Charlie | The Pizza Rat

Introduction

This YuuriVoice original character debuted on August 9th, 2021, as a side character in the series BitterSweet. His own series Lost & Found premiered on November 23rd, 2022 and solidified him as a member of the roster. He was initially was designed with the intention of being a recurring character within BitterSweet, but the audience's positive reception and curiosity towards him led to an expansion of his character and role. After seeing what a fresh start helped Alphonse and Seth accomplish, he turns over a new leaf and takes his best shot at living life on the straight and narrow.

Background & Traits

Charlie is a skateboarding underachiever who finds himself turning to a life of petty crime when he's left directionless and heartbroken after high school. Before long, he finds himself in the midst of Derek's gang, often on the receiving end of varying degrees of bullying. When Auron discovers him beaten and left in a heap one fateful night, an unlikely friendship is forged, and Charlie becomes the big boss' rat. Through that connection, Charlie finds himself on an adventure that eventually leads him back to his first love.

At first glance, Charlie is an untrustworthy, selfish loser who prioritizes his own comfort and security over people he allegedly cares about. Beneath the questionable choices and layers of grime and disappointment, Charlie is in fact fiercely loyal and will do everything in his power to support the people who support him. He's deceptively smart, and even serves as Auron's beta reader on occasion. He invokes nostalgic feelings of late night sleepovers with friends, exploring parts of the city you probably shouldn't be in, and the sheepishness of a first love.

With his life of crime behind him, Charlie finds work at Sweet Pete's Pizzeria, a diner he and his childhood friend Casper used to frequent. At times he's on the corner waving a sign around barking embarrassing slogans, and on other nights he's working as a delivery boy. Charlie represents second chances, the melancholy of missing your shot, and the confidence that comes with finding your self worth and overcoming challenges.

Weird Disney Princess Shit

In Lost & Found Chapter 2, Charlie rescues and befriends a young raccoon that he eventually names Deep Dish, or DD for short. There is an inexplicable connection between the two of them, and DD's behavior in general. To an extent, DD appears intelligent and well behaved in ways that wild raccoons most certainly are not. Is it plot convenience? Is it magic? Is Charlie secretly an animated princess who belongs out in the woods charming woodland creatures? We may never know, but until then, the only certainty is that the two of them are very cute.