More Fat Sad Boy art, featuring Brantley "Bubba" Haywood.

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FurAffinity ◈ Weasyl ◈ Ko-Fi

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I probably spent more time deciding on a background for this than on the actual art, I tried a dozen different photos from my nature walks in 2023 and 2024 before settling on this shot of the back of some of the buildings in that historical district I liked wandering around. I thought maybe Bubba wandering around in the woods would suit him, but I wound up liking how the colors work together here a lot more.

I also really like that lamppost, as it's clearly fairly old judging by the rust and the decorative details, yet it is fitted with modern lighting fixtures. If I ever go that way again I should try to get some pics of it.

The back of one of the buildings is a bar, and that definitely suits him, as he's one of the few characters of mine that I think would actually visit the bar with any regularity. While definitely a rural character and a "hick" or "redneck" by just about every definition, he would definitely venture into town with some frequency. I never did officially settle on a job for him but I sorta always figured he was some sort of generic blue collar worker, and as I was typing up this ramble about him like I tend to do for all of my art that will never actually be viewed, the idea of him being a construction worker came to mind. I do have a few photos of excavators and bulldozers and construction signage that I could probably pose him with, maybe even spice things up by changing his flannel shirt out for a hi-vis vest and, if he's feeling extra fancy, swap his cap for a hard hat.

I figure Bubba lives in some sort of rural setting, either a run-down little house or a single-wide trailer sitting in some small lot in the woods. He'd have running water and electricity and internet and the like, but he'd still be hanging his laundry out to dry on a clothesline whenever possible, and the idea that he'd have a few pairs of his extra-large colorful briefs hanging proudly from a clothesline at any given time (and is probably out there hanging up the remainder of his meager wardrobe while wearing nothing but his cap and the last remaining pair of briefs without any concern for who might see) definitely suits him, as does the idea that he'd just casually wander around his property in nothing but his briefs and cap for a variety of other reasons. He's also one of several characters of mine that I imagine would just spend a lazy summer afternoon sitting in a small inflatable kiddie pool in the shade in their underwear to cool off, just peak Redneck Activity.

He lives in Possum County, which in actuality is a little township outside Hartford, and is a frequent visitor of the gas station/convenience store that Herschel works at. He also knows the Domnall Twins, Dale and Della, although I've never really gone into specifics about their relationship outside of the fact that the relationship is quite friendly. It's possible that Bubba knew their parents or something and "Uncle Bubba" has always been part of their lives, making the idea of a fat old redneck that's gotta be approaching 50 is hanging out with a couple kids in their early 20s far less creepy.

I did also realize quite quickly after rambling about it in a previous description that the idea he might have a thing for young Herschel is sorta creepy too... but maybe I could invert the dynamic, and Bubba just being awkward and whatnot has Herschel, who is also an oblivious idiot that I have canonically stated has never picked up on advances from other characters, thinking Bubba is flirting by spending time just hanging around and chatting and generally being friendly.
Bubba probably does genuinely does want the beer and snacks and stuff that are on the bottom shelves and doesn't take into account that him bending over to get them is being read as suggestive or "presenting" by the young buck. Would be a funny way for a bunch of characters to figure out something about Herschel before he figures it out about himself, for sure... Or, I could just let the guy in his mid-40s just be interested in a guy half his age and if it works out, it works out, and if not, oh well.

Either way, I changed the design on his cap here, because Bubba possibly realized (or independently decided without prompting) that his "deer in the crosshairs" hunting-themed cap made Herschel (and other deer characters) vaguely uncomfortable so he may have decided to retire it. I figure Bubba actually has a small collection of hats, with designs ranging from generic, to beer and gas station logos, to sports teams that he may or may not actually be interested in, to weird novelty hats with random phrases written on them. I legit considered just finding a fun font and writing "Beer Company" or "Gas Station" or "Sportsball Team" on the hat this time around, maybe next time if there's a next time.

(As a quick aside in an already-too-long ramble that will never actually be read, I don't think there's any one consistent way the fur-folk feel about their animal counterparts, and the best comparison I can make is to how humans feel about other primates--some feel a sense of wonder or kindred, while many are simply indifferent, and some may even find them uncanny in a way. Either way, it's highly unlikely that 99% of deerfolk would see any sort of media related to deer hunting and feel threatened by it, at least without additional implications/context of malice toward them or their kind being present.)

Also the whole "Bubba lives out in the country so he's definitely not taking a cab or a bus home after an evening at the bar" thing raises some unpleasant implications about drunk driving. I guess he's a flawed character that makes some poor decisions that I might not necessarily agree with despite being the artist that created him. Maybe he "knows his limits" or only has "a couple beers" but actually means it, and he's only slightly buzzed and the only one he's likely endangering once he gets on those lonely country roads is himself.
That, or if he does have one too many, he *is* at least responsible enough to call Buddy or Scruffy or Unnamed Bum Dog or Dale or Della to come pick him up, I'm sure Dale wouldn't mind hopping in his lifted bro-dozer to go get Uncle Bubba from the bar late on a summer's evening (and drive Bubba back the next day to get his truck, of course) because it's an excuse to drive--and a way to make 20 bucks..

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The hyper-repetitive nature of recycling poses sowed doubt and disappointment in the back of my mind long before I gave up on art completely earlier in the year, and that doubt and frustration is back in full force already, but a couple of the friends I still have any interaction with say it's still valid art even if I feel no different than a GPT or LLM regurgitating data under the pretense of "generating art".

It really is more about feeling productive and doing something, *anything*, besides just blankly staring at a wall or scrolling through the same handful of websites that have grown stale and uninteresting over time, but it is also sorta valid as a means of staying productive I guess. It also gives me an excuse to show off some of my amateur efforts at photography even if no site I still bother to post to has any rules against doing such to begin with regardless of the presence of a cartoon animal pasted in.

It also gives me an opportunity to just sit with a character and think about them, and then when it comes time to queue up the post, vomit a bunch of lore into the description just so it's out there somewhere, in case anybody actually wants it. I suppose those interested in a specific character enough to click on fairly generic art of them just standing around is probably interested enough in said character to appreciate a little more lore on them.

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