Sonia McDonald III (Sunny)

sunny in her main outfit

## Appearance

Sunny is a slightly below average height, around 5'6 or so, and she is overweight. She has long, fluffy, dark purple fur, with lighter colored markings on her ears, paws, cheeks, and stomach. She has short wavy hair which partially covers one of her eyes and has a pinkish-purple dyed streak that is the same color as one of her eyes, the other one being a pale blue.

## Personality

Receiving near constant praise from the citizens and nobility of her kingdom since the day she was born, Sunny thinks very highly of herself, or at least appears to. While she is very self centered and proud of her identity, she is a bit unsure about herself. Which is because the only people who don't seem to think highly of her are her parents. She is very stubborn and determined to prove herself right at all costs, especially when it comes to her parents.

While Sunny certainly faces her fair share of struggles, with her parents' homophobia and the weight of royal responsibility, she doesn't realize that other people have it harder. While the villagers in the kingdom live in poverty, she thinks that she is genuinely the most unlucky person in the world. She takes nearly every luxury she has for granted, including the people in her life.

## History

### Early Life

Sunny was born shortly after her parents' arranged marriage. Unfortunately for them, it proved to be difficult for them to conceive another child, making Sunny their sole heir. Growing up, Sunny seemed to just naturally do the opposite of what her parents wanted her to. From day one, every second of her life was dedicated to preparing her for when she'd become queen. Due to her mother's fertility problems, they had to be sure Sunny would be a fit queen, since they had no other ways of continuing the royal bloodline.

The second she was old enough to think for herself, she began outright dodging any training sessions or lessons. The most easily accessible hiding place was in the courtyard. It was there that she met Lottie. Much to both of their parents' dismay, Lottie would aid in her hiding. Their friendship quickly grew, since the two of them had never really spent time with anyone else their age.

Even at a young age, Sunny began showing masculine and homosexual tendencies. This worried her parents, since it was going to be up to Sunny to continue their bloodline. They considered arranged marriage, but Hubert insisted they hold back.

### Teen Years

The rebellion Sunny showed in childhood increased tenfold once she was a teenager. It had been years since she attended any sort of training, and her relationship with her parents was incredibly strained. She resented them for not allowing her to be herself, and never showing her any form of love or attention outside of praising her for having royal blood. Her time spent with the villagers also radicalized her to some extent. She not only spread the word of the unethical things her parents did like hoard wealth, but she also confronted her parents about it every chance she got.

Her activism felt somewhat artificial, however, as she was merely repeating things she had heard and had no grasp of what life was like down there while she slept peacefully up in her castle. Most of the kingdom loved Sunny, there were very few exceptions. One of these exceptions was Dalton.

Her behavior started to become much more reckless at this point, as many of the negative feelings she had became too much to handle. She began drinking and trying to get laid almost every night. She would seek out Joan, Reese, and various other village women. But her biggest interest was in Alina. She thought Alina was the most beautiful girl in the village, but Alina "played hard to get" most of the time. After a certain point, her parents gave up on trying to keep her from sneaking out at night.

This shift in behavior was quite strenuous on Lottie, as well. Being dragged along made her vulnerable to getting in trouble, and she didn't do well in a party setting. It was also hard watching Sunny pursue so many other women. Plus, much of the blame for Sunny's behavior started to be put on her. Sunny, however, seemed to be having the time of her life. She rarely had any downtime to think about her troubles. This phase of carefree rebellion would not last forever.

### Sunny's Reign

Sunny was devastated to find one day that her parents had died. Unbeknownst to her, they were merely missing, but that fact had been covered up by the nobility. In an effort to save the kingdom, Tate had placed them into stasis indefinitely. Without any time to grieve, she had to have her coronation immediately. While she was bitter and upset that her parents died before she could resolve her issues with them, the kingdom celebrated. The villagers were convinced she could bring about real change. And for a while, she did.

But Sunny was torn. She had loyalty towards her subjects, but also to the nobility, as much as she hated to admit it. They were like her extended family. They seemingly cared for her more than her parents ever did. She tried to do what she thought was right, but her will wasn't as strong as she thought. She began giving in to pressure from the nobility, and making very public and very unpopular decisions.

By this point, Lottie had been allowed to move into the castle with Sunny. They shared a room, and grew closer as Sunny began to see Lottie as someone she could be attracted to. The flings she'd had in her teen years were fun, but they didn't offer the stability that Lottie could. As public opinion of Sunny began to take a nosedive, so did the opinion of Lottie. Ever her accomplice, Lottie was once again taking the fall for Sunny's mistakes. But now more than ever she was willing. This was the closest she had ever been with Sunny.

Through Tate's influence, the villagers were eventually pushed to riot, and from there they stormed the castle. Unprepared to fight back or do much of anything, Sunny and Lottie fled together to the outskirts of the forest by flying away before they would meet the same fate as the nobility.

### The Tallahassee Era

As hard as it was to leave everything behind, the pair were excited by the idea of getting away from the kingdom. They ended up landing on the south edge of the forest. This was the first time Sunny ever truly needed to provide for herself. Her and Lottie had nothing to rely on but each other. For a brief period, all was well. They had the relationship Lottie always wanted, and Sunny was finally away from her royal responsibilities. They had practically no contact with the world outside of the two of them.

They did regularly see Carrie, however. Carrie was required to make frequent trips out into the forest in order to connect with Tate and strengthen her magical abilities. She struggled a bit due to her age, but was steadily improving. Sunny was happy to have someone else to talk to, especially since the cracks in her and Lottie's relationship quickly started to show. Sunny would often turn to Carrie when things got bad between them.

After months of Sunny and Lottie growing to hate each other more and more, Lottie was fed up. Just as she had flown away from the kingdom, she flew right back, only leaving Sunny in the dust this time. This causes Sunny to absolutely lose it. She becomes incredibly unstable, and comes to rely entirely on Carrie. While she already ranted to her often, the rants only became increasingly unhinged and frequent after this point.

In this very manic and unreasonable state, Sunny made up her mind about a few things. Mostly, she decided that the crown was her birthright and she has been wrongfully stripped of it. She'd already thought that beforehand, but she was mostly relieved to be rid of all the responsibilities that came with being queen. But that didn't matter to her anymore. She also decided that Lottie was hers, that they were meant to be together. In her desperation, she began plotting ways to take back what she believed to be rightfully hers.

### Sunny's Last Days in the Forest

Sunny enlisted Carrie to help in her plans. According to Carrie, there was no longer a queen or king, but rather an elected council lead by Tonya. So, Sunny figured she would take out Tonya, and take her place. The rest of the council could be like the new nobility. And, when Lottie saw how Sunny got her life back together, Sunny thought that she would surely want to get back with her. Carrie would put on a sort of magic show to distract as many animals as she could, while Sunny crept up to the top the castle, using routes she knew of from her time living there, and kill Tonya.

Sunny was shocked to see just how much the kingdom had changed in the time she'd been gone. Rather than being occupied by just one family, the castle had many more people living in it. Many of the tiny and desolate former homes of villagers had been transformed into things like restaurants and shops. Most shocking of all, they all seemed happy without Sunny and her family. This only angered he further and reaffirmed what she already believed. While Carrie's distraction did serve to take attention away from Sunny as she snuck through the town and castle, it didn't matter in the end.

Upon reaching the top, she discovered Tonya working. Shocked by her transition and overcome with emotion, she stopped herself. She knew Tonya knew way more than she did about leading. Tonya was equally shocked to see Sunny, having assumed she had died. They spoke, and Sunny was forced to face reality. She admitted what she had come there to do, and in a surprising act of mercy, Tonya let Sunny go free, even offered her a job. It was a chance for Sunny to truly make amends for what her and her family had done. But Sunny declined, electing instead to leave the forest altogether.

This could be seen in two main ways. It was both a selfish and selfless act. It was selfish, because Sunny is avoiding consequences and a chance to truly work on herself. She was avoiding the public scrutiny she'd get if she stayed. But, this second chance was one of many, many examples of undeserved kindness she had been given throughout her life. She was literally being given a get out of jail free card. So, it was selfless in a way to choose to instead live in the wasteland, in a world where she would truly have to be responsible for herself, without anyone to bail her out.

## Relationships

### Charlotte Lagos

> "The road this far can't be retraced / There is no punchline anybody can tack on / There are loose ends by the score / What did I come down here for? / You."
>
>

Sunny and Lottie were friends from a very young age. They met because of Lottie's residence in the courtyard of her castle. Despite the very personal nature of their relationship, their dynamic was very much that of a princess and her subject. Sunny simply did not respect Lottie, even if she did love her. And Lottie was infatuated with Sunny. Possibly out of a subconscious urge to be of service to the royal family, she was constantly looking out for Sunny. While Sunny was always getting into trouble, Lottie was always letting herself get dragged into it in hopes that she could protect her.

Their relationship was one-sided in a lot of ways. Sunny only ever saw Lottie as a potential romantic partner once she had no one else. And for all the times Lottie saved Sunny, Sunny never seemed to return the favor. They were already dysfunctional, but that worsened once they were put into isolation when Sunny was overthrown. They became like a stereotypical sitcom couple, constantly bickering and dreading seeing each other. They would yell and argue a lot, and Lottie's hidden resentment for Sunny started to come out. And Sunny just refused to see Lottie as an equal. Having been watched over by her her entire life, she almost couldn't live without being coddled by Lottie.

Lottie eventually got fed up and left Sunny, electing to go back to the kingdom and face the consequences for their actions rather than stay living with her. This devastated Sunny, as she was now completely alone. Once Sunny became convinced the crown was her birthright, she also decided that she had a right to Lottie as well. Part of her plan to take over again included winning Lottie back. That would never happen, however. The last time the pair ever spoke was when Lottie left her in the woods.

### Carrie Zhang

Sunny and Carrie 100 years! Initially, Sunny is annoyed by Carrie more than anything. She doesn't cross her mind very often at all. Sunny is very attracted to Carrie's older sister, and just sees Carrie as being in the way. But, similar to Lottie, Sunny began to see her value once she was overthrown and forced to live in the outskirts of the forest.

Sunny liked to think of Carrie as part of the little family she had out in the forest. Carrie brought out a hidden paternal side to Sunny, and despite having very little actual life experience, she tried to teach Carrie as much as she could and be a role model to her. Allowing Carrie to stay in her cabin also reminded her of her life as a princess. She liked that she could provide for someone in a meaningful way. And, since they had both grown up with parents that had huge expectations, they bonded over that a lot. Sunny would try and be a much more lenient parent, but obviously she was much more of a friend than a parent to Carrie.

Their relationship became somewhat intense once Lottie left Sunny. Carrie was all that Sunny had left, and Sunny would frequently traumadump to her and go on nonsensical rants about the things she felt she was entitled to, most notably the crown. Carrie was a smart kid, but being a kid, she was still gullible. When Sunny began her plan to murder the new ruler, Carrie was a very willing accomplice.

When the murder plot fell through, and Sunny once again had to flee, Carrie fled with her, even though no one knew of her role in the murder attempt. Sunny decided she was going to leave the forest altogether, and it was Carrie who used her abilities to lift the barrier and allow for her to do so. Carrie very adamantly wanted to follow Sunny. She refused to let her, however. She didn't want her to have to be dragged along any longer. There was still time for Carrie to enjoy her youth, and experience normalcy in the better world that had been created while Sunny was away. She made Carrie stay, because she knew she deserved to. It's likely that they never saw each other again after that.

## Trivia

* Sunny is my oldest character, being created sometime in the summer of 2012. She was also my fursona from 2012-2018.
* She was originally a Gravity Falls OC, and was also heavily inspired by the Warrior cats books and the youtuber SplashKittyArtist.
* She was named after my grandmother's cat, who had died shortly before I made her. Ironically, not only was the real Sunny male, but he was also *very* mellow and calm when compared to CiC Sunny.
* She was also inspired in part by Me-Mow from Adventure Time. I had planned to send a letter to Alex Hirsch so she could be in Gravity Falls just like how Me-Mow was in AT. I never ended up sending it, however.
* Sunny's favorite musician is Brokencyde.
* Sunny is afraid to do karaoke.
* Sunny has always had an odd infatuation with the moon.
* Once her and Lottie have separated, Sunny begins to believe that the two are soulmates. She's probably wrong.