'Shroomfest (Round 9) - DUCKS vs RABBITS

Oh my...This is frankly abhorrent. So many misguided souls...do they not understand the workings of the universe? All they can talk about is ducks, ducks, ducks. Only a few seem to comprehend the sheer beauty and power of the rabbit. Oh well, if they don't understand, I'll just have to make them. Let's see...what could I do...Aha! I've got it! Perhaps they just need some wisdom from the creator of the rabbit to understand their superiority to ducks! Let me just summon him...That should do. Come now, and gather round to meet the creator of the rabbit...

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Hi, I'm John Rabbit, inventor of rabbits. I don't know where I am, some mysterious otherworldly force pulled me away from my lovely dinner of lettuce and carrots. Well, since I'm here, I might as well do what I do best...Talk about rabbits! What perfect timing too, it seems that there are a few duck fans hanging around. Maybe I can sway them to the right side: The rabbit side!

Today I'm going to tell you about the early development process of the rabbit. But to do that, I need to tell you about myself first. From a young age, my teachers considered me a creative kid. I was constantly coming up with designs for things. My first big break came when I was nine years old. The government had just announced their newest project, known as Outer Space, and held a design contest looking for ideas of what to fill it with. I desperately wanted to enter, but my mind had gone blank. I couldn't think of anything!

However, inspiration struck (literally) when my older brother threw a rock at me. The idea hit me the exact same time the rock did, and I ran home to submit my idea. I ended up winning a prize for my submission of the asteroid, essentially a rock that flys through space. I got a scholarship to the University of Earth Development, and became the youngest ever student.

Great, great, what does this have to do with rabbits? I brought you here for a reason, you know.

Glad you asked, mysterious voice! You see, after graduating I started up a small company with a couple of friends, which we called John, John & John Creations, aiming to design brand new animals to populate nature, which was still in beta at the time and barely had any features. At first, we only made simple variations of preexisting species, but at E3 (Earth Establishment Expo) that year we unveiled our early plans for our first brand-new, from the ground up animal, codenamed Project Leporidae.

Public reception was warm, with only a few criticisms. Things weren't all well and good behind the scenes, though. You see, I started up John, John and John Creations with two partners, John Duck and John Sheep. John Duck was frustrated when we chose Project Leporidae as our first big project instead of his idea, Project Duck, which would basically be a waterproof bird model. He wanted to play it safe, but I wanted to make an impact with a brand new kind of animal.

After a large arguement, John Duck left the company to start What A Fowl Bird, a bird design company focused on designing ducks and duck variants. Meanwhile, John's departure left a free spot in John, John & John Creations, so I chose to hire John Hare, who was instrumental in the progress of Project Leporidae.

Project Leporidae consisted of one major animal species, with plans to release further varients down the line as free updates. The creature would be a herbivore, and was often portrayed in marketing as loving carrots, as they were my favourite foods. Unfortunately, sound design on the rabbit was lackluster, with no iconic or recognisable sound unlike the mega-popular cats, dogs, and cows. There were plans for the rabbit to have an iconic noise, which would have been "Baa", but John Sheep accidentally erased all the sound work from his hard drive. He eventually recovered it and reused it for his personal project, The Sheep, which John, John & John Creations released a few years later.

Project Leporidae was completed about a year later, releasing the "Rabbit" into the world, meeting critical and commercial success. There was also a larger "rabbit pro" designed by John Hare, named the "Hare". The success of the rabbit quickly resulted in the invention of the Bunny, a low cost alternative that would slowly develop into a full-sized rabbit.

It's safe to say rabbits were an absolute smash hit, with an estimated fourteen million currently domesticated, and even more currently roaming the wild. So, that brings the story of the rabbit's development to an end. I'll tell you more about the rabbit next week, including the benefits of the rabbit, future plans and more. Until then, I'm happy to answer any rabbbit-related questions you may have.
 
JUDGE SESSION #1

Greetings, everyone! Welcome to the first judge session of the Ducks vs Rabbits 'Shroomfest. Today, we will take a closer look at our case. As we be aware by now, we need to decide which animal, between ducks or rabbits is more suited for The 'Shroom's courtyard. I noticed that Sparks and Waluigi Time managed to rally several supporters to their side, so let's hear their case and find out if they persuaded the judge.

Hello there, Team Rabbits! Waluigi Time here to show you why you should support rabbits in this 'Shroomfest! They say pictures are worth a thousand words, so instead of composing a lengthy post, I decided to just put this picture up and call it a day.


Thanks for reading! Okay, just kidding. But seriously, look at them. I don't need to do anything for their public image, it's already built-in. But for now, how about I kick things off with some fun rabbit facts?
  • When rabbits are happy or excited, they perform a jump known as a binky. They twist their body and may even flip around in the air! Pretty acrobatic.​
  • Thumping their hind legs isn't just the basis for a cartoon character - rabbits do this to warn other rabbits of nearby danger. Isn't it nice that they look out for each other?​
  • Rabbits are born with their eyes sealed shut, but in adulthood, they have a field of vision that's nearly 360 degrees, can see for long distances, and even have night vision!​
  • Maintaining a balanced ecosystem is very important! Rabbits play a helpful role by keeping the populations of invasive plants in check.​
  • According to the UK's Pet Food Industry Association, rabbits are the third most popular pet in the world, only behind dogs and cats! Why yes, that does put them ahead of birds, thank you for asking.​
  • You've heard of the man on the moon, right? This varies from culture to culture - in Japan, they see a rabbit making mochi instead!​

So, what are some of your favorite things about rabbits? Perhaps some of you even have a pet rabbit at home - feel free to share your stories or even pictures, we'd love to see them!

Let's have a look at the case brought by Team Rabbits' leader here. What struck me here is the mention about the moon. The Moon rabbit is a well-known Japanese folklore. In fact, Super Mario Odyssey is a prime example of such folklore being used as inspiration. The broodals, the Moon Kingdom, the rabbits all over the Dark Side. To go further into the subjet of the moon rabbit, a Cree legend about a rabbit reaching the moon also exist. In fact, it was also made into a picture book for children! It's pretty cool seeing an animal having such fascinating myths.

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Going to put my support behind Team Rabbits this go-around. My main reason is the cultural iconography of rabbits. Them and their cousins, hares, are regularly found in worldly folklore, be it as a trickster character or a symbol of a larger deity. East Asia recognizes a rabbit when they look up at the moon (as opposed to the man in the moon), and several stories and mythos reflect this observation, including the Chinese zodiac. The most famous of Aesop's fables is the tortoise and the hare. Rabbits also exist in the cryptic world, with the jackalope. Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland prominently features both the White Rabbit and the March Hare, and several literary allusions to these characters have since followed.

All of that is to say, with how impactful rabbits have been to the world of storytelling, they tend to have my favor. I couldn't immediately tell you nearly the same amount of instances of ducks acting as this sort of historic cultural touchstone.

Quick later edit: speaking of storytelling, let us not forget the impact that rabbits have had on our community storytelling. Awards Killing Game 4 and Odyssey both had exceptional rabbit-themed villains
Other good points brought up by Roserade here, which follow-up to what I just said above. The cultural iconography of rabbits is truly immense when you think about it. Like mentioned previously, the rabbit and the moon, rabbits being a zodiac sign (2023 was the Year of the Rabbit), rabbits being associated with Easter (Easter Bunny), rabbit's foot as an amulet for good luck, to name a few.

Rabbits had such a significant impact in our culture. It's quite important to take this into consideration.

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"Alright, Day 2 of speaking on behalf of Team Rabbits has dawned on us. So, the other day I had talked about rabbit representation within Mario and other Nintendo franchises, so now it's time for me to talk about rabbit representation outside of Nintendo. I think it's needless to say that our red-capped plumber's greatest rival, Sonic the Hedgehog, has plenty of rabbit representation in his games and comic series alike, whether it be Cream the Rabbit and her mother, Vanilla in both the games and comics, Johnny Lightfoot in the Fleetway Comics, with Johnny in turn being based on a species of non-sentient animals from the classic era of Sonic games called Pocky, Bunnie Rabbot in the Sonic SatAM cartoon series and its pre-reboot comic continuation by Archie Comics, which features additional rabbit characters, such as Bunnie's uncle, Beauregard Rabbot, Mach the Rabbit, who appears as a member of Mina Mongoose's band and previously appeared in an unused sound test for the first Sonic game, Carottia the Rabbit, who first appeared in a bunch of classic Sonic games before making her transition towards the post-reboot era of the Archie Comics, and also Relic the Pika, another post-reboot Archie character who's suggested to be a species of rabbits. So yeah, plenty of rabbit representation in the Sonic franchise there. There's more non-Nintendo rabbit representation that comes to mind for me, but this speech on behalf of Team Rabbits is starting to get a bit too drawn out, so I'll continue to cover more non-Nintendo rabbit representation at a later time."
If that wasn't enough, Clawgrip also introduced us all to the massive rabbit representation there is among many media. From Nintendo (Broodals, MIPS, Star Bunnies) and from other multiple franchises.

Rabbits are... everywhere. Hmm, maybe I should try and find the Ninja Rabbit.

I will Endorse: Ducks
I mean, who can resist the cuteness of those Starduckies from Super Mario Galaxy?
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W-What is this... Security, please throw this out of the Courtroom!

VERDICT:
In regards to the cases brought to the first week of the Ducks vs Rabbits 'Shroomfest. Both teams did good efforts, providing interesting points and fun facts. That said, the angle brought by Team Rabbits and the significant cultural impact of rabbits in general was very fascinating. I believe Team Rabbits succeeded in providing solid arguments that made rabbits stand out the most.

Winner of Week 1
TEAM RABBITS
Congratulations Team Rabbits, you earned +3 extra points to the EFFORT category!

That said, good work from Team Ducks too! You still have two more weeks to gain extra points. In general, I want to congratulate everyone for helping keep this 'Shroomfest healthy and fun!

Now, for WEEK 2!

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
For our second week, I think we need to take a closer look into media and characters. Is there a duck or rabbit character, or a piece of media with a focus on either ducks or rabbits that was impactful?
Do you remember when Miss Piggy brought Team Pigs to victory during the Chickens vs Pigs 'Shroomfest? Well, here's your extra mission: Can you find the Miss Piggy of Ducks or Rabbits? The one that will for sure bring your team to victory?


'SHROOMFEST DEBATE ROUND 9 - WEEK 2 BEGINS NOW!
 
Looks like we've got an early head start on this competition, Team Rabbits! But let's learn from the lesson of the tortoise and the hare and not get complacent, we've still got two more weeks to go here!

When it comes to rabbits in media, ask anyone and I bet the first character who comes to mind will be the same for a majority of them.

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That's right, Bugs Bunny! One of the world's most famous cartoon characters, appearing in more films than any other. His wisecracking nature and slapstick antics have endeared him to audiences for nearly 90 years! The 1954 cartoon What's Opera, Doc? is considered by many to be one of the greatest cartoons of all time, and was the first cartoon short film inducted into the US National Film Registry, if you need any convincing on how culturally significant Bugs is. Of course, since this is a competition with ducks, I would be remiss not to mention Bugs' longstanding rivalry with Daffy Duck, and let's just say that the wascally wabbit has outsmarted him on more than one occasion - just watch one of the famous duck season vs. rabbit season exchanges!

Even in this very community, Bugs has served in some way as an influence for various characters and creative works, and there's a good chance you'll find his exhausted grimace among the emote collection of just about any Discord server with community ties.

Now, I love a good Looney Tunes cartoon and recognize their cultural significance, but for me personally, if you were to ask who my favorite group of funny cartoon animals is, I'd have to tip my hat to the gang from the Hundred Acre Wood, and the ensemble would be incomplete without Rabbit!

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Sure, he may get rather cranky (especially when his prized garden is disturbed) and his highly-organized nature tends to make him a bit of a control freak, but show me a character without flaws and I'll show you a boring character! More importantly, he's a dependable friend and you can count on him to be the one to take charge when there's work that needs to be done - even if the results may not always be up to par. Fun fact: Rabbit is one of two characters from the original books (alongside Owl) not based on any of the real Christopher Robin's stuffed animals, and is depicted as a real rabbit in illustrations. Isn't it interesting that when deciding to add extra characters to the cast, A. A. Milne thought it needed a rabbit? It's very well possible he predates Owl too, as he makes his debut in the first book's second chapter.

Turning to the Mario franchise, rabbits have had a fair bit of representation over the years! From MIPS in Super Mario 64 to the Broodals in Odyssey, and even Nabbit who's been surprisingly relevant since his introduction, just to name a few! Even Mario himself has taken on a rabbit form in Super Mario Land 2. Not to be presumptuous, but I think rabbits have the leg up on representation there. Trust me, I've seen the wiki's waterfowl category.

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There's plenty more to talk about regarding the impact on rabbits of media! I had some other examples in mind for this post, but I gotta leave some for you guys. So what are some of your favorite examples?

Don't forget, you can Endorse: Team Rabbits and vote in the poll in The 'Shroom again this week for additional points!
 
The second week of 'Shroomfest has started!

You can give another point per category to your team! You can do so by either:
  • VOTES: The number of votes for each side. To cast a vote on the 'Shroomfest poll, click here. Remember to vote once a week.
  • ENDORSEMENTS: The number of users of the community who endorse a team.
    • In order to provide an endorsement, simply post Endorse: [Team] in this thread, in bold, and offer a few short words of support (examples below) if you're so inclined.
      • Vote Ducks
      • Go Rabbits!
      • I support Team Ducks
      • Rabbits for the win!
  • EFFORT: The effort that has been put into the event.
    • There isn't a hard and fast rule as to what constitutes an "effort" post. As a rule of thumb, if you contribute something that reasonably takes more than a few minutes to create, it'll count.
    • Users must participate in the event by providing:
      • Arguments and Examples
      • Artwork
      • Stories
      • Memes
      • Other forms of creative work that reflect a degree of thought and effort beyond just a few words.
    • If you aren't sure if something counts as an effort post or not, ask the judge via Discord or via a PM!
 
Well then… it seems I'll have to try harder to bring Ducks to victory! It'll be tough, but anything is possible.

Oh, bringing out Bugs Bunny eh? Now's my chance to present a character of equal popularity: Daffy Duck!
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Daffy Duck is Bugs' best pal. He's prone to get into all kinds of wacky situations and maybe a few competitions with the iconic rabbit himself, but he's always ready to help out whenever needed. Basically he's Warner Bros. version of Donald Duck, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that!

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I should also mention that he (along with Porky Pig) starred in The Day the Earth Blew Up, a Looney-Toons film that doesn't star Bugs Bunny! It went on to garner a very positive reception, proving we don't need Bugs to make a great Looney-Toons film. I have yet to see it myself, but I think I will in the near future just to see for myself. Oh, and to support Team Ducks of course!

Alrighty then, time for Donald Duck, who could possibly be the most popular Duck in the world!
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Good ol' Donald! He's one of Mickey Mouse's great friends with a heck of a voice. Seriously, he sounds so hilarious! It makes impersonating him so much fun. Anyways, he's another character bound to get into mischief, but hey! He's also a hero too. One advantage is that he's in Kingdom Hearts! Oh yes.

But wait, there's more! Wait until you hear about his rich uncle/adventurer - Scrooge Mcduck! Donald also happens to have three nephews too: Huey, Dewey, and Louie!

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Ducktales is a beloved 1987 cartoon featuring these very characters. Heck, it was so awesome it got a reboot in 2017! I could go on and on about it, but I don't want to clog up this thread. So I'll conclude with this incredible track from the NES Ducktales video game (which also got a remake)!

THE MOON THEME!!!!

Rabbits aren't the only ones related to the Moon in some way! Endorse: Team Ducks!
 

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