Reblogged
A Lamb That Bared Fangs
OH MY GODS! I love your art anyway but this - this - *faints* I am in love.
Broken Chapter Eight: An Old Ugly Wound
You - would have sold the Empire? Surrendered to Mycroft Holmes?
For me??
Your face is streaked with tears... and brimming with raw emotion. I've seen rare peeks behind your mask before, but not like this! And I've never heard you sound so - vulnerable.
I listen with rapt attention - I didn't know what would happen but the last thing I expected was for you to speak at such length... about your feelings.
When you stop talking, the air feels hushed. I'm almost afraid to breathe, let alone speak. But I have to know where this unfathomable ride will take us -
"Why are neither of those reasons good?" I ask quietly. "They both sound fucking great to me..."
You look at me dubiously and I give you a half-smile.
"Yeah alright - the almighty pressure points," I sigh. "Not ideal for a criminal psychopath. Or his right-hand man. But it seems to me the pressure points were already there, lurking under the surface - for both of us. Isn't it better to acknowledge that instead of ignore it? Seems important to account for all data... like when you're planning a mission, you factor in any vulnerabilities so you can protect them..."
I stop and my brow creases. Did I just apply military strategy to a relationship?
I look down to where my hands are holding yours in your lap. When did that happen?
And - is this a relationship?
Reblogged amaamadeo
You want it darker
-Leonard Cohen-
Reblogged
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕐𝕠𝕦 [repost]
[This is a repost of an older comic of mine from February which was never indexed properly for unknown reasons. You can probably tell by the art--I'm a much better artist now, especially when it comes to Old Maniel. 😅]
Presenting "The Experience of You," my longest comic ever and the product of approximately one and a half months of labor.
This can stand alone, but it's the "spiritual sequel" of my previous long adaptation of @bandedbulbussnarfblat 's "The Human Perspective"
THE FIC: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43670523 MY ADAPTATION: https://www.tumblr.com/xxhellonursexx/705609796974428160
I will not be doing anything LONG like this again in the foreseeable future because of the sheer energy and time required--unless something were to sweep me away with inspiration.
Chapter Six: Your Toy
My eyes open - and close again quickly. The daylight feels like a fiery sword about to slice through my brain. I roll over, taking the sheets with me. Gritting my teeth, I hold my eyes open long enough to look at the time - two in the afternoon. Jesus. What time did I get to sleep?
No idea. But I had such weird dreams...
Death arrived in his black cloak - but only because he was curious about me. Instead of a scythe, he carried a dapper cane with a polished copper panther's head -
wait - panther??
I groan - well that symbolism couldn't be more obvious.
I have plenty of dreams about Armand but... they usually involve sex and blood -
not Death watching over me as I sleep - after he tucks me into bed??
I laugh ruefully. Wow - it's almost sweet.
Reblogged snequanimity
Why do we never talk about the juxtaposition between Sybelle, Benji and Armand?
By the end of ‘The Vampire Armand’, Armand finds Benji, a 12-year-old boy who was sold as a slave and who learned to live in a new world while loving his captor/buyer. And he also finds Sybelle, a woman who is a talented artist that has gone through terrible trauma and has developed a penchant for self-soothing in the form of obsessive repetition / compulsion. She is also being abused by the one who is supposed to love her and care for her, her own brother.
Two mortals who have suffered exactly the same as Armand did, see him at his lowest and decide to help him. Two lost children who love him as he is, as monstrous as that might be.
That is why Marius betraying Armand and turning them against his wishes is, for me, one of the harshest scenes in the entire Vampire Chronicles series.
(All the quotes in this post are from 'The Vampire Armand')
Sybelle and Benji are Armand's story in the flesh, and in their mortality they have the chance to create a new life that would break the cycle of pain and abuse they had suffered. Armand sees himself as the one who can provide the opportunity for them, the one that can save them and himself in the process, giving them a second chance at a safe and happy mortal life. But Marius wouldn’t allow it.
No matter how many times I read the final scene of 'The Vampire Armand', I always cry. And this is why.
Marius not only hurt Armand by transforming his mortal "friends", in his mind saving them from a potential disengaging and unraveling of their mortal mind. Marius once again proved (unconciously) that no matter how many times his fledgling had lived through it before, Armand's story will continue to repeat itself, either in his own life or in others. There will always be abuse, pain and subjugation. That is the nature of what Marius unconsciously believes and, by extension, what he seeks to "teach" Armand, even if he hides it behind his reasoning of providing Armand with love through Sybelle and Benji. He took Armand's agency once again, as surely as the mortal world did with Sybelle and Benji.
A terrible, horrible argument. And sadly, a very realistic one.
Chapter Five: Tempting Fate
The door between the kitchen and the lounge has two glass panels. One of them has sunken across the years, or was never put in right in the first place. Normally one wouldn't notice, but there is etching on the glass, and the etching on the right is a millimetre and a half lower than the etching on the left. It's been driving me crazy.
I call out a workman and try to explain the problem, but he is adamant he can't see it. Even when I use his measuring tape to prove it, he still insists it isn't an issue, no one can see it, and it would be impossible to fix. I am tempted to kill him, but don't - too much hassle; and he smells slightly off. A bowel issue.
I go to the bookshop to get a book on glazing so I can fix it myself, but it is indeed hard when the window's already been fitted. It takes me several days - I lose count. Then I need to repaint the wood, but I can only find enamel paint with a slightly darker colour than the one it had before, so I have to repaint the other doors as well, and the skirting boards, and the balustrade.
One of the balusters is slightly loose. I manage to fix it with wood glue, but then it's no longer parallel to the other ones, so I have to saw it loose and glue it again.
The fumes give me a headache even though I don't need to breathe. I keep forgetting and inhaling them.
Paint fumes make me feel weird. Both nostalgic and slightly sick.
Reblogged
i might be quite a fan of the faces that became more complex with time, but hey, what's a minion without his devil..?
P.S.: i know this one would not be visible in the feeds, but the next page in this one is graphite, water, wine red ink, and a drop of golden paint, all stashed under the cut bc CW BLOOD
Ohhhh I love that last one can we see a more direct picture of it?
Broken Chapter Seven: Just a Dream
You pull back.
Wait - why are you -??
You get up. With the most Jim-like movements you could possibly make.
My heart slams painfully in my chest.
Then - you tell me -
It's - what??
No!
My lips part but I'm distracted by your next movement and the feeling of -
You didn't -
Oh - you - fucker -
I hear myself start to laugh darkly, before I manage to stop with superhuman effort.
I'm being surrounded by your demonic henchmen, made of fog and darkness - as I'm trying desperately to keep my eyes open to look in your direction -
"Better sleep - with one eye open, baby," I murmur.
Then I'm stolen away - listening to the sound of my echoing laughter - as I'm dragged into the Abyss -
Where everything -
disappears -
Reblogged lighthouseweeper
some Louis and Lestat art i did a while ago for @verymerrymart during a little IWTV secret santa event!
That is SO cute - Louis please don't eat that rat!
Reblogged strawgremlin
I think most of my mutuals would be interested in this video.
Reblogged lestats-groupie
I still can't get started on the comic about these two, so I'm just having fun drawing random/cute panels 🥲
Please keep doing that as long as you like - I love them!
Reblogged
you know, it's a simple night of, uhh, making a thing without a reference, then using is as a reference for another thing that technically has no reference
the usual
not the best work of mine, but i desperately needed some warming up to get back on the proper Old Maniel track.....
Not your best work? I love it!! Love the angle, the atmosphere, the eyes, the cigarette... <3
