#so it will be like. the most beautiful artwork but it's depicting the most rancid shit imaginable

[teethrotter]

christorian artists are so talented and for what

[sourbat]

in love with an idea of magnus actually being a decent artist. although most of his drawings range from confusing to fucking creepy. but let the guy cope, i say.

How very lovely. I really enjoy how this can double as something cathartic or therapeutic, depending on the situation. I’m also pretty much into Magnus being a sort of “jack of all trades” like Pickles, a runaway who had to develop various skills to get by when needed, and picked up a variety of talents throughout the years.

Given that early demos often had covers that were hand-written and/or drawn, there could be some lost demos of Hammersmith music with worn, faded covers depicting rancid, decomposing corpses, disembowelments, and the ever popular “hands clawing and successfully ripping one’s face to shreds” artwork. There could also be journals that are supposed to be filled with lyrics and notes, instead are lined with sketches, some gruesome, others not so much. Maybe there’s a worn, faded picture of one of the guys, a doodle of some random bird he caught hanging by the window, or stick figures edges hard into the recycled sheets after trying, but failing to come up with anything concrete for the band.

His relationship with his own art would be rather complex. I headcanon him as living with mental illnesses, and depression, a short attention span, and an ugly voice telling him he’s not worth it half the time would no doubt affect his ability to create. It’s a damn shame, too, because during such long, empty periods, what art he created was likely so detailed, so painfully raw in depicting what he felt…and he probably threw it all away.

Depending on where he is in his life, whether he’s on survival mode, or more inclined towards rest, Magnus likely kept his work hidden away from prying eyes. I can see him sharing the publicly accepted work with most, but keeping certain things to himself, either out of fear of accusations of being weird, or because he just doesn’t want to share “his image.” A more comfortable Magnus would likely still be rather possessive and protective of his art, but might be persuaded to show a few of the nicer sketches to the right person.

I do ship magtok, so naturally I want to apply this to their dynamic. I separate their relationship in stages, and while I don’t see early Magnus sharing his work with Toki, I think once he starts opening, communicates better, regularly takes his meds and actively tries therapy (he’s very on and off about it), that he’ll at least have some notebooks and journals that end up with doodles and the like scattered about. It starts slow, with Magnus again only showing Toki what he thinks Toki will want to see, and eventually works his way to a few other pictures. He doesn’t show everything to Toki, and Toki is ok with that. Everyone needs their privacy after all, but appreciates the few sketches Magnus shows him, and the fewer he was comfortable enough to hand to Toki. Even though Magnus limits himself to the most traditional form, which means smudges are likely to occur (especially with the older ones), and some of the pictures Toki owns are incomplete (hard to finish even the nicest things when you’re feeling off), he still takes good care of them. Toki doesn’t show the work to anyone else. He knows better than to, and quite frankly, doesn’t feel like sharing them with the guys.

Whether it’s a penciled sketch of a bleached skull being consumed by nature’s beauty, or some gnarled, twisted impression of Magnus, suffering and inked heavily with a pen, Toki does his best to say something nice about it. Because Magnus had the balls to show him, and you bet he’s going to let Magnus know his work, no matter how off it might seem, is still worthwhile. All art is.