The Poppy War - Blog Posts
can you tell who my favorite characters are
✨ CHAGHAN THROUGH THE AGES ✨according to my art ages 11-15
introducing 2han
or SEVENTEEN Jeonghan as TPW Chaghan because my brain says so
or the questionably sane gay shaman prince meets kpop idol crossover you didn't know you needed
ALRIGHT LISTEN UP FOLKS JUST LET ME EXPLAIN. Backstory first because I realize this might be confusing to anyone living outside my brain. Basically I fell in love with TPW (and especially my boy Chaghan as you all know) before I got into Seventeen but I could never put a face to Chaghan, even though I was drawing him like literally every day, nothing felt entirely right. Other artists had lots of amazing Chaghan fanart too but nothing felt like exactly the mysterious, sharp, gorgeous, heavenly angel, perfectly androgynous vibe I envisioned for him. I literally spent hours on those face blender thingys or watching various dramas trying to find him but to no avail. Then everything changed when I got into Seventeen and the very first time I saw Jeonghan my brain just went THAT'S IT THAT'S HIM IT'S CHAGHAN THAT'S MY BOY THERE HE IS. And then you can imagine how I screamed when I saw debut pictures with the long blond hair I mean you guys. I FREAKING FOUND HIM AT LAST. And then it only got better because I really got into Seventeen and look, they are actually the same man. I mean, cheating at everything for fun, fighting with everyone when he's bored, causing general havoc wherever he goes and being a menace to society, and yet still thinking he's the most normal one in the friend group. YOU GUYS. Find the difference between these two pictures. HAH you can't! Anyway if JK is Princess Diana's reincarnation then Jeonghan is Chaghan's and thank you for coming to my ted talk, have a nice day.
RIGHT?!?? except hold your horses because actually GYU AS NEZHA (...or vaisra..... or venka), jun as altan excuse me, blond han as chaghan ofc, curly shua as kitay, super hao as daji (wait I'm seriously painting that now), and woozi as rin for obvious reasons 🤭
introducing 2han
or SEVENTEEN Jeonghan as TPW Chaghan because my brain says so
or the questionably sane gay shaman prince meets equally unhinged kpop idol crossover you didn't know you needed
ALRIGHT LISTEN UP FOLKS JUST LET ME EXPLAIN. Backstory first because I realize this might be confusing to anyone living outside my brain. Basically I fell in love with TPW (and especially my boy Chaghan as you all know) before I got into Seventeen but I could never put a face to Chaghan, even though I was drawing him like literally every day, nothing felt entirely right. Other artists had lots of amazing Chaghan fanart too but nothing felt like exactly the mysterious, sharp, gorgeous, heavenly angel, perfectly androgynous vibe I envisioned for him. I literally spent hours on those face blender thingys or watching various dramas trying to find him but to no avail. Then everything changed when I got into Seventeen and the very first time I saw Jeonghan my brain just went THAT'S IT THAT'S HIM IT'S CHAGHAN THAT'S MY BOY THERE HE IS. And then you can imagine how I screamed when I saw debut pictures with the long blond hair I mean you guys. I FREAKING FOUND HIM AT LAST. And then it only got better because I really got into Seventeen and look, they are actually the same man. I mean, cheating at everything for fun, fighting with everyone when he's bored, causing general havoc wherever he goes and being a menace to society, and yet still thinking he's the most normal one in the friend group. YOU GUYS. Find the difference between these two pictures. HAH you can't! Anyway if JK is Princess Diana's reincarnation then Jeonghan is Chaghan's and thank you for coming to my ted talk, have a nice day.
Two years ago, when I had just started this blog, I did an art comparison from 2020 to 2021 with this Chaghan piece on the left for 2021 (one of my first in Photoshop), and it's still one of my most popular pieces to this day. Throughout the years, he has always been my favorite character and definitely the most-drawn on this blog, so I thought it would be cool to do another "draw this again" sort of moment for Chaghan, since my characterization of him has developed a lot alongside my emerging art style since I first drew him. I was just getting into digital art and I probably used 15+ brushes and 30+ layers in that piece. Now I paint entirely in one layer to have a more traditional feel. I used a total of 3 brushes on the 2023 piece. I've also developed a lot in color schemes, focus + composition, and texture. What do you think? Which style of Chaghan do you like more? 💜
introducing 2han
or SEVENTEEN Jeonghan as TPW Chaghan because my brain says so
or the questionably sane gay shaman prince meets equally unhinged kpop idol crossover you didn't know you needed
ALRIGHT LISTEN UP FOLKS JUST LET ME EXPLAIN. Backstory first because I realize this might be confusing to anyone living outside my brain. Basically I fell in love with TPW (and especially my boy Chaghan as you all know) before I got into Seventeen but I could never put a face to Chaghan, even though I was drawing him like literally every day, nothing felt entirely right. Other artists had lots of amazing Chaghan fanart too but nothing felt like exactly the mysterious, sharp, gorgeous, heavenly angel, perfectly androgynous vibe I envisioned for him. I literally spent hours on those face blender thingys or watching various dramas trying to find him but to no avail. Then everything changed when I got into Seventeen and the very first time I saw Jeonghan my brain just went THAT'S IT THAT'S HIM IT'S CHAGHAN THAT'S MY BOY THERE HE IS. And then you can imagine how I screamed when I saw debut pictures with the long blond hair I mean you guys. I FREAKING FOUND HIM AT LAST. And then it only got better because I really got into Seventeen and look, they are actually the same man. I mean, cheating at everything for fun, fighting with everyone when he's bored, causing general havoc wherever he goes and being a menace to society, and yet still thinking he's the most normal one in the friend group. YOU GUYS. Find the difference between these two pictures. HAH you can't! Anyway if JK is Princess Diana's reincarnation then Jeonghan is Chaghan's and thank you for coming to my ted talk, have a nice day.
Happy Appreciate a Dragon Day!
In honor of my very favorite holiday today, please enjoy some unfinished Chaltan-as-dragons character design sketches from when I was 12 (back when I couldn't draw humans and needed some way to love them, even as dragons.)
Chaghan would have commanded like a demon.
Chaghan would have ✨ s h a t t e r e d m i n d s . ✨
So apparently this is what happens when I’m supposed to be drawing an ancient civilization for school but get as far as a temple before my TPW brain takes over.
THIS WAS THE TERROR OF A MOTH DRAWN TO THE FLAME
- The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang, page 194
When is a monster not a monster?
Oh, when you love it.
Start by pulling him out of the fire and hoping that he will forget the smell. He was supposed to be an angel but they took him from that light and turned him into something hungry, something that forgets what his hands are for when they aren’t shaking. He will lose so much, and you will watch it all happen because you had him first, and you would let the world break its own neck if it means keeping him. Start by wiping the blood off of his chin and pretending to understand. Repeat to yourself “I won’t leave you, I won’t leave you” until you fall asleep and dream of the place where nothing is red. When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it. Oh, when you used to sing it to sleep. Here are your upturned hands. Give them to him and watch how he prays like he is learning his first words. Start by pulling him out of another fire, and putting him back together with the pieces you find on the floor. There is so much to forgive, but you do not know how to forget. When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you are the reason it has become so mangled. Here is your humble offering, obliterated and broken in the mouth of this abandoned church. He has come back to stop the world from turning itself inside out, and you love him, you do, so you won’t let him. Tell him that you will never know any better. Pretend to understand why that isn’t good enough.
– “Start Here” by Caitlyn Siehl
not that anyone here needs more angst but
here have another chaltan playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5zvW7pd7s4bCdat7YDSMcF?si=cb29f3b87e0244ac
The Broken Children - a Chaltan story by TheKendallKathryn
“Everything in Chaghan's native celestial realm had a perfect, beautiful balance. Perhaps it could be true in this false paper world, too.
The sun and storm, the sea and the sky, the whole and the broken. He knew he and Altan had a balance too, disguised beneath the chaos of them. A boy who was trapped in his past, and a boy who chased the future. One who would fight forever to be remembered, one who desperately wished to be forgotten. They were fire and ice: perfect, beautiful rivals.
Every day they tore each other apart, when underneath, it felt like the only thing holding them together.
Finally breaking the trance, Chaghan offered the Speerly a hand. And it might only have been the river water stinging in his human eyes, but for the very first time, Chaghan thought he saw Altan smile.”
⋟⪼⪻⋞
Despite the wisdom he may reap from the future, Chaghan Suren is very bad at confronting the ghosts of his past.
Read on Archive: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28457778
‘Cause you’re a sky, ‘cause you’re a sky full of stars
I wanna die in your arms
I don’t care, go on and tear me apart
I don’t care if you do
‘Cause in a sky, ‘cause in a sky full of stars
I think I see you
-”A Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay
Some quotes that consume my current existence:
- “Chaghan would have commanded like a demon. He would have achieved utter obedience from his underlings, but only because he would have taken away their free will. Chaghan would have shattered minds.”
- “The white-haired Seer tilted his head to the sky, exposing long, jagged scars running down the sides of his pale neck. He uttered a harsh, cackling laugh.”
- “The Seer took his hand. Brought it to his lips and kissed it.”
- “Altan cursed under his breath. ‘Is he hurt? Where is he?’”
- “Chaghan leaned forward. ‘If you ever speak about Altan like that again,’ he said pleasantly, ‘I will have you killed.’”
- “‘Altan is more fragile than you think,’ said Chaghan.”
- “She stood up and slammed her hands on the table. ‘Look, asshole, I don’t need you to tell me what to do.’
‘And yet, as your lieutenant, that is precisely my job.’ Chaghan glanced lazily up at her, and his expression was so smug that Rin trembled from the effort of not smashing his face into the table. ‘Your duty is to obey. My duty is to see that you stop fucking up. So I would suggest you get your shit together, learn to call the damn fire, and give Altan one less thing to worry about. Am I clear?’”
- “‘They say he can do things that Speerlies can’t,’ Nezha said as they pressed on. ‘They say he can read the future. Shatter minds.’”
- “‘But Altan was never allowed to be human,’ Chaghan said, and his voice was uncharacteristically gentle.”
- “‘There are no shamans more powerful than me,’ said Chaghan.”
- “‘Fine,’ he said to his lieutenant. ‘You were right.’
Chaghan hadn’t moved during the entire interrogation.
‘I’m rarely wrong,’ said Chaghan.”
- “Chaghan and Qara may have been linked as anchor twins, but it was Altan whom Chaghan seemed bonded to.”
- “Chaghan navigated the spirit world like he belonged there, as if he were a god himself. The Cike didn’t hesitate to talk back to Altan, but she had never seen any of them dare to so much as contradict Chaghan. Altan commanded their loyalty, but Chaghan enjoyed their fear.”
- “Chaghan grasped Altan by the collar with both hands, pulling him down so that they were face-to-face. Altan was half a foot taller than Chaghan, could have snapped him in half with ease, and yet he did not lift a hand in defense.
Rin stared at them in disbelief. Nobody touched Altan like that.”
- “‘I’m your Seer,’ Chaghan said. ‘I give you counsel, whether you want to hear it or not.’”
- “‘You asked me why I wouldn’t stop him. Now you understand. You can’t stop an avenger. You can’t reason with a madman. You think I am running, and I admit to you that I am afraid. I am afraid of what he might do in his quest for vengeance. And I am afraid he is right.’”
- “‘Fuck,’ Ramsa said quietly. ‘Chaghan’s… someone’s going to have to tell Chaghan.’”
- “Chaghan looked sideways at her. His expression was grim. ‘You are going to paint the world in Altan’s blood, aren’t you?’
‘I’m going to find and kill everyone responsible,’ said Rin. ‘You cannot stop me.’
Chaghan laughed a dry, cutting laugh. ‘Oh, I’m not going to stop you.’”
“The white-haired Seer tilted his head to the sky, exposing long, jagged scars running down the sides of his pale neck. He uttered a harsh, cackling laugh.”
THE POPPY WAR— by R F Kuang
happy birthday shay [@kkitays] !
rf kuang always has two characters who are like orbiting each other, twin planets, can’t live without each other can’t live with each other, she loves tragic death of complicated friendships. ramy and robin, rin and kitay, even june and athena. everyone dies. but what i like about her tragedies is there’s always a third. always another component, important and surviving. nezha and victoire. not a happy ending, but one that leaves you with an ache in your chest and a hope for the future, that the sacrifice and death did in the end have a point.
STOP making me think about rinezha. i can't do it anymore. enemies to enemies slow burn. enemies to begrudging allies to friends to *almost* lovers. then betrayal, and then they're just enemies who used to be in love. and they both *know* that they were in love, and maybe they are still in love, but they stand on opposite sides of a war because they've both made their decisions and cannot come back from them. there can never be reconciliation for the things they've done to each other, but god, they're still in love. i am literally eating drywall over them
when hozier said "the only heaven i'll be sent to is when i'm alone with you" and when halsey said "i know i've only felt religion when i've lied with you" and when sappho said "in the crooks of your body i find my religion" and then when rf kuang said "she's the only divine thing he ever believed in"
A moment of peace and quiet before everything went looney tunes