#creative resistance

[noodler1]

As I’ve mentioned, for various reasons I’m reluctant to share with the general public anything from my personal journal. Still, sometimes I write things in it that I get a hunch I’m supposed to share. I’ll post an excerpt from an entry written today:

“…Right at this moment, I’m taking a short break from inking the 183rd installment of my comic strip, RAMEN NOODLES. A man named Steven Pressfield wrote a nonfiction book called THE WAR OF ART. In it, Pressfield reminds readers that resistance to actually sitting down and focusing on one’s craft comes in all forms and will always be there, so anyone who feels called to create art might as well get used to detecting and overriding this resistance. In fact, even my choosing to compose this entry could be viewed as resistance - as a stalling tactic, to be more precise.

Pressfield’s points certainly have their place, and as someone who feels the urge to write and create comic strips, coupled with the often even stronger urge to resist writing and creating comic strips, I don’t take exception to them. Still, I hope to find the PEACE of art, not just the WAR of it. I hope to, increasingly more often, have the grace to be willing to experience the peace of my Shepherd-King while creating comic strips. I don’t want to view my relationship with my craft as primarily tumultuous.

Recently, I happened upon two items on social media that made a great impression on me. The first was a short promotional video of a man with cerebral palsy promoting his series of books about his relationship with Jesus. Unlike how I sometimes entertain preconceived notions of already-prosperous people of faith making sales pitches promoting their ministries and resources, I viewed this man as genuinely humble and at peace with his Creator - not only in spite of, but because of, his condition. The other item I came across recently on social media was another short video, this time of an amazingly advanced and ultra-realistic watercolor artist. The video featured pleasant background classical music as the camera captured her brush meeting her canvas, rudimentary stroke after rudimentary stroke. The video also featured accompanying text - quotes from the artist about her love for exercising her craft. It occurred to me that while viewers look at her finished work and are rightfully stunned by her photo-realistic depictions in watercolor of objects such as empty transparent jars, she, as the artist, knows all too well the imprecision inevitably involved when any human being creates visual art without computer assistance. Therefore, she had to be patient, trusting that the finished work would turn out much greater than the collective sum of her pencil efforts, brush strokes, wiping of excess paint, and corrective measures. And the truth is, for all her work’s photorealism, its source of charm and beauty lies in the telltale signs of its having been done by an imperfect human being, no matter how skilled.”

[mooncello]

R.O. Kwon

Writing CoLab's 100 Days of Creative Resistance

[padawan-historian]

“Write down! I am an Arab You have stolen the orchards of my ancestors And the land which I cultivated Along with my children And you left nothing for us Except for these rocks … So will the State take them As it has been said?!” – Identity card, Mahmoud Darwish

[jomiddlemarch]

[thesunkenplace]

The Radical Power of Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer in America’s Era of Erasure

We need more Janelle Monáes in this world. More artists who aren’t afraid to tell the truth, even when it’s inconvenient. Especially when it’s inconvenient. Dirty Computer is not just a visual album. It’s an Afrofuturist revolution, an act of creative resistance, a coded love letter to all the “misfits” who refuse to be erased. Through science fiction, music, and memory, Monáe constructs a world where queerness, Blackness, womanhood, and rebellion are not just visible. They’re sacred.

Watching Dirty Computer in 2025 feels even more urgent than when it was first released. Because right now, in this moment, life is terrifying. It’s disorienting. It’s heartbreaking. It’s jaw-dropping and exhausting. Especially if you’re a woman, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Black, Brown, an immigrant, someone who knows or loves any of the above, or frankly, anyone who doesn’t fit neatly into the mold of what white supremacist patriarchy says is acceptable.

We aren’t moving forward. We’re in a freefall. Rights are being stripped at every turn. Reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant rights, voting rights, and freedom of speech are all under attack. Bigoted rhetoric is normalized, and hate crimes are on the rise. Students protesting genocide are silenced, punished, and deported, while guns are protected more fiercely than the lives of children. Healthcare and education are becoming luxuries only the wealthy can afford. And through all of this, our government shrugs, claiming nothing can be done. Or worse, they support it, cheering it on wholeheartedly.

In Dirty Computer, the powers that be literally try to “clean” the identities of people like Jane 57821, scrubbing away queerness, Blackness, nonconformity, and memory. It doesn’t feel speculative. It feels prophetic. The erasure taking place around the world right now may not be high tech, but it’s very real, and it’s happening right before our eyes. Through policy. Through forever prisons in El Salvador, where the innocent are held without justice. Through rights being stripped away at every corner. Through propaganda shoved down our throats. Through an overflow of distractions meant to confuse and numb us. Through unchecked power, unlike anything we’ve seen before.

Despite Dirty Computer’s underlying dystopian theme, Monáe dared to center joy. To center love. To center community. That’s what makes it a masterclass in Afrofuturism. It envisions survival not just as resistance but as connection. The music pulses with defiance and pleasure. The visuals are rich and lush, centering joy outside whiteness and heteronormativity, showing people simply living their lives and loving who they love. And her message is clear. We exist. We matter. And we’re not going anywhere.

We need more Janelle Monáes. Not just to escape, but to feel. To grieve. To dance. To scream. To cry. To see ourselves and be ourselves, unapologetically. To be reminded that art has the power to do what politicians will not, and that’s to tell the truth, loudly and beautifully. Because sometimes, the only way to survive in a world trying to erase you is to make yourself unerasable.

So thank you, Janelle Monáe, for giving us something to hold onto. For showing us a world where liberation is possible. For reminding us that no matter how dark it gets, there is still power in being a “dirty computer.” We need more of that. We need more people like you.

[spencersk]

Once I made a Pompom.

http://spencersheehankalina.com

[deliriousblue]

THE HEART KILLERS (2024) + tropes prior art by @hurlumerlu

+ bonus:

[cimmerian1275]

*SLAMS DOWN* F E A S T!!! A sketchpage to cure boredom <3

Just ignore how my sketches look so clean, trust me. They STARTED OUT AS SKETCHES... But then i progressively got better at drawing them and my sketches got so clean that they became my infamous Glorified Sketches™.

And some separate shots w higher quality below :P

This all adds up to 16 hours of drawing over a few days C:

I have that dragon plushie irl, its just half the size and not as cool... Ill always find a way to include a dragon in my art.

Im definitely gonna do more later when i dont feel like sleeping the day away.

[bastardlybonkers]

i dont actually think hes blond

[palatinewolfsblog]

"We live in capitalism.

Its power seems inescapable.

So did the divine right of kings.

Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.

Resistance and change often begin in art,

and very often in our art, the art of words."

- Ursula K. Le Guin, US-american Author and "Activist of the Imagination".

[observerkaine]

Day 11: Cub

[durgeapologist]

I find it hilarious that people are turning a post that was originally about resisting the use of AI in creative spaces into some kind of hate fueled anti-bullying soap box campaign. They make multiple posts where they act like they're being vague and don't want to actually call anyone out but then they keep sharing screenshots with usernames in them and they're putting it all in the solavellan/solas critical tags. Meanwhile their posts have nothing to do with Dragon age at all. It's so transparent that they've got personal beef and they can't even see that they're in danger of becoming the kind of bully they claim they're "protecting" the fandom from.

i have been just sitting on the sidelines watching the convoluted tale they are weaving literally day after day after day, and not speaking on it bc everyone except for them wants to move on and, frankly, no one outside of their lil bubble they have cultivated believes a word they are saying, but i have to fully agree with this. bc why are you tagging a harry potter fic post with dragon age related tags? why are you tagging questions about the bg3 fandom with dragon age tags? why are you tagging nonsensical ramblings perpetuating the exact behavior you white knight against with completely unrelated tags?? you just look silly atp.

(if you are as tired of the drama as i am, feel free to literally scroll past. seriously, trust me, i get it. smooches)

to that point and the only other lie (somehow pulled out of thin air) that i will be addressing: i never told this person that if they proved they could simply write on their own that i would take the post down. literally never once said that. what i said (and what was clearly tagged on my callout post) is that if they tagged their fic as ai, then i would take the post down. bc they admitted to using an ai editing software built on genAI. but the five people rallying around this one person seemingly don't know how to read or do any research of their own, i fear.

now, if anyone else is reaching out to this person and saying the post will be taken down if they just prove they can in fact write in the same style and flow as the fic that was called out (not a harry potter fic from two years ago that was beta'd and has nothing to do with the current situation) then i ask that you all to maybe... start thinking critically. who has the authority over my posts? i do. i decide what is proper proof and i decide what constitutes as reason enough for the post to be taken down. i already stated what that would be: just tag your shit accordingly. bc then there would be no need for me to spread awareness about dishonest use of genAI in fandom creative spaces. which again, was the entire point of the post if you would have just taken the time to read it properly. they literally admitted to using the software. they also said they couldn't provide a writing history bc they write.... in grammarly. (google docs, microsoft word, ellipsus, scrivener [bc no one said google docs was the only word-processing program people are allowed to use, it's simply the one they said they export their story to] all have revision history available. i'm sure there are many more, too; these are just the ones i have used and know for a fact have this feature)

and yeah, anon, they plague us with bullying accusations, yet we have all stayed silent aside from continuing to be outspoken about the use of ai in fandom or other harmful stereotypes and untrue narratives they are trying to perpetuate (and my 3? comments from a burner account to defend myself on the reddit callout post of me in a sub they mod that they had previously banned me from in retaliation of speaking out against their dishonest use of ai). they cry witch hunt this and bullying that but... they are the one who won't shut up about me and mine. calling people out by name now?? bc i didn't give them the back and forth beef they wanted?? truly wild (and hilariously sad) to witness.

i've said it once (twice, thrice, whatever) before but i do truly mean it this time because i have been having a blast not focusing on the trainwreck of lie after lie after wacky fucking lie that they are building up, but this is the last thing i will say on the matter. truly (i promise guys). if you hear of anything else, i implore you to realize this person has perpetuated this behavior in two (three if you want to get nitty gritty with it) completely unrelated and separate dragon age fandom spaces. there is a pattern here. anyways!!!!!!!!! have a wonderful week and go smoosh ur rooks with solas and play barbies fr <3

[questionable-idea]

Breaking the sexual tension of holding your rival at gunpoint by using a musket so there's social distancing. fuck it, use artillery even

[themonotonysyndrome]

Cutie would like to believe they're a good person.

But they're great when it comes to thinking outside of the box.

"Happy birthday, sweetie! Everyone has been so excited to celebrate when you manifested your magic last month! Your Dad can't wait to teach you his Earth tricks - did... did you just speak in my head?"

"Oh hey! Nah, you're alright; class hasn't start yet. Are you a new student? Cool! I'm a Freelancer. You? ...Oh."

" - so lame, though. All they can do is read the other team's minds. Yeah, but what's good about gathering intel when they need consent before digging into our opponents' brains? I'm not saying they're useless - "

"Unfortunately, the Department isn't looking to hire any new Investigator at this moment with your particular skillset. But don't worry, you'll be the first person I'll call when we have an open position."

Creativity is the spice of life. Or, in Cutie's perspective, an edge that made a mundane Telepath... not so mundane.

A Telepath reads minds, but who says they can't be more?

Who to say a Telepath can't command the heart - an organ that pumps life within the body - to stop beating?

Who says a Telepath can't whisper random words that condition the brain into transforming a person into someone else entirely?

Who to say a Telepath can't plant false memories just like a De(a)mon could?

Who to say a Telepath can't become the government's prized interrogator and something akin to Nick Fury of the Empowered world?

Morality be damned when you're damn good at what you do.

But whenever Cutie was with Geordi, they were never good or great -

They were happy and oh, look at that. It's been so long since Cutie could remember they were genuinely happy ever since they got their magic. Eyes quickly averted and hardly a second glance whenever they're around family and friends after all.

But Geordi is an Unempowered human. Geordi isn't like those the Department threw at them.

Cutie isn't good but they're great.

...

Why isn't that enough anymore?

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

Grian: “…Eyelash.” Carlos: “Thanks man. Make a wish.” Grian: “I just blew it.” Carlos: “Does it count if you make it?” Grian: “There was actually two so you can have one of my wishes. We wish for the same thing most of the time.” Carlos: “We do.” Fontaines D.C. on Dogrel, 2019 Mercury Prize