#like look at my art i would've never posted that a couple years ago

[thegoldenarcher]

how do ppl not be a perfectionist abt their art . teach me

[noel-levine-fan]

massacre anniversary / father's day

[read more here because it's long due to the amount of images - you'll have to click on the images to view them in full due to diff aspect ratios]

ashe is the only one who cares about father's day

bonus

Notes:

thIS TOOK SO FUCKING LONGGGGG this is more low quality than most of my recent art because i had a LOT to draw and i wanted to finish it today and i knew if i did regular quality i would not have finished it. i initally thought i'd block out single colors for each character and their dialogue boxes at first but i'm not sure if i would've gotten it done today if i did + i'm tired. so a lot of the expressions/composition/etc looks really goofy

this is what the "can someone send me a screenshot of when the massacre happened i have a drawing i want to make and whether or not the massacre happened on that day will affect it" post was about. i just find it exceedingly funny that june 16th is father's day this year and also the day nicholas died. i remember having ideas for a father's day drawing a couple days ago and then looked up the date and saw it was june 16th and was like "holy shit?!?"

i have this headcanon sirius does not remember his parents very well (except for their death which he remembers vividly)

i remember seeing a post saying "rich kids when they say 'father'" and i have no idea who posted it but all i could think of was noel (this isn't a note it's just something funny and relevant)

i know ashe at least in some timelines knows nicholas is noel's father who died on this day and in those timelines he probably wouldn't ask him about father's day but this is already canon breaking since it's in june so let's say this is a timeline where ashe never found that out

[pulpfricktionsart]

To start this new blog off, I'll be reposting all the pictures of my previous work from Instagram! Unfortunately, Instagram can never make relocating stuff easy (for me and my devices, at least), so I decided to just retake pictures of certain pieces in my personal collection.

(Plus, I've given some sculptures a few repairs/updates recently, so I figured it would be good to show them in their current state rather than just use the older photos.)

We'll begin with the first "series" I continue to carry out, which I like to call Spookie Jars!

I was getting back into my Egyptian mythology fixation a couple years ago, and I became so inspired by the canopic jars used for mummification that I decided to make one myself.

And from there, it just sort of became a regular thing for me. I keep four in my personal collection, but I typically make the rest as either gifts for friends and family, or to leave out in public spaces for strangers to find and take home if they like. (I hope that will eventually help me get more recognition as a local artist.)

___

Spookie Jar #1: Spotted Hyena

Started: February 9, 2022

Finished: February 14, 2022

Even with the inspiration, I didn't want to just copy the animals modeled in real canopic jars (jackals, eagles, baboons, and humans).

So, it was only right that I went with my all-time favorite animal! (Seriously, if you don't know all the fascinating truths about hyenas by now, please look it up. They're amazing animals who deserve so much more respect, love, and protection than they've been given.)

A relative of mine accidentally knocked it over a little while ago. After I repaired the broken pieces (just a few teeth and the nose, no serious damage) I gave it a few new coats of paint, as well as add a new front-panel with my updated larva design.

___

Spookie Jar #9: Tiger

Started: March 20, 2024

Finished: March 27, 2024

Like many of the others, this is technically a gift. I made it specifically for my lovely friend @sammys-magical-au (who also posts their own art on Insta, so go follow/support them there or you forfeit your kneecaps).

I always ask recipients for their favorite animals and favorite colors before I get started. Since Sammy answered "rainbow" for the latter, I ended up having to print out an abstract rainbow pattern and tracing my larva pattern over it. My wrist ached like hell by the time I was done, but that's the case whenever I draw/color stuff in general, lol.

The real struggle was getting the facial stripes just right. And don't even get me started on how surprisingly frustrating the backs of the ears were to paint. Still, it was all worth it in the end. I hope I'll be able to meet Sammy in person and give this over to them sometime in the future. But for now, I'll be keeping it safe with the others.

___

Spookie Jar #13: Honey Badger

Started: July 28, 2024

Finished: August 1, 2024

This one was inspired by the hilarious Mamadou Ndiaye/Casual Geographic.

Even if I wasn't a huge fan of his content, I still would've seen a questionable muse in these hood weasels (which is a borrowed phrase, since I wish I possessed even half of the verbal creativity and clever humor that Ndiaye does. Maybe someday...) sooner or later.

How couldn't I? Honey badgers are the cryptids of all badgerkind. They have 'roid rage and they OWN IT in a way pretty much nothing else really can. They've got more than enough stubbornness and legit street smarts to get their way.

(If you know about the infamous Stoffel, then you know I plan on using this to honor him, even if I don't know whether or not he's still kicking around. There's a good chance he is, with the whole being-a-honey-badger thing.)

Or, to quote the man himself on this subject:

"If orcas are homicidal sea-oreos, then honey badgers are double-stuffed with audacity" ... "This animal is basically a Black Air Force One come to life" ... "A malicious equality symbol with nothing to lose."

___

Spookie Jar #14: Vampire Bat

Started: August 17, 2024

Finished: August 23, 2024

This jar was definitely one of the toughest for me to make.

I love all bats in general, but I've got a particular soft-spot for vampires since, much like hyenas, they're incredible creatures who are criminally misunderstood. I'm the type to defend animals most other people would deem scary/creepy/ugly, so of course I like all the weirdness of a vampire bat's face.

Unfortunately for me, finding a way to sculpt all those weird-yet-cute details was almost an exercise in madness. I think I had to redo the head-lid four times before I was finally happy with the look.

And that's not even mentioning THE WINGS.

HOLY SHIT, THE DAMN WINGS.

I use a strong, effective two-part epoxy for a lot of my projects (my grandfather was nice enough to help me find it, since brands like tacky glue just wouldn't cut it). This one was no different...and yet it still took SIX-AND-A-HALF TRIES to keep the wings securely attached to the jar.

Still, all the more reason for me to be happy with this guy! Despite all the headaches, I didn't give up, and I eventually managed to make it work.

That's what matters in all forms of art: giving your work love and care and being determined to see it through.

(God help me keep these things safe when I'm finally able to move out and start renting my own place.)

___

(Note: I apologize if the picture quality here isn't so good, but I really want these to be the first things I post, since I already have art-plans coming up soon. I want to share all my old stuff before the new stuff comes along. Plus, the weather in my hometown has been very cold and gray lately; the sun was at least trying to shine when I took these, but the natural light was still a bit fickle.)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Once again, I take most news from scooper sites like DisInsider with a grain of salt... But some new particular claims they've made are interesting.

When one of their owners was asked about what animated projects - no specific studio, be it Walt Disney Animation Studios or Pixar - were in the works, the answer was... A new princess picture that's in early development, and a "pirates" movie. Supposedly an animated PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN project was in some form of development, and that it's unknown whether this "pirate" project is that or an original story about pirates.

No word on the Middle East-set fantasy film that Suzi Yoonessi had been attached to for so long, that could've come out this year... But then again, we know about that one's existence. The "princess" movie and the "pirate" movie, not so much.

Honestly, I'm down for an animated pirate movie from Disney, be it a POTC movie or an original project. A couple months ago, I posted about the upcoming live-action POTC reboot, and shared an idea I had:

My ideal PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN film would be animated. With designs based on Marc Davis’ exemplary concept art and resembling a 1960s Xerox-era Disney film, like a high seas JUNGLE BOOK or something incorporating the original 1967-era music of the ride. That’s what I would make, although I don’t know if the public would fly out in droves to watch that, lol.

But it'd also make for a solid animated adventure movie, because I'm always down for that kind of thing. I think WDAS sometimes does the straight-up adventure movie pretty well when they aren't doing musicals, and a high seas one is kind of a no-brainer. Former Disney director Chris Williams showed that in spades with his THE SEA BEAST. Even though that was a Netflix movie produced at Sony Imageworks, it felt like an old-fashioned Disney adventure movie out of the '50s or '60s rendered in up-to-date CGI.

As for the other movie, well... Another princess is always inevitable, there's always a new one to join the pantheon. The last one we had was Raya, and her movie wasn't a musical, which was a welcome change of pace. Wonder if the next one follows suit.

But again, that's all rumor-mill stuff. After all, this same site did say that WDAS was making an adaptation of BLUEBEARD and Pixar was making a movie called SUMER. And that's just the tip of that iceberg, there's always some project that gets reported that was never happening in the first place, or there was some misunderstanding from within the trenches. Like how MOANA was at one point reported as THE NAME GAME, a South Pacific-set adaptation of the Rumplestiltskin story.

I would love for there to be an animated pirate movie from WDAS, though. I would also love it if WDAS looked at a picture that didn't through once, and try again...

It happens... TANGLED's origins are in attempted RAPUNZEL adaptations from the late '90s/early aughts. THE LITTLE MERMAID and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST were once considered by Walt himself decades before they became a reality. THE SNOW QUEEN was worked on in the early 2000s, a long while before FROZEN became a thing... No reason they can't dust one of those movies off once more and try again.

I know a lot of Disney fans online continue to mourn, say, a project like GIGANTIC, their attempt at a feature-length JACK AND THE BEANSTALK set in a sky-world of giants. I'm still baffled as to how they couldn't turn KING OF THE ELVES into a feature, and COSMIC 3000 is a film I wish would've happened. Would've been a galactic banger, I feel. Plenty of unmade stuff in the morgue to choose from, if they're short on new ideas, eh?

Oh well, whatever moves forward, moves forward. Maybe D23 tells us later this year...

[mouseratz]

No one is a fat “phobe”. I was fat as a kid too and only up until a couple years ago I wasn’t. I’m skinny but not instagram skinny like normal skinny and after I eat I look like I gained even more weight till I wake up again, like normal. I was fat too the difference is I don’t complain about it online and make it the base of my identity. And you take everything in the worst way, nobody is mad your autistic or fat, but when u do the above things like complain it just is sad. There’s other things to talk and think about. I’m sure it’s not fun thinking about it for you.

Y'know I'll feed a troll a little bit now just because i'm bored. Are you, like, not familiar with the concept of bloating? (Of course your stomach looks bigger when you eat. That's kind of how those work- they stretch to contain your meal while it digests. that's what a stomach does.)

And I'll be pretty obvious for you, get really personal- there was a period in my life where I didn't eat much at all. I did starve myself, though not with the express purpose of being skinny (my anxiety made me feel sick way too often), and I did lose some weight, I'll give you. I ate a meal or less daily, skipping entirely some days, and my stomach hurt all the time, for around two years. The weight loss was noticeable enough that people would comment how good I looked and must've been feeling, even though my mental illnesses were at their peak and I was very close to committing suicide (and would've said as much if they asked. but most people didn't. because I was losing weight, I must've been taking care of myself, right?)

I still, at my absolute skinniest, would be, by BMI, be categorized at the borderline of overweight and obese. Fatness is often genetically determined, there's only a certain range your body will tolerate, simply. We are told otherwise because it sells- it sells weight loss products and extreme diets, and while exercise isn't innately bad, it absolutely pressures people into more extreme routines there, too, and buying more of that shit. It financially benefits a lot of people to say fatness is a disease in of itself to sell cures that really do not do shit. All of the studies we have show that sustained weight loss is INCREDIBLY difficult to achieve past a certain level (no, I'm not linking, because I'm lazy, ill give you that, too), and big fluctuations in weight repeatedly (up and down, often called "yo-yo"-ing or "yoyo dieting") are NOT good for the body (yet, people are still encouraged for the effort, and blamed on being "gluttonous" or "lazy" or "undisciplined" for being unable to keep weight off).

And, past all of that, even if fatness was something that made you sick- how would that justify treating fat people like this? the harassment, the disbelief, the entitlement, for just having people aware of your body? where is the kindness, if you really think we're so suffering? why is it all holier-than-thou condescension?

anon, you seem like you are very new to the idea of fatphobia, which is why I've taken my time to explain anything at all. I would recommend looking into this topic more, but also try to understand how other people feel instead of taking the time out of your day to send rude messages to someone you've never met.

plus, if you scroll through my blog, you'll see a lot more shit posts and discussions about anything else. I like to draw, I make art. I collect toys, and post about that. Have you looked at anything in my profile but the post that got 20k notes & my responses? I am a whole person, I'm just not going to shut up about my fatness or my mental illnesses because they're part of it. This is a picture you've painted wholly for yourself to justify your disgust of something I said.

[nihilnovisubsole]

[taps mic] is everybody here? everyone still manning their tumblr blogs after the twitter roller coaster of the past couple of months? cool

so! 2022, huh? it's not new year's eve without one of my soppy, navelgazing year-in-review posts. if you're reading this, you survived. as an acquaintance of mine put it, "i hope 2023 is the year it all pays off for you."

if i seem unusually optimistic about it, it's because this year, against the odds, things started looking up. i had no idea when i stepped out last december 31st and listened to the neighbors' firecrackers what i was in for. i didn't know that when obsidian emailed me on a january afternoon about "a quick follow-up meeting," it would be their offer call. i didn't know what kind people i'd meet there, or the lengths they'd go to to make me feel like a respected peer instead of a gatecrashing fan. i knew least of all how it would affect my state of mind: that i'd finally feel a sense of accomplishment and dignity. i look ahead and i see a viable future for myself. i've been paid to write for years, but now i can support myself with it. i think about the weight that takes off my mother. i remember staying up until 4 A.M., wondering how i'd do the only thing i ever wanted to do. it was a big, dark ocean then. it's still an ocean now, but i've got a boat, a crew, and a lantern. it's hard to overstate what that does to you.

the downside is, there are only 24 hours in a day, and your time feels very different when you're on the clock for eight of them. i knew it'd be a change, and it's gone more smoothly than i thought it would, but i just can't churn unpaid stuff out the way i did years ago. projects that would've taken a long time in college have become interminable now. you wouldn't believe how much half-finished art i have sitting around. it's not lost on me that this is just ordinary adulthood, and even i had to get around to it at some point. laugh all you want! seriously, i probably deserve it, and it's hard enough to find things to laugh about in this decade.

part of me misses that pillowy freelance lifestyle of cramming my paid work into the mornings, then doing fun projects all day. then i remember i was numbing the ache of not having a career that i now have, and the superficial sense of leisure came with a heavy price. it wasn't worth three cents a word and almost no creative input. it wasn't worth being on medi-cal and having my mother keep me afloat. it certainly wasn't worth watching my friends work themselves half to death because they weren't privileged enough to have that support network. i think we all agree that we should have a better world, that artists should be able to just make art, that contractors aren't paid enough. [except for relic, they were very generous, i loved them.] in the meantime, we have to make it through with what we have, and figure out how to look after each other as best we're able to.

i think, when people gain a measure of success in life, they want to fantasize that they did it all by themselves. that's ridiculous. i wouldn't be writing any of this without the people who hyped up my wild fanfic ideas or bought dangerous crowns. i'd never have written anniversary without the other longsummer nights authors building a vivid world for hercule and aida to live in. i'll never forget the colleagues and the industry doors they helped me through, and, you know, i'm not much now, but i hope i can pass that on. even if you only have a little power, you have to use it for good, right? otherwise, that's how you get a chandelier dropped on you.

seriously, though, read anniversary. i want to talk about it more. it's short, i swear!

[calamity-bean]

belated review of 2022

I'd intended to post this around the New Year, which would've made sense for a "recapping the year" sort of post, yeah? Unfortunately, the days around NYE ended up being rather stressful. My cat was sick — she's fine now, nothing to show for it but a few funny bald patches where the vets had to shave her — and so at the time I was far too busy fretting to want to write this. But I figure it's still early enough in this year to reflect on the last one.

I've always struggled with social anxiety. I'm much better at handling it now than I was as a teen — at least, I'm much better at acting chill despite it — but I still often find it very difficult to put myself into new situations or get to know new people. As an introvert, it's just so easy to find an excuse to stay home, y'know? My kitty cat is at home! Why wouldn't I want to stay there with her?

But, for 2022, I set myself a goal. Every month, I would try one new thing. A class, a social or hobby-based group, an activity — something new, preferably something that got me out and about, meeting new people with interests or experiences similar to my own.

I didn't meet my goal of one a month. But I did:

— Join a really great book club! It took a couple tries, but I found one filled with intelligent, interesting, compassionate people who enjoy truly digging into the themes and ideas of whatever we read. The people in a book club, imo, are far more important than the books themselves, and this group truly brings me back to the good-spirited debates and meandering conversations I so enjoyed as a lit major back in school.

— Start dancing! And I have never been a dancer. I have always been stiff and self-conscious about my body; I've never been good at catching the rhythm of music and certainly never impressed on the dance floor of a wedding reception or a club. But I love my dance classes. Dancing with other people (like, holding each other and whatnot) took a bit of getting used to — I've never been comfortable touching people I don't know — but the other regulars at class are all fun and respectful, and I'm enjoying getting to know them. And I'm still a bit stiff, yes, but improving fast.

— Start learning Spanish! For practical reasons as well as simply the pleasure of learning. I ought to have learned better Spanish long ago anyway, better than the very little I knew before, and although obviously much more time and practice are required to get me anywhere near proficiency, I can at least say that I've kept up my Duolingo streak unbroken since the day I started months ago.

— Find a board game group! I've only been a couple times so far, but it's a fun way to spend an evening and I mean to go back again.

— Work out semi-regularly! I don't know exactly how regularly because I don't keep track and I do not fucking intend to. In the past, I have found that trying to hold myself to a strict gym routine was not productive. It created a sense of pressure that I found exhausting and demoralizing rather than motivating, and once I failed to keep to the schedule, I'd give up. So now I go to the gym when I feel like it, go for a walk when I feel like it, do it for however long I feel like it and don't worry if it's been a while. And doing it this way makes me actually look forward to the way my body and mind feel with exercise rather than dreading the obligation.

— Try a few yoga classes! I'm still not sure whether yoga per se is for me, but I think it, or something like it, would be good for me. I get cardio, but I need to find a way to build strength and flexibility as well. I have made a (semi-regular) habit of informal stretching, though, which helps.

There were also a few things that I tried but didn't stick with: a different book club whose style didn't suit me, a social group where I didn't vibe with the people, etc. In those cases, I went a couple times and then decided they weren't for me. But at least I tried them. And I have managed also to find time for my arts and crafts, which are not new things but are important to me.

2022 was not all good for me. I know that this post paints a very rosy view; like much social media, it focuses on the positive to the point of coming off pretty boastful, I fear. Rest assured, my loved ones and I have faced our own sorrows, misfortunes, setbacks, and disappointments this year as well.

But I'm much luckier than many, and I'm really glad to have put myself out there and pushed myself as much as I did this year. It's led to some awkward situations! Some bitter political fights with strangers, some weird first (and last) dates! But also a lot of enjoyment, intellectual stimulation, variety, and acquaintanceships that I hope can become friendships with time.

I have not made a formal resolution this year, but I intend to keep up the new hobbies I found last year and continue trying out new ones. I hope you, too, found something you loved in 2022, and I hope we all find peace, respite, and fulfillment in 2023.

[celestialevie]

Forbidden love // Remus Lupin x student! reader

( gif credit to @spilledcoffeestudios )

Genre: Angst

Summary: After having an affair with your defense against the dark arts professor for couple of months now, you finally had enough wondering what does this affair mean when your graduation is nearing close. (Reader is of legal age)

Warnings: professor-student relationship, curses(?), comment on wondering what happened to Dumbledore's looks, angst angst

Word count: 1k

A/n: hello, I decided to post this older fic of mine that I wrote last year for my best friend. I just wanted to post something while I figure out what I want to write next, if you have any ideas please do not hesitate to send a request to me 😊

If someone had told you at the beginning of this school year that you'd be hooking up/dating your professor, the first question you would've asked them is which one. That sounds wrong, but honestly, you always had a thing for your defense against dark arts professor, can they blame you? He's one of the hottest things that have walked these hallways. After seeing how hot Dumbledore looked in his younger days it did make you wonder what happened to him to go from looking like a real nice snack to an old man who controls everyone's lives practically especially if you have any relations to Harry Potter, which leads us back to professor Remus John Lupin and your's relationship. Ever since you slept together for the first time around two months ago, you both decided to continue whatever this is between you two. Sometimes he acts like your relationship is nothing but casual hookups, while on the other days he gets jealous and angry when he sees you talking/flirting with another student as if you're in a relationship. His excuses? Him being kept under a close eye by Dumbledore, meaning he can't show any physical affection to you while being his student even though you are of legal age. You do understand him on that part but now that you graduate in less than a week it makes me wonder if once you graduate he will come clean about our relationship since you will no longer be his student. No longer wanting to be kept as a dirty little secret, you decided to confront Remus about it tonight after the curfew. If he wants to keep your relationship ongoing after graduation you will need him to act like it, but if he is ashamed of your relationship you don't the reason why he decided to be in it. It's not like you forced him to be in it or blackmailing him to be with you, is it so too much to ask for a normal relationship even though technically you're breaking a lot of rules by being together,  nevertheless you never cared too much about the rules. Seeing him at the dinner wasn't easy, especially for not being sure in which direction the conversation will end up going tonight. It certainly won't be easy not at all, however, it has to be done.  

A few hours later, once everyone was asleep (besides few professors) you quickly sneaked out of my dorm and made your way towards Remus' room. Knocking softly on his door in a certain way, as to let him know that it's you, waiting for a couple of seconds for him to open. Opening the door, there stood half asleep Remus. '' Did we have a meeting that I forgot about tonight? '' he says as he lets you in. '' No don't worry, but we do need to talk. About what will happen to us once I graduate in a few weeks. '' tiredly rubbing his eyes, he lets out a sigh. '' You're right. Let me quickly make some tea and then we'll talk, is that alright? '' nodding your head, he heads over to the small kitchen he has in his room, quickly heating a kettle, making himself a tea. '' Would you like some tea, darling? '' the nickname makes the zoo in your stomach go wild '' Thank you, but I don't like drinking tea very late. '' He hums in acknowledgement. A minute or so later, he comes back with his tea and sits on the bed. ''So you want to talk about the future of our relationship? '' he asks. '' Yes. Before I even say anything I just want to know where do we even stand in this ''relationship'' we have. It's been months and we still haven't established what are we. I understand that Dumbledore is watching you, but what does that mean after I graduate? Will you still keep this a secret or you will tell everyone about our relationship? '' he sighs '' Y/n you know I care a lot about you and yes it is not fair towards you to keep this relationship a secret. But, I need you to understand where I am coming from. Me being a werewolf is definitely not a pleasant thing especially when teaching children. If they were to find out I dated a student of mine I would instantly be fired. '' taking a deep breath. '' Okay, that's fair enough for now. What about once I graduate? I wouldn't care if you tell them we only started dating a few months after I graduated. Yes, there would possibly still be some dirty looks but you'd save both your job and this relationship. That's if you even wanna save it slash continue it. '' you  roll your eyes. '' Convince me you care enough about this relationship of ours that you want to continue it after I graduate because if you don't then it was nice few months and I will leave you alone, starting tonight. And that's a promise, Remus. '' he got up and ran his fingers through his sand-coloured hair. '' y/n please don't rush these decisions. It's late and we both don't know what we're talking about. Can't we just please continue this conversation in the morning? '' he begged. Getting up and as you approach him, a cynical laugh leaves my lips. '' Don't you understand? By postponing things like this, it only becomes worse. It's a simple question and a simple answer, Remus. Why complicate things that are already complicated enough? '' Heading towards the door, he grabs your hand and pulls you towards him. '' y/n, stop being irrational. If you walk out of that door, you will just prove to me that you already have an answer for yourself. I'm trying to figure out everything in my head and you just keep adding pressure even more. '' He grits through his teeth. '' Pull yourself together Remus! Do you seriously think if I already had an answer for myself I would be here right now asking for you to give me one?! You know what, you're right you just gave me an obvious answer. Goodbye Remus. '' and with that you walked out of his room, leaving him alone. You deserved someone who will not be afraid to be with you no matter what. Clearly, that isn't Remus...

[wickedpact]

A ranking of all the TTT stories in order of how much I liked them.

(Oh god this is so long)

1 My Mother's Axe

BABY ANDYYYYYYYYYYYY. Honestly this one had the trifecta of developing a character's motivations, developing a character's backstory, & developing their personality. The story starting out with Andy teaching Nile to use the axe was so charming and fun, and you could feel that chemistry they had in Opening Fire, the way they teased and bickered with each other so naturally. I loved the wedge between them on the subject of the axe, how Nile was perhaps a little too young to understand Andy's feelings about whether or not its the 'same' axe. I also love how the axe is obviously the symbol of the franchise and hugely important, but you never get a sense of exactly how important it is to Andy until you read the story.

I love the entire Ship of Theseus theme, and how it feels so natural that for Andy she has to get attached to the idea of things rather than the things themselves because she'll always outlive the things themselves-- the axe is symbolically her mom's axe, even if physically it isn't. And I love how she clearly clings to that concept so tightly. "This is the labrys she held in her hands...." IT GETS ME.

And the fact that this sense of BELONGING, of FAMILY, of CULTURE is so important to Andy that she clings to it (figuratively and literally) with both hands. And of course it's important to her, she spent so long alone that the woman doesn't even remember her birth name. That axe (or the idea of that axe) is all she has left of her mother and that family/culture she was born into.

PLUS on that note I love how Andy doesn't remember if her mom was her actual biological mother, but it doesn't matter to her. This woman was her mother in all the ways that counted. And how her mom BETRAYED AND KILLED Andy but Andy loved her so much that she avenged her and carried her axe for thousands of years. THOUSANDS OF YEARS!!!!!!

I also loved how the story transcends the timeline of the whole franchise and seeing Andy through the years. Loved seeing her with the varying squads and with varying axes. Also baby Andy was so cute. It was cool seeing her so young. like holy fuck. Andromache The Scythian, Immortal Warrior (but smol). Love that.

Also I think this one is one of the few ttt stories that doesn't suffer from length problems.

tldr: goddammit greg you've done it again.

2 Zanzibar and Other Harbors

Zanzibar my beloved. I've said before, but it's downright comedic how little regard there was for Joe and Nicky's character designs in this story. The same person who does the colors for the regular comic did the colors for this one too, and you can tell, every panel of this story was Beautiful.

Ik there was A Lot of criticism of this one (lmao @ how the fandom had no idea what was to come) but I thought a lot of The Discourse was a bit dramatic. I did think Nicky came off as a little oblivious to Joe's feelings in this story, but I've said before, I honestly think that was a 'tone not translating' thing. It felt like Nicky was nagging Joe for [checks notes] saving innocent people, but Joe was so amused by Nicky's complaints I really do think it was supposed to come off as teasing.

Plus I know the 'Joe running off into danger and Nicky reluctantly following' dynamic wasn't popular (I'm a pretty meh on it meself) but I did love how Joe's impulsiveness (if you want to call it that) was interpreted as heroism and not hot-hotheadedness. All of the examples Nicky and Joe talked about included Joe explicitly saving people. (and it also took A Lot for the nazi to actually provoke Joe).

I also feel like their characterization here was closest to the movie canon-- the bit where they hear the woman scream and Joe goes running in to save her while Nicky swoops in on Joe's heels to comfort her while Joe and the nazi were fighting reminds me of the train car scene. Joe had suggested First that they go find Nile because she needed to be protected, and Nicky later added that Nile probably also needed emotional support. Similar reactions.

But it was So Good, the themes of queer community and the enduring nature of queer culture are Not themes you see in media that often and it was such a delight how it was done. Also it's one of the few more modern TTT stories that has a completely valid excuse for taking place when it did. Chef's kiss.

3 Passchendaele

I love the Duality between seeing baby Andy and then seeing Mama Andy in the very next issue. This story doesn't have a ton of meat to it, but the entire concept of Andy adopting a war orphan straight off the battlefield PLUCKS MY TENDER LITTLE HEARTSTRINGS, and I think it's especially poignant for comic!Andy. I think most people wouldn't think twice about movie!Andy doing something like that but comic Andy is so hardened and almost cruel sometimes, and seeing that even for her the world hasn't beaten all of the compassion from her yet is SO!!!!!!! this woman contains MULTITUDES okay, she's violent and angry and tired and Done but she's also so kind and compassionate and THE STRENGTH OF HER!!!!! Also the idea of her and Yitzhak co-raising a kid together is so damn cute. It was #mysterious pre-Yitzhak-story but now it's cute. holy fuck. It's cute.

& the headbonk panel of her and Zeus lives in my heart. anyways.

4 Many Happy Returns

I Know people weren't thrilled about Booker being in this one, but I've developed a pet-peeve about that: this story was *not* booker-centric. Booker only exists in this story to the extent required to explain the importance of the gesture Nile makes towards him. If there was a story about Booker making some grand gesture of kindness to Nile no one would be saying it was Nile-centric. bc it wouldn't be! Booker exists in this story to explore Nile's kindness, its not about him. I saw that a couple times and it bothered me. anyways.

AAAAAAAAAA I loved this one, the art was beautiful, I loved how Andy Nile and Booker were drawn (like their comic selves but.. more looking like actual people). I loved Andy and Nile's Bants, how Andy wanted to jump right in and Do Violence but Nile was basically telling her to hold her horses.

I feel like I'm just repeating the post I made on this story a few days ago, but I LOVED how Nile's plan revolves not around violence or Cool Mercenary Skills but on Nile's own life skills (as she canonly did a lot of minimum wage job-hopping before the marines in comics canon). Her plan used her skills, not the skills of an immortal warrior, and HER SKILLS were in fact more useful for the situation! lov to see Nile's resourcefulness and planning skills.

AND HOW NILE WAS PROBABLY WATCHING BOOKER??? it's so Much bc 1.) nile knew booker A SINGLE DAY and yet he made such an impression on her emotionally that she had to keep an eye on him and 2.) she said in the movie she wanted Booker to get off free with an apology. Yes she's a member of the team but that doesn't mean she's necessarily going to follow orders like a good little soldier. I also love how she convinced Andy to go along with it. her HEART, her KINDNESS, her THOUGHTFULNESS, UGH.

5 The Bear

Honestly I have like no negative things to say about this one other than a.) character design issues which is less about the story itself and is more of a 'tog comic in general' criticism and b.) too short, but it was supposed to be a tease, so.

But I loved Yitzhak, I wasn't expecting to really like him at all but like I said in my other post, he tickled me. I love characters who are Kind™, especially if they have little reason to be so given their backgrounds. Chef's kiss. Lov him.

6 Bonsai Shokunin

I know this one was a little controversial bc of the outsider POV but whenever I see people upset about that they never point out that the Outsider Guy (the samurai) existed as a reflection on Noriko. His ideas are explained in the text to develop hers. The whole story follows how she gave mercy to a scared young man and in response he murdered Noriko, repeatedly! Who gave him the right to inflict such pain and suffering on the world? In his opinion, the lack of response from the gods was his permission. And for Noriko-- over and over again she dies and suffers because she gave mercy, which lines up with her ideas in FM about how it's their fate to rule mortals and if they don't align with that plan/fate/whatever then they suffer. It shows some background to those ideas and how they developed in her mind outside of Ocean Madness™. Additionally, his idea of 'the Gods have done nothing to strike me down so it's fine if I do these things' kind of explains how Noriko may justify her own morally corrupt actions-- she's died so many times and it's never stuck. Maybe if she did die any of those times, or while she was in the water, maybe that would've been a sign she was doing something right, or at least doing something normal. But she hasn't died. Fate isn't done with Noriko yet. And maybe there's a reason for that. In her mind, it's just not a very pleasant reason, is all.

There were things I was kind of meh about tho. I did kind of wish we saw something of Noriko and the team, or smth explaining the way she was before her dip in the pool-- personality, likes dislikes, etc. but it wasn't bad or anything. It was super vague tho, I had to read it a few times before I got what it was going for. Liked the art. Liked the bonsai metaphor. And of course I Respect the decision to use the 1300s (1200s? I don't remember off the top of my head) rather than using the last 200 years.

7 Strong Medicine

Honestly looking back, this one made me kind of sad because both this one and Bonsai Shokunin explored character's ideas on Fate and The Divine and how that intersects with immortality and I totally thought that theme would be continued, especially with Love Letters. But Then It Wasn't™.

Admittedly.... I had to re-read this one to remember most of it. I liked Booker's ideas on God, 'The conductor of the symphony just may not be very good at his trade' but the plot itself was kind of forgettable. Some fuckin cowboys try to kill a doctor (their second) because he couldn't save their sickly brother. Book tries to stop them, gets killed, and then comes back and kills them all before they get the doctor. Alright. I liked the artstyle because the characters were ugly in a similar way that leandro's are, but way more bearable.

I love the Irony of Booker concluding that there is no such thing as fate or destiny and nothing has meaning, AS HE UNKNOWINGLY SAVES MERRICK'S GRANDFATHER FROM BEING KILLED. Booker getting fucked over by life/god/destiny yet again. It also kind of explains about where the fuck hell Merrick's interest in immortal mercenaries even came from.

I originally had this one a lot higher and then I thought about it and moved it down like two spots.

8 Never Gets Old

I liked seeing Booker interact with his kid. And we got a name for the kid! Philippe was a little bitch though, he was a little obnoxious. I liked how Booker was so thrilled to experience a restaurant with his kid (and since we know he was there before, it can be assumed he went with all of his kids and yet he was so charmed each time). It fits with his line to Nicky in the moon landing story about how you don't appreciate beautiful things 'unless you have someone to share them with'. It was charming to see Booker interact with his kid, and to see him so happy. Also lmao @ Booker's big fat Ye Olde Crush on Andy.

However at the same time it was like.. of all the things to write about,,, I guess? Booker's Night Out...... alright. Especially since Book had so many stories.

I don't know, it was alright. The old man killing him really came out of nowhere, (but the 'Salut, asshole!' panel was funny tho).

9 How To Make a Ghost Town

I've hit a point where talking about these stories has gotten less fun. I liked this one but I felt like Achilles getting lynched was not really necessary for a story that was already tragic (a story that already involved Achilles doing a lot of suffering at the hand of bigots). When we first got the blurb for this story I thought it would be about Andy returning to the squad and making friends with Booker after losing Achilles and them butting heads on the idea of family and when to cut off ties. So a little bit of my underwhelmedness about this one might be just my expectations being different.

Honestly I was pretty interested in Andy and Achilles' relationship and I would've liked to see more of them-- like, what was their dynamic like? What did they love about each other?

But anyways Andy leaving and Achilles getting killed anyways feels so pointlessly tragic (which I suppose is the point..... I don't like tragedies) she left to save him and yet people killed him anyway. Meh.

I did love the bits about Andy wanting to have a domestic life (Andy and her multitudes again) and the little detail about how she buried her axe near the road but he buried his guns under his bed-- he was an escaped slave, he never had the luxury of assuredness like Andy did. It was a sad story.

10 Lacus Solitudinis

'You put this one above love letters crim??? how could you???' easy, lmao.

There was stuff in this one I liked. But to talk about stuff I didn't like: (I'll keep it brief, I know ragging on this story has been done time and time again)

UH, setting aside the 6 year cold shoulder between Joe and Nicky, I thought their chosen method of conflict resolution was... bad at best. Nicky's inability to talk about his feelings was also annoying, especially since the entire point of this story is a fight Joe and Nicky had, and yet we don't get both sides to the story, which is...... important? That fact is especially annoying bc in the absence of Nicky explaining his side of the story, it's absolutely a possible (and admittedly probably unintentional) interpretation of the text that we do get that Joe routinely resolves conflict between him and Nicky by simply cutting Nicky out of his life entirely until Nicky just. caves? Even if it takes years?

WHICH i could get into that interpretation and how fucked up i find it. but im not going to. out of restraint.

I don't know, I think there are a lot of interesting ways to go about this conflict but 'Nicky wants to kill a guy and Joe refuses to acknowledge his existence until he stops because he thinks Nicky is too much of a Good Boy to get his hands dirty like that' ('I wont watch as the world turns his (...) compassion into something ugly'. ) wasn't.. how I would've done it. (I mean you know Joe doesn't give a shit about what Nicky is doing in a moral way, because Joe doesn't even care or mention that Booker is killing those cops too. Joe only cares because he doesn't like the idea of Nicky changing in a way he finds undesirable.)

admittedly I've said before, I do like the emphasis Joe's reaction puts on Nicky's kindness. Joe has a complete inability to cope with Nicky simply Not Being Kind. It speaks to the steadiness of Nicky's compassion all those years. but still that fact doesn't make it the conflict feel worth it

hm. I said I would be brief and I wasn't.

oh well. basically I thought there was interesting conflict potential there but it wasn't done the way I would've liked, and the way it was done leaves a lot of disturbing (and again probably unintended) interpretations to lie.

What I did like? Andy and Joe having that pessimist/optimist dynamic. Joe nerding out about science. Andy not being impressed by The Achievements Of Man. I loved Booker needling at Nicky about his outdated slang and also trying to give him Older Brother advice practically in the same breath. I loved Booker giving The Worst relationship advice ever and Nicky being like 'I Will Not Do That, Ever, Thanks.' the family vibes were so good. The Joenicky vibes left a lot to be desired tho.

11 Love Letters

I talked about my problems with Nicky in this story (and Lacus Solitudinis). I don't know, the story isn't bad but I do hold a little bit of a grudge towards it because its very existence begs the existence of a solo Joe story and we didn't get one. If we never got this story, then we could happily count Lacus Solitudinis and Zanzibar as The Joenicky Stories™ and move on with our lives. sigh.

I remember when we first got the blurb for this story I was really curious about why Nicky specifically + the setting, and the answer kind of feels like 'the author had an idea for a story like this and saw ttt as a good enough place to utilize that idea'. Plus I was really underwhelmed by the Romantic Sentiment in the letter. If you look at it line-by-line, the majority of the letter is actually Nicky talking about how lonely and disturbed he is, rather than actual,, yknow,,, Romantic Sentiment. I mean, compare the van speech and this letter and this letter is just kind of meh in comparison. I liked nicky calling joe wise! and I liked the brief sun/moon metaphor! and otherwise it was eh. It didn't even have cute squad banter, which is why Lacus Solitudinis is above this one.

12 An Old Soul

Nun orgy. Nun orgy?????? Nun orgy.......

The whole story felt like a setup to have a nun orgy. Why did Booker have abs? Why did they do that to Andy's nose? ?????? the art was good at least.

nun orgy.

[yhminah]

so, y'all lovely people, here i am to introduce you my baby, nam minah! she's actually a revamp of a muse that i had not so long ago and i wanted to bring her back since i missed her so much. as usual, here is her profile and here is her bio; and here a not very good plots page! i can plot through here or discord, i don't really have a preference so just let me know if you guys do, i have no problem giving my discord then! so yeah, i think this is it? i can't wait to plot with everyone 🥰️

as always under the cut a quick rundown of minah and pls do ♡ this post if anything catches your eye and i'll pop up in your ims!

nam minah. 26 years. freelance artist. she was actually born and mostly raised in yunhwa! but moved to seoul for high school and then to paris to attend an art college/school because she actually got an scholarship, so there is where she was living (still sort of is) until she decided to visit her family in yunhwa.

lives in sunjaro street, above the tavern with a roommate actually! (i'll submit a wc about it later) since she didn't want to impose at her parents' house because her sister still lives there. she's working on their relationship with baby steps.

the epitome of being there for the fun and experience, that's basically the reason why she does 99.9% of the things that she does. isn't afraid to try new things (and is usually good at them even in her first try) or do adventurous things, so you know, call her to do anything and high chances she'll always say yes.

very chill and friendly, good at small talking. social skills above 8000 and is mostly minding her business unless for some reason you make your business her business.

seems like an airhead, but she really is not. she's actually pretty smart (pls, look at her perfect grades even during high school) and is very perceptive of her surroundings and people in general.

sort of fickle with anyone that isn't part of her family. she gets attached to people as easily as she gets detached which could affect some friendships and especially romantic relationships (especially when she goes through some of them because she was just curious to where it'd lead), but she's always sincere and doesn't really lead anyone on (idk if this makes sense?? hope it does)

lowkey famous in the art community (so any fans?? as a possible plot??) and she has a couple of important awards that she won back at her apartment in paris. once she was very proud of them but now they sort of feel like a burden.

is going through a very hard artist block and that's why she decided to come back to yunhwa to sort of try to reconnect with her roots and to try to make amends with her sister so talking about which—

they have a very rocky relationship to say the very least. whether it was the case or not, minah was always treated as the favorite daughter in one way or another because she was the pretty daughter and the one good at everything, so her little sister ended up on her shadow more often than not. that made her resent minah a lot even when minah tried her best to save it.

she has always shown a little more affinity to the arts, especially painting, since she was young even if she was basically good at everything that she tried (and since she has always been the curious type, she tried a lot of things) so her parents sent her to seoul to live with an uncle so she could have more chances to explore her affinity with the arts.

her sister, feeling like she'd be left behind, decided to go as well even if she was still in middle school. a long argument ensued, but they both ended up going to seoul. the uncle didn't really... care for them or looked after them that well, he left them alone a lot so minah sort of took charge. besides getting busy with part times so her parents didn't need to spend too much money on her and her sister's lives in seoul.

got more recognition during high school for her paintings and even won some competitions which got her into an art college/school in paris, france after her graduation. sort of settled in there until her art block started and here she is in yunhwa again.

fun fact: got scouted for an entertainment agency during high school but refused the audition because one she was already busy enough as she was and two she never dreamed of being an idol anyway, at that point already having decided to pursue an artistic career, but she does like to wonder sometimes what would've happened if she had been to the audition and got accepted.

[ghoulishhusband]

I just realized I can actually talk here. Like this is my account fuck u

Fucking uhhhhhh, hi ig lemme ramble abt my God ocs yea?

Ignore this part if you don't wanna hear (likely) unedited rambles lol it doesn't matter

CW: neglect/abuse, assholery/narcissism, manipulation, tread lightly!

read the under cut owo

Also don't steal my art I'll fucking?? Fight you????

So

I have three main gods that I wanna talk abt especially bc they've been on my mind lately.. Less get it, side notes are in (parentheses) and are bolded cause I have perception issues whoo I don't want it to jumble together is my point lol

First up is my asshole,

Giodine

they/them (preferred)

god/godself (i like pronouns that fit my characters, so I'm giving a bunch away for one night only at--)

ID : Giodine is colored with gold-ish yellow skin and ginger hair. Their eyes are a muted purple and they have tiny eyebrows. Their lips are a muted brown and are full looking, their nose is sharp and points down. They have wings for ears and is wearing a blazer with a long-sleeved, collared shirt underneath it. The background is beige with a yellow square and a dark purple square partially encompassing it. It is signed GH (for ghoulish husband), Spork, 21.

(lemme know if that helps at all! I'm sure I can do better so lemme know!)

If they look weird here it's bc I accidentally made their face too long but believe it or not this is in fact just a doodle Ik I'm so fuckin talented babes.

Anyways, they're basically the first God to ever exist on my version of earth (though even that is fickle rn, world-building is hard unless I hyper-focus on it, and haha Guess What I Haven't Been Thinking About) and they're very egotistical and selfish. As I'll probably yap about later is how they're manipulative as well, especially to another God I'll mention, and very neglectful to the other... other one.

Their partner(professionally), or fiend as they call him, is sam who for the first few eons was, unsurprisingly, absolutely terrible to him. A few tender moments are few and far in between in what could only be described as a completely rancid relationship. I'll describe giodine's side and in sam's lil ramble, I'll describe his :]

I have to explain this because it's a big part of the lore and how they can't work together, even when one of them is very much near The Void (technical death for gods) BUT basically, with Sam, giodine created purgatory. The issue here is that they basically seduced sam into doing it. Well, even if they hadn't, sam was in lesbians(happy pride month lmao) with giodine and would've done it anyway. But the ISSUE is that with the creation of purgatory came complications. See, my gods have to take time to develop into their power, and considering giodine was first and sam was around 666th.. you see the issue. Sam wasn't into his complete power yet and thus lost a giant part of it that went into purg.

See, giodine saw no problem with this (until much later, they do get a VERY SLOW BURN redemption arc cause this ain't even the worst of it), they got what they were aching for out of them and thusly had no need for..sam. They laid him in the spot where she was made (fwi it isn't inherently sexual, it can be, but literally, they just merged together-- taking bits and pieces of each other (which sam did not have enough of) and earth and light yadda, yadda I'll post the story I wrote for that later if I'm up to it) and left him there in the grass.

Again, they saw no problem with that, the deed was done, they didn't care anymore. A common issue in their qualms, sam and Giodine. They did find an issue in Sam finding an issue in the lack of aftercare, which resorted to any message going to or coming from sam going straight to his assistant and going back through them for a couple of thousand years. They found that infuriating-- how could he not face them over something so small! and for years?! it was ridiculous. After forcing a face-to-face meeting, a heated proclaim of hurt from sam, and a bitter agreement to meet up every now and again, they got what they wanted from him. Again. It was a business after all, there was no point in making it harder than it needed to be. 

Giodine doesn't necessarily like boundaries and tends to overstep sam's frequently. They also don't like his reaction to his boundaries being long jumped over, which thusly ends up in disgruntled messages being sent back and forth between them and his assistant for a month or three. It slowly gets through to them, but they tend to say some stupid shit and if they want sam to stay, they have to try and avoid mentioning how "overly sensitive" he is to something that happened eons ago.

(quick mention, there isn't like. time. here. so in all honesty, giodine probably counted earth days instead of Heaven 'days' to get that) Soon into their arrangements to meet, they seem to get on at least tolerable terms, obviously, a few meetings where neither of them feels like going apeshit and taking proper shapeless (or in sams case, he's got a newfound form for ANGER OO just for giodine 🤗) forms isn't going to fix a grudge that has yet to be apologized for by the way. But it's a start to a very long process down the road. Tolerance.

Giodine as an entity is very fickle and rude and demanding. They tend to have a short temper that no one else is allowed to have or comment on-- They were the first therefore they were the most important!

This is very obviously an issue. But it's mostly directed to purgatory. Almost all of their seething rage is pointed towards the poor entity, she's barely been alive yet and they already seem to hate her for things she doesn't know how to do. Honestly, I don't think Purg will ever fully forgive them for the unnecessary abuse of her character, but just as Sam and Giodine get on better terms, they had barely just begun fixing the hole in their relationship. As of now, Sam/Giodine don't have any minor plot points with purgatory other than the major one so I don't have a lot to say about their relationship right now. Maybe one day.

I'd go into details, seriously, but I just wanna ramble about their relationships with each other and their impact on each other's existence. Hope you don't mind a few secrets 😉

But, now, it's time for a new God, one I think most people take a liking to...

Sam (Samuel)

He/him

ID: Sam is surrounded by clouds in the light blue, fading to a darker blue sky and the yellow sun. His horns are a darker beige, which is being highlighted by the sun shining down on him, he also has pointed ears. His skin is red which is very prominent in the sun. His eyes are completely yellow, his hair, beard and mustache are also black. He has an orange scar crawling up to his Adams apple. His wings are a darker grey which is also being highlighted by the sun. His nails are painted black and his hand is holding up the black fabric barely covering his shoulders. Around the painting is a gold and red shaded frame with swirls complimenting each side and a crystal at the bottom of it. It is lightly signed GH, for ghoulish husband.

Sam, Sam, Samuel.

If you don't realize right away, Sam is basically Satan, he's the ruler of hell

Like how giodine was the first to appear on earth, as mentioned before sam was 666th for funnie reasons. Sam was made from bugs, dried blood, and sunlight which sounds pretty gross, but he's far from it. He's a silly, yet neat, guy. He wears Hawaiian shirts and khakis (not around giodine lmao) for cryin' out loud! how bad of a person can he be? Apparently to giodine (for a while obviously) he was the most retched entity to exist. This very much hurt him considering the amount of fake care they showed him before. With a mixture of confusing feelings (which wasn't supposed to be a thing but Univerce went "lmao you'll be fine" and left... short explanation, Univerce is the Universe and is the entity who simply builds these planets and gods that'll appear there and leave them to their own devices, xyr not extremely important in this story. Nor would they care.) and feeling used, he decided that no he wasn't going to take that.

If there is one thing Sam knows how to do is to self preserve himself, even if that means getting passive-aggressive notes sent to him every once in a while. While this period, Sam was surprisingly the least productive (unfortunately giodine knew this and eventually mentioned it in one of their meetings which made him hide away cause like hell giodine was going to be critical of /him/) but he managed. It wasn't terrible, but unfortunately, Sam being able to talk it out with someone who does practically the same work as he does and gets newer, more helpful ideas was better in the long run.

Unsurprisingly, Sam was the first to initiate the healing of his and giodine's relationship but it wasn't reciprocated. Who would've figured, aye? Giodine kept pushing it back onto him and ignoring any progress that could've been made before. Which was frustrating.

The painting above was 'painted' by giodine, which is sorta where their relationship gets somewhat on an understanding of each other. Giodine gets to take a deep long look into who Sam is and tries to express it but it never fit him, it makes them realize that they never really-- truly got to know him. And all it does for Sam is make him even more confused about his place in giodine’s mind. He figured it's another fluke to get him to do something, so he ends up distancing himself when they start actually reciprocating his friendship advancements.

Suddenly, like a flash, Sam was forced to stay with giodine which is where the majority. I'll explain.

Sam...isn't actually the ruler of hell. Anymore, anyways depending on the timeline. His and purgatory's relationship has always been complicated, she always avoided him, and when they talked she always seemed scared of him. So in the end, they've never been close. Distant. Sam always wanted to talk to her, he made her, but if she didn't want to talk to him he wouldn't force it. But imagine his surprise as Purg singlehandedly took over hell in a hazed frenzy.

And not only that, had a personal vendetta against him!

Well, that would be the only explanation to Sam considering how he ended up broken and barely 'alive' at the hands of her. Horns broken and in tatters, pain and almost obliterated it felt like a hate crime. He didn't know what to do when he made it to the office, Purgatory was creating chaos outside his door and barely being able to breathe he felt like it was the end. So he called giodine. 

Purgatory

She/her

ID: Purgatory is surrounded by flowers that are dark grey and white. The light fades down into a dark green. The light shines down on top of her straight, white hair that has yellow flowers tucked into it.  Her skin is a dark brown and has a orange-ish yellow scar on her shoulder trailing up to her neck. Her skin is also highlighted by the sun. In one of her eyes, her sclera is black with an orangey, glowing iris. As for the other eye it it has a white sclera and the same, glowing orange iris. She has wings for ears, one dark grey and one white along with beige horns. She has a white fabric covering her chest. The frame is gold with white accents, but also has vines and moss crawling up the side. 

(may have goofed a bit and forgot to color the sclera of her other eye white but ignore that pls)

Purgatory was made by Sam and Giodine, but to her it felt like a mistake. Why make someone that you’re going to be terrible to, she believed. Giodine seemed to hate her and eventually made her section almost obsolete because she simply wasn’t able to keep up with the backlog that she wasn’t taught to deal with. Not only that, she didn’t have any help with any of it, it was almost like she was expected to just do it on her own. Until Death came along to help, but that’s not what we’re going to be talking about right now. 

And also, Purgatory is Purgatory yadda, yadda, I wont insult your intelligence.

Giodine’s thought process (other than wanting to be Real Close to Sam and once that thought filtered out, promptly ignored it) was that all the extras that don’t fit in either category of their thought of good and evil they’d go to her. (doesn’t matter cause in Sam's system it filters through ‘levels of assholery’ and depending on how bad you are you either just vibe in the upper city under rule of capitalism and possibly many under paying jobs or being actually tortured for his amusement if you’re just evil. Morally grey. Anyway, it could work p well in heaven if giodine wasn’t such a damn stickler.) But in the end, every day, less and less people ended up in purgatory, leaving her with barely any people and more verbal abuse from giodine who ‘HAS to take them or they would be more dead than they already are’. You see the pain she has to go through, right? 

~Idea section, this is probably not canon anyways so dont take it serious~ 

My thought is that another oc (BA, you may have heard of him idk) takes over simply because Purg took multiple hims from alternative timelines (which isn’t allowed but what’re they gonna do, undead a dead clown? multiple times from multiple timelines???)) because she adored him and they figured ‘well we gotta redo purgatory may as well do it like this’ and make him a demi-dead-god. i think thats a cool idea right? anyhoo

~Idea section over uwu~

Purgatory overall is a fairly timid character, she doesn’t like conflict, is easily overwhelmed, and generally keeps to herself. She doesn’t see the point in being in any drama if she’s just going to be yelled at and scolded even if it’s not about her. The only way i could describe her taking over hell is this: 

She was tired. She was angry and after feeling like nothing was in control or in her hands, she snapped. Why doesn’t she get anything or get to be ‘all powerful’ but they do? She knew if she took on Giodine she’d likely get thrown to the void, but sam? He felt fair game. Considering her fear of both of these gods, she planned and got her courage up to take him over. She had considered negotiations but in the end, she ended up going into a haze and ruining everything in sight. She was more powerful than she thought and once she started, she didn't stop until Death restrained her and Sam was already in pieces at God’s doorstep. 

The aftermath was fuzzy for her and for everyone really. Godine was planning a take back hell while actually worrying for sam, sam was planning for a retirement, and she was being consoled while trying to get in contact with sam to apologize. Giodine wouldn’t dare let her talk to him, until she just showed up in their office. She didn’t have a problem with Sam, honest, she just was going to take shit over, but it got out of control. 

Spoiler, Sam took her apology and they actually became.. somewhat closer after reaching an understanding. 

I wanna say that giodine took them being okay and sam retiring as good as sam did about purg running hell, but they didn’t. Giodine and purgatory actually barely got along in the first place, and only begun ‘working’ on their bitterness toward each other because they both had sam to encourage it. I can’t say for certain if they’ll get better, as theyre both undying and have time, but I’ll just say for now its uncertain. 

Also, Death is Purgatory’s girlfriend after all of that lmao.

And.. yeah, i hope this makes sense and that you like my drawings and ramblings about my lil story in my head, i guess this is my way to develop it without just keeping it to myself cause god forbid i keep things to myself hshsh. If you made it to the end, thank you for taking the time to read and attempting to process everything, and even if you didnt read and just looked to look at my art thank you to!!

I may post some art over on @ghoulishhusbandart cause.. it was my art account before i completely forgot about it but i might reboot it! But if you wan art NEOWWW follow me on insta (ik cringe lmaoo) by the same name as this account @ghoulishhusband​ or just click that insta link! also ignore the fact that giodine is the only one without a portrait, maybe I’ll replace it the next time i draw but im graduating on monday and my dad’s coming TOMORROW?? so i won’t have too much time to do it... but i hope you like my art anyways :]

ok!! ty!! ily!!

[goodbysunball]

Ten weeks away, six beats off

Been a whirlwind year so far but I'm back in the saddle. I'm busting at the seams with drivel on records and the best way to unleash it is in these grouped posts. Small plates, quick bites - bon apétit.

Bobby Would, World Wide World (Low Company)

Can Low Company just come back as a label and a record store already? These releases trickling out after its demise are cruel reminders of how essential those self-effacing tastemakers were. The Anti-Clock LP is a doozy, and this second Bobby Would record sounds like a classic right off the bat. Mr. Would sticks to the same stuff that made Baby so damn good: dusty loops, barely discernible vocals with a catchy melody, bright spindly guitar lines for days. Songs like "Natural Killer" and "Walk Away" are the immediate favorites, upbeat on the exterior but bleary-eyed upon close inspection. Repeated listens have revealed that the hungover haze of "Maybe You Should" and the last call sway of "Raft," which might be my favorite, are where he really shines, tempos slowed to a crawl to make room for the rich warmth of his reverb'd mumble and his sparkling guitar. Yeah, I'm crushin' on Bobby Would, but so's everyone I've forced this record upon. Sharp but unassuming, and endlessly listenable, World Wide World is the balm until better days arrive. Top notch, highest recommendation, all the fixin's.

The Begotten, Temidden Laaghangende Wolken (Aguirre)

I'm a new dad and that means I'm searching for music that I can listen to with my daughter without disturbing her, and music that isn't Raffi. Typically that means a lot of drone, and a lot more quiet, introspective music, like the reissue of Lol Coxhill & Morgan Fisher's Slow Music that Aguirre did. Because the reissue job on that record is so good, I decided to roll the dice on a contemporary offering from Aguirre that also sounded like it fit my needs. My initial reaction to hearing the Begotten's music online was that this trio was approaching zones tread upon by Fabulous Diamonds circa Commercial Music, but subsequent listens have decidedly not taken me that far out. While it's clear the band is made up of exceptionally talented musicians, the music tends to be pretty safe and stays close to the shore. The B-side's a bit better: "Eiland Zonder Oceaan" and "60 Manen" are as close as this record gets to the "dub with tears" descriptor from the label, and the gossamer drone of closer "Klauwzeer" is cool, but nothing really sticks once it's over. Seems like these guys could probably freak out the crowd at a traditional jazz club, but Temidden Laaghangende Wolken keeps the listener at arms' length, simmering but ultimately tepid once you're beneath the surface.

Cube, Drug of Choice (Alter)

Fave record of the year so far! I caught Cube (aka Adam Keith) burning down the Pilot Light what seems like an eternity ago, touring on his last LP, Decoy Street. Nothing on that LP approached the fiery performance I saw, but he's definitely harnessed that energy on Drug of Choice. The record flows seamlessly, corroded breakcore flooding into all corners, causing machines to gasp and whirr and burst, and Keith's intermittent vocalizations are as sinister and biting as they are introspective and philosophical. "Natural Selector" has all of the above, but for my money it's the closing duo - the frenzy of "Moderator" and the terrifying strobelight beatdown of "Cusp" - that really show the piledriving exterior/groaning interior dichotomy that makes the record so magnetic. The label said it best: Drug of Choice "deliver[s] something that feels as much focused on artful constructions of private experiences as it does the cathartic qualities of noise." Alter's quietly releasing some of the best contemporary records, but Cube's Drug of Choice has all the right stuff to justifiably blow up their profile. Wildly intense and devious record; grip a copy and lose your mind with me. While you're at it, check out Adam Keith's amazing Baited Area zine - some of the most engaging arts 'n culture writing/interviews this side of Demystification.

The Gagmen, s/t (iDEAL)

Aaron Dilloway, Nate Young, Joachim Nordwall and apparently Andrew W.K. teamed up as the Gagmen for a performance a few years ago, captured here and put to wax by Nordwall himself for his iDEAL label. I was expecting a pretty blistering assault given the clientele, but what you get is the opposite: slow loops, spare instrumentation, Young's sleepy vocals, all stark and creepy and forcing you to lean into it. The end of the second track gets a little intense, with some wailing loop and white noise combining to tickle your ear hairs, but aside from those couple of minutes, the bulk of The Gagmen is like a black breezy night forcing things to move that usually don't. Puts a knot in your stomach, it does. Hey, it's not for everyone, but if you loved the Komare LP from last year like me, you're gonna find a lot to enjoy here.

Monokultur, Ormens Väg (ever/never)

Glad to see Monokultur continuing their relationship with ever/never, not least of all because those overseas shipping costs hurt. Ormens Väg is the Swedish duo's second LP, and right from the jump they're seemingly headed in a more accessible pop direction. It's a good look for them: opener "Decennium" features big warm keyboards and probably the most exposed vocals from the band yet, kinda coming across like the Knife covering Berlin. It's followed by my favorite track, "För sent," which has a bass line that melts and soothes your ears, topped by JJ Ulius' forlorn (I'm assuming) spoke-sung vocals. The band nods at an earlier incantation of themselves on the buzzed descent of "Kanske blir det sämre", but for the most part the rest of Ormens Väg continues in this gorgeous, warm and spare mode. Take the beautiful instrumental "Vårdagjämning," which almost sounds like it was lifted from the xx's cutting floor until the tape loops emerge like swirling smoke to cloud the proceedings. By the track's end the band somehow ends up on Robert Turman's turf but everything feels cohesive, all of it delicately presented. Shit, even the snippet of "Silent Night" emerging at the end of the title track doesn't take the record off course. Pretty much perfect little record, and yet another early favorite from this year.

Nina Harker, s/t (Animal Biscuit/La République des Granges/Le Syndicat des Scorpions)

This record came out in the middle of 2020, but I missed it then and it's a current obsession now. Shoutout to @dustedandsocial, Yellow Green Red, Fuckin' Record Reviews and everyone else who pointed me in its direction, late as I may be. I don't have a whole lot of info on Nina Harker but it appears that it's the work of one Valentin Noiret, some mad multilingual genius working between the lines connecting Dome, La Grande Triple Alliance and Enhet För Fri Musik. "L'affreuse" is pretty illustrative of how Nina Harker condenses genres into bite-size packets: the woozy, seasick synth topped by Xasthur-like vocals, which are then joined by what sounds like despairing Japanese, the shuffling song slowly building up to this terribly simple guitar part that just levels you when it hits. Not everything is so busy: "Müssen Wir Noch Aufblühen⁇" is a fantastic slice of minimal synth, and the two late night strummers "το κορίτσι γαβγίζει" and "Muto" are disarming in their stripped-down simplicity. The hum that overwhelms "Muto" razes the field to make way for the robotic waltz and maniacal ravings on "Du Schaffst es Nicht," one of many catchy, totally bizarre moments on the record. Nina Harker is riddled with anxiety, moving from frenzied to haunting without batting an eye, but it's also an absolutely singular approach to the dread and restlessness lurking in the corners. Perhaps more prescient than they would've guessed when they made this record. Stunning, hits the spot every time, track down a copy posthaste.

[betweenthetimeandsound]

Hello everybody!

I shared this in another Eurovision fan-group, but I have it hear for you too! A few months ago, I drew an art-piece featuring Poland's first four entries (1994-97), each with their own individual background in colored pencil. It's a follow-up to one with my favorite 1990s Greek entries, which I may post in the future.

Poland is still not one of my favorite countries in the contest--I never been enamored with their entries when I started watching the contest in 2017. However, they had a great run of entries to start, which makes their lack of form a bit saddening.

To nie ja (1994): Despite getting their best placing ever (2nd) in their debut, I'm not as enamored on this one. Edyta has amazing vocals and the lyrics tell a compelling Bildungsroman, but it just leaves me really cold. Also those who think she should've won that year (a definite pet peeve of mine) turn me off. (artist note: I found a pretty good picture of her rehearsal footage on RTE, albeit one with a different dress. It was actually easy to draw it thanks to a couple more references. The silver refers to her second-place finish, and I liked how it turned out on paper!)

Sama (1995): The complete opposite to their debut, Sama is pessimistic, out there, and intriguing. The combination of alternative music and orchestral arrangement conveys a dark atmosphere, added by the depressing lyrics. Justyna's vocals are an acquired taste, along with her performance, but they combine so fantastically in my opinion. (artist note: Getting Justyna's face tone right was quite difficult. I had to erase and re-do it with cream pencil over and over again. It kind of looks strange...)

Chcę znać swój grzech (1996): This one is pretty brooding and melancholic, and would've easily passed by if it weren't for Kasia's passionate delivery. One could feel her pain as she pleads to know what she did wrong, to save her failing relationship. Also, the title translates to "I want to know my sin...", and I have a soft-spot with religious references in music, haha. (artist's note: I wanted to mix the blue filter from the actual performance with the church atmosphere of the MV, but I'm afraid that the window wasn't drawn well. I also struggled to get a good source image.)

Ale jestem (1997): Probably my favorite of them, because it's so vibrant and full of life. From the initial strings (in the live version), one is taken in to a new world, filled with colors and light. Anna has delicate vocals which compliment this medieval-sounding song really well, and the lyrics are so poetic! (artist note: Anna Maria Jopek was the hardest source image to find, as I wasn't satisficed by the RTE archives and didn't like was on offer. So I created my own, and I'm happy how it turned out. Also, she had beige sleeves, but I changed them to gold because they just looked prettier. :) )

[sungwanns]

ah as someone who went to catholic school, i feel your pain with the uniforms. thank you tho - just picture your typical 2000s/early 2010s emo kid and that's me (≧▽≦) but for real - i'd pay good money to see you and seungmin switch for a day!

christmas cookies do sound fun! i'm sure yours taste great - i just bought a box from a store because i'm not even going to attempt making any HAHAHA. also i love how diverse your music taste is, and as a fan of j-pop/j-rock, i totally approve of one ok rock! yeah i feel you on taylor swift too. tho i wasn't such a fan of her as a teenager, i can appreciate her songs better now that i see them as the music of my youth i sound so old HAHAHA

ohh i never knew that about libra risings - that's pretty cool! hmm i don't think i've ever paid attention before to whether or not my face is symmetrical...i'll just pretend it is if it isn't (￣▽￣) ah you knowing all of this about skz is totally expected tho d(ﾟｰﾟ@) have you created charts for them before?

aww all your crochet stuff sounds so cute! and the skzoo pillows sound fun - i'd love to see when you finally get around to making them. i'll have to check out that podcast tho - i love paranormal stuff too!

also you're a supernatural fan? i haven't really seen the show (just a few eps here and there) but i feel like i know too much thanks to all the tumblr posts i've seen HAHAHA. i hope you're doing okay after the finale (≧▽≦)

true about the kingdom stuff - i was rewatching stages with a friend and that's the only reason i remember them. it seriously feels like it happened like. i dunno, last year. definitely not a few months ago.

ooh and as for the greens, i love lime green the best, but every green is still good...though i guess that depends on what colors they're with. totally respect your impatience for paint to dry - i imagine drawing is less messy than painting too. but either way i'm sure your art looks great! and speaking of which, i'm still digging for zoro changbin HAHAHA. AHH i'd die if/when you make a skz version of nami! i'm now imagining a hybrid of minho, hyunjin, and seungmin.

aww that's true - how far they've come/stays have come really shows these past couple of months. i still wish i would've joined earlier, but better late than never i suppose XD

i forgot about the crowd surfing! wow seungmin really went all out for MAMA this year. i kinda feel the same about the intro stage - it would've been better if they danced together, but at least we got hyunjin opening the whole thing. we really do need to take what we can get ( ;∀;)

ahh that's great!! FINALLY you get your boy! i haven't opened mine yet so...i guess it'll be a surprise who i pull (let's face it - it's probably jisung again HAHA). here's manifesting you keep getting more of him and seungmin in all your future albums!

oh and btw, thanks for letting me know your time zone! your gift is all finished - i just need to time the posting properly so you can get it on your 25th (i live 13 hours ahead of you apparently). would receiving it sometime in the afternoon be an okay time?

- your secret santa ^^

Omg catholic school buddies haha!! but yeah haha the uniforms were nice for not having to pick out an outfit everyday but at the same time it sucked having no creative liberties!! But emo fashion is great too!!! i end up dressing like that on accident every once in a while haha but seungmin!! you heard what the people want!! don’t be shy! come here and let me style you 😌

They took me like all day but they were fun haha!! and there’s nothing wrong with just buying some!! I do that when i don’t feel up to it haha it requires a very specific mood !! Omg thank you!!! Yay!! another one ok rock fan!! but im really not picky when it comes to music or food or anything really i like a little bit of everything!!

HAHA i feel that sometimes it’s just easier to pretend!! But also any planets in your first house (if you have any) can affect your appearance too since the 1st house rules the self!! for example uranus in the 1st house can give a person a tall almost lanky frame LMAO and i have that placement and look at me 5’10 LMAO & neptune in the 1st can give dark magnetic eyes & like a constant look in their eyes like they’re not really here?? haha and i have really dark blue almost gray eyes and people always ask what im thinking about💕 but uhh HAHA i may or may not have skz’s charts saved for the occasional study LMAO

Aw thank you!!! 🥺 I’ll definitely keep you updated on it!!! And yes i totally recommend the podcast if you have time it’s a really good mood lifter!!

Oh HAHA i totally get that there are so many things that i know sm about without watching bc of tumblr!! As for the finale… JAHDJSJ i just honestly pretend it never happened LMAO Castiel was my favorite character and they had to do him like that 😭 But whatever i just pretend it ended a completely different way so i don’t lose my mind LMAO <<3

RIGHT like it feels like so long ago!! I’ll have to rewatch them myself when i get some time and i’ll get back to you on it!!

Ooh!! I love lime green too!! I adore bright color & i love wearing them to haha Oh but i totally get you about it depending on what colors it’s with!! Oh yeah it totally can be so much neater than paint i always get paint all over myself HAHA well i always end up getting charcoal on my face too but that’s beside the point!! And omg im so sorry!! I’ll go dig it up and link you to it!! Here you go lovely!! The lighting was gross in the original so i cleaned him up in the rb LOL don’t mind it too much!! He’s not perfect but i think he still looks pretty nice! Also i believe i used an i am you era picture for binnie’s reference photo 😌

It really does!! 🥺 And don’t worry about it lovely!! I didn’t join red velvet’s fandom until they were a little over 3 years old so i totally get it!! but don’t worry about it bc there is still so much content to come!! 💙

But he really did UGH and he looked so nice while doing it!! I’m so proud of all of them!! And yes AH i would’ve just died happy if i got to see all of the members of the collab stage dance together!! But I got wendy in a collab stage with yuna, wonyoung and more & im getting a seulgi and bambam collab so i really can’t complain too much!! Skz please where are some more collabs id do anything

Oh i’m so excited for you!!! Manifesting a minho and/or hyunjin pull for you you deserve it!! Ah but thank you sm!! I hope i can continue to pull them!!

And omg ofc!! I really look forward to the gift i just know it’s gonna be amazing!! :D And i don’t mind at all!! Whatever time is easiest for you works just fine with me lovely!! 💙