SAQ - Seldomly Asked Questions

Why did you name your comic Buddies On Away? Because when i work on it, usually all my buddies on AIM are away and i have nothing better to do. i thought id give all those little yellow stickies a tribute.

How did you draw the comic? with pencils, with pens, with the mouse...i honestly went through about fifteen mediums depending on my mood, and so the comic changed abruptly. inked comics are usually done in a quasi-chibi style, and airbrushed. pencil comics are much more detailed, take up an entire page, and are actually extremely pretty. mouse drawn comics are usually very colourful, and somewhere between ink and pencil in terms of character style.

How long did it take to finish a comic? i sketched it first, no matter what medium im using, but depending on what i'm planning on doing it can take anywhere from ten minutes to two hours.

When will Nanashi and Koro have sex? stop asking me this!

Who wrotes/drew your comic? Me. However I drew so much inspiration from my roomie and never realized it :B Go figure.

Where did you get your ideas? Just...around. Sometimes they come from things that happened to me, or sometimes they're just silly things that jumped into my head and started running out of control.

Did you take notes for your comics? If by notes you mean 'draw them very fast with stick figures,' yes.

What is KoroKoro? What is a Youkai? KoroKoro is a species called Youkai. It's the japanese word for spirit/ghost (as in hengeyoukai 'changing spirit'). That means he's not human. However, he is mortal. In this universe Youkai is a name of a species, not a concept. Kind of like we call komodo dragons komodo dragons, but they aren't dragons. A Youkai is capable of shape shifting, but until they reach adulthood they can't shift to exceed their body weight/mass. They also retain some features of their normal form when they change, regardless of age. In Koro's case, he keeps his colouration, hair and wings. This is the only magical power of a Youkai. Youkai are basicly humanoid in appearance, except they have wings and a set of stubby horns in the general area where human ears are. The wings CAN lift a Youkai and enable flight, but not for long periods of time. In public, Youkai often tie their wings back as a curtosy to others. They have a fierce love of helping people and the world in general, but have no more skill in this than regular people. Youkai also tend to thrive on their own positive emotions- it is very rare to see one upset or depressed. Koro himself is sixteen/fifteen years old, male, immature and relatively psychotic.

What is Nanashi? What are Undead? The Undead of this universe are not the usual Undead you read about- Nanashi is not a vampire or a zombie or a ghost, he's just not alive or dead. It's refered to as 'undead' because most of them were never born in the first place so 'unalive' seems rather unfair. Nanashi himself is a 'banned' member of the Hereafter (aka afterlife). Undead develop feathers on their wings throughout their existance in the Hereafter, but feathers can be 'stolen' or gotten via illegitamate means. These feathers are distinctively red and while everyone usually has one or two, an excessive amount can lead to being banned. This is what happened to Nanashi. He originally had an entirely different sort of 'power' but his ban resulted in it being locked away in the tattoos on his wrists. When he tries to use it, it results in an explosive reaction. Not entirely what was originally planned, but he isn't complaining. He has been sent to the mortal realm as a punishment, because like Youkai, Undead thrive on emotion. However, humans and other mortals don't offer a substantial amount of emotion and so for Nanashi, living on earth is like having a constant low blood sugar. Because they're magical beings, Undead have the ability to 'absorb' their own wings. Basicly they're just people who were never alive, and nothing very special where they come from. Nanashi's age is undetermined, as is his real name (an Undead's real name will allow control over them, like Rumplestiltskin) and his original gender. Essentially all Undead had the potential to be living things and thus originally did have a gender and species- Nanashi, like several others, opted to never 'live.' The general consensus that he is a male comes more from his attitude than anything else.

What is the Hereafter? It's the equivolent of the 'afterlife' in this universe. Basicly it's a world just like Earth where things are governed by laws and rules. All Undead and dead go here. There is no Hell or Heaven, everyone comes to the Hereafter with a clean slate. Your actions decide you as 'base good' or 'base evil' throughout time, and if you prove to be evil, you are punished (as Nanashi was). By all dead and Undead I do mean all. It's common to see dead video game systems, characters, or last night's dinner walking around in the Hereafter. The denziens there don't think anything of it, though. The system of adopting feathers is their way of showing social superiority- everyone enters the afterlife with 'demon' or as they call them 'bald' wings. Most people in the Hereafter tend to hide their wings out of curtosy to others.

What is Soshika? She's a Hekshanian, an alien. Nobody knows how she got to earth, but she comes from Brooklyn. She's mortal and has the same limitations of all humans.

What is Zarla? A fox. And a gamer. That's about all anyone knows, really.

What is Nicholas? He's a Drider, which is a half-drow half-spider creature that is created when Drows fail to pass the test of their Goddess. In modern times, this test is no longer one of magic. The Goddess opened a buisness college and those failing to get into it after applying are turned into Driders. That is what happened to Nicholas. He gets on with life after becoming a Drider the best he can, now studying at a less exclusive college. He has a quirk where he likes to take bits of clothing from the people he eats and wear them later. He speaks with a British accent and is painfully polite to his meals.