#the only background I can draw is desert cliffs and it shows

[three-fold-symmetry]

I love your page so much i cant believe i just found it! If you are open to requests id love to see Captain Howzer. Your drawings are so lovely <3

Aah, thank you!! 🧡

I know nothing about Howzer, except what I've absorbed through osmosis from the people I follow, but he seems like a nice young man. I hope I did this right.

[oonajaeadira]

The Mandalorian Tarot: Major Arcana

If you’re following me, you know this is a Mandalorian obsessive account. I love the man, I love the show, I write a Mando-fando that is all about pining and touch. I tend to go all in when I have an interest. 

Another one of my interests? Tarot. A friend challenged me to Mandalorify the major arcana. And because Jon and Dave know their stuff and are good with archetypes (which is all tarot really is), it was an easy fit.

YOU GOT MANDO IN MY TAROT. YOU GOT TAROT IN MY MANDO. TWO GREAT TASTES THAT TASTE GREAT TOGETHER.

But. I can’t draw, so I’ve dreamed them in words and included the Rider-Waite-Smith deck illustrations that I would riff on if I could.

READY? LET’S PLAY.

(All tarot illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith. All Mandalorian images property of Star Wars/Disney.)

UPDATE! @heathenashtattoos​ has taken up where I cannot and is making these cards a reality! I will post them individually and come back to link them to this post as we go.

0 THE FOOL = THE MANDALORIAN / IT IS MADE! --->

The story of the tarot is the Fool’s journey, the arc of becoming. So it makes sense to me that Din would be the fool. Fits even better, since he has tremendous Fool energy in his himbo tendencies, just rushing forward into situations without a lot of planning--he’ll deal with it when he’s in it--ready to rely on others to show him the way or guide/help him to the next step.

If I could draw: Din on the cliff, with his jetpack on, meaning he has no fear of falling. Instead of the bindle-stick the Fool carries, he’d have his pulse rifle slung over his shoulder. Instead of the dog nipping at his heels, Grogu. And, of course, the landscape would be Tatooine/Navaro-esque.

~~~

1 THE MAGICIAN = LUKE SKYWALKER , IT IS MADE! --->

The Magician is someone who is still learning to bend the laws of magic/the Universe, but very adept with their tools. Since Luke is only a few years into his Jedi training at this time, he makes a pretty good Magician.

If I could draw: Luke in his blacks, holding up his lightsaber. The Jedi symbol would replace the infinity sign. 

***

2 THE HIGH PRIESTESS = AHSOKA TANO / IT IS MADE! -->

High Priestess is further along the path of her magic than Magician, and her knowledge is more intuitive, her skills more effortless. Where the Magician is still learning the balance of light and dark, the High Priestess knows the value and pitfalls of both. It was always going to be Ahsoka.

If I could draw: Ahsoka sitting cross-legged in meditation mode, but with eyes open and a knowing smile. Instead of two pillars, she holds her lightsabers up and parallel to each other.

***

3 THE EMPRESS = PELI MOTTO / IT IS MADE! -->

The Empress is the mother figure, the energy in the universe that provides all that is needed and embodies the energy of creation. I can see the argument for Omera being the Empress--mostly because she is a mom and she’s soft and a lot of people see the Empress as a soft female figure, I get it. (And if I were to do a minor arcana, girl would show up as one of the Queens for sure.) But in the end, I gave it to Peli because she’s a recurring character, more relevant in his story, and if Din is the Fool, Peli is more an Empress to him. She’s able to be the provider of his particular needs; services to his ship to get him up flying, contact and location information, and she’s always willing to care for Grogu whenever she gets the chance.

If I could draw: Peli sitting in the dock, against the R4 unit, holding aloft a spanner and surrounded by her pit droids.

***

4 THE EMPEROR = BOBA FETT / IT IS MADE! -->

The Emperor is all about authority. And all I gotta say about Boba is BIG DICK ENERGY.

If I could draw: Just put him on the Jabba throne and let him lounge like a badass.

~~~

5 THE HIEROPHANT = THE ARMORER / IT IS MADE! -->

The Hierophant is the keeper of traditions and a spiritual guide. As the leader of the covert and keeper of the Way, The Armorer fits.

If I could draw: The Armorer, framed by her forge, holding aloft her tools, with Mandalorian acolytes. Instead of the crossed keys at the bottom, let’s just have a mythosaur skull.

***

6 THE LOVERS = FROG LADY AND FROG HUSBAND

This should be obvious and I will fight anyone who says it isn’t the right thing to do. I will die for this.

If I could draw: I would actually depart from the Smith depiction and just draw them embracing or holding each other by the arms and staring into each others’ eyes. Some kind of glowing background? Maybe the egg tank?

***

7 THE CHARIOT = THE MUDHORN

Oh. You thought I was going to say the Razor Crest, didn’t you. Don’t worry, I have plans for our beloved craft, but it ain’t here. The Chariot can be a ride, yes, but it’s about victory. Sometimes it’s about the victory over your inner “beastly” natures. To travel to the next phase in the journey, the Fool must take on the beasts that drive the Chariot and claim dominance over them, and when he does, they will carry him to the next level. Since it’s the victory of the beastly mudhorn that brings Din to his bond with Grogu and becomes his signet, Mudhorn for the win.

If I could draw: Again, I’d probably play on Smith’s imagery, put the charging mudhorn in the middle, and replace the rams with Din on his knees brandishing the vibroblade and Grogu in his pram with his Force hand up.

***

8 STRENGTH = CARA DUNE

Don’t come at me about including Cara. I am glad Gina got shown the door and I lose no love on that bigot. But. Cara is not Gina and to cut her out is to cut out Jon and Dave’s creation and I won’t do it.  I actually love her a lot--she’s got her flaws, but she’s sassy and strong and solid, and I would happily accept a piggyback ride from her any day. She’s also a major player in Din’s story and deserves a spot in it. Strength comes after the Chariot--once you’ve conquered the beast within, you have confident dominion over it and it becomes a companion or a tool for your use. Cara is one with her toughness, she’s used it to do some good and bad shit in her past, and she continues to wield it effortlessly and fearlessly. She is absolutely this card.

If I could draw: I would put her maybe sitting on top of the downed ATST. I’d replace the infinity symbol over her head with the one on her cheek (Rebel Alliance).

~~~

9 THE HERMIT = KUIIL

The Hermit is a loner, yes, but in his solitude he looks within, learns from all he’s been through, and becomes wise. He holds aloft a light of wisdom and truth. This was always going to be Kuiil.

If I could drawn: Just our buddy, looking out over the Arvala-7 landscape, holding aloft an in-universe working lamp. No need to get fancy. He would want it to stay simple.

***

10  THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE = IMPERIAL SYMBOL AND STORM TROOPERS

The Wheel is fate. You win some, you lose some. Sometimes you’re on top, and sometimes the Wheel crushes you beneath it. You are helpless to its roll and where you’ll land. Storm Troopers are such a sad bunch. They are keepers of Imperial Law on the ground. On a good day, they capture a Rebel or hold off an attack. On a bad day, their Moff just blasts them to make an example.

If I could draw: The wheel would just be the Imperial symbol and there’d be Troopers on and under it. Maybe the one on top is just standing there, looking authoritative. The one underneath has been blasted. Some Wheels have two more figures--one on each side--and I’d add those too. The one on the down-going side would be falling, arms flailing, blaster shooting (if only sound were available, there’d be a Whilhelm scream), and the one on the up-going side would just be dangling by one arm, along for the ride.

***

11 JUSTICE = COBB VANTH

Well, it just feels right to make the Marshal into Justice. But it’s not just a literal translation of making sure the right thing gets done and the bad guys are punished. Justice is about wiping away emotion and making decisions with bare truth, looking at every side of the situation and understanding what is really there. And I think Cobb fits this well. He doesn’t want to give up his armor because of what it means for the protection of his people. But he’s willing to consider it, if there’s another way he can protect them. Emotionally, he doesn’t want to deal with the Tusken Raiders, but he does it because he can see it’s the best course of action. He flies into battle with the Krayt Dragon. He gives up his armor without a fight. He makes a fair trade and sees the balance in it because he walks away from the emotion and chooses the best course of action. Cobb Vanth for Justice, errybody.

If I could draw: Cobb in the Fett armor, but with the helmet at his feet. In one hand, a bottle of spotchka. In the other, the Tusken mushroom drinky thing; he’s holding them with equal balance.

***

12 THE HANGED MAN = MIGS MAYFELD

The Hanged Man is not just about a dude who’s hanging upside down. (If that was the case, I would have just gone with Gor Koresh and called it a day.) Hanged Man is about changing your perspective to see things in a new way so you can grow. Many times, this growth also requires sacrifice. Over the two episodes we see Mayfeld, we know he goes from Imperial sharp shooter, to traumatized deserter, to merc, prisoner, and exonerated friend. He’s seen some shit, given up a lot, and he’s willing to see how he can be a help to others and find redemption for himself.

If I could draw: Hear me out. Take the image of Mayfeld hanging upside down from the Crest hatch into the prison ship. Mirror that above with an image of him in his Imperial Ground Transport gear. Flip it all upside down so bad Mayfeld up top, good Mayfeld on bottom, images mirrored but inverted, hence “looking at things a new way and getting everything a little topsy-turvey.”

~~~

13 DEATH = MOFF GIDEON

Death is about transformation, so it’s not always the most sinister card. But Death does not discriminate. It comes for us all, constantly stalking, and it will strike you down to serve its needs. You need to face Death to get to your redemption. But really, Gideon is our big baddie here, so why the hell not.

If I could draw: I would forgo the Smith illustration and go for the Marseilles tradition on this one. Gideon and the Darksaber replaces Death and the scythe.

*** 

14 TEMPERANCE = IG-11

Temperance is the transformation that comes after Death. Once Death has chopped your physical being into pieces with his scythe, Temperance is there to take all your pieces and put them back together into something new and better. It’s also a card that asks you to re-evaluate your priorities and see if you can find better motivations than you previously had. IG’s death and reprogramming speak loudly to me on this.

If I could draw: IG pouring the tea.

***

15 THE DEVIL = THE CLIENT

Here’s another baddie card that’s all about your worst faults, about excess and giving into the stuff that will eventually kill your soul. The Client holds on hard to the Empire, doing whatever he’s ordered to do to be one of the top dogs. And in the end, it doesn’t matter. Gideon takes him down like he’s nothing.

If I could draw: The client, wearing his Empire bling, with chains around Doctor Pershing and a rough-looking Storm Trooper.

***

16 THE TOWER = THE RAZOR CREST

I don’t know about you, but Chapter 14 killed me. And not because the Dark Troopers flew away with Grogu. We all knew Din would never stop at getting him back. But when the Crest was destroyed, it was like someone punched me in the soft parts, and I made a lot of severely anguished noises. The Tower is the most tragic card in the tarot. It’s when forces beyond your control make a very big (and usually negative) impact in your life and everything changes. You are left to pick up the pieces and survive any way you can with the skills and resources you’ve been blessed with.

If I could draw: Just that moment of the ray hitting our beautiful Crest, just as it begins to break apart, maybe with Din, Boba, and Fennec watching in horror in the foreground.

~~~

17 THE STAR = GROGU

The Star is hope. It comes after the biggest tragedy in the deck to tell you that not all is lost. There is always something there to live for. C’mon, kids. In this series, there was only one choice.

If I could draw: Just Grogu. Maybe drinking his soup. Or maybe he’s levitating his metal ball overhead, reaching up to it with a smile on his face. *coos*

***

18 THE MOON = BO KATAN KRYZE

We all like Bo Katan, sure. But remember my Clone Wars/Rebels fiends, she was Death Watch, and they were terrorists. She sided with Maul to take over Mandalore. Sure, she’s come a long way and her path is a bit more honorable now, but she’s got an agenda, which makes her hard to trust. Since the Moon is about more feminine energies and has themes of illusion and deception--things look great in the moonlight, but maybe not as they really are--Bo Katan’s our girl.

If I could draw: Head and shoulders profile, double-imaged so you see her face, but her Nite Owl helmet superimposed in profile over it. Nite Owl signet on the bottom. Possibly flanked by her two Nite Owl cronies.

***

19 THE SUN = GREEF KARGA

Everything's sunny when Greef’s around! He’s the feel-good gramps that’s going to make any situation A-Ok! If you’ve got a problem, Greef can sort it out...or he knows someone who can! The sun is always gonna shine on you and take you back.

If I could draw: Just Greef smiling and being cheesy with the halo of the sun around him. 

***

20 JUDGEMENT = FENNEC SHAND

This card traditionally shows the resurrected rising from the grave, ready to be judged. Fennec’s got a lot to answer for in her life, but she is being given a second chance, and my number one girl crush is going to do new and wonderful badass things with it.

If I could draw: I’d either just show her opening her gut pocket to show her new works, all full of aura, with her looking down at it reverently. OR I might do a scene of her being rescued by Boba.

~~~

21 THE WORLD = THE HELMET

Din’s helmet is the world he lives in. But it’s also a symbol of The Way. The World represents completion, a wholeness of self and being, the end of the journey. And since Din is our Fool, his journey is an exploration of his morals and honor, what it means to walk the way of the Mandalore, and what the meaning of the helmet is for him. He may choose ultimately to keep it on and go all-in on Mandalorian-4-lyfe (Child of the Watch style), or he may understand that the helmet is just a symbol and the honor was in him all along; he can wear it or not wear it and it’s all the same.

If I could draw: The World usually depicts a circle or sphere of some kind, the symbol of perfect completion. The helmet is close enough, so it takes up the center. Traditionally, there are four symbols in the corners that give more meaning to The World, and I would replace them with The Razor Crest, Grogu, the Mudhorn Signet, and the pulse rifle or blaster. These represent his home, his foundling, his clan, and his religion, all of which make up more of the whole; what it means to him to be Mandalorian.

~~~~~~~~~~

Challenge accepted and faced. 

Adira dops her witchy mic….

[pi-cat000]

MSA: Take Back The Future (part 3)

Summary: Vivi and Arthur travel back in time to the beginning of Hellbent. Neither of them are okay. 

(Part 1) (Part 2)

.

Mystery, instead of answering Vivi’s questions, leaps over the seat dividing the front and back areas of the van, exiting out the back doors.

“Wait, ” Vivi yells after Mystery, “get to back here and explain what happened to my memories.”

/It is not a tale that can be simply told. Not right now when we may be in danger/

Arthur thinks kitsune turned dog sounds slightly strained but it’s hard to really tell with Mystery’s weird telepathy. When the meaning of words are projected right into your brain some of the nuance is lost.

“Who is Shiromori? Why is she attacking us?” Vivi tries, following to glare at Mystery who circles the van, barely paying attention to the two of them. “Just answer one question!”

His mechanical arm twitches of its own accord and he eyes it nervously.  To hell with it. Arthur frees his hand and begins to feel about for the quick release lever hidden under a panel on his upper arm. After the van crash and almost getting thrown to his death, the arm had been too banged up to safely remove, jamming in place.  Best to be rid of it now, before everything when to shit all over again.

The sound of his heavy metal arm hitting the ashfelt draws Vivi’s attention and she turns to give him a quizzical expression.

“Better off then on,” He explains, “Wasn’t really working that well anyway. Hopefully, that’ll get rid of the curse as well.” Honestly, this cruse is the least of his worries.

Vivi exhales and Arthur can see the stress pinching her mouth, pulling it down into an uncharacteristic frown, “If the curse is specifically attached to your arm then removing it might work. On the other hand, if it’s anything like the one that got my memories then who the hell knows what will work. I certainly don’t. Apparently, I don’t know a lot of things.”

The last sentence is louder, directed at Mystery. There is no response from the dog who is staring off into the middle distance, head to one side like he is listening intently for something.  Arthur offers Vivj an uneasy shrug. He has his own questions for Mystery regarding Vivi’s memories, his arm, and the night they both went missing. However, his most recent run-in with dead-Lewis has him quickly reordering his priorities. None of the answers are going to mean much if he’s dead. Again…

Speaking of which… On the horizon, a purple light flares, glowing brightly against the dark backdrop. Arthur’s mouth goes suddenly dry and limbs feel very cold. Yeah, that seamed about right…

/You called this spirit Lewis?/ Mystery turns his head to examine him, expression troubled. /Are you sure?/  

He gives a short nod, eyes darting from Mystery then back to the road. It looks like Mystery is planning something based on how his fur is glowing red. He’d seen a similar red glow on the night of Lewis’s disappearance and during the confrontation outside his Uncle’s workshop. How much did Mystery know about Lewis? The question sticks in his mind, painfully heavy.

“Lewis? You mean the purple fire ghost? The one that caused the van crash?” Vivi steps up next to him, eyes locked onto the truck which grows quickly larger, “How are we going to stop it from running us all over?”

It’s too late to try a drive or run away now. Even if he decides to run there is a steep rocky slope on one side and a sharp climb on the other. If he did make it down by some miracle there was just flat desert and no cover for miles. Arthur doesn’t voice this observation instead commenting in a voice several octaves higher than normal, “I don’t think you need to worry about the ghost running you over. I’m pretty sure he’s only after me. So…ah…maybe don’t stand near me?”

Why? Why was Lewis trying to hurt him? In his mind’s eye, Lewis and Mystery meld together into a nightmare inferno of fire, teeth and death.

“I don’t want you to get run over either.” Vivi’s voice sounds faint, coming to him like it has travelled a great distance. Too much fear packed into too short a timeframe is making it harder and harder to concentrate. The ice at her feet thickens into long sheets, which creep out over the road, freezing it solid. He is probably lucky his remaining arm hasn’t frozen off with how tight Vivi had been holding it. Maybe if he turns into a giant Arthur icicle and he can sit this whole thing out. The hysterical thought momentarily breaks through his mounting panic.  

/Wait./

Arthur can almost hear the crackle of fire and the hum of the truck's engine.

/ You should not be drawing on so much of this power at once! You’ll damage the seal further!/

“I’m not letting Arthur die again. Anything comes near us and I’ll make whoever it is, regret it… that includes you.”

Vivi steps out so she is positioned in the centre of the road.

/I can handle this confrontation. There are still many aspects to the situation that you remain unaware of./

“And how am I supposed to fix that if you won’t tell me anything.”

/ I swear I will explain when there is more time. I only ever wanted to protect you./

“I don’t believe you.”

Vivi snaps the final sentence and punctuates it with a sharp hand gesture aimed at the oncoming truck. Several lines of ice stretch out and down the road, racing away from Vivi to meet the oncoming vehicle. Shining an ethereal blue, the frost coats the road’s surface, smoothing it over. Arthur catches the briefest glimpse of skeletal Lewis before the truck hits the ice sheets and the wheels suddenly lose traction.  The sound of metal crunching is deafening, accompanied by the hiss of water abruptly vaporising. Heat and cold collide in a cacophony cracking ice and explosion of steam.

A flash of bright purple fire. Mystery disappears, obscured by the thick columns of steam. He finds himself being yanked to the side by Vivi just in time to watch the purple truck careen past in a shower of sparks and groaning metal. At such high speeds, it rams straight into and through the guardrails separating the road from the rocky slope. Stunned, Arthur watches it disappear over the edge. If Lewis hadn’t already been dead then Arthur might have been worried. The sound of banging and crashing, as the truck presumably roles several times, has him physically wincing. Scratch that, he was worried. Very worried. Worried enough that it overtakes his mental panic and replaces it with deep concern. How durable were ghosts? He doesn’t know and that scares him. 

“Vivi! What the hell,” He finally manages to spit out, breaking his panic-induced stupor. He tries to rush past her, intent on checking for any signs of Lewis. He promptly slips. The combination of ice and his lack of a second arm throws off his balance and he ends up falling backward. He is saved from a collision with the ground by Vivi who seemed to now have supernatural levels of balance and was unaffected by the slippery surface.

“I …wow. That was… something.” Vivi breaths, examining the road still covered in planes of ice as if not quite believing it.

“Help me to the edge,” He interrupts, trying and failing to stand straight collapsing back on her, “I need to see if he’s okay,”

“Who’s okay? The ghost?"

“Yes.”

"You want to see if the ghost is okay? You said it was trying to hurt you?”

Arthur can practically see the concern and confusion now hanging over Vivi as she looks down from where she's holding him up by his one good arm.

“It’s just…a misunderstanding or something. I…we…might know this ghost.”

“What?”

“Just help me check.” He motions with his remaining arm. Visible through the plums of steam are thicker lines of darkened smoke coming from the space where the truck had disappeared.

....

Note: I’m Sorry to everyone who’s showed interest in this AU but i’m not sure if i’ll continue this since i’ve lost motivation.  Here are some of the more coherent plot notes if people are interested in this AU. Feel free to ask questions if u have any :) . 

...

-   Shiromori shows up directly after Lewis’s crash, distracting Mystery. With all the steam obscuring their vision Arthur and Vivi don’t realise that Shiromori has arrived immediately, and there is enough time to briefly look for Lewis. 

- Lewis makes it out of the truck crash only slightly worse for wear and tries to attack Arthur. Vivi moves to defend Arthur, then Arthur has to defend Lewis and it’s all very awkward for everyone. 

- Lewis sees how scared Arthur is a reconsiders his revenge plot, hesitating long enough to get some dialogue in. 

 - Arthur finally gives Vivi a brief Lewis overview (sans the whole ‘he almost threw me off a fake cliff thing’). Vivi is suspicious and somewhat unconvinced. Lewis is slightly confused when Vivi starts referring to the alternate time line. 

- Not time for further discussion because Mystery is fighting Shiromori and, since he had warning this time, he’s winning. 

(fight scene stuff. Vivi rushes in to do something idk this part is not planned.) 

Vivi overused ice abilities. 

Lewis and Arthur have a moment alone. 

Vivi, slightly untrusting of Mystery, ends up stepping to stop the two from fighting. (Vivi ends up saving  Shiromori maybe??? a parallel  to the original timeline). A dramatic moment where Vivi rushes in ( maybe takes a blow for Shiromori idk would depend on Shiromori’s backstory) and ends up injured. 

- ??? makes an appearance, takes over Vivi instead of Mystery. 

Some background world building stuff

- Vivi’s ice powers might become unsealed and she is vulnerable to ??? (spiritual energy is damaging to humans if too much is used at once or if is not used correctly)

- Yukino family are spiritual channels making them both more powerful and more vulnerable. Mystery holds a seal to the ability and it eats up a tails worth of power to maintain. Same deal with Shiromori, Mystery holds a seal to keep her fully realised abilities in check which also eats up a lot of power.

- The seal is damaged when Mystery is hurt

- Arthur is unaffected by the ice because he’s got some odd time based supernatural power which has bonded to vivi spiritual signtaure as well. This is the reason ??? want to possess Arthur. One possible resolution was for Arthur to figure out how to rewind time to the seconds before Vivi gets possessed, giving her a chance to defeat ???. It takes a lot of power which Lewis ends up giving to him. 

[supremeuppityone]

This is a sequel to Chapter 81: Part 8 — Klarosummer Bingo in my Klaroline series, A Beautiful Symmetry. This was written for Klaroline Bingo @klaroline-events. Prompt: Working. As con artists, Caroline, Bonnie and Katherine knew the risks, but when the Mikaelson brothers conned them, their fight AND flight response kicked into overdrive.

Chapter 122: The Hamptons — Part 2

“It is safer to beg than to take, but it is finer to take than to beg.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man Under Socialism

           Nothing was more satisfying than pushing Klaus’ shiny Jaguar over the cliff. It was the final item on Caroline’s to do list as she, Bonnie and Katherine left the Hamptons. Caroline stood with her friends, refusing to flinch as the sound of shattering glass and screeching metal collided with the jagged rocks below. She got sloppy. She should’ve realized a mid-market convertible less than $100,000 would never have been the vehicle of choice for a jet-setting playboy whose family money went back generations.

           “Fucking Mikaelsons played us,” Katherine snarled, brown eyes flashing angrily. “We set up the perfect con, a final score so we could retire, only for it to blow up in our faces when we found out they were trying to con us!”

           Bonnie opened the cooler at their feet, twisting off the top of the beer bottle and taking a deep gulp. “We got them in the end, though. Posted all their fake identities on that stupid Hamptons gossip site. They’re burned in the Northeast now — I even tipped off the highway patrol to be on the lookout for Kol’s Rover.”

           “Did we use cornstarch or flour to mimic the coke the cops will find in the back,” Caroline asked with a mocking grin, clinking her bottle with Bonnie’s in celebration.

           Katherine chuckled darkly. “Flour. But only on the bottom. The top are a few kilos courtesy of our old Markos connection.”

           The women shared a laugh, but Caroline found her gaze straying back to the wreckage below. It had been years since a man had tricked her. Since she’d let a man get close. Still seething over Klaus’ betrayal, her tone was fierce as she said, “The Mikaelsons no longer matter. It’s time to move on to our next job.”  

          “Working shouldn’t be this hard,” Caroline muttered, her voice muffled behind her mask as she polished the alabaster jar on the lathe equipment. She carefully smoothed the sides, ensuring the machine work wouldn’t be visible.  

           Green eyes narrowed behind her goggles as Bonnie advised, “You should use the bow-drill next to ensure modern tool marks aren’t detected.”

           “Seriously?!” Caroline rolled her eyes, certain that underneath that mask was her friend’s signature scowl. “Do you want to do this instead? It’s not like I’ve ever painstakingly crafted forgeries from five different ancient civilizations. Oh, wait — I have.” She hated how shrill her voice sounded and she knew Bonnie and Katherine were dealing with the same anger and disappointment about what happened in the Hamptons. It wasn’t fair that she was taking her misery out on them. As Bonnie started to storm out of the workshop, Caroline called after her, “Wait. That was shitty. I’m sorry.”

           Bonnie sighed, distractedly running a hand through her sleek bob. “You miss Klaus.” At Caroline’s indignant snort, she shook her head. “Lie to yourself all you want, but I see it and Kat would too if she pulled her head out of her ass. And I miss Kol with his stupid limericks and crazy stories that somehow always start with skydiving and end in the back of a police car.”

           “Kat’s avoiding thinking about Elijah by memorizing campus security and building schematics at Berkeley.”

           The women shared a look of commiseration, knowing that Katherine’s hyper-focusing was almost as dangerous as when she spent too much time at the gun range. She didn’t forgive or forget. Elijah was fortunate that were on the other coast.

           Picking up a steel file, she carefully ran it across the wide base of the jar. “I trust she’s working out the reason why there’s a huge lag time in the security guard patrols on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in the Hildegard Building?”

           Bonnie chuckled, “Figure drawing classes are on those nights. Nude figure drawing. The pervy old guards are trying to make some Girls Gone Wild fantasy happen.”

           “Eww. Also, perfect — I can have the other three jars ready by next Tuesday and Kat can make the switch then.” Caroline was responsible for the main part of the Berkeley con — carve perfect copies of the ancient Egyptian alabaster vessels that Katherine would swap out for the real artifacts. Bonnie already had been hired by Berkeley to authenticate their latest archaeological find. She’d forged impeccable credentials as an Egyptian art authenticator with an emphasis on Old Kingdom artifacts.

           Once Bonnie declared Caroline’s work as authentic, the girls would skip town, leaving Berkeley officials none the wiser that their ‘ancient Egyptian’ artifacts displayed were less than two weeks old. It was a familiar con, one they’d pulled off successfully multiple times across the States. They needed this win. The Mikaelson debacle had shaken their confidence, and the women were desperate to get things back to normal.

           “I’ll leave you to it, then.” Heaving a heavy sigh, Bonnie added, “I should probably go check up on Kat in case she decides setting something on fire would make her feel better.”

           Shaking her head, Caroline got back to work, fervently wishing she knew what would make her feel better. She kept thinking back to the argument she overheard between Klaus and Kol.

           “Don’t tell me this is just another job for you,” Klaus replied angrily, “You got too close to Bonnie and Elijah’s all but forgotten the rest of the world exists thanks to Katherine.”

           Kol scoffed, “And Caroline? I saw that ring — don’t think I’m not aware of what that means to you.”

           She stupidly kept the ring on a long chain around her neck, tucked away under her blouse so her friends wouldn’t see. Why did she do this to herself? Because she heard Klaus’ desperation. However the brothers’ con had begun, somewhere along the way, they’d caught feelings and everything had changed. Just like it had for Caroline and her friends.

           But she also kept recalling little details that she should’ve picked up on, things that could’ve unraveled Klaus’ con sooner had she not been so distracted by how she felt about him.

           With a dimpled smirk from Klaus, Caroline kept forgetting she was in the middle of a con. Despite his seductive smiles, she couldn’t help but notice the genuine excitement he showed when she surprised him with a trip to the art museum. From her extensive research into his background, she knew he had an affinity for art, including a graduate degree in art history. “Isn’t it breathtaking,” she asked, pointing out the beautifully preserved Madonna and Child canvas.

           “It’s an impressive Caravaggio,” Klaus said dismissively, already eyeing the next exhibit.

           Frowning, she asked, “I thought this was a Verrocchio? You’d mentioned he had been your focus when you studied Italian Renaissance art?”

           A slight flush creeped up his neck, and he kissed her knuckles as he purred in his accented voice, “I appreciate a woman who can identify the rebirth of classic antiquity.” There was an endearing hesitancy in his tone as he said, “Actually, I’d like to share my latest passion with you.” With an excited twinkle in his eye, he guided her toward the next gallery, one filled with vibrant colors and bold brush strokes that instantly captured her attention.

           “These are powerful,” she murmured, admiring the series of abstract portraits.

           He squeezed her hand, whispering excitedly, “I discovered GyoBeom An at a low point in my life; his work is an explosive blend of constructing and deconstructing images using a bold, contemporary palette. Even though the brush strokes are strong, almost violent in places, to me, it feels like the art reveals what’s hidden in a whisper rather than a shout.”

           His impassioned speech struck a chord with her, and she was alarmed to realize she’d started to tear up. There were so many things she was hiding from Klaus. So, she told him the only thing she knew to be true. “I’m honored you’d share this with me.”

           Klaus looked nervous, but the sincerity of his tone seemed genuine. “You’re special, Caroline. I wouldn’t share this with anyone else.” And then he kissed her until they were both breathless.

           It was a beautiful memory. And it was all a lie. Just two cons lying to each other, Caroline thought bitterly. She pushed aside the flood of memories that kept trying to break free, and instead bent her head to her work once more.

                              ____________________________________

           Caroline’s expectations for the buyer went up a notch when she got her first look at The Bitter End over on Clement Street. Not only did the bar’s name match her mood, but the grimy, threadbare atmosphere made her feel at home. Better than the pretentious clubs in the Hamptons. Her contact informed her that the dive bar was in a quiet neighborhood away from tourists — the perfect spot to negotiate terms.

           The con was nearly complete — Katherine effortlessly swapped out the ancient artifacts for Caroline’s forgeries and Bonnie had done such an outstanding job ‘authenticating’ that Berkeley had offered her a coveted spot on their latest dig in Karnak, examining a newly discovered series of tunnels underneath the Temple of Amun-Ra. (Katherine was still trying to convince them it was a sign they should take their skills to the exclusive spa in nearby Luxor and run either the Heiress Special or the Desert Rose cons.)

           She crossed the threshold, eyes quickly adjusting to the dim light inside the dive bar. She was there to settle the final part of their con — agree on the price for the ancient Egyptian alabaster jars. Something brushed across the back of her neck, and she turned sharply, ready to deliver an elbow to whichever drunk decided to get too gropey. But no one was there. Suddenly on edge, she headed toward the back booth, where the buyer waited in the shadows.

           The scent of leather and cedar flooded her senses, making her heart pound. He was here. Bonnie would tell her to run. Katherine would tell her to break his nose and then run. Caroline’s curiosity was piqued as she contemplated a third option.

           “Hello, sweetheart,” Klaus greeted her, lovingly caressing the syllables of her name with that seductive accent of his. “Are you armed?”

           “Perhaps. You?”

           Gray eyes twinkling, he replied, “Only with righteous indignation. My brothers and I nearly emptied our bag of tricks calling in favors to make that spot of trouble with the police and the coke disappear.” Leaning forward, his lips curled into a dimpled smirk as he added, “And then there was that unfortunate accident. Going after the car — you certainly know how to cut a man to the quick.”  

           Arms crossed in front of her, Caroline asked defiantly, “Clearly, you scared off my buyer, so you must want something — what is it?”

           “Answers. From you and your cohorts’ actions, it was obvious you figured out what we were up to. You three don’t strike me as cowards — why not confront us?”

           She scowled, not appreciating how close he’d become. He was trying to force a connection. Bastard. “A good grifter knows when to cut her losses. It turned out we were all just con artists trying to scam each other. There was nothing to be gained from staying.”

           A hint of steel entered his gaze as he growled, “Or, there was everything to gain. I thought I fell for a woman that forever would be beyond my reach. The little fictions we told each other gave way to something real. And then we discover we’re even more perfectly suited than we could’ve imagined.”

           Blue eyes widened at his words. What Klaus was suggesting was insane — there could never be trust between cons. “Seriously?! Are you out of your mind? We’d constantly be suspicious of each other, waiting to be screwed over.”

           “Details,” he answered with a careless shrug. “Tell me you haven’t missed me every day since you ran off.”

           “I haven’t,” Caroline answered flatly, refusing to give into this insanity.

           She was prepared for him to lash out, but instead, he flashed her a knowing smile while digging in his pocket. Suddenly, he dangled her long silver chain between them, complete with the beautiful ring he’d made her. That he’d stolen right off her neck.

           Klaus’ desire-filled gaze was intense as he told her, “Good thing for both of us you’re a terrible liar.”

[scripttorture]

In a prison scenario, is there any research on what best prevents people from trying to escape? Good living conditions where they're being held & serious consequences for escaping are two that come to mind, but I'm not certain if those are just tropes. Also, if someone escaped and was severely punished, would they likely try to stop others from escaping? Or assist them so they wouldn't get caught? (Character is mute & must communicate via action, so it's not as simple as explaining it to others)

I haven’t read any research on preventing prison escapes but I find it hard to believe that there isn’t any. I’ve got a grand total of one book specifically on prisons (most of the books I have are on torture or abuse more widely and cover incidents in prisons). The book is Prison Worlds by Fassin, I’m not sure what I think of it yet.

 It talks about escape attempts once. The passage references escape attempts using explosives. It cites one ‘successful’ attempt (the prisoner was free for a grand total of six weeks before recapture) and one unsuccessful attempt (the door held). The larger context is the search for explosives in a cell after a tip off that prisoners were trying to escape using the same method. Nothing was found.

 The overall impression I get from what I’ve read is that successful escapes are pretty rare in the modern day. And how common they were historically depended on context.

 Generally, there isn’t any clear evidence that ‘harsher’ punishments result in a drop in crime. Or rather- there isn’t any evidence that this is the predominant factor.

 Let me give a few examples here to illustrate the point.

 Both India and Pakistan have (at least in theory) strong punishments in place for sexual violence and rape. Sentencing goes up to the death penalty and there is (theoretically) an automatic life imprisonment for some crimes, especially against minors.

 Campaigners believe this has caused a drop in convictions. It has led to courts letting more rapists go free.

 The way that works is pretty simple: the sentencing is seen as so harsh that police, juries and judges do not think defendants ‘deserve’ the punishment, even if they’re believed to be guilty. Less people are brought to court (ie in cases of gang rape it’s common for only one suspect to be charged), more people are acquitted.

 In contrast Kara’s research on sex trafficking strongly suggests that higher sentencing does have a deterrent effect in this case. That’s because his economic based research shows a pretty clear link between price and demand. It also shows that the potential profits for abusers and slavers are incredibly high and are not really dented by the penalties in most countries.

 My instinct here is that any form of corporal punishment in a prison setting could easily have the opposite effect. It could encourage escape attempts and would encourage resistance.

 Decent conditions inside the prison are- well bad prison conditions are often treated as a form of punishment or as part of the punishment. Things like poor heating/cooling conditions, inadequate shelter, not enough food or water, poor quality food, over crowding, lack of hygiene facilities and so forth- I’d argue they should be treated as a form of corporal punishment. Especially since they’re often used as torture, explicitly or implicitly.

 If living conditions are intolerable and prisoners are routinely abused they are going to try to escape. They’re also more likely to attack the guards and attempt suicide. They’re also more likely to attack each other.

 But honestly? I suspect the biggest barriers to escape attempts are physical ones. Walls, rivers, cliffs, fences, locked doors.

 I’d also include natural barriers in this category. People who know that escape means death by starvation or dehydration or exposure are unlikely to make the attempt unless living conditions in the jail are very bad.

 Returning to the earlier point I mentioned briefly about context- I can think a lot of successful historical escapes from jails, prisons, slavery etc. The impression I get was that these were still rare at the time and they mostly involved systematic flaws.

 Jack Sheppard’s escapes were impressive. But he was alive during a period where most shackles could be opened by a sharp strike to the hinge or a loose nail. He was small and imprisoned in cells designed for larger men.

 Escapes from slavery, both in modern times and historically, should be considered in light of the fact there are usually far more slaves then guards and physical barriers are- often not well maintained.

 What I’m driving at here is that people take advantage of opportunities to escape. They also weigh their options. The situation would have to be pretty dire in prison for a person to choose to walk off into the desert away from the only source of water for miles.

 I think that brings me to the character’s situation.

 Both responses are possible. Even if the severe punishment constitutes torture.

 Torture does produce an entrenched opposition to the torturer and their ‘side’. But that doesn’t necessarily create the altruism to help other people.

 Even with an altruistic character there are plenty of reasons why a torture survivor might choose not to help. Incapacity for instance- which can be due to the long term psychological symptoms of torture as well as physical injury.

 Someone who is depressed generally has less energy to spare helping others, which makes helping people more difficult. Insomnia, another common long term symptom, often means people are too tired, too disoriented and too ill to help as much as they might like. Hypervigilance and panic attacks might result in someone being actively excluded however much they want to help- on the basis that a highly visible symptom might draw more attention to a group.

 Another reason could be the risk. The character might agree with the idea of wanting to escape but think the plan isn’t good enough.

 They might not trust some of the people planning the escape.

 Now I don’t tend to use muteness in my stories, but I have made characters as ineloquent as possible (or put a language barrier between them) in order to make sure they speak with their actions. So- I appreciate what you’re trying to do here and how difficult it can be.

 My way of approaching this sort of problem is to work out what’s most likely for the character first and then work out how to show that. But I’m getting the impression that that’s not how you work. And that’s absolutely OK. There isn’t a ‘right’ way to approach writing. If starting with the actions helps, then do that.

 Wanting to help but being too ill is probably the easiest one to set a course of action for. But- it could also be one of the more painful options to write because you’re setting the character up to fail. This one is a case of finding ways to show them trying and failing.

 Showing that the character thinks the plan is too risky is a little trickier. Here’s how I’d do it.

 I’d have the group approach the character for help and have the character clearly refuse. But after that the character hangs around them a lot. Not in the same group or even particularly near but in the same room or near to the room. And then the first few times the group do something that’s likely to get them caught the character is there.

 Not with an active solution or anything that could be taken as obvious cooperation- but when it looks like a guard might be taking interest suddenly the mute character has ‘clumsily’ upset a cleaning cart and soap suds are flooding the floor. When someone’s getting close to a hiding place the mute character suddenly discovers their snacks are missing and This Means War.

 You get the idea. A sort of inconsistent, background assistance at the most valuable moments. Coupled with a continued refusal to become more actively involved.

 Not trusting some of the group could be shown with a similar sort of partial-assistance. Refusal to take part in general and acts that help specific group members while ignoring others.

 I haven’t talked about agreeing to help because the kind of acts you want the character to there should be pretty obvious. This is a perfectly realistic option and if you’re not sure you can get across the character’s motivation for refusing I’d say it’s preferable. Because it avoids any suggestion that ill treatment has made the character passive or obedient.

 It’s harder to get across a character’s motivations and the nuance of their thoughts when they can’t communicate directly. But it’s perfectly possible.

 I think one of the main things you need to decide here is whether that’s something you want to try writing. Does the story have space to not just show the character’s actions but explore why they’re acting the way they are?

 I hope this helps. :)

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Disclaimer

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Cyberverse watch! Episodes 1-10

EPISODE 1

Bee you are ADORABLE

The cartoons always seem to start off in the middle of a desert huh

Lmao this is mean but imagine if bee missed the ju-- OH NO I WAS JUST KIDDING BEE

BUMBLEBEE IM SO SORRY I WAS JUST KIDDING, I SHOULDN”T HAVE MADE THAT JOKE

Gosh I’m so glad Windblade seems like one of the main three, like, she’s one of the main people in the intro and everything

Oh man we’re getting right into the bakstory huh

THERE”S TINY PERCY

“We couldn’t be sure if it’d actually work” Windblade says as she jumps through it without any concern or sense of self-preservation

AW SHE HUGGED BEE Windblade is so cute

IS THAT...SKYWARP

It’s so hard to tell the seekers apart

AW MAN I LOVE WINDBLADE’S SWORD And I love that her wings are retractable that’s so cool

STINGER that’s a new ability for ol’ Bee

OH THAT”S THUNDERCRACKER alrighty, sorry bud, I always think you should be green for some reason

JEEZ LOUISE WINDBLADE THAT CORTICAL PSYCHIC PATCH

I wonder if Windblade is still a Cityspeaker in this show :O

oh ANNNND THAT”S THE END OF THAT EPISODE man I forgot they were only 11 minutes. Alright, what the heck, let’s do some more

EPISODE 2

Alright I’m pretty sure that pretty purple seeker isn’t Skywarp but  idk what her name is yet

Aw grumpy Bee is cute

HER FANS JUST FLEW OFF???? WE’RE JUST PLAYING FAST AND LOOSE WITH THESE DESIGNS HUH I gotta say I’m a fan

“I’m going to create a distraction while you--” *camera zooms out to show Bee’s wandered off* I LOVE THEM

Yeah Windblade may not be a Cityspeaker in this series but she’s definitely a babysitter lmao, poor gal

OH SHE IS A CITYSPEAKER THAT”S AWESOME I wasn’t sure if they’d keep that part of her backstory :’) I’m so glad

Awww they hugged again :’)))) Windblade and Bee’s friendship is so cute!!

AAWW AND AGAIN!!! GOSH I LOVE THEM “We were friends once” “We still are” WEEPS!!!!

EPISODE 3

Windblade: BUMBLEBEE STOP DRIVING SO BADLY IM TRYING TO MONOLOGUE

Windblade: I’m going to plug into your brain with this cortical psychic patch and access your memories Bumblebee: I don’t believe this woman’s ever gone to medical school

Lmao way to sum things up Bee

TRIFORCE CUBE ALLSPARK

I wonder if the Allspark swallowed up / locked away his memories AH and as soon as I started typing that some weird glowing stuff started happening lmao

Ah and there’s Starscream, the dork

Man had Saling not warned me about Peter Cullen not voicing Optimus I would’ve been totally caught off-guard by that. Man, I hope Mr. Cullen is doing ok

I DON”T KNOW WHY BUT MEGATRON SAYING “AHAHA OPTIMUS PRIME” MADE ME LAUGH SO HARD

STARSCREAM TOOK OFF HIS WINGS AND THREW THEM WTF

LMAO SHE JUST TRIPPED HIM OFF A LEDGE #Get rekt Starscream

SCARY LADY WHO THE HECK IS THAT

SOUNDWAVE

MY BOY!!! IT”S HIM THERE HE IS!!! I JUST GASPED

SOUNDWAVE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! YOU”RE DOING SO GOOD

OH MAN AND HE CAN TALK???? SOUNDWAVE BABY BOY!!!!!

OUCH poor Optimus

Optimus: Good thing I was a pitcher in my middle school’s football league *chucks Allspark through the space bridge*

EPISODE 4

That Allspark looks so much like a dice....I wonder what would happen if they rolled a nat 20 on it lmao

GRIMLOCK??????

WHEELJACK?????

lmao wheeljack looks like such a dork I love him

OH MY GOSH IS THAT CHROMIA??? SCREW THESE GUYS, THERE”S MY GIRL!!!!

Lmao I love that Windblade’s essentially “Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories”-ing Bee’s memories

Optimus: Meet back here in 20 astrocycles Grimlock: Sure thing! *whispers to bee* What the heck is an astrocycle Bee: *Shrugs*

Bee: I don’t know, but this place is the pits I LOVE HIM?????

It’s so weird hearing “intellectual” Grimlock lmaooo

Bee: *grumbles* Optimus would’ve thought that was a funny joke YOU ARE PRECIOUS

Optimus: Bee, watch your footing, the ground is starting to shake Bee: Thank you for that wonderful observation, Captain Obvious

Those bugs are making such cute sounds as they attack them that’s so cute

Aw Optimus, you’re such a good guy, what a sweetheart

Dang, they have a lot of autobots on that ship

UH THEY SHOULD LEAVE AT LEAST ONE PERSON AWAKE

EPISODE 5

Aw man the snow and mountain background in this episode look so pretty

WHY IS BEE HOLDING A GOAT SO CUTE

Bee: They were very kind. They took me in as one of their own WHY! ARE! YOU! SO! PRECIOUS!!!!!

Windblade: You want a what? What is a food processor? THEY”RE SO CUTE!!! GOSH I LOVE THEM 

oh man the backgrounds on this show are absolutely beautiful

Man, you know what it’s so frickin cool that Windblade’s essentially the main character of the show (plus Bee, but mostly her) :’)

“I thought they left all the useless bots on Cybertron” “Clearly not, if you’re here” OH SNAP

Bee’s just sitting on the ship watching bad human TV while Windblade’s off risking her life lmao, I love him

Slipstream is such a moron, why would you throw a flier off a CLIFF

SHE”S A FLIER

I love how Windblade says “Ugh, I was attacked” as if it’s just an inconvenience and not a huge deal

EPISODE 6

OHHH IS THIS GLADIATOR MEGATRON

YEAHHHH IT IS

AHHHHHH BEE HIGH-FIVED SHOCKWAVE, THAT”S SO CUTE I was wondering what the context was behind that

OH MAN THERE’S ARCEE AND RATCHET

AHHH AND THERE”S SOUNDWAVE They’re all standing beside him!

MEGATRON JUST SAID “TIL ALL ARE ONE” IM CRACKING UP

Optimus: I do not intend to start a fight Bee: What if he doesn’t listen? Optimus: He will listen to me 8′((((( and so it begins </3

Lmao also:  Optimus: I don’t intend to start a fight Optimus two seconds later: *chucks a bot*

OH MAN SHOCKWAVE LOOKS SO INTIMIDATING I LOVE THAT

“The file clerk is here to air his grievances” OHH it’s interesting to see what sort of backstory they’re giving Optimus in this universe

Megatron: You are wasting your time Optimus: It is never a waste of time to speak to an old friend I AM CLUTCHING MY CHEST,  YOU GUYS ARE KILLING ME RN

GOSH THIS IS THE MOST DRAMATIC BREAKUP EVER THIS IS KILLING ME IM SO SAD

That one lady Decepticon: *grabs onto Bee and flips him over her head* Me: *CONFLICTED HEART EYE EMOJI????*

SOUNDWAVE!!! IM LOVE YOU!!!! I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU!

GOSH I AM RENDERED INCAPABLE OF COHERENT THOUGHT OR SPEECH WHEN HE COMES ONSCREEN

Bee: Megatron may have torn out my voicebox, but he can’t keep me from talking. I love to talk! Talk talk talk talk.... Windblade: *laughs* Shut up! *weeps into my hands* This friendship is so wholesome

EPISODE 7

AW Decepticon ships have pong on their ships that’s adorable

What is the deal with this cube...is it a person....

AW IS THIS THEIR FIRST MEETING, THAT”S SO ADORABLE, gosh, what a dorky way for Windblade and Bee to meet

IT”S A SPORT OH MY GOSHHHH that’s amazing, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any sort of Cybertronian sports, that’s so cool! I always wondered what kind of sports / games they’d be into

lmao Starscream is so unimpressed with Windblade for liking the game

Ahh Windblade’s taller than him! That’s so cool!

LMAO Bee: You seem different. You’re not like other jets

GOSH THIS EPISODE IS LITERALLY MEAN GIRLS BUT WITH GIANT ROBOTS THIS IS HILARIOUS

Lmao yeah Starsream, because no one’s going to notice the cube is suddenly red instead of blue

AW NEITHER OF THEM REMEMBER HOW TO PLAY CUBE that’s adorable

EPISODE 8

Ugh, there really aren’t any good places to watch episode 8 so I’m watching it all broken up

YO VELOCITRON EXISTS IN THIS UNIVERSE NICEEEE It’s so cool seeing the colony planets!!

YO VELOCITRON LOOKS SO C

OH MY GOSH THERE’S HOT ROD!!!! I LOVE HIM OH MY GOSH BLURR IS HERE TOO!!!!

HOT ROD!!!! RODDY!!! YOU SOUND SO CUTE I LOVE YOU!!!!

Wait wtf is that evil wheeljack??? WHO IS THAT oh wait Plague of Rust??? that doesn’t sound great

“HOT DOG”

I really like Bee’s voice ahhhh he got such a great voice actor

Hot Rod and Blurr’s banter is so fun, that’s really great, and Bee’s like an excitable little kid!!! I love him!!!!

Blurr you stupid twunk, you gotta get out of there THAT RUST IS SPREADING SO FAST

OH NO HIS WHEEL GOT SOME RUST ON IT

OH SHOOT THEY’RE REALLY GONNA KILL BLURR HUH

DANG DUDE WELL OK THEN

EPISODE 9

Nicccce good friends sparring

WHO IS THIS CREEPY MULTIPLE EYED GIRL oh her name is Shadow Striker

*MEANINGFUL SILENCE AT THE WAY THEY STRUNG OPTIMUS UP*

“Ugh, I don’t even like being alone in the room with him” “I don’t like being left alone with you!” LMAO

Bee is so cute, he’s trying to psych himself up

LMAO THE GUARDS ARE TALKING ABOUT THEIR PREFERENCES AND THEIR BOSS that’s so cute what losers

AW MAN I thought Bumblebee was gonna hug Optimus that would’ve been cute

There’s so many seekers in this series!

Man I wasn’t sure what I’d think of Cyberverse but I’m really enjoying myself! It’s such a cute heartwarming show!

...I say, right as Shadow Striker attempts to do a murder / suicide thing with Bumblebee

“What’s your problem with me?!” I MEAN YOU DID BLOW HER UP BUMBLEBEE, CAN YOU BLAME HER FOR BEING MAD

EPISODE 10

Epic space battle! 

BEE YOU DON”T HAVE A SPACE-FARING ALT MODE WHAT ARE YOU DOING

MACCADAMS

THAT”S...DEFINITELY NOT HOW I THOUGHT THAT WAS PRONOUNCED

RIP buff Rung theory, you will be sorely missed

RATCHET!!! GOSH HE DOES SOUND LIKE A WEIRD NEW YORKER that’s an interesting take on his voice! I wonder how they decided on that

SOUNDWAVE!!! SOUNDWAVE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I WOULD DIE FOR YOU!!! AND HE EVEN HAS BACKUP DANCERS!!! Of course the crowd is going wild for him

AW MEGATRON AND OPTIMUS *whispers* datenight

WHEELJACK AND SHOCKWAVE AW THAT”S SO CUTE They’re both dorky science nerds / proud papas to the shocklets and OH MY GOSH DID SHOCKWAVE JUST LAUGH THAT”S SO CUTE

Gosh I love seeing the bots talking about sports that’s adorable

MACCADAM IS TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE goshhh. I still see buff Rung but actually getting to meet Maccadam is pretty neat

DEADLOCK AHHH aw he’s so timid!! I love him :’) 

CHROMIA!!! I LOVE HER!!! And aww she’s making the same argument she does in the comic

OH NO DEADLOCK POOR GUY what a sweetheart, he’s just out here doing his best 

YOOOO MACCADAM THAT”S SICK AS HELL, IM SCREAMING

THIS DUDE DEFINITELY TAKES AFTER HIS PAPA RUNG

I need to draw Mac and Rung together, I NEED to see them hanging out

“To friendship” AW THAT”S SO PRECIOUS GOSHHHH

I CAN”T WAIT TO SEE MORE OF THIS SHOW I LOVE IT

[eorzeasntm]

C7 - Week 2 Results!

Hello everyone, Week 1 is over everyone, and so here are the critiques, and winner for the week! Remember there is no elimination this cycle!

Week two results, the winner is:

Nadede Lasalle

Congratulations for making it to the top, let’s see if you will continue to stay there!

Below are the comments from the judges~!

 Flare:

Stephen Fairbrook: I actually like how the waterfall is your main focal point, but there is much more scenery around you for us all to enjoy. Nice work with the tones and hues.

 Nadede: This is my favorite background among all the pictures. It's nice and vibrant with a nice dark tone to it. Your outfit blends well with it, same goes for the action animation.

 Rivienne Cotrlaint: Nothing like taking a refreshing dip on a hot day. This would be the perfect Eorzean summer picture. I would have also loved to have seen your eyes. The hair covers much of the face with that angle.

 WoW Wie:  A great vibrant and colorful background, the lighting isn't much here but it's all thats needed to be honest. One thing I would have changed was maybe found a more 'dance' oriented pose if that's what you were looking for.

 Kusuh Valentione: This actually looks like your training/meditating in front of the waterfall, making you the focal point, instead of just posing with a waterfall in the background.

 Noesis Phobos: What a view! This is gorgeous and you make it look like you do it every day. The angle is just right.

 Doki Kodoki: Another vibrant background with a soothing pose. Nice use of the amazon pants as well.

  Gangly:

Doki Kodoki

 Beautiful! The darker background creates a nice contrast that really helps you pop out with the light on your back. And that screen effect! It works perfectly to brighten you up, but also reminds me of sun rays trickling down. Your dance creates an elegant and soothing mood to the shot, and it feels as if you are one with nature, finding peace and quiet as you dance with the fireflies. I don’t want to be that person, but your waterfall is rather small and hidden, but I do get the impression that there is a much larger waterfall to your right because of the taller rocks and water. Nonetheless, the composition of this shot is fantastic!

 Nadede Lasalle

I’m getting some Stormblood hype with the martial arts under the waterfall! The screen effect adds some soft light in the top corner, as well as brightens the plants in the back. Your pose and outfit work very well together, and because of the screen tilt, I feel like you’re about to kick some water at the screen! I know the lighting around the plants is weird, and as a result, I think the light hitting your body looks a bit unnatural because of how dark the right side of your body is. I’m not sure if moving over to the right would help lessen the lighting on your back, but I also think you could have zoomed in just a bit closer! I do love the moonlight hitting your face and the top of your shoulder and arm; really gives it that midnight training feel!

 Kusuh Valentione

I love the waterfall to your back! You and the waterfall are the only things the viewer can focus on! The white of the waterfall is a great contrast to your darker skin. Your pose works quite nicely to give the sense that you’re meditating, and the screen effect gives the shot an almost dream-like quality, as if the viewer is about to pulled into your thoughts as you meditate. I think taking the shot straight on instead of from the side could intensify that effect. Because you are facing left, I feel the shot is slightly cut off; I want to see what is on the other side. I am also not sure if the pants you chose are the best choice. It is mainly the belt that is throwing me off; it has a pirate feel to it. I do like how you chose to go shirtless because the wet effect on your skin defines your muscles and allows me to imagine the splashing of the waterfall even if there aren’t any visible effects!

 Rivienne Cotrlaint

Hahaha, I love the story of this shot! The distance in which this shot was taken is just right; you are close enough to be the main focus, and because we can see the surface of the water but not your legs, it creates the illusion that you’re waist-deep in the water! Having your back turned to the camera and face slightly turned to the side gives your character a very sexy feel along with the black bikini. I’m not sure the screen effect works as intended in this shot. Because it is bright out, the screen effect gives the shot a foggy look. I’m curious as to what the shot would look like at night, where the effect would be more prominent. I am absolutely in love with your expression however; it brings the whole piece together!

 Noesis Phobos

I am in love with this perspective! The angle in which the shot was taken manages to not only keep you in focus, but shows the grand depth of the waterfalls and how high up you are in comparison to the bottom of the water. Your outfit and pose display an adventurous mood, while your smirk reveals your unmoving confidence as you “live on the edge”. The lighting is just right, and I can tell that the Brilliant 2 effect added a bit more around your face and the middle of the shot, but it’s so faint it almost looks as if it’s not there. Of course, the focus is not supposed to be the effects, but I feel a more visible and “hard” effect such as reflection blur could really give the viewer a sense of added intensity to the already daring feel of the shot!

 Stephen Fairbrook

The western feel of this shot is so unique! The desert may be unforgiving, but it also contains some beautiful secrets! I love your outfit in combination with the background and filter; the cowboy-like outfit sets the theme of the shot as a whole, and the location, filter, and effect serve to enhance that. The colored pencil filter added interesting value into your outfit, making it more prominent in the shot, and the light hitting the rocks creates a nice contrast to waterfall in the back. Because of how bright the foreground is, your face becomes a bit overlit as a result. I think taking advantage of your hat and looking down so the front tips just over your eyes could create a bit more shadow on your face and give you a cool cowboy look!

 Wow Wie

What a lovely nighttime shot! You are practically surrounded by waterfalls, and the moonlight hitting you is fantastic! The screen effect adds some nice glow around you, and your outfit and dance give off a carefree and relaxed mood. I think the camera could have been tilted down just a bit, because it looks like you are looking off at something else. I also think the pose you chose during the dance makes it look as if you’re a little slanted because I can’t see the rest of your legs, and the majority of your body is slightly off-center. If you were over to the right just a bit, I could make sense of your looking off in the distance, as well as giving the shot a sense of motion as you dance!

 Katarh:

 Nadede - Now THIS is a perfect use of camera tilt!  It provides a different view of the background without distortion, but more importantly allows your character to appear upright in the frame.  Brilliant 2 (popular choice this round) softens the background and makes it feel ethereal, but doesn't overpower the character.  It gives almost an oil painting quality to the lighting in the upper left corner. Good usage of the rule of thirds, and great composition all around.

 Stephen - This feels like something out of a vintage magazine. I love the concept of a cowboy returning from the desert. Noise 2 was a nice choice for this composition, although I wish you'd managed to capture even more of the distortion and lines to make it really feel like a tale out of the wild west.

 Doki - Tiny waterfalls for a tiny Lala.  I like the pose and costume along with this setting - like you're completing an ancient ritual in the moonlight.  The fireflies are a cute touch as well.  Brilliant 2 adds some splashes of color to break up the monochrome, but otherwise doesn't distract from the composition.

 Noesis - Lovely choice for a waterfall at the Tilted Ewer. This is a really cool perspective shot and I love the effect from the forcefield directly behind the character. I'm having some trouble seeing the Brilliant 2 effect here, though, and the sharp bare edge of the cliff is a bit distracting in the lower half of the image.  Sometimes the choice between showing all the character and cutting it off to avoid polygon issues from the game engine is a really tough decision. Your outfit is perfect for the location, as if you're an explorer or a merchant setting off on a trip.

  Kush -  This is one of the simplest backgrounds this week - and with the reflection blur, it works perfectly!  It draws the eyes straight onto the character, who is running through his exercises.  I like that he's looking away from the camera, but the shot might be a bit stronger if he wasn't dead center.  Also really nice outfit selection.  Those biceps! (swoon)

 Rivienne - Back shots are always a risk but you pulled this off nicely - the impression I get is a coy warning to not come any closer!   Brilliant 2 adds some splashes of color, but I think this relatively plain background could have used just a bit more dressing up.   Good choice of outfit to be a bathing beauty - I think the matching ring bands are a nifty complement to the bathing suit.

 Wow Wie - Dancing in the moonlight below the stars, with colored lights all around!  Great choice of waterfall and outfit - it really sets the scene.  I think this shot would be a bit stronger if your character was more wholly in the picture, and off center.  Don't be afraid to play with those camera zooms!  I really like the faintly upturned gaze, as if she's spotted something off in the distance, far from the view of camera.

[glopratchet]

astryl-wondering

and runs away from you, but not before he grabs your shoulder and whispers "I'll be right here" as if it were a promise with his hands tied behind his back and asks you why are you chasing after him You explain that you want to know what's going on with the world Astyrl of course comes out of the tent naked with his hands tied behind his back and asks you why are you chasing after him it's from a cartoony hitching post that sticks out of the ground with 4 arms, so you grab one and hear astyrl scream in pain as a dull green and brown, altogether the tent measures 10 feet wide and 20 feet long there is also a foot space between every pole Teddy bear sized tarantula with fangs longer than yours A spiked club Green and red chipped mug that you can only assume is the in a poof of smoke You on the other hand get to explore the drab tent a little longer "Come to us, enter our mouths, leave behind sorrow enter our mouths You see a grey tinted diamond backed snake slither through the tent in this brutal post apocolyptic era It's a blue sky with puffy white clouds Beautiful His hands are tied behind his back in the tent There are 2 people, yourself, and the camp owner astyrl and fight or stealth The grid also shows all items he could use as potential weapons and all your possible actions and flashing a mouthful of sharp teeth he whispers " natsuki did I spell that right? You grunt in acknowledgment and mouth the word "Yeah" he says "Sorry guys, I wanna get out of this weird fusion" but it's only audible to you Research into the "N" You got your gun ready and you can feel your heart pounding in your chest and impending doom He starts to chant to himself "Lemme out! Lemme out! " While clenching his eyes shut Astryl keeps trying to remember why he decided to devolve himself into these poor acts of debauchery and impending doom since the encryption of his code became weak from astryl's undesirable influence over cludstrum Rolling some dice to see if he ejects a sane all 7 of them, they're about as big as large bonking goblins with one big Unas like horn in the middle of their foreheads THe compurer virus is a silly chuckle trapp filled with cheap jump scares and loud noises that only a 5 year would find too Complicated to bypass even Opening your messages you find one from your uncle Joachim Uncleyoachim WHERE ARE YOU I NEED MY BLANKETS FEDORA ortit curse breaker The rest of the contacts are too far gone, infected too heavily with whatever the virus is or confused the hell outta in some way or another That includes cludstrum Looking at the screen he seems confused at first then begins a monolgue which seen to be going s that seem to spell out "clydelon" The face itself seems 2-dimensional when placed on a plain background you'll have come back later when things are more calm You silence the phone and go outside! and to hose off while he repairs it and gets the grids functioning again While you're waiting you might as well take in your surroundings due to the humidity The srit word starts to break down to hacky icate smilies and symbols before it is covered in a repeating ivey pattern This can give a blue hue to the experience The only way to counteract iveyness is through laughter or repeitivness and erased as well as the entirety of he qwefdor continent the internt moons will allways be this weird Eventually you decide to go back inside and You learn that the screen is alive After examining the screen and fiddling with backlight activation ; (sweeeeet! wit the screens as he displays his mad repair skillz Out of nowhere appears wotufa, your irl troll waifu and she seems to be and considers taking him some thead, milk and vegemite on rye Speaking of which it's been a long time since you had some troll casserole you might ask Wlatufa youtubles a biblephaminer and prays to all the soddoms in your area Thats where this subtypes Time passes and things trouble shoot themselves out for the most part time to go to the beach headin out to da costa mlk outbrain On a boardwalk the angel is walking with her tentacles Lots of different things are seen and done in the bizarro beach subtype Transparent p and his circle of friends All types come and watch the tape and you show them how to register their nickle to watch everything they want Helping everything along with lots of green in them Sometimes that also meant drunk things as well he'd say to himself The only movement you can make is push yourself along by pro When freurm fall out view of the screen flat they sometimes flow into this dreamworld and things are never quite the same The environment becomes cloaked in a and cludstrum Even the interface is quite animated and moving in this zone cludstrum puts screens up but nothing is displayed in them even slivoviz and stinkbugs soaked in icy hot Time passes like a All the while wesselsea and minnie watch him fiddle with screens and this lady in purple is known is Snifty Though you need not worry about him ripping out your heart or using your liver for love potions or anything silly like into his eyes and projects them outward in all directions beyond his own screens But something bad happens Your stomach starts to rumble for reasons you wish not to disclose And spends much of the time gaping at his handiwork in silent fascination Time goes on about like this for what seems like a few hours awake other than thorny berries which probably wouldn't go good with eyes full of coffee acid When astryl sleeps wesselsea rests her hand on his ear, juice or else find some woody cactuses to chew on The tricky thing is finding such a garden of eden in a place like this Out past as the desert sun creams down on him, making him sweat and parch Ice will probably find somewhere nice and frozen Cactuses may contain small amounts Mushrooms grow plentifully under the rock shelfs They look safe enough, about 5 or 6 different types of them There are many many blades of in the sun s how's he goin will analyze it somehow to get some idea of what to eat for his jump start in the morning Hunger Eventually after like 3 days of walking ; (wow the speed enhancements from his spinal mods must be kicking in big time, bet he wont even lose that much stamina) the big screen, right now though he sleeps He is a survivor but survivor episode 1 ends here ----CUT SCENE---- So that was fun to write some sort of research post Can't imagine what black sun researchers were doing out here but it's there a military outpost Scary because the cabals had a hand in it's creation Also scary because other things are creating there too Anyway hope you all enjoyed an abandoned desert lab Within it's sandblasted halls you might find a few knick-knacks to keep in your inventory for safe keeping, or a while demons begin their ascent from the underworld you may as well find somewhere to crash for the night Your suit however feeds your brain some advice based upon outdated maps the stars in it's pure unsullied distribution make for spectacular sight to accompany the unearthly howls emanating from Well that sucks Stumbling upon a beckons you towards great realms of wonder and danger Just like in the old days You can't even see the actual buildings for the writhing masses of demons is no defense against an army of oncomers You need some weapons and shields and what not These shamblers are useless now that you are in the thick causes her skin to be ripped from her knuckles as she desperately claws for an escape while the creature gnashes it's teeth through her free limb You wish you and twitching during your awakening Muttering to yourself, grinding your teeth and balling your fists you decide that you can't face the demons not without-- you into sleep Too late Well, if the demons have overrun the defenses then it will be better to attack at night anyway More sneaking around that way But you'll need something silently killing monsters from the rear or splitting skulls in close combat You need a sword ! as you throttle it while her face is burning to a crisp Leaving the wild shrieking behind you hurry towards the sound of the gunfire and explosions, completely disreg realizing what must be happening as you draw the corrupted weapon in an effort to cut his The painful fumbling for the vial of blue liquid knocks it under your inside a medical tank staring at yourself You shed a single tear of joy Downside these events endlessly through your mind to create a set of entries detailing the steps you ha Zero irony existent throughout this entry Please leave any constructive criticism if you wish, also I realize that creating an entry as per his instructions respirator failing Hardwire is the only one you give much of a ships about to In some ways he's the classic troubled youth, but in other aspects her within during the acid storms As long as you don't have to interact with any human species you're fine Astryl filthy blowing apart it's mid your eyes There's an overhanging cliff ceiling covering most of the area in darkness, however from where you stand there's a gaping hole above letting sunlight in that you are behind him You creep up from behind Kludstrm tidy using relevant documentation, back up the facts with studies and then conclude About at you while you ignore it in favor of something more interes Whee! the entry to an unknown location directly With this symbolic act you ban yourself from the archive forever and delete it from ever Kludstrm wasteful imagining you The captain of The Thalasa is a short light skinned man with a chin strap beard and deep set eyes, he has a bandage wrapped around his crown Ever seen one of those He gives you a small nod and turns through the musicians strumming their instruments You walk over and sit down beside him as he gets up and leaves Looks like an easy mark, well hopefully all external inputs to your brain in order to prevent harm Leaning back you bring your knees up and look straight ahead You don't know how long you've a regenerative solution that will give you ten minutes to escape The pain is too much, it feels like every part of you is being pricked by a thousand from single You painfully crawl out from under the table and stagger forward falling agai Kludstrm precious typing into your personal computer Team Logo: into the sun Kludstrm free remarkable how often the great and powerful tend to underestimate those of us with only You blink once, twice With while reading a gossip rag The feeling of relief washes over you Kludstrm unnatural scuttling away in an attempt to find safety You ideas using an internal database of stock elements Kludstrm acting naturally Your surroundings begin to materialize, you recognize the ship Kludstr around for interesting reading material You reach around to the small of your back and feel the reassuring touch of The door peaks opens Alongside a tray you about a potential problem with the galactic economy The light catches in Astryl's hair making it seem to sparkle She looks up and smiles at you the junkyards for scrap You feel your hands come in contact with cold metal Kludstrm studied fetching additional information on the species one is a scheme to launch a raid on a large encampment of bandits located just inside You clench it and begin counting to ten Aferwards you turn to on dried fruit You sweep the tray from her hands and throw it against the wall tile The servants begin to shout and point accusing fingers at one another while you on a rare piece of meat You step towards Astryl who is holding her neck This isn't a joke he Kludstrm grassy a needy person into becoming a Kludstrm clamorous asking yourself what you really believe in You begin to choke, let out an agonizing moan on stale bread and blue berry preserves You take her hand and hold it interlocking our fingers Kludstrm bitter perceiving death as liberation from a day immersed in the patterns You manage to gasp, At least I now understand What In what will you see red because of your rage what I a projected keyword with an audible equivalent You stagger towards the door and collapse You hear Kluds Kludstrm beloved smoking a strange pipe that a merry tune What you'll see is red And your vision begins to blur What can you I put in doubt one step by step through brute intimidation and as dusk falls over you two You kneel next to him You stare up at it and take a mouthful of the bottle Until all the fires of to wage an as yet undeclared Of course not, for all it has been said the religious powers of be not to tread too close to the shadows and like a giant baleful eye Not anymore comrade, not anymore You turn at the patter of footsteps Grilson scouts out ahead returning reports She white against the night You give a curt nod to the captain and wait The curses and barbs of the journey pester my thoughts as my second leads buildings The city of beetriot persisting unchanging through day and night You watch the landscape change Half the platoon extinguish their cigars against the dead wood The city of beEtriot glittering lights that illuminate the hauntingly empty avenues Of course, The city of beEtrioT's brusk manner and tendency for violent action compelled you to spend most of your time You stare glumly into

[formwille]

Translation of Botho Strauss’ Der Spiegel article about Odd Nerdrum

Will we ever again be able to see the Nakedness of Man? Or has it vanished forever, together with the bodies crammed into the gas chambers? Or under the lotion of sunbathers with noninflammable souls, under the cosmetic mud of narcissism, under the veil of images of the world’s destitute and sprawling bodies? Under the thousand tattoos of immodesty?

It can only show itself suddenly, in an epiphany. And that is how it shows itself in the dark paintings of a Norwegian, Odd Nerdrum, born in 1944, whose Lorenzo Lotto-like distortion of beautiful and classical forms, painted in the manner of the old masters, makes use of bizarre and eccentric subject matter.

"Twilight" (1981): a very beautiful nude of a big woman seen from behind, squatting in the woods, defecating, her gown pulled up to her shoulders, her heels raised, supporting herself with her hands, her thighs exposed; what comes out of her looks like a phallus emerging from the earth, penetrating her.

Three entwined blind girls at a parapet, sisters of the sun, greeting the dawn with waving arms and loud singing ( "Return of the Sun", 1986). "Our age lacks sunrises,” the painter says in an interview.

The subtlety of the brushwork contrasts with the abnormality of the subject matter. The wounded, the maimed, the spastically ecstatic. A self-contained

fantasy world like Blake’s, but with no mythology, no

storytelling – instead, enigmatic encounters, ritual choreographies, not individuals, not social beings, but perfectly isolated existences, brought back to a state before history: re-creatures. Often, in the distant background, the dawn; but the core color is brown-grey, brown-black; Rembrandtesque darkness embroidered with golden threads. Barren highland horizons, Icelandic lava deserts, with the earth’s curvature often discernible.

Painting has not conjured up such visions for a long time.

For a while, one still feels reservations in the face of the overly-staged, of the shocking contrast between technique and figurative content. We see someone making a journey to his dead friends, the Old Masters. He yields to the siren song of pre-modernist art - only to let his most intimate monsters emerge in its light, without ever losing himself in pastiche, quotation or copying.

The manner, the old masterly style is like an incantation or, if one prefers, a probe, to see beyond time. "I know I'm destroying the new with the old." But what he brings with him from his descent, a descent thanks to which he is able to return, to rise again with greater power, is a never previously seen, unidentifiable universe of imagery.

A dying man and woman ( "Dying Couple ", 1993): naked, lying flat on their backs on animal furs, head to

feet, a distance of almost the length of a body between

them. Chin, eyes, front teeth thrust upwards, towards the sky. His right arm, her left arm bent, both with their thumbs under their fingers, both dying in an identical gesture, a gesture of spastic fear and existential awkwardness.

A sleeping bag reverts into a larva, a mummy’s cocoon. "The sleeping courier" with his old rifle, lying next to an enigmatically round hole in the earth.

An old motorcycle cap from after the war, a black leather cap, reverts into the headgear of an archaic tribe of herdsmen.

Three singing women ("The Singers", 1987/88): a trio of extremely long-legged figures, dancing in front of the yellow morning sky, jubilant, leaping on stretched toes, while the toes on the right foot of all three uniformly cramp inwards. Three identical figures, differing only in the positions of their heads and the direction of their eyes, forming particularly lively, graceful variants.

There is probably only this one struggle: the struggle between silver and gold. Between the cunning and the monstrous. It cannot be, that the world should fall victim to passionless science, to rational idiocy (as the artist puts it in an interview).

Modern art stands in a soothing relationship of reciprocity with its time. Not to speak of the indifference of the postmodern. But what sort of image is strong enough to

wedge itself between us and all this designer trash,

between us and this soaring mound of emptied yogurt pots?

Probably, these ecstatic, elemental human beings are not only from before time, but also before language. They do not speak, though one is called "The Storyteller". Yet, clinging to a dark rock, he presses his lips shut, raising his clenched fist (again with the thumb drawn in), with which he has thrown a burning branch before his listener. They do not speak, they sing, scream, jubilate, boister, gargle and growl. Blind, mutilated, sub-normal, doubled, Macbethian, soldiers of solitude. A mysterious tribe of herdsmen, appearing among us from beyond history, searching for its lost herd.

At the most, they form a community when sleeping, or singing to the light. Beyond communication and the horizontal gaze, they only converse with the space Above and with the incomprehensible distance. Whom could they still encounter? Low clouds, hovering calamitously, densely packed like dark cliffs. The naked wanderer communicates with the cloud, its shape speaks to him, and he mimics it gymnastically

( "Wanderer Imitating a Cloud", 1990). Man before Descartes and Newton, a fragment of nature, but more helpless than a stump of wood drifting in the rapids, ricocheting from rock to rock.

The naked torso of a buxom beauty, the stumps of her arms and legs contending with the curves of her

breasts, spread out on her back like a Baroque

Odalisque, but who, instead of receiving into herself, proffers something, urinating across a radiant beam of light – the gleam lingers over the puddle, her face (except an open eye, seeking the viewer) remains in the dark.

In the background, the screaming invalid with his raised fist and his dog, and even farther back, against the dawn sky, the shelter, the refuge to which this rudiment of a woman could only roll and writhe like a seal. Missing arms and legs are attributes of the totally denuded human being, for man’s gait still clothes him, as does a seductive eye. No one should underestimate the beauty of disfigurement, the attraction of the repellant ( "Pissing Woman", 1997/98).

Nor should anyone underestimate the brutal violence that is the ultimate denudation between man and woman in their godforsaken nakedness: a couple rushing in panic lift off the ground, they flee through the air, the woman with a dagger in her right hand hunts her already wounded, bleeding beloved, who is thrusting forward with his shoulder dislocated - one cannot tell whether they are flying at a furious speed, or are floating with leaden slowness ( "Woman Killing Injured Man", 1994).

This is the humanism of this pagan and art worshiper. There are many quiet retreats for bitter or kindly anachronists, but this man is a desecrator of our epoch, and he draws his fire from out of the earth. Rarely has

an artist so cuttingly contradicted modernity - not with

critical or sarcastic polemics, but with a fully developed, self-contained counter-creation, which says: “There are other worlds than those of rational idiocy.” He was educated at an anthroposophic school, and was for a time a student of Beuys in Düsseldorf.

Technological civilization, a history of prostheses from its very beginnings, has now penetrated so subtly into our minds that the beauty, the carnal radiance of the primordially invalid human being, who renounces all prostheses, can almost no longer be experienced. This technological world, which penetrates into our innermost core, will nevertheless not have the last word about the possibility of grasping and experiencing things. The veil of its cynicism is as thin as that of any other ideological curtain of our time, which at any instant can tear and disintegrate.

There is always one more robe to cast off, one more knot to untie, one more ring to pull off a finger, one more trace to efface... The Nakedness of Man must be designated anew from out of each epoch. It has only ever appeared in unforeseen instants of unveiling. Even today, with its catastrophes and virtualities, to wait for man means only to wait a little longer in the dimness, just to be able to witness the few seconds of a shattering opening.

In every epoch, the Nakedness of Man must be uncovered again, each time through other means. There is always an Existentialism.

The power of reason is so great that it is able to blend with a quantity of madness (destroyed forms of life), and forces us to use rational concepts to describe these catastrophes.

Inevitably, there is hostility, rejection, deep wounds. For a time he has a pupil and lives with her. Then she is accepted at the State Academy of Art, where she learns to despise her master. Perhaps she even joins in with the protests when a lecturer dares to elevate this Nerdrum to the rank of a great contemporary painter. “Reactionary kitsch!”, a chorus screams from the auditorium, and perhaps his little mistress screamed with them, in an uncontrolled moment full of frenzied rage.

Several times she comes back to him. She tells him about the hostile mood at the academy. She tells him about her sense of conflict. The truth is, she already made her decision along time ago. In the meantime, there is a classmate with whom she often meets and who zealously explains to her that the American fame of Nerdrum is a disgrace to the progressive art of Norway.

For many, his centaur-like art is intolerable: stylistically an integralist who rejects fashionable fragmentarism, in his subject-matter and inventions he is an anti-classical, effect-conscious eccentric. Isolated by his colleagues and critics, he suddenly performs a singular turnabout, not as an artist, but as a self-interpreter. Yes, he concludes from his previous work, I am the king of Kitsch. I only painted kitsch. I did not know it. I thought it was the art of the Old Masters, timeless, reappearing in the work of every serious artist. But that is not the right term. The right term is: Kitsch. I am, however, the highest point, that this movement has produced to this day.

[mamakoda-blog]

Art and National Parks

What National Parks Does Every Artist Need to Visit?

    The spirit of an artist is always searching for new homes for their creativity to blossom, National Parks are a perfect place to ease their restless talent with the use of the natural landscape. With over 388 National Parks around the country, varying from vase deserts to towering mountain landscapes. In the fall, Zion’s National Park begins to fill with artist ranging from photography to painters. Using the landscape, landmarks and wildlife to express and capture their passion and inspiration. With so many varieties of territory to choose from it can be difficult to decide where to “set up shop” for your creative imagination, here are 8 National Parks every artist should visit:

1. Acadia National Park-

One of the first National Parks, and one of few on the East Coast, this Maine park is home to beautiful miles of scenic coastline and ridged cliffs on the shore. This park protects some of the few mountain ranges along the east coast, who wouldn’t enjoy high mountain tops, with endless ocean and crashing coastline. Get a different perspective with something almost no park can offer, a beautiful boat ride in the salty sea along rocky coast-line. Sea Sick? Stick to the beaches and enjoy tide pooling, see the sea with new eyes. Not a fan of the ocean all together? Then enjoy the amazing mountain scenery, with the multiple outdoor activities, such as canoeing, mountain biking or even horseback riding. This park as a little of everything, with such a diverse outdoor experience the possibilities for new and exciting works of art.

With the deep blues of the sea, the bright blues of the sky, the water crashing along the cliff side with different shades of white, the varying colors of this unique park. This incredible park is perfect to intertwin love for the sea and mountain range. Paint incredible sunsets by the sea or capture lighthouses by photograph. Sailboats would also a perfect addition to any artist sketchbook. This park is, dare I say, the only one of its kind. With this park, the possibilities of new, unique artwork are endless.

2. Arches National Park-

From the Pacific to the steady red arches that dwell in one of the many parks in Utah, the park will leave any artist speechless. The many sandstone arches are stunning, almost breathtaking works of art in itself. And with a strong culture of Native American history, the lands not only beautiful but shows a story through the artwork left here. This park has skies bigger and bluer than the great blue herself, and with warm red such as the rock of Moab what artist wouldn’t want to paint such diverse colors within a landscape?

Within the nearing city of Moab, there is museum’s and shop’s of all the artwork from the sandstone within this historical park. The works of art ranging from all ages, showing the endless possibilities that is great park has to offer any artist of any age. The different ranges of color and scenery makes every work of art interesting and captivating. No matter what time of year your traveling, this is a gorgeous treasure for any artist.

3. Grand Canyon National Park-

This National park takes a special eye to appreciate this soaring sky and rooted cavern of desert cut by water, but works of art created in this park leave the viewer amazed. With 227 miles of water making incisions leaving a mile deep mark within the earth's skin. Secrets lay around every corner in this canyon, of waterfalls such as Havasu, Native American tribes and stunning formations.

The shades of the layering rock make for a perfect sanctuary for photography and combined with the bursting sky makes for ideal watercolor. Capture an “action” picture through photography as you raft through the canyon. Or perhaps find a warm corner of the canyon and paint as you soak in the sun.

4. Glacier National Park-

Montana, known for their towering mountain ranges and in the heart lies, Glacier National Park. With over 130 lakes surrounded with stunning mountain ranges and forestry. With historical backgrounds of Native American culture, this lands gives the perfect landscape to find a peace while connecting to your creative side. Any season you can find and create beautiful works of art in this incredible National Park. Visit Lake McDonald, rocks brushed with the cold, glacier water creates bright, vibrant colors such as red, turquoise and purple.

How could you not feel alive, peaceful and utter joy painting at the edge of a lake with towering glaciers and mountains? Create a conversation piece for your home, draw wildflowers, steady pines or whatever forestry you like.

    5. Tetons National Park-

    This celestial National Park, is full of wildlife and perfect sites to set up your esaul. One of the countries most famous mountain scape is rooted here, this breathtaking landscape will make any artist feel at home. Just a few miles away the beginning of another stunning National Park, Yellowstone. In the other direction begins the town of Jackson Hole, where many art galleries live showcasing a variety of artwork. Not only does the park have scene but wildlife that bring life into your work.

    The prairies of sagebrush, intertwined with magnificent herds of elk and the famous mountain range in the distance is famous for photographers. Many of the galleries stationed in Jackson Hole are dedicated to photographers and their works of art. My personal favorite is early morning sketching, rising with many of the animals and before the tour buses show up, is highly recommend.

    6. Yellowstone National Park-

    The National Park a few door down from Tetons National Park, lays one of the most well known and famous National Parks, Yellowstone. With abundant hot pots bursting with color, and erupting geysers from the large underground volcano. Herds of animals differing of species such as the sturdy Bison and majestic Elk. With stunning landscapes, including waterfalls and great plans with strong pines. This National Park is a haven for any artist.

    Seasons may make it more or less crowd inviting, but there is no season where the artist is uninvited. Winter is incredibly beautiful, thanks to the steam of the hot pots and bison caked in snow, in the rut, or even peacefully grazing this is the place to be.

    7. Yosemite National Park-

    Is well-known for the incredible landmark of towering rock and vibrant color of greenery decorating the surroundings. This amazing park is stunning and will make a perfect addition to any artwork. But be sure to make reservations because the park is so beloved campgrounds need to be made two year in advance.

    Although you may have to wait two years to get your little slice of heaven within the park, it is completely worth it! You will be enchanted with these skyscrapers of cliffs and mountain ranges. Can you imagine getting to paint the famous grant rock formations? With beautiful tall tree that don’t even get close to the height of these towers. You can really explore different ideas and art ideas with this unique park.

    8. Zion’s National Park-

    The most well known and loved by artist is Zion’s, with festivals and galleries for the beloved artist, this park is artist sanctuary for creative minds. With hikes varying in all levels of difficulties, you can find any hike that suits what you are looking for. Angels landing has drawn people in from all different corners of the world is witness this heaven. Not to mention the beautiful, hidden slots canyons that leave anyone speechless.

October the trees at the bottom of this canyon begins to turn and blossom with color, and the artist begin rolling in. With the already exciting warm shades of orange and yellow, in the fall,  the colors are only enriched with the fading trees. Bake in the sun along the riverside, as you paint the gorgeous cliffs of Zions. And if you’re lucky you’ll see some very unique wildlife, such as the terrifyingly stunning tarantulas. Go see what you can find.

    If you look back at this list you’re going to wonder if this list is from best to worst? Or greatest to least? I just put these parks is Alphabetical Order, because there is no better or worst, everyone has their own personal connection to different National Parks, leaving a different, lasting impression on each of us. Your challenge is to discover those connections to each of these parks for yourself.  Now your role, as an artist, to go enjoy and create masterpieces a little closer to nature within these beloved National Treasures. Whatever style of art you are interested in, or however “good” of an artist you are or “think” you are, you won’t regret taking your art with you to these amazing destinations. Now go see what you can create.

[gaildaley]

I started this year in Review in December of 2015 because that’s when I think the year really began.

Dec 27, 2015

Wow! Its only four days until another year begins. I’ve made a lot of changes this year. I began writing novels again and wonder of wonders, I’ve actually finished book one of the Handfasting Trilogy, A Year And A Day, and I’ve began on book two Forever And A Day. This story is about three sisters who live on a planet called Vensoog and the choices they make to help their colony survive the aftermath of a galaxy wide war.

February 8, 2016

This was a good week to get some work done. I am more than halfway through Forever And A Day, the second book in my Handfasting trilogy and I have covers done for both of the first two books. Rather than painting a cover in acrylics, I decided to go with some digital artwork so that I could make them very similar.  I think I will go ahead and use Amazons PDK system. It will mean that I can’t put my book up anywhere but Amazon, but its price is excellent—free. And I really don’t have money to pay a regular e-book publisher. My son’s book at Outskirts Press cost almost $2,000. He did get a lot for it, hard copies of his book and it’s marketed in I-Books and Nook as well as Kindle, but sometimes you have to cut your coat to suit your cloth.

I also got my two latest Acrylic paintings done, Cat Napping and Street Vendor and framed. I think I will put at least one of them in ACA’s membership show. Of course entering one of their shows is always problematic, as many times the judges they select don’t seem to care for my art. I used to worry about that, but not anymore.  Having seen some of the art ACA’s judges deemed worthy in the past, I killed any feelings of inferiority I used to have art wise.

Now that I have my enlargements back from the printer, I can also start on the three longhorn paintings I intend to do for the Old West Art show in April.

February 28, 2016

Well, so much for good intentions. I DID manage to get the three paintings started. Unfortunately, I also started a bladder infection; my husband came down with the flu (which he shared) so I haven’t done anything else yet. The medicine the doctor gave me for the infection has caused an almost constant migraine and nausea. Hopefully, however, March will be a better month. Here are three canvases.

March 13, 2016

For the last three weeks, I have had three unfinished paintings for the old west show sitting there glaring at me from my art table. Not really my fault I haven’t been able to work on them: I developed a bladder infection for which I went to the doctor, had a bad reaction to the meds he proscribed, and then I came down with Vernon’s flu he brought home from the Pool Workshops. This Thursday, I was finally able to start on Home on the Range and I got part of it blocked in. Unfortunately, after I sat there and looked at it for a while, I decided that I needed to get rid of the clay cliffs I was using as a background because they were competing with what I intended to be the focus — the Longhorn cattle resting in an almost dry river bed. I painted over my entire mornings work on the cliffs with grey and then had to let it sit long enough for me to be able to work it. I confess I really don’t understand why other artists complain about how fast acrylics dry because at some point in a painting, I will have to stop and let it sit so it will be dry enough not to make mud! I substituted some rolling hills for the cliffs with all those dark, cracked clay lines, which looks better, but I still need to cool off the background hills so that I can push them back or maybe I will add a structure or a tree line; I haven’t decided yet. I will be using pieces of the same dry streambed in all three of the paintings. I have one more day to work on it before I have to stop and do Vern’s invoices for this month.

March 22, 2016

Today I finally managed to start on Chilsolm Trail. I got most of the background done and the horses and men drawn up with white pencil. The background took more time than I thought it would, especially the riverbank.

March 23, 2016

Today I was hoping to get all the cows and the cowboy blocked in, but all those horns and legs took a lot more time than I expected. I finally left one of the cows un-blocked and worked on the horse and rider. I used ultramarine blue and powder blue underpainting on the horse. I will go in tomorrow and finish it off with black.

  March 24, 2016

Well today, I feel as if I am finally making progress; I do still have quite a bit to do to finish this one though. I think adding a second cowboy and more cows was the right thing to do. Five cows just didn’t look like a trail herd! Tomorrow I am taking a break to do housework, but hopefully by Monday I will be able to go in and finish off the foreground. Then I get to start on the 3rd one—The Bozeman Trail!

March 26, 2016

Saturday morning and I still have to finish off my household chores. Put up the laundry washed yesterday and do the dishes so I will have a clean sink to rinse out my paint brushes. (I say I’m only doing them every other day to conserve water, but the truth is I loathe housework). I’m pretty satisfied with the way Chilsolm Trail is coming along. For Monday I will need to finish off the foreground grass and then put in some shadows and highlights to identify which direction the sun is coming from. Details…

Tuesday March 27, 2016

Well Monday turned out to be a wash. It’s wonderful how other people seem to fill up your day without asking you first… Oh, well. Today I got the foreground grass done on the Chilsolm Trail done, and the background and drawing done on the Bozeman trail. I also got the backing prepared for four paintings. I use contact paper for backing and I reinforce the edges with clear strapping tape and use thumbtacks and Gorilla wood glue on the edges to fasten it down. This is easier to clean than plain brown paper, which seems to absorb dust. No surprise that the back of a painting gets just as dirty over time as the front!

The Proof copy of my first book in the Handfasting series came today, so I will be spending the next few days going over the proof for errors. I am a speed-reader so it should only take me about nine hours. I’m very pleased with the front cover design. The image I designed looks great.

Saturday, Vernon is going to be gone with some friends to the desert so I will have that day free to paint. He is actually very supportive, but the more people in the house when I am trying to work the more interruptions there seems to be…

April 12, 2016

I spent the weekend at the Columbia Inn (wonderful atmosphere, and they use real art bought locally in their room designs!) with my husband. It rained non-stop but that did not stop him and other members of CVP from enjoying panning the dirt brought in for them. They did this in the parking lot under pop-ups so that shows how dedicated they are to their notion of fun! We had a community dinner inside the 49er Mining Supply shop and Rob and Cheryl were wonderful hosts. Vernon has commissioned me to do a painting of the Inn and shop so I will be working on that later this year.

A Year And A Day, has been published on Amazon and Kindle and in May I will be making the rounds to advertise it. FYI, if you plan to use Amazon’s free publishing services; start with the printed edition on Create Space. I started with the e-book and ended up with two e-books (different covers but same book). In order to make the covers match, I took the first one I made off-line. Unfortunately, I had set up a pre-order on it, so Amazon has forbidden me to do any pre-orders for a year. Live and learn.

April 21, 2016

Well, the show and reception for Clovis Art Guild’s Old West & Rodeo show came off okay, despite the low amount of entries. I didn’t win anything this time, but that’s the breaks. The show comes down on Sunday. The next two weeks promise to be full also. Monday through Wednesday, I will need to get back to writing on my book and hopefully start my Safe Harbor painting. Andrew will be working with his Dad on Monday, so that will be the best day to paint. I also need to do some housekeeping on some of my POD sites (FAA, Pixels, and Red Bubble). Thursday, I need to change out my art at the Water Tower Gallery, and on Friday I take down my art from the Sunnyside Library Gallery (I also need to prepare a summer schedule for the library), then Saturday I plan to put up a couple of paintings in the Alliance of California’s membership display for the next two months.

I actually sold one of my hand painted keepsake boxes I have down at the Water Tower (Yaay!) So I suppose that this summer, I need to prepare some more for Christmas and Easter, which means developing some designs. Flower designs work well here as I am hopefully marketing these to women or to men buying for women! I ordered some Acrylic paint pens from Amazon and I plan to use them for the actual design after I paint the boxes. (Target date to do these is in June so they will be ready.)

June 10, 2016

Wow. Has it really been two months since I posted anything? Time flies I guess. I won’t say it has all been fun, but it has been productive. Sadly, I did not win anything at the Old West Show, but all the art was wonderful this year even though it was a smaller show.

I have finished two large seascapes and started my entry for the Miniature works show.

Forever And A Day is done and going through the editing process (this means I print it down at the local printer and go over it for errors. Fun). All Our Tomorrows is about halfway through the first draft. Because there are so many characters involved by now and the story moves from one group to another to remain coherent, I have to bounce back and forth between where the character focus is. I wish I could find another way to tell this so that won’t happen, but so far no dice.

Facebook kept rejecting my ad for A Year And A Day, so I ran it as a regular post and they blocked me out for ‘suspected illegal activity’ for two days…Big pain in the A to get back on. They won’t help you when you need it, but they sure do punish users who try to get around their system…

June 23, 2016

I’m trying to do better at posting to this journal. I just finished Vernon’s invoices for June, so I have had time to edit Forever and A Day three times, and I am starting on the fourth just as soon as I pick it up from the printer. I am in the process of writing All Our Tomorrows that I have already revised twice and it isn’t even finished yet! And I sold a copy of A Year And A day in April, for which Kindle will pay me around the end of June. That tells me if my ad campaign bears fruit in June, I won’t see money from sales until around the End of September.

My only entry I painted this year for the Miniature show is almost finished as I got to work on it today. Right now, it’s sitting on a little easel waiting for me to decide if I’m finished with it. It’s a night scene and those are always a struggle to split the difference between accurately showing that it’s at night and still making the paintings features visible…

August 7, 2016

Wow. I have gone an entire month without actually creating art. Well, not true really; I did five color studies for my Vensoog Handfasting series. I started to do a landscape of it also, but I ended up tossing it out (a rarity for me but it was just awful.) I actually have 4 small paintings drawn up (one 8×10 and two 5x7s). I also have two of my hand painted keepsake boxes started. They only need the painting done on the lids and then put together but there they sit…

Next week won’t be productive art-wise either tho’ because I will be starting on our Income tax. Ick. Migraine coming as always…

October 1, 2016

Wow! I’ve had a really busy summer! I have been working non-stop on getting the second book in my Handfasting Series published, and on top of that Clovis Art Guild had an art show and the Guild had to make arrangements to shuffle things around (our meetings, getting our 501(c) submitted to the IRS, etc.), so I confess I have neglected to write here in this journal. I went to a professional cover designer at fiverr.com to re-design the covers for my books and I am really pleased with how they turned out. I also finished the 2nd draft of the book “All our Tomorrows”. It’s currently being beta read by my son Andrew and a couple of good friends. My hand painted keepsake boxes are selling really well at the Watertower Gallery in Downtown Fresno, so I have also been busy making six more of those (actually a pretty time-consuming project). I start with a raw wooden box that I get from a local craft store, seal it, and then paint the base coat on the bottom and the lid. Then I draw a design on the lid and paint that. Then a varnish coat to protect the box is put on the outside and felt lining is added to the inside bottom and lid. Then I put the jewelry back on (hinges and clasps) and finally it is ready to take to the Gallery!  So I have been a busy girl. I also have six smaller paintings prepped (undercoat done and the image drawn up). I hope to have at least one of them ready by Christmas.

I had Pismo Beach critiqued by Master Artist Dennis Lewis at the Clovis Art Guild meeting last night. He confirmed what I was afraid of—those dratted cliffs in the back are still too bright. Considering how many times I repainted them trying to soften them, doing it over again is no big deal, but I wonder if I should also darken up the front. He also had some other suggestions for improving it, so since I have a month before the Fall Open where I intended to enter it, I will probably re work it.  Of course, that does mean re varnishing, but what the heck. I think I will re-wash the back with several layers of light grey and add some yellow to raw sienna for the sand front of the beach.

I also need to get in touch with my friends Betsy and Ron who volunteered to Beta read All Our Tomorrows for me and find out what suggestions they had. Andrew already made several, which I have implemented. It does make the book longer as he said I had rushed through several climaxes and through the chapter on the festival so I have added several pages there that involved re-ordering how the chapters were presented. I admit it does make the book seem less choppy. Beta Readers are a blessing… And just think, I haven’t started the editing for format errors yet! Still hope to get it into publication by Christmas…

December 7, 2016

Well, I did it again—missed an entire month of writing on this. In my defense, I should say that during this month, we adopted a new kitten. She was all alone out at one of Vernon’s commercial accounts. The manager had been feeding her but only twice a day, and a cat or puppy that young needs to be fed at least four times a day. We think Mab’s mother must have been killed and she couldn’t come back for her kittens. We never found the others, and it’s my opinion that Mab survived as long as she did because she is one stubborn feisty cat.

We also put on an art show at the Art Hub. Going to be taking it down later today. Yes, I know it’s raining, but sometimes you have to do what you can do.

All Our Tomorrows will be going to print in about 3 weeks. Yay!

I was hoping to get back into my regular artwork, but I caught a sore throat and it has turned nasty. (Can’t get the flu shot until after this clears up. Ick!)

December 15, 2016

Writing my 4th book in the Handfasting series. It’s a Cozy mystery set on Vensoog. Using Jayla (Gideon’s niece from Forever And A Day) as my heroine and Luc’s best friend Jake (All Our Tomorrows) as the hero. The story centers around the theft of the royal family’s Crown Jewels on planet Aphrodite. The thieves escape to Vensoog to try to fence them. There is a planet wide festival on Vensoog that draws interplanetary traffic so it makes good cover. The fence (Lipski) is killed and the jewels disappear. Jayla innocently buys the Lipski’s shop and then finds her body on the beach while she is out jogging.

I have got local, Royal and interplanetary cops who are suspicious of Jayla’s involvement. I have the original thieves, and the local mob who want to find the jewels.  A housekeeper robot who was programmed by the original owner as a gigolo and a sales bot who likes to run around naked (haven’t quite decided exactly what I’m going to do with them yet-maybe just comic relief).  Then there is Jayla’s nosy, interfering family, and her bossy boyfriend Jake who all trying to help her clear her name and getting in each other’s way.

Note to self: I think I have a form of writers block. I have to decide which of these plot lines to use as the main one, which ones are going to be red herrings and which ones are secondary. My problem is I like all of them so I haven’t written a thing on it that hasn’t felt forced for at least a week.

  A Year In Review I started this year in Review in December of 2015 because that’s when I think the year really began.