Roommates (2009 webcomic)/Characters

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This is the character sheet for Roommates, Gian's First and These Are My Reflections.

Deuteragonists

Gian

Age: 20 yrs., Nov. 23rd Sign: Sagittarius Height: 5'10" Weight: 172lbs. Major: Art Sport: Trk&Fld - Distance Running Likes: Drawing, painting, reading, video games, astrology, trad. fencing, Magic:TG, cute toes, charmers, chocolate, showering, tidiness, Bowser Jr., Santino Dislikes: Lectures, cliques, loud people, dishonesty, misandrists, public speaking, disappointing others, messiness, boredom, conflict, bad critiques Favorite food: Spaghetti and Meatballs Favorite game: Zelda - A Link to the Past Favorite movie: Spirited Away Favorite music: Classic rock Sexual Orientation: Gay

Giancarlo Rosato (pronounced /dʒaŋˈkar.lo roˈza.to/) is a flamedramon who immigrated to The United States from Italy with his family when he was 10 years old. He has a slightly older fraternal twin brother, Santino. His family usually calls him Giancarlo, but he prefers everyone else to call him "Gian" /ˈdʒɑn/.

At 14, Gian had his first romantic relationship with his best friend Nathan, an |Australian yoshi. But it ended in grief when a school bully, Thomas, learned of their relationship and told Nathan's homophobic mother who immediately sent Nathan off to a distant Catholic school incommunicado, effectively snatching away Nathan both as a boyfriend and as a best friend. To add insult to injury, Thomas brutally beat Gian at school the next day, but Santino rescued his little brother. Giancarlo was out of the closet to Santino, and soon to their parents as well, but they all loved and respected Giancarlo and accepted who he is. Still, this series of traumatic incidents gave Gian heavy emotional baggage for years, and he preferred to stay closeted to the general public out of fear of more pain and abuse.

As young adults, Giancarlo and Santino attended Aubrey State University, where Gian is an art major. In their sophomore year, the twins were assigned separate but close dorm rooms, while Gian was assigned a roommate, Bowser Koopa, Junior. The roommates first met not in their room, but in the locker room of the track team of which they were both members. Junior openly flirted with Gian, and a sequence of events saw the two having sex for the first time only four hours later. But they soon fell in love, and grew to become a close and happy couple.

Soon after this, Junior bought Gian a romantic gift, a piercing for Gian's ear. But later in the locker room, this "gay" piercing was immediately noticed by homophobic track teammates Olly and Mondo, who proceeded to attack Gian. Junior came in to rescue Gian, outing himself as Gian's boyfriend who gave Gian that gift -- this effectively publicly outed Gian as well. It was this milestone and Junior's ongoing help that helped Gian get over much of his baggage.

A year later, Gian and Junior were still a happy couple, still living in the same dorm room they were assigned the previous year.

• Broken Bird: Junior has been helping him through it.
• Coming Out Story: To the general public Roommates. He already came out to his family at 14 in Gian's First.
• Gayngst: Gian is initially deep in the closet in public and angsts over being openly gay.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: Gian is not that innocent, but his eyes frequently have that youthful funloving expression.
• Making Love in All the Wrong Places: In their dorm room with the door open and someone standing in the hallway, much to Gian's horror. It's his brother Santino, who is less surprised at what happened than that it was on the very first day back to college.
• Memento MacGuffin: The ear piercing Junior got for Gian. After their violent encounter with Olly and Mondo (over the "gay" piercing), it became a symbol of their love and courage.
  • Mythology Gag: The piercing actually has the same design as the Digiegg of Courage.
• Modesty Bedsheet: When Santino passes by Gian's room right after Junior and Gian have had sex, Gian frantically grabs the bedsheet to cover himself, while Junior doesn't bother. Santino tells Giancarlo not to be so modest, reminding him that they used to take baths together as kids. Junior agrees, yanking away the bedsheet in the process.
• Troubled Backstory Flashback/Not So Harmless: When Olly attacks Gian in the locker room shower, Gian quickly flashed back to memories of getting beaten up by bullies as a teenager, and alarm quickly turns to rage as Gian headbutts Olly, managing to fend him off.
• One of Us: Has many of the signs of being a geek.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Practically everyone calls him Gian, pronounced identically to "John" or "Jon" in American English. Only his parents and Santino call him Giancarlo. Gian didn't even want Nathan calling him Giancarlo. Nathan and Junior both always call him Gian.
• Raging Stiffie: In Gian's First, when Nathan gave Gian a surprise foot rub. Gian was quite embarrassed at the effect it was having on his shorts.
• Shallow Love Interest: When he met Junior, they had sex first, and their love gradually blossomed over time.
• Shrinking Violet
• Invisible to Gaydar

Junior

Age: 21 yrs., June 5th Sign: Gemini Height: 6'2" Weight: 210 lbs. Major: Psychology Sport: Trk&Fld - Shotput, Discus, Javelin Likes: Working out, comic books, B-movies, people-watching, competition, rough-housing, surprising people, loyalty, Roy Koopa, Gian Dislikes: Daydreamers, hypocrites, veggies, missing-out, other psychologists, whiners, braggers, homophobes, cold weather, getting tickled Favorite food: Steak Favorite game: Guilty Gear XX #Reload Favorite movie: Silence of the Lambs Favorite music: Power metal Sexual Orientation: Gay

Bowser Koopa, Junior is the eighth and youngest child and seventh son of Bowser Koopa. He grew up wealthy, living in Koopa Manor along with his father and seven siblings. He is closest to his brother Roy, and to Roy's Platonic Life Partners Hanbei Kagami, who were both mentors and protectors to Junior growing up. He is also Bowser's favorite son and namesake, not to mention the spitting image of his father.

At 15, Junior abruptly lost his virginity to Jonathan S. "Jojo" Johnston III, his school tutor who had also been mentored by Hanbei. The two soon became a secret couple, Junior still deeply in the closet. It was Junior's deep fear of losing his family's love and respect and his relatively comfortable social standing at school, that drove his desire to stay in the closet. And this led him to make a series of extremely poor choices that instead almost destroyed his life. He started dating new "girlfriend" Barbara T. "Babs" Wallace under false pretenses. He didn't bother to tell his actual boyfriend Jojo, which soon led to a highly acrimonious breakup and estrangement between them. Then, capping it all, Junior was beaten within an inch of his life at his own senior prom. But Junior eventually got his act together, came out to his family and the world, salvaged his life, and matured into a proud openly gay young man.

As a young adult, Junior attended Aubrey State University as a psychology major. There he was always openly gay, but ironically his track teammates and the rest of the school kept dismissing it as Gay Bravado -- Junior could be as flirtatious and sexually candid as he liked, and it didn't make a difference.

When Junior was 21 years old in his junior year, he was assigned to share a dorm room with Giancarlo Rosato. They first met not at their room, but in the track team locker room, where Junior complimented Gian's nice ass. Just four hours later, the two discovered they were actually roommates and that they were both gay. Sexually eager, it was only minutes before the two first had sex. But their chemistry as right, and they fell in love, later maturing into a close and happy couple.

Junior had a positive effect on Gian, helping him come out publicly and get over much of the baggage and angst that has plagued him in his life. Junior's relationship with Gian also helped him finally convince other people at college that he was actually, truthfully gay, and always had been. A year later, the two were still together, still a happy couple, and still living in the same dorm room which had become their shared home.

• Armored Closet Gay: In his high school years, when his imagination was haunted by the implications of becoming unpopular. He even dated Babs for a year and a half to keep up the charade.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows
• Byronic Hero: In These Are My Reflections. He's definitely a good person, but he makes a lot of stupid, painful, destructive decisions.
• Chivalrous Pervert: Junior as a young adult is very sexually forward with hot men. But when things get serious, he cares about the important things.
• Closet Key: To Gian.
• Coming Out Story: In These Are My Reflections.
• Covert Pervert: As a teenager, Junior relished catching a peek of Hanbei's rump in the shower rooms wearing only a Fundoshi.
• Dirty Coward: Played with. This is an Alternate Universe Fic, where Bowser Koopa, Jr. isn't the same Overlord, Jr. commanding airships in deep space. In this universe, Junior was prone to Gayngsty moments of cowardice as a teenager. But he is principled and courageous as an adult.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: In These Are My Reflections.
• Embarrassing Nickname: His family sometimes calls him "Rerun". Junior hates that.
• Erotic Eating: In These Are My Reflections, Junior demonstrates that he can deepthroat by inserting six inches of an entire hot dog in his mouth before biting it off.
• Fiery Redhead
• Flipping the Bird: Junior is doing this to Olly and Mondo simultaneously as he tells them he's gay and Gian is his boyfriend.
• Gayngst: Had much of this when he was still in the closet at 17. He was afraid of losing his family's love and respect.
• Genius Bruiser: Consistently an honor student.
• Have I Mentioned I Am Gay?/Sorry, I'm Gay/Invisible to Gaydar: By the time he's 21 and in college, Junior is openly gay, completely out of the closet everywhere. But his track teammates keep mistaking it for Gay Bravado, not actually realizing that Junior actually is gay. When Olly and Mondo are beating on Gian for daring to appear conspicuously gay (because of an earring, of all things), they react with genuine shock when Junior beats on them in Gian's defense, and tells them that Gian is his boyfriend.
• Head Desk: In These Are My Reflections, Junior does this in private when he realizes the stakes have been drastically raised on the consequences of breaking up with Babs.
• Hunk: Especially as an adult.
• Iconic Item: Unique to Bowser Koopa, Jr. in Roommates is his large conspicuous nose ring -- or, as Hanbei insists on calling it, his "hoop". This ring was never worn in Nintendo Canon, and Roommates!Junior only started wearing it as a teenager. The one time he takes it off is when getting ready to attend his senior prom, and feels bare without it.
  • Mythology Gag: In addition to the aforementioned hoop, Junior still has his crayon-drawn scary-face mask, but if he's wearing it at all, it's as a neckerchief. He's even wearing it when he and Gian first have sex. As a character-establishing Iconic Item, it is absent from his everyday appearance since the second chapter of the Web Comic.
• Identical Son: Now 21 years old, Junior is looking more and more like a younger clone of Bowser.
• Idiot Ball: Invoked in These Are My Reflections. He made some wince-worthy decisions as a teenager. Some came to bite him in the ass, though some didn't necessarily affect his life for the worse. But he ended up paying pretty royally for the ones that did.
  • Starting a formal relationship with Jojo immediately after they have sex, which was soon after they first met. This in and of itself did not sour his karma, but...
  • Dating a girl under false pretenses for a year and a half just for her to be your Beard, while you actually have a boyfriend who loves you. That was a selfish and inconsiderate move. And then...
  • Kissing said girlfriend where your actual boyfriend can see you.
  • Starting a formal relationship with Gian, again immediately after they have sex, again soon after they first met. And he has yet to face any bad karma for that. Considering how incredibly unlikely those kinds of relationships are to succeed, that's not just a Broken Aesop; it's an Aesop that has been mangled, shattered, crushed into a fine powder, and vaporized by a thermonuclear blast. Nevertheless, this was expected to be justified in that Junior and Gian are the story's main protagonists and love interests.
• Incompatible Orientation: To Babs. That didn't stop him from accepting her advances. He just didn't want rumors to spread around school for turning her down.
• The Insomniac: In his teen years. He kept waking up with nightmares, being unable to get back to sleep.
• Knight in Shining Armor/Big Damn Heroes: Saving Gian from Olly and Mondo's attacks.
• Large Ham: Like his father.
• Last-Minute Baby-Naming: When Junior was born, Bowser mulled over a variety of potential names for his seventh son. When Junior was delivered and he looked like Bowser's Identical Son, the only name he could accept would be Bowser Koopa, Jr.
• Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Not that Junior necessarily cares. He used to care, as a teenager, when he was still in the closet. But as a young adult, he's a great big exhibitionist.
• Male Gaze: Junior first meets Gian by staring at his ass in the locker room.
  • In These Are My Reflections, he did this a lot as a teenager too. He used to covertly watch Hanbei in the locker room shower. And when he first met Jojo, Junior couldn't stop staring at his ass even while being tutored.
  • Also in Reflections, when Junior and Jojo first met, Junior couldn't help but constantly be distracted by Jojo's arse. This did not go unnoticed by Jojo.
• Manly Gay: Unabashedly in his young adulthood.
• Non-Mammalian Hair
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Bowser Koopa, Jr. is known variously within his own family as Junior, J, Bow J, BJ or Beej. Jojo called him Bowsie.
  • Ironic Nickname: BJ also means something else. Olly and Mondo lampshade this when they learn that Junior is actually gay.
  • People almost never call him simply "Bowser". Jojo did, which highlighted how furious he was with Junior at the time.
• Princely Young Man
• Red Eyes
• Removable Shell: Junior can be seen wearing his koopa shell in some Flashback Cuts, but in the present day at college he's never seen wearing his shell at all.
• Shallow Love Interest: Sex first, love gradually blossoms later. This is how his relationships with both Jojo and Gian started.
• Shameless Fanservice Guy/Naked First Impression: Junior seems to have no qualms about walking naked in front complete strangers practically anywhere. This is actually how he first meets Gian's brother Santino, who spotted the two in their room from the dorm hallway.
• Stepford Smiler: As a teenager, through most of the personal train wreck that is These Are My Reflections.
• Tears of Remorse: After Jojo dumped Junior, Junior got home, reached his bedroom, and let it all out.
• A Threesome Is Manly: In Junior's official Roommates profile, one of his favorite things is double penetration.
• Transparent Closet: Roy and Hanbei had already suspected for years that Junior is gay, since the incident years before with Hanbei and the locker room shower. They knew that Junior was most likely peeping at Hanbei in the shower, and that he was probably gay. They didn't confront Junior about it at the time, but they mentally prepared themselves for the day Junior would come out of the closet on his own. This sheds additional new light on Hanbei's role in the story, as he not only knew Jojo was gay, but knew Junior probably was too, and may have realized in advance that he was probably setting them up together.
• Troubled Backstory Flashback: When Junior is trying to protect Gian from Olly and Mondo's attack, he has a flashback of his own similar to the one Gian had just had, of bullies beating on Junior when he was a teenager. In his rage, he smacks Mondo in the face with his fist.
• Your Cheating Heart: Juggled his secret relationship with Jojo and his pretentious relationship with Babs, trying to prevent either from finding out. It did not end well.

Rosato family

Santino

Age: 20 yrs., Nov 22nd Sign: Scorpio Height: 5'1" Weight: 190 lbs. Major: Biology Sport: Traditional Fencing - Italian Rapier (specialty) Likes: Board games, trad. fencing, looking out for Gian, Mexican food, Magic:TG, Metal, B-movies, abstract painting, dancing Dislikes: Prejudiced people, bullies, sport fencers, country music, crowds, being too social, mornings, chick flicks, cowards, body builders, spammers, trolls Favorite food: Tamales Favorite game: Magic:TG Favorite movie: Lake Placid Favorite music: Black metal Sexual Orientation: ???

Santino Rosato /sanˈti.no roˈza.to/, a strikedramon, is Giancarlo's slightly older fraternal twin brother. He, like, Giancarlo, was born in Italy, and immigrated to The United States at age 10. Santino is now fluent in English, but unlike Giancarlo he still slips into smatterings of Italian, usually in particularly intense or emotional moments.

Despite being only one day older, Santino assumes the elder brother role with Giancarlo, looking after him and trying to protect him from trouble. But usually, Santino does not often show emotion, and is not as outwardly sociable as Giancarlo. As a teenager he was known to spend a great deal of time with his friend Geraldo, and he also had a girlfriend, Samantha. In stark contrast to Giancarlo's closeted Gayngst in his relationship with Nathan, Santino was actually given permission by his parents to have sex, which he did in his bedroom almost every day after school. And while it was assumed he was having sex with Samantha, Santino's exact sexual orientation is still unclear.

As a young adult, Santino attended Aubrey State University with Giancarlo as a biology major. They live in the same dorm in nearby separate rooms.

• Aloof Big Brother: Has a calm, detached older brother relationship with Giancarlo, even though they are actually twins and Santino is only a day older.
• Ambiguously Bi: Santino did have a sexual relationship with a girl, Samantha, when he was 14. But he has just enough Gaydar moments to call his sexuality into question. His official profile lists his sexual orientation as "unknown".

Santino: (glancing at Giancarlo's bare body with a smirk) "...Track's been doing good for you, eh, Giancarlo?"

• Big Damn Heroes: In Gian's First, Santino rescues Giancarlo from Thomas and his friends. Santino is fierce.
• Gratuitous Italian: More so when he was a teenager than now. He and Giancarlo were preteen immigrants from Italy, after all.
• Icy Blue Eyes
• Non-Mammalian Hair: In contrast to his bald twin brother.
• One of Us

Koopa family

Bowser

Bowser Koopa, Senior is the patriarch of the Koopa family and head of Koopa Suites, a hotel business he inherited from his estranged father Rufus. With his late wife Peach, Bowser had eight children -- Ludwig, Lemmy, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, Morton, Larry and his spitting image Bowser Jr. But Peach died when Bowser Jr. was still little, and Bowser has had to do his best to raise the Koopalings as a single father while still running a business that has since grown into an international conglomerate. He's a good businessman, and tries to look after his children's needs and happiness, but he's not usually at home with them as often as he'd like to be.

When Bowser does manage to be home, family time comes first. He is a Reasonable Authority Figure in this area, at least when the choices to be made are truly important. But casually, Bowser is better known for his breathtaking immaturity, such that his household relationship with his children more resembles that of a big brother in a family of rowdy immature brothers. It should come at no shock that the most mature member of the immediate family is not Bowser, but Bowser's only daughter Wendy.

• Adult Child: Specifically noted. He teases his sons and Wendy as casually as if he were their biggest brother.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parent: It doesn't get much worse than Bowser describing details from his honeymoon at the family dinner table in front of all his children, while doing pelvic thrusts against the table. He seems to have graduated from Adult Child to something else entirely. And all of this answering the relatively innocent question of how Ludwig got his name.
• Badass Decay: Intentional. This Alternate Universe Fic's Bowser is a pretty Nice Guy, has a perfectly capable indoor voice, and tries never to show rage in front of his children. When he does become enraged, it's awesome -- he actually seems more like Canon!Bowser for a moment.
• Big Beautiful Man
• Big No: Upon being told that his father was coming to visit.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows
• Boisterous Bruiser
• The Casanova: Informed Attribute. He claims not to have been in a romantic relationship since his wife Peach died, though he has been considering one.
• Challenge Gamer: As an Informed Ability, Bowser's prowess at Dance Dance Revolution cannot be matched.
• Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Bowser is a wealthy hotel tycoon who inherited the business from his father Rufus, running Koopa Suites as a legitimate business. This is a variation on the trope in that while Bowser is the primary antagonist in Nintendo Canon, he has never been villainous in this particular Alternate Universe Fic.
• Defector From Decadence: Compared to Bowser's relatives and Rufus.
• Dirty Old Man
• Fiery Redhead
• Get Out!: After one too many of Rufus's mean-spirited remarks, this time directed at his own grandson Bowser, Jr. for being a "pillow-biter."

Bowser: (to Rufus) "Get the FUCK out of my HOUSE!"

• • Took a Level in Badass: While you'd think Bowser already was Badass (and you wouldn't be completely wrong, even just seeing his appearance in his profile picture here), in this particular Alternate Universe Fic he's usually adequately diplomatic when things get serious. Verbally telling off people was something he tries never to do in front of his kids. After he does this to Rufus, he immediately apologizes to them for this kind of behavior, and promises never to act like that in front of them again.
• Happily Married: To Peach, before she died.
• Hot Dad
• Large Ham
• Narcissist
• Nice Guy: Rowdy, but nice.
• Non-Mammalian Hair
• Noodle Incident: Bowser refuses to talk to his children about the details of his poor relationship with his father.
• Open-Minded Parent: Much to Junior's relief. Not that Bowser was ever one to talk in the first place.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: When things get serious, he is always this within the walls of Koopa Manor, even taking his breathtaking childishness into consideration.
• Red Eyes
• Refuge in Vulgarity: If Bowser's joke of the moment isn't about sex, it's Toilet Humour.
• Rule 34: Invoked in-universe. Bowser has a disturbing tendency to Rule 34 the details of his own life, much to his childrens' horror, in ways that would put even Peter Griffin to shame.

Bowser: "Boy, if that's all you got, you STILL got some ways to go! See, with yo' Mama, it was more like she was Sour Grapes, and I was the Purple Pie Man of Porcupine Peak, going every night like 'Ya-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta...ta-ta-ta-TA! POW!" Wendy: "Thanks a lot, Dad! Now you've sullied any remaining good memories I may have had of Strawberry Shortcake!" Iggy: "He's as bad as Rule 34, on the internet!" Bowser: "Kids, kids...we all know that your little 'Rule 34' has NOTHING on me! I wreck the curve on perversion!"

• Uncle Pennybags
• When You Coming Home, Dad?: Bowser is very often traveling on Koopa Suites business, and isn't at home with his kids as much as he'd prefer.

Peach

Claudia Koopa is the long-deceased wife of Bowser Koopa, and mother of Ludwig, Lemmy, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, Morton, Larry and Bowser, Jr. Originally nicknamed "Peaches" by Bowser, she became primarily known as "Peach". She died when Junior was still little, leaving Bowser a single father of the Koopalings.

This Peach has many characteristics in common with Princess Peach, but she is a koopa rather than human -- the Roommates universe has no real humans, not even Mario or Luigi, and no Mushroom Kingdom either.

• Hair of Gold: A trait that Bowser noted none of the children inherited.
• Happily Married: To Bowser.
• Missing Mom: Died soon after Junior was born.
• Mythology Gag/Name's the Same: Clawdia Koopa (with a W) was mentioned as the name of Bowser's wife and the mother of the Koopalings in a single issue of Nintendo Power UK, and never mentioned anywhere else -- it is considered of questionable Nintendo Canonicity. Peach is the name of a different character, Princess Peach Toadstool, who is the woman Bowser infatuates over in the Super Mario Bros. series. Roommates merges the two into one character, whose first mention is as Claudia Koopa, but thereafter is almost always referred to as Peach.
• Non-Mammalian Hair
• Posthumous Character

Ludwig

Ludwig von Koopa is the eldest child and son of Bowser Koopa. He helps his father run Koopa Suites. He loves Bowser as his father, and Peach as his mother, but is extremely distant from all of his younger siblings. When Ludwig does acknowledge them, it is usually with great coldness sprinkled with monotone disdain and abusive remarks. The rest of the time, Ludwig buries himself in work, never making room in his schedule for the family unless Bowser wants him to. And being the Koopaling furthest apart in age from Junior, the two brothers' relationship is practically nonexistent. Not that that makes Junior all that different from the way Ludwig treats the rest of his siblings...

• Aloof Big Brother: Ludwig is always distant from all the rest of his siblings.
• Ambiguously Evil: When he does speak to his siblings, it's often with a disrespectful remark made in an unfailingly calm deadpan tone. However, when Junior comes out of the closet, Ludwig and his siblings have this exchange, carried by Ludwig in the same usual deadpan:

Wendy: "Ludwig! You've been awfully quiet, don't you have anything to say?" Ludwig: "I have nothing to say, at all. I couldn't care less about the boy's particular tastes in carnal relations. All I know is that I've wasted enough of my time today, all of which could have been spent being more productive and getting work done." Roy: "Oh, HELL naw. Dis really ain't da muthafuckin time for dat kinda shit, 'big bro'! I done had it up to here wit' ya n how ya act ya ain't a part of dis here family!" Ludwig: "Truth be told? I never asked for little brothers or a little sister. And there have certainly been times when I thought I may have been better off, if I did not have any to concern myself with." Morton: "Well, shit! How 'bout tellin' us how ya REALLY feel 'bout us, huh?!" Wendy: "Ludwig! Come back here! I can't seriously bring myself to believe that you truly mean what you just said!" Ludwig: "Sister, if I might speak frankly? Or 'keeping it real', as you young people put it? As much as you may continue to delude yourself as such, you are NOT our Mother, nor can you hope to take her place. So, don't even think you can try to order me around as if you were her!" Roy: "SHIT, LUDWIG! I always knew ya was cold, but I never thought ya be so fuckin' CALLOUS!"

• • What a jackass.
• Black Sheep
• Creepy Monotone
• The Dutiful Son
• Gratuitous German/Its Pronounced Tropay: It's established in-story that Ludwig does not like being nicknamed, such as "Lou", "Lude" or anything similar. Word of God is that Ludwig also prefers "Ludwig von" to be pronounced /luːdvɪç fɔn/, the full German way. Considering that Ludwig von Koopa is not a German person at all, it can be seen that this is yet another of his quirky personality issues.
• Jerkass
• Named After Somebody Famous: Ludwig Van Beethoven's music was playing in the honeymoon suite where Ludwig von Koopa was conceived.
• Non-Idle Rich
• Non-Mammalian Hair
• Smug Snake: Easily the second least sympathetic member of Junior's family. Only Rufus is harder to love.
• Wicked Cultured
• Workaholic
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair
• You're Not My Mother, Wendy.

Lemmy

Lemmington Koopa is the second eldest child and son of Bowser Koopa. But despite being older than most of his siblings, Lemmy is also the most diminutive of the Koopalings, such that people often confuse him for being younger than he actually is. Lemmy is "The Clown Prince", and the thing he enjoys most in life is being funny and trying to make people laugh. But what makes Lemmy truly special is that he alone seems to fully understand that he's a character in Roommates as a story, such that his Genre Savvy is without parallel and he Breaks the Fourth Wall as easily as he lives and breathes.

When Lemmy was young, he really wanted to become a clown and join the circus. But Bowser strongly discouraged this, and tried to find an alternative way for Lemmy to make a living. After many false starts, it became apparent that Lemmy was actually a good artist. Starting on DivergentArt, he published his artwork, and later started a Web Comic of his own called Spelunkers into Dreams", which he still maintains, and has become popular with a large fanbase. Having finally settled into his successful art career, Lemmy avoided the Idle Rich lifestyle that befell some of his younger adult siblings.

• The Jester: Very much so, in his own family. He's even earned the epithet "the Clown Prince".
• Lampshade Hanging/Genre Savvy/Breaking the Fourth Wall/Conversational Troping: Oh, Lemmy Lemmy Lemmy...where to even begin. He speaks in these constantly.
  • In chapter 5:

Grandpa Rufus: "And well, damn! Been longer than I thought! You all have gotten so big! Or at least, most of you!" Lemmy: "Ha ha. *eyeroll* You best get all your 'vertically-challenged' jokes out while you can, author-man! It's bad enough I'm just a Bit Character in a side-story most people won't bother reading! I mean, what are the chances of me getting Fan Art amongst the Roommates fanbase!?"

• • In chapter 6:

Larry: "We didn't miss anything, right?" Lemmy: "Oh, just a few flashbacks last chapter, and then some shameless cameo appearances in this one. Yeah, not much!" Roy: "Hm, I see I count only one blue-haired 'fro in the mix. Can't say I'm surprised." Lemmy: "Well, you know how it is, Roy. But I'll elaborate a bit for the sake of the readers at home! We all know that Ludwig has always set himself apart from the rest of us. And it seemed like the more of us that came along as the years went by, the further he went. And then Mom going 'bye-bye', didn't help." Wendy: "We all had to deal with Mom's passing in our own way. But in the last few years, especially, he's acted as if he wants nothing to do with this family. Like he wants to be a miserable lil Scrooge all by himself." Lemmy: "Well, I could tell you more, but that would require a flashback or otherwise long-winded exposition of some sort. And being a mere side-character, I don't think you or I have the power or right to initiate such a thin."

• • In chapter 7, immediately after Roy's own Lampshade Hanging (see his section):

Lemmy: (to himself) "No. That's FAR too easy. Even I have some measure of self-restraint, thank you very much, writer-man!"

• • Also in chapter 7, Lemmy is trying very hard not to laugh when:

Hanbei: "I have long since forgotten, but is there any particular reason why you guys hate two video game characters that regularly fight against a giant ox named Yukke that much?" Roy: "I dunno. We jus' do!" Iggy: "And besides, that live-action movie from the '90s SUCKED!"

• • In chapter 11, when Junior comes home from the prom all beaten up:

Junior: "Hey...we're back." Wendy: "MY BEAUTIFUL TUX!! BJ, what in the hell--!" Iggy: "--Happened to you!? Dad's phone has been--" Morton: "--Off da hook for da last hour, cuz of Babs' Dad! Sounds like sum--" Larry: "--Serious shit went down! You sure got--" Lemmy: "--Some explain' to do, Lucy~ But seriously, I'm just glad to be in another chapter again! We side characters have to take what we can get!" Bowser: "Put a sock in it, Lemmy."

• • And then again later:

Wendy: "Good. Now, like any other crisis that has come up in this family, I believe that we can get through this one, too, if we stick together as a family. But what about the rest of you?" Lemmy: "Well, hell, who am I to stand in opposition to the protagonist of this story, right?"

• • And:

Iggy: "Oh yeah, I'm probably the only one in this house that's watched all 7 seasons of Ranma ½." Lemmy: "How's THAT for your relatively obscure reference this chapter, readers?!" Wendy: "Lemmy, I swear to God! One more outburst like that, and I get out the taser again!"

• • Give him his Fan Art folks. He's earning it.
• Multicolored Hair: And it's natural.
• Non-Idle Rich
• Non-Mammalian Hair
• Sequential Artist: In-universe, Lemmy posts art on DivergentArt, and maintains a Web Comic called Spelunkers into Dreams. This is a Shout-Out to artist Spelunker Sal and writer Dreamous, the creators of the Roommates Web Comic.
• Shorter Means Smarter: And Genre Savvy as hell. He's made the Fourth Wall his bitch since his first appearance int he story.
• The Snark Knight

Roy

Roy Kelton Koopa is the third child and son of Bowser Koopa, and one of Junior's six older brothers. For most of their shared life as siblings, Junior has been his favorite brother, and Roy is regularly involved in his life as the two have aged into adulthood.

When Roy was a preteen, he was often assumed to be gay because of his bald pink scalp, his trademark red shades and his Violet Eyes, and he was often bullied for this. But Roy started fighting back, and he eventually became a bully in his school. He also took his bullying at home, where his younger brother Iggy got most of his abuse.

But Roy befriended Hanbei Kagami, a Japanese-Brazilian wartortle, and they became inseparable best friends. Under Hanbei's influence, Roy stopped being a bully, and instead started being the kid that protected more vulnerable kids from being bullied. Hanbei also tutored Roy academically to bring his grades up, and because of this Roy managed to graduate well from high school.

Roy blossomed into a social butterfly, and as a well-built koopa Hunk he became very popular with the ladies, countless of which Roy went to bed with. It was actually this kind of popularity and Urban Legend Love Life that influenced Roy's younger brother Morton to try to become just like him.

As a young adult, Roy attended college, played college football, and became engaged to a young woman named Sid. But Hanbei then moved to Japan, leaving Roy without his best friend. And though Hanbei's departure didn't actually cause Roy's problems, it was then that Roy's life started to completely fall apart. Roy's engagement with Sid abruptly crumbled after he accidentally called her by another woman's name after sex. This loss alone deeply wounded Roy. But it got even worse when he was considered for the NFL draft, but was passed over for another player whose statistics were slightly better. This pushed Roy over the edge, and into a downward life spiral that would take him years to recover from.

Roy still managed to limp forward in life, never quite losing the funloving nature he was well-known for. He continued helping out Junior when he needed it, never being anything but a fantastic big brother to him. But otherwise, Roy did very little in his life, spending most of his time in his room working out or spending time with some of his friends.

Most of Roy's story was told in These Are My Reflections, but he has made the leap to the Web Comic, visiting Junior in his dorm in chapter 3.

• Adult Child
• Author Appeal: Roy really is one of the most popular Koopalings to Fan Yay. Roy in the Roommates Canon is straight though.
• Bald of Awesome
• Berserk Button: If someone else eats his Hot Pockets, as Larry did.
• Big Brother Bully: Roy picked on Iggy a lot when they were kids.
• Big Brother Mentor: To Junior.
• Big Eater: Particularly for red meat and sweets. But Hanbei is the one with diabetes.
• Boisterous Bruiser
• Broken Bird: A male example of a usually female trope.
• The Bully/Mythology Gag: As a child. Under Hanbei's influence, Roy grew out of this as a teenager. Also, "Bully" was Roy's name in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3 animated series.
• Can Not Tell a Lie: Hanbei remarks how Roy is not known for his guile or deception.
• The Casanova: Roy used to be this, before the rise and fall of his engagement with Sid. Now he's a Broken Bird.
• Contrived Clumsiness: Roy "accidentally" spills orange soda on Hanbei's Nehru jacket and whisks him away to the bathroom to clean up, to prevent Hanbei from beating the living shit out of a highly contemptible Grandpa Rufus.
• Cute Little Fangs
• Embarrassing Nickname: Roy hates it when Hanbei calls him "Kumquat".
• Ha Ha Ha No: Roy's reaction when Morton makes him really, really angry.
• Hunk
• I Call Him "Mister Happy"/Bigger Is Better in Bed: In high school, Roy used to brag about his "foot-long hotdog". This is Roy's erect length -- his flaccid length is unspecified.
• Idle Rich: Besides helping out Junior, Roy spends most of his time sitting around the house, spending time with his friends, or working out. Wendy tells him as much.
• Lampshade Hanging:

Roy: (to Hanbei) "Lookie here, ya blue muthafuckah! Ya must think we ALL Nintendo CHARACTERS UP IN HERE! Dat why you tryin' to play around like dis?!"

• Large Ham
• Life of the Party: Roy doesn't even need a social gathering to do this. He's that boisterous.
• Manly Tears: After his fiancee Sid breaks up with him. Roy has a lot more baggage than he lets on.
• Millionaire Playboy: Knows how to have a good time, but does not make it look nearly as trashy and disreputable as Morton does. In particular, Roy isn't remotely the manwhore Morton is, since Roy has actually been known to have steady monogamous relationships with women he actually cares about.
• Mistaken for Gay: Word of God, in Roy's younger childhood. His colorings (pink scalp, purple eyes, red shades) got him teased a lot for this when he was an adolescent, and it provoked him into becoming The Bully he was in his younger years.
• Morality Chain: To Hanbei, to keep his friend from using deadly force. But one day, far from Roy, Hanbei did kill someone.
• Rated "M" for Manly
• Real Men Cook: Roy discovered his mother Peach's old cookbooks after she passed away. He has honed himself into an extremely capable cook, and has his own complete kitchen in room.
• Red Oni: To Hanbei's Blue Oni.
• Sir Swearsalot: Roy swears a shitload of fuckin' expletives, as casually as if he were talking about the weather.
• Sunglasses at Night/Iconic Item: Roy's gaudy red shades are part of his trademark look, carried over from Super Mario Bros.. They tend to only come off his face when he's having a very serious moment, and needs to look someone in the eye.
• Tsundere
• Violet Eyes: When his shades come off.
• Wrong Name Outburst: When Roy was still engaged to Sid, he accidentally called her by a different woman's name after they had sex. Big mistake.

Iggy

Ignatius Newell Koopa is the fourth eldest child and son of Bowser Koopa.

Iggy is a Nerd and Occidental Otaku with an interest in Anime, Manga, and Japanese language and culture, but often takes these interests to comically unhealthily obsessive extremes. This single-topic obsession irritates Roy, but is politely engaged by Hanbei.

Despite Iggy's unkempt homebody lifestyle, he is not Idle Rich, and performs an important task operating and maintaining the servers for Koopa Suites.

Though socially awkward and as prone to gibe as any of his siblings, Iggy is still an affable koopa who cares about his family.

• Blatant Lies: Iggy's reaction at the dinner table when being accused of wanting to talk to Hanbei just so that he can get help understanding some obscure Japanese dialogue from an anime. Iggy then immediately proceeds to ask Hanbei about a reference in an episode of Naruto.
• Bunny Ears Lawyer
• Geek Physiques: He takes good care of his physical fitness.
• Koopa and Nerdy
• Gratuitous Japanese/Narm: Iggy tries this, especially when talking to Hanbei. Iggy's trying to be respectful and sound more Japanese, but he only ends up sounding unflatteringly obsessive.
• Multicolored Hair: And it's natural.
• Nerd: Not even a Hollywood Nerd. Iggy is a fantastically geeky, awkward, unkempt, full-blown Nerd, whose friends are all just as nerdy as he is.
• Non-Mammalian Hair
• Occidental Otaku: Iggy has an unhealthy personal obsession with Japanese culture that goes well beyond mere immersion and study. Roy nicknames him "wee-Iggy-a-boo".
• Word of Straight: Iggy is quite straight, and has a girlfriend. Gay things don't interest him, but they don't bother or offend him at all either. As such, he seems extremely comfortable discussing with any and all gay topics, and will even affectionately tease Junior about them. Iggy's no stranger to it -- he's already seen countless Rule 34 both gay and straight on 4chan.

Wendy

Wendy Orlean Koopa is the fifth child and only daughter of Bowser Koopa, and as such is Junior's only sister. An accomplished fashion expert and interior designer in her own right, Wendy also takes charge of the upkeep of Koopa Manor. And in the absence of their deceased mother Peach, Wendy has tried her best to fill in as motherly influence to her brothers. Along with Roy, Wendy is the Koopaling that Junior sees most on an everyday basis.

As the only daughter in a family of boys, Wendy grew up being quite the Tomboy, and could roughhouse and dish out and take abuse as well as any of her brothers. But on her 16th birthday she was given a taser, and everything changed. She matured into a more feminine woman of grace, and enforced this by tasing her siblings if they misbehaved or otherwise treated her with disrespect. Wendy is highly Narcissistic, more than any of her siblings, and second in the family only to Bowser.

• Cool Big Sis: Commands Junior's respect and admiration, even if she's also pretty scary.
• Embarrassing Nickname/Mythology Gag: Bowser likes to call her "Kootie Pie", which Wendy finds embarrassing. Kootie Pie was Wendy's name in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3 animated series.
• The Fashionista/Non-Idle Rich: Has a successful career in both interior decoration and fashion.
• Gossipy Hens
• Iconic Item: Wendy still wears a pink ribbon, but unlike her Nintendo Canon incarnation it is much smaller in size and attached to her hair on the side of her forehead.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: She is like this from her very first appearance in These Are My Reflections. She will not take bullshit. Fortunately, she seldom has to risk damage to her fashionable outfits -- she always uses her precious taser.
• Large Ham
• Mythology Gag: Wendy's characterization is largely lifted from Super Mario Adventures.
• Narcissist: Said to be second only to Bowser in her capacity for narcissism.

Wendy: (to Roy) "Oh, please believe! The only thing that I value more than making ME look good, is taking a domicile, and giving it the touch that only I, Wendy 'O-my-Gawd-Almighty' Koopa can provide! You should be thankful you're my older brother, and that I even offered my services to you, much less, for free! I've actually made a good racket for myself utilizing my skills out in the world, don'cha know!"

• Neat Freak: Will raise hell if someone's getting the furniture dirty, especially when it's some of the finest furniture in existence that she selected for decorating the manor.
• Non-Mammalian Hair: In contrast to her Nintendo Canon Bald Woman appearance.
• Ojou: Subverted. She's a wealthy young woman who people treat like the lady she is...because she'll tase your scaly ass if you don't.
• Only Sane Woman: Of sorts, seeing as she acts more mature than any of her brothers or her father. Though Wendy's sanity comes more into question whenever she casually brandishes (much less uses) her taser in the house. Justified in that since Peach died, she's the only woman in a house full of rowdy men, and has had to be the voice of reason while adequately fending off the childish antics of her brothers, and make them behave when they are told.
• Promotion to Parent: Their mother is gone. In her absence, Wendy has done her best to fill in that role for her siblings.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: She may not always say it in the kindest or gentlest way, but she usually has a point. Promotion to Parent forged this out of her.
• Removable Shell: Wendy, ever The Fashionista, was the first in the Koopa family to stop wearing her shell. Her father and all her brothers (except for Ludwig) eventually followed suit.
• Sassy Koopa Woman/Spicy Koopina: Somewhere between the two.
• Static Stun Gun: Wendy not only keeps this with her for her own protection from creepy guys. She also openly parades it in front of her siblings, and will even tase them at any time and place for their obstinate poor behavior. Bowser is not pleased when he learns Wendy has been threatening her siblings with her taser, but quickly has little more to say on the matter when Wendy threatens to tase him if he misbehaves.
• Tomboy: She used to be one in her youth, like a seventh brother. She matured into a more feminine young woman.
• Tsundere: Wendy will usually be perfectly nice and congenial until you sass her. Then she'll sass you right back.

Morton

Morton Sean Koopa, Junior is the sixth eldest child and fifth son of Bowser Koopa, and is named after Bowser's grandfather Morton.

In an effort to emulate his elder brother Roy, Morton matured (if you can call it that) into a total man whore. What Roy once made look fashionable, Morton does with questionable taste. He is attractive though, which has made it possible for him to attract and bed his countless "pigeons."

• Adult Child
• Big Beautiful Man: Inconsistently portrayed. In-story, Morton is described as pudgier and than Roy. In promotional artwork though, he appears maybe Hollywood Pudgy, if that. The "beautiful" part seems to check out though -- he's a Handsome Lech.
• Follow the Leader: In-universe example. Morton developed his public reputation by doing everything he could to copy Roy's. But Morton is far more of a whore (both as an attention whore and in sexual conquest) who also doesn't exercise his physique as much as Roy. (Which isn't saying much -- Morton is still in decent shape.) In these regards, Roy doesn't have the highest opinion of Morton.
• Handsome Lech: Morton is certainly attractive, and would be The Casanova if not for him being such an undignified man whore. Roy can pull it off and command more respect -- Morton, not so much.
• I Am X, Son of Y: Morton Koopa, Jr. was named after Bowser's own grandfather Morton Koopa, though Morton, Jr. ended up being a disappointment compared to his honorable great grandfather.
• Idle Rich: But he doesn't make it look as savory as Roy does.
• Millionaire Playboy
• Rated "M" for Manly
• The Unfavorite: Though that's not saying much. Bowser loves all his children and treasures them living under one roof with him, but he considers Morton a disappointment compared to the man he was named after. Not that this really seems to affect Morton that much.

Larry

Lawrence Harvey Koopa is the seventh eldest child and sixth son of Bowser Koopa. Though closest to Junior in age, Junior and Larry don't have a close fraternal relationship. In particular, Larry is a huge homophobe, and Junior has been secretly gay.

This hasn't stopped them from spending lots of time together in Roy's room, where they both have an obsession with Guilty Gear. Larry's character of choice used to be Bridget, whom he used to lust over. Needless to say, learning that Bridget is a boy was a hugely Unsettling Gender Reveal, and Larry immediately sought out a different character to admire. His later favorite became Venom; hilariously, Larry does not know Venom is gay.

Later, when Junior finally came out of the closet, Larry was the one most unsettled by Junior's revelations. It became apparent that Larry's homophobic baggage has a vaguely Gayngsty quality to it, as he is far less secure with gay issues than anyone else in his immediate family, or most ordinary people for that matter.

• Ambiguously Gay: Usually Played for Laughs. For a blatant homophobe, Larry trips Gaydar like a fire alarm.
  • Word of Ambiguously Gay: TreIII hints that the true nature of Larry's sexuality will be revealed in the future, but for now refuses to reveal it.
• Berserk Button: As fun as it has been for his siblings to tease their blatantly homophobic brother even before Junior came out of the closet, this exchange cast Larry's issues in a new light:

Iggy: "Oh, and just because I'm a bit curious...who was on top, when you guys did it?" Junior: "Wow! From me keeping it a big secret to now fielding questions like this...!" Iggy: "Yeah, yeah, now answer the question!" Junior: "Well, if you must know...ME! And I'll swear, that Persian must have some tiger blood in him or something, cuz he was able to do things with me in the sack that I ain't NEVER seen in any porno I've watched. Gay or straight!" Larry: "OK! That does it! I've tried to be tolerant and all, but this is about as much as I can take!" Wendy: "Shh! Larry! The boys are trying to sleep!" Junior: "Sorry, Larry. But again: 'I'm the baby, gotta love me!'" Larry: "No, not this time! It's one thing to 'like what you like', but it's another thing altogether to keep rubbing it in everyone else's face! There's just some shit that should just stay in the bedroom, where it belongs! I could have happily gone the rest of my natural life without knowing how well my brother can deep-throat things and if you were 'on top' and shit!" Junior: "Look, bro...I'm sorry if I went a bit over the top." Larry: "Whatever, I'm out. Had about enough for tonight." Roy: "Let 'em go for now, kid. 'Sides, sumthin tells me what's eatin at him ain't all bout ya, anyhow."

• Big Brother Bully: Larry picked on Junior a lot when they were kids.
• Dropped a Bridget On Him/A Date with Rosie Palms: Larry, upon discovering that Bridget in Guilty Gear is actually a boy, makes a shocked outburst to the laughter of everyone else.

Larry: "OH GOD! OH GOD! I ACTUALLY FAPPED TO THAT!"

• • It Got Funnier. Larry later decided his favorite Guilty Gear character was Venom, because "he was a manly guy that he could get behind".
• Heteronormative Crusader
• Non-Mammalian Hair
• Serious Business: Larry and Guilty Gear.
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Rufus

Rufus Koopa is the estranged father of Bowser Koopa, and former head of Koopa Suites. Not a great deal is known about Bowser's childhood with Rufus, in part because Bowser will not talk about it. But when Rufus does appear, Bowser demonstrates his complete detachment from a semblance of a father-son relationship by always addressing Rufus by his first name "Rufus" instead of "dad" or "father". Rufus is not a warm personality -- he is constantly insulting and abrasive, not to mention breathtakingly racist at every conceivable opportunity.

In These Are My Reflections, Rufus makes an uninvited visit to Koopa Manor in honor of his youngest grandson's senior prom. Family Disunion on steroids.

• Abusive Parent
• Angry Koopa Man
• Complete Monster: Deliberately invoked. Rufus is written to be at least as bad as Uncle Ruckus from The Boondocks, except never has anything resembling a sympathetic moment. You're supposed to hate this guy -- everything he says is utter toxic sewage. This makes it all the sweeter when Bowser kicks him out for good.
• Dirty Old Man
• First-Name Basis: Bowser never calls him "dad" or anything similar. Bowser always addresses his father as "Rufus". This continually demonstrates how utterly broken any semblance of a father-son bond is between them.
• Grumpy Old Man
• Heteronormative Crusader
• Jerkass
• Kavorka Man: Is introduced on the arm of a conspicuously attractive renamon escort, Deena.
• Racist Grandpa: He hates Asians. Won't even bother to pretend disguising it. Throws out slurs every which way -- some of the ugliest words in the English dictionary.
  • Ironic Name: Koopa is a Korean name.
• Refuge in Audacity
• Smug Snake

Kagami family

Hanbei

Diogo Hanbei Kagami, (Japanese: 鏡　半兵衛 Kagami Hanbei) a wartortle, is Roy's dearest friend who is Like Family to the Koopa clan. He is third generation Japanese-Brazilian of mixed Japanese and Afro-Brazilian ancestry, but has been living in Japan where he is fully acculturated. But not fully accepted.

• Badass Bookworm
• Beware the Nice Ones: Hanbei is usually unfailingly kind and polite, and he truly feels that way. But push him far enough, for long enough, and his change in demeanor, with absolutely no less finesse and measured refinement, can send shivers down your spine. When Hanbei starts with, "Now, listen to me very carefully, you worthless pile of excrement," you know that they have done something very, very bad, and may god have mercy on your soul.
• Big Brother Mentor: To Junior in a Like Family way. Was a mentor to Jojo, too.
• Bishonen
• Blue Oni: To Roy's Red Oni.
• Brown Eyes
• Byronic Hero: The normally heroic Hanbei has quite a dark side that he tries to keep under control, as those closest to him can attest. Even though he killed that Hong Kong gangster to save Billy and Jimmy, it was still a homicide, and it was still swept under the carpet by his adoptive father's Yakuza faction. Hanbei is ultimately a good soul though -- he felt great sorrow for breaking his promise to Roy never to use lethal force.
• Challenge Gamer
• Cultured Badass
• Culture Equals Costume/Transfer Student Uniforms/School Uniforms Are the New Black: For years, Hanbei has preferred to wear Japanese-style formal school uniforms, even when he was living in the United States. He embraced how it made him stand out as Japanese, and it eventually became his everyday style of dress even after finishing high school. At the beginning of These Are My Reflections, 25-year-old Hanbei arrives at Koopa Manor wearing a Nehru jacket in this fashion, despite not being in high school anymore.
• Cute Little Fangs
• Embarrassing First Name: Diogo. Hanbei is his middle name. Hanbei is ethnic Japanese and lives in Japan, but is actually a Japanese-Brazilian. He embraced his Japanese roots, and does not go by his Portuguese first name. Even Roy didn't know about this until sometime during These Are My Reflections.
• Encyclopaedic Knowledge
• Fundoshi
• Genius Bruiser
• Gratuitous Japanese: Sprinkles it around his speech, particularly in the form of Japanese Honorifics.
• Handicapped Badass: Hanbei has Type I Diabetes (no biological insulin production), and needs to constantly monitor his blood sugar every day to keep it in balance. It's a tightrope he walks stoically.
• He Who Fights Monsters: The great fear of both Hanbei and Roy alike, is that Hanbei may become this if he ever succumbs to certain homicidal temptations. Hanbei is a trained killing machine with a chilling dark streak hidden deep within his otherwise kindhearted soul. It seldom ever shows itself.
• I Gave My Word: Hanbei promised Roy when they were teenagers, that he would never use lethal force against someone. But he killed the Hong Kong gangster who had been exploiting Billy and Jimmy. Hanbei is ashamed of having broken his promise, and has been under such stress that it has worsened his diabetes. Roy was quick to forgive, because Hanbei had actually done a good thing.
• In-Series Nickname: In addition to Hanbei, he's also been called Bei-Bei, Bei-by, and a variety of other names. Junior usually calls him Nii-chan. Jojo calls him Hanny. No one calls him Diogo...at first. When Roy finally learns of it, he starts calling him Diogo or Go-Go now and then, but still Bei-Bei or Bei-by in mixed company, until Diogo is ready for all to know his true name.
• Insufferable Genius: But is never arrogant about it. He's just unassailable, period.
• Lightning Bruiser
• Like Family: He's Roy's other brother, his "second shell", and Bowser's "eighth son", and another older brother to Junior. The exact opposite of Ludwig's relationship to the family.
• Meaningful Name: 鏡 Kagami is Japanese for "mirror", alluding to Hanbei's natural way of making those closest to him (like Roy) give their own lives a long hard look.
• Morality Pet: He seems to be this to just about everyone in the Koopa family, especially Roy. Hanbei is unfailingly calm, diplomatic, wise, respected by all, and pretty much always right, almost to the point of being a Mary Sue. The creators are aware of his near-Sue-dom.
• Multiethnic Name
• No True Scotsman: Hanbei is, for all intents and purposes, Japanese, in ancestry, ethnicity, language and culture. But too many people in Japan see him as just another gaijin for the slightest of differences, such as how his Afro-Brazilian ancestry gives him conspicuously shinier scales than typical Japanese wartortles.
• Not So Stoic: Hanbei confesses to Roy that the way his Kagami relatives in Japan outright rejected him for being Brazilian was something that cut him deeply. They even gave him racist nicknames like "Samba".
• Psychotic Smirk: A highly unsettling sign that Hanbei is really...really pissed off.
• Renaissance Man
• Turtle Power
• Twofer Token Minority: Hanbei is both Japanese and Afro-Brazilian. And in Japan -- even to his own relatives, no less -- he is seen as just another gaijin, no matter how flawlessly his Japanese language, culture and mannerisms have developed. Truth in Television as Brazil has the world's largest Japanese diaspora community, but Japanese-Brazilians can find it hard to be accepted by Japanese people in Japan for even the smallest differences in culture or gaijin ancestry.
• Yakuza: Hanbei's adoptive father in Japan is affiliated with the Yakuza. Most of his family support network there is Yakuza. Hanbei explains that, as Yakuza have a history of embracing people who are rejected from mainstream Japanese society, it is only within his Yakuza-affiliated family that he can be fully accepted as a Japanese person even with his Brazilian birth and mixed ancestry.

Billy and Jimmy

Billy Li and Jimmy Li are the Double Draco twins, a pair of dracomon teenagers. Originally from Hong Kong, Hanbei's adoptive father adopted them too, but Hanbei is their primary caretaker, whom they look up to as a big brother.

• Bishonen
• A Date with Rosie Palms: Junior barged into Roy's bathroom to use the toilet, and caught the two 14-year-olds masturbating, which they quickly ceased doing.
• Expy: Take a wild guess.

Webcomic characters

Olly

A lucario on the track team, along with his roommate Mondo. He hates gay people. It doesn't help that he is one.

• Armored Closet Gay
• Boomerang Bigot: Olly being a homophobic gay guy generally lends itself to this. Then comes this gem in the Addendum, where Olly has just fucked Mondo, and pulled out immediately when he was done:

Mondo: "Ah... w--why did you pull out?" Olly: "Huff... Shut up... Don't be a fag..." Mondo: "Don't be a fag...?" Mondo: *laughing out loud* Mondo: "What do you think you just did?"

• Carpet of Virility: Olly is as much a Mr. Fanservice as most of the rest of the male cast. And since chest spikes don't lend themselves well to genres with Hunky men and lots of close physical contact, Olly's character is instead designed with a patch of white chest hair where a lucario's chest spike would normally be.
• Eyes of Gold
• Gayngst: A seriously bad case of it. This lends him more sympathy from the audience, but he still has a long way to go.
• Heteronormative Crusader: Is incensed at the idea of one of the track teammates, Gian, being possibly gay. Only to be genuinely shocked that Junior was actually always telling the truth about being gay.
• Hypocrite
• Invisible to Gaydar

Mondo

A leomon on the track team, and roommate to Olly. Mondo is as gay as the rest of them.

• Armored Closet Gay: At first, but the armor melts away more quickly than it does for Olly.
• The Atoner
• Braids of Barbarism: As a Rule of Sexy. But by chapter 3 his beard braids are gone, replaced by a simpler chinstrap beard. He's also started wearing a tooth necklace similar to Leomon's.
• Carpet of Virility: And that treasure trail that goes all the way up his abs.
• Character Development: Mondo is trying to become more of his own person, rather than just Olly's submissive friend. It's revealed he's been having more frank discussions with Olly, and been doing more to influence Olly's attitudes.
• Defeat Means Friendship: After having his ass handed to him by Junior for beating on Gian (and after having plenty of sexy moments with Olly back in their room), Mondo seeks out Gian and apologizes to him. Gian is reluctant to forgive and befriend Mondo immediately, but inwardly is very happy with this.
• Gayngst
• Green Eyes
• Heteronormative Crusader: Following Olly's lead. But Mondo is much quicker than Olly to reassess his attitudes.
• Morality Pet: To Olly, once Mondo finally grows a backbone and the two discuss complicated issues more frankly.
• Rape is Friendship/"It's Not Rape If You Enjoyed It": Technically, Olly rapes Mondo. But Mondo's okay with it, and even says he and Olly can do it again if he likes.
• Sex Face Turn: After Mondo has sex with Olly for the first time, he is coming to accept who he is. Punctuated by more sex and heated arguments with Olly, Mondo's personal soul-searching leads him to seek out and apologize to Gian. Mondo's redemption is complete.
• Invisible to Gaydar

Sean

Sean Wiley is a charmeleon friend of Gian's from art class.

• Brown Eyes
• Contest Winner Cameo: Sort of. Sean was one of five character designs voted by readers to appear as the new character introduced in chapter 3 of the webcomic. He won out over other design prototypes including a spyro, a falco, an arcanine and a guilmon.
• Megane
• One of Us

Gian's First characters

Nathan

A brown yoshi from |Australia, and Gian's first boyfriend when they were both 14 years old.

• Bishonen
• Land Down Under: Grew up in Australia with his birth father Richard. After he died, he moved to the United States to live with his birth mother June.
• Locked Away in a Monastery: When Thomas tells June about Nathan and Gian's relationship, she immediately sends Nathan to a Catholic school across the country with no internet or telephone privileges, so that Nathan and Gian won't be able to see each other again any time soon.
• Mismatched Eyes: Nathan's left eye is blue, and his right eye is green.

June and Richard

Nathan's parents. June is a American green yoshi, and Richard was an |Australian brown yoshi. June was raised Christianity fundamentalist, and while she carried very strict moral beliefs, she is also extremely Hypocritical. June conceived Nathan with Richard during a drunken spring break in Australia. When she realized she was pregnant, she tracked down and emailed Richard. She was about to get an abortion, but Richard stopped her, and Nathan was sent to live with Richard soon after being born. Richard and Nathan lived a happy life, until Richard died when Nathan was 11 years old. Nathan was sent back to June in America, where the first thing she did was destroy Nathan's photographs of his father out of hatred for Richard who she felt ruined her life and caused her to become unacceptable to potential husbands. Nathan has little to no respect for June, but must use discretion because she can still make his life very difficult.

June's tropes:

• Belief Makes You Stupid
• The Fundamentalist: Though that never stopped her from making bad choices and blaming them on others.
• Heteronormative Crusader
• Hypocrite: For someone who is so sanctimonious, June:
  • Has drunken debauched sex across the world and gets pregnant.
  • Decides to get an abortion, but is talked out of it.
  • Does not want Nathan to love both his parents.
• Kick the Dog: Nathan just lost his fantastic father, sent to a mother he doesn't even know, and the first thing she did was destroy Nathan's photographs of Richard, a man she has come to hate.
• Never My Fault
• Racist Mom
• You Are What You Hate

Richard's tropes:

• Good Parents
• Hot Dad
• Land Down Under
• Posthumous Character

Geraldo

A raichu, and childhood friend of Gian and Santino. Geraldo has been given a generous amount of official promotional art for a relatively minor character who figures into only a few paragraphs of Gian's First.

• Ambiguously Gay: A skinny guy usually isn't called a "twink" unless this comes to mind. His artwork alone screams Gaydar.
• Bishonen
• Green Eyes
• One of Us
• The Twink: Was chubbier as a preteen, but thinned out as a teenager.

Samantha

Santino's girlfriend when he was 14. The Rosato parents gave him permission to have a sexual relationship with her, and Giancarlo often comes home to hear the sounds of sex coming from Santino's room.

• Immodest Orgasm: Half the time, Gian can hear Samantha screaming. The other half of the time, it's "moan and squeak". The latter description may be a Ship Tease if it actually means Santino was having sex with his rodent friend Geraldo instead at the time.

Thomas

A school bully in Giancarlo and Santino's school when they were 14. Violently homophobic, he was instrumental in ending Gian and Nathan's relationship.

• The Bully
• Cats Are Mean
• Heteronormative Crusader
• Parental Neglect: Thomas violently attacked a highly vulnerable gay student, and was sent to the principal's office. And his parents didn't even care.

These Are My Reflections characters

Jojo

Jonathan S. "Jojo" Johnston III is a persian from the United Kingdom. Introduced by Hanbei, he fills in as 15-year-old Junior's tutor when Hanbei leaves for Japan. They have sex within hours of meeting, Futureshadowing the same way Junior's relationship began with Gian years later.

• Bishonen
• British Accents: It's a huge turn-on to Junior.
• Cat Stereotype: The frisky, hedonistic kind.
• Cheshire Cat Grin
• The Dandy
• Foreign Exchange Student: From the United Kingdom.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: He prefers to be called Jojo. It's a nickname his Big Brother Mentor Hanbei gave him.
• Red Eyes
• Shallow Love Interest: They had sex the first day they met. Just-deflowered Junior immediately wanted to start a regular intimate relationship so they could get to know each other better. They eventually did become good friends and lovers, but it ended very bitterly.
• The Twink
• You Called Me "X" - It Must Be Serious: Jojo always affectionately called Junior "Bowsie". But when Jojo became really infuriated on discovery of Junior's covert fake girlfriend Babs, he broke up with Junior on the spot. When Junior tried to speak with him, Jojo would only call him "Bowser," indicating a complete absence of affection that highlighted Jojo's fury.
  • A year later, after Babs beats Junior to a pulp, it is Jojo who discovers him. Concerned, Jojo is calling him "Bowsie" again as he frantically phones for help. We already know that they're not together when Junior is in college, but it gives the reader a glimmer of hope that they at least find a way to reconcile and be on good terms.

Babs

Barbara T. "Babs" Wallace is a sheep girl that Junior dated in his junior and senior years of high school. While she truly believed she was his girlfriend, her main purpose was to help Junior stay in the closet.

• The Beard:

Junior: "Before I begin, I just want to say this: I never set out to hurt you, or anyone else. I let things get out of hand, in a way that I never should have allowed. I never intended for you to feel as deeply as you do about me." Babs: "BJ, just what are you saying?" Junior: "I always loved you, but only as a friend. Being honest, I never was attracted to you in the same way you are about me." Babs: "If I can just ask one question then? Who is it?" Junior: "Well, if you must know, it's not another girl--" Babs: "Wait, what? What the hell does that mean? What do you mean it's not another GIRL!?" Babs: "You're...gay?! Are you FUCKING SERIOUS?!" Junior: "Yes, I am." Babs: "So, you're trying to tell me, that all this time, Barbara Wallace was a nice, wooly beard for you? A lil trophy girlfriend to help put up a nice front for whatever shit on the 'DL' you may have been up to?! Oh, and to top it all off, you never truly loved me from the JUMP?!" Junior: "I didn't say that--" Babs: "ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION, JUNIOR!" Junior: "Fine! Would you prefer the short answer 'yes', with an 'if? Or the long answer 'no', with a 'but'?" Babs: "YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!"

• Beware the Nice Ones
• Graceful Ladies Like Purple
• Groin Attack
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: She's a skilled kickboxer in her own right, even while wearing that purple prom dress.
• Woman Scorned: As soon as she realized that Junior was lying to her for a year and a half and was gay and made her his Beard, she wasted no time beating the shit out of him.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: She may not destroy an entire world, but in her rage she destroys a lot in her wake. Beating Junior to a pulp is just the start. Junior is finally out of the closet, everyone will know what he did to Babs and what Babs did to him, and even Koopa Suites is suffering a jolt of corporate fallout because Babs's father's business pulls out of a very important agreement because of what happened with their kids on prom night. But even if Babs's fury seems extreme, the reader remembers that what Junior did her was still a terrible thing -- carrying on a fake relationship for a year and a half that Babs will never get back, just to reveal that it was a lie to keep Junior in the closet. We know why Junior did it, but it was still a dick thing to do to Babs. Between Junior, Jojo and Babs, the biggest victim is Babs, who did not even have the luxury of having a clue what was going on before the crap hit the fan. Wendy recognizes Babs as a victim of deceit as soon as Junior outs himself to his family, and slaps him in the face.

Kamek

Thomas Kamek, a magikoopa (albeit one who doesn't use magic), is Bowser's elderly assistant who takes most of Bowser's phone calls for Koopa Suites. Kamek also knows Rufus well, since he worked under Rufus before Bowser inherited Koopa Suites from him.

• Almighty Janitor
• Beleaguered Assistant
• Workaholic

Kamella

Kamella, a magikoopa (again, one who doesn't use magic), is the never-seen head maid of Koopa Manor.

• The Ghost: Is periodically mentioned but has never appeared in-story.

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