Meet the Daily Bubble, my Rayman fan characters: Alina, Nekoda, Isabeau, and Rogue!
The Daily Bubble are the best (and only) newspaper in the Glade of Dreams. These goobers search for the sweetest and spiciest scoops for their latest issues. As the only paper around, they take honesty and integrity very seriously. (But not too seriously! This is still the Glade of Dreams, after all.) They make sure their paper is the highest quality it can be, with engaging articles, stellar photography, and the best delivery service bubbles can buy. Their studio is an unstable shack on the back of a Mawpaw with a pipe chimney that pumps out bubbles holding each issue inside, delivered to everyone who subscribes anywhere across the world. But while they love to write stories and snap photos, the four intrepid reporters have a huge lust for adventure, always looking for the next excuse to travel to uncharted realms and encounter bizarre creatures. These four very different characters from four very different backgrounds are united as an order of disorder for one purpose: to inspire people with epic tales, like how they were all inspired by the Guardian of Dreams himself.
Alina Mansay is a Thingamajig who works as a journalist and photographer. She takes photos, writes articles, does interviews, and is usually the one who decides what stories and reports the papers tell. She grew up in the Valley hearing grand tales of Rayman, which inspired her to write about the heroes and legends of the world. She was next-in-line to work at her father’s magic school, but she wanted a life of adventure more than a life of study. To begin her journalism dreams, Alina escaped from the island on the back of a wobbling house carried on the back of a Mawpaw named Michelle. Slowly establishing the paper as a solo operation before finding her faithful friends. Alina is sweet-natured and perky, with a love for a good can of plum soda and a quick video game session. But she has a habit of getting overly-excited and caught up in her own interests. For a reporter, she lacks self-awareness and is so enamored with her passions that she misses obvious clues or red flags. But she is incredibly loyal. She’s willing to help anyone, even with tasks she’s unlikely to accomplish, and she doesn’t judge others. Tenacious and genuine, Alina embraces her authentic self. If there’s anything to ever get her to stop her pursuit of a good story, it’s the chance to help another person. To her, friends are family and strangers are friends not yet made.
Her father is Andrew Mansay (as seen in the 1996 educational game English with Rayman), making her the first cousin/niece of Ales Mansay, the formerly-good magician from the original Rayman turned traitorous Teensie in Rayman Origins. (From a genealogy standpoint, your cousin’s daughter is your first cousin once removed, but you commonly call them your niece. Alina would call him “Uncle Ales”.)
Her design is based on the scrapped female companion of the SNES prototype of the original Rayman, where Rayman originally had a partner with a blonde ponytail and a blue shirt with an exclamation mark.
She is VERY British. She has a very thick accent (complete with heavy usage of slang), can’t cook to save her life, and she’s not allowed near any African country.
Nekoda is a Knaaren who works as the main artist for the newspaper. He designs the layouts and chooses the art direction of each issue. He grew up in the Desert of the Knaaren, being considered an outcast for his lack of strength (compared to the others, anyway, he can still break your bones). He had an obsession with art, constantly painting the walls and drawing tributes to his god, the Leptys. He felt like he was going to be an outcast for the rest of his life if he didn't abandon his passions and superficially toughen up, that was until the day he saw a "limbless little runt" take down their champion in the arena. Upon realizing he couldn’t be happy in his homeland that valued strength and survival above all and seeing how a perceived weakling could do something so incredible, he left the desert… unaware how under-prepared he was for the world outside the burning sands. But a traveling Alina found him and decided to give him a job while teaching him about the Glade, as Nekoda helped her survive the desert she herself was struggling to survive in. Nekoda is soft-spoken and affable, but he’s got a fierce temper when things go wrong. He tries his best to be polite and not speak his mind too much, but he’s definitely not one to sit down and take bullying. He’s the voice of reason of the four, usually the most down-to-earth of them all and is constantly keeping his friends from flying off of cliffs. He paints and draws so much that his claws are permanently stained with paint. He gets inspired (and distracted) by so much around him, and is attracted to anything colorful or unusual. Nekoda himself is decently intelligent and generous, but he can be just as stubborn as Alina. Due to his somewhat frightening appearance and social isolation, he's developed a shyness as well- even though he's not ashamed to be a Knaaren at all. He knows what he likes, knows who he is, and he likes who he is. And he hopes his three good friends feel the same about him and themselves!
He has a dad out there, an old priest of the Leptys named Zarzak, who was the only one who encouraged his art. Nekoda speaks highly if awkwardly about his father and still sends letters to him, telling him about the world beyond the desert. Nekoda isn't sure if he can read, though…
He’s heterosexual: a rarity for his species considering they don’t have women!
He’s very devoted to the Leptys and sees him as more of a creator than a warrior as others see him. He refuses to eat birds. He takes slander against his faith very seriously. He metaphorically sees his god in the birds that fly across the Glade of Dreams, and dresses up as a bird to honor them.
Isabeau is a Ludiv who works as the editor of The Daily Bubble, making sure every story they publish is factually accurate and spelled correctly, and occasionally writes studies of the Glade’s creatures. She’s also an archiver who keeps a copy of every story reported for future investigations if needed. She was the youngest member of the Fairy Council. Being raised under her grandmother’s literal wing, Isabeau has always been highly intelligent, but pathetic in terms of magic (other than healing spells). She was babied by the other fairies in the council and often looked down upon for her cuteness. Isabeau was sheltered for most of her life with only her books for company, her favorite tales being that of the Guardian of Dreams himself. She wanted to go out and explore the world like he did, but was never allowed to be independent due to her perceived weakness. Sick of being called a genius but never allowed to do anything within the council, she applied for Mansay Magic Academy to escape her dull life and hopefully find adventure and responsibility in the Valley. But while on her way to boarding school, she got sidetracked and ended up meeting the Daily Bubble. She decided to instead hitch a ride with Alina and her crew when she realized her calling was reporting rather than council work (she claims living with them is part of an “educational, on-field apprenticeship program”). Isabeau has a passionate love for learning, being eager to read every book, ask every question, and write down every piece of information she can. She’s incredibly lady-like, with a good emphasis on manners and an aversion to fighting, but also a bit persnickety. She’s the moral busybody of the group, always insisting that the characters do the right thing and go on the right path. Her insisting that one shouldn’t judge others is a bit hypocritical considering she’s constantly acting as an annoying angel on everyone's shoulder. This can make her quite obnoxious when she’s preaching to others, but she is a genuinely caring and selfless person who will do whatever it takes to protect her friends and help others. She has a lot of self-respect and integrity, taking her morality very seriously and won’t be pushed around easily. She refuses to publish lies regardless of the benefits and refuses to let herself or her loved ones be humiliated. She’s always there to support those in need or is fighting for a cause that she believes in. Isabeau is on the Autism spectrum. She has extremely sensitive sight, smell, and sound. She has a very specific way of doing things that can cause her to panic if not properly done, and she often struggles to escape her comfort zones, but her desire to explore and her love for her friends make her keep on going. Isabeau believes the paper is more than just current events: she sees the paper as a way to preserve history, inform the ignorant, and even bring hope to a wild world.
She is the granddaughter of Ludivine, the head of the council. Ludivine claims to be the first Ludiv created by the Muse of the Poets, knowing everything about fairyhood.
If you tug on her long hair string, the light coming out of her flower hat turns on and acts as a portable lamp. Her bottomless backpack also comes in handy in many situations!
Like how Alina is VERY British, Isabeau is VERY French. She writes in and casually tosses French words around, even if no one understands her. She is also an excellent chef (even though she doesn’t like cooking very much.)
Rogue is a Lividstone who works as The Daily Bubble’s bodyguard, but he also manages finances and works the bubble-pumping machine that sends newspapers out. He’s also a good writer and field reporter, helping Alina out with the articles, but his jobs are rather miscellaneous. He was born as just another Lividstone in the Cave of Bad Dreams, created by an unwilling Jano out of the nightmares of the Glade’s people. Rogue was dumb, even by Lividstone standards, and his naivety was exploited by the nightmares of the caves. But doing things like fetching bones at the bottom of monster-infested lakes and feeding carnivorous plants gave Rogue the idea that he was seen as some kind of hero who people came to for help. He ran with this persona, even as the people he helped snickered behind his back. It was Jano that had to squash these delusions when Rogue became too reckless and egotistical. He told Rogue very clearly that nightmares weren’t heroes (not to mention Jano was reasonably bitter at those who called themselves “heroes”). This deflated Rogue’s passions, and the standard poaching and bullying of Lums that the other Lividstones did never appealed to him. But those passions were rekindled when he heard that Jano himself was defeated by a hero, and that’s why all the nightmares were forced into the Cave of Bad Dreams. This inspired him to escape the cave in a grueling adventure (even managing to stab Jano in the eye). He didn’t make many friends outside the caves, as it was obvious. But he did find Alina and her friends. Seeing this as a chance to prove himself, he joined their mission to live out his heroic dreams. Rogue is brave to the point of being foolhardy (with the emphasis on “fool”). He craves daring escapes and thrilling battles, never being afraid to seek lost treasures or rescue people. But he’s not the greatest warrior himself and ends up being flung around like a ragdoll, if not horribly mangled, in most fights. He can use a sword, but he’s absolutely graceless and impatient in combat. He’s not particularly bright, and his egotistical idea that he’s some handsome swashbuckler doesn’t help that. He’ll take anything at face value, though this does give him the benefit of not being close-minded. Rogue, despite his self-importance, is an absolute sweetheart. He’s endlessly optimistic, loyal to his friends, selfless to others, and always ready to put anything on hold to save or care for someone else. He’s got the makings of a genuinely great hero, he just needs to control his impulses a bit better.
He’s extremely horny and flirts with every single woman he sees. Despite his “charming” escapades, he actually respects women. He backs off when they refuse him and he’s perfectly capable of being around or helping women without begging for a date.
He absolutely reeks; he smells so horribly bad. His feet are the nastiest of all, and the rest of the Daily Bubble flees in terror whenever he takes his boots off. He refuses to wash because the smells remind him of all the adventures he’s gone on, and he can distinguish each smell and the specifics to where each came from. For example, the rancid stain on his left shoulder came from slicing a dragon’s leg.
I picture his headcanon voice as Robbie Rotten for whatever reason.
