Fanart (J2BB): Carve Our Names in Hearts Into the Warhead
Title: Carve Our Names in Hearts Into the Warhead
Author: cherie_morte
Artist: cassiopeia7
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: PG (art only)
Summary: After years of training to be a U.S. missileer, Jared finds himself locked in a missile silo underground with only one other pissed off crew member to keep him company. There he and Jensen wait (and wait and wait) for a message from their superiors: an order that will either announce the end of World War III and tell them to return to life on the surface or leave them with the responsibility of sending a retaliatory missile to the enemy, ensuring that no one makes it out alive on either side except for those safely contained in fallout shelters. Basically, if you've ever heard Josh Ritter's "The Temptation of Adam," this is 100 percent inspired by that song.
Warnings: None for art.
Media: Pen, Copic and Prismacolor markers, pastel pencil and digital enhancement.
A/N: I have a thing for "end of the world" disaster scenarios. But considering that my computer went belly-up a week after art claims, taking with it all of my J2BB reference photos, fonts, art notes, and marked-up copies of the fics, considering that, less than two weeks after THAT, a massive asthma attack necessitated a week in the hospital . . . you might say that perhaps disaster scenarios have a thing for me, too. Cherie, thank you for your patience with broken computers and busted lungs, for your suggestions and comments, and most of all, for writing the story that won me over. Thanks also go to my art betas, becc_j and maichan, for their brilliant suggestions and guidance. And of course, thanks to the hardest working mod ever, the fabulous wendy, without whom there would be no spn_j2_bigbang.
WARNING: ART CONTAINS STORY SPOILERS!
Somewhere between the second and third week of living in the silo, the sound of crying wakes Jared.
"I'm going to regret showing you this, aren't I?"
"Probably," Jared answers, reaching in and grabbing a few of the closest packages.
"Candy! Oh god, oh god."
Jared finds Jensen in the lab . . . his hand resting over the big red launch button and his eyes fixed
on the communication board as if he's expecting a message any moment.
"I was supposed to be there, too," Jensen says quietly. He's looking down at their hands, and his voice sounds thin.
"I should have at least been with her. All I can think is that she was alone."
Jensen climbs up onto his cot and says goodnight to Jared shortly after, but Jared doesn't go to his big comfy bed.
He'd rather lie here, on the cold metal floor, curled under Jensen like a loyal dog, staring up at the sky Jensen made for him.
Jared sends him a mischievous smile and begins to carve away the black paint, leaving scratched,
silver letters behind instead. "What's it look like I'm doing? I'm using this here oak tree to let the world know."
. . . hand in hand, they step out into the sunlight.
Dividers:
LOLicons:
[Drafts, process, et cetera.]'
Rough drafts and other snafus.
First banner mockup in which bonehead artist forgets nearly half of the story title. Oops.
With the exception of the banner, all preliminary roughs for "Hearts" were sketched from a hospital bed, scribbled (and I DO mean "scribbled") in ballpoint pen on printer paper begged from the nurses' station with zero photo references, and my left arm skewered by an IV port and firmly tethered to a rolling IV stand. Did I mention that I draw with my left hand? >.<
Me: Wait, I'm left-handed -- please don't stick --
Nurse: Mmm, nice veins. *stabbity*
On the other hand, being stuck in bed for nearly a week sans internet worked wonders for my "trapped-in-a-missile-silo-and-it's-the-end-of-the-world" mindset, and so much was accomplished. Have some of the roughest roughs you'll ever see:
. . . and after returning home, getting access to actual PENCILS and photo references . . .
Oh, Jensen. Anatomy fail, fail, FAIL. SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T USE PHOTO REFS??
. . . and after:
Before . . .
. . . this one underwent major changes . . .
oh, dear God, poor Jared. :(
. . . and later . . .
The Scene That Won Me Over: a progression.
First messy version:
First cleanup (Cherie and I laughed our asses off at my scribbled "constellations."):
First test of Jensen's constellations via digital "starfield" brush. Yay, Orion! (Cue Cherie being massively relieved):
. . . and the final version as completed, before adding digital gradient and stars.:
VERY rough alternate end piece of the guys exiting the silo via emergency escape hatch (in which Jared is having an extraordinarily bad hair day.) Cherie and I agreed this scene did not fit into the story. .