Fanart - SHWC - Post 6

[leskuh]

ART

Fandom/Universe: Strangetown, Here We Come
Character(s): Ripp, Johnny and Ophelia









a/n: BEST CHAPTER EVER.

I had 'Have You Seen Me Lately' by the Counting Crows on repeat the WHOLE TIME I was working on this. I-I'm not sure why.

Comments

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

Hah! I always hope that my art will maybe help get you motivated to do more of the story! I guess it works out, huh?

I like Johnny in the center best, because he's really the protector of his two friends. I don't know if Phi and Ripp could really make it without him. They rely on him to lead them through, to tell them wrong from right, even if they don't always listen.

Sexually it's Phi who should be in the center, with the boys keeping her safe, but that ignores the fact that Ripp is in just as much need as Phi, perhaps moreso. Phi's scared, but Ripp is lonely and self-destructive. I'd sooner put him in the center than Phi. Because I think that he needs that in his life, to be surrounded by love.

Originally, Johnny wasn't smiling, but then I changed it. I love how peaceful he looks. He's...happy - content.

The Johnny/Ripp attraction has always interested me. Clearly, it's Ophelia that they're most focused on, but there's still a vibe from the two of them. I don't know if they quite get it or ever will, but I certainly hope so. I believe it was Part Two of the latest chapter that had my heart pounding for them. First when they were hugging and Johnny was just... thinking about Ripp. A-and the tingling feeling down Johnny's neck and then you put in a shot of their lower halves and it was enough to relax Johnny. I mean, that's powerful stuff. And their fight later! When Johnny was on top of Ripp for about four shots made me feel like at any moment Johnny was going to lean down and kiss Ripp.

And they do love each other, but I'm not sure they've ever really seriously considered the sexual side to their friendship. But it's there. Johnny bathing Ripp. Ripp holding Johnny. How they always get so close to one another. They're definitely more intimate than most male friends and I am HOPING that we get to see it start getting a little more sexual between them.

The trio's sexuality is so wonderful fluid and real. Ophelia is no blushing virgin and she is definitely attracted to men. Ripp loves sex and clearly loves woman, but is not completely shy when it comes to men, though it doesn't seem like something he's ever really decided upon. And Johnny reads as so very straight, though he's definitely a prude, but there's Ripp who gets just as close as Phi does and Johnny DOESN'T care.

I-I just LOVE where the story is going. And I'm so glad that the trio is sticking together.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Oh, it definitely does help to motivate me. It's very exciting to see my characters reflected back through someone else's talent, and I really do feel like you understand the characters in a lot of really important ways. Most of the things you do are essentially true to the characters, if not completely accurate in all the details. That's also very exciting - to see them in a slightly different light, so I thank you for doing that. Authors who have a large fanbase that writes fanfiction must be so interested in that. If I were J.K. Rowling, I would spend so much time reading what the fans have done to her work (though I can see how she got annoyed at all the shipping and stuff - the little epilogue at the end of the last book, where they're all paired off and married, seemed like a blatantly intentional attempt to control the post-story canon for HP fanfiction. It seemed a little cheap and unnecessary to me).

I totally agree. Johnny is very much the head of the household. He's the one that makes sure the bills get paid, and all that day-to-day stuff. It's not easy being the "stick in the mud" responsible adult, but Johnny doesn't mind taking that on. In fact, he really wants to be the one running the show like that. It's the bossy firstborn child in him. Birth order is one of the things I REALLY like to analyze when writing characters. Johnny, Ripp, and Ophelia all have very different situations like that - first, middle, and only, and I think that is really reflected in the way they relate to each other.

That scene just before the fight is really meant to show that there is an intimate connection between Johnny and Ripp. It's subtle, but it's strong. The fight was also oddly intimate, and I feel like they must have been somewhat exhilarated by the close contact there.

I've always intended Ripp to be somewhat bisexual, or a sexual omnivore, or heteroflexible, or whatever you may call it. He's obviously much more attracted to women, but his sexuality touches everything. It's how he experiences the world. It's not surprising that he hasn't been really aware of it (think of him and Stella, who is both a male and a female, and how he sort of realized that, but then explained it away), considering his upbringing. Johnny is definitely trickier. He reads as mostly straight, I agree, so he would be the one to watch, if you're hoping they could be sexually involved. Johnny's not exactly throwing his sexuality around, and he's more concerned about love, above all else. I doubt he's been attracted to a lot of other people besides Phi. I imagine that Johnny would have to be in love with someone before he even found them remotely sexually attractive. So, considering that, the rest of his sexual landscape remains pretty hidden. We know he likes Phi, and that's about it.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

Wee! I'm glad that I can help! You're characters are so interesting that I can't help but be inspired by them. And I know what you mean about how it must be so interesting to have a huge fanbase. I'd never get anything done, because I'd be READING instead of writing all the time. (And I'm not really a fan of the epilogue myself, I know she probably did it because she wanted to give her characters a truly happy end, but I wish it hadn't seemed quite so definitive. Why couldn't it have ended with a happy scene a few years in the future instead of so far ahead? Also, too many new characters at once made my brain explode a bit.)

I love responsible Johnny. He's quickly becoming my favorite character. Even if he doesn't quite get it and is worried about allowing Ripp in in that way, he still does it. Because he loves Phi and Ripp that much.

I like the sibling stuff, but have always found it silly in some ways. Mostly, because I'm the oldest, but don't quite follow the bossy, overprotective role. I'm the dreamer, and my sister is bossy one.

I LOVED both the fight scene and the one before it. The boys always seem to get closer than necessary, even when they're fighting. It's those things that feel like there is something of an underlying sexual tension between the two of them.

Haha to all of the words used to pin down Ripp's sexuality. I haven't really thought of how Ripp was raised affecting how he looks at his own sexuality! But you're right, he probably keeps dismissing his more homosexual tendencies as nothing really. And Johnny too! I never really looked into the fact that he just... doesn't really show off his own sexuality. I love how you described it - Johnny needs a romantic love first and foremost. I can't wait to see this all develop!!

[xel-squirgle-ox.livejournal.com]

Oh, I remember the Stella thing! It feels so long ago now, considering what has happened to them in so little time. I knew that he'd be taking a bit of a bisexual route ever since that experience of being "probed". I also remember his fascination with trying to find out if Johnny had any female parts too. I was actually really wanting to see if he would end up doing anything with a guy. (Which is one of the main reasons why I was so excited that night I first read chapter 25 part 3- My prayers were answered! Haha)