"Astarion with the Head of Cazador", a Caravaggio pastiche painting.

Did this earlier in the year. I never had a tumblr before so I'm sharing it now.

Sounds like a plan. 🤝

In other news, the 2026 calendar has now been sent to print, so thanks for all the pre-orders, everyone! We’re making some extra copies of it too, so if you still wish to grab one, please check out either one of our webstores, thank you! 🙌

Backstage Rock Shop

Night Shift Merch

This is a photobash under the hood, that then got painted and "rendered." Not well, but, yeah, "rendered." It is based on a late 13th century illustration by an unknown artist that depicts St. Michael defeating the Devil.

The Book of Enoch isn't considered canon, but it's got all the fun stuff people like about Christianity like angels and mystic visions. You know, the GOOD stuff!

I don't think Simon is a Christian of any stripe that would count as one today. But bits and pieces of old religions endure in new ones. For example, the halo was originally used in depictions of sun gods like Apollo. When Christianity developed, artists needed a shorthand way to show divinity quickly and effectively to a largely illiterate population that would have been very familiar with the idea of gods and goddesses running around interacting with mortals, and also with how those gods and goddesses were traditionally depicted in religious art. Ta-daa! Just like that, the halo becomes Christian iconography, and the world just keeps on turning.

Clearly there are almost vestigial remnants of Christianity on Eden in the world of Iron Lung. The name of the space station alone carries a lot of weight. But, no, my goal in making this little piece wasn't to try and push some idea that Simon would have worshipped a Christian god or that he would believe in angels.

I promise, I just think of Simon as a dragon slayer, so it was either Michael or George, and Michael won the coin toss. :D

Darling Simon gets a halo here, but it looks to be made of uranium and a porthole made with Filament Station glass. Whoops.

For more about the Book of Enoch and for a the illustration I used to create my little Saint Simon, have a look below the cut!

storeroom

from "Sherlock Holmes in the Lost World" by Martin Powell

No matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice, to save a doomed world.

Or, to quote my favourite game of all time, "No cost too great."

Pastiche of Judith II by Gustav Klimt

Judith II is a very interesting painting, especially paired with its first counterpart. The focus on the character of Judith and not her act (beheading the man she just seduced to save her people), in the first painting we look at a seductive sight, while the second shows harsher traits, a resolve and determination that displays the unwavering goal to protect her people.

Madara was interesting to put here, for me, because, on one hand, the Uchiha have this whole "seductive and attractive" thing with them, something we especially see with Sasuke and how he is treated, and that can link back to their kekkei genkai as well. They are sought after like prizes, for their looks, for their eyes, hunted and seen more as objects than people.

Of course, the context is very different there from the original story of Judith, but it's really the intent I wanted to focus on, the whole atmosphere of the painting and how decisive she looked.

Madara doing unspeakable act to achieve his goals is nothing new, and I don't think it's something that only came with his madness after Izuna's death, although it was probably magnified. In the name of his clan and those he loves, Madara is able to go very far, and when he finds himself convinced he has a way to achieve peace, he runs with it and ignores the consequences of his own actions.

So he even defiles Hashirama's legacy, his own body turned against him and his ideals. It is betrayal, and I enjoyed having hints of both his and Hashirama's treachery towards one another.

Madara's wound, Hashirama's ultimate choice to abandon him and detach him from their shared dream (this is not to argue whether or not he was right in doing so, but the nature of this act. Even if it was justified (and I believe, to some extent, it was), it is betrayal), with flowers blooming from it (forget me not, the name was one of the reason, the second was that, in Japanese flower language, they signify true love). On the other hand, Hashirama's head, Madara's own prize from their encounter, his cells his power, a key to his dream, but a stab in the back to Hashirama, to use his own body in such a way (hmmm... they are so toxic)

Hashirama is peaceful, dead, Madara is determined and still going, fire and destruction behind him, a trail of blood at his feet, but remaining unbothered. Spider lilies are a last touch, they are often linked to death and rebirth in Japan, but also reflect abandonment.

Madara is someone who tries to walk forward while unable to move on or heal, forever stuck as he tries to save and protect while destroying what is dearest to him in the end.

Tragic character, I love him so much.

A list for those who have run out of Holmes stories to read

Pastiche (Noun):

A literary, artistic, musical, or architectural work that imitates the style of previous work.

Lyndsay Faye- Writes both novels and short stories. Excellent at portraying canon Holmes accurately while also portraying emotional moments well; puts an excellently written focus on the friendship between Sherlock and Watson, has a book set from the point of view of minor characters in the canon that matches the books very well.

Bonnie MacBird- A pastiche novelist. Another writer that does well at inserting more intensely emotional moments into the story and writes more into the daily life of being a flatmate with Sherlock Holmes into her books.

Nicholas Meyer- Sherlock Holmes novelist responsible for some of the most famous pastiches of the modern era including “The Seven-Per-Cent Solution”, a deeper non-canonical look into Sherlock’s psyche featuring Sigmund Freud. Willing to put Watson and Holmes through the wringer physically and emotionally; excellent at writing more suspenseful and stirring stories. He also brings non-canonical depth and insight to the time surrounding Watson’s second marriage, creating a what-if scenario that some may enjoy.

more authors under the cut