Here we are! A new year and a new set of public domain denizens to play with. In celebration, here's Jade as an old-timey cartoon character.

And now, the Animaniacsesque origins of Stombuat Wally!

Back in the summer of 1928, a young immigrant from the small country of Jastajoque named Myra Sune moved the to new world from her little patch of Eurasia with a dream of making it big in Hollywood by means of the new form of entertainment sweeping the world: Animation! She managed to get a crew together and create a short starring a character based off a creature of good fortune from Jastajoqueian Lore called a Weisoserius she called "Stombuat Wally". Stombuat being the Jastajoqueian word for "Adolescent Ragamuffin" and she chose the name Wally because...Well, in her mind, he [i]looked[/i] like a Wally.

However, there were three factors working against her, Wally and the crew who worked on this masterpiece that never was:

1) Since the Weisoserius looked like a cross between a bat and a dragon, it implied an inter-species relationship which was taboo among anthropomorphic animal characters (Or, "Funny Animals", as they were called back then for those of you too young to be in the know) at the time. This wasn't helped by the fact that his girlfriend was a cat.

2) Wally's name was eerily similar to the name of a certain short that was set to come out the same day they were trying to submit his would-be debut adventure to the distribution companies and the man behind said short threatened to sue to avoid the confusion.

3) Woman's rights in the United States were still in their infancy and therefore, Myra's name wouldn't hold much weight as the spearhead of the short which was fought for by Myra and her crew, half of which WERE women. Not even an approval letter from Raymond Spüm himself was enough to save Wally from his fate.

At the end of what is now known among small areas in today's independent animation circuit as the unsuccessful "Justice For Wally Movement", Myra's grandmother, an old Jastajoqueian fortuneteller told Myra to hold on to Wally and everything to do with him, for, in 95 years, he will have existence known by all sometime after her rival's passing. Through the course of 18 years prior to this, one of her descendants would create two characters inspired by him. One based in a form of entertainment they enjoy and would become their predominant basis of their work, the other a version of the first character who is inspired by a story from two other creators of two famous character of their time following a near-decade of evolving as a creator in their own right...And guess who that particular descendant was!

Unfortunately, the short was lost in a fire at the warehouse it was stored in. But, the cells and a copy of the original audio survived along with this picture of Wally himself...So, the short will take some time (If at all in MY lifetime) before it makes its debut. But, I can at least fulfill my predestined obligations and start using him whenever I want, so, jackpot for me, EAT IT, MOUSE! The saddest thing is, he would have made a fierce rival to the Warner Siblings...But, THEY were having trouble of their own.

There you have it, my first little story of 2024! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to waiting in anticipation to see if I make the final round of an OCT I'm in.