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RAHHH IT'S FINISHED!!!! THIS IS THE GREATEST THING I'VE EVER DRAWN

@so-many-ocs your book got me out of my digital art block

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I’m still obsessed with the weird and incredibly bizarre energy Kalina the immortal nightmare god familiar had with local goblin teenager, Riz Gukgak. You were there when he was 14 finding his dad’s gun, when he was with his friends in freshman year, clawing his hands bloody in a cursed arcade. You were watching how many nights while he didn’t sleep and worked the case.

You try to kill him in your ritual, but you actively save him from making a suicidal mistake in hell. You maul him and his friends in the Nightmare Forest, but freak out when Kristen cures him of your curse. You snapped his neck and threw him off a cliff. He killed you back. Possessed by a rage god, you still answer Riz when he calls you out to fight.

“You’re special! You were born with me. I’ve known you your entire life. I’m like your godmother and the fact you’re so… cold to me, it feels… hurtful. I’m doing this as a favor.”

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hyperactive hornets in your lungs lungs lungs l- oh wait… and centepides… and beetles…….. oh dear……

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The Black Circle

Title: The Black Circle

Author: Patrick Carman

Genre: Mystery

Length: 4 hours

Summary: 

A game of cat and mouse...

A strange telegram lures fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother, Dan, deep into Russia and away from the only trustworthy adult they know. Signed with the initials NRR, the telegram launches a race to uncover a treasure stolen by the Nazis and the truth behind the murder of the last Russian royal family. All too soon, the treasure hunt starts to smell like a Lucian trap. But the bait might just be irresistible...what will Amy and Dan risk to find out what really happened on the night their parents died?

Review:

Another 39 Clues book! I’ve realized that I largely don’t remember any of these books. The Black Circle might be the only one that led to a specific interest for me as a kid. It was really nice to reread it and to be reading again, though I don’t remember perfectly what happened in Beyond The Grave. 

I absolutely loved this book! I remember being super interested in the Romanovs as a child and later Catherine the Great. That is probably at least a little bit because of this book. I enjoyed the level of detail and specificity in this book. I think compared to the other 39 Clues books, as I remember, it is a lot more specific. Even though in other books Dan and Amy go to specific museums or temples, in this book everything feels more specific. I guess because they don’t go to many museums but rather statues, palaces, and churches. It’s really easy to tell that Patrick Carman (or someone at the publisher) did a lot of research into Russia and the Romanov family. Although some things are not necessarily true, Anastasia’s survival and Rasputin’s death, it is a work of fiction and those things were believed to be true when this was written. I did like how Carman explained Anastasia’s survival, as well as Rasputin’s general invincibility. I think it ties in really well into the arc of the 39 Clues and adds another layer to it. As someone who’s read it before I recognize how the clues are connected to the treatment or medicine that Amy believes Rasputin gave the Romanov children. I do wonder if there will be other hints in the rest of the series because I think it'd be interesting as a first time reader to realize the real life effect of the clues. However, there’s a bit of a timeline issue because Rasputin died before the Romanovs were even held prisoner so why would he have given Anastasia something to save her? I think I’m just splitting hairs but that took me out of it a little bit. The team up with the Holts was quite unexpected but it was interesting to read. It really shows how Amy and Dan are more willing to think outside of the box compared to the other teams on the hunt. It also creates a different dynamic between the Holts and Amy and Dan. Also, I liked to see what Irina Spasky thinks of Amy and Dan. It would’ve been nice to see her succeed a little more in her own country but it was nice to see that she considers Amy and Dan, albeit stupid, a possible threat.

However, I think the twist at the end was odd. I, for one, absolutely love the idea that Anastasia survived. (I’m a super fan of the Anastasia movie.) I’m not surprised that in the 39 Clues universe she escaped and became involved in her branch but it just felt strange. I don’t know if it’s because she was friends with Grace or seemingly returned to Russia but it just felt out of place. The reveal of NRR was cool and I found it funny that they made a joke of Dan expecting NRR to be a guy. It felt clunky that Irina called Natalia her full name to explain the NRR name, like when does anyone call someone else their full legal name. There had to have been an easier way to see that it was her initials. I don’t understand why she just lives in the Lucien’s basement. It’s sort of symbolic because her relatives were killed in a basement but it just seems cruel. The detail that she had hemophilia was a good explanation but I feel like she could live in a regular house. It affected my suspension of disbelief that not only did Anastasia survive but she also had a kid and that kid was friends with Grace and knew Amy and Dan’s parents and is now helping Amy and Dan. It just all feels too connected? Even though Amy and Dan don’t have a lot of money or resources, it seems that everyone who knew Grace or their parents are bending over backwards to help them. I still liked the book but the layers of the reveal kind of irk me now that I think of them in detail.  Another 39 Clues book in the bag! In general, I really liked it. I’ve always been super interested in Russian history, especially the Romanovs, so I especially enjoyed this book. Some small details bothered me, I think there’s always gonna be consistency issues with a series in this format. I did wonder if all the authors knew what branch Amy and Dan were though because there is a lot of Madrigal fear-mongering. I enjoyed the little Fiske hint at the end and I can’t wait until they finally meet him. I’ll probably listen to the next book soon now that I have more time to read!

Dividers: @cafekitsune

Header Images: The Amber Room in Tsarskoye Selo + St. Basil's Cathedral

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someone give me a random au to throw the crows into. legit any au. i’ll write all of it

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@starsandscars81 left some tags (that had me kicking my feet and twirling my hair teehee ty icon) saying my style reminded them a bit of old disney, so I was inspired to do some animation expression sheets for wesper since i draw them the most :D

my greatest enemy is consistency and I will defeat it one day (im lying)

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sketch:

lineart:

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its just me and the one person who enjoys my 39 clues content against the world

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the funny thing is. i am a girl and my dad isn't abusive. and i always end up relating to male characters with abusive dads the most.

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hyperfixation please stay with me long enough to complete the project. hyperfixation do not fade. hyperfixation finish what you started for the love of god

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i'm trying to find fanfiction prompts but they're all romance:( what about "two people who lost their childhoods in similar, specific ways, bonded to each other through a deeply traumatic, specific situation where they were both pushed to the brink and then lost everything, and now they're working on grieving what could have been and learning how to be themselves again. platonic style."

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extremely poor quality pictures:

i also bought myself a dagger on a flea market

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oh yeah, it's all coming together😏

it's 01:32 god help me

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i'm drawing the midland throne fanart as it should be done. at 23:27, listening to a goth playlist and struggling to understand krita

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Inspired by @snakebites-and-ink 's tumblr post "Former living weapon absolutely dominating at laser tag" except I wanted paintballs, a enemies-to-friends group outing, and a ian & jonah friendship.

chat i'm so happy to be here where at least 1 person will listen to me scream about the 39 clues. ty guys for the space to be myself :)

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at leigh bardugo’s book signing at union square nyc and she said she’s working on a crows novella to be released later this year for the anniversary

“music from wylan, letters from jesper, letters from nina, letters between kaz and inej”

she said she “had to complicate the shit out of it” (which is… terrifying) and that they “need to see if it will work” but she sounded hopeful

hopefully the crowds reaction spurred her on too

LEIGH PLEASE IM BEGGING YOU

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GUYS I FOUND IT

DOES ANYBODY HAVE THE "human weapon absolutely killing at laser tag" POST PLS ITS URGENT