I feel an essay in the making. Alright boys, girls, and everyone in between! *cracks knuckles*. Let's do this.

21

Despite his best efforts to be patient, Doogood has limits. This is evident in how he is around Sam and Jack. Men who obnoxiously portray themselves as masculine are anything but masculine in Doogood's eyes. For one thing, it's way too reminiscent of his father for his liking. Morgan had a tendency to shove traditional values in Doogood's face, which never panned out well since Doogood was too frail for anything his father proposed. Also, Sam and Jack's behavior reveals a severe lack of self-awareness on their end. They're too emotionally stupid to realize the damage they're inflicting on themselves and everyone else around them. And as I've mentioned before, Jack's irresponsible parenting diminishes any patience Doogood could possibly have with him. Though in regards to Sam, the rabbit's insistent denial towards criticism aimed at him quickly wears thin on Doogood. Not to mention his blatantly ignorant political views.

Bruno consistently tests Doogood's patience as well. Not only does the jackalope deliberately disobey him, he acts like he's smarter than his coworkers and he's the only one who's been abused. Upon observing Bruno closely, however, it's clear how immature and reckless he is. Doogood's scolding is at its worst in the early days of training Bruno. But as he gets closer to Bruno, he realizes his recruit's attitude stems from trauma; the same kind of trauma he had to endure. As a result, Doogood grows more patient with Bruno's hijinks. Though he's not immune to snapping when Bruno's actions become too careless to ignore.

Outside of these examples, Doogood can generally handle what's thrown at him. That is, when he doesn't literally overwork himself to death. He's too used to doing every task forced upon him. In fact, he'll adamantly refuse to burden anyone else with these tasks, even if they insist on taking his place.

26

Happiness was rare for Doogood prior to meeting Bruno and Cupid. Sure, when experiments go to plan and he successfully makes society a better place, it warms his heart. But most of his time was spent alone and miserable. Drinking alcohol never made him happy, but it numbed the pain significantly enough for him to tolerate his misery. Really, the only thing giving him happiness outside of his good deeds was music. But even then, it wasn't happiness in the traditional sense. He still sobbed over Idina Dazeem's music, but it was because he felt understood. He found comfort in a musician who was scarred like he was. In turn, it gave him motivation when he couldn't motivate himself.

So as you can imagine, it shocks him when other characters are nice to him. Especially characters like Damara or Jamey, both of which he never imagined being so close to. They seemed out of his league. Like he'd always be incapable of providing them the love and respect they deserve. But here's the thing: He's more than able to. To the point where he puts their needs above his own. It gets to a point where they have to step in and be like, "Malcolm, for the love of God, think about yourself for once!"

Damara and Jamey's tender love is enough to make Doogood cry. His heart flutters, his cheeks turn red, and a genuine smile forms on his face as the tears pour. He never had this kind of love before and it shows. Regardless, he's at his happiest around them.

27

Sadness, on the other hand, was the dominating emotion for the longest time. Countless things have upset him over the years, though I'm willing to sort the worst offenses into an internet-friendly list:

His abusive family and how they abandoned him.

His hometown contributing to the dogpile against him on top of banishing him.

Having to survive the rest of his childhood on his own.

Being taken advantage of by the very organization he works for.

Ruining the relationships he had with two of his coworkers, both of which he viewed as close friends.

You're right! Doogood isn't fond of several characters, and I'm more than happy to list them all in an internet-friendly list:

His parents.

Sam

Jack

Carlos

Dr. Dorofeev