Thread by @loopimay

I think the reason people believe the Dandy's World cast is bland, one-note, or poorly written is because this fandom has a habit of taking things entirely at face value and doesn't bother asking WHY a character says or does something. (Rant/Analysis 🧵)

To clarify, I'm not saying Qwel's writing is perfect. There's plenty to criticize and plenty for her to improve upon. What I am saying is that the harshness towards the character writing in Dandy's World often comes from an unwillingness to engage with it properly.

The toons aren't the pinnacles of depth by any means, but that doesn't mean they have one unique trait and act the same otherwise. Each character has varied personality traits and reasons for their actions, which we can discern from their dialogue, gossip, and art in Gardenview.

I've seen people throw around the idea that Cosmo and Sprout exist solely for each other because they have matching accessories and twisted designs. But while the two are close, they have plenty more to them than their relationship with each other.

Cosmo is kindhearted and generous to a fault, made apparent by his in-game ability being self-sacrificial. His dialogue shows him to be soft spoken and empathetic, picking up when others are down and providing comfort when necessary. He does not extend his compassion to himself.

We can infer that Cosmo's self-critical nature may be caused by his generosity, as he hopes to provide for his fellow toons.

Cosmo is also quite clumsy and clueless. This is evidenced by his inability to understand jokes or tricks and his... less-than-stellar oven skills.

Despite this, he is not a pushover and has no quarrels about putting his foot down when necessary.

We see these personality traits reflected in his stat spread. His low skill check demonstrates his clumsiness, while his high stealth and stamina line up with his cautious nature.

Sprout is defined by his overprotectiveness, which he commonly displays when talking to toons, sometimes to an excessive degree. Though earnest with his intentions, it's apparent that Sprout's protectiveness comes from a sense of obligation rather than pure selflessness.

Gourdy's gossip about Sprout hints that he sees inconsiderateness as a moral failing. Despite this, he tends to be careless, only realizing the severity of his actions after he's already committed them. These repeated slip-ups may be why Sprout is so pushy: he's overcompensating.

But this overcompensation doesn't turn Sprout into a doormat. On the contrary, he can be quite stern with others and has little patience for lies or tricks. Though protective of everyone, he's very no-nonsense and prefers when people are straightforward with him.

However, Sprout also knows when to have patience with others. Compared to how he talks to Glisten, Sprout is a lot more sympathetic to toons like Looey, whose concerns stem from a lack of self-confidence rather than an inflated ego.

Obviously, Sprout and Cosmo's bond is crucial to their characters, but one can exist without the other. Their friendship acts to enhance these pre-established traits, not substitute them.

But how can someone better analyze these characters? It's real simple:

For this example, I'm going to use two members of the circus troupe. We'll take a look at their dialogue with each other to discern their relationship and how that develops their personalities.

Let's take a gander at Looey and Yatta.

In their first interaction, Looey compliments Yatta with a self-deprecatory comment, Yatta insists he's doing a great job, and gets impatient when Looey implies otherwise.

But WHY does Looey put himself down to uplift Yatta? His final line implies they've had many talks about-

-taking compliments in the past, yet Looey still insists on telling Yatta she's doing better than him rather than praising her normally.

We know Looey has low confidence, but this shows just how low it really is. Looey does not see it as abnormal to criticize themself to make-

-others look better, doubling down when Yatta tries to snap him out of it. He's shocked when Yatta yells at him because he didn't even realize he was doing anything wrong. It also shows he isn't above comparing himself to his friends, idolizing them while loathing himself.

And Yatta's reaction to Looey's comment shows how little tolerance there is for disrespect towards her friends, even if they do it to themselves. Notice how Yatta doesn't take her compliment? All that matters to her is that Looey knows how talented they really are.

But we know this cycle will continue, because in the end, Looey never did take that compliment.

Their second interaction reinforces what we're shown in the first. WHY does Yatta go to such lengths to describe to Looey how important their friendship is to her? Because she knows-

-Looey suffers from low confidence, and she wants to prove how much he matters. She's insistent she'll always be loyal to him and Blot, even if Looey doesn't seem as sure. This also shows a contrast between the two: Looey thinks the highest form of flattery comes from comparison-

-while Yatta thinks the highest form of flattery comes from pointing out one's uniqueness. These are traits they'd develop from their time as performers, as success in entertainment comes from being able to stand out while also being better than the competition.

From two measly elevator conversations, we got a lot of characterization for both toons and their relationship! What initially comes across as basic banter contributes a lot more than expected. All we needed to do was ask WHY we were being shown what we were being shown.

These elevator dialogues exist (and even sometimes DON'T exist) for a purpose, but you won't find depth without digging for it yourself.

Always remember: unlike math, there is no such thing as "one right answer" to character interpretation.

If you can prove why you believe a character acts the way they do, then you're just right as someone else with a different interpretation that has proof to back up their claim. The possibilities of different answers are what make character analysis fun!

It's also important to remember that Dandy's World is still in alpha. When it comes to lore, we're realistically not going to get any more than hints until the game releases. We don't know what will and won't be explained, so don't be so quick to judge until the game is finished!