... and that's one of the reasons I love him. So maybe after reading this you will like him too! Or tolerate. That's good too.
Ales is known as The Magician in the Rayman series. A series of platforming games, both 2D and 3D. Ales isn't actually in half of the games. His main appearances are Rayman 1, Rayman Origins and (technically) Rayman Legends. He's also in a few old spin-offs, like "English with Rayman."
In Rayman 1, released in 1995 (before his redesign), he's the narrator of the intro sequence. He explains what this game's villain is up to, what's at stake and then introduces Rayman. It's a simple scene and there's not much to say.
You can even meet him during gameplay! He... gives you harshly timed minigames. Not even for free either. Thanks. You shouldn't have. Besides that he doesn't do much. Betilla, the fairy, is the one truly helping Rayman on his journey. She gives him new powers and teaches him how to use them.
So... he's a weird magician, that knows stuff about the world? I would point out that he has no limbs, but no character in this game has limbs actually. Basically all of the limbless designs, except for Mr. Dark, have been retconned anyway. But hey, let's see what he does in the sequel!
ANYWAY, 16 YEARS PASS.
Rayman Origins releases in 2011 as a return to Rayman's... Origins. But not really though. The game was originally meant to talk about Rayman's origin story, and the E3 trailer shows as much, but this was changed at some point. Why does this matter? This game is kind of a mess in the story department, that's why.
Anyway, notice how Betilla has limbs in that trailer? Yeah. Redesigns. A lot of them. Interestingly enough, theres a second trailer that shows a familiar character. Is that the bad guy from the first game? Mr. Dark? Wait, he looks like Ales? The redesigned magician? Yeah, surprise surprise! Mr. Dark was meant to be the redesigned teensie, not The Magician. Does this matter? Not really, no. It's cool to see a beta design of Ales though.
What IS Origins actually about though? Not much. Most of the story is told in cut dialogue, so let's first talk about the ACTUAL game first. Rayman and friends are sleeping and snoring next to a hidden microphone and annoy a zombie grandma, who tells the Darktoons and Psychlops to get their ass and start a war. Rayman and Co. get captured, break free, talk to the Bubble Dreamer (God of this glade), save the now captured Electoons and defeat the plottwist villain of the game, The Magician.
Is this an unfair summary? Maybeeee. The game doesn't give me a lot. Apparently the Bubble Dreamer has had his mind messed with, so freeing the electoons helps his head. That's nice. That's cool. I am so happy this renamed character from Rayman 2 is doing well. I did always like him in that game. Why the fuck is The Magician a bad guy though?
Who knows. The game doesn't exactly give him dialogue after the reveal, but if you check the background of The Magician's hideout he has what's essentially a shrine of Mr. Dark. Wow, Ales is just like me! He has a shrine for a guy who doesn't give a fuck about him! But yeah, this is all we get. He seems to be an admirer of the bad guy from the first game. Well, people call him an admirer, but I say obsessed fangirl.
What else does he do in this game? He's hanging out in his hat! Just like the first game, actually. He gives you tips, explains how some gimmicks work and he's always there at the end of the stage (to celebrate the player getting lums). Wow, he's doing A LOT in comparison to Rayman 1. Sad this is sort of the last game he's in, but it is what it is.
Now, what does the cut/ left over dialogue tell us about the story? Well, The Magician, named Ales Mansay (pig latin for salesman) is actually a horrible magician("I never got a part in the magic show!... Not even as the lousy rabbit!"). Not surprising, just kinda sad. He was bullied by the other students and deeply admired Mr. Dark, even saying he wants to be just like him ("I always wanted to be like Mr. Dark: mysterious, dark!...um, dark and mysterious.."). He also despises the Bubble Dreamer, who's a danger to the glade, since his nightmares can become reality and put everyone in danger. Funnily enough, the Bubble Dreamer also had cut dialogue referencing him ("I remember you… Ales Mansay, right? You stunk at magic. Did the other Teensies tease you? No reason to lose your sense of humor... Hahaha... Gulp. Or is it...?").
So... instead of a weird plottwist that has no explanation, besides a vague infatuation with Mr. Dark... The Magician had an actual point? He looks up to a bad guy, because he's weak himself, he goes against the god of the glade out of genuine concern and his use of robots over magic is also explained by this. He's a faux magician! Hell, the microphone in the opening cutscene, that causes this war, was placed there by HIM. IT'S STILL THERE IN THE FINAL GAME. To me this will always be less of a cut plot and more of a plot that still exists, it's just no longer explained.
Yeah, I'm one of those people. I genuinely believe the cut dialogue is still canon. Canon in my heart. "But wait, didn't you say he's in Rayman Legends? Yet this is the last game he's in?" Oh, buddy. Le'ts talk about Rayman Legends, which has somehow even less of a story.
Rayman Legends released in 2013 and is a direct continuation of Origins. Rayman and Co. slept for A HUNDRED YEARS, and now the nightmares have taken over the glade and kidnapped a bunch of teensies. Okay, so not to already stop it here, but why would you ever do a hundred year timeskip in a series that used to actually have plots and lore? What, Globox just missed all his children growing up? That's depressing. I usually pretend the timeskip was like 3 years, but I'm here to give facts, in between headcanons. Anyway, The Magician is now split into 5 Dark Teensies. What does that mean? How did that happen? Will he ever be a single guy again? Doesn't matter! They all get sent to the moon!
That's about it. I could definitely mention that it's kinda funny how stupid he is (or how stupid his... split selves are), but it' sad that there aren't unique cutscenes for taking the Dark Teensies down. It's just reused animations with new backgrounds. Bla bla bla the game is still fun bla bla bla I miss this dude bla bla bla he isn't even in the mobile games, DESPITE MR. DARK BEING IN ONE.
Okay, do you see the appeal now? He's a vindictive asshole. He's a shitty, bullied magician. He's a genius inventor and madly in love with a guy who showed up like once. He betrayed the people that have treated him with kindness, to overthrow GOD. He laughs when you almost die ("What! Are you, scared? Do it! Do it! Do it! You kill me. I have never laughed so hard. I needed a giggle... I needed a good laugh... Either way, you die or I get more Lums... everybody wins! Don't worry, you'll be fine... probably.") and yet pretends to be your friend. He cries about his past, complains when you defeat him, blows himself up at the end of the game and splits himself in 5 just to cause mischief. He sucks and he's the worst, which is why I love him.
Oh yeah, trivia to make this worth your time
What is there to like about a side character turned villain, who's entire motivation and backstory were cut? Everything. Let's start with the design, I guess. I always thought the teensies were fun to look at. Both the 3D models and 2D sprites of them are cute. As a 5 year old I always wanted to play as the teensies, in Rayman M (racing spin-off). He is one of the more unique teensies as well, if you look at his face. This species is known for spiral symbols on their faces, but he has a symbol that looks more like a scar. What does this imply? It's interesting. Only select teensies have unique ones. I also think it's cute to see that he has hair. A teensie wearing a wig isn't new, since Rayman 3 has one of the best designs ever, but it's still cute. oh, and as you could tell from my gijinka art, I draw his hair as dreads, so that's another reason I like it. I also like his original hair. I imagine it's almost as long as he is, in this teensie redesign lol. His new black coat is also obviously inspired by his idol. I also like that the Origins/Legends Teensies are all wearing robes or long shirts. It looks like a dress to me and I love that for him. The Dark Teensies in Legends also have really devious eyes. I think that's cute and yet another visual distinction between him and most other teensies.
TL:DR he's cute. He looks unique for his species, wears clothing inspired by his idol and he's tiny. It's that simple.
Let's get to his personality, because he's just the most. His voice is eccentric and sassy, even when speaking in pig latin. He seems condescending and greedy, even when he's playing for the good guys. He's a fake person and I think that's simply interesting. It's hard to trust a single word he says. He's also incredibly greedy. If his name meaning Salesman didn't tip you off, then him taking your hard earned lums for himself, should. He yells at you when he has the upper-hand, but when he's in danger, he freaks out. I mean, when you first find out he's the bad guy, he starts dancing with you??? To distract you, I guess, but what an insane thing to do in your own hideout, full of evil robots you've built. He's terrible at planning, despite being intelligent enough to build basically every boss in the game. AGAIN, he blew himself up at the end of the game. He's a smart idiot and I love that.The idea that he was able to keep up the act of being a competent magician for like 10 years, is insane. Is he that cunning? Did he get worse at pretending to be nice over the years? I'd like to imagine that he's always been like this and the rest of the glade just accepted that as an Ales quirk. "Oh, yeah! That guy... If you piss him off he will wish for your children to die. But it's like a joke! He laughs after saying it, so don't worry!"
TL:DR he's a vindictive wannabe bad guy, but also just a bullied nerd. Am I meant to be intimidated? I just think he's funny.
Now it's time to talk about his motivations and goals. While I can't relate to throwing my life and morals away for a guy I met once, I definitely understand why he wants to take down Bubble Dreamer. A god who's dreams and nightmares become reality is incredibly dangerous. In Rayman 2 the guy was at least sealed away, but in the current storyline? He's just in the glade, nightmares roaming free and all. He's accidentally destroying the very same glade he created. Their relationship is also extra complicated, because the teensies were MADE by Bubble Dreamer. He's not just any god or the god of this glade. He's the god that made Ales. A god, who's only acknowledgement of him is "Aren't you the guy that sucks at magic? Weren't you bullied?" If the god that made my species said this about my past and inability to master something as basic as magic, I would question why I was made the way I am. Like am I some sort of joke? But hey, that's my take on his feelings, not his actual feelings. There's obviously more to his motivations though, so let's get back on track. Ales, someone who's barely able to use magic, wants to get rid of it all. He wants order, without a god and without magic. This is where you realize he wants more than just freedom and peace. He wants control.
TL:DR some of his motivations are understandable and he's not as unreasonable as he seems at first. His goals though? Not so much.
I genuinely think if he wasn't such an asshole and had more dialogue, people would see him as a more tragic character. Yes, he caused his own downfall, but he's not fully wrong. He really is the "[bad things] are bad, but I'm the villain, so I will blow up homeless people." trope. Like I wanna see your side, don't be weird about this. Take down your Mr. Dark shrine and stop making killer robots.
So in the end... what do I like about him? I like that he's a little guy full of hate. I like that he's really smart and yet somewhat of an idiot. I like that he's passive-aggressive, sort of pathetic and refuses to give up. I like his dance moves, his weird mannerisms and that he can somehow hide in his own hat. I like that he WANTS TO FIGHT GOD. It's honestly harder to think of what I dislike about him.
I miss him, I really do. Not that many fans care about him. Many prefer his original role and design (which is 100% fair, I love R1 Magician) and he hasn't been seen in 14 years (or 12 if you count the Dark Teensies in Legends) outside of references. He's not in the 3 mobile games (one mentions him in a single description), he's not in the Mario + Rabbids DLC (just his hat), he's not in Captain Laserhawk (cuz everyone from Rayman's world is seemingly dead) and he doesn't even get a figure in the board game, just a card featuring the Dark Teensies. END ME.
It's not surprising that I have headcanons, considering I have a shrine dedicated to him. I will try to make it easier for you though. These will be categorized in 2 sections. Those that have some canon basis or coding or just what I read and ones that I just made up. I mean, ALL of these are made up, but some are based on nothing. I hope you enjoy.
Regular things:
I love making shit up:
Sorry in advance, but as a certified internet weirdo, I obviously have a self-insert Oc, who's dating Ales. Come on. I can't get around introducing them either, because half of my Ales art is with this dude. But alright, here we go.
Sem is a human, from earth. How is he here in the Glade of Dreams? Same way the Rabbids got to earth (In Laserhawk it's a portal, so that's what I'm going with). He decided to live in the Glade of Dreams on a whim and he's never looked back. He befriends most people there and becomes an ally to Rayman and Co. But when hoping to find a new home he ends up at an evil lair and finds something else that's new and fun: annoying Ales.
Truth be told, these two didn't get along at first. Sem showed up at Ales' doorstep, asking for a place to stay and Ales, who's been on his own for years at this point, was seconds away from killing this weirdo. To Sem, Ales was a weird, eccentric creature. To Ales, Sem was an annoyance, if anything. Sem immediately liked the teensie, despite their clashing morals, personalities and cultures. It was probably a mix of pity and intrigue. Ales ended up getting used to having company again, for the first time in years, but Sem was nothing more than a nice change of pace. Well, at first.
Sem didn't really know anything about The Magician, but when he asked his friends about him they had to sit him down and explain this guy's insanity. You would expect attempted world domination and attempted murder to be a dealbreaker, but Sem immediately asked him out. Why? "I can fix him or accept his crimes as quirks." Sem isn't actually a good person. He's good, because being good is easy and he would love for Ales to see it this way too. When Sem asked Ales to date, only a few weeks after meeting him, Ales rolled his eyes. He didn't decline, weirdly enough. Sure, Sem was a rebound and this wasn't a relationship built on love, but it was still a win in Sem's eyes.
As Ales finally finished up a new plan to conquer the glade of dreams, it wasn't just Rayman (and co.) trying to stop him. Sem was there as well. The teensie was entirely unaware that his roommate was part of this friendgroup, so getting defeated by this idiot of all people, made him respect the guy a lot more. That was when their relationship ACTUALLY started. Proving his competence made Sem a lot more interesting. When these two finally shared their life stories, they realized the similarities. Leaving your old life behind, wanting to prove yourself and now living in the side of a tree in a magical glade. Weird, right?
Their relationship looks quite odd to outsiders. They might look like they’re together out of necessity, but they’re more akin to a weird married couple. Ales isn’t the type to express his feelings without sarcasm or cheeky comments, but Sem seems to understand his unique way of communication.
You know basically all there is to know about them. Sem and Ales are made to be opposites that intersect. 90% of their content is comedic in nature, cuz they're such an unserious dynamic. If you like Ales you might be glad someone is trying with him and if you hate Ales you might be happy seeing him annoyed. It's a win-win situation!
Some human Ales art as well
Blinkies I made using Blinkies Cafe.
Blinkies I made myself.
Stamps I made using this base.
Whatever this is.
Mods/Games I've made (If no link is shared, they're private).
100% Orange Juice mod that replaces Suguri with Ales (meaning Suguri's sprites were used as a base).
Human Vroid Model exists (not ready to show off).
Game accurate Blender/Gmod models planned.
Also, you can use the stuff I post/create. I don't really care. I think if you like my stuff enough to use for your own silly posts, it's an honor. Just keep AI away from me.
Art/Questions people have sent me on my Strawpage (if related to this site of course). This is mostly friends/people I know. I might change this section to be both strawpage and other art I've gotten but it's this for now. Also entirely WIP. I have not actually added any of it yet. I love lying.
Miku leek edit
Edit of official Dungeon Meshi art
Meme edit