chocodile

[chocodile]

"Like a kid in a candy store"

Typhus doin' some stabbing! He's really good at stabbing.

Art Fight attack for @psshaw!

[chocodile]

Second set of Art Fight attacks!

Akira for @sealhaus

Decks for @cyberdragoninfinity

Eden for @yaoiwarning

Tinfoil for @robotsocks

[chocodile]

First four Art Fight attacks for 2025!

Pibble for @jenqatower

Jason Barns for @vibing-things

Ashton Dudley for @possessedpasm

Blaine for @mongoosefangs

[chocodile]

Experimental sketchy commission by @lambstooth! I wanted to see Hyden 'n' Ambroys interacting and SHE DID NOT DISAPPOINT. Look at the fantastic faces on these two!

[chocodile]

Hungry Critter enamel pins are now available! These will also be available at Anthro Weekend Utah 2025!

[chocodile]

How rich...

[Retro comm for @chocodile and @kwillow!]

[chocodile]

Hyden published many books on the study of magic during his long life. His works were widely admired for their clarity and thoroughness and were commonly used as textbooks in the Western Kingdom's various magical academies. His unique insight, obvious passion, and dry sense of humor came through in every page, making for enjoyable and educational (albeit dense) reads.

His work was not without controversy, of course. It was apparent from his earliest works that he enjoyed pushing boundaries and challenging established ideas about the practice of wizardry, even when doing so would alienate or undermine his colleagues. But even those who disagreed with him on specific points would generally admit that he was one of the greatest and most innovative minds in their field.

His later works became somewhat more abstract; dense, wordy and philosophical even beyond his established high level of verbosity. Late in life, he stopped publishing all together as his health took a downturn. His final work was stuck in a perpetual, unfinished state of limbo, never to be released.

...Or so it had seemed: at age 56, only a year before he would be sentenced to death, he released his final publication: A strange, rambling, disjointed mess speculating on the nature of magic itself, and positing the existence of some sort of dark anti-magic force that has existed before time itself. The word "blood" was used many, many times, and the book included descriptions of strange, dark rituals. The shaky penmanship--a far cry from the grand, confident, swooping flourishes of his earlier writing--furthered the impression that this was the work of a deteriorating madman. Unlike his previous works, it did not see wide release, and the fact that the king's High Court Wizard would pen something so obviously deranged was seen as quite an embarrassment for the Western Kingdom.

[chocodile]

How would Hyden react to meeting a human or any non-furry individual (if it could even happen)? Curious since I’ve always wanted to draw an interaction with the dastardly bunny but I don’t have furry characters _(;; 」∠)_

I figure that it's pretty common for furries to encounter people whose species they're unfamiliar with... your hometown might only have bears, foxes, deer, a few birds, and a family of weirdly reclusive pillbugs who kinda seem like they might be part of a cult, but then you move to the big city and see fish and lizards and bug-people all over the place and just think "huh, I have NO IDEA what that person is but I guess people can look like that!" over and over again. Even less common mammals might regularly have to explain what they are to strangers as they get mistaken for more "common" species. And that's to say nothing of hybrids! A well-traveled furry no longer experiences the "what even IS that guy and what are those THINGS sticking off of his butt, wait, shit, I really hope those aren't mating parts" reaction, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're familiar with every kind of animal in existence.

ANYWAY all that to say, Hyden wouldn't be anywhere close to as shocked by encountering a human as someone from the real world might be encountering a furry... he'd assume that a human is just some species of ape he's not familiar with. Maybe some sort of ape-naked mole rat hybrid, or a hybrid ape suffering from hybrid-sickliness-related hair loss? How curious! That is to say, he'd be tactful and polite and would try not to stare excessively at their weird naked skin, but curiosity would eventually get the better of him and he'd find a way to casually ask what they are. They could have entire conversations about other stuff before he popped the question, though!

[chocodile]

Hyden is an endless fountain of wisdom on any and all topics. Well, 'endless fountain of words' is maybe more accurate, the wisdom of what he's saying is often highly dubious. Do NOT go to Hyden for dating advice. (Response to Wispurrstar's Vincent on BlueSky, following up to this little comic: https://bsky.app/profile/wispurrstar.bsky.social/post/3loygptsfnc2g )

[chocodile]

😇Angel & Devil😈 (Boys, please don't fight!)

[chocodile]

Made a ref sheet of this specific Hyden flavor since I've been really into him lately.

[chocodile]

OOPs I never posted the rest of these here!

Beth for pythonmelon.bsky.social

(Unknown name) for krispyhazelnut.bsky.social

Avery Tarquin for ealadubhsidhe.bsky.social

(Unknown name) for lindblut.bsky.social

Alex for dragonnap.bsky.social

Niadris for skekdris.bsky.social

I'll most likely do another Bluesky follower giveaway at a future milestone. :)

First batch of drawings from my 2.5k follower giveaway over on Bluesky! Characters and their owners, in order:

Shred for radiantstarlight.bsky.social

Hallow for burnishedfangs.bsky.social

Igglectus for poweredkelpie.bsky.social

Mags for anarchie.nskanetis.net

Nightmare for vespetus.bsky.social

(Don't know this guy's name) for greatestgummii.bsky.social

[chocodile]

COMMISSION WORK

https://skeb.jp/@yorozu1217

[chocodile]

Kwillow is correct!

Hyden's alleged son was never officially connected to him--he didn't inherit the dukedom or any of Hyden's property when Hyden was sentenced to death and his belongings confiscated--and remained only a rumor. Theo choosing to disbelieve these unverified claims wouldn't be terribly outlandish (certainly not as much so as some of the other things he chooses to believe or not believe about his favorite historical figure).

As for Hyden, he believed himself to be either infertile or of very low fertility. Eventually, enough "evidence" emerged that he privately settled on "very low fertility", but by that time Milana had left him and his health was beginning to fail, so he figured his odds of siring a legitimate heir were still essentially nil. As Kwillow said, he wanted to be the last of his line.

(And yes, I do indeed have a comic in the works that involves the bunnycat son! It's still in the "fragments of script" stage, but is the most developed long comic concept I have currently and is likely the next one I'll do.)

Has anyone ever brought up Hyden's kid he had with that calico cat?

Hyden and any offspring of his are @Chocodile's jurisdiction. So I can't answer whether he was ever "brought up" during Hyden's life in the old kingdoms, but I can theorize about whether Theo might know of him (being a Hyden aficionado and all).

As far as I am aware, Hyden's bastard is one of countless souls who lived humble lives, perished, were mourned, and then were forgotten, never to be thought again of by future generations. The only reason he might have ever been recorded were because of rumors of his relation to Hyden, which could possibly have been the subject of biography or at least ancient court proceedings. I'm sure Hyden would want any mention of him scraped from his name, though -- Hyden likes the idea of being the last of his line (though not enough to keep him from screwing around, apparently).

If any record of the catbunson did make it into Theo's hands, though, he would just dismiss it as a pernicious rumor, like Theo does with everything he reads about Hyden that he finds distasteful.

[chocodile]

Received some interesting questions about how Jo would feel about Theo having friends, were she alive to see it.

In short: Jo might be pleasantly surprised that Theo had managed to make his first ever friend at the tender age of 35 years old. She would be less pleased about his selection.

(Asks & answers under the cut, per usual.)

She might find him an intriguing person on an intellectual level, not only as a living piece of history, but someone who extended his lifespan long after its natural expiration date. I think they could have interesting conversations about magic, politics, and their respective moral philosophies. That said, everything Jo said would be hissed through a jaw tightly clenched.

She wouldn't like Hyden, is what I mean. Damningly, she might find his personality to be disastrously similar to her beloathed husband. Vulgar, slimy, dishonest, infuriatingly unreserved. It wouldn't help that Jo shares a few qualities in common with Hyden's ideal woman (though a penchant for skull brassieres is sadly not one of them). Man might try to shoot his shot. She does not want to be shot at.

Her disapproval would cause tension between the three of them. Hyden is Theo's hero, but his mother is Theo's world. He might not change his mind fully (the two did have their disagreements, despite Theo's worshipful sycophancy) but he would also probably not have the single-minded loyalty to Hyden that he does when Jo is not around to absorb his devotion instead.

I believe Hyden would, at least, attempt to make nice with Jo, if only because he would recognize that she and Theo are a package deal and he wants at least one mage on his side (two would be even better).

Honestly, I think Theo would be more jealous of Jo having friends than vice-versa. Jo was a lonely girl who grew into a lonely woman, comfortable in solitude. She would miss Theo if he were going out to play with his little friends instead of spending time with her, but she can occupy herself. Theo would argue he is also a loner, but in reality he's never been without the undivided attention of his mother. He would cope poorly with losing that. Good thing she also didn't have any other friends! (...These two are very pathetic and weird.)

In theory, Jo would be cautiously pleased about Theo managing to form positive relationships with other people. It would signify a massive leap forward in his social acumen and independence, and could imply he is more capable than she thought of politicking and maybe even psychological manipulation, two very important skills for a man of his status to have.

But beyond being proud of him developing new expertises, she would be exacting in her standards for what a close friend for Theo should be. She feels he is naive and could be easily taken advantage of. Her attitude towards any potential companions would be that of redneck father interrogating his daughter's boyfriend while the barrel of the shotgun in his lap is surreptitiously pointed at the young man's groin. If she judged any individuals untrustworthy, she would attempt to intervene or at least reduce their presence in her son's life in whatever way would be appropriately subtle and convenient.

Ultimately, as far as she's concerned, Theo can have friends. But he cannot forget where his loyalties should lie. Family always comes first.

[chocodile]

commission for @chocodile <3

[chocodile]

Art Fight 2024 attack for @chocodile!