“Did you see the way that little girl looked at me? Kids. Little kids. They grow up believing that they can be a hero if they drive a sword into the heart of anything different. And I’m the monster? I don’t know what’s scarier. The fact that everyone in this kingdom wants to run a sword through my heart or that sometimes I just wanna let ‘em.” “We have to get you out of here. Over the wall. We won’t stop until we find some place safe, okay? We’ll go. Together. No matter what we do, we can’t change the way people see us.” “You changed the way you see me… Didn’t you?
NIMONA(2023), based on the comic by ND Stevenson, who came out as transgender in 2022
i think one of the most important things you learn about making connections with others is that a significant portion of the time people just do not know theyre doing what theyre doing
sometimes someone is acting selfish because they just didnt think you had any interest in what theyre hogging. sometimes you dont get invited to the movies because your friend could have sworn that you said no. sometimes you think someone is mad at you because theyre bad at hiding how little sleep they got. we are all like little worlds that briefly crash into one another from time to time and we just arent physically capable of seeing the whole picture at once in those moments. and learning that really changed everything!
“Your art isn’t valued by the number of notes you get” okay but. If you spent 6 hours baking a cake for a party, but no one at the party eats your cake, it’s still disappointing.
This articulates something about the different between value and validation that I didn’t previously register on a conscious level.
This is why I tell people I feel more like an entertainer than an artist.
I want to hear them laugh, chat, comment, speak, roar, cry, get irrationally angry, I need people to respond to my art and get inspired and need more.
I don’t want a note, I want a response.
Responses are very nice. I like reading over them. They make me feel fuzzy. Of course, likes and reblogs are also very appreciated, but responses make me feel a special kinda fuzzy.
That’s the thing about the “oh, create for yourself, don’t worry about other people!” attitude (that almost exclusively comes from non-artists and people who have tons of followers and routinely get tons of validation for SOME reason) that doesn’t quite work. I guarantee you, most of us already ARE creating for ourselves above all-
But we POST our creations for human connection, and that’s not a bad thing.
the “humans are inherently selfish” fanclub can genuinely and in all honesty go to hell. i once came back from a school yard where the kids had
heaped
piles of leaves and cut wildflowers on a narrow strip of grass bc a bee had
died. i actually want to cry.
when i was a child, my parents told me our houseplant would die of lack of sunlight. i was so young i don’t even remember this, but apparently, my response to this was starting to carry the plant around like an emotional support stuffed animal. whenever my family went outside i would hold the pot on my head to make it reach the sun better. i wasn’t in school yet, didn’t have any exposure to the lessons on caring they give in elementary, i don’t remember my thought process - but i can guess. kids integrally care about things, even tiny bugs and inanimate plants. humans care.
don’t let them beat it out of you
as someone in my 40s, may i also add: if they beat it out of you? put in the work to relearn it until it’s a part of you again. a part you’re proud enough of that if someone tells you it’s dumb and you should stop, you can laugh and say “oh, no. no, i don’t believe i will.” and then keep on keepin’ on.
compassion can often be a skill that needs to be relearned. so relearn it and revel in it.
Edith / ♀♥♀ / 27 / Hungary Self taught, wanna/gonna? be professional artist. Most passionate about animation, feminism, video games, and women! :) Glad you're visiting!
