#totu draws

[casetotu]

Shion and Killua

Exact redraws I did a few years ago but I really like them 😁

[totusinteriors]

Create nature inside your home: How to incorporate biophilic interior design into your home?

Incorporating the biophilic design into your home has a positive impact on human health and well-being. From the top 10 interior designers in Kerala, Totus Interiors holds a unique position as it offers a nature-touch visual treat to your eyes.

Connecting with nature gives a positive energy. See a magical view of nature in your room when you wake up from bed. Incorporating the biophilic design into your home has a positive impact on human health and well-being. From the top 10 interior designers in Kerala, Totus Interiors holds a unique position as it offers a nature-touch visual treat to your eyes.

Biophilic interior design?

Simply, biophilic interior design is a way to connect people with nature in their built environment. Using natural elements in the interior design creates a space of wellness, productivity, and connection with the natural world. Best from the top 10 interior designers in Kerala, Totus offers you the chance to feel nature in your space. 

Draw the outside world into your home!

Add plants: Plants give a refreshing look and purify the air from the toxic surroundings. To maintain the gardening power in your space, the best interior designers in Trivandrum, like Totus, give expert guidance to keep your plants alive.

Feel the fresh air: This is magical to feel the fresh tone of nature with the sounds of birds, rain and wind. You can also experience the touch of nature in your home with the help of Totus, the best of the top 10 interior designers in Kerala.

Maximise natural light: Natural light has a positive impact on the human mind and provides the necessary vitamin D that our bodies need. The best home designers in Trivandrum, like Totus, let maximum natural light into your home by choosing large windows or skylights.

Use natural materials: Totus, the foremost interiors from the top 10 interior designers in Kerala embraces nature by incorporating possible natural materials in your home.

Natural colours: In biophilic design, Totus’s best interior designers in Trivandrum use earthly and natural colours to get a connection with nature. If you have a dream home to calm your mind, thus Totus, the best home designers in Trivandrum, is an excellent choice.

Modular kitchen with a touch of biophilia

The kitchen is the heartbeat of every home, blending with taste and love. Let’s have a touch of nature in your modular kitchen with the best modular kitchen designers in Trivandrum, like Totus. Of the top 10 interior designers in Kerala, Totus stands in the prime position because of its innovative services to enhance the beauty of a home.

Choose natural materials: When designing a modular kitchen, the modular kitchen designers in Trivandrum should focus on building natural materials to bring a biophilic touch. Totus uses possible natural materials to make a connection with nature.

Adding textures: The modular kitchen designers in Trivandrum at Totus always choose textured cabinets and backsplash that convey nature to create a biophilic kitchen design.

Use natural shapes: For biophilic modular kitchens, Totus’s modular kitchen designers in Trivandrum suggest opting for softer curved lines and choosing patterns that we may see in nature to make a connection with nature.

Say yes to natural light: Natural light in your indoors will boost your health and well-being. Totus has excellent modular kitchen designers in Trivandrum who give you many tips on how to lighten up your interior in a brighter way.

Place a Garden: Each of the best home designers in Trivandrum says that plants are the most effective way to create a Modular Biophilic kitchen design. Creating a garden in your kitchen improves your psychological state and prosperity and makes the kitchen the heart of your home.

Move your plates into a biophilic dining room!

The dining room is a place where flowing conversation and flavour blend. Let’s flow a natural pulse in your dining room with our top dining room interior designers in Kerala.

For instance, earthly coloured plates in a beautiful wooden stand with plants on the sides enhance the pleasant atmosphere of the dining room. Totus is rewarded with efficient dining room interior designers in Kerala who know how to place a natural vibe in your space. With sufficient lighting and using natural materials and textures, our dining room interior designers in Kerala bring diners closer to nature.

Incorporating nature into your home promotes wellness, productivity, and connection with the environment. With the best interior designers in Trivandrum at Totus, you can enjoy the benefits of nature without ever leaving the comfort of your home.

[my-johnlockficrecs]

bet you thought you wouldn’t see more of these lists huh. man. this one has been sitting in my drafts for SO long now, mostly complete except for this little chatty bit. those of you who’ve been around for a while probably know i’m a champion procrastinator but this one really takes the cake 🤡 june felt very much like a nothing-month because nothing really happened. it was just very monotonous. and also hot. hope y’all’s june was fun though! and that it wasn’t too unbearably hot, wherever you live. july is basically over now, and wow this was. one hell of a month. and i think that threw me off a bit! after a whole month of nothing, suddenly EVERYTHING happened, and just kept happening, and it was all a bit much. not in a totally bad way, but definitely overwhelming. anyway, i shall cease the rambling now 😮‍💨 on to the main event!

key: blue: reread • 🏳️‍🌈 pride month theme • 💌 valentine’s day • 🐺 A/B/O • 🔎 victorian era fic

spotlight rec

✰ Totus Mundus Agit Histrionem by mistyzeo (42k, E) 🔎

The stage lost a fine actor, even as science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in crime.

January, 1881: a despondent army doctor is offered a ticket to a Shakespeare play, and is instantly captivated by the fellow playing the Danish prince himself. Then there is a murder. Then they fall in love.

i was hooked to this fic from the very first meeting of john and sherlock. a john pov that is so so good, it’s adorable to read how mesmerising and irresistible john finds sherlock. the flirting and wooing is so subtle and delicately done, even though it’s because they have to avoid drawing attention to their sexualities, there is an undeniable and inherent romanticism and sensuality to it. the whole fic is so sensual to me, with an unhurried pace that tells me the author has superb control over the fic. also a lovely sapphic couple in there too! (hint: one half of the couple is irene 😉) i absolutely love the interactions between the two couples, when john and sherlock can finally be comfortable and be themselves around at least two of their friends 🥹 and, of course, there is a murder. the balance between case and romance is perfect in my view, not too much and not too little of either. the two end up blending into one another, which is exactly as it should be.

bite sized (5k and less)

Do You Want to Know a Secret? by @chriscalledmesweetie (59, G) 🏳️‍🌈

John has a secret. Does Greg want to know?

The Hike-n-Talk Fall by @chriscalledmesweetie (529, G) 🏳️‍🌈

Sherlock is falling for John. Quite literally.

Paint Your Palette Lavender by @chriscalledmesweetie (80, G) 🏳️‍🌈

Sherlock has an epiphany.

Giving Us Lift by @chriscalledmesweetie (485, G) 🏳️‍🌈

How will John entertain Rosie while Sherlock is out on a case?

Interval by berlynn_wohl (3k, E) 🐺

"You shouldn't leave the window open in your state. It's dangerous.”

Antiseptic by @gaylilsherlock (3k, G)

What did John hear on that secret tape from Culverton’s hospital?

Both Sides Now by @totallysilvergirl (12k, M)

Sherlock, undercover on the Norfolk coast, texts that he needs help; John is still seething after Sherlock’s gambit in the train car, and he refuses. When Sherlock goes missing, Mycroft sends John in to pose as Sherlock’s bit on the side.

For Rent by Sexxica (4k, E)

John needs to let off some steam. What better way to do it than by hiring the prettiest rentboy on the block?

En Pointe by standbygo (3k, E)

Sherlock tries pointe shoes. John approves.

Random Numbers by songlin (1k, teen)

Just because they're not having sex doesn't mean they aren't intimate.

A collection of moments in the relationship of asexual!Sherlock and straight!John.

All That I Have by the_arc5 (3k, M)

In the aftermath of the Great Game, Sherlock finds himself with a new weakness. John is both the cause and the cure.

Neriine by Accident, holmesian_love (4k, teen)

Sherlock couldn’t resist. It wasn’t his fault. He had been walking by an alley and it called to him. So he put it in his coat pocket and took it home. He didn’t know how John would react. They had only been together two months now and he didn’t want to ruin things so early on, but he just couldn’t say no. He kept his hand in his pocket, holding his prize.

Il Est Revenu, Mon Amour by @gaylilsherlock (2k, G)

Can things that were once broken be put back together?

Happy Anniversary by Salamboo6 (3k, E)

John inhaled deeply, feeling his cock pulse under the silk gown, and he let his eyes travel on the lean body in front of him.

Sherlock was kneeling on the bed, their bed, and the picture had been taken so John could perfectly see his bare chest and pelvis. But what mattered most, what made John harden rather quickly, was the pair of panties Sherlock was wearing in the picture. Black, string over each hip and laces that outlined Sherlock’s erect cock barely hidden under the soft underwear.

Lingerie by Sexxica (4k, E) 💌

It's Valentines Day and Sherlock is taking John to Angelo's for dinner. Sherlock also happens to be wearing a garter belt, stockings and a rather small pair of women's underwear under his clothes. There's no dessert at Angelo's because John needs to get Sherlock home just as quickly as he can before they both lose their minds entirely.

Cypher by roane (2k, M)

When Sherlock fails to solve a case in time, John will need to be there to pick up the pieces.

Incendiary Hearts by @gaylilsherlock (1k, E)

What really happened in a corner of an abandoned tunnel in the London Underground?

Sherlock Holmes, the Artist by @gaylilsherlock (1k, G)

What if Sherlock had come back home to John before he’d ever even moved out of 221B?

Tell Me Your Secret by @gaylilsherlock (4k,E)

“You can use your soldier voice.”

Still, With Hearts Beating by @finamour (2k, E)

John already knows the sound of Sherlock’s heartbeat. He’s become familiar with his breathing patterns, the way they grow quicker and more shallow as the two of them run through the streets of London. He has, in a passing manner, come to know Sherlock’s scent; the colour of his skin in the dim light of the alleyway; the way his hair grows matted and sweaty against the nape of his neck on a warm July night.

But he has never been pressed up against Sherlock like this, the rise and fall of his breath pushing into his own body through their thin summer clothes. Until now, he has never been fully immersed in his scent, felt his hair softly brushing his face, the thrumming of Sherlock’s heart against his own chest.

fortune favours by @simplyclockwork (5k, M)

On military leave, John Watson discovers that his sister has signed him up for a blind date book event. The set-up is simple: one person brings a book and ends up on a blind date with whoever chooses their contribution.

To say that John is reluctant to attend is an understatement. Luckily, sparks fly between him and a stunning new author when he makes an unorthodox selection from the book choices.

short fics (5k-15k)

Stronger Than This by Laiquilasse (8k, E) 🐺

Sherlock is convinced John is stronger than his Alpha instincts, and he stronger than his Omega. So when Sherlock goes into heat, this is the first time John remains at Baker Street with him.

Heart Like Glass by Laiquilasse (15k, E) 🐺

It's the day after Sherlock's heat has ended, and a trip to the pharmacy brings out emotional baggage for both Sherlock and John. Sherlock struggles with the physical after-effects, and John with affarirs of the heart. As John takes care of the only omega in his life, he has to question how long they can keep this up, and whether there are some things better left unsaid, and if a life without bonding is truly possible for them.

Reignite by augustbird (9k, teen)

When Mary dies, John finds himself in financial trouble without a home for himself and his young son. There's not much choice except to turn to his ex, Sherlock Holmes.

Two Facts by SailorChibi (6k, G) 🐺

When Sherlock and John first mated they decided that they didn't want children. But now Sherlock's pregnant and it's threatening to tear his world apart. He knows John will leave him once he finds out, but how can he decide between his alpha and the child he didn't know he wanted?

A Fortuitous Oversight by scribblesinthebyline (14k, E) 🐺

Sherlock Holmes was perfectly content being a single parent until a scent on the wind caught his attention.

Casualty by @totallysilvergirl (12k, E)

Sherlock renders assistance at a hit-and-run and is left deeply shocked. When the accident turns into a case, John moves back in to 221b to help—and finds that Sherlock has way oversold his image as an emotionless thinking machine

The Important Bit by Solshine (9k, G)

Just where exactly is the line between “to love” and “to be in love”? What difference is required between “flatmate” and “husband”? (Besides the rings, obviously.) No, the important bit is that they have each other. Thirty years, give or take, in an atypical marriage. Basically a long bit of platonic domestic fluff.

The Losing Side by EchoSilverWolf, englandwouldfalljohn (10k, teen)

Sherlock was the only person whose loss had ever brought Captain John Watson to his knees.

I Need You to See Me by Mssmithlove (12k, E)

After going back to war, John is yet again invalided home, this time with a broken ankle and a chunk of his memory missing, unable to recall the last five years he's spent being Sherlock Holmes' partner and husband.

Strong at the Broken Places by @blueink3 (10k, M)

They dated for ten months during Sherlock's first year of uni and John's last before the latter went off to fight someone else's war.

When they meet again two-and-a-half years later, John's gained a scar in his shoulder and a limp he can't seem to shake.

Sherlock's gained a new boyfriend and bruises he can't seem to explain away.

The Adventure of the Apocalypse by CopperBeech (12k, teen)

John's anger at Sherlock over Mary's death meant a long break in their friendship, and it’s only precariously patched up. But now he's back in the sitting room of Baker Street, listening to a plump little bookseller and his dire-looking companion explain why they need Sherlock to help them find a certain boy before the impending End Of The World.

Rains of fish, violin playing, fast driving in a Ford Fiesta, and Sherlock and John working out what they mean to each other in the shadow of Armageddon.

Locked Room Mysteries (or, what really goes on at 221B) by @gaylilsherlock (12k, G)

What do the dashing detective and his beloved blogger get up to when the case is finished? More than you’d think.

All the Flavours, Cherry and More by cwb (6k, E)

“Mm, what is that? You taste good.”

“Cherry lip gloss.”

“Fabulous. What other secrets do you have for me, then?”

Sherlock feels a blush rising to touch his cheeks, more sensual than uncomfortable now that he knows John isn't disgusted by him. No, John is responding exactly the way he had hoped.

By the Bi by emilycare (7k, teen)

It's been a year of living together. Sherlock and John are getting more comfortable with one another. A bit. John's out of sorts tonight though.

Irene Adler insisted to John that he and Sherlock are in a relationship. This has John rethinking his understanding of himself. And Sherlock...well, is Sherlock. But in the face of some movie night cuddling, key information--finally--is shared.

Cracking the Code by CaitlinFairchild (6k, E)

They’re sure of each other, now. They’re settled. And as far as Sherlock is concerned, settled isn’t the least bit boring or stifling or constraining.

Settled is marvellous. Settled is freeing.

Settled means sometimes you make romantic love by candlelight, murmuring hushed words of endless devotion solely because you want to, because the moment feels right and good.

And sometimes, settled means you fuck on the sofa on a Saturday afternoon, straightforward and uncomplicated, no deep desperate romance necessary, just because fucking is fun.

mid length (16k-50k)

Shift by stopthat (46k, E)

Sherlock is tired.

John senses a shift.

◒

“I’m tired, John,” He murmurs. Barely a whisper. John swallows, feeling irrationally helpless.

“I can see that,” He responds quietly, tracing an eyebrow with the pad of his thumb. “Sleep, then,” He can hear the crack in his own voice—a perfect match for the one in his chest. He hopes that Sherlock won’t notice, won’t try to pick it all apart.

“Not what I meant,” He rumbles, as he drifts off and away, leaving John alone in wakefulness to wonder what the hell had just happened.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To Samarra by @gaylilsherlock (20k, E) 🔎

And so Death said, “I was astonished to see your servant in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight, in Samarra.”

Holmes and Watson retreat to the good doctor’s family country home and lay their feelings bare. What follows, however, neither man could have foreseen.

*ACD-verse fic, imagined with Brett, Burke & later on Hardwicke, as the players, hence my fandom tags.

Let’s Make a Bed Out in the Rain by anonymous (17k, M)

John is devastated after his long-term girlfriend leaves him. Sherlock helps him through it.

Leave the Signs and the Sirens by out_there (24k, G)

After John's released and back home at Baker St, Sherlock still feels it. Down the centre of his chest there's an ache like a healing wound. A physical awareness of a body he usually ignores as much as he can. It's psychosomatic, nothing more interesting than that.

(Post-S1 AU)

long fics (50k and above)

The Men Who Talked Between Words by Odamaki (463k, E)

John expected to be a father some day; he expected to have the house, and the wife and the nice suburban job. Sherlock never expected to have children, in part because he never expected to make it past 30. As it turns out, you don't get a choice. Crammed into Baker Street with a baby, John struggles with single-parenthood and his own fears, while Sherlock treads the fine line between doing too little and saying too much.

Summit Fever by J_Baillier (78k, M)

After graduating from medical school, John Watson followed his heart to the Himalayas. Ten years later, he's a haunted cynic working for his ex-lover's trekking and mountaineering company. Will leading an expedition to Annapurna I — the most lethal of all the world's highest mountains — shake John out of his reverie, and who is the mystery client added to the group at the last minute?

The Agony and The Ecstasy of Sherlock Holmes by @gaylilsherlock (54k, E)

How many times will Sherlock Holmes die for John Watson?

series/collections

February Chaos 2021: Prompt Ficlets by @ohlooktheresabee

Winter’s Child series by Canon_Is_Relative, ImpishTubist (116k, 26 works, complete)

Five years after they meet, Sherlock and John adopt a baby boy.

The Unintentional Crafts of Sherlock Holmes series by cwb, KarlyAnne (13k, 3 works, incomplete)

The Oh, What a Night series by penumbra (fan comic, 3 works, complete)

I’ll Carry the Moon (and the Stars in your Eyes) by 1electricpirate (49k, 7 works, incomplete) 🐺

Containing scenes from an experiment – perhaps the greatest of all. After all, Sherlock is a bonded Omega ... and maybe some urges are about more than biology, anyway.

The Horse and Carriage series by flawedamythyst (60k, 14 works, complete)

What Tomorrow Will Bring series by addicted2hugh (28k, 3 works, incomplete)

[ducktoonsfanart]

Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck - Triplets Mania - 85th anniversary - Quack Pack Week - Triplets - Plus Phooey Duck

Yes, I should have drawn this 2 weeks ago, but due to numerous problems I had, I didn't get to finish it then, but thank God I made it now.

Yes, on October 17, 1937, Al Taliaferro and Tad Obsorne drew a comic called Donald's Nephews and Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck appeared for the first time. Yes, Huey is red, Dewey is blue, and Louie is green. They then appeared for the first time on April 15, 1938, in the animation under the same name, and their history begins from then. They are mostly mischievous boys who defy Donald and Scrooge, but love to go on adventures with them. They also go to school and are members of the Junior Woodchucks, an important scout group. Yes, they are very smart and are partly moral compasses with Donald, their important uncle, as well as for Donald's uncle Scrooge. They also love hanging out most with Daisy's nieces April, May and June Duck as well as Gyro's nephew Newton. They have often appeared in cartoons, comics, and video games. Whenever Donald was present, they, Donald's nephews, had to be present as well. Yes, you know them most in Ducktales, but they were present outside of that as well.

Donald's classic shorts, Ducktales (original and reboot), Quack Pack, and various comics have mostly portrayed Donald's nephews in the best possible ways. So I drew two drawings (since it wouldn't all fit) showing various versions of Donald's nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie from the beginning to the present day. Drawn all three in his classic style from various series and comics such as Mr Duck Steps Out, Trick or Treat, Junior Woodchucks (Carl Barks, Don Rosa, Topolino comics as well as Dutch comics), Ducktales 1987, Ducktales 2017, Quack Pack, Area 15, Spookyzone and Duckscares. Yes, I also added Phooey Duck in three versions (the classic Ducktales version, the reboot version and the Quack Pack version) as Donald's fourth yellow nephew.

I hope you like this idea and this drawing and I certainly wish them a happy 85th anniversary since their first existence, and from next year their 85th birthday (actually they don't have that many, but then their birthday is in April). Happy Birthday Huey, Dewey and Louie! Yes, they are after Donald and Goofy, my favorite and best Disney characters.

By the way, what is your favorite version of Donald's nephews and your favorite triplet? And of course happy Halloween!

Huey, Dewey and Louie (English) in other languages: Jorgito Juanito y Jaimito (Spanish), Hugo Paco y Luis (Latin Spanish), Huguinho Zezinho e Luisinho (Portuguese), Riri Fifi et Loulou (French), Tick Trick und Track (German), Qui Quo Qua (Italian), Kwik Kwek Kwak (Dutch), Rip Rap og Rup (Danish), Ole Dole og Doffen (Norwegian), Tupu, Hupu ja Lupu (Finnish), Knatte Fnatte och Tjatte (Swedish), Ripp Rapp og Rupp (Icelandic), Χιούη Λιούη & Ντιούη (Greek), Viki Niki és Tiki (Hungarian), Hyzio Dyzio Zyzio (Polish), Titus Totus Tutus (Latin), Билли Вилли и Дилли (Russian), Бiллi Вiллi и Дiллi (Ukrainian), Kulík Dulík a Bubík (Czech), Hui Dui a Lui (Slovak), Raja Gaja i Vlaja (Serbian), توتو سوسو ولولو (Arabic), ヒュイーとデュイーとルイー (Japanese), 三只小鴨 (Traditional Chinese), 辉儿 杜儿 和 路儿 (Simplified Chinese), Can Cin ve Cem (Turkish) and others.

[ariondevereux]

writer’s love day 💌

under the cut for a sapfest because i’ve been looking for an excuse (thank you @choicesfandomappreciation <3) to ramble about oph writers whose fics have stuck with me and gotten me through a lot

@lucas-koh 🥭

hi mango. i know you’re hardly active but it would be a CRIME not to tag you because stitches still has me on a chokehold. god has witnessed all the ugly ways your fic has made me cry. and it still does. you know how much i love suki so we’re gonna skip that but i hope you know that my love for stitches didn’t just stem from my love for bryce or your oc; like it was honestly the experience for me: the late friday night (for me) updates, spending at least half an hour to type you a huge block of incoherent comment with tears in my eyes, staying up till 3am because my mind was still reeling over it that i couldn’t sleep even if i tried. and some mornings i’d wake up and immediately reread it then go back to earlier chapters because something was starting to click and my brain would start coming up with theories. i miss all of it so much and if i could go back to read stitches for the first time all over again, i would do it in a heartbeat 💓

@storyofmychoices 🧸

i’ve said this to you tons of times but it’s worth repeating: you’re my go-to comfort fic writer. nothing you’ve written didn’t feel like the warmest hug to me. one of the things i admire most about you as a writer is that almost every fic is a slice of life and it’s filled with so much heart. and i think that’s why i hold it so close to mine. there’s something so comforting about seeing bryce and liv who i love so dearly doing the most mundane things. even in just the span of however long it’s taken me to read your fic, they feel so human. in every fic. they feel so fucking human to me. that’s what makes your work so special. when i’m at my lowest and i turn to your fics for comfort, it feels like i’m holding onto actual people instead of just a figment of your imagination. i can 100% say to you that i wouldn’t want your fics any other way. they’re beautiful the way they are 💕

@writinghereandthere 🐢

hi ana! we haven’t talked in a while but i’d be really fucking dumb not to include you because you’re just so brilliant. it’s honestly unreal how incredible you are as a writer. i remember when you shared one of my songs, you told me you wish you could write songs instead. i wanted to crawl into my screen and out of yours to scream at your face because i wish i could write fics the way you do. like turtles ??? god. turtles still makes me cry. i’m not kidding - last week i was cleaning my room, i was sweeping the floor under my bed and suddenly got emotional because i remembered bryce finding his old backpack with keiki’s totu inside… the way i just wanted to stay lying on the floor and let the memory of reading your fic consume me. to say your writing is a gift is an understatement - my vocabulary most likely isn’t as wide as yours but there has to be a stronger word to describe your talent. your writing is so immersive. you know exactly how to draw your readers in. you know the exact emotions to pull out of us that we’ll be emotionally distressed by the time we’re done reading your fic. you’re just so fucking good. there’s no one like you 💝

@mvalentine 🌯

malvika, you know me as a bryce whore but i just had to talk about ethan and lana for a second. i love their dynamic so much. i love how different they are but they are so sooo compatible. one thing i really love about their relationship is how alive it feels. lana’s fun personality is a perfect balance to ethan’s stoicism. and !!!! i think i’ve mentioned this to you before?? their relationship is so healthy - the way ethan was there for lana after that incident but also letting her process things in her own time. it’s the kind of presence that i feel like we all need irl and you portrayed it so well. now - i know you’ve heard this so many times, not just from me, but i had to say it again. the way you apply metaphors in your work is so poetic but what’s even more impressive is that you can still make it so easy to follow and understand. and i don’t think that’s something you just learn. it’s probably possible but with you, it’s a common theme in all your works that it seems like it comes so naturally to you and it really blows my mind every time. i hope you never forget how incredible you are 💗

@anotherbeingsworld 💫

the one and only bryce killer (beloved) sjfbsksks OKAY despite your love for major character death, you have my appreciation for the way you always handle triggering subjects. i know i can’t always come through for some of your fics that include certain types of content but with regards to those i’ve read, you always touch such heavy topics with utmost respect which i don’t always find in fan fiction. you never let your potential for angst overpower the care you have to be able to portray a healthy dynamic. the very specific thing from you that stuck with me was in one of your fics - there was this scene where mc took bryce’s hand in hers and though their hands didn’t perfectly fit, it felt right. i personally think it serves a great reminder that things don’t have to be picture perfect to be good; i always try to carry that sentiment with me and it’s a really comforting thought to hold onto. your heart always shines through your writing 💖

@drethanramslay 🩺

nushkasso my doctor artist writer <3 like me, you’re not very active in the open heart fandom anymore but i just had to include you in my silly list of favorite writers. one of the things that make your fics and your pairings so tasteful for me is the humorous inner monologues. they’re always just a small piece of writing but god, does it add layers to your ocs. i’m a sucker for introspective writing and i always enjoy getting inside a character’s head which is why i love aisha so much. she has such a strong personality that i always want to know more about. her tension and banters with bryce are so entertaining then you hit us with her thought process and her conflicting feelings towards him which makes quality drama….. exquisite. #braisha supremacy !! but really your sense of humor is one of my favorite things and i always love seeing it be reflected in your work 💘

@kelseaaa 🌻

i just couldn’t not tag you because i still think about he doesn’t hold my hand + i don’t hold her hand. i don’t have enough words to express how much i love those two fics and how awestruck i am by you for even coming up with them. your take on bryce was so different from others i’ve read that even after rereading it like a year later, his pov was still as refreshing as it did the first time. and the way you didn’t need to add a lot of dialogues in there to highlight bryce and casey’s relationship - it really put a great amount of emphasis on how strong their connection is through small acts of love and intimacy. like ??? taking a stray of hair off casey’s sweater? THE STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE? i know i’m just stupidly rambling now but every time i think about your two little fics i can’t help but gush over the way you showed it’s possible to show affection with your hands aside from holding someone else’s. everything about it was perfectly written; it always tugs at my heartstrings 💞

[sidras-tak]

stuart hill’s Icemark Chronicles series is a really great series for beginner fantasy readers. it’s like Baby’s First LOTR in that it’s a trilogy of long, middle-grade fantasy novels (each book is about 500 pages), mainly about war, that juggles multiple viewpoints and tons of characters. but it’s written in a way to support and scaffold understanding of such complex stories and make them accessible to new readers. for example:

each character who has a long title and name, which are used repeatedly and interchangeably, and written in a way that the reader understands who the character is even if they don’t remember exactly. Thirrin Freer Strong-in-the-arm-Lindenshield, Wildcat of the North? no confusion whatsoever that she’s the fierce, strong warrior queen the series is based around. 

each character who does not have a long title or name is given a descriptor to remind the reader who they are (Maggiore Totus is the tutor of the royal children)

hill uses signal words and theme words, or, if you want to get technical, epithets, to draw your memory to other moments in the story. Thirrin has her fiery halo of hair, which is mentioned multiple times when she is particularly passionate during diplomatic meetings. during battle, the story always notes the “strange coughing bark” of the Snow Leopards. the villain always rides his horse into battle with “arrogant hand on arrogant hip”

each species/people have their own battle cries that serve as a quick reminder of who is fighting and for what. i can’t tell you how many times Thirrin and her army have shouted the battle cry of the Icemark (“the enemy is upon us! they kill our children, they burn our houses! BLOOD! BLAST! AND FIRE! BLOOD! BLAST! AND FIRE!) and how it legitimately sends shivers up my spine every time. in contrast, the main enemies, the Polypontians, cry “Veni, vidi, vici!” (I came, I saw, I conquered).

deaths of characters are frequent but almost never a surprise. in the second book, Their Vampiric Majesties mention at least five times that they could not bear to face the endless centuries without the other, making it very, very clear to the reader that one of them will die before the end. and he does and it is not a surprise. 

for that matter, you can go into a battle scene knowing who will survive. a character will mention that they feel strangely certain the Mother Goddess has other plans for them, comment on how calm/strong/ready they feel, or make plans for a drinking contest with their friend after the battle, and you can be sure they will come out alive. 

the plots are pretty simple overall, but enough events get added to keep the pace moving and interesting. here’s how the first book goes: Icemark gets attacked -> Thirrin becomes queen -> Thirrin searches for allies -> the Icemark defends its home. that’s it! but there’s so much more going on with character development and some really delicious writing that never once in the 500 pages did i feel bored or that it could be shorter.

this is not so much an accessibility thing, but i think it’s extremely cool how hill meshes barbarity and nobility. the icemark is a “barbaric” country and Thirrin is often referred to as “the barbarian queen”. it’s true the people of the icemark are loud, passionate, rowdy, and even violent, drinking and eating to excess and enjoying fighting almost too much. they ally themselves with monsters: werewolves, vampires, Snow Leopards, the Holly and Oak kings, Oskan Witchfather and his White Witches, anything from the Land-of-the-Ghosts that will listen to them. but they are also shown to be noble people who defend fiercely because they have people they want to protect. each species of the alliance has leaders who are kind, just, wise, powerful, or just plain nice, and each species’ culture is shown as complex and interesting. they fight with honor and avoid unnecessary cruelty. contrasted to that, the polypontians are called “civilized”, running their empire with science and rational thought and employing much more advanced technology, but they are cruel, dishonorable, and arrogant.

if i had a criticism for the series (actually i have several dont worry) i would say that hill buys in too strongly to the idea of “the divine right of kings” (or in this case, queens and monarchs) as every monarch on Thirrin’s side is a good ruler, a good person, and exceptionally talented/strong/powerful/beautiful as compared to the rest of the characters. many of the characters are given epithets like “beloved of the One” (Sharley, Mekhmet) or shown that the Goddess loves them more than other, less important characters (Thirrin, Oskan). 

oh! also cool that the “barbaric” society has no problem with a queen instead of a king (even after Thirrin gets married, she’s the leader, not her consort) and Thirrin’s mother was from a matriarchal tribe, the Hypolitan, led by a female Basilea, that allies itself with the Icemark at various points. they also worship the Mother Goddess, though religion is based around magic and nature rather than churches. i don’t think there is a religious leader in the story at all. (Other species worship other gods: the werewolves worship the Blessed Moon and the Desert Kingdom worships a male god called the One)

i think i lost the plot of why i wanted to write this post but this is a good book series, okay? it’s written for middle schoolers but it’s still good to an adult. please read it.

[rasasa88]

Usually Borrusk simply put their snoots into their own head collar, usually you don't have to thrust the head collar towards them... usually... 

 We're just going to pretend that I didn't forget to draw 50% of the head collar up until this point and that he has the rest in his pockets somewhere! Pretend! Shout out to my poor, long suffering sister who I had pose for reference for this page - for Jorhnn of course... 

I am finding it so hard to type, my eyes a completely out of focus again

Thanks for looking as always! See pages early, sneak peaks and 'step by step' gif sets on my Patreon Read TotU on Comic Fury

Thanks for looking as always!

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[krystal-calimlim]

Art Theories

Theories of Image and Text: Semiotic Theory

The term "semiotic," also known as semiology, comes from the Greek word semesion, which means "sign." It's described as "the analysis of signs and how they are used." Ferdinand de Saussure, one of its founders, described it as the study of "the existence of signs within society." Semiotic started out in the field of linguistics, which then moved into psychology, then evolved in sociology and philosophy, and then finally into the arts. The word semiotic was coined in the late 18th century, but it has a long tradition that dates back over two thousand years, to the development of classical semiotic by Greek philosophers and medieval times. Since the 20th century, semiotic theory gained public attention and has been the subject of investigation and discussion between academics and scholars. Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce are two semiotic pioneers who made significant contributions.

Ferdinand de Saussure is a Swiss linguist who is widely regarded as the father of modern linguistics. In a few compilations of lecture notes made by his pupils, he coined the term 'semiology.' The material was then collected and published as a book titled "Course in General Linguistics." In a nutshell, Saussure's theory of sign emphasizes internal structure devoted to cognitive thought process or activity of human minds in structuring the physical (material) or intangible (abstract) signs of their environments or surroundings, including the structure of linguistic signs in the language system that allows them to function as human beings and communicate with each other. (Halina Sendera Mohd. Yakin and Andreas Totu. The semiotic perspectives of Peirce and Saussure: a brief comparative study.2014)

Semiotics in arts have a great contribution in its studies specially in understanding and interpreting arts. It can go back to the very beginning, human language all began in the use of symbolism and signs, Signs and icons are the building blocks of human civilization. Each may represent anything distinct from the other.

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Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci, also known as a "Renaissance man," creator of the famous work Mona Lisa and many more. Leonardo da Vinci's The Vitruvian man is one of the most famous icons of the Renaissance and is an example of his outstanding scientific drawings. The Vitruvian Man investigates the concept of proportion, expressing Leonardo da Vinci's view that "everything connects to everything else."

“Vitruvian man”, also known as "the proportions of the human body according to Vitruvius," was produced between 1480 and 1492. It is kept in Venice, Italy, at the Gallerie dell'Accademia. Drawn on paper using pen and ink, Leonardo shows a man standing inside a square and a circle with four arms and legs, allowing him to achieve 16 poses at the same time. The Vitruvius man is based on Leonardo's perception of De Architectura, which was written by an ancient Roman architect and engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio. Vitruvius’ de architectura inspired a lot of architects, artist, and thinkers. According to Vitruvius, to be magnificent, a building should be symmetrical and proportionate. Both traits can be seen in nature, and the human body is a prime example. which he believed could be applied to architecture in terms of weight, proportion, and symmetry.

The notes along with the drawing, called canon of proportions or proportions of man, elaborately describe the interpretation of the drawing in geometric form. It clearly elaborates the architecture concepts of Vitruvius, as well as Leonardo’s view on proportions and geometry.

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Golden Ratio

According to research, compositions that use the golden ratio are aesthetically appealing. The use of golden ratio helps in positioning subjects and designing our artworks. Studies show that a person, even when he or she doesn’t or can’t recognize it, is attracted to it. There is indeed something pleasing when seeing proportion among elements.

The golden ratio, also known as the divine proportion, phi, the divine part, the Fibonacci number, and the golden mean, is a mathematical theory that describes the ratio of two sums where the greater of the two amounts is equal to their ratio. It was used by many famous artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Dali, Sandro Botticelli, Georges Saurat, and many others. Ratio and proportion go way back in time. The Parthenon statues were crafted by Phidias (490-430 BC), a Greek sculptor and mathematician, who used the golden ratio. Euclid (c. 325-c. 265 BC) described golden ratio as "extreme and mean ratio," which gave rise to the term golden mean. Leonardo Fibonacci (1170-1250) was credited with introducing the arabic numerical method to Europe, as well as his eponymous sequence, which became famous quite quickly. Luca Pacioli invented the term "divine proportion" in the 1500s. Martin Ohm (1792-1872), the first person to use the word 'golden,' invented the golden ratio in the 1800s. The term phi didn't come into use until the 1900s, when American mathematician Mark Barr used the Greek symbol to define the proportion.

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Futurism

Futurism aims to express art in dynamism and modernity. It was first mentioned in 1909 on the front page of the Paris newspaper Le Figaro by Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinette in his Manifesto of Futurism. Futurism was one of the most outspoken critics of the past of modernist movements. This was due to the fact that in Italy, the weight of history was particularly overwhelming. In the futurist movements, elements of neo-impressionism and cubism are used to construct compositions. Some of the most known futurist artists are Giacomo Balla, Umberto Boccioni, and Gino Severini. Following World War I's horrors, many artists moved away from avant-garde concepts like futurism and other pre-war movements in favour of more traditional and reassuring approaches, a practice known as the "return to order."

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Le Corbusier

Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (1965) is a painter, sculptor, designer, urban planner, and architect. He continually mixed heritage and modernity throughout his career and is considered as the most influential architects of the 20thcentury. His work as an architect is now known as the international icon of the modern movement. Le Corbusier is credited with pioneering Modernist architecture, popularizing open-floor style edifices, widespread use of concrete in urban structures, and a variety of chair and sofa styles. He was attracted to cubism at first, but later switched to the purism movement. He was also a founding member of the journal L'Esprit nouveau, where he wrote his seminal essay The Five Points of Architecture, which was developed in the Villa Savoye in Poissy, France.

In his architecture, he fused the functionalist aspirations of his generation with a profound sense of expressionism. He was the first architect to master the use of rough-cast concrete, a technique that matched his taste for asceticism and sculptural forms. UNESCO has designated 17 of his works as world heritage sites. Le Corbusier devised a set of architecture standards that he used to create his works. Pilotis (pillars), roof gardens, open floor plans, long windows, and open facades are all examples of Le Corbusier's architectural ideals. In turn, Le Corbusier called for an architectural paradigm change. This is due to technological advancements and dramatic changes in living patterns during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Le Corbusier was always conscious that as an architect, he wanted to reflect on people as a large social entity, thinking as a visionary and inventor. He had developed cities, had built a city in India with Chandigarh, and had always worked hard to express his idea of urbanism in real architecture. Le Corbusier's urban theories are still the driving ideals of contemporary urban architecture. The impact of Le Corbusier on modern architecture is immeasurable. Almost all modernist architecture and urban planning is based on his ideas, and almost all current thought is simply a continuation of, or dismissal of, his ideals.

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[kitsunekisara]

( Hey hello and sorry for my (mostly) radio silence, but the last few weeks were an emotional rollercoaster ride so to speak... :/

*coughs akwardly*

But hoo boi have i news for you. I’ve been busy the last two weeks reading the amazing Undertale fanfiction Tale of the Underground by @sinsoftheunderground and i’m in love with it. The characters and the story are so good and it has a wonderful balance between angst and fluff (minors plsease mind that it’s 18+). I’ll probably will bawl my eyes out one or the other time because i’m only in the early 100+ chapters but... so worth it <3

And since i’ve been itching for a while now to draw some of the TotU characters (please mind the minor spoilers) i’ve done some arting :3

From first to last: 1. Tokiko Nara in her HTM (Human turned Monster) form 2. Skylar Eras Gaster in his bee onesie with his summon Snuggle 3. Honey Verdana Gaster with her summon Sobek 4. A portrait of Tokiko Nara as her queen bee blaster beast self from the later chapters of book two

I had lots of fun doing these and am hapy to finally be able to do what i’m enjoying the most ^^

And please read TotU if you haven’t done it yet it’s worth it ;3

Characters and design by @sinsoftheunderground Art by me )

[casetotu]

Inky scratchy doodle page

Absolutely love this kind of aesthetic. It also makes it easy to hide little mistakes lol 😭

[morriganbia]

Icemark Crack Couples

So, i’ve notice that is a long time since my previous Icemark session... and i’ve this idea of a series of crack couple. I made a series of cards in a jar with all names of the ‘human’ characters, and then i extract two of those cards and... ta-da! crack couple! Only i’ not draw blood related characters (like son/father, sister/Brother, etc...) 

and this is my list of the future cracks: sometimes interesting, sometime they leave me a little puzzled...

1) general Andronicus/Scipio Bellorum

2) Eodred/ Vampire Queen

3) general Andronicus/ Octavius Bellorum 

4) Octavius Bellorum/ Eodred 

5) Redrought/ Vampire King 

6) Oskan/ Octavius Bellorum 

7) Medea/ Vampire King 

8) Charlemagne / Vampire Queen 

9) Mehkmet/ Charlemagne 

10) Mehkmet/ Vampire Queen 

and others ten pairings,(because they’re like the cherries ;P ) 

11) Medea/ Ketshaka III 

12) Oskan/Redrought 

13) Medea/Sulla Bellorum

14) Cressida/ general Andronicus 

15) general Andronicus/ Maggiore Totus 

16) Charlemagne/ Ketshaka III 

17) Vampire Queen/ Ketshaka III 

18) Oskan/ Vampire King 

19) Thirrin/ Sulla Bellorum 

20) Scipio Bellorum/ Redrought

[pamphletstoinspire]

Pope Saint John Paul II - Feast Day: October 22nd - Ordinary Time

Introduction

“Everyone knows John Paul II: his face, his characteristic way of moving and speaking; his immersion in prayer and his spontaneous cheerfulness. Many of his words have become indelibly engraved in our memories, starting with the passionate cry with which he introduced himself to the people at the beginning of his pontificate: ‘Open wide the doors to Christ, and be not afraid of him!’ Or this saying: ‘No one can live a trial life; no one can love experimentally.’ An entire pontificate is condensed in words like these. It is as though he would like to open the doors for Christ everywhere and wishes to open up to people the gate that leads to true life, to true love.” - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

The life of a saint is one in which the Gospel is luminous. In this way, the Church has received an inestimable gift in St. John Paul II. Through his life, he has shown the radiation of the fatherhood of God in humanity, or what St. Paul calls the "newness of life in Christ" (Cf. Rom. 6: 4).

Childhood

“I had not yet made my First Holy Communion when I lost my mother: I was barely nine years old.” — Karol Wojtyła

Karol Józef Wojtyła was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland, the youngest of three children. Although he was born into a loving family, his early life was marked by suffering and loss. His older sister, Olga, died in infancy and, by the time Karol was twelve, his mother Emelia had died of kidney failure and his older brother, Edmund, had died heroically serving those stricken with scarlet fever. Known to his friends as Lolek, and growing under the loving guidance of his father, he was a vibrant youth, athletic, studious and a gifted theatrical performer.

Young Man

“My father’s words played a very important role because they directed me toward becoming a true worshiper of God.” — Karol Wojtyła

“After her death and, later, the death of my older brother, I was left alone with my father, a deeply religious man. Day after day I was able to observe the austere way in which he lived …his example was in a way my first seminary, a kind of domestic seminary.” — Karol Wojtyła

Young Karol attended Kraków’s Jagiellonian University in 1938 where he studied Polish language, literature, theater and poetry. He also performed in local theatrical productions, co-founding the Rhapsodic Theater of raków. It was during this time that he met his spiritual mentor, Jan Tyranowski, and was introduced to the Carmelite mysticism of St. John of the Cross. This meeting profoundly changed the course of his life, leading him to the priesthood. However, his studies were interrupted when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939.

In order to remain in the country, Karol was forced to work in a stone quarry as well as night shifts at the Solvay chemical plant. During this time, Karol suffered the loss of his father, who died of a heart attack on February 18, 1941. In 1944, he miraculously survived being hit by a German truck. Through all this, he recounts the maturing of his vocation and the formation of his priestly identity.

Priest / Bishop

“As a young priest I learned to love human love… If one loves human love, there naturally arises the need to commit oneself completely to the service of ‘fair love,’ because love is fair, it is beautiful.” — Pope John Paul II

Karol joined a clandestine seminary headed by Cardinal Sapieha and was ordained alone on the Feast of All Saints in 1946. He then traveled to Rome to continue his doctoral studies. Upon his return to Poland he was made assistant pastor of a parish in Niegowic, where he began his vital work with young people.

After teaching in the Jagiellonian University for approximately five years and having been appointed to the Chair of Ethics at the Catholic University of Lublin, Fr. Wojtyła was consecrated auxiliary bishop of Kraków on July 4, 1958 - the youngest bishop in the history of Poland. Among the first to hear of his election were the young people who had accompanied him on many camping and hiking trips.

Constantly concerned with the question of man, Bishop Wojtyła encouraged a spiritual and cultural resistance to the Communist occupation of Poland, giving his countrymen hope in the face of grave oppression.

Bishop Wojtyła attended the Second Vatican Council beginning in 1962, where he provided a vital support to the seminal documents of the Council. His insight and gifts were also central in the final formulation of Humanae Vitae, which was promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1968. Soon after, he was elevated to the College of Cardinals.

The Early Papacy

“Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ…. Christ knows ‘what is in man.’ He alone knows it.” — Pope John Paul II in his Inaugural Address, St. Peter’s Square, October 22, 1978

Cardinal Wojtyła was elected Pope on October 16, 1978, and took the name John Paul II. He was the 263rd successor to Peter, and was to have one of the longest pontificates in the history of the Church, lasting nearly 27 years. He retained his Episcopal motto, drawn from the profound insight of St. Louis de Montfort, “Totus Tuus – I am completely yours.” It would become increasingly clear to the world that this papacy was an incarnation of that motto and a direct response to Divine Love, which was profoundly expressed in his love for man.

Immediately, John Paul II went out to the entire world with a vigorous missionary spirit. He embarked on 104 apostolic journeys to 129 different countries, “to the uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 13:47), beginning with the West, Mexico and the United States, for the sake of the Gospel. His love for young people led him to establish World Youth Day, celebrated 19 times during his pontificate, which attracted millions of young people from all over the world. The Pope’s concern for marriage and the family was clearly expressed in the establishment of the World Meetings of Families, his Wednesday catechesis on human love and the founding of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.

The Pope’s presence on the world stage began the gradual and peaceful removal of Communism from Eastern Europe, averted war between the nations of Chile and Argentina, and began the restoration of peace and the healing of division between the major world religions.

Assassination Attempt

“In everything that happened to me on that day, I felt (the Mother of God’s) extraordinary motherly protection and care, which turned out to be stronger than the deadly bullet.” — Pope John Paul II

On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was the victim of an attempted assassination in St. Peter’s Square. Shocking the world, he exhibited extraordinary love and forgiveness when he made a personal visit to his attacker, Ali Agca, in Rebibbia Prison in 1983. Following his recovery, Pope John Paul II continued with his missionary activity, meeting with more than 17,600,000 pilgrims during General Audiences and countless millions of faithful during his subsequent pastoral visits throughout the world. He continued to meet with numerous government personalities during 38 official visits and 738 audiences and meetings held with heads of state, including two landmark speeches at the United Nations and 246 audiences with prime ministers.

Legacy

“The answer to the fear which darkens human existence at the end of the twentieth century is the common effort to build the civilization of love…. With the help of God’s grace, we can build in the next century and the next millennium a civilization worthy of the human person, a true culture of freedom. We can and must do so!” — Pope John Paul II in his address to the United Nations

John Paul II’s doctrinal legacy is one of the richest in the history of the Church. He tirelessly guarded the deposit of faith and the tradition of the Church from errors, promoting authentic theological, moral and spiritual doctrine.

St. John Paul II was also a prolific writer; among his principal documents are many treasures of the Church. His writings included 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions and 45 apostolic letters in addition to the catechesis delivered in the general audiences, lectures and homilies given during his many travels.

With his emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,338 people and canonized 482 saints, more than all of the popes in the last 500 years combined.

The Great Jubilee

“The whole of the Christian life is like a great pilgrimage to the house of the Father, whose unconditional love for every human creature, and in particular for the ‘prodigal son’, we discover anew each day…. The Jubilee… should encourage everyone to undertake…a journey of conversion.” — Pope John Paul II

Throughout his pontificate, Pope John Paul II guided and prepared the Church to celebrate the Great Jubilee, a celebration of the mercy of God and the forgiveness of sin, which began with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. Eight million pilgrims came to Rome to pray during the Year 2000, as the Church and the whole of humanity passed into the third millennium since the birth of the Redeemer.

During this time, Pope John Paul II prayed for God’s forgiveness and for the forgiveness of those wounded by the sins of Christians throughout the past two millennia.

John Paul II successfully encouraged dialogue with the Jews and inaugurated a time of healing between Jews, Muslims and representatives of other religions. Several times he extended an invitation for these groups to participate in worldwide meetings to pray for peace.

With the Year of the Redemption, the Marian Year and the Year of the Eucharist, he devoted himself to the spiritual renewal of the Church. He was convinced that the Church would receive courage and refreshment, even in the face of the great trials of humanity experienced in the last century, by drawing near the Heart of Christ in the Eucharist. He stated, “...The gaze of the Church is constantly turned to her Lord, present in the Sacrament of the Altar, in which she discovers the full manifestation of his boundless love” (John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 2003).

The love of Christ, “that love which goes to the end,” proclaimed by St. John Paul II with his entire life, was made increasingly comprehensible to the world as the day of his return to the Father’s House” drew near.

Death and Beatification

“Death itself is anything but an event without hope. It is the door which opens wide on eternity and, for those who live in Christ, an experience of participation in the mystery of his Death and Resurrection.” — Pope John Paul II

Suffering from the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease, the aftereffects of the wounds from the attempted assassination, multiple surgeries and the loss of his voice, Pope John Paul II expressed in his last days the mystery of the Crucified Lord.

With hundreds of thousands of young people beneath the window of the papal apartment keeping candlelight vigil during the pope’s final agony, John Paul II whispered in response, “I have looked for you and you have come to me. Thank you.”

Pope John Paul II died during the first vespers of Divine Mercy Sunday, April 2, 2005, at 9:37 pm, soon after he had uttered his final audible words, “Let me go to my Father’s house.”

More than three million pilgrims traveled to Rome to pay homage to the pope, some standing in line for over 24 hours to pray in thanksgiving for their beloved Holy Father. On April 28, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI announced that the normal five-year waiting period before beginning the cause of beatification and canonization would be waived for John Paul II. On May 1, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI beatified Pope John Paul II. “We can be sure that our beloved Pope is standing today at the window of the Father’s house, that he sees us and blesses us.” — Pope Benedict XVI, at the Funeral Mass for Pope John Paul II, April 8, 2005.

MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS TO THE PEOPLE OF POLAND ON THE OCCASION OF THE CANONIZATION OF BLESSED JOHN PAUL II

Dear Fellow Countrymen of Blessed John Paul II!

The moment is near for the canonization of that great man and great pope, known to history by the name of John Paul II. I am happy to have been called to proclaim his sainthood, this Divine Mercy Sunday, at the close of the Easter Octave. I am grateful to John Paul II, as are all members of the People of God, for his inexhaustible service, for his spiritual leadership, for having introduced the Church to the third millennium of the faith and for his extraordinary witness of holiness.

Pope Benedict XVI rightly observed, three years ago, on the day of the beatification of his Predecessor, that what John Paul II asked of everyone, that is, not to be afraid and to open wide the doors to Christ, he was himself the first to do: “society, culture, political and economic systems he opened up to Christ, turning back with the strength of a titan — a strength which came to him from God — a tide which appeared irreversible. By his witness of faith, love and apostolic courage, accompanied by great human charisma, this exemplary son of Poland helped believers throughout the world not to be afraid to be called Christian, to belong to the Church, to speak of the Gospel. In a word: he helped us not to fear the truth, because truth is the guarantee of liberty” (Homily, 1 May 2011). I fully identify with Pope Benedict XVI’s words.

We all know that, before travelling the roads of the world, Karol Wojtyła grew in service to Christ and to the Church in his homeland, Poland. It was there his heart was formed, a heart that then swelled to universal dimensions, firstly by participating in the Second Vatican Council, and above all after 16 October 1978, for in him all nations, languages and cultures were given a place. John Paul II was everything for all people.

I thank the Polish people and the Church in Poland for the gift of John Paul II. We have all been enriched by this gift. John Paul II continues to inspire us. He inspires us by his words, his writings, his actions, his style of serving. He inspires us by the suffering he endured with heroic hope. He inspires us by his total self-entrustment to Christ, the Redeemer of man, and to the Mother of God.

During the recent visit ad Limina Apostolorum of Polish Bishops, I underlined that the Church in Poland continues to have great potential in faith, prayer, charity and Christian practice. I also focused on the pastoral challenges facing the family, the youth, the poor and vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. I hope that the canonization of John Paul II, and that of John XXIII as well, may give new impulse to the daily and persevering work of the Church in your homeland. I rejoice in the fact that, God willing, in two year's time I shall for the first time visit your country for World

Youth Day.

I invite all of you to profoundly live the canonizations of Blessed John Paul II and Blessed John XXIII. Some of you will be coming to Rome, but thanks to mass media, many more will be able to participate in this great event. Thus, I would like as of today to thank all the journalists of newspapers, radio and television for their service to the canonization this Sunday.

I greet all the fellow countrymen of John Paul II, as well as those who do not belong to the Catholic Church. I carry all of you in my heart. May God bless you all!

[anastpaul]

NOVENA to St John Paul the Great: DAY FIVE – 17 OCTOBER

Little Known Fact #5:  Father Karol Wojtyla was only 38 when he was made a Bishop.   It did not change his lifestyle at all. True, instead of walking everywhere he had a bicylce and even a rather ancient car and chauffeur to get around the diocese and in order not to waste time, he had a table and a light fixed into the car, to allow him to read and work on necessary journeys.

REFLECTION:  ” ………reflecting on the assassination attempt, he said: “In sacrificing himself for us all, Christ gave a new meaning to suffering, opening up a new dimension, a new order:  the order of love … It is this suffering which burns and consumes evil with the flame of love and draws forth even from sin a great flowering of good” (pp. 189-190). Impelled by this vision, the Pope suffered and loved in communion with Christ and that is why the message of his suffering and his silence proved so eloquent and so fruitful.” – Pope Benedict at St John Paul’s Funeral

Let us Pray:

O Holy Trinity, we thank You for having given to the Church Pope John Paul II and for having made him shine with Your fatherly tenderness, the glory of the Cross of Christand the splendour of the Spirit of love.

He, trusting completely in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, has shown himself in the likeness of Jesus the Good Shepherd and has pointed out to us the way of holiness as the path to reach eternal communion with You Grant us, through his intercession, according to Your will, the grace that we implore,

………………….. [state your intention here].

Continue, beloved St John Paul, we implore you, to sustain from heaven the faith of God’s people. We praise and thank You Father that St John Paul has been numbered among Your saints and make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God forever.

Totus Tuus, Amen.

Quote Day Five:  “I find great peace in thinking of the time when the Lord will call me: from life to life!   And so I often find myself saying, with no trace of melancholy, a prayer recited by priests after the celebration of the Eucharist:   In hora mortis meae voca me, et iube me venire ad te – at the hour of my death, call me and bid me come to you.  This is the prayer of Christian hope, which in no way detracts from the joy of the present, while entrusting the future to God’s gracious and loving care.”

(via AnaStpaul – Breathing Catholic)

[yawnjockey]

Two stories, an ending within an ending. Presented by the NAT club.

‘A’ is for Audience. ‘A.D.’ is for Assistant Director.

There are two stories on Pretty Little Liars. One is the story we know, which originated with ‘That Night’, which will be resolved either in 7x19 or early 7x20.

 The second story will be revealed in the “twist” ending of 7x20. 

 The first story will wrap up why the girls have been targeted, and explain what happened that night. It will cover all of the Hastings and DiLaurentis drama, and whatever this has all been mounting up to. The second story will explain that much of what the girls have been through was actually engineered and staged. 

 Someone has been setting these girls up from the beginning. And not for the reasons that we think. Not just for revenge, but also for entertainment. 

I have put off writing this theory for actual years, because I still don’t know how to put it in writing with any eloquence. Because it is really so all encompassing, but if you’ve been reading my blog for any real time, you’ll see I’ve been hinting around it since at least season 4. As we inch ever closer to the end, I start to feel like there’s more reason to believe it’s possible, so I guess now is the time to commit it to writing. It’s like a much more tolerable version of the “It’s all a book”/  “It was all a dream” ending, because it doesn’t dismiss the actual story, but rather incorporates it. 

Here are the highlights of the theory.

1. The NAT club (”Nos Animadverto Totus” meaning “We See All”) is still very much active, and profiting off of the ‘A’ drama. 

2. What began as a group of teenagers filming unsuspecting girls, has now grown into a full fledged entertainment empire. 

3. In 3x06, Jason confides in Spencer that he believed that Garrett and Ian may have been paying girls to set up their friends to be filmed. And he believes that someone was paying them to film specific stuff for them. 

4. This was the beginning of the NAT empire. This went from a few pervs filming girls undressing for their own entertainment, to a semi scripted, semi interactive live stream. There are people who pay a pretty price to subscribe to the service. They have input as to what they’d like to see next, and some are even regularly interacting with the girls on behalf of the rest of the ‘Audience’. 

5. The girls story arc for the NAT Production began on “That Night”. It’s the night that Ali faked her death, to get the story rolling. Ali is was fully involved from the beginning in setting the girls up for the NAT, as Jason suggested in 3x06. 

This entire ‘A’ thing was born out Ali’s quest for fame, and an appetite for money. “The First Secret” was Ali testing the girls to see if they’d perform the way she anticipated. 

A scene from ‘A is for Answers’, Ali tells about the first time that Ezra brought her to the Fitzgerald Theater. 

*Ali walks up on to the stage, and gazes out at the empty house*

Ali: “Wow. I get it.”

Ezra: “Get what?”

Ali: “It’s hard to explain.” 

Ezra: “Try me.”

Ali: “God. Imagine being up here, with all those people who love you.”

Ezra: “i think that’s called adoration, not love.”

Ali: “I could be an actress.”

Ezra: “Could be? Well I hate to break it to you, but you already are. The way you tell your stories with with such conviction. I think you’ve convinced yourself that half of them are true.”

Ali: “Well if you can’t convince yourself, why should anyone else believe you?”

6. Naturally the existence of this service is not just common knowledge, since being a subscriber would actually make them accessories to a crime. My guess is that some people have even been blackmailed into participating in the Activities, or risk having their membership in the NAT revealed publicly. 

7. Many of the dramatic scenarios that have happened to these girls were staged, almost like a theatrical production. I refer to the ‘major’ episodes. The events of the Halloween Train (3x13). Everything that happened in New York, including Ezra’s rooftop shooting, in ‘A is for Answers’ (4x24). The events in Ravenswood in “A Grave New World” (4x13). Of course, Charlotte’s reveal (6x10), The School for the Blind (7x10),  and the place where I first found it to be most obvious… the events of The Dollhouse. 

8. This means that the girls were seldom in any actual danger. Any danger that may have surfaced would have been from someone outside of the production jeopardizing them, or the production going wrong. I am not suggesting that EVERYTHING is fake, but that there is a controlled narrative for these girls. 

9. “The Game” that Mona, Charlotte and ‘A’ always reference, is a direct part of that. The game that the girls are playing now is a result of it. There are spectators to this game, like some kind of voyeuristic sport. 

10. This also accounts for why no one ever seems to stay dead in Rosewood. Most, if not all deaths were faked, using the drug that CeCe told Ali about in 6x10. The one she supposedly used to drug Ken And Jason. It honestly, would not surprise me if everyone that died over the last 7 seasons showed up in the finale to take one last bow. 

11. I Believe the Carissimi Group is not actually built on Charlotte’s Wall Street brilliance, but rather as a front for the NAT. 

12. This plot would be something like a combination of a “Black Mirror” episode and a couple of movies. Most notably “The Game” directed by David Fincher, (If you’re up for spoilers you can read a summary of the twist here.) for the twist ending, and it being ‘a game’. “The Truman Show” for the controlled narrative and surveillance aspect. And though I haven’t seen it… the interactive aspects might resemble the dares from “Nerve”. Just to give you an idea what I’m thinking. 

13. I think it’s pretty obvious who I think is in charge here. If you’ve read anything on my blog, I am a huge “Ezra is A’ believer. And in this case, I’m inclined to believe that he is A.D. He is the one working the situation from a ground level. I have rehashed reasons that Ezra is ‘A’ so many time son my blog… I won’t even go into it there.  But he is absolutely trying to actively sway these girls to his agenda every time he interacts with them. 

But who’s really in charge? Jason. 

NAT was his idea. Nearly everyone else involved with NAT is ‘dead’. He inherited the controlling interest in the Carissimi group. And he ‘always liked Aria’s pink stripes’. The same pink stripes she is made to put back in in the dollhouse. The same pink stripes her character has on the gameboard piece. 

Bonus: We all know that Marlene has cast herself into the finale. And we’ve joked  a time or two that she is probably A.D. because of the way she’s being torturing us. It would be so in Marlene’s line to show up in the finale, and introduce herself as the Executive Producer of the NAT production. Literal character self insertion. 

Also, heavily involved: Mona ( Like at a top level.) Ali, Lucas, Toby, Jenna, Noel, Wilden, etc. 

Maya was a part of it too, but may have thought about revealing herself to Emily, and that’s why her character had to die. 

Clues:

1.Props.

 We see props reused all the time, which makes sense. This is a TV show. But it also makes sense if this is a staged production. Follow what I’m saying? 

Remember that giant clown head that (clearly) had a camera in it, when Aria was shooting photos in the junk yard? The head turned to follow her, and to me it was extremely obvious that there was a camera in there watching her. Well, that SAME creepy clown head showed up in the School for the blind in 7x10. 

Then there’s this old tweet from Oliver Goldstick, where he’s clearly calling attention to the fact that they’re reusing props. 

And my favorite thing, which i regret that I cannot find…is a tweet that was put out by someone in the props department after the Dollhouse finale aired. And the person tweeted that something along the lines of “we put it right in front of you in the first few minutes. We couldn’t have made it more obvious.” And the first few minutes of that episode were the girls are recognizing that their room was entirely fake. Fake chairs, fake doors, fake books. 

There have been many instances where props were either clearly recycled, or completely overused. Where it literally felt like the props department just dumped everything that they could find to make a set look “creepy”. And some sets have been so overdone that draw attention to themselves just for that. 

2. Remember in 3x21… where Toby’s death is faked… Emily goes to his house looking for him, and sees a guy pull up to the house in his truck. The guy explains that he “Works with Toby” and hasn’t seen him in a few weeks. She later receives a message from Toby telling her to “Stop looking” and that he’d meet her. She’s then given directions Olivia Dr.  A person in a Red Coat leads her to this workshop. Emily confronts the guy that she saw at his house, and asks if he’s seen Toby. He tell’s her that he hasn’t. 

But Emily never told this guy her name, and she can’t imagine why he would know who she is. But he would know her name if he was involved in the production, wouldn’t he? 

Also, remember the great theory about how the people in this workshop were actually building the girls rooms for the dollhouse?

3. Cameras. No matter the reason why, we can all agree that there is absolutely no way that ‘A’, ‘Uber A’, ‘AD’ or ‘Amoji’, could ever have pulled off half of the timely messages they do if they weren’t pretty much constantly watching these girls. 

Through out the series we have been shown a variety of cameras that have been used to watch the girls. Whether they are the multitude of cameras Ezra used, the cameras in the dollhouse, security cameras both in Radley Sanitarium and The Radley Hotel, The cameras that I am 100% convinced were hidden Aria’s dolls, that clown head camera, Lucas’ “Security system”… not to mention the times we’ve seen someone sitting at a ‘lair’ keeping up with pictures or footage of the girls.  

4. Eddie Lamb

Where’d he go? The last time we saw Eddie Lamb, he was trying to make contact with Ezra Fitz, presumably regarding his latest interaction with Aria. in 5x06 he is speaking to Spencer about Bethany Young.

Spencer: ‘Did you know Bethany well?”

Eddie: “If I did, I can’t talk about it.”

Spencer: *sees the security camera where Eddie casually just gestured* 

“Right. Okay. Do you maybe want to get coffee later?”

Eddie: “I can’t talk about Bethany or any other patient. Not to the cops, or reporters, or you.”

In the episode where Spencer is first admitted to Radley he acknowledges that he “likes his job” and that the only way to keep it is to keep your mouth shut. 

So what if the reason that Eddie suddenly disappeared is because he wasn’t sticking to the script? He recognized Aria as one of the girls from the NAT videos, and became a potential problem for the show? So he was paid off or blackmailed and told to leave the area. 

5. The Kahn Party stamp

 I’ve spoken about it before, and just recently. But I firmly believe that the “traveling parties” that were apparently hosted by Eric Kahn were most definitely related to the NAT club. The stamp was a picture of an eye, and the parties were secret. It could be a party just for those involved with the production. Which would include…

6. Holden Strauss

Look, guys, its no secret that I think Holden is more than a red herring. As I recently explained here, I think he was with Emily the night that she dug up Ali’s grave. And he’s back in Rosewood, and conveniently a chef at a wedding planners. Holden had a lot of nothing to impart to us recently except to say that he recently saw Aria on TV. We can argue about why she might’ve been on TV, and there’s certainly been occasion with everything that’s happened… but I just find it so odd that he mentions seeing her on TV, when we haven’t.  If Holden is actually a member of NAT, as I feel both his presence at Sputnik’s Diner, and his entry into the Kahn parties indicates… then he would have seen the ‘show’ pick back up after the time jump as well. 

7. Jenna

I think the binder that Jenna got in 7x11, wasn’t just an explanation of the A game, but a script of sorts. A sort of manual for what was supposed to happen next, and what role she was supposed to have in it. 

8. Money

Where Does ‘A’ get the money to pull off some of the elaborate messages they have sent? Where do they get the skill? Either they have a wealthy backer, or they are the wealthy backer. 

Can we agree that Charlotte’s story was bullshit? If so, her being a Wall Street Wiz, is also highly unlikely.  So where did her fortune (Which was later inherited by Ali and Jason) come from? 

Mothertrucking Ezra Fitz. let’s talk about his weird finance situation. How you affording limos and Armani on a teacher’s salary? Where’d that money in your sock drawer really come from? How could you afford to buy The Brew when you were an unemployed teacher? 

9. Marlene/cast interviews

At Paleyfest when asked about the NAT Club, Marlene and Co. Were so quick dismiss it. They basically said “Ohh what was that? I forgot all about that.” Like it never existed, and like it was probably not a big deal.

They’re really trying to keep our ending a surprise this time. You can really tell from mar’s twitter feed, and the interviews. The girls are being fairly tight lipped, Marlene is saying things like “I don’t want to spoil it”, when asked kind of broad questions on twitter, and even Keegan hasn’t been putting out any hints. I think that they tried to delicately squash any NAT theories by acting like it was an old, dead storyline. But way back in season 5, Marlene swore that there was a lot more to those NAT videos, and that we’d see them again. 

10. Theater imagery/ terminology and the use of puppets/dolls

-Ezra directing a highschool play about the nature of evil.

-“Shadow Play”. The episode is not only an homage to film noir, but a reference to a form of puppet play. It contains scenes of Ali as some kind of a stage performer. 

-”Twelfth Night” is at one point taught by both Ezra and Ali. 

-Ezra’s family theater was “his special place”.

- The stage in 5x25 was a cabin, not unlike the one where Ezra took Aria, and where his lair was. 

-Ali and Spencer dance to “I’m Your Puppet” in Radley, and we’ve repeatedly heard reference to the way the girls did whatever Ali told them. 

-Aside from the dollhouse there’s an almost infinite amount of times the girls have been referred to as dolls. Being toys for them to play with and orchestrate pretend lives with. 

-The above mentioned scene where Ali talks about being an actress, combined with “That’s immortality my Darlings” and that she keeps her diaries because her friends will need them when she’s gone.

11. “You know why I chose you, don’t you?” Ali to Aria

12. Deaths

Either when someone dies, we don’t see their body at all or we don’t see it til their funeral. OR if we do see them die, it’s in a questionable or confusing way. I’ll be the first to point out that, while I loved Noel’s death, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if hes still alive. Just for the complete unlikelihood of someone having their head chopped clean off by a stationery ax. Even though we actually saw it, that death felt like the most fake one yet.  

Season after season these monumental moments get more and more over the top.  Like they want us to think “This is ridiculous! Even by these standards, this is impossible!” 

OK, so I do have more examples, but I’m running out of time to write this, so I’ll end it here for now. But… if you’re open to the idea that this may have been a “game” all along, then to imagine its been watched by others isn’t that far of a stretch. 

[golleitaous-blog]

NextNOW Fest - September 14, 2019

Reflection Questions:

What did you see/hear/learn that was completely new to you? (2 points)

What was your favorite performance/experience? Why was it your favorite? (2 points)

What instances did you notice where artists were collaborating or working beyond the boundaries of a particular arts discipline? How do you think collaboration and interdisciplinarity are helping to push the boundaries of what we understand art to be?  (3 points)

NextNOW TOTUS Spoken Word and Poetry Showcase

1. At the TOTUS Spoken Word and Poetry Showcase, the newest thing to me was the technology. I loved the intuitive use of words and image effects combined to make a message resonate with the audience. It was as if the speaker was allowed an extra palette of his own. This mixture of expression and passion really brought my view of poetry to a new standard of appreciation.

2. In many ways, to decide a single performance or piece from the list of diverse ensembles of writing is impossible. Each one had a special characteristic to it that matched its superb display of both the visual and auditory medium. Every piece spoke to me, and I could sense the heart behind it all the more.

3. Given that the technological factor of this greatly changed the perspective of each and every piece, I can safely guarantee the outcome of such collaboration can only be positive. Interdisciplinarity can come a long way if utilized to its fullest potential. Art thus can be greatly accentuated, and the significance of it can be purveyed all the more so.

                                                                                               NextNOW Homie House Press: Zine Workshop

1. At the Zine Workshop, I learned first of all what zine was. As a movement, this was utterly unknown territory for me. I embraced zine for what it was and came out quite satisfied. Essentially, Zine is a short piece or collage intended to let out the voice of our inner expressions and feelings about certain world issues.

2. My favorite experience there was, quite frankly, creating my own zine. Since the theme for the night was borders, I ended up drawing how I felt about the situation, and being able to experience some catharsis along the way. The piece’s layout and execution were both something I had wanted to do in a long time.

3. Art is famous for branching out into other disciplines. This, in particular, followed art from an integral perspective, where students could be able to talk about current national and global issues and be able to represent them with their own personalized touch and depth. So while not explicitly crossing disciplines, one could argue that this was a case of bringing in art and journalism together into a unified piece.

                                                       NextNOW Silent Disc Glo

1. The Silent Disc Glo was such an incredible and innovative experience. The bonding and fun that students were able to have and share really set off the rest of the night. I am quite familiar with dance and music as an art form, but I will say that what struck me as new was the concept of listening to different DJs and becoming unified, or disjointed, through the relaying of different rhythms and chord progressions.

2. I loved the entire scope of this experience. The engaging nature of it really motivated me to go all out and be in the moment, which all good art does, especially experimental art such as this. I looked forward to interacting with other students and seeing how the vibe of the room felt.

3. In this medium, one could say that musical talent was crafted along the lines of a scientific social experiment. If this was the case, then it was an extraordinary success. The interdisciplinary of this event was quite intuitive and made me realize art was also experimentation. Truly, this experience was a masterpiece of its own.

[adeadaccount777]

are you planning to do a webcomic or something along those lines for nova totus, because i love the characters (esp beatrix's) designs and i rlly wanna kno more abt them and their stories!!!!!!!!

i am/was planning it, actually, but im so bad a procrastinating and stories and i often like to take my time on thisi rlly want to make it, everything’s set up i just need to write and draw it but it takes a while to do that and i want to take my time… i know how to put the story and lines into words and the person that inspired me to do this is now out of high school and doing his own cool thing and im left with…. only a single friend to help me but i dont much seem up to do the comic. I know that i did make a few pages at some point but those are rough drafts and they look like shit.but im glad u uhh.. like them, really!!! i just need more planning for the characters and the conflicts on the way to a new star/planet.the main story is: planet earth is slowly dying after a nuclear leak in China - the ecosystems are dying in Eurasia and the water is tainted, and America is experiencing their own economic fall, and for years after 2176 governments came together to form Mission Nova Totus for a new world in 2223