InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "yo moguls"

Brian Kinney (b_kinney) wrote in omega_reality,
@ 2012-12-10 19:21:00

Entry tags:

*complete, 2012 12, character: brian kinney, character: john connor

RP: Brian and John
Who: Brian and John
Where: The office
When: December 10, 2012
Summary: Brian is trying to avoid people while working

Brian had never thought that he'd be using his skills as an ad exec in this dimension. He'd created his own presentations since he got out of college. First, it was all done by hand, then with computers and tablets. He was never as good or talented as Justin, but he was still good.

Now, he was using his talents to draw guns and soldiers and a game. He did it efficiently, but with none of the usual flair that he put in his work. In fact, he was happy to sit with the old fashioned pencil and paper in a corner, doing the art work. Oh he still knew what was going on all around them. He still did the shopping and kept tab of people, but he chose not to get involved with people's lives.

Of course, there was someone who didn't seem to be happy to leave things be. "Hey, Gorgeous," he said, without looking up as John sat next to him.

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johnbaum
2012-12-11 02:11 am UTC (link)

"Hey." John leaned over to kiss Brian's cheek and sneak a peek at what he was drawing, then settled back in his chair to open his laptop. He was teaching himself how to use the animation software he'd pirated from a trial download. There was no way he was asking Vance for $4000 for a piece of software he could crack from an educational version.

When they finished developing the levels for the game, he'd get into the real work of turning Brian's sketches into computer models. That would have given Brian enough time to really get a feel for the world. But, until then, John was modelling different things that would test his skills before it counted. There was going to be a lot of going back and redoing things. That was just the nature of computer modelling. But, he didn't want lack of knowledge of the functionality slow them down, just the details of the art.

Loading the rendering software, he opened the file he'd been working on and turned the computer so Brian could see the face on the screen. It wasn't textured. It was just displayed in smooth-shaded greyscale. And, the features weren't totally right. Expressions and such were more difficult than they looked, especially in the eyes. But, the smirk was totally Brian's. "Quite right, but I think it's got potenial."

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b_kinney
2012-12-11 02:24 am UTC (link)

Brian didn't exactly mind the company, but he also knew that there was more to that. John was acting different, and he knew that it was a reaction to his own behavior, but it was hard not to snap. Instead, he stayed impassible, hardly changing expression.

"You're getting better with that program," he said. "Once we come up with final sketches for our supposed heroes, I'll start working on a marketing campaign. I need to do some surveys, look online, but this is something that I can do with my eyes closed, and often have, mostly because I was drunk or high, or both." Coming up with the right angle had never been his problem.

"We'll need to work around the Christmas schedule." Savannah was in full holiday spirit, and he couldn't really blame her, not after the past few years, but he really didn't want to go out and do all of the shopping for these people. "Is there anything that you need more urgently? I can work on whatever you need to do first. Of the things we haven't covered already." He almost added 'duh' but he was playing the mature man for once.

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johnbaum
2012-12-12 06:04 am UTC (link)

"Getting there. I think I'm starting to dream in smooth-shaded vertices and edges. That people spend years in school learning how to make movies like this suddenly makes so much more sense." Nodding, he turned the laptop back around and bit back a sigh as he started manipulating the area around the eyes, trying not to create too many triangles in the mesh. He'd learned the from trial and error too many triangles in the mesh created errors in subdivisions and edge-looping. He smiled a little as Brian talked about his skills as an ad man. "Let me know when you're ready to do those surveys and I'll make sure it's all set-up so there's no trail back to us. But, otherwise, knock yourself out. Marketing is your thing. We're just here to do your bidding should you need assistance."

Christmas. Right. It had been weeks since John had bought Brian's gift and now he wasn't sure if Brian would even want it. But, he'd cross that bridge in a couple weeks. For now, he just nodded. "We'll find a way to make it work." Rubbing the back of his neck while he thought about it, John looked up from the computer. "That we haven't covered? I don't think so. We've been pretty thorough in the level development. I'd like to have the meshes for the four main player characters done by first of the year and if this is any indication of the learning curve, I'll definitely need that time to get them done right before the girls can start work on texture mapping and painting. After that, I think the main sets that we'll be reusing the basics of frequently. I can dress them up and add details later. But, with those parameters, I can start some basic test animations to make sure it all fits together."

It was ironic, really. He didn't play video games, wasn't much good at them, and didn't like them because they messed with his aim. But, here he was helping to produce one.

It might have been more fun if things were still so stilted with Brian.

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b_kinney
2012-12-12 07:28 pm UTC (link)

He never had problems talking. Brian could talk about anything if he wanted, even computer programs that he'd barely knew, but right now he couldn't find the motivation and it wasn't as if John's comments required a real answer. "As soon as I'm finished with these, and you guys take over, I'll take a look at what's out there, similar games, types of ads they have. I'll have to start with whatever works here and then go from there. It might be a while before we do surveys, if at all, but if I do, I can write them up and you or Eric can set them up for me."

Brian nodded. "And if we don't, it'll take a few more extra day. It's not like we're doing this in record time. It's been two years, it'll be a few more years. A couple of days or even weeks won't be a big deal." He didn't think they had missed anything, but it was good to have the confirmation. He flipped through the pad, pulled out a few pages and handed them to John. "If you want to start with the first one. I left lines in that should help you with the mesh. You have different positions there: standing, sitting, running, the basics to get you started."

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johnbaum
2012-12-15 10:13 pm UTC (link)

"Well, like I said, just let me know if or when you're putting things out there and I'll get it set up for you." John was trying but he'd decided he wasn't very good at fixing things. He might know Brian better than anyone, but he didn't know how to break through the wall Brian was building around himself. He hadn't been trying before. Not trying didn't seem viable this time. And it was all a mess. At least working together on this gave him a legitimate excuse to be around Brian without feeling like he was forcing his presence.

"I don't know. The production schedule for this is going to be pretty record-making, especially with everything else everyone involved is responsible for as well." Setting his computer up on a nearby desk, he took the sketches and flipped through them. "These are great, Brian. I can scan them and set them as the background while I model the mesh. If I can create some character studies, the girls can base the texture and prop work off that. On the next supply run I need to get a couple really could anatomy books. I'll need to really get into the way muscles and joints move when I start animating people and I doubt anyone has time to stand around day after day and move for me so I can watch it," he added with a chuckle.

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b_kinney
2012-12-15 11:06 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, okay." There wasn't much more left to say. He'll get to it when he got to it and then they'd work on it. It was pretty simple and there was no reason to waste time discussing it.

"And if it is, then those few days won't really make a difference," he added with a smirk. "You're better off finding them online and giving me the links. I'll have them delivered to the PO Box for this weekend. It's easier than to have people running around to look for books that may or may not prove to be what you need. Or you can see if Hanna is willing to have all training sessions done naked It would give you plenty to look at." it was delivered in the perfect tone, even with the right smile, but it was done, because it was easier to fall back on old masks than finding something real to say.

"You don't have to sound so surprised that they are good. I actually did sketches as part of my job and was successful at it for longer than you've been alive. You know that, right?" He started drawing again. This was just like work, doing it with deadlines and specific goals in mind. It was also a lot more interesting than most of the training they had done for the past two years. "You don't have to babysit. I'm fine, I'm not going off the deep end. You can go do whatever you need to do."

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johnbaum
2012-12-16 03:13 am UTC (link)

John let out a soft snort of laughter. "I can just see Sam's face if I suggested that. 'Hey, Sam? So, it would really help a lot with getting the animations correct in the game if you could just start making people come naked to your training sessions. Thanks.' I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me that much. Books are probably the safer option. So, yeah, I'll see what titles I need and let you know by tomorrow morning."

Looking up from the sketches, he frowned. "What? No. I'm not surprised. And they are good." He smirked just a little, before muttering loud enough only Brian would hear. "And you were thirteen when I was born."

Okay, so he'd jumped over nearly a third of the intervening years, but technically he'd been alive longer than Brian had been an ad man...or at least, he'd been born before.

And if they just could have continued working in a comfortable silence, that would have been fine. No, not fine. But, better than being told he wasn't needed or wanted. When they'd first started working on the storyboard for the game, John had thought this would be a fun thing they could do together and, yeah, it was important work, but it was one area where their skill sets could be combined. He hadn't planned on Vance's schemes throwing a monkey wrench into their entire relationship and leaving, well, this.

"I'm not babysitting," he replied evenly. "I'm trying to learn this software, which is what I need to be doing and I can do it anywhere. I chose to do it here because I enjoy your company and it makes sense for the art director and the lead animator to be working near each other for collaborative purposes. But, if I'm in your way or too much of a distraction, you can just say so." John could only wish he was a distraction, given how little actual physical contact they had.

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b_kinney
2012-12-16 04:23 am UTC (link)

"That's because he's boring. I bet plenty of people would be more excited about training if it were done while being naked," he answered. "I wasn't aware that he liked you at all, let aloe that much. Or is this another one of those secrets I'm not supposed to share? Because I don't think Callen is as nice as Troy." He nodded. "Tomorrow is fine. I'll overnight them if we have to, but I doubt it."

Brian snorted. "You've been alive for nineteen years. I started in the field twenty years ago. No amount of word games changes the simple math," he pointed out.

"You're not in my way." And once again, he found himself at a loss for words. Oh he could come up with some, white lies and misdirection mostly, but he didn't have it in him to lie to John.

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johnbaum
2012-12-16 06:22 pm UTC (link)

"Oh my god! Not that kind of like!" John choked on air at the thought and he could feel his cheeks heat. He picked up Brian's eraser and lightly tossed it at his chest. "You're terrible. I'm not going to be able to look him in the face at Powers Training tonight. Thank you very much. You realize even if that thought wasn't beyond wrong, since I've most often compared him to Derek, he would probably break me in two, right? And then let Callen use me for a punching bag."

John smirked. "Math is not simple, especially where my age is concerned. No rush on the books, though. As long as I have them in a couple weeks when we finish with the level development and I go into working on this full time. It'll give me time to finish getting the hang of this software."

Blinking, he bit his lip while he considered what Brian wasn't saying. And John knew he should keep his mouth shut, but he couldn't help himself. Smiling just a little, he glanced at Brian out of the corner of his eye as he pulled the laptop closer and started to work on shaping the mesh around digital Brian's eyes. "Does that mean I'm distracting you?"

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b_kinney
2012-12-16 07:24 pm UTC (link)

"How should I know what kind of like," he answered calmly. "He is built like a Greek statute, with more muscles." Brian smirked. "I can continue and make sure you never look at him without blushing, and he won't break you. I'd bet he'd be all tender and gentle as he fucks you. Now, Callen will just shoot you."

Brian snorted. "It's very simple. You're nineteen, I've been out of school for twenty. You can do subtractions, can't you?" He thought about the books and shook his head. "I'd rather have them here as soon as possible. With the holidays, who knows when things will get here or when we'll go out next."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course, you're distracting me. You are talking and showing me things. Hard to draw while I'm looking at your computer screen."

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johnbaum
2012-12-16 10:30 pm UTC (link)

"Will you stop?" John laughed, looking around for something else he could throw at Brian. He was really, really, really not going to be able to look Sam in the eyes without turning five million shades of red. "Thinking of Sam like that is like thinking of my dad or Derek. Yuck." Not that Sam was really a father figure or anything like that. He'd never tried and John never wanted it. But, still.

"Nope, sorry. I don't think it can be that simple when I was clearly born before you were old enough to go into the field," he replied with a smirk. "That's fine. I just didn't want you knocking yourself out overnighting things during the holiday season when I won't need them for a couple weeks at least. I'll still get you the titles by tomorrow."

Not exactly the answer John was hoping for, but at least Brian wasn't shutting him out completely. So, John smiled. "Then I'll stop talking and sit here working so you can work."

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b_kinney
2012-12-17 12:03 am UTC (link)

"Hey, you started it with the like business. I'm only trying to make sure that we know what I can or can't say, because I don't want to cause more problems," he said, smiling. "And i have no problem thinking about Derek like that. I'd say your dad, but you said he's a kid and I draw the line at fifteen."

He shook his head. "You can play games, but it's still that simple. I mean I know that you're growing old, reaching twenty soon, time to spread your wings, look around, maybe find someone else to tap, but you're still much younger than me." Maybe it was time for John to have sex with someone else, move on. It might be the best thing for both of them.

Brian wanted to tell him to leave already, because it was better than this conversation, but instead he nodded. "All right."

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johnbaum
2012-12-17 04:38 am UTC (link)

"Well, I hope he doesn't hate me. So yes, like. Not wants to fuck. You're incorrigible." Chuckling, it was John's turn to roll his eyes. "Of course you don't. You're not related to him. I, however, find the idea of thinking of that way myself rather disturbing."

He didn't even raise an eyebrow, just stayed focused on his work, though he didn't let Brian's comment slide by unnoticed. "As I recall, I did that already and had no interest in a repeat where I actually knew what I was doing. But, seeing as I do have the advantages of youth with your way, I'll be nice and let you win this one." Looking up, he smirked, remaining outwardly nonplussed by the implications of what Brian said. He wasn't going to push himself on Brian, but he wasn't going to let Brian push him away out of fear, either. He reached out and squeezed Brian's hand for the briefest of moments. "Now, I'm going to be quiet, do my work, and try not to be too distracting so you can do yours."

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