far! I’m busy with school right now but I’m definitely looking forward to drawing more consistently after I’m done :D I love birds and fancy clothes and birds in fancy clothes

[zkwoodrow]

I should probably make an introduction oops..

Hello!! My name is Khrisz but by pen name I go by z.k woodrow (or just z.k)!

I am a 16 year old genderqueer person with a passion for storytelling and art. I aspire to become a YA horror author someday in the future!! I've been drawing digitally for around 5-6 years.

SO! What is there to expect from me?

• I am currently working on my first YA horror book: THE NEW NORMAL which has started its official first draft on March 31st of this year (2023) and WILL include illustrations drawn by me! :) I don't go by a schedule, so the date for this books release is a mystery of the future! But fear not, for I will be giving out updates from time to time ^_^!

• On the side of art, I occasionally draw characters from my book(s) and I'm mostly original content centered. Though I also SOMETIMES draw fandom artworks (Current hyperfixiation is The Spirit Bares Its Teeth and Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White)

• My works heavily rely on symbolism! I like to work with animal symbolism the most. Though surely other topics will appear later on!

• And finally, A summary of all the projects I work on/will work on in the future:

- THE NEW NORMAL: Story about an autistic and intersex teenager who believes in monsters and looks up to "the humans" despite not being one. Her brother gets mysteriously kidnapped so she sets out into the world to bring him back. But her beliefs get challenged as the line between human and monster blurs... (YA HORROR NOVEL WITH ANIMAL SYMBOLISM ABOUT HUMANS THAT ARE TRULY MONSTERS AT HEART)

- KING OF CROWS(UNDECIDED TITLE): Story about a semi/non-verbal boy born into a strict (and somewhat abusive) catholic household who lives in a christian neighborhood with a few trouble making friends. Then the "angels" come and the world erupts into armaggedon...teens develop powers and everything they've ever been becomes a thing of the past as they try and not become 'saints'. (CONCEPT YA HORROR NOVEL ABOUT RELIGIOUS TRAUMA)

- TO ESCAPE BY A "HARE": Story about a boy with unusual rabbit-like ears who lives with his overly protective mother in an isolated house in the woods. His mother says the outside world is dangerous and he must stay at home. A few "bad apples" show up on his yard and tell him he's in danger living in his house. Then he starts seeing ghosts that beg to be freed and are thirsty for revenge. (CONCEPT YA HORROR NOVEL ABOUT THE ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A MOTHER AND SON)

- BIRDCAGE (UNDECIDED TITLE): Story about a 16 year olds car crashing down in the forest so they are forced to stay the night in a strangers house who has dreams of becoming a well known artist. Soon they realize they can't leave, and find themself stuck in a cycle of torture with the painter who is mentally un-well. After 2 years of torture, a mysterious car pulls up in the driveway. It's the MC's car. (CONCEPT YA PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR NOVEL WITH A TIME PARADOX PLOT)

That's all there is for now! I hope you stick around!

-z.k

[fantomette22]

And here’s a bloodborne crows headcanons drawing no one ask for!

Yeah I headcanons that some characters used to have some pet crows but it’s mostly a references for my fic verse too.

So I don’t have names for all the crows but I have a couple of ideas already. If you have ideas too pls share I’m listening.

Let’s begin with Cainhurst! 🛡️

📚🦉Ok Beltran from the cut content! Not sure he’s still alive during old hunters time but basically I imagined he was the (first?) crow master of Cainhurst.

🐦‍⬛⚔️Vledemyr my oc, my fav cainhurst knight! The current crow master. (Maria & Annalise’s cousin too) He was the one in charged of them before he become captain of the royal guard, he actually have lots of them (and they all love him a lot) but his very first crow is Corvus, the crow on his shoulder.

��🕊️Ok so Annalise was offered an Albino crow, because she’s the princess and future Queen you see. *Check notes* hm Yuki is a possible name but idk either smt Japanese or slavic who mean snow or fit with cainhurst aesthetic idk.

👑🐦‍⬛ Ah Charles (oc based on the cainhurst portrait too, king consort when Annalise was Queen). So when he marry her and was crowned he was offered a baby leucistic crow (that’s why it’s brown, it’s a loose of melanine like albinism bur not complete the the eyes aren’t red or the skin pink for exemple), he was so confused about it like you can see XD probably except a hound or smt (in his dream he would have wish for a lion but there’s no lions at Cainhurst since like 60+ years or smt)

🐦‍⬛🌕🐦‍⬛Maria have 2-3 crows (the ones at the research hall you know 😢 minus the one with the guidance rune that belong to Ludwig like you can see) As for the names I was hesitating between Hugin & Munin (Odin’s crows) or Phobos & Deimos (Mars’moon) for the 2 crows siblings (well I hc Maria study astronomy so… heheh also her third one is the one German is holding x) yeah missing a leg I know. Ok also after Maria passed away the crows escape from the research hall and freak Gehrman out! They wanted to say to him hello or called his named and because crows can mimics sound and voices they took Maria’s voice 💀 he thought he was going crazy for a few mins before he found them… but really it annoyed more Laurence XD the crows really went to harass him (they know what’s up. Or didn’t take well he put them in cages or smt, or you know because of Maria. It got to the point Laurence almost wanted them dead 💀

Fortunately Gehrman managed to made them go with the very first official hunter of hunter, he passed to him the mercy blade as well.

🐥Ah Voron my boy! Aka future bloody crow🩸🐦‍⬛ (No I am not detailing the entire backstory here! And yes his name means raven/crow I KNOW!) also the red of the cap don’t appear much sorry… thanks the scan.

✨+Svetta another Cainhurst oc based the painting with her crow, Voron mom yes. Vledemyr is his dad.

👁️I managed to put Micolash & Edgar on the page XD

💣🔥 Ah this one well when we first got into the hunter nightmare there’s a hunter before a gate right? Behind there’s a crow and I noticed the crow attacked the beasts but the hunter and the bird never attacked each other (only the hunter or beast) that’s why I now headcanons that many old hunters had crows too like this one.

🗡️🌕Ludwig & his crow with the guidance rune. One day the old hunters found many dead crows in the forest, not a good sign… Ludwig managed to recover a baby crow an care for it (he was so panicked at first he asked Maria for help so many times XD)

🐦‍⬛Eileen and some crows & the very first official hunter of hunters! (Before her)

🐦‍⬛The friendly crow of hemwick on the top left :3 I hc it’s either the crow bloody crow had or one link with Eileen or either my own hunter.

As for the other names I had in mind : Hrafn, Karasu, Branagan (I think I’m keeping this one as the name of the first crow hunter too)

🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛

Now, you’re gonna ask me why didn’t I just named one « Kuro » (black color in Japanese) well, I’m keeping it for the horses’ names of Cainhurst!!!!

[elfhawk3]

A friend linked me a cohost post for an RPG that uses a tarot deck to build the city the game takes place in. I went ‘that’s the sort of GM solo play I love to do’ and grabbed one of my many tarot decks and a copy of the pay-what-you-want ‘just the city builder’ preview of the full book.

I don’t have a cohost and the area I inhabit here isn’t into RPGs, so this is going to do zero advertising for a cool-looking game,  but whatever, I’m making this for me and if you enjoy it, cool. 

Step One: The Central Power 

The first card drawn decides who rules the city. After pulling out all the major arcana per the instructions, I drew the 10 of Wands.

“The Cult of the God-King reigns. The Crow-Headed Queen will be deified upon her death, but through her sorceries she has reigned for over 120 years. The Temple of the God-Kings stands in the center of the City.”

So this is a place ruled by an immortal sorcerer. Did the Cult control the City before she took over or did it rise up around her? If the former, she might just be the latest in a line of God-Kings. The Cult might be getting antsy about her immortality. Can’t have a proper God-King if your King refuses to die and move on to their bigger duties as God. If it’s the latter, she formed it herself around her ambitions to ascend from mortal to divine. Going by some of the other text, this setting is one where magic is weird and distrusted. What effect has a century (centuries?) of a sorcerer on the throne had on the people of the City? 

I love the symbolism here of a woman holding up a city. It matches so well.

Step 2: Form the Core Districts 

The oldest parts of the city. What was the City originally like? Draw four cards and place them on each side of the Central Power card.

North - 7 of Wands - The Sidereal House

“This institution seeks to understand the lights of the sky and their significance for those who dwell on earth. The Sidereal House is home to a sect of natural philosophers. These astronomers calculate the motions and positions of various planets, their dance, conjunctions, and the timing of eclipses.”

The City’s northernmost district is astronomers on a high plateau away from the smog and lights of city life, tracking time as they watch the skies. As one of the oldest locations in the City, is it possible it started entirely separate from the rest of the City for its prime stargazing spot and the City’s growth expanded to include it? Their duties include tracking, recording, and naming new years; some previous ruler must have wanted better recordkeepers and there was a tower of detail-oriented philosophers just over there.

East - 4 of Pentacles - The Curio Curia

“Seditious materials, false coinage, human chattel, and dangerous sorcerous artifacts are never traded in the Omphalic Market. The answer to economic constraint is the black market. In the City, this takes the form of the Curio Curia, a shadow economy for any illicit good.” 

The Omphalic Market mentioned in the blurb is one of the constants of city design that gets placed after the cards decide the rest of the city layout, so let’s ignore that for now.

The City’s major eastern district is home to the blackest of black markets. I get ‘set up right by the water’ vibes from this. Easy to bring stuff in, easy for a fast getaway when you get into trouble peddling nudes of the Crow-Headed Queen. Perhaps the market is even entirely on the river, and city law stops at the edge of the piers. This would make the entire stretch of the river through the City  something of a no man’s land, which could be interesting. Also tricky to figure out which boat is just someone fishing and which is your smuggler friend’s actual contact pretending to fish.

South - Knight of Cups - The Old Queen’s Library

“Books were the singular obsession of the Old Queen. So much so that this was the one tax she imposed upon the City: any person passing the gates or docking ship must yield up any book in their possession.”

The City’s southern district is home to a major library, love it. A long-dead queen was obsessed with books and had her people collect books to copy. She’d have the copies returned and retained the originals. This is pulled straight from history- there’s Greek writing about the Library of Alexandria collecting books from ships that came into port and doing the same thing. The Curio Curia could even have gotten its start with people trying to get their first editions back and making the queen’s library keep the copy her scribes made. I imagine the library itself isn’t on the water, but on a main street leading directly from what originally was a major dock, though it might no longer be. Today the library is tended by librarian nuns and allows the Cult’s historians, scholars, poets, and lawyers to peruse their stacks. They definitely don’t lend the books out.

As a court card, this is a rich district. Considering the odds of drawing more, this might even be *the* noble district. This library is most certainly not open to the public at large. Devotees of the Cult might be able to swing a day pass, but not that often.

West - 8 of Cups - The Philosophers’ Forum

“There is a (currently popular) branch of philosophy that rejects modern educational standards, the esteem of the City’s various colleges, and even the utility of the written word. These iconoclast philosophers hang out in the district called the Philosophers’ Forum. In essence, these philosophers live as paupers (though they would use the term “aesthetic mendicant”), and make a poor living by selling their treatises, giving public recitations, and betting on rhetorical contests.”

The City’s western district is even more drawn from Greek history than the library. Turn the right corner in this district of eloquent illiterate paupers and you may bump into Fantasy Diogenes. (Be sure to wash afterwards.) Street philosophers debating anything and everything have got to make this a contender for the noisiest district. I imagine quite a few folks living here are just Something Awful forum members, egging philosophical debates into becoming fistfights. Visually speaking, I imagine most of the district is in a pretty heavy state of disrepair- the philosophers don’t brook with currency or upkeep.

It’s fascinating that three of these districts are about knowledge. The City could have gotten its start as a center for learning, but has it remained so? The librarian nuns probably beat the philosophers with sticks when they visit to debate the hoarding of books for just the Cult and the wealthy and then again when other philosophers show up to denounce reading as a crime against the natural order of the world. We’ll see what sprawl builds a buffer from the riotous thinkers of western district for their recordkeeping neighbors to the north and south. 

Step Three: Add The Sprawl

These are the younger districts, springing up as the City expands and contracts through history. The suit of each core district decides how many others have grown around it. Zero for the swords of the military, one for pentacles and the lower class, two for cups for the faithful and the institutions they fund, and three for the wands of the weirdos.

North and the Sidereal House:

As a wand district, three cards let me put the distance between the astronomy tower from the city center that I wanted.

1 - Queen of Pentacles - The Street of Beggars

“It hosts leper houses, orphanages, religious mendicants, and a vast homeless population. Despite its residents being in abject poverty, the Street of Beggars is the home to one of the City’s most powerful factions: the Beggars Guild. The Beggars Guild regulates all petty crime.”

Now this is a great card for the sort of sprawl connecting the City center to a tower on a plateau. People shoved out of the nicer districts to the south slowly growing towards the tower. And people trying to reach the City and just giving up and settling for here. I can just imagine everything sixty feet back from the king’s road connecting the administrative tasks of the tower to the heart of the City is shoddy row houses and even shabbier lean-tos. 

2 - 2 of Wands - Newt Row

“Sorcerers scoff at Newt Row. This hedge-witchery is basically junk (more or less). It’s essentially a tourist’s destination in the City: a place where folks from Far Away can get spooked by a sibyl and pay too much for a blue-eye amulet.”

So this is obviously along the main drag from the central district to our distant tower. The Las Vegas Strip where tourists spend 90% of their time because all around it is nothing. Makes sense that the Beggars Guild would take it over. The merchants probably pay the Guild for protection from getting robbed by the locals as both parties fleece newcomers for all they're worth. 

3 - 9 of Pentacles - The Lichyard Market

“The Lichyard Market is the main meat market, a gourmand’s delight, and a grotesque spectacle. It houses some of the finest taverns, popular thermopolia, and cesspools of biowaste in the City.”

Another market, with even weirder smells. I think the north gates are where most people arrive in the City, or at least this is shaping up to be where most of the commerce goes on. The river I’ve put going through the east district must go somewhere through the north district. Perhaps what separates the tower from the rest of the City is the river.

East and the Curio Curia:

1 - 3 of Cups - Stone

“Each architect displays their masterpieces in the district’s squares, forums, and thoroughfares. The bridges of Stone are colossal statues providing egress; the public fountains are instruments that play music as they burble; the apartment buildings rise as high as cathedrals.”

Oh perfect, engineers to build complicated bridges to connect our astronomers to the rest of the City. It’s amusing I’ve described the Philosophers’ Forum as dilapidated as this district offers plenty of masons and architects for fixing things up. Well, this is one of the newer districts, maybe they’re very new and have been rebuilding the whole city and haven’t made it that far yet. Which makes sense, those guys don’t have any money, whereas the librarian nuns have their Cult’s coffers. The residential parts of this district probably are safe to live in but also miserable due to the sounds of construction.

South and the Old Queen’s Library:

1 - 6 of Cups - The Madrasa of Maiden Wisdom

“Founded by the Crow-Headed Queen and renamed for the mother of Mythrys, the Madrasa of Maiden Wisdom is a public institution of learning. There are a dozen or so colleges inside the City, but the Madrasa of Maiden Wisdom is the largest and most esteemed. It is unique in that it offers free education to anybody, boy or girl, human or non-human.”

I feel like the Crow-Headed Queen founded this before she became ruler. Like it was part of her putting her name on the map. The school is split into two main parts - “the lower houses” cover general education requirements for a diploma, the “upper houses” are for your degree’s specialized main courses. Offering free education doesn’t necessarily mean everything they have is free, so I’m wondering if the lower houses is the free education and the upper houses require payment. This probably is in a buffer zone separating the rich district the library is in from their poor neighbors.

Considering the free education offered here versus ‘you must be a member of the Cult’ the library has,  I can see the two institutes being at loggerheads. Behind the scenes, of course. Both are funded by the Cult and don’t want to draw its attention to their drama. 

2 - 4 of Wands - Kobalosgaard

“The orcs consider their blood oath to the ruler sacrosanct and inviolable. They will fight to the death in defense of their charge. However, if the ruler does happen to die, they see no reason to join them in the afterlife. As part of their pact, the honor guard has the right to leave the City with as much booty from the treasury as they can carry.”

This district is dedicated to the needs of the honor guard of twenty fireblooded orcs housed in a palace here. They’re not local and thought to be completely loyal to the ruler, since they have no ties to any of the factions of the City by virtue of not being local. Side effect, though, is it implies mistrust of the citizenry. But I also haven’t drawn any swords cards yet, this isn’t a particularly militaristic city. 

I do like that they have a retirement option- leave after the boss dies with all the loot they can carry. I wonder how that works when the Crow-Headed Queen has been in charge for 120 years. How long do orcs live? Does their contract allow them an out after a certain number of years served? Or have several generations of orcs gone without the spoils this alliance was supposed to provide them and their people back home? How much trouble is simmering under the surface here?

West and the Philosophers' Forum:

1 - 3 of Pentacles - The Gambol

“It consists of ramshackle bridges spanning chimneys, attics, and garrets. Its residents spend days, perhaps even weeks, never setting foot on solid ground. There’s an old adage that runs, “People never look up.” As such, the Gambol is favored by those who want to disappear: debtors, revolutionaries, and deposed tyrants from foreign lands.”

An entirely aerial district, which means it’s built above another one, or even more. I get the feeling this district got its start with two different things- people trying to escape the philosophy discussions and people trying to hide from the Beggar’s Guild and other criminal elements. The factions make themselves.

2 - 3 of Wands - The Lotus Eater’s District

“The Lotus Eater’s District caters to lotus addicts, but also sells intoxicants of all descriptions. Many kith and kin have found surprising ways to get fucked up, and they can all be found here: dragonteeth blunts, rackety-tam, angelshit, troll spice, takalashi jelly, etc.”

The city has ended up with a lot of Greek references, huh? Stoned potheads probably make good neighbors for the rowdy philosophers. Or at least they don’t care so much as bakers who have to be up at 3 in the morning. The philosophers would be the district’s main customers were they not all broke. Alternatively- this is really why most of them are broke. The citizens of the Gambol probably try to stay off their roofs to avoid tripping in a whole different way than they usually worry about.

Step Four: Place the Constants

Every incarnation of the City has three features that never change- though the exact locations will:

The Grey is a major river that flows through the City. It’s just as important to the City as the Nile is to Cairo. It also has pirates. I think the Curio Curia just became an extremely dangerous place to do business.

The Ossuary is the City’s Paris Catacombs alternate though it’s a former plaster mine, not limestone. It’s most recent expansion uncovered a door carved of ivory that monsters poured out of. They’ve managed to seal it. This is going to go over on the plateau of astronomy, to give them lots of room. Being an underground operation, it won’t have a lot of light pollution.

The Omphalic Market is THE place to go to shop. The true beating heart of the city. Nowhere really jumps out for where to put it, so I’m just going to shove it in somewhere and call it a day.

And voila, a City ready to explore the Underground of. One that speaks of ancient knowledge and wisdom that swung towards commerce and has created a strict divide between the haves and the have-nots.

How very every college town ever of it.

Is the Crow-Headed Queen’s free college (and potential other good works) enough to keep the rumblings at bay or has she spent too long on the distant throne of her temple to remember her own days in the hard-scrabble scrum of survival?

[bitter-panacea]

Goultard's introduction in the Dofus manga, his confrontation with Clustus Part 2

Part 1

Let's get right back to the fight. Clustus tells Goultard he talks too much and attacks first.

Clustus : You shouldn't have been called Goultard the barbarian but Goultard the chatty!

I still think the D at the end of Goultard's name was supposed to be silent. First of all because in french the D is usually silent in words that end in -ard-, just like here in "bavard", but also because they make a lot of rhymes with his name and none of them work if you pronounce the D. Goultard le barbare, le bavard, le bâtard etc

ANYWAY! Back to the fight. Goultard is hoping this fight won't be yet another disappointment...

Goultard : King Clustus, I hope you have more to offer me than a pityful crow spell.

Turns out Clustus isn't king of Bonta for no reason and is actually quite skilled in combat. And Goultard seems pleased to see it. Maybe this won't be as easy and boring as he expected.

Goultard : Well, well, well... This old man can do some damage.

"Bonhomme" is a very interesting word to me. It can mean "man" or more accurately "fellow". For example "bonhomme de neige" is a snowman, "un bonhomme" is also what you'd call a child's drawing of a person, there is something childish about it.... It's informal and can be affectionate or condescending, maybe even both at the same time. Goultard calls Joris "petit bonhomme" (little fellow), but he's not the only one who uses that word to describe him. (If I'm not mistaken, Gou affectionately calls Arty bonhomme... I might be wrong but I'm too lazy to check right now)

BACK TO THE FIGHT

Clustus invokes the royal crackler (whose name happens to be Kabor). Goultard gets crushed by Kabor and buried under the rubble but frees himself and destroys him with ease.

Rip Kabor

And Goultard starts talking again (he wants to be mysterious so bad but he simply cannot stfu)

Goultard : You said earlier that you knew me... But I'm not so sure, you must be wrong. Because, you see... If you really knew me, you would hold more of a grudge!

Clustus basically tells him to "be more clear or shut the fuck up".

Clustus : A grudge? What do you mean by that? Be more clear, if you will, I'm too old for guessing games. / Goultard : I'm much older than you, Clustus, and I still love riddles... But let's not get distracted, what I meant to say... Oh!

Goultard loves riddles apparently, (I find that hard to believe but why not.) Goultard says "let's not get distracted" and immediately gets distracted by a cool sword he saw. Clustus attacks while Goultard has his back turned (to pick up the cool sword he saw.) Goultard parries the blow and slashes Clustus across the chest (with the cool sword he just picked up.)

Goultard: As I was saying...You can't know me, we've never met before. However, I know you, and I've known, your father well. The king Balbosus Sheran Sharm! / Clustus : What... Impossible!

Goultard : a king well-deserves a few explanations before dying! You see, Clustus, I've spent wonderful moments with your father. He even almost "freed" me. Shortly before I took his life!

Clustus' reaction to that information

Clustus : It's impossible. My father died sixty years ago! I don't know what you're playing at but your story makes no sense! He lost his life facing a monster named Dark Vlad.

Goultard shapeshifts into Vlad just a moment to make Clustus understand they're part of the same entity.

Clustus : You killed my father... He was a good man... Generous and certainly the best king Bonta ever had! / Goultard : Maybe...

Goultard : But once again... That changes nothing! You all are nothing but humans. Whether rich or poor, kings or peasants... Only your combativeness and eagerness interests me!

(I will explore this whole thing with Goultard's contempt for humans, how he doesn't see himself as a human yet wishes he could feel like one, his self-loathing, in a future post focusing on Gou and the symbiote)

Goultard : And to get back to your father, know that he didn't hesitate to sacrifice his men to get me! And when time came for him to be reunited with his ancestors, he begged me to spare him...

Goultard : If you're saying the truth and he really was the greatest king this city's ever known... I don't dare imagine what the others must be like!

We don't know anything more about Goultard and Balbosus' realtionship but I go absolutely fucking bonkers imagining what it could have been like. Wonderful moments, knew each other well, almost freed him, but in the end sacrificed his men trying to capture him... I could talk more about it but It's all stuff I completely made the fuck up in my head. In my head Balbosus wished to free Goultard in a messed up dehumanizing savior complex way "I must free this creature and if I can't, i'll be the one to kill it". They fought many times but Goultard would always let Balbosus live because he was amused and intrigued by his weird obsession for him. A sick game of cat and mouse. Goultard enjoying the thrill of being chased... Until the symbiote grew more possessive of his prey, or Goultard got bored of Balbosus, or he felt betrayed when Balbosus sent his men after him... The fact Dark Vlad is the one who killed Balbosus in the end could also imply Goultard lost control at some point before he finally decided to kill him... Much to think about.

Goultard then starts to shift between his different shapes, revealing only now that, all along, Vald (who we thought was dead), was a part of Goultard, or that Goultard and Vald are both part of a whole. He talks briefly about Vlad and Vald having 50% and 5% of his potential strength, respectively. Clustus calls him insane.

Goultard : No, in hindsight... You could have only beaten me in my Vald form.

Clustus : Well, boy... Seems like you have a couple bats in the belfry! Quickly, put me out of my misery, I've had enough of your ravings... (why is he so funny)

Goultard : My... ravings? My ravings, as you say, make my immortality easier to put up with. / Clustus : If you say so!

Goultard HATES being immortal. Being immortal is a curse, unbearable without adapting by developping a dissociative disorder.

Goultard gets bored of talking to Clustus and decides to leave to find something better to do. Clustus realizes Goultard isn't going to kill him after all.

Goultard : Time has already taken its toll on you, Clustus. You're but a shadow of your former self. So don't count on me to give you the warrior's death that you dream of so badly! It's much more cruel to imagine you passing away on your throne like the senile old man you are.

Clustus shouts at Goultard to come back and finish him off. But Goultard is gone.

Volume 6 continues with Goultard's backstory and ends when Goultard finds Arty and offers him to fight. I'll probably make a post comparing Goultard's manga backstory and the animated one.

[vwritesaus]

TSC WIP snippets pt. 1

this is a RATHER LONG POST sorry so i will put everything under the cut :>

to @faithfromanewperspective:

      ‘Is this Adelaide?’ Thomas asks in a high voice, his tone coloured with surprise. ‘I see no churches at all…’       ‘It’s just… sand,’ Alastair mutters by way of agreement. …       ‘Apologies for the intrusion,’ Thomas begins, grinning shyly, ‘but I think we’re lost.’       ‘Lost!’ The man bursts out into crowing laughter and slaps Thomas on the shoulder. Alastair winces from the force of the action and the sound echoing in the chamber. ‘Let me guess—you were bound for Adelaide?’       Thomas blinks. ‘How did you—?’       ‘You’ll be amazed how many Shadowhunters end up here instead of Adelaide,’ the man tells him. ‘I swear, ever since those Portals became popular, our travelling system has gone to the dogs! You can’t go wrong with a horse and carriage, or just a horse, but no—you simply must travel by Portal now. Extremely unreliable, I say.’

to my four lovely anons:

1—       When Thomas peers into the box, whatever remaining confusion was on his face vanishes. He stares blankly at the inside, his fingers frozen in place against the corners, and Alastair feels part of his stomach drop.              ‘Alastair… what is this?’ Thomas asks softly.        Alastair is grateful to find no disappointment or annoyance imbued in his voice—and then immediately chastises himself for thinking something so ridiculous in the first place. This is Thomas, the man who took his heart and holds it like it's precious and worthy and wanted. The man who saw past all the nastiness, the cold front Alastair had put up for so many years, and continued to love him regardless.       The man who Alastair wants to spend the rest of his life with, no matter the odds. So he clears his throat slightly, shaking away the anxiety, and says, ‘It’s my ring, Tom,’ as though he is merely commenting on the weather.       ‘I can see that,’ Thomas replies. He lifts his gaze and sets it on Alastair, his eyes glimmering with an emotion Alastair can’t quite put his finger on. ‘Why is it in a box?’

2—       ‘Your father won’t bite him,’ Sophie tells him, a shadow of an amused smile on her face. ‘I imagine he merely wants to get to know him better.’       Thomas shifts in his seat and glances once more at the open doorway Gideon and Alastair have just walked through.       ‘I know,’ he murmurs, ‘and for that, I’m so glad. Only, Alastair… I know he’s feeling nervous.’       ‘Whatever for, love?’       Smiling furtively, Thomas looks at his mother and says, ‘He wants to make a good impression. He’s very conscious of his—how did he put it? “Prickly personality”.’

3—       Charlotte came into this marriage with the sole belief that he’ll fall in love with her in time. That no matter how long it took, she would see it through for the rest of their lives. Because she loves him, and love withstands the test of time no matter how hard a situation becomes.       Now… now, she’s not so sure.       Perhaps it’s time to realise that Henry will never love her.But she loves him. She can’t deny that, and she never could. She loves him, and she’ll live with that knowledge until she draws her last breath. But she doesn’t know how much longer she can keep her true feelings behind an alabaster mask of indifference, or hide her face in the pillow when Henry looks at her for too long, or press down the flutters her heart does whenever he does something silly, or makes a breakthrough with an experiment, or merely smiles at her.       And yet, perhaps all she can do is break her heart fully and accept that, like her position at the London Institute, her marriage to Henry isn’t something that can last forever. That perhaps love can’t withstand the test of time, after all.       That not even five years of being together could have Henry fall in love with her.

4—       ‘There’s no need to panic,’ Thomas says softly. ‘I’m right here, aren’t I? You’re safe.’       There’s a beat of silence after Alastair sucks in a shuddering breath, during which he stares at Thomas with wild, terrified eyes. Then an odd flutter crosses his face, his expressive eyebrows dipping dangerously close to the middle of his forehead.       ‘I’m—I’m safe?’ he splutters. ‘You think… you think—? Oh you… you stupid man.’       He grabs Thomas by the shoulders, not giving the man a chance to feel anything except confusion, and shakes him violently.       ‘It’s not myself I’m worried about,’ Alastair croaks out. ‘It’s you.’

to @ibrushmyteeth-donttellanyone:

      ‘The point I wish to make,’ Alastair interrupts, ‘is that during that picnic, Fairchild and I had a rather… frank conversation.’       ‘About?’       ‘As far as I recall, it had something to do with an autumnal masquerade ball up in Cambridge which promises to have formal attire, a range of posh sorts, and an abundance of alcohol.’       Thomas blinks in astonishment. ‘Cambridge?’ he echoes.       ‘Quite,’ Alastair says in a sombre tone, and Thomas laughs. ‘Yet… I suppose it would be a different venture than our usual nightly strolls and patrols.’       ‘It would,’ Thomas replies with a nod.       ‘And it would be rather dire to attend such an occasion without Fairchild’s opulent outfits and charming personality, but it does bring forth the opportunity to be alone with each other without the need to entertain a third party.’       ‘I wholeheartedly concur with that statement.’       Alastair is about to say something else, but stops himself. He instead purses his lips and narrows his eyes at Thomas. Thomas merely stares back expectantly, trying his hardest to keep his expression neutral. He knows what’s about to happen, and grins inwardly when, like clockwork, Alastair visibly withers.        ‘Are you really waiting for me to ask?’ he states in exasperation.       A large smile overtakes Thomas’s face at the question, and he leans in until their noses are mere inches apart. He relishes how Alastair’s eyes widen at the sudden proximity—always so full of surprise whenever Thomas does this—and quickly kisses him before he can protest or say anything.       ‘You refer to waiting for my beloved to ask me to attend a masquerade ball with him in Cambridge, correct?’ Thomas lowers his voice until it’s the softest whisper and says with utmost severity, ‘If so, then yes, I am.’

and last, but certainly not least, to @drunkonimagination:

      ‘Welcome home.’ Pulling back slightly, Thomas kisses Alastair’s curved mouth and presses their foreheads together. ‘Goodness—Raziel, have I missed you.’       There’s a soft snort, and long fingers brush over Thomas’s shoulders. Alastair’s voice is light as he says, ‘Last I checked, Thomas, I am not Raziel. Have I been gone so long that you mistake me for an archangel?’       ‘Yes, mi amor,’ Thomas replies playfully, ‘you’ve been gone far too long. You must remind me exactly who you are, and it must be done now. Before it is too late and I forget who you are completely.’       Alastair laughs loudly, and is still laughing when Thomas presses fast kisses all over his face.

also yes you read that correctly, it does say "pt. 1". pt. 2 will be posted sometime this weekend, and it'll be snippets from the remaining chapters of dear christopher and ch2 of timeless, so stay tuned if you're interested!!! :D

[doublydaring]

Ron what are your top favorite tv shows

hi kait. thank you sooo much for this ask. television is my first and true love and i have a great many things to say about it.

Black Sails - Black Sails is like a show made in a lab to please me. It is a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" which integrates the fake pirates from the book with the real pirates of history. It is about my number one interest of all time, historiography, the way that we tell the story of history. It is about the way that society uses stories and shame to control people. Its epic.

Trust FX - A miniseries. This is also about historiography, you will sense a theme. This is about the Getty kidnapping. It is full of beautiful sexy Italians and horrible horrible Americans. Brendan Fraser slays as a PI slash Greek Chorus. Luca Marinelli gives the performance to end all performances as Primo Nizzuto.

Justified - A tribute to the now rightfully dead Western Genre Justified is about a bunch of guys who suck that you cannot help but root for. A big city Marshall is forced to return to his hometown of Harlan, Kentucky after shooting a man. Some of the greatest characters of all time come from this show. Raylan Givens, Dickie Bennet, Dewey Crowe, Tim Gutterson, Rachel Brooks, and above all, Boyd Crowder. If you are compelled by slow talking, fast drawing men with problems, you will love this brilliantly witty crime drama.

MASH - Hawkeye Pierce is like a real friend to me. This too is about historiography. 11 seasons of swirling 70s sleaze and the hardest hitting antiwar commentary wrapped up in the warm and fuzzy packaging of a pleasantly green sitcom. In the first season Frank asks Hawkeye if he's ever serious, Hawkeye responds "I tried it once, everybody laughed," and it felt like my life flashing before my eyes. Trapper John McIntyre, BJ Hunnicutt, Margret Houlihan, these are just a few of the greatest characters ever written. And they're on mash.

This is where things get hard, this answer has changed a lot over the years, a few years ago, It's Always Sunny would have been like 2 on this list, as far as number of funny episodes, its still pretty high up there, I also have to mention The Monkees of course, Turn: Washington's Spies was a formative classic for me and me alone, Star Trek: The Next Generation is brilliant. There are the modern classics, Succession, Severance, and Santa Clarita Diet. The old greats, Cheers, Taxi, Star Wars the Clone Wars. My past obsessions, Jonathan Creek, TAITV, I Made America, Torchwood. Flight of The Concords and What We Do In The Shadows informed my humor so much. But I think in the end the 5th greatest television program is the San Diego Padres. Not a show in the traditional sense, but TV certainly, and a program I have probably spent more time watching than any other.

[wundrousarts]

Various Wundersmith thoughts and things I've noticed after rereading the book for yet another time:

This one is significantly longer and a little bit more random than my recent Nevermoor reread, but who cares 🤷 the more the merrier!

There are things both serious (theories, thematic parallels, etc.) and silly (jokes, personal reactions). This time around I discovered the annotations feature in Apple Books and had a lot of fun with that, so I'll try to include the bits I highlighted when necessary. Enjoy!

— I don't mean to have a shippingbrain, but it feels impossible to view Jupiter and Israfel as anything but exes/folks that had a Thing in the beginning, omg.

—— Israfel throwing the "old friend" back at Jove..... my note for this one was "#gay"

— I like the interest Mog has in Bohemia, and I'm interested based on that one Silverborn snippet for her to return (and eventually explore other parts of the city as well)

— Jupiter referring to the junkies as "they're not patrons of the fine arts" feels like a nice little set up for the Museum later on. Thought of and admired as an art piece, but the rich folks at the auction don't actually care about the work put into it.

— Do you think the folks at Wunsoc that organize the little show that welcomes 919 are a little peeved that the Fireblossom's being reignited means that they can't perch creepily in them anymore lol.

— I wonder if the Wunsoc Oath has a pre- or post- Massacre origin

“The nature of Miss Crow’s unusual –" she paused, seeming to catch herself before calling it a ‘knack’ – "situation.” (Ch2)

—— Elder Quinn hesitates to refer to Mog's power as a knack, so I wonder if that's just a general thing of Wundersmithery being different, or if knacks are a post-Massacre categorization

— I love how this book really starts to solidify the theme of family in Nevermoor... Wunsoc, her Unit, the Deucalion, Wundersmiths, the Crows, her mother..... AAAHHHH!!! I can't wait to see where it all goes.

— A "note sealed with silver wax" from "the Celes-" ..... YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!! 😁😁😁

—— Likely about Cassiel but even that and beyond could tie into a lot of other Silverborn Theories..... Noelle..... The Silver District....... I will keep this all in mind

—— Also, updating my SIlverborn Masterpost posthaste ✍️✍️✍️

— It likely doesn't matter and will never be explained, but I wonder if the room between student's houses and their hometrain station is part of the Gossamer, and like a thin place between worlds

— Miss Cheery's first outfit is so y2k I need to draw her. It makes sense because she's like 20 in this book.

— The Wunsoc circle diagram has always interested me since I first read it. I wonder if the size of the circles ever means anything??

—— Could it relate to the probability (?) of the knacks? Mundane is the most common to occur, Arcane more specialized, and then Wundersmiths are very, very rare

—— Something I often forget is that folks in Wunsoc that weren't Wundersmiths have always existed. Were there more than 9 of them in each year? Were there always 9 non-Wundersmiths? Did the trials always exist? What was the relationship between non-Wundersmiths and Wundersmiths like?

—— On that note, did C&D only become the Wunsoc motto / purpose post-Massacre? Or did they do that before as well? If the motives of Wunsoc have changed over the years, has what they look for in students changed as well?

“Everybody at Wunsoc has a job to get on with – every junior and senior scholar, every graduate, every teacher, every patron, every Elder and every Master.” (Ch5)

— I am still forever curious about what Masters are, and why they are on the same level or possibly even slightly higher than Elders

—— Are they previous Elders? Are they people who excel in their craft? I'd like to say there could be a connection to Wundrous Apprenticeships but 1. those seemed like a natural given, 2. likely aren't really around anymore, and 3. I'm not really sure why they would have so much authority if so.

—— I like to headcanon that senior scholars do internships/apprenticeships

— Something that makes me laugh is that I will famously agonize over something, in this case the Wunsoc academic school year, only to discover upon a reread that it is explicitly stated how it works. lol.

— Brilliance Amadeo and her predecessors are referred to as "First-Line Wundersmiths." This likely relates to the chambers in the Liminal Hall in Sub-Nine that we see in Hollowpox.

—— Knowing Jess, I bet that either Mog or Squall are part of the Ninth Line

“Your kind are … all … dead," continued Professor Onstald. "And if they’re … not –" he blinked his watery eyes at her and took a long, rasping breath – "they should be.” (Ch6)

“My duty is not … to save you … from yourself. It is to show you … that you are … beyond saving. All of your … kind … are beyond …” (Ch6)

“If you were half the Wundersmith you ought to be by now, it wouldn’t be possible for me to tap into your power like this. (Ch24)

— I've had a theory post on the progression of Wundersmiths in society towards the Massacre in the works for awhile that I've postponed until after my Hollowpox reread, but:

—— What if it was a group effort?

——— There's a part in one of the books that's like, "Squall led his fellow Wundersmiths in a coup, and then turned on them" and as much as Wunsoc likes to spin and fabricate things, I think that this could also be true. What caused Squall to turn? That's a mystery we'll have to unravel later...

———— This book is heavy on Squall controlling and manipulating folks, both literally with Wunder but also mentally with words, so could be interesting if that played a part in the revolt

— Regardless, something spooked Onstald enough to turn from admiring and studying Wundersmiths and their ways to hating them, and I'll forever be interested in what happened.

—— I think there could be some slight truth in him viewing all Wundersmiths as bad, because some stuff, like Mathilde's Morbid Museum (lol), could indicate some darker inclinations by folks other than Squall

— Maybe I'm an idiot for not realizing this before, but I don't think it was Jupiter that got Mog/919 into the Maps class.

“I have dedicated my life to taming this monstrous city, and I love her with every fiber of my being.” (Ch8)

“Goodness. You’ve only been here a year? And yet you and Nevermoor seem to go hand in glove. It’s almost like this place was made just for you.” (Ch8)

—— So Squallish. I wonder if anything he said was coached.

—— Do you think this is how he got him on his side? Did they bond over both being obsessed with Nevermoor?

— I think a lot of Mildmay's problems would have been fixed if he had simply been more proactive about networking instead of turning to a life of crime. I mean, he's only 19, just out of school! Way to quit early, dude.

One bite brought on the specific sensation of bittersweet late-summer nostalgia … which sent Francis straight back to the test kitchen, as he’d actually been aiming for the carefree abandon of a mid-summer music festival. (Ch9)

— I wonder how much of Francis's knack/what he cooks/cooks with has a Wundrous origin. I'm also often reminded of the Smoking Parlor.

—— I like to relate it to my Communication "Art" but alternatively... does remind me of Israfel's voice. Curious about how Celestials and Wunder interact.

—— Alice Frankenreiter of 915 is mentioned as a shapeshifter..... how Masquerade-esque. Another point for the "knacks being related to Arts" theory?

——— I also have to point out how funny to me the "Franken-" is with the knack. lol. (makes me think about Frankenstein)

— There is a "noise like a thousand tinkling bells" when the Ghastly Market is revealed. This noise also shows up in the other two books during the Christmas Eve battle. In a world where magic by Wundersmiths heavily involves singing in order to use Wunder, I like the further comparisons of magic and sound. Will keep an eye out for more during Hollowpox.

—— We see this as well with this line:

Her fear and revulsion and rage swelled inside her like a symphony (Ch16)

which I just annotated as "music/art comparison. slay."

——— On that note, I feel like the connection between Wundersmiths/Divinities and the Celestials being explored more could be interesting, as both of their powers involve singing. I'm curious how/if their magic overlaps.

— The fact that the Loyalty Trial was from the Elders and thus they were the ones who asked Cadence to humiliate Baz will never not be funny

— Chapter 18 mentions a "Polaris Hill." Named after Griselda Polaris?

— Have to say: Between being excited about a killer flytrap and teaching 919 swears, an underrated Mahir trait is that he is actually very silly.

— If you've ever seen me call the Gossamer-Spun Garden the "Wundergarden", please know that the Murdergarden is 100% why lol

— I hope hope HOPE!!! we get some proper definitions someday for the Wundrous Act Classifications. Like Spectacle, Phenomenon, Singularity, etc... I hope we get to learn what they each are someday!!!

“To do just what a Wundersmith does," One corner of Squall’s mouth twisted into a quarter-smile.” ... "To grant your fondest wish. To give you the thing you want more than anything else.” (Ch19)

— I feel like this line is often overlooked and is an underrated hint at what a Wundersmith's role in society was like

— I'm a bit of a pessimist (SORRY) about the movie adaptation, and once thing about this book is that I'm mourning that it'll probably never get adapted.

—— I think that the idea of Nevermoor as a movie musical works so much better with Wundersmith because there's so much more magic and music and singing in this one, with both Israfel and the first Nocturne lessons. I could see it the integration of the non-diegetic (?) songs that the characters sing and the themes of the movie/books work better with this book than the first one just because of that.

—— Also the theatricality of characters such as Squall and Mildmay is off the charts in this book! I'd even throw Dearborn and Murgatroyd in there as well. I think they could make for more interesting characters in a movie musical than the general supporting cast of the first book.

—— I'd say that perhaps they could mix and mash stuff from both books 1 and 2 into a single movie, but I don't know if they have rights past the first book.

Squall cocked his head to one side, a deep frown etched into his forehead. ... Squall took a step towards her. He looked like he was remembering something. (Ch19)

— I wonder why he recognizes the song!

—— Curious if anyone else has their own theories on this they want to share. I brought this up in the discord a few months ago and have yet to make a proper post but here's my idea:

——— Squall's song and Mog's song are very similar in a few ways, so perhaps one of the songs was influenced by / is “descended from” so to say from the other, or they have a common ancestor.

——— Could explain why Little Crowling is familiar to Mog and Morningtide’s Child is familiar to Squall

... into the cold embrace of a capricious and unknowable city. (Ch19)

— This is like, baby's first comparison, but I do enjoy how this refers not only to Nevermoor but also Squall just a moment earlier. They are sooooo linked. I wonder if there's other moments like this in the book that I've missed.

— The Jemmity Park stuff is interesting to think about because I think Odbuoy is the youngest Wundersmith present at the time of the Massacre.

—— The idea of him being the youngest I feel then fits with him making the park only work for children, as that seems appropriately mischievous.

——— Because of my (outdated tbh) Eventide theories, I had a silly theory he was 7 when he made the park, but when you think about that more, it falls apart. A little funny to think about though, ngl.

— Anyone else think that the Elders should have told Jupiter about Sub-Nine in case he wanted a part in that? I feel like as a patron and adoptive father figure of a Wundersmith, he might want some access to Wundersmith history and culture. His excursions to the park and Cascade Falls really prove an interest and he could be helpful to the group.

— Morrigan compares Squall's Séance Synchronicity to Coven 13 in the Fright Trial... are these magics connected at all, or will we learn more about the different magics in the world at some point?

Squall held his hands out – palms downward, twisted into claws – and made his fingers dance like a puppeteer twitching strings. (Ch24)

— I find it so funny how the Puppeteering (also known as Marionette) parallels– the statue in the Elder's hall, the stunt with the Charlton Five on the platform, and this scene– were so obvious, and yet it took a solid 2 years after Wundersmith's release (right before Hollowpox was out!) for somebody to bring it up for the first time. And now everyone accepts it as basically canon lol!

— Wonder if the Wundrous Arts sign got changed to Wretched Arts before or after Squall's exile, in order for him to know about it. I have some theories on the timeline of all that that I'll share at a later date.

— I often forget and I think it's often overlooked that the Magnificub growing was Squall's doing, not just Mog's.

—— Wonder if he was stalking her that night as normal OR detected her intention and swooped in OR was there already due to the auction

— The way that Squall bows dramatically to tease Mog and then Mildmay does the same a chapter later is so funny.

“There are far greater monsters –" his eyes flashed – "and far greater dangers. Miss Crow, we have a shared enemy you could never imagine. If the Wundrous Society doesn’t take you off the leash, if you aren’t given the freedom to grow, to become the Wundersmith I need you to be … then terrible things are coming down the line. For both of us.” (Ch24)

— War in Arc 3 pleaseeee

—— It's interesting because it seems that Nevermoor/Free State has been relatively peaceful ever since restructuring… but the Wintersea Republic has had the same amount of time to build up! And now they’re looking to take the last slice of the pie…..

“There. That feeling. That fire in your heart, that spark of anger and fear. Focus on it. Feel it. The flickering, burning anger inside – THAT is Inferno.” (Ch24)

— What if each of the Arts are bolstered by an emotion? Doesn't seem so but 🤷 could be a fun AU idea perhaps

— A lot of the description of Inferno in this book– a flame or firework in Morrigan's chest– reminds me so much of Howls Moving Castle (2004) that it's on my eternal to-do list to draw.

— Between Mog's lessons in this book and Goldberry's circular breathing, I think it's interesting how much of Inferno relates to breath

—— "Breath of life" ?

—— Could relate back to music/singing, which is needed to summon Wunder

—— Do any of the other Arts (excluding Nocturne and Inferno) have any connections to breath that we know of? Or even are just aligned with a specific part of the body? If anyone has any thoughts on this, please do share!

— Anyone else like to think about the Hunt of Smoke and Shadow and the way the Hollowpox hunted? No? Just me? Okay

—— I think that Wundersmiths definitely probably have specialties– and these are based on natural affinities, NOT lineage– and Mog's is likely Inferno whereas Squall's is likely Veil

He took a deep bow, still laughing. (Ch25)

— My note for this line and the whole scene was simply, "🖕 WORST 19 YEAR OLD EVER" lol

“You saved my life tonight. I find myself in your debt." He watched her for a moment, pressing his mouth into a line. Morrigan could tell he wanted to say something more, but wasn’t sure if he should … or perhaps he couldn’t quite find the right words. Israfel breathed a deep sigh. "You’d do well not to mention that to the folks at Wunsoc. I shouldn’t be in your debt.” (Ch27)

— What does this all meannnnn

— Interesting how Jupiter mentions that he thinks Cassiel's disappearance is unconnected to all the Ghastly Market stuff

—— I've mentioned before (maybe not on here, sorry) that the timing could perhaps line up in order for Cassiel to be the Celestial that Noelle's knack is stolen from, if we want to go with that theory

— Mog saying that Squall said something funny, as in weird, yet Jupiter's first response is to ask if he said something "funny haha" is so funny to me. Why is that his first response.

— Folks have mentioned it before, but I'd love some more bonding between Mog and Lam based on the fact that they're both from the Republic

— Elder Quinn refers to Mog as "our Wundersmith" as in like, just another brother and sister in Wunsoc, but it could be interesting if that wording is ever brought up again to try to use Mog, or make her do something no one else can because of her powers, like in the days of old

And finally (about 3k words later):

— Lam is referred to as "the smallest of all of them" in terms of 919. Not to me! While I wholeheartedly believe she is certainly short, she's not the shortest for me. #ShortMogSupremacy.

[feeling-high-with-pride]

Thinking about Odin and Magpie...

On some brainrot stuff again so I’m gonna ramble about the Arrow siblings. 

A long while ago I saved a translation of the nordic runes in panel 1547, seen below;

I can’t recall who did the translation (whether it was from here or Reddit, so if someone knows I’ll add credits to them!) but it reads:

“I woke up this morning and realised that I could not remember the sound of her voice. Her laugh echoes in my head when I try hard enough to imagine it. But it's nothing more than an empty weightless reflection of reality teetering on the cusp of my memory and it only brings me pain to try and remember it. But my fear of forgetting her is much more powerful and so I must remember and end up at the same question of everybody in the universe. What did we do to deserve this. Why me?"

This, written in Odin’s notebook presumably, was shown directly after Moribund Malediction. There is a level of intense melancholy associated with this writing, exploring a sense of longing to remember those who are no longer with us. If Odin did write this, then there are two characters that this reflection piece could be referring to; either Magpie or Odin’s mother. I’m more inclined to believe it’s Odin’s mother in this sense, as it’s been a longer period of time since she’s been around versus Magpie’s disappearance about 2 and a half years prior to the main story. 

Tragically, Odin is forgetting his mother. 

It doesn’t help that Pedri (later in the story when Odin is unveiling his “tragic backstoryTM”) was shown to be tormenting Odin through the visage of his mother. Being shown so many illusions, and perhaps turning to the herbs he smokes as a way of deterring Pedri, it would make sense if Odin has begun to forget what his mother was actually like when he was younger. It seems like the only good memory or dream he has of her is from when he was born around Gildhaust and she was showing him around. 

It would be really sad if Odin was forgetting Magpie too, but from the clearer shots of her in his memories I do doubt it. 

Speaking of Magpie, I went back to check out some panels I knew existed (namely panels 1275-1277, which appear just after Ava is trapped in the Gate to Paradise machine. 

Looking back on these...it has to be Magpie! The bow, the blue...it just makes sense!

The first image shows Magpie looking rather happy, holding the hand of a featureless figure. This is likely Magpie with her ‘inbisible friend’, as she told Odin when they were younger. The inclusion of a happy sun (I think it is one on the righthand side?) is interesting, given that Aedinfell hasn’t been with a proper sun for a long time. 

The second image shows Magpie looking much more upset and crying, standing alongside two other girls of similar (if not exact) stature. This must be her sisters; Crow and Raven. As the youngest of the triplets, she often was given a lot of grief (in Odin’s words), so this drawing seems to exemplify that! It’s possible she was bullied by her sisters, or teased for being the youngest. 

The third image is a bit more confusing in my opinion. There’s 6 vertical lines followed by a faceless girl. It doesn’t appear to be Magpie specifically, since the bow is missing, but it could always be her regardless. My first thought (which could be wrong) was that the lines plus the girl equal to seven, like the seven deadly sins that the Hosts are meant to portray. Ava = Wrath, Odin = Pride, Gil = Envy, Maggie = Lust, Erios = Greed(?) and then three others that have yet to be revealed. What if this signifies that Magpie is the last Host we’ll meet pertaining to these sins? Honestly she’s probably not, but it’d be pretty cool. 

If anyone has thoughts on that last image I’d love to hear them.

Anyway, I guess the point of these rambles is that I think the Arrow siblings need a big hug and lots of blankets because holy shit this family is traumatised af, and definitely need the additional care and love that they missed out on getting when they were kids. 

[aquitainequeen]

Aside from news on how things possibly stand for a Shadow and Bone/Six Of Crows renewal (basically no news is good news, keep going with the campaign!) there's also a short interview with Eric Heisserer, which sheds some interesting light indeed on the writing and making of Season Two, and it explains a lot of things:

Here are the questions posed for Eric's interview: 

"I'd like to know if there's a way to liberate the pre-written scripts if Netflix doesn't plan on using them" - Christian Thalmann (creator of the Fjerdan language)

"In my view, 'The Crows' have the potential to revitalize the Grishaverse. Unlike "Shadow and Bone", this new show could rely less on elaborate visual effects and offer a fresh narrative angle. Heist-themed shows are currently in high demand, adding to its appeal. Am I mistaken in thinking that our focus should primarily be on 'The Crows'? The likelihood of 'Shadow and Bone' returning seems slim, but I've always believed that 'The Crows' had a greater change of success." - Joleen

"If/when the spinoff is back (finger crossed) was there anything he had planned that would completely surprised, for good reasons obviously, the audience? And we should hold our breath for that twist/turn??" - Rti

"What are the difficulties you mentioned about filming S2 in that Reddit comment? Don't want to sound negative, but what went wrong?!" - Mitra

"How long was the sizzle reel ready to go but he had to keep it secret?" - Discord Team

"I would love to know his perspective on the impact of streaming on storytelling. Would we have had to launch a campaign like this 10-15 years ago for a show like this? What are the main points when it comes to streaming models and telling unique, diverse stories?" - Acorn_Bri

Eric's Responses: 

1) "There is a way to liberate the Crows scripts from Netflix, yes, and in fact that would be part of the buyout for another streamer when acquiring the rights to Leigh's novels. It would be a package deal." 

2) "The focus on the Crows is helpful in two ways -- first, those scripts were written, which lets us get a running start at production, and second, just from casual analysis of book sales, it's far more popular worldwide than other Grishaverse titles. So it will be a bigger draw for viewers. The trap though is the cost. It's more grounded than S&B, sure, but the Ice Court is a unique location that either requires a really costly set build, or set extensions and VFX work to make it look authentic, which means nearly every shot of the heist once our crew gets there could be a VFX shot. My guess is the budget would be on par with S2 of S&B.

3) "Yes, there is a surprise or two in the Crows spinoff season, but overall it's as close to the novel as we could make it. And Leigh's novel is such an amazing story with natural cliffhangers that work as episode "out" moments, etc. I think the biggest move we made was to feature every single Crow's backstory to go with their episode. So that was fun/sad/exciting." 

4) S2 kept throwing challenges at us, and it started long before we got to production. Like months earlier, when we learned the location we needed for the Little Palace in S1 was closed to us due to the pandemic. So right there we lost out on a ton of S&S scenes, because it wouldn't be a match. But we also had written a compelling side arc for Ivan and Fedyor in S2, these two Grisha trapped on either side of the civil war. Each of them played a big role in the story, but Simon (Ivan) had a feature film that overlapped with our schedule and couldn't move, which meant we lost him. So Daegan worked to revise the season keeping Fedyor and leaving Ivan like dead from the end of S1. He was Kirigan's right-hand man for the season. But poor Julian caught COVID just when we were to shoot out most of his scenes, and after tyring to ake the schedule work, we had to come to the brutal truth that there wasn't a way to keep Fedyor in the story. Our only option was to bring him in at like episode 8, which would've been too little, too late. 

COVID continued to be a monster all through production, requiring us to juggle schedules and miss out on days, and it was madness for the cast, who had to pivot with almost no notice whenever someone was ill and quarantined. This isn't unique to our show of course---it happened with everyone. It's just the challenge. 

Beyond that, we had been given the go to write a special standalone story: The Demon in the Wood. This would have been released on its own around Christmas, like a BBC special but for Netflix, and would help bridge seasons 1 and 2 by showing a little of what Kirigan was doing before we seem him in S2, and also provide more character context, etc. Christina Strain wrote that and did great work adapting Leigh's short story. But it never went the distance. 

There was a lot more to S2 as well, scenes and side stories and little interactions that were lost due to budget or time restrictions. Again, not unique to our show, but agonizing all the same, since what you get is not what we had written, or in some cases even shot. I'm incredibly proud of the cast and the team, and Daegan did the heaviest lifting while I was off finishing the Crows writing room. But we had a lot more thrown at us." 

5) That sizzle reel was put together four months before the second season dropped. 

6) Streaming is a challenge to serialized storytelling in that it looks at 'content' often with a different agenda and uses metrics that can take a creative issue and exacerbate it. Like in broadcast, if viewership and thus ad revenue has slightly declined, the show will ned to find a way to make their 22 or 13 episodes on a proportionally smaller budget. What is not done is reduce episode order. But if a streaming series underperforms or doesn't meet expectations, an the streamer doesn't cancel it outright, the go-to budget reduction idea is to reduce episode order for the next season. When you just have 8 episodes and continue to deal with notes to compress, pace up, or omit for what you'd scripted for a longer season, reducing further to six or four episodes is exhausting. 

This happens due to a slide in autonomy from what the showrunner position has been. What the chatter on the picket lines revealed to us is that most showrunners today don't get to see their own show's budget, and thus don't get the freedom to make budgetary decisions that could better protect the story they're telling. More and more, showrunners not at a legacy network aren't the final say or at times even involved in hiring key roles. I don't have any ideas that aren't already in contract language, I just see how the job on this side has gotten harder and there isn't much of a way for us to make it easier for each other like we could with having writers on set or in post production, because the streaming model has made that impossible."