#hellhound anatomy

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Sorry if this has been asked before, I couldn’t find it! But do Hellhounds have the same kind of colorblindness dogs do? Or do they see colors normally?

Generally speaking they see colors normally! Every species might have some nuances in the colors they see, but generally everyone has same or similar color range.

This can go into the evolution of species, since there are multiple sentient species on this planet, each with unique needs but ultimately the 'dominant' species in their region during early development, they'd need to develop color sight for survival much as humans irl have done. This isn't to say that some species might have limited or very different color capacity (in case of underground/underwater species), but generally speaking, they're all pretty on par with each other. :)

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I know you let people headcanon generously but like??? could hellhounds get tongue piercings? like would that even be possible?? I don’t mean like coding it in lol but is it a thing in universe?? idk enough about dog anatomy to know if it would work but I like the idea of my mc having a tongue piercing lol (also correct me if I’m wrong but nipple piercings have been a thing since Victorian times so it’s perfectly plausible for mcs to have them ;) )

Yeah for sure! I don’t see why they couldn’t have that option, go for it!

And also, yes, nip piercings were very popular in victorian times so even though we’re not in the middle of those ages anymore they’d very much so still be an option :p

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Are there any other stuff the hellhound, basilisk, and porcelain ones have to look out for to keep their health in check?

• Hellhounds gotta get really into brushing their teeth because there’s a lot of real estate to cover :P

But also, a hellhound, after expending their coal via spitting fire, really should take it easy and let the coal recover. You only have so many ‘charges’ so to speak since it is an organic compound that has to produce on its own. A hellhound has one, maybe two, rarely three charges in them, and trying to spit more fire than you have can do some serious damage.

Otherwise, you’ve got to maintain your claws, of course, and have some special lotions for your toe beans.

• Porcelains don’t really have a whole lot of health concerns beyond feeding regularly and waxing the joints because they just don’t have all those annoying organic squishy bits other species have to worry about.

You’ve got to watch out for stains on your skin though, if you don’t buff them out with some detergent then you’ll have a nice good stain for life until you get that replaced or do some serious work on it.

Porcelain eyes, like regular porcelain dolls, can get clouded! This is where you would use oil to regain their shine but shouldn’t happen very often at all (years, I’m thinking)

Also, since your scalp doesn’t produce oils like natural beings, you’ve got to maintain your hair (if you have any) carefully, make sure it doesn’t dry out because you have no natural way of maintaining hair health.

• Basilisks have to be careful brushing their teeth because of how sensitive their mouths are. There’s probably specialty pastes and brushes I’d imagine. If a fang gets damaged from brushing poorly/eating something then you’ve got to let it heal before using your venom, or else you can end up mangling your fangs and poisoning yourself.

On that note! Basilisks are not immune to their own venom! It doesn’t affect them as badly but accidentally ingest enough of it and it’s going to hurt, so it’s important that, after expounding venom, you rinse and spit. Luckily, if you expound your venom through a membrane, like you (should) do for ERA, the membrane handles the cleaning for you.

If you’ve got a tail you’ve got to make sure it doesn’t dry out, maintain your scales and there’s some health problems with different types of tails.

Spines can get infected at the root so if you use them in battle you’ve got to clean them thoroughly.

Fins can tear and need proper care to heal neatly or risk hampering your swimming ability.

Smooth tails dry out the fastest and so need more care on that front.

Clubbed tails have less nerve endings and so it’s important to check your tail daily for damages to make sure nothing is festering.

It’s also important that you give your secondary arms time to rest! They’re smaller and weaker than your primaries and so shouldn’t be used as frequently and for as much heavy lifting as your primaries.

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Sooooo I was wondering, for reasons unrelated to Isla and the basilisk/hellhound MCs, in your world are people particularly sensitive at the base of their horns/tails? I just know sometimes people's lore says they are and sometimes they say there's even less feeling there

Depends on the species, depends on the tail.

Hellhounds - Yes, lots of nerve endings there.

Unicorns - Horn, yes, tail, less so.

Basilisks - Horns, yes, tail, it depends. If they have a tail designed for attacking, namely the clubbed tail, there’s less nerve endings going on around there so less all-in-all feeling. The spiked tail is similar but more sensitive than the clubbed, while the finned and other tails are the most sensitive on a basilisk. Regardless, they’re just not going to be as sensitive as a hellhound’s.

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Okay, so I just went and read like all the asks about hellhounds and I saw the one about smiling and how it doesn’t really translate?? And like, I get that an open mouth smile would be seen as bad but dogs can move their faces around a lot and have expressions that humans interpret as smiles! So maybe hellhounds will make these kinds of faces to try and show in more obvious ways that they’re happy? 1/2

For sure! I think hellhounds that spend a lot of time around other species would definitely adapt accordingly and learn how to offer hellhound smiles that translate properly to other species.

I mean same goes for other species though, if they’re around hellhounds they’d probably learn what makes up a hellhound’s real smile vs. the performative one. I like to think that most people are open to other species’ self-expression methods though, of course, there are always the assholes.

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I mean, if we're gonna ask about the naughty bits, there's been a question on my mind about the Hellhounds (if it's OK to ask). There was mention in the demo that their lower extremities had similarities to a dog. Does that mean that a Male Hellhound will end up sticking a bit with their partner after the climax due to how that works in dogs? Or is it something different with Hellhounds?

It’s definitely okay to ask and I think it’s a fair question!

Under the cut, as per the usual when we’re talking about bits

So, I’d give it a solid no because there’s no scientific basis behind why a hellhound would have that kind of anatomy. (Not even going into the fetishization & social problems rife in fiction when humanoids have that type of anatomy)

Basilisks with the two or one dick option makes sense because that is determined based on the location of the cloaca (the thing that signals its time to make the genitals during gestation), the change of location of the cloaca will determine what kind of tissue it uses to make the genitals and that tissue changes whether one dick or two are made during that process.

As for hellhounds, there’s no reason to have a knot/that kind of gland, there’s no reason to force a long term connection, there are no ‘heats’ in any species and there’s no mating season or whatnot because, despite appearing similar to canines, hellhounds aren’t related in anyway at all. Same goes for other species, gorgons aren’t related to snakes, harpies to birds, etc. etc.

So, normal dicks for hellhounds! But that’s definitely a fair question :)

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I'm curious about hellhound anatomy. Do they have digitigrade bent legs or straight legs like a human? Also, how much body fur do they have? Is it just their head or is there any on their backs or their arms? Do they have claws hands? Sorry for the barrage of questions! I was thinking of drawing my hellhound and wanted it to be accurate. Thanks so much for this unique game! I've always wanted to play as a monster or other species!

Hey! I’ve answered this somewhere before but I’m happy to give more details.

So I’ve always imagined them more minotaur style, body of a human, head and feet of a canine. How digitigrade those feet/legs are I’m leaving up to you guys because I think there’s variety in the species where, yeah, some have their whole lower halves as canines, whereas others just have their feet canine shaped. So that bit is up to you!

The fur is only ever on your head and however much you choose to have for your lower half (so if you’re digitigrade all the way up your legs, the fur follows suit, vice versa for hellhounds with just their feet being canine)

I’ve thought about the claws on your hands and I think that’s another detail that’s up to you! Your hands can be completely human or be tipped in claws, you could even argue a thin layer of fur on your hands too if you want, it’s just not something I’d mention in game bc the character creator is already insane as is :P

And of course! I’ve always wanted to play as a monster too?? So I’m happy you’re enjoying it so far! :D