#2al DID end

[intotheelliwoods]

Yeah the besties are forever also stuck in my head for the record

that "would you still love me if I was a worm" meme, but it sprout slowly turning into a cyborg with all his bits that are now metal

[scatterbrainedbot]

its only just barely technically still February where i am so idk if this counts for the 2al redraw event BUT i had a blast working on these and Big Leo interacting with grown Sprout makes me emotional so.

original panel by the magnificent @intotheelliwoods here!

bonus panel and ramblings under the cut <3

so originally i actually intended to redraw a panel from like a more plot-relevant moment but then ell posted this moment and it just really hit home for me — one of the things in 2al that i love so much is just like how much hope there is throughout. how much love and joy. like the leos are literally stuck in this horrible looping pattern of loss, almost a doomed destiny narrative of sorts, but throughout the whole narrative theres levity and light even in dire circumstances — and it comes from loving yourself and those around you and participating in the joys of the present moment and just idk man like.

yes there are terrible foes that feel impossible to face alone. yes life has taken a lot from me. yeah. but. i will put on my shirt today. i am going to have a good day today.

so ofc i had to draw this one, but tbh im not super thrilled with how sprouts face came out in the end?? SO i went through some of my fave mini comics and did the one with Big Leo and Sprout bc, again, im emotional.

thank you for this amazing story @intotheelliwoods its been a wonderful ride

[dianagj-art]

Is there Oneion facts we can know about?

THIS HAS BEEN ON MY DRAFTS FOR SO LONG OMG IM SO SORRY, HERE'S SOME FACTS ABOUT THE BABY BOY

(the baby boy in question is ten years older than me)

I'm gonna go canon stuff first, then some fun crossover stuff:

The version that I'm using is 35-ish years old (a few years before the movie events), he's been the leader of the resistance for around a decade

He still has all his brothers and loves them very much, would kill and die for them

Way more chill than One is right now, still a beast on combat

One can manipulate vines only using the seeds Draxum makes, Oneion can summon them at will from the ground with little issue

In the story he mostly goes by Leo now, very few people call him One (but lets keep calling him Oneion to avoid confusion)

The protesis he uses is an old one from Raph, but he outgrew it and gave it to Oneion when he lost his arm. It was a bit ridiculously big for him at the time, it's still a *little* too big for Oneion, but by the time he's 40-something (movie events) its gonna fit right in

The scarf he has is not the same One has, but as One's it was a gift from Draxum, he has carry the same scarf the whole apocalypse

Still has a lot of gold accents on his clothes

He's still the best fighter out of the four turtles

He loves being around kids but doesn't, he's afraid of hurting them. He knows he didn't had a normal childhood but is not 100% aware of what part was normal and ok and what part is not, and he rathers not take a chance and do something wrong.

He ends up enjoying teaching martial arts, tho he doesn't like being called sensei, and he wont spar with anyone bellow his level (again, being afraid of hurting them)

Casey Jr becomes the exception to these

Crossover stuff!

he can and will beat the shit out of One, he knows how much One can take so he's not really worried about that

when the apocalypse started he basically lost contact with the multiverse, so no fun crossovers for him. Until by the power of "@intotheelliwoods started doing fanart of Oneion before I even had finished his design" he had access to the multiverse again!

First of his "old frieds" he saw was Poptart and Sprout (2al huggy leos) and first thing he did was to hug Sprout<3 (well, he first kinda yelled at him but I'll draw that some day)

I don't think he has met again with the rest of the separated council? I don't remember if I've stick him in any crossover situations

he loves hugging Poptart, he's teddy bear size<3 and he'll never get tired of calling him his friend and loving him "the way he deserves" because he still hasn't forgive himself for the shitty way he treated Poptart (dont worry about it)

he fucking destroyed the attempt of a slau/2al crossover time line

he says he's fine by it but he keeps bringing up the "jawbreaker" incident, I dont think he got over it, actually

he hangs out with Sprout a lot

something something, being with Sprout makes him feel like a kid again, and it makes Sprout feel like a kid again because Oneion reminds him of Big Leo

Sprout and Oneion have a spa day, they deserve it<3 they also go shopping together. Also, they are not exactly good at cooking but they try and they love working together on the kitchen

Oneion got the "Oneion" nickname by Sprout and Poptart

he stronk. he can lift Sprout with no problem, and even Toast

if you wanna have a good time scroll down the besties tag on ell's blog or mine (2)

[teainthesnow]

My brain has been consumed by 2al lately and so the writing part of my brain took over and this little fic was created.

@intotheelliwoods

.

.

“Are you serious!?”

Leo startles, looking up from his work to see Donnie stood in front of him, eyes wide and with a finger pointed directly at him.

“I’m serious about getting this plan sorted.” He replies, narrowing his eyes as he does.

Donnie scowls at him, and lowers his hand, but the look of surprise and slight annoyance doesn’t disappear from his face.

“That’s not what I meant, Nardo, and you know it.”

As confused, and slightly disgruntled – because he really does need to finish his work – as he is, he cannot help the smirk that crosses his face at the rise he got out of his brother.

“Just, what is that on your face?”

Leo blinks in surprise, putting down his pen and reaching up to press his fingers against his face. He touches scales, having removed his mask earlier when he was about to sleep. He had ended up getting distracted by his current work, and hadn’t actually gone to sleep in the end, but he had never actually put his mask back on.

“There’s nothing on my face.”

Donnie sighs and moves to stand directly next to him. He squints at him, mumbling under his breath, before he leans forward and grabs Leo’s face in his hands.

Leo tries to escape his brother’s grasp but Donnie’s grip is firm and unrelenting. He moves Leo’s head around, his fingers brushing and pressing against his brow ridge.

“How long have you had these? And why have I never noticed them?”

He scowls, moving his face even closer.

“How did you not notice them?”

Leo finally manages to push Donnie away from him. He brings his hand back up to rub at the spot that Donnie had been poking at.

“Donnie, what are you talking about?”

Donnie is back to pointing dramatically.

“You! Those eye brows! Those little bean shaped eye brows. Why do you have them?!”

Now this is where Leo’s brain stalls for a second because what on earth is his brother talking about. Has Casey stolen Donnie’s eyebrow pens again or something.

At his look of confusion Donnie half sighs, half grows, and brings out his tablet. He presses something and hands the tablet out to him. Slightly reluctantly Leo takes hold of the tablet and brings it up to his face.

The image that greats him is not one that he expected. He had thought that maybe Casey had drawn on his face again, or perhaps Donnie was just seeing things, or was even trying to mess with him. But he hadn’t even considered what he comes face to face with.

He has...

...eyebrows.

“Huh...”

He takes a moment to process that, and reaches up to run a hand over them. They’re the same texture as the rest of his skin and don’t smudge when his fingers rub against them.

He actually seriously hasn’t noticed.

He’d been so busy lately, as the war continued to rage on, that he found himself utterly exhausted, and with very little time to himself. He had mostly just been falling straight to sleep after finishing his work.

He suddenly can’t remember the last time he looked in a mirror.

“I have eyebrows now.”

He continues to look at himself and this unexpected development. He thinks he kinda likes them.

Donnie, meanwhile, makes a little offended noise.

“You look like a soggy little golden retriever puppy. Not at all fitting for the leader of the resistance, and the greatest ninja who ever blah, blah, blah. Just absolutely ridiculous.”

He cannot help the smirk that slowly creeps across his face.

“Are you jealous, Dee?”

The look that crosses Donnie’s face makes the confusion of the last few minutes absolutely worth it. His face rapidly shifts between surprise, realisation, horror, anger, and then an expression that could only mean ‘oh no I’ve been found out and now must try and hide that.’

Leo tries not to laugh.

“How dare you, my own brother, accuse me of being jealous of you!”

Donnie tries to hide his expression but he has never been good at doing that and Leo gets the joy of watching him flounder.

“I just think it’s rude that you stole my look! How dare you, Nardo! Eyebrows are my thing.”

He huffs out a frustrated breath.

“Betrayed by my own brother! I can’t even look at you.”

With that he snatches the tablet back and marches out of the room.

Leo watches him go with a smile on his face, he hears muttering as Donnie walks away.

“Betrayed!” He faintly hears. “And jealous? Me? Of Stupid Nardo and his stupid adorable bean-”

.

.

.

“-brows!”

Leo startles awake at the unexpected shout next to his ear.

Oh... He’d been dreaming.

That’s... That’s fine. He’s fine.

He pushes back the emotions that threaten to overwhelm him, and tries desperately to not let the memories overwhelm him.

He takes a deep breath and releases it.

He’s fine.

Finally shoving his thoughts back under control, he very quickly realises that four faces are staring down at him.

He blinks.

The faces blink back.

“What’s going on?” He asks, voice still slightly slurred with sleep. Although wakefulness is hitting him quickly with his suddenly bizarre situation.

He sits up and the little versions of him and his brothers all take a step back.

It is Donnie who speaks first.

“You have eyebrows!” He half yells, his voice full of accusation. “Why do you have eyebrows!?”

The sentence takes him off guard, a strong sense of daja vu washing over him.

“I’ve always had eyebrows.” Is the sentence that leaves his mouth.

Donnie makes a noise of frustration and throws his arms up in the air.

“What are you- you never-” He leans over and snatches little Leo’s mask off, who shouts an annoyed sounding “Hey!” In response.

Donnie gestures towards Little Leo’s now bare face.

“You clearly have no eyebrows at his age. Why do you have them now?”

He throws the blue mask away – Little Leo dives after it, snatching it out of the air just before it hits the ground – and reaches out to grab Leo’s face.

A ghost of a sensation grabs hold of his face at the same time. A phantom sensation of much larger hands overlapping against the present.

His heart clenches.

Donnie’s hands are so small.

“Answer me!”

Leo forces out a laughs that he hopes doesn’t sound strained.

“I grew into them.” He explains. “Just like the extra markings on my arm and legs.”

Donnie splutters at that, releasing his face and stepping backwards.

“You copycat. Stealing my thing.”

There’s a small laugh from behind Donnie and both him and Leo turn to look at the source.

Little Leo is stood there with a smirk on his face and glee in his eyes.

“Are you jealous, Dee?” He taunts.

Donnie splutters again and a range of emotions cross his face.

“How dare you accuse me of being jealous. Of those little bean brows? Pfft. Of course I’m not jealous.”

“Sure.” Little Leo draws the words out and it is very clear that he doesn’t believe a word out of Donnie’s mouth. “Anyway, I’m going to check to see if my own completely natural eyebrows are growing in. Uh Bye-Bye.”

He waves and practically skips out of the room.

Donnie is stood silently watching for a second before he abruptly seems to come back to himself.

“Hey!” He yells, marching out of the room in the direction that Leo pranced off in. “Get back here. And I’m not jealous of you, Nardo. Just appalled at the betrayal from my own brother.”

He pauses, just as he’s about to leave the room, and turns to glare back at Leo.

“You will be explaining yourself more later.”

Leo nods, not keeping the grin from his own face.

Donnie scowls but continues following after his brother. Leo can hear them both yelling in the distance.

Raph and Mikey follow after, probably to try and prevent or stop the almost inevitable fight.

As soon as they both leave the grin slips from his face.

The nostalgia is a bittersweet taste in his mouth. The whole interaction a reminder of what he had lost and what he would never get back again.

“Hey.” He speaks quietly into the empty room. “If you’re watching me then I’m sorry about stealing your look, Dee. Hope you forgive me...” He pauses, blinking back the stinging sensation in his eyes. “...When I rub it in your face again whenever we meet next.”

He can almost imagine his own brother’s enraged response and he can’t help but smile to himself.

He isn’t sorry. Not really.

Not anymore, at least.

He looks down at his prosthetic arm and brings it up to rub against his brows.

Why would he be sorry when it’s allowed him to have a reminder, or a memento, of a long lost brother who he would probably never actually see again.

[karmacomesaround]

Now that 2024 is coming to a close:

1) Of everything you've made this year, which ones are you the most proud of?

2) What are a few of your favorite things (art, comics, fics, etc) that someone else has made this past year?

Oh man I forgot to answer this

HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!!

1) honestly I was very proud of this https://www.tumblr.com/karmacomesaround/765060607511773184/happy-spooky-month

!! I loved how it turned out and it ended up being one of my favorites for 2025 that I did!

2) my favorites are probably 2AL (by intotheelliwoods) and the comics cokoweee make! I love so many aus and comics I can’t even remember most of em

[bluepeachstudios]

Hey ame! so that comic/ one shot about 2al peepaw meeting Ghost left me a tad confused.

When did Ghost get nicknamed Atlas? I'm very curious and a bit surprised he wasn't called Ghost. You don't have to answer, but I would appreciate it some much if you would! :D

Atlas is another AU of Ghost that some evil time with @kittynomore and @bluesgras made happen.

The premise is basically, what if Ghost went through everything with the Rise series, and at the end, another portal opened up and dropped him into another different dimension. With another set of turtles.

What if it kept happening? What if he would stay for decades, each time with a new set of kids, and every time he thought he was safe, he was taken away?

He forgets who he was originally. All the kids blend together now, but he loves them all so much. He lets them name him each time. He has thousands of different names. He doesn't remember them all.

Then he drops into nothing. And nothing is there but him.

One of the more recent names he's had is Atlas, and he starts thinking of himself like that because he can open those 'mirrors' and peek into every universe. He can't make big changes, but he can nudge.

In the context of 2AL, Atlas feels Big Leo floating in the space in between, as he's dying, and basically. Yoinks him into the nothing with him, cause Atlas is lonely !!

[sad-leon]

I have so many thoughts on this /pos!!

(Please excuse typos... im eepy)

For me, personally, I know my sleep issues are probably a mix between my nuerodivergency and trauma. I remember a time when I was younger I had a friend ask "Why is all your art so sad?"

I did not know how to respond, but his mother did. "That's because [he] has a sad life" (or something very similar)

And I don't think I'm an isolated case among tumblr artists, especially in fandom. I don't imagine healthy adults could create like we do. Not to say it doesnt happen, but I've seen a lot of artists (including myself) connect to their own and others fanart on a deeper level than is considered "normal" [stares at my collection of 2al fanart]

To cope, we draw. And the things we avoid by "coping" tend to result in issues sleeping, which we cope with by drawing more. That's how it is for me, atleast.

Our world also works against fandom creators. It's widely known that, in America atleast (i dont know about other places), a full time job is likely not enough to live a secure life, so most people are forced to get a second job or a side hustle. This leaves very little personal time, so we take the time we have and use it to make stuff rather than sleep.

I know I'd rather be a little more tired if that means I could make a silly little doodle that made people smile. There's probably a lot of people who do that, sacrifice sleep for the sake of creating.

This went a little off the rails, but I enjoyed being a part of it! This type of stuff fascinates me. Psychology fascinates me. If I wasn't so burnt out, I'd probably persue it. And maybe one day, I might follow it my own way, outside of the system.

I'll end this before I start on another rant lol

I enjoyed seeing the results and I wonder how many of us are on the same page. And those of you that have a good sleep schedule: I'm both jealous and proud of ya /lh

This is my first actual post on Tumblr ever so pls bear with me. Also, English is not my first language so pls excuse any mistakes I make :)

So, this whole thing here started just as a joke bc I was curious if anyone else was feeling constantly tired all day no matter how long I sleep. But it all somehow escalated a bit and I may have started hyperfixating on it so well, now it actually became a little survey.

I also wanted to mention that I only asked the artist in my little Tumblr bubble, which is mostly tmnt content, so my results are mostly referring to tmnt artists.

In total, I asked 140 people if they could remember the last time they woke up and just felt actually rested for more than half of the day.

I probably could have been more specific with my question but again, I did not actually planned to let it become so big. Personally, for me being rested means, having a clear head, no headache or foggy mind without consuming any caffeine.

So out of 140 people, 82 answered me and I tried my best to sort all of the answers after the criteria “good-sleep-schedule” and “bad-sleep-schedule” and also noted when exactly they last felt actually rested into either the last days, weeks, months, years or “???” when they couldn’t remember or didn’t mention anything specific.

And let’s just say… it does not really look good. Out of 82 people, only 13 had an actual good sleep schedule. That’s 16%! Out of these 13 people, 10 felt really rested in the last days, 2 in the last months, and only one person in the last months.

Out of the 84% of people who have a bad sleep schedule, 10% lastly felt rested in the last days, 7% in the last days, 12% in the last months, 32% in the last years, and 39% couldn’t remember or didn’t specify it.

While reading all your answers I came to realize being sleep deprived is not just bc any of them thought “Oh it would be really neat to stay up till 4 am!” or smth like that.

A lot of the artists who answered me mentioned that they have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep due to stuff like insomnia, chronic pain, other issues, or children (yeah, ok, there was just one who had a child but still).

While analyzing I mostly referred the situations to my own experience with going to sleep or rather not going to sleep...

I usually don’t have problems falling asleep but trouble actually putting my stuff away and going to bed bc I don’t want to end the day or just don’t want to go to sleep (don’t ask why, I have no idea why I am like this). While having these “episodes” I often doodle smth, binge reading some fanfics, or watch whatever I can find on the internet until I’m just falling asleep or can convince myself that it is 3 am and I really should go to bed now.

So, my personal theory about why sleep deprivation is so common among Tumblr artists is not bc they do art all night. My theory is that a lot of people who have trouble falling asleep due to insomnia, pain, or other issues are filling the time until they hopefully fall asleep with their art, doodles, writings, or whatever their creative minds can bring up, to help the time pass.

In total that would mean that not all artists are sleep deprived but more that a lot of people who have trouble falling asleep do a lot of art or creative stuff in general.

Something I could also imagine is, that if they start doing art while waiting for sleep, they start to concentrate a lot on creating more and start procrastinating sleep even if they actually get tired bc they wanna do art and fuck up their non-existing sleep schedule even more but that could also just be me projecting here.

I know that is probably no kind of big revelation but for me it was kind of surprising to see how many people here are as sleep deprived as me and due to what reasons.

I’m not going to preach to any of you to get that problem solved or smth, I have no right to tell you what to do and would be a major hypocrite so instead I really which everyone to get some kind of good sleep schedule one day and the joy of waking up and feeling completely rested at least thrice per week.

I absolutely love all your art and thank you a thousand times for helping me with this spontaneous survey!

I would love to hear your opinions on my theory and conclusion so pls don’t be shy and feel free to point out any mistakes I may have made or tell me your own theories :D

Also, if my question is still sitting in your inbox, feel free to answer! I’m gonna keep ma big ass excel table so I can edit all the results anytime. And maybe, one day, I'm gonna continue this survey and go into more detail but for now I need to leave it like this.

Ok, that's all I got

BYE!

Thanks to all participants

@abbeyofcyn @angelpuns @beannary @bulbabutt @camilieroart @cementgeek @cheesyescapade @cokowiii @easterartist @frosteaart @gemini-forest @happyfoxx-art @heckitall @hellishgayliath @holy-sweetsour-milk @icepopcider @idiot-mushroom @iscreamkitty @kovalitics @laseralligator @lieutenantbiscute @matchstique @mightyanxiety @miiukkaa @mr-doodles @pezhead @probably-not-a-rutabaga @pumpkster @sad-leon @sassatello @sewercrocodileart @sheep-turtles-and-pizza @signanothername @spectra-bear @stephuart @tangledinink @tapakah0 @tasenwiththerobots @tblsomedoodles @thegunnsara @triona-tribblescore @turrondeluxe @valen-timez @vangh17a @wraenata @zinovi768 @debb987 @dianagj-art @goatedgreen @indieyuugure

[dandylovesturtles]

This is 2AL Propaganda

I bring you propaganda for the @rottmntpeepawpolls advocating for 2 Arms Left Leo by @intotheelliwoods in the form of another fanfic drabble! Please go check out their comic series, it is extremely good. And vote for 2AL Leo in the poll tomorrow!!

(Also Ell I'm sorry if I get f!Leo and p!Donnie's relationship wrong I TRIED

ALSO I PROMISE THIS ISN'T ANGST

also also this is set still somewhat early in his recovery time OK NOTES OVER)

...

"I can feel you lurking."

Leonardo looks up from his phone and locks eyes with Donnie, currently peeking through the crack in the curtain to his train car. He disappears from view and a moment later waltzes his way inside like he hadn't just been hiding.

"I have a question for you," he announces.

Leo sits up and drops his legs over the edge of the bed. "Shoot."

Donnie hesitates. He looks anxious, and Leo tenses in anticipation.

"It's about your timeline."

Leo's heart drops.

He'd known this would come eventually, but he'd been hoping it would be later rather than sooner. Of course they would want to know eventually, though. What happened to them. How things in his time had... ended.

He just isn't prepared for it. He isn't sure if Donnie is prepared for it, either. He's still so young. Should he really be hearing this now? What kind of damage does that cause on a young mind?

His mouth is draw when he says, "What's your question?" He scrambles to prepare answer, some way to put it off, or maybe to soften the blow, or-

"Did you still have the Lair Games in the future?"

-gape at Donnie like a fish because what?

"What?"

"Did you still have the Lair Games in the future?" Donnie repeats, a little louder as though that were the issue here.

"...We were a little busy with the whole alien apocalypse situation."

"Scoff." Donnie waves a hand. "As if a little apocalypse could stop this family from being competitive."

He has him there. Leo can't help but snort in amusement. "You're right. But it was less formal and more like... bragging about how many Krang hounds we could kill."

"Ah, I see... Well, we're lacking in those, so... goodbye."

He turns on his heel to leave.

"Hey, wait wait wait! Why the sudden interest?"

Donnie turns back around. He still looks anxious, but now Leo realizes it's more embarrassed than upset like he initially thought.

"Well, as you know, I am the current champion of the Lair Games."

"Heh, as if you'd let me forget."

"And I'm very eager to defend my title! And especially after his-slash-your nefarious tricks last time, I'm ready to grind Nardo to dust." He rubs his palms together with an unhinged glee, and Leo winces internally. Yikes. "But..." and there he stops, "Leo seems... reluctant to participate. We did not design the events with... one of us missing a limb in mind."

Ah, right. Hard to do a Handstand Hillbomb with only one arm. Even if they put things off until Leo's port and prosthetic were ready, he probably still wouldn't be experienced enough with it to do anything too taxing.

Leo could already imagine his younger counterpart had waved it off with a smile and a, "You guys have fun," and, "I'll be cheering for you." He would swing by his room later to check on him; for now he had another kid to deal with.

"So that's why you came to me?"

"I was hoping you might have some ideas for alternative events."

"Hmmm... I might be able to think of some." He grins. "On one condition."

Donnie looks wary. "What?"

"I get to play, too."

"What, so you can twist both my ankles this time!?" Donnie shakes his head. "Oh no. One of you is enough."

"Come on! It'll be fun."

"Doubt! And besides, the bylaws state that we can't add anyone to the competition."

"Ah-ah." He waves a finger. "The bylaws state that the competition is between Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, and..." He trails off, putting a hand on his plastron with a smirk.

Donnie's eyebrows are furrowed so hard they're at risk of smudging. "...You have out loopholed me, sir."

"Don't worry, I'll give you guys-"

"Do not."

"-a handicap."

"Groan! Why didn't I send Mikey to do this instead?"

"'Cause you love me." Leo gets up from the bed, walks over and catches Donnie in an affectionate headlock before he can flee. "Alright. Let's get brainstorming!"

[vileart]

Sea Wall Dramaturgy: Eve Nicol @ The Pub

Theatre audiences pick the ticket price when Simon Stephen’s acclaimed monologue, Sea Wall, tours Glasgow bars in January 2017. 

Heroes Theatre presents 

Sea Wall

Written by Simon Stephens, directed by Eve Nicol and performed by Alan MacKenzie.

Touring Glasgow pubs 22 -26 January 2017

Sea Wall will see the emerging Glasgow-based company to break out of existing limiting structures for creating theatre, paying artists and talking directly to audiences in non-traditional spaces.

For their Glasgow pub new tour of Simon Stephens’ acclaimed monologue, Heroes Theatre are implementing the innovative Pay What You Decide pricing model pioneered by Slung Low and ARC, Stockton, where audiences are under no obligation to pay until after they see the show. Pay What You Decide allows audiences to pay only what they can afford and removes the financial risk of buying a ticket in advance without knowing if they are going to enjoy a production or not. For Sea Wall, audiences will get to set the price of their ticket, paying as little or as much as they think the show was worth.

Written by the Olivier and Tony award-winning author of the stage adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Stephens’ Sea Wall is a portrait of guilt, grief and the still waters that run deep in us all. 

Sea Wall tells the story of young parent Alex. His life is going swimmingly - a great kid, a happy marriage, good job – when everything is swept from him in one devastating moment. Heroes Theatre invites audiences to join them at the table for Sea Wall, sharing this intimate story over a beer in the back rooms, snugs and dens of pubs across Glasgow. Previously seen at the National Theatre and The Bush, London, Sea Wall is pint-sized theatre that packs a crushing emotional punch.

I know that you like good quality, contemporary scripts... in fact, you got me into Philip Ridley, which means I kind of owe you one! So what was it that made you select Sea Wall?

Sea Wall is one of those stories that haunts you. My first encounter with Sea Wall was in performance with Paines Plough's touring production a few years ago. It blindsided me. The friends I was with all sat in the pub afterwards, hearts broken, needing the warmth of human company.

I had been looking for a script that would suit Alan MacKenzie, who I worked with on The Pitchfork Disney. Both Alan and the character in Sea Wall, Alex, have personalities that you make you want to have a drink with them, to spend time in their company. It’s a wonderful trait in a performer and for a writer to accomplish. Like Philip Ridley’s plays, I don’t think we see enough of Simon Stephens’ work in Scotland. I selected Sea Wall as it was an opportunity to work with actor I wanted to work with and a tell story I wanted to share. A perfect combination for me. As a resolute anti-social non-drinker (most of the time), I am both intrigued and slightly frightened by the idea of theatre in the pub. Can you persuade me why having a performance in a pub is a good idea?

Just as you might not feel at home in a bar, many regular pub goers would be apprehensive to step into a theatre. It’s probably healthy for theatre audiences to be a bit more awake to the real world they inhabit from time to time. The seclusion of theatres can be seductive but false.

Hospitality and a drink amongst friends is important to Heroes and pubs are geared up for this. Putting Sea Wall in a pub setting made me think of barflies who quietly nurse half a pint half the night then slip out into the dark. What’s their story? By inviting audiences to sit down at a table with Alex, I’m hoping to encourage people to consider the still waters that run deep in us all.

From a financial point of view as unfunded company, having a performance in a pub is an excellent idea. You get 90-100% of your box office takings whereas in a theatre 60% is seen as good deal. Heroes simply couldn't do this production in a theatre without breaking employment law. It’s an issue theatres who programme emerging companies need to address. Immediately. As we've removed the financial risk for Heroes by performing in a pub, we're able to share the benefits with audiences too. Sea Wall is running on a Pay What You Decide pricing model where audiences decide the price of their ticket post-performance based on their experience. We’re busking essentially. If money is a bit tight post-Christmas, we’re not excluding anyone because they’re skint.

Apart from your enthusiasm for a good script, it's clear that you have a passion for getting theatre back into a wider public attention. Was there a particular inspiration that made you think that theatre was the art form that you wanted to engage with, and what makes it special for you?

My parents instigated theatre trips regularly and I would dog school to go see Jesus Christ Superstar matinees, but it was the Citizens Theatre’s Circle Studio that did it for me as a fifteen year old. It was sexy and clever and it was right in front of you. Going to the theatre as a 30 year old still makes me feel like an impressionable teenager – it shows me new perspectives, new emotions, new images. I’m a fangirl. In sharing plays that excite me with other people, I get to express a little something of myself too.  

You know I have to do this - but can you tell me a little about your thoughts on dramaturgy? Do you have a particular process in creating theatre that can be described? 

My dramaturgy is in detail of the decisions I make to bring the text off the page and in to real space, in real time. Semiotics, right? What does the brand of beer Alex drinks communicate to an audience?  I am a big fan of Katie Mitchell’s preparation process outlined in her book. Her methodical approach of deep textual study and real world research opens doors to avenues of investigation that would otherwise remain hidden.

What am I doing with my life? I mean, seriously, I sit around all day reading about The Enlightenment and worrying about purpose... sorry, I am interested in how you use the theory that you have learnt in the rehearsal room. Does the academic have any use within the creative process?

Theory is fine but practice is everything. With study you learn a lot about what other people in the industry are doing but there’s not a lot of personal excavation going on. Theory can be an impediment. You’re more aware of all the things you don’t know. The books that remain unread. The individual human lifespan isn’t that long. “How do you do you” might be the most informative, surprising, uncomfortable but hopeful point of study for anyone. The art that inspires me - and which I aim to make - are stories that inspire people to take action, to live their lives with more vigour. To do.

The academic does have use within the creative process because they are human and in being human, they have a unique perspective to offer which can enrich the lives of other humans. I think we might only have purpose when it becomes a shared purpose.

How does Sea Wall relate to Nordic Noir?

You can see the influence of The Killing all over contemporary drama. The pacing of storytelling. There’s a slower, more contemplative, burn. It’s not the hyperactive cosmopolitan settings. There’s a lack, a missing. Space.  It’s concerned less with the glamour of the event – the explosion, the hit, the abduction, whatever - but with examining the effects human horrors have on the people left behind.

Sea Wall shares these qualities. Alex takes his time in unloading his story. For the audience there’s a puzzle to work out. What happened? Who is to blame? How do you carry on?

Sea Wall builds on the success of Heroes Theatre’s debut production of Philip Ridley’s The Pitchfork Disney at the Tron Theatre in 2014, and 2016’s storming punk performance poetry duet for words and drums, GLITTERED, created for Hidden Door Festival.

Join the conversation: #SeaWall

Touring Glasgow pubs 23 - 27 January 2017

The Bungo, 17 Nithsdale Road, G41 2AL 22 January 2017, 6pm & 7.30pm

Sloans, 108 Argyle St, G2 8BG 23 & 24 January 2017, 6.30 & 8.00pm

Dram!, 232 Woodlands Road, G3 6ND 25 & 26 January 2017, 6.30 & 8.00pm (18+ only at 8.00pm performances in Dram!)

Suitable for ages 14+ Running time: 35 minutes 

Artists’ Biographies

Simon Stephens – writer Simon Stephens is an Associate Artist of the Lyric Hammersmith and the Royal Court Theatre. His many plays include: a new adaptation of The Threepenny Opera, Carmen Disruption, Heisenberg, Birdland, Blindsided, Morning, Three Kingdoms, Wastwater, Punk Rock, Pornography (Best New Play at Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland 2008-9), Country Music, Christmas and Herons.  His adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for the National Theatre - concurrently touring the UK, in West End and on Broadway - won the Olivier Award for Best New Play 2013 and the Tony Award for Best Play 2015.

Eve Nicol – director Eve Nicol is Artistic Director of Heroes Theatre. Work includes GLITTERED at Hidden Door, The Pitchfork Disney and Fairytaleheart. She is a graduate of the Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland Mentoring Scheme and is currently supported by the Tom McGrath Trust and FST Assistant Director Bursary, working with David Greig on the premiere of a new play by Linda McLean at Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh.

Alan MacKenzie – Alex Alan has previously worked with Heroes on The Pitchfork Disney. His theatre credits include touring with Mull Theatre’s Movie Time and Visible Fictions’, Friends Electric and as Hamlet with Wilderness of Tigers for Bard In The Botanics.

Notes to the Editors 

About Heroes Theatre 

Formed in 2014, Heroes Theatre is led by theatre director and playwright Eve Nicol and creative collaborators from Glasgow’s grassroots theatre scene. Eve established Heroes to share brilliant contemporary plays and the text-based theatre of tomorrow. Heroes make shared cathartic experiences of hope, heartbreak and horror to make humans feel more human. 

from the vileblog http://ift.tt/2jc7m5k

[intotheelliwoods]

Hey! Sorry to bother you

I was thinking about submitting multiple redraws to the panel redraw event! Would you prefer that they are all submitted in one post (potentially near the end of the event), or individual posts (as finished)?

Happy birthday 2al!

Ooh I am actually so happy you asked this because I never specified what to do in the cases of submitting multiple redraws on the og post did I!

Yes you can submit multiple redraws! Though I do not believe it would matter how you post them! I would say all under one post would be preferred, but if you drew one panel that you want to share now then I will not mind them separated.

With that being said though, no matter how many redraws you do I am still just going to add your name to the eventual wheel once! Everyone who draws a panel no matter how good or how many will have an equal chance of being picked

[intotheelliwoods]

May have gone a little overboard with this ask hahahahaaaa... @wakerrife

If you are asking how to write ports from a story perspective:

Ports/prosthetics are still under lots of development in real life, which leaves such a big fantasy element to them for starters! Theres no right or wrong way to entirely depict them in stories you know? So theres my first advice, write them in a way that ties in to the theme of your story!

Slapping some good old FMA comparisons here since I saw you were a fan!

In FMA, when attaching the actual arm to the port its depicted as a very painful process that totally just takes the wind out of you for a while. This is since the whole motivation of that story is to retain the flesh arm back, shoving in your face how painful the ordeal is drives that motivation home and so that writing style makes complete sense!

In 2AL meanwhile, the whole story is about acceptance, therefore I opted not to have the whole ordeal of attaching/detaching the arm be a painful process. I wanted to drive home the idea that its is completely alright and normal for Leo to have a robot arm, as an every day painless thing just like a regular arm, and so my opting for it indeed being painless helped drive that theme of acceptance home

Meanwhile if you are asking from a more medical perspective:

I am going to be flat out honest and say I am pulling half of this out of my ass hahhaaa, apologies I have no resources since I did not put in much research! Most of what I say just comes from background knowledge, but hey do give me some slack here, I am a biology student who is still learning!

Although most of my inspiration for care and all, I actually loosely based off infected ear piercings believe it or not! For example, did you know if an earring gets too badly infected and is not removed in time, the ear can start re-growing around the piercing and just sorta,,, consume it?? Its entirely possible for nearly any foreign implant to get rejected by a body and I find that concept so cool. So hey there is food for thought, if you dont properly take care of a prosthetic port skin can start growing over it! Or the body can reject it!

I do have some more thoughts regarding care and such that ive been thinking about as of late if you happen to be interested, who knows maybe something can inspire you!

Make sure the skin directly touching the metal doesnt dry up! Since the skin there is used to being fully enclosed by a warm shoulder, not thinned out and pressed against metal! Its easy for the skin to start drying and cracking around there. Preventing it from doing that can be done easily by just using a q-tip or your finger and rubbing vaseline or lotion of some kind around the skin. Reason you dont want it to dry up and crack would be since the cracks can crawl further up the shoulder and tear perfectly fine skin, which would definitely get irritating after a long while if your whole shoulder ended up just being decked in scabs. Even worse of one of the splits in the skin got infected. No one wants an infected port just like no one wants an infected ear piercing.

Be sure to clean the area where the skin and metal actually meet! Same reason as above, you do not want an infected port! An infected port can potentially lead to a rejected port which is never a good thing! Cleaning it meanwhile usually looks like taking a toothpick soaked in hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol, and scraping out dirt/germs from the slim space in between the skin and metal, this is so the skin there doesnt grow over whatever gunk may be there and cause infection.

Make sure the inside of the port itself stays relatively clean! Clean out grime and gunk! Make it so the arm can actually fit into the port! The arm cannot fit into the port if you have 2 inches of mud stuck inside the rod, or meddled in the ratchet system, or whatever fantasy cool system you have! If you try and fit an arm into a port with stuff all up inside it you could potentially break the arm! Or if it doesnt break then overall quality would definitely be lowered through the more funked up movements trying their best when covered in stuff! Anyways cleaning the port itself depends on what materials you have half the time, looks different for different people ig!

Oh and reasons no one wants an infected port:

The slim chance the body just starts rejecting the port and trying to force it out

The slim chance that if the port was not put in correctly/out far enough from the body, the body will start trying to regrow around the port

The fact that infections are extremely painful especially in such a large surface area in comparison to just an ear

If the infection pain was not enough, adding a massive metal arm that pulls on the skin would be even more painful

Would also want to add that if your body rejects the port, its a god awful experience. Rejection means that your body tries to push the port itself out of the body, a very painful experience, it usually does this by growing in such a way that puts force to sorta try and pop the port out. Issue is, the port is very much bolted down via ball joints onto the shoulder blade and collar bone, and so the flesh that grows under it to push it out ends up just gushing out the sides of the port as gross as it sounds. Its a really nasty experience. So without help via surgery to remove the port, have fun being in agony the rest of your life! If this happens and you do manage to remove the port, you would have to undergo waiting for the shoulder to heal up again before even daring to put in the port once again. Should also note that this can only be done so many times, since with each surgery to remove and install, more and more excess flesh gets cut of, until you may eventually reach a point where there is not even enough healthy flesh to sustain the port any longer.

Hope some of this was helpful!! Oops I had too much fun writing this up!

More asks under the cut!

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@archieagain AOSDJNOSDFJKF HII HELLO!!! IM ELLIWOODS!!! I DONT KNOW!!!! have a great day you made my week btw <3 <3

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@gemini-forest everyone.. everyone point and laugh at the typo everyone!!!!! giggles!!!!!!

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@snipersiniora 2 Left Arms my favorite fanfic ever!!!!!

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@skylabrea Annnddd bookmarked for later! :) Thank you so much!!!

[intotheelliwoods]

Hello just wanted to ask (not a complain nor anything bad) but why is only Leos? What happened with the brothers? Why don't they get any screen time? No interaction, no nothing. Where are they? D:

Thank you for your time ♡

-🌸

Ok first of all, please do not ask any creators or artists this. In the end it is really up to them on what they do and do not draw

I am answering because I have gotten multiple people asking me now, and you did phrase this nicely unlike most people, so thank you

It really comes down to the artists priorities, and energy to create. Lets say I were to make a bunch of content for Leos brothers, all 3 of them. That would be time and effort on my end, and screen time taken away from the Leos. Because myself and most other artists are only going to have so much energy to work on something each week

If 2AL were to focus on the rest of Leos family along with the Leos, the Leos would not have as much screen time or scenes in general to be developed properly, and they would not be what makes them memorable and iconic anymore, because there would be less content of them due to everyone else taking up time

The brothers, Splinter April and whoever else, in turn would not be very developed either. I do not have the energy or motivation to fully develop and focus on that many characters, and yeah there are a lot of characters-

Ask any writer or artist, they will all tell you that the more characters in a scene/storyline = the harder it is to draw and/or write

Also, the title, is literally "2 Arms Left"

I have planned from the start to mostly focus on the Leos and I have so much story I want to tell with them, which is hard enough as it is. I cannot add more work onto myself by adding an extra 3, 5, maybe 8 more characters to focus on when 2 characters is already plenty of work

[intotheelliwoods]

So do I tbh, 2AL is having the most interesting time here in the multiverse, first getting PTSD from a massive skele-dog, and now learning how everyone else first met their past selves, by that I mean how different it went

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ANON I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO ASK ME THIS.

lil essay under the cut~

I actually have thought about this so much, I just never had the chance to really mention anything about it, since its something more implied than directly stated.

When P!Leo first lost the arm yes he would get highly uncomfortable with anyone at all touching it, even just looking at it was an absolute nightmare come true. Though to be fair his family did just avoid touching it in general. F!Leo on the other hand, being the emotional support he is, was the only one who would actively touch it, and would do so often. Yes at first it was probably the most strangest feeling P!Leo ever felt and probably did not feel good at all, but over time F!Leo touching his stump became a massive comfort.

F!Leo kept touching the stump as means to help his younger self get used to the new sensations there, along with the fact that the arm is actually gone. Each time he touched his stump was just his way of saying "Hey its ok, you are not alone, I have been through this before, I am living proof you will be alright in the end", without actually saying any words.

^ Why in lots of my little bonus doodles I have F!Leo touching the stump btw, its part of the healing process :)

This can also tie into this ask a good bit! Not only does F!Leo frequently touch the stump of his younger self to get him used to it, but he keeps his robot arm off most of the time to help his younger self also get used to the idea of what its like to not have both arms.

Though I think by the time P!Leo got his new arm, he got used to it being touched enough that anyone else touching it besides his older self was completely alright.

Everyone give a round of applause for 2AL Future Leo for being an absolute champ!

As for F!Leo, he has had the arm gone long enough where anyone can touch his stump without a care in the world, P!Leo would definitely take advantage of this by the way, and would totally fidget with the port before he got one himself just so he could sorta feel what it was like,,

[intotheelliwoods]

I love nearly singlehandedly providing this fandom with the Present and Future Leo fluff it did not know it needed <3

I mentioned it a bit in the ESSAY in this post, but to restate, I do not have any plans on having the two fight. Or have any form of resentment! There will never be such a time do not worry :)

They are both very impressed and astounded over how much the other has grown!

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2AL absolutely slayed no doubt about that. I would have reblogged or said something about it, but honestly it was just really funny watching my mutuals fight the bloody battle in my honor lmao

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I actually mentioned this a good bit in this post! I have indeed thought about this on multiple occasions!

Regarding Future Leo and Splinter: OUghh I will forever think about how their reunion would go, but so many other people have done their own take on the reunion to the point where I do not see much of a need to add my own take, since it would not be very different from the others (as in it would involve crying, hugging, face cradling, something about getting so big, you know, the usual)

Regarding Present Leo and Splinter: Ok now THIS could actually actually go somewhere as a new concept, I ended up just doodling this thinking about it haha. Splinter would be very pained over the whole situation, it already hurts him to see his sons go off on dangerous missions, its another to see that one now bears a permanent wound from it. I think Splinter, along with mostly everyone else, would avoid looking at the missing arm as much as they can, until the proshetic comes in anyways. Leo meanwhile, is definitely using "it was bound to happen no matter what I did" as his excuse and reasoning for why no one should feel bad about the ordeal

Though before I do literally anything with Splinter I need to stop being a coward and finally get to work on the Casey comic oops

@dandywonderous

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I am assuming this is from the arm cut off scale, in which case, congratulations anon you are a normie

2 through 4 <- the normie range /j

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Little sidenote meanwhile: I am begging you all to have a little bit of mercy when sending in art requests/suggestions. Little doodle requests are fun! Asking me to create a full comic or something that will take me multiple hours is not fun. I was not going to bring it up but seeming as its happened multiple times now I thought I should just say a something.

The only reason the last comic was "inspired" by two anon asks was because one of them actually genuinely inspired me, and the other was nice and vague enough that I could incorporate it into its story.

[intotheelliwoods]

Bunch of asks! Sorry for no drawings this time around ive been pretty burnt out as of late whoopsies.. would appreciate it if you guys could give me some time with the next 2AL update!!

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@snipersiniora Oh for sure! He is still Leo after all! After the whole situation after the invasion calmed down he would so crack a ton just to help lighten everyones moods! And yes, at multiple occasions would make fun of his own age, and throw in dad jokes!

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@wraenata FLASHBACKS TO THIS ASK if you cannot ask me MY favorite kind of cheese, then you cannot ask ANY OF THE LEOS THEIR FAVORITE CHEESE impossible question. the answers have no end. cheese is delicious and every type is so valid.

But listen listen, Leo, no matter the age, is an incredibly cheesy fella.

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@cartoonfan (this ping might not work oops) Waa thank you!!! I am turning this ask into an opportunity to say that having your own version of future Leo is so awesome because since we have only seen him for like 5 minutes, you can give him whatever personality you want and it fits no matter what you do pfft.

Like damn I want to make the most fluffy and kind peepaw imaginable? no problem 👍 no one can stop me and im so happy lots of people are enjoying my take!

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@allynabie Hello!!!

Everyone else feels great about it~ Yes, it may be weird having an extra Leo, but if that said Leo somehow manages to help your Leo generally have better coping mechanisms then theres really nothing to complain about here. I can guarantee you if future Leo was not here, Leo's recovery would have gone wayyy different, as in it would have taken him longer to accept his loss, and it would have been way more bumpy and harmful of a ride.

If you were to ask me about what the comic is about overall, my answer would be self love and how to accept reality by being open with yourself.

As for being aware of their future deaths, they are aware that they have died, yes! I actually plan on covering that a little bit soon but shhh you did not hear that from me~

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AAa the amount of support I get from having the Leo's being supportive of eachother is amazing, said it so many times before and ill say it again, so glad people are enjoying this take! Happy I can provide this fandom some comfort between the two!

Though I should also use this ask as a chance to mention: I do not dislike or look down upon any version of future Leo where he hates/despises his future self!!! I apologies in advance if some of what I have been saying would lead people to thinking this of me and I just wanted to be a bit clear with that! Honestly the two not being very fond of each other can lead to so many interesting storylines so who am I to complain.

Anyways, all takes of Future Leo are amazing, thought I should just through that here :)

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Such a great sidejoke ngl~ Though I should mention, while there may be a tracker inside Leo's prosthetic, there is no recorder!