[late August of 2016 on the strict timeline of ZP-51498. Gilda, gussied up in semi-formal attire, is on her way to meet the Wyler family at their home in Grunvale. She stops in front of a parked car to look at herself in the mirror]
Gilda: “I’m a bit crooked.” [adjusts hair ribbon] “And my cheeks could be a little rosier.” [pinches cheeks, making them more red] “There we go.”
[Gilda whistles a bit of the keyboard intro to ‘Soul Kitchen’ by the Doors as she walks, reading the numbers of the houses and mailboxes she sees]
Gilda: “Twenty-six, eighty-three… eighty-five… eighty-four.” [puts hands on her hips as she looks across the street, at house 2684] “Mailboxes should be in the lawns of the houses they go to, not across the street.” [looks to her left] “Eighty-seven, the Wylers’ place!”
[Gilda runs up to house 2687 and admires its facade]
Gilda: “Well, this is a nice looking place.” [sees Wendy walk out to greet her] “Wendy!”
Wendy: “Hey, Gilda!”
[Gilda and Wendy run up to greet each other, only to slow to a halt]
Gilda, Wendy: “Wait a minute!”
[Gilda and Wendy slowly look each other over, and see how similarly they’re dressed, down to the point that they’re both wearing pearls, mary janes, and hair ribbons the same color as their dresses. They put their hands out to get a look at each other’s gloves; both are wearing a white, wrist-length pair, decorated with a ribbon the color of their dress]
Gilda: “You’re dressed like me.”
Wendy: “You’re dressed like me.”
[pause as they stare at each other, blankly. After a while, they both smile and laugh]
Gilda, Wendy: “Twins!” [hug each other]
Wendy: “You look very cute, by the way.”
Gilda: “So do you! I didn’t really take you as a wearer of gloves. Or ribbons for that matter.”
Wendy: “Yeah, well, I was feeling cute this evening.” [pokes Gilda’s cheek] “Squish!”
Gilda: [pokes Wendy’s nose] “Boop!”
[Gilda and Wendy laugh as they head into the house]
In case you hadn’t figured it out from the details given, this ficlet, and the artwork it goes to, is set early in Gilda’s friendship with the Tetrad. I actually drew this as concept art, and the ficlet as a draft of a portion for the graphic novel. As anyone who follows my work closely would know, Gilda and Wendy are besties, having the closest friendship in the Tetrad. While Wendy has known Margo and April for five years longer, she is often put off by the former’s reckless nature and the latter’s hot-headedness, and also the fact that the two often fight. Gilda, on the other hand, she shares many interests with, and her background having two autistic sisters helps her understand Gilda better than… well, anyone outside the Commune. Gilda having a bubbly personality also helps.
I actually drew this artwork around the same time I drew and wrote Tyrannia Hawk. I recently thought up a method of drawing tree canopies, that doubles as a way of hiding the lack of detail that goes into them. Of course, only useful when it’s not the focus of a shot. It’s more obvious there, and it’s better hidden here; essentially, it’s just a gaussian-blurred band of green, with cyan dots for the sky appearing as bokeh. And black and dark brown lines representing the trees. Again, it’s only useful when a canopy isn’t the focus of a shot. But when it’s there and not the focus, it’s an effective trick.
And… this is where I’d usually end the description, since I don’t have anything more to say about the artwork here. But before I close out, I’d like to give a little advertisement for a GoFundMe, to a project I’m personally involved in. It’s another graphic novel about being an autistic person, and it’s called Adele: Preteen Music Wiz.
Preteen Music Wiz comes to us from my Australian friend Sam Bateman (@NNewt84 on Twitter), a cool guy who you should go drop a follow if you’ve got an account there. I’ve read the script Sam has written for the graphic novel, and I’ve inked and colored a few pages for him. And what he has laid out, I believe has real potential to become a classic in the neurodivergent community. But he needs financial help making this comic become a reality; his goal is $5000 AUD, which is just under $3400 in American dollars. Donations to his campaign of any amount would be much appreciated. But if you don’t have the money to donate, then the least you could do, is share his campaign with as many people as you can.
You won’t just be helping him or me by donating to and sharing this campaign, you’d be helping the autistic community as a whole, tell the stories we want to tell.
And that’ll be all this time. If you liked this artwork and the ficlet, then drop me a follow on this blog, and on my socials, linked below. Also remember to share and donate to the GoFundMe for Sam’s graphic novel. And until next time, take care, stay safe, support an Asimovian amendment for AI, and have a good one.
Twitter (Main): https://twitter.com/StormyAdlerPoG
Twitter (Art): https://twitter.com/TheOfficialOTOG
Instagram: www.instagram.com/phoenix_of_g…
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@phoenix_of_grunvale
Newgrounds: https://phoenixofgrunvale.newgrounds.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXj2NzDa8kzZ5mcliw4vT_w
Discord: Contact me by my tag (phoenixofgrunvale) to add me as a friend.
Grunvale/OTOG is owned by me. You’re free to draw fanart or write fanfics of it, as long as you credit me as the creator of the series.
This artwork was made at a resolution of 3996×2160 (aspect ratio 1.85:1).
The Gallery of Stormy Adler 