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cinebration · 5 years ago

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Cordial (Napoleon Solo x Reader) [Part 15]

Solo takes you on an excursion.

Tagged: @ly--canthrope, @maan24, @eefjedegraaf, @omgkatinka, @tiffanypooh, @ramenyul, @crispysublimecupcake, @cavillhavoc, @martinafigoli, @illbegoinhome

Warnings: none

Gif Source: chrs-evanss

Solo knocked on your bedroom door shortly before nine. The morning sun slanted into the building through the window behind him, backlighting him in fuzzy, weak tones at that hour. He wore a turtleneck, slacks, and a light jacket for the excursion.

The door opened.

Solo smiled as charmingly as he could.

Your lip curled up into a sneer. “It’s early.”

“Early bird gets the worm and all that,” he answered, though he noted bags still ringed your eyes.

The nightmares, he guessed, his gut twisting.

He kept the smile in place, however, and stepped into the room, slightly crowding you to do so. You grunted in dismay.

Sweeping his gaze around the room, Solo saw the tangled sheets. You still wore your nightclothes, your hair tousled and matted on several sides. Evidently it was still too early, jet lag and your fitful sleep rendering you poorly rested.

Setting these observations aside, Solo went to the closet and found what he was looking for: your suitcase. Placing it at the foot of the bed, he unzipped it and flipped it open, searching with deft hands through the articles stored therein.

“What are you doing?”

“Finding you appropriate outerwear,” he stated. He removed some of the clothes as he shifted toward the bottom of the suitcase.

“Hey,” you snapped, “I have a system.”

“I’ll put it back how I found it.” He pulled out a thin sweater and matching slacks. “Put these on.”

“No.”

Sighing through his nose, he said, “We’re going to the country. I can take you in your pajamas if you’d like.” He glanced at his watch. “If we’re going to make it back in time for the flight, we need to leave now.”

He extended the clothes to you. You frowned, a muscle in your temple twitching as you clenched your teeth, before snatching the outfit out of his hand and stomping over to the bathroom.

Pleased, Solo replaced everything back in the suitcase as he had found it—as promised. As he shut it, something slid in the front pocket. Frowning, he glanced over his shoulder at the closed bathroom door before unzipping the compartment.

Inside he found a sketchbook. Flipping it open, he discovered pencil and ink sketches of Kuryakin and Gaby. Even one of Waverly. The last sketch was of the three of them, Team U.N.C.L.E.: Kuryakin, Gaby, and himself. Gaby lounged in a chair with her arms crossed, peering over sunglasses, while Kuryakin stood behind her, somehow soft despite his imposing figure. Solo stood slightly apart, one hand in his pocket. He leaned against a railing, a coy smile dancing on his lips. He swore he could see mischief in his own sketched eyes.

Several pages had been torn out of the book. Solo’s fingers brushed the torn edges where they had been ripped free of the binding.

The faucet in the bathroom squeaked on. Solo slipped the sketchbook back into the suitcase pocket, zipped everything shut, and replaced the suitcase in the closet.

Leaning against the bureau, he mulled over the missing pages, wondering what you were trying to hide.

The drive into the country took almost two hours. Solo gave up trying to draw you into conversation when your monosyllabic answers turned into sounds rather than words. Instead, he hoped the lush countryside would buoy your spirits—or at least smooth your prickly exterior.

He pulled into a secluded spot demarcated by a dirt road. A wood of widely spaced trees rose up around the car at the end of the road.

Climbing out of the car, Solo retrieved something from the trunk as you stepped out into the fresh air and late morning sun. Solo watched you inhale deeply, the tension in your shoulders lessening as you tipped your head up to the sun filtering through the trees. It flowed about your face in a medieval halo, made all the brighter by the scarf.

Solo eased the trunk shut. You glanced at him sharply, the spell broken.

“What are we doing here? Is this where you bury the bodies?”

“Why would I take you to a burial site?”

“Why do you do anything? For your own pleasure.”

Gritting his teeth, Solo schooled his piqued pride and started walking down a faint path through the wood. Reluctantly, you trailed after him.

At the end of the short path stood a small wooden table warped by exposure. Beyond it were cutouts shaped into the silhouettes of men riddled with holes.

Solo set the small case he carried on the table and flipped open the latches.

“Shooting,” you said, incredulity lining your voice.

“Yes. I thought you should learn how.” Solo lifted the pistol out of the case. “To protect yourself.”

Silence.

Solo glanced over his shoulder at you. You stared at the pistol as he placed it on the table. Something flickered across your weary features.

“This is ridiculous,” you said. Your voice shook slightly.

“After what happened, you should know how to defend yourself.”

“That won’t help me. It wouldn’t have helped me then!”

“It might in the future.”

“I don’t intend to be in a position like that again.”

Solo sighed through his nose again, closed his eyes while he struggled to remain calm. “You can’t account for everything.”

“I know what this is. This is because you feel guilty, and you’re hoping it’ll make you feel better if you teach me this.” Your voice rose a notch. “But you should feel guilty.”

Your words cut through him. Jaw clenching, Solo stared at you, his irritation exploding into exasperation, compounded by the truth of your words.

“I’m trying to help you,” he managed to say in level tones.

“You’re trying to help yourself.”

“That doesn’t mean you should deny yourself this information. It could make a difference.”

You stared him down. Solo stood his ground, trying to convey an imploring expression. It fell flat, too infrequently used to seem sincere. A conflicted look passed over your own face as your attention slid back to the gun.

You stalked over to him abruptly. “Show me.”

Breathing a sigh of relief inwardly, Solo walked you through the steps: load magazine, chamber round, unclick the safety. Proper stance and grip. He tried to reach around you to position you.

You shoved him off. “Just show me.”

“It’s easier if I—”

“I’m not one of your conquests. Your charms don’t work on me, because I know they’re just a shell.”

The dam within him broke. “It isn’t me living in a shell. It’s you.”

You laughed harshly. “Hardly.”

“Do you know what your problem is? You demand control because you are terrified. You’re in over your head.”

You jerked back as though he had hit you. The words hung suspended in the air, scathing.

Solo realized he was breathing heavily, his body taut with emotion. He couldn’t relax. Even in this position, he was still beholden to your response, as though you still had the reins.

For a moment, he saw the fear in your eyes, the hurt laid open to his stare. He felt the tension flee his body, taking with it the anger. Guilt and shame swept into place in its wake.

The iron curtain slammed back over your face. Somehow, the blank look—you shutting down—was worse than the terror he had glimpsed.

“Take me back.”

The words hurt more than Solo thought they could. He packed up the gun and drove you back to headquarters in silence.

#Napoleon Solo x Reader #Napoleon Solo #Napoleon Solo imagine #Henry Cavill #Henry Cavill x Reader #Henry Cavill imagine #The Man from UNCLE #The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

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theawkwardterrier · 5 years ago

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The Shops on Shield Street

Steggy Week 2k20, day 4 Prompt: AUs and crossover

Summary: Running a small business is already hard enough without someone trying to sabotage things.

AO3 link here. Thanks to @steggyfanevents�� for organizing!

The first time Peggy visits Steve’s shop is the day he opens.

Working just down the street, she’s spent the past few months watching the renovations at what had been most recently been a short-lived scented candle business. When the new signs and awnings had gone up naming it as Shield Street Books, she’d been further intrigued; she’s seen various stores come and go through the space, but a bookshop is new. Now, on her lunch break, she takes the opportunity to go visit.

She looks over the front windows first: the right-hand side is filled with buzzy new releases and bestsellers for adults, the left with books for younger readers. The windows themselves are painted with a colorful but subtle border of books on the right, while the left side features lovely illustrations of Wild Things marauding across the bottom, a mockingjay pin hidden along the side, a Little Prince floating among the stars at the top, and a web reading “Some Pig” in the corner. The chalk sign reads “Grand opening” on one side and “Ask us about our events!” on the other.

Peggy is cautiously optimistic as she steps in, a cheerful little bell jingling as she does. The space isn’t cavernous but it’s large enough, and the high ceilings, big front windows, light wood flooring and shelves, and friendly gray-green walls make it seem more open. The checkout is easily visible, a chalkboard wall above it featuring a listing of upcoming book club meetings, a coffee and cookies social series, and a reading by a local poet (Peggy supposes that you have to be a bit more established to start getting better-known names).

The front area has all the typical souvenirs everyone around here sells - magnets, mugs, pens, postcards - along with fancier or more specifically bookish things like scarves, tote bags, and book weights which seem to be attracting some good attention. A few people are looking at the cookbooks and coffee table books lining the walls and stacked on tables nearby, and she can see browsers in the labeled aisles spanning out into the main area of the store: mystery, biography and memoir, young adult, politics, each with an appropriate, particularly-styled illustration. A sign pointing downstairs advertises a used book area, as well as a gallery and event space. She breathes in the scent of fresh wood and words on paper, officially impressed.

She is examining a table just before the aisles which is covered with a display of staff favorites when a voice behind her says, “I love that one.”

Turning with the copy of My Favorite Thing Is Monsters still in hand, she encounters the man who until now she’s only seen at a distance, occasionally ducking in and out of the store while it was under construction. He’s tall and blond, with broad shoulders beneath his heather gray T-shirt, plain except for a small, oddly-rendered sketch of a pale turquoise bird in side profile and showing one large eye. She tries not to let on how distracted she is by the hint of a darkly-inked tattoo peeking out from the bottom of his sleeve; his blue eyes are watching her clearly from behind a pair of thick-framed glasses.

“I’m sorry?” she asks politely, trying not to let on that she’s slightly lost the thread of how things started.

“That’s a great book. I love it,” he offers, shrugging awkward shoulders although his smile is still lovely and genuine. “Although it’s not too surprising seeing as I’m most of the staff here, so the table’s pretty much stacked with books I love.”

“You must be the new owner then,” Peggy says, putting out a hand. “Congratulations. I’m Peggy Carter. I run Top Shelf Tea and Coffee up the street.”

“Steve Rogers, good to meet you." He shakes with her, then gestures to the book she’s still holding in her other hand. “Are you browsing for yourself, or just over here to check out the new neighbors?”

“I think I can do both quite handily,” she says, smiling back at him. “Though I don’t typically read graphic novels. Perhaps you can recommend something else?”

Nothing precisely shifts about his posture, but she suddenly has the sense that he’s more settled on his heels, focused even more intently on her. “What do you typically read?”

“Very little, of late,” she admits, making a bit of a face. “I used to read quite a bit of mystery - Gothic, classics, noir, Agatha Christie, Tana French, and my favorites were those where you get suspense and a good story but a good sentence too. But with everything on my plate, I’m lucky if I can get through a half chapter before I go to sleep.”

“Sure.” He crosses his arms, which does nice things for his muscles, as well as showing off an extra sneaking bit of his tattoo. Watching him think, she has the sudden feeling that she’s in very good hands. And, when he rings up a collection of P.D. James short stories and one originally published in Swedish called An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good (“With your schedule, it might be easier to enjoy a little section over a night or two rather than trying to force yourself to make it through a hefty novel”) along with a copy of Dorothy B. Hughes’s In a Lonely Place that he’d tracked down in the used book section (“It’s not long, and it’s dark, smart, psychological noir”) it seems she’s right.

Peggy is not behind the counter when Steve shows up at her shop the next day, but she comes out from the back when she recognizes his voice ordering the house blend coffee.

“I had expected you to have more of an opinion than that,” she teases as she walks through from the kitchen with a tray of fresh scones to load into the display case and finds him waiting to pick up his drink. He’s come in past the commuter crush and before the lunch rush, but even with Peggy’s staff working quickly and efficiently as usual there’s enough of a wait to guarantee a moment to chat. “I certainly anticipated your drink of choice would be something with minimal fuss, but I would have guessed at something with a bit more imagination at least.”

He laughs. “I’m just trying to get the lay of the land here, and the house blend is how I know what kind of joint you’re running here.” Rose places a cup labeled “Steve!” on the counter, smiling at him before she twirls away again. He picks it up, takes in the steam rising through the lid, smiling as he does. “It smells good. But when you name your place ‘Top Shelf,’ you have some pretty high expectations to meet,” he warns, smile still flickering around his mouth.

“Don’t worry.” She leans over the counter toward him. “The expectations are exactly where I want them.”

His eyes widen after the first sip and he takes a second before he’s even swallowed. “You were right. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“I know,” she says plainly. “And my true expertise is with the tea. Try the Irish blend next time you’re here, or a cinnamon rooibos latte if you’re feeling adventurous.”

His eyes smile over the top of the cup and he takes another sip. “I guess I’ll have to keep coming back with so much to try.”

“I suppose you will,” she says, trying to sound friendly but casual when she adds, “And I’ve finished two of the stories in the P.D. James, so I might have to come back for more recommendations soon.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” he tells her. This time, even with the clamor of people waiting behind him or skirting huffily around to pick up drinks, he isn’t smiling, he’s grinning.

By the time Steve drops in one afternoon eight months later, he is a very familiar sight. Daniel wraps one of the enormous seasonal apple-cinnamon muffins as soon as he walks through the door then waits for him to order a drink - the staff knows that while Steve certainly has favorites on the drinks menu, he changes between them often enough to keep things interesting. (He always orders a muffin, though: apple-cinnamon in autumn, blueberry the rest of the year.)

Usually they don’t have time for lengthy chats during the day considering the crowds at Top Shelf and the customers and part-timers waiting for Steve to return over at Shield Street, but today when Peggy comes out to say a brief hello, she finds Steve sitting at one of the tables. The small tilt of his head as their eyes meet is enough for her to slide the proposal she’s reading about switching dairy providers into her pocket and walk over to sit with him. The little two-seater he’s picked is away from the large front windows, and she seats herself in the comfortable leather armchair across from him with a feeling of relative privacy.

“Is something wrong?” she asks. Steve’s doing well enough as far as she knows: Shield Street seems often to buzz with foot traffic and they’ve been promoting their online store, there is a solid slate of events and programs including the coffee and cookies socials for which he sources the refreshments from Top Shelf, there was a lovely recent write-up in the local paper, and he’s even been able to hire a full time employee other than himself. Still, she knows entirely too well that the life of a small business owner can be somewhat exacting and stressful. Small mistakes in ordering stock or taking on a bit too much can be enormously costly, and even when you’ve done everything correctly, factors outside your control can conspire against you without much of anything to serve as protection. Steve’s tense expression mirrors the way she sometimes felt in the first few years after she’d opened - and still does today, if she’s being honest.

He sips his tea slowly, and she can tell it’s not because he’s finally remembering her advice about allowing the flavors to settle.

“There was a guy in at the store this afternoon,” he says finally. “Stuck around a long time, looked in every corner, and then didn’t buy anything. But I overheard him on the phone when I was coming over here.” He looks up at her, eyes somewhere between hard and stricken. “Peggy, I think he’s from Hydra.”

The common wisdom is that the largest threat to small businesses are superstores and online giants, the franchises of the world which can spring up on every corner or be available at a moment’s notice, backed by large pools of money that leave them free to take risks and undercut other vendors, offering brand recognition to customers across large areas without being tied by communal or ethical bonds to any of the places they land.

Hydra, a business conglomerate few had actually heard of, took the pushback against big chains and used that for its own ends. Rather than focusing on any single industry, or even establishing Hydra brand all-in-one stores, their model was to sweep in to buy various local businesses and keep their original names, or to establish seemingly innocuous storefronts without any stated connection to Hydra. But while people thought they were shopping locally and supporting their own neighbors, helping to maintain healthy competition and a diversity of business, mass-produced goods would slowly replace the higher quality ones, workplace regulations would be flouted while employees were scared into silence by the power of the corporate owners, and money would flow out of communities and into Hydra’s distant and ever-deepening pockets. Steve and Peggy kept their finger on the pulse of the small business world, and they had read stories online, often later hastily retracted or swiftly vanished, stories of small towns and cities across the country where, within a few years, whole streets full of businesses that seemed to be independently-run and community-owned were actually just cheery facades under one corporate umbrella.

And now Hydra was here. Peggy thought about the shops between her business and Steve’s: the florist, the hardware store, the brewpub, the rare family-owned pharmacy, the ice cream parlor which is part of a beloved local chain, the independent movie theater, the places on other streets in their town which sold toys and art supplies and comics and shoes.

Behind her, the door opens. A squat, balding man enters, grandfatherly dapper with a suit, a bow tie, round glasses, all undercut by the coldness in his gaze. He looks around at what Peggy has built - the scattered tables and cozily diverse seating options from armchairs to stools to window seats, the carefully hung plants, the racks of magazines and stacks of available books which Steve has selected for her, the displays of art by students from the nearby universities, her talented staff, and of course her carefully curated menu - and writes something brief in a small notebook. He steps up to the counter to order.

“That’s him,” she says to Steve, barely a question. “That’s who you saw.” He nods, looking down into his mug, fingers tight around the solid pottery. Peggy remembers picking out these cups, sorting through dozens of listings until she found the exact ones she wanted: an entire range of colors, big enough for a good serving size and for wrapping hands around, but not awkward to sip at.

“If it is them,” she says, knuckles clenching beneath the table, “we won’t let them win.”

Steve looks up at her; the smile on his face is wan, not up to the usual brightness she looks forward to, but it’s the first one she’s seen at all from him today. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

The man approaches Steve first, introducing himself as Arnim Zola. He’s done his homework, knows about the finances of the shop and about Steve’s personal finances as well, from the loans he’s taken out to the fact that his mother had barely anything to leave him when she died.

“You’re a smart businessman, Mr. Rogers, I have seen that quite well. Though you might have good growth now, who knows what tomorrow might bring? Selling now and taking the money which comes with the offer, that is the smart business decision.”

And Steve, for whom courtesy is not second nature but first, has trouble turning him down with a “no thank you,” rather than a “piss off.”

Zola seems to hear it anyway, but he overcomes the spasm of anger with a smile. “I will be happy to speak to you later, if anything happens to change your mind. As I said, there is quite a lot of unreliability in business ownership.”

A pipe bursts in the back of the store that night, even though they’d all been replaced as part of the renovation. A good chunk of inventory gets soaked. Peggy walks past the next morning to find Steve putting the less damaged material out on a rack to sell at a steep discount. He tells her what happened with barely concealed fury in his throat. They hadn’t heard about Hydra deliberately driving owners to sell, but neither of them is exactly surprised.

Peggy goes to work for the next few days with her head full of rage and incipient plans. When Zola comes to request a meeting and make his case later in the week, she turns him down so sweetly that it takes a minute for him to understand that it had even happened.

She’s never had Steve over to her little flat above Stewart’s Sandwich Spot, but after a few days of working across the empty tables of Top Shelf or cramming into Steve’s office after they’ve locked up for the night, she invites him to join her.

“I had concerns about pests and odors when I first came,” she says as they climb the narrow back stairs single-file, “but I’ll have lived here five years this January and haven’t had a problem with either. In fact, waking up to the scent of their fresh bread every day is quite the bonus.”

“Plus you can pick up dinner on your way in.” Steve’s voice behind her is teasing, though accurate, as he’s currently holding the bag with the food they’d bought three minutes ago: a Tipsy Texan for her and his Peter Paul Ruben along with several orders of the fries which Peggy promises are outstanding.

She’s right. The agreed-upon brief break for sandwiches spirals into experimentation as to which of the various dipping options is the best for the french fries, then into conversation about places they’ve traveled and the best foods they ate there. Peggy backpacked a bit after university, and still tries to take a bit of vacation when she can. Steve, she finds out for the first time, was in the army and was deployed several times.

“The guys I went over with, we all came home,” he says quietly. They’ve gotten into the wine at this point. “We all got these together.” He stretches down the collar of his shirt enough for her to see some very nice muscles as well as a tattoo: concentric red and white circles with a blue center marked by a star. The outermost circle reads “107th Regiment.”

“What is the one on your arm?” she asks before she can stop herself. He chuckles and lifts his sleeve where she can now see the words clearly inked in black around his bicep: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit,” ended by an ellipses trailing from black to gray to white.

“My mom used to read Tolkien out loud at bedtime,” he explains. “And I still think about the way that one sentence opened up a whole world, a whole life, for me.”

She pours a touch more into her glass, shifting her feet up onto the sofa beside herself. “You’ve always loved reading, then?”

“Yeah. Back when I was growing up, if I wasn’t really sick, I was just getting through being sick or getting started being sick again. All that time in bed, I needed a lot to read; I was always going through the big stack of books next to my bed, or listening to some audiobook on my old Discman. When I was doing okay, I used to go talk to the librarians, and I was around so much that eventually I started volunteering there.”

He chews through one of the last remaining fries, cold now. “When I got discharged, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with myself. All I could think of was how good books made me feel, how important they were for me, how I could help put them in the hands of others. And then one day I was walking by, saw the For Sale sign on the space, noticed that the street sign said Shield, and just knew.” He shrugs. “There are small business loans aimed at vets, and my friend Bucky went into construction after we came back, helped me put the place together the way I wanted it.”

“And all that starting with one little hobbit,” she says with a smile. She pushes her hair back, feeling flushed and a bit young.

He leans against the back of the couch. “How about you? What made you decide to open Top Shelf?”

“Spite,” she answers promptly, making him laugh. “It’s entirely true. I wish I could tell you some sweet story about my grandmother bringing me to a tea shop every Saturday back when I was a girl, but I wouldn’t lie to you. The fact of it is that my mother accepted my coming to university in the States, but as I was finishing my degree, she became quite adamant about my doing graduate work to enter into law or finance. I had little interest in either, and didn’t want simply to put in the investment because she was forcing me.

“At the same time, I had a part-time job at a coffee shop where the owner was the worst sort of boss: constantly critical without any actual suggestions for improvement or true understanding of daily operations, unwilling to make necessary changes or updates, over- and under-scheduling the staff at a whim. Finally I told him that in one day I could have the place running better than he ever could, at which point he started fuming that doing his job was harder than I could imagine, and fired me. By that evening, when my mother called once more to have a ‘little chat about my future,’ I told her that I had started a business plan and would be opening a tea and coffee shop as soon as possible.”

“How did she take it?” His voice is softer. Somehow they’ve moved closer together on the sofa. With his arm draped along the back, his fingertips graze the gauzy sleeve of her blouse.

“She shouted at me, hung up, and refused to speak to me for several days, but that just gave me time to become more confident and knowledgeable by the time she called next.”

“And you succeeded.”

“I did.” She stops herself from leaning into him the way that she wants to. She might get a bright rush hearing his voice at the counter during the day, might drop by his shop for a new book even while she already has several still waiting at home, might relish this extra time to discover the thoughtful, generous, opinionated details of him of which she’s seen captivating hints over the past months, but they have a purpose here. She clears her throat, steadies herself. “I succeeded, and I mean to keep what I’ve made.”

It’s after midnight when Steve finally goes home. She tries to tell herself that it’s a shame that they didn’t really have a chance to work on their strategy, but when it means that they come back to her house the next night, and go to his the night after, she can’t be truly upset.

As a business owner and a town resident of over half a decade, Peggy has been to a council meeting or two in her time. But she prepares for tonight with special attention, leaving the shop early enough to take a longer than usual shower. She chooses a recently purchased top - navy with silver and pale blue detailing, a flattering silhouette, and a modest V-neck - and adds makeup with more than her usual care. She finishes with her usual scarlet lip and, taking in the finished product, nods firmly, picks up her bag, and goes to meet Steve.

He arrives at nearly the same time, and they take seats together in the center of the town hall meeting room.

“A good turnout,” Peggy says quietly, glancing around. “And look who’s here as well.”

Zola sits in the back of the room, quietly taking things in. She suspects that keeping abreast of town news is a part of his job. Hopefully he will be earning his salary tonight.

Most of the agenda is spent on the typical dull dealings: a proposal to change the language on parking citations is taken up and passed, followed by a bit of a tussle over the budget, then it’s on to a rousing discussion about recent changes to state alcohol legislation and the impact on local restaurants. At least the recognition ceremony for two teenagers who rescued a man drowning in the nearby lake is touching and breaks the monotony.

“And finally,” Chester Phillips, the head of the council, grumbles. He’s clearly very much past ready to adjourn. “We have an item put forward by Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers. An item very recently put forward,” he adds, shooting a glance at Peggy. The official deadline for getting onto the agenda is 24 hours in advance, but Peggy knows that the secretary, Miriam Fry, usually prints and posts things a bit early. While their proposal came in just under the deadline, the agenda had already been publicized; Peggy wanted as much of an element of surprise as she could muster to avoid sabotage.

“Good evening.” Peggy starts them off. “As many of you know, I own Top Shelf Tea and Coffee on Shield Street. I’ve been so pleased by the welcome the town has given to myself and my shop over the past several years, and I wanted to come forward tonight to raise awareness of something which has been recently affecting our local business community.”

She knows her points well after running through them with Steve for the last few nights. Without referencing notes, she smoothly and carefully explains Hydra’s background and the way their business model has caused trouble for other communities. The articles she references, entered conscientiously into the record, might be smaller pieces, but they are from reputable and reliable news outlets; Bruce Banner, the reference librarian, had helped them put together the resources with that in mind.

“Mr. Rogers and myself have received offers to purchase our businesses. We would also request that that council hear from others who have also been under recent pressure to sell.” Peggy gestures over her shoulder, where a good-sized part of the assembled crowd is standing, ready to come forward.

“Before we get to that, is there an actual proposal attached to all of this?” Alexander Pierce asks. He’s a popular, long-serving council member, distinguished and seemingly considerate, but there’s a strange hint of ice in his voice, in the blue-gray of his eyes, that makes Peggy suspect who exactly put the town on Hydra’s radar and why they seemed so certain that they would be able to work with impunity.

“Our proposal is a council resolution simply acknowledging the remarks made here today,” Steve says, the words not loud but quite firm. “It isn’t the council’s responsibility or within their authority to prevent private sales between willing parties, but we want to make certain that everyone in this town knows the coercive measures Hydra has taken in the past and will almost certainly take in the future in order to gain and maintain control of local businesses.”

He takes a breath, pushing up his glasses reflexively before he speaks. “I opened my store more recently than Ms. Carter did hers, but I’ve also felt lucky to have been able to support and be supported by this community over the past months. Moving here and opening my business has given me something I never thought I would find.” His gaze moves, for just a moment, from the council in front of them, to Peggy, who is watching from beside him. Their eyes meet so quickly she nearly wonders whether it even happened before he turns back to conclude, “I have no intention of giving up my business. And we want everyone to know that we are willing to continue fighting for however long we have to.”

“Now I—” Pierce started, but Nick Fury, a council member who rarely speaks and who Peggy knows always gets his coffee first thing in the morning to avoid running into anyone trying to discuss council issues, leans forward so his microphone picks up his words clearly.

“I’d actually like to hear from our fellow citizens, Alex,” he says, and nods for the first speaker to go ahead.

The comments last for a long while. Some people speak only briefly about being approached by Zola or other Hydra representatives, bombarded with testimonials from business owners from other towns who sold to Hydra in the past. Others have lengthy (and well documented, Peggy made sure of that) stories of escalating problems and harassment: health or building code inspectors being called and finding minor or suddenly appearing violations, delayed shipments from previously reliable vendors, spontaneous problems with heating or cooling systems.

Someone from the local paper always covers council meetings, and she’s sitting in the front row scribbling away for what will undoubtedly be a far different article than usual. But news travels fast, and as the hours march onward, more and more of their fellow townspeople squeeze into the meeting room to hear things for themselves.

Steve and Peggy expected it, but as the last of the business owners moves aside, they trade a glance seeing Arnim Zola step up to the podium.

“In my capacity as a representative of Hydra, I would like to officially demand that minutes and records of this meeting be restricted pending a defamation lawsuit which the corporation will be bringing,” he says, eyes flashing behind his glasses. The words are so practiced that Peggy feels her suspicions about the fight against Hydra in other places nearly confirmed.

“Those are a matter of public record,” Mrs. Fry says sternly. Peggy smiles. They don’t always see eye to eye, but she knew that Miriam could be relied upon to protect the integrity of the process.

Fury adds laconically, “And it will be a little difficult to put the genie back in the bottle.” He looks over everyone’s heads to the back of the room, and raises his voice to ask, “Live stream still running smoothly, Stark?”

Tony Stark, the teenaged son of the municipal head of IT, barely looks up from his phone as he gives a thumbs up. “Directly on the town website, YouTube, and Twitter, plus a few backup sites I’ve set up just in case. And I’ve been live-tweeting the whole time. First council meeting that’s ever been even close to interesting enough for me to even want to do that.” He leans back in his chair, feet up on the table and fingers typing rapidly.

The calculation is clear across Zola’s face. Leaning into the aisle so he can hear her, Peggy says quietly, “If you still manage to convince someone to sell, there’s little we can do to stop you. But you can see the town turning against the idea of you, and any of the usual tricks you try to pull will only make it worse. I doubt you’d ever be able to make a success of things here. I would cut your losses now, Mr. Zola. Everyone knows who and what you are. You can’t hide in the shadows anymore.”

Zola leaves before the resolution passes. Although they keep an eye out for him over the next weeks, they don’t see a sign of him again.

They have the other business owners over for a drink down in the event space at Steve’s shop. It was already late when the meeting finally adjourned, and it is even later once the last person - Thor, who owns the Norseman brewpub and is still laughing heartily at a story told by Luis from the electronics repair store - closes the door behind him.

“I wanted to tell Sam to take the morning off,” Steve says as they tidy things up, “but I have the feeling we’ll be even busier than usual tomorrow.”

Peggy smiles, collecting the empty bottles in a paper bag for recycling. “I think he’ll forgive you when he sees it reflected in his paycheck.”

Steve glances over the used book shelves, making sure they’re all orderly, switching a few around to keep things alphabetized. “If this keeps up, maybe I can have Nat and Wanda full time soon.” With one last glance at the shelf, he goes over and drops tiredly into one of the chairs that they have yet to fold and put away. There are plenty of other places to sit, but Peggy comes and turns a chair so she’s facing him. Their knees are nearly touching.

“I hadn’t realized quite how tense I was until the weight was removed tonight,” she says softly, just for him. “And while I know that we should stay alert and that complacency works against us, it will be such a delight to go into the shop tomorrow without feeling as if ruin was coming up on the horizon.”

“You deserve that,” Steve says, and somewhere over their work together, they’ve become comfortable enough that he already has her hand in his and she didn’t even notice until just now. “And even if they regroup fast, we’ll have a day or two to catch our breath before we start putting out resources for other communities dealing with Hydra.”

That familiar determination is back in his voice, and she realizes that so much of him is familiar now. She knows that his glasses are the last hint of the poor health which plagued him growing up, has seen pictures of his mother and recognizes where he inherited his fair hair and strong features. She has seen his tattoos and knows what he wanted to memorialize on his skin.

Looking him over, she sees that sometime after the meeting he has changed into a T-shirt that she recognizes.

“That was what you were wearing the day we met,” she says. “What made you choose it for your opening?”

He glances down. “It’s the Pigeon, from the Mo Willems series. Popular picture books, ” he explains. “I know that I can be a little intimidating for the kids, and I wanted something that would be familiar and friendly, something we could talk about together so they could get to know me and wouldn’t be as nervous.”

It’s such a simple answer, so unsurprising and considerate and right, so Steve. She frees her fingers from his so she can hold his face in her hands.

“You’re a very dear man,” she informs him, and presses her mouth to his.

Quite a while later, as Steve finally turns the lights off in his shop, finally put to rights, he asks, “Are you free again tomorrow night? I’d like to take you out somewhere that doesn’t serve sandwiches.”

“I won’t mention it at Stewart’s.” She tucks herself under his arm as they step into the cool of the street and he turns to lock up.

He laughs. “They don’t have to worry much. I’m sure we’ll be back.”

“I’m certain we will, though perhaps Thai for tomorrow,” she says thoughtfully as they walk. “But come to the shop sometime earlier, will you?” A grin is growing on her face. “I have some ideas I want to discuss about unseating Mr. Pierce at the next election that I’m not sure are proper date conversation.”

“My definition of date conversation is whatever you want to talk about,” he says, his voice never anything but honest. “But sure, I’ll come by tomorrow. I can’t get through the day without your latest matcha concoction, and I want to hear what you have planned for Pierce.” His grin is growing to match hers. “Whatever it is, I wouldn’t bet against us.”

#steggyweek20 #Steggy #Steggy fic #Peggy Carter #Steve Rogers #alternate universe fun ft. small businesses

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chanoyu-to-wa · 4 years ago

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 6 (13.1; 13.2): Concerning the Mukō-ro [向爐]; and Mukō-ro no Mitsu-gumi [向爐ノ三ツ組].

13.1) With respect to the mukō-ro, because everything must be placed within the confines of a half-mat, eliminating the yū-yo [有餘] from either the front or the back will result in numerous difficulties. When [we consider] the placement of the daisu, in accordance with this great law, [we see that the presence of] these yū-yo are essential to defining the extent [of the space that may be used for the arrangement of the utensils]¹. This is the most extreme example².

13.2) [Ri]kyū, in the case of this mukō-ro, placed the chaire in front of the mizusashi, and then always carried the chawan out [at the beginning of the temae], and so prepared [tea]³.

The chaire might also be placed on the tana⁴.

Nevertheless, there is also the case where three objects are grouped together, as [shown] below, in the manner indicated -- we should try to be very tolerant of [this sort of arrangement]⁵.

◎ Mukō-ro no mitsu-gumi [向爐ノ三ツ組]⁶.

[The writing (on the drawing itself) reads: mizusashi (水サシ).]

The kaki-ire [書入]:

〇 In the case of the mukō-ro, a large-sized mizusashi should be used⁷. Because it comes into contact with two yang-kane, [this situation is referred to as] kuguri-kane [クヽリカネ]⁸.

Nevertheless, when [arranging the utensils as] mitsu-gumi [三ツ組], since -- as [shown] in [the sketch] -- both the chaire and the chawan contact yang kane, there is no problem with using a small mizusashi so that the utensils contact successive kane⁹.

You should make an effort to sort out these different matters carefully¹⁰.

〇 If [the host is using] a small mizusashi, then [the mizusashi] should always contact a yang-kane on the right or the left. It should always contact both a yang- and a yin-kane¹¹.

〇 At a night gathering, because a te-shoku [手燭] will be placed between the ro and the mizusashi, it would be better if the mizusashi is moved toward the right¹².

_________________________

◎ This entry is rather long, and contains three drawings and their comments, so I decided it would be best to divide it into two posts*.

Meanwhile, this section, and the three entries that follow (which include five important sketches that illustrate the ideas of kane-wari which form the backbone of the Nampō Roku), were not included in Kumakura Isao’s Nampō Roku wo yomu [南方録を読む]. __________ *In their respective commentaries, Shibayama Fugen and Tanaka Senshō opted to divide this material into an even larger number of entries -- to prevent the ideas presented in one section from confusing the arguments associated with the subsequent parts (since they are often irrelevant -- indeed, several of the kaki-ire have no connection with the sketch to which they were appended).

¹Daisu no oki-kata, taihō wo motte kono yū-yo wo kiwamerare-shi koto [臺子ノ置方、大法ヲ以テコノ有餘ヲキハメラレシコト].

Taihō [大法], which means a great rule or law, refers to the rule that was enunciated in the first sentence -- to wit, that the arrangement (including the temae-za) should be entirely confined to the space of a half mat.

Kiwamerare-suru [極められする] means to reach a limit or extreme. In other words, the daisu set the limits on how much space is needed for the arrangement; and, since this all fits within a half-mat, it thereby established the law that is being considered here.

When the daisu is arranged on the utensil mat, it is placed 4-sun 5-bu from the far end of that mat, as has been described before in the Nampō Roku. The ji-ita of the daisu measures 1-shaku 4-sun, as is also well known. Subtracting these from 3-shaku 1-sun 5-bu (which is the length of half of a kyōma tatami) leaves 1-shaku 3-sun, which is the diameter of the largest tray that can be used with the daisu -- the dai-marubon [大丸盆].

Historically speaking, whether it was this tray that ordained that the daisu should be placed 4-sun 5-bu from the far end of the mat, or whether the location for the daisu was fixed first (perhaps because, at that distance from the folding screen that enclosed it, a spark erupting through the rear hi-mado of the kimen-buro would not cause any damage), and thereby limited the size of any tray that would be placed in front of it to 1-shaku 3-sun, is not clear from the oldest records. (Indeed, the fact that originally trays of a size that would keep the utensils confined to the space originally defined by the shiki-shi [敷き紙] seems to lend credence to the second of these possibilities.)

²Mottomo shigoku no koto nari [尤至極ノコトナリ].

Shigoku no koto [至極のこと]: shigoku [至極] means extremely, exceedingly, most. Adding -no-koto turns it into a noun, meaning the most extreme (example).

In other words, as explained above, nothing larger than the dai-marubon can be placed in front of the daisu, so this arrangement pushes the possibilities to their limit.

³Kyū kono mukō-ro ni te ha, mizusashi no mae ni chaire oite chawan ha kanarazu hakobite taterare-shi na nari [休コノ向爐ニテハ、水サシノ前ニ茶入置テ茶碗ハカナラズ運ビテ立テラレシナ也].

Kyū [休] is, of course, the usual abbreviation of Rikyū's name.

Taterare-suru [立てられし], in the context of chanoyu, means to prepare the tea*. __________ *It literally means to stand up. In the modern tea world, it would be written with the kanji ten [点 or, in older books, 點] -- taterare-suru [点てられする]. However this latter form only appeared in the Edo period, and is anachronistic with respect to documents written in Rikyū's day (even though more than a few modern renderings of writings from his period are guilty of this interpolation).

⁴Chaire tana ni okare-shi koto mo ari [茶入棚ニ被置シコトモアリ].

This practice is described in the Tsuri-dana no densho [釣棚の傳書] that Rikyū wrote for Nambō Sōkei (c. 1582 or 1583).

⁵Shikare-domo mukō-ro no mitsu-gumi mo hidari no gotoku sadame-okaru, yoku-yoku kanben subeshi [シカレトモ向爐ノ三ツ組モ左ノゴトク定メヲカル、能〻勘辯スベシ].

Hidari [左の如く], “like what (is shown) on the left” refers to the sketch (which follows these comments). On the left, because the memorandum was written from right to left, in the usual manner.

Sadame okaru [定め置かる] means “this is how (the utensils) should be placed.” (Sadame [定め] suggests that this is illustrating a rule or law.)

Kanben subeshi [勘辯すべし] literally means “(you) should be excusing of (this).” In other words, in light of what was said about Rikyū's preferences* -- specifically, that he always brought the chawan out from the katte -- displaying the chawan on the utensil mat along with the chaire might strike the reader as being wrong. While Rikyū probably would have frowned upon this practice, it is nonetheless a fact that many people of his generation preferred doing things in this manner -- as the wabi equivalent of the way the entire set of utensils was displayed on the daisu.

Furthermore, since it was a rule that, in the wabi setting, the host should endeavor to limit his trips between the temae-za and the katte as much as possible, displaying the chawan on the utensil mat would potentially limit his trips to one (bringing out the koboshi as he made his first entrance). Thus, the question of whether to display the chawan may be seen as a sort of trade off between these two two conventions.

In Rikyū's case, the argument that finally won out seems to have been his aversion to anything even remotely suggesting of display -- as can be seen in his eventual creation of the mizuya-dōko [水屋洞庫]†, which allowed all of the utensils to be kept from view until the beginning of the temae. Because, even if these things were pieces of no worth or merit whatsoever, placing them out in the room beforehand still includes a nuance of display, no matter how strongly the host might argue against this interpretation. __________ *Rikyū did not entirely prohibit the display of the chawan in the small room. But he allowed it only when the chawan itself was extremely important (for example in the class of arrangements known as chasen-kazari [茶筅飾], which was sanctioned only when using things like one of the chawan that had belonged to Shukō). The configuration of the present arrangement suggests, however, that the chawan in question is not such a piece.

†A clear distinction between Jōō’s original dōko [洞庫], which was derived from the ji-fukuro [地袋] of the fukuro-dana [袋棚], and Rikyū’s mizuya-doko [水屋洞庫] which, as the name implies, should be regarded as being equivalent to the mizuya.

So, while it was permitted for the guests to peek into the dōko (just as it had been the rule that, at the beginning of the shoza and goza, the shōkyaku should open the ji-fukuro so that all may look inside, while the last guest should close it up again), in the case of the mizuya-dōko, everyone but the host was forbidden to open its door (just as it was a rule that, while they might go into the katte under certain circumstances, the mizuya was absolutely off limits to everyone except the host and his assistant).

⁶〽Mukō-ro no mitsu-gumi [向爐ノ三ツ組] is used as a sort of title for the illustration (and its small collection of kaki-ire [書入]).

============================================

In the system employed in the Nampō Roku -- which is based upon the machi-shū way of arranging the utensils on the ji-ita of the daisu (the mizusashi was moved backward, so that its far side was more or less in line with the shaku-tate and back of the furo), the 1-shaku 8-sun space (from the front of the 2-sun yū-yo to the front edge of the 5-bu yū-yo) is divided by five lines (corresponding to the five kane -- though in the original system promulgated by Rikyū there is no precedent for this). This group of machi-shū was the one that followed Imai Sōkyū (which is why variations on this system are found in the teachings of the Sen family schools).

The mizusashi is centered on the fourth cell from the front, as shown below (meaning it is more or less in line with the back side of the kama).

In this system, rather than being associated with the line that extends across the front of the mukō-ro, the chawan and chaire are associated with a line running 1-sun beyond that -- which results in inconsistencies regarding the yū-yo that runs in front of the ro. (Even though that yū-yo is still defined as being 2-sun wide, in this system, the actual “unused space” is 3-sun -- implying that this system was, indeed, created after the fact, and as a way to explain away things that the person who proposed this system did not understand).

In this episode we can perhaps catch a glimpse of how these kinds of secret teachings developed: there is an idea that was based on an orthodox understanding that, after an unforeseen event like Rikyū’s death, was imperfectly understood by the people into whose hand the stewardship of chanoyu passed -- in this case, the idea that the space to the right of the ro is supposed to be divided into horizontal bands, which, of course, comes from the shiki-shi. But without information regarding the details, and no recognition of the shiki-shi, and acting on the premise that the kane were an arbitrary system concocted by Rikyū (based on whatever sort of understanding that he may have gleaned from his time with Kitamuki Dōchin), the same kind of system is used to fill in the blanks, resulting in confusion that branches off on a tangent, becoming farther and farther from the truth as time goes by (in the commentaries, this kind of division of space into tiny units is not limited to the temae-za or even the utensil mat, but expanded to cover the entire room, into which several hundred years of speculation has been poured without an inkling of where or how this whole system started, or where it is going). This is a good example of the sort of explanations that appeared during the Edo period.

============================================

⁷Mukō-ro ha mizusashi ō-buri wo mochiiru-koto [向爐ハ水サシ大ブリヲ用ルコト].

Mizusashi ō-buri wo mochiiru-koto [水指大振を用いること]: ō-buri [大振] means a large mizusashi, that is, one that is 6-sun in diameter or more. According to Rikyū’s densho, during the ro season, the mizusashi should be large enough so that it will provide sufficient cold water for use throughout the day*.

Mizusashi, of the sort ordered by Jōō for use on the fukuro-dana during his middle period, measuring 6-sun in diameter, are the kind that are being considered here†. __________ *So that it will not need to be refilled later.

During the season of the ro, the ro is supposed to be set up at dawn, and hot water kept always ready until the tearoom is closed for the night. The mizusashi is, likewise, supposed to be filled at dawn, and kept in readiness until the end of the day. If it is too small, and the host is called upon to serve tea, there might not be enough water left in case he decides to serve tea again later in the day. Because the ro was, from the first, associated with the use of chanoyu as a sort of meditative training, the host must always be ready to serve tea again, even if nobody had been invited.

Each time the lid is removed, more dust can potentially fall in, contaminating the water even more. Furthermore, each time the water is transferred from one container to another, there is a risk of transferring dissolved dust along with it (since it is nearly impossible to clean any container at the end of the day so that no dust will remain -- if only as a result of the lint that comes off from the towel when the mizusashi or mizu-kame [水甕] are dried after being emptied at night). Since the mizusashi is not taken to the well, the water it contains will have already been transferred once. If it becomes empty and more water has to be added from what was saved in the mizu-kame (the large water-storage jar that is kept in the mizuya -- usually to provide water for cleaning the utensils before and after they are used in the tearoom), this may entail transferring water from the mizu-kame into a mizu-tsugi, and then pouring it from the mizu-tsugi into the mizusashi -- with the danger of adding more dust each time.

For this reason, Rikyū taught that, when the ro is being used, the mizusashi should always be as large as possible.

†Larger mizusashi had also existed since the early days (some of which were made for use on the o-chanoyu-dana [御茶湯棚], while others had been made for serving rice, or for use as washing basins, in the temples), but these will be considered later.

⁸Yō-kane futatsu kakarite kuguri-kane ni naru-yue nari [向爐ハ水サシ大ブリヲ用ルコト、陽カネ二ツニカヽリテクヽリカネニ成故ナリ].

Kuguri-kane [潜りカネ, 潜り曲尺] means that an object crosses at least two yang kane. When it does so, it (and anything associated with it) is considered to be yang -- for the purposes of kane-wari.

⁹Saredo mo mitsu-gumi ni suru-toki ha, kaku no gotoku chaire・chawan yō-kane naru-yue, mizusashi chiisaku de mo tsuzuki no kane ni naru kurushikarazu nari [サレドモ三ツ組ニスルトキハ、如此茶入・茶碗陽カネナルユヘ、水サシチイサクテモツヾキノカネニ成不苦也].

Because the distance between the kane on a kyōma tatami is 4-sun 9-bu 1-rin 6-mō [四寸九分一厘六毛]*, a mizusashi smaller than this is what is indicated. In Jōō's and Rikyū's day, a small magemono-mizusashi [曲物水指] with a lid 4-sun 9-bu in diameter was available for just this purpose†.

Tsuzuki-no-kane [續きのカネ] means that objects occupy successive kane. In this case (as shown in the above sketch) the chawan occupies the first yang-kane, the chaire occupies the end-most yang-kane, and the small mizusashi rests on the yin-kane in between these two (without touching either of the yang-kane).

Kurushikarazu nari [不苦也 = 苦しからずなり] means‡ “without difficulty;” “it is not a problem.” __________ *Yon-sun ku-bu ichi-rin roku-mō [四寸九分一厘六毛]. Mō [毛], which means a body-hair, is the smallest linear unit of measurement. 4-sun 9-bu 1-rin 6-mō [四寸九分一厘六毛] is (approximately) 14.8975 cm. The diameter of the mizusashi, therefore, must be at least slightly smaller than this.

†When an extremely small mizusashi is used -- and, depending on the number of guests, as well as the size of the kama -- if it is not necessary to add water during the temae (for fear that the kama will be in danger of running out), then the host may eschew doing so until the very end of the temae. At that time, the tiny mizusashi is opened, and two hishaku of cold water are added to the kama.

In this case, before making usucha, the host should take a full hishaku of hot water from the kama, hold it for several seconds above the mouth of the kama (so it will cool a little), and then pour the water back in -- to bring the shō-fū [松風] sound back to the kama before dipping out the hot water for the bowl of usucha.

While a magemono-mizusashi is described above, small ceramic vessels (most of which were actually made as serving bowls -- such as small kashi-bachi [菓子鉢]) -- were also used as mizusashi in this way. These tiny mizusashi usually have lacquered lids (because they were not made as mizusashi).

‡More literally, the expression kurushikarazu means “it is not a hardship;” or, “it is not painful.”

¹⁰Kayō no koto yoku-yoku bun-betsu subeshi [カヤウノコト能〻分別スベシ].

Bun-betsu [分別] means division, fractionation, differentiation, distinction, classification, segregation, and so forth.

Various and disparate points have been mentioned in this first kaki-ire, and they are not necessarily always associated with each other in the practice of chanoyu. Thus, the reader is advised to consider each of the assertions carefully, and compartmentalize them for use, if and when needed, later.

¹¹Chiisaki mizusashi naraba, sa-yū izure ni te mo yō-kane ni kakaru-yō ni shite, in to yō kakaru-yō ni subeshi [チイサキ水サシナラバ、左右イツレニテモ陽カネニカヽルヤウニシテ、陰ト陽トカヽルヤウニスベシ].

This means that if the host is using a mizusashi that is too small to touch two yang kane, then it should be arranged so that it contacts the yin kane and one of the yang kane. (In the sketch shown below, the mizusashi contacts the yang-kane on the left; in the sketch under footnote 12, it contacts the kane on the right.)

According to Shibayama Fugen, this is done when (as shown) the chaire is displayed on a tana; and the reason for the mizusashi’s being arranged in this way is so that it will count as yang.

This kaki-ire has nothing to do with mitsu-gumi, or the sketch that is part of the original entry.

¹²Yo-kai ha te-shoku wo ro to mizusashi no ma ni iri yue, hidari-za [h]e mizusashi yoru ga yoshi [夜會ハ手燭ヲ爐ト水サシノ間ニ入ユヘ、左座ヘ水サシヨルガヨシ].

A yo-kai [夜會] is a gathering hosted after dark.

Hidari-za [h]e [左座へ], “toward the left seat,” means it is moved toward the right*.

Yoru [寄る] means to approach. In other words, the mizusashi is moved a little toward the right, so as to make room for the te-shoku, as shown in the above sketch†. __________ *As has been explained before, in the Nampō Roku, the objects displayed on the far side of the temae-za are considered to be facing toward the host. Thus, the host’s right side faces the left seat.

†While I have shown a small mizusashi, the same thing can be done when using a larger mizusashi.

——————————————–———-—————————————————

◎ I had wanted to make the following point in the last post, but, with the rush that the length of that post engendered (so it would be ready for publication on time), it completely slipped my mind.

With respect to the board that is placed on the far side of the mukō-ro, the Nampō Roku states that it should be 2-sun 5-bu wide.

However, during the summer months, this board was cut into two pieces -- one 2-sun wide, and the other 5-bu wide. The smaller board was placed between the ro and the wall, while the wider one was placed in front of the ro. The reason (as has been explained previously in this blog) is that, when the mukō-ro is so close to the furosaki-mado [風爐先窓] -- the window that is opened in the wall at the end of the utensil mat -- the fumes will be exhausted directly through that window. (When the ro is moved farther away from the window, however, the fumes will be drawn across the room, to exit through the bokuseki-mado that is located in, or beside, the tokonoma.)

My reason for mentioning this board is because a certain amount of confusion exists in the modern schools, with many of them stating that this board should always be 2-sun wide, or even narrower (some argue for 1-sun 9-bu, while other schools even reduce it to 1-sun 6-bu) -- even when the board is placed on the far side of the ro.

This argument (which first arose in the early Edo period) seems to have come about when the 5-bu wide board used during the summertime was confused with the baseboard (which is also 5-bu wide) that is inserted between the edges of the mats and the wall (this board keeps the grass mats from coming into direct contact with the mud-plaster, since otherwise dampness present in the walls would communicate directly to the matting, causing them to molder). This, however, is wholly a matter of misunderstanding, because the 5-bu wide board has nothing to do with the baseboard. Nevertheless, when one of the previous generations of tea masters made a mistake (such as this), rather than correct the error, subsequent generations continue to perpetuate the error (and usually become exceedingly aggressive when it is pointed out to them).

It is unfortunate, because, ultimately, the deviations between Rikyū's teachings and what is taught and done today can, by and large, be explained in exactly this way.

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ohcaptaintarthister · 6 years ago

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The Assassination of Jaime Lannister*

Rant contains spoilers of Season 8 Episode 4 of Game of Thrones. Look away if you haven't seen it.

Right. Here we go.

I did not read the series A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) until Season 5 of Game of Thrones. Fantasy is not my favorite genre. Besides these books by George RR Martin, the only fantasy novel I've read was The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King.

I was drawn to the books because of the show. They're not easy to read. Besides being thick enough to actually hurt someone with it, I read them with zero ideas about the conventions of fantasy, the worldling and so on. I was curious and wanted to see. Also, Season 5 took too long. After a weekend where I binged on Seasons 1 to 4, I needed to know about the books.

The wait for Season 5 was reason one. Curiosity the second. The third was I have fallen in love with Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth. Yes. I was in love with them as a pair. They are my favorite characters.

Back then I had no idea what shipping meant, and what fandoms were. But I knew I had to see if the chemistry of Jaime and Brienne in the show, awesomely played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Gwendoline Christie, resulted from casting and adaptation or if the characters' interactions sizzled in the books. In other words, and this is vocabulary I picked up once I began wading deeper into the fandom, I was curious if it was canon.

And it was!

On their own and together, Jaime and Brienne were written with nuanced complexity. Jaime, especially, seemed sketched to cover the entire spectrum of gray and other unknown shades of it. Readers and show-onlys went from wishing this guy Seven Hells for throwing a ten-year-old child from a window to cheering him on as he found himself, often with great reluctance at first, on a path to redemption. Because Jaime, once separated from his family--the continuing disapproval of his father Tywin because he was nothing more than a glorified bodyguard and the quicksand relationship with twin sister Cersei--was finally free to be a man on his own. It did not matter that he was one of the greatest sword fighters, that he was a Lannister and Kingsguard. Robb Stark's army captured him because he was leading the Lannister armies. He lost his hand for thinking being a Lannister gave him protection and privilege. One-handed and probably still fevered, he jumped into the bear pit to rescue Brienne of Tarth. And before that, he saved her from being raped too.

As all that Jaime had been was gradually stripped away to reveal a man who murdered his king to protect the people yet one who loved his sister without guilt, Brienne was there in the picture of him being rendered anew. Honestly, because of Brienne, I swung to Team Jaime. Possibly with pom-poms too.

But after reading the books and seeing some episodes again, I began to wonder if David Benioff and D.B. Weiss hated the character.

While in the books Jaime said, "The things we do for love" WITH LOATHING, in the show he said the line with a smirk, that throwing a boy out the window was the natural consequence of protecting his affair with Cersei. Maybe Show!Jaime didn't see it as a consequence but something that simply had to be done but without smugness.

Okay, I thought. That was weird but the writers have to know right? They read the books.

When Jaime and Brienne finally have that bath in the show, and how it was adapted as faithfully as possible, I thought the show finally understood him. It was weird that Jaime returned to Cersei before the Purple Wedding but i thought of nothing of it.

Until THAT episode in Season 4.

In the books, the scene above should be when Jaime returned at King's Landing after being captured by Robb Stark and The Brave Companions. The reunion was from Jaime' point of view. Cersei's consent was clear:

"Hurry," she was whispering now, "quickly, quickly, now, do it now, do me now. Jaime Jaime Jaime." Her hands helped guide him. "Yes," Cersei said as he thrust, "my brother, sweet brother, yes, like that, yes, I have you, you’re home now, you're home now, you’re home." She kissed his ear and stroked his short bristly hair."

In the show, she actually said, "It's not right!" a few times. Also, a few episodes prior to this, we saw Jaime complaining to her that he had been "back for weeks," and wanted to resume their affair. While in the books we saw two people falling in each other's arms after being apart for a long time, and needing each other desperately, in the show we saw rape. Though the claim by Benioff and Weiss was due to "bad editing/lighting" and that it was "unintentional," their refusal to actually address the issue and just re-edit and re-broadcast buried even more Jaime's redemption arc. As a viewer I forgave this mistake. Maybe next season?

Nope. It got worse.

When Jaime and Cersei made love by Joffrey' body in the books, this was the last time the twins would have sex. The books showed Jaime's gradual disillusionment with Cersei--he thought she drank too much, was tired of her scheming. Tyrion also told him about her affairs with other men. So when Jaime went to Riverrun to recover it for the Crown, he was not only the farthest from Cersei again, he was done. Just DONE. Her pleas for him to help her and promises of love end up tossed in the fire.

The show, rather than adapting this, simply diverged. Season 5 was as confused in what to do with Jaime as lots of viewers were. Season 6 saw Jaime and Cersei resume their affair before he left for the Riverlands. Returning to King's Landing in the finale, we saw the chilling look Jaime gave Cersei during her coronation.

Perhaps this was it. This would be when he falls out of love.

HA.

Season 7, until this weekend's episode, was THE WORST ADAPTATION OF JAIME. There. I'm saying it. THE WORST.

Why? It wasn't even the incest that pissed me off. Jaime, who slew the Mad King for wanting to torch King's Landing with wildfyre, did a dizzying 180 by ENABLING his sister, who murdered Queen Margaery, her former fiance, Kevan Lannister and other innocent members of the court by wildfire. Season 7 Jaime simply took Cersei at her word. Forget about Tommen, THEIR LAST SON. Who committed suicide as a result of his wife's murder. Forget about what really caused the Sept explosion. What mattered was creating a dynasty for "the last Lannisters who count."

Jaime stood by her side and in the queen' name, contributed in tearing further apart the Seven Kingdoms. No questions asked. LITERALLY no questions asked. Despite telling Cersei of the danger of her new position, he went on to rant about the lack of allies. That can be read as Jaime being practical but as the season progressed, it was proof that he would be at her side no matter what. No matter who had to be murdered. He DID say he would murder everyone until it was only the two of them left in the world. Alright.

LIoking back on past episodes, Cersei always succeeded in keeping Jaime at her side with promises of going public with their affair. In the books, Jaime pressed her to let people know he was her choice and she refused. In the Season 4 finale, she told him she told Tywin about them, resulting in passionate and this time consensual sex on a table in the White Sword Tower. In Episode 3 of Season 7, after Cersei fucked him to celebrate her victory over the Sand Snakes, we saw a loved up Jaime in the morning after.

This would be the happiest viewers had seen Jaime. Cersei, now really THE Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, would openly fuck him. The scandal reached as far as Eastwatch, with Tormund, wanting to clarify, asking which queen was discussed in a conversation. "The one with the dragons or the one who fucks her brother?"

After Daenerys and her Dothraki army burned the Lannister forces on their way back to King's Landing, a shaken and muddy Jaime returned to Cersei right away. And in the same episode, Cersei revealed she was pregnant again. This was happy news, indeed but Jaime needed to know one thing: who will Cersei acknowledge as the father.

"You."

Now I refuse to think Cersei had once again succeeded in manipulating him. I think she WAS pregnant. There's no way to fake joy like that. And yeah, though I don't ship them, I understood Jaime's happiness. Finally, he would get to be a real father.

Still, still, still. Season 7 Jaime really made no sense. There was none of Book Jaime here. None. What we saw was a guy who supported a tyrant willingly and was now going to be a real daddy. I hate it but that's really Season 7 Jaime. Even when he left Cersei, the reason was a headscratcher.

"I don't believe you," has got to be the worst break-up line because it's lame. Better if Jaime just looked at Cersei with puppy dog eyes and walked away. Really.

The beginning of Season 8 saw the writing of Jaime hitting the right beats. A different man, check. A man who honestly regrets what he did to Bran, check. A man who was no longer the golden lion and ready to fulfill a vow he made, check. Hearteyes at Brienne, check.

He knighted Brienne. BIG, FAT CHECKS.

In episode four, The Last of the Starks, Benioff and Weiss, probably tired from the glare of their computer screens, seemed to have just written the episode in bullet points. It became glaringly obvious they wanted the series over and done with. Fuck decent writing.

Jaime Lannister is not the only one who was badly written in the latest episode. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about Qyburn's ballista and Euron apparently a sharp-shooter. We have no idea how Missandei was captured. That drinking game with Jaime, Brienne, Podrick and Tyrion was awkward and misogynistic--seriously, why shame Brienne for being a virgin?

And Sansa! Sansa basically saying if she had not been raped and abused, she wouldn't be in the position she is now! Who on earth says anything like that? Answer: no one. And I don't mean Arya.

And Missandei. The ONE WOMAN OF COLOR in a blindingly white show is chained and beheaded!

Then Jaime. Oh, Jaime.

There are no happy endings in Game of Thrones. Ned Starks gets beheaded. Jon Snow gets knifed. Sansa is raped. Catelyn, Robb and Talisa get butchered. Just when victory is within reach, characters are punished so cruelly it's inhuman.

But it doesn't mean crappy writing. At fifteen million dollars an episode this season, I expect writing that reflects intelligence. Who cares about CGI wolves and dragons when the writing is shit?

Now it's no longer a question if David Benioff and D.B. Weiss hate Jaime. THEY DO. Everyone else was buffed up or given meat. They couldn't even spare Jaime Lannister a decent-sized bone.

I don't blame Jaime for leaving Brienne. Hear me out.

After Brienne and Sansa tell him the latest developments in King's Landing with regard to Cersei, we see Jaime shocked and even horrified. The next scene, he's in the chambers with Brienne contemplating what to do. And this is where the writing becomes really shitty:

1. He left her without saying goodbye.

2. He LEFT Brienne with her thinking he did it for Cersei.

What was the point of according her the respect and honor of being a knight--done by his own hand? What was the point of telling her he was no longer the fighter he was? Where was the respect when he was going to leave her as a regrettable one night stand? (But Winterfell to King's Landing is a month by land so I assume they've been banging for that long)

Nothing, it's just illogical shit.

Had the writers made just a bit more effort, Jaime Lannister should have been shown experiencing some happiness with Brienne, rather than Tyrion telling the viewers about it. We don't see it. We're just told and have to take their word for it. Jaime could have benefitted too in leaving Brienne in the NEXT episode. Why? It increases the stakes. Just one scene showing Jaime happy, just one, and of him ACTUALLY talking to Brienne about having to leave instead of being found out, and the episode probably won't be as crappy. I don't mind Brienne begging and crying, heartbreaking as that scene is. What I mind is Jaime never being shown what he stands to lose if he leaves Winterfell. Olenna Tyrell, before he he grants her the mercy of taking poison, had warned him it will be too late for him. She's right.

I believe he goes to King's Landing because of the guilt that he began a war to protect Cersei. When he does things for Cersei, the consequences are horrible and far-reaching. Easy to call him dumb and he is. But let's not forget that he charged at Daenerys and Drogon with just a spear thinking to end it all. A spear against a fire-breathing dragon. Like, what are the odds, right?

I'm not going to say anything more about The Bang That Was Promised And Sucked Donkey Balls. Enough has been said, enough hearts have been broken. We KNOW the world of Game of Thrones is dark and bitter and almost without hope. We really do. But as fans of the books and the show, FANS WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE SERIES BE RENEWED AND HBO TO INCREASE THE BUDGET EVERY SEASON, all we ask for is good writing. We get that without actual material from George the writing is challenging. WE REALLY DO.

But is it too much to ask for the writers to set aside their hatred for one of the best characters in the series and understand him? Give him the material he deserves in the show? There is none of the Book Jaime trying so hard to be honorable. None. Instead what we've been given, since the first episode, is a train wreck of an adaptation that has now been confirmed as a character assassination.

It's not dragonfyre that has killed Jaime but writing that is careless, hurried and just plain awful. In Benioff and Weiss' determination and delusion in finishing the TV series on a high note, Jaime Lannister has been left with barely a whimper.

*Previously titled, "When Adaptations Assassinate A Character."

#jaime x brienne #jaime lannister #brienne of tarth #brienne x jaime #game of thrones #braime #asoiaf #the last of the starks #gots8e4 #gotspoilers #spoilers #got spoilers #game of thrones spoilers #david benioff #d.b. weiss

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deckspair · 5 years ago

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May’s Musical Director’s Commentary

Hey guys! I'm May. You might remember me as "the one who did those nifty chatlogs and the roster page" or "the one who did all the music" or "that one mod who never said anything." Los and Mints agreed to let me write up this "director's commentary" on the music I did for DECK. There's no secret lore tidbits in here or anything, but if you liked my music you might find this an interesting glimpse into the process.

A Note On Sampling

Sampling is the practice of using preexisting audio to make new music. When I talk about what I've sampled here, I'm only going to mention particularly interesting cases. Almost all of the music I've done for DECK features audio from Free Wave Samples, so I figure that's not really worth mentioning except here. It's the other stuff that's interesting. EarthBound was an influence on my decision to pull in a bunch of audio from outside sources. I've always admired that game's use of sampling.

The First Chatlog

The chatlogs have consistently been pretty fun to do. I knew from the start that I didn't want to edit this together by hand, so I wrote a Processing sketch to render the video. It's not the most elegant thing in the world, and adding new features is a massive pain, but it's a lot easier than putting these together any other way. All I have to do is swap out the script and background shader and write a new song and I can just let the program churn away rendering a new video. (Of course, fiddling with the shader until it looks presentable takes so long that it kind of eats into the time savings.)

There's not much to say about this one. The typing sounds were graciously provided by Mints. Those with careful ears might notice the instrument playing the chords in other chatlog songs.

The Second Chatlog

One of the only interesting things about this one: the melody is actually a musical cryptogram! What it spells out is an exercise for the reader. ;) The miscellaneous background sounds are all distorted versions of stuff I recorded myself one day when my film teacher let me wander the halls with a microphone. Film school has its perks.

Rio Hachimitsu's BDA

Doing the first body drop music was pretty intimidating. The body discovery music in Danganronpa has a particular instantly recognizable quality to it. If I wanted to go for that style, I'd have to get it down perfectly. (Otherwise I'd come off as a cheap imitation.) So I decided to be original. After school PSAs would be proud.

The melody here is probably pretty familiar to you all by now. Every BDA has used some variation of this melody because I'm a sucker for leitmotif. The melody itself is a slightly modified version of the Dies Irae. (Yes, I know I'm very pretentious, but being pretentious is fun.) This is also the first instance of what I call the "death rattle." I put that strange scraping sound into every BDA and execution for consistency's sake. You can see it as the moment the soul leaves the deceased's body or the moment the onlookers realize somebody's just died... or something. The really fun part is what it is - it's a bell tree! Yknow, those tinkly whimsical things. It's just been reversed and slowed down and drenched in reverb. It's fun how malleable audio is.

Minnie Minami's EXE

This was fun! Despite being a film student for a while, I've never had to write music to sync up with a video before. (I still haven't - I'm pretty sure the video was edited to match up with the music and not vice versa.) The overall tone of this one was pretty obvious. Of course a ringleader's execution would be accompanied by messed up circus music. Anything else just wouldn't be right. There's not really much else to say about it other than that it includes samples from my toy accordion and slide whistle.

Sampled:

An old recording of Auld Lang Syne

Yasu Kozakura's BDA

The body drop's usage of mirrors really hit me in the art gut, so I figured the BDA jingle should have something to do with mirrors. This is why the melody plays forwards and backwards simultaneously, because mirrors. (Some call that kind of thing a "crab canon.")

My incredibly good and quality cat piano is also in here. A stretched out meow recorded from it forms the basis of the background chord.

NANIKO's EXE

For this one, I gave the video editor three different tracks, one for each "segment" of the execution. I did this as a cop-out because I didn't want to have to try to sync my music up with the video - this way, the editor could mash it all together.

The segment with the mirrors was an exercise in what's called "phase music", where two lines drift out of sync with each other, creating different rhythmic textures over the course of the song. (Piano Phase and Clapping Music, both by Steve Reich, are two classic examples of the form.) For some reason, echoey piano lines phasing in and out of sync feel mirror-y to me. They also form a nice musical callback to the BDA.

Sampled:

Me switching frequencies on the radio

Sayuri Nishi's BDA

Shoutout to Free Wave Samples for having a heartbeat sound. I didn't want to try to make that sound myself with drums.

Kosuke Nakamura's EXE

This execution is significant because it's the first non-video one. Execution art wasn't my department, so I'm not going to speak on how that change affected the artists, but I found it liberating to be able to follow the more general emotional arc of the execution rather than being tethered to the pacing of a video.

When I asked Angela for guidance on where to go musically, we came to the conclusion that the proper genre would be "Tom and Jerry noir." That description alone is why I loved doing music for DECK - where else do you get the opportunity to write something with that as guidance? The most natural interpretation in my view was a song that starts out jazzy and segues into slapstick-esque classical to mirror the transition from the safety of noir to being mauled by a giant robot cat.

Also, the Slack notification sound is in there, since Los suggested a social media notification sound in the background somewhere. (Slack's basically social media for tech dorks, right?)

Sampled:

Slack

Tom and Jerry

The Missing BDAs

Unfortunately, I got preoccupied and neglected to do BDA music for the deaths in Chapter 4. Generally, there's not many interesting things to say about stuff that doesn't exist. The plan was to sample Pomp and Circumstance for Law N... but I didn't. Sorry, Froggy. I didn't have any other plans for this one.

Ukiyo-Maemi's EXE

This one relies so much on sampling it almost makes me feel bad. I got so much mileage out of the clanging percussion and the spooky background sounds that it's basically cheating.

Sampled:

My lovely girlfriend 💕

OFF

Akira Akatsuki's BDA

I was in a very percussion-heavy mood when I wrote this. (Can you tell?) Listening to the FLCL soundtrack had me jonesing for some dramatic cymbals.

Sampled:

Earthbound

Genko Junshu's BDA

Junshu's body was found in the Navigation Station. This called to mind sonar beeps and garbled radio messages and such. This is another one that wouldn't be nearly as interesting without the sampling. Hopefully this is transformative enough to not get me labeled a hack.

Sampled:

Earthbound

Law Kiyuu's EXE

This execution actually freaked me the hell out the first time I read it. Freaked me out for like a week - something about the combination of incredible writing and the subject matter. It honestly felt calculated to scare me specifically.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun with this one. I wanted to write something as unsettling as the execution it was accompanying. The intro is supposed to represent Law thinking he's already dead. Next comes his terror (evoked with the hilariously dissonant Altered scale), and then the final spooky arrhythmic section is supposed to be him being cut apart. (Note that part of the music drifts out of sync with itself to represent Law, uh, going to pieces.) The return of the piano is supposed to evoke the flashback section. That kind of piano sound always sounds spooky and/or sentimental to me.

Not much else to say now that I've dissected (heh) basically all of the decisions I've made for this one. I'm really proud of Law's execution song - it might be my favorite out of all the ones I've done for DECK.

Sampled:

Earthbound

Persona 2: Innocent Sin

The Doug Theme

Death Note

"It's a Long Way to Tipperary"

gamer butt song

Frogbot's EXE

The original plan for this one was start this one off with a hocket-y medley of all the previous body drops and executions. However, it would have been really tedious to export then import all the relevant instruments, so I didn't do that. Instead I remixed the typical BDA theme. It's supposed to convey the shift from FrogBot's reign of despair to the triumph of getting them executed. I realized part of the way through that this segment was far too triumphant given how many people died and the fact that the submarine is about to explode, so then I just ended it by lingering on a diminished chord. I'm not a very subtle person. Frogbot's execution lacks the death rattle 'cause there's no horrifying realization that one of your classmates is dead. (Exercise for the reader: find where I hid the Flintstones theme in this song. Good luck.)

Conclusion

DECK was a lot of fun to work on. I wrote some extremely messy code, made some sick as hell videos, and wrote some pretty baller music. I got to see some wonderful artists do their work, and I got to skim some pretty intense roleplaying. Thank you to everyone who said nice things about my music and to the mods for being really cool dudes. Special thanks to Mints and Los for letting me put this long-winded rant on their blog, and thank you for reading this whole thing.

See you on the flip side, y'all.

#music

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draw-you-coward · 6 years ago

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small tips for improving your art

disclaimer: these are all just my opinion/what’s helped me! please feel free to add on, or correct me if any of these things are bad habits!

1. Use references! liberally. When doing so, try and understand why the thing looks the way it does rather than just copy the shapes and lines!

2. Flip the canvas often. This is especially important in the earlier stages; sketches are easier to correct than rendered paintings. If you flip the canvas and your art looks completely wack, that is how the art is going to look to you the morning after you post it. Your brain will pick up on mistakes if it hasn’t fooled itself into ignoring them, and it only happens if the composition changes or if you take a long enough break.

3. Don’t be afraid to correct your mistakes and reposition things! If something looks off to you, don't just ignore it. Look at it and try to see why it looks off to you. Say it out loud if it helps. ask a friend if you can’t tell.

4. If your art looks stiff and/or awkward, go back to the basics! practicing fundamentals never loses its value. If your pose is stiff, do a lot of gestures. if you give all your characters the same expression, do an eight-face expression practice. etcetera.

5. Study other artists! Look at your favourite artists, and observe what they’re doing; learn from them. what’s their process? keep in mind they might make shortcuts because they feel comfortable skipping steps that might help you. what colour palettes do they use? If they’re a successful artist, what particularly gave them success? a style? subject matter? branding?

6. Nothing is beneath you. No one’s help or critique is beneath you, regardless of skill level. No activity or exercise is too basic to help you at least a little. Yes, maybe these things vary in effectiveness as you gain skill, but don’t put yourself up on a pedestal inadvertently. you’d be surprised how many big artists make very beginner mistakes that they just never bothered to learn how to correct.

7. It’s a good idea to warm up before you start! do some gestures or palettes or sketches or thumbnails. you’ll surprise yourself with how much of a difference you can make, and how much more fluid your art will look for it.

that’s all i can think of for now! keep at it! <3

#art advice #advice

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alanshee-keeper-of-realms · 2 years ago

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Speaking from one artist to another, I saw a hurtful anon that insulted your artwork and that makes me angry for various of reasons — BECAUSE I'M A FUCKING ARTIST WHO WAS ONCE A BEGINNER (Sorry for my outburst, but I needed to get this off my chest)

Whoever sent you that without publicly giving you a positive constructive criticism or useful tutorials - they don't realize how beginning artists also exist. Art exist in many forms like illustration, digital, music, pictures and literatures. To call one art "shitty" isn't the best criticism to go around, but you can prove them wrong by asking them if they can do better OR you can keep on going to see how much love your art will receive that they'll stop giving awful comments. They can't stand a certain art style they don't like? Give tips and tutorials! Give kindness, and solutions. But I guess that'll be too much for them?

I never knew the Ninjago fandom was this toxic when people are calling some arts ugly. People have this weird but terrible mindset that certain art styles are better than the other. If the whole artists have the same art styles, it'd be pretty boring and repetitive to see, we'd rather have something new instead for a change. I love to see your art contributing for The Owl House fandom, welcome btw! I know people will love your art there and get more love and positivity. ^^

Thank you I am actually working on a Raine Whispers AU art piece for everybody from the Fanfic WIP I posted

The Song of the Owl Beast

That post really didn't bother me because of the shitty art comment(though it's understandable why it would upset other artists wish I could hug yall that would allow me)

It doesn't bother me because well I like my art and I know there's people out there that might like my art as well, just because a few people say that doesn't mean my art is bad itjust needs improved and I've always been actually quite like Eda (if we compare me to a character) people can throw things at me all they want but it takes a lot for me to be actually upset.

Like I always say, I'm only vocal when I'm actually upset over something. I'm silent when I'm not and it's okay,

I'm very proud of my style because I have a lineless art style that has taken me 4 years(ditched the lineart and sketch layer full time in 2019) to develop and learn and I'm still learning more about how to render it properly, but during this process I know it can be quite ugly. Especially when I'm doing my sketch layers before the rendering as you can see with Raine here I've gotten to that phase, and if I was to share it, it can look kind of uncanny valley haha

I still have to trim the face back down and correct the nose and eyes in general,

What did bother me about that Anon more so was being accused of tracing my art, because there is no way one can trace my art well at least not easily... because there's no lines to trace.

My art style is very very unique in the sense that outright my style doesn't even have a sketch layer to copy. It's stupidly hard for somebody to trace this sort of style where the artist has learned anatomy enough where they can shape the color into the shape one needs like I do.

One can try, but if you don't have enough experience, it won't turn out looking right. Basically, the closest comparison I can put it to is like molding clay only digitally and 2d, so I need to make it look 3d.

(Some anatomy practice fails haha)

I don't think there's anybody else.... at least that I've seen that does this type of style. But if there are people, I would love to know them, because honestly, I have felt alone with this certain art style and not really knowing what to call it or how to render. I know it's lineless, but the technique isn't like other lineless artists as they usually have sketch layers at least.

I appreciate the welcome into the fandom I've already felt very very welcomed just by the interactions I've already received, I haven't had my page this active in years, honestly all it took was me moving a fandom and I wish I had seen that sooner.

You guys really already have helped me in a way nobody else in the Ninjago fandom ever did and that's just opening my eyes even more to how toxic it unfortunately was, because this is all what I was just looking for is a supportive loving fandom that will accept me for all my crazy quirks and ideas.

You guys even got me to do my art and writing already! I hadn't felt inspired in weeks, especially after that retraumatizing event a couple of weeks ago,

I honestly was at the verge of quitting and then I started getting into Owl House and then on the Valana Alt, I started posting and my blog was so active right off the bat, something I again hadn't seen in years on this account. And then you wonderful anons came in telling me to keep going and I wanted to hug you and tell you thank you,

People are actually interacting with my posts, and here I've transferred over a few, and it doesn't matter to yall that I've double posted. You guys still reblog and like it. Some even make comments! And that for somebody like me who has been in a fandom situation where they didn't do that at all, that means the world to me guys honestly, and I will never be able to say it enough, you've already shown me support and love and for that again I can't say it enough

Thank you

#the owl house fandom #thank you seriously

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candace-engl-306-blog · 6 years ago

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Pages 1-4 ish

Description of art and panel layout of the first few comic pages:

Page 1-2 ish:

A date at the top of the page indicates that it is December and the drawings and panels of this graphic story are functioning as a diary of sorts. To open the narrative, a series of panels showing a post office box (mail boxes in an apartment building), in progressing levels of morning sunlight. These panels and the ones following will be mostly black and white and drawing with pen, with loose crosshatching to show value and detail. A hand reaches out and opens the box. A hallmark letter sized envelope waits inside. The rand removes it, and there is a pause as the protagonist (Audrey) holds the envelope and examines the return address. It’s from an old coworker of her mother’s and Audrey’s old 2nd grade teacher, which is confusing because Audrey hasn’t really heard from any of her teachers in the past, and although this woman was close with her mom, she hasn’t ever gotten mail from her in the past. This won’t necessarily be obvious on the page just yet. The panel will show Audrey’s face examining the envelope, giving the reader the first real glimpse at the “narrator” so the drawing will be somewhat more precise than the previous panels to make it stand out and indicate her role as the protagonist. This will also be an important portrait of Audrey because it will be the only time the reader views her before she discovers the death of her mother.

A series of panels shows Audrey opening the envelope while still downstairs because of her curiosity. The corner of a card peeking out of the simple drawing of the envelope shows detailed and vibrantly rendered colored flowers on the front of the card. Audrey’s hand pulls it from the envelope. A cliché note about loss and grief is written in three different cursive fonts. By all accounts the design on the card is intricate and ugly. Audrey, confused, her hands shaking a little, (shown by drawing two panels that show the briefest lapse in time of just her hand working up the courage to open the card), opens the card and reads the message from her mother’s coworker. “Very sorry to hear of your loss. Please give a call if you need anything (anything underlines and written in swooping cursive). God bless, Ms. Molly”

A panel shows Audrey looking up. A man sits at the lobby desk but there’s no indication he is meant to work there or is just lounging. His expression is bored, and he stares at Audrey as if she is paint drying and he is trying not to fall asleep. Audrey checks the time on her phone. Every moment is now being rendered in its own panel to slow the pacing of the narrative and distort the flow of time. These eventually grow darker in value and the reader then suddenly see a message typed hastily on a phone cancelling what the reader can assume was a date.

A rather thick black line cuts the above panels off from a panel that is the width of the page. From the reader’s POV, Audrey has transported to the train station. This transitional panel depicts a lowering (or raising, since the panel that would reveal which way it moves is not present) guard rail and commuter legs crossing in front of the “camera.” This is an above ground train, with only two tracks, indicating Audrey’s location somewhat outside of the denser parts of the city. Audrey stands on the platform with her arms crossed and one hand raised to her ear, holding her phone.

Page 3-ish

A detailed drawing of Audrey in profile is lit by the phone screen pressed to her ear, indicating that she just checked the screen to ensure the call was going through before returning the phone to her ear. This light does the work of an onomatopoeia for the reader, the Samsung dialing tone is evident. For a few panels Audrey waits for an answer, the wind blowing her hair to indicate the movement of time. Audrey’s sister answers. Audrey closes her eyes, and the page becomes black and a dialogue in white lettering transcribes the conversation.

Audrey: Hannah? Hello?

Hannah: Audrey? A baby cries in the background. Yeah hi! What do you need, what’s up?

Audrey: I got a weird card. Wait, what do you mean what’s up? You know what’s up.

Hannah: Oh Audrey. Oh…

Audrey: I got a card from one of Mom’s old friends. Hannah, when did she die? What… I?

Hannah: I really did mean to call you. It was only a few days ago. Just hold on. She whispers harshly to a child to drop something. Audrey, you there? Try not to worry, I was going to call once the arrangements had all been made; Dad didn’t want to worry you with all this.

Audrey: You’re talking to Dad? No. Wait. How did she die? Hannah this is a huge shock, I don’t understand what’s going on. A kid shouts on the line. Are you listening to me?

The black background begins to lighten, and a silhouette of Audrey is visible under the still-white and fading words.

Hannah: Oh crap, what, yes, I’m here. Look, I have to go. The baby just threw up and Peggy’s screaming at her sister. I’ll call you later OK?

The black fades completely and the reader sees Audrey in profile again, but from her other side. She hangs up the phone and static starts to overtake the page. She looks down into the train tracks, but the reader doesn’t see what she’s seeing, just her face, blank, which is unsettling or unexpected considering how she’d discovered her mother’s death. The camera pans out and the static surrounds her more. Then Audrey’s figure is replaced by a detailed and colorful drawing of a cup of green tea.

Page 4 ish

The same cup of green tea is held by a familiar hand. It’s the first panel on the new page. The lighting is colorful and golden, and no black values exist in most of this page. The exception is a drawing of Audrey sitting on the floor of her apartment and looking out a window. She holds a mug in her hand, but it isn’t the same mug as the cup in the top of this page. The tea from the cup bubbles up and then spills over the page, swirling into a waterfall, going from warm yellows and greens to cooler but still calm waters.

At the bottom of the page, kid feet dash past. A rope guardrail merges from one panel into the next. Two young girls appear hooking their arms over the rope and swinging on it. Behind them walk the torsos of a young couple, not a new couple, but not yet in their 40s. Their faces are hidden by the panel gutter. Remarks on time and memory can be made here, on how kids don’t remember their parents’ faces and just their smells, voices, and hugs. The woman kneels between the girls. They look out at the small waterfalls, large in a child’s memory, but really just a creek pouring over a small cliff, just barely eight feet high.

And for some context, here is the written scene that became the opening scene of the graphic story (so you can see how this has developed):

I awoke early that morning by some accident, maybe knowing what the day held, if you believe in that sort of thing. I slipped on a sweater and went downstairs to check my mail. The man behind the front desk greeted me with a smile as I unlocked my box.

The pale blue envelope tucked inside was stamped with the army seal, and as I withdrew it, I thought it felt too small and too light in my hands. I knew what it was, and I suddenly realized I needed to choose a place to open it. My apartment? No, I needed to live there. And I couldn’t do it here, in the lobby.

I hid the letter away and took the stairs back up to my place. I sat in front of the window and lifted back the curtain just enough to see outside. Nothing had changed. The city glistened with cold, but the sun warmed me through the glass. I could taste sleep in my mouth.

I knew that breaking the seal wouldn’t be what killed my mother, but I put it off. I sat for a while, maybe an hour. I took note of the room, of the way the sunlight fell behind me onto the floor, of what I was wearing, of the movement of the cars below, the pattern of the trains coming into the station. I counted the seconds between the guardrails dropping and the trains bisecting the road. Trying to commit to memory the last moments I had before my mother was dead.

Finally, I pushed myself up and forced my boots on, grabbed my jacket and keys and went out into the street. The sun’s rays made it feel deceptively warm at first but then I ducked my face into my scarf against the breeze. The guardrail bells began to ring, and I headed for the station. I bought a platform ticket and the gate ate it and spit it out as the limited rushed through the station. As it passed, I reached the edge and could look down into the tracks. The cold had set in permanently over the rails, untouched by the sun. I slipped my hand into my pocket and touched the envelope there. I didn’t know what compelled me to need to open it at the station. The trains had become a vein connecting me to the city, my commute familiar, so that I couldn’t feel like an outsider while I rode to and from the hospital.

But whatever the reason, I figured it was time. I opened the notice, and my mother was dead. As express train after express train shot past, the tracks disappeared and reappeared in a blur. I imagined watching myself getting caught underneath the platform, in the hidey-holes carved into the concrete in case you fell in. Or just lying down and waiting. If I fell in, could I make myself flat enough to avoid having my body smeared away? The letter didn’t say how she died. I didn’t know if it mattered to me; people only want to know how others died so that they can get a hint about their own end. Would my death creep up on me like a dream, allowing me enough time to realize what was happening?

As the bells began to ring again, I stepped closer and peered down into the tracks. I thought maybe I’d start crying.

“Hey you, stand back behind the line!”

I jumped and backed away as the local train slowed into the station, whistling. The conductor in the front car turned his head to look at the weirdo (me) as he passed. I hadn’t been leaning over the edge, so decapitation wouldn’t have been possible, but I stopped zoning at the idea of suddenly becoming just a head. I folded up the letter and tucked it back inside the envelope.

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archteriorbd · 4 years ago

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Best 3D Visualization Landscape Design free software for Rendering

Home improvement and redesign adventures have been impacting of late. The most current achievements and movements in cutting edge development have made an amazing arrangement of up to this point incomprehensible issue possible. It's practicable to reexamine any patio and indoor dwelling house if you hit upon the correct representative for lease or utilize the correct contraption to do it.

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SketchUp is a first-class instrument that gives all the pivotal features engineers, designers, designers, and organizers need to convey, model, and draft their contemplations. The free design contains the computerized model of SketchUp Pro that allows any buyer to tempt 3D on a net program they like.

This free instrument is useful with CAD task the chief's machine Trimble Connect, pretty maybe the most used devices for task participation and the board being developed. The free shape offers you permission to the web-based modeling gear that you can download the utilization of the G Suite Education stage.

Features:

● 3D modeling

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● Support for Trimble Connect

● Support for most working systems and net programs

Specialists:

● Freeform

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● Low-section data need

● High ability rooftop

Cons:

● No dissemination center decision accessible

● Low turning in great excepting on the off chance that you have the pleasant performing PC

● Glitchy shadow impacts

2. Proficient Landscape Home

If you are a clothier or a landscaper wanting the incredible supporter suggestion drafting gadgets, 3D and CAD conveying, and picture imaging, PRO Landscape Home offers all that and this is essentially the start. It's incredibly acceptable rather than various free mechanical assemblies for wonderful all prerequisites for landscape design projects.

This Home dispatch is a PRO structure, remarkably made and high quality for property holders and their landscape projects. Similarly, this gear is a flexible software that can be used on all Amazon, Android, and Apple contraptions.

What's really the choice about this free hardware is the way that it presents a basically equivalent relationship of features as the paid structure, PRO Landscape Companion. Nevertheless, it precludes the make 3D records, makes client suggestions, and adjust hardscapes features.

Features:

● Creation of CAD and picture imaging designs

● Object photograph library

● Plant realities set

● "Find a Professional" question spotlight

Experts:

● Fast turning in

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● All gildings accurately helpful

Cons:

● Too essential in qualification with various software program contraptions

3. Kerkythea

This an open-source giving over software program that permits you to get to a full getting sorted out software for designers to supply primary portrayals and models. Kekythea used to be toward the starting designed as a module for SketchUp that was once intended to add certainly surrendering the possibility to the main software.

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Features:

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Virtuosos:

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Cons:

● Slow giving after some time

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Features:

● Database of materials, plans, photos, and angles

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Bosses:

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Cons:

● Low recognition of photorealism for positive substances

5. Landscapes Design

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● Virtual go-to producer

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Virtuosos:

● The new beta shape at conventional spans

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Cons:

● Slow in playing out a few obligations 6. Arborgold

On the off chance that you are safeguarding a help fundamentally based endeavor and need a whole affiliation that will permit you to upgrade and improve your undertaking the heads, work booking, and buyer the board, Arborgold may furthermore be your absolute best other option.

Their latest improvement in the order of landscape plan is a free online closure framework that permits you to make 2D pics of landscape diagrams to show off to clients. The two property holders and experts can utilize this straightforward then again noteworthy free contraption to make and store design contemplations.

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Features:

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● Import of geo-satellite depictions and pics

● Freehand drawing

Pros:

● Simple UI

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Cons:

● The free software program transformation includes sure obstructions

Conclusion

Free 3D visualization landscape design arrangements that really give loads of valuable features to property holders and expert landscape designers are basically separated these days. We're done examining free demos and starters here; no, we're talking about totally free assortments of the software.

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brakken · 8 years ago

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Played Life is Strange Before the Storm episode 1, thoughts below the cut

Happy to say, I’m enjoying it so far.

I’m not super into the idea of prequels - I find they get too caught up in foreshadowing later events, or trip up on continuity. So my biggest concern going into this was that it was gonna be nothing more than ‘Hella:Origins’ . It’s not entirely free of that, but right off the bat it was nice to see it had plenty of its own focus.

Thusfar, the recurring characters/locations feel like they’re here for this story, instead of shallow easter eggs of what’s to come. And then some of the bigger callbacks (or callforwards?) are embellishing the first game rather than just acknowledging it. Chloe and Rachel walk along the train tracks, but only Chloe is balancing on the rail - they’re not connecting right now. Every journal entry is addressed to Max, so we’re finally seeing more of Chloe’s side to this (I love this. even though it’s only there as a recap, the added narrative aspect has me reading every update).

It really feels like Deck Nine has done the hard work to make this a consistent piece of the full story. The coming episodes will have to pull through as well, but I’m glad that it hasn’t been a struggle to treat this as canon yet. In general I’ve been quite pleased at how they’ve reworked things to fit playing as Chloe. Graffiti instead of photos, backtalk instead of time travel, dreams instead of visions.

And, yes, I was already braced for our deep dive into the genesis of ‘hella’, but it didn’t stop me from cringing when it came up. As someone who never really cared about its usage to begin with, it’s kinda sucky they still feel expected to rib themselves about it - still, glad it was over quick.

I think my biggest disconnect so far has been the aesthetic. It may be because I’ve just played the original, but some of the art assets in this one seem slightly... off. The flame and smoke effects are rendered too realistically. Some of the side characters look like leftover models from the Walking Dead. And Rachel... looks fresh out of the Sims 4 character creator. I’m sure I’ll adjust to it, but it’s kept me from engaging fully when it all has this slight air of a fan-made game.

On the flip-side to that, plenty is being done really well. I noticed quite a few names in the Motion Capture department in the credits, which was a wise investment. All of the character animation has improved since the first game. You can actually read their lips and decipher what they’re saying, and I think every conversation so far has featured at least one moment of unique movement. The voice acting is also a step up from the first game - I think having an english-speaking development team has aided in that. I haven’t caught any incorrect inflections so far which I’m really thankful for (though it is a little jarring to have different actors in some roles).

I dig the new soundtrack a lot. They’ve managed to capture the feeling of a different character in a different time while not straying into entirely different territory from the original. Some parts of the game are still feeling a little silent, but Deck Nine have also managed to make the music loop in certain environments which I’m really glad for.

I knew going into this that I would have to manage my expectations somewhat. A big reason why the first game worked for me was the supernatural element. Both for the plot and gameplay reasons, it made what had otherwise been a less-than-fun style of game into something that I could really get into. But since Chloe doesn’t have powers, I had to be ready for this one to not hit that same bar.

In my thoughts about LiS ep. 1 I talked about my issues with Telltale’s series of games - notably my distaste for the timer on your choices, and how glad I was to be away with that when decision-making as Max.

That said, I’m a fan of the backtalk feature for Chloe. It’s a fun and character-relevant replacement for Max’s time travel. The timer now has a use - it’s there as an added challenge, making for small bursts of stressful choice-making in an otherwise safe design. And best of all, it’s optional! If you’re not up for the challenge, or you feel that backing down is a better action, you’re free to do so. I was tempted to do them each time, but felt it was more appropriate to just endure David’s lecture than try and argue out of it. It’s like they took the Kate scene from the first game and tweaked it into something more solid.

I’m finding there’s an added difficulty in decision-making this time around. Not only are all choices final, but I’ve found it’s a little trickier to get into Chloe’s headspace. Max had a more defined moral compass, so it was typically easy to sympathise with a lot of the big choices. With a young Chloe, it’s a little less clear - I’ve been trying to grasp how set she is on rebelling at this point, or how much she’s going to change from here until the beginning of the first game. Adding to that, there’s been some navigating to do around the fact that I know what happens to a lot of these characters...

-spoilers for ending of BtS ep.1 and LiS-

... For example, am I willing to step in on Nathan getting bullied when I know he shoots Chloe a couple years down the line? How close do I want Rachel and Chloe to get, when there’s only tragedy ahead - and further, is it too early in their interactions to begin exploring it in a romantic context? In response to what their relationship was, I chose ‘Something More’ - but, once I’d finished the episode, I pondered on that and felt I’d made the choice based on knowledge only I had, not what Chloe would say in the moment. And not knowing how much the design of consequences had developed since LiS, I was also nervous that picking ‘A Friendship’ would lock any romantic options in the future episodes. I ended up replaying the whole episode, making all the same choices save for this one, changing it to ‘A Friendship’ - and the outcome of that have left me hopeful that I’ll still have sway over that in what’s to come. I don’t wanna get into a habit of revising my choices, since that’s very much Max’s ballpark, but this one felt like it was worth it.

I really dug the fire motifs. The storm was so ever-present in LiS, and this serves as a nice replacement while not having the same purpose. With how the first game played out, I was expecting the wildfire to be in the ep.3 finale somehow, so it was a nice surprise to have it come so early.

Now, I gotta talk about Rachel’s scream. I’ve been avoiding all discussion about this game since it has taken me a while to get to it, so I dunno how much this moment is being talked about. I hope it is, though. Because heck. heck. That scream gave me chills. Did you see that wind? That scream, that wind, was an actual, real, tangible connection between Rachel and the storm. No speculation as to what the butterfly or the doe symbolises, no wondering what they could possibly mean by ‘Rachel’s revenge’ or ‘destiny’. Rachel felt pain. And it altered the weather.

Really excited to see where that leads.

As always, here are my fave moments from this episode:

-The opening shot. A cigarette lighter. A fire in the woods.

-The tabletop segment. Charming and cute.

-Chilling on the train.

-That scream.

I keep forgetting this season is just three episodes. I’m really eager to get right into the next one, but it’s also kinda scary when I remember it’ll be over so soon. Still, I’ll probably get to ep. 2 quick so I don’t have to keep avoiding spoilers, haha.

Also, I’ve made a tag for these ‘LiS thoughts’ since they’ve become sort of a frequent thing.

Thank you again for reading this far. And here’s a lil sketch for your trouble. Hope you’re doing well <3

#max talks about life is strange

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alysemeadfad · 5 years ago

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Life Drawing

my personal experience of life drawing for the first time, we unfortunately due to corona virus could not do actual life drawings from a life model standing in front of us, we opted to draw from the royal academy life drawing model videos on you tube.

the first sketch was just the lines of the body, basically stripping back all of the skin and imagining the skeleton and where certain bones would be and whats connected to those bones, i found it easy to pick out the four main corners on the first would of been the right knee right hand left hand and left foot , marking the whereabouts of these main parts helps me figure out the proportions and i manage to fit it all on the page rather than go off or go too small.

we then started to do the main body lines around the structure, this time we were timed 5 mins, personally i was quite impressed with how well i did in the 5 mins as i was quite anxious to draw the human form

my second go in a different position was much more difficult, i really didn’t find this position easy for some reason and got it wrong many times as seen where there two arms and the proportions are really quite wack.

reference photo

this was my favorite timed one i felt like i had learnt a lot by the time we drew this one, it was timed 20 mins and the model was positioned on boxes so i did draw them in to get an idea of where to place the body, its not perfect but you can clearly see its a man lay in that awkward position.

after we all drew together i went to my space and did a couple of my own, i moved from a3 to A1 so i had more freedom and felt like i could get the proportions better on a bigger page.

Life Drawing 2

i wasn’t in for this lesson but i attended online and took part. my screen was a lot smaller than what it would be in the studio projected on to the wall so i had some difficulty with proportions more than usual.

first attempt was a non timed 5 mins in HB i started off with the main points which were, head, bum, hands, feet. i then drew the structure stripping it back to the skeleton i then drew the general shape of the body around the lines i had made, i tried to keep my lines to a minimum as i often get very sketchy and lose the shape that i am trying to achieve.

i marked the main points which were feet and hands but then i drew the body way too big and didn’t fit all of the body parts on the page. this drawing was around 2 mins timed in 6b, i used the same process as the one before. points, lines. shape

fine line drawing with cross hatching as the main technique. this one i was nervous about since it was pen and quite bold, i started off just drawing the main shape of the body, no key points, no lines just went straight in with the outline. at first i hated it and thought it didnt even look like the right shape but then i started adding tone and debth with crosshatching and darkening the lines and by the end i loved it and its one of my favorite life drawings i have done, the proportions are slightly off but other than that its really successful.

i hated this black fine liner continuous line drawing. it was awful and i hated the whole process, i kept feeling the urge to want to take the pen off the page and i could not hack the proportions at all. but on a positive note the arse is quite peachy.

this one was very rushed but its not the worst, i used a pink sharpie as it gave a different effect. the proportions are still bad but in its own way and style its quite an interesting drawing that i don’t hate to death

life drawing 3

this life drawing was on a larger scale and on a different type of paper (no idea what the paper was) we did a line drawing in fine liner, i was quite pleased with my proportions even tho i managed to not fit the legs in i was happy with how it looked in just fine liner. after we were happy with the shape we had created we went in with ink, i used a sponge to get a texture similar to the dry brushing technique we used the other week.

i feel like i lost my image by using such a thick sponge i wasnt able to get the defined lines i wanted, i was much happier with the fine liner outcome rather than when i had added the ink.

second time around we went straight in with ink, no fine liner line drawing to map out the shapes just ink. i immediately messed up hence why the head is completely deformed, the ink was runny so i made some accidental drips om the page but decided to ad more and claim it as a stylistic approach.

Life drawing 4

A3 fine liner,biro and graphite drawing

i started the drawing in biro making a sketchy style outline then adding shade with cross hatching with fine liner to make the drawing appear more three dimensional

i then used graphite to add a dark harsh shading to the outer side of the body, giving it even more dimetion than before, i am quite proud of the outcome and even tho the proportions are off it really shows my progress in life drawing so far in to the course.

Gina Beavers

Gina Beavers is an artist who lives and works in Newark, NJ. She holds a BA in Studio Art and Anthropology from the University of Virginia (1996), an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2000) and an MS in Education from Brooklyn College (2005).

She creates paintings and installations from photos culled from the Internet and social media and rendered in high Acrylic relief. Series include paintings based on the creative realms of body painting, social media user’s photos of their meals, make-up tutorials, memes, and body builder selfies.

To create her three-dimensional canvases, artist Gina Beavers often works closely from photographs or Google image searches, reproducing even the smallest of details. Her reverence for the original image extends photorealism to its extreme in her reliefs of acrylic paint, pumice, and glass beads. Her work walks the line between high and low, and art and craft, while, as critic Roberta Smith once wrote, Beavers “exaggerates and satirizes the act of painting.” Favorite subjects include food, which she renders with the deflated realism of a Claes Oldenburg sculpture, and the human form, as seen in images of a body-painted Demi Moore or exaggerated six-pack torsos.

I chose to research Gina Beavers because her work on human form really intrigued me as it was not only human form it was 3D and sculptural, it also reminded me of my sculptured toe shoes by the texture and unusuality of them.

Though my work was made with toilet roll and pva glue, hers was not, it was made with acrylic paint and acrylic moulding paste, some of her larger sculptures required wood with the acrylic moulding paste to create a larger structure.

I also like her take on the human form as its not accurate, its her own interpretation, its got her own style on top of it which is key as she uses found images off Instagram and google.

Still Life

we were tasked to create a still life with found objects in the studio, my first thought since it was life drawing at the moment was human form so i bought in a bust mannequin and a mask to stand as the face

our first attempt took a matter of mins and the end result looked like a mermaid from above. but david wasnt happy with that was he . so we tried again

we started building up height and using the space around us not just the table, but after this attempt we realized we werent working as a team we were just doing our wont thing and not communicating with others so there was no flow to the matter.

so we went higher and bigger and better putting each person in a team to work on the specific area of the structure and it all started to come together.

we even added lights to give it more tone and depth

the still life no longer looked like a human form but a flow of our minds working together to create a composition that could be explored in so many ways.

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