#I'll be posting some of my progress but that'll be when I'm painting

[theblehthatbloos]

Bleh, what happens to all of your ta-

Don't worry about that, the earth caste and Votann contacts we established have experienced difficulty with several unexpected tyranid threats but are currently rebuilding while exterminating the Chimeric beings.

That beings said, while trying to find alternatives to continue to do what good we can, I stumbled upon the potential use of Eldar bone singers. One thing led to another, an unusually friendly xeno, the ramblings of a prophetic psyker and a meeting with something with the appearance of a daemon said to be a shard of something new yet ancient and so on.

While my intention to assist human and xeno alike to find what peace we can durring these dark times has not faltered, my approach has changed for now. For so long I over looked the mysterious yet decaying relms of the Eldar, seeing them as a stubborn will only holding on to what they can and not seeing the irony of our parallel paths. But through their apparent interventions (I will have to look at the possible involvement of their hands in the awakening of that frozen monstrosity) I now find myself at their side.

Something that was never ment to be is unfolding. I am ment to play some part, that of which I do not know and yet, a part that will save as many lives as possible.

So now I find myself with a new task, to find a way to somewhere mortals do not tread. And although I walk with death, I yearn for life to flourish.

For the greater good, for Ynnead.

[mauesartetc]

Thoughts on Helluva Boss 206 ("Oops")

Holy shit, is this episode... kind of okay? It still has issues and weird quirks that hold it back from being truly good, but I'd say this is one of the better Season 2 entries. At least it's good enough that I have a sufficiently-sized, dedicated "pros" list again. Let's get into it.

Pros:

-FINALLY, we have an mlm couple worth rooting for in this show. Fuck that Stolitz bullshit; Fizz and Ozzie are where it's at. ("Fozzie"? Yeah, that works.)

They're actually kind and caring with each other, they're playful and know how to laugh together, and they treat each other like equals rather than one partner fetishizing and sexually harassing the other. Hell, Ozzie even tends to Fizz's wounds at the end of the episode, and it's powerful to see a high-ranking demon in this society show tenderness and concern for a lowly imp. In a previous post, I expressed my doubts that Fizz and Ozzie's relationship would be any good, but I'm glad to report I was wrong.

-I liked seeing a glimpse of what one of these characters outside of the IMP team does for a day job. Approving designs at the dildo factory? Ehh, it's a livin'. (Though this once again begs the question of why demons live in a capitalistic society nearly identical to that of the US in the human world. Why do they need money to reinforce the social hierarchy when the larger, more powerful demons have special abilities and can just crush the smaller ones like bugs?)

-The heart-shaped flames in Ozzie's fireplace were a nice touch.

And they actually referenced Asmodeus' traditional fire-breathing ability at the end. Neat!

-Oh wow, one of the characters is finally floating the idea of Blitzo using an Asmodean crystal for transportation instead of the grimoire! THANK you!

And at the episode's close, Fizz permits Ozzie to give Blitzo a crystal, meaning he won't be dependent on Stolas anymore. Possible plot progression? How will this affect Stolas and Blitzo's relationship in the future? Would they still be in each other's lives even when the book isn't a factor? I hesitate to get my hopes too high due to the worrying possibility of Blitzo's crystal getting lost or damaged and forcing him to use the book again (though as to why he can't just steal a crystal and use that, I haven't the faintest idea). But I'm cautiously optimistic.

-I liked Stolas getting a chance to show some brain power in helping Ozzie negotiate the contract. This also gave us a nice tidbit of worldbuilding that states any contract signed by one of the Seven Sins is eternally binding. Is this foreshadowing? Will this information come up again in the story? Probably not, but it's fun to dream.

-It was interesting to see Blitzo, Fizz, and Striker have a conversation about each of their relationships with Hell's upper class, though it had potential to be SO much deeper and more authentic (which I'll get into momentarily).

-This is where I learned the white bits on Blitzo and Fizz's skin are actually burns. I always thought Fizz was wearing face paint and Blitzo had some form of vitiligo or something, but the reason he's burned on that side of his face is that it's where the explosion hit him. And Fizz's entire face is white for the same reason, except for his nose, since he was wearing a fake clown nose at the time. It's nice that they kept those details consistent in the flashback.

-Look, I know it's a low bar for most shows, but I appreciated how the story actually gave Blitzo a chance to apologize and redeem himself at the climax rather than making Fizz just forgive him apropos of nothing.

-Oh hey, one of Blitzo's relationships has actually progressed. He and Fizz, after hating each other for years, have made amends. I really hope this friendship doesn't revert to what it was before, like Blitzo and Moxxie's relationship did. But I don't think that'll be the case since Fizz isn't the story's designated whipping boy.

-It was nice how Fizz and Ozzie's respective interactions with Blitzo and Stolas helped them grow and change. I mean, Ozzie still isn't comfortable with anyone outside the palace having definitive knowledge about his romance with Fizz, but baby steps, y'know?

Cons:

-So Crimson's aware he just showed his face to an extremely high-ranking demon, right? He comments that Ozzie is the "weakest" of the Seven Sins, but he's still goddamn royalty, and Crimson is an imp. What's stopping him from sending someone to wipe out Crimson's entire gang after getting Fizz back, or doing it himself like it's implied he did with the lawyer? Crim really couldn't have disguised his voice and stayed in the shadows? Rookie mistake.

Come to think of it, Striker was in that video too, and it never occurred to Stolas, "Oh shit, that's the guy who almost killed me"? Again I have to ask, why isn't Stolas sending people after him? He's a prince, after all, and canonically commands multiple legions of demons. Why the fuck are you allowing this guy to run free, dude?

-I was kinda looking forward to seeing Crimson again, but his reintroduction would have been much more emotionally powerful if it involved getting revenge on Moxxie, which is what the ending of Exes and Oohs implied he now wants. And I know I've said before how going too many episodes without a mention of Striker diminished his menace, but did he have to show up just two episodes after his last appearance?

In general, Oops feels like it has too many returning "guest stars", if that makes sense. Fizz, Ozzie, Crimson, Striker... that's a lot to pack into one episode. Maybe instead of Crimson and Striker, we could have a new villain holding Blitzo and Fizz hostage.

-Speaking of the villains, MAN are they shoveling handfuls of Stupid Pills into their mouths. When Fizz sings his little distraction musical number, they just stand and watch instead of, oh, I don't know, trying to capture him?! Like damn, Crimson and Striker used to be credible threats. This is just embarrassing.

-Also, I know they need to keep Fizz alive until the ransom money comes through, but what reason do they have not to immediately waste Blitzo? Striker hates him for thwarting his assassination of Stolas, and Crimson hates him for crashing his son's arranged wedding. Are they trying to get Stolas to cough up some dough as well? Because that's a pretty major plot development that the script should have made clear to the audience. Basically, the only reasons Blitzo lived through this ordeal are that he has main character plot armor and the villains are being uncharacteristically dumb.

-As expected, in Stolas' subsequent appearance following Western Energy, he's out of the hospital. But I didn't predict he'd be completely recovered from his wounds. Seriously, not even a limp.

Stolas getting hurt was a consequence that impacted absolutely nothing outside of that episode. Are we going to see any scars later on, or perhaps Stolas getting uncomfortable at the sight of knives? Because of how wildly inconsistent this show's continuity can be, I'm guessing no. (And since we don't know how long it normally takes for demons to heal from angelic weapon-inflicted injuries, it doesn't help us get any sense of how much time has passed in the story.)

-Actually, if a royal fucking an imp is such a taboo in this world, why did Ozzie agree to meet with Stolas at all, let alone act so hospitable toward him? If Ozzie's so concerned about his own image regarding imps, wouldn't allowing a known imp-canoodler into his home raise a few eyebrows? More importantly, why in the actual hell does he have a giant, sexy painting of him and Fizz on display in his office where anyone can see it?

And that brings up another question: Why is Ozzie's relationship with an imp being covered in the tabloids, but Stolas' relationship isn't? You might think, "Well, he's a lower-ranked noble, so it's not as newsworthy" but if that's the case, why was there a crowd of reporters snappin' pics when he arrived at the hospital?

"Well y'see it's not really the imp-fucking that's frowned upon; it's the imp romance!" Then why did everyone at Ozzie's club make such a huge stink about Stolas coming there with an imp? The club is located in the Lust ring, where romance is seen as disgusting, so we can safely presume the vast majority of the couples at that club are just fucking. It would be bad form to take someone you're openly romantically involved with to a Lust ring establishment (lookin' at you, Moxxie). Therefore, the patrons and Ozzie himself had every reason to presume Stolas and Blitzo were having sex, and just happened to be right. (Also, if nobles fucking imps were actually no big deal in this world, Stella probably wouldn't have an issue with it either.)

The worldbuilding's an inconsistent mess, is what I'm saying. And Beelzebub's relationship with a hellhound is also strangely unaddressed, making that episode feel even less connected to canon than it already did.

-Man, Stolas is kinda oversharing here, isn't he. It'd be fine if a character who's already been established to let their mouth wander were doing this, but Stolas hasn't previously shown any signs of that.

He reveals he has feelings for Blitzo, to the ruler of a ring whose culture frowns on romance. And... he just expects him to be cool with that, for some reason. At this point he doesn't have solid proof that Ozzie is in love with Fizz; those are just rumors. So this is an extreme lack of tact he's displaying. Also, Ozzie ain't your therapist, dude. And as far as we know they're just acquaintances, not close friends. He could have just skipped to requesting the favor; Ozzie didn't need to know his reasons. Sure, tell him if he asks, but he didn't ask. Or maybe just hint at Stolas' feelings through subtext: His expressions, body language, and all the words he can't say. Visual medium, people.

-For that matter, why is this seemingly the first thing on Stolas' mind right now? "Oh, y'know, I'm going through a very messy divorce and my wife sent a hit man to kill me, and he's still on the loose, probably killing other people as we speak, but can you do this wittle favor for my fuckbuddy, pwease?" We could have just had a quick scene outside Ozzie's office where Stolas communicates with one of his lieutenants regarding updates on the search for Striker. And the reason he's not searching with them? He's still recovering from his injuries. Give him a wheelchair, a cane, a cast, just something to show he's not physically up to it yet. Without this information, where in the actual fuck are his priorities.

-"I know your demons are some of the only ones who can traverse freely and legally." Y'know... This is Hell... Why is legality even an issue in this setting? I think I touched on this for Exes and Oohs, which revealed the existence of Hell Jail. But why is there a Hell Jail? Why are there (presumably) Hell Cops? How does any of this make sense in an environment that thrives on chaos and discord? Oh, and Hell Lawyers are apparently a thing too, because of course. This is why you don't want to build your fantasy world with too many elements that exist in the real one unless you have airtight logic for it.

-When Ozzie tells Stolas Fizz hates Blitzo, his response is, "He does?" The fuck do you mean, Stolas. You were at the club. You witnessed Fizz point out Blitzo in an effort to humiliate him, call him a "total disgrace", and refer to his love life as a "pile of shit". You should already know he hates him. Sure, Stolas doesn't know why yet, but this is why you need editors to cut the parts of your dialogue that don't make any sense.

-I'm not sure what this show's actual stance on the ultra-wealthy is. Fizz tells Blitzo, "Sounds like you just hate him for being a prince", as if princes are a group that's commonly discriminated against-? Sure, a person has no control over being born into extreme wealth and privilege, but they can control how they use it. And when they don't use it to make society better for everyone (opting instead to hoard all the resources for themselves), that will naturally breed resentment in the lower classes.

Another odd thing I noticed about this conversation: You know that one rule in the Bechdel-Wallace test that states a work of fiction's female characters must talk about something other than a man in order for that work to pass? This instance makes me think we need a similar media test regarding class, because here we have three lower-class characters talking only about rich people. Not the societal systems and personal histories that led them to rely so much on rich folks just to get by, but about the rich folks themselves. Hell, Blitzo even says "Royal demons don't give a shit about guys like us", clearly more concerned about wealthy people's opinion of him than the untenable situation their complacence and wealth-hoarding has caused for countless imps. In this scene, the "haves" are very much at the center of the have-nots' universe, and it puts me in mind of a male writer who assumes the only things women discuss with each other are their relationships with men.

Now let's talk about Striker. Time and time again the show has painted him as unreasonable for hating royals, and while his methods are extreme, there's probably a rational explanation for why he holds the views he does (at least if he's being written in a thoughtful, realistic way, which is a MAJOR stretch for this show. But for the sake of this discussion, let's say he hypothetically is). The average imp in this world would have good reason to hold a vague dislike for the royals, but hatred? Passionate hatred? That comes from a deep, personal place. At least one "blue blood" must have done something unforgivable to Striker specifically, and I wish the show would properly explore his motivations. Maybe drop some hints about his backstory once in a while, perhaps in this very conversation? Because this show's villains are really hurtin' for some nuance, and Striker's the one with the most potential for it.

It feels like the writers were trying to say something about real-world issues here, but the message got muddled. Part of it seems to be "don't make broad generalizations about people", which... Okay, nice thought, but if Stolas isn't using his power to improve life for all imps, not just Blitzo, Blitzo has no reason to believe his affection is genuine. For all he knows, imps are still just a fetish to Stolas, and he's only acting nice to keep him around. His love, to Blitzo's mind, is entirely conditional, and until he sees evidence that nobles contribute anything of substance to society, he's not wrong in thinking they don't care and "They're all the fuckin' same". Maybe he'll change his mind if Stolas calls off their deal and offers to hang out with no sex and no strings attached. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

-Also, this was an unintentionally-hilarious gem:

CRIMSON: Hey, hick-for-hire! I said watch 'em, not fuck 'em!

STRIKER: (Immediately leaves)

Great watchin' there, bud. And Crimson is smiling despite Striker going against his orders-? I mentioned in the Exes and Oohs review that there was a disconnect between Crimson's dialogue and what was actually being shown on screen. Old habits die hard, I guess.

-"Everlastingly binding", Stolas? You can't just say "eternally binding", which has the same meaning and would flow more naturally? Under normal circumstances this would feel like a nitpick, but Stolas' phrasing was weird in Western Energy too. He told Blitzo he was "stolen" when "kidnapped" would have been more fitting, seeing as he's a person, not an object. (Hell, he could've just said "spirited away" if they wanted to be fancy with it.) This is a character who's supposed to be well-read, being written by someone who thinks this is how bookish people talk. An abundance of syllables doesn't equal eloquence.

-So if we take a closer look at what Blitzo is holding in the flashback, we see he has a flower and an envelope sealed with a heart sticker, with "For Fizz's eyes only" written on it. This implies he was about to confess his love for Fizz. And in Fizz's flashback, we see Blitzo's dad handing him a card that says "Wish You Were My Son", which I guess is what upset Blitzo and made him storm off, causing the fire.

But those important details are very "blink-and-you'll-miss-it". I didn't catch the card at first, so Blitzo's angry reaction left me very confused. It looked like he saw Fizz being happy on his birthday and just left in tears for no reason. Yes, a good show trusts the audience to piece things together themselves, but we shouldn't have to pause the episode and play it back to see if we missed some crucial element that flashed on screen for two seconds.

-Also, like... Why does romance need to be a part of it. These two have known each other and worked closely together since they were kids, so isn't that kind of like Blitzo having a crush on who was essentially a brother figure? I don't know, it just felt shoehorned in, like Blitzo needs some kind of flirtation or dalliance (or good ol' sexual harassment in Moxxie's case) with every single man in his life except his dad.

-I'm getting tired of these flashbacks dialing the angst and trauma levels up to 11. "This kid was horribly burned... ON HIS BIRTHDAY!" "This kid's best friend was horribly burned... AND HE LOST HIS MOM!" For fuck's sake, it's like these writers are brainstorming what the grimmest possible outcome could be in a given situation, and using that to ostensibly wring some tears out of the audience. Here's the thing, though: We never knew Blitzo's mom. We never saw what her personality was like or what their relationship was like, therefore we can't get nearly as sad as the writers want us to be when she dies.

Think back to past animated stories that did this right. You know why the deaths of Bambi's mom, Littlefoot's mom, and Mufasa were all so heartbreaking? Because we got to know them. We saw how joyful they were in life. How strong, how wise. So it stung all the more deeply when we knew what their children lost.

Blitzo's mom isn't even a character, really. She's a prop the writers are using to exploit the audience's emotions, which is even more unfortunate when you realize that's what Moxxie's mom was, too.

So let's say you're a writer and you want a character to feel guilty about a horrible accident they caused, so horrible that it almost killed their best friend. Okay... It almost killed their best friend. That should be more than enough to make anyone feel guilty, right? Well apparently the Spindle crew felt the need to heap even more guilt onto Blitzo by making that accident also kill his mom. Why wasn't Fizz enough? Why did yet another nameless female character have to lose her life? If Blitzo needed something to distract him from Fizz's pleas for help, you'd think trying to put out the massive fire would suffice, but apparently not. It's all just so forced and manipulative.

-"You're all I had left, Fizz." Wow, so Barb's just chopped liver, huh? Jesus, Blitzo. No wonder she hates you.

-This drawing of Striker's face foreshortens his snout way too much, making it look a lot shorter than it really is.

And for those who haven't seen the episode, this is a held frame, not an inbetween or smear or anything like that, so there's really no excuse for it to look like this. Let's try to suggest more length and structure in the snout, and eliminate the tangents in his smile while we're at it.

I know drawing characters with long snouts can be tricky in a front view like this, but that's what turnaround sheets are for.

-What's ironic about the song "Look at This" is that it's a perfect analogy for how this show uses slick, flashy animation to distract its audience from the amateurish writing. Just an observation.

-Fizz goes on WAY too long about how big Ozzie's dick is. Yeah, great, we get it. Move on, show.

-"Why is it always a sex thing?!" I'm with Striker on this one. Almost every queer male character on this show is preoccupied with sex to an unreasonable degree. I mean Fizz is boinking the actual embodiment of lust and has had sex robots made of himself, so the horniness kinda makes sense for his character, but Blitzo? Stolas? Even Moxxie had his moment where he said "Harder..." to Striker, though that was just to get his guard down. Still, though. It's excessive, guys. It's tired. Come up with some new material.

-FIZZ: You blew me up again, you fuckin' prick!

BLITZO: I did. But this time I stuck around.

Ehh, feels like those lines would have been much stronger if Fizz said them both. Here it sounds like Blitzo's just defending himself, as if he saved Fizz not out of the goodness of his heart, but because he wanted to score brownie points with him. Just feels a little manipulative of him, and out of sync with the more genuine moments the episode showed us earlier. Maybe something more like this:

FIZZ: You blew me up again, you fuckin' prick! (Blitzo looks down, ashamed. But then Fizz realizes something.) But... I'm glad you stuck around this time. (He smiles and hugs Blitzo.)

Allowing Fizz to come to that conclusion on his own is so much more powerful than Blitzo spoon-feeding it to him. Oh, and by the way...

-"Would it fuck up the moment if we made out right now?" Yeah, Blitzo. Yeah it would. Much like how this show can't allow an emotional scene to breathe without making a joke. It's not quite as bad as the tone whiplash with Crimson's wall dildos, but it does spoil the moment a bit.

Overall, not the worst Helluva Boss episode. Not the best, but not the worst. I fully expect the next one to be pointless filler that doesn't advance the story, though, so I might skip it. The problem is, this show's quality boomerangs from bad to okay to bad again in the span of a few episodes. One episode might get my hopes up, the next might dash them, and then there's this morbid curiosity in wondering if the next one might be the one that I finally love. I wanted to like this show so badly (gotta support that indie animation and all), but dear God, this writing.

It's still possible the series could evolve into something great, but my patience in waiting for that is very nearly worn out. Maybe (and that's a GIGANTIC maybe) I'll stick it out to the end of the season, but if the finale sucks, I'm done. Anyway, I need a palate cleanse, so here's more Fizz and Ozzie to end this on a positive note.

[bomberqueen17]

progress etc

god it's less than a week to christmas. ok cool. yeah. great. all right.

i am. what have i been doing??? i don't know. I've sewn several things-- most notably a pair of leggings-- and the house renovations have progressed to the point that we're getting final measurements for counters tomorrow. I'll put pictures behind the cut. We painted the ceiling ourselves, as paint isn't included in the remodel.

I don't remember what I last posted pictures of. IDK there's a floor now, I didn't take pictures of that yet.

ok i was wrong i do have one photo of the floor but it's in-progress, max is in the background wedging it in between the cabinets.

[image description: an awkward angle looking down standing in the side door entryway, with the blue-washed gray side of a new cabinet facing me, some of the plywood subfloor exposed coated in glue, mottled gray fake stone tiles laid out and the hunched form of a man in a gray sweatshirt kneeling on the floor in the background with his head hidden behind the cabinet. Listen I wasn't trying to be creepy.]

it's fake stone vinyl tiles. i know, not normally my aesthetic, and it's probably the thing that'll look most dated in a little bit, but there was no point trying to do anything wooden or wood-look because the rest of the house has original hardwood from 1950 and anything new wouldn't match. (the hardwood badly needs refinishing, let's not contemplate that right at this juncture...)

Max is from Elmira, btw, and only moved to Buffalo a year ago-- just in time for the blizzard to absolutely destroy his first apartment here and wreck most of his stuff. It was a bit of a harsh welcome to the city. He's soft-spoken and extremely polite and doesn't really know how to talk to me, not the way Jim the installer (fiftysomething and very experienced) does. He did gently laugh at me when I left yesterday and then immediately had to come back to get my keys, which I had locked inside the house (but of course as he was still there the other door was still unlocked). "I grew up in the kind of place where you don't bother locking doors," I said, and he was like "lol same".

(I know Elmira because Middle-Little went to college there. It's a sort of dire little place in the Southern Tier-ish region of NY, a couple hours away. The region is fairly economically devastated, alternating crushing rural poverty with Tourism Dollars; Elmira itself boasts a college, a prison, and precious little else.)

Anyway-- painting the ceiling over the weekend, I discovered that the real life hack for painting a ceiling is for at least one member of your party to be six feet three inches.

[image description: my dude, a tall thin white man in an uncharacteristic ball cap he's only wearing to avoid paint splatter (it is embroidered with the HTML tags <head> on the front and </head> on the back, and was a gift to him in like 2002) is standing on the cardboard-and-sheet-draped floor of the kitchen using a paint roller on the ceiling, which he can reach easily; in front of him the cabinets are all draped in old sheets as well and there's a random light bulb sticking out because the installer wired that in for us to use as a work light since the electricians haven't installed the ceiling lights yet which was why it was an ideal time for us to paint said ceiling.]

Anyway it's going great. The counters won't go in until January sometime, but early January. The electricians plan to come the day after Christmas and I won't be there until the afternoon so I'm going to check in with Jim today about what they'll need.

Meanwhile, I remembered that I hadn't set myself the goal of crafting anything for Christmas except I bought a bunch of scarf blanks from Dharma Trading to dye as gift wraps and gift components and my basement is all torn apart and I don't dare make that kind of mess in my mother-out-law's basement so I need to work out how to get that done so I'm really kind of slogging through that, a bit.

OH i just went to look at what the last pictures I posted of the kitchen were and the answer is LIKE NONE so omg sorry here's before we painted the ceiling, where you can see what it's gonna look like!

[image description: This is View A, from the side door toward the front of the house. Along the left of the photo is a line of cabinets, a set on the ground and then another mounted up on the wall; in the middle of that will be the sink, and then farther down a dishwasher (!!!) and beyond that the stove, all along that north wall of the house. The middle of the photo is the big bay window we had installed, and there are cabinets along the front of it: the countertop will extend out from those, and will form a seating area. To the right of the window, the front door is now visible, that little wall having been removed and now being a wide-open space into the entryway. The right of the photo is the interior wall of the kitchen, now transformed into a built-in pantry space with a fridge hole in the middle, where the extra flooring tiles are currently stacked.]

[image description: this is View B, from the front door into the kitchen. The foreground is the big open space where the wall was removed; the bay window is just out of frame to the right, and the far wall shows the empty space (now containing buckets of floor glue and a roll of cardboard) where the stove will be, and above it will be an extractor hood (no more Everything Smells Like Salmon!!), and the empty space (now filled with a rolling garbage can the contractors are using) for the dishwasher, and then the little window right above the sink-- this is a detail we've kept from the old kitchen, that's where the sink was and that's where the window, but the window seems bigger because the cabinets aren't packed so tightly around it now-- and you can see the side door there, and then the left of the photo shows the edge of the pantry unit where the fridge will go.]

It's a much more open space, both of us can be in there, someone doing dishes while you cook is no longer the world-ending inconvenience it historically has been, and also now you can talk to someone in the living room while you're in the kitchen without needing to holler.

Yeah the gray cabinets are-- well they're pale wood washed with dilute blue, is what they are, and all the hard fixtures are in neutral shades like that, grays and gray-blues, and the countertops will be white with tiny sparkles, and the idea is that the big wall to the west and the little bits of wall around the windows will be painted some bold color we'll match with like throw rugs and hot mats and other changeable fixtures, so the kitchen can get "redecorated" with a new coat of paint and not clash with the hard fixtures. This job cost five figures, we're not re-redoing it during our lifetimes.

[batfoonery]

Crafty Batkids

Literally. Just batkids doin' crafts. As someone who does..... way too many crafts to list here (I'll send a list if asked but just trust me) I feel like I've gotten a good feel for this.

Dick

My man grew up in a circus, regularly checking ropes and tensions....

Macrame. He's a pro at macrame. Maybe he doesn't do it often, but like. For his friends, he'll sometimes surprise them with lil gifts.

When any of his Titans buds move he makes them those fancy hanging macrame plant holders. Donna and Kori both love them, and have been known to fight over them during white elephant/dirty Santa type gift games.

Probably doesn't have the ability to sit still for long periods of time, so can't do anything that'll unravel if he puts it down. It takes him a long time to finish a project, so he really only buys materials as he starts a new one, and doesn't have any excess stuff lying around his apartment.

Jason

You cannot tell me he doesn't crochet to unwind. Like. Idk if he's any good at it, but he def angry crochets.

Probably has been working on one scarf for like five years

Never has consistent stitches

Likes touching all the yarns at the store

Probably just enjoys squishing the yarn in general tbh. It's slightly more satisfying than ever actually doing anything with the yarn.

Cass

One time Bruce took her to like. Silver Dollar City or somewhere else that had someone with a loom, and she was fascinated. She made him buy her a shawl and then made Tim put together a power point about why she should have a loom.

Bruce ended up caving and buying her one that's skinnier, for like table runners. It's great, because she's mostly fascinated with making gradients in her weaves.

She learned Swedish Weaving (it's a like an embroidery/weaving hybrid) so she could embellish her works.

Mostly gives them out as gifts. She gave one to Selina, who guards it possessively. Harley tried to borrow it once and about lost her fingers.

Probably also learned to make little tassles for the ends

Tim

Attention to detail? Obsession over the minutia? Oh. You know my boy is an epoxy resin artist.

Has a crafting station in his room that's meticulously organized. There's cubbies for pigments, flowers, glitters, bits of ribbons and strings, etc etc

Probably makes all kinds of thing tbh. Phone cases, trinkets, you name it. But pens are his favorites, because they're both simple and practical. There's like a whole army of pens that just... keeps growing in Titans Tower because he always forgets where he's put his.

None of his teammates realize he is the source of the pens. They (Kon, Cassie, Bart) just think the pens are an infestations and/or are pairing up and making baby pens. But Cassie and Bart love them bc ✨aesthetics✨

Probably has a tik tok or an insta where he posts videos of himself de-molding things to soothing lofi tracks. Literally just. All the vibes. It's gorgeous.

Steph

Also all the vibes. She is a bujo/stationary queen.

Her collection is much messier than Tim's, but has a surprising amount of overlap. Sometimes they borrow things from each other, and have collabed on their social accounts (he makes journal covers, she makes them into notebooks, he supplies her with pens, she uses them when making a weekly/monthly set up, etc)

Stickers and glitter everywhere

Probably sponsored.

Canonically draws cute little cartoons in the comics, they absolutely are a regular on her socials and in her bujos.

Duke

For some reason I don't peg him as being as craft-oriented as his closest-in-age sibs? He probably has less expensive coping mechanisms tbh

That being said I can see he would enjoy those stores where you go in and paint pottery and they kiln/glaze it for you? Like he isn't into sculpting it himself, but painting the little kitchenware pieces or statuettes is relaxing.

He paints mugs for all his sibs on their birthdays, and for Alfred.

Alfred probably has a whole army of custom mugs made for him by the kids, now that I'm thinking about it. Like half of them are from Duke, because he doesn't know what else to do with them. There are just so many because it's so simple.....

Kate Kane, Tatsu Yamashiro, and Jeff Pierce also all have mugs. Actually... Lowkey highkey I can see that Tatsu might have introduced Duke to this kind of stuff in the first place? I can see that she would enjoy something simple that you can do while trying to clear out your mind.

Damian

Well. Damian is a gifted artist, but this translates differently into actual crafts. It just does.

He's probably a good printmaker. Not only does this take advantage of his art skills and keen attention to details, but it's one of the oldest artforms still in practice today. Most printmakers develop their techniques by perfecting one of several forms of the art, which have been passed through generations, and have a really firm grip on art history. Those stories would appeal to Damian, in addition to the craft itself.

Damian is the most likely of his siblings to be able to sit still for prolonged periods of time and do a repetitive motion. In fact, it may actually be something he can enjoy if it means he can just zone out for a bit. So, he's probably actually decent at spinning yarn. If the sky is grey and rainy, he drags out a wheel and some pre-sorted rolags and spins yarn, exclusively for Cass, who then weaves it. He enjoys the progression of colors in the fibers as much as she does, and they bond over it.

The feeling of different fibers slipping through his fingers is also really soothing. Bad day? Time to spin some merino, because it slips like water through his touch. Need to feel grounded? Time to spin a cotton blend, because you have to be present enough not to chafe your hands on the rough fibers...

Probably also really good at embroidery, for the same reasons. Plus, it's really satisfying to feel and hear the pbt-psht, pbt-psht of the needle and thread pulling through the taut fabric.

Bruce

Obviously knows how to forge/metalwork. I like to imagine he's also dabbled in lost wax casting.

Probably has little trinkets he made when he was younger scattered around the house. Maybe he donated a few to charity auctions.

Has made rings/jewelry pieces. But doesn't talk about them. (One ring went to Selina, and a pair of earrings went to Talia)

Alfred

The all-talented, all-knowing. There's probably nothing he can't do. He already sews all their outfits. So I mean.

Sometimes it feels really good to have something to stab. I'm not saying he does needle felting, but I'm not saying he wouldn't.

Probably was the one who taught Bruce about lost wax, and the one who helps Damian research about printmakers.

Silently supplies all the kids with all the art things.

Has a chest in his room filled with all the things that he's been gifted with over the years. There's little uneven macrame hanging from when Dick was just getting the hang of it, lumpy scarves that are too short for anyone to realistically wear from Jason, linen sets made by Cass, various trinkets from Tim, handmade cards and notebooks from Steph, mugs from Duke, and old embroidery pieces from Damian in unevenly stained hoops.

[ghoulishhusband]

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

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

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

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

read the under cut owo

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

So

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

First up is my asshole,

Giodine

they/them (preferred)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sam (Samuel)

He/him

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

Sam, Sam, Samuel.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Purgatory

She/her

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~Idea section over uwu~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ok!! ty!! ily!!