Perfectly Cool in my own Durable Skin

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan O. Spencer
Staff Writer

Today I'm interviewing the lovely Mr. Corbin Jacobs. Hey Corbin. Thanks for sitting down with me today. First off, can I just say you are one fine lookin' young man? Is there a lucky guy/gal out there in Pilot Ridge?
Well, uh.. Thank you very much Mr. Spencer. For your interest and your, uh.. Compliments. There are tons of lucky people in Pilot Ridge but, uh.. I guess there aren't any yet who I'm lucky enough to be with? Ongoing search, I guess..? I think I'm a bit more focused on my career right now than on, like, romance and the American dream.

Speaking of relationships, what's your ideal date?
Ideal date? ..Uh, I guess something casual where there's no inherent strings attached? Like, dates are supposed to be fun and getting to know someone so if you go into it with.. I mean goals or requirements or expectations it just makes it that much harder to do what dates are meant to do... So.. I guess like an impromptu meeting at a local place with good food and paper napkins and stuff.. Dates should be fun not fancy.

Nice tats by the way. What was your first one? What is your favorite? Got any you regret?
Aw, man.. You can't ask somebody what their favorite tattoo is. That's like asking someone what their favorite engine is or their favorite kid. My first one was the chest piece.. Me and a drunk friend found our way into a tattoo parlor and I guess I wanted something big enough to show off but not too big to hide. Of course I doing regret any of them. Life's got enough stress without regretting something about your own body that you can't change.

So tell me Corbin, what makes you special, sets you apart from the pack?
Oh, I'm not special man.. Had like a 2.5 gpa in school. I guess I'm self-sufficient? And, I mean, I'm really hard to hurt.. Pretty durable.. But I guess if I had to come up with something its that I tend to finish what I start and follow through with the things I know I wanna do? I mean, I'd like to think that that's not all that special but I guess that's up to you to decide.

You're from Arizona, right? What do you miss most about Grand Canyon State?
Well.. I guess the sunsets back home were pretty amazing.. The sky was always so pretty.. And no worries about rain for most of the year. There's a lot more color and life here though.. And I've spent more than half of my life here at this point so Vermont is just as much my home as Arizona ever was at this point.

You're also a Hammel alumni. What was your most memorable moment from you time as a student?
Eh.. I was a pretty boring kid at Hammel for the most part. Like I said I'm nothing special.. It was pretty cool coming from a place that was so bland and enclosed to such a culture shock. Taught me a lot about, like, who had it how where and stuff.. Its kinda hard to justify, ya know, failing or not trying when so many people with more problems than you manage to succeed.. And hard to hate when so many types and colors and creeds of people can coexist like they do at Hammel.

You say you did bad in school, but it looks like you turned it around and are doing well now. So if you could go back, change it, and try harder in school would you?
I mean, that's easy enough to say, ya know? But realistically I am who I am and I think it's more important to, like, realize that and be okay with it and play on your strengths than to go back and try to be something you're not. I'm just not the book-smartest guy around.

What kind of advice do you have for all of our younger readers taking their first steps into the "real world"?
I guess I'd tell them to experiment. Do all sorts of things and figure out which ones they're into enough that they could do them every day. I got lucky. I found something I was good at right out of high school but a lot of people spend years trying to figure out what they like doing. And every job has it's good days and bad days, so you gotta be prepared for that and know that in the long run it's something that you like doing.

And you're into boxing? I was a boxer myself in my younger days. Was it more of a hobby or something you did for money?
Oh, boxing is great.. But I would never fight for money. It was just a good way to get out frustration and a great excuse to stay in shape.. I guess it might have been a good self defense thing too but I ended really had to use it like that. It was a hobby. Good for coordination and reflexes and stuff too.

How did you get into welding?
I was walking around Pilot Ridge a few months before I graduated wondering what the heck a nothing-special guy who didn't have the best grades or all that many marketable skills could do and I saw an ad for a vocational school.. Maybe it was on a cab or maybe it was a billboard or maybe on a TV or.. Heck it might have been on the radio.. But I remembered the name of the school and eventually gave them a call.. The recruiter set me up right with federal grants and stuff and I figured it was something I could do with my hands and when I got there it just kinda clicked.. I realized pretty quick that as long as you're paying attention and put a little practice, this was something I could do and be good at and that really was a confidence booster, ya know? I kinda fell into it and never regretted it.

Do you prefer using welding to make art or more functional pieces?
Well I mean I don't just weld.. Most of the welding I do is more functional stuff.. But you can't hardly do art without some other skills, ya know? Its like.. I started with just running a lathe.. And you'd be amazed at some of the awesome and cool-looking stuff you can do with just that one machine.. Then I moves onto the mill.. And holy crap the stuff you can do on a mill.. And then onto CNC stuff.. And like.. Wow. If you can imagine it, you can make it.but when stuff does go wrong you gotta either start over or fix it.. And the only way to fix stuff is by welding.. So I got into that too.. And once you're into welding, using a cutting torch and plasma cutters just go with the territory.. And soon enough you can do damn near anything with metal that you could want.. Er.. But, uh.. To answer your question I guess I do a lot more practical stuff then artsy stuff.. I can make anything from car parts to door hinges to figurines and calve covers and everything in between.. I'd rather make a statement with, ya know, quality and stuff than with what a lot of people call art.

What's your shop name? Wanna give a little shout out to advertise to our readers out there?
Yeah, sure.. I'm the owner of Jacobs welding and metalworking.. Like I said I can make or fix almost anything in almost any quantity.. From big stuff like car suspension to little stuff like pens and flashlights.. And I'm certified to do almost anything not made for food service with a welder.

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And a few questions for Deuce

What do you enjoy most about Corbin?
I suppose I like that Corbin is.. Normal. Or at least what I would imagine its like to be normal. Sometimes its nice to play someone a touch on the bland side.

What sets him apart from your other characters?
Well, there's the 'normal' bit. Its really easy to get a little too caught up in making a character around a personality trait or making them fit some niche but Corbin's role is kinda more that of the person with no real chance at fame or glory but has managed to get a decent life going for him.. I'm rambling a bit but I think the lack of potential for grandeur is something that both sets him apart and one of the reasons I like him. He's perfectly cool being no more or less than he is.

Which came first? His power? His playby? Something else?
His name and rough personality came first.. Playbys are usually last for me. I suck at finding them. Corbin is actually an adaptation of a character I've played before. This version is quite possibly my favorite to date.

Do you have any plans for Corbin's future that you'd like to share?
Well he was technically a response to an add for a preexisting character's future husband. I'm looking forward to that.

What want ad was Corbin a response to?
Corbin was actually a response to an ad Rae posted for Axelle's future husband.. I was chatting with her in chatango PMs before the ad got approved and somehow we ended up deciding he was the right person for her before the ad got approved.

Are there particular plots that you're looking for for him?
I'd like him to have the chance to help some people out. Even if not in profound ways.

Have you ever considered doing something "horrible" to Corbin? (I.e. breaking his heart, breaking a bone, having his company go bankrupt, ect.)
I think the most likely 'horrible thing' to happen to Corbin would be him getting seriously hurt. He works with a lot of heavy equipment capable of seriously injuring or even killing people that get careless. Super durability or not, the forces at work there can be deadly. Other than that, possibilities include a fire at his shop, one of his parents or his cousin Esha dying, or.. being accused of a crime. The thing is, Corbin suffers from the occasional dissociative episode.. and if you check his secret in his ap.. he's gotten in trouble before. I think that's the most likely thing that i'll put him through, but who knows. I'm open to the idea of bad things happening to good people as long as it's something that actually prompts character development and it's reasonable.

What has been your favorite thread with him so far?
The string of fate - Impromptu Axelle toss was pretty entertaining short, but entertaining.

Have you ever considered posting a want ad for Esha?
I haven't thought about bringing Esha to PR.. She has a family and a good doctor back in Arizona.. Its something to think about for the future, though.


Thanks to Deuce for the wonderful interview! Don’t forget to check out Corbin’s bio here and hit up Deuce's Toons to thread with him or any of Deuce's lovely characters!