pocketsleuth

[pocketsleuth]

Story Time: Get a load of what happened to me at Starbucks today.

There’s a running joke among people who know me personally that I unwittingly go out in public with a sign on my forehead stating “I Am Non-Threatening. Come Talk To Me.” Because if there’s a chance a bizarre conversation with a total stranger is going to happen, I’m typically the person it happens to.

Some context: I have been pretty darn sick this week. (It’s not Coronavirus, don’t worry.) Since the work in my queue for my day job is comprised entirely of audio narration right now, and I currently sound like a waterlogged Demi Moore, I haven’t been able to work these last couple of days. As a result, I’ve been using my down time to knock out as much of Manu’s redesign as possible. Today, to ensure I didn’t spend the day languishing in sinus misery, I medicated the crap out of myself and took Manu to the Starbucks down the block from my son’s day care.

I hit the bathroom, then picked an empty table, but as soon as I sat down with my venti Comfort Tea and started tweaking the inks on my iPad, I felt the eyes of the man next to me looking over my shoulder.

When I looked up, he had his phone out. “I’m sorry,” he said (in a thick accent I couldn’t place geographically), “I don’t want to disturb. I notice you art. You are artist!”

I tried to smile. “Yes, I’m... Well, I’m trying to be,” I croaked.

He leaned in, like he was sharing a secret.

“I am artist, too.”

He stuck out his hand.

I gently took it, grateful for the bathroom trip I just took in which I washed the scourge off of my fingers.

“Can I?” he asked, holding his phone up.

“Take a picture? Uh... sure,” I said. It’s not like he would be able to steal Manu out from under me or anything, I figured. The panel I was tweaking was magnified out to Guam.

“I am artist. Architect and Designer,” he clarified while he steadied his phone over my iPad. “I am Ilker. What is your name?”

“I’m Venessa” I said, trying to be polite. This, I thought warily, is precisely how I get myself into trouble. I’m too damn nice.

“You know, I come to America twenty years ago from Turkey...”

I put down my stylus. This was going to be a while.

“I like Turkey,” he explained. “I like the country and I like the people. But I am artist. I am not... religious man.”

I nodded.

“I told my wife I was going to go to America and she said, “what are you going to do? You don’t have job! You don’t have money! No Visa!” And I said, “I am artist and architect. I will paint and sell my paintings.

“So I come to America alone. To New York City. I sit outside, and I paint. And people, they liked my paintings. They bought them. This one for $30, that one for $50.

“One day, a man comes over to me and he say, “I like your painting. I see you are also architect.” And he gives me his number and asks me to go to meeting at his office. Because he wants to offer me a job. He starts to talk about a building contract.

“I tell him I don’t know anything about contracts. I have no Visa. I am not American citizen. But he says, “That’s okay. I will take care of everything. You will have nothing to worry about.” And this man, he gave me a job. $173,000 a year. And my wife, he gave her a job too. She was project assistant. I bring her and my two daughters over from Turkey.”

“Wow,” I said, not fully believing the veracity of what sounded like a full-on immigration fairy tale.

“Here,” said Ilker, unlocking his phone and opening up his Facebook app. “I show you my work.” He paused and looked up at me. “I am interrupting. You don’t mind?”

At this point, I was invested. I had to see. Because whatever he was about to show me would either prove or disprove this yarn he was spinning. “Please,” I said, gesturing for him to go ahead.

He opened his photos and my jaw dropped. His work... was UNREAL.

“This is building I designed on Madison Ave.... And this one in Chelsea...”

Holy crap. I had just been to Chelsea with my sister last month on a trip to see a broadway show. I had crossed the intersection of the building he was, at this moment, telling me he designed.

He flipped through more buildings. These, he’d designed in Washington, DC. In Bethesda. In Arlington. All beautiful, streamlined, modern structures I had visited and parked my car in front of. He told me he did much of his concept work freehand. That he worked exclusively in natural media. His preferred media was pen, ink, watercolors, and chalks.

Between photos of his wife and daughters, he went on to show me photos from the RUSSIAN EXHIBITION OF HIS ARCHITECTURE ARTWORK.

Y’all, I was stunned. I couldn’t believe the talent I was sitting next to. Scattered among these gloriously rendered images of some of the most beautiful building concepts I’d ever seen were paintings of scenes in Central Park, the National Mall, and nudes from a life-drawing session he attends from time to time.

When he was done flipping through his phone, he looked at me and smiled. “I hope you don’t mind that I interrupt you. I show you all this because what you are doing is very good. And you should be encouraged. To draw is to make beauty.”

I nodded, a lump in my throat. “Thank you,” I managed. “Your work is astonishing. I don’t even know what to say. What is your name again?”

He held out his hand once more. “Ilker Kocahan,” he said. “I am getting more coffee. Can I get you one?”

I looked at my still-full venti cup. “No thank you. But here, please take my card.”

He held my dinky business card like I’d handed him a treasure and thanked me.

Then Ilker got his coffee, and left the coffee shop.

At some point in his ramblings he talked about America as a place of dreams. How he credits this country with helping him rise to the top of his field where he is now able to sell his paintings for $800-$1000 a piece now that he’s retired. My heart ached to hear him talk about that, knowing how our leadership’s positions on immigrants have taken such a dark and horrifying turn.

Imagine the buildings and museums and public places that would never have been if a business man in the park hadn’t lifted up a Turkish painter who spoke little English.

And now that painter was paying it forward on me.

I still feel pretty darn sick. I’ve still got body aches and a nose that has taken the rest of my face hostage.

But today was a really good day. And I just wanted to share it with you in case you are looking for reasons to keep drawing/painting/dancing/writing. It all counts and it is all good.

If you would like to see Ilker Kocohan’s work, please click here.

[pocketsleuth]

I need a ORV friend to scream about kdj and ysh and I know its suss af that I don't have an icon rn but I remade my tumblr like 20 minutes ago bc I don't understand twitter and this is the only place I know that does fandoms

This is such a mood, I, too was so desperate for ORV content and friends I revived my tumblr blog from 2015, the ORV fandom may be 99% on Twitter but I am too old and too tired to learn how to navigate it BUT I HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU MY FRIEND there’s also an ORV discord server you can join! I am very much a lurker there but it may be the only place other than tumblr to interact with ORV fans 😔 here’s the link

Join the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ENG Fandom Discord Server!

[pocketsleuth]

hey pocketsleuth!! i came across your discord invite for the orv eng server and I was wondering whether you could post a renewed link cause the other one expired??? would love to actually have orv friends and not feel like im the only one going crazy

Hey there! So I've made a post before with instructions on how to join! I'll be reblogging it right after I finish replying to you so it should be easy to find :) If the link in the wiki says it's expired you'll have to wait a day or 2 because I believe it refreshes every week or so, and that may be the issue. If you have any problems let me know and I'll try to help!

[pocketsleuth]

Alright so I've been getting asks about the ORV discord link now that Tumblr Group Chats are no longer. With the way the ORV server is set up now I can't provide a link 😔 but! I can tell you where to get one and how to join!!

First off, you can only get the link if you're on desktop, not mobile. The link to the server can be found here.

Now all you have to do is look to the right side of the screen where you’ll see the “Join” button. Go ahead and click on that, it will redirect you to the ORV discord server. Make sure to read the rules, good luck getting past the first stage haha and have fun!! 

I need a ORV friend to scream about kdj and ysh and I know its suss af that I don't have an icon rn but I remade my tumblr like 20 minutes ago bc I don't understand twitter and this is the only place I know that does fandoms

This is such a mood, I, too was so desperate for ORV content and friends I revived my tumblr blog from 2015, the ORV fandom may be 99% on Twitter but I am too old and too tired to learn how to navigate it BUT I HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU MY FRIEND there's also an ORV discord server you can join! I am very much a lurker there but it may be the only place other than tumblr to interact with ORV fans 😔 here's the link

Join the Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ENG Fandom Discord Server!

[pocketsleuth]

so are there ppl in real life who dont spent all their spare time just thinking about silly little fictional stories… what do u do when ur listening to music? do u not make amvs in ur head? do u just listen

[pocketsleuth]

An older drawing of yjh I hadn't posted yet

Yjh wearing kdj's webtoon clothes (bonus coat, yay!)

[pocketsleuth]

[pocketsleuth]

joongdok cheebs (and paos)

[pocketsleuth]

someone posted a quote from the time yjh put biyoo in his pocket and I couldn’t get this out of my head. here you go.

[pocketsleuth]

Yoo Jonghyuk: I’m Yoo Jonghyuk

Kim Dokja: No I’m Yoo Jonghyuk

Obnoxious enemy neither wants to deal with: Which one of you is the REAL Yoo Jonghyuk?

Yoo Jonghyuk and Kim Dokja, pointing at each other: He is.

[pocketsleuth]

doodle doodle 낙서. messy and could be a lot neater but i wanted to draw something for kim dokjas birthday real quick. 김독자 생일 축하해~

[pocketsleuth]

My piece for orv winter exchange!!

[pocketsleuth]

small compilation of some really rough orv sketches from when I first started reading in December.. I recently finished the novel actually TT there’s many parts I wish to draw

[pocketsleuth]

Happy Birthday to that one Reader

[pocketsleuth]

kdj, holding out a cool new sword as bait: pspspspsps

yjh: i'll kill you.

[pocketsleuth]

@orangelemonart​ i’ve made you a handy infographic

[pocketsleuth]