Despite the fandom, and the discourse, and the miscellaneous nonsense surrounding the outcome of this show, Heated Rivalry has produced a lasting positive change in my life like nothing else ever has, encouraging me to take up consistent self-care tactics, re-examine creative goals and priorities and leading me to permanently delete twitter off my phone. this shit means something to me man. I can’t explain it either, but inspiration often comes from the most unassuming of sources and I’m grateful. I was a better, healthier person coming out of this show than I was going in. That’s real.
When I posted this art piece on my patreon, the comments were quickly filled with people giving their own accounts of their experiences and how HR produced some material positive change in their life, whether it was emboldening them to finally confront their sexuality, restart creative pursuits or work on their own personal development. I think it's really powerful how media can stick with you and grow into a larger motivating force than people can initially see, but HR as a project is so full of sincerity and love that I almost think this was the only possible end result.
I used to get a lot more bogged down by the truly tedious bullshit that goes on in some corners of the internet regarding this show/book series, but it's basically all just confetti in the grand scheme of things. Your own private experience with a piece of media can be yours and yours alone.
Anyway, I drew this in kind of a fugue state and only managed to record the start of the process, but it's so different from my typical process that I wanted to share.
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