#eidolon fan art

[avagarde]

[narifoxi]

Cat on K-Drive

I replayed Warframe, and now I have a cat on K-Drive.

[thatkoalatho]

The sun was almost touching the horizon, its last ray of the day turned everything into warm golden colors.

A tenno and an old dax were seen strolling along one of the Plains of Eidolon’s many creeks. Corpses of long-dead sentients dotting the landscape, looming not so far away.

The tenno, for some reason , decided to jumped down into the water instead of catching the fish as was intended.

Umbra chuckled silently, they both had been through the old and the new war, with the latter just ended by the one who was now waddled barefoot in the river.

Looking up at him, she was now laughing too.

Not a demon..

Not a divine soldier..

He could faintly recalled that day their golden lords asked them. The Dax, to mentor the children of Zariman , to teach them their ‘way of honor’

So they trained the tenno into child soldiers..

“come play with me, the fish and Ms. Hai-Luk can wait”

Being an old dax that he is, Umbra grabbed the fishing spear from her back, walked into the river and instantly hooked a fish. earning a gasp from her.

[phoenixenero]

Administrator, variations. Based on Administrative Mishap (a Worm x Supergirl CW crossover fanfic) by OxfordOctopus.

Also a cheeky speculative High Priest from the Dystheism omake over on the SpaceBattles thread.

Full-res (4k) is available for free download on my deviantART post if you so wish.

[speidurr]

I'm still alive, just busy with art fight uwu Here are some things I've drawn

The last one is an earlier version of Kirru, and ngl I'm still conflicted about the design of her horns ;.D Her full description is up on ArtFight, but here is her full ref

[fatuismooches]

Your brain for Star Rail!Dottore omg...

I always think he would've been like Ruan Mei, only more extreme... he's will be pathless at first but if he's under genius society then he'd follow nous...Meta/game play wise he'd be 5 star Ice Nihility or Erudition DPS who focus on break and freeze team (So his good team would have Ruan mei on it because they're both my fav).

Also, since Star Rail doesn't have designated weapons, creative liberties could be taken, no?? (Ratio did use a chalk and a book as weapons, so there's many possibilities for him. Hmmm, Dottore fighting with syringes, or chainsaw, or surgery knife would be nice lololol

His lightcone could be of like Boothill's but instead it's just the creations his segments on a lab (does he still need segments in this universe?we'll never know) and his splash art would be so cool if it were lab centric since most star rail splash art focuses more on scenery.

His phone case....it would be plain boring black-grey-blue color that probablyhave blood splatter on it...and his expression when looking at phone could've be like welt. His texts would consist of talking about how expensive it is the equipment to do experiments these days, or asking the trailblazer to hear his new experiments or just him complaining. And when he visits the astral express, he'd be curious about Pom-Pom and the machinery of the astral express.

If Dottore were ever be a genius society member and got invited to simulated universe collab he would get his own Occurrence and Curio (There's this one curio in divergent universe, a new endgame mode which was a syringe that cause you to go auto for the rest of the game and i thought it was funny lol) I think Dottore's Occurrence would be "The Wise Doctor" and it would give you options something along the lines : You are approached by a figure, a charming doctor who need a volunteer for his bext experiment "Are you willing to help this doctor's experiment" And the choices are :

1. Give in and help the doctor (Your party lose 50% of their HP and given one blessing of 2 star rarity)

2. Refuse the doctor (You will lose 99% of your HP and gain a negative curio)

His curio will either be his mask or the wise doctor's pinion with effects, including: Whenever you enter a domain (up to 3 domains), you lose 10% of your HP. After the curio is destroyed, you will lose 1 Blessing of 3 star rarity. (I THINK his curios will mostly have negative effects, lol)

This is a different section if he's with fragile!reader:

1. Dottore definitely would make an appearance in their lightcone and splash art, maybe them running in the field of flowers whilst dottore follow close behind??? Or maybe them dancing with dottore...that would be cute...

2. Since there's phones and all I really agree with what you said dottore does not care for his phone!! It's reader who teaches him how to use camera and messaging apps and teases how he's a genius but have a hard time keeping up with phone technologies lol

3. If they're playable, meta wise they will have harmony path, wind or ice...their kit would go well with Dottore maybe increasing weakness break efficiency or atk% (kinda like Ruan Mei lol) I would want to make their kit to focus on frozen enemies only but that would make them niche in meta ?? AND THEIR EIDOLONS....oof I imagine if they still have their sickness here it would be them in their comatose state while looking very troubled (like a nightmare) :( but in this happy universe they're just smilling peacefully!!

4. Would see them as the type to be traveling around the cosmos. They love collecting trinkets and gifts from their visit!! Also, they would be a big fan of Robin, me thinks... dragging Dottore to her concerts or just blasting her song in his lab.

5. They would!! Love!! Pom Pom!!! They would much want to take Pom Pom home.

Overall, they're just happy in this universe living their lives to their where they don't have to suffer :((

I have been having the biggest star rail dottore brain rot ever!!! I hope you don't mind me writing it out here!!

(x) YES. He would definitely be more extreme than Ruan Mei (who is also one of my top favs, her and Reader would be besties because I said so! I'm sure Trailblazer would make some catcakes of you and Dottore, which you happily take off their hands. Dottore is unsure of how to feel with the two things constantly stacked on each other and staring at him...)

I also love how unique HSR weapons are - it could quite literally be ANYTHING. I've always imagined Dottore using syringes, for his skill, he'd switch the size, fluid, and quantity of it for an enhanced attack, the mysterious liquid inside anyone's guess. I'm not sure if he could have segments in HSR, just because he was only able to create the segments thanks to having a very good test subject (Scaramouche) so he would need to somehow have an equally good experimentation partner in this universe. If he did though, it'd be amazing - he'd get so much done by sending his other selves to different planets...

His lightcone would be similar to Natasha's - a doctor helping their patient, except in his case, the "doctor" will be doing the opposite. His blood-red eyes would pair well with the blood stains on his hands. For a soft route, Dottore falling asleep on his desk and Reader placing a blanket over him. For an angsty route, Reader being injured and he has to hold your dying body. (Poor Pom-Pom... they'd hide behind a crew member the whole time, in fear Dottore might snatch them up for some experimenting... Even more, they would NOT be amused with you trying to constantly pet them.) And yes! I feel like besides his negative curios, they would be high risk, high reward - you're going to have to prove yourself to him if you want his help!

If you want to be soft, Reader's lightcone would be them flustered as another pair of hands (Dottore) place a carefully woven flower crown on their head. If you want to be angsty, it would be them sickly laying in a bed as Dottore scrambles to do anything to keep them stable. Reader and Dottore's E6 would be like Hanya's and Xueyi's - they hold hands with each other! Except they would be more intimate with each other, they would bring each other's hands closer to their lips for a small kiss. Or perhaps they would have a hand over each other's hearts.

You steal Dottore's phone often. You have like... a dozen games installed on his phone, and although his phone is always on Do Not Disturb, sometimes he scrolls through and just sees tons of notifications from random apps... he texts you as to what the hell you did with his phone and you just beg him to log on and do your dailies. He leaves you on read.

You would love traveling about too. (Kind of like Himeko - she was unable to fulfill her wishes in HI3 but now she can!!) You bring back so many items that you have to use Dottore's storage rooms to fit them all (he's not amused.) You probably even got a Warp Trotter as a pet somehow... OMG AND YOU'RE SO RIGHT ABOUT ROBIN... you have her playlist blasting during research time and he's just... not amused once again!! Reader falls back dramatically into Dottore's arms once they meet her...

I love the pookies dearly...

[navy-heart]

Anyway welcome the ladies

EIDOLON [詠ドロン]

Profile:

A group composed of former idols, determined to show their fans their "true feelings".

Background:

Tetsuno Tomori has been an idol for as long as she can remember, but when she can no longer keep up with that lifestyle, she discovers that quitting the stage isn't as simple as it may seem - especially for someone as popular as her... Determined to keep singing no matter what, Tomori surrounds a group of people in a similar situation, hopeful to one day reach the hearts of people she once inspired.

[please note that the designs are VERY approximate. The Neka.cc is here!]

1. Tetsuno Tomori (鐵野灯凛)

Position: Leader

Gender: Female

Birthday: January 10 (♑)

School: Miyaji Girls' Academy (1-C)

Committee: Class Representative

Club: Literature Club

Part-time job: None

Hobbies: Watercolor painting

Speciality: Singing, Public speaking

Favourite food: Water

Least favourite food: Soda drinks

Dislikes: Staircases

2. Seishi Eimi (誠士影深)

Position: Performer

Gender: Female

Birthday: October 18 (♎)

School: Miyaji Girls' Academy (1-C)

Committee: Clean-up

Club: Tea Ceremony

Part-time job: None

Hobbies: Martial arts

Speciality: Dancing

Favourite food: Waffles

Least favourite food: Milk

Dislikes: Her fans

3. Amesaki Hisane (雨咲氷真)

Position: Performer

Gender: Female

Birthday: October 20 (♎)

School: Miyaji Girls' Academy (2-D)

Club: Archery

Hobbies: Ice Skating

Speciality: Violin

Favourite food: Jelly cake

Least favourite food: Fruit smoothies

Dislikes: Photography

4. Niwayama Juri (仁和山珠似)

Position: Performer

Gender: Female

Birthday: July 25 (♌)

School: Miyaji Girls' Academy (1-C)

Club: Tea Ceremony

Hobbies: Not sure

Speciality: Cute poses

Favourite food: Melon sherbet

Least favourite food: Oysters

Dislikes: Dancing

5. Aizumi Sumiko (藍墨純瑚)

Position: Performer

Gender: Female

Birthday: March 27 (♈)

School: Miyaji Girls' Academy (2-B)

Club: Archery

Hobbies: Collecting plushies

Speciality: Make-up

Favourite food: Cinnabuns

Least favourite food: Avocados

Dislikes: Bright lights

[enden-k]

Next time I'm able to do a ten pull in Star Rail I'm going to pull up your Moze fan art, I keep getting Luka 🙃

Please bless me with the hot assassin 🙏

if you have feixiao already, try putting her on the team and he will definitely come....hes a good boy after all <3

(NOOO NOT YOU TOO WITH THE LUKA CURSE---- i already have an E20 luka i didnt even use once......still hoping for more moze eidolons before i get kafka next or else all my sunday funds will go up in flames aughh)

[kyndaris]

Preaching to the Chorus

About three years ago, Troy Baker pitched the idea of a video game musical called Chorus. What struck me, beyond the fact it was asking for donations as it was a crowdfunded project, were the high profile voice actors taking part, the art style, the bringing on of composer Austin Wintory and that it was being developed by an Australian developer! Years later, there was almost no word or hint of the game and I feared the worst. For a good long while, I wondered if I had just imagined the game being announced. Until, of course, Summerfall Studios announced the upcoming release of Stray Gods in August 2023! Suddenly, we had a release date and songs to enjoy after years of what had felt like absolute silence.

Yes, Chorus had changed its name but it was still the same premise I was promised: an urban fantasy Greek-mythology inspired musical where I got to make decisions on where the songs went. Needless to say, I was excited!

Despite it releasing in August, I didn't get to play the game until much later in 2023 when I finally got a bit of a breather between all my lengthy video games sucking up most of my time (and the fact I work full-time and commit to writing my stories and watching endless TV shows to be up-to-date on whatever is popular). Well, no. That's a lie. I've put a few games on the back burner like Octopath Traveler II and Like a Dragon: Ishin! (they are totally going to be played soon, I promise!)

In any case, I purchased the game while it was on sale (a measly 20% or so) and then stepped into the shoes of Grace. And almost immediately connected with her feelings of being cast adrift. Like so many people who have graduated university, and who didn't immediately apply for graduate programs, she's a little lost and unsure of her direction in life. Enter Calliope.

After the two share a duet together, Grace returns to the apartment she shares with longtime best friend: Freddie. As she rests, there's a knock on the door and lo! Calliope staggers through clutching a ghastly wound. With her last breath, she passes on her eidolon (the soul? and memories of an Idol) before dying in poor traumatised Grace's arms.

As Grace, understandably, panics, at the sudden turn of events, Hermes steps through the front door and tells Grace she needs to meet the Chorus. Within moments, Grace is taken to an upscale office room where she is greeted by Apollo, Persephone, Aphrodite and Athena. Before Grace can get a word in edgewise, these Idols (as the Gods now call themselves - although it makes me wonder if other pantheons exist in this world created by Summerfall), decide to execute Grace for the crime of maybe-possibly killing Calliope. That is until Apollo protests.

And protest he must consider later plot points. Such as him divulging the prophecy leading to Calliope's murder!

Honestly, so much of the story could have been resolved if Apollo stopped being a sad boy and actually used some brains to more cleverly resolve Grace's predicament. Instead, we have Grace run around the city for a week in a bid to prove her innocence and figure out the truth behind Calliope's death.

But what a wonderful week it was as several Idols help out, from the fast-talking Pan to the scary Medusa (with a very cute monster voice from Anjali Bhimani). But who can forget, and forgive me as a I fan myself and swoon over, the dommy mummy: Persephone. The design! The voice! The attitude? Gosh, I just wanted Persephone to step all over me. And considering the height difference she had over Grace?

Just...

I'm just going to die in a corner over here now.

Anyways, diversion aside, the plot was serviceable. It wasn't the most mindblowing story to be told but I liked how it introduced us to many of the Greek Gods and mythological creatures hiding in America, whilst weaving it in the murder mystery plot at its core. While the game threw out new leads often, I didn't ever feel an urgency to solve the crime or fear I'd not be able to figure out the murderer. Sherlock Holmes, this is not.

Rather, no matter which scenes you may wish to complete first (and I always went back to the Underworld to chat up Persephone), I feel like the end-point is almost always the same with our villain being unmasked as the smiling cookie-giver!

From a gameplay perspective, Stray Gods doesn't offer much. It's pretty much a visual novel where the player selects dialogue options or the next part of the song they wish to sing. There's no walking around or exploring the wondrous set pieces you find yourself in. Nor is there any random clicking on background objects for some light commentary or to pocket away clues to be presented at some other time.

In fact, there's no real animation to the game either. Most of the characters are stills, changing their posture as the dialogue or songs demand. Like flipping through a comic book or going from pane to pane.

But what does make Stray Gods stand out are the songs. Yes, there are some where I felt like it faltered: Asterion and Hecate's song (with the volume turned way too low) and some of the weaker blue options in Challenging a Queen. To me, it just wasn't as melodic as they could be and sounded a little jarring. Still, these were glossed over by several other standout songs like The Throne and the Ritual.

Speaking of The Ritual, while I did feel for Aphrodite, I didn't much like her selfish actions of dying and passing her trauma onto another poor soul. Like, either go to therapy and work on your issues or just die permanently and stop inflicting someone else with your trauma! Forgetting is not the path forward. And maintaining the cycle of the next Aphrodite reawakening to your traumatic memories of the Second World War whilst your son, Eros, deals with the fallout is NOT healthy.

On a side note, I liked how the melody of Adrift was used in the background of the game and was also revisited during The Trial.

As for the actual singing, I'm still impressed by the singing of so many of the voice actors. I mean, I wasn't surprised by Troy Baker considering he was a musician before he was a voice actor. And Felicia Day...well, considering I'd stumbled upon her back in her The Guild days, knew she could sing because of the songs she released. And the fact she appeared in Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog alongside Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion.

While I did like Laura Bailey, there were moments when I felt her vocals were just a little too raw and weren't able to hit the notes as well as could be. No shade on Laura, though. I love Laura Bailey! And she had a tough task with so many variations to sing!

Still, I did like her rapping. MORE LAURA BAILEY RAPPING PLEASE! Especially in the Challenging a Queen song.

But I do wonder what Stray Gods might have been like if we had actual Broadway actors brought in for the singing with stronger vocals and/ or melodies.

But I must say, my absolute favourite singer was Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. How could I not? She voiced Persephone! And I so wanted to romance her!

In the end, though, I foiled my chances because I was trying to play in-character by asking myself 'What would Grace do?' in most situations, especially when she was down in the Underworld and was especially traumatised by her best friend's death.

So, yes. I obviously brought Freddie back and the two ended up getting together in one of the more wholesome relationships there is in the game. Because, if you ask me, Pan? He just shows up out of the blue and is all sneaky-sneaky. A girl with her head on her shoulders wouldn't immediately fall for him, even if his intentions were good.

And Apollo? I know my friend @mrsarmageddon likes a 'I-can-fix-him-sad-boy' but he was too set in his ways and a little too unwilling to be of any proper assistance until all his secrets had been unveiled.

As for Persephone, she's a very angry woman and also wouldn't have been a healthy choice considering her romance with CALLIOPE in the past. Still, I couldn't help but want her step on me.

I don't know what that says about me. I'm probably secretly a sub/ omega who just wants someone to take care of me.

But let's not dwell on what this revelation could be and instead talk about how Stray Gods pushed the gaming genre to try and be more inclusive in ways no-one had thought of before. Beyond that, I loved the characters. The narrative, while simplistic, was entertaining enough to pull me through my initial playthrough of six and a bit hours. So, it's not even all that long. Which is perfect when you're gainfully employed and have a ton of time-consuming hobbies.

The one major downside to me was the fact it didn't have a chapter select after the first playthrough. If it did have it, allowing me to skip ahead to say 'Act 3' to redo my conversation with Persephone so I could romance her, or skip to certain songs so I could try out different combinations or variations, it would have heightened the gaming experience for me. Instead, Stray Gods forced me to play through the entire game again just for the occasional tweaks I wanted to do in my playthrough.

And now, during The Game Awards 2023, there's been an announcement for ANOTHER musical game called Harmonium. And it features sign language! So, it's definitely something I want to keep an eye on!

YES! TO MORE VIDEO GAME MUSICALS!

But also, don't let it become too overly saturated. During the Game Awards, I couldn't help but notice more Souls-like battle systems, using Japan as a setting (for Western developers) and more mechs/ robots.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and admire the Queen of the Underworld a little bit more. For perfectly REASONABLE purposes.

[tagedeszorns]

Because of this you feeling a Art vending maschine I want to say something too. I agree with @cav-core, it's just awesome what you do for the Warhammer fandom, I love seeing your Artwork and your passion, especially for characters most of the fandom hate. I mean because of you I wanted to know more about Lucius and after reading more of him, He became one of my favorite characters too. I know work is sometimes, but a big thanks for your inspiration.

It's less difficult with characters that the rest of the fans don't like - I have a lot of fun defending Erebus, Fabius and Eidolon over and over again in the most exaggerated way possible! Because, let's face it - even "the good guys" in Warhammer are, by our standards, absolutely brutal killing machines with their conscience removed from the factory. The differences to the guys characterised by fandom as "the bad guys" are marginal. It's just funny to go over the top in their favour.

But with characters who suffer badly from memes or are otherwise completely overlooked, it's more difficult. I'm happy when I manage to carry Lucius around the ring every now and then and present him to the audience so that people can see that he's interesting and not so one-dimensional!

And the top class is to show my idea of "Asexual Lucius in a romantic relationship with Saul" over and over again. With all its contradictions and stumbling blocks! And to accept that it's a niche thing and that it's okay if others see it differently. And to enjoy the fact that these different points of view exist.

Diverse fandom for the win!

So thank you very much for your encouragement and I'm delighted that I was able to make the Chaos Goblin appealing to you!

Which of his stories do you like best and why?

[morally-grey-girlbosses]

Alright, I've got all the pictures and propaganda! There are twenty characters I've had to use cover artwork or logo artwork for. I would be willing to replace these images with actual character artwork, but only if I'm provided with proof that it can be traced back to an official source, or if it can't that the fanartist approves the use of their work in this context. A piece of artwork appearing on a Fandom/Wikia page does not make it approved for this context. To put it bluntly, I do not trust Fandom or the mods of any wiki hosted on it to have any respect for other's intellectual property.

I'll give it about a week and then set the polls up to start going out.

All that said, the characters that I don't have character artwork for are under the cut.

Margot "gottiewrites" Garcia (An Unauthorized Fan Treatise)

Anna Limon (Mabel)

Dame Obsidian (Murdle)

Akua Sahelian (A Practical Guide to Evil)

Bryony Halbech (Red Valley)

Lariska (Bionicle)

Adelina Amouteru (The Young Elites)

Lady Barbrey Dustin (A Song of Ice & Fire)

Avrana Kern (Children of Time)

Liraz (Daughter of Smoke & Bone)

Odin (The Bifrost Incident)

Essun/Syenite/Damaya (Broken Earth)

Perihelion/ART (The Murderbot Diaries)

Juliette Cai (These Violent Delights)

Manon Blackbeak (Throne of Glass)

Miranda Pryce (Wolf 359)

Fang Runin (The Poppy War)

MegaGirl (Starship)

Sloane Parker (Eidolon Playtest)

Paige Duplass (The Silt Verses)

[fireflyhwufanficwriter]

(New Stray Gods fanfic chapter on AO3!) Chapter 04: New Muse

FANFIC TITLE: Search For The Light (4,000+ words)

—

FANFIC TITLE: Search For The Light (4,000+ words)

FANFIC SUMMARY: (Apollo/Grace.) How did the prophet fall in love with the new Muse? How could he begin to bridge the chasm between himself and the sister he failed beyond comprehension? A friendship- and family-focused exploration of Stray Gods from Apollo's perspective.

FANFIC LINK: (I’ll put the AO3 link in the notes/comments :D Tumblr does weird things when I put links in posts...)

PERSONAL MESSAGE: Hello and happy reading, fellow Stray Gods fans! ^_^

—

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 04:

“…Like the first rays during sunrise, the music tried to reach Apollo, to grip his heart and his voice as it would eventually do with his fellow Chorus members - but to no avail.

He was the supreme master of music and the arts, even if he had, later on, decided to hand the stewardship of it all over to the Muses.

Calliope, Thalia, and Clio, at the height of their powers, could come breathtakingly close in enticing Apollo to jump with them into the abyss, the ecstasy of creating art in all its forms - one moment of concession, and he was lost.

But just as no fire could burn Hephaestus, and no lightning could harm Zeus... the music of a fledgling Muse with a still-restless eidolon could never touch Apollo, not against his will. And so, he remained silent.

"You cannot hide... from this reality…”

---

TAGS: stray gods, stray gods apollo, stray gods grace, stray gods fanfic, stray gods game, stray gods the roleplaying musical, straygodsfanficsearchforthelight

---

[v-wind]

I’m so glad you’re an eidolon fan holy cannoli your art is amazing

thank you. Eidolon is sooo underrated, time to fix it

[thisisreallyheavymetal]

Ashen Eidolon

Ashen Eidolon is a black metal album by the band Gallowbraid that was recommended to me by a fellow black metal enthusiast. I was immediately drawn in by the beautiful album art and decided to give it a listen. I was not disappointed.

The track features beautiful acoustic guitar work and haunting vocals that create an atmosphere of melancholy and despair.

he lyrics deal with themes of death, grief, and the passage of time, and the music perfectly captures the raw intensity and darkness of these emotions. The vocals are particularly impressive, with the singer delivering powerful and emotive performances that perfectly complement the music.

The band's ability to blend elements of folk and black metal to create a unique and captivating sound is truly impressive, and their ability to convey a sense of raw emotion and intensity is what sets them apart from other bands in the genre. I highly recommend this album to any fan of black metal, or anyone looking for a beautiful and emotive musical experience.

[realbonesaw]

Hello Bonesaw, english isn't my fist language but i'm a big fan , sorry if there is any grammar horror.

If you could do art with a member of the triumvirate wich one would you choose?

Could you even operate on Alexandria considering the whole "unbreakable skin" thing? 🤔

I've always wanted to work with Eidolon! He seems so boring, but I've always wanted to see what happens when he's really put to the test. You can't be the most powerful man in the world and be as boring as her seems! There's some hidden depths there that I'd love to force out of him.

Plus imagine what I could make out of someone like that!!!!

Sadly no! I tried something like that in our last attack on LA and despite a few tricks I pulled out to try and take her down, she barely slowed, even for a second! Don't worry though, I'll figure a way around it!

[cymorilcinnamonroll]

The First Artist

First, Hope takes a chisel to the marble. She can see it there, foiling in the striated veins of black, lacy onyx that wreathe like a Venetian fan across the sturdy stone block: her nightmares in solid form.

Hope looks at her drafts – red chalk sketches like Michelangelo’s studies, only, they portray horrors unbound. Undulating guts spill out from the breast of a mother with a dislocated neck in burnt sienna. A Goetic demon – Abigor – rides his bat-winged steed to defile a nubile young maiden chained to the disemboweled mother’s hair. At the base of the mother’s guts, a young boy plays with a demon hound, and it is not clear who hunts whom – boy or dog, hell-fur or man.

All of these phantasmagories, Hope marks on the freezing white alabaster with gashes of black. She wonders if the stone will bleed. Hope traces in chalk (white chalk, the color of the lilies that Gabriel gave the Madonna when he gave her that first taste of little death) the shapes of her wounded dreams on the cold, pale stone.

The Whited Sepulcher.

Hope has an angel like that, once. He called her Sculptress – eidolon cleft from his rib. Said “Sculptress, you sprang from the heart of Lucifer. You are the hope that fled as I plummeted from the skies. My prayer in Hell. Oh, how you light my prison, yellow canary.”

It had been good, for a while, between Hope and Samael. The Styx was red from wine, with blood from the cambions free flowing. Her creator even had a rose garden in one of the few places that Hell was not constantly misty and rainy. There was always plenty of meat to make into steaks – their questionable origin unknown.

Hope’s angel was always hungry for her: for her flesh, for her blood, her ideas. He taught her to write, to chisel, to draw, for angels and demons alike can only create in imitation, and she, mortal, could dream up original fictions. As the great rabbis and demonologists say – Ha-Satan cannot create, only imitate, and is the world’s first art critic. To think, the heart of Satan is Liberty.

(Oh, how Victor Hugo would weep.)

But the Sculptress grew bored. She changed her name in Raziel’s Sefer HaChaim and moved on to brighter things.

Newly christened Hope, she sewed yellow wings onto her back one night, took her sculpting supplies, and flew to Tel Aviv. Hope set up a studio in a luxe apartment – Samael’s credit cards never ran out, and she had learned many spells in her time – and grew to appreciate shakshuka spread thick over fresh pita.

Hope sculpted her nightmares and memories on the potter’s wheel, etched ghosts in wood carvings, spilled dryads in black ink. She witnessed war in Gaza and wept with Palestinian brides widowed on their wedding night. Hope stole away to the front lines in Ukraine and saved children and IT specialists drafted for the front. She was there in Morocco when the earthquake hit, digging survivors and those more unfortunate out of the rubble. She even volunteered at a Gulf oil spill to clean grime out of duckling’s wings with Dawn soap on toothbrushes.

She spread little yellow feathers everywhere, shedding them as she became more mortal. Hope carved the white marble every day, the shining alabaster with black claw marks, sourced straight from Pandemonium’s rubble by her friend Mulciber. Her works sold to the upper echelons or Sotheby’s (Mammon made the arrangements), and birthed all her fears, all her longings, all her dreams in the stone. They were given fearsome flesh, given life, as Samael had once done to her. There is a pattern in making and breaking and recreating, Ha-Satan had taught her. The Karmic wheel of life.

This one was the worst.

The most honest.

She called it “Mother.”

The guts came out bleeding from the disemboweled woman. Hope burnt nag champa incense to help the mother’s soul pass on. For Abigor’s victim, Hope dethroned the Goetic Lord of War and ushered the defiled maiden on to Gan Eden. And finally, for the boy and nefarious puppy, Hope led the hound dog to find a fresh bone to feast upon far away from this wounded place. She gave the child a new beginning.

For every life snatched, for every lover’s happiness stolen, for every fresh beginning plucked by wickedness, for every cruelty her creator Samael birthed, the Sculptress purified his unfortunate victims in her art. She was rewriting the Universe, carving it inch by inch, chisel by chisel, as healer par excellence. Hope of Hell’s yellow canary set free.

Rain came that day to Tel Aviv. Hope sat in her art noveau drawing room with one of her lovers, and they read Proust. In Search of Lost Time.

She googled Jethro’s Daughter. Hope saw herself reflected in the swirling Botticelli blonde. It sent a shiver down her spine. So that was love, in the Devil’s eyes.

Even her fallen angel could create beauty from rougher matter, if only he tore out his heart. And perhaps, if Hope carved hard enough – her creator Samael would lose the poisonous “mem” from his name and become Sa’el at the End Times, the Purity of God, and be redeemed.

At least, that was what some heretical rabbis said. Hope could dream like that, you know. Anything, even salvation for all, was possible in her winsome blue eyes.

And Ha Satan wept when rain slipped through his leaky roof. He dreamt of the one good thing he had cherished, ruined, and lost. Tom Frost lived in his memories, as all men past their prime do, old and stately, gray and dead. Like Tom Waits, he always wished for Martha, thinking of her as time moved by like the tick tock of a raindrop.

On the full moon, Hope visits her fallen angel, in his carefully tended rose garden. They have entered a parlay: the Unmaker/Destroyer vs. Creatrix/Sculptress, each waving white flags. Never sure of what to say.

Only the Devil could invent the first artist, after all.

And only an artist could love a monster.