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Fuzzbutts: Wildtypes vs Domestics
🕑 Added 2021-09-03 02:43:40 +0000 UTCverrrry quick doodle before bed (looking forward to having more time to draw in the coming days!)
I decided to rework my Phoenix expy, Frankie, into something a little different. Meet Judith. She is Sunny's "little" sister, adopted to be his companion when he was about three years old.
The adoption coordinator told Sunny's parents that little prospective pup Judith was a husky mix with "some light wolf ancestry". Whether the coordinator genuinely didn't grasp the truth or was deliberately distorting things is unknown.....What is known is that Sunny's parents were startled when Judy started growing....and growing......and growing. She quickly surpassed Sunny in size, sprouting massive claws and fangs and developing immense physical strength that far outclassed her brother, would eventually outclass both her parents combined. Judith is a dire wolf, one of the largest canines to ever live. Her general air of menace tends to spook most herbivores, and even her adoptive family is a bit nervous around their big bad daughter.
.....That kinda hurts Jude's feelings, cuz underneath the roughhousing and snark and booming laugh, she's secretly, well.....a sweetheart. A softie. A big ol' pubby. She's a local mechanic that does many odd jobs, but also quite likes knitting, embroidery, and writing mushy love songs. Not that she'd ever have the guts to actually perform said songs, her girl band Maul Madness is hardcore punk rock/heavy metal only, because if the world is gonna fear Jude as a big scary monster, might as well lean into it for fun and profit.
In the world of Fuzzbutts, predators are often typecast as dominating, violent, and scary, and there's a curious trend of more predators being in positions of power (eg. politicians, office managers, etc) than prey animals. Prey animals are sometimes maligned as being weak, skittish, and easily misled. All citizens have likely been unfairly stereotyped at one point or another, and discrimination is a thing. Predators may resent prey animals for having an easier time acquiring food (herbivores and omnivores have a wide variety of food options, while obligate carnivores are stuck either eating protein-based fake meat or paying for expensive cuts of lab-grown meat). Prey animals may resent predators for the unfair power they wield, both socially and physically. Although society generally gets along and is fully integrated, there is often a note of mistrust and unease, and some pockets of extremist speciesism exist.
Additionally, there's a further social divide between "wildtype" and "domestic" meat-eaters. Domesticated dogs especially are afforded an instant trust by society that wildtype predators like Jude are typically denied. Who doesn't love a dog's adorable face and cute wagging tail? Jude, having been raised among domestic dogs, naturally grew to mirror many of their behaviors, but what's cute from Sunny (barking/howling when excited, running up to greet someone, smiling wide) comes off as terrifying when Jude does it. Jude tries very hard to be nice and palatable for the world, but ends up failing most of the time anyway, so as an adult she fully embraces the "big bad wolf" thing, acting dominating and crass to cover up a good number of insecurities. Her relationship with Sunny is strained, while she does love her brother deep down, she can be a bit of a bully to him. Out of herself, Cass, and Sunny, it's very obvious who their parents' golden child is, so Jude sometimes takes out this resentment on her big bro.
if u wanna imagine Jude's voice and general vibe, basically think Miss Kitty from Fievel Goes West: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxVWqSZksiw
Comments
Lopoddity
Sorry about that. I drew Cass here: https://www.deviantart.com/lopoddity/status-update/concept-art-still-fiddling-with-889821773
Jam Gram
I hope I'm not missing something obvious, but is there any official art / design for Cass ? 😅 I just want to see all the sibs!!
This is a really cool idea. Poor Jude.
