#are often played as mostly 'funny gags' or just 'character traits' in the story but VERY much mimics depression symptoms

[supahstarrr]

rose's hair is slightly odd because it mimics 4a-4b hair (possibly 3c hair as well? but my point is that her hair mimics tighter curls lol) yet have a some looser strands as well. random strands in 3c, 4a and 4b hair that appear very wavy or even straight often means the hair is damaged/unhealthy. i like to imagine rose's hair is probably damaged. figuring out why her hair would be damaged is slightly difficult, but i'm leaning to the answers that she finds it difficult to manage & take care of her hair and/or is unmotivated (from depression, maybe?)

[gch1995]

I’m 25 going on 26 now, and I grew up loving the classic Powerpuff Girls cartoon series when I was a kid. Even now when I rewatch it as an adult, it’s still a cute and funny cartoon, especially now that I’m old enough to recognize all of the adult jokes. Like, there’s no way it was a coincidence that Professor Utonium’s despicably dishonest, greedy, lazy, manipulative, selfish, and sleazy former roommate from college was given the name Professor Dick Hardly by accident.

Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup actually are pretty relatable little girls who have believable flaws and insecurities. They make believable bad choices for little girls. Those issues actually get dealt with seriously, rather than just being brushed aside as no big deal with no negative consequences. They are still endearing and sympathetic in spite of their flaws.

While he had a few OOC moments of bad parenting in some bad episodes here and there, generally speaking, Professor Utonium from the classic Powerpuff Girls is actually one of the best dads in cartoons that I’ve ever seen, which is sadly pretty rare in most cartoon sitcoms, even the ones that are actually aimed at a children audience.

Most cartoon dads are abusive, lazy, neglectful, selfish, and stupid oafs. Granted, those type of dads in cartoon sitcoms can actually be entertaining and funny to watch when they are actually being well-written as shitty and slow-witted, but still essentially well-meaning people in regards to their families, such as S1-S8 Homer Simpson from The Simpsons and even S1-S3 Peter Griffin from Family Guy. However, the entertainment quality of those shitty, but well-meaning cartoon dads was mostly lost when the writers flanderdized their negative traits to the point of making Homer and especially Peter downright despicable with little to no redeeming or sympathetic qualities much of the time anymore. They went from being shitty, but essentially well-meaning parents and husbands to downright bratty and spoiled man-children who were much more intentionally abusive, childish, cruel, neglectful, petty, and selfish in regards to their families and others around them with little to no sympathetic or redeeming qualities much of the time anymore, and that’s one of the biggest reasons why The Simpsons went downhill in quality after S8, and why Family Guy went downhill in quality after S3.

Nonetheless, even as they were originally written on their shows pre-flanderdization when they were still well-meaning, but misguided parents and spouses, cartoon dads like Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin, weren’t good dads on the whole. There were still plenty of recurring plot lines and/or gags of them being abusive, lazy, neglectful, reckless, and selfish. Back in early seasons pre-flanderdization, it was more forgivable, though, because they also still had their fair share of kind and selfless moments with their families, and their shittiness as parents wasn’t intentionally abusive, malicious, premeditated, and selfish in nature, which balanced them out enough to still be entertaining and likable characters in spite of their flaws.

Realistically speaking, though, dads like Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson would be better off having their kids taken away from them by CPS. Their good qualities and lack of malicious intent, particularly in earlier seasons pre-flanderdization, would still not hold up as legitimate excuse as to why they should be allowed to keep their kids. Bart would have bruises all over his neck, fractures in his neck, and he could possibly be killed if Homer strangled him hard enough to actually break his neck and/or cut off his air supply long enough in real life just once. Meg, Chris, and even Stewie would not only be injured, but actually outright killed in real life from some of the abuse and neglect that Peter and Lois put them through in later seasons of FG. All of these kids, especially Meg, would have serious self-esteem issues for the rest of their lives because Peter, Lois’, and Homer’s abuse and neglect of their kids went beyond just a pattern of being physical in nature, but emotionally and verbally abusive as well.

So yeah, Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson are really not good fathers who you’d ever want to deal with for a parent in real life, even pre-flanderdization. The major reoccurrence of the abusive, bumbling, idiotic, lazy, drunken, neglectful, and selfish dad trope in cartoon sitcoms is exactly why I really love Professor Utonium from the classic PPG cartoon. I don’t necessarily mind it in absurdist cartoon sitcoms when it’s done well as a trope, but I’m also getting tired of mostly just seeing bad and stupid dads in cartoon sitcoms, and not enough good ones.

For the most part, the OG Professor Utonium is a great dad who goes above and beyond to make sure Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup are happy, healthy, disciplined, and safe. He’s usually the parent most of us wish we could have in real life, if we don’t already. It’s refreshing to actually see a good dad in an animated sitcom for once.

Professor Utonium in the classic PPG cartoon is generally a very kind, loving, selfless, and supportive dad to girls. However, he also knows when he has to discipline them and be strict without ever being mean about it. He gives them good advice. He’s very selfless, and even though the girls are superheroes with superhuman abilities, he’ll still risk and/or sacrifice anything to protect them when they’re unable to protect themselves with their powers, including his own life. He didn’t need to be the stereotypical cartoon sitcom abusive, bumbling, dumb, and neglectful dad in order to be funny either. He was funny because he could sometimes be overprotective of the girls, and he could sometimes embarrass them by calling them sickly sweet terms of endearment and telling embarrassing stories that he shouldn’t have about them in public. He was socially awkward. These are relatable flaws in parents that even the best ones have.

While the girls don’t have a mother, Ms. Bellum and Ms. Keane were very brave, kind, and intelligent strong women who were good role models.

Also, the Professor did many activities with the girls and chores around the house that get gender-coded as “mother’s work.” Some of these things include begrudgingly playing dress up as Bubbles to make her happy when she was playing PowerPuff Girls with Buttercup and Blossom on a rainy day inside of no crime when he saw that she was upset that no one wanted to be her, cooking, cleaning, and actually sitting down to talk with the girls, listen to them, emotionally support them, and give them advice. He’s also not afraid to be openly affectionate, doting, and emotional with the girls. There’s just not enough good dads in cartoon sitcoms, which is why I really like Professor Utonium from the OG PowerPuff Girls cartoon and movie. He mostly defied all the bad dad stereotypes, and was a really great one to the girls more often than not.

The main villains from the classic PowerPuff Girls cartoon are incredibly entertaining, especially MoJo JoJo. Him was always the creepiest to me because he was the most devious, insidious, and manipulative one. All of the psychological abuse and manipulation he put the girls and Townsville through was always the scariest to me when I was a kid because out of all the villains on the show, the torment that he wreaked upon the girls and Townsville by brainwashing them, gaslighting them, and/or exploiting their fears and insecurities often was played as dead serious with really scary results, especially in early seasons of classic PPG. While Him had a few human moments here and there, for the most part, he was pretty consistently played off as being seriously scary and dangerous.

MoJo JoJo was an egomaniacal asshole hellbent on destroying the PowerPuff Girls and world domination, and on a few occasions, he actually came close to succeeding. On a few occasions, he genuinely was more scary than camp evil. But he still had a lot of humorous, human, fallible, and relatable moments, too. My favorite MoJo moments are the ones where he is making jokes, irritably going grocery shopping to get eggs, getting too frustrated by the girls antics and childish behaviors and reactions to actually go through with his plans to destroy them at certain points, and getting angry and jealous enough to actually destroy the alien/robot invader from another planet who was destroying Townsville in all the evil ways that he always wanted to himself. He was highly intelligent at coming up with clever schemes and inventions with all his science and technology to take over the world, destroy Townsville, and/or destroy the PowerPuff Girls. However, his arrogance, impatience, and impulsivity always doomed him to fail to succeed in the end, though he did come pretty close on a few occasions, especially in the 2002 prequel origin story movie, and he did actually get to rule the world in “The PowerPuff Girls Rule the World!” Surprisingly, he actually was a kindhearted ruler who did good things, but then he gave it all up and went back to being evil because he got bored.

Originally, MoJo was a well-intentioned extremist who wanted to create a utopia ruled by primates where they would never be controlled or rejected by humans again. As much as Professor Utonium’s irritation with JoJo for being a destructive chimp lab assistant was completely justified, it’s also hard not to feel kind of sorry for Mojo Jojo and understand where he’s coming from in his motivations to become evil, particularly in the 2002 prequel movie because originally all he really wanted was to be loved by his owner, too. He understandably felt rejected when Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup became the center of his universe instead. Of course, that doesn’t excuse him for choosing to respond to the Professor’s rejection by becoming an arrogant, evil, cruel, hateful, hypocritical, domineering, manipulative, petty, selfish, and vengeful villain going on a quest for world domination, attempting to commit homicide several times, probably committing voluntary manslaughter of citizens several times that we didn’t see on screen when destroying Townsville all those times, turning the rest of the world into dogs to try to take over the world, and trying to destroy the girls. However, you understand why Mojo became the villain he did with his backstory. He’s relatable. Occasionally, he does have some genuinely sympathetic moments where he’s actually willing to be friendly with the girls, team up with them, and do the right thing.

HIM was just the personification of evil for no other reason than the fact that he was satan. While MoJo was a complex, human, and relatable anti-villain with his origin story as the Professor’s lab chimp, who gained genius-level human intellect from having Chemical X splashed on his brain, and then chose to become evil after feeling rejected by the Professor when he saw how he pretty much forget about him once the girls became the center of his universe instead, HIM was evil, manipulative, and hateful for no other reason than the fact that those traits were a part of his nature as the very embodiment of evil. Many times, a fictional villain being portrayed as one-dimensional with no sympathetic qualities or relatable motivations will annoy me, but with HIM being evil just because that’s who he is, it actually works because he is literally Satan. There doesn’t need to be a deeper sympathetic story behind why he is evil. Committing crimes, wreaking havoc, corrupting people, manipulating people, turning people against others, exploiting the fears of others, and deceiving others for his own amusement is just who he is, and in the early seasons of classic PPG in particular, that made him really scary to me when I was a six year old little girl watching the cartoon on TV.

You get the idea...The classic PowerPuff Girls was a fantastic cartoon, particularly the first four seasons. Granted, there was some series seasonal rot going on in the writing in S5 and S6 after the 2002 prequel movie, and Craig Mcracken and Gennedy Tartakovsky’s departure from the crew. Like, the characterizations of the characters and/or storylines in S5 and S6 felt comparably flanderdized, ooc, immature, inconsistent, pointless, shallow, and underwhelming at certain times to fit the plot, such as in the episodes “Keen on Keane,” “Pee Pee G’s,” “Seed No Evil,” “Reeking Havoc,” “Toast of the Town,” “Say Uncle,” “City of Clipsville,” “”Bubble Boy,” A Made Up Story,” “Mo’linguish,” and “Simian Says.” Even the good episodes of S5-S6 still didn’t ever reach the same level of greatness of the ones from S1-S4. However, the seasonal rot in the classic PPG cartoon of S5-S6 after Craig McCracken and Gennedy Tartakovsky’s departure still wasn’t nearly as bad as the seasonal rot on The Simpsons after S8, Family Guy after S3, and SpongeBob SquarePants post S3–S4 ish, so I’m still willing to consider most of S5-S6 of classic PPG legit canon.

However, it sounds like the 2016 PPG reboot fucked up everything that was originally good about it to go for a more slapstick comedic feel without substance without consistency, depth, and intelligence. Now, I hear that the CW is making a live-action TV show spin-off of the PowerPuff Girls being jaded and resentful young women who’ve given up crime fighting as result! No, no, no! Why? Why does the CW keep making dark, nitty, and gritty live action teen soap operas out of beloved childhood cartoons?

Yeah, the original PowerPuff Girls cartoon and movie had dark moments. The girls could be bratty and make bad choices sometimes. However, it was still very much a fun show about normal little girls born with superpowers, which they chose to use to defend their father, their city, and on some occasions, the whole world, from crime. No one ultimately forced them to be superheroes for everyone in the classic PPG cartoon and movie. They chose to do it because they had brave and selfless hearts. There was ultimately no obligation for them to be superheroes in the classic PPG cartoon and movie. Sure, they got tired of fighting crime at times, but they still ultimately enjoyed doing it when push came to shove. They weren’t weighed down by the darkness of the world, hatred, and resentment. They still were relatively normal little girls with happy, peaceful, and normal lives of little girls whenever they weren’t fighting crime after the events of the prequel movie about their origins. That’s what made the PowerPuff Girls classic cartoon so special.

By turning Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup into jaded young women, who have given up on being superheroes because they’ve grown resentful of “losing the normal childhood to crime fighting” that they basically are shown to have in the original series for the most part in their spare time aside from having superpowers that they chose to use to fight crime to defend their dad and Townsville from, anyway, where is the fun in that?

[carmenxjulia]

I put together a transcript of the 1 hour Q&A Interview the Carmen Sandiego Discord did with Abby Trott (Ivy) and Rafael Petardi (Chase Devineaux). All of the questions were submitted by server members. You can read everything below the break!

PizzaHorse:

Hello everyone! Please welcome Abby Trott and Rafael Petardi to our Q&A today.

Abby Trott:

Hiiiiiiiiiii!

Rafael Petardi:

Hello Bonjour!

PizzaHorse:

Let's get started. How did you get started as a voice actor? Was there anything that inspired you to pursue it as a career?

Abby Trott:

Oh MAN. Long story.

Rafael Petardi:

Mine is very short. I'm an actor and my agent started sending me on voice auditions and eventually I booked some!

Abby Trott:

This is a novel so I started typing it ahead of time, haha. I was an acting/theater major, and when I graduated from college I moved to Japan on the JET program to teach English because I wanted to travel so freakin' badly. I had never even been on an airplane. I was placed in rural Akita, (inaka), and absolutely LOVED it. The only problem was I wanted to be and actor/singer… womp womp. At that time, I also started to mess around with characters and voices - I would record voice memos and conversations with myself while driving around. One day, a friend was in the car and my phone was on shuffle and one of my "scenes" started playing - I was absolutely MORTIFIED. But that moment solidified for me that I need to move to the big ole city if I wanted to really pursue acting. I ended up heading to Tokyo, where I performed in children's musicals, and did other gigs here and there. That's where I started doing VO professionally! I was able to do some character voices for the shows I was in, and some other side projects. I realized how much I loved VO, and eventually decided to move back to the States to pursue it, since most English VO for games and animation is produced here.

When I moved back, I started searching online for VoiceOver opportunities, and stumbled across a contest hosted by Bang Zoom! Entertainment. I BARELY got my entry in on time. The contest took place over several months, and in the meantime, I moved to NYC and started taking VO classes. For the finale of the contest, they flew me to LA. I ended up winning! Still can't believe it. (O-O) I got to dub my first anime "Miss Monochrome," and realized that if I wanted to work in games and animation, I should probably move to LA… and the I DID.

THE END

PizzaHorse:

What do you think are the best and worst things about being a voice actor?

Abby Trott:

Oooh. The worst things? Job insecurity... constant rejection...

Rafael Petardi:

The incredibly talented and cool people you meet and work with.

What Abby said

Abby Trott:

The best things? Working with amazing people, AND it's so much fun - even auditioning is fun!

PizzaHorse:

How did you land your role on the show?

Rafael Petardi:

I auditioned

Got the job

pretty boring I know

Abby Trott:

I auditioned through my agency, and got a callback. I went to the callback and their note was "more Boston." Then I had a second callback and their note was "even MORE Boston." So I went WICKED BOSTON and got the job

PizzaHorse:

What was your favorite/the most fun thing to record (episode/scene/line)? Any least favorites?

Rafael Petardi:

For me, the funnest scenes to record are the ones I got to play opposte the incredibly talented cast.

The least favorite... did not have enough scenes with the Wonderful Abby Trott

Abby Trott:

Awww Rafe! Singing was the MOST FUN! The Karaoke Ep, and the choose-your-own adventure one, where we got to sing the theme! Mikey (Zack) was cracking me up constantly.

Least favorite was the last ep because I didn't want it to eeeeeend

PizzaHorse:

Were you allowed to suggest lines to be said by your character, or improvise the script at all if you thought something would add to the scene?

Abby Trott:

YUP! And Mikey and I definitely did, hahaa. It was encouraged. Always fun to see what they keep...

Rafael Petardi:

Yes we were. I improvised mostly sounds and noises. Words once in a while but not very often. Thank God for Duane

PizzaHorse:

What was the hardest part of voicing your character on Carmen Sandiego? Was there a particular episode that was difficult to record?

Rafael Petardi:

Keeping the consistency episode to episode of the Chase's accent, pitch and energy

I did not want hime to sound different ever

Abby Trott:

I think the hardest part was keeping up the EXTREME Boston accent. But it was also SUPER fun...

PizzaHorse:

What traits do you share or have in common with the character you play?

Rafael Petardi:

I am like Chase in the sense of a Dog with a Bone. If I get pasionate about something, I go to extremes. Abby Trott has scene this for example in my bread making endeavors

Also, I'm an idiot in life too sometimes

Abby Trott:

Ivy and I are both... from Mass! we both have brothers who we argue with but really do love when it comes down to it. We love chocolate, aaaaand... I think we're both brave. (brag?)

Can confirm Rafe is v. passionate about bread. And and idiot.

Rafael Petardi:

All True

PizzaHorse:

What character on the show would you voice if you had the chance?

Abby Trott:

Chase

Rafael Petardi:

I would love Maelstrom

Abby Trott:

Jk... Coach Brunt seems SUPER fun

PizzaHorse:

If you could meet a character from Carmen Sandiego in real life, who would it be and why?

Abby Trott:

Carmen! she is the coooooleeest. I'd ask her to teach me some tricks

Rafael Petardi:

Julie Argent. She's cute

PizzaHorse:

Which character do you think you are most like or that you most identify with?

Rafael Petardi:

CHASE

I think that's partly why we're doing the roles we do

Abby Trott:

I think Ivy, for real! Casting was ON IT. I can be serious when I need to be, but I'm a giant goofball (if you couldn't tell from my latest tweet/insta post...)

PizzaHorse:

Who is your favorite character, other than your own?

Abby Trott:

Mime. Bomb.

Rafael Petardi:

Other than my own? Hmmm... uuuh... mmmm. tough...

Abby Trott:

Seriously, I think Mime bomb is hilarious.

Rafael Petardi:

Yes Mime Bomb!

PizzaHorse:

Do you wish your character had more interactions with another character in particular?

Rafael Petardi:

Yes, I would love to interact with Ivy and Maelstrom

I think the interaction would be odd and awkward and funny

Abby Trott:

Yes. I would love to see how Ivy handles the specific VILE members... I would love to see IVY try to go to VILE academy...

PizzaHorse:

Are there any themes or lessons from the series that you would want people to remember?

Rafael Petardi:

yes, don't jump to conclusions and be an idiot

Abby Trott:

Yes! That! also, don't be evil. ALSO also, be loyal to your friends.

PizzaHorse:

Do you ever look at fan content?

Rafael Petardi:

yes all the time. It helps when I'm tagged rafaelPetardi on Instagram

Abby Trott:

Yes! I look at fanart sometimes, and see what cosplays are happenin'

Rafael Petardi:

I've posted many as well

Abby Trott:

Haven't read much fanfic... but I know it's out there.

PizzaHorse:

What did you think about your character's development and arc throughout the series?

Rafael Petardi:

I absolutely loooooooved Chase's arc

Love redemption stuff

he was just misguided

just was alway his thing

Abby Trott:

I love Ivy's journey - she really grew up, from a troubled kid to an adult, accepting responsibility and accepting new challenges. Donning the hat, if you will.

Rafael Petardi:

*justice as always his thing

PizzaHorse:

How do you feel now that Carmen Sandiego is at its end?

Rafael Petardi:

sad. miss evrybody so much

we will have to have a cast reunion when this pandemic thing is over

Abby Trott:

SAD! But grateful. It was THE MOST fun to record, and I wish it could continue forever.

Rafael Petardi:

I'm grateful too. yes

Abby Trott:

and YES reunion!

PizzaHorse:

Yesss can't wait for that group photo to pop up on social media!

Were there any moments in the series that had you legitimately emotional?

Rafael Petardi:

yes ofcourse

losing Julia was tough

Abby Trott:

A lot. But one that stands out for me is after Carmen gets stuck out in the snow, and is reunited with her crew. (:_;). Also the stuff with Shadowsan and his brother... and anything with baby Carmen...

Gah. So many...

PizzaHorse:

Did you enjoy how the show ended? Is there anything you would have changed or would have liked to see more of?

Rafael Petardi:

I loved the way the show ended! I think Duane did a fantastic job tying loose ends and bring the story to a satisfactory close for all characters

I do hope for an ACME Ivy, Zak, Julia and Chase spin-off

Abby Trott:

I love how it ends. I think it wrapped so well considering the number of eps - the writers really got it done. I WISH Ivy and Zack could follow Carmen forever, but she has her own story to unravel it would seem.

And Ivy does look good in that suit let me tell ya

PizzaHorse:

Can you share a favorite behind the scenes moment?

Abby Trott:

Mikey. Is. So. Funny. Hard to choose one moment - he would make me laugh harder than anything. Especially when we were singing. Or any time he had to gag...

Rafael Petardi:

OMG!

That singing stuff we had to do together was hilarious

we could not stop laughinh

PizzaHorse:

What, in your opinion, are the best pizza toppings?

Abby Trott:

Cheese. Caramelized onions. Roasted garlic. Spinach. Mushrooms.

Rafael Petardi:

buffala mozzarella and tomatos period

oooooo fancy Abby

Abby Trott:

Rafe why aren't you as obsessed with pizza as you are with bread? And can you be?

Rafael Petardi:

I am

Abby Trott:

!

Rafael Petardi:

I just don;t like to share pizza

PizzaHorse:

Here's a specific question for Rafael. Did you sometimes get mad at your own character for the way he behaved towards Julia earlier on in the Series?

And one for Abby. As a Massachusetts native, how did you feel about voicing a character from Boston with the iconic accent?

Rafael Petardi:

I did not. I always felt, however misguided Chase was, he was always on the path of turth and justice no matter what was in his way. It's the same principals that led hin to see the truth about Julia

*principles

Abby Trott:

I think it's so cool, and kind of an honor, in a way. I was worried about it being too much, and people saying it's over the top. Turns out comedy wins, haha.

PizzaHorse:

Were you familiar with the older animated series when you started work on the Netflix original?

Rafael Petardi:

I never heard of Carmen Sandiego before I did this series

Abby Trott:

Yes! I had seen a bit. I also remember watching my brother play the game. Someone gifted me a mini arcade version of the game this year, and I'm excited to play :slight_smile:

Rafael Petardi:

Which I think helped when I had to say the iconic line

"Where in th world..." there was no pressure

LoL

Abby Trott:

LOL

PizzaHorse:

Okay, last question. Do you have a favorite quote from the show?

Abby Trott:

"La Femme Rouge!"

or Mime Bomb's classic "..."

Rafael Petardi:

"the game is over!"

PizzaHorse:

Woohoo!

Abby Trott:

Hooray!

PizzaHorse:

Thank you so much Rafael Petardi and Abby Trott for joining us today! I hope everybody had a wicked awesome time.

Abby Trott:

Thanks for having us! What a pleasure.

Rafael Petardi:

It was great! Thank you to all the great questions.

Abby Trott:

Thanks for watching the show! Great questions. I'm sure I'm going to think of more quotes as soon as I log off... haha.

Rafael Petardi:

See you all soon!

Abby Trott:

Stay safe, take care, and see you all on various social media platforms!

[popculturebuffet]

The Loud House review 4x29: Brave the Last Dance

In a months late review of a show I watch only on occcasion that i’m doing for some reason: Clyde gets the help of the rest of the Clincoln true to find out if his crush likes him or not: Hyjinks and my smouldring hatred of rusty insues. 

With Ducktales only arriving once a week, me missing reviewing and having a lot of time on my hands i’ve decided to branch out a bit.. maybe not a ton, but ocasionally review other animated shows and seasons. If you have any suggetions or any paticular episode you’d like me to look into, let me know. 

For now I decided to take a look at a show I mostly watch whenever the mood strikes; The Loud House. I do enjoy the series, but it’s a casual love... it also dosen’t help that I can’t go into the tags without finding reams of incest but I digress. I do still like the show and despite it’s ocasoinal terrible episodes and even worse creator, it’s still a solid series and deserves it’s spot as nick’s crown jewel.. I do wish nick would stop abusing everything ELSE in it’s lineup, but that’s a whole other story. The point is I like the show, but i’m not a super fan like I am for say Ducktales or Steven Universe where if there’s something new, i’ll go out and grabs it immediately. But I do like it.  And I do regret not knowing this episode existed for two months because 1) This is a holiday episode and I like to watch those around their holiday and 2) Because dance episodes are my shit. More often than not if i’ts a dance episode of a show, i’ts usually pretty good. Community, Big City Greens, Gravity Falls, She Ra, OK KO, Parks and Recreation.. I really COULD go on indefntiely, but I won’t.  Dance episodes usually bring out the best in a creative team, have adorable romance moments, or huge dramatic attacks and everything in between that just makes them awesome to me. So naturally I watched this as soon as possible and my thoughts.. well as with anything they take some context.    You see this episode follows a character who has kind of a .. problematic history to say the least and thus has kinda gone up and down in my opinon. Early on, as most of you probably recall, the series was more focused on LIncoln, the middle child and only boy in the the titular loud house among 10 sisters. And given it focused mostly on lincoln and his shenanigans and schemes to deal with living iwth 10 other siblings. Now the show has evolved since then and for the better in my honest opinon: now all 11 siblings share the spotlight and whose in an episode depends on whose needed, and thus each of the siblings has their own supporting casts of varying depths and episodes, sometimes with NONE of the other family members playing a signifgiant role. But since the show was originally Lincoln centritc, it also picked up an extra main character outside of the 11 loud kids and their parents: Clyde. Clyde is Lincoln’s best buddy, a glasses wearing awkward kid whose dad’s sometimes smother him but are still loving kind guys, and who often goes over to Lincoln’s to share in the feeling of having siblings outside of his surrogate brother Lincoln obviously. However early on Clyde, like most of the cast in the earlier days, had about three character traits: being an only child, being a dork and having a near pyschotic crush on LIncoln’s oldest sister Lori which gave him crippling nose bleeds.  This would’ve been fine, if a touch annoying, had it just been him fainting and nosebleeding.. but instead, it also causes Clyde to be kind of a dick. He perused her constantly despite her rejecting him for a number of obvious reasons, you know him being a decade younger, her being not intrested, him being more like a second kid brother to her, and of course the fact she has a boyfriend, Bobby. Bobby is the nicest guy around, was a great supporting character, and is probably the reason i’ll get around to watching the casagrandes on occasion. Clyde however treats him like garbage, tried to break them up, and in general was a dick to a guy whose only crime is being in a loving relationship with someone Clyde wants to be with but obviously can’t have. It was annoying with the only time it was tolerable was that episode where Bobby was mistaken for cheating and clyde spent an entire episode preparing to beat bobby up if it was accurate, then upon trying (It wasn’t it was just shenanigans), failed spectacuarlly. Bobby is nothing but nice to him by the way.  So yeah it was hard to root for Clyde for a while but eventually it stopped.. not because they had an episode of Clyde TRYING to get over it, they did it just didn’t resolve it, but it was just dropped.. likely because the writers realized it just wasn’t that funny and with bobby put on a bus to the spinoff, they had no real jokes for it and no one really liked the passing out gag. The fact that series creator Chris Savino got fired for sexually harassment is not lost on me and only makes the gag worse.  But thankfully the character did bounce back and by season 3, even before savino was thankfully fired, they put the joke to bed with Bobby’s exit, and it is thankfully buried deeper than the bunker where htey keep walt disney’s cryogneically perserved body... what you thought he just kept the head? Why woudl they? Disney was rich and belived in the future. He probably wanted his body merged with some sort of mechanical man. But with that gone Clyde thankfully became what he was in his better episodes: an adorable dork, with two loving fathers. Though now he’s not the only kid on the block with two gay dads.. he and Violet should get matching friendship t-shirts reading “Gay dad club”... and i’ll probably draw that at some point but I digress i’m several paragraphs in and I haven’t even gotten to the episode, and I STILL have one last bit of explostion for context that most of you may not need.  That last bit is that LIncoln’s episodes evolved a bit around season 3: instead of JUST being him and Clyde, though that can still happen, Lincoln soon got a circle of buddies, each of whom plays a role in the episode, for reasons i’ll get to in a bit, and part of my reason for reviewing it is to touch on my thoughts about them and my weird love of these episodes. So a breif overview since some of you may not know who they are.  Lincoln himself: The former lead and now one of 10, and a great character I enjoy following a lot even if I miss his Zack Morris-esque fourth wall breaks, minus the smug... no one can out smug or out sexually harass Zack Morris.  Liam: A country boy and the only one of the intial five besides Clincoln I actually like. He’s a kind hearted well meaning country boy and is always kind and friendly, and reminds me a lot of stinky peterson but with a tone down accent.  Zach:... I forget he exists, i’m not even sure this is his actual name. He’s just.. there for some reason and i’m not exactly sure why he’s been kept around now that Stella, who i’ll get to next, has been introduced. But he has goggles and wild hair and that’s.. it. Any of his lines could be said by the others without muchc hange.  Stella: My faviorite out of the group, a frieindly girl who was insitally introduced as Lincoln’s third love intrest.. before pivoting to have her not really WANT to be with any of the guys in an episode that’s really good and instead joining the group. She has more personality and energy than most of them, and thus I do tend to seek out an ep if she’s in it. I do also kinda lowkey ship her with lincoln, but only al ittle. her episodde was about hwo every girl who pays attention to you isn’t into you after all and it’s a lesson kids need. I wish I had it when I was that age honestly. Anyways... finally we have the bane of my existance.  Rusty: I hate this kid. I can’t stand his goofy face, and I love goofy goof so goofy faces are not a problem, obnovious wannabe ladies man smugness, or his basicaly being the useless asshole of the group. LIke Zach, I don’t get why he hasn’t been written out. Hell Zach I at least get as the generic guy they can slott in. Rusty is just terrible. it’s telling that his LITTLE BROTHER, who showed up in one episode as a love intrest for Lucy, is far more popular.. mostly because Rocky’s actually likeable and isn’t a dipstick. I just hate this kid and want this character written off already. He’s the weak link in the group and is SOMEHOW more obnoxious than Clyde during any episode bobby and him were in the same room. And tha’ts an acomplishment! Gah. I could rant about this little shit all day, but i’d prefer to move on.  The episode has a pretty basic setup: Clyde is on the dance comitte, and is a good chef which .. tracks. I do think h’es cooked before and his love of Dessert Storm, a in-series cooking show that the Loud’s love too, has been documented in one or two episodes and cooking does fit his personality: he’s a detail orinted kid, he has parents who have lots of money to spend and have been established to like coooking fancy themsevles, it makes sense he’d pick it up. But it’s the Valentine’s Dance and Clyde has a crush on Emma, one of the girls on the comittee. His friends pick up on this and stellas has an adorable “awww” type grin while the boys all have smug shit eating grins but are all willing to help. It’s part of why I like these eps: the 5 really seem to have a nice rapport and be genuine friends.. friends who all fought over a girl once, except Stella who was said girl, but friends nonetheless, who eventually put said friendship over that. Even if one of them’s a block of wood and the other the bane of my existance, you still get the sense their valued.  It’s from there the episode Segues into the standard loud house formula, which is one of the resaons I do only watch the show ocasionally: while the episodes can varry wildly, some just fall into a formula of “character or characters do various things in a row until they realize they were wrong or something”. Now the show HAS had good episodes out of this formula, L is for Love and Racing Hearts, and yes i’m a saluna shipper but the eps are good beyond that, but sometimes it can feel like padding. This is one of those times. Each of the squad tries something to help Clyde find out if Emma likes him or not, he’s too nervous to take it as a sign he should go for it, rinse and repeat 3 more times before the plot finally moves on. This is also why I went into detail on the Clinclon Crew: each one, except Zach because the boy is made of paper mache remember, gets a chance to try helping him out.  Rusty: As if you needed proof I wasn’t overreacting, Rusty SPIES ON EMMA WITH BINOCULARS for the plan.. he did not need them, and the joke dosen’t land like it should because Rusty sucks. And his plan is to drench Clyde with cologne and if she comments on it, she likes him. I do however like the joke about how clyde thinks Rusty’s cousin that gave him the plan, proving Dumbass is a genetic trait, had a girlfriend at a camp who probably dosen’t exist.  Liam: Liam’s plan is a bit funnier... not because of the plan which like the previous one not really that great but hey their 11 or 12 i’ll give all of them but rusty some slack, because he sucks. But the Clincoln Crew which i’m calling them now so there, head to the movies and Liam says ,d ue to a similar thing happening with his chickens, if a girl sits next to you, they like you back. It’s not entirelys ound but the chicken thing got a small chuckle out of me and LIam does have some odd charisma.  Lincoln: And Zach but i’m not convinced they didn’t just swap in a manquin with a tape recorder jammed inside for him for this or any scene. Lincoln uses one of lori’s magazines with some sounder, if flimsy but beliviebly for kids, logic: ask her for a pen: if it’s a regular one they have no intrest, it’s it’s fancy she likes you. like the other two it happens.. but in a resonable bit of writing like the last two Clyde isn’t sure due to a combinaton of insecurity and these plans being as flimsy as the paper they made Zach out of .  Stella: Whose grandma can read tea leaves and actually predicted her moving to royal woods, because stella is great. Stella is also damn good at it as she does predict Clyde at the dance, in a chef’s hat for reasons that i’ll get to in a moment. dancing with a girl. Tha’s lal he needs and this bit finally ends. As I said it’s the tedium. While what happens NEXT is intresting enough, you really didn’t need all of those or have enough jokes and were clearly padding guys, come on.  So Clyde, and crew, stages an elaborate frencha nd boat related danceposal.. that fails. As you probably figured. Emma is flattered, but shoots Clyde down gently. Clyde reacts as you’d expect: by fleeing the scnee as fast as possible, quitting the dance comitte off screen, and planning never to return, which while overracting, DOES feel realistic.  Clyde goes home for some mopey solo time and becomes a tad insufferable, ignoring his friend’’s texts and getting upset as his dad for watching the movie that clearly inpsiried his dance invite plan, depsite it being their valentine’s day he’s interrupting. It woudl’ve played better if he still got upset but iddn’t you know, run in front of their tv and call them out on something they coudln’t of known as he didn’t give them details.  Thankfully the mild annoyance is b roken when, after ignoring his friends texts, which granted for Rusty and Liam is probably normal as liam probably talks about drywall and Rusty uses the word dawg and unlike Lincoln dosen’t seem genuinely worried after Clyde, you know, got rejected in front of a large crowd.  He’s broken out of his mopey solo time by a call: the person he passed cake duty off to screwed up, and after some urging from Cheryl, the principal’s secretary who Clyde knows personally from past episodes and is head of the dance comitte and an utter delight this episode, Clyde does what any normal kid would do: dawn a flimsy disguise and sneak in there. We also get a cameo from Girl Jordan who hasn’t shown up in forever so that’s nice.  Clyde fixes the cake, and Cheryl compares his mustache to a dead caterpillar which was gold, and tries to sneak out only for Chole, another girl, to notice him and stop him. You can probably tell where this is going: She , rather than mock him finds what he did romantic, she also likes dessert storm, he asks her to dance, puts his chef hat back on because time loop,a nd the two dance and even have an adorable bit where they throw their hats to each other. Also Rusty is dressed like cupid and my eyes boil out of my head as the episode ends.  Overall it’s not a bad ep. Had a suprising amount to say about it, but overall it’s a decent, cute ep for valentine’s day with a nice amount of friendship and some nice character stuff for Clyde and plenty of gay dad’s and Cheryl. Overall not a bad way to spend 11 minutes in this ongoing apocalypse. Coming Soon: I feel like quacking so I think Iw ill.. take a look at an episode of quack pack that’s donsy related.  Until next time courage. 

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 6/19/17

Ace of the Diamond, Vol. 4 | By Yuji Terajima | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – This volume might’ve set a record for “number of times Michelle got verklempt due to sports manga.” Eijun’s skills continue to improve, but moreso his character does, as he realizes that taciturn catcher Chris has really been looking out for his best interests all along. Eijun becomes determined to pay him back by showing him some improvement before he graduates, practically forgetting that two junior varsity players have the opportunity to move up in his desire to express his gratitude to his teammate. Sniff! And then Chris, who has missed a year of play due to injury, gets the chance to show how terrific he’s been all this time. Meanwhile, his former varsity teammates are all pulling for him to rejoin them for their final summer season. Did I mention sniff? Great stuff! – Michelle Smith

Black Clover, Vol. 7 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – This is another of those transition volumes we see so often in Shonen Jump, wrapping up the last plot, taking out a supposed traitor (who merely seems to have been corrupt), and going to the beach to show off some fanservice. We also get a few new characters, the best of whom is Kahono, who may be too good to be true somewhere down the line, but for now seems to be just what Noelle needs to finally get past the baggage of her past. The rest of the team gets to fight a bevy of enemies, either winning easily or losing just as easily. This is a team of fighters, but so far Asta and Noelle are the only important ones. Still quite readable, though, and I look forward to seeing how the fights end next time around. – Sean Gaffney

Chihayafuru, Vol. 3 | By Yuki Suetsugu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I love Chihayafuru so much that each time a volume ends I feel legitimately bereft. In this volume, Chihaya and Taichi manage to recruit a couple of new members to their karuta club, giving them a sufficient number to receive official club status. Taichi is really the star of this volume, helping to bring on one of the new players, as well as moderating Chihaya when, in her earnest desire to help everyone become strong, she nearly works them past the point of exhaustion. And then it’s time for the Tokyo qualifiers for the high school karuta championship, and he once again proves to be the pillar of the team. I think Chihaya’s begun to see him in a new light, too. Anyway, all of the tournament stuff is fascinating and it ends on a most excruciating cliffhanger. Worse, there’s no release date for volume four yet! – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 12 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – Most of this volume is dedicated to a battle against a team with a very, very tall guy, which has its obvious advantages in volleyball that get put to good use here to try to crush our heroes, particularly Hinata. Of course, we’ve spent a couple of volumes now seeing Karasuno improving itself more and more, and so it should come as no surprise to find David taking down Goliath by the end of this match. The team is beginning to feel in sync, Kageyama is feeling (gasp!) happy and confident again, and even Tsukishima continues to try to improve himself and put said improvement in practice. As with most sports manga, you enjoy seeing the obvious growth and development laid out in excruciating detail. We get that here. – Sean Gaffney

The High School Life of a Fudanshi, Vol. 1 | By Atami Michinoku | Seven Seas – I was already a bit wary of this series, not being familiar with the anime and wondering how many of the jokes would be variations on “no homo.” (Not as many as I thought, but still too many.) But making the series a 4-koma is absolutely the wrong decision for what it wants to be, as the gags just aren’t funny enough in that format and the characters need more development. I liked the relationship between Sakaguchi and his fellow BL enthusiast Nishihara, as their fandom talk reminded me of fandom talk I have seen. But it wasn’t really enough of a draw to keep turning the pages. The author has mostly done Gintama BL smut before this, and this seems to be a dip in the waters of non-smut. 65%, Must Try Harder. – Sean Gaffney

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 24 | By Julietta Suzuki | Viz Media – The underworld arc ends here, and it’s as epic and exciting as you’d expect. The real teary drama is in the second half of the book, though, as Nanami realizes she can’t keep being Shrine God if she’s going to be with a human Tomoe. So she runs herself ragged trying to prepare for a future she hadn’t given much thought to so as not to turn out the way her father did. Mizuki, meanwhile, is simply unable to accept that Nanami is going to get old, die, and leave him behind, and has a truly in-character hissy fit that ends up not taking as long as I thought it would. Possibly as the next volume is the last one. I’ve really loved this series as it’s gained depth, and will be incredibly sad to see it end. – Sean Gaffney

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 11-12 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | VIZ Media – Seirin has reached the final four of the Tokyo Winter Cup qualifiers, from which two teams will emerge to represent Tokyo at the Winter Cup. Kuroko debuts his nifty new “vanishing drive” move, which helps his team overcome a deficit and tie up the game with Shutoku. Next, they face Kirisaki Daiichi, a team that employs dirty tricks to win. It was in a game against them that Kiyoshi suffered his injury, and once the first years are informed of this, they’re fired up for payback. Kiyoshi really is front and center (no pun intended) this volume, as we learn about the formation of the basketball club the year before and his past with Hyuga, though I confess I most loved seeing Kuroko get to be not just mad but kind of a badass. Even better, we don’t end on a cliffhanger for once! – Michelle Smith

Red Riding Hood and the Big Sad Wolf, Vol. 1 | By Hachoujou Arata | Seven Seas – Like the Fudanshi release I discussed earlier, this has a lot of 4-komas in it, though it intersperses it with longer stories. It’s another one of those anthropomorphic personification titles, as we meet a Red Riding Hood who loves to burn things down and the straight-man wolf whom she sets her sights on. As the title goes on, we see a bunch of new characters, all various varieties of crazy. If you enjoy sadistic grins and seeing a cute guy cry, this may be the series for you. I would not recommend it, though, for the simple reasons that I didn’t like anyone in it. Usually I say with first volumes to wait on that one clearly unlikeable character. But when they’re all like that… I’m not going to wait. – Sean Gaffney

Species Domain, Vol. 2 | By Shunsuke Noro | Seven Seas – This was still very enjoyable—there are some characters I disliked in it, but they were clearly signposted as being deliberately awful, and felt bad later. Moreover, we’re finding that it’s not only Kazamori who is having confidence issues about her lack of obvious supernatural traits—Hanei is an angel who can’t fly, which causes her a more subdued amount of stress. The main focus of the book continues to be humor, and while not as funny as the first book I find it very good. More importantly, as we get to know the cast better they’re bonding as friends, which is the most important thing in titles like this. Species Domain won’t knock any socks off, but it’s a solid and fun title. Good art, too. – Sean Gaffney

By: Michelle Smith

[curewhimsy]

Character Questionnaire- Reisei

Originally posted on DeviantArt

First, give us a quick run-down of your character. Reveal as much or as little as you want.

Reisei Kokuu (虚空冷静) is 22 years old, male (possibly cisgender, yet up to interpretation), and Japanese. He is a rather minor character in the Whimsica universe but he has his own short story about him and Tamika, Flowery Sky. It’s anout how the two meet, enter a relationship, and grow into adulthood. His last name means “Empty Sky”, alluding to the name of one of his poems about being lonely. His first name translates to “calm”.

Reisei is shy, soft-spoken, sensitive, and intuitive. He writes poetry and has a very serene and delicate heart. His poems are mostly about nature and using imagery to convey emotion. He is very docile and hospitable. He wants to be a doctor.

Reisei’s birthday is September 9. He is 5’9” and 200 pounds, which is overweight. His hair is a dark gray, along with his eyes. He is quite sickly, often succumbing to common ailments due to a weak immune system.

In the Whimsica universe he is a rabbit fauna, meaning he has rabbit DNA which manifests itself as long floppy ears on his head and a puffy round tail. In this magical universe he also has powers that have to do with healing, and his spells are possibly poems.

What is their nose shape? Long? Pointed? Round? Broad? Thin?

Reisei’s nose is basically a very average nose, but a bit on the round side.

If your OC had an account on deviantART what would their username be? What kind of things would they post?

His username would be something like kodoku-na-aozora (Lonely Blue Sky) or shuzuka-na-kanata (Quiet Distance)

And of course, he would post his poetry. Maybe some photography too.

How could your OC be parodied, mocked, or exaggerated? (Example: A character who tends to cry a lot is parodied by being portrayed as more emotional than they really are.)

Reisei would talk in poems. Every time he feels any sort of emotion he would go on a long, flowery, and poetic rant about how he’s feeling. He would also be very expressive, theatrical, fainting a lot and perhaps even literally being the sky.

What genre of story could you most see your character being in? Does this match their current genre?

Honestly I could most easily just see him in a very touching slice-of-life anime. I threw him in a fantasy story to switch things up though.

Does your OC prefer seriousness or comedy?

Reisei is a bit more on the serious side though he does appreciate good comedy.

If they were a genre of music, which would they be?

Very, very calming slow songs of a wide range of genres. Atmospheric music perhaps.

If they were a month, which would they be?

April, a very gentle and mild month where everything begins coming back to life. I could also see him being November, a quieter month that often feels a bit wistful.

What canon characters do they remind you of?

You know, Reisei is one of my rare characters that aren’t inspired by any characters from other media whatsoever. However I would have to say he is a bit like Mio Akiyama from K-ON, who is a lyricist and has a gentle personality. However, Reisei doesn’t have Mio’s strictness and probably wouldn’t punch Ritsu like Mio sometimes does.

Also he’s not a fictional character but. Adam Young. (Owl City)

If they were one of the seven deadly sins, which would they be?

This is strange, but Reisei would be lust. But it’s a different kind of lust. Not sexual. He has many, many different self-indulgent desires. Wanderlust perhaps.

Least favorite color?

Reisei finds beauty in all the colors as they are all part of nature and each can evoke a wide range of different emotion. Red can be of a rose as much as it can be of a gentle sunset.

Any inside jokes or memes related to your character? Are they easy to poke fun at?

Rei is gay and that’s okay. He’s actually bisexual however.

Also, what do you call a RAY that has something to SAY?

Defining characteristics?

He’s a poet who wants to be a doctor. He’s sensitive and soft-spoken. He’s often sick. He’s very sweet and generous. He’s also a bunny fauna.

What does their voice sound like?

It’s quite clear, a bit low and soft-sounding. He has a bit of a stutter.

Imagine that your character had an official character songs CD with two songs on it. List what the titles might be, what they’re about, the genre, and generally what they sound like.

Oh boy, here comes my favorite question. Reisei’s character songs would be his poems. But as songs.

Song 1: 雨空の独白 (Amazora no Dokuhaku) [Rainy Sky Monologue]

Reisei basically talking to himself about how beautiful life is yet how lonely it is when you have nobody to share it all with. It’s somewhat upbeat yet the lyrics are a bit... sad. There’s a piano in it.

Song 2: 幸せの涙 (Shiawase no Namida) [Tears of Happiness]

Song is ambiguously about Tamika. It’s basically about Reisei being thankful that she’s always there for him to the point where he’s moved enough to cry. It’s a bit slower than the first song and sounds a bit sad. It’s really both a sad and happy song. There is a piano. Sounds a bit like Nawatobi from Love Live. One line from it is “I’m very, very happy. So why is it that I’m crying?” Another line compares his feelings to a sunshower, when the sun is out during a light rain, symbolizing happy tears. “It’s strange, yet special, because it’s a time we can see beautiful rainbows.”

What if the funniest thing about your character?

HE’S SO CORNY AND HIS POEMS ARE CHEESY.

What would you say are your character’s strangest or most unique traits?

His handwriting is perfect, it’s like print. He has floppy ears as a rabbit fauna. Very long floppy ears. Also, rabbits and other small rodents seem to be drawn to him. It’s like he radiates peace.

Humorous running gags that apply to them? (Example: A repeated funny thing happens to them.)

Whenever Reisei sees a mime he gets so irrationally angry for no reason.

Character’s voice type? (Soprano, alto, contralto, tenor, baritone, etc.)

He has a tenor voice type, it’s not really that deep. Just like your poems, Reisei.

Okay, that was mean. Sorry. His poems are probably wonderful.

How well are they at drawing?

Average I guess. But his handwriting is godly.

Are they idealistic and dream of a perfect world? Or do they believe that life is meant to be tough? Maybe they’re somewhere in between, perhaps?

Reisei is very much the idealistic, dreamy type. His view is that the world may not be perfect, but we should all be striving for it to be.

Blood type?

O+

Name some TV Tropes that apply.

I’m going to skip this one because I’m lazy and can’t think of anything. Sorry.

What about your OC do you find difficult to write? (Examples: Tastes that don’t match yours, different ways of thinking)

I find it difficult to write his poems because I’m not really a good poet.

How are they different from you? How are they similar to you?

He’s quite similar to me actually. We’re idealistic and wishy-washy and soft and all that.

He’s different from me as he writes poems as I prefer to write stories. My handwriting is terrible. He’s more serious than me and I’m a big goofball.

Choose any random established character. Now, write if your OC would get along with them or not.

Reisei would get along fairly well with Umi Sonoda. They both write poems. Umi is shy, but not as shy as Reisei. Umi is a bit more serious than Reisei. I could see her being protective of him. I could see them writing songs together.

Is your character someone you would like to meet or be friends with?

Sure! He’s a very nice person and has the same views on the world as me. We could have long conversations about nice things, provided he would talk. He’s very shy.

If you were to ever be able to spend an hour with them, what would you do with them within that hour? If it involves asking them something, then what?

I would just. Have that aforementioned long conversation with him. I would also ask him about his life and such. I know my job as a writer is to make that up myself, but... hey....

Would you consider your character emotional? Why or why not?

He is very much emotional. He has all these feelings they he conveys through his writing.

Why did you create this character? What message or story are they supposed to tell?

Reisei is really just... I feel like he’s a part of me. The lonely and yearning part of me.

He’s also meant to prove that men can be soft and sensitive too and that it’s okay for them to be like that.

What inspired the creation of your character? It can be anything.

It was actually a dream that inspired the first few parts of him. I forgot it, but I think I fell asleep listening to https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JcHl1JgIW6A

I first saw him in that dream... an emotional, sickly boy who liked to create things...

On a scale of 1 to 10, how sensitive are they? (1 being lowest, 10 being highest)

I would give this guy a big fat 10. Not only is he sensitive, he’s also intuitive and almost connected with other people’s emotions.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how well do they fit the definition of “cute”?

I’d say 8. He’s pretty cute. He likes cute things. He plays Animal Crossing. His room is “like a girl’s room”. He collects stuffed animals. The ting that keeps him from being a 9 or a 10 is his rather plain appearance, yet I think being plain on the outside fits him.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how funny are they?

I’d give him a 5. He’s... average. He has a sense of humor but he isn’t my funniest character, nor my easiest to poke fun at. Most of his humor relies on his poems being cheesy or his silly clumsiness. Luana pokes fun at his name, calling him stingray. Again, he’s not my funniest character. He has a more serious purpose.

On a scale of 1 to 10, is your character’s life ordinary, or anything but? (1 being ordinary, 10 being outlandish)

He’s one of my rare characters with an actual normal life of some sort. By Whimsica standards maybe. But by other standards, he would be a 5. I would say 5.

Name something unexpected about your character.

Reisei is a top! In bed! He’s a TOP! You thought he was going to be a bottom but no! Reisei is a top!

Also, he likes Pokemon and is somewhat into it competitively. It’s unexpected because he doesn’t strike people as being competitive.

Are they a typical inhabitant of their world, or do they have things that set them apart from being a normal person?

By Whimsica standards he is ordinary. Very ordinary. He’s your random typical normal guy. Faunas are everywhere. It doesn’t matter if he’s part rabbit. There’s also talking rabbits and furries living in Whimsica! (The furries are called Anthromorphs)

Does your character snore?

A little bit! It’s quiet. Tamika says it’s cute.

How much has your character changed since you first created them? Write a scenario where the current one meets the first version.

The very first Reisei that popped in my head was actually a story writer rather than a poem writer. He was going to be just as quiet, but maybe not as sensitive. He was more blunt. He had black hair and blue eyes. He was skinny. He wasn’t a rabbit fauna at the time. He was also a high school student. The current Reisei met Tamika in high school and has a story that takes place in high school, but in the current timeline he is 22 during the main events of Whimsica Saga.

I’m going to skip writing the scenario though, because the change wasn’t that drastic. Also I’m lazy. Heh.

How does your character change or develop the most through the course of their story?

He goes from being very lonely and shy to coming out of his shell a bit and being able to show his true self.

What food can’t your character just not stand?

Reisei hates tomatoes. He thinks they taste like grass.

Does your character have anything else that they can’t stand?

Mimes. Also, the usual stuff like bullies and unfairness.

What are your character’s hands like? Size? Shape? Are they callused or smooth?

His hands are kind of square-shaped, smooth, a little bit hairy. (Just above the knuckles. Yes, some people have hair there.)

What’s the most cliche thing about your character? Do you like them that way, or do you seek to improve them?

Rei is cliche and that’s okay. Rei is cliche and I like him that way.

Silly poem aside, I do think he’s a little bit cliche? But usually it’s a girl character with Reisei’s personality. Reisei is a male. It makes him a little bit different I guess.

But still, I really, really like him this way. He’s pure and has a big heart.

What are misconceptions that are made about your character? This could either be in-universe or IRL people’s first impressions.

In-universe, people usually think he’s boring or don’t know who he is because he never talks.

IRL? Um... maybe the fact that nobody saw it coming that he was a top! Not a bottom!

What would they be if they were an animal?

A dark gray rabbit with big floppy ears.

If your character had a candy made after them, what kind would it be?

Marshmallows shaped like clouds and stars.

Your character is in a band. Would they be a vocalist, guitarist, bassist, drummer, or keyboardist?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

I think he would be the keyboardist.