Diostory SHORT
 

*This is an experiment in terms of how to tell a story...*

DATE : 06.12.10
LOCATION : SOMEWHERE IN IDAHO
TIME : 14.51.23

A small convoy made up of a VAMP and Patriot Grizzly wind their way over a road strewn with rocks. Flanked by boulders and a rock valley, the Joes are on edge. It reminds Clutch of the scene in Starship Troopers where the platoon was walking thru a valley that was many stories high and there would be only two ways to run. Cobra could be hiding in the giant boulders, prepared to take out both vehicles and steal back an unusual natural made energy crystal found in one of the many mountain ranges of Idaho.



"HEY! Why we stopped, Clutch???" yells Capt. Steeler, after slamming on the breaks of his tank. Thunder and Rock N Roll groan with irritation as the sudden stop. "We're already behind schedule, ya grease monkey!"

"Something in my gut says to stop here for a few minutes..." Clutch says over the radio. "Zap, get out and look around, will ya?"



After a few minutes, Zap decides nothing look out of the ordinary. He admits that he isn't the best man to be put on point. He's better at blowing away heavily armored tanks than looking for ground mines or homemade bombs. He looks around again but doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. Why make him use his own eyes if the onboard electronics on the tank could do a better job? This mission, to Zap, was pretty hush-hush and there had to be pretty slim chances that Cobra knew about this little mission.

Up high, the mercenary sabateur Firefly carefully makes his way from rock to rock, boulder to boulder. The sun is high in the sky and he tries to stick to the shadows. But he can't all the time. He's been in the game long enough to know when he's being tailed. In a place like this, there isn't a trail left. Nor is there a trail to be made. Every part of this valley could act as it's own trail. The only way to spot someone else would to be high enough up, with good binoculars and the knowledge of WHERE to look. Firefly figures that he blends in quite well with the gray landscape.

"Damn," he swears. "Behind schedule and the Joes could be anywhere in this damn valley."

Deciding that Clutch's gut is usually right on, Steeler orders Rock N Roll, Thunder and Zap to take a look around. Technically, these are three of the hardest hitting Joes on the team. They are also veterans. Zap, best known for his bazooka skills, isn't ideal for this outing but the man has to do something. Steeler figures he might even learn something new. Thunder used to operate the Slugger. Since the vehicle has been put in retirement, he's had to find other ways to be helpful for the Joe team. Working as infantry but still apt at heavy cannons, Thunder has a strange niche with the team. Lastly, there's Rock N Roll, the original heavy gunner. Not much more could be said about him.



Elsewhere, but not too far away, the resident ninja Snake Eyes hunts the elusive Firefly. Even with all the skills and training, even he's not sure Firefly can be found. If someone doesn't want to be found, they won't.



At least 15 minutes have passed since the scout crew took a stroll. It's hot and the men are sweating. They are also tired. That has more to do with the craptastic ride than being awake for 18 hours. They have checked about a half radius of 30 yards and found nothing. No sign of life except a few weeds growing and wild grass. Thunder's allergies are starting to get to him.

Feeling that the scout crew is taking too long and tired of looking at the radar console on the VAMP, Clutch gets out to stretch his legs. While at it, he checks to make sure the VAMP isn't in jeopardy of overheating. He carries his trusted grenade launcher with him. He's not the best aim with a rifle or pistol but with a shotgun or what he has now, accuracy doesn't have to count.



Also tired of sitting in a hot tank, moving about 10-15mph, Steeler gets out to look around. To him, the road looks clear as does the valley. Sensors show nothing except the Joes on scout duty and Snake Eyes who barely shows up as it is. To Steeler, it's a matter of WHEN Cobra attacks, not so much where. This valley, it's as good as gold for Cobra. He just hopes that they have enough firepower and manpower to beat the bad guys.











Thanks for reading.

And as an EXTRAS feature, this is where I shot today's 8, uh, shots. I've spent at least 3 days in this area. This place is full of COOL spots to shoot and they all have different feels!


Down near the beach (well, it's all by the beach, I guess), there are these piles of rock. They are fairly large sized rock so walking on them is like walking on the beach with rocks. Could break an ankle pretty easily. Sure, you see grass and other vegetation but there are rocks strewn all over. This is where I shot Firefly and Snake Eyes tho they were on different rocks.



Closer look at the spot for SE and FF. I'll prolly use this same site for the upcoming dio, Deadly Poets.



This is the location for the Vamp and Patriot Grizzley. I moved them for the picture because I was trying to keep stuff together. It'd suck if I left a figure or vehicle there by accident. Note the towel. I use that to lay on so I didn't get overly dirty. Plus with all those rocks, I could set my camera on them for a stable shot!

cool setting and story

Cool shots, especially like the one with snake eyes and the one with the grass patrol.

Definately liked the photos. Liked the story too. Liked the photo with Firefly and the patrol.

Great location!
 

Nice pics!

Diostory
 

cool

Nice tank G.
Is that a custom Snake Eyes?

Good story and pics. Like the mention of Thunder's allergies, I feel his pain. How'd you get Rock 'n Rool's arms to bend the way they did?

I thought the allergies was a nice touch too. The setting, though, steals the show.
The background info is always helpful.

With MOST of the 25th/MA figures, I cut the biceps. So far, I've only destroyed 2 figures (the DD-shirtless-oriented Stormy and a ROC Pit Commando) cuz I've got too far. When I get a figure, I always check whether the figure is/has
-symmetrical (they aren't leaning to one side, things line up, etc)
-loose joints
-elbow articulation
-able to hold a weapon

The snake eyes is NOT a custom. It's the all-black City Strike SE...

I try to make things more personal for the characters. Just little things. Thunder's allergies is just an example. Clutch's gut (that's an NCIS thing). Zap can't shoot a gun worth a damn. It's just something I try to do in the dios but it's hard in there to fit all that I really want in. So I experimented with a prose story with pictures that would, in theory, only enhance the reading. I believe General Scarlet and I have talked about doing something like this years ago (not a duo effort, just the concept).

And you all can tell that the pictures go together and trying to tell that story in the Photos section would break the cap rules AND it's must easier to read this way.

So for those interested, this IS one way on how to use the forums to tell a short dio (as opposed to making us go thru flickr, photobucket and even our own PHotos section). The key is that you need to host the photos somewhere (I use photobucket) and then simply slam dunk the img code here.



Thanks all for reading. I enjoyed being able to tell a fanfic/diostory in this format.

you can slap a dio story togehter before i can even begin a dio I've been replanning for months :D

Well done Graham.........I've thought of doing this as well........now that you've 'opened the floodgates' as it were........hmmmmmm

Very good pictures, but I would like the storitelling on the picture, better then over it.

It's definitely a good way of storytelling. The images are of key moments in the story. The text can be more descriptive and we get to use our imaginations more while reading. Reminds me of the text & pic stories that were in the Action Force Yearbooks.

Great character selection and photography... classic!