kasche | [Art] Homecoming + 'What do you mean...?' + Gorecki

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[Art] Homecoming + 'What do you mean...?' + Gorecki

...

Wait. We WON? O_O

Er. What does it say about me as a team-member that I wasn't expecting that at all? :P But CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE PLAYERS! We all worked pretty hard, whichever the team, and we all deserve it! :D

(And my face does not resemble Lisa's icon. Nope, not at all. *g* As they, you're all young once, but can stay immature forever... ;D)

(Which reminds me that I REALLY need to see that movie. Ni showed me some YT clips a while ago and I was so laughing my head off.)

Because really - yup, that was two brackets ago - this fest was so much work. Seriously. I am considering just sticking to regular exchanges after this. ;P Not that it wasn't fun, because it actually was, but... let's just say that I've drawn more in the months since I started working on these than I have in the past couple years. ;)

...of course, in the past couple years drawing had gone a little on the downside, but that's not the point. Er.

Also, weirdly enough, this time I've got something of a commentary at the bottom. It's just this once, though - I don't really see this becoming an habit of any kind. And it's really almost all about Gorecki. I don't know, it's my first time doing something like that, and-- I'll continue below. ;P

Homecoming

Rating: PG
Warnings: Boykiss!
Summary: Remus comes home after a long day at work.
Genre: Fluff/Romance

What do you mean, not me?

Rating: PG-13
Warnings: NWS. Naked butt!
Summary: Because even reading the newspaper can give ideas.
Genre: Humor/Crack

Gorecki

Rating: G
Summary: November 1981.
Genre: Angst

(Last I checked, there was some problem with the

rs_games website - so, in case the original pages are still down, it might be worth mentioning that I have a backup art archive on

kasche. There might not be much more, but these ARE on there. :P)

Gorecki - which wouldn't get its title until the very last moment - is really the first idea I decided on, and the one I would have done if we'd been asked to do just the one submission. Homecoming came to me only in a second time, as I was rereading the prompts list - and in many ways it's like most of the stuff I've done up to now, is it not? Lighthearted, linear, somewhere between silly and sweet. Kind of. (Same goes with Why not me - though that one's really just silly. Then again, it was a last minute pinch-hit, so I guess it's natural that I instinctively fell back on a trusted ground.) So, I suppose I could say that I played it safe on one side and went out on a limb on the other? I don't really know. It might be.

Gorecki was more of a wild card. The inspiration for it came to me sometime around last Nov/Dec, as I was reading

sekhmet2's story for The Ni Project. In it, Remus (at some point during the 12 "missing years") thinks/says it only brings back memories of a man that doesn’t exist anymore (referring to Sirius) - and my mind went off thinking how, after Halloween 1981, he really must felt that he hadn't known Sirius at all. That the person he first had been friends with, then fallen for, was not the one that had actually been in front of his eyes all that time - and if he'd see him again, before the other got shipped off to Azkaban, Sirius must have looked (and felt) like a complete stranger to his eyes. Hence the "who are you".

As for the actual setting of the strip, I can tell you what I had in mind - though it's nothing binding. I mean, as we all well know, if it isn't stated expressly in the work itself? We're really kind of free to imagine whatever fits. ;D At any rate: whether or not Sirius had an actual process, it's not unlikely that they had him face the wizarding population. (It's one thing to just tell people that the culprit has been caught, and quite another to show the actual face and see "here, it's all his fault", isn't it?) Gorecki takes place right before that: while Sirius, still in the previous day's clothes, is being carted off to either the process' room or the gallows*, his path comes close to the same crowd that's going to face him (which is why we have human guards instead of dementors) and Remus is part of it. (I dunno, I liked the idea of an uncaring crowd flowing around their own personal "tragedy". :P) As I was deciding what I should have Remus wear, I realized that he might be coming straight from James and Lily's funeral - which would be kind of an early time for it, seeing as usually the funeral takes place the day after (where I live, at least), but I guessed that people might want to rush things, in order to leave it all behind as soon as possible. ~~And, all right, I just wanted an excuse to have Remus in a black suit.~~

What actually surprised me was how ridiculously nervous I was, when I realized they would be posting it any day. O_o I just really, really wanted it to work, you know? And... probably it was also the fact that, as I was drawing it, at some point I ended up putting in it some of the anger and frustration I was feeling at the time (over other matters *g*) and while that didn't really influence the storyboard or anything, it made the strip feel more like a child of sorts than the other stuff I've done. ;D And, all right, it guess it was also that I was afraid it would make people yawn. :P I'm really not experienced in that genre.

But I got beautiful, beautiful comments, on all three of them, and... oh, that made me really so glad. It was so much more than I would have expected. ♥ Thank you!

* Not actual gallows, since he's never sentenced, but just... shown. To people who are not head over heels for him at this moment in time.

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*dies*

Homecoming is SO cute and made me AWWW!

What do you mean, not me? made me giggle.

And the last one... *dies some more* Seriously, that couldn't make anyone yawn. I almost had tears in my eyes. So... expressive :( Poor Siri.

Anyway, I don't think I've ever commented on your work, so I just wanted to tell you how much I admire you. You're one of my favourite fanartists (if not THE number one) and your style is so beautiful. I'm always amazed by how you manage to make every single one of your drawings so emotive and... just beautiful. Really, there are no words for it.

I also draw, myself and I've tried to copy your style on many occasions but I never managed to even come close to your brilliance. How do you do it? Seriously, I think you should do a tutorial sometime because your use of pencils is amazing :) *fangirls*

Ooh I second that. I draw a bit too and I just can't imagine how you would ever get your pencils to do that stuff. I'd looove a tutorial just to see how you get it started you know. Like I always find myself drawing the eyes first and working from there lol.
Yes I definitely would not be bored with something like that, it would be fascinating :D
*fangirls too*

♥ ♥ ♥

Oh sweetheart! (You and your bids, by the by. Omg THANK YOU. <3333)

I'm really not sure how useful it would be - because I really don't have much in the ways of tecnique, tips or such. It's really basically trial and error, until it all seems to, well, work well enough. ^^; But I might try to put together something, and see if it goes anywhere?

But thank you for wanting to see one in the first place! ♥♥♥

OMG it is so worth it ;) a good cause AND your drawings, yeah! I would be so surprised, and happy, if I won. I mean I can just see that it is gonna get into stupid amounts of money. It would be fun while it lasted anyways :)

That would be so cool. I'm always interested to see the process that artists go through, it fascinates me.

I'll always want to see one of whatever you're offering! O_o wait that sounds weird lol

♥ ♥ ♥

Thank you! :D It's always a treat when a people laugh at your funny stuff ;P And it's even more of a treat that you were actually touched by it!

And oh my, you're so incredibly sweet, you know? Those are really really beautiful words. I'm so flattered and touched to hear you say that! :D

And woah, that's the first time anyone asks me for a tutorial! :o But - I really wouldn't know where to start, you know?

Well, then it was about time someone asked for a tutorial *grins* ^^

I know, if someone asked me where I start with my drawings I wouldn't know what to say either ^^ But... I don't know. Do you use reference pics? And which materials? I've tried with a variety of pencils to get it done as beautifully as you always do but nothing seems to work. Or maybe I'm just incapable of getting it done ^^

You're welcome :)

That, and my "drawing tecnique" is so full of bad habits and bad ways to go around things that makes me more in need to follow a tutorial, rather than to write one ;P But I could do a tutorial about expressions, perhaps? Mmh, I dunno.

Well, for reference I mostly use "myself" - any kind of reflecting surface often turns useful. ;P I don't usually hunt for reference pics, I never find exactly what I'm looking for anyway ;D The materials are simpler still - a regular mechanical pencil + eraser + kneaded eraser, that's all I ever need :) The kneaded eraser, in particular, is a real asset. :D

Aw, I'm glad you wanted to know in the first place! ;)

Great! Thanks, that was a big help (even though I don't think I'll ever be as good as you ;))

And YES! Tutorial about expressions would be wonderful. Because that's the thing I suck the most at and which I admire most in your drawings :)

And your icon made me squee :D

*wibbles at Gorecki*

love them all tho!

~~And, all right, I just wanted an excuse to have Remus in a black suit.~~

~~damn right ;)~~

Hehehehe! Thank you ;D

I'm going to comment on Gorecki here, because this is where your commentary is. Also, incidentally, I love the Lamb song. <3

The THING with Gorecki that is so nice and wonderful is how moody it is. There are only about two lines spoken amidst all the panels that you've drawn, and you've spoken the rest of the piece's meaning through pictures.... which is awesome, if you ask me. I love silent-ish comics, they're always the most powerful. But yeah, be proud of this! The dark dispassionate crowd adds a lot, and as usual your character "acting" is top notch. (Yeah, see that panel where Remus looks back at hopeful, frightened Sirius? TOP. NOTCH.)

So yeah, really really beautiful work! I feel sort of inspired to do something similar sometime, though I don't know what it could be. *pins a medal on you*

You know, I really would love to asnwer your beautiful comment with something slightly more elaborate than OMG *CLINGS TO LEG* - no matter how well the expression seems to sum up my feelings at the moment. ;P

Seriosly. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

And yay! :D :D :D Really? Absolutely glad to be of inspiration! XD

ALSO. (http://neko-myka.livejournal.com/266647.html)

Edited 2008-07-04 11:06 (UTC)

1-congratulations for the win :)

2-You already know how much I adore your pieces, but since you're hard to convince: WHOAH! WHOAH! Your work is beautiful and full of emotions, and funny (well, not Gorecki, but the others) and wonderful :)

I love them. I LOVE YOU.

*clings to neck* Thank you so much, sweetheart. Really. :D

I've already left you, what two comments and a few messages about Gorecki? lol but there is just something about it that makes me get all fired up. Like it is just so sad and it makes me feel so goddamn much. I think maybe the fact that you pointed out that it is different to the subject you usually do that makes it really stand out. It has so such passion in it and the feelings really leap out of it. I loved your thoughts on it, and why Remus was wearing a suit. The part where Sirius is just pleading with Remus with his eyes and then Remus cold face, gah it just makes me want to cry for him so much.

Ahh but moving on from the sadness :)
In homecoming Sirius' 'srs bsns!' dog face cracks me up! And Remus being all cheeky with the hand in front of his mouth like oops :D

What do you mean not me - thats just racist LMAO! Remus' laughing face looks ridiculously good in this, I mean gah! how can you make it so convincing like that O_o *is amazed*

Just well done with all of these. I can't wait for round two ~~where we'll kick your ass this time~~ ;)

*laughs* You sure ain't going to hear me complaing about that! ;D I was so hopelessly fidgety about it, your comments definitely helped me relax some :P But oh. It's so good to hear you say that about Gorecki. <3

I'm glad that the submissions made you sad (...one phrase I never really thought I'd say) and/or smile! The reception for them has been so incredibly warm that - well, I've been smiling nonstop all the while I was answering comments. Hey, my cheeks are HURTING. ;P

Hehehehehe! We'll se who'll win? *g*

<3333333333

I'm glad to hear it made you relax! Anytime B ;) <3

Well of course, the pieces were so wonderful my cheeks were hurting commenting about them ;) Oh and my eyes were running but only with Gorecki :D

*does evil laugh* yes we shall see who wins...

Oh noes I've been out bidded on your auction thingy :( O well, I hope you raise lots more money than what I can afford lol <3 <3 <3

Heh. You drew a butt.

So I did! ;)

It's awesome! Bums for everyone!

Aaaaaaaahhh I love Gorecki so much. And with the song, ahhh. WAH. Staring at Remus and his 'who are you', I'm just speechless. It just reminded me what I love so much about S/R in one big rush, like whoosh. All their sadness and the misunderstanding from hell and the bittersweet regret and ahhhh. Somehow S/R, as much as their story spans decades, many years, somehow it's still about moments to me-- that moment when it seems like the world stopped and they looked at each other across that crowd... and it's like a shot in the silence, y'know? And it missed. And I could just feel it, with the way you drew them, it's so palpable. Wah.

Remus's expression totally slays me. And the way Sirius just deflates. And the focus on their mouths seems both appropriate and symbolic of the things they don't say, and sensual. There's still a visible connection between them, that's what makes it hurt. And they're just beautiful. I mean, your Sirius and Remus are always beautiful, but here they're really beautiful, and Remus is somehow luminous. Ahhhh, Sirius's kicked-puppy expression <3333 And his beautifully drawn eyes <333 And the way he sets his mouth and it just all falls away <333333333 Ahhhhhhh. I love them so much. Thank you for reminding me.

And thanks for the pick-me-up. The giggling with your other entries definitely helped. ^^; They're so cuuuute and aaangsty and ahhhhh <3333333. *sigh* Adorable <3.

Ah! Right, I forgot to talk about the title in the entry ^^; ...though, looking up, I think it might be long enough already. Ahem. ;P

Oh. Oh my. I have the single goofiest smile on my face right now. ♥ Do you realize the beautiful, beautiful things you've just said? You have no idea how glad I am that it made you feel so much. It's really the best kind of compliment I could ever hope to get. <33333

I was afraid it would make people yawn

Oh, no way. No way at all.

I loved how totally uncaring and wrapped up in their own lives the other characters were. For them, it's just one more prisoner, it'just one more atrocity, and you can see the war weariness and their refusal to get involved.

I was kinda worried that Remus would just walk away, too, but what he actually does is so, so, SO much worse :( And the way you've drawn poor Sirius, you can actually see the life and vitality drain out of him, and, just... *sniffles* *cuddles Sirius*

No yawning whatsoever!

Butbutbut it could have been, yanno? :o

I loved how totally uncaring and wrapped up in their own lives the other characters were. For them, it's just one more prisoner, it'just one more atrocity, and you can see the war weariness and their refusal to get involved.
You know, I myself wasn't too sure about that. Right after a war has ended, the spirits are still very high... it wouldn't have been unlikely if, upon noticing Sirius, the crowd had tried to lynch him. ^^;

Oh! Glad you thought so! :D With angst, it can be just so easy to go overboard and overdo it ^^; So, yay for the not yawning ;D

Congratulations! I've been virtually feeling up

gryffindor_j in celebration.

*cops a quick feel*

Eeee, thank you! ;D

What does it say about me as a team-member that I wasn't expecting that at all?
Huh? You didn't think the whole time that we would win? Did you not know the brilliance that is us?? I didn't think we'd win either

You more than pulled your weight for our team. You were brilliant and perfect.

Thank you for sharing you Gorecki journey with us. I love hearing how an artist got somewhere. Amazing job! Remus in a suit is always perfect.

Hah! I guess not. XD;; For instance, I totally do not expect us to win the next round either. ;P (It might be worth mentioning that, yes, I am maintaining the masterlist, but no, I haven't checked a single submission. Granted, I haven't had the time, but. Er. Ahem. Bad Bruni, Bad Bruni...)

Awww, thank you so much! You're always so nice to me! ♥

And I'm glad you found the commentary interesting, too! That's really good to know :D

See, I can't even bear the thought of Remus seeing Sirius after his arrest because the thought alone breaks me, so you can imagine how much your piece ripped my poor shippy heart to shreds and stomped all over it. The expression on Sirius' face alone when they're taking him away, and Remus, standing there like a stone, his world completely shattered (and I STILL go back to that pic of Remus sitting on the floor with the broken lamp, and just...)

*cries*

I need fluffy pirates and sappy dorky boys snogging in school corridors and cuddling with umbrellas and licking lampposts in the snow!!!!!!!!!!

I mean, I love the urgency of how tragic their story arc is, but you will have to drag me kicking and screaming and biting from my happy land of Denial.

Congrats on the win!! (she says grudgingly :-P Yay icon! And OMG! What do you mean you've never watched that movie??? RUN, don't walk! It is beyond awesome!! The best dialogue for quoting ever! And then you have to draw Marauders-as-Knights of the Round Table crossover art with coconuts and shrubberies!!!)

Oh! I ordered those buttons! I'll send you a few when I get them! Hee!

*smooches you, even though you made me wibble and cry and broke my heart* ♥ ♥

Awwwwww! I'm sorry ;P ...okay, no, I'm really not. After all, strong emotions were what I was after. *g* (Ah! My own mind kept going back to that picture either! Mmh, the lamp scene probably happened some time after that, though. I really really want to try redrawing that, the first version was really too much of a draft.)

And THANK YOU! *g* ...haha, no, I haven't seen the movie yet. I'm pretty sure that I actually have it somewhere - I just can't find the folder. Er. Whoops.

Aw! I'll find a way to make forgiving myself easier, I promise *g*

♥♥♥

Hi! Yay! I can actually comment on how lovely (and, often quite funny or moving) your submissions were. But, good Merlin... Gorecki?!?!? That actually made me cry. It was beautiful, but very difficult to take.

Part of me felt for poor Remus, too, and the other part of me wondered if this actually happened or if it was one of Sirius' Azkaban nightmares.

I've always had great difficulty in thinking about his lack of a trial. It was predictable of the Ministry, but wrong on so many levels. But could he even have been given a fair one? I also rather imagine that he at least had a sentencing which means that, like in your scenario, he would have had to face the people. That makes sense to me. I think it's pretty clear that the Crouch was using this as a political move and, of course, he's make it public.

It was beautiful, but very difficult to take.

Woah. Just-- woah. It might surprise you to hear me say this, but that was really a beautiful, beautiful comment. Thank you so much. ♥

I would have hoped for a trial, but it didn't surprise me too much that he didn't get one, you know? Possibly because I keep having in mind my own still recent enough history (the Italian crowd literally lynched Mussolini and his lover - of course, in 1981 the Mussolini of the situation would have been Voldemort, not Sirius, but... in situations like these, the spirits are pretty high). The day after the war had ended vanished? People just wanted someone to blame. That the someone turned out to be actually guilty was nice, but probably optional.

Cynical? Me? Why, maybe a little... ^^;

Thanks! The look on Sirius' face was just heart-breaking and, what it made it especially "difficult" was that the world you created for the two of them has always been so filled with love, passion, understanding, and connection that the scene it extremely hard!

As to the trial, oh I totally agree. This was Crouch's chance to shine, to prove that he was in charge and things were so in control that a trial was not even necessary. Not that it would have mattered, the outcome would likely have been manipulated to be the same.

Yeah, I'm a bit cynical, too. As an American it's hard not to be. I mean, come on, we invaded a country (Iraq) that had nothing to do with anything just so our President could appear to be in control and get on with some horrifying personal agenda. Sorry, to get so political, but I, too, see what wanting someone to blame and feeling the need to appear in control can do.

Oh. ♥♥♥ THANK YOU! :D :D :D

Yeah! Damn. It is disheartening a bit how politics almost always seems to be the same everywhere we go, yeah? :(

Ooh, thanks for all the commentary on Gorecki cause I thought it was a showing of Sirius to the public before Azkaban but I was all 'where the dementors at?' So all your commentary was helpful to my feeble mind :D Every picture here is so well done, but there's something about Gorecki that's especially striking. Especially that one panel of just Sirius's eyes after Remus responds.

Yep! There's a lot of backstory going on, isn't there? As I worked the details in, I kept working to try and make them all coexist in a plausible way... which is probably why I wanted to talk about it so badly. *g* Glad you found it of use! That you noticed the absence of the dementors, too :D And that you liked it, of course. ;)

♥♥♥!

I really like that there's a lot of backstory because it gives me an excuse to look at it for a longer amount of time ^_^

Eeeee! Oh, sweets. XD

I'm friending you if that's all right. I'd like to keep up with your art :D

Aw! Of course it's all right, I'm flattered you want to! :D

All three of these pieces are as wonderful as is all of your artwork, but Gorecki just completely blew me away. Sirius looks so numb and resigned to his fate in the first panel, but when he catches sight of Remus, you can see the reality of the situation he is in just crashing back down on him. The anguished look on his face when he screams Remus' name and wrenches away from his guards is just soul-shattering, and the slow, measured turn of Remus to face him so chilling. The feelings of both of them at that moment - Sirius realizing that the love of his life believes him to be a killer, and Remus believing that this man he adored is not the person he even knew - oh, my heart breaks into a thousand shards for the two of them. The complete crumpled defeat in Sirius' final expression - he seems to be just as devastated as if he were already in the Dementor's thrall. I love that the rest of the crowd is dark and sort of indistinct - for Sirius, the only person he would see would be Remus. This is just magnificent - off to get more tissues...

Oh man, thank you. Really. That you got so much and felt so much from that strip is really the best kind of reaction I could hope for. ♥♥♥

Incidentally, today, I looked at Gorecki again while LISTENING to Gorecki, and, in the words of Dennis from 30 Rock, "I cried. I cried lie a big, dumb homo."

Awww! *hugs*

In the end I didn't talk about the title (and the song)... At first I just plain forgot about it, and when I noticed I decided the entry was already long enough as it was. :P

...besides, how's 30 Rock? I heard a couple positive comments about it, is it good?

Well, it was lovely without it, and you did have the link there if anyone wanted to look it up, and I'm sure there were plenty of people who did. I'd coincidentally just found the song a few weeks before because it was on Dr. Who.

I really like it, actually, as do most of my friends, though I do sometimes run across someone who doesn't. It's basically all the best Saturday Night Live alumni in a scripted show about working for a show like Saturday Night Live, and I think it's very funny - funnier than SNL has been in a long while. If it's your sense of humor, it's great.

I meant more the reasons why I chose it, but... oh well, after all it all came down to the old "let's set the mp3 player on shuffle mode and see which title comes up" game, so. ;)

That's the bad thing about being from across the ocean, the references pass way over my head :P Oh well, I'll just try an episode and see how it goes. ;) Thank you! ♥

Okay... I will admit it... occasionally art can make me yawn - not literally, but in the exaggerated way that you meant. Yours never has, I might add, hence the reason I check your journal for your lovely art updates every now and then (which I apologise for doing without introducing myself!) Gorecki was just ... so not yawn. I got to the slightly blurred panel with Sirius's scream and I was sold. Your beautiful use of light and dark in the panels of Remus is wonderful and as gorgeously-drawn as the crowd is, I really couldn't drag my eyes from their little tragedy in amongst it all as you so aptly put it. I just adore how you can convey this entire story through what appears to be the look in their eyes, but must be an incredible attention to detail in expression on your part that makes it appear this way - appear so life-like. I don't like the last panel, purely because of the bitter edge to Sirius's mouth; the fact that it is imperfect and so unlike the scores of other Siriuses I have seen you draw and tells in the imbalanced curve the story to come. So because I don't like that last panel, I am in love with the whole.

Thank you so much ♥

Before I forget - oh come on, there's no reason for you to apologize. ;) We all like to lurk *g* ...which is not to say that I wasn't glad to hear you say you like my stuff, because hello, I was. ♥

Aside from that, OMG YES. I know! I know what you mean! I suppose I always felt a little intimidated by the more dramatic side of fanworks - it looked like it was so easy to overdo, you know? Like in those many, many stories (and/or art pieces, I suppose) where you realize that what you're reading/looking at is supposed to be moving or even heartwrenching, but all you're feeling at the moment is "yeah. Okay. Got it. Can we move on now?"

So... you know, that's all the more reason why your comment heartened me so very very much. ♥ (...which makes it sound like I haven't got anything but absolutely brilliant comments on G, does it. But it's still heartening!) I was so glad to see that it worked for you, the hows and whys of it, and-- well, thank you. ;D

You are so very welcome :)

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[Art] Homecoming + 'What do you mean...?' + Gorecki

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