#in love w the first panel... those COLORS <3 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

m1ckeyb3rry · 6 months ago

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I laughed so hard you did Lorenzo so dirty (facts though LMAO) hideous dog LMAOOOO I get it for sure though like ugly cute (heavy on the ugly) I really only enjoy seeing him when he interacts with Barou I truly cannot appreciate that man’s features

So real someone come save chigiri and the fact that those three say that all in the same match is WILD like can the crowd hear them talking at all when they’re broadcasted?? I’d hope not LMAO

Barcha being a two man team will never fail to make me laugh but they clearly did not get a lot of plot armor AHDGJS

Speaking of legs that reminds me of epinagi Nagi’s thighs after Zantetsu first hits him in the face like??? I need me a Barou though I want those scary dog privileges

Miratoya for life guys >>> I remember some people hoping they’d have the same va too (or Aiku and Nanami lol) but the va they chose def gives me the same vibe as Toji like…

Ok that’s why im torn LOL like the Shidou lines are so iconic but on the other hand if some of my friends try to connect the dots I gotta be ready to defend myself like I swear it’s not that deep it’s just soccer pls ignore whatever comes out of this character’s mouth

LMAOO hypebro shidou always ready to cheer you on I have no idea how Loki manages them though HAHAHA

NAH FR!! I think the generally decide characters for LN based off popularity….approximately anyways because I’m pretty certain Karasu is generally more popular than Yuki on the JP side (mainly due to shipping but I digress) but according to that sort of trend I’m praying….I definitely would not be opposed to a Nanase one either though!! Tbh I think he’s so cute and I love him too it’s just we barely see him so I don’t have much to go off of (besides him being real estate to Rin) I’d like to know how Shidou spawned into the world though LOLL

MARRIAGE FR HAHAHA like give me your hand in marriage please I’ll give you kombucha!!!! Man lied straight to our faces like the way he managed to find a Yankee’s (I think that’s the term they use) house too??? Like the odds that he didn’t stumble upon some average household too but fr like the man definitely has his own savings account and stocks portfolio like there’s no way (STOPP NO NOT THE FINANCE BRO that lowk slipped my mind but that reminds me of that tiktok audio that’s like “im looking for a man in finance” LMAOO)

Bro that panel is in like my top 10 Karasu panels LMAOAOA when he’s surveying the field and Isagi’s like lol you’re leaving yourself open dumbass and then Karasu whips out his arms shshshshs he’s so gorgeous <3(yeah he kinda looks like a penguin here now that you mention it but it’s ok pretty on brand if you ask me) always appreciate a good Karasu panel though so thank you for your service hehe

Also wait I forgot to bring this up but when I first saw the like official character design references (?? Like the visuals they release on the official website that have them looking like they’re getting their mugshots taken) I was thrown so far back by the jersey colors LMAOAOA I think it looks a lot more muted in the color pages of the manga and also (like the one in your header) shidou and rin take up so much space that you can’t see the details but Karasu and Otoya look like candy canes LMFAOOO and also Yuki/Nagi’s?? I usually like blue but something about it looks so off to me HAHAHA (also their faces but wtv ig)

-Karasu anon

this dog is how i see lorenzo LMAOAAO…but i should refrain from insulting him too much because if he ends up the way otoya did i’m going to scream!! i agree though i feel like he’s really fun w barou and honestly helps him loosen up a bit (even though barou and aiku will always be my fav random ubers friendship)

i feel like the crowd probably can’t hear them just because they’re not shouting or anything and they don’t have mics!! realistically it’s like how irl we don’t hear the players shit talking each other in soccer games but that doesn’t mean it happens yk?? regardless though there was…quite a lot being said during the u20 match LMAOAOA i need karasu and shidou to start saying unhinged stuff again!! like let’s spice up pxg vs bm a bit w some random nonsense from those too 😭 although ig rin has got it covered this time

HELP i had to go back and look and omg??? nagi’s whole build is crazy to me because even before soccer he was so jacked but he literally did nothing all day?? i need that kinda metabolism fr

MIRATOYA CANON 😜 except he’s abt to get a taste of his own medicine when i cheat on him w his best friend 😦 LMAOAO i agree though aiku’s current va has very toji vibes!! he delivered exactly what i expected from aiku

shidou is just shidou the more you think abt it the worse it gets 😩 omg loki is fr a saint like i know he’s being selfish and doesn’t care abt the team as long as charles develops but honestly i have to commend him for keeping his sanity while coaching that crazy blend of characters like i can’t even blame him 😭

nanase was just the only character i could think of that hadn’t gotten a ln besides tabieita and shidou that was also in bllk since it seems like they’ve only done bllk players so far?? but maybe now that aiku is in bllk and he was mentioned in barou’s ln we’ll get one on him. agreed though i’d rather see one for shidou!! was he born like this or did he experience smth that changed his life into whatever it is now?? apparently he didn’t play club soccer pre-bllk so how did he even get scouted??? he’s such a mystery LMAO

FRR he managed to find some bigass mansion and everything 😭 honestly i can’t even blame him if some random kid i barely knew tried to follow me home i would also take the opportunity to mess w him because what 😟 HAHA he truly is a man in finance unfortunately…he was even telling hiori he plays like city planning and stock management simulator video games?? karasu please…let me teach you about mario kart and super smash bros…please…

I LOVE THAT PANEL my fav is def the one in epinagi where he’s introduced and he calls kiyora and nagi dunces hold on let me find it

he just looks so smug and karasu-like in this??? LMAO idk he’s so handsome i love this panel sm

THOSE CHARACTER DESIGNS ARE SO SILLY HAHAHA did you see sae’s neon cleats?? 😰 i think they always look a little odd w the white background though…hopefully it’s a bit more muted in the anime!! it seems like they’re going for a darker color pallet this season (based on the trailer) so i am keeping my fingers crossed 🤞🏻

#answered asks

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maridotnet-art-process · 2 years ago

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a little page about how I’m doing my current comic!

1. and 2. are interchangeable, but I have a little list of the scenes I currently have planned, and what happens in them. After finishing one page and posting it, I do step 1, which is lie in bed that night figuring out the formatting and what the next page will look like, so it’s locked and loaded and ready to draw the next day.

2.5 is if I suddenly have a brain wave while out n about of how to configure something I was struggling w and want to write it down before I forget.

3. This is where I put down the basic shapes. For B&theB, I’m using the title card for exposition, the main body of the page for the events and playing out of last ep’s setup, and then the last panel for a cliffhanger/setup to more drama. This planning happens in step one, because I don’t want to start drawing until I know what i’m gonna draw because i HATE having to erase stuff or redraw it >:/ especially because I’m using a Real Graphite Pencil for this so I can erase more completely, BUT it gets so smudgy and gross so fast.

4. Go in w my two pens. I have a big one and a small one, so I do the big lines first and then the smaller lines and details. This part’s the best, i LOVE getting those crisp lines down. it also has the greatest potential for frustration, if i make a mistake, but part of my goal with making this comic is learning how to leave my mistakes in the dust and NOT CARE (@nelwritesnovels experienced my self-pep-talk monologues and cries of frustration when I mislaid some lines in ep 4)

5. Color! I also add shadow with my black colored pencil at this point (shading in black feels so unnatural after so long of purple and blue...but it’s what we have to work with until the plot introduces more colors ¯\_(ツ)_/¯), and more ink if I want to amp up the drama.

6. find the good even lighting (very difficult if i finish after sundown), take a picture, edit it in LineCamera, and post!

7. struggle with links

8. haunt my blog waiting for someone to give me attention for my efforts :DDDD (that part is one of my favorites)

9. go to bed and think about the next page

#mari.net art process #comics #comic planning #comic process #viv talks #i will not be uploading a new page today!#i have a big project i'm trying to finish for one of my Real Jobs #enjoy the little 3 panel of the wilting rose though i think it's kinda cute :3

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sandradoodles · 2 years ago

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Hi! i just started reading your confessions comic and i am OBSESSED!! and i didnt want to spam you by rbing all of your posts so i am going to write my Thoughts here :3

First of all i just wanted to say how much youve improved over the course of making this comic!! the lineart is so much Smoother and neater, the shading is so PRETTY, i love how youve done the backgrounds, whether you actually draw them or put flowers or something else behind the characters, and the layout looks so much more proffesional and puts the focus on the right things!! ALSO your anatomy has improved sm and i love all the wild expressions!!

Also i LOVE the teal colouring with pink accents, its such a pretty combo and its kinda like your trademark now!!

And obviously the whole story is so GOOD. i love how you cranked up the Idiot Meter to 1000000 bc YEAH theyre IDIOTS!! I loved the whole Clownbug part with ladybug discovering chats in love with marinette and being ANGRY abt it, its one of my favourite flavours of love square, and pt 6 of the comic was also SO entertaining!! miscommunication my beloved <3

I also love the first panel of pt nine, its just so pretty!! and ofc the shenanigans with the design contest, it feels v realistic and you absolutely NAILED mari's character!!

And the bee miraculous akuma is GORGEOUS!! it looks v menacing but also rlly cool and i would KILL to see the full design

i also love the way you showed marinettes progress with the jacket!! the montage of them bonding and working on the jacket is so cool <3 (and the shoulder gag is rlly funny lksdjhghjkgfdkjh)

FINALLY the jacket itself is just. BEAUTIFUL. the design on the back is absolutely stunning, and i love how you incorporated the miracle box and roses (did mari draw inspiration from chat? 👀👀) and the pink inside is so cute!! and the paw mark w marinette's signature!! (also i see you have a weakness for bomber jackets and you are RIGHT they ARE the pinnacle of fashion)

and buttercup reveal my beloved!! the blush!! the awkwardness!! the wild expressions and gestures!! i LOVE IT!!

also, i love all the small details!! like how you shaded marinettes palms as hearts, its so cute! <3

Anyways im just REALLY exited to see where youre going with this comic!! <3

omg omg omg okay I woke up to this, immediately read it FIVE TIMES IN A ROW, and have spent all day trying to figure out how to reply to so many lovely compliments 😭😭😭

THANK YOU SO MUCH OBVIOUSLY it means the world that you read every part and then took the time to type this up! This comic is such a labor of love for me and I'm always trying to work in a lot of fun and cute little details/moments so when people notice and point out those things it makes my heart SWELL WITH JOY. (If you like the hearts on her palms, part ten has some hidden hearts as well heehee)

When I started this my only goals were to scratch my lovesquare itch and get comfortable drawing again after being out of the habit for years. I had, idk maybe ten followers and did not expect anyone to read it or that I would actually manage to draw more than five parts or so AND NOW HERE WE ARE lol. I am so happy that you can see an improvement in the art, not just in how the characters are drawn but stuff like backgrounds and the visual storytelling as well. I hope to get better and better with each part!

Reading your comments about the characterization makes me wanna screech with happiness because I LOVE. THESE. IDIOTS. SO MUCH it is ridiculous!! RIDICULOUS! And as much as I adore leaning into them being incredibly stupid, it is important to me to show how much tenderness lies at the heart of their interactions. They are so, so stupid because they’re so, so sweet. Confessions is very much “journey over destination” because I just want to indulge in as much insanity, humor, awkwardness, confusion, affection, devotion, and partnership I can manage to tease out of their relationship in one story.

The color palette btw was a complete and total happy accident! Sometimes a thing works because you put lots of thought and effort into it, and sometimes a thing works because you fell on it. The color palette is an example of the latter but THE JACKET is an example of the former, haha. The amount of time it took to develop not just the meaning of it but literally the physical design (gotta look like something Marinette might actually make, gotta be something that I can draw a bunch of times, gotta be something that [spoilers redacted], gotta be something that fits over Chat’s shoulders, gotta be something that actually looks good, omg.) I have a whole post about it already but still more to say because I always have more to say! this is so much rambling I’m sorry

One of the big challenges I’ve had in trying to make a comic is figuring out how to balance what to say, what to show, and what to imply. The jacket is first and foremost exactly how Marinette presents it, a means to hopefully reach Adrien and deliver the card from his classmates. The specifics behind the design are more implied. Marinette pours a week of blood sweat and tears into creating this jacket, and as far as Chat Noir sees, she is single-mindedly focused on that task. But we all know she’s ALSO carrying the responsibilities and concerns of being Ladybug. Losing the Miraculous is obviously like... the biggest thing, a terrible and invisible weight that she carries alone!

Except not, because Chat Noir is there. He’s there for Ladybug, he’s there for Marinette, he’s a constant presence in her life and his support allows her to move beyond the shame and horror of losing the Miraculous. Marinette embroiders the symbols of the stolen Miraculous centered around the ladybug and surrounded by irises (sorry they aren’t roses!), and it looks like a topical show of support for her local superheroes; Ladybug embroiders the symbols of the stolen Miraculous centered on the ladybug and surrounded by irises and it’s a promise to her city that she’s going to get them back. (That she stitches the symbol of the cat in the left-hand side of the lining so that it zips over the wearer’s heart might mean something too but that was... more subconscious.)

ANYWAYYYYYYYYYYY I hope that my long-winded rambling comes across appropriately as a sign of JUST HOW THRILLED I am to have received this beautiful thoughtful ask. Hopefully the behind the scenes talk was fun to read haha. I am so honored and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!!

#sandra talks #confessions rambling #ask #bugaboooooooooo #someday I might actually finish designing the bee akuma #dsjaklf;#NO PROMISES BUT IT MIGHT HAPPEN

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kitsunekisara · 2 years ago

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A sort of continuation of these doodles.

I’m happy that i finally got around to put that dumb mini joke on paper that i had on my mind since way back when i originally made Kai and Coralia (top and middle right doodles).

Besides some much needed fluff and little blips of what the little beans are up to, we have Coralia meeting some old friends of her mom ;)

Close Ups with some added thoughts are under the cut.

Ocean on Fire by @theninjamouse

Kai, Coralia and Bubba by me

I imagine the babys going absolutely ham the first time they saw their mom taking a bubble bath, because which little one wasn’t absolutely gobsmacked by those colorful flying bubbles that turn into fluffy sizzling mountains?

Anyways these two love taking bubble baths every now and again.

The dumb ‘joke’ that’s been flying around my head for over 2-3 years now > >’

First panel: (sword) “borrowed” from auntie Undyne (bullies who) made Kai cry

Second panel: Coralia: Aunties Unnie and Alphys said to use my swords. Grillby: ... Undyne: Heck yeah!!! Woop their butts! Alphys: Words, i said w-words not swords.

Just a soft family moment.

Don’t know where this is but i imagine Grillby and/or Shore at some point collecting all the soft things and building some kind of (cuddle) nest with some fairy lights and maybe a canopy above? Maybe it’s on top of Grillby’s bar so they could go stargazing or just relax? But in any way i think it will be used even more often after the little guppys are around. Either as a way to end a long day or to hide themselves inbetween the mountains of pillows.

Crabs. Do i need to say more?

Merkitties *chants*

#oof #oof au #mer!shore #oof shore #oof grillby #oof undyne #oof alphys #oof kai #oof coralia #oof bubba #bubba the puppy shark #merkitty #star crafts #theninjamouse

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we-are-inevitable · 4 years ago

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thinking bout the newsies all following each other’s spotify’s and jack listens to everyone’s playlists one by one with undivided attention and draws pictures of whatever the individual playlists make him Feel and then he gifts them to whoever’s playlist he listened to

PLEASE HE SO WOULD,,

this is so cute i am SOBBING

he has a few playlists that he frequents, but he follows each playlist- and new playlists, for those who won’t stop making playlists

also i feel like for birthdays he likes making people playlists ?? so he’ll follow everyone’s normal lists, but make them new ones with songs they don’t have added

he always feels really happy whenever he notices that people add his suggestions to their normal playlists!!

OKAY NOW ONTO THE ART STUFF

he has three paintings that are like,, his all time faves, and each of them was inspired by a playlist from one of the newsies.

first painting:

A silhouette of two female-presenting figures sit at a window. The foreground is black; shadowed shapes appear to make up the setting of a bedroom. The figure on the right is reaching out of an open window, and outside is a burst of color. A meadow, filled to the brim with flowers. The placement of the flowers and the grass show that a gust of wind is moving left to right. The sky is full of oranges and pinks and purples, showcasing the beauty of a small town sunset. The girls in the painting are embraced. one with straight hair and one with curled hair, and on the window sill are folded hands. No detail is shown in the silhouette, but a two bracelet charms are visible on the hand reaching out; an ‘S’ and a ‘K’.

On the back of the canvas is a message written in sharpie along one of the wooden panels.

inspired by: “cottagecore lesbianism” (kath’s playlist, may 2020)

second painting:

In the middle of the painting stands a tall man in a denim jacket, black jeans, and converse, with a leather messenger bag crossed over his torso. His hair is dark and tousled. As he stands perfectly still, passerbyers- all colorful, all blurred- pass in front of him. He’s standing in front of a shelf of meticulously placed books in the Center for Fiction in downtown Brooklyn. In his hand, which is hung loosely at his side, is a bright blue book. The back of his denim jacket has patches and paintings on it; on his shoulder is “D.J.”, on his back is a hand holding a skull with a crown (a Hamlet reference), and the rest of the patches and pins are too small to be detailed. A painted gay pride flag takes it’s spot at the top, right below the collar of his jacket.

On the back of the canvas is a message written in sharpie along one of the wooden panels.

inspired by: “the next great Y/A author” (davey’s playlist <3, oct. 2020)

third painting:

A headshot of a boy with messy blonde curls and blue eyes. His head is slightly tilted back, and the bottom half of his face is covered by a mask; plain and black. The painting uses a three-quarter view; one ear is visible, and decked out in gorgeous golden earrings. One lobe, one upper lobe, one industrial, and two helix piercings. One of the helix piercings connects to a chain attached to the upper lobe piercing. The boy is shirtless, but nothing below his chest is showing. He has freckles and a golden chain with an “A” attached around his throat. Atop his head is a golden crown with sapphire jewels painted on it. The background is a solid light pink.

On the back of the canvas is a message written in sharpie along one of the wooden panels.

inspired by: “god complex” (racer’s playlist, jan. 2021)

kath, davey, and race all have the canvases, but jack uses these paintings in his art school portfolio as well !!

he just REALLY likes getting his inspiration from his friends !! he loves them bunches !!!

also shout out for @tarantulas4davey for helping me w/ race’s playlist idea!!!!

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bluesky-thewebcomic · 4 years ago

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Final thoughts from Elvenwhovian

So here we are at the end. The last panel. There were a lot of times that I thought I wouldn’t make it to this point. It’s been an incredible and long journey, and finishing a project like this is satisfying beyond words. I know that many of you were not here from the start, so I just wanted to share the story of how this 930 panel monster of a project came to be and thank a few people who helped along the way.

Really it all started in March of 2014. My roommate had taken a trip to New Zealand to visit family and I was having a pity party at home alone (It’s always been a dream of mine to go to New Zealand). I was window shopping online on Thinkgeek (RIP Thinkgeek) and I was seeing all this merch for a game called Portal. This led me to Steam, which led to finishing the first Portal in about a day, then Portal2 in about 2 weeks.

Of course this led me to begin looking up fan art which led me to discover the fanfiction “Blue Sky”. I read the whole thing in about 4 days. I was so engrossed in the story, I ate, slept, went to work, and read Blue Sky and nothing else. I vividly remember sitting at my kitchen table, ipad in hand, as I read the last lines of the story. I sat back, let out a long breath and said, “Wow. That was one of the best stories I’ve ever read.”

The fan art came next. Being relatively new to tumblr, I was used to getting 3-6 notes on a post. Suddenly, people were coming out of the woodwork liking and reblogging. My mind was blown and it made me want to make more fan art. Then I met @starry-nightengale who became one of my best friends on this site. We fangirled over “Blue Sky” and Portal over the next year which led to us co-writing “The Trial of the Bow” trilogy, a medieval/fairytale retelling of Portal, Portal 2, Blue Sky, and Portal Stories: Mel.

It was on Labor day weekend of 2015 when my internet went down inexplicably. My roommate who had the internet in her name was out of town yet again and I conceded that I would have to wait until she got back to get the issue resolved. The Trial of the Bow Trilogy was finished and I had just co-written with @the-royal-sketchbook a Half-life Medival/fairytale fanfic “The Legend of the Freeman.” However, my passion for Half-life was not as strong as it was for Blue Sky and I longed to do something else involving Wheatley, Chell, and the citizens of Eaden.

Most of the people that I encouraged to read Blue Sky did not have the time to invest into a novel length book. I longed to create something more accessible. A comic book/graphic novel of the story had been in the back of my mind for a long time, but when the desire rose up in me, the thought of “but you would have to do backgrounds and you suck at backgrounds” reared its ugly head.

But on that Labor day weekend, a thought occurred to me. “What if I did it as a comic? Very loose and simple. Something that I could do for fun without any heavy commitment.” So that weekend, I did a quick pencil drawing of the scene when Wheatley and Chell argue from Chapter 5. I threw some color on it and put it on tumblr and it got a great response. Then I did the scene when Chell transfers Wheatley into the hardlight avatar from Chapter 3. Another great response. It was simple and loose but people seemed to like it. I asked Starry what she thought about doing the whole story in such a way. If memory serves, she was for it but warned me not to get too far ahead of myself. If I did this, it would be a huge project and would take a lot of planning and forethought. BTW, good advice Starry ;)

After completing all of Chapter 1, I made the announcement, created the page, and the Blue Sky Web comic was born.

One of the things that helps me to recharge each week is drawing/working on art on Sunday afternoons. In the past, I had struggled to find things to work on, but no more. Sunday was now Blue Sky Comic day. I would post 2 panels and create 4 more. If I had extra time on holidays or days off I would get extra done. This system allowed me to consistently add to the project without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. I was able to get ahead so that I could take breaks for holidays, trips, computer problems, and eventually planning my wedding and getting married. The Blue Sky Web Comic became a constant in my life. Whenever I needed to decompress and just draw or color in panels, it was there.

In late summer of 2019, my Father was diagnosed with cancer. If any of you have walked through cancer with someone, you know how difficult and painful it can be. My husband and I took a trip to see my parents about once a month for the next 8 months. The drive was fairly long and was the perfect opportunity to work on what I called “pencil work” for the comic (sketching out the layout of each panel, a process that took the most concentration and time). Working on the comic helped to keep my mind off of things. Each time we visited my Dad his condition declined and being able to focus on something like the “pencil work” helped to make the trips better.

In spring of 2020, right before the COVID-19 lockdown, my Father passed away. It was right before that final trip that I finished the “Pencil work”. By then I had also made a lot of headway on the comic itself, with only a few chapters left to ink and color. I remember reading stories and blogs about how people made it through difficult times by focusing on a hobby, tv show, book, or music; not living in denial of the bad things, but just having something to help them take a break from it all. That was what the Blue Sky Comic was for me in those final days and I will always cherish how it was one of the things that helped me to make it through that difficult period in my life.

With the COVID-19 lockdown, I had some extra time to work on the comic and by late spring of 2020, I finished the last panel. It still kind of blows my mind. From 2015 to 2020 was how long it took to complete.

____________

To the 2000+ followers and those who replied, liked, reblogged, and sent messages, your words helped me to keep going when I wondered if it was worth it. Your kind thoughts helped me to know that this story is still enjoyed by people and Portal fans alike.

To @starry-nightengale, thank you for your advice at the beginning and your support and friendship along the way. Here’s to many more ^w^

And to @wafflebloggies, thank you for writing Blue Sky. It may seem overdramatic, but when I found this fic back in 2014, I was in a dark place and your story helped me hold onto the light. Even years later when faced with new trials, it helped me to focus on what was ahead. I truly believe that this story resonates with so many people because it taps into the most simple and profound truth: the most powerful love is selfless. And selfless love can conquer any difficulty. Also your support of the comic over the years made me smile with delight. I’m so glad you liked it :)

So that’s the story. I plan to do more audiobooks of the rest of the Trial of the Bow trilogy, but after that I’m going to be taking a nice long break from Blue Sky and Portal. I have a personal passion project that I am in the initial stages on. It's another web comic that I actually couldn’t have even considered doing if not for the experience I gained over the past 5 years. I’ll have updates on my personal tumblr for that project and the audiobooks, but for this page, The Blue Sky Web comic, this will be one of my final posts (aside from responding to any messages from you guys). Thank you all again for following. What an incredible journey this has been! This fandom is so amazing and I love you all. Take care and God bless. - Elvy

#blue sky portal #thanks again #it's been a wild ride #:'3

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aahsokaatano · 4 years ago

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King I would love that essay about Changing Channels

Fjdjshjdhdjd thanks for reading my tags Jesse you're the real VIP here.

Okay SO "Changing Channels" is the 8th episode of the 5th season of Supernatural. I give this information bc it's important in looking at the context of the episode - now I've complained a LOT about how SPN is terrible at giving us canonical timeframes within the episodes (y'all i was SHOCKED to discover the first season is supposed to cover a little over a year's worth of time, I thought it was like... 4 or 5 months) so I can't say for sure how long before and after the other episodes happen in-universe around "Changing Channels" BUT

The episode before is "The Curious Case of Dean Winchester" where Dean and Bobby bet years of their lives in a game of poker with a witch. The episode after is "The Real Ghostbusters" where Sam and Dean end up at a fan convention for the in-universe Supernatural novels.

Why am I pointing this out? Because it's important, please, no audience participation, this is like a Brian David Gilbert panel.

[under a cut bc this got...... STUPID long. Who knew I still had this many opinions about SPN in 2020?]

Okay first of all I wanna talk about the cinnamon topography of this episode - I love the way the first 5 seasons are shot because you really feel the americana gothic horror aesthetic they were going for (I have a whole ‘nother rant about the first 5 seasons vs the last 10 but thats for another time). Everything is a little washed out and grey-toned, the camera angles generally serve to make Sam and Dean appear even taller than they actually are (larger than life - again, another post for another time), and there’s honestly a LOT of shots from the ‘monster’s’ perspective, which is really neat! I’ve said it before (on another blog - YES i have a dedicated spn rant blog, don’t @ me hdjfhfjfh) but the episode that really got me hooked on spn back in the day was the second one, about the w*ndigo. Yes, it’s a racist, culturally appropriating shitstorm, but the way its SHOT is fantastic. I’m honestly not a horror fan, but that episode could have easily relied on jumpscares and they DIDN’T and it was scary as all fucking hell and just - fuck okay getting off topic.

In “Changing Channels” we get that distinctive grey-washed tone in the beginning and the very end of the episode, but the middle? When they’re in TV Land? Everything is bright. Almost comically so, I mean - okay look at these two shots of Sam (apologies about the crappy phone pics, netflix won't let me screenshot)

This one is from the start of the episode, in the "real" police station

And this is from a little later in the "TV" hospital

Ignoring that my phone is washing him out a lot in both pics, you can still see the warmer tones in the hospital shot as compared to the cold greyness in the police station one

Okay, now look at this picture

Dean inside the Impala, and those warm tones are back. Why? Because even though Sam and Dean believe that they’re back in the “real” world, they aren’t - so instead of the grey-washed shots that we’re used to, its the bright and warm shots that we see in “TV Land”! So the viewers pick up, even if its just subconsciously, that the boys aren’t out of the woods yet - everything is still too bright to be the in-universe reality we’ve come to expect from SPN by season 5

Which is also why i love this shift so much

These shots are literally SECONDS apart. The first is in "TV Land" and the second is in the "real" world. I have some red strip lights behind my bed, which are reflecting off my laptop screen - notice how much brighter they seem in the second picture? That’s because literally all of the warm colors have been drained out of the shot. As soon as Gabriel snaps them all back into “reality,” things get so much colder.

Okay, so the second thing I want to talk about is some of the very pointed dialogue choices within the “shows” the Winchesters take part in. Not between Sam and Dan and Gabriel, but from the, for lack of a better term, NPCs within the shows.

In the hospital, Dr. Piccolo tells Sam that he is “the finest cerebrovascular neurosurgeon I have ever met - and I have met plenty! So that girl died on your table; it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Sometimes people just die.” Standard cheesy soap opera dialogue - but lemme just swap some words here and -

“You are the finest hunter I have ever met - and I have met plenty! So that girl died on your hunt; it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Sometimes people just die.”

Or even -

“You are the finest hunter I have ever met - and I have met plenty! So Jessica and Mary died above you; it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault [but Azazel’s]. Sometimes people just die.”

Keeping in mind that the NPCs are basically Gabriel’s mouthpieces, its easy to see why so many people ship Sabriel. I’d actually love to see a fic that explores them talking about this moment in particular later on and the kind of gentle forgiveness that Gabriel can give Sam... getting off topic again.

In an abrupt about-face, the herpes commercial (much meme’d within the fandom) is straight up Gabriel shaming Sam. Because if you replace “genital herpes” with “demon blood” it’s.... dark. And very intentional.

So that’s what I did! (I combined all spoken lines to make the message easier to read, rather than splitting them up across 3 speakers as in the episode)

“I’ve drank demon blood. I tried to be responsible... did I try. But now, after being forcibly detoxed, I fight my addiction every day to reduce the chances of passing back into that toxic mindset. Ask your loved ones about a demon blood intervention today. [...] I am doing all I can to slightly lessen the chance of drinking demon blood again. And that’s a good thing.”

Like... the subtext throughout this episode sure is. Something.

Okay this is getting ridiculously long so I wanna wrap up by talking about The Best Scene In The Whole Goddamn Show

I’m talking, of course, about Gabriel’s Confession

“Max,” you might be saying, “there are so many better scenes out there, even within the first five seasons!” and to that i say, again, no audience participation, please. Also, you’re WRONG and here’s why!

Gabriel’s confession hits every goddamn emotional chord that the fandom begged for on this show - fear, rage, grief, pain, guilt, and even, yes, absolution.

Okay, here’s the scene again for those of you who don’t think about it at least once a week like me

youtube

Now this video is missing some of the conversation, but most of it is there, enough for you to see what I’m talking about. Gabriel up to this point has been, essentially, a nameless antagonist - this is the third episode he appeared in, and before this, we didn’t even know he was going by Loki. He was just referred to as ‘The Trickster’. But here, not only do we get a name (a real name at that), but we also get a glimpse of his backstory and a hell of a lot of character development in less than 5 minutes. I mean, Sam didn’t get this much character development throughout the entirety of season 1! There’s a good reason Gabriel has been a fan-favorite for a very long time, and I think a big part of it is this particular scene.

Because here, we get to see Gabriel being vulnerable. And we even see Dean show a little vulnerability, as he can empathize being the third party to explosive arguments between the two people who mean everything to him.

I mean... okay, it will never see the light of day, but I wrote a little bit of a Reverse ‘Verse fic (because I’m a sucker for Reverse ‘Verse) and this was the scene I started with. Not s1e1, not even the resurrection in s4e1, but this scene. Because this scene, more than any other, is critical to the way not only Gabriel’s (first) arc plays out, but also to how Sam and Dean conduct themselves for the rest of the season (and maybe a bit beyond, it’s been a hot minute since I watched s6 and later). Dean is angry but determined, he has a point to make, he is going to save Sammy and if he can’t do that, then he’s going to damn well die trying. But Sam... it’s after this episode that we start really seeing how bone-achingly tired Sam is. It’s after this conversation - where one of the other archangels, one of the few beings who can truly understand how powerful Michael and Lucifer are - says that there’s no other way around this that Sam seems to start inching towards giving in. Saying yes.

Sure, in the actual episode, he seems outraged by the idea, practically scoffs at it - “you want us to say yes to those sons of bitches?” - but it’s after this where Sam really seems run down.

I mean, look at the episodes before and after (HAH you thought I forgot about that first point I made at the very beginning of this post! I did, briefly, but I’ve circled back to it, thanks for being understanding). In “The Curious Case of Dean Winchester,” Sam behaves much as he did since the start of s4, which is to say, ‘annoying little know-it-all brother tossed into the middle of the apocalypse and just trying his best’ and it works well for the mad scramble for any scrap of information that’s happening in s4/early s5.

But in “The Real Ghostbusters” it’s different. This is another funny meta episode - except, while Sam and Dean are technically aware of the joke, they aren’t as amused by it as the audience is. And it’s not because of the ghosts. It’s because they’re just... done. Especially Sam. Dean has that nice little moment with the cosplayers at the end of the episode, but Sam... threatens to shoot Chuck. Sam ‘goes darkside’ more often than pretty much any other character in the show, but that moment is different. It’s a flat promise, not a threat. He’s not being an asshole, like he is after losing his soul. He’s just... done. And it’s obvious to see.

Gabriel’s confession is the turning point for Sam in s5, and it informs a lot of his behavior through the rest of s5, and possibly beyond! Like I said, I haven’t watched past s5 in a very long time, so I don’t feel confident enough to analyze that specific sort of character line, but I feel confident in saying that hearing one of the most powerful beings in the universe basically say “it doesn’t matter what you do - your destiny is unavoidable” and then he’s proven right (Sam says yes to Lucifer, and Dean eventually does say yes to Michael down the line!)... like, that’s really gotta fuck up your world view that was built on free will and throwing off the shackles of fate. Sam managed to avoid his ‘destiny’ in s2... but then it turns out that that wasn’t ever his destiny. Lucifer was his destiny.

Talk about an obscured view of the inner self.

#thebisexualmandalorian #jesse #max answers #spn #naturally super #changing channels #im having some THOUGHTS yall

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tagsecretsanta · 4 years ago

Text

From @neuroticphysiologist

To @i-am-chidorixblossom

Secret santa does not own this work, full credit to author above!

With Brains busy with his project, Virgil volunteers to help John with the maintenance for Thunderbird 5.

Prompts:

*Virgil spending time in Thunderbird 5 with John

*Virgil looking after his brothers and them returning the favour when he needs it *Winter/snowy vacation with the Tracy boys

**********************************************************************************************

Virgil came down to Brains' lab to see what's up.

"Hey, Brains."

"Hello, Virgil."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"N-none, I'm afraid. But when I get to w-work on the new Zero X, I'll call you." "Okay, sure."

He looked around the lab. It was quite organized; files piled up and tools all placed on the desk. He stared at his calendar.

"Well, it seems like you have something important to do."

"Oh, this?" Brains was referring to his current task. "Y-yes, it's very important." "No, I meant the annual maintenance for Thunderbird 5. It's on your calendar, Brains." "Oh, d-dear," he checked his calendar. "I should be working with John by now. T-thank you for reminding me, Virgil."

But Brains said he's completely in focus with his project. If he leaves now, the invention would go critical.

He has been so busy since they found out about what happened to Jeff. He proceeded to work on the new Zero X, and he's also working on something to free the Mechanic from the Hood's control. The said second project is one of his most difficult tasks to do, and he‟s still not done yet. He was making sure that the Mechanic won't get hurt. It took him several tries but he failed. But he always knew that he's almost there.

The new Zero X requires a lot of parts, but Brains and MAX cannot do it themselves. The rest of the family comes down to help from time to time. Virgil also serves his favorite brand of coffee to him; it's something to accompany him with his work.

But sometimes, poor Brains needs to have a break, but working on something scientific and logical keeps him going.

"M-MAX will be a great help for John, but I c-couldn't send him alone without my help." Virgil is concerned about Brains, so he spoke up. "I'll do it. I'll head to Thunderbird 5 and help John with the maintenance."

Brains sighed. "Thank you, Virgil."

"But I think I'm gonna need the checklist for it."

"Of c-course. Hold on."

Virgil knew the spare parts Thunderbird 5 needs to maintain its functionality. He sends them via space elevator. But being there with John, he will encounter doing the annual maintenance for the first time.

Brains moved his chair to the drawers to find the folder. Unfortunately, he didn't have a soft copy for the checklist, but anyways, he passed the hard copy to Virgil. "John has an extra copy, so if you n-need to review the ch-checklist before proceeding to Thunderbird 5, you've g-got that."

"Thanks, Brains."

Virgil headed to the lounge to talk to John.

"What is it, Virgil?"

"Hey John, I'm coming up there to help you with the maintenance for Thunderbird 5." "Thanks. Is Brains up for the job too?"

"No, that's why I volunteered to help you. He's been so busy lately." "I see."

"Can I use the space elevator, John?"

"It's quite risky to use it, since my last mission with a rogue ship was a mess and it almost broke a few of the space elevator's minor parts."

"Brains was almost angry at you."

"Yeah," John nodded.

"You've been so impulsive at the time."

"I had no choice. Alan got his hands full and I'm the only one who can help. Well, speaking of Alan, you can wait for him to take you here. He's almost done." "Sure. I'll just review the checklist Brains gave me."

"Take your time," John closed the call, and then proceeded to notify Alan. "Oh, hey, John!"

"Virgil is planning to come up to Thunderbird 5 to help me with the maintenance." "What about Brains?"

"He's busy at the moment. Virgil needs a pick up."

"FAB. Heading to Earth's orbit now."

Virgil heard Thunderbird 3's engines, and when it landed on the launch pad, he brought the checklist, geared up, and proceeded to join Alan. Thunderbird 3 launched again and docked to Thunderbird 5.

"Here we are, Virg. Wish you luck."

"What for?"

"Checking the external is probably the hardest of them all, but you'll get there." "Thanks, Alan."

"No problem."

*******

Virgil brought the folder and entered Thunderbird 5. He heard John talking to Alan through the comms.

"Unfortunately, Alan, we have a situation."

Alan's sigh was heard. "And what's that?"

"Satellite in uncontrollable spin," John explained the details. "But I'll know you'll finish it fast."

"Okay, John, Tell the crew I'm on my way."

When Virgil heard Thunderbird 3 leave the dock, he started floating to meet his brother. "John? I have the... whoa!"

John went to the corridor to meet Virgil, who's currently seen floating upside down. "You got an extra copy from Brains."

"Yeah. There's a lot of work to do."

John grabbed his arm to get him right side up. "I hope you'll get used to it, Virgil." "I'll get it, John. First time I've been here, I sent you half a dozen of chocolate cream bagels. I wanted to send it to you personally because I left an important note." "From Virgil, with love?"

"Not only that."

"Yeah, I read the rest of it."

Virgil opened the folder for a brief review. "So, where do we start?" "We're going for a spacewalk. We'll check the externals first before we head in here. Alan, EOS, and I repaired the space elevator yesterday and right now it still needs rechecking to see if it works perfectly."

"Alright then."

"Free float for a while, I'm almost done plugging the wires."

"I'll help you."

*******

"By the way, Alan reminded me of checking the externals."

"Let me guess, difficult?" John glanced at his brother.

"That's what he said."

"Yes, it is, but today, we won't be long. I've started the maintenance two days ago, pretty early because we weren't so busy, so just in case, I proceeded right away. Brains and MAX helped me on the first day, then Alan and EOS on the next day." Five is the biggest of all the Thunderbirds; it takes a long time to do the general maintenance, so it's checked annually. Some parts are checked if there are problems. It is made sure if all the systems are functioning properly.

John closed the control panel.

"We'll get back to the processors later. Let's go, Virgil?"

*******

They hooked themselves near the airlock when they were outside. As Virgil observed, everything is almost complete. The solar panels are in the right place, the gravity ring is spinning normally. He remembered what he reviewed. Then he floated to the underside to check the hidden control panels. John was in the opposite side to check the maintenance hatch. They moved on to the next tasks when they switched places. It took them about an hour and a half. Then they were back together when they reached the space elevator.

"Hey, John," Virgil started conversing.

"What is it, Virgil?"

"I was thinking if we could go out in the snow this year. Gordon and Alan were asking me."

"I think so. I don't usually like going out in the snow, but if the whole family will agree, that's fine with me."

Virgil climbed up to see his brother. "I miss it, John. Last time we went out, it was like three Christmases ago."

"Yeah, I remember. Was it because Gordon and Alan miss having snowball fights?" Virgil chuckled. "I guess so."

"That would be a great idea, Virgil."

They talked about their previous Christmases on Tracy Island. Decorating days were a mess. Those include wrapping someone with a tinsel, ribbons, or gift wrappers and tossing the Christmas balls and they end up being broken. The two youngest were the hosts of that. There's also the time when Virgil borrowed John's digital single lens

camera and rainbow colored Christmas lights from the box for an experimental photo shoot. He asked Kayo to be the first model and it went perfectly.

Almost everyone helped Grandma when it comes to cooking. It was a good feast for the family. Exchange gifts were also present in the tradition, and singing a few Christmas songs.

Last time they went out for Christmas, they went to Switzerland. They stayed for four days and three nights in a hotel. They went snowboarding and built a snowman on the first day, skiing and snowball fights on the second day, and snowshoe hiking and getting warm inside the ski resort on the third day. It was the best.

In the ski resort, the family met a South Korean tour guide, who stayed in Switzerland for his job. He assisted them for the skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing equipment. He was happy seeing them enjoy themselves with snow sports, not to mention the bragging of the "maknae line", as he called it. When it comes to snowboarding, Mr. Scott the Showoff and Alan the Awesome at Agility were the coolest at that. There's also Kayo the Freestyle Skier. Gordon wanted to show his best too, but snow sports didn't like him so much.

Virgil was the best at making snow sculptures. He built around five unique ones. They would've been good for display, but a crazy antic from the tinies ruined one of the sculptures. They escaped from the big V with a sled.

John always kept warm in the chalet, along with Grandma and Brains, the two youngest were always up for a snowball fight, and Kayo was the lead at snowshoe hiking.

Virgil wished they could go out in the snow again, after reflecting about those memories.

"It's the 7th of December," he said. "We should plan it somehow."

"Let's hope that we're all gathered together this week to talk about it."

They were done checking the space elevator. They tested it when they went inside Thunderbird 5. It worked perfectly.

"All done," John noted. "Let's head to the processors."

The maintenance was almost done, but Virgil wanted to talk more with John. It's been a long time they haven't had pretty long conversations that were about outside the rescue business. He thought about what he wanted to say to him.

When they started checking, he stared at his little brother. He always wanted to tell him about his habits. John looked so tired. He looked paler, slimmer, and his bags under his eyes looked pretty obvious. He was on duty for six consecutive days with little hours to rest.

"How long did you rest your eyes, John?"

"Four hours. Why are you asking?"

"I'm sorry, John, it's just, look at you. Grandma is so gonna send you back to Tracy Island."

John sighed. Yeah, he's right. "I'm sorry, Virgil."

"We're not so busy after all. After the maintenance, we're going back to Earth together, alright?"

He just nodded in response.

It was like, „here we go again, now faced with the other smother hen of the Tracy brothers‟. Virgil always had to be sure that his brothers are okay. He would simply ask with a pat on the shoulder. If one of his brothers is not in a good state, physically, he‟ll take him to the bedroom (or to the infirmary if it‟s serious) to give the best treatment. Emotionally, he would give a big hug. His hugs are the best.

He helped Alan with some lessons that confused him. He also helped a stressed out Scott to keep him calm. For Gordon, well, he has always been by his side. And John, he'll help him with his work, such as the repairs in Thunderbird 5.

But who takes care of Virgil when he's not okay?

At times, stubborn Virgil hides his pain. He also hides in his room to let out his sadness. When one of his brothers notices him, he would feel the same. They have returned the favor.

He remembered the time he faced one of the hardest decisions in his life. He was offered a scholarship from a prestigious university because of his remarkable musical talent. It's a great opportunity, but he was having second thoughts. He had International Rescue business to handle, and he had to take care of his family. It took him days to decide, until he finally chose to reject the scholarship offer. When he went back home, he had regrets. If he chose to accept the offer, his family will still support him, of course. He was stressing himself out even though he had made his choice. He was thinking that he did something wrong. He wouldn't have the opportunity back. He sat down next to the grand piano and nodded. When Scott came in to hug him, he couldn't help but cry. Then his brothers followed. It was hard to set aside the musical career he wished to

pursue ever since he was little. It would've been a dedication to his mother. But it wouldn't upset her, right? If he rejected the offer just to help his family first?

Oh, man. Even today, it still hurts him. But he knows he'll get there. He'll achieve his dream of becoming a concert pianist someday.

The moment was all in his mind while replacing the CPUs. He slowed down his actions and John noticed him.

“Are you okay, Virgil?”

He went back in focus and again and quickly closed the board. “Oh, I‟m fine, John. Nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure? Because you looked a bit upset.”

“It‟s nothing.”

“Here you go again, Virgil. Earlier, you were concerned about me because I wasn‟t taking care of myself. At least I was honest about why. And you, you‟ve been hiding again.” He stopped his work to talk to his brother. “What was it that bothered you?” Virgil sighed. “Remember the time I told Scott about the scholarship I declined?” “Yeah?”

“That‟s what I was thinking. Still hurts me, though.”

Yep, John had to get back home to see him. Seeing Scott comforting a sobbing Virgil who was having regrets about rejecting a wonderful offer that would help him in his musical career sure was painful to the heart. John always loved his big brother‟s playing. He sits down and watches him play, and sometimes, he would accompany him with his trumpet. He rarely plays the instrument. He enjoys it more when Virgil is there to play with him.

John puts his hand on his brother‟s shoulder. “I was sad about that too, wondering why you did that. But I know you‟ll get to it.”

“Thanks, bro. I always keep that in mind.”

*******

“We‟re all done here,” John picked up the tools. “Thank you, Virgil.” “No problem. Remember, we‟re going home together.”

“Of course. Let me have a word with EOS first.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Virgil continued picking up the tools used to repair the processors. Minutes later, John did a quick fix on EOS‟ systems and now he‟s ready to join his brother.

They rode on the space elevator and headed to their quarters to switch to their comfortable clothes. But John, he took a shower first. Later on, he headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat, a little more than his usual appetite while in space. Meanwhile, Virgil talked to Grandma about John staying at home for a few days. When International Rescue gets busy, then it‟s time for John to get back to work.

John went back to his bedroom after having small talks with his brothers. He noticed that the bed sheets were changed and the comforter was placed neatly. “Grandma changed that for you,” he heard Virgil.

“I‟ll send her a personal thank you tomorrow,” John lied down and tucked himself in. “I‟ll turn off your alarm clock,” Virgil approached to the bedside table. “Virgil, that‟s already broken two months ago.”

Virgil checked the alarm clock. The second hand was missing and the battery was drained.

“I didn‟t bother to fix it,” John explained.

“Your phone?”

“No alarm set in there.”

“Alright. It‟s just that you need to get some sleep.”

Virgil walked to the door.

“Virgil?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you, for today.”

“Always happy to help, little brother. And… thank you too. We haven‟t had a pretty long talk together, and it was nice to spend the time with you.”

“You‟re welcome.”

Virgil turned off the light. “Good night, John.”

“Good night, Virgil.”

-end-

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds 2015 #tag team secret santa #secret santa 2020 #Virgil Tracy #John Tracy #neuroticphysiologist

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yume-fanfare · 4 years ago

Note

hi i am that anon from like 29th Dec (last dang year) who said i read ur tsuki no hime and loved it and that u understand Aizou. i have read more of ur stuff since then and now i NEED to ask you for writing advice, on both characterization and general writing tips since I didnt mention it before. Sorry about that! i just forgot i sent an ask and i do not get notifs at all (or does anon asks not get notifs?) Also, ART STUDENT! That's why the nice art and art leaning!! I feel smart for sensing it

oh yup, tumblr doesn't send notifs for anon asks! but i'm glad you did see the answer anyway

this post is hideously long, so answer under the cut!

so, on characterization: it is mostly a matter of what would they say, rather than what you want them to say. the joke about "the characters do what they want to" instead of what the writer wants is pretty much true if you want them to be in character lol (that's why sometimes a little bit of OoC isn't too bad)

checking the source material is the most important thing: look at prior similar interactions the characters have had and how they reacted

this is kind of hard with LIPxLIP, as there aren't that many translated texts about them but with honeyworks the most canon and reliable thing to use as reference are the mvs. the mvs are drawn in a way that can pretty much be understood even if you don't have the lyrics, and sometimes it's even better if you can't read them, to properly focus on the images better

look at their expressions closely: while aizou is always explosive in his anger, yuujirou often has a more indifferent expression. so, when they fight, aizou is probably the one to blow up first while yuujirou maintains his composure better. it's kind of the classic "this was only a brief passing panel but i am going to expand on it" www

but the thing about fanfiction is that it's always a bit of a character analysis in itself. you don't start writing having already a color-coded folder of possible situations and reactions a character would have for each setting. you just throw the characters in a scenario and then think from there onwards, and eventually you'll be able to have the folder of situations and what you think their reactions would be like. (though, this links back to the prior point, if the characters have gone through a similar situation in canon, use that as guide! plus, finding little references to canon when reading is always fun)

for general writing, i'm going to mostly talk about my own experiences and process! i'm in no way a professional though

the basic is reading a lot. not just books but also fanfic. in fact, since you're writing fanfic, i Encourage you to read fanfic. even if your story ends up novel length, the way of treating the story is different from that of an actual novel. for example, because you're working under the premise that everyone knows the characters already. the general style of fics is different as well.

in fact, the style is the main reason i'm saying this slfkslfkslkf

read a lot of stuff and find a style you like. think of it as sewing together pieces from here and there to make a frankenstein amalgamation: this person's metaphors, the comparisons from here, the descriptions from there

personally, i adore the "long one-shot with a long title formatted (like this)" fics that are mostly feelings and descriptions and as little dialogue as possible, and some that occasionally play with the "show don't tell" rule, and some months ago i read a book whose descriptions amazed me because you could feel what the character was focusing on the most, rather than being general descriptions of the situation (i actually have a lot of thoughts about descriptions but that's a post for another day). but also i really like dialogue and plot-driven stories, descriptions can get boring and before trying to break rules, you have to be really good at following them

but, let's go step by step: developing an idea

for this i'm going to mostly reference the multichap i finished a while ago as an example

i started with just a few vague concepts in mind: non-idol au with aizou who does some sport and likes music but is insecure about his singing and yuujirou who does some music related thing and encourages him to sing in a way that's somehow related to the hozier song to noisemaking (sing), because it's what inspired me to write in the first place

then, from then onwards i wrote down what would happen in the first chapter of the story bullet-point-list-style, including things like the roommates part or the clubs the boys were in (at first yuujirou was in the choir club lol the change was a last second decision that idk why i took) and then bits of dialogue here and there that would be The Turning Points. those first dialogues were for the fight at the end of ch 1, the apology-date in ch 3 and then some vaguely unused ones for the "yuujirou encourages aizou" part, as those were the first key moments i thought of

because, since it's enemies to friends to lovers, an important aspect was character development

not all fics have character development bc not all of them are long enough (if you're aiming for short and sweet then there's no need). but if they do, i recommend you write down how the character was at the beginning of the story and then how they were at the end and then fill in the middle later, think of what those key turning points that made the character change were (the more little things you add, the more gradual it'll be)

samishigariya illustrates this very nicely: the song starts and finishes with the same lines, but the ending ones feel more light-hearted. the beginning has pre-arisa ken and pre-getting-along-with-yuujirou aizou, when they were the lonely people the title mentioned, and the ending, when they're not lonely anymore. the in between can be seen in depth during the other songs: ken before arisa was a playboy who didn't take love seriously, but after meeting her he realized that games were not all there was to love; and aizou used to be quite cranky and high-key a loner, but then he "meets precious things and knows of love". i will not elaborate on that because this isn't an aiyuu post but Oh You Know

for the fic, aizou would go through that same process, more or less: someone who doesn't really form meaningful connections with people but who, in the end, would end up having quite a bunch of people who care about him as his relationship with yuujirou advances too

since the relationship was the main focus, i wrote a very simple outline for how it would develop throughout 5 hypothetical chapters that was just: 1. civil w each other but mostly bad > 2. bad > 3. half friends > 4. pining > 5. date

and then with that in mind and the bullet point list, the final basic outline ended up like this:

there were scraped ideas and ideas that made it in later, but i believe having a simple outline, a bare skeleton to add things to, is important. stories need continuity, development requires a prior buildup

it's especially important in multichapter fics where you post as you write, you need to have a more or less clear idea of what's going to happen because you can't ignore scenes you've already posted

shorter stories don't need it as much, you can think as you go, but it's still helpful to know where you're going with things to avoid getting stuck

and, on getting stuck: don't be afraid of deleting things. if you can't figure out how to continue things, then delete the situation and start again. it might feel like you'd be wasting time but in the end, it is so much better than being stuck on the same scene for weeks

in fact, you don't have to write in order. jump to the next scene and you'll figure it out later. you Can write the scene you want to write and then build everything else around it

it's normal to write a scene and then realize it would make more sense later in the story, or that it would be better if you added another scene earlier, or sometimes you just find it easier to jump from one part of the story to another. rely on your outline to keep track of what you've written, what you have left to write and what's the best way to arrange your story. make your story understandable

which bring us to editing

there's a lot of much better posts on editing stories, but yeah ctrl+f is your best friend: don't repeat yourself too much. and be sure to vary sentence and paragraph length, as well as sentence structure, to give dynamism to the writing

now, i've mentioned before the show, don't tell rule, but i'm going to talk a bit more about it because it's quite important

once again there's a lot of posts that explain more in depth what it is, so i'm not going to expand too much on that, but, very basically, try to avoid things like "then some time passed and they became friends". explain it: what happened exactly? how did they become friends? if it's important, show it to us, instead of summarizing

since things like these make the story longer, it also gives room for more development and proper explanation for things that happen

for example, the fic was originally going to start with them already in the room, and the whole situation would have been explained in a single paragraph somewhere, but by actually adding the scene where they first arrive to the dorms and argue with the lady at the main desk, the story flows better and it let me actually describe their first meeting

and uuuhhh i think that's all? this took super long to write i hope i didn't forget any super basic stuff lol

i want to add that for enemies to lovers i greatly recommend this post bc it's super good but yeah i think that's basically it, if you have any more specific questions just shoot me an ask

#god this is so long #how should i tag this #tutorials #i guess #anonymous #preguntas

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spookyboogie3 · 4 years ago

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MY FAVORITE AH MOMENTS W/O R*an H*yw**d

Also keep in mind some of these moments i picked Bitch Face r*an may have been present for but this aint about his stupid ass.

The straw bit on Off Topic

Fiona and Trevor’s “Look at us” “Look at us” “Look at us” in TTT

Drunk Jeremy inhaling helium, followed by Jack and Trevor on Off Topic

“Krusty KrAYAYAB!!!” TTT

Jeremy trying to slam his face through a table, followed by Michael doing the same thing

“my god…… the munchdew” “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!” Minecraft: Skyfactory

Actually all of Simple Farmer Geoff from Skyfactory

Whatever those sounds were that Jack was making in the beginning of GTA video

Alfredo screaming as he continues to fall down a steep tube in a GTA race

DESTROYING THEIR OFFICE DEAR LORD

“How did he drown though?” “UNDERWATER, MATT!”

Anytime Fiona starts to RAGE in TTT (bonus if others join in)

The time Gav was the phantom in TTT and he kept dying and being brought back and Jack spitting water and then trying to catch it

Alfredo’s Magoo moments in Minecraft

Geoff laughing in the background of a video hes not in

Lindsay fucking around with Chef Mike on Harecore Minigolf

Lindsay fucking around in general

Gavin and Fiona playing Animal Crossing and laughing at the stupidest shit

The Fish Tempura incident on Wheel of Fortune

Lindsay’s reasoning for why her and Michael should have 4 kids

Geoff’s fucking ad reads (my favorite is 23&Me)

The whole thing during Push the Button where everyone especially Michael gets mad at Fiona because she said the best candy to get while trick or treating was lollipops

Matt’s fucking desk in the corner of the room

Anytime Millie is in a video

Everyone falling off the pink ladder during TTT and dying repeatedly because of it

Alfredo “the two-time champ” Diaz dying very early in YDYD 3

Gavin and Michael fucking up almost every game they play on Play Pals

RAY OR NO and then RAY OR NAY on Off Topic

Reddit Roasts Geoff

Gavin asking if someone could kill 20 cows with their bare hands and the proceeding so say he could rip out a cow’s veins by reaching into its neck

Ify’s narration during Let’s Roll Ave Caesar

The internet losing its shit when Jeremy shaved his head years ago

“We need a knife” Gavin comes back with a hammer

Griffin chain sawing the Off Topic table up

“How do I put the boat in the water??” “Right click you animal”

As of 2020, 8 years of playing Minecraft, certain people still do not know how to play the basics of this fucking game.

Honestly it took over 200 episodes for some of them to figure out how the compass worked. You know after they decided that the sun was setting in the wrong direction. (this was in 2016??)

Flynt coal still is a joke they make

So is Day 2

Whatever happened in that GTA lets play where someone called a mugger or a hit on someone and the game glitched and 50 guys showed up and lined up on the street below from where they were playing

Anytime Gavin gets mugged, it’s an old running gag but it’s a classic

The time a mugger fucking started driving the fire truck away after mugging Gavin with Michael and Jeremy still in the truck thinking the other is driving and it takes them like 2 minutes to realize what happened while Gavin’s yelling “come back”

They got a water jug and immediately started water boarding each other

“It pinged and went dingle”

“Hey Trey-Boi” “Hey Gay-Boi” Immediately realizes what he has said

Jeremy’s website puns

(OLD) Ray jerking off in the corner during a let’s play

(OLD) the world in Minecraft never loading and everyone screaming about as Geoff says its fine for him

Jeremy’s “I AM MONSTER TRUCK”

Jack taking AH to Disney……in Minecraft

On Twitter, Gavin asked about recommendations for a computer mouse and Fiona starts sending him pictures of actual mice.

“Its not ghey, if its on the moon”

Literally anything Fiona does as Po

Jeremy saying the heterosexual flag is boring

UNO THE MOVIE!

Geoff fucking cackling the whole time.

“here’s looking at you kid”

the video was almost 3 hours long

“you know what my favorite color is? blue” “oh really? You know what my favorite hand is? Yours

They all want it to end but no one wants to lose and so they fuck each other and that prolongs the game. Also they put on more rules, so they just keep getting more cards if they don’t have a card to match the previous

Alfredo saying he won’t participate in ghost hunter because he knows what happens to people of color in horror movies

Fiona walking in on Off Topic with a protein shake and Gavin asks if shes drinking milk and she says without missing a beat “ah no that’s cum” and everyone laughed not expecting the answer

(OLD) “SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER” *falls in hole*

(OLD) Ray and Gav running in a panel dressed as X-Ray and Vav and Ray running the whole way around the room before he got to the stage

Duck taping Jeremy to the wall

(OLD) All of Minecraft Episode 3 Plan G (This was the very first AH video I watch and why I know who they are)

Geoff and Gav creating Achievement City and giving everyone houses just to prank Jack into burning house down with lava.

Ray’s house is a dirt block with no furniture and single torch

Geoff’s giant ass house next to Ray’s tiny house

Jack tries to destroy everything with lava throughout the episode

“lets be honest, I realistically didn’t lose anything”

Michael stealing art from Gav’s house “NOO! I want nice things”

The sign to Michael’s says “Awaiting Approval, Awaiting Approval, Awaiting Approval” he runs into house and say “I’m home”

Ray also steals this sign at some point

Plan G – The failsafe.

“Oh whats this? Is this a button? Whats this? (pushes button) Yeah it was a button”

“Did you push the button?”

“Yeah”

“okay”

“wh-what does it do?”

“uh…”

Cue Achievement City beginning to explode as Michael starts screaming

Rays reaction “NO, MY SHITTY HOUSE JUST GOT EVEN SHITTIER!”

Not something funny but something VERY IMPORTANT. AH admitting that they all fucked up and how shitty their behavior was when dealing with harassment in the fanbase. People were racist, sexist, homophobic, misogynistic, and just downright horrible to a lot of the employees at RT and AH. This came up after Mica Burton left the company and talked about it publicly and how nothing was done about it. Fiona who also experiences these same things, along with Lindsay and other employees, but Fiona took the charge on the Off Topic talking about people can’t continue to get away with that behavior. She got to sound off her feelings to a group of white men who all respected her and LISTENED to what was saying and how she felt. She cried; Geoff cried. They all want to do more, so this doesn’t happen in the future and they’re not tolerating the racist and horrible comments. AH taking a mature moment to talk about how they failed to stop these comments and Geoff was right when he said the company has a long way to go.

Outside of AH each member has more to them than just all of the comedy and laughs and dumb shit they do

Geoff helped found Roosterteeth and Achievement Hunter. He has a beautiful daughter in Millie who is awesome in her own right. He’s a recovering alcoholic. Currently doing F**k Face podcasts. Was in the fucking army. Takes accountability for every mistake he makes.

Jack also helped start Achievement Hunter. He does so much work for charity. His twitter is full of things to help people go vote. He’s like the dad to AH, especially Fiona. He’s happily married to his wife Caiti.

Michael was an electrician and has a lot of handy man experience. He made a few videos online about him raging at games and that got the attention of RT. He’s currently married to Lindsay who he met because of RT. They have two kids together.

Gavin is an expert at high speed filmmaking and know how use and edit footage from a slow-motion camera. He has worked on actual films. One of the creators of the Slow Mo Guys. Worked his ass off to get to work for RT. Currently dating model and cosplayer Meg Turney

Lindsay flips between being the mom of the group and a complete chaos queen and we all love her for it. She started as an editor for the RT podcast and then AH stuff. She is an incredible voice actor, most known for Ruby Rose (RWBY), Space Kid (Camp Camp), Hilda (Xray & Vav) just to name a few. She also has a degree in finance

Jeremy started as a fan who made videos on the community page. He took over Ray’s place after Ray left to do Twitch full time. He is a self-published author and a skilled rapper and singer. He’s currently married to his wife, Kat.

Matt also started as a fan making videos on the community page. He actually interacted and made stuff for the guys in really early Minecraft episodes. Seriously this guy is like king of Minecraft. He has a degree in electrical engineering. He also has pretty decent singing voice.

Trevor is THE BOSS. Has a degree in aero-space engineering and is getting paid to babysit AH. Currently dating Barbara Dunkelman, RTs queen of puns.

Alfredo worked at IGN before RT and is a well-known streamer. He is the best when it comes to first person shooter games. He and Trevor look so similar.

Fiona. Po. Her majesty. Host of This Just Internet. A Twitch streamer. Baby of the bunch. Grew up in Europe. Her and Gav act like a pair of siblings. She has stated and showed time and time again she will fight for people to have safe spaces for anyone who needs them.

Ify, our new guy. He is wonderful and I want to stay forever. He’s a comedian, a writer, and an actor. Co hosts F-ing Around with Fiona. Has his own film podcast, Who Shot Ya? I look forward to more content with him in it, cause everything he’s been in so far has been great.

Were all hurting but well make it through this

We have all these wonderful moments and a lot more that I didn’t list and this incredible team of personalities with their own accomplishments and achievements. Not to mention old team members who were also great additions and the entire crew behind the scenes editing and making videos look the best that they can.

Here’s to Achievement Hunter and to this community. We need to be here for each other in times like these.

@theonyxranger gave me the idea for this based on their own post they made about the fans giving their favorite moments without bitch face and there were just too many. Oop.

#Achievement Hunter #Jack Pattillo #Gavin Free #geoff ramsey #michael jones #lindsay jones #alfredo diaz #trevor collins #fiona nova #jeremy dooley #matt bragg #ify nwadiwe #roosterteeth #yes im calling him bitch face now

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that-banana-headed-bovine · 4 years ago

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Okay so funny story.

I just wrote this whole ask reply and Tumblr wouldn’t let me just post it, so I figured if I hit “answer privately” I could then find it and repost it to the main blog. That did not happen. Sooo you’re getting an answer from not my asks lmbo, plz hav mercy I’m still unsure how to work this site properly I swear-

@didaskale-katejon asked for some more details about the Human AU and about the bois’ designs, which like, thank you for that it means a lot ahsiodhfaiohsdf I lov to talk about them and it’s awesome to hear some people may be interested in it too ;w;

~~~

Hi there! Believe it or not, I did not actually forget about this, I’ve just somehow not gotten to this over the course of an absurdly long time because of a variety of dumb reasons. First, I wasn’t sure how to get their designs down on paper in a way that I liked, and then I decided to just use drawings I already had anyway... then I pondered how much story to say or not say- I guess we’ll just talk about the basics LOL

The first and most important thing to clarify is, well, I’ll let Kitt say himself.

howtheheckdoesonesizetheseimageshelpitissolarge

Anyway, yeah, the Human AU is,,, barely a Human AU. I use that title for it because “Android AU” could be confusing, beings that they are already artificially intelligent robots with human emotions after all. I didn’t realize that “android” specifically meant “humanoid appearance” until recently, and I figured it was best to just avoid any potential mix-ups.

Now, their design has changed a tad bit since I drew that (it’s one of the first that I ever made for my asks on Instagram) and it doesn’t have color. Sooo, I’m gonna include one full-body for each boi. Yes, that does mean that Karr’s here too.

First of all, here’s a Kitt! In this AU, his human equivalent has blue eyes and red accents. The size of those accents is inconsistent as heck; in fact, quite a lot is still pretty inconsistent with it. What I know is that his glasses act as his dashboard and scanner--don’t worry, this does not mean his mouth will not move. I just mean that there are buttons on the side of the glasses (buttons that I cannot be bothered to draw usually), and when he goes into Surveillance Mode or something similar, this happens (I had a cool gif for it but whatever this works too).

There was context to this, but I can’t remember it. Anyway, have some cute Kitts.

aaand let’s move on.

To the boye who may cause some amount of controversy.

Our mans Karr.

I’m just. I’m just gonna say this plainly.

He’s not even kind of an antagonist in this AU. He is here and he is a Good Boye. He has potentially antagonistic ties to be sure, with Garthe being the one who brought him back, but he didn’t choose that path. He chose to go off on his own and try to blend in, try to be safe. When Michael and Kitt happen to stumble upon him, he’s nervous that they’ll once again put this goal in jeopardy. Michael might. But Kitt is in no rush to out his brother, not when he’s in [redacted for now] job causing no harm and, in fact, doing good. Karr, in turn, is there for Kitt when he needs it so long as it does not put his own cover in jeopardy to begin with anyway. If you thought Kitt was an adorable sassmaster, look out for this one <3

He has a scanner too. And he’s also a cutiepie, so c’mon now, we need some cute Karr spammage.

THAT’S RIGHT YOU GET ALL THE KARR CONTENT

LOVE HIM DAINGET

I jus- my son is not evil he is not evil he is a good boye

Okokok just a few more of them jus vibing, I’ll get into some more substance in another post if you want I just. I love them together the whole concept of these bros being bros is just so cute I can’t. Not

Okokok there, there are my sons

By the way, almost all of these silly panels have come from my Q&A, which I also have going here just through my asks, so like if you want more goofy hijinks from these two then uhhhh,,, yknow,,, owo?

I don’t consider the asks canon within the AU, but I do touch on important plot points and test out how I would want characters to react in certain scenarios.

Also I totally left out Semi because idk if she’s going to end up as an android in this AU or not, but like if you want more info about her you can definitely ask and I’m more than happy to have her answer questions for the Q&A as well.

I think Tumblr was just upset that I have like 20 pictures in this

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aurora-the-kunoichi · 5 years ago

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The Aftermath - Part One

Part one of my apocalyptic story.

Raphael and Reader.

(Don’t worry loves, there will be smut)

It started out as a routine expedition to Antarctica to gather samples of the melting icecaps. When the team of scientists found hair and frozen tissue in several of the core samples they pulled from the ice, they sent them in for analysis. When the samples returned with wooly mammoth DNA an excavation team was dispatched to unearth the specimen for testing and preservation.

One week was all it took before the first scientist fell ill after handling the thawing samples. They thought it was a common cold from the symptoms but knew once the patient started coughing up blood it was far from it. It took only 48 hours for the unknown virus to take hold and run its course before killing patient zero.

It should have been quarantined, but with only one scientist dead and the rest seemingly fine, they were released back home after the expedition was completed.

The second scientist to fall ill reported similar signs of the virus 3 days later and succumbed to the illness within 48 hours. One by one each member of the team showed signs of the same symptoms and perished days later, the last one dying nearly 7 days after patient zero was confirmed dead.

After that it spread like a wild fire in a drought spreading all over the world in less than a year wiping out the world’s population to near world extinction levels. Family members were unable to bury their loved ones for the fear the virus would continue to spread. So each body that was infected was ordered by the CDC to be incinerated.

Over seven billion people lost their lives to the world-wide pandemic devastating the global economy and dwindling the world’s population down to a few thousand apparently immune to the deadly virus. Cities lay barren, families and legacies torn asunder leaving the remaining population wondering what would be next.

That was 10 years ago, the year now 2030. The earth was still reclaiming her territory, buildings and roads overrun with newly grown greenery and the world’s animal population seemingly untouched by the virus’s destructive grasp flourished in the wake of the loss of human life.

Somehow you had been blessed and cursed with surviving the plague. You witnessed each of your family members picked off one by one at the ripe age of 15. Left alone to survive the apocalypse held up in your family’s home as long as you were able.

Thankfully you were no useless adolescent doomed to wander the abandoned cities witless and helpless. Your family was stock full of bright talent that thankfully trickled down to you, your father an engineer and your mother a marine with a green thumb and a passion for prepping. Your father had rubbed off on you in the early years soaking up his knowledge for solar power and self-sustaining homes. Which was probably one of the reasons you were still alive today, that and the years of hand to hand combat instructed and insisted on by your mother.

“You need to learn how to protect yourself Y/N, be ready for any situation.” She said on a regular basis. She had no idea how right she was…. God you missed her.

The first year after the pandemic crawled by, depression and loneliness eating away at you day after day as your food supplies dwindled to nothing forcing you to make the decision, was it life or death? The next year took a different direction as you worked your fingers to the bone daily to work up a system to keep yourself alive and prepared. Animals were rounded up and put into pastures on your land, animals that would provide food, whether it be meat or from the food they produced.

As the loneliness began to eat at your sanity once again a new ambitious project took hold of your endless spare time. A large SUV you had found parked in a garage while scrounging for supplies was ripe with potential and you had nothing but time.

Your father’s spirit seemed to follow you around the large workspace day after day, fingers worn and bleeding you worked over the equations and drums of supplies until the days blended into night. After countless of hours of mind numbing trial and error somehow by the grace of whatever cruel god that was up there you figured it out.

The large oversized vehicle was now able to switch from gasoline and the power of the sun with a flip of a switch. Gas stations were still producing, but it was only a matter of time before they dried up. And you needed to travel farther and farther for fuel and supplies, you needed to expand your options for travel.

As the truck clicked to life nearly soundlessly solely fueled by the stored energy in the solar panels you screamed at the top of your lungs resting your weary and tired skull on the metal hood. The farthest you had ventured from your sanctum was two hours in every direction. And as far as you could tell there wasn’t a living soul within that radius, and you had scavenged every home and building for useful items. It was time to look farther out and New York City was a prime location. Plus, with your new project completed a few spare solar panels would be nice and the once overly populated city should produce some.

You hadn’t seen anyone alive in years which in this type of situation was mostly a good thing. The end of the world usually didn’t bring out the best in people, survival of the fittest and all that jazz and you had a sweet set up ripe for the pickin. Which was why you had spent many man hours keeping the entrance to your family property hidden. All the tar from the driveway had been removed 100 feet in and an intricate fence from brush and bushes was maintained to keep the entrance secluded from any unwanted visitors.

It took you two weeks to prepare the homestead, making sure your livestock was well fed and your home locked down tight and protected. You anticipated your trip to take roughly 2 weeks but prepared for over a month. There could always be unseen circumstances that would keep you from your home for a longer period of time, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

It was a warm summer morning and your vehicle was packed, the small camper trailer connected, and panels fully charged, it was time to head out. With one final look at your home you made the 5-minute trek down your driveway exiting from your hidden entrance. Once it hidden from sight again you started out ready for the long solitary road trip.

With no one driving on the roadways they had managed to stay drivable for the most part. A few trees and bushes needed to be dodged but you were still able to utilize them for now.

It took nearly 8 hours of driving before you saw the dilapidated welcome sign for New York City. One side had broken free of its bolts and had sunk into the earth where rust had begun to climb up the forgotten metal eating away at its integrity.

It was late afternoon and you needed to start scouting out a safe place to set up camp and hopefully a few hours of scrounging around before dark. You decided central park would be a good place to hunker down and start your exploration.

With your camper set up and prepared you strapped two guns to your hips with two long blades in your boots and headed out with a line of homes to the east your first target in mind. The empty duffel bag slung over your shoulder was ready for supplies and anything that you would deem a sanity saver, something that would help ease the hours of boredom or something that was fun to look at. For some reason those seemed to help the most. Artwork or small trinkets that would occupy your overactive hands. Records were the most coveted though, music was everything. You had an ipod chalk full of music but with no way to add more to it so new records were a pivotal part of keeping your sanity in check.

By the time the sun had begun to dip below the horizon your duffel was plum full of goodies. By some luck you had found a few guns with a healthy amount of ammunition, a plethora of canned goods and a few sanity savers, but no records. You had found a box full of brightly colored comics, Batman, Avengers, X-men and so much more, it was definitely a good haul for one day outing.

With your newly acquired treasures packed away safely in your trailer you lit a modest fire and cooked your dinner. The outline of the fire danced on the treetops that swayed gently with the evening breeze which didn’t help much with the summer’s heat. The humidity of the night had grown stifling leaving a thin seen of sweat covering your skin so a swim in the nearest body of water was tempting.

The pond that sat on the edge of the park sparkled in the moonlight, the steady breeze setting soft ripples across the glass like surface. You were hot and sticky and with an eight hour drive a dip sounded wonderful.

Your eyes scanned left and right observing your surroundings. You had been here for hours and no one had come out to meet you or thankfully worse. With the decision made your clothes were stripped free and your gun set underneath the pile of discarded clothes by the water just in case.

The moons silver light hit your naked flesh as your descended slowly into the pond holding your breath as your head was submerged beneath the surface. You stayed below for a minute allowing the coolness of the water to lower your body temp and it felt glorious. You had been roasting most of the day, but you couldn’t convince yourself to use the A/C in the truck. The fresh air was so much better.

Floating to your back you started to swim backstroke across the pond watching the night sky come to life with the stars. Since the lights had gone out at the end of civilization the milky way could be seen on a clear night. Witnessing the waves of bright lights from the cosmos was one of the few perks to surviving the apocalypse. That and the calming sounds of nature no longer drowned out by the city life.

As you reached the far end of the pool you suddenly felt something you hadn’t in a very long time, a feeling that you were no longer alone. It was eerie and unsettling for the feeling had become foreign. Your eyes scanned the tree lines and watched your campsite with the lazy fire that continued to lazily lap at the fresh wood you had laid within the ring. No shadows, no movement just the strange feeling of being watched.

Lowing further into the pool you watched the shadows, looking for anything, even an animal to come into view but nothing appeared. Then as quick as it came, the feeling vanished, the unseen gaze swept away with the warm breeze. It was strange but had no proof you were in danger, so you finished your swim and dressed heading back to your camper.

Moving the burning logs away from each other and smothering the glowing embers with the dirt you headed into your trailer for a few hours of sleep. With one final look into the darkness you closed the door and locked the reinforced doors tight.

As the final embers died out in your campfire, four very large shadows emerged from the tree lines. With no sound they moved closer, two blue, one green and one set of amber eyes set on the camper where your slept.

“Haven’t seen her around before?” the one in blue whispered into the breeze for only his companions to hear.

The one wrapped in orange moved closer to the trailer trying to peer into the windows, “And I would definitely like to see her again, especially without her clothes.”

A soft whack resounded on the back of his green skull as the largest of the four came up behind him yanking him from the perimeter. “You don’t know who she is, she could be one of them. And be quite shell for brains, you’ll wake her up.”

The tallest of the four came up to the truck taking in the solar panels with keen interest, “She’s smart, that is for certain.”

“We’ll keep an eye on her for now, no contact. You hear me?”

“Yeah yeah Fearless, we got it. Don’t touch the pretty lady.”

“Let’s go Raphael.”

@waterstar2016 @blossom-skies @thelostandforgottenangel @hollybunch95

#tmnt #tmnt raphael #tmnt leonardo #tmnt donatello #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt fandom #tmnt fanfiction #tmnt fic #TMNT TMNT fanfiction #The Aftermath #part one

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