papercuts-blog

[papercuts-blog]

Sometimes I miss this show

[papercuts-blog]

sigh, no amount of "always" will make me love snape. tf you mean "i'll drag the werewolf. perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too."

mf gROW UP

[papercuts-blog]

Rant of a PCOS Girlie

I am so angry at the society that failed me as a human being. I hate being a woman. Why our reproductive system and complications are so understudied. Why do we and our health come out at the end of the barrel when the whole population depends on us. For my whole life, I have suffered so much because of my periods. In my teenage days, I cried so many nights, days, and evenings because of abdominal cramps; it was so painful, I felt like I might pass out. And the irony is among all these I had to study, attend my classes and expect to get good grades, cause come on, it's just periods, no big deal!. I literally had to sit in my washroom because it was so painful, uncomfortable.

I am so angry at my parents, too. When I used to cry, bleed out, my mother used to say it's normal, everybody has pain. No! it's not normal to feel like you might pass out, lightheaded, or bleed for days after days. Never did they think that it might be something else. Because of it's periods, it's regarding a woman's reproductive health, a specific organ, and because nobody in society bothers to do proper research about it. Oh, you have menstruation issues- here either go on hormonal tablets or take a contraceptive pill.

Now, being in my late twenties and diagnosed with severe PCOS and having to flip out my lifestyle, diets, and food preferences just to undo years and years of negligence, makes me feel that it's so unfair to me. I was a child, they should have researched and taken care of me.

I know it is their first time being parents too, and I tell myself every day. But it's so unfair and unjust to me, I didn't sign for this. I have my uterus, I have it so much. I hate that society to not live up to us. If men had uterus, there would never be so much unfairness regarding their treatment.

I am so tired.

[papercuts-blog]

The Poppy War characters ❤️❤️

This took me nine hours and 45 mins :)

[papercuts-blog]

Rin and Venka hii 🤲🏼🫠

[papercuts-blog]

absolutely genius of rf kuang to elaborate on virtually nothing about speer's culture. the only things said about speer are "speerlies are mindless savages" and "speerlies are most definitely not mindless savages". there are no deep dives, no explanations of their way of life, nothing beyond the glimpses that disproves nikan's belief that they are nothing but a violent group. we saw that they had leaders that cared about their people and children. we saw that they are people who found joy in life. but that's really not much.

this emphasizes the horror of genocide. millenia of culture and history, individual lives filled with love, pain, and passion, just completely wiped away. there were only two surviving speerlies. one of them was too young when he was taken away, and probably doesn't remember much. the things he did remember was also probably buried under years of abuse and drugs people were plying him with. the other one didn't even know she was from speer until the last few months of her life, and there was really no one around to teach her about their culture. and if there was, life as she knows it was falling apart. learning about her dead people's culture probably didn't even cross her mind.

without saying any of these things and by intentionally leaving readers in the dark about what speer was truly like, rf kuang said so much about the horrors of genocide. by not saying anything, she said everything. she did the "show me, don't tell me" tip for writers and it was brilliant.

we will never learn most of speer's culture and history and that was the point.

[papercuts-blog]

“The only difference between us is that I can suffer pain, and you’re still a fucking coward.” -TDR p.469

[papercuts-blog]

She brings out the viseral rage in me

female rage ft. Fang Runin

The personification of female rage

[papercuts-blog]

the most sad part about the ending is the fact that they can't never fulfill their hope and dreams for their country since they only talk about it with each other. nobody alive knows about what it. rin wanted a free tuition for school, venka wanted to make a rule to punish sexual predator, kitay wanted to preserve ancient text in every university.

and yet, the country they fought for. the country they spend their blood, sweat, and tears, will have none of that.

their dreams are buried with them.

[papercuts-blog]

somewhere out there chaghan heard the news of fang runin’s death through the talks of the markets. he stops to ask them what they know, and they tell him she died on speer, by the side of chen kitay, and at the hand of yin nezha. he understands that she is gone—that he is the last of the cike, and he has never felt lonelier.

[papercuts-blog]

absolutely genius of rf kuang to elaborate on virtually nothing about speer's culture. the only things said about speer are "speerlies are mindless savages" and "speerlies are most definitely not mindless savages". there are no deep dives, no explanations of their way of life, nothing beyond the glimpses that disproves nikan's belief that they are nothing but a violent group. we saw that they had leaders that cared about their people and children. we saw that they are people who found joy in life. but that's really not much.

this emphasizes the horror of genocide. millenia of culture and history, individual lives filled with love, pain, and passion, just completely wiped away. there were only two surviving speerlies. one of them was too young when he was taken away, and probably doesn't remember much. the things he did remember was also probably buried under years of abuse and drugs people were plying him with. the other one didn't even know she was from speer until the last few months of her life, and there was really no one around to teach her about their culture. and if there was, life as she knows it was falling apart. learning about her dead people's culture probably didn't even cross her mind.

without saying any of these things and by intentionally leaving readers in the dark about what speer was truly like, rf kuang said so much about the horrors of genocide. by not saying anything, she said everything. she did the "show me, don't tell me" tip for writers and it was brilliant.

we will never learn most of speer's culture and history and that was the point.

[papercuts-blog]

And finally, artwork for The Burning God, book 3 of the Poppy War series by the amazing R.F. Kuang. This was made for Subterranean Press's limited run of a special edition publication.

Hope you enjoyed the art!

Sketches and other bonus content are available on my Patreon!

[papercuts-blog]

i will NEVER stop talking about “you’re hurting me”. there couldn’t have been better or more devastating last words for kitay. for so long he endured the pain every time rin called the fire. he never said anything. rin saw how much he was hurting, constantly asked him if he wants her to stop, but he always said no, always said he was fine because he never wanted to deny her anything. because he knew how important the fire was to her. the only time he denies her is at the very end, when rin loses her mind. and even then, at her worst, as she tries to overpower kitay, the SECOND he says “you’re hurting me” she stops. and not only does she stop, but it stops her descent into madness and she has one final moment of clarity. because “rin couldn’t hurt kitay and not worry about it. if she could, she’d be lost.”

[papercuts-blog]

My favorite illustrations from The Poppy War Collector's Edition

[papercuts-blog]

I worked on a limited press run of The Poppy War series by R.F. Kuang, published by Subterranean Press. Featured here are the cover art and interior illustrations for The Poppy War.

I also did work for book 2, The Dragon Republic, and book 3, The Burning God! Those will be posted soon!

Sketches and other BTS content of my art are available on my Patreon!

[papercuts-blog]

Artwork done for Subterranean Press's limited edition of The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang. I really enjoyed working on this one, too. I love the ocean and bodies of water and stuff like that :)

Sketches and other bonus content are available on my Patreon.

[papercuts-blog]

i love this book so much