- The page has been deleted, the fandom is in its death throes, only occasionally showing signs of life. Also. A dark future for the Katie project. It's a shame, I had my hopes up for them.
Turning off my phone, I looked around. There were a lot of people on the train. Most of them were old men and women with children. The air was soaked with sweat and unwashed bodies because of the high temperature inside the car. It was unpleasant, the heat was unbearable, I had to wipe my forehead often and pull the collar of my shirt vigorously. In this way one could cool down a little, causing small gusts of air.
But now, it was getting evening outside the window, gradually releasing the earth from the hot rays of the sun. Though how long it would take for the railcar to cool down was a good question. The train had long since left the station, moving in a given direction. It would take about two hours to ride, and it would be night by 20:00. So I sat back and closed my eyes, thinking about something.
Namely about two projects by the same artist - "Paper Education" and "Dangerous Forest" and their future fate.
"Paper Education" - it can be called a real phenomenon on YouTube, gaining an unprecedented number of views and gaining huge fame. So much so that a notorious fandom has emerged from its popularity. Although it's just an animated video for a few minutes. The music was unoriginal, and was the soundtrack for a game with the same high school theme, Baldy Basics.
And I'm sure that thanks to the song, the animation only gained more views. An incredible result that no one could have expected. They were interested in it, many people made art, animations, aushkas, original characters and more.
But what could have gotten them so interested? A few examples can be given:
Brand identity. It's groovy, especially in the form of papers. Rounded, straight and sharp features are dominant for the most part in Katie's style. Which creates the contrast of each character. And yes, each character is - I won't use that word - unique. Each one looks so that you can understand and identify who they are and what makes them stand out. Details abound, making it extremely difficult to get confused about the characters. And, oh my god, there are such creatures that even the monsters from "Fantastic Beings" will seem a standard of logic and realism. What is worth a black cat, which has a body in the form of a sharpener, and the tail - in the form of a curved, sharpened piece of pencil.
Well, and interest in the characters themselves, especially though short, but a demonstration of their character. The same Ms. Circle, or Sirkul. Doesn't matter, the main thing is that she basically became the symbol of this project. Oh-ho-ho, so much fan art has been done, you can't count it. Although, considering what century we live in, and what audience was in the fandom, it's not surprising that many people liked it... Underage lovers of fucked-up women, pheh.
However, the pros end. The cons begin, and there are many of them.
The video's short. It doesn't really tell about the world in which the main events take place. One location, characters are not revealed, except for their main character traits. Some of the information could only be taken from the page of the creator, but now she is gone. So you have to go on the Internet, looking for some information. And it's not a fact that it's accurate, because Kathy could change or change the information about the character. And the final point - this is not the main project, rather, it is an addition to the main one.
"Dangerous Forest" is the main project, and she put a lot more effort and time into it than "Paper Education". Not a bad amount of video, smoother animation, color, and other pluses. The main work she worked on, but didn't score half of what the second project has. Ironic, if you think about it that way. Same interesting characters, their design, relationships and the secrets they hold. More locations with different seasons and all that.
No wonder she decided to keep working on it, pushing Paper Education to the back of her mind.
Unfortunately, however... Further events took a very different path.
Fpe's popularity was too big, pressing and intense. It was too sudden, fast, and unexpected. She tried to hang on to the hype train, making new posts with new information about the two universes. But how long could it last? No, of course not, especially for an untrained teenager. That's what started the confusion, Twitter squabbles and conflicts, although nothing is known about the latter, but they could have been, anyway. And then the final deletion of the page and video on YouTube. Nothing is known about Katie herself, silence.
And what is the outcome of the whole story?
No matter how it was treated, the projects had potential. No matter how much they are berated and mudslinging - they are good in their own way. I like them, I want them to develop and become better and more interesting. But it's not fate until, of course, Kathy comes to her senses and wants to work on projects again. In the meantime, we have what we have.
The carriage shook slightly, forcing me to open my eyes. It was already dark out the window, and nothing could be seen more than a few meters away. I looked around: everyone in the train was asleep, some of them snoring as well as an adult boar. The light was a little pale, unusual. It should be orange. I got up from my seat and went to the window, looking out into the darkness. I could see nothing, nothing at all. Absolute darkness, through which the light of the carriage could not penetrate more than a meter. It began to alarm him, for such darkness should not be there. It didn't look like a tunnel: the walls would be illuminated by light. A moonless night? Not either, for it should be a full moon tonight, and there are no clouds either.
I take out my phone and look at the connection. There is none, as I feared. I turn around and notice that all those who were sleeping have disappeared. The car was empty, and I was the only one standing with my phone, looking around. I go to the door to the next car, open it, and when I go inside, I see that it is empty too. I feel uncomfortable with all this: darkness, empty cars, only I am alone here, with no idea what is going on and what to do.
My only thought is to get to the driver's seat. To try to find something and figure out what the hell is going on. Just as I open the next car, I hear a strange sound behind me. A lingering, clinking sound, like someone running their claws across a school blackboard. Turning around and looking through the window of the door, I saw the carriages starting to shrink. Not completely, gradually, gradually, with the sharp sound of steel being compressed, until those afterward disappeared into darkness.
My heart began to pound harder, my body working faster than I realized what was happening. Without wasting time, I put my phone in my pocket and sprinted away. One by one, the train cars shrank and disappeared into the darkness as I tried to run away from danger. If it didn't kill him, hell knows what would happen if he got caught in the darkness. The unknown was scarier than any possible injury; I didn't have time to escape the clutching wagon. One by one I made it to the driver's booth without looking back. But no matter how fast I ran, I could hear the creaking getting louder and more distinct, as if it were catching up with me.
Opening the next door, I finally reached the stall. Looking through the window, there were no more cars to be seen, just that damned emptiness. Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I went to the seats, where naturally there was no one. I sat down in the driver's seat. I just watched the train moving forward, cutting through the blackness.
So here's a question for you. What the hell was that? Where am I and what the fuck is going on? Why did everyone disappear? Where is the train going and why is there only darkness everywhere? Oh, my poor head, it's so annoying, I just want to go home and go to sleep. Forget it all like a bad dream and just rest.
No, I don't mean that I've been through it all, so I don't react much. It's all bullshit: it's just that when you've seen all sorts of things since childhood, you won't be surprised by anything. But I'll be honest, I was surprised, but there were no vivid impressions. Just fear and the realization that I was fucked. No more, no less, as they say.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a bright, blinding light. I covered my eyes in surprise until they adapted. But before I realized what the hell was going on again, everything suddenly disappeared and my consciousness faded into nothingness.