#Feature artist Friday

[smol-ish-rose]

Feature artist Friday

Hey, this is my second Feature artist Friday, a little series I’m currently doing as an art student to spread the work of some indie/contemporary minority artists (like myself) and to make art and engaging with work of minority artists more accessible to the general public. I am white British and obviously not a member of every minority that I will be covering so if I get things wrong, especially in regards to ethnicity, please feel free to correct me and edits will be made to the post. 

Todays artist isssss…

CHAAYA PRABHAT

This Friday we’re looking at a Freelance graphic designer from India, Chaaya Prabhat (She/her). She is an illustrator (someone who draws pictures to go along with writing, like the people who draw pictures in books) and lettering artist (Someone who does designs with letters, like making fonts, making the words in logos, and including words/letters in their drawings). 

Originally from Chennai (in India), Chaaya now lives in and works from Goa (also in India), She’s illustrated book covers for publishers including Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, Hachette, Macmillan, and Disney Hyperion (These are some big names in publishing!!) She’s also worked with Snapchat, Facebook and Google on digital illustration projects which is insane! The majority of her work is digital, but there are some sketchbook style works on her website which I think are amazing!

I mean just look at this graphic pen and marker drawing of housing areas! They’re absolutely stunning with the drawings themselves being achromatic (no colour), which makes the whole thing simple and easy to understand, but includes a small amount of colour by highlighting the negative space (area that isn’t the stuff, eg the background) in red, which adds to the readability of the shapes. 

Chaaya herself, in an interview, has said that her use of colours and shapes is inspired by the colourful areas where she grew up, in Chennai.  She says that “There is so much colour in India—I see these colourful places around me and I draw the world that way.” You can see this inspiration in the picture above, with its focus on bright primary (red, yellow, blue) colours and architecture. 

These are two of the book covers she has designed, both for books written by Geroge Orwell. Animal Farm is one of my personal favourite books, and 1984 is a book I am currently studying for an english course, so these illustrations particularly interest me. The Animal Farm book cover uses a limited, analogous (colours that are next to each other in the rainbow) colour palette of reds, oranges and creamy-yellows and browns. This use of colour means that the entire cover looks cohesive, and the red may be symbolic of the bloodshed in the book. With the 1984 cover, she uses similar reds and oranges, but also includes dark blues, which form a complimentary (colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel) colour scheme, which means that the orange shape in the centre, and the surveillance cameras around the outside, stand out more from the blue. There is a lot of eye symbolism in the cover, with not only the obvious eyes, but with the central window shape making the shape of an eye, with the sun as its pupil, suggesting that the whole world is watching, which is the key theme of the book. 

One of my favourite pieces of her work is her illustrations for the poem Ozymandias, which was written all the way back in 1818 by Percy Bysshe Shelly (Mary Shelly’s husband). The image I’ve attached is one from the end of the poem but it is, however, my favourite, due to the sideways tilted landscape, that makes it feel like the viewer is lying on their side to meet the statue face-to-face. This one also uses complementary colours, with the greens and blues of the mask being opposite to the oranges and yellows of the landscape.

You can check out Chaaya’s website here, her Instagram here, and some of the books she’s illustrated here, here and here

Find out more about Indian architecture here (wikipedia page here)

[noxhawthorne]

Abaia

Imagine, if you will, that you’ve gone on a quiet vacation to the islands of Fiji. Feel the sand under your toes, the sun on your skin, the smell of saltwater. You take an excursion, and find a beautiful, deep lake, surrounded by lush greenery. It’s a sweltering day, and the lake looks so inviting.

You walk into the lake, the cool water stinging pleasantly as you go deeper. Eventually you’re floating, unable to feel the ground beneath you. It’s calm, soothing. The local birds sing, the breeze rustles the leaves… you’re relaxed enough to let your eyes close and just drift…

Your feet touch a slippery rock, slick with grime from centuries of being submerged. You pay it no mind… until you notice the layer of grime is thick enough to give, making the rock feel almost squishy. You open your eyes. The birds have stopped singing.

You realize that you aren’t touching the rocking. It’s touching you.

The Abaia. A massive eel of Melanesian mythology, said to live at the bottom of freshwater lakes. The legend comes from the Fiji, Vanuatu, and Solomon Islands, though the exact location varies. There’s not really a specific size given, but, for an idea of what we’re talking about, the average American Eel is 16-33 inches long and about 2.5 pounds. So… bigger than that. Much bigger.

The legend of the Abaia poses it as the guardian of the lake it dwells in, protecting the inhabitants from humans looking to harm them. If a fisherman were to try and get his daily catch from the lake, or if an ignorant tourist were to throw their trash in it, the Abaia will unleash its wrath. Thrashing and twisting, it causes impressive waves that will claim the life of the perpetrator, dragging them down to the depths to remain with the great eel.

There is another version of this legend that claims the Abaia holds control over the weather via magic. The story goes that a fisherman discovered a bountiful lake, full of critters and creatures to sate his village’s hunger. He led the village to this lake, and has them help plunder it of life. The Abaia, upon seeing this, causes a torrential rainstorm, wiping out the village and drowning everyone who had harmed the creatures. The Abaia is often depicted as a motherly being to the inhabitants that share its home.

As someone who knows the basics about various eels, I have to wonder if there is some electrical aspect to this creature. Perhaps its ability to cause storms is caused by a powerful electrical charge. According to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, the Electric Eel has three organs — the main organ, the Sach’s organ, and the Hunter’s organ — that produce electric impulses used for defense, communication, navigation, and hunting. At 6-8 feet long, this eel can generate up to 800 volts of electricity. Is the Abaia electric? Being so massive in size, could its electrical shock cause a storm? It’s unlikely, yes, but an interesting thought to consider.

[nerflufser]

Welcome back to the Eden report. Today’s Fakeman Friday.

[grimmoire]

Today I want to talk about mangaka Tsutomu Nihei who is best known for his series Knights of Sidonia and Blame!

Nihei has a background in architecture which shows through in his works. Giant megalithic structures and alien machinery are common themes in his artwork and he's gained a sort of cult following world wide for his cyberpunk aesthetic

Akira, Nausicaä of the valley of the wind, Blade runner, Metroid, Halo and Ghost in the shell are known to be some of his biggest inspirations

Nihei's works include but aren't limited to: Blame! (1997-2003), NOiSE (2000-2001), abara (2005-2006), Biomega (2004-2009), Knights of Sidonia (2009-2015), Aposimz (2017-2021) and Kaina of the great snow sea (2022-present)

[blackcardmems]

It's time for our first Feature Friday of the year!! Today we're showcasing @naeyuree ! Read up about her in the image!

[bijouscrayonbox]

Our first Featured Friday! - Shared from our starboard system, credits go to: - Images 1-4 are from Sridi (Idi on TH and Sridi on Discord) - Images 5 and 6 are from SweetSpuds on Discord (@trashyspud330) You can find our Discord server here, come join the fun and get featured!: https://discord.gg/8wnRsrnnDy

[heartsleevemag]

A Journey of Self Discovery: A Conversation with Deadbeat Girl

Photos by Jada Solèy Rodriguez

For many artists, music serves primarily as catharsis, a way to explore your experiences and express what you’ve learned. Deadbeat Girl, also known as Val Olson, is no stranger to this. They released their new catharsis-infused EP What Will It Take? last Friday, crafted over Olson’s coming of age and serving as a soundtrack to it.

As a queer person growing up closeted in South Florida, it makes sense that Deadbeat Girl wrote their debut EP from a personal perspective, using the process of writing, recording, and producing to work through their experiences. “Music is definitely my number one outlet to process my emotions. No better way to articulate the way I feel in certain situations than with both lyrics and sounds to evoke emotion,” they shared with Heartsleeve. “In South Florida I was extremely repressed, and even when I felt like I was being authentically myself, I hadn’t even reached my full potential because I had no queer people around me to introduce me to different ways of self-expression.” As part of their creative process, Olson moved to New York City, and they shared that it exposed them to a community and allowed them to discover more about themselves. “After moving to a place completely free of judgment with so much artistic influence, I have expanded my artistry in so many ways when it comes to my sound, artist image, physical appearance, and even the way I approach things as a person outside of my music. I write with so much more honesty, artistry, and unapologetic authenticity.”

We asked Deadbeat Girl why they chose What Will It Take? for the title of the EP. Their answer? “I originally saved it in my phone as a tattoo idea. I really resonate with it because I consider myself someone who’s very driven when it comes to things that I care about and at the start of my career that quote felt important. I changed the quote from “what would it take,” to “what will it take,” because that one word change felt more willing and eager. When coming up with the EP title, I then remembered the quote and I felt like it was very true to how I was feeling at the time.”

What Will It Take? opens with “Take Me Home,” which immediately feels open and vulnerable, a preview of the authenticity that Deadbeat Girl strives for. Olson sings about relying on another person for her sense of safety – “When I see you, all I feel is bliss,” they confess – while acknowledging the attachment might not be healthy. It holds a self-awareness that stays present throughout the EP. Olson has cited Girl in Red as one of their influences, and it’s apparent with this kickoff that they’re interested in that same kind of rawness with the audience. The following song, “She Loves Me,” continues this theme, up-front lyricism discussing two sides of a relationship Deadbeat Girl can’t help but compare. The layered guitar melodies blend well with Olson’s vocals, creating a serenity that makes the lyrics feel even more unsettling. The self-awareness is back in full force, Deadbeat Girl finding herself in a relatable situation: to stay, or to go?

“She Loves Me” flows seamlessly into the next track, “These Walls.” The vocals take a backseat to the instruments in this one, a muted echo adding to the despondency felt in the lyrics. “I grew up feeling like I could never be myself,” Olson shared when discussing the track. “I was violently closeted through high school. When I did have a relationship and people found out, I got so much shit for it. It was a nightmare.” The lyrics reflect Olson’s experiences – “Feeling trapped inside these walls, does anyone understand me at all?” she asks, letting the audience feel and understand that hopelessness. The repetition in the chorus only adds to it, making the listener feel trapped in the cycle. But there’s always someone who’s on your side, and Olson explained to Heartsleeve who that was for them.

“At the end of “These Walls,” you hear a voicemail of my guy best friend from home. The song has aged interestingly… the voicemail was originally supposed to be a female voice, but I ended up getting him to do it because I was scared of raising suspicion. I did not know that by the time I would be releasing it that I would be out to the world and to the people around me. Additionally, it’s funny because he is my ex-boyfriend who I dated two years prior to making the song (before I knew I was fully queer). Having him do it was also very true to the situation at the time because, just like I talk about in the message of the song, I was extremely closeted and he pretty much saved me at that point in time. We rekindled our friendship two years after our breakup, I came out to him before I came out to anyone at my school, and he was there for me at the really difficult point in my life that I wrote about in my EP.”

Acknowledging the pain will pass seems to be a theme on the EP, as the next track, “Another Day,” expresses blame and heartache, but is clear that “Life is worth the living.” The lyrical changes in the first and second chorus make the song more hopeful as it progresses, and as the heaviest song on the EP it feels punk-inspired and defiant. The last song, stripped back “More” could not be more different in tone, but holds a similar theme of putting yourself first; it discusses falling in love with someone you can never have. “I’ll let you go, I guess I’m better off alone,” Olson sings, asserting that even though the experience hurts, it’s for the better.

If you’d like to listen to What Will It Take?, you can stream the EP wherever you listen to music. If you’d like to keep up with Deadbeat Girl, you might want to follow them on Instagram, as they’re keeping pretty busy. “I’m celebrating my EP release by booking shows for the first time and by spending time with my close friends and family,” they shared with Heartsleeve. “Up next, I am working hard on developing my next project, promoting my music, booking shows, and honestly anything to put myself out there.” We’re excited to see what Deadbeat Girl has in store, and to witness where their journey of self-discovery leads them next.

[mw1971b-blog]

You're Welcome to My Channel!

You will find diy room decor, design within reach, to welcoming home quotes, my videos will inspire and help you to decorate your home in a way that is truly special.

[taylorswift]

Um. SO much to tell you. I’m a massive fan of this brilliant artist and after getting to know her I can confirm: she is THE ONE to watch. So delighted to say that Karma Featuring the incredible Ice Spice will be out TOMORROW night at MIDNIGHT ET as a part of the new Midnights (Til Dawn Edition) deluxe album that you can pre-order now at taylor.lnk.to/thetildawnedition!

In addition to Karma Ft Ice Spice… You asked for it, we listened: Lana and I went back into the studio specifically to record more Lana on Snow on the Beach. Love u Lana 🥰😆☺️

But wait there’s more… for those of you going to the East Rutherford shows - we will have a new special edition CD available ONLY on site starting at 12:30pm ET on Friday! This CD will have a never before heard Midnights vault track called “You’re Losing Me”!

[boombox-fuckboy]

May 3rd is Bandcamp Friday, which means artists on Bandcamp get more out of your purchases. Why not support some of your favourite fiction podcasters, and get some crisp audio in the process?

Fiction Podcasts

Anamnesis (Full Audio Drama + Soundtrack)

Awake

The Dungeon Economic Model (The Complete Series)

Folxlore (Part 1 • Part 2)

Inn Between (Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3)

Old Gods of Appalachia (Season 1 • Season 3)

Sidequesting (Season 1 • Season 2)

The Tower (Part I • Part II • Part III)

What Will Be Here

Podcast Specials

The Deca Tapes (Puzzle Box)

The Dungeon Economic Model (Halloween Special)

Leaving Corvat (TEMPLE OF SLEEP)

Welcome To Night Vale (Live Shows: Condos • The Debate • The Librarian • The Investigators • Ghost Stories • All Hail • A Spy in the Desert • The Haunting of Night Vale)

Where The Stars Fell (The Christmas Chronicle)

Music From Podcasts

The Adventure Zone

Aftershocks (Soundtrack)

Alice Isn't Dead (Music From)

All My Fantasy Children

Among The Stars and Bones (OST)

ars PARADOXICA (When I'm Not Here • Electric River (End Theme))

The Ballard of Anne & Mary (Soundtrack)

The Big Loop (OST: FML • The Fugue )

The Deca Tapes (OST)

The Department of Variance of Somewhere, Ohio (OST: Season One • Season Two)

Dreamboy (Silent Night, Holy Night)

The Dungeon Economic Model (Royal Musical Accompaniment • Chill Beats to Build Profitable Dungeons To)

Eeler's Choice (OST)

The Fall of the House of Sunshine

Folxlore (Music To Dance With Your Inner Demons To)

Friends At The Table

Gospels of the Flood (Soundtrack)

Greater Boston (Soundtrack, Seasons 1-3)

The Grotto (Soundtrack)

Hello From The Hallowoods (Starcrossed Gods OST)

It Makes A Sound (Wim Farros: The Attic Tape)

Kane and Feels (OST: Volume 1 • Volume 2)

Lake Clarity (OST)

Leaving Corvat (Re-mastered soundtrack)

Liars & Leeches

The Lost Cat Podcast (Musical Features)

Malevolent

Midnight Radio (OST)

Mockery Manor (The Music Of: Season One • Season Two • Season Three • A Midwinter Night's Dream)

Neoscum

Nowhere, On Air

Old Gods of Appalachia (What is Sung Under The Mountain Vol. 1 • The Land Unknown (Theme) • The Bride • Familiar & Beloved)

Our Fair City

The Pasithea Powder (Theme • Mary Ann • Odysseus)

The Penumbra Podcast

The Polybius Conspiracy (OST)

Re: Dracula (Concept Album)

ROGUEMAKER (Soundtrack)

Rogue Runners (OST)

Skyjacks (Call of the Sky)

Station Blue (OST)

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

This Planet Needs a Name (Albums: The Nameless Songs - Landing - Growing - Shifting)

The Tower (Original Score: Part I • Part II • Part III)

Unplaced (Soundtrack)

Unseen (Soundtrack)

Where The Stars Fell

WOE.BEGONE

Wolf 359 (OST: Volume One • Volume Two • Volume Three)

Zero Hours

2024 Bandcamp Friday Dates

May 3rd

September 6th

October 4th

December 6th

[smol-ish-rose]

Feature artist Friday!!

Hi guys! As an art student who spends a lot of my free time looking for interesting contemporary artists to study, I thought I could create a little series on some minority artists whose work I personally find absolutely amazing, to hopefully share their art with a wider range of people, since appreciating indie/contemporary minority artists is something that is extremely important and not particularly accessible to the general public.

This is especially important to me as a minority (lqbtq+, disabled/chronically ill, afab, neurodiverse) artist myself. My goal in making these artists and their work more accessible to everyone may include explaining things that many people already know, including art terminology that many artist will be familiar with but not the general public, and explaining the artists minority backgrounds in detail as I feel as though a major step in minority inclusion stems from wider-spread understanding. I am white British and obviously not a member of every minority that I will be covering so if I get things wrong, especially in regards to ethnicity, please feel free to correct me and edits will be made to the post. 

Our first artist is, drumroll please…

CRYSTAL WORL

Tw//Animal skin

We’re focusing on Alaska and its native populations today with Crystal Kaakeeyáa Rose Demientieff Worl (She/her), who is an absolutely amazing multimedia, multidisciplinary artist. She also shares part of her name (Rose) with me! (this isn’t important I just find it cool). 

She is Deg Hit’an Athabascan from Fairbanks Alaska and Tlingit from Raven moiety, Sockeye Clan, from the Raven House, (Groups of native Alaskan people) as well as Filipino (People from the Philippines).

-Check out Crystal’s page on the First Peoples Fund here and find out ways to give here

-Find out more about Athabascan people here and here (wikipedia page here)

-Find out more about Deg Xinag, the extremely (like very extremely omg) endangered native language of the Deg Hit’an people here and here (wikipedia page here)

-Find out more about Tlingit people here (wikipedia page here)

-Find out more about Philippine history here (wikipedia page here)

Her work centres strongly on her ethnic background, as she recreates and modernises her clan's stories, as well as focusing on relationships and bonds between her people, the land, and the animals. One of her aims is to  bring attention to Indigenous issues relevant to Alaska, such as protecting the environment and wildlife in Alaska.

Now this woman is absolutely amazing. I have never seen anyone who employs such a range of multimedia (different types of art) techniques the way she does. She does things like graphic design (a type of art that’s about communicating things and transmitting messages), printmaking (which is- like stamping designs you make from  a rubber stamp to something like fabric or wood) , and painting. Those are pretty common forms of visual art, but that's not all she does! She also does less typical forms of art! Beading (art created using beads), stuff in fashion design and also traditional skin sewing (which is all about sewing animal skins into clothing (source)) She also makes jewellery and does some awesome things with glass.

She’s painted some pretty weird (and massive) things, like a basketball court in Sitka (a part of Alaska), a mural that’s 125 feet by 48 feet in Anchorage (Alaska's largest city) and some resin panels which were installed as guard rails in the newly renovated Juneau (Alaska’s capital city) International Airport. Some other strange and cool things she's designed art for include an ambulance, and an entire plane!  

She also has some art that you can use as your Google Chrome background!

Here is a link to her website, and you can shop her work here. You can learn more about and find out ways to donate/support Alaskan native people here.

[noxhawthorne]

Akh’lut

Also known as the kăk-whăn’-û-ghăt kǐg-û-lu’-nǐk, the Akh’lut is an orca or orca-like spirit/creature in Inuit folklore that takes the form of a wolf when on land. It’s a shapeshifter, said to change from an orca to a wolf when hungry. One can recognize their tracks easily, as they’re wolf tracks that come from the sea.

The Akh’lut is considered a dangerous creature, being known to attack Inuit fishermen when they’re on the water. It’s also been known to attack and kill people who asleep near the edge of the water. Some even say that it will go all the way to an Inuit camp just to snatch up their next victim. It has a voracious appetite, and will eat anything nearby.

There many different versions of how the Akh’lut came to be, however the most popular myth goes like this: the was a man who was obsessed with the sea. He wanted to be with it always. One day he comes back to shore and goes to his village, but he has become so obsessed with the sea that they no longer recognize him. He is banned from the village. Hungry for revenge, the man stumbles upon a pack of wolves who share his hunger (though, in more literal terms). The man becomes one with the wolves. However, he still has a deep affection for the sea, and eventually jumps in to be with it forever. In doing so, he transforms into an orca. He has found peace at last… however, whenever his hunger for revenge rears its ugly head, he comes back on land as a wolf, and feeds.

There are some possible explanations for the Akh’lut. The main one is this: Arctic wolves can swim in the water, meaning they could be the cause for the paw prints leading away from the sea. There’s also a possible explanation, but an unlikely one. It is said that when Arctic wolves are rejected from the pack, they commit suicide by jumping in the freezing water. This is highly unlikely due to survival instincts in animals, but it is worth mentioning.

Fun fact: another name for an orca is a seawolf.

[supersonicart]

CREATURES.

Supersonic Art's latest group exhibition, "CREATURES," opens this Friday, November 10th on Supersonic Art Shop at 1PM PST.

This curated collection spotlights the masterful creations of over 30 esteemed global artists, each bringing to life both authentic and fantastical CREATURES.

Featuring work by artists:

ADAM BATCHLELOR • ALEXIS TRICE • ANTHONY SOLANO • AUSTIN PARKHILL • BEN PEETERS • BRIAN BUTLER • BRIAN MASHBURN • BRIANA HERTZOG • BRIN LEVINSON • CHRIS LEIB • CODY JIMENEZ • DAVID SURMAN • DREW MOSLEY • DREW CHRISTIE • EVAN LOVEJOY • EWA PRONCZUK KUZIAK • JAMES CORWIN • JOSIE MORWAY • KEVIN PETERSON • LAUREL PICKLUM • LUKE CHUEH • MARK SEABROOK • MARK TODD • MASAO KINOSHITA • MATT BRACKETT • NICOLE EVANS • PAUL BARNES • SAM YONG • SAM WOLFE CONNELLY • TRATOS • TRIPPER DUNGAN • WOOJAE JEONG

Request a collector's preview NOW!

[starlight-sev]

Joy Looks Good on You (Snape x Artist!Reader)

Request: Snape with an artist reader- she makes gorgeous paintings, teaches an art class at Hogwarts (Bob Ross style, for reference). Doesn't have many students, but when he comes into her classroom its such a calming atmosphere. Maybe a short drabble about how he falls in love with her and her skill with paintings?

Requested by: anon

Warnings: none

A/N: this is more platonic than I had initially intended it to be, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Oh! Gender neutral reader as I always try my best to write 💕

Hogwarts was home to many secrets, one of them being that the school offered painting classes as an elective for those in third year or higher.

Even you were shocked when you first heard about the job posting. You always figured art would be just a hobby of yours. When it came to jobs in the wizarding world, anything to do with art and painting was quite rare to find.

So when you were finally offered the job for art teacher at Hogwarts, to say you were overjoyed would have been an understatement. You never thought you’d be able to turn your love of painting into your career.

Dumbledore had placed you in the North Tower, just below Professor Trelawney’s Divination classroom. Compared to her room, yours was rather small: you only had to walk ten steps and you’d already be at the other side of the room. A handful of round tables with matching wooden chairs had been crammed into the tiny space. There was a small desk nestled in the corner for you to work, along with a shelf against the wall to store your paints and supplies.

Your favourite feature about the room, and perhaps one of its only redeeming qualities, was the large window in the middle of the wall. It was rounded at the top, with an ornate stained glass inlay that covered almost half the window. It was the source of your inspiration on sunny days.

It certainly wasn’t the nicest classroom, and sometimes a theory crossed your mind that your classroom had once been a generously-sized storage closet, but anything was better than being down in the dungeons of the castle.

You glanced up from your own painting to quickly sweep your eyes over the paintings your students were finishing up. You never had more than ten students a year, painting certainly wasn’t a common interest for wizards (much to your disappointment), but it didn’t matter. It gave you the opportunity to grow closer to your students, to get to know everyone’s individual art style. It made you all the more proud when you were able to see how much they progressed over the course of the year.

“Professor?”

You glanced over to see Luna Lovegood, one of your students with the biggest imaginations, waving politely to catch your attention.

“Yes?” You asked softly.

“We won’t have time to finish our paintings this class. I know we’re not supposed to, but since it’s Friday, could we leave our supplies out? We’ll be back first thing on Monday.”

A few other students murmured their agreement. You smiled apologetically, silently cursing that you had given them an assignment far bigger than they had time to complete.

“Of course. That’s fine.” You dismissed everyone with a wave of your hand. “Go on. Enjoy the weekend. And don’t worry about handing in your still life sketches this week, you’ve got enough on your hands with the landscape painting I assigned.”

A handful of cheers erupted among the students, and you smiled as each one nodded and murmured their thanks before leaving.

You stood up from your desk, walking across the room to collect everyone’s paintbrushes one by one.

“Letting your students go without cleaning up after themselves?” A deep voice murmured softly from the doorway. “I’m surprised Y/N, I thought you were more disciplined than that.”

It never failed to startle you, how Severus had this uncanny ability to sneak up silently on you. Usually you’d be able to hear students’ footsteps echoing as they made their way up the stairs to your classroom, but Severus seemed to be able to glide noiselessly around the castle like a ghost.

You set your paintbrushes in the small sink that rested in the corner of your room, smiling in acknowledgement and beckoning the professor to come in.

“It’s Friday,” you answered, grabbing a paintbrush and using your fingers to work the paint out of the bristles. “They’ve got enough going on, I figured I’d give them a bit of a break.”

You heard Severus scoff as he approached you from behind.

“You’re too easy on them.”

“And you’re too hard on your own students, but you don’t see me waltzing into your classroom to nag.”

That earned a soft chuckle from the professor as he stood beside you.

“You can use magic to clean those.” Severus observed, nodding toward your fingers as you worked the leftover paint out of the brush.

“I know I can,” you shrug, watching the water beneath the brush turn a bright turquoise. “But I prefer not to. Helps me clear my mind a bit.”

“Hm.” Was the small response you got in reply. To your surprise, Severus reached into the sink and grabbed a paintbrush, mimicking your movements as he began cleaning it.

“Oh,” you exclaimed softly. “It’s okay, I can do that-”

“Too late,” Severus retorted, casting a quick glance at you out of the corner of his eye. “I’ve already started.”

The two of you scrubbed brushes in silence, and you just barely caught Severus let out a small, tired sigh. As you placed your final brush to the side to dry, you glanced at him.

“Rough day today?”

You had to hold in your giggles as he answered your question with the biggest eye roll you’d ever seen.

“That’s putting it lightly,” he muttered.

“Come,” you beckoned as you sat down in one of the empty seats in the middle of the class. You nodded for Severus to join you as you crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in your seat. “Tell me about it. What happened? Was it Potter again?

You smirked at the eye roll Severus gave you in response before tiredly making his way over to the seat across from you.

“Someone’s been stealing supplies for a Polyjuice potion,” he grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I have reasons to believe it’s Potter and his dunderhead friends.”

You bit back a smile, and raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think it’s him? Do you have evidence?”

“Trouble follows him wherever he goes, isn’t that evidence enough?”

You had trouble holding in a giggle, and Severus glared at you.

“He’s brewed Polyjuice potion before.” Severus continued. “It’s the only thing he can actually do well. And those specific ingredients keep going missing.”

You frown a little and shook your head.

“Really, Severus. I don’t know what you have against that boy, but you’ve got to give him a break,” you encouraged gently. “He’s got enough on his shoulders right now, with the Triwizard Tournament going on.”

“And what if he is stealing from my supplies?” Severus retorted.

“What if he isn’t?” You challenged calmly. Severus sighed again, shaking his head as he gazed at you.

“Should we place bets on whether it’s Potter who’s stealing from you?” You asked jokingly, leaning forward in your seat with a smirk. Severus pressed his lips together in a thin line.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because every damned time we make a bet, you win.”

You snickered at Severus’ remark, before standing up from your seat and placing your hand reassuringly on the professor’s shoulder. He looked up at you with dark eyes that warmed very slightly at your touch.

“I truly do not know how you always manage to see the good in people.” He murmured, sighing tiredly. You squeezed his shoulder lightly.

“I just… see the good in everything I guess.” You shrugged. “Even things that seem terrible can be beautiful, if they’re in the right lighting.”

Severus let out a little snort at your comment, shaking his head.

“C’mon grumpypants,” you teased lightly, patting your friend on the back. “I know what’ll cheer you up.”

You walked over to your desk and opened the far left drawer. Upon hearing the dull scrape of wood as the drawer pulled open, Severus looked over at you with the tiniest smile.

“Have you added any teas to your collection?” He asked. He kept a somewhat level expression, but you couldn’t help but grin at the hint of a hopeful tone in his voice.

“I went to Hogsmeade last weekend and got a few more. Some just for you. Come over here and pick one, I’ll put the kettle on.”

Severus stood up just as you moved to the corner of the room to fill the kettle. You noticed out of the corner of your eye how shadow-like he was: the way his cloak billowed slightly as he almost seemed to glide over to your desk.

You heard a few papers rustle as you filled the kettle, and that’s when your heart stopped.

Oh no, oh god no.

You forgot to move your sketchbook, bloody hell.

Maybe Severus was looking at something else, you thought to yourself. Maybe you misheard and he was only rifling through your tea stash-

“Is this… me?”

Nope. He found it. Shit.

You set the kettle down slowly, your hands trembling as you felt a rush of heat fly up to your cheeks.

“S-Sorry?”

You kept your eyes glued to the teacups on the small wooden countertop, trying your best not to cringe as you continued to hear pages being flipped over gently.

“Y/N…” Severus murmured. “You drew these?”

You chewed your lip, just about ready to sink through the floorboards at this point.

“Y-yes.” Your voice came out as a small squeak, barely even intelligible.

You squeezed your eyes shut as you heard gentle footsteps approach you from behind.

“Turn around,” Severus encouraged softly. Clenching your jaw, you tried to ignore the burning heat in your cheeks as you shuffled around to face Severus.

His dark eyes were swirling with so many emotions, you genuinely couldn’t tell what he was thinking. It terrified you. You looked down, and saw that he was holding one of your sketches in his hand.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered. “I don’t show those to anyone, they’re just for me to practice with…”

“This is how you see me?”

You heard Severus‘ voice catch in his throat, and you looked up to see his features had softened into a gentle and almost sad expression. You lowered your gaze to his hands again, taking a closer look at the sketch he brought over.

It was from the Yule Ball a few months ago. You had sketched Severus during dinner after you saw him throw his head back in a hearty laugh, thanks to a dirty joke Professor Sprout had casually dropped at the staff table that night. You couldn’t remember the joke for the life of you, but you’d never forget the way Severus’ eyes lit up with a rare joy few ever saw. Nor would you forget the way his hair curled that night, perfectly framing his face and making him look almost angelic.

“Joy looks good on you.” You explained in the tiniest whisper, pressing your lips together nervously. “I… that was one of my first times seeing you laugh, and I just…”

You trailed off, silently cursing the fact that your face was still as red as ever. Finally, to your relief, Severus set your sketch down. But when you looked up at him, you noticed his eyes were glassy.

Was he… crying?

“Oh.” You gasp softly. “Oh no, I’m sorry. It’s a terrible drawing, I know-”

Severus shook his head. “Stop bloody apologizing. It’s beautiful. All your sketches are. I had no idea.”

“Well, you weren’t supposed to find out.” You muttered, laughing your nerves out softly. Your heart nearly stopped as Severus reached out, gently cradling your hands in his.

“Thank you.” He murmured quietly. “For… what you said.”

You frowned. “What did I say?”

“About… seeing the joy in me,” he replied. “That’s perhaps the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

Your heart sank as you took in Severus’ words. You looked up, your soft eyes meeting his dark ones.

“It’s true.” You said simply. “It doesn’t take an expert to see you’ve been through some real shit, Sev. You deserve to be happy.”

Severus froze at your words, unsure of what to do or how to react. Then, to your surprise, he took one more step forward and closed the distance between the two of you. He wrapped his arms around you, and you nearly gasped at how tightly he held you to him. You returned his embrace without hesitation, finally calming after the initial scare of Severus finding your sketches. He was warm. You could get used to this feeling.

“Thank you, Y/N.” You heard Severus whisper.

“For what?” You asked back just as softly.

“Showing me how you see the world. How you see… me.”

[blackcardmems]

Our next Feature Friday of February is here! This week we're featuring @thatonenegraux