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Child Gods: Emotions, Consequences, and Clauses of Sanity Through the History of Art

Summary:

The Children are, undoubtedly, the most popular subject matter for aspiring artists. This piece is meant to explore the contradictions and parallels found between art pieces of the Children and the controversies surrounding them.

Notes:

EDIT/PREFACE 2024. UM. I WROTE THIS WHEN I WAS 13. SO TWS ABOUND. most glaringly to my recollection at the moment are a few very serious topics handled with all the grace of. a 13 year old writing homestuck fanfiction in the style of an art history thesis. so lots of references to mental illness & suicide, csa, i believe slavery. if a middle schooler who fakes citations would do it then it was done. sorry.

Chapter 1: Space: A Child God and the Consequences of Her Godhood

Chapter Text

She is nothing, and She is everything.

Space is widely believed to be the first of the Children. Her existence brought to us our universe, and then She moved the planets and Light moved the suns to give us our world. Space is believed to be all that is, and all that ever will be. In theological circles, She is always portrayed as younger than the other Children, innocent, naïve, and kind. Rarely is this portrayal disputed. One such famous quarrel featured Montoya de la Rodriguez displayed a painting entitled El Perrito de el Infierno y la Sonrisa de la Bruja, 1712, roughly translatable to "The Little Dog of Hell and the Smile of the Witch". The painting shows Space, with dark gray skin and wild slate colored hair. Her eyes, which are usually colored green, are instead glaringly red. In Her hands, She holds a human heart, and She seems to be in the process of devouring it. In front of Her sits a small snow-white dog, which seems to be gnawing on a human skull. Flames appear to be erupting from the dog's paws.

De la Rodriguez released an entire series of these hellish portraits. One of the more controversial works was entitled La Chica y La Muerte, 1715, or The Girl and Death, which featured Space, once again portrayed as a young child, clutching a decapitated head in Her hands. Perrito, as the dog has been come to known, is prowling around Her ankles as a protector, still with fire coming out of its paws, but this time lime green. Space still has glowing red eyes, and She appears nearly demonic, but Her eyes are wide and convey innocence. In the final work of de la Rodriguez' infamous trilogy of paintings, La Brujita y su Abuelo, 1720, translated here to The Little Witch and her Grandfather, Space is centered at the foreground, this time portrayed more traditionally, in a black and gray tutu, gray and white striped tights, red slippers, and a black corset worn over a long-sleeved gray shirt. De la Rodriguez, however, in keeping with his surrealist (and anti-theist) style, gave Space white dog ears, perhaps to signify that She had become one with Perrito. In the background, a baby, a child, an adult, and an old man are all kneeling with Space's domain on their shoulders. It's been theorized that all the characters are actually the same person, and that that person has been nicknamed Grandfather by the art community at large. In many of de la Rodriguez' less famous works, Space is shown playing with Grandfather, and many theologists believe that de la Rodriquez experienced a holy vision of Space Herself coming down from the great heavens to tell him how to portray Her and Grandfather. These paintings have caused quite a few contentions throughout the theological and artistic communities. Many people believe that Space should be portrayed as loving and caring, and that images in which She is in direct contact with blood or body parts are in direct contradiction with what we know of the Children and Their personalities. De la Rodriguez, who lived under a particularly theocratic government, steadfastly refused to edit her paintings of Space, and was placed under house arrest for ten years before being stoned to death.

Space is also a large part of alt pop and popular culture. De la Rodriquez' paintings have heavily influenced the Japan-based fashion style of guro lolita and gothic lolita. A popular fad amongst Japanese schoolgirls is to sew large skirts out of pure black material and paint on stars and dripping blood, to simulate Space in El Perrito de el Infierno y la Sonrisa de la Bruja. In 2008, this fashion style was banned due to potentially anti-theist beliefs. Space is also the most popular Child in East Asia, reasons unknown.

Most sightings of Space occur on the outskirts of small, poor villages. Residents of these blessed places claim that Space dug them a new well, or raised great stone walls to protect against invaders. The most famous sighting of Space was in Uganda in the mid-eighteenth century, when British colonialists attempted to raid a small, poorly-defended village. Witness accounts say that Space descended from the sky, but four feet tall, and had snapped the necks of all the British invaders except one, a thirteen-year-old boy who had been a victim of incest and rape by his father, a respected man in the British navy. The boy claimed that Space had "looked into [his] eyes and seen [his] past, and She spared [him] from death...for She is truly a merciful goddess, and lo, She has forgiven [him]." There is no verification for these claims, however, and it has been theorized by many historians of note that the boy was merely a sin-child (a young person, usually a girl, whom lonely sailors would force themselves upon in an absolution of their sins), due to the fact that the boy was thrown overboard by the captain of the Corianth L'wanne, before any priests could come to verify the boys claims. Others believe that the boy was spared because he resembled a boy whom Space had had affections for in a past life.

Despite Space's childlike appearance and lack of evidence pointing towards romance, one of the most popular debates in theological discussions is of love. Many notable theologists have theorized that Space and Light were lovers, and that Photizo was merely a connection betwixt the two Children, despite de Clearau's unambiguous paintings, including Avoir des Relations Sexuelles dans la Lumière du Jour, 1817, or "Having Sex in the Light of Day", which is one of the few de Cleaurau pieces that isn't heavy on imagery-the painting simply shows Photizo and Light making love in an open meadow.

In other communities, it has been theorized that Space had Her own otherworldy lover, based on the famous painting Kinder am Ende Alles, 1814, or "Children at the End of Everything", by Josaff Jeäger. Jeäger's piece shows Space clutching a teenage boy's hand-the boy appears to be sixteen or seventeen, and possesses gray skin, while Space is portrayed, as She usually is, as ten or eleven-and they both appear to be floating in the aether. Space is eagerly trying to show the boy one of Her Wonders, which are made only for those she cares about very much. The boy is facing to the right, away from Space, and seems distracted and panicky. He is clutching at his throat and appears to be yelling at someone who is out of frame. Another famous Jeäger piece, entitled Zorn eines Kindes, 1818, or "Wrath of Child", shows Space kneeling in a forest clearing, Her hands coated with red blood. She is shaking, and gazes steadily at the viewer. She is sobbing, and her mouth is twisted in a howl of pain. Jeäger released a statement along with the piece, translated here: "These Gods, these Children, They have never grown up. They are young, so very young, and have made so many difficult choices. I loathe to imagine the tantrum a Child as powerful as a God could throw, and so do I loathe to imagine the aftermath of a Child who has been scorned, or even a Child who was not given attention-the Children have not been mortal in so very long...we cannot sit with Them for decades or centuries or aeons to hear Their stories-surely, in some shadowy part of history a Child demanded to speak with someone who simply had nothing left to give them...nothing, after all, has more fury than a child or Child scorned." Jeäger was also a close friend of de Cleaurau, but it is known that they were part of a close-knit group of friends in Germany, along with two other artists who grew up to pledge to the Churches of Breath and Time, respectively.

The boy from Jeäger's painting has been nicknamed Heamire, from the Latin root heam-, for blood, and the latin root ire-, for anger. This nickname came about after the painting De Woede van een Dode Man Naar een Kind, 1825, or "Anger of a Dead Man to a Child". The painting, by one of Jeäger's students, Carla Ackerman, shows Heamire screaming at Space. In a rather surrealist tone, Ackerman had given Heamire bleeding eyes and ears. The painting actually shows Heamire with blood coming out of all of Heamire's orifices-flecks of blood can be seen spewing from his mouth and hitting Space. In contrast with Heamire's bloody anger, Space is cowering, Her hands pressed over Her ears and Her eyes shut tight, with tears still running down Her cheeks. The subtitle for the painting is Ruimte Hoort de Echo van een Dode Man, or "Space hears the Echo of a Dead Man". The subtitle is unnervingly accurate for the piece, given that Ackerman has left Heamire's iris and pupil colorless, and that, if viewed from a certain angle, Heamire disappears entirely.

Space is also heavily associated with a mortal boy who appears to be related to Her-he is just quite a bit taller and looks wilder. The boy (nicknamed ‘Tarzan’ for his wild appearance), is usually either shown wearing bright yellow clothing (usually not leaving much to the imagination) or with bright white wings. In a recent popular art piece, Space and Tarzan, 2012, by Missy Washington, shows Tarzan sitting with Space in his lap, both sporting huge grins. The piece suggests that Tarzan is taking a ‘selfie’, with his arm outstretched and part of his thumb blocking the image. The two appear to be sitting in a tree, most likely in a rain forest, judging by the obnoxiously-colored macaw perched on a branch behind them. In a less recent piece, Tarzan & Jane, 1958, Tarzan and Vita appear to be sitting together companionably-Vita in a fifties-style dancing dress, and Tarzan in a pair of banana-yellow boxers. Space is standing behind them as a shadowy figure, except Her hair is is powdery-gray and She appears as an old woman, recognizable by the enormous symbol tattooed on Her arm and Her ruby slippers, visible on either side of Tarzan and Vita.

Space has also been painted with Photizo, who was Light’s lover. In all paintings in which Space and Photizo are together, however, the emphasis is clearly placed on friendship, and usually there is little to no romantic implications. In Garden of Mystery, 1812, by Branden Millburg, the Photizo and Space are each crafting flower garlands in a beautiful green garden. In the background, Light and Heamire are both leaning over a garden hedge and watching the two girls. In another piece, Heat of Rebirth, 1818, Photizo appears to be dipping Space into a volcano. Space is wearing the flower garland that Photizo had been making in the previous piece, and Photizo seems to be crying. Millburg’s subtitle to the piece was “innocent death and the dance of doom”, which could be a reflection of Millburg’s fanatic devotion to the Church of Space.

Chapter 2: Light: The Child Goddess and Her Mysteries of Character

Chapter Text

She is not born. She simply is.

Despite some arguments throughout the theological community, it is widely accepted that Light was the second goddess, immediately following Space. As the legend goes, She was born from darkness, and She spread Her heavenly light to bring the stars, but in doing so She sacrificed Her sanity. She was stretched too thin, as She fought the Darkness, so She gave up a bit of Her soul to the Darkness, and that is how the holy balance of Light and Dark came to be. In Light, She is depicted most often with flaxen hair and cheeks flushed from excitement. Typically, color palettes depicting Light center around orange, yellow, and white to represent Her holy light, occasionally interspersed with pale blue to represent Her holy knowledge. In Darkness, She is depicted most often with bright white hair and gray skin, and is usually bound with black tentacles. Most well-known portraits of the Dark, including Deafening Silence, 1848, by Hervè Clemence, feature Her eyes focused below Her, as though searching for something, and usually feature heavy gray clouds in the background, with a pelting rain parting for Her, most famously in Withering Sunbeam, 1880, by Charles Baker, which is possibly one of the most popular depiction of the Dark.

Contrastly, in portrayals wherein She is Light, She is typically featured in the sunlight, and in one of the most famous artistic mysteries in history, Light and Lover, 1812, by Chauncy de Cleaurau, with a girl who has glowing white skin on Her arm. De Clearau’s work has sparked numerous schisms amongst the artistic community, but the conflict can usually be divided quite easily into two distinct camps. Camp 1 believes that de Cleaurau was using the luminescent girl as a stand-in for herself-de Cleaurau, who lived in the nineteenth century, has been theorized to be a lesbian, despite her numerous male partners. Camp 2, however, believes that de Cleaurau visited by Light Herself, and She guided de Cleaurau’s hands in the creation of the shimmering woman. Many personal journals of de Cleaurau’s attest to this theory, though many members of Camp 1 have pointed out on numerous occasions that de Cleaurau often smoked marijuana or drank beer while painting, which could have had an extreme effect on her mental state.

However the unnamed woman (who was given the nickname Photizo, from the Greek to give light) ended up in the painting, she is now as famous as Light Herself, if not more so. After de Cleaurau’s painting became famous, more and more artists used Photizo in their works. In the nineteenth century novella “Brightlake”, the protagonist meets Photizo after her father pledges her to the church of Space, despite the protagonist’s desire to be pledged to Light. And after the extremely popular anime Hoshi de Koibito no Hikari (Light of the Lover in the Star) debuted in 2013, teenagers from around the globe petitioned their respective governments to permit Photizo to be immortalized in the stars. After numerous astrological commissions from around the globe were contacted, it was agreed that the constellation Virgo was an appropriate space for Photizo to live. Virgo, which is a constellation well known for its virginic implications and often motherly associations, seemed nearly too perfect for Photizo, who has been most often portrayed as a protector by female artists, and as one who needs protection, i.e. a virgin, by male artists. The decision was finalized on Christmas Eve 2013, which was perfect for Hoshi de Koibito no Hikari fans everywhere.

The most recent use of Photizo in pop culture was in August 2014, when all-female alt-pop group Acid on the Tongue came out with the smash hit Shine a Light on me, lover, and we will live forever in the stars. This song tells the story of a young girl in an outdatedly prejudiced town who falls in love with the mayor’s daughter. The young girl spills her heart out to the mayor’s daughter about her feelings, and the famous chorus of Lover please don’t leave me/I’ve got so much for you to see/Lover please don’t leave me/We will be remembered in the stars is intended to be the young girl attempting to convince the mayor’s daughter to run away with her. The last two lines of the chorus are meant to be interpreted as the mayor’s daughter accepting the young girl’s proposal, and, in the original music video, the two float off in a hot air balloon. “It’s sort of meant to be a retelling of an old urban legend that me and the girls used to hear all the time when we were kids,” Acid member Niña Cervantes recounts. “So, in the legend, Light is all alone, stretched across the Darkness. So, what She does, is She takes human form and She comes to Earth, leaving Her essence to hold back the Darkness. She meets this girl, who’s supposed to be Photizo, and She falls in love. She has to go back to the sky eventually, but She always comes back to visit her fallen angel, I think She called her. So, She comes back to visit one day, but Photizo is dead, and Her grief is so great that She tears a hole in the Darkness, and She carries Her fallen angel all the way to the end of the universe and gives her a Glow, so that Her fallen angel will always be with Her, among the stars.” Acid says that they plan on releasing a song about the legend of the Dark late 2016.

Despite the majority of the population focusing deeply on Photizo, other, less mainstream depictions of Light feature a motherly figure holding Light tightly, such as in Light and Mother in Glen, artist unknown. Despite the theological convictions that She has no family outside of that which She has made for Herself, many pieces of art followed the mysterious appearance of Light and Mother in Glen, such as Light at Home, 1852, a particularly well known Clemence piece which shows Light sitting in an overstuffed armchair reading a ridiculously thick book. Despite the painting’s intense foreground of Light, who looks childish in comparison to other works of Her (despite consistently being aged from 13-16 during Her rapturous era), the background features the silhouette of a feminine figure sitting at a kitchen table, holding her head in her hands. And finally, in perhaps the most oft-ignored piece featuring Light, Light in Danger, 1868, by Charles Baker, Light is portrayed as a young girl, recognizable only by Her golden robes of godhood. A large shadow obscures most of Light’s face and right arm, with Her left arm thrown up in defense and covered in bruises. The shadow appears to be Light’s mother, who appears to be holding wine in her hand and shouting at Light, and a follow up piece, entitled Darkness the Protector, 1869, shows Dark confronting an old man, whose eyes appear to be lime green and seem to have a reflection of the Church of Old Ones in them, has a bloody knife held behind his back and a woman is sprawled out, presumably dead, behind Dark. The woman is most often guessed to be Dark’s mother, and the old man to be the patron of both Light and Dark. Other notable works of art featuring the Patron, as he has come to be called, include The Finest Host There Is, 1900, by Xavier Conscife, wherein Patron is pouring a drink for Light, who is seated on a lime green couch, and seems to be attempting to take up as little space as possible. Patron, contrastly, seems strangely at ease and seems to be attempting to lure Light into conversation. One other notable work is The Man of Light and Spiders, 1905, also by Conscife, which shows Patron with one hand on Light’s shoulder and the other on an unknown girl’s shoulder. The other girl is perhaps the most intense mystery of the Light artistic community besides Photizo. The girl, who is known as Arachne (a derivative of earlier, less well-known paintings of the same girl by Santiago Fernández), appears to be clothed in robes similar to Light’s, with some minor design differences, including a loosely fitted tunic, knee-high red boots, and tight fitting orange leggings. Arachne also appears to have orange and yellow horns coming out of her head, which gives her an uncanny resemblance to a scorpion. Shortly before his death, Conscife called out for “[his] darling daughter, [his] dearest Arachne, [to] come home, come home, darling, and [he] will save [her]”. Many have theorized that Arachne was actually the illegitimate child of Conscife and a barmaid in town, though there is no evidence that this child actually existed. It’s far more likely that Conscife was in the throes of dementia and had no idea what he was saying, though his day nurse insisted that she saw a vision of Arachne just outside of Conscife’s window. This sighting is widely regarded to be a farce, given that the day nurse was a well-known alcoholic with poor vision.

In addition to Photizo, Arachne, Patron, Mother, and Dark, Light is also associated with a blonde girl who has been nicknamed 'Leere' in Europe and 'Roxanne' in America. Leere first emerged from German artist Franz Nicolas' piece Licht in der Dunkelheit, 1813, or "Light in the Darkness". The piece shows Light sitting under a pine tree, curled up and being held by a woman who seems slightly older than Herself, perhaps 15-18. The girl seems to be absorbing Light into herself, thus earning her the nickname 'Leere', or 'Empty'. Nicolas painted an entire series of portraits featuring Leere, including Leeren Sie Tod und Licht, or "Empty Death and Light". The portrait shows Leere in deep blue robes of Godhood, holding Light in her arms, and Light appears to have a knife wound in the center of Her holy robes. In fact, all of Nicolas' works featuring Leere shows her holding Light protectively. Leere is also always the focal point of the pieces, despite not being an actual God. Leere is also heavily associated with Breath, usually in a romantic sense, despite His never having a romantic or erotic relationship.

Leere's American nickname, Roxanne, stemmed from both the Scott Joplin piano piece "Ragtime Void", which was a strangely peppy piece, originally composed in B minor, and was later accompanied by Marilyn Monroe with the lyrics "Roxanne, Roxanne, Roxanne, baby girl don't you cry no more!". The nickname also derived from the fifties pop band Sugar Soul's first single "Roxanne of the Night". The latest use of Roxanne in pop culture was Acid on the Tongue's single "Darlin' don't Cry", 2012, which featured the hit line "Night girl on low/Night girl don't go/Night girl don't you cry/Night girl time to die". Frontwoman Niña Cervantes has said that she drew inspiration from the Idina Wilkerson comic book End of Emptiness, 1948, which depicted Roxanne as a contemporary superheroine "Nightgirl", ending with her death after an emotional breakdown when her boyfriend died.

Light is also occasionally referred to as the Sleeping Child, mostly due to the recent archaeological excavation in southern Venezuela. The ruins appear to be of an enormous single-floor temple. In the rear of the temple is an enormous golden fireplace, with dimensions of approximately twelve meters by fifteen meters by thirty meters, and it is believed that entire trees were fed into the monumental blaze to keep it warm. Roughly three meters in front of the fireplace rests a stone slab, five meters long by two meters wide, lying lengthwise in front of the fireplace. Immediately inside the temple is a matching slab, with the shorter end pointing towards the door, forming a "T" with the other makeshift bed. Skeletal remains of a fourteen-year-old girl were found on the slab closest to the door. It is believed by locals that whenever Light tired of Her heavenly duties, She would come to sleep away half the year in the temple, but She could not fall asleep without someone to speak to Her, and so one girl would sit upon the slab closest to the door, and would speak until Light fell asleep. Similar archaeological sites have been discovered in the Australian outback, in central Madagascar, what is now New York, and near the “Pit to Hell” in Russia. The significance of these discoveries were not realized until the Venezuelan site was uncovered.

Light is also often linked with cats, which resulted in her Latin name “Felis”, from the Latin Fel-, for cat. The majority of ancient Latin sculptures and artworks featuring Light also feature tigers or cheetahs, which Light is always shown as treating as ordinary house cats. The references to felines also carries over to Viking culture, where kittens were a typical gift to all brides, for luck in a marriage. When Vikings began ransacking English villages, the fondness for cats was transferred into the mainstream European culture. Historians believe that the fondness for cats began in ancient Egypt, where cats were worshipped for their beauty and intelligence. Ancient Egyptians are well-known for their loyalty for Light, and it was believed that Light made the decision for which pharaoh would be next in the line.

Chapter 3: Time: The Tortured Child and the few He Loves Outside of the Children

Chapter Text

He is coming for us, He left us, and He came for us.

Time is the third Child, as the legend goes. He came after His sister, Light, had already made the Universe Her home, and She and Space lived together in the doldrums of eternity, happy but uninterested in Their universe. When Time arrived, He saw potential where Space and Light had seen finitives and He acted upon His perception of the universe. He lurched the universe into movement and He allowed the planets and the moons and the stars above us to develop and change and move, and humanity came, and were so shaped by Wind, who breathed unto them life and thus came the world.

Time is often portrayed simultaneously as a tortured Child and a carefree spirit-in many religious texts, He will trade barbs with Light as He suffers from mortal injuries. Time, in art, is given white-blonde hair, often in dreadlocks or curls. His skin is rarely colored, except to be given injuries or the appearance of blood dripping down His face. His eyes are usually covered, most recently by use of aviators, such as in Gods Under Fire, by Anita Washington in 2010, as part of an art contest she had entered. In earlier paintings, His eyes were bandaged or He was simply blindfolded-in the early twentieth century, He was often dressed in plainclothes and hid His eyes in the shadow of a baseball cap. Time is also the Child most often portrayed in horrific ways-in many renaissance portrayals of Time, His face is being torn apart or He is given puppet-like features and has a sword through His chest.

Time, much like His sister Light, also has a counterpart similar to Him. Time’s counterpart is known as Chik, and is often portrayed in citrus shades, with His eyes covered as Time’s are. Chik is also consistently given more childlike features than Time, angelic wings, and is often depicted as someone who needs to be protected in religious texts and hymns. In a popular Time piece, Child Angels and Child Gods, 1916, by Dervé Motif, Time is holding Chik by His armpits and both appear to be laughing at Space, who is tickling Chik. Child Angels and Child Gods is actually very out of character for Motif, who is more well known for his gory representations of Light, Patron, and Arachne. Motif was a known student of Xavier Conscife, who is credited with being the original creator of Arachne. Motif was also an admirer of Charles Baker, who originally depicted Patron in his works. Some historians have theorized that Motif was vying for the affections of Conscife and Baker, while others have theorized that Motif was using Chik as a stand-in for his own younger brother, who had been a stillborn.

However Motif’s painting was meant to be taken, many other artists have made paintings about Chik along this spirit. In Childhood Under the Stars, artist unknown, Chik is depicted to be around four years old, and is holding both Time and Light's hand. The three of them are walking down a city street at night, and Chik is gazing at curiosities in the shop windows. Both Light and Time are gazing down fondly at Chik, more as older siblings than parents. This mood is continued in Princedom, likely by the same artist, which shows Chik sitting in an oversized purple throne, swinging His legs back and forth. On His right sits Time, who has both feet firmly planted on the floor, and on His left sits Light, who appears to be slightly amused. In front of the three kneels an old man, who has his hands clasped as though begging for absolution. None of the three seem to be taking the man's pleas seriously-Chik is delightfully holding up a small knife for Time's inspection, and Time is smiling, which is very out of character for Him. Light is smiling at both Time and Chik, and seems to be gesturing towards the man, as though giving Chik an idea about what He could do with His new blade. The piece has an extremely twisted mood-on the one hand, Time, Chik, and Light all appear to be interacting very kindly with each other, it's very clear that the man in front of them is going to die, more than likely at Chik's hands.

Many other pieces feature strong familial connotations between Time, Light, and Chik, but usually with less gory undertones. In Deborah Monteaux's piece Curiosities and Delights, 1930, Chik is delineated as a very young child, perhaps six or seven years old, and is wearing a yellow rain slicker. He and Time are both standing in a river, and appear to be catching frogs. Many theological debates have been sparked by this painting, given the emphasis placed on frogs in holy texts; some theologists believe that the painting was meant to show that Time was more important in the creation in the universe than Space or Light, while others believe that the painting is meant to be a statement about Time’s subversity to Space as Her assistant.

Monteaux has many other paintings of Chik and Time. In Cops and Robbers, 1938, Chik is wearing makeshift aluminum foil armor with a cooking pot for a helmet, and is brandishing a wooden sword towards Time, who, despite being in His most glorious robes of godhood, is feigning fright and appears to be surrendering. There are many small details in this painting, including the fact that the two Children seem to be fighting on the roof, with a background of enormous skyscrapers behind them. Chik has also been stripped of His angelic wings, perhaps to imply mortality. One of the most significant details in the painting, however, is the enormous broadsword at Time’s side. It remains undrawn, which could mean either that Time is more kindly than He has been portrayed as throughout history, or that Time pities those weaker than Himself, and will fake defeat. In another piece by Monteaux, also focusing on Time and Chik’s relationship, Birds will Fly, 1941, Chik appears to be falling off of a skyscraper, with His wings spread. Time appears to be diving after Him, as though to save him from non-existent danger. A man appears to be waiting below to catch Chik, but he is holding a longsword in one of the hands that he holds open to Chik. In the lesser known follow-up piece, Birds will Fall, 1942, Time is screaming at the same man, who is holding Chik in both hands. Chik has the longsword from Birds will Fly through his chest, and still has a trusting expression on his face. There are tears streaming down Time’s face, and He has no eye coverings, which is very rare for such intimate pictures. Monteaux's subtitle for the picture was “He trusted you”. Monteaux never elaborated on those two paintings, and she died in 1988, at the age of 94, after a long life pledged to the Church of Time.

Monteaux inspired many people with her paintings. Clint MacIntosh, the Scottish sculptor, is a well-known disciple of Monteaux's, and the alt-pop group “Distressed Dress” have cited Monteaux's works as the inspiration behind their debut album, “Time to go to Outer Space”. The most famous work inspired by Ms. Monteaux, however, is without a doubt the popular comedy/slice of life anime “Bigguburazā wa Kamidearu!”, or “Big Brother is a God!”, 2010. The anime is extremely silly, centering around Chik, who has been reimagined as a Japanese primary schooler. Chik also has one arm, which animators say they drew from depictions of Chik in sword fights. In the story, Chik was orphaned at a young age, but maintains a bright personality. He lives with his older brother, who is only referred to as “onii-chan”, or big brother, throughout the entire anime. After Chik learns that his brother has the powers of a god, he ends up begging him to use them whenever possible. The show was extremely popular with primary schoolers and pre-schoolers around the world, but was sadly never renewed for a second season.

Although Chik is, without a doubt, an incredibly important part of Time’s history, He is not the only part of Time. In many pieces depicting Time, He is fighting a man much older than Himself with a rusted sword. Such as in Melissa Corriman’s work, A Futile Night, 1900, Time holds no sword in His hand, and the man seems to be plunging a knife into His chest. The earliest work that features this man is Infant Time, by Connor Donaldson, 1809, and shows the young man cradling Time in his arms. The man is sitting in a rocking chair and shares many facial features with Time, leading many art historians to designate the man Time’s brother, which artists later shortened to just ‘Brother’. In a later Donaldson piece, Childhood Demons, 1812, Brother is holding Time tightly with both hidden under a bed. The piece is very sparse compared to other Donaldson works-the painting is of a simple room, with a desk, a chair, a bed, and an oil lamp daintily lighting everything. In fact, the only way to see Brother and Time in the painting at all is to examine it with a magnifying glass in a well-lit room. Donaldson later produced a contrasting follow-up piece in 1815, entitled Death of Childhood Fears, which shows Brother holding Time up by His neck, and Time holding a sword which is plunged through Brother’s chest.

Another iteration of “Brother” is known as Gitna, from the Filipino “heart” or “center”. Gitna was first included in a painting by a young missionary to the Philippines, Hans Jackson, which was entitled Family Portrait, and was portrayed with the traditional values of the eighteenth century. In the center of the painting sat Brother, who held in his arms a smaller portrait of a man who could be Time, if He were to ever age. To the left of Brother is Time, who is standing in full British military regalia, with His eyes uncovered and His hair neatly parted-the only way to identify Him as Time is to note the small gear-shaped pins on His person. To the right of Brother stands Gitna, who is actually several inches taller than Time. Gitna closely resembles both Brother and Time, with blonde hair and an emotionless face, except Gitna has eye coverings in the painting and has bright orange eyes. In Family Portrait, Gitna is holding Chik, who has His clementine-colored wings tucked behind Him. Gitna seems uncomfortable holding Chik, as though he has no experience with having a family. In another Jackson piece, Gitna is holding hands with Chik, but he appears to be attempting to hand the boy off to Time. Gitna is distinguishable in portraits due to the large pink heart which is always printed on his clothes. In several countries around the world, the pink heart has come to symbolize gay pride, perhaps because of pop singer Marina Diamandis’ 2008 hit “Pink Heart of Mine”, which is a story of two young girls falling in love with each other and two young boys falling in love with each other, all of whom have a strong connection to Gitna-one of the most infamous lyrics in the song implies that one of the boys is the reincarnation of Gitna, and that the two girls and the boy are just a figment of his imagination.

Although Brother, Gitna, and Chik take up most of the spotlight of Time’s comrades, He is also often depicted with a young girl-not a Child at all, just a simple mortal girl. The first painting with the girl was in Leonardo da Vinci’s La Ragazza che Rivaleggiava con un Dio, or “The Girl who Rivaled a God”, 1475. The painting shows a young girl with short, curled black hair and plump cheeks wearing a red blouse, apron, and skirt, all with minor white accents, holding an enormous red trident. Her lips are heavily accented, and she seems to be clutching Time’s collar and threatening Him. Time appears playful in this piece, in spite of da Vinci’s more violent depictions of Him. Time is holding his hands up in surrender, but also appears to be leaning closer to the girl, perhaps with romantic intent. Many sketches in da Vinci’s sketchbooks show Time kissing the girl. In fact, da Vinci named the girl “Vita” in his sketchbooks, which is Italian for “life”. Although da Vinci only ever released one painting of Vita, many later artists took inspiration from La Ragazza and created their own works. Popular romance writer Marie Lichtendötter released her book "Time of her Life" in 1949, which is essentially a then-modern story of Vita and Time, in which Vita is continually reincarnated throughout the history of humanity and Time always comes to find her in all her iterations. The novel was later adapted into a short film with Robert Redford portraying Time and Nichelle Nichols as Vita. The movie was then remade in late 2013, starring Sam Claflin (Finnick Odair, The Hunger Games) as Time and Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones, Doctor Who) as Vita.

Despite the other, more popular, associations of Time, there is another who is often described as infamous in the artistic community. In 1805, Charles Morrisey released a painting titled The Blind Leading the Blind, which is almost certainly what de Cleaurau and Jeäger drew inspiration from in their works featuring Photizo and Heamire. The painting shows Time, with His eyes covered by the shadow of a traveler’s hood, and He appears to be guiding a gray-skinned girl with heavily pointed orange and yellow horns. The girl is holding scales of justice and a red cane which appears to have a blade coming out of it. Time doesn’t seem to notice either of the two things, and seems to just be guiding the girl somewhere. The girl appears to be blind, which would explain the cane and the red eye coverings she wears. In a later Morrisey piece, Blind Maiden’s Bluff, 1816, Time appears to be stepping off the cliff, with the girl (who is often called Caestitia, from the Latin caecus, for blind, and iustitia, for justice) hovering just out of reach, and appears to be a ghost. Morrisey did include a subtitle for the piece, which was “Call her bluff, mighty god.” Morrisey was heavily dependent on alcohol, much like his good friend Chauncy de Cleaurau. Ironically, the two were to be married before both ended up being hung in their home villages in the same year, 1820. Both were only thirty years old, ten years younger than Josaff Jeäger and the final member of their quartet.

Chapter 4: Breath: The Loving God and His Emotional Instability

Notes:

I'd really like to thank everyone who commented/gave kudos/bookmarked/whatever'd this fic!!!!!!!!! I'm so glad so many people enjoyed it!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've also made a few minor edits to previous chapters, including fitting the timeline of this 'verse together better and editing some mistranslations!!!!!!

Chapter Text

He came to us and He breathed life where none had been.

Despite varying accounts of the other Children in other religious texts, there is no dispute that Breath was the final Child to arrive in this universe, and had the most instrumental part in the creation of humanity. As the legend goes, Breath arrived in the universe late, for He had taken the extra time to bid His friends of old farewell, and was dismayed at what He found when He appeared. Space and Light and Time had all arrived, and had done Their jobs. Space had created galaxies and planets for the Childrens’ friends of old, Light had created the stars and patterned them after the friends that the Children had lost, and Time had woven eras and aeons and millennia as the Maid had so taught Him to. Seeing this, Breath flew into a snit. The universe was meant for the Children to create new life, and all that Space and Time and Light had done was wallow in the mire of the past. Breath so exhaled, and gave the universe life to appreciate the worlds created by Space, the stars created by Light, and the seasons created by Time, and thus came humanity.

The Legend of Beginning is possibly how the most common depictions of Breath came to be. He is always shown as being extremely spirited, while simultaneously pushing down His true emotions. In fact, in an ancient Chinese mural of Breath, His heart is replaced with a jar that is close to overflowing with water, which seems to be coming from His eyes in the form of tears. Numerous art historians have theorized that this painting is a symbolization of Breath’s poor control over His emotions and the way He bottles them up, making even the littlest event cause Him to lose control. Fourteen-year-old schoolgirl Biyu Chiao redesigned the painting in 2012, titling it Nài sī liè Tiánchōng, or “Tear-Filled Heart.” In the modern interpretation, Breath is curled up on a bed and seems to be bawling. The tears are dripping down into a heart-shaped mug of tea, and His hands appear to be shaking as He holds the mug.

Breath’s poor control over His emotions is a common theme throughout artistic representations of Him. For example, in Hurricane, Bryan Malone, 1928, Breath is shown with His arms fully extended and His head thrown back, as though He is laughing. An enormous hurricane is behind Him, and twin winds appear to be coming out of His palms. The painting, while maintaining the hurricane and Breath as focal points, also features streaks of blood red and subtle scatterings of gore, including a severed head at Breath’s feet. Breath, in religion, is often given the same innocence of death as Space is, which gave the painting tinges of blasphemy. Malone later released a sequel to Hurricane, entitled Aftermath, in 1934, this time with Breath bathed in golden light, with His eyes closed and His hands covering His mouth. This is widely considered a reference to the Nichol Melinna piece Denial, 1900, which shows Breath holding a decapitated head in His hands, with the face centered just below Breath’s symbol. In addition to Breath and the head, Time is standing behind Breath, covering His eyes, and on either side of Breath stand Light and Space, each with one hand over one of Breath’s ears, and both appear to be working together to cover Breath’s mouth. The subtitle for the piece was “Father, can you hear me,” which implies that the head that Breath is holding is, in fact, His father. In 1900, it was still a radical notion that women could choose their own Church to pledge to in the U.S, much less present religious arts or theories which directly contradicted the original holy canon. Due to the numerous accusations of heresy, Nichol was quickly hung in her hometown not six months after her painting was released. Despite the relative secrecy with which the death was carried out, the hanging of Nichol Melinna was big news throughout the world for a good two years, which experts believe led to the first suffrage movement in the United States. Malone’s piece, Aftermath, is a commendable tribute to Melinna, given that she had planned on releasing a series of portraits similar to Denial prior to her premature death.

Another adaption showing Breath’s poor control over His emotions is the 1627 play The Spirit of Regret, which was the first play originally in English written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary. In the play, Breath is portrayed as a child who is haunted by the ghosts of His three friends until He goes insane. In the end, Breath’s father appears, and he begins to berate Breath for not having any friends nor socializing with those of His class (as Breath is also known as the Heir, as in princely), and Breath kills him. The ending of the play shows Breath surrounded by the three ghosts (Time, Space, and Light) as They sing Him to sleep.

The father in Spirit of Regret has become a staple in modern works of Breath after the late seventeenth century, when the play first became widely popular. In 1812, Connor Donaldson released a sequential painting to Infant Time, entitled Infant Breath, which shows a middle aged man sitting in a large armchair and smoking a pipe while he holds a child Breath in his hands. In 1850, popular theological portraitist James L. Walker released a painting entitled Family of Breath, which showed a child Breath, still wearing His robes of godhood, being held by the same man in Infant Breath. Immediately to the left of both stands an elderly woman, who has been nicknamed “Babushka”, which is Russian for “grandmother”. The man in both paintings has been nicknamed “Father”, for no other reason than the repeated references throughout history to a man who raised Breath as a father would, in spite of the greatness that Breath would achieve. Babushka, however, is the most popular family figure in Breath’s artistic history. Works featuring her can be found in every culture around the world and from every human-inhabited time period, including intensely detailed paleolithic cave drawings in Europe, which are, in fact, far more detailed than any other cave drawings from anywhere else in the world. Perhaps the landmark piece featuring Babushka is Grandson, by Elizabeth Roberts in 1889, which shows Babushka wearing the clothes of the Russian upper class, with Breath standing beside her in a Russian soldier uniform, perhaps to signify the emphasis put on the church of Breath in Russia. Roberts released several paintings of Babushka, including Rebirth, 1895, which showed Babushka in an open casket, wearing the same outfit she had on in Grandson. The painting is a top-down view, giving focus to Babushka in the casket. Standing to the right of her is Father, who is holding a squalling infant in his arms. The infant is presumed to be Breath from the small tattoo of Breath’s symbol on His cheek.

Many different art historians have theorized that Leonardo da Vinci’s piece La Ragazza che Rivaleggiava con un Dio was actually a different incarnation of Babushka. In the piece, a young girl appears to be threatening Time, who appears to be leaning in to kiss the girl. The girl, who was nicknamed Vita (Italian for “life”) in da Vinci’s sketchbooks, has become a principal character in theological art. Although Vita is majorly associated with Time as a romantic partner, she is also associated with Breath and Space. In Vita’s relationship with Space, she is leading Her, and often is depicted as a mentor to Her, while Vita’s relation with Breath is usually the opposite. She often appears as looking to Breath for help or guidance, or, in modern works, as a younger sister to Breath. In Мой старший брат (romanized as Moy Starshiy Brat, translated as “My Older Brother”), by Russian schoolgirl Natalia Romanova in 2012, portrayed Vita as an elementary schooler, walking with Breath, who appears to be high school age. Many other pieces featuring Breath and Vita have come before this one, however, including Maria Joaquin Thompson’s painting titled A Breath of Life, 1714, showing Breath with His hands on Vita’s shoulders, as though He were a proud father. Thompson did many paintings of Breath and Vita, saying that they resembled each other as though they were family. In one of her more famous works, Vita is wearing all brown, with only a red headband to distinguish her, and Breath is helping her to bake a cake-the painting, titled Friends of Gods, caused quite a stir in the conservative eighteenth century, when it was more commonly believed that the Children thought Themselves to be above us mortals and that the Gods ever traveled down to Earth. Both Thompson and the anonymous baker’s daughter from whom she had drew inspiration from were burned at the stake for heresy in 1750. However, Thompson’s works continued to gain traction in the artistic community, which has led to the numerous art pieces showing Vita and Breath in a familial sense.

In terms of non-familial relations, Breath is also connected to Arachne, who is typically associated with Light in terms of rivalry. With Breath, however, Arachne is commonly either portrayed as a love interest (in spite of the holy canon stating that Breath has no interest in neither amorous nor erotic relationships) or as a guide to Breath. One artist who focused on the guiding relationship between Arachne and Breath was Santiago Fernández, who is rarely spoken of outside of conjunction to three of his more famous friends, Chauncy de Cleaurau, Charles Morrisey, and Josaff Jeäger, in spite of his great talent. Fernández’ milestone piece, Arañas en el Viento, or “Spiders in the Wind”, 1810, showed Arachne in a simple white dress and blue wings holding Breath’s hand and pointing forward. Fernández released many pieces of Arachne in the same dress, including La Araña Malvada, or “The Wicked Spider”, 1812, which shows Arachne rolling dice on a poker table, with Breath blindfolded and situated behind her, perhaps to imply the blind trust Breath is commonly shown having in Arachne and how Arachne gambles her way through life. However, the most popular painting released by Fernández is Chica Dulce, Chica Mala, 1817, which is a simple double portrait of Arachne and Breath. On the left side, Arachne is small, smiling demurely, and gazing up at Breath, who is standing with His back straight, grinning triumphantly, and has one hand on Arachne’s shoulder. On the right, however, Arachne is painted with a dark color pallette, is grinning wickedly (with enormous fangs, which are dripping venom), and holds a pair of scissors and and thread in her hands. Next to her stands Breath, who appears to be asleep, but with the pallor of a corpse. The subtitle for the piece is Se van a arrepentir lo subestimanda, chica, or, loosely translated, “They’re gonna regret underestimating you, girl”. Fernández was a close friend of Josaff Jeäger, Charles Morrisey, and Chauncy de Cleaurau, all of whom also released paintings of the Children with otherworldly connections. All but Jeäger met with tragic deaths, with Morrisey and de Cleaurau being hung in their hometowns on the day that they were meant to be wed, and Fernández shooting himself in the face, supposedly due to unceasing hallucinations. Jeäger, the sole survivor of the quartet, released a painting of the four shortly before his death in 1848, saying that “the toxicity of holy powers tainted [their] lives.”

In addition to Arachne, certain sects of the church of Breath have claimed that He also has a romantic (or erotic) relationship with Leere, who is also a minor figurehead in the church of Light. Despite the lack of amorous or erotic relationships featuring Breath in the holy canon, Leere and Breath have been gaining traction as a romantic pairing since the early twentieth century, when Kaitlyn McNary released Void of Air, a bestselling romance novel featuring Breath and Leere, which is, in fact, mandatory reading for the majority of high school English classes, despite the dry story and unfounded claims in the text in regards to Breath and His romantic connections. Many sects have also cited Love in the End, Margaret Rose Peterson, 1942, which shows Leere and Breath sitting on a park bench and holding each other’s hand, both crying, as evidence that there is a romantic relationship between the two, despite the fact that Love in the End was commissioned by Kaitlyn McNary as art to go with her book.

Although the relations Breath has with mortals is interesting enough, His relationships with the other Children are fascinating in their own right. Such as Breath’s relationship with Light; She brought Him into the Game, says the Legend of Beginning, and thus She is designated to be His protector. However, Breath’s relationship with Dark is entirely the opposite. In works where Breath is interacting solely with Dark, He is often Her balance and protector. Such as in The Chess King’s Castle, by Edward Solomon, 1856, Breath holds Dark behind Himself as though protecting Her from an unseen demon. The Chess King’s Castle is, in fact, one of the most pivotal pieces in regards to the relationship between Breath and Dark; along with Full Mourning With Friends, by Anna-Lee Mayweather, 1984, which shows Dark wearing a traditional Victorian full-mourning dress while She dances with Breath. In Victorian England, women who were still in full mourning after the death of a loved one were not supposed to leave the house or socialize with anyone at all, which is why the modifier “with friends” was added to the end of the painting title. However, paintings in which Breath is depicted solely with Light generally have a more jovial mood, such as in The Stars Fell Loose of the Sky, by Clarissa Jamison, 1945, which shows Breath dressed in a powder blue tuxedo dancing with Light, who is wearing a matching blue skirt with a bright orange button-up blouse. The two appear to be superimposed over a picture of Hiroshima, after the atom bomb was detonated. The scene takes place at night, as evidenced by the darkened sky and the imagery of stars raining down on the couple. The relationship between Light and Breath is also exemplified in Taylor Swift’s 2014 hit Young Couple music video, which shows Light (portrayed by Swift) in a relationship with Breath (portrayed by Sean O’Pry). The video begins with the Legend of Beginning, which is followed by a cycle of reincarnation (which is a popular trope used by modern artists). The music video goes through all historical eras up to contemporary times, and ends with Breath and Light swinging on playground swings together in near silence.

While Breath is undoubtedly closest with Light and Dark out of the Children, His relationship with His sister, Space, is equally as interesting. With Space, Breath is always shown as a protector, albeit occasionally as a failed one. One of the most famous pieces showing Breath and Space is Meteor Shower, Clarissa Jamison, 1959. Meteor Showers shows Space and Breath sitting in matching golden thrones, though both are dressed casually. At Their feet is an enormous fire, which appears to be caused by a meteor shower, as the title implies. Other notable works of Breath and Space include Of Monsters and Mice, Connor Dawson, 1919, which shows Space in a rage reminiscent of de la Rodriguez’ paintings and Breath shouting at Her; Sophomore Slump or A Little Less Sixteen Candles, by Lila Johansson, 2005, which shows Breath and Space as contemporary teenagers sitting in a cherry-red cadillac convertible with Light and Time in the backseat; We Are Not Cured, by Gabriella Millstone, 1988, which shows Breath lying in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask over His face with Space in a straitjacket seated next to Him; This Isn’t The End of the World, It’s Just the End of Us, by Heather O’Malley, 2012, which shows Breath and Space slow dancing in Their robes of godhood in front of a burning building; and Lovely, by Carl Jackson, 1842, which shows Breath tucking a flower between Space’s ear.

Though Time is often neglected in Breath’s relationships, the two are undoubtedly close. Although Their relationship doesn’t follow any specific guidelines, Breath is probably Time’s closest friend. Breath and Time don’t have very many works of just the two of Them together prior to the late twentieth century, however, the abundance of paintings that were made from 1979 to 2014 more than makes up for the historical losses. The latest artwork showing Time and Breath’s relationship is I Don’t Love You The Way I Could Have, by Jason Lee, 2014, which is a two panel painting showing, in the first panel, Breath and Time holding hands and Their weapons, and, in the second panel, showing the two standing back to back with no physical contact. Lee said that he wanted the piece to show “how Breath and Time grew apart through the Game and in the Legend of Beginning, because, like, I don’t think there’s enough focus on them.” Lee won the Congressional Art Competition with the piece. Other 21st century works featuring Breath and Time alone include Don’t Let Go, by McKenna Thompson, 2008, which shows Breath and Time being torn apart as They hold each other’s hands; The Pain of Never Letting Go, by Fatima Adeyemi, a fourteen-year-old Nigerian schoolgirl, in 2012, which is a three panel painting, the first panel labeled ‘before’, the second ‘during’, and the third ‘after’, assumedly in regards to the Game. The first panel shows Breath and Time as ordinary children, thirteen or fourteen years old, and both appear to be smiling (or at least smirking). In the second panel, Breath is holding His hammer and panting heavily, with Time next to Him with a bloody nose holding a sword, and the third panel shows Breath and Time in Their robes of godhood, with Breath and Time from the first panel standing behind Them; and Wild Youth, by Malala Muhammad, 2005, which shows Breath and Time strifing in a high school hallway in front of a bank of lockers while a sea of students parts around Them.