Smoke & Lightning

Smoke & Lightning is a series of J2 AU stories written by BloodyAdorable and Eviltwin. The series is very popular and has inspired fan art, fan vids, and fanmixes. Each chapter is posted as it is written, with the authors posting "Sunday Extras" such as wallpapers, posters or banners on Sunday. The art posts by BloodyAdorable are particularly popular, leading one reader to comment:
"<— when icons like these and the one im using now are made for a fanfic… obviously that fanfic is banging."My favorite fanfiction will always be Smoke and Lightning tumblr post by syrul, dated March 2011; webCite.
:Author's Summary: Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki come from two very different backgrounds, and they're both about to be in serious trouble. About to rob a gas station, Jared is interrupted by the arrival of a beaten up Jensen and he decides that getting out of there is better than getting arrested. Jensen could prove to be more trouble than he's worth, though, as he quickly falls for Jared, much to his father's disapproval.
:With nowhere else to go after he's given an ultimatum - stop seeing Jared or leave home - Jensen takes refuge with Jared and his foster father, Jeffrey Dean. Jensen helps Jared find his way again and, in return, Jared helps Jensen to become his own man. As their lives progress and their friendships strengthen to new levels, the pair must deal with many things - bullies, blackmail, murder and moving to a new job in a new city - all the while under the threat of Jared's past coming back to haunt him.
:Between road trips, bar fights, tattoos, and the hottest motorbikes that Jared can find, both boys gain new families and, more importantly, each other.
In a recent "Ask The Author" event on Tumblr, bloodyadorable described what it was like to co-write such a lengthy and complicated series: "Evil and I do a lot of chatting online. She writes one chapter, and I write another. Sometimes, we throw in little things that the other one wasn’t expecting, and we try to build off of them. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it brings on a WHOLE different idea than what we started with. We know our boys so well now, that we now how they would react, what they would say, etc." Ask The Author tumblr post by authoradorable, dated Sept 11, 2011 (now offline).
By 2009, the Smoke & Lightning LJ community had 400 members, and by February 2012 the number climbed to over 1100 members, with many more using the LJ tracking features or RSS feeds to follow the series. Parts of the series are in the process of being translated into Russian and other languages.
==Book 1: Heavy Metal Thunder==
Book 1: Heavy Metal Thunder.
Summary: "Jared's a classic case of rich kid gone wrong, whose only sense of family comes from his motorbike, the guy he rents a garage from to live in and the precinct cops who know his face better than most already. Jensen's a hard-working student whose family are helping push him towards great things. What happens when their two worlds collide, and will Jared's troublesome nature be too much for Jensen to handle?"
Word Count: 199,102. It was written between May 2008 and December 2008 and was posted in 50 separate chapters. Book 1 master post here.
Two podfics of the first book were begun by kreutzmarie (American reader) and fartinminney (British reader) in January 2010. As of February 2012, both podfics remain incomplete, kreutzmarie having reached Chapter 40 and fartinminney Chapter 20 out of fifty chapters. Both can be found here.
===Fan Art===
The writers created numerous wallpapers, "candid polaroids" (photos that the characters took of each other) and other photomanips for the series. They also created a Christmas Advent calendar filled with their photomanips, short drabbles and fanmixes which can be seen here. The series was also selected to be part of petite madame's J2-S&D Calendar Wallpaper Project.
Below is a small sampling of some of the artwork created by the writers
File:Sandl bookcover.jpg|Jared book cover no. 1 for the Word Doc version of the story. Art by eviltwin
File:Adventcalendarpromo.jpg|Promotional banner advertising the upcoming 2008 Advent Calendar. Art by bloody_adorable.
File:Smokepoloroidswallpaper.jpg|an example of the polaroid snapshots that the characters took of one another, set into wallpaper format by eviltwin.
Other fan artists created artwork for the series
* Fan artist bflyw made a photomanip of a tattooed Jared here
* mimori_chan created a collage of Jared and his motorcycle
===Fan Vids and Fanmixes===
The writers created several of their own fan vids and fanmixes which can be found linked here. They include 5 fan video trailers and the following soundtracks
* Soundtrack Vol 1: A True Nature's Child
* Soundtrack Vol 2: Outlaws Forever
* Soundtrack Vol 3: Instrumentals
* Soundtrack 2008 Advent Calendar: Dec 3rd: Music and manipulations
Other fans' contributions
* Borichicpr's Streaming FanMix dated December 8, 2008. "This playlist has the songs Breathless by Adorable, Ladies and Gentlemen by Saliva, Spoilin' for a Fight by AC/DC, I'm So Sick (T-Virus Remix) by Flyleaf, Resist by Rush, and more."
===Reactions/Reviews===
* "I’ve started [re-reading] the Smoke & Lightening fic series over. It’s just so amazing I had to. So perfect. I’m on page 54 already, I never read this fast."I've started reading... tumblr post by padackllins, dated July 2011.
* "....currently I’m reading Smoke and Lightning. A j2 fic split into three books. I’ve just finished book one and I have to say, it is absolutely beautiful. I’d come across it before, but the summary didn’t seem interesting so I skipped it. I’m so glad I finally gave it a chance. Definitely read it." Fuck Yeah Supernatural Fan Fiction tumblr post by fyspnfanfic, dated June 27, 2011.
* "Oh my fucking god. That is one of the sweetest/funniest/saddest/hottest fic ever!!! READ IT, IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY." Just finished... tumblr post by caylawincest dated May 2011.
* "...the story’s good. It was certainly enjoyable because if it wasn’t, I would’ve given up on it - 50 chapters is no joke. And maybe it’s because of the length that I don’t think so much of it… Don’t get me wrong, the effort put into it by its authors and the result is nothing short of spectacular. Such an original concept yet it doesn’t go on my favorites list. I dunno, they may have just overdid it on the sex somewhere around the middle… That may have been my conservative side showing; I do love me some good porn as much as the next lad and the smut didn’t take much away from the story for me (since I have this tendency to skip the scenes) but still yeah…"Smoke & Lightning: Heavy Metal Thunder tumblr post by ibreatheslash, dated June 24, 2011.
* "For over 30 years I have been reading fanfiction, preferably with hot boy-on-boy action. There have been thousands of stories and many different fandoms. Many good stories, quite a few bad ones and a good number of excellent stories. But every once in a while a story comes along that is just perfect, giving me everything I want at the moment I read it. Those I give the rating “Best of the Best”. Over the years I have found somewhere around 30 to 40 stories that fall in this category. Now I have found another: Smoke & Lightning: Heavy Metal Thunder...This is a totally awesome J2-AU, including tatoos, motorcycles and great music. There is “bad boy” Jared, riding a motorbike, his marvelous body covered with tatoos. There is highschool-student Jensen, a good student, but being bullied at school and having problems with his father. They meet under interesting circumstances, changing their respective lives completely. Jensen and Jared are adorable and the additional characters are great. The story is written so well, making the characters come to life and it is of epic proportion. It is sweet, funny, touching and filled with suspense."Best of the Best j2-Fanfiction posted, dated April 10, 2010.
==Book 2: Born To Be Wild==
Book 2: Born To Be Wild.
Summary: "They're born to be wild. At least, Jared is. Jensen's learning, though, and this road-trip that they're on will teach him plenty of lessons. It's a good thing, too, because he'll need what he's learnt when they return and venture onto an altogether more serious step in their relationship. Trust is a major aspect for the both of them and Jensen's will be tested to breaking point as the boys learn how they'll cope together on the road...and off it."
Word Count: 35,437. The second book was written between February 2009 and May 2009 and consists of 30 chapters. The master post for Book 2 is here.
===Fan Art===
Below is a small sampling of some of the artwork created by the authors. They also created a 2009 Christmas Advent calendar filled with their photomanips, short drabbles and fanmixes which can be seen here.
File:Sandlbook2_bookcover.jpg|Jared and Jensen on the cover of Book 2. Art by eviltwin
File:Return front.jpg|Cover for the fanmix The Return by bloody_adorable
File:Btbw banner.jpg|banner for Book 2
Artwork created by other fan artists
* bflyw created 'Jared Hates Laundry Day' here
* little jenny25's art - Biker Jared
* smallword_inc drew semi-naked Jared and Jensen showing off their tattoos
===Fan Vids and Fanmixes===
The writers created several of their own fan vids and fanmixes which can be found linked here. They include 5 fan video trailers by BloodyAdorable, the fanvid When The World Falls Apart by eviltwin and the following soundtracks:
* Soundtrack Vol 1: The Return
* Soundtrack Vol 2: Jared's Songs
===Reactions/Reviews===
* "I love this! It’s a perfect continuation of the story. Jared and Jensen, the open road, a beautiful Harley; life is good for these boys. Amazing plot also!"Show me your fics tumblr post by misfic, dated 19, 2011.
* "I think it’s time to re-read Born to Be Wild. I’m downloading the PDF and once I finish it, I can move to Book 3: City of Angels because I haven’t read it yet. ugh i love this verse so much I could cry."I think its time... tumblr post by sweetambiguity, dated Oct 10, 2010.
* "So sad to see this story end. Thank you for keeping it interesting, realistic and enjoyable. Some stories start to lose their impact when they've gone this long but this definately wasn't like that. I adored it to pieces and will totally miss with Jensen and Jared and ofcourse, the other people too :) "debarouchi's comment at the end of Book 2, dated May 28, 2009.
===Smoke & Lightning Community Contest===
After the conclusion of the second book, the writers held a contest in June 2009 for fans to submit their fanfic (no more than 3000 words), fan art and fanvids. A poll then allowed community members to vote on their favorite 3 items.
Winners:
* Heartbreaker video by loverstar
* Ficlets
** When I Grow Up was by sam_can_do_it. Winner with 30 votes
** The Mouths Of Babes was by kimberleyqaf. 2nd place with 28 votes
* Artwork - no winners
All contest entries can be viewed here.
==Book 3: City of Angels==
Book 3: City of Angels.
Summary: "Jensen and Jared have made their move to L.A. so that Jensen can start a new job in a new hospital. But Jared needs to find something too."
Wordcount: 184,000 words. Written between March and November 2010 and contains 32 chapters.
Master post of chapters, fan art, and fan vids is here.
===Fan Art===
Below is a small sampling of some of the artwork created by the writers. They also created a 2010 Christmas Advent calendar filled with their photomanips, short drabbles and fanmixes which can be seen here.
File:Bookthreecover.jpg|Los Angeles on the cover of Book 3 City of Angels. Art by eviltwin
File:Smoke and Lightning Poster 5 by bloodyadorable.jpg|movie poster for City of Angels by bloody_adorable
File:Advent2010pic2.jpg|an example of one of the advent calendar covers. Art by eviltwin.
File:Smoke358 3.jpg|The 2011 May Calendar drawing by petite madame as part of her J2-S&D Calendar Wallpaper Project. Artist notes: "Jared the bad boy hanging out at his favorite biker bar. I really wanted the viewer to notice the tattoo first so it's the only element of the picture in color."
Artwork created by other fan artists
* daunt drew Jared and Jensen cartoon characters here
* loco lobo drew Jensen's customized motorcycle
* petite madame drew a young Jared playing his guitar. She also drew Jensen as a doctor silhouetted against the Los Angeles skyline. At the conclusion of the book, she drew a chapter end poster. When the membership of the community reached 500 in she drew a celebratory 500 member banner. A year later she selected the mechanic Jared from Book 3 as the theme for her May 2011 Supernatural/J2 Calendar
* caelith created three photomanips: Tattoos and Smooches, Doctor Ackles Kissing, and Relaxing in the Morning (friendslocked)
* tinkabell007 made a photomanip of Jared on his motorcycle on Route 66
===Fan Vids and Fanmixes===
The writers created several of their own fan vids and fanmixes which can be found linked here. They include 5 fan video trailers by BloodyAdorable and the soundtrack: On Our Own: Vol 1
===Book 3 Extras===
During the writing of Book 3 the community membership reached 500 and the writers wrote several drabbles in recognition based on prompts from the readers. petite madame drew a banner of Jared celebrating the community reaching 500 members.
In the summer of 2010, the writers began a series of interactive interviews where the readers could pose questions to the book characters. The writers created LJ accounts for each character and then answered the questions in character.
In November 2010, the writers hosted a Smoke & Lightning trivia quiz. The three readers that answered the most questions correctly would win a Heavy Metal Thunder t-shirt with the dragon tattoo design, an Amazon gift card and a small drabble that would be posted as part of the next advent calendar. Quiz results can be found here.
===Reactions/Reviews===
* "I’m so incredibly attached to the characters in Smoke & Lightning that I honestly do not know what I’m going to do when I get to the end. I know they’re working on a fourth book, but I’m on chapter 11 of the third and the fourth isn’t up yet. Eventually, though, it will end and that terrifies me…because, I was there when Jensen turned 20… and now he’s nearly 27. Then, there’s Jared, who captured my heart when I thought no Jared character ever could in fanfic. I just love them so fucking much. They’ve been through so much together and I’ve been along for the ride the whole way through. I will miss them… and now I’m crying." You know what I realized? tumblr post by 67chevyimpala.
* "I'm from Brazil and a friend of mine who is a great fan of Supernatural introduced me to this verse. When I first started to read it I had no idea who Jensen or Jared were and knew nothing about Supernatural. My friend just showed me the story and said it was a great piece to read and here I am. No words for how much I enjoyed reading the books. I laughed, I cried, I got angry... I'm just writing to say how much I loved this because you guys deserved all the praises! It was an amazing ride and I'm really glad to have been part of it (even as a lurker - I just had to create an account (on LJ) to comment here). I'm a little bit sad that this is the end, but well, all good things come to a end, right? Now I'll be waiting for the timestamps! And I can't wait for you next book!"rafo_01's comment in the final chapter of City of Angels, dated November 10, 2011.
==Book 4: Whatever Comes Our Way==
Book 4: Whatever Comes Our Way is an active WIP as of February 2012. Chapter One was posted in August 2011.
Summary: "The boys have a new family and face a whole new set of challenges and possibilities. But they can handle it."
Master post of chapters, fan art and fan vids is here.
===Fan Art===
Below is a small sampling of some of the artwork created by the writers.
File:Book4covj.jpg|cover for Book 4: Whatever Comes Our Way. Art by EvilTwin
===Fan Vids===
===Reactions/Reviews===
* "You know its Wednesday when.....YOU keep refreshing your Friends page for this to be posted...smoke & lightning:whatever comes our way :) Favorite J2 fic :)""You know its Wednesday" tumblr post by annabanana30; dated November 2011.
==References==
Category:2000s
Category:2010s