Confused Baby Carl

Official artwork of Chibi Donovan for Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo. He poses stoically with Anita, a little girl holding a headless doll.

Screenshot from Puzzle Fighter where Donovan performs a telepathic sword attack on Felicia. He raises one arm high, putting his bare, muscular half of his torso on display.

Crop of Donovan from the Dreamcast cover of the game. This official artwork was also on the inside of the CD case for the PS1 version, which I stared at a lot as a kid.

Another piece of official art, this time with Donovan in profile and Anita up front. His living Dhylec sword peeking out from behind.

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #145: Puzzle Fighter Donovan

I played tons of Super Puzzle Fighter as a kid, but was unfamiliar with Darkstalkers - I just knew I had an inexplicable magnetism toward the ripped dude whose torso was half exposed.

Official artwork for "Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge" of Donovan posing dramatically with his arms crossed while Anita hides shyly behind his robe and the silhouettes of demons loom in the background.

When I first posted this entry on Twitter I prefaced it "Weirdly specific character I crushed on as a kid" because it's kinda funny I had a crush on the big-headed chibi version of this man ages before I finally ended up seeing his full-size incarnation.

Official artwork for "Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge" of Donovan posing dramatically with his arms crossed while Anita hides shyly behind his robe and the silhouettes of demons loom in the background.

When I first posted this entry on Twitter I prefaced it "Weirdly specific character I crushed on as a kid" because it's kinda funny I had a crush on the big-headed chibi version of this man ages before I finally ended up seeing his full-size incarnation.

Official artwork of Chibi Donovan for Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo. He poses stoically with Anita, a little girl holding a headless doll.

Screenshot from Puzzle Fighter where Donovan performs a telepathic sword attack on Felicia. He raises one arm high, putting his bare, muscular half of his torso on display.

Crop of Donovan from the Dreamcast cover of the game. This official artwork was also on the inside of the CD case for the PS1 version, which I stared at a lot as a kid.

Another piece of official art, this time with Donovan in profile and Anita up front. His living Dhylec sword peeking out from behind.

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #145: Puzzle Fighter Donovan

I played tons of Super Puzzle Fighter as a kid, but was unfamiliar with Darkstalkers - I just knew I had an inexplicable magnetism toward the ripped dude whose torso was half exposed.

George flexes his arms with a confident smile next to a chair in his treehouse. A muscular man wearing only a leopard-skin loincloth with one strap over his right shoulder. He is a parody of Tarzan, drawn in the flat, graphical style of Jay Ward Productions.

Chest-height closeup of George from the credits sequence where he flexes an exaggeratedly large bicep. He is drawn with more anatomical detail than usual with an off-kilter, half-lidded smiling expression.

George shrugging his shoulders while smiling and blushing red in the face with embarrassment.

A pencil model sheet for George depicting him in several poses, including: -Flexing his arms front double bicep pose while looking up (left) -Leaning over and looking down (upper middle) -Looking up while waving one hand (lower middle) -Running with his arms half-raised (right)

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #064: George of the Jungle (1967)

Screenshot from the "CN Groovies" music video for Pain's "Jabberjaw: Running Underwater." Biff, lead guitarist for the Neptunes, reimagined as a ska-punk musician in the late 90s. He's clad in a blue polo, tan pants, and blue loafers, jumping into the air while strumming his red guitar in the video's finale.

Establishing shot of the reimagined Neptunes performing on stage in a club to a cheering audience. Jabberjaw himself notably has a goatee and nose ring. An evil eel and its robotic henchmen lurk in the foreground.

Biff and Clamhead with their arms over each others shoulders, singing into a shared microphone in front of a rainbow lava-lamp background. Ska-punk Clamhead wears a green shirt, trilby, and tinted sunglasses.

Biff playing his guitar with Shelly lifting up a bass guitar just behind him in front of a blue/purple lava lamp background. Shelly wears a white crop top and blue jeans.

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #326: Ska-Punk Biff (CN Groovies ~ Jabberjaw (Running Underwater), 1999)

Cover for the Super Duper Sumos DVD "Deep Sushi." The three sumo are in their more muscular 'Sumo sized' forms. Mamoo is in front in a battle-ready stance, while Kimo and Booma squat in the back. The way the trio and the series logo are layered atop each other, their loincloths are almost entirely covered from view.

12-Year-Old Me, reasonably critical: "Man, this cartoon is... not good at all."

Ad in Beckett Pokémon Collector magazine: "Here's this DVD cover where the characters & logo are layered super weird so these three huge men kinda look naked to you."

12-Year-Old Me, staring: *Internet dial-up sounds*

I don't know if I've ever established this here on the Bloosk, but the "Crush/Scene # ____" labels I add to all the examples here are just large nonsense numbers to establish "Gosh dang, there were an awful LOT of these now that I look back" and not some sort of definitive ranking or posting order.

Scenes That Lived Rent-Free In My Mind As A Kid, To My Great Confusion #472: Sumo Size (Super Duper Sumos)

Even as a kid I knew this was an exceptionally mediocre cartoon, but my gay little eyes were still drawn to the men regularly transforming into 12-foot walls of scantily-clad, muscular bulk.

Honestly, I wouldn't doubt that this movie might've been what first unlocked a very specific Pandora's Box in my young mind, haha...

Key gay memory: Visiting GameStop after middle school, slinking to the far corner of the store to find the big Street Fighter guide, and gawking at all the official artwork.

At the time I was still closeted and in denial, utterly terrified anyone who saw me looking at said guide would just *know.*

Scenes That Lived Rent-Free In My Mind As A Kid, To My Great Confusion #508:

Kurt's Image Inducer (X-Men: Evolution, S2 EP6, "Adrift")

Scenes That Lived Rent-Free In My Mind As A Kid, To My Great Confusion #128: "Yo, Terra. You, Me - Movies, Friday?" (Teen Titans, S2 EP23, "Betrayal")

Scenes That Lived Rent-Free In My Mind As A Kid, To My Great Confusion #059: Buttermilk, It Makes a Body Bitter (Animaniacs, S1 EP41)

Scenes That Lived Rent-Free In My Mind As A Kid, To My Great Confusion #558: "I see why they made him king of the jungle..." (George of the Jungle, 1997)

Scenes That Lived Rent-Free In My Mind As A Kid, To My Great Confusion #247: The Molecular Muscle Enhancer (Kim Possible, S1 EP20, "Ron the Man") 💍💪

Aladdin and Jasmine staring in each other's eyes at sunset, when she was still disguised as a peasant girl.

Aladdin rubbing at his neck shyly at the desert oasis while thinking about Jasmine, shortly before wishing to become a prince.

Aladdin in his Prince Ali outfit, reaching out to say "Do you trust me?" shortly before the "A Whole New World" sequence.

Aladdin's infatuated expression upon seeing Jasmine for the first time.

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #479: Aladdin

Dr. Proctor, from the Pokemon anime, waving along with a pair o Chansey.

Dr. Proctor shrugging with an eyebrow-raised smile.

Proctor confidently slicing through an IV bottle tossed at him with a scalpel.

Ash and Brock look in concern as Proctor realizes he has a sedative needle jabbed in his arm.

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #638: Dr. Proctor

Shoulder-height scene with Raymond smiling in the gym, sweaty with a towel draped over his shoulders.

Raymond in posing trunks and sitting offstage at a bodybuilder competition, unwrapping a Bulky Bar with a determined expression.

Raymond flexing during the competition pose-off as fans cheer on in the background.

Another shot of Raymond during the bodybuilding competition, performing an abdominal flex and smiling.

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #264: Raymond (Totally Spies)

Another fairly critical point in "Carl finally realizes he's gay." I found myself tuning into Totally Spies daily just to see if the bodybuilding-focused episode happened to be on.

Full body photo of a muscular actor at Disneyland Paris portraying Tarzan on stage wearing a scruffy wig and a pair of shorts stylized to resemble a loincloth.

Another photo of Tarzan on stage, directly in front from the waist up.

Another full body stage shot.

A different buff actor presumably portraying Tarzan for photos with guests. He's wearing a more detailed 'loincloth,' a longer and cleaner wig, and sandals.

There used to be a live show at Disney's Animal Kingdom called 'Tarzan Rocks!' that caught Baby Carl's attention thanks to the lead actor's rather impressive, uh... stage presence.

(These photos are from a different, similar show at Disneyland Paris, but they very much get the idea across, haha)

Official artwork for Lt. Surge in the Pokemon games, as he appeared in Generations 1, 3, 4, and the Let's Go remake.

Lt. Surge and Raichu as they appear in a flashback during Pokemon Journeys, now retconned to align with their appearances in the games.

Eternally disappointed that Surge has never again been officially depicted as a towering, tan, bare-chested behemoth.

The anime later retconned him to look more like his in-game design during a flashback in Pokemon Journeys, 23 years after his original episode.

A waist-height shot of Lt. Surge from his appearance in the first season of the anime. His design differs considerably from his game counterpart with tan skin and wearing an open shirt that exposes his bare chest.

A closer shot of Surge's face, which has a confident expression.

Surge greeting Ash, Misty, and Brock in the Vermilion City Gym.

Far shot showcasing just how absurdly tall the anime incarnation of Lt. Surge was. He stands at nearly double Ash's height as he leans to hand over the Thunder Badge.

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #053: Lt. Surge (Anime)

Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm in their adult designs.

Official art of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm in their wedding outfits from the TV movie "I Yabba-Dabba Do!"

Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm sitting together at a restaurant looking in each others eyes.

Official art of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm with their children, Chip and Roxy from the TV movie "Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby." They're surrounded by family: Betty & Barney Rubble, Fred & Wilma Filntstone, grandmother Pearl Slaghoople, and pet dinosaur Dino in front.

I sometimes forget that in the early 90's they let Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm age into their 20's for a few made-for-TV animated movies.

He cute.

Official art of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm linking arms as teens.

Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm dancing those stock Hanna-Barbera dance animations they'd reuse in every show.

Pebbles handing a smiling Bam-Bamm a small gift box.

Character model sheet featuring Bamm Bamm from several angles, with the front-facing model leaning casually on the shoulder of the back-facing one. The sheet label reads: "54, Series 'Pebbles and Bamm Bamm' @ Hanna Barbera Prod. 5/24/71, Bamm Bamm Rubble."

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #650: Teenage Bamm-bamm

12-year-old Lion-O in the suspension capsule before sleeping for 12 years and growing into a big man body.

Lion-O in the original show loses a lot of his big burly appeal when you remember he's actually a 12-year-old in the body of a 24-year-old thanks to shenanigans with a malfunctioning sleep capsule.

Lion-O brandishing the Sword of Omens in a fighting stance.

Lion-O's model sheet featuring him from the front, back, and crouching. The English text reads: "Lion-O is the largest and most perfectly proportioned character. A 6'9" body-builder type. Lion-O is our super hero. He is manly while still maintaining a youthful quality. Lion-O also caries a large, metal lion's claw glove/shield which he wears on his left arm during battle."

Lion-O standing in a rocky canyon.

Lion-O swinging the Sword of Omens during its power-up sequence while raising raising his other claw up high.

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #481: Lion-O

Pazu posing confidently in front of a cloudy sky while Sheeta watches.

Pazu with goggles, riding one of the sky pirate's vehicles at night.

Pazu scrambles to get up in a tunnel on Laputa after tossing away his shoes.

Pazu playing his trumpet in the early morning on top of his home as white doves fly by.

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #113: Pazu

Gene leaning back and looking over pensively under glowing light.

Gene relaxing on a large pillow in front of a large sunset.

Gene winking while flexing his arm and lifting a wrench as Jim photographs.

Shirtless Gene in the ship's pilot seat, tilting his head with a cocky smile.

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #237: Gene Starwind

A waist-up shot of He-Man lifting a huge boulder over his head while his comrades watch.

I recall this being among several cartoons I felt the need to watch in secret at the time.

I felt an inherent embarrassment, assuming anyone who saw me watching a show full of big muscly loincloth men would think I'm strange - despite the fact that the show was aimed squarely at my demographic.

Official key art of Hey Man standing with his Power Sword.

He-Man tangled in vines.

He-Man from the back, observing an oncoming comet.

He-Man stands stoically with his arm raised, hair flowing in the wind.

Character I crushed on as a kid but didn't realize since I didn't know gay was a thing #322: He-Man (2002)