Over the past nine months, I've had a pleasure working with some great artists on the Fighter Tootie project. It's just starting, yes, but it seems like a lot of people are taking a liking to the idea, not to mention I've fallen head-over-heels for what this can become with due time. It's been five years in the making, and I'm ecstatic about the small buzz it's created.
This all started from the idea of me becoming frustrated with the idea of Tootie being such a weak, dependent character of whom can only be pitied. From my constant daydreaming, I made up a path for Tootie that would lead her to become a teenage femme fatale that can not only stand up for herself, but protect the people she loves... like Timmy Turner.
Originally, the idea was to have her take classes in Chinese martial arts at a school not far away from her residence. With Timmy with Trixie, Tootie was left to dedicate her life to just martial arts and studies, similarly to how she is in the new arc. The problem was the storyline seemed too detached from the FOP canon for me, despite it being an AU fic. There was also the problem with Tootie losing too much of the side of her most people liked about her in the first place. In the first arc, she had an usually serious and dark personality, and none of the playful, whimsical qualities of some of her best episodes from the show.
With her Timmy interest still intact, it was much easier to write with her, giving her a deep background without taking away what makes her the Tootie we all know and love. She'll have a friendly rival with a certain other character, keep her love/(mostly) hate relationship with Vicky, and eventually have her share of adversaries of whom to lock horns. Her character and skills will evolve, hopefully making her into a multidimensional heroine that to whom readers can relate.
As I stated before, her discipline was originally Chinese martial arts, due to my admiration of Chun Li and other young fighting game females that practiced some branch of them. I imagined Tootie in that camp, with quick moves and not a lotta strength. It was paired with ballet because I thought the two styles would mesh together well due to each art having their unique form of gracefulness, though they share the same basic foundations. She would be a speed character, with lightning-fast combos and a repertoire of other moves that would make her opponent's head spin.
As I continued drawing out the story, the idea of Fighter Tootie just being a speedster sounded more and more dull. After digging up some more information on Chinese grappling arts, I came across a style called San Shou--a Chinese form of mixed martial arts. With its wide mix of attacking strategies, I became more certain that this would be best suited for Tootie, as I figured as geeky as she was, she'd try to cover all bases of combat.
With her slight evolution in fighting style, I imagined her as more buff than the average fighter girl, similar to Blue Mary or Maki. Unfortunately, I inevitably couldn't see the idea outside of a fighting game universe, and switched to Karate mixed with Ballet. By that time, her fighting attire had also evolved. In December of last year, I asked =
Attlantic to draw a fighting stance that borrowed elements from Cammy and Sakura. By the end of the month, we had something quite concrete, and on New Year's Day, I debuted the first "official" Fighter Tootie design.
It was basically her old schoolgirl outfit with several modifications that =
Attlantic and I thought would look good on her. The initial response was warm, in my opinion, and made an effort to seek other artists for their take on the concept. As this "phase" of mine was progressing, I began planting seeds for the actual story. I had a background story for Fighter Tootie back in January, but it was nowhere near as complete as it is now. There still are some spots that need addressed (i.e., the identities of Tootie's sensei) but I plan to address them later this year.
With great sincerity, I wish to give many thanks to the artists who brought the Fighter Tootie concept to fruition. Even moreso am I fortunate to the handful of artists who really got a kick out of drawing her for whatever reason. You've all convinced me that I have a gem of an idea that's worth building on, and believe me, I will come up with some slick new concoctions with which you guys can play.
Of course, those whom commented on my commissions also deserve my gratitude--not just for building up my ego, but giving me feedback as to how cool Fighter Tootie is to them. ~
Jose-Ramiro, ~
BattleJesus, and ~
NeoSilverThorn made up the bulk of the peanut gallery, so it's my pleasure to call them out by name. I look forward to your further input as the project begins to really take off.
I'm taking a small break from the project to take care of some real life issues, but I assure you--the moment I get that squared away, the Fighter Tootie project will be back stronger than ever. I have profiles of other major characters just waiting to be written out, and the actual storyline--once it's written--will blow you away. There is some artwork that will be submitted in the next few weeks, so look out for that.
Once again, thank you all for your support, and as I close this journal, I am going to feature all the artist that have taken their time (and my money) to create quite possibly, a legend in the making. Make sure you visit their personal galleries as well.
~
Jaysa-Laser
That's it! See you guys later!
A Tribute to... ME? 
Daily Needs
Zest
Amazed
Joy
