YMMV / Pixie and Brutus

• Alternative Character Interpretation: During the strip with the thunderstorm, was Pixie really scared, or did she notice Brutus was scared, and want to help him, but save his ego by claiming she was?
• Broken Base: In one particular strip, Brutus forces an unwilling Randal to play with Pixie. Many fans found themselves sympathizing with the raccoon, because even though he could be a jerk at times, he did nothing wrong in this particular strip, and Brutus was effectively bullying him. On the other hand, many (including the creator) have justified the strip by pointing out that Brutus isn't out of character, and past strips have given him good reasons to be harsh on Randal.
• Diagnosed by the Audience: A lot of readers suspected that Brutus suffers some PTSD from his time as a military dog, before it was confirmed in a later comic. Believe it or not, this is based in reality. Dogs that have been through traumatic events can get PTSD, same as any human — especially working dogs.
• Fanon:
  • A lot of fanmade dubs give Brutus a Western or Southern twang, due to him ending some words with "n'" instead of "ing," and saying "ya" instead of "you."
    • The creator later confirmed that Brutus has a Texas accent, due to training at a boot camp in Texas.
  • Some fans have also read Brutus's voice like Christopher Judge as Kratos in God of War (PS4).
• Genius Bonus: either a case of Shown Their Work or Accidentally-Correct Writing - there is a real-life charity called Pets for Vets which pairs up combat veterans with shelter animals in order to help the former adjust to civilian life and to give the latter a home. This is, essentially, what happens in the strip, except Pixie already has a home and Brutus is, well, himself a dog.
• Spiritual Adaptation: The comics, which are the amusing and WAFFy adventures of a soft-hearted tough dog with a Roman name and an innocent Cute Kitten, resembles the Looney Tunes short Feed the Kitty.
• Stoic Woobie: Brutus has PTSD from combat situations in the Middle East, and deeply misses his handler Sergio, who was KIA during a botched raid. Despite this, he never asks for any sympathy.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Brutus's constant attempts to shield Pixie from anything that might even slightly bother her sometimes resemble a helicopter parent. He clearly means well and he does put some effort into teaching her self-defense (or at least trying to). However, most of the time, he deals with things himself. Given that Pixie is much younger than Brutus, it's doubtful he'll always be there for her. However, with Pixie being aged up in some strips this is being downplayed. This is finally addressed here.
• Viewer Gender Confusion: Despite her pink neckerchief, it wasn't immediately obvious that Pixie was female (leading some readers to be surprised when Brutus referred to her with feminine pronouns).

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