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jugandbettsdetectiveagency · 8 years ago

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Let’s Be Lonely Together - 2

I can' t believe I dropped a chapter then just disappeared for a month. I hope you're still interested in this fic <3

1 . Read on AO3

“B! Oh my God, are you okay?” Veronica gushed, her heels clicking across the floor of the Blue and Gold office, arms outstretched to engulf her fallen friend into a hug.

“Don’t worry, V,” Betty told her instead, because she wasn’t okay, and both of them knew it. Her arms hung limply at her side as Veronica squeeze her tightly and Betty felt as if she were suffocating in the embrace. “Everyone will forget about it soon.”

Veronica pulled back too look at her with barely concealed dubiousness, highly arched brows drawn together in a look of worry. “Yeah, I’m sure they will.” Her eyes searched Betty’s face for a beat, looking as if she wanted to ask her something, but something she saw must have made her decide against it because instead she rallied, “Knowing this place, by tomorrow everyone will be talking about which JV cheerleader’s clothes Cheryl decided to have stolen after post-practice showers this week, in the ritualistic routine that is high school hazing.” She smirked slyly, hoping her comments would cause the blonde to crack a smile. Her face fell as Betty’s frown just appeared to deepen. “Don’t let it get to you, B. It’s probably just some bottom feeder clutching at the lowest rung of the social ladder trying to get a rise out of you,” she sighed.

Betty nodded, bunching the cuffs of her sweater into her fists so that her nails couldn’t reach the skin as she turned away to boot up the ancient desktop computer collecting decades worth of dust on the table behind her. She could sense the dark-haired girl hovering at her shoulder, watching her every move in a way that was starting to become taxing. She was just about to address her when Veronica finally spoke up.

“Who were the pictures for?” she asked in what she tried to make a light voice, but the wariness hidden there was too noticeable for it to fully hit its mark. Betty let her eyes flutter closed, grateful that she was facing the wall instead of her friend. “I… I won’t judge you,” Veronica added, volume dropping a few levels. “You can see your hands in the pictures, I know you didn’t take them yourself,” she continued after a difficult swallow.

Betty could feel her ponytail swinging as she shook her head, Veronica’s gaze causing a damp sweat to rise on the back of her neck and she suddenly found herself wishing she’d left her damn hair down.

She already thinks she knows, a voice in Betty’s head whispered as she continued to leave Veronica’s question unanswered. It was there, in the slight tremor of her words, her reluctance to ask her in the first place. It wasn’t out of concern for Betty’s fragile emotional state – Veronica Lodge was far too coarse and to the point for that. No, she was worried that her own heart was about to be broken, and Betty didn’t want to be the one to do it.

“Am I interrupting?” A voice drifted over to them, slicing through the thick, mounting tension in the room. Betty spun, hoping her face didn’t look as bad as she thought it did, to greet her rescuer.

Jughead Jones stood in the doorway, one hand gripping the dark wooden frame as he leaned slightly into the room, the other supporting the heavy strap of his satchel hanging around his neck, his forehead littered with cautious creases.

“Yes,” Veronica said sharply, rolling her eyes when Jughead didn’t even flinch. Instead he just raised one questioning eyebrow, curious eyes flicking between the two girls. “What do you want, Jones?” Veronica sighed.

“You know, Holly Golightly was always very welcoming to those who showed up at her door – your façade is slipping, Princess.” At Veronica’s resounding scowl he just shrugged. “Betty asked me to meet her to talk about something the other day,” Jughead said, shifting his eyes over to the quiet blonde. He kept his gaze firmly fixed on Betty where she stood across the room, refusing to meet his eyes. Her skin was ashen behind the scarlet flush that had risen to her cheeks, and she could feel the concern rolling off him in waves as he tried to get her to look up.

She’d known Jughead since they were in kindergarten, because wherever Jughead was, Archie was, and wherever Archie was Betty wasn’t far behind. He was always quiet but sweet to her, a listening ear whenever Archie would blow her off for something – or someone – else. As a result she’d ended up spending a lot of time with Jughead in their formative years, especially once Archie hit puberty.

Freshman year had brought the usual struggles of adjustment for the three of them but something else changed too. Jughead became distant, his sarcastic witticism swapped for pure, unadulterated derision. There was a bite to his words that Betty had never encountered before and she was unable to hide how much it stung. The boy who’d invited her to be the damsel in his treehouse just so Archie could play the white knight had faded into something else, something jaded and jagged around the edges and she wasn’t sure why.

Of course, she’d known deep down that perhaps she had been a little bit neglectful of their friendship in favour of football games and parties at the Pembroke once Cheryl finally deigned to let her become a River Vixen, but she was still friendly to him whenever they crossed paths. Or at least she tried to be; Jughead didn’t seem to be all for letting that childhood bond continue into their teenage years.

And she’d tried not to feel guilty. Jughead was pushing them away, not the other way around. But she was a Cooper and she couldn’t help but feel responsible for the happiness of others, or lack thereof. She’d tried to talk to Archie about it when she happened to notice a rather snide look thrown their way as Jug trudged across the cafeteria, burger-laden tray in hand, but he’d just brushed her off, told her to drop it.

So she had, and she continued to. Right up until a few weeks ago, that was, just after senior year had begun.

***

He’d been in his usual booth at Pop’s, far enough away from the door so that he didn’t have to be in the line of fire when they usual trail of jocks walked in and decided to throw out a couple of harassments as they made their way inside, close enough to the counter so that Maureen, the waitress, could see when he needed a refill in his coffee cup.

“Can I sit?” He’d looked up, startled to find the question directed at him. “Hey, Juggie.” Betty stood nervously, one newly manicured hand resting on the back of the bench opposite him, her hair perfectly curled and a pretty pink dress draped over her frame.

“There’s plenty of other booths,” Jughead deadpanned with a raised brow, glancing around the diner as if she hadn’t noticed that 9pm, during a school dance no less, was not exactly prime time for the twenty-four hour shack in what seemed like the smallest town in Eastern America.

“Oh,” she said, eyes slipping to the floor as her cheeks heated to match the colour of her outfit. He sighed, suddenly feeling like a complete ass.

“Of course you can sit, Betty,” Jughead tried again, softening his tone. She looked up at him from beneath her lashes and he felt his stomach swoop – she really did look nice in pink. It had been a while since they’d been so close, too, and he hadn’t realised how much she’d grown into herself over the past few years. Her face was more angular, her legs longer, and were her eyes always that green? He pulled his laptop closer to him as she sat down, wielding it like a makeshift shield.

“You didn’t go to the dance?” she asked lightly after a few minutes silence, just as he’d begun typing again. He scoffed before he could help himself.

“I’m not exactly the type to lose my shit over the prospect of school functions,” he remarked, looking at her dryly over the screen. She giggled, biting it back by capturing her lower lip between her teeth.

“Same old Jughead,” she teased, eyes sparkling. He shrugged, a hint of a smile pulling at his lips.

“What about you? You definitely went,” he said, looking at her attire. “What are you doing here?” Her smile faltered and she dropped his gaze in favour of looking out of the window.

“I just… I didn’t want to be there anymore,” she said cryptically, making it obvious that she didn’t want to elaborate. But Jughead couldn’t help but push.

“What, got bored of drinking spiked punch whilst being groped by football players?” he quipped, voice dripping with satire. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Shit, Betty, are you okay? Did anything…?” he trailed off, suddenly unnerved by her silence.

“It’s fine, Jug, don’t worry about it. Nothing happened really,” she placated, leaning over to steal a fry from the basket next to him, grimacing at how cold it was. Her ‘really’ wasn’t exactly reassuring. He wanted to probe further but before he could she spoke again. “What are you writing?” she asked, nodding towards the laptop in front of him. He looked down at it as if he’d forgotten it was even there.

“Err, a novel, I guess,” he replied absently, watching the way the cursor on screen blinked back at him rhythmically.

“Oh, yeah?” she sat up, resting her elbows on the table as she leant forwards, eyes glimmering. “What’s it about?”

“Um, I’m not sure yet,” he said lamely, wishing he’d told her he was just doing homework instead. Although that wasn’t much better for a Friday night. Then again, he gave no pretence when it came to being cool. “This town, the people. I don’t know, I’m waiting for something interesting to happen,” he joked with a barely humorous laugh. The gleam in her eye sharpened.

“Am I in this novel?” she pressed. As she angled her body closer Jughead could tell that if he looked away from her face he would be able to see straight down her dress, and possibly sneak a glance at the perfectly demure underwear she would have picked out to go beneath her outfit. He chose a spot on the booth behind her to focus on instead.

“Depends,” he said.

“On what?”

“If you’re the something interesting.”

His eyes met hers again and he found a defiance in them that he hadn’t seen just moments before. They both knew the implication behind his words. Little Betty Cooper; next to her sister there was no way she could outdo what had already happened for the title of most interesting topic of conversation. He’d heard the snide comments directed less at her and more at her family as people passed in the hallways, especially right after Polly got taken out of school. Now Betty moved as if she had a point to prove, that she wasn’t next in line to be the token basket case of Riverdale High.

“Well, you never know,” she said eventually, the corner of her mouth remaining ticked up in a way that let him know she wasn’t unhappy with him. “I should be going.” She rose, pausing once again by the edge of the booth. “You like writing,” she stated. He rolled his eyes, gesturing to the laptop like they hadn’t just spent the last few minutes talking about it.

“Yeah.”

“Come by the Blue and Gold office on Monday, I want to talk to you about something,” she smiled, turning to go.

“Talk about what?” he called after her, brow furrowed. If she thought she was going to get him to write for the school newspaper of all things then she had another think coming. But then she shot him a coy glance over her shoulder and suddenly Jughead wasn’t so sure in his convictions.

“You’ll have to show up to find out!” she shot back, grinning as she was gone with the tinkle of a bell.

***

“If you’re the something interesting.”

Well, she’d certainly outdone herself there. There was no way she wasn’t making it into his manuscript now.

There was a small part of her that hoped that she might have found a way to claw some of the genuine friendship she had with Jughead back by getting him to work with her on the Blue and Gold. After everything that had transpired recently she thought she could use something like that right about now.

And now it was all ruined, and he’d never look at her the same way again. Not after this. She was aware that a lot of people had a very specific view about her formed in their minds, but the one she knew Jughead to have was the closest to accurate that she was sure anyone had. He’d known her before they’d grown up, before they were separated by the joys of high school politics, and before she’d been exposed, quite literally, before the prying eyes of the entire school. This was it, her last shot blown.

“It’s okay, Jug, it doesn’t matter. I don’t need to talk to you anymore,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around her middle. His frown deepened, and if she’d had it left in her she would have laughed at how that was even possible.

“Can I talk to you then? Alone,” he added pointedly after Veronica made no move to leave. The dark-haired girl huffed in dramatic annoyance and grabbed her purse from the table she’d dropped it on, striding over to Betty.

“Call later?” she said, touching Betty’s cheek lightly. Betty gave her the barest of nods before she was gone, throwing one last distrustful look at Jughead on her way out of the door.

“What is it, Betts?” Jughead asked as soon as Veronica had been swallowed up by the crowds. The use of the nickname made her shiver, eyes clenching against all the happier memories that bubbled up before her vision.

“Like you don’t know,” she muttered quietly, angling her body away from him slightly. He took a step closer, brows knitting further.

“Actually, I don’t.” The authentic cluelessness in his tone made her pause, looking up at him with an expression that mirrored his own, all but the extra little bit of apprehension that was thrown in on her part.

“You haven’t seen? It was sent to everybody,” Betty said, voice shaking as she thought about it once more. Her stomach churned.

“You mean this?” He held up his phone and a white hot anger shot down her spine at the thought that he would be so callous as to flash the offending images right before her eyes like this. Then again, who’s to say she didn’t deserve it – she hadn’t exactly tried very hard to keep him from drifting away from their friendship group. “Open your eyes, Betty,” he sighed in exasperation, and it was only then did she realise she’d clenched them shut.

Hesitantly, she did as he asked, the screen of his phone coming into view. Sitting there, in his inbox, was the message, the little notification indicating that it was still unopened.

“I don’t usually rush to open school addressed mail anyway but… when I got here this morning and heard what it was, I would never have opened it,” he murmured, swiping the offending mail to the left and hitting the big, red delete button. A sob rose in Betty’s throat, breaking air before she could clasp a hand over her mouth to silence it. Jughead hurried forward, stopping just short of her as he awkwardly reached out a steadying hand to place on her shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay,” he soothed, softly rubbing the material of her shirt between his thumb and forefinger. Betty focused on the warmth, rubbing smudged mascara from beneath her red-rimmed eyes.

“How on earth is this going to be okay?” she asked through a thick throat, shoulders sagging under the weight of the morning. He didn’t speak for a while

“We’ll find out who leaked them, and get them to fess up. There’s got to be some kind of punishment; I heard Weatherbee is already on the warpath,” he informed her, his smile looking a bit too much like a grimace. “You… don’t already know who did this, do you?” he questioned quietly, ducking his head to meet her eyes.

Betty stared back at him, searching the crystal blue depths of his gaze, bile settling warm and heavy in her stomach.

“No,” she answered after a minute, watching as he nodded his head swiftly. The bile rose.

The bell rang out above them, startling his hand from its place resting on her shoulder.

“I’ve gotta get to class. But, I’ll talk to you later, Betty, alright?” he asked as he backed up towards the door. She nodded, even though it definitely wasn’t alright.

“Yeah. Bye, Juggie,” she whispered as she watched him go.

***

“Miss Blossom?” Miss Burble looked up at the sound of a lethargic knock against the doorframe of her office. She’d done a check on the system just after Ethel had left her, matching up the names on her list to the faces of the students.

“Yeah,” the girl drawled, smoothing a hand over the long, auburn locks thrown over one shoulder.

“Please, come in. I wanted to discuss something with you,” she said sweetly, already offended by this girl’s attitude. Every school had one, she thought, and she was about to encounter the one. Cheryl rolled her eyes but stalked towards the chair and sat down, crossing on scantily clad leg over the other.

“Look, if this is about Bubbles Betty then I know nothing about it. That PowerPuff reject has more than one enemy looking to bump her from the social hierarchy before you even glance in my direction,” she remarked, examining her clearly perfect red nails.

“You seem to know a lot about this,” Miss Burble noted casually, pulling her notepad closer to her while twirling her pen between her fingers. Cheryl look up quickly, dropping her hand.

“I know a lot of things,” she said steadily. “It comes with the territory.” Miss Burble nodded slowly, realising she wasn’t going to continue.

“I’ve heard from some students that you may have had some issues with Betty and her family in the past,” she said carefully, watching closely for Cheryl’s reactions. The muscle in her neck twitched.

“And which students were these?” The sharpness of her voice made Bella’s eyebrows shoot up. Cheryl took a breath, uncrossing her legs as she deliberately placed her hands on her knees. A bright smile painted her lips. “Listen, it’s not my fault that Betty’s tweaked out sister finally snapped and the rest of the crazy Cooper clan blamed it on JJ. She was headed that way long before they started anything. It’s not like it gives me motive.” The measure in her tone was unnerving, like they were right on the edge of a precipice, balancing precariously. It was Bella’s job to make sure they didn’t fall.

“I’m not trying to accuse anyone of anything, Cheryl. I am simply here to mediate and try and find out the facts. I just want to know if you have any idea as to who sent the pictures, or know of something that might have prompted this to happen,” she said diplomatically. The blank stare she was receiving didn’t fill her with confidence until Cheryl sighed.

“I try and avoid Malibu Barbie at all costs to be totally honest with you. I don’t have the time or the care to out her freaky fantasies to everyone. I only let her on the squad because apparently we live in an age of cheer-ocracy that threatens to rebel if I don’t throw in an act of good will every once in a while.” Miss Burble tried to hide the appalled look threatening to consume her features. Resident mean girl appeared to be an understatement. “If you want answers, try Archie Andrews. I hear there has been some trouble in suburban paradise between those two recently, not unlikely because of a certain raven-haired Park Avenue Princess that rolled into town and scuppered the whole plain Jane fantasy Mini Cooper had planned out for the both of them.” The bell rang out around them, the loud, aimless chatter of students filling the halls. “Can I go now?” Cheryl asked, clearly bored with this conversation and believing she’d offered up more than enough information.

“Of course. Thank you, Miss Blossom.” With that the girl swept out of the office, leaving the young guidance counsellor more than slightly exhausted. This was going to take more effort than she thought.

#bughead #bughead fanfiction #betty cooper #jughead jones #betty x jughead #riverdale #riverdale fanfiction #bughead fan fiction #jetty #writing

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jeremystrele · 5 years ago

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Revving Up Home Decor With Red & Blue Accents

Monochrome home interiors are a sleek modern option, but adding in bright colour really revs up the energy and character of a space. Today we’re specifically looking at how contrasting red and blue accents balance each other out in a black, white, and grey home decor scheme–as well as pump up the wow factor. Take a tour around a studio apartment with a blue accent lounge, red infused kitchen, and some quirky wall art, to see how to push the theme big and bold. Then, finish off with a family home that’s alive with colourful focal areas that float in a tranquil sea of white and wood tone.

Designer: One Architects Visualizer: One Architects Our first red and blue accented home is a studio apartment that’s characterised by oversized elements and concrete feature walls. In the lounge, a modern sofa strikes a line of electric blue behind a round coffee table on a circular area rug.

The concrete partition wall behind the modern sofa marks a divide between the lounge and kitchen.

LEDs shine where the concrete wall meets the ceiling to accentuate its raw texture. Track lights beam around the perimeter of the lounge.

Indoor plants are dotted around the layout, building height around linear furniture. Grey concrete planters complement the living room feature wall. A red slimline media unit stands out brightly against a geometric wall treatment.

Quirky wall art competes with the colourful room elements for the spotlight.

Glass bifold doors can be drawn closed across the sleep space of the studio apartment, or left open to increase the depth of the living room.

A track light system draws out a square above the bed.

Monochrome wall panels layer up to build a cozy bedroom scheme with light and shade. LEDs in the headboard wall trick the mind into thinking there is a window there.

The sleeping nook gains natural light from the living room window, even if its glass doors are shut.

Vertical wall sconces thread narrow wall spaces.

Solid red cabinet doors slide an adventurous slab of colour into the home entryway. These are the main wardrobes for the home since the bedroom is sleeping space only.

A void beneath the floating closets stores shoes; the line is lit by LEDs concealed under the lip of the units.

The grey front door is smoothly camouflaged within grey wall panels. A tall mirror widens the look of the space.

Chevron wood flooring connects the open plan living areas.

A grey and white kitchen design is uplifted by red cabinetry in the central island.

Large dining pendant lights make a heavy display low over the island countertop. White woven kitchen bar stools lighten the look.

Cabinets across the one wall kitchen are knocked back in white; a prep space at the centre carves out a dark block of grey raw concrete.

Pops of plant greenery freshen up the heavy room palette.

Ribbed cabinet doors, and ridged light shades build texture.

Walking into the bathroom, a slick stripe of red flows around the modern bathroom vanity and the cistern wall.

A clean white border defines the vanity area, whilst grey granite and smooth panels clad the rest.

Towels and toiletries stack in a striking red shelf tower.

An expanse of white tiles give the shower a light and bright air.

Designer: Arina Zamorina Visualizer: Arina Zamorina Our second red and blue accented interior is a vibrant modern family home. Grey, white and natural wood elements provide the base for colourful hero pieces, like this bright red window seat and matching red soffit. Although not quite as colourful, the piece of cool cat furniture above the sofa definitely deserves a mention; its angular form and wood lining make it a piece of feline friendly art. An equally stylish little cat ladder means that the furry family member doesn’t have to use the sofa or anyones head for a leg up.

A panel of grey provides a mounting spot for the TV.

Just a thin stripe of blue by the bookcase gloriously juxtaposes the red window installation.

The blue stripe is echoed in the kitchen on a horizontal plane. A small round dining table is visually anchored in place by a low hanging sculptural light fixture. See more dining room pendant lights.

The chevron wood flooring of the lounge becomes crisp white tiling beneath the clean white kitchen.

An interior door becomes camouflaged in the paintwork of the room, by the white kitchen border and grey TV wall.

Blue backing picks out a built in entryway seat in a white flooded hallway design.

In the master bedroom, a platform bed and TV stand follow the same sharp white aesthetic.

A glass wall separates off a small study area with a modern home office desk and stylish computer chair.

On the other side of the blue carpeted area, a makeup table and vanity chair form a dressing area.

Blue panels and chunky terrazzo colour the family bathroom.

A cut out in the front of the bathroom vanity reveals a washing machine housed there. A tray of soap dispensers dress the top of the utility cupboard.

Terrazzo tiles add energy to the small space.

In the kids room, colours are calming apart from one lively spot of red that forms a wall light by the bed.

A Scandinavian style kid’s chair and table make a dinky dining spot for teddy bears.

A red small side table pulls up by an adjustable kids’ bed.

In the kid’s decor scheme, the chevron floor continues upward to form a flowing feature wall.

Recommended Reading: Piet Mondrian Inspired Interior Design To Give Your Home The De Stijl Flair Modern Red And Grey Interiors With Japanese Influences

Managing With Less: 3 Small Homes Under 40 Square Meters (430 Square Feet)

Wood Covered Industrial Interior Accented With 1940's Inspired Palette

Bold And Breezy Interiors That Mix Blue And Pink Decor, With Red Accents

Two Luxury Single Family Houses With Red And Grey Decor

Small Interiors With Red, Pink And Blue Accents

Bright Apartments Styled With Mid Century Modernism

0 notes

drewebowden66 · 5 years ago

Text

Revving Up Home Decor With Red & Blue Accents

The concrete partition wall behind the modern sofa marks a divide between the lounge and kitchen.

LEDs shine where the concrete wall meets the ceiling to accentuate its raw texture. Track lights beam around the perimeter of the lounge.

Quirky wall art competes with the colourful room elements for the spotlight.

Glass bifold doors can be drawn closed across the sleep space of the studio apartment, or left open to increase the depth of the living room.

A track light system draws out a square above the bed.

Monochrome wall panels layer up to build a cozy bedroom scheme with light and shade. LEDs in the headboard wall trick the mind into thinking there is a window there.

The sleeping nook gains natural light from the living room window, even if its glass doors are shut.

Vertical wall sconces thread narrow wall spaces.

Solid red cabinet doors slide an adventurous slab of colour into the home entryway. These are the main wardrobes for the home since the bedroom is sleeping space only.

A void beneath the floating closets stores shoes; the line is lit by LEDs concealed under the lip of the units.

The grey front door is smoothly camouflaged within grey wall panels. A tall mirror widens the look of the space.

Chevron wood flooring connects the open plan living areas.

A grey and white kitchen design is uplifted by red cabinetry in the central island.

Large dining pendant lights make a heavy display low over the island countertop. White woven kitchen bar stools lighten the look.

Cabinets across the one wall kitchen are knocked back in white; a prep space at the centre carves out a dark block of grey raw concrete.

Pops of plant greenery freshen up the heavy room palette.

Ribbed cabinet doors, and ridged light shades build texture.

Walking into the bathroom, a slick stripe of red flows around the modern bathroom vanity and the cistern wall.

A clean white border defines the vanity area, whilst grey granite and smooth panels clad the rest.

Towels and toiletries stack in a striking red shelf tower.

An expanse of white tiles give the shower a light and bright air.

A panel of grey provides a mounting spot for the TV.

Just a thin stripe of blue by the bookcase gloriously juxtaposes the red window installation.

The chevron wood flooring of the lounge becomes crisp white tiling beneath the clean white kitchen.

An interior door becomes camouflaged in the paintwork of the room, by the white kitchen border and grey TV wall.

Blue backing picks out a built in entryway seat in a white flooded hallway design.

In the master bedroom, a platform bed and TV stand follow the same sharp white aesthetic.

A glass wall separates off a small study area with a modern home office desk and stylish computer chair.

On the other side of the blue carpeted area, a makeup table and vanity chair form a dressing area.

Blue panels and chunky terrazzo colour the family bathroom.

A cut out in the front of the bathroom vanity reveals a washing machine housed there. A tray of soap dispensers dress the top of the utility cupboard.

Terrazzo tiles add energy to the small space.

In the kids room, colours are calming apart from one lively spot of red that forms a wall light by the bed.

A Scandinavian style kid’s chair and table make a dinky dining spot for teddy bears.

A red small side table pulls up by an adjustable kids’ bed.

In the kid’s decor scheme, the chevron floor continues upward to form a flowing feature wall.

Recommended Reading: Piet Mondrian Inspired Interior Design To Give Your Home The De Stijl Flair Modern Red And Grey Interiors With Japanese Influences

Managing With Less: 3 Small Homes Under 40 Square Meters (430 Square Feet)

Wood Covered Industrial Interior Accented With 1940's Inspired Palette

Bold And Breezy Interiors That Mix Blue And Pink Decor, With Red Accents

Two Luxury Single Family Houses With Red And Grey Decor

Small Interiors With Red, Pink And Blue Accents

Bright Apartments Styled With Mid Century Modernism

0 notes

samuelthorpfutureworks-blog · 7 years ago

Text

1500-word Reflective Design Blog Post

References and Research

For our game we chose a sci-fi spaceship setting so the first step for the project was to find references and inspiration that could give us a strong idea as to what we wanted to create, luckily there is a plethora of sci-fi material available to draw from so we had a lot to choose from, due to the enclosed spaceship space and horror aesthetic to the game, the most obvious choice to start with was the Alien series, both the game and the movies.

This was a great help in establishing the tone and style I was going to use when it came to modelling the environment, in Alien the ships have this grimey yet practical feel to them that lends an element of believability to them, large sections of the ship use dark colours and dim lighting, everything has a rough metallic feel to it yet doesn't seem dilapidated, where most of the ship feels grimey, the living spaces such as the kitchen and dining area and the cryo sleep room instead are often more cleaner and brighter and seems more livable, this was definitely a feeling I wanted to mimic in the various rooms and locations found within our game.

Tacoma was another sci-fi property we looked into, a game with a rather simple yet effective art style, this game was a big source of inspiration in terms of how to approach the models and textures themselves, given the narrow time limit we had for the projects deadline we felt striving for such a simple yet effective art style would be the best way to ensure the desired results for the game.

While we looked at many other sources of inspiration, I feel these two were the most influential on my work.

Models

The assets look best in game with full lighting and metalics and roughness applied however this can make it hard to see all aspects of the model so the images are of the maya versions.

Walls V1

This was the first variant of wall and first model set that I made for the game, the idea being to create a wall set that can be placed together in any order to facilitate the larger environments that we wished to have in our game, having the walls be pushed out was to give that sense of artificial breathing room, that if you were to design a real ship you would try to make it seem less claustrophobic by making it seem like there was more space than there actually is.

Walls V2

With the second wall set I went for a more industrial feel as that was one of the core aspects we wanted to create with the ships aesthetic, it's a lot more hard edged than the first variant and with a lot more of a rustic and worn texture, though I tried to avoid making it seem completely dilapidated.

Walls V3

These walls are used almost exclusively in the more livable area of the ship such as the bed room and locker room, my thinking behind this was that the areas that people inhabit in their personal time tends to be more taken care of and less worn down and dirty, simerly inspired by the living quarters in the Alien series which as mentioned above are brighter, cleaner and more livable.

Walls V4

The fourth set of walls came about when building the higher ceilinged second floor, the other wall types didn't look great when stacked simply looking repetitive and boring when overused in such high quantity so i decided to create a wall that could be flipped and stacked onto itself to alleviate that repetitive look while also providing a wall type that could be repurposed in the lower ceilings of the third floor.

Door

The door is pretty simple and none too complex, i simply tried to replicate that style of door often seen in typical sci-fi, though i feel its shape gives it a more alien feel than the usual angular style more commonly see however.

Tables

The first table i made with simple practicality in mind, four legs and the top but found this didn't fit in all areas of the game so i created a second variant with a more built in base that gives a more sci-fi feel and fit the more industrial areas of the game as well as providing some visual variety.

Desk

For the desk I wanted to make something that at one point may have looked fancy but through prolonged use shows more wear and tear, i gave the desk a more sleek design but with the texture just adding little bits of dirt to it and scratching around the edges to suggest its been used for a while.

Oxygen Purifier

For the purifier I wanted to make a big bulky machine to make it easier to spot, I added the text on the screen so players could identify that this is their goal as hinted at by the terminals.

Generator

Because the generator is located in the most industrial section of the ship I decided to make these the most rustic object, I didn't make them too big as the player is required to navigate through them.

Floor

For the floor panels I decided to add some colour to them because of their location in the crew section of the ship to break up the more bleaker colours found in the rest of the ship.

For the hallway floor i build indents and lines into it and added piping in the middle and added bloody footprints to suggest something sinister.

Counters

The counters are often topped by terminals or interesting objects so I decided to add an emissive bar to catch the players attention and draw them towards the interesting objects, i added the trays on top to provide a bit a variety so it didn't look samey.

Locker Door

I went through a few iterations of the locker trying some more complex looks but decided a simpler look with some angular indentations to give it a sci-fi feel was the best course, it would of also been easier for TK to get working as opposed to my other lockers that had more complex door openings.

Lift

For the lift I originally made a smaller and more personal lift with sleeker design, however after seeing the placements and what Johnny had in mind and the more cargo use I made it bigger and made the doors bulkier to give them a more mechanical feel.

AI Core

When it came to making the AI core i wanted it to be more visually striking than the other assets on the ship, I gave it a wiry cage like feeling with the core itself I made it bright blue with a glossiness to it to make it stand out, I added the rings which TK said he could make spin to further draw attention so players knew this was their initial goal.

AI structure

Similarly as the core, the actual structure itself I wanted to be eye catching so I made it big and imposing with a pointy edged design, the windows are to give a clear look at the rest of the level as well as have the AI core be visible from the outside.

Fence

For the fence and ramp i actually used a bench as a reference when modelling it as i didnt want it to just look like a normal fence, I added a greenish step to highlight it among the ship.

Vents

I didn't want to do just a straight box or tube for the vents as I felt that would be uninteresting to look at while climbing through them and wouldn't feel very sci-fi so i made sure to add plenty of indents, as well as a gaps so players could see out.

Ladder

I took inspiration from the ladder in Alien Isolation while making this as I felt the curved steps just looked more interesting and sci-fi.

What went well and what didn't?

I’d overall say I’m pleased with the outcome, I find there's a good variety in the models that for the most part capture what we set out to create in the beginning, there is enough detail in most of the models and they’re visually interesting to look at too, texture wise I find it a bit more mixed, where some textures I feel came out exactly as I wanted others didn’t quite work as well as I intended, regardless though it helped me better understand Substance Painter, a tool I was largely unfamiliar with until now and I don't think there are any textures that are glaringly bad in my opinion.

Another aspect I feel worked well was the modular design that I used for creating most of the models, allowing us to create bigger and more varied environments without increasing the workload to a ridiculous amount and impacting the look of the ship negatively, however I did make a few mistakes with this as it is my first time creating modular assets for an environment, I failed to use exact measurements for some of the different pieces, (E.g the door frames are a different length than the walls) which brought up issues when fitting the level together.

But in summary I am predominantly pleased with much of the outcome and look forward to using the skills I learned on this in future projects.

#xb2001

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a-case-of-neverland · 8 years ago

Text

The Storm is Here, Part Four

The day Helium met with Captain again, he brought his gang along. Better to have too much backup than too little. Xenon was carefully folded into the side of the roof, his yellow sniper with the x’d out smiley faces in hand. Krypton hung on Helium’s arm, her lips covered in a fine red shine and her purplish hair in an elegant bun. She even wore a dress, one of her favorites, for the entire affair. Right inside her highheels were knives, ready to come out as soon as she slipped them off. Neon had her hair down, a beanie and bandana covering most of her head and face. Putting Neon in a dress would be like giving a cat a bath, so she showed up in ripped jeans and a crop top, covered by her leather jacket. Inside her jacket, an array of guns and knives lined the pockets and seams, ready to be used at Neon’s disposal. Argon’s messy black curls which normally covered their face were pushed back, not a wisp coming through. At the tap of a button, all the power to this half off Ichor would go off. Armed to the teeth and fine as hell, Newt sauntered along with an arm around Helium, flashing his brilliant grin at nearby women. Overall, they looked powerful, deadly, untouchable- Just as they were perceived to be.

Entering the meeting place, a fine restaurant on the Gases half of town, was easy. They simply walked in. No need to ask for a table, no. The restaurant owners knew they were only open because the Gases allowed them to be.

They sat down, Krypton and Newt next to Helium on either side, the other two sitting across. Xenon was ready near the skylight strategically above their heads in case this went sour. Which, Helium thought, was likely. It was the Pyrates, for crying out loud.

When the Pyrates arrived, it was obvious. They never were ones for stealth, and instead chose to blow the front door off it’s hinges upon entry. Helium rolled his eyes.

He could see the blue headed Captain lean his arm on the podium. “Wherever the Gases are, yeah?”

The woman behind the counter was clearly a native of Ichor. She had lavender hair hanging down to her waist, and downturned grey eyes. Her name tag, along with the stamp of the Gases, read, ‘Razenna’. In response to Captain, she only nodded, her entire body shaking. She picked up the menus left on the stand and floated her way to the table. Helium studied her. She seemed familiar. Familiar nose, face.

Who was she?

“Argon, dear,” Helium began as the Pyrates were brought over. “Investigate on our waitress, please. She seems dreadfully familiar.”

Argon nodded, and began to write in a notebook in their lap as the Pyrates sat down. Razenna stood aside, her head down as she asked, “Can I get you anything?” In a tight voice.

“A tray of whiskey shots,” Helium spoke up. Krypton raised a brow and whispered something to him.

“..And a glass of red wine, for the lady.”

Captain shrugged, “You got any vodka?” He asked Razenna, putting his feet on the table. A scoff came from his teammate, the girl known as Gunner.

Razenna nodded, writing the order down. “Is that all?” She asked.

Newt flashed her a brilliant smile. “One question. You got anything going on after your shift?”

Razenna flushed red and studied the floor, shaking her head once.

“Then that’s it. Thanks, sugar.” Newt passed her a five and sent her away. On her way out, Helium could have sworn he saw her blush. He didn’t know why Newt felt the need to flirt with civilians. They all knew who he was- What he was capable of.

Captain looked up, blinking behind his mask. “You know who that girl is, right?”

Argon looked up from their notebook and began to speak. “Razenna Aelin Pescin. Older sister of known convict ‘Radon’, and now works in a restaurant on the Noble Gas side of Ichor. Why do you ask?”

Only someone that had known Newt for years could see the surprise in his eyes.

“Pescins are trippy like that, hm?” Captain gave a little smirk.

Helium took his attention to a useful place: The Pyrates. He could have sworn this was the first time he’d seen them all. Quartermaster, with a black patch over his eye, black curls and one blackish brownish eye staring back. He was tan and broad shouldered, looking angry. Gunner, seated next to him, was pale and black haired, but her eyes held a glint of murder, like he saw in Neon sometimes.Two twin boys sat next to them, both oddly quiet. Surgeon and Pilot. Some suspected both of them were mute.

How odd.

“Why did you bring a Surgeon, Captain? Afraid?” Neon asked, tracing the salt shaker on the table with his thumb.

“Pyrates don’t know what fear is, Neon,” Captain replied.

Helium rolled his eyes again, and gestured to Argon. Argon reached into their jacket and pulled out a small envelope. “I do believe we’ve done our small talk,” Helium said. “This is for you.”

Argon slid the envelope across the table and Quartermaster stopped it with his fist.

“Is this what we think it is?” Captain asked.

Helium gave a nod. “Gases keep their word.”

“Knew you would. You’re smart.” Captain nodded, and Quartermaster slid the envelope into his pocket as Razenna walked over with a bottle of vodka, a tray of shots, and a flute of wine on her tray. She set them all down quickly, not meeting anyone’s eyes. Fear seemed to sing from her, and anyone knew why. Two gangs, meeting in one place. And her being Radon’s sister? Did she see her attacker among the ones she served?

“Razenna,” Newt spoke up. “Tell us. Who of these people attacked you?” He gestured to the Pyrates with a gloved hand. Immediately, the girl froze, a shot of whiskey in her pale fingers. Helium saw the glass shake and sat back, watching it happen. Krypton leaned forward, batting her big black lashes at Razenna. She never spoke in public, but her fearsome ways and reputation as the lipstick slasher spoke for her. Especially now.

“I-” Razenna stuttered and stammered as she spoke. “You, you see- You see, uhm-” From her turned down gaze, Krypton saw a tear splash onto the table cloth. “It- It was someone with a hook,” She whispered.

Newt turned to Quartermaster. “Oh, how familiar. I can think of someone with a hook. He’s sitting right here.”

“I didn’t hurt her!” Quartermaster slammed his fist on the table, rattling the drinks. Anger shone clear and he stared Newt down.

Neon leaned forward. “Who else has a hook in Ichor?” Helium knew her fingers were in her jacket, itching to sweep out a gun or two, to let loose her anger. But that couldn’t happen. Not here. Not now. Radon would destroy all of them- Or die trying.

“While we’re on the topic,” Helium spoke up in a bored voice, cleaning out a nail with his knife. “Dare I ask why anyone would attack civilians wearing a Noble Gas emblem? Seems a bit fishy.”

Krypton gave a little giggle, sipping from her wine as surprise flashed in the Pyrates eyes. They began to glance around, tiny ones from the corners of their eyes- Like they couldn’t believe it either.

And that’s when Helium knew.

“I do believe we’re done here,” He said, standing up and downing the last shot on his tray. Krypton looked up in surprise, almost spitting out her wine. Newt stared over.

“Are you serious? They clearly-”

“Didn’t do it, yes. Gases. Let’s go.” Helium wiped his mouth and left, Krypton on his arm again as she picked up her small leather wallet, leaving a pair of ones on the table for Ravenna’s tip. Argon picked up their laptop and followed out, a spring in their step, and Newt sulked after, drawing his finger across his throat in the Pyrates direction.

Walking home was an easy affair. Music dribbled from a club, bass and clarinet, piano and trumpet, floating out and laying on the streets and sky. Krypton’s heels clicked on the pavement, her purple hair still tight in it’s elegant bun.

“I wish I could have at least finished my wine, Ash,” She muttered, pointing her chin up in the air.

“Trust me, you’ll thank me sooner rather than later.” Helium replied.

“Speakin’ a’which, Ash, you gonna tell us what that was about? We just got up and walked out on a confrontation!” Newt looked angular and angry, cracking his knuckles under their leather gloves as the lamplight made the arrangement of bones in his face stand out.

Xenon climbed down a ladder from the nearby bakery and gave his sniper a swing as it went back in it’s case. “So how’d it go? Why the rush, boss?”

“The Pyrates aren’t who we’re messing with now. I don’t know who it is, but it sure as hell isn’t them.” Helium said, his expression unchanging as he glanced over his shoulder for the occasional eavesdropper.

“What?” Xenon asked, cocking a brow. He glanced at Newt as if to ask, ‘Is he alright?’

Neon snorted, and pulled out a knife. “Well, whoever it is, they’re gonna get it. Just tell me where I need to start stabbing, yeah?”

“You’re never going to get a husband that way, Neon.” Xenon teased, jabbing her gently in the ribs.

Neon raised her knife. “And you’re not gonna be able to have kids if you don’t shut up!”

Xenon raised his hands in defense, but gave a slight chuckle nonetheless. Helium would have just have rather teased Radon and ensured his death off the bat, but for some reason, Neon didn’t harm Xenon. In fact, he could recall once when one of the Pyrates had threatened to take out their sniper, Sienna had blown her top.

“Newfangled, is that what they’re calling it nowadays?” Newt muttered as he picked a newspaper up off the stand. “‘Newfangled ideas come rolling into the clubs’. Ugh.” He went to rip up the paper, but Krypton plucked it from his hand and wagged a finger.

“What?” He asked, crossing his arms. “What’d I do?”

“A tree did not die for you to rip up a paper.” Krypton chided, setting the paper back on the stand. “Come on now, Throne. We have professional business.”

Neon scoffed. “You care about a tree but not a person?”

“Of course!” Krypton waved a hand. “A tree is an innocent plant that only does good in this world Humans are vile.”

“So are you, stupid.” Neon rolled her eyes, taking to tying her boot against a wall.

Krypton let a jazz song escape her throat in a hum as she studied Helium. She had no idea what was going through his mind- but she did know it wouldn’t be in there for long. Letting her heels clack on the pavement, a gentleman tipped his hat to her as he stood outside his establishment. Krypton gave him a wink in reply.

#crime au #inspired lowkey by the fahc im not gonna lie #the storm is here #alcohol

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