We can’t stop them. They’re insidious little beasts that crawl into your brain and make you itch in weird places. Especially when they’re fluffy ideas.
This is one of those fluffy ideas. For better or worse.
It all began…. no, never mind that. The thing is, I love “portmanteaus”. What a lovely word. It is actually a word that defines itself (I think–my French is a bit rusty). Anyway, it’s a word that describes an odd piece of luggage. But this idea has nothing to do with luggage, so I’m not sure why you brought that up . . . try to stay with me on this, will you?
I mean the other kind of portmanteau, where you jam two innocent, unrelated words together to create a whole different word. Then you get to define it, usually in some odd and quirky way.
For one particular portmanteau idea, I needed a visual to attempt its full cuteness. So I made a sketch of it. Once I did that (inexpertly), I realized this creature, and the critters around her, suddenly had a bunch of questions floating around them.
Questions like:
- Why was the main critter so huge?*
- What really made the others SO fluffy?
- Why does a bunny-looking creature have a guinea pig-like nose?*
- Who were these creatures and how did they get there?
- What were they all doing here together?
*Other than because they were drawn so badly, but we don’t have to go there. No, really, let’s not.
Inquiring bunnies want to know!
And that’s how my main character was created: because of Angoraphobia. Yes, it’s a thing, because it’s on the Internet now, which makes it real. So there! And from this literary portmanteau a living portmanteau was born: In this case a handful of unrelated species were genetically smashed together to create a monster . . . or is it a cute bunny-like creature with a sweet disposition?
Only time will tell! Bwahahahaha!
The more I looked at this one-off scribble I realized these creatures had a story to tell. And I was just the person to listen to it, because I’m weird and stuff. Two composition books of notes and 50 sketches later, the background of this story emerged, with heinous bad guys, a plethora of fluffy sidekicks, and an underdog protagonist with an unexpected burgeoning potential that might even be called a super power.
And I thought to myself, this is too strange to keep to myself. Strangeness like this belongs on the Internet! So, here I am, apologetically exploring this odd and quirky world of fluffiness, trying to get to the bottom of their odd plight.
You are welcome to come along, if you’re game. Or human, we won’t judge.
Please feel free to chime in with your feelings on the story at any time, let me know how you like it, where you think it might be going (or hope it will go), and any goofs or omissions I’ve made along the way.
If you’d like to collaborate on something this silly (comic artists, colorists, animators, producers?), or would like to support the project in some way, please comment, get in touch, or you can Buy Me a Coffee — because creativity is fueled by caffeine! But actually, any moral support is welcome, so I’ll know if it’s worth keeping on with this otherwise ridiculous quest.
Thanks and stay fluffy!