#I'll claim this one
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
How I save time on backgrounds as a full-time webcomic artist
Hi! I make webcomics for a living, and I have to be able to draw a panel extremely fast to keep up with my deadlines. I draw about 50 panels a week, which gives me about 45 minutes per panel if I want any semblance of a healthy work-life balance.
Most webtoon artists save time on backgrounds by using 3d models, which works for them and is great! but personally I hate working in 3d... I went to school for it for a year and hated it so much I completely changed career paths and vowed never to do it again! So, this is how I save time without using any 3d, for those of you out there who don't like it either!
This tactic has also saved me money (3d models are expensive) and it has helped me converting my comic from scroll format into page format for print, because I have much more art to work with than what's actually in the panels. (I'll touch on this later)
So, first, I make my backgrounds huge. my default starting size is 10,000 x 10,000 pixels. My panels are 2,500 pixels wide, so my backgrounds are 4x that, minimum. Because of this, I make them less detailed than I could or that you might expect so it doesn't look weird against my character art when I shrink portions of it down.
I personally find it much easier to add in detail than to make "removing" details look natural at smaller sizes, but you might have different preferences than I do.
I also make sure to keep all of my elements on separate layers so that I can easily remove or replace them, I can move them to simulate different camera angles more easily, and it's simple to adjust the lighting to imply different times of day.
Then I can go ahead and copy/paste them into my episodes. I move the background around until it feels like it's properly fitting how I want.
Once I've done that in every panel, I'll go back through the episode and clean up anything that looks weird, and add in solid blacks (for my art style) Here's a quick before and after of what that looks like!
This makes 90% of my backgrounds take me just a few hours. This is my tactic when I'm working in an environment that an entire scene, or multiple scenes, will take place.
But many panels will inevitably have a location that's used exactly once, and it would waste time and effort to draw a massive background for those. So in 10% of cases, I just draw the single panel background in the episode. I save all of these, just in case I can re-use it later (this happens more often with outdoor locations, but I save them all nonetheless!)
I generally have to draw about 2 big backgrounds per episode, and 3-5 single-panel backgrounds per episode! At the beginning of an arc/book the number is higher, but as the series is continuing and I'm building up an asset library of indoor and outdoor elements to re-use for the book, the number generally goes down and I save more time.
My series involves time travel and mysteries, so there's a lot of new locations in it and we're constantly moving around. If I were working on a series that was more consistent in this aspect, this process would save me even more time!
Like I said earlier, this also saves me a lot of pain and gives me a lot more options as I'm converting from scroll format to print format!
panels that look like this in scroll format...
can look like this in print!
because I drew the background like this, so I didn't need to go through the additional effort to add in the extra detail to expand it outwards at all.
Anyways, I hope this helps someone! As always if it doesn't help, just go ahead and disregard. This is what I do and what works for me, and I feel like I only ever see time-saving tips for comics that involve 3d models and workflows, which don't work for me at all! I know there's more people like me out there, so this is for you!
Enjoy!
Also obligatory "my webcomic" if you want to see this in action or check it out!
#webcomic tips#webcomic making#comic tips#comic tutorial#art tutorial#art tips#time and time again#my ocs#digital art#ttawebcomic#hmmmm....#longpost#yeah it's a long post#I'll claim this one#lots of images#I hope this helps#I'm always worried when I make some kind of guide or tutorial people are gonna get mad at me lmao#I'm not saying 3d models are bad to use!!!#I just dont like them!#my brain doesnt work like that and it feels SO so so so tedious to me#TO ME PERSONALLY!!!#plenty of people see 3d models as a total lifesaver#and that's perfectly fine!#but yeah I don't see tutorials about saving time in comics that like... dont... mention 3d models...#like what about me and the other extremely particular girlies who hate 3d#anyways#yeah#just hoping this helps#nothing against 3d at all#I mean. ok personally yes against it cause it sucks for me to use
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
bart and max gardening together for @/dcforgaza. you're gonna ignore that there's not grass in front of bart's boots, please.
#dc#dc comics#fanart#bobbinart#max mercury#bart allen#impulse#max&bart#it's crazy that this is only like the second finished drawing i have of them hanging out#anyway donations are closed now but i still have at least one prompt to finish#probably more there's still a bunch open and i think i'll claim at least anotehr one or two
242 notes
·
View notes
Text
Pete, I need you to stay here.
#warehouse 13#wh13edit#past imperfect#mine:photoset#myka bering#pete lattimer#HELLO..... CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME...... FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HELLO..............#this episode possessed me so thoroughly that i had to open photoshop for the first time since december#i promise i will get a new computer someday so i can make gifs more regularly again (i made this on my work computer don't tell IT)#but HELLO............ WAAAAUGH#god. fuck. they love and trust each other so much. i'm chomping at the fucking walls over this#myka has so much trauma over this case and pete's the nicest guy in the world about it.........#but myka doesn't even let that stop her!! she's like no fuck that i WILL take this guy down for real#and she DOES#and pete's standing by her side the entire time providing support and helping but also not taking control since myka needs to do this#on her own and for herself in order to finally get closure#for this case that's been haunting her since literally episode one............#pete's like no you can absolutely be emotional. you have every right. so this time I'll be the observant one and help you where you need it#god.#anyway hi wh13 tag i am watching this show for the first time and i am Going Through It#since i know you all seem to be myka/HG stans can i officially claim pete as mine. would anyone mind. can i have him
136 notes
·
View notes
Text
"An ideal Sims game would have Sims 2's gameplay mechanics, Sims 3's open world, and Sims 4's graphics!"
I absolutely despise this take, and I want to explain why. This is a very long rant and it is full of piss and vinegar directed at everything in the Sims 4. I'm gonna try to keep everything kinda professional as much as I can but I can't guarantee an unbiased opinion.
If you'll let me talk your ears off for a moment, I'd like to explain, from my own experience as an artist and a casual player, my issues with the art style and direction of The Sims 4 compared to The Sims 2. (I'm not really going to comment on 3 because I've never played it.)
I want to start off by explaining the difference between better graphics and higher resolution. The Sims 4 absolutely blows Sims 2 out of the water when it comes to textures and polygon counts on sims, no contest. But I'd argue that the graphics themselves... aren't better. They're worse, even, so much fucking worse. The biggest problems come from the stylization and the animations, in my opinion, so I'll explain what I mean.
Have you ever felt like the Sims in 4 just look... weird? Not quirky, not kinda strange, but off. Distressing. Uncanny. Whatever the fuck the kids call it nowadays. When you strip away the packs and the CC and the shaders, the sims in the base game look bad. They're very close to being human; they walk like us, talk like us, have families like us, but they don't look like us, not exactly. There's always something off about them, no matter how close you try to get. Proportions will be a bit off, or your eyelashes will be like three polygons for some fucking reason, and the jig is up. The illusion is gone.
This is one of the instances where a higher resolution and more detailed models and meshes work against you. You aren't making believe. You are beyond the point of pretending that the pixelated shapes are real clothes and bodies and faces, because at this point, they're close enough that you don't need to. There's no gap to bridge. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they're lifelike, at least, not enough to be completely human. In some ways, they're still tethered to being cartoony and plasticky and fake. Just enough to frighten you. Enough to put you off. They're not using it to their advantage anymore, and instead, it's holding them back.
When the Sims 2 came out in 2004, the developers knew that they weren't going to make a perfectly accurate life simulator. They physically couldn't render every wrinkle in the face or fold in the clothing. In some animations, things clip strangely or the facial expressions are sort of janky or there's just some form of roughness around the edges. But that's okay; your brain doesn't need a perfectly accurate representation this time. That's not what you're here for, anyway.
The Sims 4 is basically Icarus-ing itself into disaster. The entire game sacrifices style for complete realism, a goal that was unachievable ten years ago, and is unachievable now.
The Sims 2 never thought of itself as a completely realistic life sim, though. It has cartoony, low poly meshes and exaggerated proportions and wild, raunchy storylines that would never occur in real life. BECAUSE IT ISN'T REAL LIFE. And it isn't like real life, not because it's failing to be, but because it doesn't want to be!
The Sims 4 is not ever going to completely replicate human looks or interactions or dynamics. And if it's trying to, it's doing a shit job of it. That shouldn't be the goal in the first place. If I wanted to watch a lonely college student talk to himself in the mirror to try and get better at interacting with people, I'd close the computer and go look at myself. It somehow highlights the most mundane parts of life without any of the whimsy and goofiness that the earlier installments had. It takes itself too fucking seriously for its own good, and it's killing both the gameplay and the art style.
The other point I'd like to bring up is the animation. The Sims 4 allows for much more customization of both sim and environments, but at the cost of dynamic animations. How many times is that grab animation reused? How many times is the same set of animations used for sims with wildly different personalities? Your sims barely feel alive with how little they express themselves.
Now, look, I'm a digital artist. I've dabbled in animation, but only briefly, and only in 2D. I've got no clue how 3D animation works, much less how it worked 20 years ago, but I can see the passion in every single animation in the Sims 2. The more niche interactions allowed for more expressive animations than in 4. They could afford to have a distinct animation for mean sims throwing the football extra hard to be assholes, rather than every sim using the same generic football-throwing animation to save time and money. I get where they're coming from. I get the idea. But in one move, you've both made the art style stiffer and less expressive, and you've made the personalities of the sims seem meaningless. Everyone acts the same, regardless of what their moodlets or their traits say. It's hollow. It's stifled. It's a waste of potential.
But for what Sims 2 lacks in polygons, it makes up for in smaller animated details. Quality over quantity. The sims have hair physics, they open the door before they get in the car, they take utensils out of the counters when they cook, they jump on the couch and the cushions smush under their weight. When they dance, the weight is realistic, and when they smile, it tugs at every one of the few dozen shapes that make up their faces. The sims are lively. They dance and sing and love and hate just like humans, and rather than being some strange attempt at mimicry, it's almost a tribute. They were made with love. You can tell that they were drawn up and rigged and animated by a bunch of people working together, studying each other and making faces in the mirror for reference and watching their kids and neighbors and dogs and hands for reference. The sims are not human, and not trying to be, but they're taking the most human parts of us and making them their own.
You could never have a game with the Sims 4's graphics and the Sims 2's gameplay. The gameplay and graphics are inexorably connected, and the Sims 2 just has so much glorious detail baked into it, that you could never really make it work underneath the limitations of the later games. The developers of 2 knew what their limits were, and they worked tirelessly to make the game as full and complex as they could within those limits. The developers for the Sims 4 just did not have those guidelines, and thus, the drive to bend the rules was no longer there. They didn't go wild in rebellion because they were never told they couldn't in the first place. They spent the entire time chasing a goal they couldn't meet, and lost sight of what made the series fun to begin with.
It wasn't the realism you came for; you had realism already surrounding you. It was the caricature of it that made it interesting.
#sims 2#sims 4#rambling#please hear me out here#if I hear this one more time i'll explode#please#the problem is so deeply ingrained that it corrupts all it touches like an oil spill#you cant separate the graphics from the gameplay#please guys#THIS is why the sims 4 feels hollow#IT IS#IN EVERY WAY IT COULD BE#every advancement it claims to make only digs its grave further#GUYS PLEASE#CAN ANYONE HEAR ME#does this count as an essay#it felt like an essay#it's 5am
189 notes
·
View notes
Text
they invented romance btw
#im insane im so insane#percy de rolo#vexahlia#vex'ahlia#percahlia#perc'ahlia#vox machina#critical role#cr#'i'll be one of them' lines that make me crazy#praying we get a s4 of tlovm and the whole nine hells bit so we can see this animated#'there may be demons and devils fighting over your soul when you die but by the gods i will be there too' as a declaration of love.#said with no hesitation. i love you so much i will fight the demons who have claimed your soul. i will protect you.#im so insane over them im soooo insane#vm
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
The fans: Ugh Sonic was just so preachy. I mean obviously he's supposed to be the good guy, so any uncomfortableness I feel here and any way I feel like Sonic's choices are framed as being why some other people have shitty lives is just bad writing because he is obviously supposed to be right always, but this characterization makes no sense. Isn't he right for the things he did?
Ian Flynn, using Kitsunami to say the (barely even at this point) quiet part even louder: Hey it's almost like ever since the Mr. Tinker event we've been purposely running with the critique of Sonic as being more selfish than he appears. Sonic is upholding a system of Eggman v Sonic that currently benefits him and shuts down talk of how to improve the current system because he likes his own personal enjoyment and he's attached enough to Eggman that he'd rather Eggman pretend to be a good person than be stuck in prison for life. He doesn't even quite practice what he preaches. We are trying to show that the current hero v villain system and Sonic's recklessness currently affects some people poorly and that Sonic isn't a perfect hero.
#fandom wank#sonic the hedgehog#idw sonic comics#idw sonic 2024 annual#2024 sonic annual spoilers#idw somic comic spoilers#idw sonic spoilers#idw 2024 sonic annual spoilers#i just be ramblin#god one of these days I need to commit to the sonic character essay#because you HAVE to be able to see Sonic as a multifaceted character that is surprisingly selfish and a bit self centered despite his image#as a good hero who is always right to understand what the writers for Sonic Prime and Idw Sonic are trying to do#The point is not that Sonic is secretly a bad guy or anything#the point is that we're already primed to assume that anything Sonic does is a good thing because he's a hero and protagonist of what is#considered a 'children's media'#And people who can see those moments in different games or properties times where Sonic isn't being so good as him actually not being so#good of a person are primed to explain it away as flaws of the writing or the genre at that time *because* Sonic's behavior is not said to#be bad or punished in those games#And become we're already primed to assume that Sonic is already the good guy who's making the best choices no matter what‚ it's supposed to#be shocking when the narrative takes a step back and gives a critique of this status quo by showing us the effects of it#But instead of having some sort of eye opening event or being willing to meet the narrative where it's at#99% of the people who post here got uncomfortable and just doubled down‚ saying that because these things are being pointed out and some of#Sonic's actions (that aren't even alien to the games)#are being framed in a not so good light‚ then it must not be purposeful. That it must be bad writing through and through and just bad#Sonic characterization#because for people who claim they want Sonic as a series to be deeper and more thought out they sure start to pearl clutch when they feel#like a property isn't being as shallow as the very same games they think kinda suck#anyways anyways sorry about the rant I'll get back to regularly scheduled posting after this#vent post
91 notes
·
View notes
Text
...
#and if killer dies itll be even more accura(i am hit by a train)#i don't want ANY of them to die but if it's gonna be anyone.....it's gotta be killer right#like narratively#idk i'll never claim to know what's going on in oda's head. i'm sure it'll make me miserable regardless <33#also the date for when they're “born” is just their first manga appearance i think#so if the year is wrong. nuh uh#eustass kid#eustass captain kidd#killer one piece#massacre soldier killer#kidkiller#kidkil#one piece
146 notes
·
View notes
Text
gEndaRmeriE!
#i'm taking the L on this one man i've spent an unacceptable amount of time on this mess#i'll claim it anyway#my art#disco elysium#a postcard?
158 notes
·
View notes
Text
How was to be in a gay relationship (klaine) on screen?
“It was fucking awesome man. I mean the main thing here, like not because I’m trying to be blasé about the obvious thing in this question because we are saying that this is a gay relationship, nowadays, we just call it a relationship on tv, but to contextualize it, a gay relationship on mainstream Fox Network, that’s a pretty cool thing to be a part of. I often equate my relationship to that whole experience to Slumdog Millionaire which is, if you are familiar with Slumdog Millionaire is a kid that gets ask a bunch of questions and he just so happens to have the experience to answer this very specific things, now being cisgender straight kid you go 'oh oh what? are you going to allow this guy to talk gay shit?', I’ve been so culturally queer my whole life, not because I’m trying you know, actually, I was gonna say not because I’m trying to be cool but I’m gonna erase that, is because I am trying to be cool. All the sh— in my life that I have tried to emulate, learn from and be inspired by are one hundred percent queer as f—. It was in queer communities that I’ve found people that I idolize, that I want to be, to learn something from. And I’d say that’s a gross generalization, that’s a lot of things and a lot of people. But I grew up in San Francisco in the ’90s. I watched men die. There was an awareness of the gay experience that was not a foreign concept to me. So, it was a narrative that I cared deeply about. I wasn’t like a f— saint or like 'I’m the man for the job', they hired me and they said, 'You’re the guy,' and I said, 'Okay, I’m the guy I will do my best, I will do my best to talk about it in the way I believe and a way that I’m passionate about'. So in many ways I’m glad that it was me because it was a thing that I really like showing up for and it meant a great deal to me that it meant a great deal to other people. Because when people say they were affected by that show or that relationship, it’s not because of me, it’s because of that relationship on a TV and the risks that people took to put that on TV and most important of all it took the people watching it to have the "aptitude" for seeing beyond what was maybe given to them in other avenues of culture. People of all ages, all spectrums of awareness say, 'I didn’t grow up with a show like that and it was a really meaningful thing for me to see,’ and I go ‘I didn’t grow up with a show like that’ and that would’ve been very meaningful for me too, you know?, regardless of the fact that I’m a straight kid. That has value. For anyone who’s been an underdog, we all know, in any shape or form — sexual, religious, biological, whatever — it has value because there’s going to be a lot of people who see that and go, 'Okay, I can now understand this in a context that maybe I wasn’t able to before'. So short story long, what was it like? It was a fucking privilege and I love talking about it and I’m so grateful I got to do it." - Darren Criss at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo Q&A | April 27th, 2024
#i'm in a fucking rage rn#a transcript of what darren said at the c2e2#because y’all fucking suck for being stupid and only reading all those clickbait headlines with words out of context#and jumping to conclusions#instead of listening to what he ACTUALLY SAID#stop twisting his words#stop blowing things out of context#all that makes perfect sense#his whole worldview has been shaped by queer culture#so yes he IS culturally queer#and he fucking embraces it#he is grateful for that#and shows himself as an ally#what’s wrong with that?!?!?#he isn't taking advantage of the community#and he didn't make claims about his sexuality#so back off#and as a member of the community i'll tell u#that if something as simple as him painting his nails with bright colors#or him being comfortable surrounding himself of queer culture offends you#thats a fucking you problem#hope that one day we will stop going after the only few cis straight guys that are actually really trying to be good allies#and embrace our community and culture like this man does#⋯⋯⋯⋯#chicago comic & entertainment expo#c2e2#darren criss
107 notes
·
View notes
Text
A little clarification on how Neuvillette addresses Furina in her story quest—in English it's rendered as "Miss Furina," and shortly after "Lady Furina," implying he uses a different honorific each time.
However, in both these lines Neuvillette actually uses 女士/nǚshì, the same way he has always addressed Furina in the past, barring the instances where he only uses her name, which he only does in private and generally not to her face.
When Furina asks the NPCs in the quest to stop calling her "Lady Furina," they switch from 大人/dàrén to calling her 女士/nǚshì/Miss Furina. Previously Neuvillette was the only character who called her that. When he did, it was always rendered in English as "Lady Furina," the same as the other more reverent honorific.
So no actual change between them in this regard, just the translation team finding themselves in a bit of a bind over how to translate it going forward where the two are concerned!
#furina#neuvillette#genshin impact#neuvifuri#focallette#this isn't really meant as a ship post unlike my usual fare but since it's of interest i shall tag anyways. anyone is welcome to enjoy.#you really gotta check the chinese to parse exactly how furina is addressed cos idt any of the other languages catch all the nuances of it#ex. japanese has both neuvillette and the knave calling furina 'dono' when the knave uses a different term from nv in chinese (xiaojie)#i dont claim to speak the language nor fully understand the implications of each honorific but even just knowing where there's a difference#is very enlightening. one of these days i'll finish up the draft i have compiling how each character addresses furina#i haven't checked the act v dialogue to see how neuvillette addresses furina there btw. all in good time.#genshin impact spoilers#furina story quest spoilers
239 notes
·
View notes
Text
Even in our post-season 2 fandom out of all the teens I see the least content centered on Link WHICH IS SO FREAKING UNFORTUNATE. Why are people so blind... THE POTENTIAL FOR HIM IS RIGHT THEREE /lh
His whole arc is him excepting the fact that he's broken and so is everyone dear to him. His entire development is him forcefully maturing, losing interest in the whimsy of everyday things and starting to non-chalant-ly react to the obstacles life throws at him. He doesn't just magically "get better" in the finale, the only glimpse we see of a healed Link is in the epilogue. But he definitely had to go on his own journey of self rediscovery before fully adulting and that is just calling to be explored so loudly... Also the fact that he became a father IS SO IMPORTANT TO ME TOO. LIKE HOW WOULD HE PARENT IN WHAT ENVIRONMENT WOULD HE RAISE JERRY ECT ECT WHY ARE THESE CONCEPTS SO SLEPT ON COME ON
just saying... I need more Link angst and general headcanons on my dash thank you for coming to my ted talk
#If nobody will feed me then fine I'll do it myself#I'm so tired but Lincoln makes me so ill it's unreal... Hard agree with the people who claim that he's one of the best written PCs#HE'S JUST. AUGH. DOOMED IN A VERY PARTICULAR WAY THAT JUST GETS ME#dungeons and daddies#dndads#dndaddies#dungeons and daddies podcast#dndads s2#dndads season 2#dndads quest#dndads legacy#lincoln li wilson#hon rambles lol
49 notes
·
View notes
Text
LANDOOOO!?!?!?!?!?!??!
#just one bite#i need#please#he'd look so pretty :c#all marked up and claimed :c#i'll see myself out now#fratboy lando 🔛🔝#lando norris#formula 1#formula one#f1
202 notes
·
View notes
Text
youtube
This one I'm a bit anxious to put up, especially since it's going into more of a commentary/rant style but, made a video briefly talking about how much I love Transformers One and how I absolutely hate how the studios marketed the film!
(Go watch Transformers One if you haven't fr it's really good)
EDIT: Had to reupload the video! here's the link to the new one that hopefully doesn't get taken down. I will reblog this post also with the new link and edit!
#my post#my video#maccadam#transformers#transformers one#transformers: one#tf one#praying this video does not get taken down i was fighting for my life out here lol#english captioning is available btw!#(if it does get blocked then I'll make an edit to this post fr)#Youtube#edit 11/11: hate the claiming system for reallll
24 notes
·
View notes
Text
Fluent Freshman - Part 37
PREV
Laughs might be an understatement.
Falls into hysterics might be the better way to phrase it.
It’s all so ridiculous.
He’d been scared to lose them and yet here they all were. Running around in Abby’s backyard, making a huge fuss about something stupid, talking about killing Daniel, arguing about his diet, and watching him with growing concern as he continues to laugh.
“See! This is because you gave him the damn milkshake!” Kevin exclaims turning to Aaron throwing a hand off.
FF laughs harder.
“How the fuck is Smiths having a mental breakdown about a milkshake?! He’s probably freaking out about that asshole and the fact that you want to let him make it to try-outs!” Aaron shouts back.
“He could be great!” Kevin defends.
“Man, is it worth him being great if Smithster is like this?” Matt asks.
“Well, we just keep him away from Smiths.” Kevin crosses his arms defensively. “Andrew can do it like how he kept Riko away from me.” Kevin points at Andrew.
“Riko was on a different team.” Captain Neil reminds coming up to look at FF in concern as he continued to laugh.
“He was prepared to keep you away from me and we were on the same team.” Kevin argues again.
“I don’t think Andrew is going to make out on the roof with Daniel.” Nicky says with an awkward laugh apparently recovering from Gran’s stated new favorite. Andrew and Captain Neil made faces, “Yeah, he’s not as cute as Neil.” Nicky agrees before settling at FF’s side, “Hey buddy, what’s going on? Do you wanna lay down?” he asks like FF is a toddler who is over tired.
He is pretty tired.
“Nicky he’s having a mental breakdown he’s not a toddler who needs a nap.” Aaron says.
“Well, what do you want to do Mr. Future Doctor?!” Nicky asks panicked.
FF really should stop laughing.
“I don’t study…” Aaron makes a face, “psychology.”
“Literally your only redeeming quality.” Captain Neil interjects but looks chagrined as FF wheezes.
“Shut up.” Aaron spits at him before turning to Andrew, “You’re the one who spends all that time with Dobson. Do you have any idea on how to fix him?” Aaron asks.
Andrew looks at him and FF is a little worried that he might split something in his stomach if he can’t stop laughing soon but he feels like his muscles are stuck in an almost loop that he can’t get his diaphragm out of.
Andrew walks over, “Percussive therapy.” He says and smacks FF hard on the back twice.
“Andrew!” came four different shouts.
FF coughs and it releases him from his hysterical laughing hell.
“Thanks.” He says and his stomach hurts the way it would after an especially hard work out.
“Anytime.” Andrew shrugs and moves back to stand by Captain Neil.
“Smithy? You with us buddy?” Nicky asks concerned and when FF looks around, he realizes it is well and truly the next day and well into the next day at that he must have been on auto-pilot for a while.
“Yeah,” he says and his face aches as bad as his stomach from the strain of using muscles he doesn’t normally. He coughs again, “Sorry about that.” He apologizes.
“Nah man, it’s cool.” Matt assures, “Are you okay? That was uh…a concerning amount of laughter.” He says gently.
“Yeah.” FF says, “I’m fine.” He looks at them and still doesn’t get why they all look at Captain Neil whenever he says it and why Captain Neil always looks especially pained. He decides to move along, “So, Daniel is going to try out.” FF says.
“Yes.” Kevin says at the same time the rest of his friends say “No.”
“Kevin, seriously?” Captain Neil asks.
“We need options.” Kevin shrugs before turning to FF, “Is he any good?” he asks.
“He’s obviously not as good as Smithy!” Nicky exclaims arms around FF in an instant. “Smithy got the offer, and he didn’t.” Nicky adds.
“I didn’t ask if he was better than Smiths, I asked if he was any good!” Kevin bristles.
FF shrugs, “Daniel has always been athletic.” He says thinking about the trophies that lined the halls of their home in Washington.
“The University didn’t listen to Neil and he’s Athletic. He’s going to try-out.” Kevin says.
“Not if I can help it.” Captain Neil grumbles under his breath.
“Neil, bud, you’re scaring me.” Matt says.
“I don’t need a car to kneecap him.” Andrew says with a shrug, “Smith if you don’t want him on the team then-“
“I don’t really care.” FF interrupts Andrew and the goalkeeper blinks in surprise.
“You don’t…care?” Aaron asks.
“Not anymore. Not really.” He says.
Nicky and Aaron were so worried that Andrew would murder Daniel for him that they hid the terrifying goalkeeper’s Maserati. Kevin and Matt spent the afternoon trying to make Kevin’s smoothies taste a little less terrible. Andrew is thinking about kneecapping Daniel and Captain Neil argued in front of people for his sake.
He has friends and they’re some of the most stubborn people on the planet. Once they make up their mind about someone it’s hard for them to change. They don’t care that he’s a mess of anxiety or that he’s got things he doesn’t want to talk about.
He’s got people on his contact list who would text and call him if he disappeared. More than just his grandma.
What does he really have to worry about?
The night and day of processing everything starts to catch up with him. “I’m kind of tired. I think I’m going to go to bed.” He says feeling like the weight from the night before was truly off of his chest and eager to catch some sleep.
“Drink this first.” Kevin says and FF can hear a slight concern for him but he’s not sure why.
He takes the drink.
“The flavors a little better.” Matt says and FF slams the entire drink as he’s learned to do with Kevin’s smoothies, and it really does taste better.
“Thank you.” He says.
“I’ll take that.” Nicky takes the glass from his hand. “How about we cuddle again tonight?” Nicky asks.
FF thinks that’d be nice but also thinks that Nicky moved a bit too much in his sleep.
“I’ll be okay tonight. Thanks.” he looks back at his friends, “Night guys.” He says and heads inside where Gran and Abby were enjoying some tea.
His Gran kisses his cheek, she’ll be leaving after Monday and FF will miss her like he would miss an arm but she has a bowling league to get back to, a knitting club to run, and she misses the Pacific North West. “I’m going to take you somewhere tomorrow.” She says to him in Polish.
“Ok Gran.” He says back in the same language before kissing her cheek right back. He hears Abby make a touched sound and then a commotion outside and his lips twitch in an attempt to smile, “I’m glad I came here.” He says.
She smiles back, “Me too.” She agrees.
***
“Great, Smithy is depressed.” Nicky hisses looking at Kevin, “Why the fuck would you give him one of your god awful smoothies when he’s already depressed?!” he demands.
“Physical health and mental health are heavily correlated. If his physical health improves-“
“Shut up.” Five voices chorus together as one.
“I’m not wrong.” Kevin grumbles.
Neil looks at Andrew, “We’ll watch his back.”
Andrew nods and when he looks to the rest of their group.
They will.
“Now tell me where the fuck you hid my car.” Andrew turns to Nicky.
“I have zero faith that you won’t run him over.” Nicky returns, “Can’t watch Smithy’s back in jail.” He points out.
“To be fair, his back wouldn’t need to be watched if Andrew ran Daniel over.” Neil argues.
“Neil.”
“I’m just saying.”
***
There had been late night dorm discussions about shifts, what to do if they saw Daniel, and Andrew threatening a few more times that he’d call the cops until Aaron called his bluff.
“You would never call a cop to help you.” Aaron argues.
“Bee said it’s the sign of a narcissist if they use what they learn in group therapy against you.” Andrew crossed his arms and looked away.
So they walked back to Abby’s house that morning but… maybe they should have made it clear to FF that they were planning on watching out for him that weekend.
"He left?" Neil asks.
"With his grandma. She was writing to me last night. She got in contact with an old family friend, Smith's godfather. She wanted to cheer him up." Abby says leaning against her door frame with her coffee mug in her hand.
"She's good." Matt says appreciatively.
"Any word on when they'll get back?" Nicky asks.
"More than likely before the end of the day but otherwise? They didn't say. Smith's face did that thing it does when he's happy though so I don't think you have to worry. He's in good hands." she says.
In the end they have different people loitering around Abby's but FF doesn't get back until after they are all back in the dorm.
So none of them quite knew what to expect when they came to Abby's house and found a motorcycle in her driveway. "Wow, that's a nicely maintained bike." Matt comments looking the bike over with an appreciative eye.
"Thanks." came from the door and when they looked up they see FF standing with a leather jacket on and a helmet in hand. "My uh..." he hesitates, "uncle Theo," he says the title likes it's unfamiliar to him, "kept it. It was my dad's and yesterday he signed it over to me." he explains.
"Do you know how danger-" Kevin starts but Nicky's hand slaps over his mouth before he can finish any reprimand.
"Smithy that's so cool! Are you going to get your license?" Nicky asks.
"Oh, I already have my motorcycle license." he explains, "Since I don't like cars." he adds and his face does that thing again that means he's happy, as if talking about his phobia makes him feel better. "I would ride Gran's motorcycle to school a lot." he explains.
The conversation continues as Aaron, Matt, and even Andrew inspected the Motocycle approvingly. Neil was the only one who had ever ridden one aside from FF and he'd always been more interested in ones that were easy to steal than good ones like the one FF had gotten.
FF goes on a solo drive on his new motorcycle and they keep an eye on him when he's back safe.
Eventually, it's try-outs.
***
"You're sure you want to watch?" Captain Neil asks for the 3rd time since FF had stated the night before over dinner that he intended to come to practice to watch the try-out.
"Yeah Captain Neil." FF answers dutifully.
"You really don't have to come." Captain Neil implores again as they continue towards the Court.
"I want to." FF offers a half smile to Captain Neil. It'd be better to know what he's dealing with. He may have decided that he doesn't really care about the fact that Daniel is here since he has faith in his friends but he also would probably die if he sat around waiting for the news.
So he gets to the Court and Kevin hands him a new shake. "This one actually tastes almost good." Matt says with a smile. He takes the same seat next to Coach Wymack he'd taken over the last couple weeks as the team changed out.
Daniel was there bright and early already kitted out. He sees Daniel see him but Coach Wymack stepped between them when Daniel starts to move towards them, "Keep going with your warm-up Stanton." Coach Wymack orders.
Daniel gives Coach Wymack a pleading look but he must not see what he wants on Wymack's face because he scowls at Wymack and FF before he returns to stretching.
FF takes a sip of his smoothie.
He doesn't know if the smoothie is actually good, if his mouth tastes like ash, or his tastebuds are so obliterated from having drank all the previous smoothies that he can no longer understand what tastes good or bad anymore.
There's someone in the stands. "University sent someone to make sure the try-out is fair." Coach Wymack explains as he settles on the bench next to FF.
Eventually the rest of the Foxes are out, "We have a potential new recruit with us this morning. He will be trying out for the position that Lisa left open." Wymack explains and FF is shocked to see almost the entire team glowering at Daniel. (His upperclassmen friends he had expected, but Jack, Sheena, and his old roommates seem unamused by Daniel's presence).
Wymack gives the practice to Captain Neil to run.
FF sits back and watches the practice unfold.
He sips his drink.
Huh.
"Christ," he hears Coach Wymack mutter under his breath. "What kind of confidence did that kid have to argue for this try-out playing like that?" Coach Wymack asks in stunned awe as he turned to him, "Did he even ever play Exy before?" he asks.
FF sips his drink.
"I said he was athletic." he says and had figured that would have carried Daniel through. He figured if he didn't know the rules and could play at a Division 1 Collegiate level well then it's not like Daniel had zero chance.
Coach Wymack groans, "Kevin is going to kill that kid." he says and it is amazing how poorly Daniel is doing at the precision passing drill.
FF blinks in surprise before he turns his attention to the player standing still watching over the drill.
FF can feel the fury radiating off of Kevin Day.
Huh.
MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU
NEXT
#Fluent Freshman AU#AFTG#AFTG AU#AFTG OC#It's#about#to#go#down#Kevin day is pissed#Lol that ask from a while back got it XD#Daniel might be athletic#but he doesn't know how the fuck to play#Just sorta figured that if Smith could do it so could he#BTW#Smith's middle name is Theodore#After his god father who he visited to get that motorcycle#Theodore was his dad's bff who left after Smith's mom started claiming he tried to kill the fam#I'll probably write an actual whole scene about him getting the motorcycle in the final draft#There's a lot more to flesh out in this one#but that's the fun of the drafts lol#FF - 37#Andreil
274 notes
·
View notes
Text
Melotober - Day 31 - Spoopy
Happy LATE Halloween!
[ reminder that this blog follows a 'rf2 Kyle is rf1 Lynette's son' headcanon♥ ]
#Melotober#I will NEVER be over the Halloween Graff Arts. If I ever claim to be kill the imposter immediately#Rune Factory#Rune Factory 2#RF#RF2#Rune Factory Lynette#RF Lynette#RF Kyle#FINISHED. A day late as I give out candy on Halloween but Yesterday was SUCH a good afternoon!! So many good costumes!!#And REALLY polite kids coming to the door too!#I even had my drawing tablet outside on the table with me and some kiddos got to see me starting these lines!#Kudos to the 3 who were SUPER curious who earned themselves extra candy#I'll take 'Prompts Margot's had in her notes since last year' for 1000#You can't tell me that Lynette hasn't discovered Roman Candles of a small size that fit inside the fake flintlock#or just a small sparkling firework. Something stupid bright#but YES I will never be over the Graff art. I love all of the. Am SO happy i have my entire silly HC family in the Halloween style#and I survived!! Finished!! Even if two days got delayed I got through!#Have a good night all!! I'm going to take a few days-a week and throw myself into the Red Dead Redemption [1] PC release to decompress#let's go from one eyepatch wearing reformed antagonist to another- because I clearly have a type#Margot's RF Art#Rune Factory Kyle
22 notes
·
View notes
Text
*leans against bar* What's a pretty riff like you doing in a song like this?
#sorry this was a terrible joke. i'll b cing myself out of d door. e ven though i thiught it was f-ing hilarious#it fell kinda flat. i guess i wasn't as sharp as i thought#it was a major flop and a minor catastrophe#i have not found the key to telling good jokes yet.#one could say i am in a little treble. an it would not be a bassless claim#it's only one step away from the truth.#it's about time i stopped making like. 3/4 of these jokes. maybe closer to 7/8. 4/4 people agree#i'll make a note of this
34 notes
·
View notes