Meet Charlie, our official mascot!
We are so pleased to introduce you to Charlie, the official mascot of Moonmilk and Monsters. Charlie is very special and important to us here at Moonmilk and Monsters and is equally, if not more so, important to maintaining the intricate balance between Earth and MoonMills.
To explain Charlie in a few words he is very kind, but also has a slightly sarcastic sense of humor. He is very energetic and has been told he can come on a little too strong sometimes when he's discussing things he loves. His exuberance is due to the passion he has for his recently discovered job and the fulfillment he feels towards his contributions to MoonMills. Although he is beloved and respected by peers and strangers alike, he carries an unspoken sadness in his heart that he struggles to overcome every day. His goal in life is to make each day better than the last one and he hopes that through his good work he can make every day brighter for you.
Continue reading below to explore more about Charlie and his story so far.
Music Tracks for Charlie
We recommend listening to these tracks while reading about Charlie. These are some of the tracks we listened to when writing about him.
***Please note that the provided links direct you to YouTube pages that are not associated with Moonmilk and Monsters.***
“Joy” by Apollo 100, Tom Parker
“Perfect (Arr. for 4 Marimbas)” by Edward Christopher Sheeran, The Wave Quartet
“Always Returning (II)” by Brian Eno
Backstory
When Charlie was a young SugrrPup, he dreamed of one day journeying to Earth and meeting his human companion. He had a ceaseless hunger for every bit of human knowledge he could set his eyes on and spent every waking moment learning everything he could about humans, even learning about their psychology and world affairs. Charlie loved humans and Earth so much he couldn’t contain it! Because of this boundless admiration he had an endless supply of energy that drove him to find out everything he could. He often found himself sitting in class daydreaming and drawing pictures of all the places he wanted to visit with his human once he one day made it to Earth. He made it clear to himself from day one that he would work hard and be the very best friend any human could ever ask for.
One thing to note about Charlie is that he can get consumed in a subject. And when he does, look out! His tunnel vision has allowed him to become basically an expert at anything he applies himself wholeheartedly to. Due to this approach on life Charlie excelled in his classes and even skipped a couple of grades during his early MoonSugrr years. His desire in wanting to be helpful was clear to those around him and he often explained genuinely that he felt meeting others’ needs was the reason he was born. His heart and mind captivated his instructors and peers, his determination to graduate the Academy and get to Earth was obvious. All of his studying and good work paid off. Charlie graduated top of his class and gave a beautifully written speech about duty, service, and unconditional love that left no dry eye in the audience. He was the model MoonSugrr. After perhaps the biggest farewell party in MoonMills, Charlie finally achieved his life’s dream as he set off to Earth on the MoonMills Express to fulfill his goal of becoming the best and most loving MoonSugrr companion a human could ever have.
For the first few years on Earth, Charlie had a perfect life with his human. He wrote frequently to his family, every letter gushing about how happy and fulfilled he was and how happy his human was. Being with his human was everything he thought it would be and more and he expressed to his parents that he felt like his life finally had the purpose he knew it would have.
As time flowed on the letters that his parents happily expected, that would come in at least twice a week, slowed to once a week and then maybe a straggler every couple of months. To the confusion of his parents, the letters that were delivered had a noticeable change of tone. Where the writings of their son were once full of joy and contentment were now full of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. Charlie expressed in the letters, that did arrive, that he was worried for his human, but he never really gave any more detail than that. One day, the letters stopped entirely and his parents began to greatly fear for Charlie's well-being. In their desperation his parents looked for help where they could find it, asking fellow Earthbound MoonSugrrs to see if they could check in on Charlie, but to their dismay no one could find him. His parents had exhausted all options, even appealing to the governing officials of MoonMills to allow them passage to Earth to find their son but they could not be authorized to travel. With the only thing left to do was worry, his parents waited for months for any word on their son. On a random Tuesday they received a letter that softened their worry, if only temporarily. The letter was from a fellow MoonSugrr and they informed the parents that Charlie was alive and living on the street. There was no more news from then on.
Return to MoonMills
There had been no word on Charlie or his whereabouts for over a year. His friends and family mourned for the missing young MoonSugrr and many that knew Charlie resigned themselves to the fact that they may never see his genuine smile again. The cold rain that settled over Charlie’s hometown was the coldest and saddest that year.
On one of those rainy evenings, as his parents tidied their home before going to sleep, they heard a soft knock at the front door. Upon opening the door, there stood Charlie in a cold, wet, and shivering heap. His eyes were sad and sunken as his parents pulled him into a big embrace, welcoming him home. Charlie was left to his own devices once he was back home, keeping to himself and only going out when he knew crowds were light so he could avoid questions and small talk. His mother was often asked about how he was doing and she often admitted tearfully that Charlie seemed tired and that there was a sadness in him that seemed to have carved itself into his eyes. His parents were overjoyed to have him back home and safe, but they could see that a part of him was lost back on Earth.
To this day, no one truly knows about what happened in that time while he was on Earth or what Charlie had been up to for the time he was missing. Charlie simply refused to talk about it and no one ever pushed him to share because it was apparent that the events that transpired were too painful and he wasn’t ready to relive them. Charlie of course tried to be polite when the curiosity got too much for some folks but he would often change the subject when asked or he would evade any questioning altogether.
The rumors didn’t go unnoticed by Charlie, of how he was one of the only MoonSugrrs to have left Earth after moving there to be a companion, only to return later. Because most MoonSugrrs come back to MoonMills periodically to visit friends and family, Charlie was whispered about because he returned home permanently. For one with such promise it furthers the mystery of what transpired.
He hasn't returned to Earth since.
Job Hopping
Charlie’s natural inclination for human studies and his philanthropic nature were never forgotten by the leading members of the MoonMills community. During Charlie’s recouping period he received visits and letters requesting his help around MoonMills. Headmasters from various academies would reach out to him offering him work as they thought it would be a shame to let Charlie’s wealth of human and Earth knowledge go to waste. Even though he wasn’t entirely feeling the idea of instructing he still accepted an offer from the academy he graduated from. He figured he would give it his best and maybe it would help him find some form of comfort or distraction from the daily turmoil he was burdened with.
On the first day of his instructing job he managed to stand in front of his class, introduce himself with only a handful of words, and then suddenly darting from the classroom apologizing profusely saying "I'm sorry, I can't." The tightening in his stomach was way too severe to allow him to share about what he learned on Earth and he quickly realized he wouldn’t be able to perform well in his new career. With a heavy heart, and a lot of guilt, he resigned.
Charlie bounced around aimlessly from job to job around MoonMills for a few months, not really making much progress in either his life or in his heart. In an effort to cheer him up and connect him to his childhood, his parents brought by a box of some of his old things. He thanked them kindly as he always did and placed the box on his table without much interest in it. That same night, just as his parents had hoped, he glanced curiously over at the box from his seat in his small living room. He went over to it and started examining the items inside. When he saw his old sketchbook, his heart fluttered a little. His mother, crafty as ever, knew exactly what would happen if he saw that old sketchbook. Charlie grabbed the sketchbook from the dusty box and sat down before opening the book to reveal pages of doodles and old, badly drawn artwork. He flipped through his old sketches remembering how much he enjoyed capturing the world around him on paper and giving physical form to the things he pictured in his mind. He would catch himself feeling the paper texture on his fingers….and it was such a familiar feeling. He had been depressed for so long that he had shut that entire part of himself off and the book reminded him of a time before when he felt hope for the future and an appetite to be alive. He sighed deeply, eyes closed. He felt a quickening his chest, something was waking up inside him that he thought was long gone. It was a hunger for something more.
Charlie focused on that feeling for a moment and was hit with an uncontrollable urge to pick up a pencil and start sketching again. He knew he had to seize the moment while he felt it and with that he left his home for the first time with a sense of purpose. Residents of his hometown were elated to see Charlie outdoors again, a small fire in his eyes as he explored the familiar landscapes of his neighborhood, the town square, and the forests beyond the hills. He began drawing pictures of literally everything he saw and found it therapeutic.
Charlie felt he must have filled that sketchbook up five times over. He explored and drew for a while, chasing that fluttering feeling in his chest, and it helped keep the sadness at bay. Overtime; however, he couldn’t maintain the warmth he felt, and to his disappointment, it became less satisfying. He wondered if there was something more he could do beyond just sketching in his sketchbook. He hungered to actually contribute to the MoonMills-Earth connection, the thing he had previously given everything to. His drawings, while therapeutic, were doing no one any favors sitting in a desk collecting dust.
That night he didn't sleep a wink as his mind raced with promising thoughts. Early the next morning, BAM! the idea hit him like a ton of moon rocks. Charlie thought back to his time on Earth as he remembered his once Earthly plush body, and although the thought came with some sadness, it gave fuel to the idea he was toying with in his mind. He left his home that day in a hurry as he set out to visit every fabric store around his hometown. He bought as much fabric as he could get his hands on and rushed back home to begin the first steps of his frenzied plan. Once home he began cutting and sewing and sketching more ideas.
He found himself drawn to the sketches and written blurbs he had done of the residents and creatures he had come across during his period of wandering around. He took that idea and started making rough plush versions of his sketches, making each stuffed toy version of the resident as similar as he could to the real thing. Committing hard to his idea he barely slept or left his house as this fixation consumed him. After a week, he emerged with finalized stuffed toys that he quickly rushed to the closest MoonMills Transit Authority office. There he urged the officials to consider taking his new stuffed toys and distributing them to the people of Earth. Charlie’s name held weight in the community and the travel authority leadership knew of his ventures to earth and of his accelerated track in the Human Studies graduate program. With that knowledge in mind they took his small box and set it to go to Earth on the next train.
This idea Charlie had turned into a revolutionary business for him: he would talk to random residents of MoonMills he thought were unique, learn their stories, sketch them, and make stuffed toys of their likeness to send to Earth and maybe bring a little comfort to a human in need. This was Charlie's way to contribute to the human-MoonSugrr connection in a humble way without needing to go to Earth. And guess what? He was right!
His business plans proved to be a hit with leaders of MoonMills, who saw evidence of the stuffed toys working to provide happiness to humans who had received Charlie’s handmade creations. Even though Charlie couldn’t contribute in the way that he originally intended when he was young and bright eyed, he came to the realization that sometimes dreams can shift a little in life but it doesn’t make them any less important. Dreams can change and maybe everyone should be open to that a little.
Charlie’s tectonic shift in his mental health made his family, friends, and peers so happy for him. He was beginning to show signs of his joyful past self, his passion and energy mostly restored. Those that knew him best, still noted glimpses of the hole in his heart and they believe that will be apart of him for a very long time. Charlie himself is aware of the fact that he has more healing to do and he still has yet to talk about his time on Earth. But he has found something to give him hope for the future again and he looks forward every day to the healing that will come with slowly reacclimatizing to normal life and running his handmade stuffed toy business.
Charlie works every day to return to the MoonSugrr he was before, someone that others could rely on for help, not matter how silly the request. Because of this he finds himself helping residents along his travels of MoonMills with whatever task they have or obstacle they may be facing in life. Charlie’s friends and family claim he’s “too nice” and that he should be careful not to be taken advantage of by others during his travels when he wants to be as helpful as possible. Even though he is sometimes initially reluctant to help some folks, because his schedule is exceptionally busy with his new business, he still makes time for anyone who needs him, especially if it means he can squeeze in a request to use their likeness in his newest Earthbound plush. Charlie is burdened with his need to help others so much so that even if he feels slightly inconvenienced, if someone really needs his help he’s going to do it because it’s just the right thing to do and that’s that!
Even if it means he is stuck helping someone move furniture, giving someone a lift somewhere, or pretending to be someone’s date to bring home to their parents. The list of ridiculously helpful tasks Charlie has gotten himself into is never-ending but he enjoys it all. It’s safe to assume he’s going to keep doing it.
Charlie's Chest
Charlie’s Chest is a line of stuffed toys that Charlie creates in his home in MoonMills that are based on unique residents and creatures of MoonMills. The plushes that Charlie makes are different than the MoonSugrr plushes that come from our business of Moonmilk and Monsters. While Moonmilk and Monsters MoonSugrrs are actually MoonSugrrs that have been turned into living, breathing plush versions of themselves, Charlie's Chest plushies are simply plush representations of MoonMills characters, which could be other MoonSugrrs, Animal Folk, Human Folk, SugrrPups, SugrrDrops, and other creatures found around MoonMills.
This way, many of the residents of MoonMills can be featured without them having to physically leave MoonMills.
Charlie’s Chest is open for business!