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schweizercomics · 10 months

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THE GREATCOATS by Sebastien de Castell

I drew these up as one of the (mostly literary) paper figures I do each month for Patreon.

Despite always being drawn to the trappings of fantasy, there are precious few fantasy books (or movies, etc) that have resonated with me. One very notable exception is the Greatcoats series, four novels that follow a trio of comrades from an effectively-dissolved band of dueling magistrates, who, in their heyday, had been charged with enforcing unpopular verdicts against politically powerful folks who had, until that point, been untouchable by the rule of law.

It’s kind of a thrust-the-Musketeers-into-a-medieval-setting thing, and there are swordfights and sucked-into-political-intrigues-even-though-you’re-ill-suited-towards-them a’plenty, for folks who like that sort of thing, and I very much do.

From the first read (I’ve now read them all thrice, along with a collection of short stories), these have become some of my very favorite books, and I could not recommend them more highly. They can, at times, be a hard read; the world in which the Greatcoats live is an unjust one, and whatever terrible things you can imagine people doing (torture, sexual assault, murder, animal cruelty, etc) can and probably are enacted in it, but what has, to me, set this series apart from some other “grim” fantasies is the balance between the knowledge that the world is an unfair, cruel, and terrible place, with the wholehearted belief that it shouldn’t, and doesn’t have to be. Idealism colors every action of the leads, and there’s something incredibly moving and powerful about characters who persevere against impossible odds towards fairness and justice despite encountering the very worst examples of their absence, never in ignorance or denial but out of pure stubbornness.

De Castell crafts a narrative with masterful control over how it’ll affect the reader; it’s melodrama in the best way, with huge operatic emotional beats. They never feel calculated – they’re all earnest, and they’re all earned. There are sections that make you weep, that make you laugh, and (I suspect this is the rarest, and most difficult to achieve) that make you want to cheer, stomp, salute. Moving speeches, incredible narrative payoffs, characters for whom you desperately root. Plus, of course, the suspense of peril and the best action sequences I’ve ever encountered in prose. De Castell’s first-person narration of fight scenes from the point of view of a strategist follows a pretty wonderful pattern of beginning the fight, edging the audience, and then turning to an aside that informs the context of the fight - a lesson learned long ago, an observation about the human condition, a technique frequently incorporated by duelists, an anecdote – and then return to the fight, the new context both heightening the peril and also providing a means by which the reader can fully appreciate the very clever way that the hero(s) win despite being outmatched. It’s a great internal “meanwhile, back at the ranch” and it gives each action encounter (and they are joyously plentiful) narrative weight.

Again, I can’t recommend the series more highly. It has some truly great characters – the leads, the supporting cast, the villains are wonderful and terrible, and the setting is rich and immersive. De Castell describes it as “swashbuckling fantasy,” and it swashbuckles its heart out.

You can get it in print, or in unabridged audiobook (Audible has it, and probably your library does, too), wonderfully narrated by Joe Jameson.

There are a number of other great characters, too – co-leads in their own right – but to draw them is to provide spoilers, so rather than do a whole cast, as I sometimes do, I’ve stuck to the three that you get from the first page.

Design (for process buffs)

There’s not too much visual description about the characters; Kest is described as of average height and build, with short hair, Brasti has hair long enough to tie back and a beard and is tall… and I think that’s it (at least so far as I’ve noticed, or remember).

There’s a tendency to make archers lean and wiry – it compliments the arrow imagery, and a tight, sinewy form seems a carryover of the bowstring to its user, but I wanted Falcio to be lean and triangular, and stoic Kest to be square, so it got me thinking that Brasti ought to have rounder features to offset and compliment the others. He’s a country boy, too, and where I’m from the troublemakers are often a little meatier, so it felt fitting, though it does suggest that he's physically imposing in a way the stories don’t push. But I kind of like that beefy, country swagger he’s got. He’s carrying two bows, as it’s a plot point that he has bows for different purposes: a fast one, and a powerful one.

The eponymous coats were tricky; they’re practically magic; serving as armor (via little bone plates sewn under the leather) and utility belt, with little pockets for whatever the story may require the characters need. I wanted a way to make them modular, so I figured on making a pretty sturdy chest piece that folds back to allow the coat to be open and unbuttoned, and a rolled epaulet that unrolls and can be used as a gorget to protect the neck during a duel (or from the cold).

I wanted each of the characters to be able to wear the coat differently, to reflect their personalities: Kest, always at the ready and doing things the “right” way, has his greatcoat fully rigged. Byronic Falcio needs to be able to dash about with tragic romanticism, so his coat needs to be a little more open – I probably should’ve had the chestpiece partially unflapped ala the Rocketeer, but I also wanted it to read clearly. And Brasti wears his because he has to, so he has all the trappings tied or buttoned back.

Last Thoughts

For artist and writer pals, I’d highly recommend listening to any of De Castell’s interviews on podcasts or on youtube; he’s generous with his process and has a lot of great thoughts about the act of writing.

#Fantasy Fiction #Swashbuckling #Sebastien de Castell #The Greatcoats #Greatcoats #Greatcoats Series #Fantasy Series #Book review #book recommendations #fanart #fantasy art #character design

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amberaddict · 1 year

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Last year my friend Laragh started the first ever Amber Benson Appreciation Day. Today marks the day 21 years ago when the "Seeing Red" episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer first aired in the USA. The finale of the episode had a hugely negative effect on the LGBTQIA+ community. It also started a trend where LGBTQIA+ characters were killed off from other popular TV series too. Laragh's idea was to reclaim the day and focus on the positive effect that Amber's character Tara Maclay had and continues to have for fans to this day. Amber has often spoken about the impact playing the role of Tara had on her life and she continues to be a huge supporter to the LGBTQIA+ community.

I was drawn to the character of Tara when she made her debut in season 4. Tara was shy and lacked confidence. I've never been shy in fact sometimes I can be quite loud but that hid the fact that I have a real lack of self-belief. Watching Tara become more comfortable and confident with herself as the seasons moved on gave me hope I could do the same. I thought Amber played her so well I wanted to see what other roles she had tackled. In doing so I became much more aware of issues faced by the LGBTQIA+ community and I hope I’ve become an ally to the community as a whole. As well as a friend to some of the truly amazing people I've met as a result of becoming an Amber Benson fan.

Last year I wrote a post about meeting Amber and how she has and continues to have such a positive impact on my life. I'm going to add the link to my original post below if you can, check it out.

https://www.tumblr.com/amberaddict/683724577769177088/my-friend-laragh-organised-amber-benson?source=share

Due to the covid pandemic and my disability, I thought I may not have another opportunity to meet Amber in person. Last October however Amber returned to the UK to attend a convention and I was lucky enough to be there. Amber was once again incredibly kind and generous with her time and gave me encouragement to continue to pursue my writing.

Amber is an amazing person and I know from talking to many other fans across the world who have met her they have nothing but praise for her. Click on the appreciation day hashtag and I'm sure you'll be able to read plenty of other similar stories.

It has been a pleasure to write this post and I hope in some small way I have done Amber justice.

Joe

#amber benson #buffy the vampire slayer #tara maclay #amber benson appreciation day

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therecordchanger62279 · 3 months

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163 PLAYLISTS

My listening habits are changing. The real evolution began when we were forced to move to a small two-bedroom apartment from a three-bedroom, two-story house. Living in an apartment complex with neighbors above you, and on either side requires a bit of consideration, and discretion when it comes to noise. As a result, I’m finding myself listening to music more often on my computer, and my iPod. My records still get played on my turntable, of course, but my cassette deck, and CD player often go unused for weeks. The new CDs, or those I’m playing more often get downloaded to my iTunes program. And the cassettes usually are limited to accompanying me on walks when the weather is friendly, and whatever I’m in the mood for is only available to me in that format.

But the availability of a computer program allows me to listen to music in a new way because I’m able to organize it. No longer do I have to listen to my collection one album at a time. Now, in order to get the most out of my collection (especially with time always at a premium), I’ve taken to creating my own playlists, and I’m particular about what goes in them, and always trying to think outside of the box so that the playlist can give me a completely fresh listening experience. That’s why I don’t use the streaming services. I don’t want to pay them to make playlists that aren’t as interesting or comprehensive as those I can make for myself.

I’ve done a few posts here about specific playlists, but this time I thought I’d provide the entire list. I’ve given each playlist an appropriate name, with a brief explanation of what’s in it, and how many songs (in parentheses) make up that playlist. I won’t list every artist in every one of the mixed artist lists, but you’ll get the idea anyway. So, here, alphabetically, is the complete list as of March 2024. Playlists come and go, and nothing is immune to changes, and tweaks. That’s what makes this so much fun.

…and Friends (115) I wanted a playlist that brought together a group of musicians who often played with one another, and whose music was somewhat similar. The title, and the concept came from the Delaney & Bonnie & Friends On Tour album where they were playing with Eric Clapton. That group of musicians, together, and separately also played with Joe Cocker, and Leon Russell who are here, among others. Clapton played with them and Duane Allman which opened the playlist to The Allman Brothers. I added J.J. Cale as well. The Band was also included because they played with Clapton on his No Reason To Cry LP. And, of course, Delaney & Bonnie, and Derek & The Dominos appear along with Blind Faith. Bobby Whitlock of The Dominos, and Rick Danko of The Band also appear as solo artists. Anyway, you get the idea. And the music fits together beautifully.

Alive/Total Energy (136) The first of many label playlists. Label playlists are open to any artist on that particular label. This list features everyone from The Black Keys to Datura 4 to Buffalo Killers, and more. It helps if the label does a particular type of music, and, if not, that you restrict the playlist to music that fits together.

Alligator Blues (457) Another label list drawn from all of the anniversary releases (there are 7) by the Alligator label along with a few artist collections, and a series the label did called Crucial Blues. Every artist who ever recorded for the label is represented (except one I don’t much care for), and because of the label’s consistency over the past 50 years, is a perfect playlist for the contemporary Blues fan.

Allman Brothers Band (44) A collection of my favorite songs by the band along with some of the solo stuff members did as well. It could be much bigger, but since the band is represented on a few other playlists, I limited this one.

AM Gold (1,404) A massive collection of artists and songs spanning AM radio in the 60s and 70s.

AM Soul (553) Same concept as AM Gold, but this one is strictly Soul music from the same period.

America (80) Songs from 7 different albums by the band America.

Americana (310) A genre playlist bringing together what I consider to be American Roots Music. So anyone whose music fits that description is on the list. So there’s Rock, Blues, and Country from artists ranging from Los Lobos to Johnny Cash to X to Doug Sahm to Ry Cooder to The Byrds, and so on.

Asylum Records (432) Not strictly a record label collection – although many of the artists included were on the Asylum label. But the focus is, instead, on the West Coast singer-songwriter movement of the 70s with room for a few artists who might well have spent time or should be in an Asylum. So there’s Linda Ronstadt, Eagles (group and solo), Little Feat, Tom Waits, Van Dyke Parks, the Buckingham-Nicks Fleetwood Mac, Frank Zappa, and so on.

Bang Yer Head (778) Exactly what you’d imagine – 778 of my favorite Hard Rock/Heavy Metal songs.

Bangles (226) Every Bangles group and solo recording I own.

Bar None (84) A label collection that features, so far, four of the artists who record for the label.

Beach Boys (114) My favorite songs by the band, along with some solo work by Brian, and Dennis. The surf stuff is not represented. You’ll see why later. This list focuses on the period after they stopped making surf records (although it does include a few early non-surf favorites.

Beatles (88) My favorite Beatles songs spanning 1963-1970.

Beatles Early Years (28) Star-Club and early Decca recordings only.

Beatles Solo (173) My favorites from each of the band member's solo catalogs.

Beck, Jeff Beck (37) Not to be confused with that other Beck. Favorites spanning his career.

Beserkley (77) A label playlist featuring the usual suspects – Modern Lovers, Greg Kihn, Earthquake, The Rubinoos, and more.

Bird (27) My Charlie Parker playlist is simply a digital version of Warner Brothers 2 record set The Very Best of Bird issued in 1977. It was never available on CD, so I reconstructed it from a box set I have. Same running order, same songs. By far, my favorite Parker recordings.

Bizarre/Straight (86) A label list featuring Frank Zappa, early Alice Cooper, Captain Beefheart, and the G.T.O.’s.

Black Sabbath (54) All drawn from the post-Ozzy era. The Ozzy stuff is represented in the Bang Yer Head playlist.

Blood, Sweat & Tears (45) The band’s first five albums complete.

Blues (319) My favorite Blues records minus anything on the Alligator label which has its own playlist.

Bomp/Voxx (258) A label list with artists ranging from The Barracudas, to The Crawdaddys to Iggy Pop, The Last, Paul Collins, Romantics, Shoes, Flamin’ Groovies, Zeros, and more.

Bowie (104) All my favorites. I’ve tried to make it smaller, and I just can’t.

Boz Scaggs (28) Drawn from his career-spanning My Time anthology, and his Memphis blues album.

Brian Auger (24) From a career-spanning Best of.

British Blues Boom (337) A who’s who of the British Blues movement from the beginning.

Bruce Power Trios (67) The Jack Bruce trios with Cream, BBM, West, Bruce & Laing, and Robin Trower

Buddy & Co. (103) A mix of Buddy Holly, Del Shannon, Roy Orbison, Bobby Fuller Four, Tommy Roe, Bobby Vee, and Marshall Crenshaw. If you know these artists, you know they fit together beautifully.

Cactus (30) Drawn from a career-spanning anthology, and the reunion album V.

CD5’s (368) A playlist of every CD single I own – all in one place.

Chick Corea (58) Drawn from 6 or 7 of my favorite Corea albums.

Chick Corea Elektric Band (67) The band’s complete catalog of studio recordings.

Christmas (150) Best Christmas and Holiday songs from every genre.

Chuck Berry’s Golden Decade (76) Modeled after his three volumes of Golden Decade collections along with the Blues collection, some rarities, and his final album CHUCK.

Clash (35) My favorites with some interview snippets thrown in for variety.

Clive’s World (266) One of my more inspired playlist ideas. Designed to chronicle the period at Columbia Records when Clive Davis took over the label, and remade it as a contemporary giant in the music business by signing artists the likes of Laura Nyro, Sly & The Family Stone, Chicago, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Taj Mahal, Johnny Winter, Electric Flag, Janis Joplin, Santana, and many more. It all fits together beautifully, and recalls an era (1968-1974) when Columbia really was one of the great record labels. Based on Davis’s first autobiography, Clive.

Coltrane ’61 (50) Every Coltrane recording live and studio from the calendar year 1961.

Coltrane ’67 (25) Every Coltrane recording live and studio from his final calendar year 1967.

Columbia Classics (180) 15 complete album favorites on the Columbia label from a dozen different artists (Miles, Sly, Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Santana, and more.)

Coolest Songs (141) Features 8 volumes of the Wicked Cool label series The Coolest Songs in The World, along with a collection they did called Halloween a Go-Go. A real mixed bag of cool stuff.

Country (551) All my favorite Country songs in one place.

Creem (817) Based on the artists written about and reviewed over a 20 year span in Creem magazine. All were welcome provided the song in question was true to the magazine’s style and mission statement. This was a challenge, but I got it right. Listening to the playlist reflects my experience reading the magazine. And this is the kind of playlist no computer program or algorithm could ever provide for you.

Cruisin’ (105) The Cruisin’ series 1955-1963, and a Wolfman Jack CD titled Howlin’ On the Air. Basically, radio shows from the Golden Age of Rock n’ Roll.

Dance/Pop/Hip-Hop (311) A mix of contemporary radio fare from the late 70s into the current century. There’s less of this kind of thing in my collection than most genres because my interest in and tolerance for it has limits. But the best of what I heard is all here from Kylie Minogue, and The Spice Girls to Beyonce and Amerie, Madonna to Taylor Swift, etc. there’s even some hardcore Rap.

Deep Purple (81) The Blackmore classic era is represented in the Bang Yer Head file. This one focuses on the Steve Morse years, and I threw in Slaves and Masters with Blackmore, but with Joe Lynn Turner on vocals just for fun.

Disaster (110) Punk from the Disaster label drawn from four volumes of the Old Skars and Upstarts CD series.

Discreet (57) Label playlist that features Frank Zappa, Zappa with Captain Beefheart, and Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes. Odd collection, but, like all the others, somehow it works. It helps they all come from the same time period.

Donna Summer (30) About a decade’s worth of her best. I wasn’t into Disco, but I was into Donna.

Doors (40) Just my 40 favorite Doors songs on one list.

Doug Snyder & (17) Doug Snyder was a regular customer at a record shop I worked at many years ago. One day he handed me two CDs, and a cassette of his own music. He was such a quiet, retiring guy, that he’d never even mentioned to me before that he was a musician, and had made some records. It’s all experimental noise Rock (a genre I love), and so I used the two CDs, and found a free download online of the cassette, and put it all together. It plays for 2 ½ hours, and you can get lost in it. The CDs are Daily Dance and The Rules of Play credited to Doug Snyder and Bob Thompson. The cassette is Interference by a band Doug was in called Sick Dick & The Volkswagens. I wonder what he’d say if he knew he’d made my playlists collection.

Duffy (20) The two records by British chanteuse Duffy, a favorite of mine.

Dylan (55) Cherry-picked collection of my favorite Dylan songs.

ECM Radio (206) A collection of songs drawn from the Rarum series of CDs on the ECM label, along with a couple of label samplers. Virtually every Jazz artist in the label’s history is represented here.

ECM Touchstones (156) 50 of the label’s classic albums in one place.

ECM Touchstones II (167) 50 more of the label’s classic albums in one place.

Elmore James (73) The essential recordings from my favorite Blues artist of all-time.

Eric Clapton (56) My favorite Clapton stuff, but excludes his ’74-’77 years. For that go to….

Eric Clapton & His Band (55) All the recordings, live and studio from his ’74-’77 band. He’d kicked the heroin to become an alcoholic, but it seemed to lubricate his creativity. That was his best band.

Film Music (96) My favorite songs from my collection of film scores and soundtracks.

Fleetwood Mac (75) Group and solo favorites spanning the band’s entire career.

Folk (198) My favorite British and American Folk music from the 50s to the present day.

Garage Rock (1,024) Some of the greatest music of my lifetime made by kids not much older than me. Primitive, raw, energetic, and irresistible. Drawn from a variety of compilation series such as Nuggets, Back from The Grave, Pebbles, Teenage Shutdown, Psychedelic States and more.

George Jones (39) Favorites from Country music’s greatest voice. Tammy Wynette guest stars.

Georgie Fame (65) Primarily a download of a vinyl boxed set titled The Whole World’s Shaking. Includes a few extra tracks from my collection. Fame is one of the great voices in British Blues and Jazz.

Glenn Hughes (66) Hard Rock’s MVP award goes to this guy who has had a long solo and band career making music with some legendary names. Includes tracks from Trapeze, Deep Purple, Black Country Communion, Dead Daisies, and his solo career. Wall-to-wall great.

Gliiter & Glam (94) Platform shoes, capes, teased hair, makeup, and electric guitars fueled this 70s Rock movement. Bowie, T. Rex, Roxy Music, Sweet, Queen, Suzi Quatro, Slade, Mott The Hoople, and more.

Grand Funk Railroad (104) The people’s band live and studio best. I still listen to them.

Guess Who (32) Among Canada’s best exports. Hit after hit after hit.

Herbie Hancock (32) Drawn from his late 70s Jazz records with V.S.O.P., some 60s Blue Note favorites, and a one-off with Michael Brecker & Roy Hargrove.

Immediate Records (162) An overview of Andrew Oldham's Immediate label during the Swinging London period of the 1960s.

InsideOut (161) The best of the 90s European Progressive Rock label. Squire, Howe, Hackett, Flower Kings, Pallas, and more.

Jackie ’60-’67 (59) Eleven of the best of saxophonist Jackie McLean’s albums for Blue Note during the sixties. All of them gems.

Jazz (250) My favorite Jazz in the traditional mode.

Jazz Christmas (91) The best Christmas music is Jazz Christmas music.

Jazz Fusion (356) Miles, Weather Report, Return To Forever, Mahavishnu, Coryell, Herbie’s Headhunters, and more.

Jazz Is (671) The more commercial stuff drawn from the late 70s to the 90s, and beyond. The GRP artists, Bob James, David Sanborn, Candy Dulfer, Bobbi Humphrey, Crusaders, Chuck Mangione, the CTI stable of artists, Earl Klugh, Eric Gale, George Benson, Grover Washington, Jr., Joe Farrell, Joe Sample, John Klemmer, Rippingtons, Spyro Gyra….you get the idea. The stuff the Downbeat critics hated. No Kenny G, or other junk like that. Just the best musicians in the world cookin’, and groovin’. I built this from the ground up just a few years ago because I wasn’t buying it or listening to much of it back in the day. But it sure sounds great now.

Jefferson Starship (76) One of the most underrated bands of the 70s and 80s.

Jersey Shore (273) New York and New Jersey music – Billy Joel, Springsteen, Four Seasons, Rascals, Mink DeVille, Genya Ravan, Patti Smith, the Dolls, Ronnie Spector, Southside Johnny, and more.

Jimi Hendrix (55) All his best.

John Mayall (81) I have more than 40 Mayall titles in my collection. So I pared this down to his anthologies on the Deram, ABC, and Silvertone labels which covers about 40 years.

Joni Mitchell (26) Only the very best.

L.A. Witch (23) The catalog from the edgy all-girl band.

Led Zeppelin (86) The studio catalog – all of it.

Live! (72) A mix of favorite live albums. This is constantly changing.

Lorrie Morgan (47) Country music’s greatest female voice – to my ears anyway.

Michigan Rocks (523) Covers the cream of the Michigan Rock scene from Garage to Punk to Metal to Glam to just plain ol’ Rock. Seger, Nugent, Ryder, Quatro, MC5, Stooges, Frost, SRC, Third Power, and all the rest. No stone left unturned.

Midnight Oil (86) The best from one of my all-time favorite bands.

Miles Davis 1957-1991 (59) The focus is on his 80s work with just a few tracks from the 50s, 60s and 70s. The rest is elsewhere.

Mod Revival (169) The best of the bands who formed in the wake of The Jam’s success in England. Mod style. Mod sound. Late 70s period.

Moondog Matinee (1,309) named after Alan Freed’s radio show, this is (I swear) every great record from the early days of Rock ‘n’ Roll. R&B, Doo Wop, Rockabilly, and that demon Rock ‘n’ Roll.

My Jukebox (1,000) My 1,000 favorite songs of all-time.

Nanci Griffith (209) Most of the catalog from the best artist of the past 45 years.

Neil Young + Friends (51) The absolutely essential Neil Young solo work and his stuff with CSNY, Buffalo Springfield, Stephen Stills, Crazy Horse, and The Stray Gators.

Nightclubbing (112) Live sets from bands of the New Wave, and Punk era.

No More Wars (63) A collection of anti-war songs.

Norman Whitfield (80) A collection of the best from Motown producer Norman Whitfield.

Norton Records (164) Some of the best from NY label Norton records.

NWOBHM (182) A generous sampling of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement of the late 70s, and early 80s.

Ono (67) The first four solo albums by Yoko Ono, and some rare singles.

Ornette Coleman (137) My favorite Coleman records beginning with his mid-60s Blue Notes, and continuing to his final recordings before his passing in 2015. Also includes tribute albums from Tim Berne, and Aki Takase & Silke Eberhard as well as five tracks from his funeral service by admirers, and fellow travelers.

Outlaws (117) Waylon & Willie, and a few others.

Ozzy Osbourne (107) All his best solo records in one place.

Paisley Underground (263) The best of one of California’s coolest musical movements. Bangles, Dream Syndicate, Three O’Clock, Green On Red, Game Theory, Long Ryders, Rain Parade, and many more. This took a lot of work. Much of this stuff had gone out of print. There really should be a box set. Are you listening Omnivore, or Rhino Records?

Patti Smith (48) All of her groundbreaking stuff in one place.

Paul Weller (34) The Jam are elsewhere. This is all Style Council, and solo work.

PJ Raw (117) The edgiest, and best of PJ Harvey’s amazing catalog.

PJ Stripped (92) Every track here comes from Harvey's demos series of albums.

Pop TV (100) The Monkees, Cowsills, Partridge Family, The Archies, and Josie & the Pussycats. A sugar overdose.

Post Modern (317) The best of 80s Modern Rock.

QSKY Radio (89) Soundtracks for Almost Famous, FM, and Dazed and Confused – all in one place, and all hailing from the same era.

R.E.M. (43) The cream of Athens, Georgia’s finest band.

Radio London (136) British Pop, and Rock from the Pirate Radio era in England.

Rainbow (67) Ritchie Blackmore’s other contribution to head banging.

Redbeard (1,544) FM radio in the 1970s named after its greatest DJ. Every great record is here – I swear on my stack of Circus back issues.

Reggae (153) A healthy sampling of Jamaica’s greatest export. And only 16 of the tracks are by Bob Marley & the Wailers.

Return To Forever (36) Live and studio very best.

Riot Grrrls (232) Begins with Joan Jett and The Runaways, and includes Bikini Kill, L7, Sleater-Kinney and many more.

Rolling Solo (153) What were the Stones up to when they weren’t rolling? Begin here.

Rolling Stones (136) The best studio tracks.

Rolling Stones Live! (64) Betcha can’t guess what’s in this one.

Ronnie Spector (91) Most of the Ronettes, and Ronnie solo recordings.

Rosanne Cash (40) Her very best as chosen by me.

Rush (34) Comprised of the ‘74’-80 Retrospective, Moving Pictures and Vapor Trails – my favorites.

San Francisco (289) The best music from one of America’s greatest cities. Dead, Airplane, Starship, Hot Tuna, CCR, Doobies, Groovies, Santana, Steve Miller, Youngbloods, Tower of Power and more.

Santana (98) The very cream of the band and solo albums.

Scorpions (47) These will indeed, Rock You Like a Hurricane.

Simon & Garfunkel (37) Just the duo’s best. The solo work is elsewhere.

Slash/Los Angeles (345) A killer collection of the best from Slash Records, Slash magazine, and the Los Angeles scene of the late 70s and early 80s.

Slayer (41) For my money, the last great Metal band.

Sleater-Kinney (40) A mix of live and studio stuff.

Softcult (19) Most of the catalog from this Bandcamp favorite.

Sonic Youth (38) Noise merchants live and in the studio.

Southbound (117) Songs by mostly Southern artists about living in, going to, or from the South. Great road music. From the bluegrass of Kentucky to the Voodoo of New Orleans to the Florida Keys. Just take 75 South.

Southern Rock (245) All the finest music from artists of the Southern United States.

Steely Dan (77) The entire catalog through Gaucho, amigo.

Stephen Stills (54) Best band and solo work, similar to the Neil Young playlist, but nothing repeated.

Steppenwolf (45) Like Grand Funk, a sentimental favorite, and a band I still listen to.

Surf & Drag (733) An entire playlist of surf and car songs. This is where The Beach Boys surf records are hiding.

Suzanne Vega (67) The best of her studio work.

Taylor Swift (42) Eleven early favorites, and the entire 31 track The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.

Temptations (53) Motown’s finest.

The Mooney Suzuki (38) Garage Rock for the new century. Three studio records and one live. A wall of noisy Rock.

The Reivers (29) As Americana music goes, this is as good as it gets.

Todd Rundgren & Utopia (50) The absolute finest Pop Rock you’ll ever hear. Has both his solo work, and his work with Utopia.

Tom Petty (169) Live and studio masterpieces.

Top 100 (100) My 100 most played songs. I update it monthly.

Troubadours (403) Singer-songwriters, King, Taylor, Paul Simon, Souther, Stevens, Croce, Buffett, Denver, Mitchell, Collins, Nyro, Loggins & Messina, Carly Simon, Newman, Vega, Waits, and many, many more.

Trouser Press (715) Like the Creem playlist, this is based on the magazine that ran from 1974 to 1984, and covered both the British music scene, and the blossoming Punk and New Wave movements. I did a brilliant job with this one as well. It’s like having your own Time Machine.

Van Halen (66) Probably all anyone needs.

Van Morrison (119) All solo work, and all essential.

Velvet Underground (64) 31 Velvets tracks, and 33 more from Reed, Cale, and Nico solo.

Vinyl Masters (398) Complete albums from the golden age of vinyl records – all personal favorites.

Voices (393) The greatest voices in popular music from Sinatra to Streisand to Bennett to Celine Dion to The Carpenters, and more. Not Rock. Not Folk. Not Blues. All stuff your parents loved. All stuff that anyone with an ear for quality will recognize as worthwhile.

Weather Report (87) Most of their brilliant catalog in one place.

West Coast Jazz (242) You thought I forgot about the other coast, didn’t you? Never. All great Jazz music from the Pacific coast state. Essential. Drawn from two boxed sets, and book of the same name along with a variety of things from my collection.

Who (33) 16 of The Who’s best and 17 more from Townshend, Entwistle, and Daltrey solo.

Wilko (46) Not the band, but the late ex-Dr. Feelgood guitarist. Includes his work with the Feelgoods, Roger Daltrey, and some solo stuff. I miss him.

Willy DeVille (65) Includes the best Mink DeViIle, and solo work as well. So underrated. And still missed.

Winwood (36) Career overview featuring Traffic, Blind Faith, Spencer Davis, and Powerhouse along with some sterling solo work.

Woodstock (28) A hodgepodge of my favorite songs from “3 Days of Love and Peace.”

Yoko (50) No, you’re not seeing things. This is the other Yoko Ono playlist. This one picks up with the Double Fantasy sessions, and runs through her 1995 Rising album. I love Yoko’s work. No, seriously. Stop laughing. I’m not joking.

Yuja Wang (95) Everything I have to date from the greatest pianist I’ve ever heard.

That’s it. Check back for updates now, and again. I’m always making playlists because I have nothing better to do. I hope this list gave you some ideas of your own.

#playlists

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bisluthq · 3 months

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I think people also don't know or ignore how creative writing works. As someone who writes poetry as a way to get my feelings out, I'll be the first to tell you artists or creative people in general are all a bit crazy, a bit dramatic. Like we have big feelings and can be a bit dramatic about them. The feeling a song conveys doesn't have to be a super long drawn feeling ykim? Sometimes things aren't good in that moment and a song is a portrait of that moment that we need it to framed.

I wrote so many poems full on ugly crying and it makes you feel so much better after you get that feeling out. And after you get that out of you, you're able to think clearer and actually be like you know what maybe things aren't as bad as they seemed when I wrote this. You know what, I actually think if we do this or that this could be fixed.

Obviously I don't know their situation, but unlike swifties who think Taylor was held at gunpoint to make her stay more than a year absolutely unhappy, I think that whatever was going on she ended up by thinking they could still solve the situation. And for a while they probably did. If the problem was lack of attention or him being away from work, it seems like in 2022 they actually tried to spend more time together. He was just doing promo and not really being away for a long time.

And then for whatever reason things crashed again. Either because the og issues were just swept under the rug and not solved or something new came up

is it lack of understanding the creative process or a lack of life experience? I mean the former often strikes me as true with Swifties insisting all songs are play by plays and hyperrealistic and like almost form a storyline. They don’t lol even where they are truthful like I can all but guarantee when Taylor agreed to go out with lmfao Hiddles she wasn’t thinking he’s her getaway car - that’s how she came to think about it when it crashed and burned as fast as it did but like obviously that wasn’t her starting point?? Because she’s not insane?? But like that’s how she thought about it on reflection lol. Or taking songs like IWYW or Wildest Dreams or Stay Stay Stay or half of folkmore which she’s said are fantasies and/or very clearly are fantasies and plainly not believing her. That’s a lack of understanding the creative process.

a lot of how Swifties talk about her relationships - and especially this one with Joe - speaks to me to a lack of life experience (not meaning this negatively necessarily). My friend who set me up (in a roundabout way) with my bf is very regularly very miserable with her partner. In part because he doesn’t want to get married anymore. In part because he’s bad at communication. In part because they have different things that they enjoy tbh. In part because he makes decisions without talking to her. In part because he doesn’t get like set crew schedules and gets very annoyed with how her work life is structured. In part because he gets quite jealous idk. She tells me this stuff regularly but they stay together and they do have plenty of fun together - I’ve seen them having fun together with my own eyeballs and also she tells me tbh like they are clearly not happy every day but they’re also clearly not about to break up rn (my bf and I love both of them but we do think they will eventually) and idk guys lots of people are in similar situations? I’ve been in situations I stayed in because it didn’t suck every day? Every divorcing couple ever has stayed in stuff past the point of knowing it’s fucked? Like idk that’s part of life???? People don’t break up one morning just because like they realized yesterday they felt shit because there’s a good chance that morning you make coffee together and have a laugh about something and you just… stay. And you hope tomorrow is good again. And then when it isn’t and maybe it sucks then eh you hope for tomorrow all over again.

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dijanadraws · 5 months

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2023 review

Hi beans! I bring you an art dump of all my art made in 2023 because I keep forgetting this website exists. (It's c/pd from my Patreon, that's how bad I am.)

First up is a book cover I made for my sister (Daina Rustin - Demon Hunter, not published), that I actually started a year or two ago, but had the last push/rework in January and called it finished. I’m also adding the sword concepts I made for it, even though they were technically done in 2022, as I haven’t shared them before.

In February, I did some figure and hand studies with some friends on the NFC discord, and thumbnailed a bunch of locations and ideas for Sky Across illustrations. March was the beginning of my character concept art project for the main character of Sky Across - Aurelia.

Started with figure drawings, then outfit variations and explorations for different uses and settings. After that it was colour variations, and the last one is a finished character illustration. I also spent some time doing general research and working on worldbuilding, writing and designing certain elements that will be important for the story later on :>

At the beginning of June, I started working on a “props” section for my portfolio. I made it so far that I made a whole 3D/blender scene with them, and then…. I wasn’t excited about painting them. I kept pushing it around, sort of like pushing food around your plate when you have no appetite. After some time staring at that task in my calendar, I decided I would be better off doing something that ✨ sparked joy ✨ instead. So, I painted a new Witcher fanart piece. It was done in anticipation of the third season of the show on Netflix…. That I still haven’t finished. Oops.

July and August were a big dud for me, art-wise. I was going through a rough period and I was busy with real-life issues.

September was a big month for me as that was when my ADHD diagnosis was approved and I finally got medicated. I think I did more things (in general) in that first week than I did in the entire July+August. I finally saw the bottom of my dirty laundry basket after 7 years.

Art wise, I did another bunch of thumbs for my Sky Across illustration, I set up the references I needed in Daz3D and Blender, and I got an offer to work on an exciting freelance project so I jumped on the research and thumbnails for that as well. The project is still in progress, and I'm looking forward to sharing it next year!

September was also when I drew Hopper, Nickie’s cat, in pencils. I used to do a lot of traditional art in the past so I didn’t think it would be complicated, despite not having drawn a realistic cat in over a decade…. I always forget how humbling traditional work is. Nickie visited my hometown and I travelled back home to meet her and see my family <3

I got a cold as soon as I returned and that slowed down my zoomies for a few weeks, some family/personal issues happened, and I had to start branching out before I was ready to - which is how Patreon and Twitch came to be. The rest of September and October were spent on YouTube researching and developing “passive” income ideas.

I won’t be talking about Oct/Nov pieces as I’ve already done that in the previous few posts. In short, art zoomies picked back up in October, I managed to knock out some presents for friends and some fanart pieces, only to be absent for the majority of November again because I had/was recovering from Covid. (I’m still coughing 💀)

Over the course of the year, I did some animal drawings as presents for friends - Joe’s wonderful sassy corgi Dennis that I'm plotting to kidnap (at least for a day, if I ever make it to the UK), Joel’s cat Kissa that looks like someone spilled ink all over, Isla’s cat Skye that has seen all of the horrors of the universe, and I’m cooking something up with my own cat - Azriel.

I started working on another illustration for Sky Across featuring the same character I concepted at the beginning of the year, I'm streaming the process on Twitch when I can, and I started a little banner illustration for socials that I noodle on from time to time.

There were a few bits and bobs that I don’t feel are worth mentioning, and some Blender practice things that aren’t really worth sharing but were great practice.

All in all, this year was mostly marked by a million doctors’ exams, a big focus on exercise/physical therapy, dealing with ~feelings~ about medical issues, and general financial uncertainty. But also more art than I made in a long while, so swings and roundabouts!

I'm really proud that I've managed to handle and organise so many health-related things, and I'm getting better at judging how much I can do and schedule for myself, recognizing when I need to take time off and when I can afford to push things. I hope to do more original illustrations and concepts next year, and I’m adding traditional art to my calendar for next year as I’ve been itching to experiment more. I’m very grateful to my family and friends that held me up, I wouldn’t have been able to manage without them <3

Hope you have a successful 2024 and may all your dreams come true!

Until next time,

PS: INPRNT is running an end of year sale, and you can get my art for an extra 20% off with the code: OQKQS6DJ

#dijanadraws #dijana #art #digitalart #digital art #painting #illustration #drawing #fanart #seventeen #s.coups #yoon jeonghan #the witcher #henry cavill #digital #2023 #year in review

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dustedmagazine · 1 year

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Listed: Violin Sect

Photo credit: Steve Jinks

Formed in 1980 and disbanded in 1981, the obscure Welsh post-punk band Violin Sect left behind just one seven-inch, “Highdays and Holidays/Rivals,” documenting their brief existence. In fact, they’ve flown so low on the radar since then that they were even overlooked for the Messthetics compilations, the CD series that brought the sounds of the many forgotten and amusingly-named UK DIY bands of their time and ilk to a (relatively) wider audience. This started to change in 2019, however, when Sect bassist Steve Walker posted a couple of previously unreleased songs that he’d dug up to Soundcloud, where Minimum Stacks label head Joe Piccirillo heard them as his label was just getting off the ground. Fast forward to 2023 and we have the Vile Insect 12-inch, featuring all four songs from the band’s short life transferred from the original ¼" tapes. The result, to Andrew Forrell of Dusted’s ears, is a mix of “dubby rhythms, scratchy post-punk guitar, whimsy and skepticism,” able to stand with Scritti Politti’s “Skank Bloc Bologna” and Swell Maps “Read About Seymour.” And thanks to this release, it’s finally in a position to reach the audience it deserves.

Although Walker’s bandmates — Steve Jinks (guitar), Phil Rimmell (drums) and Hywel Pontin (percussion and backing vocals) — were unavailable to take part, Walker has assembled a list of some of his favorite music, art and literature from his 67 years on earth for Dusted. “A snapshot within a snapshot,” if you will.

The Raincoats

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I was lucky enough to catch a London gig by the Raincoats in 1979 around the time they released their first single. This year Gina Birch (bass/vocals), also 67, has released her first solo album, I Play My Bass Loud, and it’s been worth the wait. Here’s an early one from the first Raincoats LP, though.

Mica Levi — “Lips”

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I got the same sort of excitement when I first heard Mica Levi, together with their bandmates in Micachu and the Shapes. Their work has continued to grow and encompasses other genres such as film soundtracks (e.g., Jackie).

Sufjan Stevens — “Video Game”

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I first became aware of Sufjan Stevens with the release of Illinois and caught him at the end of his UK tour promoting it at King’s College London with a pared-down (although still with those wondrous wings) extra gig. In later years he was in Bristol on the Carrie & Lowell tour. Sublime. Here’s a later track with fabulous dancing.

Saul Leiter — In No Great Hurry: 13 Lessons in Life

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I’ve spent a lifetime as a specialist nurse supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities to maintain and develop their independence together with practicing as a part time psychotherapist for the general public, within the UK’s National Health Service. During this time, I’ve drawn, painted, made music but mainly taken photos (since I was a kid with a darkroom). Maybe there’ll be an exhibition of my own one day but, like Saul Leiter, I’m used to “postponing things and seeing no reason to be in a rush.” For me, his exhibitions and photobooks have a magical quality that validate and inspire all at the same time.

Ivor Cutler

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Ivor Cutler always had my heart but here’s an epic that didn’t feature on his own albums.

Angeline Morrison — The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience

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In 2022 Angeline Morrison released an astonishing album… I’m afraid that I can’t stop myself recommending it to people! If you get a chance…

Paul Wright — Arcadia

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Arcadia is a short film that explores Britain’s relationship with the earth, its secret pasts, hidden histories and collective amnesia using old film and TV footage in an exhilarating fashion.

Wet Leg — “Chaise Longue,” live at the BRIT Awards, 2023

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A performance from the here and now, incorporating the past with the present in a truly WTF moment at the Brits!

Gretchen Gerzina — Black England

Books… so many books! So, here’s what I’m currently reading.

Anthony Gormley — Another Place

Finally… if ever in Liverpool, visit Crosby Beach and experience Antony Gormley’s sculpture. It consists of 100 cast iron figures facing towards the sea, (gradually becoming encrusted with barnacles, etc.) all modeled on Gormley’s own naked body.

#dusted magazine #listed #violin sect #steve walker #the raincoats #mica levi #Sufjan Stevens #saul leiter #ivor cutler #angeline morrison #paul wright #wet leg #gretchen gerzina #anthony gormley

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arecomicsevengood · 2 years

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BLACK ORCHIDS, BLUE LILIES, AND BLEEDING HEARTS

I wanted to do a “capsule reviews of random obscurities” type of post. I didn’t anticipate a theme would emerge of how the potential exhibited by unfinished work might be superior to work that concludes in an unsatisfying way.

BLACK ORCHID

Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean did a three-issue miniseries reviving a forgotten DC superhero before getting The Sandman off the ground, and while that comic has been kept in print, that’s not what I read. What I got the urge to track down (after seeing pages on Tumblr) was the attempt at an ongoing series circa the 1993 launch of Vertigo that’s never been reprinted, written by a dude, Dick Foreman, who didn’t have much of a career in comics but I believe remained friends with Alan Moore — He was a contributor to Dodgem Logic and (maaaaybe? This is a vague memory) got a shout-out in the From Hell annotations for some kind of research assistance. The first few issues are GREAT. Jill Thompson handles the art, and she really is just a rock-solid storyteller, nailing backgrounds and body language and favoring straightforward grids. The story, as people in the letter column point out, is a Thelma And Louise riff: We’ve got this one woman with hypnotic mind control powers, and we’ve got the woman she’s manipulated into being her best friend, and they’re on the run from an scientific/governmental organization. There’s a supporting cast of likable people established that our hero is implicitly manipulating, generating some tension. Each issue is pretty self-contained, they get into some Vertigo horror/fantasy shenanigans. One of these is a Swamp Thing crossover, I don’t have the Swamp Thing issue, drawn by Rebecca Guay, who becomes the series’ regular artist once Jill Thompson leaves. Guay is not nearly as solid an artist, and Foreman’s stories get more fantasy-oriented in a way that leaves me cold. It’s cool the creative team abandons any pretense to superheroics, but since the shift in ambition coincides with the loss of a storyteller that can ground it, I may discard all the Guay issues. With Jill Thompson there really is a high level of control over the visual storytelling that allows the writing to do ambitious things, structurally and with language, but also chill out and let moments exist.

Foreman was supposed to do a creator-owned series with Vertigo called The Rites Of Alchemy, illustrated by Paul Johnson, that never came out, though the completed work was posted on a blog maintained by the book’s assistant editor.

The covers are by Dave McKean, really rocking that early nineties 4AD kinda vibe. DC isn’t having his art on the covers of the newer Sandman reprints, favoring an illustration-style approach to the goth vibe. It’s interesting, the design choices of pre-Vertigo really were meant to signal “THIS ISN’T LIKE OTHER COMICS,” but now DC really does want to present that stuff as part and parcel with what they regularly do. Different times! Comics are more widely accepted culturally, but they’re also a lot worse.

THE BLUE LILY

I think the only person I’ve ever seen talk about this comic is Joe McCulloch tweeting about it. I know Angus McKie as the person who handled computer coloring for Dave Gibbons on the Martha Washington series, I would not have expected his authorial sensibility to be that of a post-underground cartoonist who is making a lot of jokes as he makes a very dense genre pastiche. He also doesn’t over-model the coloring on his own stuff, which would surely make this unreadable. There’s a lot of text on these pages, each issue is 48 pages long. This was originally meant to be a 4-issue miniseries but it got canceled halfway through, but what exists is still fairly satisfying, and somewhat exhausting. Tonally and visually, it’s reminiscent of Mack White or Tim Lane, only doing a noir riff in a science-fiction setting where the private eye is a robot, which is honestly more ambitious than those dudes would do, but the tone is thoughtful and comedic enough that it never tips into that genre mashup style I find so distasteful. McKie is also known for a book published by Heavy Metal (and partially adapted for the movie) called So Beautiful And So Dangerous, but I don’t know anything about that.

STORYTELLER

I came across two (late, non-consecutive) issues of the Barry Windsor-Smith comic Storyteller at cover price in a shop and honestly just wanted to brag about it. Really beautiful color and format. He’s serializing three stories, two of which got conclusions in graphic novel collections Fantagraphics put out. I am going to convince myself I have no interest in being a completist about this work, that reading a graphic novel collection would be unsatisfying on a narrative level, what makes this comic fun is the ambition of it -- I’m interested in seeing the process of BWS trying to get somewhere, less so in where he’s trying to go. All of these things are trying to be comedies to some extent, nothing is as out-and-out dark as Monsters is, and his sense of humor seems kind of dumb. But he’s a really dense storyteller, he’s making sure that every story moves forward on every page, even if it’s sort of incremental or picaresque none of it ever feels like filler. It’s a really ambitious comic but it’s easy to imagine the fans of good comics in 1997 being put off by how the cover of every issue depicts fantasy images of either a viking warrior or a maiden showing her cleavage at way larger dimensions than anything else on the racks. I think of BWS as working a similar vein to Michael Kaluta -- this fantasy style that has seemed out of date the entire time I’ve been reading comics -- Kaluta being who they’ve got doing the covers to the new Sandman trades.

BLEEDING HEART

This was a one-person anthology series Fantagraphics ran in the early nineties by Peter Kuper, whose later Vertigo miniseries The System may have competed with Storyteller for a comic buyer’s dollar. Kuper does a pretty cool style with spray paint over stencils that is as appealing as it is plainly labor-intensive. In The System we get a full color version, though here he just does it in black and white, alongside stuff done with a pen. He’s mostly known as a political cartoonist, one of the founders of World War 3 Illustrated, and he basically connects the lineage between woodcut books and Banksy. Here we also get him doing autobio comics about how he jerks off, that classic early nineties alt-comics comedy routine, that comes off charming here due to the context of Kuper doing enough other stuff to not get pigeon-holed.

BAOBAB

I was trying to figure out if this Igort comic, that had three issues published as part of the Ignatz line co-published by Fantagraphics and Coconino, ever got a conclusion and a book collection in Italy. I didn’t find that out. What I did find was Teddy Kristiansen -- known in the U.S. primarily for this work on Vertigo comics like Sandman -- rating each issues 5 stars on Goodreads. I wouldn’t have thought to make that associative leap, although Joe McCulloch, writing about his issue of Solo, did compare one story to the Loustal/Paringaux collaborations. Baobab is beautiful: A story of comics in the early twentieth century, evolving in parallel across continents with different visual traditions, that really works the angle that the way to pay homage to Feininger and Herriman is to experiment with visual language. A plot point, that newspaper serialization can be interrupted by political events, roughly foreshadows the story’s interrupted and abbreviated form. That a work in progress can nonetheless engage its readers is explicitly text here. I still think there is likely a great number of greater effects a work of this caliber and ambition could achieve were it to come to a conclusion, but for now I’ll have to seek the potential narrative satisfaction that would follow from finding a copy of the first issue, which I still have yet to track down.

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bitletsanddrabbles · 2 years

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The Value of Minor Characters

As I’m sitting here trying to write a story utilizing a very popular, very minor character, I find myself thinking of all the posts I’ve read complaining that minor characters...well, exist, basically. I can’t count the number of cries I’ve heard, in every fandom ever, that boil down to “OMG this character had so much potential and they only got, like, two lines! Why did the creator not bother to do more with them that’s so unfair!”

Look, I don’t know how to explain this, but not every character can be a major character. Story telling needs minor character. It needs characters that only exist to further the plot. It needs characters to just stand in the background looking aesthetic.

Yes, these characters can still speak to you. Whether they have five lines or none, they can still catch your attention and your imagination. You can want to know about them. You’re looking at the person whose favorite FFVII character was Chocobo Joe. Dude got one, very forgettable monologue when you first got to the Golden Saucer and after that? He just rode a really big black bird in a race..........and got kinda pissy when you started beating him repeatedly. But he didn’t say he was pissy. You just had to notice that his racing style got pissier. And yet I’ve written fanfiction about him! Drawn fanart! Commissioned fanart! That pissy racing totally won me over!

What I do not do is wonder why he wasn’t a major player. There wasn’t room for him to be a major player. The game didn’t need another major player, it needed a pissy chocobo jockey that just raced and...that’s it.

The fact that the two, throw away Gundam pilots were there for an episode and died is not a travesty. The fact that the one background student didn’t become Harry’s bestie is not injustice. The fact the maids and hallboys got barely any lines (and most of those were cut) is regrettable, but not a sign that Julian Fellowes did not value them. In fact, if I wanted to go hunting I could find more than one comment in the complete scripts that boil down to “And they cut the hallboy’s lines again and I felt so sorry for the actor because we were really blessed to have people in minor roles who actually took those roles seriously! Hallboys, maids, you are appreciated, I promise! Someday I will get you an actual line!”

And from a fanfiction writer’s perspective, that’s actually really great! It gives us anything from a blank slate to work with, to someone with just enough personality to really pick it up and expand on! They wouldn’t be as fun if they were major characters and we knew every detail of their lives! Hand me a story with one, main character, and ask me to name my favorite character and I will name....not the main character.

Each.

And.

Every.

Time.

So rather than bemoan the universal injustice that kept your favorite character from taking over the entire narrative - or at least taking their place as second in command - enjoy the fact that you or the fandom creators, if you’re not a creator yourself, have the freedom to build the character out and make them pretty much anything without worrying about canon. Appreciate the fact that these characters made the world they lived in richer, even if they only had three lines and one dance. Stop viewing them as under utilized and view them as the vital part of the narrative they are.

Stories would not be worth reading without them.

#writing #fandom #downton abbey #harry potter #gundam wing #ffvii #minor characters #how things wor

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daydreamerdrew · 10 months

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Comics read this past week:

Marvel Comics:

The Incredible Hulk (1968) #256-257

Within the main The Incredible Hulk book I went from November 1980 to December 1980, according to the Marvel Wiki. These issues were both written by Bill Mantlo and drawn by Sal Buscema.

In issue #256 congress decides to defund Gamma Base, even though they don’t dispute that the Hulk is a menace, because too much money has been spent with no results in either capturing or curing the Hulk. Colonel Talbot’s mindset during this, however, is that “these people do not believe- as he does- that the Hulk must be destroyed.” Rick Jones’ reaction is to wonder, “Does this mean they’re gonna stop hunting the Hulk?”

In issue #257, as Gamma Base is being dismantled, Colonel Talbot goes rogue with a giant robot called the war-wagon, the secret construction of which is apparently the real reason why he couldn’t account for all of Gamma Base’s funds, to try and kill the Hulk. Also, at the end of the issue Rick Jones goes to Avengers Mansion to ask the Avengers to help him find the Hulk with the motivation that, “I owed him my life- swore I’d never leave him! But I did, after he left the Avengers and became more savage than ever! That was my excuse, wasn’t it?”

Black Widow (1999) #1-3

These issues were published across April 1999 to June 1999, according to the Marvel Wiki. All were written by Devin Grayson and drawn by J. G. Jones.

I was interested in getting into Black Widow comics and this looked like a good place to start because it was her very first solo starring series even though she first appeared back in the 60s. I’ve actually already read her very first appearances because she started out as an Iron Man villain and I believe after that she primarily appeared in Avengers and Daredevil comics but I haven’t been interested in reading Avengers or Daredevil comics.

This book was apparently where the existence of the Red Room was first established, though the particulars of it weren’t gotten into in much depth. This is also where Natasha meets the character Yelena Belova for the first time. Yelena tracks down Natasha while she’s on a mission and tells her that she has surpassed Natasha’s grades in the Red Room and as such is now the Black Widow. There’s fighting, there’s evading. Natasha gives Yelena a speech about how she doesn’t want to be her, shouldn’t want “to play pawn to any one of a dozen governments that will shoot you in the back just for becoming the dispassionate creature they require,” about the isolation and friends killed and birthdays ignored, and then is seemingly shot in the back and killed by S.H.I.EL.D. agents. Yelena wishes Natasha a happy birthday (she’d known about it from going through Natasha’s mail) then callously kicks her body into a lake and tries to resume the mission Natasha had been on, though to the ultimate end of supporting Russia’s interests instead of the United States’. Yelena gets captured but is believed to be the real Black Widow and so makes things easier for Natasha because she’s not expected. Natasha then reveals to Yelena that she faked her own assassination for Yelena’s benefit, that, “I knew that your ambition would allow you to believe that you had survived me, and that you were meant to continue on in my place.” And she gives her the warning: “Do not bring your passion to work, Yelena. It is only a detriment.” But Natasha also says, “You will not kill me today. […] Because you look forward to coming after me again. The game is your passion. And that is what makes you unique.” And she ends the story on the note that, “A spy is very difficult to stop- once she has found what makes her unique.”

Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (2005) #6-8

These issues were published across January 2005 to February 2005, according to the Marvel Wiki. All were written by Joe Casey and drawn by Scott Kolins.

For the first 5 issues of this series I commented on how it did a good job of filling in unseen moments inbetween the scenes of early issues of The Avengers (1963) without resorting to rewriting events and at the same time managing to carry its own strong narrative, which I liked, and also that I thought it would likely be a bit difficult to follow if you hadn’t read those early issues because this book doesn’t take the time to explain everything that happened in them, which I thought was the correct approach. These issues did do a bit more of depicting and so rewriting of events from early issues, but I think that that was for the best at this point as these issues dealt with the transition to a new team line-up from the original one and the way that that happened in the early issues is that Captain America and Thor happened to be away while the Wasp, Ant-Man, and Iron Man decided that they wanted a vacation and found replacement members for themself, and then Thor continued to be away and Captain America came back just as it was time to hand over the reigns and so became the new team leader as the most experienced member. This is portrayed a bit more seriously here where Janet and Hank’s decision to leave is directly connected to Janet getting shot and nearly dying and Tony doesn’t decide to leave the team until Cap comes back.

I was particularly intrigued by the portrayal of how the failure of trying to have the Hulk as a member affected Tony. I said before that this book was a lot more successful as convincing me of how important the Avengers were to Tony than the issues of The Avengers that I’ve read.

In issue #6, when Tony is talking about things that have gone wrong and are making him have less faith that he can make this team work, he says, “Not to mention… Everything that happened with the Hulk. I still have trouble accepting that I- that we- couldn’t rein him in. I’ve always prided myself on being so capable. Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Turning a negative into a positive. Story of my life… I guess I’m just not used to failure.”

In issue #7, when Clint was trying to convince the Avengers to let him join the team, he said, “Hey, you gave the Hulk a chance-!” As Iron Man, the Wasp, and Ant-Man are discussing the Avengers’ future, both whether or not to allow Hawkeye to join and to extend invitations to other people in the superhero community, Tony says, “Every other hero- and would-be hero out there- we’re setting an example for the rest of them to follow. Why else would someone like Hawkeye seek us out…?” When Ant-Man questions the idea of turning the Avengers into a “criminal rehabilitation program,” Tony says, “I doubt I’d put it like that in the press release… but why not? After all, wouldn’t that fall under the purview of helping people who’re unable to help themselves…?”

In issue #8, when Steve seemed trepidatious about the fact that the three new members he would be leading were all formerly criminals, Tony explains, “I’m afraid I need to take some responsibility there… I look back at the situation with the Hulk as my own… personal failure. I should’ve managed that one better. With these new people on board, I… suppose I saw another chance at redemption. Theirs and mine.”

This is all building off of how in The Avengers #16, as the torch is being passed to the new team line-up, Tony had said, “When the Avengers first formed, the Hulk was a member, also! I hope that you can find him, some day- and convince him to be an ally again! Despite all your skills, awesome strength such as his could be your greatest asset! The last word of advice I can leave with you is- find the Hulk!” Though in this series the idea of trying to recruit the Hulk again isn’t brought up. And, of course, that new team line-up ended up determining that they were strong enough on their own and didn’t need the Hulk.

Iron Man (1968) #77-81

With this batch of Iron Man issues I went from May 1975 to September 1975, according to the Marvel Wiki. Issues #77 and #79-81 were written by Mike Friedrich, with Steve Englehart assisting with the plot of issue #80, and issue #78 was written by Bill Mantlo. Issue #77 was penciled by Arvell Jones, issues #78-79 by George Tuska, and issues #80-81 were penciled by Chic Stone.

In issue #77 the Mad Thinker, who had previously taken control of Iron Man, says, “You display the psychological characteristics of one who values his self-control- his free will- quite highly… To such a person, being subjected to another’s will, such as my own, would infuriate you more than anything imaginable.”

At one point Iron Man tells the Mad Thinker, “Your ray goes up against armor designed by Tony Stark- whose inventive genius far exceeds your own!” Later he says, “You’ll have to do better than petty treachery to knock me out of the action, buddy!” In this same panel Tony inwardly thinks, “That’s it, Tony- hide the fact that you’re tired- throw the big macho at him- maybe it’ll scare him!” And the tough guy act actually works as a tactic.

In issue #79 after Iron Man saves a couple the narration describes how, “Their gratefulness in the midst of their hardship is almost embarrassing… Shellhead’s always been a guy who sees a job and does it… More emotional involvement comes hard- but thankfully he sees another job- and acts upon it.”

In issues #80-81 Tony is in another world which slowly drives him mad because of the cosmic imbalance caused by him not being supposed to be there. This is represented by narration panels that are prefaced with “Madstark” that say things like “Hescrazycrazy! Idonttrusthim! Idonttrusthim!” and “Comingtogetme! Allaround! Allaround!”

In issue #81 the narration states, “Shellhead has been called power personified! There is the look of cool steel in his eyes- and perhaps in his veins, as well!”

Black Widow (2001) #1-3

These issues were published across November 2000 to March 2001, according to the Marvel Wiki. All were written by Devin Grayson and Greg Rucka and painted by Scott Hampton.

The first Black Widow miniseries was alright, but I really enjoyed this one. The painted artwork was great. The inciting incident was Natasha having Yelena kidnapped and put through plastic surgery to make her look like Natasha while Natasha underwent plastic surgery to make herself look like Yelena. Yelena wakes up in Natasha’s home confused as to where she is and just as she’s shocked by her reflection in a mirror, Daredevil comes in and kisses her and implies that they had sex the night before, which in particular freaks Yelena out even more, but she’s able to recover and goes along with it and pretends to be Natasha. Inwardly Yelena is insistent that she is Yelena Belova but she’s unable to contact her own superiors and is given a mission by Natasha’s to kill Yelena Belova so she goes to the place that they told her Yelena would be. Natasha doesn’t give Yelena a chance to speak and instead quickly forces a fight and tells her, “You’re obsessed with me. You want to be me. You want to kill me. I told you before! You’re too old and too slow to ever kill me!” As Yelena fights back she says, in response to Natasha-pretending-to-be-Yelena asking her who she thinks she is, “I’m the Black Widow. My… name… is… Natasha Romanov.”

Issue #2 has Yelena on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D. who purportedly want to arrest her for murdering Yelena, though in reality they’re all in on this and are working with the real Natasha. Natasha explains that, “She thinks she’s Natasha Romanov. She thinks she killed Yelena Belova. But she is Yelena Belova. She’s coming undone.” Everywhere she goes Yelena is hounded and cannot catch a break and the issue ends with her curled up hiding in a dumpster. Early on in issue #3 Daredevil, who was never comfortable with this mission but is still cooperating with it, approaches Yelena in the dumpster. Yelena initially fights against him and tells him, as he attempts to reassure her, “I’m not her, not Romanoff- […] Not Natasha, never loved you- never kissed… you.” When he manages to tells her that he knows she asks him who she is and when he tells her Yelena Belova she curls up against him while he hugs her and says, “Yelena… I’m… Yelena Belova… The Black Widow.”

Daredevil brings Yelena to where Natasha has been doing her own espionage work while pretending to be Yelena. Natasha is able to get Yelena’s employee to say that Yelena is naive, that he was using her, and that he was planning to kill her in the end while the real Yelena is watching. Yelena and Natasha then take him and his men down together, but once he’s defeated Yelena turns on Natasha. When Natasha fights back against Yelena and says enough, Yelena says, “Is what you did to me enough? Kidnapping me? Drugging me? Framing me? You stole… You stole me from me, Natasha…” Natasha tells Yelena that she had wanted to save her and that, “You are naive and that will get you killed. You think what I did was cruel, but it is nothing compared with with the savagery of our business.” Yelena pushes back against this, asking, “You call stealing my soul nothing?” And then, “I understand you think you are justified in your cruelties. But you are right. I do not understand the kind of monster who would rape me in this way.” Natasha acknowledges that there were other ways of taking down Yelena’s employer, but says, “I wanted you to understand, finally, what it meant to be a spy. We are not Daredevil or the others, Yelena. We are not heroes. We are tools. And tools get used.” Yelena has the opportunity to shoot to kill Natasha but chooses against it and accepts just getting her face back, though she is still incredibly angry with Natasha. The ending note regarding Yelena is that, “Maybe now she knows it’s not a game. Maybe she’s grown up.”

NYX (2003) #1-7

These issues were published across October 2003 to September 2005, according to the Marvel Wiki. All were written by Joe Quesada. Issues #1-4 were drawn by Joshua Middleton, with some assistance from Jean-François Beaulieu. Issues #5-7 were penciled by Robert Teranishi and inked by Mark Nelson and Chris Sotomayor.

I had a Laura Kinney phase as a teenager but I never read this series, which is where she first appeared in comics, because the fact that she was a child prostitute in it put me off. I picked it up now because I was in the mood for something a bit sensationalized and I did actually like the overall book, even though Laura’s role in it wasn’t particularly notable. I never got very deep into X-Men comics because they seemed unappealingly complicated, but I do find these stories about mutants on their periphery/outside of the superhero world interesting.

#comics read this past week #my posts

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theliterateape · 2 years

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Trump Announces Run for Warden

by Joe Janes

This is the transcript of Donald J. Trump’s announcement last night

from a federal penitentiary in Kansas.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for coming out to the yard, today. Look at this turnout. Biggest turn out ever in the yard. My fellow inmates, Leavenworth’s comeback starts right now. We all know Leavenworth used to be a great and glorious penitentiary. People were proud to wear their orange jumpsuits. Now we are a prison in decline, full of criminals. That’s why I am announcing my candidacy to be your new warden. Sleepy Don Hudson has run this place into the ground. It’s time to put us back on track. I can do this job all by myself, but I guess I have to choose a running mate. I choose my cellmate, Joey Pickles. Joey’s a good man. Very loyal. Doing time because he refused to rat out his boss. I could have used more men like Joey when I was on the outside.

Elect me warden and I will fix all the problems we have. There are a lot of Mexicans coming in and they are taking our jobs in the laundry room, in the canteen, along the highway. They are not sending us their best people. My enemies on the left say I’m racist. I’m not racist. I don’t care about color. I care about wealth. Skin color is a far second. If you’re a smart sophisticated businessman, like me, you should be first in line in the cafeteria and allowed to get as many seconds as you want. Why don’t we have an omelet station? You say you want to rehabilitate people, give them freedom over what meat and cheese they want in their eggs like our founding fathers had in their prisons.

We have a gym, which some of you use. Look at Darryl, my black friend with the biceps, there. We need more. Elect me warden, and I’ll take that field where they make us plant vegetables and turn it into a golf course. The most beautiful golf course you’ve ever seen. There’s enough room for two or three holes. I’ve already drawn up some designs with toilet paper and a dull pencil.

Of course, all my haters are going to tell you that a prisoner can’t run for warden. Don’t believe them. It’s all lies. They want to see Trump fail. We will show them.

One more thing, many of you know how to make wine in your toilet. That’s incredible. Does anyone know how to make Diet Coke in a toilet?

#comedy #satire #Trump 2024

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stackofeggs · 4 years

Photo

ok but that’s actually funny anon

#img id in captions!#i have friends who do this sometimes #no object permanence. mood.#i wonder if he rlly does have this problem HAHAHA funny #hermitcraft #joehillstsd #joehills #zombiecleo #cleo #egg's carton #anonymous #eggask #(this is the first time i’ve ever drawn joe with a beard omg)

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lunerbean · 3 years

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Witch Tips 24

Holy shit it's been over a year since I posted one of these but it's because I kept setting myself up for failure by putting way too high of expectations on myself to crank out 10 new and unique and helpful tips everytime I got 100 new followers except first it was 10 and then it was 50 and holy shit I got so stressed about these so I've just been writing them down as I've thought of them instead and now here we are, please be gentle.

Hello here are tips

1. Use transfer paper and a hair dryer to decorate candles.

Maybe you're doing a spell for someone & you want to put a picture of that person on the candle. This can be a way to help you better visualize the effects of the spell on the person the spell is for. Or maybe you need a picture on the candle for some other reason. Maybe you want to put pictures of coins on it for a money spell. Or hearts for a love spell. Simply print out whatever you want on transfer paper, cut it out & place the image face-down on the candle. Then, you'll want to get your hairdryer and a piece of tissue paper (I highly suggest the tissue paper is the same color as the candle, otherwise you risk getting that color onto the candle. Which can also be fine, but if it's not what you want...) use the blow dryer on a low-warm setting to melt the photo onto the candle side. Remove the tissue paper and there you have it! A picture printed onto a candle.

2. You can incorporate witchcraft into ANYTHING... even brushing your teeth.

I recently got this fucking delicious toothpaste from Trader Joe's. I'm one of those people who sometimes struggles to brush my teeth twice a day because I hate the taste of toothpaste. So I got a super unconventional toothpaste flavor instead, "fennel, propolis, & Myrrh. And about a week after using it, it struck me -holy shit these ingredients have meaning behind them. Most obviously, myrrh is associated with wisdom and meditation. And fennel has been used in magic for centuries! Even if you use regular mint toothpaste, that ingredient has power behind it! Obviously this goes more so for natural toothpastes but I'm sure you can find a way to enchant other varieties as well! Use the ingredients already infused into your toothpaste for enchantments & glamours!

3. Actually study your grimoire.

If I sound at all harsh by saying this, it's only because I'm being harsh with myself too. Study your grimoire. Don't just write everything down & then expect to have it all perfectly memorized & be a master in everything you research. Reread it. Rework it. Learn.

4. Feel drawn to be a sea witch but you don't live by the ocean? Get a saltwater aquarium!

First off, I'm not saying that it's a flawless solution. Being a witch of the sea is more than just using salty fish water in your craft. HOWEVER, with that out of the way, there's no way that a salt water aquarium will harm your craft as a sea witch. Think of it like a houseplant for a green witch. Sure, living in the forest would be better but it's still something special to be able to bring a little piece of your craft into your home.

5. Personal taglocks make a spell more powerful, but exercise caution when using them.

Undoubtedly, using a taglock (such as a strand of hair) can better connect you to the spells you're performing, but they're not always wise to use. I only use them in extremely personal spells and crafts. Things that no one except for me can have access to. I would never suggest using a taglock on something that you wish to give another person (especially another witch) such as a spell bottle or sachet. Even if you're best friends. Even if you're siblings. Even if you're MARRIED. You never know when a relationship can turn south or what someone is capable of when they're extremely angry with you. Don't risk it.

6. Be respectful of the deities that you don't worship or work with

I don't work with deities. Shocker, I know. I have my own belief system when it comes to higher powers that I won't get into on Tumblr, probably ever. But I do believe in showing respect to all things, both living, dead, & otherwise specified. If a deity approaches you who you're not interested in working with, please remain kind & respectful with in declination. You're allowed to say no to anyone and everyone.

7. Just because someone is more experienced doesn't necessarily mean they're always right.

Without naming names or being too specific, there was a witch I followed on Tumblr for a long time. They were much older than me and had been a witch for like 20+ years. I followed everything they said as fact. But slowly, over time I started to learn more and realized I didn't always agree with them. They were SO negative. If they heard basically anything new that younger witches were coming up with, they'd have a whole 10 paragraph post about how "stupid and wrong and ridiculous and fake" these new witches were. There was not an ounce of open mindedness with this person. And because of that, I started to feel really bad about myself and my craft. Things they said would stick with me and I'd feel so shitty about it. Well fuck. That. More experience means absolutely nothing if the person is unwilling to learn or expand their minds beyond their previous knowledge. Anyone can learn and anyone can teach. Age means nothing. Surround yourself with open minded people.

8. Put full moon water into your humidifier to charge your space.

This is an idea that only just occurred to me while I was setting up my crystals & jar of water to charge under the full blue moon on Samhain. I always turn my glowing humidifier on at night while I sleep. As I watched the mist begin to arise out the top I thought to myself, 'if I'm charging that water (the glass jar on my altar) for the full moon, why not this water too?' So now, I just add a little splash of full moon water into my humidifier water whenever I'm performing rituals or doing spell work. This way, the full moon water can charge my entire bedroom with the power of the full moon as I work.

Speaking of...

9. You can charge water under more moon phases than just full.

I don't know if that wording was weird or not so I'm sorry if it doesn't make sense. My point is, I always see people talking about moon water as if it's only full moon water. The moon holds power in every phase she goes through. Adding to the above tip, you can put new moon water into your humidifier to cleanse your space. Waxing moon water to help you plan and focus. And waning moon water to assist during a banishment spell. Hell yeah dude, all phase of the moon are useful and powerful!

10. Incense matches are a great alternative to full incense sticks

I love burning incense, but sometimes it can really overwhelm the area, especially because my house is small & I dont want to expose my cat to it. Incense matches are literally matches that are covered in incense powder. They burn for just a few minutes & produce a steady stream of smoke for spells. They come in a bunch of different scents. I buy them locally for 30 matches for $1.05USD but you can probably find them cheaper online. Still be sure to keep them away from pets & those who are smoke-sensitive.

Thank you so much for reading, follow me for more #10tips, search my blog for the previous 230 tips, & have a magical day.

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nevermindirah · 3 years

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Yitzhak!

is a character! who Gregadiah What-Is-Math Rucka gave us almost no information about!

I've gone through Tales Through Time #6: The Bear and #1: My Mother's Axe with several magnifying glasses and done a lot of googling and taken my copy of the Tanakh off my shelf for the first time since (well, since the last time I needed to read Torah for TOG reasons, which I think was Booker Passover headcanons) and here's the best I can come up with.

In The Bear we meet someone who goes by the name Isaac Blue:

Read on for a lot of comic panel analysis and historical research and Jewish flailing!

So what do we know about this Isaac Blue person?

He's Lorge, he's got curly hair, he's basically a taller version of Joe as drawn by Leandro Fernández (ie an antisemitic stereotype why the fuck did they approve this character design?? and then why did they double down and copy-paste it to Yitzhak??):

He's got a mezuzah on the doorpost of his house in Alaska!

I screamed about the mezuzah way back in January in this post where I (very reasonably) assumed this character was Joe and spun myself a tale about how Booker is still Joe's brother so the mezuzah stays up even though Booker isn't welcome in that house for a century. Bottom line: the mezuzah is a tradition with origins in the commandment from Deuteronomy 6:9 to "write the words of G-d on the gates and doorposts of your house" and evolved over the course of the Rabbinic period into the modern mezuzah we see here.

I did unnecessary levels of google image search to glean absolutely no useful information about Yitzhak’s origins from this panel:

I've decided the variant cover of TTT 6 is Yitzhak because of a panel in My Mother’s Axe, shown here, and what's likely an unnecessarily deep reading of Exodus, discussed further down:

The person at the right of the bottom panel is wearing the same clothes as in the TTT 6 variant cover and has the same shoulder-length curly hair and hairy forearms.

Left to right, the people in this panel are Lykon (I'll never get used to him being white in the comics), Andy, Noriko (I think? why doesn't Andy mention her by name here?), and Yitzhak. Andy's robe has a stereotypically Greek design on the sleeve cuff, and I had to stop myself 10 minutes into a Wikipedia rabbit hole because Gregorforth doesn't think that deep about this shit. The solid clues as to timeline that we get in this panel are:

Andy's iron axe

the presence of Lykon, who Andy first met in 331 BCE

So all we know is that Yitzhak is an immortal, he was a contemporary of Lykon, and he's Jewish.

Isaac is the most common Anglicization of Yitzhak (which in turn is the most common Anglophone transliteration of יִצְחָק‎), and Greg always uses the (transliterated) Hebrew when he refers to this character. Yitzhak is the long-awaited child of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis, the child who G-d commanded Abraham to sacrifice but spared at the last minute. I see what you did there, Gregory.

Why Isaac Blue? This is where I pulled out my Tanakh. According to the New JPS translation, blue is the first of three colors of yarn listed in Exodus 35:6 among the gifts requested of the Israelites to construct the priestly garments for the Tabernacle and later the Temple. Then in Numbers 15:38 the Israelites are commanded to "make themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner."

And now for sandbox timelines party! Gregadiah gave us ALMOST NOTHING to go on, so I'm gonna make my own fun.

I, like many modern Jews, think the stories in the Tanakh are foundational mythology that are valuable because of how they've shaped our people but that contain some fucked-up shit and either way aren't meant to be a record of historical facts. Modern scholarship generally agrees that the community we now call Jews emerged as a distinct group of Canaanites sometime in the late Bronze Age (cw this video's host says the Name of G-d aloud despite being a religious studies scholar who knows that is not a name anyone but the Temple priests are allowed to say). The first non-Biblical written record of the people Israel is from an Egyptian source c. 1200 BCE, and the Biblical kingdom of David and Solomon was probably an exaggeration of whatever really happened during the Bronze Age Collapse. We start getting into historical-fact territory a few centuries into the Iron Age:

588 BCE Solomon's Temple destroyed, Babylonian exile begins

538 BCE Cyrus of Persia allows Jews to return to Jerusalem

515 BCE Second Temple construction complete

332 BCE Alexander the Great At Something I Guess conquered Judea, beginning the Hellenistic period of Jewish history — 331 BCE Andy & Lykon find each other

167 BCE another jerkface Greek king desecrated the Temple and basically outlawed Judaism

164 BCE recapture of Jerusalem and Temple rededication during the Maccabean Revolt

70 CE destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, beginning of the Rabbinic period of Jewish history that we're still in now

What if... and hear me out... what if immortals come in pairs, and the pairs are:

Andy & Quynh

Joe & Nicky

Booker & Nile

LYKON & YITZHAK

What if Yitzhak was a priest of the Second Temple? What if he and Lykon killed each other just like Joe and Nicky would in the same city around 1300 years later, but instead of enemies-to-lovers speedrun with an absurdly long happily-ever-after, when Lykon died permanently Yitzhak decided to separate from Andy and Noriko and become the hermit we later see in Alaska?

We don't know how old Yitzhak is compared to the others, only that he was a contemporary of Lykon at a time when Andy was using an Iron Age version of her mother's axe. Other plausible origins for him:

a Jew of the early Rabbinic period, maybe a child or grandchild of people who were still alive before the Second Temple was destroyed

a Judean of the Second Temple era under the Romans or Greeks or Persians, maybe a priest, maybe not

an exilee in Babylon, maybe of the generation who got to return, maybe of the generation who was exiled (he doesn't look like he was 50 at his first death but who knows, he could've been mortal for both)

an Israelite of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, maybe a priest of Solomon's Temple or again maybe not

an Israelite wandering in the desert with Moses

THEE Yitzhak, ben Avraham v'Sarah, our patriarch who was brought up for sacrifice and then spared, and then spared again, and then spared again, and again, and again...

or! he could also be a Canaanite or other Levantine who predates the people Israel, who at some point in his very long life chose to join our mixed multitude, who like Andromache before him (and like Avram and Sarai would in this case do after him) took a new name to reflect the magnitude of influence this people has had on him

Why do I keep saying Yitzhak might have been a priest? It's thanks to the one detail in the artwork I could plausibly connect to solid research without getting a PhD real quick. Take a look at the gorgeous detail on the opening of his robe in the TTT 6 cover. He's dressed in rags, holes and dirt everywhere, rough stitches probably from hasty repair work — except for the neck opening. Compare that to this description from Exodus 39:23 of the construction of the priestly garments for the Tabernacle: "The opening of the robe, in the middle of it, was like the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding around the opening, so that it would not tear."

The next verses describe the intricate designs for the hem of the priestly garment. Yitzhak's ragged garment looks like the hem was torn off entirely.

Am I overthinking this? Yes I am! You're welcome!

My friend and historical research hero @lady-writes is in a Discord server with Gregadiah and asked the man himself some questions about all this. He clearly thinks he's being sneaky?? No shit Yitzhak is Jewish, dude, I want DETAILS!

I will not be giving up my Jewish Booker headcanon, I've put too much thought into it by now, the internalized shame of antisemitism explains Booker's depression too well for me, and it just adds so much richness to Booker/Nile both being children of forced diasporas. Fortunately (for him, not me, bc I'd do it anyway!) Gregothy supports fan headcanons even when they're not in line with his own:

One last thing before I close like 100 research tabs and go back to writing historical fantasy and/or porn! I love that, despite that atrocious caricature of a face design, our canon Jew and our fanon Jew are both Lorge and Soft and Kind, flying the face of the antisemitic stereotype of Ashkenazi Jewish men as small and weak, but also not falling into the New Jew / Muscle Jew stereotype that Zionism created. (I am trying SO HARD not to talk about Israel/Palestine for once ughhhhhhhhhh) Anyway here's a (US-centric but very good) primer on both these stereotypes of Jewish masculinity. Is this why I'm forever projecting my transmasc diasporist feels onto Jewish Booker the service sub? 🤷🏻‍♂️

I’ll reblog a second version of this with full image descriptions so that there’s a version accessible for folks who need IDs as well as a version accessible for folks who get overwhelmed by walls of text.

#TOG POC Love Fest #yitzhak #jewish booker #tales through time spoilers #tales through time #tog meta #tog #jewish things #mine #antisemitism #hi i'm an antizionist jew no i don't really want to talk about it

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martuzzio · 3 years

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The idea of Ren joining the Amputees-Only club sounds so bittersweet... cuz before he knew they were having fun, but also knew that they were allowed to have a bond like that. He never expected to join them.

I can honestly imagine in his first few meetings there's a few times where Ren just cries, poor guy...

Rendog's first Amputee's Only Club Meeting (written under the cut because this one is longer than normal)

Despite what the universe seems to think, Doc is a pretty easygoing guy. Yes, he does look scary as hell and yes, he was a mob boss at one point, but that doesn’t mean he’s a violent person. Well, he’s violent when he needs to be, but that doesn’t mean he enjoys it. In reality, his favorite moments are all from quiet parts of his normal, boring, daily life as a hermit.

In these everyday moments, Doc likes to process things. He likes to sit in the greenhouse and watch the bio bees work alongside the robot bees. He likes to brush his fingers on the plants and let his half-robotic brain process the data into something that resembles touch. He likes to listen to Grian and Etho chat as they work.

He observes small moments like these because that’s all he really does. He takes in data and processes it. He uses the processed information to judge his surroundings and react accordingly. Sometimes this means that he uses his data to laugh at his friends who make dumb jokes. But sometimes he uses the data to run, hide, or fight back. When all you do is process data to keep yourself alive, it becomes very hard to ignore incoming information.

This is how Doc eventually locates Ren. He wasn’t planning on finding where his longtime friend wheeled off to, much less go searching for him, but Doc unfortunately decided to take a more leisurely route to the bridge and his camera eye caught the slight movement anyway. Doc has to give it to him; the man knows how to hide. The werewolf is in a lesser-used community room, curled into a dusty couch that’s been shoved into the corner. The chrome wheels of his temporary mobility aid reflect off of the window overlooking deep space. Ren has his left leg drawn up to this chest. His stump of a right leg rests on the couch cushion, shunned. Ren’s obviously hid because he doesn’t want to be found, but unluckily for him, Doc was specifically altered to notice things.

Ren’s flinch when Doc claps his hand on his shoulder is almost unnoticeable. Ren looks like he’s either been crying or had a bad allergic reaction to the dust. Doc assumes the former.

“Cub was working on your new parts earlier today. They look pretty sick,” he ventures.

Ren looks like he has the entire universe on his shoulders. “That’s wonderful,” he mumbles. He opens his mouth as if to say more, but instead sighs and slides his eyes shut.

Doc plops down on the couch and slings his arm over the back of the rest. The action makes Ren recoil again, this time more visibly, and Doc pointedly ignores it. Instead, he says, “As much as I want you to come see what Cub is making, you will go to him when you feel like it. There is nothing you need to do right now besides heal.”

Ren barks out a wet laugh. “Bro, I appreciate you so much, but how can stumps heal?”

Doc’s cybernetic hand twitches in sympathy. “You know what I mean, man, and we both know it.” Doc replies. He looks down at the sliver of space between his leg and Ren’s and chews his words. Ren shifts his gaze to Doc’s arm, then to gaze directly at the creeper’s face.

Doc feels uncomfortable in a way he’s never felt before. All of the other amputee hermits were already amputees when they joined the crew. They had time to heal, be angry, and let go in their own ways. He did, too. But now, with Ren sitting next to him, suffering through the same kind of anguish Doc felt when he first woke up from being operated on, Doc suddenly doesn’t know how to act. How do you comfort someone who literally lost a third of their body? As much as Doc knows what that feels like and as much as he wants to help his friend, he might not be able to. He might not ever be able to.

It’s the single most heartbreaking thing that Doc’s realized in a long, long time.

This revelation causes the duo to sit in silence for a long while. Then, Doc gets an idea. His eye shifts to look at his friend. Ren narrows his eyes tiredly but waits anyway.

“The Amputees-Only Club meeting is in a few minutes.” Doc murmurs. Ren is silent, but he plows on. “I think you should come,” he pleads. “I think everyone would be very happy to see you.”

Ren’s throat clicks as he swallows. “I’m sure they would.”

“I would be very happy to see you.”

Ren’s eyelids squeeze together. “I know you would.”

“Then let’s go,” Doc insists as he pushes himself to his feet. He turns around and smiles as much as he can at his friend, still curled up on the couch. Ren gazes exhaustedly back. “I think it would be a good idea.” He wishes his smile weren’t so frightening.

Ren moves to rub his eyes with his hands but remembers he’s missing one of his arms a little too late. The resulting crumpled expression immediately burns into Doc’s deep storage memory. “I don’t know, Doc.” The werewolf manages after a long moment. “I appreciate you trying to help, but…”

Doc understands. Of course he does. When he first joined the hermits, the idea of a weekly club meeting exclusively for amputees sounded farfetched at best and belittling at worst. Hell, he didn’t even think there were enough amputees on the team to warrant a club. Imagine his surprise when three other people showed up to his first session, all excited he was there to hang out with them.

With this in mind, all he can do is repeat, “I think it would be a good idea.”

Ren stares up at him, and in that moment, he looks as old as Xisuma. But then he gently closes his eyes, inhales slowly and shallowly, and motions for Doc to drag his mobility aid closer. Doc complies immediately.

The journey to the meeting room, like every other journey on the Hermit Craft, is long. It’s made even longer because of Ren’s inexperience with his aid, but Doc doesn’t dare to offer his help. They eventually end up in front of the elevator that Doc remotely called beforehand with his brain chip. When the doors open, Doc lets Ren wheel in first.

Ren is silent in the elevator. Doc tries to catch his expression, but his friend’s unruly hair blocks his vision. “We’re playing cards tonight.” He mentions.

“That’s what you do at every Amputee-Only Club meeting.”

Doc shifts his eye back to the elevator door. “…Correct.”

Ren doesn’t reply.

When the duo finally reaches the Club meeting room, Doc pauses outside for a moment instead of directing his brain to open the door like normal. He glances down at Ren again and murmurs, “if you don’t want to go back, or to your room or something, that’s—”

“It’s fine,” Ren interrupts. He sounds defeated. “We walked all the way here, so we may as well go.”

Doc activates the door without another thought.

The door slides open and reveals the club room. It’s small, smaller than the average community space on the Hermit Craft, but it feels warm. The soft yellow color painted on the walls matches pleasantly with the yellow of the couch cushions. Joe definitely was the one to orchestrate that. There’s a small kitchenette in the corner that’s set up to have nice views of outer space. Various game tables fill the rest of the room, a few surrounded by five chairs. Doc wonders if Ren will notice the new chair addition. Maybe he already had.

The most interesting part of the space, though, is the people within it. TFC is bundled up on the couch, snoring pleasantly and covered in at least ten blankets. His usual plate of cookies is already half eaten. Iskall is standing at the kitchen counter, fiddling with a teacup filled with a mysterious bright pink liquid. His outfit has a few suspicious-looking singe marks at the hem. Finally, Scar is sat at the poker table in the middle of the room, crossed legs resting on an adjacent chair. He’s sorting through a pile of yellow and orange chips. To Doc’s continued wonder, the stack of bright blue cards resting near Scar’s elbow have miraculously not been knocked onto the floor yet.

When the doors open, Scar and Iskall look over. Ren immediately shifts at Doc’s elbow. Doc waits a moment to let Ren speak if he wants to, but when his shorter friend remains silent, he clears his throat in a grinding noise and announces, unnecessarily, “We’re here.”

Scar is so excited that his eyes have turned into little slivers of green. “Ren, I’m so happy you decided to tag along!” He kicks one of the chairs out from the table and clonks his foot on it for emphasis. The blue cards wobble on the edge of the table but still refuse to fall. “Sit down! Iskall can get you something to drink. Have you ever played poker?” He leans forward with the question. “It’s difficult, but I think it’s fun!”

“Uh, I haven’t.” Ren replies awkwardly, still at the door alongside Doc. “I’ve never even heard of it before.”

“Yeah, I would be surprised if you knew about it. It’s one of those old-timey games from TFC’s era.” Iskall says from across the room. He is now by the couch and is gently patting TFC’s fluffy hair to wake him. “Don’t worry that you don’t know. We’ll teach you.”

Ren tries and fails to make a pointed noise of interest, but he still seems intrigued. Doc feels the knot in his chest loosen a little. He rolls his shoulders to relieve some tension and moves to sit down. By the time he turns his head to look back, Ren is already wheeling forward to join him but looks lost as to where he should sit.

“Howdy, Ren. Sit next to me so I can teach you, but I’ll only teach if you’re willing to listen.” TFC, now awake, grumbles good-naturedly as he heaves himself off the couch. With his large frame still wrapped in a dozen blankets, he looks like a huge bear compared to Iskall. Which is impressive, Doc thinks, since Iskall is nowhere near frail. TFC’s metal prosthetic clonks on the floor as he walks over to the poker table. As he sits down across from Scar, he says, “There’s no point in just sitting there and gawking at us. Grab a seat.” He uses his leg to nudge the chair to his left.

Ren blinks and maneuvers his aid to let him sit down next to the astronaut. TFC procures a blanket from his pile and offers one to him. Ren, after slowly settling in his chair, accepts the pink fuzzy blanket. Doc accepts a purple one.

TFC lances over to Ren as he saves the blue cards from the edge of the table. “Poker’s good fun. You’ll get it in no time.” He snorts and flicks his gaze to Scar, who is busy stacking the chips into a pyramid. “This one always makes sure we have a great, long game.”

Scar looks up and winces minutely in a false apology. “Sorry about that.”

TFC chuckles. “Boy, I’ve never had better games than when I play with you.”

Scar’s grin almost sparkles. TFC and Doc grin back and Iskall hides his laugh in his shoulder.

“Anyway, ready for your first game with us amputees?” TFC brings the conversation back to Ren, who suddenly looks a lot more uncomfortable.

“I,” he begins, his eyes flicking to TFC, then Doc, before looking down. “I, well, uh…”

The table is silent. Iskall is staring at the table with his hands in his lap. TFC sighs and begins shuffling the cards. Doc, as much as he wants to clear the air somehow, can’t seem to find a way to do so. Scar just looks sad. He looks right at Ren, almost through him.

Ren stares back, eyes wide.

“You don’t want to be here.” Scar says quietly, finally. It’s not a question. Ren’s choked response makes the ex-convex smile slightly. “You can say so, Ren. You’re not going to hurt our feelings. None of us want to be here. But, as much as we may want to, we can’t change what happened to us.” He falls silent again as he looks at a particularly twisted scar on the back of his left hand. He rubs at it harshly with the pad of his thumb before Iskall stops him. “This might be selfish,” Scar continues, softly, “but I’m happy that I at least don’t have to sit in here alone.”

For a long moment, the table is silent. Then, with a rush of noise, Ren makes a sound like he’s dying. In a certain way, Doc thinks, he is.

“I don’t want to be here,” Ren confesses as his open mouth contorts and tears roll down his face. “I don’t want to be here.”

All Doc can do is wrap his arms around everyone else, encasing Ren and his other amputee friends in his embrace, and wish he could do more.

#hermitcraft #space outlaws stories #rendog #docm77 #tinfoilchef #goodtimeswithscar #iskall85

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