#DES(tiel)PAIR

[kapreday]

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY I'M WATCHING THE DESTIEL LOVE CONFESSION FOR THE FIRST TIME

[nqueso-emergency]

The use of Bummy really upsets and annoys me so I want led to write down my thoughts and I hope you can share 💕

Is the use of Bummy as a ship name offensive?

Yes, it is correct if you put the BU from Buck and the MMY from Tommy. Yes you get “Bummy”.

So what is the issue? It’s common practice in shipping, fans combine two characters names together, forming a new ship name (portmanteau or smushword). For instance, the ship name for Dean Winchester and Castiel from Supernatural is referred to as Destiel. The 'De' from Dean, and 'tiel' from Castiel.

Well, it’s the use of “bum” as part of the portmanteau and the closeness to the word “bummer” and “bumming”.

Why is that an issue?

Number one because the word “Bummer” is a gay slur word in British English & slang. Number two because this is a gay ship. Number three the majority of people using this ship name dislike the coupling. It’s generally used as part of a wider negative sentiment about the couple. Number four the fact one member of the pairing is a British actor meaning it’s a bit close to home.

One of the common responses to people saying the name being homophobic and offensive is that pro BuckTommy fans have dug up an obscure slur to find issue with the use of the ship name.

Let’s break it all down… we’ll start with the etymology first.

American English and British English as a language has a good few words with very different meanings. It’s understandable that both side would be unaware of subtle language differences. It’s easy to talk about trash vs. rubbish. It’s much harder to talk about words that could be used as offensive or considered a slur. I don’t want to start listing slurs for obvious reasons that fall under this umbrella (there is actually a few) so I’ll try to be concise.

Let’s use the example of “fanny” as word that in UK considered a vulgar word meaning the female genitals but actually means butt in America. A polite way to say fanny in the UK would be “front bum”. Because your ass, or buttocks in the UK is your bum. Aka your gluteal muscles.

So it’s means your bottom. But like most words you can use it in multiple ways and it can have multiple meanings. Bum, bummer, bumming etc. Various meanings depending on the context. A bum can be a homeless people or my backside. If I add an action word “to bum” it’s anal sex. If I said “what a bummer” I might be saying that’s disappointing. Or I might be using it as a slur to describe a gay person. Everything from tone of voice and inflection to your physicality can change the meaning.

Does the fact it’s of British language, history and cultural background mean it doesn’t count?

Is it obscure?

The slur “bummer” in the UK and Ireland is one of a number of terms beginning in the 1980s, and especially in the late 1990s, as an insult amongst young people. While curse words were cracked down someone using it as an insult could mostly fly under the radar. A school yard taunt.

The peak use of the word as a slur was over 20 years ago. Of course if you’re 21 years old that feels completely irrelevant. If you’re a millennial and lived through that peak of popularity then you have entirely different perspective.

In fact, as UK or Irish society has evolved in the last 20 years and become more progressive homophobic language is widely unacceptable in polite society. It’s not that specific slurs have become obsolete but that any slurs or micro aggressions in general have becoming broadly intolerable.

For me, obscure would be a word where no one living would recall it.

Similarly the word “gay” its self which was also used with derision during this time (being stupid, or equivalent to weak.) The pejorative use of the word "gay" was waved away as banter for more than a generation. But even then using such words and slurs as “a joke” had a knock on effect. So for example, college-age men were more likely to repeat the word negatively if their friends said it, while they were less likely to say it if they had lesbian, gay or bisexual peers.

Words such as “queer” or “gay” have been reclaimed by the Queer community since but it isn’t as clear cut as that and often there is a generational issue where younger people — millennials are fine with it. Gen Xers are less comfortable with it. And then older people or boomers, maybe, who find its use problematic.

What is the relevance of bringing in the wider use of homophobic slurs? Well we see fans waving away concerns about the use of Bummy as “not that deep” it’s just their names mashed together. Dismissal of the slang term as obscure and BuckTommy fans scraping the bottom of the barrel to find a reason to be offended. That narrative is repeated whether true or not because their side of the Fandom said it. The main demographic using the term is younger Gen Alpha Gen Z and American. A cohort with no frame of reference. And seemingly uninterested in extending curiosity to learn or to listen.

That all mirrors behaviour we have seen before. Does that mean I think anti BuckTommy fans are homophobic… no actually I don’t think that at all. Because there is nuance. Instead I think that they are okay using an offensive portmanteau because they intensely dislike the ship and that is simply slippery slope.

But is there a counter argument to that? Why jump to that conclusion?

Let’s say they just don’t want to use Tevan as that has Evan as part of the name. Okay, that’s a good reason. But wait? Why not use BuckTommy the most popular ship name? Or Kinley? Or Tuck? Why say Bummy Bones and not BuckTommy Bones? Why despite being told it’s offensive and having the ability to just Google it do they hand wave that away with wilful ignorance.

I do think the ship name of Bummy is used to intentionally have negative connotations. It’s meant to annoy BuckTommy fans. Perhaps it’s just engagement bait.

I've held on to this ask waiting for a good time to post it.

Today is that day.

[billiewena]

for the 100k fic celebration, here a portion of the “what if 10x05 had a sastiel agenda?” AKA lil shit sam/jealous dean destiel fic I first shared a while back! been having a lot of fun basically rewriting and expanding on the entire musical episode with new songs (and lots of cute kristen & siobhan moments because OF COURSE they’re still a couple.) it was really encouraging to see the positive response to it back then and it's been taking forever because of work/other writing but I’m so excited to have this one be the first full-length fics I ever post.

It starts with costumed teenagers locked in a tight embrace with absolutely no room for Jesus.

“What are they doing?”

Marie glances over her shoulder for only a brief second.

“Kids these days call it hugging,” she says slowly. Geez, it would’ve been less insulting for her to just outright say Wow, you’re old.

Except it’s not just any of the show’s stars hugging over there. One of them is the “Dean” who’d been mid-rehearsal when they arrived and looked more like Bieber than him with the blonde wig. And the other? Well, he would recognize that Columbo coat anywhere.

“Is that in the show?” he asks, pointing their way.

Marie quickly shakes her head at the accusation. “Oh, no. Siobhan and Kristen are a couple in a real life.”

He nods and lower his hand. Got it. That’s all it was. Everything’s fine. Nothing to worry about—

“No, my play explores the nature of Sastiel.”

“The — wait, what?” he says, confused at once.

“Sastiel?” Marie pauses, giving him a second to figure it out. He doesn’t. “You know, the relationship between Sam and Castiel?”

Dean blinks.

“Sam and…C-Cas?”

“I know, I know. Edlund’s series never finished. I’m lucky I got these drafts. Ugh, it’s Midnight Sun all over again. But the love story is all in the subtext,” she says with confidence. “Can you believe there are people who still think Destiel is endgame? After everything that happened after the angels fell? After Gadreel? Please.”

He silently sounds out the word. Des-tiel? Wait…

“Ever since Cas came back from the dead and took on Sam’s pain, I knew. I just knew. Every one of their arcs had been parallel to each other’s from their fall from grace to the trials. And now with Dean gone, all they have…is each other.”

Marie sighs. “Besides, you can’t spell subtext without S-E-X.”

He coughs and nearly chokes on an asteroid-sized lump in his throat.

“I…uh. Yeah, th-that’s not…you know, I think I’ve seen enough,” Dean says with a forced smile. “Thank you for your, ah, time. I’ll, uh, we’ll follow up if we have questions about the missing persons case. I—alright.”

And with that he purses his lips, turns on his heel and walks away — nearly tripping over one of the stage chords as he does. Why are there are so many of them anyways? This is just some all-girls school production, not the goddamn West End.

He finds Sam in his natural nerd habitat (the tech booth) sifting through all the bins of A/V supplies.

“Yeah, not to interrupt the blast from the past here but it’s time for us to go,” he says, patting the door.

His brother shoots him an annoyed look but packs up and follows him out all the same. Not that Dean bothers to wait for him; no, he makes a beeline for the car as soon as he leaves the booth.

“Hey, what’s with the rush?” Sam calls after him as he runs to catch up with him at the school entrance.

“No rush,” he says shortly. “Just wanted to see what you found out before you got too lost in the nerd sauce over there.”

He doesn’t need to look back to know he’s on the receiving end of a Classic Sam Bitchface right now and continues to stomp his way through the parking lot.

“Well, no EMF, no hex bags. None of their props are remotely hinky. Talked to Maeve and all those extras in the auditorium.” Sam finally catches up and walks side-by-side with him now. “You have any more luck?”

“Nah. Ms. Chandler's office is just a pile of empty bottles and regret. She's probably just face down in a bar somewhere. Or a ditch. I did get to hear all about the director’s, ah, creative vision though,” Dean says, teeth gritted. “Apparently we go into space, I become a woman, and there’s even ninjas and robots!”

“Robots. Huh. Well, that’d definitely be a new one.”

“There’s no robots in Supernatural—”

“I-I know that,” Sam says in exasperation. “I just mean it’s, y’know, innovative. And Dean we’ve fought weirder. Remember the teddy bear? The fairies? The ballet shoes?”

“Well, you just wait until you hear about what she in store for you, Lover Boy,” he says.

And that makes Sam do an instant double-take.

“Uh, Lover Boy?”

“Yeah, your number one fan back there —” he says, gesturing back towards the school, “— was telling me all about the play’s, uh, love story between you and Cas. You got something you’ve been meaning to tell me or what?”

“The love story? Wait, what do you mean me and Cas?”

Dean scoffs, already in utter disbelief of the words he was about to say. “Like you and Cas, together. Together together? Romance of the ages the way she made it sound. Apparently it’s all in her play!”

To his surprise though, Sam just… laughs. “Well, I mean hey, that’s an improvement from the ones who wrote about me and you.”

“You got that right,” he agrees with a shudder. Meeting one Becky the Stalker was bad enough. Knowing she wasn’t alone and that she had an audience made it even worse. “She even had a portmanteau for you, dude. Like you’re some celebrities in a grocery store tabloid. Sass-tiel.”

“Sass-tiel?” He seems to seriously consider it but shrugs. “I don’t know. What about… Samstiel? CasSam? Cam? Mmm, maybe not that…”

Dean groans. “Really? That’s your issue with this?”

“Of course it’s not my issue,” Sam says. He stays pensive for a few more seconds until chuckling again to himself this time, as if he’s the only one in on a private joke. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, Cas is great but…”

“Not your type?”

“Yeah, sure,” Sam says. No, it’s definitely more than that and he’s doing a piss-poor job of hiding his amused expression.

Dean turns and stares him down. “What?”

“I dunno,” he says, his smirk fully visible now. “I just think it’s funny they’re pairing me up with Cas when the one with the ‘profound bond’ with him is right there.”

“Oh, haha. You’re hilarious,” Dean retorts at once.

“Hey man, I’m not the one who stayed in Purgatory for a year to find him.”

His glare takes on a murderous edge.

“Okay. You know what? You’re going to do that thing where you just shut the hell up! Forever!”

Sam holds up his hands in either what’s either a show of innocence or surrender.

“Alright, alright. Well, other than the Charlie Kaufman of it all I got nothing.”

“So…what?” Dean says. “This-this all... This whole musical thing, everything, it's... it's all a coincidence? There is no case?”

“Unless you're seeing something I'm not, no, Dean. There's no case here,” he says sincerely this time.

“Come on. This has classic Trickster vibes all over it.” He almost wants to turn around and start yelling, Come on out Gabriel you bastard!

“Trickster’s dead, man. And he wasn’t just a trickster, he was an archangel. And they’re all gone too.”

“Could be a lower-rank angel?” Dean tries. “I mean, Zachariah pulled off an entire apocalypse world. And that place where we were both corporate drones. Before you know it, this’ll get all Buffy and it’ll be me and you singin’ and dancin’—“

“Dean…I think it’s just fans. Look, as long as they’re not putting another love spell on one of us I couldn’t really care less what they’re doing,” Sam says with some bitterness, clearly not looking back at that particular memory with any fondness. “Just writing some songs? I mean, it’s innocent enough.”

“Oh yeah, so innocent,” he scoffs. “They’re singing about our dead parents, your demon blood bender, the apocalypse, all of it! This is just…it’s make-believe for them! But it’s our lives!”

Sam runs a tired hand through his hair. “Look, I don’t get it either man. I wasn’t exactly thinking about the books’ entertainment value while Chuck was describing my sex life in vivid detail—“

“Don’t remind me,” he says, holding up a hand in disgust.  

“—but I dunno. There’s obviously something about it they connected to, right? Something they related to, something that moved them, inspired them? And I guess…I mean, what’s wrong with that?”

There is so, so much wrong with that.

“I don’t know what story they’re reading and what Sam and Dean they’re ‘connecting’ to here. But it sure as hell ain’t us. I mean…they even made me blonde, dude.”

“It’s a high school play, what can you expect?” Sam laughs. “It was probably the closest wig they could find at Party City.”

Dean ignores him, muttering aloud as he makes his way to the driver’s seat.

“The hair…the singing…the robots… the love story…”

“You really were bothered by that, weren’t you?” Sam gives his brother a curious look.

“SUPERNATURAL ISN’T A ROMANCE!” Dean snaps. “Look, these girls obviously don’t know what they’re talking about—“

“I dunno, Dean,” Sam said in a clearly taunting voice now. “Maybe you’re just jealous of what me and Cas have.”

He flushes. “W-what? I-I’m not—“

“We could give you two a name too, y’know? So you don’t feel left out? What about…Dee-stiel? CasDean?”

And he refuses to entertain this conversation any longer.

“Shut your face! Get in the car!”

Thankfully Sam notices the shift in tone and obliges at once.

Dean, meanwhile, takes a moment outside the car to glance around — almost as if checking to see if anyone overheard that comment. Not that it mattered. Who could overhear? No one even knew they were THE Sam and THE Dean. Who cared? He certainly didn’t care. He didn’t care at all...

(to be continued)

[moonshadecastiel]

Despair, the episode where...it happened

Des(tiel)pair(ing)???

I rest my case

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

1 4 5 6

1) What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?*

uhhhh I guess if we are talking about canon ships that happened in fandom,,,, the first one that comes to mind is c@ptain swan?? I couldn't take "skeevy dude wears the woman who doesn't want him down" crap but really it was the r@pey comments and Hook threatening to klll himself if Emma didn't talk to him I just,,,,

4) Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?*

I mean for sure a NOTP I can name is dlckbabs and that's between me and the comics.

5) Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?*

Anyone who mono-ships all three of these ships (kl@nce, de$tiel, l0kius) I don't trust. Mono-shipping is valid. These ships are valid. I don't enjoy them the way I do anymore because their fandoms were tainted by swathes of militant and delusional fans who had 0% problem telling another fan or cast member or crew member to get r@ped or kIll themselves.

6) Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?*

No. I have to like a ship to some degree in order to get behind spite-shipping it.

[cescalr]

9 and 23 for the ask game please 😊

9: Are there any fics you'd love to see but don't want to write yourself? What are they?

Ooh, um... I'm not sure! Something substantial for Cursed 2005, maybe, like a crossover with buffy or teen wolf or something, with jimbo as the pairing from cursed and idk just something interesting (please no b*angel or st*rek or st*dia), or a time travel fic for Supernatural that involves Dean as the POV but absolutely zero, nada, nothing of (even hints) De*tiel or winc*st, that's 100% a fix-it fic (bc my mans deserved a lot better than that ending smh. And so did Jo, and Anna, and Lisa and Ben and Charlie and Benny and- ).

23: What's one piece of advice you would give to anyone who wants to start writing or posting their writing online?

Hmm... Just go for it? Like, write whatever comes to mind and post it. And keep doing that. Over and over again, because it's all the same thing - practise. If you can't think of an idea, there's no reason not to go trawling for prompts. I've got this list of 200 prompts, can't remember where I found it, but it's really useful if I'm stuck. But yeah. Find some time, any amount of time, whether its 5 minutes or five hours, and write what you can, as much as you can, whether it's ten words or 10,000, or more or less, it doesn't matter. Just get words on screen (or on paper, if you prefer.) And then... post it. If the main issue is getting the courage to post it, don't read back over it. That's when the nervousness rears it's ugly head. Just post it. Straight up. Type right into the Ao3 doc and hit post if you have to, just... find a way to minimise the amount of time you give yourself to get all worked up about whether it's 'good enough' or not. It won't be perfect the first time you write something - nothing ever is. Everything requires practise. And each time you post something, you get better at it. It gets easier. If proofreading is the bane of your existence, just post it and come back later to fix any issues. If titling it is a problem pick a random word or a song lyric or hell, a sentence from the fic, anything at all. 'Working Title | Stiles POV All Human AU Stira Fic', even. Just. Anything. You can always change it later. Summaries an issue? Grab the first paragraph. Grab the first sentence. Put 'Stiles POV all human au, stira focus.' as the summary. Who cares? You. Can. Always. Change. It. Later.

That's the great thing about fic. Changing everything later is possible. Nothing here is permanent. If you aren't happy with something, that doesn't matter. So long as it's out there, you can get feedback (because often, we don't know why we aren't happy with something - outside help is always invaluable). Being scared of criticism is half the problem, for a lot of people... but - not to sugar coat - it's necessary. And, just to note, in my 10 years of fanfic writing, I have never, ever, gotten a single malicious comment. Not. Once. It's much rarer than people think it is. And even if you do, you can always delete it. Put comments on moderation, turn them off, if it's the main issue. Gather your confidence at your own pace - but don't forget feedback is necessary for improvement. Eventually you will need to accept it's going to happen - it's not an attack on you. It's an attempt at help. We're taught in school to consume media critically, and those who internalise that will comment constructively. English class can leave an impression - the worst thing is to take any of it personally. Having a negative mindset (they hate it) versus a positive mindset (they want me to improve at this thing I enjoy doing, they're trying to help, they're being supportive) can make all the difference.

Eventually, you'll need to turn those comments back on. But you don't need to take anyone's shit, hence why moderation is a thing. There is a difference between constructive criticism and hate - but it's rare you'll get the latter. Tone is hard to convey in text form; benefit of the doubt is the best way forward.

Make sure you've got friends/mutuals you can ramble with about your fics. it's genuinely the most helpful thing. Give them snippets, do the whole cheerleader routine for each other. It's great. Brainstorm with each other. Not necessarily doing collaborative fic (though you might find that's what works best for you!) but just, geeking out with each other. It makes a huge boost for your ego, and that's useful for your confidence when it comes to posting things. But also, if you trust them, it makes taking their advice easier.

Sometimes, it might feel like two steps forward and one step back. That's great! It's still a step forward. Go at your own pace. The worst thing you can do is rush yourself and burn out. If it takes you a year to update, it takes you a year. I assure you, the readers will still be there, and they'll be happy to see the update. Nobody's going to hate you for taking your time. Prioritise your health. I promise it makes your work better if you're in a good place, and you don't have too much on your plate.

Though, having said that, if you find you work best with about twenty wips all at once updated every week, then go for it! Like I said; your own pace. If a schedule helps you, have one. If it doesn't, don't. I don't have a schedule. I have about 40 wips posted, and a few that aren't yet. It can take me a year to update, or I'll do four in a week. People are pleased either way - what matters is that you wrote something, and it exists, and other people can read it. Isn't that awesome? You've made something. You've made a mark. Someone's happy because of you, because you wrote something they like. Who cares if there's twenty typos and you use the wrong you're* (*or equivalent in your language, ofc) - you can fix that later. And it didn't stop that person's enjoyment of the first fic you ever posted, which might not be as good as your future fics, but it's still special. It's still yours.

Prioritise the thing you want to prioritise. Plot, relationships (of any nature), whatever. Prioritise that. The rest will fall into place. Personally, I prioritise characterisation. interpersonal dynamics follow, part and parcel of character exploration, then plot, as an extension. Do what suits you. And people don't tend to mind very much about any of these. If characterisation matters to you not one whit, just put OOC in the tags and be done with it. Plot doesn't matter? Perfectly fine! You don't want to write ships? Nobody's forcing you. Do what you want. It's just fanfiction. That's kind of the point. There's no need to feel pressure to write a certain thing. I'm in a lot of fandoms with a lot of very large ships. I'd get a lot more readers if I wrote st*rek, or d*stiel, or whatever, but I don't, because I wouldn't enjoy it. Write what you want to see. What you want to read. That's the best advice I can give. If you cry at your own fic, perfect. If you laugh at your own fic, brilliant. If your own fic leaves you all giddy like, grinning wide, amazing. It's gonna give someone else that reaction, too.

Hits, kudos, comments - they're not everything. Ao3, for harry potter, has 5000 pages of fic, with some of the tags I don't like excluded. It's not a case of people not liking your fic - it's a case of people not finding it. Don't worry. Recognition will come with time. Also, the ratio for fics is kind of awful, anyway. Comments and kudos vs hits is always poor; 2%, 5%, 7%. Don't worry too much about it. If people read it, it's likely they liked it. A lot of people are just lazy, and don't press the kudos button. A lot of people are incredibly nervous, or don't know what to say, so they don't comment. Another thing; some of your fics are going to be more popular than others. This is normal. Fandom size, fandom activity, content of fic, tags - prevalence of fic type, etc etc. One of my fics has around 15k notes. the rest are all below 6k. the runner up is a whole 10k below that fic. This is to be expected, and it's nothing to tear your hair out about. Write, first and foremost, for yourself. The rest, as always, comes later.

Really, tldr; you can always fix it later. the rest comes later. recognition comes later. the best thing to do - the first thing to do, the only thing to do - is just start. Post something. Anything. And go from there however you wish.

In 2016 i had zero subscribers on Ao3. I've got 72 now. These things just take time. In 2016 i'd written 30k words. I've written 1.2 million now. These things just take time. Through fandom, mostly fanfiction, I've gained people I'd consider friends. I think it's a really cool endeavour, and I think - for your confidence, peace of mind, and social sphere - it's also a really positive one.

[rhapsodised]

despair tiel

[coffeeteaitsallfine]

Listening to the it’s funnier in enochian podcast and they had to absolute most galaxy brain thought about 15.18 being called despair -des(tiel) pair which is either genius or a beautiful coincidence

[cruelgcd]

Supernatural

SEND ME A FANDOM I’ll tell you:

The first character I first fell in love with: Sam winchester uwu The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:
 OBVIOUSLY CHUCK!! The character everyone else loves that I don’t: Jack Kline The character I love that everyone else hates: Chuck u w u The character I used to love but don’t any longer: Dean Winchester :/ The character I would totally smooch: Chuck 🥴 & Amara 
The character I’d want to be like: Charlie Bradbury was a babe 
The character I’d slap: Dean Winchester, with a truck 
A pairing that I love: Michael x Adam uvu 
A pairing that I despise: Des/tiel bleh

[rosefromdeath-a]

@carliel​ asked :     ❥ Has someone ever ruined an FC or character for you?

Yes, but it hasn't been long lasting. I've had a fair few bad experiences with Katherine Pierce blogs so for a while it left me rather weary of interacting with those blogs, just cause I didn't want to go through the same deal again. But slowly after a while I gradually starting writing with other Katherine blogs and I've met far better muns since then ♥ Aside from that, certain ships have been permanently ruined for me such as des/tiel and st/erek but only cause of the really intense fans (this was ages ago though but it's still ruined the ship for me) that slam you down if you don't ship the pairings romantically together 😅 I do see them as a brotp (still do), but I could never see the romantic side of thing.

[misteria247]

I think today is a day to read fanfiction of my favorite pairings

UsUk

Sabriel

Destiel

PruCan

And reader inserts

Ah yes my own personal harem of fictional characters~

I love it so much

[sartle-blog]

Alice Neel’s “People Come First” de Young Museum Exhibit

Alice Neel’s “People Come First” de Young Museum Exhibit

  “For me, people come first. I have tried to assert the dignity and eternal importance of the human being.” - Alice Neel

Photograph by Sam Brody, Artworks © The Estate of Alice Neel, Courtesy The Estate of Alice Neel and David Zwirner

At the beginning and end of the Alice Neel “People Come First” exhibit at the de Young Museum, you’ll find a large-scale black-and-white photo of the artist. In each, she is surrounded by her art, almost swallowed by her prolific output. The images, taken more than twenty years apart, provide perfect bookends to a show that’s carefully curated to convey the intimacy Neel portrayed in her portraiture across her decades-long career. As the exhibit’s title suggests, this exhibit is all about humanity - the good and the bad - and showcases the artist’s deep empathy for the human condition. It also highlights her prescience, both technically and in choice of subject matter, for creating work that was truly before her time, work that resonates as strongly today as it did when she created it, if not more so.

© The Estate of Alice Neel. Courtesy The Estate of Alice Neel and David Zwirner

The exhibit begins with a handful of New York landscapes and a poem that she wrote about her love for Spanish Harlem. These paintings speak as much to the urban space she called home as much as to the people who populated the area and from whom she often drew inspiration. The gallery moves easily into portraits of those people, giving us glimpses into the lives of her neighbors. For example, above, Neel's 1967’s The Black Boys. Not all art exhibits are worth getting the audio tour, but this one is, as the audio doesn’t just complement, but also supplements what we see on view. In this instance, we hear an interview with one of the boys, now all grown up, sharing his experience of what it was like to sit for this painting.

You almost expect any one of Neel’s portraits to begin talking to you. They’re so wrought with emotion. They’re so incredibly human. Although she called New York home, the exhibit curators point out that much of her sense of activism, social justice, and humanist principles resonate directly with the history and sensibilities of San Francisco. In fact, this exhibit is on its third and final leg of its tour and this is the only West Coast venue in which it is showing.

© The Estate of Alice Neel. Image courtesy the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

There are a couple uniquely “San Francisco” things to look for. In the largest gallery space, we see portraits of all kinds, demonstrating the many different types of people the artist considered worthy of capturing forever on her canvas. She painted people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, Communist artist friends, single mothers, and others who were…well, “othered” by society. In this room, look for the 1971 portrait of Robert Hagopian, a San Francisco concert pianist and one of a number of young men dying of HIV/AIDS whom Neel painted; his parents acquired this painting after Alice Neel’s death, to honor and grieve their son.

© The Estate of Alice Neel. Photograph by Katherine Du Tiel, courtesy San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Although not specific to San Francisco, there are two other pairs of paintings you might want to keep an eye out for in this largest gallery room. On a main wall you’ll see David Bourdon and Gregory Battcock (1970). To its left, on an adjoining wall, you’ll see Geoffrey Hendricks and Brian (1978). Each is a painting of two men together, and yet the feelings evoked by the paintings are strikingly different, due in large part to how much the pair are (or aren’t) touching in the image, and the way that they feel casually together in their space. This speaks to Neel’s distinct ability to capture so many different shades of intimacy in her work, something we see again and again throughout the exhibit.

© The Estate of Alice Neel. Image courtesy the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Also in this room, look for the two very different paintings of Jackie Curtis. The genderqueer Andy Warhol superstar appears front and center as you enter this room of the gallery, speaking directly to Neel’s celebratory portrayal of people from varied walks of life. It’s easy to notice this image, and hard not to; in fact, it is one of the exhibit’s primary press images. However, don’t overlook the painting from a couple of years later titled Jackie Curtis as a Boy. Here we see Jackie in a different sort of drag or gender performance, reflecting, as the wall text reads, “the performer’s expansive play with gender.”

Photo by Gary Sexton. Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Move a couple smaller galleries down into the exhibit to find the second San Francisco reference in “People Come First.” You’ll spot it thanks to the video that’s playing on a wall there. Look to the right of the video and you’ll see a 1969 portrait titled Ginny in Blue Shirt. Ginny was Alice Neel’s daughter-in-law who lived in the Bay Area with Neel’s son Hartley. Neel came to visit them for about two months in the late 1960s, during which time she created this painting. Turn back to the video and you’ll see that it’s a silent documentary that Hartley filmed of Alice Neel painting the very piece that you see hanging to the right. It's fascinating to be able to see Neel's process and then appreciate the result of her work.

Also in this room you’ll see some of the only works in the exhibit that are created by other artists. This is to showcase Alice Neel’s prescience, the amazing way that she created works before her time. Her pieces hang next to pieces by others, such as Richard Diebenkorn, showing how in style, composition, subject matter, etc. she was practically foretelling the future. This is probably less due to psychic ability and more due to her gift to see into her subject’s human essence. Ginny is quoted as saying that when she saw Neel’s portrait of her, she was struck to see that the artist had captured something she herself had perhaps not known was within her. She does this with each of her portrait subjects and this is perhaps why she was both before her time and of her time in such a unique way: there is a universal human element to her work. 

Photo by Fred W. McDarrah / Getty Images

There is truly so much more to say about Alice Neel, her life, and the ways in which her humanity shines through in this exhibit. Neel suffered with lifelong depression, battled her way through suicide attempts, had both terrible and healing experiences in asylums, struggled with loss and joy as a mother, and worked as a female painter for five decades. It is her own intimacy with the highs and lows of the human experience that allows her to capture both the individual and greater social human truths within others. We see this in works like Well Baby Clinic and City Hospital, images created decades apart that both capture the essence of what it’s like to feel entirely alone in a room of people at an uncaring medical establishment. We see it in her portraits of single mothers, paintings of couples together, and her nudes, including her famous nude self-portrait as an artist in her eighties. This is the kind of exhibit that you can’t see just once as there is so much richness to explore. By painting both herself and others, Alice Neel lets us better see ourselves.

People Come First is on exhibit at de Young museum through July 10, 2022. Visit the museum’s blog for a unique post of work by Bay Area artists inspired by this exhibit.

By: Kathryn Vercillo

[alexanderskarsgardsmustache]

Fic Writer Tag

@snafusheltoneyes tagged me bc he is just.... real fuckin neato & tbh is some author inspo like I see things I wanna emulate whenever I read Kay’s writing

What is your total word count on AO3?

15,735 but I dont post everything on ao3 so I also have like an additional ~28.8k on my fics page

How often do you write?

Mmmmm mostly not at all and then I write in like, really short bursts like 2k in a day.

Do you have a routine for writing?

Not like time-frame based, especially not when my work pics up. But in terms of process I typically think up like, some really good dialogue and then build a fic around that. I work pretty well writing things out pen/paper first and then typing but i dont do that often bc self-sabo. I type everything on Google Docs so I can pick up on my phone if I need to (and I usually need to)

What are your favourite kinks/tropes/pairing?

kinks: size difference, light D/s overtones

tropes: meet-cutes or fics where pairings get together for the first time, hurt/comfort, miscommunication/misunderstanding

pairing: rn (and for the last like 6 months) it’s been bradray (GK) but sledgefu is a good one and im only slightly embarrassed to say i still read des/tiel sometimes

Do you have a favourite fic of yours?

mmm i feel like I like and hate them all equally actually just kidding i despise all my old r*** fics

Your fic with the most kudos?

This Sledgefu one / im not proud of the highest notes 1 on tumblr 

Anything you don’t like about your writing?

i cant keep a schedule or like, commit to writing bc i dont have enough time. I hate that I agonize over word-choice. I hate that like, all my writing sounds the same!! I try super hard to make it so my fics dont all sound the same but imo they always do. I think im super focused on making a reader see what I want them to see and i can overdo it on description

Now something you do like?

I like 2 think I have good characterization and I can make some Choice lines of dialogue

I FR dont know whome to tag but let’s do @geckosandmath and @spliterwten

[517goldknight]

Karemoanie (Karemoans)

Jeden z rozumnych gatunków zamieszkujących Galaktykę z uniwersum Nano Battlers. Rdzenni mieszkańcy skalistej, dosyć jałowej planety Karemo.

Biologia

Mimo iż niemal wszystko wskazuje na to, że są ssakami, to jednak są pierwouści, co nie zdarza się zbyt często. Liczba par chromosomów dwukrotnie większa niż u ludzi. Są wysocy średnio na jakieś dwa metry, dobrze zbudowani. Mają grubą, mocną, szarą skórę, z której w niektórych miejscach (np. na głowie), wyrastają krótkie, raczej dość tępe kolce. Włosów u mężczyzn brak, ale u kobiet owe kolce są elastyczne, długie i wiotkie, przez co mogą włosy przypominać. Oczy bez widocznych białkówek ani źrenic, fosforyzujące, zazwyczaj zielone. Brak małżowin usznych (co wcale nie znaczy, że są głusi) ani widocznego nosa. Przez swą masywną budowę często sprawiają wrażenie pozbawionych szyi (zwłaszcza mężczyźni). Mają też zieloną krew (natlenowana jest jasnozielona, a odtlenowana – ciemnozielona). Charakteryzują się dużo wyższą niż ludzie odpornością na alkohol, ale za to przy dostatecznie dużych dawkach mogą dostać kaca nawet jeśli ani trochę się nie upiją.

Kultura

Ich zdaniem dawanie w ramach oświadczyn swojej przyszłej drugiej połówce kwiatów jest w złym guście, bo kwiaty są łatwo przemijające, efemeryczne – lepsze są kamienie (panowie dają paniom różowe, a panie panom – niebieskie). Ma to symbolizować pragnienie trwałości związku.

Gest ułożenia palców w kształt pierścienia (u nas tzw. gest okejki) symbolizuje wstyd i zakłopotanie, zwłaszcza jak się chce udawać, że nic się nie stało, i coś ukryć. Np. żona pyta się męża, czy widział jej gwarancję od miksera, a tamten przypomina sobie, jak wyrzucił ją do kubła, i, cały czerwony i spocony, układa palce w kształt pierścienia i stęka coś w stylu: "Uch... To dość skomplikowane...".

W języku Karemoan termin "negatywny wynik testu" na chorobę (czy jakiekolwiek inne zjawisko negatywne) oznacza, że choroba jest (co u nas zwykło się nazywać wynikiem "pozytywnym"), a "pozytywny" – że jej nie ma. Dopiero w przypadku testów na obecność zjawisk pozytywnych termin "wynik negatywny" oznacza, że danego zjawiska nie ma, tak jak w większości Galaktyki.

Na Karemo im wyższy numer miejsca na podium, tym wyższy wynik – więc miejsce pierwsze nie jest bynajmniej tym najlepszym, lecz najgorszym.

Polityka

Karemoanie żyją w środowiskach albo republikańskich, albo monarchicznych, ale w ogromnnej większości są to systemy elekcyjne. Panują tam pewne ciekawe zasady wyborów:

kto chce brać czynny albo bierny udział w wyborach, ten musi wypełnić krótki test na temat stanowiska, na którego kandydata będzie się wybierać (albo które chce się objąć) – np. zaznaczyć, co leży, a co nie leży w kompetencjach władcy. Kto popełni chociażby jeden błąd, ten nie może brać udziału w głosowaniu – ani biernego, ani czynnego.

na każdej karcie wyborczej podawana jest możliwość zaznaczenia opcji "żaden z powyższych" – jeżeli ta opcja dostanie najwięcej głosów, głosowanie zaczyna się od nowa, ale z zupełnie nowymi kandydatami.

Translation:

One of the sapient species inhabiting the Galaxy from the Nano Battlers universe. Native inhabitants of the rocky, quite barren planet Karemo.

Biology

While almost everything indicates they are mammals, they are protostome, which doesn't happen very often. The number of chromosome pairs is twice as high as in humans. They are about two meters tall, well built. They have thick, strong, gray skin, from which short, rather blunt spines grow in some places (e.g. on the head). Men lack hair, but women have flexible, long and slender spines, which may resemble hair. Eyes without visible proteins or pupils, phosphorescent, usually green. No auricles (which does not mean deaf) and no visible nose. Due to their massive build, they often seem don't have necks (especially men). They also have green blood (oxygenated is light green, and deoxygenated - dark green). They have a much higher resistance to alcohol than humans, but if they are big enough, they can get hangover even if they don't get drunk at all.

Culture

In their opinion, giving their future other half of flowers as a proposal is in bad taste, because flowers are easily transient, ephemeral - stones are better (men give ladies pink, ladies - blue). This is to symbolize the desire for a long-term relationship.

The gesture of arranging the fingers in the shape of a ring (in our case the so-called "OK gesture") symbolizes shame and embarrassment, especially if you want to pretend that nothing happened and hide something. For example, the wife asks her husband if he has seen her blender guarantee, and the husband remembers throwing it into the dustbin and, all red and sweaty, puts his fingers in a ring shape and grunts something like: "Uh ... that's quite complicated...".

In the Karemoan language, the term "negative test" for a disease (or any other negative phenomenon) means that the disease is (what we used to call "positive"), and "positive" - ​​that it is not. Only in the case of tests for the presence of positive phenomena, the term "negative result" means that the given phenomenon does not exist, as in most of the galaxy.

On Karemo, the higher the podium number, the higher the result - so the first place is by no means the best, but the worst.

Policy

Karemoans live in either republican or monarchical environments, but the overwhelming majority are elective systems. There are some interesting rules of elections there:

who wants to participate actively or passively in elections, must complete a short test on the position for which the candidate will be elected (or which he wants to take) - for example, mark what is and what is not within the competence of the ruler. Whoever makes even one mistake cannot vote - neither passively nor actively.

on each ballot card there is an option to select the option "none of the above" - ​​if this option receives the most votes, voting starts again, but with completely new candidates.

Traduko:

Unu el la inteligentaj specioj loĝantaj la Galaksion de la universo de Nano Battlers. Denaskaj loĝantoj de la ŝtona, sufiĉe senfrukta planedo Karemo.

Biologio

Dum preskaŭ ĉio indikas ke ili estas mamuloj, ili estas prabuŝaj, kio ne okazas tre ofte. La nombro de kromosomaj paroj estas duoble pli alta ol ĉe homoj. Ili estas ĉirkaŭ du metrojn altaj, bone konstruitaj. Ili havas dikan, fortan, grizan haŭton, el kiu mallongaj, iom malakraj pikiloj kreskas en iuj lokoj (ekz. sur la kapo). Viroj malhavas harojn, sed virinoj havas flekseblajn, longajn kaj maldikajn pikilojn, kiuj povas simili harojn. Okuloj sen videblaj proteinoj aŭ pupiloj, fosforeskaj, kutime verdaj. Nenio orelkonkoj (kio ne signifas ke ili estas surdaj) kaj nenio videbla nazo. Pro ilia amasa konstruado, ili ofte ŝajnas senkoloraj (precipe viroj). Ili ankaŭ havas verdan sangon (oksigenita estas helverda, kaj senoksigenita - malhelverda). Ili havas multe pli altan reziston al alkoholo ol homoj, sed kun sufiĉe granda tranĉo, ili povas ricevi la postebrion eĉ se ili tute ne ebriiĝos.

Kulturo

Laŭ ilia opinio doni proponon al sia estonta alia duono de floroj estas malbongusta, ĉar floroj estas facile pasemaj, efemeraj - ŝtonoj pli bonas (viroj donas al la virinoj rozkolorajn florojn, virinojn al la viroj - bluajn). Ĉi tio simbolas la deziron al longdaŭra rilato.

La gesto aranĝi la fingrojn en formo de ringo (en nia kazo la tiel nomata OK-gesto) simbolas honton kaj embarason, precipe se vi volas ŝajnigi, ke nenio okazis kaj kaŝi ion. Ekzemple, la edzino demandas sian edzon, ĉu li vidis ŝian miksilon garantii, kaj la edzo memoras, ke ŝi ĵetis ŝin en la sitelon kaj, tute ruĝa kaj ŝvita, li metas siajn fingrojn en ringan formon kaj gruntas ion kiel: "Uh ... ĝi estas sufiĉe komplikita ... ".

En la lingvo Karemoana, la termino "negativa testo" por malsano (aŭ iu ajn alia negativa fenomeno) signifas, ke la malsano estas (kion ni nomis "pozitiva"), kaj "pozitiva" - ke ĝi ne estas. Nur en la kazo de testoj pri ĉeesto de pozitivaj fenomenoj, la termino "negativa rezulto" signifas, ke la donita fenomeno ne ekzistas, kiel en plejparto de la galaksio.

Ĉe Karemo, ju pli alta estas la podia nombro, des pli alta estas la rezulto - do la unua loko tute ne estas la plej bona, sed la plej malbona.

Politiko

Karemoanoj vivas en respublikaj aŭ monarkiaj medioj, sed la superforta plimulto estas elektaj sistemoj. Estas iuj interesaj reguloj pri elektoj tie:

kiu volas partopreni aktive aŭ pasive en elektoj, devas plenumi mallongan teston pri la pozicio por kiu la kandidato estos elektita (aŭ kiun li volas preni) - ekzemple, marku kio estas kaj kio ne estas en la kompetento de la reganto Ĉiu, kiu faras eĉ unu eraron, ne povas partopreni voĉdonadon - nek pasive nek aktive.

sur ĉio balotkarto estas elekto elekti la opcion "neniu el la supraj" - se ĉi tio opcio ricevas la plej multajn voĉojn, voĉdonado komenciĝas denove, sed kun tute novaj kandidatoj.

[coleymari-blog]

Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you? :)

Salty Asks:

Honestly, yes. I’m a huuuuuuuuge Supernatural fangirl. But while I love De*tiel (don’t want to cross tag it) as as ship, a lot of its more ‘passionate’ supporters threw me for a loop. Not to mention Con drama (Thanks Creation! *dripping in sarcasm*). 

Thanks for asking, and for waiting until I got home! Have a great one!

[maivalentine]

hmm... the most underrated and the most overrated ships, if you please?

I instantly thought of ygo and how both angstshipping and chaseshipping are both terribly under appreciated and I’m not sure why :( they’re both so good. I have other rare pairs but I’m just doing the ones I thought of right away x). And over rated the two I think of instantly are des||tiel from supernatural and er||eri from attack on titan // snk