Little Lapses
is a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon fan comic by Salt & Pepper Bunny and Zero Pro Studios. It began publication in July 2021 and finished in August 2023.
At the end of her first year at her new school, Holly the Yungoos is eager to meet up with her new best friends, Cinnabar the Scorbunny and Blue the Phanpy. Unfortunately, something's got Blue upset and she won't say what it is. Cinnabar, determined to cheer her up, makes them play rescue team in the woods. The drama along the way puts the trio's True Companionship to the test.
Little Lapses contains examples of:
- Bee Afraid: In Chapter 4, Cinnabar unknowingly kicks a flaming pinecone into a beehive, causing some angry Combee to pursue the trio. When they hide in a log, the Combee knock it into a river below.
- Blunt "Yes": In Chapter 4, when Blue wonders if she has been acting upset for no reason, Cinnabar flatly responds, "Yes."
- Both Sides Have a Point: Team Snowdrop explains that Blue was justified in not talking about her feelings. However, they also suggest that doing so could have eased Cinnabar's worries.
- Cast Full of Gay: Blue is transgender and knows at least 2 other trans schoolmates; Cinnabar is aromantic; both Holly and her moms are lesbian. The other parents had opposite-sex marriages but aren't explicitly cishet.
- Childhood Friends: Blue and Cinnabar first met in kindergarten and have been together since.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: It upsets Cinnibar to see Blue spending any time with her other peers.
- Colorful Theme Naming: Both Blue and her sister Navy are shades of, well, blue, both physically and in name. Cinnabar is also named after a shade of red.
- Department of Redundancy Department: When asked to list her favorite things in Q&A #1, Cinnabar repeats "Fire" twice, and "Blue" five times.
- Disappeared Dad: Cinnabar's father is nowhere to be found in her life. Was an Ambiguously Absent Parent until the Q&A's, where Cinnabar's mom explained that they split up when Cinnabar was very young, and it left Cinnabar with a fear of abandonment.
- Dude, Where's My Reward?: Cinnabar is outraged in Q&A #2 when a reader reminds her that the team wasn't paid for their rescue outing.
- Education Mama: Blue's mom is so determined for her daughters to get straight A's that she will punish them for getting a single B.
- Egocentric Team Naming: Cinnabar's first idea for the trio's team name is "Team BlazeEmberFire," something only she's associated with.
- Establishing Character Moment: Cinnabar and her mom in Chapter 1. Mom is too focused on her work life to pay attention to Cinnabar, who wishes the two could spend more time together. Cinnabar's hyperactive personality is also in full swing.
- False Friend: Holly's friends before she met Blue and Cinnabar. She thinks they're the only kids in school who like her, but they locked her in a shed because she "got too scared and ruined [their] game."
- Fourth-Wall Mail Slot: Readers were invited to submit questions for both the characters and authors at the ends of chapters 3 and 7.
- Freudian Trio:
- Cinnabar is the Id. She acts impulsively and is very emotional.
- Blue is the Superego. She would rather spend time alone than talk about her feelings with her friends. She draws on her knowledge about rescue teams to solve problems in a logical way.
- Holly is the Ego who tries desperately to mediate the two and fit in.
- Genki Girl: Cinnabar is especially loud among her friends and frequently jumps and runs around.
- Good Parents: Holly's moms are supportive and want her to have a healthy social life in spite of being new to the town. When she tells them how she's getting bullied, the homemaker mom says she'll report it to the school, while the working mom considers fighting the bullies herself.
- Happily Adopted: Holly's egg was adopted from another Gumshoos couple in the area. She doesn't mind this and has no issues with her adoptive parents.
- It's Okay to Cry: This message is reinforced to Blue when she has doubts about her feelings being valid. In particular, Blue learns that she did nothing wrong by being sad, and Cinnabar learns that she shouldn't force Blue to feel happy if she doesn't want it.
- Kids Are Cruel: Holly's "friends" from early on in the school year locked her in a shed for getting scared during a game.
- Monster Is a Mommy: The feral Nidoqueen that attacked the trio? She just lost her egg in a crevice, and she calms down when it's recovered.
- Queer Establishing Moment: Blue drops that she's transgender at the start of Chapter 2, when talking about how she met another trans girl that day.
- True Companions: The main trio sticks together even after Blue and Cinnabar have a major fight. Holly thought this was only possible in the realm of fiction.
- Unnamed Parent: The parents' character titles all read "X's Mom". Readers asked the parents' names in both Q&A's, and both times they gave no answer.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Cinnabar's mom has to work long hours as a waitress to make ends meet. This causes her to miss out on much of Cinnibar's life, much to the dismay of both.
