"And thanks to you, I got a chance to see all the beauty of the universe. Things I never even knew were in the world. Or could be. A chance no human will ever get again. I'm grateful that I saw it all. Even if it was just for a little."
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Rant below 👇
I had planned this comic for quite sometime now, since the start of June actually, but now I can say I'm done with this little project of mine. I also wanted to at least contribute to the fandom and since I can't frickin animate (looking at my hands in misery) I decided the next best thing, comics!
It was inspired by many things and yes it was based off of What is Love? by Twice the K-pop idol group. I based Derek from two characters ( three as a honorary member I guess) but this rant would've been three times longer than it should be so I won't get into detail.
Derek, in my opinion, is someone who is curious about the littlest things ever since he was a child, his drive to know more about the world is pretty evident across SFAWTDE, even if it's just surface level considering we don't really know his thought process that much (Compared to Avery that is) .
Which is his strongest strength but also what lead to his own downfall, his own selflessness and his care for both the Avery and the world is what kept him going in DAWTDE. I believe that D3rlord3 could turn against Avery, he is smart enough to understand that he is powerless against the King as Derek had many chances to work with him (across those days and months stuck to his computer), but he didn't because if Derek did then he might as well betraying his own beliefs.
Okay I'm getting a bit sidetracked here 🥲🥲
This comic is me trying to explore Derek a bit more as a character, since love is a general topic that I think anyone can understand (I won't go into detail here).
And I am also just a sucker for characters who are smart but dumb at the same time when it comes to their own affections and feelings. ( I drink it like how Derek drinks his smoothies 😏😏😏)
I am aware that many people portrayed D3rlord3 as someone who had accepted that he is in love with Avery right from the beginning of his demise, but I personally wanted to twist it a bit. Which comes to my main theme of this comic;
"What if he realized his feelings a tad bit too late?"
Derek is someone who puts others first as we can tell from bits and pieces sprinkled across DAWTDE and at the end of SFAWTDE where even as his mind is deteriorating by the second he still made the effort to at least warn Avery. Which I concluded (and most people before me had also) that Derek doesn't care for himself that much but he cares for others and that is what matters to him the most.
I think that's all from me, I've kept you here way too long. I had fun drawing each of the panels, heck I don't care if it flops.
But if you want to hear me rant more on my thoughts of this comic or just Derek in general, my asks are always open. I'll answer them to the best of my capabilities. 😋😋