meeks: meeks and lorelei (Default)
[personal profile] meeks
This is an interlude scene from [personal profile] wonder_city  Stories, and features Molly, an 82-year old woman with the body of a 13-year-old girl, and Hel, the airship AI, represented by her brass speaker horn and arm. Oh, and cats. Lots of cats :)

Molly, Hel, and a lot of cats

details:




previous versions:
Molly, Hel, and a lot of cats  Molly, Hel, and a lot of cats
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Wow!

Date: 2011-04-22 07:42 am (UTC)
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
From: [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Such delicate lines on Molly! I love the flowing cats and the complex background, too.

Date: 2011-04-22 06:33 pm (UTC)
fayanora: qrcode (Default)
From: [personal profile] fayanora
Wow, eternally young! I wrote a flash fiction story once with a father/daughter pair of immortals, the daughter stuck at around age 12. They were both born in prehistoric India.

Date: 2011-04-25 12:21 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
I love the art deco detailing on the interior of Hel! (Here from Wonder City)

Date: 2011-04-22 11:24 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heavenscalyx.livejournal.com
This is gorgeous! Thank you so much! I love Hel's interior and the feline ubiquity! The staircase! The windows! The Captain's chair and the teacup! It's beautiful! I adore all the details you pulled from the scene!

Also, I really enjoy the somewhat cynical look on Molly's face. She doesn't have that slightly blank look that some 13-year-olds (and 16-year-olds, etc) manage (I see it on my goddaughter from time to time) -- she's thinking and calculating, which is perfect.

My one small criticism is Molly's shirt -- which is totally my fault for never mentioning it in the scene description. She's probably tossed her coat somewhere, but the shirt/outfit she'd wear under her tailcoat would probably look something like this (http://www.doversaddlery.com/the-ts-front-zip-breech-by-tailored-sportsman/p/X1-35185/cn/1/). (Her full outfit is probably related to this (http://www.doversaddlery.com/pikeur-dressage-shadbelly/p/X1-4028/cn/34/), though she wears black breeches under the green tailcoat and she's probably done away with the hat for anything but high dress occasions. :) )

Date: 2011-04-22 01:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heavenscalyx.livejournal.com
Also, would it be all right if I offered a second prompt? I thought I'd get my readers to vote on/suggest another scene.

Date: 2011-04-22 08:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] meeksp.livejournal.com
Absolutely! Please invite them to come comment, too!

Date: 2011-04-22 10:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heavenscalyx.livejournal.com
I did! And I will! Thanks so much!

Date: 2011-04-22 08:35 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] meeksp.livejournal.com
Yay! It took me a bit longer than usual to work out the composition with all the details, so I'm very glad you like it!

Sorry about the outfit...she was described as wearing jeans and a t-shirt in her first appearance, and began the interlude by casting off her outfit and declaring The Equestrian to be on leave, so I didn't think she'd be dressed 'in character.' It's easy enough to fix :)

Date: 2011-04-22 10:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heavenscalyx.livejournal.com
Oh! That makes perfect sense. It was my own fault for not describing her in the scene with Hel. I think that whenever she goes out with Maelstrom, even visiting, she dresses for the occasion. I suspect her closet is rather limited these days... :)

Date: 2011-08-06 08:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] meeksp.livejournal.com
Updated! Is this outfit better?

Date: 2011-08-07 03:00 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heavenscalyx.livejournal.com
OH MY GODS THIS IS BEAUTIFUL.

(and yes, the outfit is GREAT)

I am... just stunned. This is SO gorgeous. Stunning. THANK YOU.

I go to spread the word of the awesome.

Date: 2011-08-08 08:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] meeksp.livejournal.com
There's a request on DW to add more steampunk-techie stuff in the background, including a bank of sound tubes for speaker horns running along the wall and out of the room. What do you think?

Date: 2011-08-11 01:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heavenscalyx.livejournal.com
I don't think that's necessary. Hel's office was her creator's study, and I think he was a late Victorian/Edwardian gentleman who liked his comforts and probably wanted his study, at least, to look as much like a "normal" place as possible.

Date: 2011-05-05 09:58 pm (UTC)
ext_3690: Ianto Jones says, "Won't somebody please think of the children?!?" (drugs)
From: [identity profile] robling-t.livejournal.com
I like the suggestions of more going on in this room with all of the cropped-off objects (the wheel, the stairs, etc) -- it's a good way to imply that we're seeing a slice of a much larger space.

Wow!

Date: 2011-08-06 07:56 am (UTC)
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
From: [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This sharpened amazingly. I love the delicate scrollwork on the speaking horn.

Date: 2011-08-06 06:39 pm (UTC)
lilfluff: On of my RP characters, a mouse who happens to be a student librarian. (Default)
From: [personal profile] lilfluff
Nice!

And got me going and and checking and after reading Wonder City Stories #1... I think I've got more WebFic that I'll be following.

Date: 2011-08-07 03:09 am (UTC)
akycha: (Default)
From: [personal profile] akycha
The cleaned up sketch is stunning. The shadows and the cats and all the little period details are perfect. I love the staircase in the background, too!

Date: 2011-08-07 09:01 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] interleaper.livejournal.com
This is looking great! I especially like Molly's expression.

It isn't crucial, but I'd kind of like to see the background a bit more cluttered up with steampunk-techie stuff. Maybe a bank of several speaking trumpets in a row, with their acoustic tubes bundled together for a short distance before running off into different walls, ceilings. and floors. Maybe a feel kind of like this picture:
http://www.worldofstock.com/stock_photos/TRB2561.php
--only not *that* cluttered, more spacious, and less electric stuff.

Date: 2011-07-24 05:20 am (UTC)
kelkyag: notched triangle signature mark in light blue on yellow (Default)
From: [personal profile] kelkyag
Oh, this is chock full of sweet details! The speaker horns, the spiral staircase, the framing of the front window.... That cup of tea seems fated to a violent end, though, perched precariously near all those cats, even without the possibility of turbulance.

So glad I peeked back at the call-for-prompts to see your link here. :)

Date: 2011-08-06 04:49 pm (UTC)
kelkyag: notched triangle signature mark in light blue on yellow (Default)
From: [personal profile] kelkyag
The newer and fancier steering wheel (?) and the decorations on the speaking horn are both lovely.

Date: 2011-08-14 04:50 am (UTC)
rowyn: (artistic)
From: [personal profile] rowyn
I love the airship detailing -- all those slim curvy lines in the background, and the graceful spiral of the staircase. Lovely!

Date: 2011-10-23 03:17 pm (UTC)
heavenscalyx: (wonder city)
From: [personal profile] heavenscalyx
Oh, the detailing is lovely! The cats are adorable. Thank you!

Date: 2011-10-25 12:59 pm (UTC)
aldersprig: (Winter)
From: [personal profile] aldersprig
Wow, so crisp!

The first thing that caught my eye was the decoration on the - grammaphone? horn in the front right.

You draw awesome kitties; I want to see more of the one on the back of the chair, with the perfect kitty-smile.

And the doorway! OMG lovely!

Date: 2011-11-06 01:31 am (UTC)
ext_162519: Photo of me holding a bobcat I raised (Kitty with lights)
From: [identity profile] laffingkat.livejournal.com
Oh, the details here are beautiful. I'd love to live in a space like that! Or perhaps be reincarnated as one of those cats. :)