"You're just like him."
WOW, I haven't drawn Joey since -checks calendar- 2019, but boy am I glad to bring him back! So a couple nights ago I was just sitting there, minding my own business late at night, when thoughts for my story, Searching the Depths, decided to come and knock down my door. So I had to break out the sketchbook and go ham. I got thinking about the relationship between Bella (my OC and one of our protagonists) and the two men that influenced her a lot before she went to ink hell, her father Mark Ewe and Joey Drew.
Mark was a good man that died too soon, lost to a sickness that destroyed his life. His philosophy was "what goes around comes around," so it's important to treat others with kindness, eventually that kindness will find you again. And he wasn't wrong, but there were still many times where doing the kind thing bit him in the butt. Joey on the other hand is very transactional, he's "you scratch my back I scratch yours". He gets what he wants through connections, bargains, and manipulation. Both of these men have had a profound influence on Bella, and she doesn't want to be like either of them. She would be furious if she were compared to either one, since she regards both of them as failures who couldn't survive.
But the thing is, they have a lot in common. Bella is very kind and hopeful for a while, she genuinely wants to help but fears she's too gullible and easily manipulated. She's a dreamer that struggles to figure out how to make her dreams a reality. She is filled with wonder and amazement at seeing people in their element, and she wants to love life again. Smile by Nat King Cole (you probably know it as performed by Charlie Chaplin) would honestly be a great song for her. Actually, let me link one of my favorite versions here. My dad and I loved this one by Voctave. I think, she needs that.