I recently got this ask on my Wallis askblog ( @askwallisgloom ) and I decided that since this is something I feel… Pretty passionately about, I’d write up my thoughts on it!! As always, this is just MY theory, it may or may not be canon, only CQ can say that! So, here we go-
Wallis does not want Harold living on the streets.
Despite
their differences and arguments, Wallis and Harold do love each other.
Seeing his little brother out on the streets would probably hurt Wallis a
lot.
Personally, I believe that Wallis HAS tried to get Harold to
live with him before, but Harold… Really, really does not like
accepting help. Probably because he thinks he’s a burden or something.
This is shown here:
(Pg.118)
Where Harold is visibly uncomfortable at Assy offering to buy him stuff.
So Harold has PROBABLY declined offers for help- ESPECIALLY from Wallis, someone he might feel a lot of guilt around- before.
As a more… Obvious pointer, though, please follow me through this look into the finer details~!!
(Pg.49)
We can see here that Harold stole $400. Enough money, in Wallis’ humble opinion, to need to be paid back- And how he does that, of course, by forcing Gloom to work for him.
Now is a fantastic time to point out that Wallis has an unlimited supply of workers, it’s not like he NEEDS the extra help. He’s also a brilliant actor.
Moving on, we have this:
(Pg.98)
Assistant’s weekly paycheck is $600- $200 whole dollars more than what Harold stole. And in Wallis’ own words- “Whatevs. It’s not even that much.”
So, we can deduce two things from this. 1. If Wallis doesn’t think $600 is much, he certainly wouldn’t think $400 is a lot. 2. Harold would have completely paid off his debt by now, and yet, Wallis hasn’t made any indication that he wants Harold gone.
Those are the basics, but for a deeper look, I’d like to point you in the direction of this interaction:
(Pg.112)
Wallis hasn’t been working Harold very hard at all. In fact, the worst he’s done, is force Harold to be more HEALTHY. If he was truly upset about his money being stolen purely for the fact his money was gone, wouldn’t you think Wallis would be working him WAY harder??
If we take into consideration that for the most part, Harold MAY have some form of depressive disorder- Or at the very least, is stuck in a rut in his life- Wallis forcing him to be active and do something is probably the best thing he could do. Keep in mind that Wallis has 3 definite layers to his personality:
1. Flashy angry show persona, the main one we see throughout the comic. 2. Less flashy, normal, “I think I’m pretty great” persona. 3. The ‘real’ him, who doesn’t think he’s very good at all, and probably has a few self esteem issues.
I think it’s… Fairly safe to assume that anything Wallis does shouldn’t be taken at face value, since he’s buried his real feelings so deep down. This in mind, it’s very plausible that Wallis’ true intentions to HELP his brother are cleverly hidden by a guise of “Wanting to be repaid”- Something that fits his top, and foremost, persona.
Moving on from this, we have this exchange:
(Pg.96)
This is proof that Harold’s condition and situation has been on Wallis’ mind for longer than he lets on. Wallis always has trouble articulating how he feels, so for this interaction to even HAPPEN is a show of how much this means to him- Even if he does run away from the conversation before it can be continued.
Wallis was mad that Harold stole his money, yes- But he wasn’t mad that he was down $400.
He was upset that Harold didn’t think he could just ASK for help.
Honestly, I believe that Wallis’ anger towards Harold was just misdirected anger at HIMSELF- After all, who was it that separated himself from his brother? Who was it that made Harold’s limbs disappear? Who was it that saw, with his own innocent eyes, his brother scream for him to get away?
(Pg.93)
Here we can see that Wallis notices that Harold is upset by this on a personal level, and is probably… Projecting a bit onto Assistant. He immediately moves forward to try and remedy the situation, and ‘comfort’ his brother to the best of his ability.
…On a more speculative note, you could see this as Wallis indirectly promising Harold that he’d help him, too.
In conclusion-
Harold and Wallis love each other. They have their disagreements, and they have things that they don’t like about each other, but when it comes down to it they only want the best for the other. Neither of them is a “bad guy”- They’re just two kids that happen to be a victim of circumstance.
And Wallis absolutely would not want his brother living on the streets.
Okay you know what…I’ve gotten about a thousand asks over the past year about how to price commissions – and while I would usually leave this? I wouldn’t mind making an exception because dammit.
This is important to me.
So what DO you charge for your art?
Well lets think about the factors a moment!
Art takes TIME – that TIME is the hours put into your JOB – because that is what you are doing – a JOB. Whether it is on the side or full time, you are providing a paid service for someone else. This is the MOST important thing to remember, YOU ARE DOING A JOB.
IT IS NOT ‘JUST A PIECE OF ART’, IT IS A PIECE OF ACTUAL WORK THAT YOU HAVE DONE.
THIS IS OVERLOOKED SO MUCH.
YES IT’S A DANG FUN JOB AND YES YOU CAN LOVE IT BUT IT IS STILL WORK, RIGHT?!
So respectively, charging accordingly only makes sense! Artists, by nature, are not hired by a company (normally), or at the very least commissions are done entirely on their own time and through privatized means.
This means that there are no health benefits, no vacation pay, no mandated days off (which means no breaks during an exceptionally busy period) and no way to alleviate the possible costs of material that is REQUIRED to do ART (tablet, computer, traditional art supplies of trade, craft supplies for craftsman, etc.)
So when you PAY for a piece of ART you have to understand – you are paying for that artists livelihood – and their costs come completely out of pocket. (This is referred to as ‘overhead’ btw and an artists overhead will vary.)
For instance, overhead is included on all my plush prices- this accounts for my sewing machine cost and maintenance, thread cost, necessary sewing supplies like scissors and the like that are all periodically ‘included’ in what I have to invest in daily on top of basic material and time.
Just as a personal example, I have over $600 worth of thread on hand at any given time. I use Guterman brand EXCLUSIVELY and no i will NOT downgrade because every time I do the thread snaps in the machine or it just doesn’t seem to last as long.
So dang! That sounds like ALOT!
Well that’s cuz it IS.
And digital art still requires a computer, a tablet, and a program to use! So there’s still cost there!
In my personal opinion and what I find best – is to START at a BASE of $10/hour USD no matter what. This is ESSENTIAL and will at least cover the base of your TIME and EFFORT.
Frankly speaking any less than this and you simply aren’t ‘making money’. I know that seems weird, but THINK about everything you have to start with and whatever your skill level – you’re still putting in that TIME as a JOB.
Overhead should be included and I usually would amount to $5-$10 on top of that per piece – depending on what your personal ‘everyday’ materials used are.
And from there you can start upping your price based on your personal skill and clientele. And the TYPE of clientele that is yours is a learning process.
Again: I’ll use myself as a personal example – I sometimes get people asking for ponies from me.
I do not do ponies. I don’t do them because I don’t want to learn, I don’t do them because I know that is not my forte and I can easily pick out several other specialty pony plush artists that would make the client that much happier.
I simply do not think I could make anyone seeking that kind of thing happy with how I do things.
Anyway – that – is kinda my lil ramble on commissions –
Charge for your time dangit. You’re freakin’ worth it.
This is some A+ information here! Thank you for taking the time to share, Alaina!
Oops, sorry~ How about…. Pidge? That is their name right? Your OC?
So this got really long lmfao. Gunna have to paste this info on my rp blog later cus it’s… important. ANYWAYS HERE YOU GO!
PIDGE RINBALT
1: Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?
Pidge is an only child, though his mother was rather young when she had him. She was only 17 when she met his father in the local tavern…
2: What is/was your character’s relationship with their mother like?
Pidge was very close with his mum, since it was just them two living on their farm. He was always very loyal to her, willing to do most of the hard labour even when he was just a kid.
3: What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?
Pidge never knew his dad, since Bards in this universe are usually charismatic asshats that dine-and-ditch on the the lovely ladies of the local taverns. 😛
6: Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams?
He has one “vague” dream of a figure a little taller than him, staring him down from behind a veil of mist. It happens often, started when he was about 4. He did talk to his mom about it, she says it could be his dad trying to talk with him, but she refused to say anything else. A satisfying answer, no? Especially for one as inquisitive as he. :3
7: Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target?
Not a gun, but he does use a bow. Very well-practiced with it, too. He successfully nailed the “shoot an apple on someone’s head” trick on his first try, using one of the village kids for practice. Got promptly grounded soon after, though he did promise to share some snacks later, and they did.
23: What does your character dislike in other people?
Beyond his general distrust, literally, if someone interrupts him or “steals the spotlight” as it were, he gets VERY antsy and passive-aggressive, and WILL do his best to try to make you miserable. It usually ends up with him looking like a tool and getting kicked out of the group though.
24: How quick is your character to trust someone else?
Not very. He’ll act nice and friendly and whatnot cause that’s what Bards do but, don’t go asking him to share a room with you for the sake of saving you both money. He’d sooner foot that bill alone than deal with the SLIMMEST of possibilities that you might go through his bags. Or murder him in his sleep. Whichever comes first.
32: Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable.
Hoo boy, a big one. ( ._.)
Well to be honest, for all his charisma and haughty attitude, he has a difficult time dealing with people that’re grieving. It’s easy for him to pat someone on the shoulder and tell them everything’ll be okay when they broke their favourite set of plates, or even sometimes replace a kid’s lost spinning top by making one himself. But sitting there, seeing someone in the full throes of a type of pain that only comes from losing something truly irreplacable, well… there’s only so much a few kind words can do. And he KNOWS it. He still tries though, and that’s what counts.
40: How does your character treat people in service jobs?
Treat People The Way You Want To Be Treated™
He treats everyone with the same level of respect until they prove they don’t deserve it. Doesn’t matter if you’re born into royalty or milling away on the fields, he will always bow and refer to people as “sir” or “ma’am”, unless some royal weenie decides to DEMAND he call them “your majesty” or “princess”, then he just gets snarky about it. 100% will accept that they don’t like sir/ma’am, but will be sarcastic as fuck when addressing them.
“Oh, I’m sorry Your Majesty. Won’t happen again. *smirks* ”
There’s and entire Undertale AU and 4 truly Original Content characters in my life right now, which one(s) are you asking about? ;w;
41: Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?
Hmmmm. Since he grew up on a farm with just his mum, he knows the value of earning what you get, and godsdamned did he work hard to get where he is today. Even though his fame has the locals basically throwing feasts and liquor at him to keep in his good graces, he often declines them, favouring instead to merely get a room at an inn and visit in the local taverns before his proper shows, mingling with the crowds.
(It’s not hard for him to like anyone, by the way! He’s polite to anyone that isn’t a Rude Randy, even though he is one himself sometimes! Trust is a different story though. :P)
Pidge's Blog backup 
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