#and then my time spent in class doodling instead of doing the work wouldn't be wasted

[parasolemn]

thjeres no fuckig way i saw those two encyclopedia doodles and actually had to get up and run around to dispel the energy i got from seeing it. We're in deep. The Infodump Skill from the CRPG. no way.

Anyways

Shoutout to pinkcocoapowder. Toontowntastic! these are all class doodles on my laptop from the last three weeks btw. Like three people asked what I was drawing when I was doing the falling piano image in justice studies today I was like Erm

[fairy-tale-writer]

Rewards & Punishments

Divus Crewel x Fem! Reader

Prompt: Reader is caught goofing off in Crewel’s class and finds out the hard way how to be a good girl

Note: Teacher-student relationship, semi-public sex, spanking, bdsm themes, gagging, puppy play?, praise kink, cunnilingus, fingering, safe sex rough sex

Cheers!

You couldn't help it-Mr. Crewel was teaching a really boring lesson that day and that group chat you were in was blowing up your phone.

You had made sure to make it look like you were writing down notes when in all actuality you were typing. The chat was lit sending chaotic Kermit the Frog memes.

You had been distracted by digging into your meme file to notice Mr. Crewel's icy silver eyes had settled onto you. Your pencil wasn't moving and he watched you seemingly stare at your paperwork for a while.

He narrowed his eyes and strolled around the classroom until he stood right in front of you. Still you had yet to notice as you sent your share of Kermit.

"Are you texting during my class period, puppy?"

You let out a shriek of fright and accidentally tossed your phone onto the table. It buzzed as more "KERMIT" "KERMIT" "KERMIT" was spammed by everyone.

"N-No." You lied.

His eyes narrowed further, "Oh? Then why is your group chat open?"

"Because my friends were spamming me. So I had to reply back or my phone would be a distraction." You lied much more smoothly this time.

"Why not just shut it off?"

"No one in my generation shuts off their phones unless it's absolutely necessary to save power." You scoffed rudley.

"Place your phone onto my desk and then continue on with the lesson." He ordered.

"But...it's my phone so therefore it's my property." You defended holding it close to your chest.

"Or perhaps a trip to see Headmaster Crowley would be more fitting?"

Fuck.

You grit your teeth knowing you would be in hot water if you went to Crowley after that broken chandiler incident. You bit your lip with worry.

"Now or never puppy, make your decision."

You gave him a firm glare before you decided not having your phone for the rest of the class period was better than being sent to the Headmaster's office. The walk to the desk and back felt like a walk of shame. Like you were walking naked in a crowd as others shouted insults at you.

"Power off your phone, pup." Crewel ordered when you arrived.

You held back the insults you so badly wanted to spew at him and turned off your phone before gently placing it on the desk.

"Do not worry puppy, I will make sure it will not be stolen from you."

"Bastard." You hissed under your breath.

You knew he probably heard you but he didn't say anything, thankfully. Although it was a bit childish you didn't work on your lesson and instead sulked well doodling on your note book margins. It wouldn't benefit you and it certainly didn't benefit Crewel, but in some way it was satisfying.

To see him eyeing you as he walked by and find you doodling instead of actually doing work. He didn't say anything, but he did send disapproving glares your way.

Thankfully the class ended rather soon and you raced down to get your phone. Just as you were about to pick it up Crewel snatched it.

"Not quite yet, why would I reward a misbehaving mutt after they didn't finish their work?"

"Because that's unfair!" You snapped.

"Come directly after school if you want to get your phone back. You have to have a lesson with me as well since you spent your class time pouting and whining."

You reached out for your phone to grab it from him but he held it high out of your reach.

"Dammit! Give me back my phone you asshole!"

In an instant Crewel squeezed your jaw in a painful grip.

"It seems we also may need to have a lesson on properly addressing your teachers," He clicked his tongue as he shook his head.

You growled and ripped yourself away from him grip.

"Do have a good day now puppy."

You wanted to spit a rather dirty line of insults at him but held back and stormed out before you could get in more trouble, phoneless...

Determinations shined in your eyes as you snuck into Mr. Crewel's empty classroom.

It was the last class of the day and then you would be heading back to your dorms. You were supposed to be at class but you decided to skip it-just for a few minutes during the chaoticness of dodgeball-in order to get your phone.

You were crouched low as you wandered the classroom keeping an eye out for any signs of Mr. Crewel. If you knew the man right he was probably in the teachers lounge being bored out of his mind with Mr. Trein ranting away but you could never be certain.

You ran over to his desk and scanned the top first for any signs of your phone being there.

No, the bastard must've put it in a drawer. You raided his drawers becoming careless the more time passed.

Mr. Crewel could walk out any moment and see you clearly not where your supposed to be, skipping class, and messing up his drawers. Surely he would send you to Crowley if he caught you now.

"What are you doing?" Before you could react a gloved hand roughly grabbed your elbow pulling you to your feet.

You shrieked and turned to see it was the man himself.

Crewel.

"Shit!"

"That's right, you are in deep trouble now you misbehaving pup!" He spat.

You shuddered as his silver eyes blazed with fury.

"Why aren't you at your class?" He spat, his grip on your elbow tightening.

"I wanted to see my favorite teacher early." You said sarcastically giving him a smirk.

"Get back to class immeadiately. I will report this to your final period teacher." Crewel lat last let go of your elbow.

Before you could retort the bell rang signalling the end of the school day.

"I'm here. No I'd like my phone please." You held out your hand and Crewel grit his sharp teeth.

"Pup, you are making it very hard to control my temper. Sit!"

You glared but obeyed and sat down in one of the front row seats.

"Start working on the classwork you missed."

"Seriously?!"

"Dogs do not talk." That was basically Crewel's way of saying shut up and work.

You wanted to spit something back at him but you instead settled for giving him the finger behind his back.

"Oh and pup-if you do want your phone back you have to do actual work. If you pout and glare the entire time you won't get your treat."

Reluctantly, you obeyed and got to work on the potions. You should be top of the class-your tests and quizzes were immaculate-if only you actually did your work.

"Done!" You announced curtley slapping your notebook on his desk.

Crewel looked up from his phone to give you a harsh look before gazing down at it. With a red pen he checked to see if everything was correct leaving little tick marks behind.

"Hmph. It seems you did a rather good job, pup."

"Now can I have my phone back?" You huffed.

He frowned, "You still have yet to learn your lesson."

"My lesson?"

"In respecting your elders."

"Tt, you are certainly elderly." You snickered.

"Your detention has been extended."

"What the hell?!" You shrieked.

"Pup-"

"Just give me back my phone or I'll report you to the Headmaster for abusing your position!"

Crewel laughed and your face flushed with anger.

"And tell him what? You are behaving like a brat-a puppy that nips and bites the hand that feeds-Crowley would instead punish you."

"You jerk!" You screamed with anger, your fists curled tight, "You! you fucking bastard! You're an asshole who fucks animals and then skin them!"

Further harsh words slipped past your lips uncensored and unbridled. Words that should never be thrown as insults towards another being.

Crewel suddenly stood from his chair and all that overconfidence dissolved into nothingness. You took several steps back from his terrifying gaze. Your breathing became heavy and your chest rose and fell with gasping breaths.

"Mr. Crewel...I didn't-I wasn't thinking-" You raised your wrists to protect your chest.

The teacher suddenly snatched your wrist and you shrieked. He leaned close and you blushed seeing his handsome face up close.

"Clearly I have to show my pup how to respect their owner." He said lowly.

Before you could react he pulled you over to his desk and guided you to lay across it so your butt was left up in the air. You quickly realized what position in you were in and tried to struggle.

Crewel grabbed you by the scruff of your neck and pushed you back down.

"Stay!" He ordered.

"This is wrong!" You blurted.

"Would you prefer I send you to Crowley?"

You hissed but knew that if you were to go to the Headmaster you would be expelled. Your skirt did nothing to protect you from the humility of this situation.

"You are done barking, pup?"

"Fuck you."

WHAP!

You shrieked out of surprise more than pain and shot up to stand. Something hard and thin had just slapped your butt. You dared to turn your head and saw Crewel was using his pointer stick to spank you.

"You bastard!"

He shoved you down onto the desk and whipped you again. Your skirt was thin and short and being bent over so low left your upper thighs very vulnerable.

"Enough pup or I will muzzle you!" He grinned and your face blushed.

"No witty comments?"

"You suck at teaching." You snapped.

Crewel whipped you harder and you cried out. He chuckled and gave you three strikes in a row. You dug your nails into the desk and bit down on your tongue.

He swatted again and you felt something deep within you start to warm.

NO!

No, no, no no!

You were NOT getting turned on by being spanked by Mr. Crewel-your teacher!

After a few more painful blows you felt your core start to grow warm and wet.

Fuck! No! You needed to stop this before you could expose yourself. When he lifted his arm you grabbed the back of your skirt and tugged down covering your burning rear.

"Move your hands, now." He ordered.

You looked over and bit your lip shaking your head defiantly. Mr. Crewel sighed and shook his head. He grabbed your wrists but you struggled. He took his pointer stick and slapped the palm of your hands a dozen times.

Tear drops sparkled in your eyes and you couldn't help but wail in pain. The man stopped when he was satisfied when he saw they were bright red-he did not want to injure you.

"Now put your hands back pup." He ordered.

You obeyed and he continued to whip your backside. Your rear was becoming very warm and the spring in your belly was curling tighter and tighter.

Tears started to freely flow down your cheeks at the regret. You shouldn't have been such a brat to him-you were just really upset by Crewel taking your phone away.

Revenge was the only thing on your mind and this is where it got you too.

Being spanked by him with his teaching stick over his desk.

How could you ever look at him the same? See that stick the same knowing it was used to beat your backside.

WHAP!

You whimpered at that one.

"Please...Mr.Crewel. Please stop!" You begged.

"I do not feel you have learned your lesson, pup."

"Please! I've learned!" You felt so dirty begging but you desperately wanted him to stop before he could notice the slick traveling down your thigh.

"Please!"

The next spank was harder than before interlacing with another recent one.

"For fucks sake stop!" You shrieked.

He did indeed stop allowing you a second to breathe. Your lungs were burning trying to hold back sobs.

"I warned you."

He slid his tie between your teeth and tied it behind your hair. You tried to lift your arms up to get it but he grabbed your arms and gave your palms three swats each. You wailed behind the gag and he shoved your hands beside your face again.

"You dare touch your muzzle and I will not hesitate to make your palms bleed. Understood?"

You nodded and he smirked petting your head.

"We are almost done." He reminded.

The next dozens of swats were painful. You were wailing your lungs, tears freely streaming down your face at the beautiful pain. Slick started to drool from your soaked panties down to your inner thighs rubbing together.

He aimed well for your sit spots and curves making sure you understood just how bad of a pup you were. You were going to cum if he didn't stop soon. As hard as you were trying to hold it back you were on the verge.

At last with a sigh he stopped and you heard the stick placed down beside you.

He gently hooked his hands around your upper arms and guided you to stand. Crewel gave you a smirk seeing your flushed tear stained face, drool leaking from the gag.

He undid the tie allowing your lips to be free to speak. A sob escaped your lips and he smiled stroking your cheek.

"Such a well behaved puppy when you are thoroughly punished. Such a good girl," He cooed.

You shuddered under his touch, but you couldn't deny you craved it. Crewel was a very handsome man and you couldn't deny you had a huge crush on him.

He sat down in his chair and guided you to sit on his knee. You whimpered feeling your well tanned rear burn against his hard thigh. Your hot core was no doubt noticable but you couldn't look him in the eyes.

He rested his hand on the back of your neck and guided you to rest your head against his shoulder. You sobbed into his warm fur coat as he pulled you into a hug.

Crewel guided your hands into his and turned them around to examine your palms.

He brought them to his lips and softly kissed the reddened, sore skin. You whimpered feeling his tongue slip out to lick at a certain spot that had a cut.

"My poor puppy," He cooed, "So close to coming undone but I stopped before you could now didn't I?"

You stiffened and he chuckled brushing his thumb to wipe some drool off your chin.

"You don't think that I can't feel the wet spot on my pants?" He chuckled.

You blushed and looked away feeling absolutely embarrassed. He took a hold of your hips and bounced his thigh. Without any control a loud moan escaped your lips.

"Such beautiful noises. I should give you a treat for being such a good pup, shouldn't I?"

You whimpered biting your lip.

"Shouldn't I, puppy?"

You nodded frantically, "Please..."

"Please what?"

"Please... Master..."

Crewel grinned and took a hold of your chin causing you to look him in the eye. His silver eyes gleamed with lust and confidence, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours.

It was a gentle kiss, you could tell he was being soft since he was already so rough with you. His tongue softly slipped in and you allowed him to taste your tongue.

He has this oddly dark chocolate taste. At last he pulled away and licked a tear stain on your cheek.

"Go sit on the desk pup." He whispered in your ear.

You did as he ordered and sat on the edge of the desk. Your head was down and your hands were tucked between your knees.

Crewel smirked and pulled off his leather gloves gently placing them down on the desk.

"Don't be shy, pup." He said kneeling down in front of you.

You blushed as you allowed him to spread open your legs. He pushed up your skirt to reveal your cute panties that were absolutely drenched.

The man chuckled and grabbed onto the sides to slowly pull them down your legs. Your honey pot was deliciously wet and appetizing to Crewel's eyes.

He licked his lips and leaned forward to gently lap at the slick coating your inner thighs.

"M-Master... please..." You moaned.

He grinned and bit on your thigh.

"Yes, my pup?"

"Please don't tease me Master, I desperately need to cum." You whined.

Crewel purred and brought up one of his hands to feel just how slick you were. He inserted two fingers and your pussy eagerly sucked them in. With a smirk he popped them in his mouth and made a display of sucking them with his teeth.

"You taste divine." He purred.

You blushed about to say something when he placed his lips on your clit. A moan slipped from your lips as he seemed an expert with his tongue and lips. His tongue eagerly lapped you your juices well his lips stimulated and sucked.

His hands were gripped tight on your thighs as he ate you out well your hands gripped onto his hair. He moaned against your lips whenever you accidentally tugged. You couldn't stop the moans and whimpers escaping your lips.

"Master...I'm gunna cum...please lemme cum!" You whined.

He smirked, "Such beautiful begging. Cum for me, pup. Let me taste your nectar."

He suckled on your clit.

With a keen of pure pleasure you came, your legs trembling hard. You sobbed as Crewel licked up all you gave extending your orgasm further.

He finally pulled away and reached into his desk pulling out a condom and lube.

"You do this often?" You snarked despite being blissed out.

Crewel chuckled and gave you a soft kiss that only lasted a few seconds. You could taste yourself on his lips.

He released his cock that had been trapped in his pants for oh so long. It was bright red and dripping heavy globs of pre cum. It was just slightly above average and looked just as sexy as the man it was attached to. With a wicked smirk he peeled his jacket off and laid it on the chair.

He grabbed the condom and tore it open before sliding the rubber over his member before lubing himself up.

"Are you ready pup?" He questioned.

You nodded and he slid right in. You moaned feeling your walls spread for him. To help he rubbed your clit with his thumb as he pushed in deeper and deeper.

"Is this your first time darling?" He breathed hotly into your ear.

"No." You whimpered.

"Then I'll have to make sure the previous lovers pale in comparison to me."

He grabbed onto your hips and started thrusting. You wrapped your arms around his neck feeling his thrusts deep inside you. Crewel could feel your core clutching him tight, begging for him.

"You are so desperate aren't you?" He moaned, "Like a bitch in heat?"

"Yes... please..." You moaned.

"So eager, your tail wagging at the thought of my cock deep into your pussy cat?" He nipped at your shoulder leaving hickies and kisses.

"I should put my favorite collar on you... torture you with orgasms until you are tugging on the leash, begging for me to stop." He dirty talked.

You were melting in his grasp. One of his thrusts suddenly hit an area that made you see stars. Crewel moaned as you clenched down tight and sped up his thrusts nailing deep inside you.

You sobbed and clutched at his vest wishing you two were naked. You wanted to feel his soft skin underneath your palms. To feel your nails claw down his back.

The pressure in your belly was growing too high.

"M-Master I'm going to-" You keened feeling his thumb rub your clit.

He pulled away from suckling your collarbone, "Then cum, my little spoiled pup."

With a wail of pure pleasure-thst oddly sounded alot like Crewel's nane-the spring snapped and release washed over you.

Your nerves were on fire and your core was clenching hard on the man's cock that was brutally pounding into you. Your back fell against the desk sobs mixing with your moans feeling him in so deep, extending your bliss.

At last he came and you shuddered feeling his cock twitch violently inside you. Crewel slammed his palms beside you to prevent himself from falling onto you.

He was sweating and panting but he couldn't deny that was one of his top sessions. When he peeled off the condom so much cum had been stored in there. Maybe another time you can give him a blow job and feel that cum rain on your lips and face.

Your honey pot tingled at the thought but was too exhausted to make anything out of it. You wiped your cheeks with your sleeve at least trying to look presentable.

You saw him reach into his jacket pocket and pulled out a phone.

"Here's your phone," Crewel held out the device and you eagerly took it back.

"Thank you Ma-Mr. Crewel." You blushed in embarsment remembering you were the one who gave him the title.

He didn't exactly ask for that specific title.

"You can only call me Master during our...study sessions." He grinned.

"You mean...this isn't a one time thing?" A soft smile came to your lips.

"Hmph. You are lacking stamina and I'll have to see just how good your rebound is...but yes, indeed my dear pup."

You nodded and he leaned down to gently kiss your cheek.

"Go on now, pup. Go have fun."

"What about my...?"

"These?" He held them up and you blushed at the ruined condition they were in.

"These are staying with me."

"What?!"

"And it's rather windy today pup. Do be cautious on your way back." He purred.

You wanted to spew insults but you knew it wasn't worth it. With a sigh you wished your teacher a good day and walked off.

Once you arrived back to the Ramshackle dorm your poor honey pot was once again dripping. The wind blowing past your sensitive skin and the brutal fact that if you weren't careful the boys of the school would have a good look at it.

"That damn Mr. Crewel!"....

[baratiddyappreciator]

Hii! I heard you take requests? How about some childhood headcanons? Like what were these guys like when they were small… :0

Oh I am so glad someone asked this one because I've been having ideas bouncing around but haven't actually thought of making a post of my own. (Throwing in a bonus Natsue and Tokugawa because why not?)

Baki:

He was a trouble-maker through and through. He didn't pay attention whenever he did attend school, and he'd always pick fights with any kids bigger or stronger than him so he could improve and get stronger, like his father.

Emi probably got a lot of phone calls from the schools to come get her rowdy ass child because he was being a menace. He wouldn't bully kids, but he would bully the bullies, and while a lot of the younger kids admired him because he'd get the bullies off their backs, they also feared him.

Baki has chilled out a lot since he first fought his father and joined the underground arena, bro used to be a fireball.

Kozue:

She was an angel, a quiet child, but an angel. She was sweet and helping her teachers with any tasks that they were doing. This girl cleaned the chalkboards, helped tidy up the class, and would even collect test papers and set them on the teachers desk, all without even being asked to.

Sweet to even the other kids, she wouldn't get picked on because most of the older kids thought she was just too adorable, and any attempts from younger students to pick on Kozue were very quickly thwarted by older kids, and once even Baki, though that was completely unintentional.

Despite her hard-working personality, sometimes Kozue would finish up early enough to just sit and doodle on her work instead of doing other things. The margins of her notebooks would be full of little flowers, butterflies and cats.

Hanayama:

Quiet. Very quiet. He didn't really have a lot of friends as a kid, he was just big and quiet and other kids were too scared of him to really bother him. He spent a lot of time with his mom instead of his dad, though considering his dad passed pretty early on in his life, that wasn't really something he did willingly.

He didn't talk to a lot of kids, instead, he found himself mostly hanging around adults, so he's got a very old man way of speaking compared to other people his age, but sometimes he slips into a more expected tone.

It wasn't until he was about thirteen that he really started getting a cocky attitude, and by that point it was just puberty, which, obviously, hit him like a fuckin bus.

Katsumi:

Before he was adopted by Doppo and Natsue, he was a pretty careless kid, but seeing his own biological father get mauled by a lion did a number on him. He used to have nightmares about it, but after a few years of therapy and care from Doppo and Natsue, he came to terms with it.

Given the chance, with the proper financial support and some of the best out there, Katsumi absolutely flourished. Doppo was teaching him Karate, sure, but he also had tutors to help him get some of the best grades in class.

He started slacking off when he was about sixteen, but he still did fairly good. He was a major spoiled brat when he was in his mid teens, though he did still at least treat his mother well.

Jack:

He was always a really quiet kid, even before he was put back into his mom's custody, and he just kept getting quieter as he got older. Part of that is due to Diane's poor parenting, but another part of that is just his own personality.

Man was an absolute menace, he would crack back at anyone if they annoyed him enough, teachers, other students, anyone. He's quick with his words, though he doesn't always use them.

He's really good with younger kids, purely because he'd be running around just as much as them when he was younger in an attempt to get his stamina and strength up. He quickly became that cool older kid that would lay the younger kids climb all over him.

Kosho:

He was very similar to Kozue as a child, surprisingly enough, very quiet, but super sweet towards his teachers. Unlike Kozue though, the only thing protecting him from bullies was Kureha, and if Kureha wasn't there, he was free game.

By the time Kureha was going into high school, Kosho was left alone by bullies, because good lord he had this feral look in his eyes and nobody was about to mess with that.

He'd lose his homework a lot, not when it was time to turn it in, but right when it was handed to him. It would go into his bag, and then it would just vanish. He'd always find it in time to fill it out and hand it in, but it was just an odd occurrence he never knew how to explain.

Kureha:

He was a well behaved child, but ask any of his old teachers and they would tell you that they just got this feeling that this kid was weird, but he never really did anything worthy of getting into trouble.

He was sly, and he was really good at being sly. If he wanted someone to do something, he'd find a way to get them to do it without him even having to ask them to do it.

Definitely had a reputation as a boy scout to literally everyone but the kids that would pick on his younger brother. Because once there were no eyes on them, this man was a straight menace.

Retsu:

An ANGEL, just an absolute sweetheart. He looked up to his teachers and mentors. Really, before he accidentally, you know, killed a man, he was a perfectly sweet person.

He absolutely was the kind of kid that got jealous that he didn't have a full beard. Look at some of the people he grew up around, he was absolutely fuming that he didn't have a full beard. Until he tried to grow one, then he realised that they weren't for him and has been clean shaven since.

Someone had to show him how to braid hair at some point, and he was just flabbergasted by the idea. He tried to braid literally everything that he could just do that.

Doppo:

An absolute charmer. We all know that super charismatic kid, and that was definitely Doppo. Just look at that smile! You can't tell me that he didn't learn that a grin like that could get people to do what he wanted.

He was a smug bastard too, definitely one kid that would annoy the hell out of any adult, but one that would absolutely be popular with other students because "oh look he's talking back to the teacher"

He was a class clown in high school, all charming and funny, but he would start stuttering whenever Natsue walked into the room. Man was head over heels for her, even back then.

Natsue:

Natsue has always been somewhat of an old soul, even when she was little, but she was absolutely a girlie girl for a long time. Everything had to be pink or purple, pastels were her favourites.

She loved going to different field trips to important landmarks, she's always liked them and finds them relaxing to go to.

On her first date with Doppo, he took her to a festival, got all dressed up and everything, only for him to get a "random" and violent nosebleed (he got punched in the face before he went and it was a delayed reaction) and they wound up just ditching the festival to go sit up by the river and watch the fireworks.

Shibukawa:

T R O U B L E. Just trouble. He was a brat and a little shit. Stinky man. Problem causer. He would constantly pull pranks and cause problems in his classes and at home.

If this man had siblings then I guarantee you he was simultaneously the favourite and least favourite. Because he absolutely would do something stupid and blame it on his siblings, then make it up to them later... Only to do the same thing and get them in trouble.

He was absolutely the fun older kid that showed the younger ones cool tricks and funny jokes, if only to spread some mischief.

Tokugawa:

He wasn't too different, admittedly. Just take him, remove the wrinkles, give him hair and shrink him a little bit, and boom, you have child Tokugawa, relatively care-free and happy-go-lucky.

Really, the only thing that made him stand out was his knack for finding talented fighters. He would just get really quiet, and then, in a sweet little child voice, he'd point at someone and go "you've killed someone before"

He and Sabuko used to be really close, but when he inherited the dome they started to grow apart, especially since she had her own life to handle.

[dazzlerazz]

Sometimes, when I'm scrolling through art, I have a tendency to compare my work to others'

"Oh, this looks great! I wish I could draw like that"

"They must have spent a lot of time on this art. Why can't I do that?"

"Why am I not as good as this? I've worked hard"

It makes me feel like I've made no progress at all, I'm miles behind all the beautifully talented artists on the planet. It makes me want to remove all the art I've ever posted, and then drop off every platform in shame because I dared post my doodles for the internet to see

In recent months I've been trying to talk myself out of this. I know I'm not being fair to myself at all by comparing my skills to theirs. I can be proud of how far I've come and I can love and adore all the art that other people have made, I don't need to constantly compare with everyone, because art isn't a competition

Art isn't a game to be won, it's not a race to see who can get the best art skills the fastest. It's a a hobby, not a competition

I know that one day, I might get to those art skills. I will get there, if I try hard enough. If I keep going the pace I am now, instead of trying to force progress when I need to slow down

I think of all the adults that can't do what I do. Granted, I've been doodling every day for years and have taken art classes, and they haven't done either, but if they were to try to redraw something of mine, it wouldn't come out the same. I'm not the best artist by any means necessary, oh no, but that itself is proof that I have made progress in honing my art

I need to learn to take a step back. I need to learn to be kind to myself, I need to learn that I'm doing just fine, that I don't need to stress myself out over if my art is Good Enough

I'll be alright. I can only get better from here

This post is brought to you by lack of sleep, a cup of tea that certainly hasn't done me any good, and a plate of pizza rolls at 5 AM in the morning while I draw. I'm exhausted and needed to get this out, it's been hanging on my head for weeks

[vorpal-fnord]

you clearly have no prior experience in art lmao

I write in my free time and have been commissioned to write stories for people several times. I also look forward to the day when GPT3's successor is able to spit out high-quality, coherent, novel-length text about whatever we want.

My partner is an artist by trade. I still think empowering more people to express themselves through prompt engineering is going to open the door to a lot of really cool stuff, even if some people will want to wait for generators that trained on art acquired in more ethical ways according to their personal moral code.

I'm not worried about humans being replaced by computers.

I think it sucks that the jobs that are most threatened by these new developments aren't the ones that had a lot of build up and anticipation around them like truck-driving or factory-line work. I think a lot of people were blind-sided when A.I. art turned out to be lower-hanging fruit than a dozen other kinds of menial jobs that might cause short-term disruption for the current work force, but which wouldn't lead to the tough questions about something as quintessentially human as art being encroached upon.

But what's hard for humans is not necessarily hard for computers.

I get why people, especially people who make their living from art, are worried. I'm not going to pretend that there's not a scary uncertainty hanging in the air right now.

But my hope is that this will be more like chess in the long term.

The average cell phone running the right software, is a better chess player than any human being on earth.

And yet, people still play chess. People still make a living playing chess. People still learn the game, and find it interesting to discuss, and go to chess clubs, and make Youtube videos about it, and fall in love with chess. The chess A.I. has even opened up amazing avenues nobody expected, like allowing people to examine games between grandmasters and see mistakes they made or alternate ways the games might have gone.

Don't misunderstand me. This new technology will be disruptive. When all the dust is settled, things will probably look quite different for artists in 100 years.

But humans still weight lift even though the ox is stronger than we'll ever be. Humans still sprint even though the cheetah is faster than we'll ever be. Humans still ride horses for the pleasure of it, even though cars will get you there faster.

I have a lot of friends who are artists, and I have been seeing a lot of them falling into despair about A.I. art. I don't want to be a pollyanna and pretend that none of the things they're concerned about will come to pass.

But the beautiful thing about humans is that we spend hours perfecting card tricks and sleight of hand. We do this even though there's certainly someone out there who will be better at it than us. We do it even though the vast majority of us will never be professional illusionists.

We write, and we paint, and we sing, and none of those things is a competition. The only race you're running is against yourself. We do these things because we are human, because we love to do them, and because we want to express ourselves.

I wish I could tell all my artist friends the things they need to hear to make them understand that this new world we're in isn't going to take their own art away from them. It's not an end for self-expression through art, and it doesn't make all the skills they spent years learning useless. It doesn't invalidate the time they spent sketching embarrassing doodles in a notebook instead of listening in class, or taking art as an elective a second time because their school didn't have any other art classes, or all the time they spent just trying to get hands or expressions or poses right.

I understand we're all living under the constraints of a capitalist society.

People need money to live, and if you have the means, I encourage everyone who's reading to commission their friends, become a patron of an artist you believe in, and consider filling your house with beautiful human-made art that has special meaning for you.

Until we have UBI, or luxury gay space communism, it will always be hard for artists, and I sympathize with that. I absolutely think everyone out there should be the change they want to see, and let this be an opportunity for human-made art to flourish. Commit to help your local art scene, go to an art gallery, and talk about human-made art with your friends. Don't just let your interest taper off in a few months, keep going back, keep buying and supporting it for years to come.

But I don't think it will be the worst outcome in the world if a teenager 100 years from now who is just finding their voice types a prompt into an ethically-sourced A.I. art generator, and gets a beautiful image that inspires them, that they craft their own meaning and mythology around, and which becomes a part of their life. Because that's human too.