Bubba Character Inspiration

For anyone who is interested in Bubba this post will do a thorough deep dive into his character!

I saw a graphic online where you could place one of your OCs(original characters) in the center and then come up with different characters from pop culture who have inspired the OC's creation. Admittedly this was rather difficult to pin down in part because my memory for these sorts of things is terrible, but also because Bubba is a heavily tailored and specific character for my interests and tastes. His creation was in large part due to not seeing quite what I wanted to see after all. But nonetheless I think these characters get a decent enough sense of who Bubba is.

Starting from Top and going left to right:

Joey (Super Heavy Weight Class) - 

Joey was my first crush in many ways. I didn't have a celebrity crush because the majority of celebrities were basic twinks. But when I stumbled upon Warren Davis stories I immediately fell in love with Joey and his story. Many elements of Joey can be seen in Bubba in both character and in story. Joey is described as someone who is very proud and confident in his imposing size, he's a bit brutish but means well and his oafishness has a way of getting him what he wants. And most importantly Joey is an absolute glutton and a hedonist when left to his own devices. The core of Joey's story is about a proud jock who feels that the world should bend around him and his size and swagger. His gluttony is shown throughout the story to be something that he is just inclined to do naturally, but his participation in sports keep him fit. The science fiction element in the story in the form of the food pills results in his appetite being insatiable such that he is too busy stuffing his face to be working out to get back into shape for Wrestling season. This happens to the point where he is too fat to even play wrestling. In the climax of the story Joey is forced to admit and reconcile with himself that he's a hopeless glutton and enjoys all the weight he gained even though he's no longer the big muscled stud he once was. I always took away from this scene that even if Joey isn't a musclebound stud he still takes pride and has confidence in his size. After all he was imposing as a bulky jock but he's also imposing as a veritable mountain of fat. But what really struck me was that Joey was always going to get fat. That jock was meant to blow up because we can imagine a scenario in which he never took the food pills continued to play wrestling in college. But eventually he would graduate, and he would no longer have wrestling to force him to stay active, so the food pills acted as a force in his life that brought about something that would've inevitably happened and put him in a situation where he had to accept this was who he is. 

Bubba is similar in many regards to this story. Bubba's canonical journey of getting so fat was an injury playing college ball. He was always a glutton and could eat anyone under the table. Playing college sports meant he was at practice and in the gym when he wasn't eating but without that in his life the pounds piled on and he ate himself out of his scholarship. But it remains the case that without the injury eventually Bubba would've gotten fat. And Bubba didn't take this as a negative thing either I want to be perfectly clear. Bubba enjoyed and identified being "the big man". Always imposing and rather brutish. Bubba isn't as decidedly entitled as Joey was in the story but he does like getting his way and using his size to get it.  So in many ways Joey was a blue print for Bubba and his stories as key elements were taken and became an essential part of Bubba's story and who he is.

Sig (Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood) -

Sig Curtis is a definition of a gentle giant character. He was always the largest in the room and loomed over people in a menacing way. But outside the rough and imposing exterior is a doting and protective husband. Sig was never especially fat but he did have a gut. His body type isn't something you commonly see in anime, so he was another of my early crushes when I was watching this series. Everything about his personality made his nice physical features even better. It's important to note that while Sig is a very doting and protective husband, his wife in this series is one of the strongest characters and is consistently shown terrifying other people. Sig's care for his wife is never shown in a way to be patronizing or demeaning her abilities, or fear of his wife either. Instead it's a clear confidence and security in himself and being the archetypical gentle giant who is protective and nurturing in a supportive way that is so delectable in a Daddy character. These elements were given to Bubba who also is a gentle giant.

Brian (Dream Daddy) - 

Brian is from a game called Dream Daddy which became incredibly popular as a mainstream gay dating game where Dads were the focus which as a fairly novel concept. Brian is the only big guy rep among the Dads available to romance, but he is nonetheless an amazing character. His trope is similar to Sig's in that he is a gentle giant and a doting father, however Brian is also regarded as the "rival dad" in the game. Much of the romance involved with Brian revolves around trying to constantly on up each other and boasting about accomplishments as fathers. It's revealed that the back and forth was just some awkward romantic tension and it's resolved in the end. I loved Brian's overall vibe and all of his bluster. There's certain ways in which confidence and even smugness can be attractive its wrapped in layers of pure earnest Daddy energy. It was never just mean spirited always depicted with a steady hand of assuredness in his abilities. Bubba draws from that masculine bluster in his own character. Never overtly cocky or offputting but always confident and self assured over things of not great consequence that just come across as endearing and wholesome. 

Fat Joey (Friends) -

's The scene where Joey is fat in Friends was an incredibly formative moment for me and absolutely helped me to define my sexuality. I've never actually watched the show (it just looks like some stale old sitcom I'm sorry) but I did come across this scene online and hoo boy did *Fat* Joey really do a number on me. Everything he says and does in that scene can be shown in Bubba himself. The way he is called into kitchen emerging from his den only once his large feast is prepared, the way he lumbers and waddles heavily into the room from a tight doorway. His first question is asking what food was prepared for him, it implies he has gotten accustomed to this that he doesn't concern himself with the details of dinner just shows up and gluts himself. He makes his way over to his partner and tells them to give him some sugar almost as a way of affirming his approval and excitement to begin stuffing his face. He plops heavily down, groaning all the way, his belly pressed up against the table and looms over the table covered completely in food. You know damn well he's gonna gonna work his way though every food cooked for him as his husbandly right. He takes a fork and picks up some food and does his signature "how you doin" and its just *chef kiss* perfect. The ease and normalcy with which fat joey operates in this scene. Like he's the fat husband, his partner cooks massive meals to keep him satiated and he can waddle in secure knowing that he will be kept well fed are insanely quintessential elements of Bubba's character. Bubba's style and the way he operates in a relationship is more or less perfectly encapsulated in fat joey. 

Dan Conner (Roseanne) - 

This one will be fairly short and I was unsure on his inclusion but ultimately I do think it's warranted. Similarly to Friends I've never seen the show Roseanne. I've seen bits of reruns and commercials and I know enough about the character because he is just extremely popular in popular media. Dan Conner is probably the quintessential and archetypical Bearish Dad. Seeing him I always thought he was rather hot and I really enjoyed his overall energy and vibes. Certainly what helped solidify my enjoyment of bearish daddy types. 

Santa Claus - 

This Santa Claus represents the idea of Santa and character, not necessarily any specific representation in the media. Like the aforementioned characters Santa has this definitive daddy energy. He's regarded as warm/inviting but also stern and expects goodness. His diet of choice is milk and cookies, what's not to love here? The energy associated with Santa is among my favorite and so he channels much of the same energy that Santa possesses. 

Sheriff Hopper (Stranger Things) -

Who doesn't love Daddy Hopper? Hopper represents the more grumpy side of Bubba and daddies in general that I like. Bubba is generally someone who is warm and gentle despite his imposing size and appearance. Hopper is a fairly grumpy character by disposition. Usually exhausted and not in the mood for pushback or nonsense. Bubba does have this side of himself as well. He can certainly be grumpy when's hungry and similarly to Joey, Bubba does expect to get his way and can show a gruff and assertive side. He can get loud and authoritative but he's still the teddy bear and does it from a place of either love or concern etc.