Anonymous User asked: Is there a backstory to how Tux ended up as an amphimorpho? (Assuming they're a mutant one!)
yep! though i must admit, it's not terribly different from what i've shown in my webcomic so far with Rocket X'3
basic gist is that Tux went out hiking in the desert with some friends, the group stumbled upon a derelict ship wedged in a hidden canyon, and Tux went poking around inside in the dark and tripped on some stray cables, landing them on the floor where there was broken glass and trace amounts of the viral serum left. i'm actually working on a short, simple comic about them on the side that i'll start posting once i'm done with the last couple pages!~
figured i'd stick some interesting trivia down here about the conception of Meet Me in the Woods and how it relates to my fursona and a few other things, as a bonus! XP
Tux and Rocket share similarities in appearance and backstory elements because both were essentially spawned from the same origin, a vivid dream i had back in 2016-ish.
in the dream, i was exploring an empty spaceship, thinking i was alone. the ship wasn't quite derelict so much as it just seemed recently abandoned...i still vaguely remember parts of it. shiny interiors and bright lights, lots of smooth surfaces, multiple levels. pristine and otherworldly.
at some point in my exploration i was found out, and was chased through the ship as i tried to find an escape. during this chase, i found myself suddenly morphed into an amphimorpho, marking the first instance of me taking that form in a dream.
at that time, i'd already been experimenting with Tux as a shapeshifting fursona, but the idea to make them a formerly human shapeshifter came directly from this dream. their current backstory is a direct callback to it.
(the above comic is a loose interpretation i made sometime after i'd had the dream)
of course, being so enamored with the concept, i began brainstorming ideas for a lengthier story based around it. the desire to write a novel or create a long-form webcomic had already occupied me for years before this moment, so it wasn't the first time i'd tried this by any means. somehow, it's the one that stuck.
i initially started writing the story as a novel, starring Tux. but, as the idea evolved and i simultaneously became more attached to Tux as a personal sona, i chose to create a new protagonist to take their place in the story, leading to Rocket!
of course, the final draft for the current webcomic looks a lot different from where i started, but some of the basic elements remain the same - a small, insignificant injury while exploring an off-limits area ends up having much bigger consequences than the character was prepared to reckon with. that's probably as far as the similarities will go between Rocket and Tux, though!
