Artist, frequently of big anthros. Mid 30’s, ΘΔ, you can find me on FA, Tumblr, and Bluesky too! 18+ please, I make weird stuff sometimes.
cause uh see. "the curse of scales makes you a dragon" and "dragons are pretty much always pretty tubby" are both hard-and-fast rules in my setting, which would- uh- kinda... manage to rob some of the drama of, say, a very tragic OC turning into one at the conclusion of her lowest point...
I think this might have taken some of the sting outta this for Rose.
In my universe, unrestrained use of magic is dangerous both for the unpredictable effect arcane energy has on an environment, but also because of a… fun little wrinkle in how it effects living creatures of sufficient sapience.
See, magic is always seeking to fill a container- be it a gem, a mana pool, or a person. It changes and adapts that container to those needs unconsciously- a mana pool becomes crystalline and heavily charged with arcane energy over time like one would expect pool tiles to crust over, a gem grows facets and faces, and a person- well, arcane energy will adapt a person to its needs if present in their body in sufficient amounts, and it will do this by making them the sort of critter most adapted to storing large amounts of arcane energy- a dragon.
The Curse of Scales, as it is known, is dangerous, coming in stages. A person will begin to grow scales across their body, their eyes will turn reptilian, their teeth will sharpen, then, when they reach the tipping point, a few things might happen:
Responses to this eventuality range from place to place; magic and mages are too valuable to not utilize, and while many places do have provisions for victims of the curse in their laws, others, seeing the first two outcomes as more likely, will kill mages at risk of turning instead of risking it.
Needless to say… it’s a controversial and persistent problem in my setting.
And… golly, y’know, Rose fought Callie in an experimental and dangerous aircraft that was absolutely drowning in unstable arcane tech called the XFA-09 Fafnir- Weird that she turned out fine, huh?
Now, we've gotten an answer on taurs being in buses, but the real question is, how would taurs do as a bus system all their own?
Hmmmm see that makes me think of something like a Taur Uber, which would of course be called “Tuber,” and obviously tubers and spuds and potatoes make for good staple foods full of starches and fiber, so I think it would be Good.
Would love to see ya OCs and sona more!! I feel like I haven't seen nearly enough of 'em
My ‘sona proper is Kenna here, a boisterous, bullheaded, and big-hearted giant wolftaur who loves a good meal with friends as much as she loves getting into trouble without thinking through her actions! She’s a champion of the gods and protector of mortals a la something like a classical greek hero, but that’s just the day job!
I’m gonna make this a thread of all my goobers, with summaries, so buckle up!
One of my oldest OCs, and the one through which my egg cracked, Lena in my setting is kinda a big deal, in that she’s kinda THE god of the realm! Well- she wasn’t always, but when you’re a writer who just happens to be raised to godhood, your books turned into a universe, you fall into the role. She now embodies creativity, generosity, love of all sorts, and change- fitting for a shapeshifting fox!
Lena’s a sweetheart beyond compare, always trying to do best for her charges and her friends, but this makes her a bit of a people pleaser, and that combined with her fear of being too heavyhanded has sorta pushed her out of world affairs over the last few millenia- something she’s sorta grateful for.
Kamila… oh, Kamila. The youngest member of my cast, in her early twenties, Kami is a hotheaded, short-tempered punk who would rather be a troublesome drifter than settle down and lay roots. She has no respect for authority, has a chip on her shoulder the size of a sombrero, and would rather keep being a motorcycle-riding drifter than get involved in other people’s problems.
Unfortunately for Kamila, she’s the shonen anime protagonist of my universe.
See, when the foundations of the world were laid, Lena left something out, didn’t assign a god to watch over something she couldn’t herself confront- death.
As a result, death is… strange… in this world. As time goes on, the imbalance in the natural word only gets worse and worse, and those things tend to… correct themselves.
Even if the god of death doesn’t know it yet.
My newest OC, Hawthorne is a “Revenant,” a recently-dead soldier brought back to life as a biomechanical dragon. (A voluntary process!)
Like other Revenants, Hawthorne works for the “Pendragon” NGO, a group dedicated to cleaning up magical accidents or incidents that government forces and regular, mortal folk can’t. Revenants themselves are immune to magic, even consuming it for energy, and are NOTORIOUSLY hard to kill. Couple that with their ability to use weaponry you’d normally stick on a tank, and well- you see where they get the nickname of “Scalebreakers”
Hawthorne is one of the oldest Revenants, a levelheaded, if gruff, older sister type, who believes very firmly in what she does, and won’t back down from a threat no matter how imposing. She’s a tired old vet, but her moral compass is set in stone.
I can’t separate these two, as their stories are tied intrinsically, both their triumphs and tragedies intertwined.
Plus they’re hella gay.
Rose and Callie met during a war. Rose’s home had fallen into civil war, the ruling elite trying to hold a tyrannical grasp on power with the death of their more moderate king, opposed by rebels- including former nobles like Rose- who fought for the democratic reforms the former ruler was pursuing before his death. As the conflict spread outside the nation’s borders and the loyalist forces began to deploy highly dangerous and illegal mass magitech weaponry, a coalition of neighboring countries intervened on the side of the rebels, trying to contain the out of control conflagration.
Callie and Rose met as allied fighter pilots, their squadrons working together in close concert during the war, and they and their comrades developed a deep bond, one that deepened even more greatly between Rose and Callie.
But war- and politics- don’t like happy stories.
As the loyalist forces were routed, the Coalition refused to recognize the legitimacy of the rebels, having only used them to secure a puppet government they then inserted. Despite Rose and Callie’s bond, Rose couldn’t watch her people be used as pawns in geopolitical games, and Callie couldn’t bring herself to turn against her home. When the rebels turned on the Coalition, using much of the same weapons the loyalists had, Callie and Rose would eventually face each other in an apocalyptic duel as much of the country burned. Callie was the victor, assuming Rose had died in battle, which broke her spirit entirely. She hung up her wings in disgust, feeling both betrayed by her countrymen and sickened by her own cowardice.
Callie would later establish Pendragon as an NGO, hoping to do some good with the fame she had earned, and wanting to prevent disasters like the war had been. Years later, by sheer chance, she would encounter a one-eyed grey wolf who had become a mercenary lord in the last few decades- Rose. The two’s lingering animosity fell away then and there, and they reconciled, both learning what the other had become, and both proud.
Nowadays, Callie is the kindhearted leader of Pendragon, more of a pencil-pusher than a frontline type, who is committed wholeheartedly to doing good without the ambitions of politicians and generals getting in the way- she’s stubbornly committed to this, and Pendragon has fought hard for their recognition as a result.
Rose… is a living legend. A mercenary leader known as the “Red Moon,” she’s a ruthlessly effective fighter and, despite her sharp edges and quick tongue, a dedicated leader of her people, and the de-facto face of her diaspora of refugees and outcasts.
The world is very different for both women, but they have many of the same goals… even if they’re pursued very, very differently.