History of the Caseyverse

The Caseyverse, a rich and detailed fictional universe centered around the island nation of Nethington, was born from the creative mind of Tony Bark. Initially conceived as a coping mechanism for Bark’s evolving relationships with friends on DeviantArt, the Caseyverse evolved from an unfinished short story titled “Sunset.”

This early narrative introduced Aidan Cheddar, a mouse character, and reintroduced Zack, a fox character originally based on Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog. Zack was Bark's blue fox fursona during his time on DeviantArt and served as the foundation for the DJ lore that would later define him. The initial intent was to use these characters in a web comic initially planned for publication on DeviantArt and shared with his brother. However, life circumstances changed when Bark relocated, leading to a loss of contact with real-life friends.

As years passed, Bark's DeviantArt friendships gradually faded as well. The unfinished “Sunset” story served as the foundation for Caseyverse, a world created by Bark as he processed these losses and found solace in his fictional creations. Unable to meaningfully use the characters of his former friends, Caseyverse became a space where Bark could freely explore his own narrative without the constraints of external collaborations.

The name "Caseyverse" itself is derived from Zack's surname, "Casey," which was formed as a reverse acronym of Zc456, Bark's original DeviantArt username. His friends affectionately called him "Z" or "ZC," influencing the character's name and solidifying the connection between Bark's personal identity and his fictional world.

Bark cherished the creative ways his DeviantArt friends utilized his fursona, Zack. Despite the initial thrill of online fame gained from a fan club dedicated to his work, Bark found greater fulfillment in the love and appreciation his characters received from his community.

As copyright laws in the US evolved in complex and often detrimental ways, Bark made the decision to place his characters and fictional world into the public domain. This move was driven by a desire to prevent others from experiencing the pain of losing creative control over their work as he had.  Bark's original DeviantArt-era artwork can be found on his SheezyArt persona, "zc456," reflecting his original username and utilizing DeviantArt's iconic “v4” color scheme. Due to SheezyArt's customizable profile layouts, all of Bark’s artwork is openly accessible, reinforcing the public domain status of Caseyverse.