stares at you stares at you stares at you
opinions on carl
from echo
vn
Echo vn?
stares at YOU
Carl Hendricks. Where do I begin with him?
Simply put, he's great. I think everyone in the main cast is very compelling as characters, and Carl is no exception. I don't even think his route is bad or the weakest. In my opinion, it's on par with the rest. It just suffers from being the first done and thus comes off as disjointed and disconnected from all the others when looking at the VN as a whole (though I do wish his relationship with Flynn was present in his route. Especially how close they are. But again, first written, not everything was figured out I suppose.)
His struggles with anxiety and self-worth are some of the more grounded and relatable aspects of the vn and it's nice to see such things depicted in a way that isn't either complete ass or written off as a joke. Howly approached it in a more realistic way than most I'd say. His anxiety is taken seriously, and I appreciate that as someone with some anxiety issues of my own. The interview scene shortly before the hysteria was rough, and the way Carl describes what happened really highlights how anxiety can affect the way we perceive the people around us.
Do I think Carl was nervous and a bit awkward during the interview? Hell yeah. I know I would be as well. But do I really think that the interviewer was able to immediately tip off to the fact that Carl wouldn't be into it? Do I think that the interviewer was just thinking "man what an absolute fuck up this guy is. jobless"? No. But damn, I completely understand how Carl's mind was able to fill in any blanks to make those assumptions. When you see yourself as a fuck up, as worthless, you begin to read into what every slight tone change or off look can mean. You end up projecting those thoughts onto others and end up believing that they see you the same way. It sucks. And I really like that Chase still had his back and tried to comfort him after the fact without talking down to him.
I also like that who he is isn't defined by his anxiety both by the characters within the vn and from a meta perspective. Carl is an artist, he's goofy, laid-back, and likes to play games. And his friends see all of that, to them he isn't just "the one with intense anxiety" but is instead he's "Carl Hendricks". It's a common pitfall many make when writing characters who struggle from one thing or another where the writers hyper-focus on that one aspect and forget to flesh out the character beyond that.
I also think his relationship with his family name and his parents is interesting. I see a lot of opinions online about him being the typical spoiled rich kid and that his anxiety shouldn't be as bad as it is with the money he has. And while sure, money can make affording help easier it alone doesn't solve his issues. That's something that takes work. A lot of work. Furthermore, even though the Hendricks family is rich due to their ice-cream business and status as the founding family of Echo, we still need to take into consideration that he lives in Echo. The town itself is struggling and that immediately puts a divide between him and the rest of the population. We see it in Route 65 where Karen (the bus driver) refers to him as "pomp and yachty-blooded", to which Carl is described to then get a sort of distant look on his face. He's socially isolated because of his identity, something that isn't helped by the fact that it's pretty obvious that there is a pretty serious disconnect between Carl and his family legacy. That's even part of his route's conflict, dealing with the fallout of James and John's relationship. We also know that his parents tried forcing him into a business degree when he first went to college with Chase, something that quickly fell apart. To me, it's clear that Carl is under a lot of pressure and stress to walk the path that his family has laid out for him, and that he doesn't receive much support in his own interests and goals in life. This most certainly wouldn't have helped with his anxiety and self-esteem, feeling as if you're meant to live up to a legacy you have no interest in reaching.
I could talk about this vn all day, Carl included, so I might expand on this when I get home later cause I REALLY want to talk about his dynamic with the rest of the group (especially Flynn). But in short; Carl is great. Both as a character and as a person. If I was somehow ripped from this reality and plopped within the plot of Echo, I think Carl is probably one of the characters I'd be both the most willing to talk to and one of the characters I'd get along with the best. Proud member of the Carl Defense Squad.
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"All I ask is that you stay with me until the end of the world. It doesn't matter if it's a month, a week, an hour from now- I want to spend the time I have left on this mortal coil with you, Sunshine."
Teaser image/soft cover for my next Binary Star Hero fanfic (it's taking forever because life and also, I've never written slice-of-life fluff before?). It's an epilogue/after story for the immediate aftermath of my first fic, Syzygy.
(Went with a different inking style because while I like digital sketching just fine, I just can't find a rendering style I'm comfortable with. I need a brush and ink in my hand😭)
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Oh Percy the man that you are I say wistfully while staring out into the sunset
I hope I did them justice @blank-house !!!
Dumb extras under cut 😜
I had to run away multiple times from the screen while drawing Percy FRRRR
ft my shitty little watermarks I forgot to add LMAO
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Thank you for mushroom oasis^_^ ! It’s my hyper fixation right now lol. The art, music, and story is amazing and I love it so much. I had to draw Mychael. This is my first digital drawing so I hope it’s okay >:3
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