what I think my characters childhood worksheets looked like + them❤️⭐

So these are my kids heart emoji heart emoji
I might share the full photo album this is cropped from some time, but rn I just wanna talk about them.




Ignore that this is in black and white, I was to lazy to color. This photo is meant to be taken in 2004, 11 years before the main story of Down is set

Dave Marshal (left) would have been five years old at the time in his first year of elementary school. Arthur Vang (right) would have been seven years old and in second grade.
so that means they've known each other for about a year by then I think? Which sounds like a small amount of time but I'm sure it was very very long for them. I mean that's almost a 5th of Dave's little life at that point.

I wanted to draw these little worksheets out because Dave's childhood rolls in my head a lot, for many reasons. For one I think it's just a grieving thing... Dave lost a lot when he went into middle school and thinking about him before he had to be exposed to things like racist kids and the idea he needs to be insecure about his body. It's sweet in it's sad little way.
Middle school was also when he was forced to go into public school, and as a result, leaving forced to leave Arthur. I mean, he could still see Arthur sometimes but not nearly as much and that definitely left a lasting impact on the little guy.

Basically kid Dave is just the one time in Dave's life where he was safe from the curse of knowing, like it was for all of us as a kid.

For Arthur it's just a bit DEPRESSING he was very very fucking depressing as a child. I don't blame him considering the conditions he was being raised under. He's was like a little robot... Maybe not to that extreme but he was very expressionless most of the time unless he was with Dave. Not even because his father discouraged him from showing emotion necessarily, it was more that he was taught doing so was inappropriate any time he tried expressing his emotion like a normal kid. It was never like that with Dave though, Dave always made Arthur feel like he could let his guard down for a while because his father usually wouldn't be around during those times.

Dave's:


Tbh I don't have much to say about it. I tried to make it realistically "this is what an actual kindergartener would put"
Like Dave just put in what was on his mind that day or that week... I still remember how weird my thought process was as a kid.

Like how in his dislikes it just says "fish bons" (fish bones) because I imagine he has this gripe with the fact when his mom makes him something he has to pick out the bones himself sometimes, how annoying! but thinking now I'm not sure if his mom would make him do that at that age, but the thought was there.

Contrary to his "A thing I can do is: SING" he could not, at all. Little Dave just had no idea what to write and his teacher had to step in. I imagine they had a music class, so this was their conclusion. Good enough, right?

His favorite pet he would want to have is "bug"
I think he'd like bugs as a kid, if only because he liked playing in grass as a kid. How ironic because at his big age of 26 in the current story I don't think he has touched grass for 5 years how IRONIC.
It also holds some narrative value, I associate Arthur with butterflys, hence the illustration Dave drew.

Yes, he "want to be a Arther" when he grows up. It's kind of cute, he just means he wants to be like Arthur when he grows up, but this was good enough for him.

Arthur's:



Arthur's is HORRENDOUS... I mean his coloring is wonderful, all those tutors Mr. Vang paid for must be paying off. but the implications of his worksheet? HORRENDOUS.

I will note, if I could change this, one, I'd correct the capital P in pie, that's my mistake I always do that when I write things myself. I also think I would change the word punished to discipline. I don't think Mr. Vang would ever phrase anything as being a punishment, he's trying to teach Arthur discipline (in his own words).

How, how interesting! How interesting that Jenny will cry for her mistake, but Tim will be Disciplined because of his flaw.
how interesting... I...
I wonder where Arthur must have gotten this mindset that the boy will be disciplined but the girl will be forgiven... how STRANGE!!!
sighs, my sweet boy... ough, it does make me sad


Uhmmm and thats basically all I can think of right now,
I lost my train of thought when i got distracted for a bit

if you want to learn more about them uhhh yeah you can ask,