December 2015 Q&A

(Poll link sent to confirmed patrons only.)

Go ahead and ask any questions you guys may have regarding Four-Letter Word! Anything from its creation to aspects within its universe is fair game! I'll have a write-up of the answers available next month with any spoilers clearly marked.

Last Month's Questions

Q: Why does Ash prefer to pick up the mail?
A: Asher is a bit of a creature of habit. He doesn't like going outside of his comfort zone too much, so once something is established he likes it to stay that way. That feeds into his problems facing tough interpersonal issues, but where the mail's concerned, it's just because he's used to always getting it, so he like to keep up a routine.

Q: Does Ash's dad blame him for his mother's death? That is, does he believe Ash's homosexual "sinfulness" incurred the wrath of God?

A: Not at all! Mr. C's got his reasons for having trouble accepting Asher's homosexuality which will come to light much later on. However, if you'd like to know more about that ahead of time, I can answer that for next month's Q&A and mark it a spoiler.

Q: Does Colby have a country accent?

A: I envision Colby as kind of a west-coast hipster kind of guy, so I picture him having a California English accent with some vocal fry going on. (The video mostly addresses vocal fry as it applies to women, but most of the Bay Area Californian guys I know do it too.)

Q: What is the poster in Colby's room a reference to?

A: Since most people (i.e. not me, haha) like to personalize their living space with stuff that represents them and the things they like, I figured I should spruce up Colby's bare (at the time) walls with a band poster or something. I didn't put too much though into the band's name, since I knew it was going to be covered up by his computer monitor. At the time, I was listening to A Work of Fiction by Coparck, so the first visible part is the beginning of Coparck, and the latter part is the last parts of the word Fiction. The full unobstructed word would come out something like "Copartion," which is actually a terrible name that I wouldn't end up using for anything, haha!

Q: Cole is afraid of horror movies, but Ash is not. Ash is afraid of sex, but Cole is not. Both are strong where the other is weak, and vice-versa. Cole's fear is instigated – but also comforted – by Ash. What about Ash's fear? How far does this pattern go for him? For example, is he bothered to the point of having trouble sleeping, as it was with Cole?

A: Nah, Asher tends to sleep like a log. Colby's problem with sleeping (at least in this instance) was just because of the horror movie imagery haunting his thoughts, rather than their relationship problems. Although, between the two of them, Colby is still far more likely to be kept up at night by his insecurities than Asher. Asher's difficulty mostly stems from having a hard time breaking out of his shell, whereas Colby's has more to do with him not feeling worthwhile, so Colby's is much more disruptive and constant.

Q: From your perspective, is the bedtime story scene a double entendre about Ash's sexual nervousness? For example: "…there were no monsters, save for the ones in the price's own head…"

A: Absolutely, although it's speaking more to his nervousness in general, rather than just his sexual nervousness.

Q: Does Troy have PTSD?

A: Spoiler alert! Don't read the rest of this answer if you want to avoid spoilers! Yes, although by present day in Four-Letter Word, he's gone a long way towards recovery. It will be detailed fairly in depth at some point down the road, but a lot of Troy's behavior is a consequence of his sexual abuse at the hands of his father as a child, as hinted at near where the comic ended. Some of it, like his aversion to alcohol and his career path are indirectly linked to the incident through his mother who, while supportive of Troy and believing his account, was saddled with guilt that lead to self-destructive behavior.

Q: Is FLW influenced by the music you listen to?

A: Somewhat! While I don't really draw from any lyrics or anything like that, I do listen to music to set a mood for me to go for. I find it helps a lot to get in the right headspace for the kind of atmosphere I want to create in a given scene. In particular, through much of the comic, I would listen to Trembling Hands by The Temper Trap to get the right feel I wanted. It was a lot more effective than just going in cold. For the most part, though, I usually just work to music to keep myself mentally engaged and stave off the boredom (art takes a long time and is horribly tedious and boring to do for me.)

Thanks for all the great questions!