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imreallyhereforkataang · 4 years ago

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I'm unsure about how's the best way to articulate this, but I'm kind of surprised there's not more fan content highlighting the otherworldly aspects of Kataang, and a part of me wishes we could see a bit more of that.

I'd expect that most if not all fandoms frequently have an affinity for glamorizing aesthetics of characters and ships, and content creators who I know often look for ways to convey that sort of thing. I've also witnessed lots of people on this site claim that they first became attracted to a ship for its aesthetic because they saw embellishing artwork that didn't really highlight much about the characters' personalities, but was still gorgeous and impressive to look at.

And yeah, it makes sense that content creators and consumers in fandom engage with works that make epic an idea that may be primarily based off the “what” of the characters, or the situations they find themselves in, rather than the finer details of the “who.” The resulting creation is similar to what happens when the personal elements of a legend get lost over time, while the sensational aspects continue to be retold and glorified. That sort of thing makes for extremely intriguing depictions of the original source material, even if it’s at the expense of some of the subject’s humanity. Though, even when that depiction becomes so far removed from the original that it's totally unrecognizable, I do think it's often still fascinating and creative, and maybe should be its own celebrated thing altogether.

It's just surprising to me, and kind of disappointing if I'm honest, that, based on the relative lack of fan content doing this, many people seem to either not recognize or not act upon how Kataang has that exact aesthetic potential.

If you were to keep the basics of their story intact but tell it through a different lens or genre, maybe dramatize it a bit, it would be so easy to emphasize how Kataang is literally like a demigod and a mortal falling in love. That on its own to me sounds like the premise for the epic love story fandom culture would traditionally find appealing. And it's really not much of a stretch -- that is one legitimate way to look at the pairing if you broke it down to its objective pieces, even if it's not the most focused-on part of their relationship in the original material (though it certainly is alluded to). The source material is much more detailed and personal, like watching a show where Oma and Shu are the main characters versus hearing the major beats of their legend.

For Kataang, we can definitely take it further with drawing out their major beats. The mortal comes into her own and is shown to be a force of comparable measure to the demigod, as she is his self-appointed protectress. She releases him from dormancy, bringing him back into the world to fulfill his grand destiny, and on their quest, she would become his teacher, both in training and in reacquainting himself with the new era. At one point she would even revive him and his line of divinity after watching him be struck down and killed. This mortal is his first devotee, and his personal connection with her makes her his attachment to the world and, in extension, the mortals he protects.

Meanwhile, the demigod is the personification of the mortal's faith, a vessel of the compassion she feels so deeply for others. He takes her places, literally and metaphorically, she never could have gone before, teaching her in turn about lost practices and new perspectives. He can legitimately bring her to the skies with a unique ability that no one else in the entire world possesses -- an ability that also defines much of what he stands for and what her world has been missing in his absence.

Not to mention how the mortal was one of the only people who believed this demigod would resurface, and the only person by his side from the start of meeting him in their warring environment. The two were born nearly 100 years apart, yet their connection and love is shown to transcend both time and space. Their elements and roles to the world and to each other can be represented by synergistic air and water, which are associated in canon with freedom/peace and change/virtue, respectively. And if one were going to dramatize Kataang's relationship and what it stands for, their exchange could reasonably be depicted as the bridge between the heavens and the earth (moon and ocean).

Like, truly, their story is so mythical. The pieces are there. Think about how their theme is called "The Avatar's Love" and segments of that theme are reused for LoK, pointing to Aang's reincarnation cycle and how the love he feels transcends so many lifetimes, but he chooses Katara in this particular one. Think about what Yangchen says to Aang about the reason the Avatar is born a human and not a spirit, that the Avatar must live amongst humans and experience human emotions to recognize how precious the life is that the universe entrusts him with protecting. Think about Aang's chakras in The Guru, and not just the Love and Thought Chakras but nearly all of them, and how truly tied Katara is with his energy, his spirit. That can't be faked -- that's real, genuine influence, her touching his life in ways that highlight his humanity. Think about how Aang has a real-time vision of Katara without even intending to, and the only other being we see Aang do something similar (but intentionally) with is Appa, to whom Pathik says, "You and the Avatar's energies are mixed. You have an unbreakable bond."

Think about the Pietà pose in The Crossroads of Destiny and all that symbolizes about Aang and Katara (honestly that alone should be enough because it speaks volumes), including their world savior/first believer dynamic. How Katara brings Aang back to life and says, "I don't know what I did exactly," thus giving fuel to the idea that saving him didn't just constitute normal healing on her end. Think about the visual parallel between her resurrecting him and her releasing him from stasis in the first episode. Think about Katara's extended opening narration in the pilot and how it evolves to when she meets Aang, with just as much trust in an idea as in what ends up being the real thing.

Think about their relationship when Aang goes into the Avatar State, embodying his most divine form. How Katara is able to speak with and approach him, and how he can hear her and respond to her while in that state, honing all his past lives. Think about when Aang deals the heavy attack at Fong's base that would continue to haunt Aang for so long afterwards, which showcases how out of control he is here, yet his blow from all Avatars completely and deliberately avoids Katara while targeting everyone remotely near her. Think about how Katara is so unafraid of a raging demigod, even when the person underneath hasn't been acting like himself lately, that she doesn't flinch at the output of his anger and just goes to him as everyone else runs. Think about that visual where she grabs onto his arms and pulls him from the air that only he can bend to the ground she's tied to and into her arms. Think about how she always tries to catch him when he falls, because she is adamant about being his cushion to the earth.

Think about how Aang is the reason Katara gets to touch the heavens. Think about how he takes her on an epic journey across the world so she can learn waterbending and make the difference she's always wanted. How being with him, the one person with a divinely granted duty to the world and who will always choose her, puts her right on the foreground for making that difference. Think about how they can still waterbend together even if Katara can't airbend -- no one can besides Aang. Think about their push and pull of the water and how it highlights their equal footing, and that although, as the demigod he is, Aang can master all the elements, Katara is the mortal who teaches him mastery in the one they share between them.

I don't know, to me it's all so cool and awe-inspiring. Obviously the most important part of Kataang's relationship is how their personalities play off each other and how they treat each other, but in terms of this kind of grander depiction, I think of it more like Oma and Shu. We don’t know the details of how Oma and Shu acted towards each other, yet we hear the story about the power of their love and take inspiration from it.

So yes, I unfortunately don’t see this pronounced demigod/mortal iteration of Kataang very often in fan works, but it makes for a pretty dang fascinating legend to contemplate anyhow.

#kataang #kataangtag #aang #katara #atla #avatar the last airbender

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jabbers-artsy-hoard · 4 years ago

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All right, ladies and gents and non-binary friends! The fact of the matter is, I’m currently struggling to make ends meet. I’m not going to lie about that. I have no job, no money currently coming in at all. At least not from my end. I’m not going to let it keep me down, but I am going to look to you guys, to the people of Tumblr, for a little help while I try to get my life in order.

So I am opening up some fairly limited commissions. And by limited, I don’t mean ‘limited time offer’ or that I’m going to limit how many commissions I take. No, nothing like that. Instead, it’s going to be limited to what I know I can do well right now, and may open up for other things later. That being said, let’s get started!

Have you ever wondered what your muse would look like, if they were a dragon in the Spyro universe? Or maybe you’ve wondered what you would be like if you lived in the Dragon Realms. Well, wonder no more, friends! Because that is exactly the kind of commissions I am offering you! It’s been a lot of fun for me to try to translate other characters into Spyro-verse dragons. Typically they’ve been humans to dragons so far, but I’m willing to do absolutely any kind of muse! Animal or alien or humanoid, throw them at me!

So yeah. I’m starting with Spyro-verse dragon/dragonsona commissions, since it’s the easiest for me to do right now, and they’re the ones I can get done quickest for the time being. My computer has been buggy lately, so while normally I would offer other options such as icons or rp graphics, I can’t include those at this time. Even if I do have a couple icon commissions that have been unfinished for months.. But anyway! Without further ado, let’s talk prices!

All right, so I am offering these commissions in a few different ways, but I’m not going to put the prices too high for now, because.. well, I need to get people to start buying first. So, I’ll start low and maybe move up as popularity grows, I dunno. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Anyway! Commission types and their related prices are as follows.

Basic Sketch - $10 (+ $5 for any additional characters, + $1 for large weapons or accessories)

Example:

Inked - $15 (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories)

Example:

Inked & Shaded - $18 (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories)

Example:

Inked & Digitally Colored - $20-$30, depending on complexity (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories, please allow up to two weeks for coloring, I have limited resources)

Example: Currently N/A

Full Scene, plain sketch - $30-$40, depending on complexity, usually features up to three characters in the base price (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories)

Example: Currently N/A

Full Scene, inked lineart - $35-$45, depending on complexity, usually features up to three characters in the base price (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories)

Example: Currently N/A

Full Scene, inked & shaded - $38-$48, depending on complexity, usually features up to three characters in the base price (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories)

Example: Currently N/A

Full Scene, inked & digitally colored - $40-$50, depending on complexity, usually features up to three characters in the base price (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories, please allow up to one month for coloring, I have limited resources)

Example: Currently N/A

Expression Sheet - $20, comes in a basic set of six, can be ordered in multiple sets, each additional set costs $10 if bought in a single order

Example: Currently N/A

Now, I am also offering something in addition to just making the drawings themselves. Each commission, when finished, will be gifted to the commissioner free of charge, and in physical form. Yes, that’s right. Because I am going to be doing these commissions by hand and on physical paper, once they’re finished, I am going to ask you guys for an address that I can mail them to.

Now, I’m not asking you to give me your home address necessarily, unless that’s the only place you can receive mail, but if you have a P.O. box address I can send your commissions to, then that’s what I’ll be asking for. And actually, I should mention that this isn’t required. It’s just an added bonus if you would like the physical copy of the original work. But you don’t have to take it if you’re not comfortable giving me an address. I can also keep the physical copy, safely tucked away in a file of my work.

This might not include digitally colored commissions, but there is a possibility if I am able to access a place to print them. I do have somewhat limited resources, but I am always happy to give you guys the actual artwork that you pay for, and you don’t have to pay shipping fees. That’s the gifting part of the deal. All you’re paying for is the process, the time, and the artwork itself. Even if you don’t want to have it in person.

And that being said!!

Oh, but.. Wait. Just one more thing.

If you are under 18+, do not read below the cut. Any requests for these extra offers by anyone under 18 will be denied.

I am also willing to accept nsfw commissions. Yes, that’s right, folks. Considering that I myself am 30+ years old, I do not mind the occasional ‘adult content’ commissions. These commissions can include:

Nudity

Sex

Gore

Vore

Horror

or any other type of content that would be considered nsfw. But again, these are commissions for your Spyro-verse muse. Only for dragons this time. But if all goes well in this first round of commissions, I may open this up for other types of muses as well. And, if you really want, I will also offer self-insert nsfw commissions. I do not judge, and I do not refuse any ship or muse or self-insert content.

Unless you are underage. Which, I have no doubt that the under 18s got curious and read all of this too, so I will remind you guys that I will be asking for the ages of any of these nsfw commissioners, and I expect honest answers. Especially since I will be going through a three-day long protocol list for these commissions to ensure that I am not accidentally selling p*rn or other such nsfw content to minors.

And for those adults who get subjected to this three-day process, I am honestly very sorry to make this seem a bit inconvenient, but I’m sure you all understand that I am doing my best to protect the younger folks. I want to be careful, and I want to do right by the youth of today. But that being said, I also will be doing what I can to ensure that an adult isn’t buying a nsfw commission for someone under 18+.

I am treating this with the same level of caution and dedication, as if I were selling alcohol in a grocery store, which I have read up on the laws for, actually fairly extensively, so I do know how to manage this. I’m sorry to those inconvenienced by this, but if you’re really getting inconvenienced by an artist taking the necessary precautions to protect any minors, then perhaps you shouldn’t commission me for something nsfw. Just something to think about.

#art commissions #commission info #;; the jabberwock makes art (commission info)#i hope you guys consider commissioning me!#i look forward to working with you!

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blessedsage99 · 4 years ago

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Why Lapis and Pearl Could Work As A Great Pairing

It is without a doubt that most people agree that Lapis and Pearl would do absolutely anything for Steven. Maybe not anything as Lapis jumped off to the nearest solar system to get away from conflict, but he is in fact the one person she would indefinitely pull out extra stops for (ie; willing to indulge befriending Peridot, live on and try earth, go into the ocean once more, etc) . But I do not think that would be the one of the driving forces between their relation but it might be one of the factors to goad them into trying and befriending each other. And perhaps…. More.

Similarities On a surface level you can perhaps glean several similarities, perhaps similar shadow and body type, sasuke pointing hair… And then another layer and find their personalities are vastly different. Pearl is very educated, prefers order, dramatic, emotional, enjoys engaging in combat, very forgiving (ex; is quick to forgive Peridot once she actually makes the amends to not call her an object), and does her best to make up for mistakes (ex; several episodes of making it up to Garnet).

Lapis is very lazy and blase, the barn she and Peridot have formed together has no sense of order and moreso chaos, she instantly flies at the first sight of conflict, is the least forgiving gem out there (ex; holds it against the crystal gems for pretty much the entirety of the series, and Peridot goes lengths and miles to try and get Lapis forgive her and still is unable to and it takes Steven to intervene and scold her to make an attempt), and honestly? Lapis hardly ever apologizes for her mistakes versus Pearl. She shows signs of guilt but she never really apologizes to Peridot for anything she’s done to her nor Steven nor… Well, really anyone else, except in Future.

But that aside, it’s when you think about their more lighthearted sides and trauma is where most of their similarities lie.

Hobbies

As off as it sounds, it’s fairly essential in pretty much any relationship to cross over a few hobbies, even if you don’t share everything, it often all starts with something along those lines. And Pearl and Lapis share a huge chunk of their hobbies, believe it or not.

Both Lapis and Pearl definitely enjoy reading, Pearl being the educational beast she is and Lapis probably enjoys the relaxed activity. In fact their genres might be even similar as Lapis and Pearl enjoy reading odd textbooks (ex; The hairstyles book for Lapis, and the engineering book for Pearl) and both enjoy dramas (albeit, perhaps this might be different) like Camp Pining Hearts and Pearl was willing to write a play and overseer one in Jamie’s case. This perhaps is b-level canon however, in the comic issue Camp Pining Play, Lapis is willingly engaging in participating and acting out in a play, she even enjoys it.

If given incentive of enjoying the subject already, Lapis is willing to perhaps enjoy the drama of things along with Pearl.

Both enjoy singing, if we’re going off Lapis was previously like other Lapis, that would mean singing and dancing is looked down upon on her caste. So the fact she even makes the attempt to do so in Distant Shore means she’s practicing in it, and if we want to add another layer of it, in the game Unleash the Light, one of Lapis’s key items is the Crying Breakfast Friends Sing-Along. And who else enjoys karaoke? Pearl (ie; the commercial karaoke). Also Lapis does it in Future so like if you want canon material it’s right there in Why So Blue.

This is a bit of a stretch but it’s clear that Lapis enjoys the arts which her participation in the class and what the heck else she does with Peridot in the barn, and Pearl has at the very least has experience in it. (ex; the drawing she makes, despite her humble opinion, makes it clear she’s done it before, in fact I’m willing to bet she even painted that fucking painting of Rose Quartz) It perhaps could lead to some more experience and artworks together if you know what I mean…

Casting that aside, it’s clear the two have a main stream of things to enjoy together should they choose to versus some other couples. (And different ones should they choose to introduce the other, Pearl with baking and sword fighting and Lapis with farming and flying, etc)

Traumas

Now this is the important part, I’m willing to argue they both can share extremely similar and relate to each other’s problems. They just have vastly different ways of coping with it, or well… They both have some similarities there as well, but we’ll address that in the next paragraph-ish.

But the biggest one? Both miss their homeworld. Dearly.

In fact it’s the driving force for Lapis’s introductory episodes and one of Pearl’s where she tries to get Steven into a rocketship back to her home. Both are ancient and dusty as fuck, or well, at least heavily implied to be ancient with the fact of Pearl commenting she learned the sword when she was only ten thousand years old (Sworn to the Sword iirc), the war was six thousand which implies Pearl learned before it. And Lapis, it’s merely conjecture however the fact that Lapis isn’t a vegetable after and still has a strong sense of identity after being in the mirror for 4 thousand years says something (ie; My name is LAPIS LAZULI!), the likely conclusion is the fact it’s because that’s not even close to how old she is. It’s only a fraction of her lifetime, which means both are… Well, old as hell. And even more likely? They come from the same ‘homeworld’ unlike Peridot or Amethyst who were made after and Garnet who has herself.

The second one is the one both of them likely have their divisive opinions on, especially as they were from opposing sides of it, is that they were both part of the War.

Both obviously have their trauma’s from it, as shown as Pearl in ‘A Single Pale Rose’ she’s still traumatized over the thousands of shattered gems (which is essentially corpses to her) she was forced to witness right after the war, and Lapis being forced to watch inside the mirror as everyone condemns her to being a crystal gem. I’m willing to bet she saw everyone die while inside the thing as well. As well as considering Lapis never really got over anything as she was gonna literally yeet herself away at the mere IDEA of the war… Well, who else could help her but another person who knows the horrors as well? And Pearl has experience as she had a support system unlike Lapis who got worse and worse purely just by being herself.

Moving on as I don’t have a cool and smooth transition... This might be a bit of a stretch, but the last thing they both share very heavily over is the fact both were objectified.

Pearl was born to be an object, whereas Lapis was forced to become one, the mirror. And both consistently fight over the fact throughout most of the series. In the movie, the thing that makes Pearl remember herself is the freedom to be herself, and when she returns to her homeworld she’s forced to be reminded of her place when she talks to Holly Blue and returns to Steven in the final season. Lapis is obviously shook over it and holds it against the fact she always feels like she’s being used, (‘[...] AND YOU CAN’T KEEP ME TRAPPED ANYMORE!’) she longs for a safe place and to be free just as well just as Pearl does and the freedom to express herself (ie; her art). And who else but Pearl----- *coughcouhgcough*

Differences

I covered this in the first part where it's obvious the two have very vast differences when it comes to their personalities. But I find it important to have differences as both have something to bring to the table with their differences, no? Another essential part of a working couple.

And to quickly cover what I had before, their personalities. Pearl is literal and Lapis is sarcastic, Pearl is outwardly emotional and sobs and Lapis moodily and angrily exists, so on and so forth. How does this work? It’s also one of the hardest parts of their relationship, should they ever try it out because one of their biggest differences, is one of their flaws in a relationship as proven over and over.

Pearl is all give and no take, and Lapis is all take and no give. Which is a mix for a toxic relationship, as Pearl would constantly be giving to Lapis as Pearl’s entire worth as shown in her previous relation was all about what she would give to Rose, or else she was nothing. Even by the end of the main series she still needs to be reminded she’s still something without her. And Lapis’s emotional baggage? Let’s face it, Lapis is selfish and it’s all about her. She’s angry? She’s gonna fuck you up (ie; Jasper and the two Lapis), Lapis doesn’t want to deal with war? She doesn’t even think twice about what Peridot wants, and jumps away despite Steven calling out towards her.

But, but, but, but… It’s also a mix for something amazing as after their development, they’re kind of the perfect people to call each other out. In theory of course should they communicate.

Lapis would teach Pearl to be a little more selfish and care about her own needs, whereas Lapis needs constant reminders to actually take notice about what others want and feel (ex; the way she immediately rushes in and notices Steven’s expression at the last moment). It’s clear that Pearl isn’t willing to be treated that way should Lapis do so (ex; the way she snapped back at Peridot and towards Holly Blue) and Lapis upon caring enough? Is in fact willing to try to do better (ex; Why so blue, and Alone at Sea). It’s just that Lapis is farther behind on maturity (considering she ran away and panics instantly twice in a row). They can strike a perfect balance should they put the effort to do so, which would lead to the possible second problem they might have and would need to work through.

And the second difference the two of them have?

Fusion.

It’s the one trauma Lapis has that Pearl wouldn’t understand, and, it’s something Pearl clearly finds something addicting or to use above others. In fact she needed a crash course on it with the string of episodes of what she did to Garnet. Because Pearl is the kind of person who would desperately try so hard to not repeat the same mistake, she’s probably she’s willing to wait a millennia about it or even be fine with never fusing with Lapis. Because consent is important, but I think because of her actual experience with good and loving fusions? She might not be actually be a bad candidate for helping Lapis should she ever want to try again.

The Biggest Conflict

Now, for the biggest problem of the relationship. Uh, let’s be real here…. Despite all these arguments and nice claims and all.

Lapis doesn’t like Pearl, at all. Perhaps she even holds the biggest grudge against Pearl because Pearl was the one who literally carried her around in the mirror for a good chunk of time, doesn’t even bother to learn who she was, and even was willing to bubble her and trap her further. And Lapis probably has incentive to keep it against her for purely that fact as she was holding it against Peridot for the same fact, except for the fact Pearl has made zero amends to apologize for it. So why would Lapis ever want to talk to her?

You might consider the possibility of Steven but it’s not his job to make them friends. The only thing the two of them would do for him is to pretend to be friends, as shown in ‘Hit the Diamond’ and ‘Gem Harvest’ but otherwise, there’s clear distaste from Lapis’s side (ie; The New Crystal Gems) and her consistent ‘fuck the crystal gems’ attitude from the beginning. Maybe for him they might try something however I doubt it’s enough.

Regardless, I do believe an apology is due on both sides whenever they are ready. And that would be the start of perhaps their romantic relationship shenanigans which I consistently desire. Also I’m a slut for tense relationships to friendship to lovers if people would just---

Anyway I think there’s a lot more material for them to work with and they might actually be a pretty awesome couple

#steven universe #su meta #pearlapis #lapearl #steven universe analysis #pearl #su analysis #lapis lazuli #pearl (Su)#sage text #meta #i like geniunely thought about this a lot i lay awake at night thinking about them i just FEEL LIKE THERES MORE THAN WHAT PEOPLE BELIEVE Ok

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bytheangell · 4 years ago

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Go the Distance

( @shadowhunterbingo Square: Long Distance) (Reyhill, light angst, happy ending, canon compliant) (Read on AO3)

“It’ll be over before you know it,” Lorenzo says, trying to sound reassuring. “It’s only a month.”

Andrew, objectively, knows that a month really isn’t that much time in the grand scheme of things. He knows it’s practically the blink of an eye to an immortal. But when you’re still in a relatively new relationship, the idea of being apart for an entire month has a way of making itself feel like the end of the world.

“Yeah, I know,” Andrew says, trying not to make a huge deal out of it. “It isn’t like you can’t just portal back to visit, too. Or maybe I could come to visit you? I can see if Alec will shift my off days so I have a couple together,” he adds hopefully. At least, Andrew hopes he manages to keep his tone at ‘hopeful’ and not ‘desperate’, which is a line he’s afraid of crossing just then.

“Perhaps,” Lorenzo says. “It isn’t as if I’m on vacation there - I will be working most of the time, but I’m sure I can manage a bit of ‘off time’ as well,” he allows. Andrew wonders if he’s simply trying to keep his expectations realistic or if he’s trying to tell Andrew he’s totally fine with the time apart - maybe he even wants it.

Andrew tries not to overthink as he kisses Lorenzo goodbye.

---

Andrew does not succeed in his attempts to not overthink it. He tries to wait for Lorenzo to call him first because he doesn’t want to come across as clingy or needy - after all, Lorenzo doesn’t seem to have a problem at all with being away, and if he doesn’t then neither does Andrew. Or so he tries to convince himself.

Andrew makes it two days before he’s dialing Lorenzo’s number on his lunch break. It rings to voicemail. He tries again toward the end of his break and this time it goes straight to voicemail without ringing.

Andrew winces.

He gets a call back while out on patrol, and it takes all of his self-control not to answer it the moment he feels the phone vibrating in his pocket. Instead he sends a quick, ‘sorry, patrol’, and almost immediately gets a return ‘Of course, be safe, dear’. Sighing, Andrew pockets his phone again and finishes out the patrol.

He gets back at 2 am, which is 8 am in Spain, and tries again, stifling a yawn as Lorenzo picks up.

“Why are you not asleep?” Lorenzo says at the sound.

“Miss you, too,” Andrew says.

Lorenzo laughs. “Of course I miss you,” he says. “How was patrol?”

If Lorenzo is annoyed with him for calling twice earlier or only waiting a day and a half to call at all, he doesn’t show it. They chat for a little while - not nearly long enough, but Lorenzo has to go to meet his client and Andrew really should get some sleep - and hang up with the promise to talk again soon.

---

Soon ends up being the next day, which is wonderful… until that’s the last time Andrew hears from Lorenzo for the better part of a week.

He expects it, which makes the wait a little more tolerable. Lorenzo warned him that they had to make a trip to a particular subsection of ley lines located in a very remote area, and that most of his energy would be depleted from the spells they’d be performing there… but that doesn’t make Andrew worry less over the continued silence. Especially not imagining Lorenzo repeatedly draining himself somewhere he can’t call for help, magically or the mundane way.

“Everything alright?” Alec’s voice greets him, drawing his attention from his phone back to reality.

“How do you do it?” Andrew asks. Magnus is also in Spain, just for the week to help out with what Lorenzo described as a ‘gradual gathering of magic’, some rituals performed daily along with very intricate potion brewing.

“Do what?” Alec frowns.

“How do you deal with not hearing from him, given...” Andrew motions vaguely around him, not quite willing to vocalize the concept of their lives being dangerous and literally life-threatening on a daily basis sometimes.

“It sucks,” Alec says honestly. “But it’s part of our lives. Sometimes we get called away for longer missions or trips to Idris, too. The portals help, when they can, but sometimes you just have to wait it out and know that as much as you’ll always do everything in your power to come home safe to him, he’ll do the same for you.”

It’s spoken like someone who gives themself this particular pep talk pretty frequently… Andrew wonders how many times he can go through this, and surprises himself when he immediately thinks ‘however many I have to’ in response.

---

It’s a long six days, but finally, Andrew’s phone rings and Lorenzo’s name flashes across the screen, bringing an immediate smile of relief to his face.

“Ren,” Andrew says, sure the smile can be heard in his tone.

“Andrew,” Lorenzo’s voice greets him. He sounds exhausted.

“How are you doing?” Andrew asks, hoping Lorenzo will supply the information without him fishing for it, or implying that his boyfriend sounds awful. Andrew knows how poorly that goes over with Lorenzo after making the mistake once before of telling the warlock he looked tired. Andrew definitely doesn’t want a repeat of those defensive reactions right now.

“I’ve been better,” Lorenzo admits, and Andrew feels an immediate pang of concern, made worse by the fact that he isn’t there to help - or at least to insist Lorenzo rest properly. “But I’ll survive. Nothing a good day of recharging won’t solve.”

“Is that what you’re doing today? Actually resting?” Andrew sounds dubious.

The sound of Lorenzo laughing lightly eases some of Andrew’s concern that he’s downplaying how he feels.

“Yes. And if you talk to Alec, don’t let Magnus take all the glory for a successful first round of spells. He seems to think he was the only one holding that connection together,” Lorenzo huffs.

“We both know you were invited first for a reason,” Andrew is quick to stand by Lorenzo and is rewarded with another laugh.

“Precisely,” Lorenzo agrees.

“Well, I don’t want to hold you up from resting,” Andrew says. Hanging up is the last thing he wants to do just then, but he should give Lorenzo time to actually recover and not keep him awake talking.

“Oh, yes, of course,” Lorenzo says, and even though something sounds off Andrew just writes it off as the exhaustion. “Talk to you later, then.”

The line disconnects and Andrew fights the urge to change his mind and call Lorenzo back, reluctantly turning back to the monitors in front of him.

---

Andrew gets a few days of short text replies after that. He can tell something is wrong, but every time he tries to bring it up Lorenzo changes the subject. Worrying that he’s being too much of a bother while Lorenzo is, technically, working, Andrew decides to play it safe and stop texting first altogether.

Which doesn’t work as well as he hopes when it results in no communication at all.

It doesn’t take long for his thoughts to jump to every worst-case scenario, always coming back to the idea that Lorenzo simply isn’t as invested in them as Andrew is. Maybe they were something convenient here, while they were in such close proximity, but now that they’re apart and things take a little extra effort… maybe Andrew isn’t worth that.

The idea of this being something far more casual for the Warlock than it is for him hits Andrew hard, but he isn’t about to go out without a fight.

Andrew calls Lorenzo and doesn’t realize how much he expected the call to be ignored until he feels the surprise at hearing Lorenzo’s voice answer on the other end. There are a few minutes of small talk while Andrew works up the nerve to say what he called for - to tell Lorenzo how much he misses him and see if there’s any way they can meet up, even just for an hour, when Lorenzo asks him first.

“There’s something of a party this week, a few of the local warlocks and fae will be attending, some old friends from when I used to live here… if you’re free, you’re more than welcome to come,” Lorenzo offers.

“I’d love to,” Andrew agrees, almost before the offer is fully extended. “I was just thinking of ways we could get together, so this is perfect.”

“I’ll text you the details. I have to run, but I’m looking forward to having you join me. Oh, and don’t worry about what to wear - I’ve seen quite a few suits here I thought you’d look stunning in, now I have an excuse to get you one.”

Lorenzo is consistently trying to treat him to things - clothing, jewelry, artwork, single meals that are somehow the same price as Andrew’s entire month of groceries - and Andrew usually manages to stop the worst of it from happening. There isn’t much he can do to stop Lorenzo from buying him things half a world away, however.

“Lorenzo, I have perfectly good suits here, you really don’t-”

The line goes dead and Andrew shakes his head at the now silent phone in his hand.

If it means getting to see Lorenzo again sooner rather than later, Andrew is more than willing to suffer a much-too-fancy suit.

---

“I missed you so much,” Andrew says, melting into Lorenzo’s embrace the moment he steps out of the portal.

“I’ve missed you, too,” Lorenzo replies, his arms pulling Andrew in a little tighter before stepping away. Andrew notices they aren’t alone in the room - there are two others sitting on the other side of the room at a table. Hesitating, Andrew leans in and steals the briefest of kisses in greeting, unsure of the company they’re in but unable to not kiss his boyfriend after being apart for the better part of the month.

Lorenzo smiles into the brief kiss but doesn’t move for a second.

“Come, I want you to meet some of my oldest friends, then we really should get dressed for the party,” Lorenzo says, pulling Andrew along toward the men in the corner.

Andrew does his best to relax - this is a social gathering, after all, despite the presence of more Downworlders than he’s ever been in the same room as before outside of official Clave business. There are many introductions, and with each new name and face he feels a little more overwhelmed.

He isn’t sure what he expected, but he has such little time with Lorenzo to himself. Instead, Andrew stands beside him, and a little behind, and barely says a word. No one, including Lorenzo, seems to notice or mind. Lorenzo is full of loud laughter and animated reminiscing over adventures during times Andrew only knows from history books. Everyone here seems to know Lorenzo and he’s constantly surrounded by a small cluster of warlocks and fae.

Andrew is aware he’s the only Shadowhunter here, especially when every Downworlder eyes Andrew warily. He can’t particularly blame them, but it doesn’t do wonders for making him feel welcomed. It gets to the point that with every concerned look he gets, Andrew fades more into the background, hands instinctively clasped behind him while he watches rather than partakes in any proper socializing.

It’s barely over an hour into the evening that Andrew excuses himself to go outside for a moment. He isn’t even sure Lorenzo notices his departure, but a few minutes later hears the sound of a door closing behind him and feels a familiar presence by his side.

“Is everything alright?” Lorenzo asks, his hand coming up to rest on the small of Andrew’s back.

A part of him wants to say yes, and dismiss every concern he has, but that isn’t fair to either of them.

“I shouldn’t be here,” Andrew says finally.

“I was afraid of this,” Lorenzo sighs. “I thought something was off when we spoke… from how quick you were to get rid of me on the phone last week, and then the days without talking…”

Andrew frowns. “What?”

“I was worried being apart for so long early on would be too much strain. I was right. It’s alright, Andrew. I’m hundreds of years old, I can handle a break-up-”

“I don’t want to break up with you,” Andrew says, brows furrowed in confusion. “I thought you wanted to break up with me. I felt like every time I called you I was bothering you, so I waited until you called first, and when you never did I just assumed you didn’t care if you heard from me or not.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Lorenzo scoffs.

“And in there, I can tell I’m making people a little anxious. And you have so many friends, and they all know you better than me, and honestly, they all seemed like much better company. I can’t imagine why you’d want me around to ruin that when I clearly don’t fit in here,” Andrew adds, because if he doesn’t get it all out now then he never will.

“No time spent with you is ruined,” Lorenzo says. “I’m sorry you felt like that. I should’ve taken it into consideration, but I was so eager to have you along I didn’t think of the other company.” Lorenzo frowns. “I’d much rather be speaking with you than any of them, I promise. In fact…” Lorenzo glances at his watch. “I think it’s time I make our excuses, and we retire for the night. Just the two of us.”

“But the party-”

“I have something far more important than a party to attend to,” Lorenzo insists. “We should go and talk.”

“What if we stay for another hour, then leave?” Andrew offers. “I’d like to try this again, but properly this time. I may have written off the night prematurely.”

They both have a bit of work to do on communication, but Andrew is just as guilty for making unspoken assumptions as Lorenzo. For now, at least, Andrew can start with going into this evening with a more open mind.

Lorenzo smiles. “Alright. If you’re certain?”

Andrew realizes he’s suddenly pretty certain about a lot of things - not the least of which is the distance he’s willing to go to make sure this relationship works. It helps to know Lorenzo is in it with him to meet him halfway.

“I am,” Andrew confirms, as Lorenzo takes him by the arm and leads him back inside.

#reyhill #andrew underhill #lorenzo rey #shadowhunters #hmdiscord #been a hot second since I wrote these two in something a bit longer #i know i hit them during the flufftober rounds but this was fun!#also eyyyy another double fic day #long post #elle writes a few deadbeat lines

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mobius-prime · 5 years ago

Text

159. Sonic Super Special #15

Welcome to the final Sonic Super Special ever! Here's my opinion on it. Past Super Specials have ranged from okay to amazing, depending on the writer and the subject matter, and their long length has usually, if you ask me, worked in their favor, as it meant more time and space to tell a compelling story. This is not true of this one. Unfortunately, the last super special of the comic is utterly awful, with two stories that do absolutely nothing to grip my attention, one of which ends in a status quo with a net gain of absolutely nothing, and the other of which is cringeworthy and isn't even very clear on when, where or how it takes place. Let's just get this over with, shall we?

Naugus Games

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Many Hands Colors: Josh and Aimeee Ray

This first story is far, far longer than it has any right to be - it really feels like they were trying to find ways to pad it out it to take up the full 48 pages of the special. Furthermore, you might notice some oddities about the credits above. First of all, Aimee's name is misspelled with three E's for both stories for some reason, indicating some lazy copy-and-pasting as well as a lack of care from the editors. Even more frustratingly, no one is actually credited directly for the pencils (or inks), with the art instead just being credited to "many hands." Remember how I said the comic was getting annoyingly bad about properly crediting people? Now, in case you're confused, there's not just some artist out there literally named Many Hands; instead, that's the comic's way of sidestepping actually bothering to credit any individuals for their work. It just means "eh, a lot of people worked on this I guess, but we don't care enough to actually tell you who." Unfortunately, unlike a few issues ago where the art style was immediately recognizable as Steven Butler's, the art style for this story is foreign to me, suggesting they got some people who weren't their usual artists to work on this one, so I can't even take an educated guess here. All I know is that both the art style in general and the quality of the inks are very poor, and as we'll see, the art gets unforgivably lazy at times. Perhaps best of all, this story was later retconned into a much more interesting and concise version of itself at a later date, with better storytelling and artwork to boot. The only reason, then, that I'm covering it at all, is honestly as a demonstration of just how lazy the comic could get at times, as well as due to the fact that this is the first appearance of "Many Hands," who later pencilled one other issue for the comic that was of equally poor quality.

So this story takes place at an unspecified time in the recent past. It seems to be sometime after Eggman's return, judging by some of the lines of dialogue within the story, but the actual timeframe is pretty vague. Sonic has returned to the Southern Tundra to pay his respects to Eddy, recalling how Eddy sacrificed himself when he, Tails, and Nate all fought Naugus here some time ago. He's brought a single rose to lay on the site of the wreckage, but the ground isn't quite stable…

And here we have the first instance of a truly terrible art decision. Sonic falls into a pitch black cave system, but instead of representing this with maybe one page max of blackness or darker lighting, we're treated to nearly four pages straight of nothing but this:

He blindly stumbles around for a while, informing us of this fact through dialogue bubbles because everyone knows that telling is better than showing in fiction, right? He finally hits a wall and sees a glow through a crack in it, so he tunnels his way into the next room only to find it full of glowing rings - apparently, either he, Tails and Naugus somehow didn't use up all the rings when they fought, or these one have just auto-generated themselves somehow down here. Sonic recalls memories of the previous battle when Nate sealed Naugus away with a wish from a ring, and then decides to try to use one to get out of the cave system.

Wonderful! Apparently, a "wish" as defined by the magic of the rings just means that you think of someone's name while touching a ring, and so with a flash, Naugus is back from his imprisonment in the zone that Nate sealed him into! But how is this possible?

That explanation makes… basically no sense, dude. Naugus was definitely sealed away in another zone, he didn't just get turned into a pile of telepathic rings. But whatever. He and Sonic start battling it out, and somehow make it outside, where Naugus conjures up a snowstorm that consistently stays centered on Sonic no matter where he runs. Time for the second awful art choice of the issue - now instead of four pages of pure blackness, we get six whole pages of this:

I think the best thing about this is that the blizzard backgrounds are clearly not even hand drawn like the rest of the comic is - there's only two types of snowflakes up there, and they're consistently just copied and pasted in that same repetitive swirl pattern on every single page. I get that drawing for a big story in a super special like this can be long and tedious work, but this is why you don't try to find a way to artificially elongate a story like this which could easily be told in the span of a normal issue length. It just ends up making the audience feel like their time is being wasted. Anyway, the blizzard finally ends when Sonic pulls out a ring from his jacket and wishes for Naugus to be sealed away in his previous zone once more, and thus, Naugus is out of our hair again, with absolutely nothing to show for it. Man, if it's this easy to defeat people in this universe, why hasn't anyone tried this on Eggman yet?

Sonic then leaves back for home, thinking one last time of Eddy, who is shown looking down on him from the heavens above. And thank god that story is over.

Sonic Spin City

Writer/Pencils: Michael Gallagher Colors: Josh and Aimeee Ray

Michael Gallagher, over the course of the comics, has gone from one of the series' main writers to basically a guest writer who's brought on every once in a while for special occasions. In this case, he even makes his return as a penciller! Unfortunately, his goofy writing style has begun to clash with the much more serious plots of these later issues, and this story is no exception. It's entirely unclear about whether we're supposed to take this story as actual canon, as a story from an alternate zone, or as just a silly joke story that doesn’t mean anything - and while I tend to try to avoid looking at non-canon materials in this review series (I've already skipped a few stories and issues for exactly this reason), the ambiguity of this one forces me to cover it. In addition, I don't even know why Josh and "Aimeee" were credited as colorists for this story, considering the entire thing is black and white with no color to be found.

Much like the first story of StH#52, this story has the flair of an old detective serial. Sonic is wandering the streets on a rainy night when two swatbots ambush him. Of course, two swatbots are no match.

What does a swatbot need matches for? Eh, whatever. Sonic races over to Rusty's, a hangout for abandoned badniks, and orders himself a "chili dog float," which in addition to sounding absolutely disgusting doesn't even seem like something a bar for robots would serve in the first place. As he takes his seat, the lights go out, and… this abomination emerges onto the stage.

Yes. The badniks are going wild for a swatbot with tits dancing seductively on a stage for them. What is she gonna do, plug them into a wall outlet? They even start screaming out for "the stretch," and appear to get even hornier as she massively elongates her legs for them. I mean, just, what? I swear, Michael, if we get one more weird borderline-sex thing like this from you in this comic, my eyes are gonna pop out of my head like Natsuki. A bot grabs the dancer's ankle, and she's thrown off balance and crashes down, with the head popping off to reveal that underneath, it's Bunnie in disguise.

You know, after her claim all those issues back that she's a "sax cymbal," I'm not even gonna contest the idea that she'd do a sexy dance during infiltration for a mission. Hell, I get the impression she'd do one anyway just for fun back in Knothole if she got the chance. You might also notice her arm is the arm from her old design, and that coupled with Sonic's own design seems to indicate that if this took place at all in actual canon, it was before Eggman's return, though I'm immensely skeptical that this is supposed to be canon at all. Sonic and Bunnie take out the rest of Rusty's customer base, and then evacuate before the last swatbot activates its self-destruct chip, blowing the place sky high. Congratulations, nothing important was accomplished in this issue and nobody cares!

It's kinda sad that the final Sonic Super Special turned out to be so low-quality, honestly. However, this marks a bit of a turning point in the comic. For the first time in its entire run, from now on, there are no more special issues, no sister series, no miniseries, nothing. From the next issue, all the way to almost the 200th, with one exception in the form of a Free Comic Book Day issue, there are absolutely no interruptions from issue to issue. While this may not seem too notable at first, since we've just been reading everything in mostly-chronological order anyway, keep in mind that as far as the comic is concerned we're still in the year 2000, with a mere seven years having passed from the beginning of the comic all the way to now over the course of 159 issues. Over the course of the next 106 issues, we're going to blaze through nine years of comic history, meaning that the story is going to flow a lot faster, with more plot points being covered in a shorter amount of time. While this does make the order of issues a lot easier to follow, since there's no questions about which issue fits in where or anything, I am sad to see all the special issues go, as I quite enjoyed how they served to break up the flow of the comic as a whole with special stories and side content. Though we're still in the middle of our current plot era, we're entering into a new era of the comic as a whole, where we've got a straight shot through the next hundred issues. So I say - let's do it to it!

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #sonic super special 15 #writer: ken penders #writer: michael gallagher #pencils: many hands #pencils: michael gallagher #colors: joshua d ray #colors: aimee r ray

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velveetacrackncheese · 5 years ago

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Hey, Rad... Alex... Alexlememe? I know that's the name you used to go by and I know you've kinda disconnected yourself from Viv's fanbase after ZP ended, and I remember your memes and such but I kinda just wanted to get your take on the Hazbin drama since you reblogged the headcanon blog's post on the subject. More or less regarding the issue of her being uncharitable to fans and non-fans alike, plus that one callout post on twitter?

So this is weird. I wasn’t expecting to get asks on the subject since like you said, I’ve generally been disconnected from the fanbase aside from the few reblogs here and there retaining to Hazbin and its more recent developments. But yeah I guess I could give my take on this since I mean.. old fans still follow me. Idk why, but they do!So, really. In regards to that callout post (which is now deleted) I really, really don’t care that much. For one thing, Initially I did because I really hated to see someone be slandered so viciously with inaccurate and uncharitable attacks, but I kinda just stopped because even when I linked the addresses from both Viv, and the Ken dude regarding all the drama mentioned, it was either ignored and resulting in me being called a “pedo sympathizer” or “It wasn’t even an apologyyyyy weh” and like, whatever. I stopped giving a shit.

Terms of the traced animation thing... Lol, ok. I mean homages do exist, and her animation thingy was based on a meme so whatevs.

Anyways,I knew from the very start that the whole “tracing” and “stealing designs” stuff was nonsense since there was an entire like, tumblr drama arc on the issue, and albeit Viv’s post is gone, there’s evidence of legal contracts regarding Jiji and that whole nonsense that was years ago. In regards to her drawing pictures of Blaire White and Shoe… Eh. I mean, yeah, fuck em, but she’s made it clear that she doesn’t support those views anymore, and she wasn’t even really aware of the other things they’d done at that point, and I see no real reason not to believe her because what does lying about that gain her? Yeah her comment on the “blackface” thing if you wanna call it that was dumb as shit, but considering 2016 was a rough year for her in terms of trying to find where she fell in the political sphere, I can relate because I was in the same boat. A lot of sjw cringe comps, shaming feminists, and purposely misgendering transpeople… Not a good time for me either! Course I’ve changed. I went from being a reactionary alt-centrist to an anarchist so. Whether that’s an improvement is up to you.

As for the whole pedo/zoo shit, I really don’t see it. I mean like, look, obviously porn art portraying people fucking feral animals is disgusting right. Not saying it isn’t problematic or anything, but to be fair, she did draw this shit like 8 years ago. I’ve seen worse from even more well-established artists and I don’t see people trying to cancel them? Also, the art was suggestive for one thing and not necessarily 100% porn. I mean it’s still creepy and gross, and I’d understand scolding them if they continued to do so but a lot worse, but I haven’t seen anything like that from Viv past those 2 drawings. As for the pedo shit… The relationship between a 17 year old and a 19 year old is… hardly creepy and reminiscent of pedo shit. So yeah no fuck that. Now with the drawing of Mirage and Kestrel and the tag that said something jokingly like “Mirage and her pedo tendencies” or whatever… Yeah idk, I can’t defend that lmfao. Again, Viv said she disapproves of those drawings and doesn’t care to think about them, but that one piece of artwork definitely had some baggage to it that made me feel uncomfortable after reading the tags.Only issue I took in terms of her addressing that, is that she was very adamant about it being an inside joke… Which if that’s true, you must’ve had some fucked up friends like damn.

I would also like to state that cub art is legitimately disgusting and I am of the belief that it can cause harm depending on the context since I assume the consumption of cub art can reinforce the urge for pedophiles to act on their desires instead of finding healthy coping mechanisms for it through therapy. There have been stories from younger users on the internet that older people have tried to groom them and have the notion of pedos preying on them be normalized by sending them art depicting kids in sexual acts with adults. Of course in isolation cub art isn’t as harmful as the actual act of raping a child, and I would argue that people have their priorities kind of messed up since the illustration being acknowledged should be part of combating pedophiles preying on children. However, people, typically twitter wokescolds tend to focus on the art solely and I don’t know why. There’s a lot of MAPS trying to find their way into LGBT spaces and it’s fucking gross.

Now with Hazbin itself… It’s meh. Initially I watched it with rose-tinted glasses and loved it. After watching it for like… the 3rd, 4th, 5th time? It’s alright. I don’t hate it, but it’s far from perfect. Now ofc I know it’s a pilot but a very lengthy pilot I’ll say. My biggest gripe with the pilot is that the editing is really fucking weird. Like the editing where Angel tells Alastor “I can suck yah dick!” and the scene that followed was really off. It seemed like too many cuts were made in that instance and seemed very cluttered. It also feels that way during Charlie singing “Inside Every Demon is a Rainbow” and how many little animated bits were like almost wiped off the screen by how fast it came by, and ntm there was just so much happening all at once on screen as well. I had to pause at points just to process everything that was happening. The palette is also very, very, verrrry red. There’s so much red going on and like… I get it, it’s in hell. But lemme rest my eyes on something else besides red, please. The palette they use needs to be better diversified, and the same goes for the characters too. Every character seems to have red on them. Whenever Baxter shows up later he’s gonna look really out of place. Some of the jokes were ok, and others seemed non-clever. I didn’t think Angel’s joke about sucking Al’s dick was funny. I did like the joke with Pentious and Angel though. “SON??” Some of it could’ve been written better too.

Regarding the drama with the show itself… Personally I don’t get it. Like, I don’t feel as if Angel is homophobic as a character since his queerness isn’t at the face of the jokes he makes? He just happens to be sex worker which… sex workers are fine? Support sex workers y’all, seriously. There’s also nothing intrinsically wrong with being sexually active either? As long as it’s within reason and you’re being trustworthy.The issue lies in the fact that people viewed the things I just mentioned as negative, and associate it with gay people as said negatively portrayed thing to push the sentiment of “Gay man do sex a lot therefore the gays bad” or that sort of thing. Also there’s a bit where it shows there’s more emotional depth to him and I’m hoping they’ll expand on that later. Honestly though, the criticisms in regards to that have been pretty uncharitable. Same with the criticisms for Vaggie. Apparently Vaggie is racist because… she’s loud and angry? Again, this is a case where people assume those traits are negative, and because it’s assumed to be negative, the negatively portrayed thing pushes the sentiment of “Being a loud fiery woman made, and latina women are that, therefore latina women bad” or some shit. There are stereotypes that are bad no matter what the context is like sambo-esque caricatures of black people. Then there are tropes that are applied to certain demographics that have the capability to be written well into characters without it being offensive or disrespectful. Vaggie is literally angry because she’s protective of her gf. Like. C’mon.

So, I think that settles what I think about that? It honestly seems like superficial shit to me tbh, and I’m saying this as an sjw-y beta cuck anarchist.

The only REAL gripe I have, is with what the mod from @zpheadcanons posted. Because I know this is probably true as much as it hurts me to say it. Faust def has a history of being pretty petty and bully-like to people she deems undesirable, and Viv harbors it by not criticizing it, and if anyone else within their friend group does it then you’re scolded vehemently and treated like garbage. Her attitude also stretches to harboring an audience full of white knights that I personally don’t approve of.

There’s also this

Faust has hurt distant people I personally know and… yeah. Maybe I’m biased but I can’t vibe with that. Sorry. If you don’t make an effort to criticize abusive behavior within your own friend circles then that makes you just as bad, because then you’re just a bystander to things you could have prevented.

This isn’t to say Viv herself hasn’t dealt with bad faith actors, or people who had the intention to hurt her, or very uncharitable criticism. Particularly from the badwebcomics forums which is honestly 4chan like in how they operate. It’s vicious as hell, and a lot of their criticisms boil down to insults and personal attacks, which serve to be nonconstructive. That’s not to say Viv has been kind to even the more charitable criticism though. I know because when I happened to send an ask to the zoophobia criticism blog (where did it go???) regarding something relatively minor and superficial, she blocked me from her blog. I’m still blocked lmfao. I’m not blocked on twitter though! (not yet anyways). Faust has me blocked there though, and I have no idea why. She’s had me blocked for years even though I haven’t spoken out against her till recently. So, there’s that.

As for her apology itself, I feel like it was fine. I think it could’ve been worded better? The take I disagree with in terms of that is like… If I made a mistake in the past, and I make it clear that I don’t care for what I did, I don’t feel as if me explaining why I felt compelled to do certain things negate me from still not caring for my past actions? That’s just me providing context. That’s a really weird take, but I guess that could be viewed as an excuse idk. Personally I think people are holding the bar super high to a state of irrationality.

*sigh* So yeah there’s that. I miss the old days where honestly I could be ignorant about this, but at the same time I look at my old obsessive posts and I kinda just… cringe. I was such an irrational stan I almost hate myself for it. Fuck XD

Edit: I’d also like to point out that I’m not saying Viv or Faust are totally awful or totally good people, and I know they’re capable of being better. It’s a matter of whether or not they wanna be better.

#vivziepop #hazbin hotel

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laranjatoranjalaranja · 5 years ago

Text

The History of Art we need

Illustration by Renáta Fučíková

There is no possible way for me to discuss this without getting very openly political. I believe this can be a good thing since, ultimately, all history is written within a political context and absolute political neutrality, even in academic work, is an unattainable myth. So, if my politics affects my history, at least it will do so out in the open.

The left has been often criticised for neglecting and even disdaining what has been referred to as “optics” or “aesthetics”. Fascism’s aestheticisation of politics is a right-wing tactic that many left-wing academics are discussing today, mainly thanks to the very cited work of the philosopher Walter Benjamin. Briefly put, the question some of these people on the left are asking is: why is it that the right seems more capable of harnessing the political potential of our aesthetic sensibility today?

Capitalism has developed a series of its own aesthetic weapons that it uses to make itself stronger and more appealing. These include things like branding, marketing and, as I will argue further along the text, art.

The left, on the other hand, seems to have little more than old-fashioned ideas of communist propaganda that are literally from the last century. It has a persistent and well-known tendency to mistrust and demonise aesthetics as a whole. This makes complete sense if you are to understand aesthetics as this thing that makes everything it touches superficial and thoughtless, giving it an appeal that can go by unquestioned simply because it makes things ‘aesthetic’. Understood in this way, aesthetics becomes, like Benjamin argued, the perfect tool for fascism.

But, in my view, the aesthetic is neither evil, nor does this mean that the left should enter the same game of aestheticisation of politics, as if it were the only realistic way to ‘turn things around’. Instead of aestheticising politics, the answer might lie in politicising aesthetics, as Benjamin himself apparently also pointed out. Us leftists frequently like to remind ourselves of how EVERYTHING is political. Aesthetics is no exception. Our aesthetic soft-spots and inclinations also exist in specific political contexts. This means aesthetic preferences (which no one is immune to) do not exist in a vacuum, therefore, they are mutable. They are not ‘merely superficial’, they are grounded in our real lived experiences and it is possible to shape them and argue, rationally, for or against them.

The left cannot go on pretending like aesthetics is a dispensable, secondary issue. Aesthetics is not a distraction, it is an ESSENTIAL part of how we experience our lives and therefore it too deserves a pride of place in our political agenda. Ignoring it will clearly not make it suddenly irrelevant.

As someone that has been studying History of Art in academia for 5 years, it strikes me how, despite appearances, truly revolutionary History of Art barely exists. Despite the overwhelming number of so-called radical journals and other kinds of left-wing publications, I have realised that most of it is actually liberal. What I mean by this is that most of the people who write for these publications seem to share a common goal: to free art from the elites’ domination (a goal also shared by Benjamin). This is a liberal goal because it aims at REFORMING rather than revolutionising the existing system. Another striking problem is the subtle assumption that art and the elites are separable to begin with.

To clarify, art cannot be understood (especially within academic contexts) as a human constant. Studying the history of art implies that art has a history and, therefore, a historical origin. Humans are not ‘artistic’ by nature, since the begging of time. Art is a concept created by the modern West. There were no actual synonyms to the word Art in non-Western cultures and no one in Europe was even talking about such a thing until the 18th century (see Kristeller’s The Modern System of The Arts (pt. I and pt. II) and Shiner’s The Invention of Art*).

It is IRRESPONSIBLE and ANACHRONISTIC for Art HISTORIANS to say or imply that art is something that humans have always done. This is an imperialistic tendency that we need to, not only distance ourselves from, but also ACTIVELY fight against. And I stress actively fight against because these things I am writing about here have already been mentioned in academic publications from decades ago (Kristeller’s first article was published in 1951).

Since its creation, Art has existed to serve the capitalist elites (see Taylor’s Art, An Enemy of The People*). It was created by them, for them. To both serve and represent their interests. I say capitalist elites specifically because the works commissioned by the traditional nobility did not fit with our modern idea of art in their original contexts. The treasures of the French monarchy only became Art when the bourgeoisie took over and made them what they are today - the collection of an Art museum. These objects were stripped of their original meanings and became targets of ‘disinterested contemplation’ and those who see this as a revolutionary triumph over an oppressive regime conveniently forget that the reality is more complex and the same thing was also done with foreign objects stolen by the French colonisers, shortly after.

Today, many people are still asking questions like: why is Duchamp’s Fountain Art? The answer is, mainly, because this is what the elites behind our art institutions decided is art. The line between Art and non-Art is merely an institutional one. Art is an institutional system. And this is a system whose tables cannot simply be turned because, in order for Art to exist, it needs to distinguish itself from other modern categories like crafts and popular culture. The category of Art depends on this hierarchical distinction because, simply put, Art is High Culture.

This means that as long as art, as we understand it today, exists, there must also exist a privileged group that gets to draw the line between High and low culture. The cultural identity of these elites might change overtime, but their status as oppressors will always remain, within this structure. This is why the quest to ‘democratise’ art is merely reformist rather than revolutionary.

Now I am not advocating for the burning of museums, Futurism style. I do think museums are important sources of information that SHOULD BE FREE ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE PUBLIC. What I am saying is that when these museums exhibit things that were not originally intended to be art as if they have always and unquestionably been so, they are making a serious mistake. They are silencing alternative narratives and disrespecting the people who created the objects they claim to be spreading knowledge about.

Regarding contemporary Art museums and galleries, I honestly think they are mostly bullshit and I make intentional efforts not to give any of my money to them (also applies to academic Art Schools). I sometimes visit them, when they are free, because I want my opinions to be informed. That said, I never pay for any tickets (they are usually even more expensive than regular museums anyway) nor do I let myself be troubled by those who think I cannot be an expert on Art with a proper opinion, if I don’t go to all these ‘landmark’ cultural events. I try not to let art snobs like Jonathan Jones dictate which cultural events are or aren’t worthy of my attention.

To conclude, History of Art as an academic discipline still has serious issues. Real History of Art should recognise that Art has a specific historical origin, and not treat it like a mysterious part of ‘human nature’.

To do leftist History of Art, nevertheless, we need to take this one step further and study the consequences of the capitalist origins of this phenomenon and how it developed from there. The impacts of its structure, the way it works, how it legitimises itself, its weaknesses, all these should be analysed in ways that will allow this phenomenon to be coherently perceived through a left-wing lens, subsequently enabling us to imagine viable alternatives to the current Art system (Richard Sennett does something like this in his book The Craftsman. If you don’t feel like reading, he also explains it beautifully in his lectures on craftsmanship available on youtube).

Also, I feel like I should mention that the mythical treatment these academics give their subject, either emphatically and intentionally or through the passive and implicit acceptance of this mythical definition, is probably one of the things that mostly contributes to the much criticised workings of our contemporary Art market. Surely, one of the reasons why artworks are sold at such exorbitant prices is because what these people are buying is not just good looking paintings. These objects are being sold as the latest, most recent pieces in the important puzzle that is Human History. Once gathered all in the correct order, these pieces are thought to reveal what it means to be Human. The ‘History’ of Art I’ve been criticising here is largely responsible for the maintenance of this profitable myth, that has been giving the powerful disproportionate control over the narratives of our collective existences.

Briefly put, there is one popular quote that nicely sums my thoughts on Art: “The Emperor has no clothes!”

Notes:

* If you don’t have access to it via your public libraries, genesis online library should have it for free download, just click here and try following the links presented (they are forced to keep changing domains because certain people don’t like it when information is too accessible).

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gayasinstupidpodcast · 6 years ago

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What’s up gamers!!! Our fourth episode plowed through the chaos of thanksgiving holidays and is Here w/ some Facts and Opinions about creating shit and being LGBT and how being LGBT influences creating shit. HEADS UP we recorded this while I had a cold so my voice is probably a little off, but ik Isaac put SO much work into the editing so it would be ready on time and we have recorded statements from some amazing artists (transcriptions under the cut below!) & this is honestly one of my favorite episodes we’ve done so far, so give her a listen if you’re gay or enjoy fun things!

BIG thank you once again to everyone who participated in this month’s episode!! Your contributions are so valued and so beautiful!!

You can find us on the Itunes Podcast App/Webpage at Gay As In Stupid Podcast! You can also find our episodes uploaded to Youtube and Soundcloud!

You can also follow us on twitter at gayasinstupid!

Further Reading on LGBT Artists

Montage of a Queering Deferred: Memory, Ownership, and Archival Silencing in the Rhetorical Biography of Langston Hughes

The Political Provocations of Keith Haring

Pop art politics: Activism of Keith Haring

E M Forster’s Gay Fiction

Alok Vaid-Menon Tells Us What It’s Like To Be Femme In Public

Shea Diamond Speaks Her Truth

Aaron’s 2018 November Recs!

Alok Alok Vaid-Menon is one of my favorite poet/activist/performance artists out there! Their writing and stage presence is gorgeous and witty in a way that’s SO clever and still feels like you’re in a room trading jokes you don’t need to explain with your closest trans friends. The way they balance their art creates a real, deeply touching experience that feels very essential to our world.

Miles (2016) Miles is set in 1999 and is a coming of age story about a gay teenager trying to get a volleyball scholarship for college in Chicago. It’s not revolutionary and it’s not over the top dramatic, but it’s funny and honest and it makes me feel nice. Definitely the movie to watch when you’ve just been through something emotionally taxing and need a light crying session and some mediocre pastries.

Isaac’s 2018 November Recs!

The Adventure Zone I know half of you already kin the Mcelroys while the other half either don’t know or don’t care, but the Adventure Zone is one of my most favorite things in the world. It’s a DND podcast (yes, all episodes are transcribed, and they have a graphic novel for the first arc of Balance with a second one on the way!) by three brothers plus their dad, and not only does it have the most amazing story and is ungodly funny, but TONS of gays (Griffin went ape with those Lesbian NPCS)! And just because they can! Same with trans characters. It’s a story where they just exist, and that’s really important to me because in a lot of media LGBT have to almost prove why they deserve to take up space. And it’s not just something that goes on in their first campaign, Amnesty also has those sweet sweet gay! I could talk about this podcast for hours, so if you needed that final push to give it a listen, THIS IS IT!

Stardew Valley You get to farm and be gay. And if THAT hasn’t sold you on this charming video game, then maybe the super cute graphics, beautiful soundtrack and a handful of interesting characters will! TBH I spend so much time playing this game it’s concerning. It’s just such a fun way to relax, and I just really REALLY like video games were I can chose to be gay. Like. God Tier. YOU CAN HAVE CROPS AND CHICKENS AND BE GAY C’MON YALL!!

The Amazing Quotes And Artists Featured!

Meg | instagram | esty

“My identity as a bisexual woman influences my art in many ways. As a woman, i create art about the issues that effect me, such as abortion and gender equality, in order to resonate with the people that matter most to me. As a bisexual individual, my subjects often appear from a gaze that falls outside of the stereotypical eye. My figure drawings and portraits all come from a place of admiration, and don’t fall into the stereotype of the male gaze or womanly care- they are the space inbetween, equally sexualized and normalized. I feel lucky to be a bi gal in the art world because it is a place that is my own to create in. There are so many queer artists that i look up to such as Mapplethorpe and Warhol, and many female artists i can cite as influence (Jenny Holzer, Kiki Smith, and Louise Bourgeois to name a few). My identity gives me a whole new world of content to draw from and allows my work to resonate with a wider audience, and I really think that any artists goal is to reach and touch as many people as possible.“

Cameron | twitter | instagram

“I don’t think that it influences the form really, but it definitely influences the subject matter! (Much as I hate to admit it, my identity influences the majority of choices I make in life.) I write a lot of poems about lgbtq related things and religion, as well as other stuff too. I was raised catholic, so realizing that I was “different” at more than one point in my teen years was scary AF. Being a member of the lgbtq+ community and also trying to still feel like I belong, or wanting to, in a religious community is hard, the two things are usually at a crossroads in my life so writing about them makes it easier for me to get through. My hope is that someday someone reads what I wrote and finds some peace in their own life/experience.”

Vince | art instagram

“Well, being transgender I feel like I’m constantly aware of the lack of representation of my community, and I feel like it might be because of that I tend to experiment with showing all sorts of different type of people in my work. Because there’s so much diversity in the world, why not showcase that?”

Fox | art instagram

“Oof…I’m gay so my characters always be gay. Gotta Fill the void in media w my own bullshit so I don’t have to rely on straight showrunners who will inevitably discard the character since they themselves seem to have no personal attachment and treat lgbt characters as disposable extras. Bc if I don’t at least attempt to create representation in the field I’m going into then I can’t rlly complain about the lack of it right? If I don’t try and change it I can’t complain about the lack of change so being an lgbt artist is lowkey Big Pressure to be revolutionary in your work but sometime…..I just wanna draw funkey animeal and that’s aight too”

Jen | twitter | instagram

“As a female bisexual poet, I worry often that my poetry and art will be too niche to be appreciated. I’ve spent years editing my poetry down to its barest bones in hopes that someone will relate to it. Changing pronouns back and forth because I worry that if I do talk about a woman, the poem will be stripped of its context and suddenly be about my queerness when in reality it never was. When I write about love and people I have dated and have crushed on, I want the poem to exist outside of the gender of who I love. I fear my authorial death will result in a complete misinterpretation of what I mean. When I write, it truly does not matter to me if I am writing about a woman or a man. If I feel what I write and I can make someone else feel it too does it matter that I also love women? I write what matters to me overall, regardless of gender, I try to make my poetry as true as possible. Sometimes, when I catch myself over editing I try to take myself back to the moment, to the person, what I loved about him or her. “

Lain | art instagram

“My LGBT Identity has significantly impacted almost all of my art, especially my work over the last two years. Ever since I have allowed myself to accept that I am trans and began my transition (6 months on T!), the impact that my Roman Catholic upbringing has had on my bisexual trans identity has bled into my artwork. Because of the way I was raised, accepting and allowing myself to be authentic has been an upward struggle. And what better way to process and document struggle than art?

Much of my recent work has had a focus on the trans body, particularly the “sanctity” of self-actualization and the god-like power that comes with accepting and creating yourself in the unique and exceptional way that LGBT people must in order to live authentically. Two of my pieces on this topic were actually recently exhibited at UWM in the Trans-lucent exhibition, and will remain there until December 15th (I think). I got sick and tired of never seeing trans representation, so now I am creating that space that I crave in my own work.”

Kobe | instagram | soundcloud

“My art from is very influenced by my LGBT identity. It is very influenced by my LGBT black Identity. I think that whenever an artist makes their art (in my case writing music, singing, dancing) they should incorporate as much of themselves as possible. I think my LGBT identity definitely adds a sense of representation as well. I want people like me to listen to my music to know they aren’t alone. So it influences my work a lot. “

Nat | art instagram

“I think the fact that I am part of the LGBT+ community influences my art directly. Even though I don’t draw as often as I wish, I believe both my drawings and college projects (I am a 3d art/animation student), and my creativity in general is inspired by my personal experiences as a gay woman and common things experienced by the community. I try as often as I can to bring representation of some kind in the things I do, mainly personal projects. I also feel that it influences me on my motivation to keep creating; whenever I listen to, see drawings, watch movies or see whatever form of artistic expression from LGBT+ artists it gives me the energy to keep going, to keep creating.”

#gay as in stupid podcast #lgbt podcast #lgbt artists #gay art #trans art

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princeasimdiya12 · 7 years ago

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Hey CU fandom. So I know I’m a little late to the CU OC party, but I honestly had a flash of inspiration the other night and I ended up thinking of these OCs inspired by my Mexican culture. ^_^

The woman on top is Esme Ranza (her name together would sound like ‘esperanza’ which means ‘hope’ in Spanish). She is the new principal who takes over Jerome Horwitz Elementary either as Krupp’s immediate successor or around the time George and Harold’s kids go to school. Like her name suggests, she brings a new radical change to the school environment that completely goes against the oppressive, totalitarian education system that Krupp used to rule with an iron fist. She recreates the system so that students are able to enjoy learning while also bringing back subjects such as art and music. In her heart, she believes that everyone whether child or adult has the potential to be the best they can be if given the opportunity. Her passion for this belief stems from her past as a civil rights supporter. She would engage in frequent protests and rallies made to bring awareness to how lacking the education system is along with how unfair many Hispanic/latino families are treated. Even with her new position, she still engages in protests if for the sake of the future. Regarding the superhero/supervillain activity in her community, Esme is accepting of the heroes for keeping the peace but would prefer if they stay away from her school as to avoid harming the children. Because of this, she has created new routines to protect the school in the event that a villain tries to attack or if a super battle ends up occurring near the facility.

Fun Facts about Esme Ranza

Her design and character were based on La Muerte from the Book of Life and Rose Quartz from Steven Universe.

She spends her freetime working on her home garden which consists of every type of plant/flower she finds at the local nursery.

She knows a thing or two about making herbal medicines and teas which can heal most common sicknesses.

She is open to the idea of dating and possibly marrying but hasn’t considered actually having kids of her own. She has a busy schedule and she knows that she wouldn’t be able to devote as much time to them. Plus in a sense, her students can be considered her children.

One of her biggest goals that she hopes to accomplish is to skydive.

The man on the bottom is Mister Rio de Luna (his name together sounds like ‘mysterio de luna’ or ‘mystery of the moon’ in English). He’s a friendly but awkward young man who works full time at the local mini mart. He’s nice with the kids who hang around and is described as having the patience of a saint. Despite this, he often has a hard time holding a conversation with anyone. In truth, he actually holds a dark history to him.

He was actually involved in a secret agency that coordinated alien relations. Like contacting with aliens or studying alien technology that made it’s way to Earth’s territory. He served as a talented soldier who oversaw the events and made sure his superiors were safe. It was because of this that Rio was trusted enough to be involved in those relations. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when it was revealed that his superiors were stealing the alien tech and killing off alien visitors in order to sell them on the black market. Feeling betrayed that his bosses were abusing aliens in order to gain profit, Rio turned on them by destroying their organization and exposing their secrets to the government. With his work finished, he faked his own death, remade his identity and sought refuge in a little town called Piqua. He tries to keep a low profile as to avoid drawing attention from the agency seeking revenge but sometimes he hates having to keep himself hidden and wishes to be free.

Fun Facts about Mister Rio del Luna

His short mustache and awkward behavior make him come off as a teenager when in truth he’s in his late 20s.

His mustache is so thin because he has to shave it off every other day to keep up his disguise.

He’s tried every junk food the mini mart has to offer and enjoys every single one.

He’s a fan of George and Harold’s comics and offers to sell them in the store. With the permission of his boss.

He was an orphan growing up and never bothered to learn if he had any potential family members.

And those are my OCs. And with that in mind, there’s something I’d like to say. If anyone in the CU fandom is interested in using these OCs in any way (like having them interact with your own OCs or be involved in your fanfics) you’re more than welcome to use them! But with that, I have three conditions that I ask you to follow.

Please let me know if you’re interested in using them.

Please be sure to credit me if you use them in any artwork or story.

Please treat them with care. I’m perfectly okay with you guys adding on to their personalities or backstories or even exposing them to angsty drama. I just ask that you treat them with enough care like you would your OCs.

That’s all you have to do. Thank you for your time and I hope you liked them!

PS There are some other OCs I have in mind that you guys can use so I may end up drawing them later on today or throughout the week. ;)

#captain underpants #cu ocs #ocs #esme ranza #mister rio de luna #my art #cu oc

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ukcps · 3 years ago

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Congratulations to Monique Castellani-Kraan for winning Best in Show at the UKCPS Keswick Exhibition 2021.

Monique has kindly share some background information on her wonderful piece Kisses in Blue.

I drew my first hyacinth macaw back in 2015, and it was wonderful being able to revisit the same subject again with “Kisses in Blue”. Parrots are honestly such a delight to draw. Their colours are bright and happy, and they have so much character. I will also always jump at the chance to get out my blue coloured pencils!

I started work on this piece back in January. After a long spate of only making miniature pet commissions over the Christmas period, which was slowly sending me into a spiral of madness, I decided to overcompensate by starting my largest drawing to date, at 40 x 50cm (16 x 20 inches approx).

As someone with a background in digital painting, I like to do all of my sketches and compositions digitally nowadays to transfer to paper. That way my expensive watercolour paper stays free of eraser marks and errant sketch lines. It saves a lot of time in the long run, and if I mess up I can very easily just print out the sketch again to start over. I don't know what I'd do without my iPad!

This drawing proved to be a little intimidating because of the size I was working at. I ended up setting it aside for a few months. You know that famous "fear of the blank canvas" we've all experienced? This one hit me hard. I got a tiny section of the eye and surrounding feathers done and then proceeded to swiftly run away, back to the safety of drawing miniatures! A few months later, I finally decided to stop hiding and to give this piece a proper go. As I got into the rhythm of it I quickly felt myself being sucked into that "zone" of intense focus - where time just slips away until it's suddenly dark outside and you've skipped a meal!

Now that I had finally got my toes wet, I was gaining confidence. Art is a bit like exercise - it takes effort and routine to get into the swing of it - but once I do, I feel like I'm flying! With every new drawing I'm reminded of just how much I adore coloured pencils and how fun the process is.

Translating the reference photo’s feathers on the left macaw’s cheek was proving to be a bit of a challenge. I could only stare for so long at the complicated mess of shadows without going cross-eyed - so I decided to treat myself to tackling the beak first instead. If ever you find yourself in a rut with a painting, look for the deepest, darkest shadows in your reference, and block those in first. You will have a much easier time once they're there. Here, the darkest shadows were the inside of the macaws' mouths, so I put my much-loved Polychromos black to work, blending with paint thinner in between each layer and tinting it with Luminance Dark Indigo to get it nice and deep. Now that the darkest shadows were blocked in, I would have a much easier time in the areas surrounding it. That shadow became my reference point for judging the values for the beak, skin and feathers nearby.

I used Daler Rowney Low Odour Thinner to blend my pencils in between layers, with a flat taklon brush. I primarily used it in the first few layers of the underpainting. The yellow skin on the beak was a tricky customer with this - my blending brushes had to be impeccably clean, or else I would end up turning it green with the blues being so close by. In addition, I didn't want the very pale yellows getting contaminated by the oranges that are in the shadows. I made sure to carefully wipe my brush off thoroughly on some paper towel before blending in small areas at a time.

Beaks are so much fun to draw! They have a lot going on, from subtle colour shifts, to chips and cracks and ridges. The texture is a treat for the eyes! Here, I started by creating a gradient of soft earthy purples, greys and creams in the underpainting. At this stage I used mostly a mix of Luminance and Polychromos pencils. For underpaintings, I like to go darker than what the final result will be - though some would say I go a little TOO dark (coloured pencil is technically a light to dark workflow because they are mostly transparent).

After blending it with OMS, and making sure it's still a little damp, I go in with my pale tones from the Derwent Lightfast, Caran d'Ache Luminance and Holbein lines. These brands are soft and have more wax than oil in them, making them very creamy and more opaque than brands like Polychromos. Because the paper is still saturated with paint thinner, the pencil melts as it makes contact with the paper, making it go on super thick, even though I'm only pressing gently. This is my dirty little secret for how I work from dark to light in all of my coloured pencil pieces. The paper you're using, of course, is paramount for this technique too. If you're not using a good paper, you're going to run out of tooth extremely quickly using this technique. This piece was drawn on Saunders Waterford Hot Pressed 300gsm- and I wholeheartedly recommend it!

However, I just want to add that if you have an area or texture you want to keep REALLY light, for example a large white crack in the beak, you should draw that in first before doing anything else. That way, when you put your underpainting over it and blend with paint thinner, the white detail you added first will show through, clear as day! (This is great for whiskers on cats and dogs for example) You can also use a ceramic cutter to do this afterwards instead, though personally I have yet to use one myself.

After finishing the beaks, it was time to face the feathers on the birds’ bodies head-on. As always, I block in my darkest shadows first and then my underpainting, giving it a good blend out with plenty of OMS. This is so that I don't get lost in a sea of repeating shapes. Without doing this, I find it's very easy for your artwork to end up all the same value with not enough contrast between the highlights and shadows. I also rough in where I want each contour feather to be on the bird’s chest with a dark blue, though I only very gently line them in with my pencil so I can still move things around if needed while I build on the textures and detail.

Once the underpainting is done I am free to start pulling out those details. I went feather-by-feather, preferring to go in with my lighter coloured pencils first, gently pulling out each feather’s barbs. After that, staying mindful of how the lighting is hitting each feather, I used my mid tone and darker pencils to work in between each barb, gradually building up shadows. I also glazed in shadows over this with a very gentle hand to give the overall shape of the feather form and depth.

It can be tempting to rush through areas like this where there is lots of uniform texture, but it’s important to stay patient and take your time. Body feathers especially can become indecipherable after a certain point, because they all overlap and merge into each other. Sometimes even though the reference photo is sharp as a tack and super clear, there is just so much going on that it wouldn't 'read' well as an artwork. So I used my reference to help me with the general structure and composition, and to inform me on how the shapes and textures should look. But I didn’t stress about getting it exact.

Once you have good knowledge of a subject, after doing study sketches and looking at lots of different references, you can be a lot freer with how you approach your final artwork. A lot of the colours, textures and feather placement in ‘Kisses in Blue’ were not there in the reference. I opted to go for a much warmer, cheerful blue. The reference I was using was also fairly flat as it was taken on an overcast day, meaning the lighting was quite diffused. I made my artwork brighter than my reference material, pushing the overall contrast between the midtones and the deepest shadows. I also found myself intermingling soft lilac hues and subtle teal with my Polychromos and Luminance pencils, almost over-exaggerating the birds’ vibrancy. I tried not to stress too much about feathers either - while getting the shape and placement of feathers right on wings can be paramount to a realistic piece, the same does not apply for contour feathers and down feathers. As long as you stick to the right shapes and sizes, paying attention to the bird’s form, you don’t need to get it looking exactly like your reference.

I try my best to bring myself out of my comfort zone with each new drawing. This piece was my biggest challenge yet – quite literally. I’m glad I pushed myself to draw larger than I am used to and I can see why a lot of coloured pencil artists like working at this size – while it is more time-consuming, you have much more room to breathe and fit details in, that would normally get lost in a smaller piece. With my choice of composition and lighting, I wanted to convey a feeling of intimacy and closeness with the birds that I don’t think I would have been able to achieve were this drawing smaller.

#colouredpencilsuks #drawing #animalart #art #colouredpencil #painting #coloredpencilartist

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the-nev · 8 years ago

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So there’s something I’ve been seeing around the fandom neighborhood that has me worried. I’m not going to be expressing a particularly popular opinion, but I hope you’ll at least hear me out.

As kpop fans, we all really love the bands we follow. We make gifs, write fic, draw art, buy albums, learn the songs by heart, know the members so well we could identify them by their pinkie – we’re passionate in our love for our baes. But, sometimes I think we forget that idols are actual, living, breathing human beings. I mean, sasaeng fans literally would not exist if everyone treated idols like people.

When we forget that idols are people, we (as fans) can sometimes cross lines of propriety and respect – often without realizing what we’re doing. There are a lot of ways this can happen, from following bands to their hotels to tweeting inappropriate things an idol. But, there is one issue in particular I want to talk about: NSFW art. In particular, I want to talk about NSFW ask blogs. (And just as a heads up, I will be talking about sex work, abuse, rape, and other sensitive subjects as part of this conversation.)

Recently, there’s been something of a boom in 18+ ask blogs, particularly in some of the bigger fandoms like BTS. These blogs, with their camperson/prostitute/slave themes, often take the likeness of a particular idol (or even multiple idols) and present that likeness in graphically sexual situations. The artists behind these blogs say it is “art” or that it’s only a blog so it cannot do any harm. Some will even dismiss it as “sin,” as though somehow labeling it as such makes it less harmful.

But here’s the thing. NSFW artwork of idols is harmful. By taking the likeness of a real person and drawing them in sexual situations, you are dehumanizing them and objectifying them. More than that, though, AUs that depict campersons or prostitutes often dehumanize sex workers and perpetuate negative stereotypes. So, the harm is doubly present. Let me explain what I mean.

One of the most important things we talk about with sex is the need for consent. If someone does not give clear and coherent consent, having sex with that person is considered rape. If a person is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they are not able to give consent either. Having sex with a person who is under the influence and thus unable to knowingly give consent is considered rape. The same goes for having sex with someone who is unconscious or someone who withdraws consent during the sex act – they’re all considered rape. And I shouldn’t have to say it, but I will just for the sake of clarity: Rape is not sensual nor desirable, it is wrong. Recovering from rape or sexual assault of any kind can take years, and you never really fully lose the scars from it – at least, not in my experience.

So what does this all have to do with NSFW ask blogs and art? Well, when you have a job as a sex worker, you generally function under the dictates of a contract. This contract determines how much you earn, what you are willing to do for a client, how much money your company receives (if you are working under one), and other important legal matters. A contract not only makes it clear what your job is, but it also affords you protections should one of your boundaries be transgressed. An important part of these contracts, however informal they are, is the sex worker’s right to consent to participating in the sexual activities the client is paying for. A sex worker of any kind should have the right to say no to any act that makes them feel uncomfortable or goes beyond the limits of their job; it’s the same as a normal person having the right to withdraw consent at any point in a sexual engagement with another person. (Money of course complicates the withdrawal of consent in sex work, but the right to no longer consent still exists even when money is involved.) Furthermore, sex workers have the right to fair compensation for the work that they do; anything less is abusive. There are many intricacies to sex work – realities of the job – that most people don’t bother to research before rushing in to depict prostitution or campersons in their creative works. Without this necessary research, there is no way you can really represent what their lives are like, and you are basically saying that they are nothing more than a trite stereotype. And y’all, you shouldn’t be dealing with serious matters without doing your research. @j-ungah recently wrote a really nice little blurb about how the lack of research in creative works can perpetuate harm; I suggest you take a glance at it. Tangent, I know, but still relevant.

Back on track: Everyone has the right to give consent.

When a sex worker is depicted in art, it is important to have that person’s consent. Their likeness is something that cannot be changed about them and is actually part of their intellectual property, particularly since depicting sexual acts can reasonably fall under “private or semi-private acts.” If you do not have that person’s consent to depict them engaging in a sexual act, you are sexually exploiting them. This is doubly true if you stand to gain anything from this art, be it notoriety or money. (Yes, notoriety and a bevy of followers counts as gaining something from the exploitation of someone else’s likeness.)

But wait, idols are famous! They consent, by being in the public, to have artwork of them rendered. Idols happily receive fanart – some even using it on their social media. That means this whole need for consent doesn’t apply, right?

Wrong.

Idols do give consent, by being public figures, to have certain things become public property. Drawing fanart and engaging in fanfic writing can be well within the boundaries of copyright, because it is engaging in social commentary. I would even argue that skinship culture and the teasing of ships by the companies does in fact permit the depiction of idols as queer figures, particularly with their bandmates. But, this consent is not all encompassing. Recently a number of idols have expressed concern and even fear about fan behavior when it crosses the line between public to private matters. T.O.P from BigBang, for instance, asked fans to stop ringing his doorbell night and day. EXO’s Lay had fans try to break into his hotel room. I.O.I had photos taken of them in a bathroom posted online. SuJu’s Heechul had fans surprise him in a urinal, just to steal a look at his body. Zico even said that, “Invading my privacy is no different than abusing me. This is never what you call fan love.” And you know what, he’s right. Idols deserve to have privacy and the opportunity to be treated (and respected!) like actual human beings.

Drawing pornographic art of an idol crosses the boundary into the realms of what should be private. Idols give a lot of things to their fans. They share their talents, they go on horrific diets, work out so they look nice, undergo plastic surgery, and go out of their way to make fans feel special. However, just because they share those things with us does not mean they belong to us. You do not own an idol’s body just because they go topless or just because you “saranghae” them. Unless an idol produces and mass releases a porno, you do not have the right to depict them in sexual situations. Why? Because they have not given consent to their likeness being used in that highly private context in a public forum. Without an idol’s direct consent, depicting them in these ways is sexual exploitation not love.

This lack of consent is particularly true with the camperson/prostitute/slave ask blogs. You might remember I mentioned the need for contracts and consent in sex work. Right? (If not, go back and read the first half again. I can wait.) Right. An important part of any sexual relationship is the establishment of clear boundaries – kink negotiations, if that helps you conceptualize of it better. However, ask blogs are inherently unable to establish consent. They take the likeness of a person and essentially masquerade as that person. Yes, we all know they are not the actual Min Yoongi or the actual Park Chanyeol. But, that person’s name, likeness, and personality are all being used in order to create an ask blog. There are ways in which to do this that are harmless, such as blogs that promote the band or fall within the established consent of being a public figure. NSFW blogs, however, trespass into the realms where consent has not been given. Furthermore, the idol has no say in what they are depicted doing, which often leads to fetishizing and misrepresentation among many other things.

You might say, “But it’s just art.” If that were the case, why would someone say something like this:

The intent to reproduce the exact likeness of someone in a pornographic situation is beyond the limits of art. It is dehumanizing and objectifying that person, so much so that their consent doesn’t matter in the face of your own desires. Furthermore, just because something is art doesn’t mean that it’s okay.

Again, let’s make it a little more personal. Let’s say I decide to start an ask blog where I am posting as you. Yeah, you. And I go to your blog, find all of your selfies, and use your likeness in order to draw you in pornographic situations. Better yet, I open it to my followers, letting them dictate what sexual acts you perform in my artwork. Would you honestly feel like that was acceptable? Or let’s say I do it to one of your friends or your little sister or your favorite teacher. Regardless of who is depicted, if I did not have their consent and drew them in pornographic situations, it would still be wrong. This would be particularly true if my subject were underage or were being viewed by people who were underage; child pornography laws are no joke, and I don’t think y’all take them nearly seriously enough.

Idols are people. They are actual, living and breathing human beings who deserve our respect. If we actually love them, we should respect their right to privacy and not objectify them. If you really want an ask blog focused on a camperson or prostitute, do your research. Talk to people in the field. Read books about personal experiences doing that sort of work. Then, create an original character. An original character might not come with a built in fanbase, but if you’re really dedicated to art and progressing as an artist that shouldn’t be your goal anyway. Don’t perpetuate harm for the sake of getting followers.

#bts #exo #seventeen #bigbang #nct #vixx #i.o.i #kpop #super junior #block b #monsta x #but for real though #this is super serious

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spectrumscribe · 8 years ago

Text

Your Heart’s Desire

a very late submission to @tmntflashfic‘s valentine’s day prompt thing, since it got insanely long, and has to be broken up into parts.

Master Post of Chapters.

————————————————————————————- Chapter Two.

“Is this me?”

Casey twisted his head, looking away from the quick stir-fry he was working cooking on the stove. Raphael was shifting through his schoolwork on the table, and it looked like he’d found the gesture sketches.

“Uh, yeah? ‘s for my classes,” Casey explained, trying for nonchalance. He shoved the vegetables in the pan around a bit. “What do you think?”

Raphael was quiet for a moment, and Casey started to feel weirdly nervous about the demon seeing his artwork. Which was odd, because he never gave a shit about what anyone thought of his art.

It’d been a weird week, so he gave himself some slack on that front.

“…it’s good,” Raphael said eventually, still tracing the page with his eyes. “It’s not as good as a lot of other people’s, but you’re a relatively young human. I guess you have time to get better still.”

“Can you say something without insulting me?”

“No. Idiot.”

Casey huffed, and went back to making dinner.

He was grinning though.

“Asshole,” He said, adding some soy sauce to the pan.

“Right back at you,” Raphael replied without hesitation.

After dinner, they tried playing some games against each other. Casey chose Street Fighter, because he knew he was awesome at it, and felt like showing Raph up at something.

It didn’t go quite as he planned.

“How do you keep beating me?!” Casey exclaimed in dismay, watching the screen flash ‘Loser’ on his half of the divide yet again. “You’ve probably never even played a video game before!”

“Yeah I have, what do you think I do all day in my home dimension?” Raphael asked incredulously, lowering his video counsel. “Eat souls and torture sinners?”

“Uh, yeah??”

“Well you’re wrong. I only do that on Tuesdays.”

“I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not.”

“Yes.”

“Raaaaaaaaph…”

“Best seven out of ten, then? If I win, I get three drops of your blood.”

Casey recoiled, flinching away from Raph. “Yo, what?!”

Raph gave him a look, like Casey was being the weird one here. “Spoils for winning, you know? Fairs fair and all that. Humans do betting too, why is this such a shock to you?”

“We don’t bet our blood!”

“You clearly don’t know much about your own history then.”

“Fucking- can’t we bet normal stuff?”

“This is normal where I come from.”

“Yeah and you come from hell, what’s your point?”

“My point is that you’re being a wimp.”

Casey narrowed his eyes. “Take that back.”

“If you win, you get something equal to three drops of human blood,” Raph said, leveling a look at Casey. “If I win, you already know what I want.”

“How much is my blood worth anyways?” Casey asked, suspicious of being gipped.

Raph shrugged. “A fair amount. Humans are good conduits for a lot of things. Why do you think we encouraged all those sacrifices over the centuries? You could conquer a dimension with enough of those.” Raph blinked. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that. Whatever. You want to bet or not?”

Raph stuck out his hand, short claws extended and a faint red pulse in the center of his palm.

Casey looked at the hand, weighing his options.

What April would do, or what teenage him would do; that was the question.

…eh, fuckit. Now he was curious.

Casey grabbed Raph’s hand. “Deal.”

Their joined hands felt hot, and Raph smiled a pointy grin.

"̢L̢et͠'͟s̷ ̵p͢ĺa̧y ̢t͞hen͢.͘"

Casey lost by two games, and ended up having to slit his finger tip with a kitchen knife.

It was honestly worth the loss, since Raph lit up like a fucking Christmas tree, and almost destroyed Casey’s living room- again- on his way out the balcony doors. Wings extended before he even made it out all the way, and tail lengthening and sweeping Casey’s CD rack onto the floor as he went.

Watching a demon power like some kind of anime character was a thing that Casey would probably never forget, and did not want to forget.

Casey was so sketching that when he got a chance. The process of Raph swiping the drops from his fingers with his tongue, and a bright green glow filling his eyes.

Casey followed outside soon as he could, and hauled ass up to the rooftop of his apartment to see Raph swooping through the air like a maniac. The demon’s laughter could be heard even down on the roof, booming through the air as he shot off red sparks.

That was with just three drops of blood, what would more do? That was the thought Casey had, watching Raph dive and glide at insane speeds.

He also had the thought, what would it be like to fly like that?

He didn’t get a chance to ask though, since Raph stopped circling the roof around then, and flew off into the distance. Casey watched him leave, and wondered if he’d be back. He hoped so. He still needed to chew Raph out for knocking his CD’s over, and challenge the demon to a rematch.

Casey realized a few minutes later, while he was smoking lazily on his couch and half watching a game re-run, that somewhere along the evening’s progression he’d started calling Raphael ‘Raph’ instead.

He stubbed out his cig in the ash tray, and didn’t linger on the thought.

Raph was back on Casey’s couch the next morning, halfway between forms and definitely crushing the springs.

“And where’d you get off to last night?” Casey asked, grabbing some sandwich meats out of the fridge for a morning sub. He was an adult; he made his own breakfast choices. “Terrorize any good villages?”

“Nah… none nearby,” Raph rumbled sleepily, stretching his wings with a huge yawn, and flopping back onto the couch. “Just went for a flight. Felt good, haven’t done it in a few days. Your fault by the way.”

“Hm. Yep.” Casey said without much sympathy. He finished fixing his sandwich, and took a huge bite.

“You’re working on the remembering thing again today. I still want to go home, and your break is officially over once you’re home from school.”

Casey mumbled a reply around his food, and went to put on his shoes while he kept eating. April wasn’t busing with him today, since she only had one seminar later in the day. She was probably up on the roof instead, tending to her plant hybrid experiments.

He glanced back at Raph as he picked up his bag by the door. The demon was asleep again, his dark limbs hanging off the couch since he was currently too big for it.

He really was like a huge, grumpy cat. Full of treats and sleeping it off, complete with the early morning sun shining on him.

Casey let out a huff of laughter, and shut the door quietly behind him.

“̶An̢ytḩi͢ng͠?̀”̧

“Nada. Sorry man, I really got nothing.”

Casey heard Raph’s tail whack against the railing again, and he opened his eyes. His legs felt crampy from sitting in lotus position, especially his left knee. It was supposed to help him ‘center his energy’, but Casey wasn’t feeling it.

He rubbed his smarting knee, trying to ease the old ache there. “Can I call it quits yet? I’m bored as fuck, dude.”

“̴You ̢t͏hin͢k ̛you’r̛e̕ ̨bore͜d̵?” Raph said, a sneer clear in his voice. “̸I’vè ͏bée͏n̶ s͘tuc̶k͠ ̡he͜ŗe͡ ̨f̴or͡ ͡ al̕mo̕s̴t a̸ whól̵e ẃe̕e̸k͞, ̢a͡nd͠ I͜’͡m͘ si͢c̡k of̴ i̸t̨.͘”̨

“Yeah, and I’ve been stuck with you for a whole week. So touché, buddy.”

"I̴ ͞f͞e̕e͢l lik̀e̴ ͡y͡ou̴'͘re u͢s͢ing͡ th͏at i̕nc̸orrect̡ly͏."

Casey shuffled himself in a circle, turning to look at the enormous demon chilling out on his apartment’s rooftop. “What do you know about linguistics?”

"Con͞s͝id͠er̀ing I've ͡b̀èęn a̴liv̢è ̴l͡o͝n͟ger̸ th͝an ̷yo̡u can ̕c̶om̕preh͢e͝nd͟,-” Raph said loftily, opening one lazy green eye at Casey. “-proba͜b̧l͠y̵ mór̀ę tha̴n̡ ͜yo̡u."̡

Casey glared at the demon, leaning on his palm. “Yeah, whatever, old man.”

Raph growled, opening his maw enough to flash his fangs. "Sh͞u͝t ͝up. ̸A̶nd ̀f̡ine̷, you ͢c͠an ţake͢ a ̕b̢r̶eàk̨."̷

“You’re not the boss of me,” Casey said, just because he felt like it.

"́I̶n y͜o͝u̴r͞ o̡pin͘i̡ơn," Raph said, but there was a teasing tone to his voice.

Casey rolled his eyes, and stretched out his legs as the demon settled back into his half-nap. God damn was that a relief to feel.

As he bent over his legs, stretching slowly, he took a moment to look at the demon on his rooftop. Raph was comfortably stretched out himself, all scaly and everything.

The whole ‘invisible to mere mortals’ thing was pretty cool, since it let Raph chill in his full demon form without issue. His wings were opened and laid flat, and his hair crest going down the length of his spine and tail swayed gently in the early summer wind.

Casey noticed that with the sun on him, Raph’s scales weren’t black. They were just a very, very dark green.

He chuckled to himself, because that plus the red tips on his hair, Raph was technically Christmas colored. He’d make a sickass holiday symbol, especially if he was the one pulling the sleigh on Christmas Eve.

"͢What'́r̸e͞ y̵ǫu ̶l̛a̵u̕gh͘i͡ng ̛a̧t͟?" Raph asked without opening his eyes.

“Nothin’, nothin’… just something stupid.”

Casey was totally drawing that out, and slapping it onto any Christmas cards he made later that year. Probably all the ones following too.

"͞If it͟'͠s̶ ̸y̶o̸u,͡ it̨ prob̨abl͝y̢ ̧i̢s̢ so͠me̢t͟h̵in͞g s̴tupid.͏"

“Hey!”

“You’re very interested in this one subject lately, Casey,” His teacher said, examining the sketches he’d produced that day. She picked up the top paper, looking at the mid-transformation version of Raph. “I’m curious, what’s the source of your inspiration? You’ve improved greatly in just the last week.”

Casey shrugged. He hadn’t noticed he was improving; he’d just been going at it without much thought. It was how he always did his work. “Got a cat, and I guess he’s been influencing my mood.”

His teacher raised her eyebrow. “Interesting interpretation of a cat.”

“Hey, art is subjective ain’t it?”

She chuckled, grinning fondly. “I suppose so. Keep up the good work; I’m excited to see your mid-term project.”

“Heh, me too. Dunno what I’m gonna do with it yet.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

“Okay, the meditation thing isn’t working, so we’re trying something new,” Casey chucked a stick at Raph, and grinned. “Like some street hockey.”

Raph looked at the old hockey stick Casey had tossed at him, and then looked at Casey. “Seriously?”

“What? It’s when I do my best thinking.”

“Why am I not surprised.”

“Don’t knock it till you try it. Who knows, maybe me squaring off with you without punching will make somethin’ come back to me.”

“Yeah let’s hope so. I’m seriously ready to go home.”

Casey bounced the hard rubber ball on the ground, and caught it on the tip of his stick. “You ready to play or not?”

Raph’s tail swished around his feet, and he rolled his shoulders. “This is kid’s shit. I used to play the better version of this. It had fire involved.”

“Yoooooo… fire hockey’s a thing?”

“Yup. I don’t know why you humans eliminated it. It was probably the best game you’d made in centuries.”

“Okay-” Casey pointed a finger at Raph. “-we are so trying that some time, because that sounds like the sickest shit ever. Right now though? We’re doing the street version. Fire hockey can be later.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll try not to burn you too badly when we do.”

“You can fuckin’ try, little man.”

“I think I will, stultas mortalium.”

“I don’t know what that means but fuck you.”

And with that, Casey flipped the ball into the air, and slapped it towards Raph.

The low traffic in Casey’s neighborhood was one of his favorite things about it, since it meant he could spend hours in the alley without worrying about cars. He hadn’t had a chance to play against someone on level with him in a long while- April only played sometimes, and none of Casey’s art buddies were much for sports- so facing off with Raph was refreshing.

Casey laughed in surprised every time Raph bent and dodged in a physically impossible way. The demon’s body hinged differently than a human’s, evident as he darted around the alley.

For such a stocky guy, Raph moved pretty quickly. Casey was built for speed, so he kept up easily, but damn could the guy move. Maybe it had to do with the tail, which likely helped Raph balance himself faster on the go, but Casey didn’t stop to consider that too much.

Anatomy examination later, hockey now, was his thought process.

Casey had better reach, because his arms were way longer than Raph’s, and he used that his advantage as best he could. He got a couple goals in on Raph like that, slamming the ball home between the trash cans they’d set up. Raph retaliated by using his suddenly there wings to give him a boost, and claimed an equal number of goals on Casey.

In all the rush and adrenaline, Casey forgot to watch himself.

He was too distracted, complete tunnel-vision around Raph’s fast moving form, and he mis-stepped at the wrong moment. A too sharp turn, and he pivoted on his left leg incorrectly.

Casey felt his knee lock up with a sharp pain, and he buckled before he could stop himself.

“Casey- hey Casey! Shit, you alright?”

Casey hissed between his teeth, hands tight around his throbbing joint. “Fuck- no, no I’m- fucking- god, I should have been more careful. Fuck. Fuck that hurts a lot.”

Two strong hands grabbed him by the armpits, and hauled him to his feet. Raph’s arm went under his, and Casey was suddenly being supported by an oddly concerned demon.

“What the hell was that?” Raph asked in a serious tone. “I didn’t even tap you.”

“Old injury, just get me to the step. I gotta stretch it out before it gets too stuck,” Casey said, wincing as he tried to put weight on his leg joint. Nope, hurt too much still. “Ah fuck. I’m gonna have to call it, I’m not walking on this the rest of the night.”

“How’d you hurt yourself like that? Don’t you humans have medicine to fix any injury these days?” Raph asked lowering Casey onto the back steps of the apartment complex.

“Hngh, not quite,” Casey said, easing his twinging muscles. He put his thumbs on either side of his knee, and started massaging. “I got badly fucked up in my knee joint when I was a kid. Well, not a kid. I was seventeen-ish. I got surgery right after, but it wasn’t enough to get me back on the ice.”

“What do you mean?” Raph asked, sitting down next to Casey. His tail brushed against Casey’s leg, starting to coil loosely around it, before Raph twitched it away again.

Casey watched the tail for a moment, and then refocused on his knee. He sighed heavily, trudging frustrations back up old. “All I ever wanted was to play pro. Be one of the greats and all that. I had talent too, which was part of why I was so damn driven. I knew I could do it if I really put my mind to it. I was even lined up for a full scholarship before… before the accident happened.”

Raph was still listening silently, so Casey continued. “I got sidelined by an oncoming car. The driver wasn’t even drunk or anything; he just didn’t see me crossin’ the street. Fucked my knee but good. Doctors told me straight up I wouldn’t be able to go professional, even once I got back on my feet. It was… it was hard, man. I’d bet a lot of shit on my career as a hockey player, and then it was gone-” Casey snapped his fingers. “-just like that. I lost my scholarship, and had to settle for takin’ out student loans for my new majors.”

“…I’m sorry to hear that happened,” Raph said. “It sounds like it was hard.”

Casey shrugged, a little weirded out by the genuine sympathy in the demon’s voice. “I got over it. Switched career paths to future freelance artist, and here we are. It’s not exactly what I dreamed of as a kid, but I like my life okay enough. Always loved fucking around in art class, so it wasn’t too bad of a switch.”

He was downplaying it. It’d been horrible the first year, going through physical therapy and coming to terms that everything he’d ever wanted just wasn’t going to happen. It’d sucked like nothing else, and Casey had been pretty much the picture of misery- until his sister shoved his sketchpad into his hands, and told him to stop being a mopey idiot.

Bless her; he should call her more often.

A magic rune circle suddenly popped up in front of him, and Casey blinked the flashes of light out of his sight as it disappeared just as quick. He looked questioningly at Raph, and the demon shrugged.

“Was just checking if that’s what you’d wanted when you summoned me,” Raph said, not looking directly at Casey. “Figured your sob story sounded like enough of a desire, you’d give even your soul for it.”

“But it’s not?” Casey asked, putting a hand on his chest where the circle had been.

“No, sorry,” Raph said, sounding like he meant it.

“It’s alright, it’s not your fault I didn’t take the chance when I had it,” Casey said, forcing nonchalance into his voice. He would not be disappointed, he would not be disappointed- he’d gotten over that stuff years ago. Life was what it was, and there wasn’t any going back. Not even for that. “Think you could help me inside? I got some painkillers in the kitchen.”

“Sure.”

As Raph slung Casey arm over his broad shoulders, Casey had an idea.

“Wait, how about we try…”

A moment later, he was shooting up the four stories to his apartment balcony, carried by his demonic house guest. Casey whooped loudly- loud enough it scattered the pigeon family that’d started roosting on the rooftop.

April poked her head out her doors as they landed, and she barely raised an eyebrow at the wings Raph had. She looked instead at how Casey was watching his leg, and how Raph was still holding him up. “You hurt your leg again?”

“Ha, yup. Got too excited.”

“You should be more careful, or you’ll have a cane before you’re forty,” She said, shaking her head in admonishment.

“Careful is for when I’m old,” Casey joked.

“I don’t think ‘careful’ is actually in your vocabulary,” April said dryly, gesturing at the demon assisting Casey still. “Case and point with your current roommate.”

“She’s got you there,” Raph agreed.

“Hey, no ganging up on me you two. I’m out numbered here.”

Casey ended up taking it easy the rest of the evening, leg propped on a pillow on the coffee table. Raph was even kind enough to share the couch- which he’d claimed as his own lately- and leave enough space for Casey to be comfortable.

He fell asleep without noticing, his pain meds making him drowsy, and jerked awake when someone tapped him on the forehead.

April loomed over him, her eyes a little too wide and her hair in disarray.

Casey didn’t even blink at her random appearance; he was used to that by now. He glanced instead at the clock, and realized it was insanely late. He rubbed his eyes, yawning as he did. “Je-sus April, what’re you doing in my apartment at three in the morning?”

“All-nighter,” April said in a flat tone, giving away just how long she’d been awake. “I need some of the plants I gave you.”

“Wha’ for?” Casey asked, still mostly asleep.

“Science.”

“Of course. You know where they are,” He gestured towards the tiny apartment around them. “Just take what you need. If they come back half a carnivorous species, just make sure you gimme instructions on how to feed them.”

“It’s bioluminescence this time,” April corrected absently, already moving in on Casey’s plants.

“Oh. Cool. Send pics of the results.”

“Will do,” April muttered, examining one of the small potted plants in her hands.

Casey yawned again, and turned his head as he remembered he wasn’t the only one on the couch.

Raph’s usually terse expression was absent, his features calm and resting. His arms were crossed over his broad chest, rising steadily as he breathed slow and deep. One of his horns was poking a hole into the cushion, but Casey figured some sausages in the morning would fix that.

Casey traced the strong jaw Raph had, as well as the skin he showed down his neck and shoulders. How the guy never got cold, wearing nothing but black jeans and red tank top all the time, Casey couldn’t tell. Maybe it was all that muscle and fire breath.

“I’m surprised you two are getting along so well, all of a sudden,” April commented, reappearing with four of Casey’s plants in her arms. She looked down at him, her eyes bright with sleeplessness and caffeine. “You were at each other’s throats just a few days ago, and now you’re playing footsies.”

Casey blinked, and realized his and Raph’s feet were touching on the small coffee table. Casey took his feet off the table, and started to stand up. “We’re just figuring shit out is all, nothin’ weird about that.”

“I didn’t say it was,” April said, eyeing Casey as he struggled to put pressure on his knee again. “You did though. Hm.”

“Don’t ‘hm’ me, April,” Casey said, shooting her a look. “You’re probably running on two energy drinks and seven hours of sleep to twenty-four awake. You don’t exactly think clearly like this.”

“No, of course not,” April said, an innocent smile gracing her features. “I know nothing about nothing. Go to bed Casey, I’m sure you two have a busy day tomorrow.”

“You get weird without sleep, April,” Casey said, choosing to ignore April’s insinuations.

“Don’t we all,” April tittered- actually tittered- as she headed for the still open door into Casey’s home. She pulled it shut with the toes of her bare feet, and disappeared as quietly as she appeared. The door somehow swinging shut without a sound.

Casey shook his head, and hobbled off to bed.

And April called him weird. Demon guest notwithstanding, Casey was probably closer to normal than she was, even if she pretended otherwise.

Casey vaguely noted, as the days piled up, he got… comfortable, having his new roommate around.

Raph was still an asshole- but then again, Casey could be just as. It worked out.

They still tried at figuring out how to send Raph home, but… there wasn’t as much fervor as there used to be.

Casey didn’t question it, and didn’t bring it up. If he were honest- which he wouldn’t be- he didn’t quite want Raph to leave anymore.

Sure the guy still ate like no tomorrow, bitched about everything he could, and caused a general nuisance- but he was completely chill when he wasn’t doing all that.

Turned out Raph liked to sketch too, and traded Casey a flight in the sky for a pad and pencils. Best trade ever, in Casey’s opinion. He’d never been that high up, excluding the one flight from New York to his university.

Raph had gone up to the roof with him, changed into his full form, and let Casey climb onto his back. Casey was instructed to hold onto Raph’s stiff crest, and to not let go.

Then they’d shot up into the air, and Casey had screamed with everything he had.

It was incredible.

He could barely see at first, they’d been going so fast, but some magical trick of Raph’s fixed that. He managed to convince Raph to stay up in the air until Casey’s arms and legs were sore from tensing, and it was worth every ache later in the evening.

He ended up sketching the flowing way Raph could fly, once he was up in the air, while Raph sat across him on the couch and sketched… whatever he’d sketched. He wouldn’t show Casey it at all. Casey returned the favor, and kept his drawings to himself.

Raph started showing at his school again, but minus the destruction of property and ninja sneak attacks. Mostly, he avoided campus security, and strolled in and out of Casey’s free-study periods without care if Casey was working or not.

Casey’s classmates gave him questioning looks, and actually spoken questions, about the tank top guy who kept dropping by. Casey kept things vague.

“He’s just a guy I know,” He said, the fifth time someone asked.

“A guy who stops by every second period?” His easel buddy questioned incredulously.

“Yes,” Casey said shortly, then popping on his headphones so he didn’t have to answer any more queries.

Raph would also come and steal bits of Casey’s lunches- and April’s, when he could get away with it without injury by plastic cutlery. April wielded a mean fork, and an even meaner spork.

His two friends interacted with a dynamic of sniping and blunt questions, which was way too hilarious to watch as they tried to out smarm each other within a forty-five minute period.

When Raph had gone from ‘unwanted houseguest’ to ‘friend’, Casey couldn’t tell. He didn’t linger on that thought, same as all the other thoughts he wasn’t lingering on.

Casey started working on his mid-term project, finally laying down the sketched groundwork for it.

He pushed it to the very back of the studio, and put a sheet over it when he wasn’t there.

Casey had originally been used to only one person invading his home space- April- but he’d somehow adjusted quickly to having two. One of them being a constant presence, excluding when he disappeared for solo flights.

It was comfortable. Casey kind of really liked it, having company like Raph’s.

When he wasn’t trying to be a deliberate asshole, or setting something or someone on fire, he was fairly cool to hang around. Games, sketching, sometimes cooking if Casey could convince Raph to flash-fry things with his magic… it was fun. A lot of fun.

Casey avoided thoughts about Raph leaving, and started to only reluctantly work on remembering why he’d summoned him. He did it still, if only to keep the dynamic they had going, and because he felt a bit bad for trapping Raph on his plain of existence.

Raph wasn’t complaining a ton anymore though, so maybe he’d adjusted?

Casey didn’t mention that fact. He didn’t want to bring it to the demon’s attention, if it’d slipped by.

Things stayed pretty calm, until he came home after school about two and a half weeks into Raph’s stay, and found the demon hunched over something on the carpet.

Casey dropped his bag in horror, as he realized… there were shredded plants everywhere on his carpet.

“Oh… no, no no no- shit!” Casey grabbed at his hair, starting to panic. “Raph, please tell me you didn’t demolish April’s new plants. Please tell me you didn’t!”

Raph’s tail lashed across the floor, sweeping more torn leaves around. Casey noticed it was weirdly puffy in places, but he ignored it as he started to march towards Raph. “Dude, seriously. Do you know how fricking important those were to her projects? She’s going to kill us for this-”

Casey bit off the rest of his words, as Raph’s head whipped around, and Casey got a look at the demon’s eyes.

His sclera was still white, but his pupils were blown completely wide. His usually green eyes looked black.

Casey raised his hands defensively, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. “Whoooooa- okay. Okay. The fuck’s with you?”

Raph’s only response was a low growl, and another tail lash.

Casey stepped backwards from the crouching demon, hands still raised. Maybe it was time to go and find April’s water gun. “Yeah… uh, I’m just gonna go. You can keep those plants if you like. Um. April will just need to talk to you la-AH FUCK-!”

Raph suddenly bounded towards him, and Casey tried to turn tail and run- but a solid mass of muscle landed on his back, and his chin met the floor.

Sharp nails prickled his back, and Casey ineffectively tried to scramble out from under Raph’s weight. Casey may or may not have shrieked, as a rolling growl emanated from the chest pressed against him, and the size of the hands holding him increased.

Casey was halfway out of his head with panic- because holy shit how did he forget that Raph could totally kill him at any time- when something raspy and wet went up the back of his neck.

Casey shrieked as the sensation repeated itself.

“What the FUCK Raph-?!” Casey yelled, cut off again as Raph’s tongue slid over his hair, and his words turned into another scream.

Casey struggled a few more times, but ultimately resigned himself to being groomed by the giant, stupid cat demon sitting on him. “You know what? I changed my mind about you being an okay guy. Fuck you.”

Raph’s only response was something that was almost definitely a purr.

Casey’s scalp was drenched by the time he remembered his keyset in his pocket.

Giant cat, fucking duh, he knew how to get the idiot off his literal back.

Casey ignored the way his arm hurt, wedging it between Raph’s scaly chest and the floor, and poked around in his pockets for his keys.

Soon as he had them, he tugged them free, and turned on the pen laser.

Raph’s grooming stopped, and then his weight vanished in a puff of smoke.

Casey scrambled onto his feet, shuddering at the cold feeling his wet hair gave him, and looked at the now mostly human Raph. The demon was staring intently at where the red dot had disappeared, tail lashing on the floor.

Casey looked at the laser in his hands, then back at Raph.

If he were someone else, this would be the time to duck and run.

He was not someone else.

Casey switched on the penlight again.

April kicked in his door the thirtieth time the walls shook, and she looked down right murderous.

“Casey. Fucking. Jones.” She growled through her teeth, stalking into the room. “I don’t know if you know this, but that is the wall we share, and I am trying to study right now, and-” She stopped, and zeroed in on the decimated plant life on the floor. “Are those my plants? Casey.”

Casey shied away from his neighbor’s fury, grinning sheepishly. "I’m sorry, I know, but watch this."

He whisked the penlight across the room, and Raph went flying into the wall following it. The resounding thump shook the wall and left a sizable dent, but Casey personally felt it was worth it.

“See? See??” Casey said, gesturing at the dazed demon. “He’s high as a kite and it’s fucking hilarious.”

April looked at Raph- pupils still blown wide and how he was all around puffy- and then back at Casey, who was trying to seem as innocent as possible. She didn’t look impressed.

“Okay in my defense- he was like this when I got here. I had nothing to do with the plants.”

“Sure.”

“Seriously! I was totally going to come and find you, but you see this shit? I couldn’t just- just not do this, I mean come on. How many chances am I going to-”

Casey shrieked as Raph jumped on his back again, and April watched passively as the demon held Casey to the floor.

“Okay, now this?” She said, cracking a smile as Raph started purring again. “This is hilarious.”

Casey stretched his arm out for the penlight, and fell short by an inch. “April- April help, he’s going to start- AUGH FUCK- SEE?! HE’S GROOMING ME.”

“I’m seeing alright,” April said, still not helping Casey.

“Apriiiiiiiiiil…”

“You made your grave, lay in it with dignity,” April said unsympathetically as Raph’s heavy weight crushed Casey’s lungs.

“Help me!”

“Mmm… no thanks,” April said, reaching into her jeans pocket.

“Are- are you getting out your phone?”

“Yes I am.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Say cheese, Casey,” April grinned, turning the camera on him and the demon on his back.

“You know what, fuck you too, April,” Casey said grumpily, flipping the camera and his friend off. “You’re both horrible people and I’m never trusting either of you again.”

“Technically, the demon currently grooming you like a kitten isn’t a people.”

“Fuck off.”

“Not until I’m finished with some blackmail.”

“Fuck oooooooff.”

April only laughed at his position on the floor, and Raph’s rumbling purr said exactly what he thought of the situation.

“You wouldn’t let me off the floor for a whole hour.”

“Shut up!”

“A whole. Hour.”

“I said I was sorry!”

“Sorry doesn’t change what happened!”

“Fuck you!”

“Fuck you! April has blackmail on us now!”

Raph’s reply made the lights flicker, and the remaining plants in Casey’s apartment die.

Casey pointed a finger at him. “Okay, just because you’re being pissy, doesn’t mean you do black magic in the apartment.”

“It’s not black magic!” Raph exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “You humans invented that idea! Magic is magic! There’s no black or white or grey anything!”

“That sounds fake but okay.”

Raph hissed, and kicked the coffee table.

“I said leave off the coffee table!”

“Fuck you!”

April sent them both the video later that evening- for the third time, because she was cruel and heartless- and Casey and Raph couldn’t even watch the thing. Casey had honestly never been more mortified, and it was a hard thing to mortify him. Raph didn’t look any better off.

Raph had grabbed Casey’s phone, deleted the link, and looked him dead in the eye as he did. “We never speak of this to my family. We never speak of this again at all.”

“I don’t know who your family is, but agreed,” Casey said solemnly.

“And let’s hope you never do,” Raph said in a low tone, shoving the phone back at Casey and stomping out the balcony doors. He took off without a look back, and Casey didn’t blame him. There was a lot of space needed at the moment, and Casey completely welcomed it.

He went and took a long, long shower, and tried to erase from his mind the feeling of Raph’s tongue against his skin.

His mind drifted back to that one too many times though, and he had to switch to a cold shower halfway through.

His face felt like it was burning anyways.

Casey texted April when he got out of the shower, in an attempt to distract himself.

youre evil, woman

EVIL

You wrecked my plants, and hilarious after effects or not, you deserved what you got for it.

Who knew certain herbs could do that to a demon.

I may have to write this down.

dude fuck you

No thanks.

delete the video

Nope.

I made copies already, too.

Scientific evidence.

E V I L

EEEEEEVIIIIIIIL

So how did it feel to get completely dominated, Casey?

How was the tongue?

FUCKING BYE

WHY AM I FRIENDS WITH YOU

Because you like strong figures, both physically and mentally, to be in your life.

Hint hint.

IM DELETING YOUR CONTACT BYE APRIL

Goodnight, Casey.

Sinful dreams.

Whoops, I meant ‘sweet’.

Or did I?

I HATE YOU LITERALLY SO MUCH

FUCK YOU APRIL

FUCK YOU

Casey threw his phone into the corner of his laundry pile with a burning face, and vowed to never speak to April again.

Raph wouldn’t make eye contact with Casey for another day, and honestly? Casey could barely look at the guy himself. Space was very welcome at the moment.

Casey woke up to a fixed apartment though- dents and holes and claws scratches all gone- and figured that was enough of a peace treaty to warrant burying the embarrassing hatchet.

continued.

#Your Heart's Desire tag #my writing #it's an update!#look at it!!#love it!!!#raphael #Casey Jones #rasey #TMNT 2012 #tbh april is my favourite #i love her with all my heart and soul #she's the real MVP of this au #probably has no mistakes but eh #there's always a few that sneak in

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airoasis · 5 years ago

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Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/do-schools-kill-creativity-sir-ken-robinson-8/

Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson

Just right morning. How are you? (audience) just right. It can be been first-rate, hasn’t it? I have been blown away by using the whole thing. Actually, i am leaving. (Laughter) There had been three themes strolling by means of the conference, which can be vital to what I need to talk about. One is the unique proof of human creativity in all the displays that we’ve had and in the entire persons here; just the type of it and the range of it. The second is that it’s put us in a situation the place we haven’t any concept what is going on to happen in terms of the future. No suggestion how this will likely play out. I’ve an interest in education. Without a doubt, what I in finding is, all people has an interest in education. Do not you? I in finding this very exciting.If you’re at a dinner get together, and also you say you work in schooling — sincerely, you’re now not almost always at dinner events, frankly. (Laughter) in case you work in education, you are no longer requested. (Laughter) And you are by no means requested again, curiously. That is strange to me. But if you’re, and you say to somebody, you recognize, they are saying, "What do you do?" and you say you work in schooling, you will discover the blood run from their face. They may be like, "Oh my God. Why me?" (Laughter) "My one night out all week." (Laughter) however for those who ask about their education, they pin you to the wall, given that it can be a kind of things that goes deep with persons, am I right? Like religion and money and other things.So i’ve a massive curiosity in schooling, and i think all of us do. Now we have a enormous vested curiosity in it, partly due to the fact that it is education that is intended to take us into this future that we can not grab. In case you feel of it, children starting school this 12 months can be retiring in 2065. No one has a clue, regardless of the entire talents that is been on parade for the previous 4 days, what the sector will look like in 5 years’ time. And yet, we’re meant to be teaching them for it. So the unpredictability, I consider, is extraordinary. And the 1/3 a part of that is that now we have all agreed, however, on the fairly exceptional capacities that kids have — their capacities for innovation. I imply, Sirena final night was once a surprise, wasn’t she? Just seeing what she would do. And she or he’s high-quality, but I feel she’s no longer, so as to converse, quality within the entire of childhood. What you might have there is a individual of individual dedication who determined a ability. And my contention is, all children have significant expertise, and we squander them, beautiful ruthlessly.So I want to talk about schooling, and that i want to speak about creativity. My competition is that creativity now could be as principal in schooling as literacy, and we should treat it with the equal repute. (Applause) thank you. (Applause) That was once it, by the way. Thanks very a lot. (Laughter) So, 15 minutes left. (Laughter) "well, I was once born … " (Laughter) I heard a nice story not too long ago — i like telling it — of slightly girl who was once in a drawing lesson. She was once six, and she or he was on the again, drawing, and the instructor mentioned this lady rarely paid attention, and on this drawing lesson, she did. The trainer used to be interested. She went over to her, and he or she mentioned, "What are you drawing?" And the girl said, "i am drawing a image of God." And the trainer mentioned, "however nobody is aware of what God looks like." And the girl mentioned, "they will in a minute." (Laughter) When my son used to be four in England — actually, he was four all over the place, to be honest.(Laughter) If we’re being strict about it, wherever he went, he was once four that 12 months. He was within the Nativity play. Do you don’t forget the story? (Laughter) No, it was big, it was a significant story. Mel Gibson did the sequel, you may have seen it. (Laughter) "Nativity II." but James obtained the part of Joseph, which we were extremely joyful about. We regarded this to be one of the vital lead components. We had the situation crammed full of retailers in T-shirts: "James Robinson IS Joseph!" (Laughter) He did not need to speak, but you already know the bit where the three kings are available? They arrive in bearing presents, gold, frankincense and myrrh. This quite happened. We have been sitting there, and that i suppose they only went out of sequence, when you consider that we talked to the little boy later on and stated, "You comfortable with that?" They mentioned, "Yeah, why? Used to be that fallacious?" they simply switched. The three boys came in, four-12 months-olds with tea towels on their heads.They put these boxes down, and the primary boy stated, "I deliver you gold." And the 2d boy stated, "I bring you myrrh." And the third boy stated, "Frank despatched this." (Laughter) What these matters have in fashioned is that youngsters will take a danger. If they don’t know, they may have a go. Am I correct? They’re now not fearful of being fallacious. I do not imply to assert that being incorrect is the equal factor as being inventive. What we do know is, if you are no longer all set to be wrong, you’ll certainly not come up with anything normal — if you are no longer prepared to be mistaken. And by the point they get to be adults, most youngsters have misplaced that capacity. They’ve turn out to be terrified of being wrong. And we run our businesses like this. We stigmatize mistakes. And we’re now strolling national education programs the place errors are the worst factor that you would be able to make.And the influence is that we’re educating persons out of their creative capacities. Picasso as soon as mentioned this, he stated that all youngsters are born artists. The trouble is to remain an artist as we develop up. I consider this passionately, that we don’t develop into creativity, we develop out of it. Or as an alternative, we get informed out of it. So why is that this? I lived in Stratford-on-Avon except about five years ago. Actually, we moved from Stratford to l. A.. So you can think what a seamless transition this used to be. (Laughter) definitely, we lived in a position known as Snitterfield, simply external Stratford, which is where Shakespeare’s father used to be born. Are you struck by way of a brand new idea? I was once. You don’t feel of Shakespeare having a father, do you? Do you? Because you do not feel of Shakespeare being a child, do you? Shakespeare being seven? I under no circumstances suggestion of it. I imply, he was seven at some factor. He was once in somebody’s English category, wasn’t he? (Laughter) How disturbing would that be? (Laughter) "have to try more difficult." (Laughter) Being despatched to mattress by means of his dad, to Shakespeare, "Go to mattress, now!" To William Shakespeare."And put the pencil down!" (Laughter) "And stop speaking like that." (Laughter) "it can be confusing every person." (Laughter) Anyway, we moved from Stratford to los angeles, and i just want to say a phrase about the transition. Actually, my son did not need to come. I’ve got two children; he’s 21 now, my daughter’s 16. He did not want to come to la. He adored it, but he had a girlfriend in England. This was once the love of his existence, Sarah.He’d identified her for a month. (Laughter) intellect you, they’d had their fourth anniversary, for the reason that it is a long time when you’re sixteen. He used to be particularly upset on the aircraft. He stated, "i will in no way find a different woman like Sarah." And we have been as an alternative cheerful about that, frankly — (Laughter) in view that she was the principal intent we had been leaving the nation. (Laughter) however anything strikes you whilst you move to the united states and journey around the world: each schooling process on earth has the same hierarchy of topics. Every body. Doesn’t subject where you go. You would think it will be or else, however it is not. At the high are arithmetic and languages, then the humanities.At the bottom are the humanities. Far and wide on the planet. And in quite often each system, too, there may be a hierarchy within the arts. Artwork and song are most of the time given a higher popularity in schools than drama and dance. There isn’t an schooling system in the world that teaches dance daily to youngsters the way we coach them mathematics. Why? Why now not? I suppose that is as an alternative essential. I suppose math may be very foremost, but so is dance. Youngsters dance always if they’re allowed to, all of us do. We all have our bodies, don’t we? Did I pass over a assembly? (Laughter) honestly, what happens is, as children grow up, we begin to educate them step by step from the waist up. After which we center of attention on their heads. And somewhat to 1 facet. In the event you had been to discuss with education as an alien and say "What’s it for, public schooling?" I believe you’ll ought to conclude, for those who seem on the output, who relatively succeeds with the aid of this, who does the whole lot they must, who gets the entire brownie facets, who are the winners — I believe you would must conclude the whole motive of public education throughout the arena is to produce university professors.Is not it? They’re the individuals who come out the highest. And i used to be one, so there. (Laughter) And i like college professors, but, you understand, we mustn’t keep them up because the excessive-water mark of all human success. They’re just a type of existence. An additional type of existence. But they may be alternatively curious. And that i say this out of affection for them: there is anything thinking about professors. In my experience — not all of them, however ordinarily — they are living of their heads. They reside up there and slightly to at least one aspect. They’re disembodied, you recognize, in a type of literal manner. They seem upon their physique as a type of transport for their heads.(Laughter) don’t they? It’s a technique of getting their head to meetings. (Laughter) If you wish to have real proof of out-of-body experiences, by the way, get yourself along to a residential conference of senior teachers and pop into the discotheque on the ultimate night. (Laughter) And there, you’ll see it. Grown guys and women writhing uncontrollably, off the beat. (Laughter) ready unless it ends, so they can go home and write a paper about it. (Laughter) Our education procedure is predicated on the proposal of academic potential. And there is a motive. World wide, there were no public programs of education, fairly, before the nineteenth century. All of them came into being to fulfill the desires of industrialism. So the hierarchy is rooted on two ideas. Number one, that probably the most valuable subjects for work are at the high.So you had been typically steered benignly far from things at tuition while you had been a child, things you liked, on the grounds you might never get a job doing that. Is that proper? "don’t do music, you’re not going to be a musician; do not do artwork, you is not going to be an artist." Benign recommendation — now, profoundly improper. The whole world is engulfed in a revolution. And the 2d is academic capacity, which has fairly come to dominate our view of intelligence, on the grounds that the universities design the approach in their picture. For those who believe of it, the whole system of public education around the world is a protracted process of university entrance. And the outcome is that many highly gifted, tremendous, ingenious people believe they may be now not, in view that the item they had been excellent at at university wasn’t valued, or used to be actually stigmatized. And i think we cannot afford to go on that method. In the subsequent 30 years, in keeping with UNESCO, extra men and women global will be graduating through schooling than on the grounds that the commencing of history.Extra individuals. And it is the combination of the entire things now we have talked about: technology and its transformational outcomes on work, and demography and the massive explosion in population. Suddenly, levels are not worth some thing. Isn’t that true? After I was once a student, in the event you had a measure, you had a job. If you didn’t have a job, it can be given that you didn’t want one. And that i didn’t wish one, frankly. (Laughter) however now children with levels are ordinarily heading home to carry on enjoying video video games, considering that you want an MA the place the previous job required a BA, and now you need a PhD for the other. It can be a procedure of academic inflation. And it suggests the whole constitution of schooling is moving under our feet. We need to radically rethink our view of intelligence.We know three matters about intelligence. One, it’s various. We consider in regards to the world in the entire approaches that we experience it. We believe visually, we consider in sound, we suppose kinesthetically. We suppose in summary phrases, we feel in action. Secondly, intelligence is dynamic. If you happen to appear on the interactions of a human mind, as we heard the day prior to this from a number of displays, intelligence is wonderfully interactive. The brain isn’t divided into compartments. In fact, creativity — which I outline as the system of getting normal ideas which have value — more more often than not than no longer comes about via the interaction of one of a kind disciplinary approaches of seeing things. By the way, there’s a shaft of nerves that joins the two halves of the brain, called the corpus callosum. It can be thicker in women. Following off from Helen the previous day, this is most commonly why females are better at multitasking. On the grounds that you are, aren’t you? There is a raft of research, but I comprehend it from my personal life.If my wife is cooking a meal at residence, which isn’t more commonly … Thankfully. (Laughter) No, she’s just right at some things. But when she’s cooking, she’s coping with folks on the phone, she’s talking to the kids, she’s painting the ceiling — (Laughter) she’s doing open-coronary heart surgical procedure over here. If i’m cooking, the door is shut, the kids are out, the phone’s on the hook, if she comes in, I get pissed off. I say, "Terry, please, i’m looking to fry an egg in here." (Laughter) "give me a break." (Laughter) definitely, do you know that historic philosophical factor, "If a tree falls in a forest, and no one hears it, did it occur?" don’t forget that historic chestnut? I noticed a nice T-shirt just lately, which mentioned, "If a man speaks his intellect in a wooded area, and no lady hears him, is he nonetheless wrong?" (Laughter) And the 0.33 thing about intelligence is, it’s targeted. I’m doing a new guide on the second known as "Epiphany," which is based on a series of interviews with people about how they found out their talent.I am fascinated about how humans obtained to be there. It’s fairly triggered by using a conversation I had with a distinct girl who probably most individuals have certainly not heard of, Gillian Lynne. Have you ever heard of her? Some have. She’s a choreographer, and everybody is aware of her work. She did "Cats" and "Phantom of the Opera." She’s distinguished. I was on the board of The Royal Ballet, as you will discover. (Laughter) Gillian and i had lunch one day. I mentioned, "How did you get to be a dancer?" It was once exciting. When she was at tuition, she used to be fairly hopeless. And the college, within the ’30s, wrote to her father and mother and said, "We feel Gillian has a finding out disorder." She couldn’t pay attention; she was fidgeting. I feel now they’d say she had ADHD. Wouldn’t you? But this used to be the Nineteen Thirties, and ADHD hadn’t been invented at this factor. It wasn’t an to be had . (Laughter) folks weren’t mindful they could have that. (Laughter) Anyway, she went to look this professional.So, this all rightpaneled room, and she or he was there with her mom, and she or he was led and sat on this chair at the finish, and she sat on her fingers for 20 minutes, even as this man talked to her mom about the entire problems Gillian was once having at tuition, in view that she used to be stressful individuals, her homework was at all times late, etc. Little child of eight. Ultimately, the health care provider went and sat next to Gillian and stated, "I’ve listened to all these things your mother’s told me. I need to communicate to her privately. Wait here. We’ll be back. We is not going to be very long," and they went and left her. But as they went out of the room, he grew to become on the radio that was once sitting on his desk. And after they acquired out of the room, he said to her mom, "simply stand and watch her." And the minute they left the room, she used to be on her toes, relocating to the music.And they watched for a few minutes, and he turned to her mom and stated, "Mrs. Lynne, Gillian is not unwell. She’s a dancer. Take her to a dance school." I mentioned, "What occurred?" She said, "She did. I can not inform you how exotic it used to be. We walked in this room, and it was stuffed with people like me — men and women who couldn’t take a seat still, humans who had to move to feel." Who needed to transfer to think. They did ballet, they did faucet, jazz; they did brand new; they did state-of-the-art. She used to be finally auditioned for the Royal Ballet college. She grew to be a soloist; she had a special profession on the Royal Ballet. She ultimately graduated from the Royal Ballet tuition, founded the Gillian Lynne Dance organization, met Andrew Lloyd Webber.She’s been liable for one of the crucial most effective musical theater productions in history, she’s given pleasure to hundreds of thousands, and she’s a multimillionaire. A person else might have put her on medicine and told her to relax. (Applause) What I suppose it comes to is that this: Al Gore spoke the other night time about ecology and the revolution that was once caused by using Rachel Carson. I suppose our best hope for the long run is to undertake a new conception of human ecology, one in which we start to reconstitute our idea of the richness of human ability.Our schooling system has mined our minds in the way in which that we strip-mine the earth for a distinct commodity. And for the long run, it is not going to serve us. We ought to rethink the main ideas on which we’re educating our youngsters. There was once a uncommon quote through Jonas Salk, who said, "If the entire insects were to vanish from the Earth, within 50 years, all existence on the earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, inside 50 years, all types of life would flourish." And he’s proper.What TED celebrates is the reward of the human creativeness. We ought to be careful now that we use this gift wisely, and that we preclude one of the vital eventualities that we now have mentioned. And the only manner we’ll do it is by way of seeing our creative capacities for the richness they are and seeing our children for the hope that they’re. And our venture is to educate their entire being, so they may be able to face this future. Incidentally — we may not see this future, but they are going to. And our job is to support them make something of it.Thanks very a lot. (Applause) .

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batterymonster2021 · 5 years ago

Text

Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/do-schools-kill-creativity-sir-ken-robinson-8/

Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson

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