Zooms in here HI HI HI it feels like I'm sending this late lmao... I got mega swamped by work right after I rb'd the oc ask post :') ANYWAY I honestly love your guys so much your worlds are filled with so much personality and colour!!
For Flint once again (wym i am biased): 1+2, 6, 7, 10 (mostly just the first half), and 16!
I also wanna you a chance to go wild and ramble about some of your other guys, so these ones are for anyone of your choice!!
1, 2, 12, and 20!
KAFJGAKDFJGADFG THANK YOU ✨ SENPAI ✨ I say, being upwards to 10 years older than you lmao YOUR WORDS MEAN SO MUCH TO MEEEEEEEE [also what bias what are you talking about there's no clear biases for either of us, no, never.] This ended up HELLA long so I'm adding a cut here! [seriously this post got LONG - over 2300 words long hahaha whoops]
[For Flint!] What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?
THIS IS LITERALLY MY FAVORITE STORY TO TELL SO BUCKLE UP KIDDOS EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE
To make a long story as short as possible haha I used to have nightmares wherein I was being chased by something, or someone, but never knew or saw what it was. A lot of these nightmares also had me running into family and other important people in my life and having them full out ignore my issues [a major problem I dealt with thanks to my health for a long time] and the 'story' of the dream would change... but somewhere, in the back of my mind, I still knew I was supposed to be 'escaping' something and if it caught me, it was really really bad. BUT usually I'd wake up before anything could happen anyway.
WELL ONE NIGHT I had one of these dreams and it was more...cinematic than anything else and I was BOOKIN' it, actively getting away from someone chasing me. It felt more like akin to maybe a cheap spy movie or something haha where I was running through tunnels and inside some secret building. Anyway, I find a ladder that goes up into a very tight/rounded tunnel straight up to the roof and I take that. As I'm climbing, I'm getting a sense of relief that I'm FINALLY getting away from whatever is chasing me and I'm trying to decide what to do next as I reach the top and go to open the trap door above me when suddenly it opens on its own from the outside and I'm blinded by a bright light.
As the light clears, I see none other than the Detective himself, who is just as surprised to see me as I am him, and I think to myself "Oh! Good! Maybe he's here to help me!" when, as if on cue, Flint gives me the BIGGEST shit eating grin ever [aka how I always tend to draw him ahah] and the very last thing I remember before waking up is thinking "OH MAYBE NOT." and boom. I was awake.
I couldn't get that dream out of my head for WEEKS and eventually just had to draw him!
2/6. [For Flint!] What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story? / What was the thought process behind their appearance? Did you go mostly for the aesthetic or are there other reasons they look the way they do?
I'm merging these two since they answer each other! His design was basically finalized from the get go in that dream, minus maybe a detail or two. For example [and I wish I had access to the image but I'm not on my ipad] his first sketch had him wearing a weird X across his chest, maybe out of leather straps or something? But otherwise his outfit was basically 100% the same, I just made his jacket a bit more form fitting and the straps on his arms were more for looks than functionality like they are now. I think overall he was waaay skinnier [my old style] and his head was way more thin/oval than it is now.
But aside from that he basically just materialized to me in that dream as is. His GUNS on the other hand, I had to do research on and design myself akdfjgakdfjgadfkgj. [I took heavy inspo off of Vash's guns from Trigun] His personality also developed pretty quickly - at least the whole "him being a little shit" part did haha, otherwise he was originally supposed to be an assassin turned body guard for little Blossom, with Cy being a thief turned bodyguard for her as well, making them a sort of odd-couple style trio. Clearly that was all dropped, minus Cy being a thief lol. I believe I knew from the get go, however, that he'd be the "main" character, if I were to put him into one. Otherwise his name was 100% last as I routinely referred to him as "Flame head" for a very long time - in fact that's why Cy's called Cy hahaha it was short for Cyclops.
I'll try to remember to add the very first sketch I did of him to this when I get home tonight - it's even in color and everything.
7. [For Flint!] What is an aspect of their appearance that you like the most?
His giant grin hehehehe, but I'm a sucker for giant smiles like that, that can't physically fit on the characters face if they were real. Otherwise I've always loved his head in general - even if I tend to forget how I want to make his 'hair' flames look sometimes and they come out looking wonky to me, they're still my favorite. I just wish I had more confidence to try animating it haha
10. [For Flint!] What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop? Do they get a happy ending or is their story a tragic one?
Ah man, so much ahahaha, they are THE main character after all! As for the storyline specific timeline... Idk yet haha I keep changing when and where the story will start IN his timeline. But I can say at the very least that I do plan on him having an arc of course - he starts off being very cocky, very headstrong/sure of himself, and quick to want to show off or show up someone else, and has actually less desire to actually help others without getting paid in return. It's only after he meets Lotti that he starts actually paying more attention to the clients themselves and less about the thrill or the excitement of the case.
His [very short recap cuz I wanna keep his story vague] backstory is basically he was abandoned as a kid [don't really have a specific age, but at least old enough to know that he was actively abandoned and hold resentment for it] and more or less just lived on the streets, stealing and fighting, getting into trouble and slowly but surely heading down a dark path of no return, before he happens to meet Detective Michelle [no surname atm] who, rather forcibly, takes Flint in and makes him her protege. He had no friends growing up, was rarely allowed anywhere and usually verbally and sometimes physically attacked because his flame head is unusual even for this world, and his bad attitude led him to starting fist fights at the slightest provocation. Not to mention literally no where used sign language and made communicating nearly impossible for him.
After Det. Michelle's death however, Flint had already grown up quite a lot and in a very Animal Crossing New Leaf way, accidentally got himself hired in Neo Oldesville as the new lead [and at the time only] Detective haha. [aka he just showed up one day to his mentors old office to store it up, and everyone thought he was the detective and he just accepted it haha]
From the start he's completely against friendships and bonds, and finds them weird - but as he starts actually helping people/being friendly to them, and they start sticking around/even learn sign language to communicate with him. Only then is when he starts to soften and eventually turn more into a big brother figure for most of his bonds. He does still have a hard time asking for help however and tends to do everything himself, a trait that follows him through the story and ends up nearly getting him killed at least once.
But Lotti, Blossom, Columbo+Bennie, Locke now, and even Cy are all vital to his growth as a character as for the first time through them he actually has a "family" - even if they are just friends. He slowly starts wanting to do better and be better not just for himself, but for them too.
I've been actively changing pieces though as I want his and Cy's story arcs to compliment each other but not be 100% the same, [the whole night/day thing I have going with them] and currently her arc is practically the same haha. So mostly she's been getting rewrites atm as well as her sisters, to try and balance it with his.
As he is the main character and I plan on making this story into games at some point, I can say at least for now, that his story has a happy ending, as I hope to make multiple games with him as the MC.
16. [For Flint!] Is there any memes or running jokes associated with the character, both in- and out of universe?
Man, I wish there were more hahaha. I mean, I think I had a one off gag I wanted to turn into the same style of comics I was doing last year in which Mr. Affogato learns that both Lotti and Flint are basically sluts haha. JK but the joke was they'd both absolutely go on dates with someone just to get free meals and nothing else.
Other than that, I guess the main running gag is NEVER LET FLINT DRIVE. Ever. You will arrive in pieces, on fire, and with only one tire left XD
As for in real life the current gag is this image, because I got a few car magnets made hehehe
A few of us now have this, including my friend who also works at the same place I do hehehehe. Weirdly I've learned everyone thought those were his feet, not his hands hahaha.
1, 2, 12, and 20 for anyone else!
I'mma keep it Neo Oldesville themed I think, and a bit shorter as this has gotten really long hahaha.
1/2. What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character? / How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)
I'm picking Cy for this one! Since she's supposed to be the deuterogamist to the story alongside Flint haha.
She, like Flint, actually came to me in a dream too! A different one, and she was a Prince in that one, but was still wearing a weirdly oversized, 1980s themed wind breaker jacket. But also had a rapier and kept trying to seduce me lol. She has gone through a lot of changes, at least outfit wise, and I am FINALLY happy with how she looks now. I cringe... when I look at her old outfit honestly hahaha I've almost been tempted to redo just her in some older images I still really love but just...hate how she looks.
I decided to keep the 80s vibes with her, which also played into her getting a yo-yo for a weapon and her roller skates. That and projection as I really really wish I could skate kjdfgkajd
As for her current color scheme, I worked hard to try and keep it more darker/night themed [even tho she has a lot of off white] and threw in the yellow line specifically for Flint, seeing as his design has a dark purple tie that almost matches her purple. tho..I mean technically Flint's outfit is even darker than hers, its just his head that's sun coded OTL. I did a TON of mock ups for her current design and went through trials and tribulations for picking her color scheme too lfjkgakdfg wish I knew where THOSE images were haha
12. Do you have a playlist for the character? What songs do you associate with them and why?
Also for Neo Oldesville! AND YES. WHY YES I DO. XD It's mostly my own person itunes playlist, as I don't do spotify and I haven't properly updated the youtube one I have, but Neo Oldesville has one over all that I adore listening too. Mostly it's Undertale/Deltarune, Sailor Moon, and Ace Attorney music hahahaha the funny thing is I've literally never played Undertale or Deltarune once. I just adore the music.
Some specifics tho - for Flint, Cy, Lotti, and Query only.
🔥For Flint my favorites for him are the following [with links to youtube]
Ace Attorney: Investigation ~ Cornered [his main theme honestly] Field of Hopes and Dreams [another main theme for him] Namachuukei 68 (X68000) - Game Over [honestly this whole soundtrack is fire for him] Tobashite Taxi Man · Yurie Kokubu [lyrically it doesn't fit him but I adore it and that's all that matters hahahahaha]
👁️For Cy, she has a lot less, mostly because I'd see her with more melancholic/slower songs, but ... I hate those ones hahahaha. I think currently all of hers are from Undertale hahahah!
Dummy! - Undertale [what plays in my head when she and Flint are tormenting each other... that or the Benny Hill theme lmao] Death By Glamour - Undertale [her main theme tbh] Heartache - Undertale
💗For Lotti! Her's is mostly Sailor Moon music hehe
Sailor Moon SuperS OST - Usagi and Chibiusa [especially the second half of the piece - this is her main theme atm] Sailor Moon OST - Scatterbrain Soda Soda - by nogika_chaba on YT The ending theme to Sailor Moon Super S [this fits for literally the whole cast haha I love imagining an anime ending credit for it]
❔For Query!
Zinnia Encounter Theme [her main theme] Zinnie Battle Theme [also a main theme. She's gunna KICK your ass!]
