...In Other OCs

Caudal Mepley

Caudal Mepley, also known by their Trollian handle, accidentalTumult, is a troll and a player in a diseased session of Sgrub. Their associated sign is the alchemical symbol for fire (🜂), though they fall somewhere between the gold and lime caste and their sign in the Extended Zodiac would be Cannius.

Caudal's design is heavily inspired by salamanders, of both the real and mythical variety. Their lusus, Salamandad, is a fireproof cave salamander, and the name Caudal comes from "Caudata", the clade which contains all extant and extinct salamander families. Their quirk (which emphasizes the use of both "th" sounds) is in reference to salamanders having long tongues, also referenced by Caudal's frequent use of ":þ" as an emoticon.

As salamanders share a name with the elemental spirit of fire, Caudal wears the alchemical symbol for fire as their sign and exhibits some pyrokinetic psionics (in line with the potent psychic abilities typical of goldbloods). This also serves to parallel their class, as Sylphs are a classical elemental spirit as well. In their typing, Caudal will occasionally (though very rarely) replace the word "fire" in compound words with "🜂" (e.g. 🜂wall, 🜂poker).

Their handle is in reference to their tendency to accidentally use their pyrokinetic abilities when they don't mean to, causing Tumult (confusion or disorder), even when they are trying to help.

Even within the brooding chambers of Beforus, Caudal's uncontrolled pyrokinetic psionics were developed enough to mark them as a danger to themself and others, the inheritor of a negative mutation. For this reason, and their middling position on the hemospectrum, they were a prime candidate for aggressive culling (of the Beforan sort). They were adopted by a cave salamander lusus, whose fireproof skin allowed him to safely raise the grub into maturity. They grew up on the edge of a sizeable hivebatch, their hive constructed within the remains of an abandoned industrial kiln.

Caudal retained a number of cullers, who supervised their growth until they were in enough control of their own psionics to be considered mostly harmless. One of the last of these, given the opportunity to survey and protect Caudal as part of his training to become a proper culler, was the indigo blooded Laelec Mistra. In spite of their dynamic (or possibly even because of it), Caudal considered Laelec to be a good and trustworthy friend.

Caudal would develop a large number of hobbies, mainly around making things: metalworking, programming, electronics, dressmaking, pottery, brewing, painting, etc. Many of these would be dropped as quickly as they were taken up, save metalworking and programming. Crafts which were particularly susceptible to spontaneous combustion were often dropped the quickest.

Eventually they would meet Zinnia Xunteu, a jadeblood in the neighborhood, through the overlap in their hobbies. The two would become good friends. Regrettably, though, there came an instance in which Caudal's uncontrolled psionics flared up spectacularly. Zinnia was injured in the subsequent blast, and Caudal had scorched their own face to the point of losing the use of their left eye. While Caudal regrets this a lot, it surprisingly did little to harm the strength of their friendship.

It was when they learned that Zinnia (with the help of Observer Crowscaw) had recovered the code necessary to run the game Sgrub that they decided to join their session.

As a Hope player, Caudal is a reckless optimist, always trying to see the best in others and in their own circumstances. This tendency isn't without negative effects. Their near-unconditional trust in others means they are quick to accept their position within controlling relationships; even as a direct subject of culling, they never saw any flaws in a system of incessant coddling at the hands of their superiors. This means they are especially prone to manipulation, especially by those they see as especially friendly or responsible. Meanwhile, the strength of their optimism means that when they reach a low point it hits them especially hard; they find it hard to grapple with genuine feelings of depression and will all but shut down in moments of sadness.

Still, their positive mindset allows them to see the best in people, willing to befriend anyone regardless of their circumstances (as long as they're willing to talk to Caudal in the first place). They find it extremely hard to hate others, making black feelings nigh unapproachable. They are also immensely curious, and show little fear in their pursuit of answers or progression (for better or for worse). As long as they aren't feeling hopeless, they will do everything they can to help those around them.

Caudal as they initially appear.

Caudal in their leather overalls. Art by @beeishappy12.

Caudal in standard Sylph of Hope attire.

A sketch of Caudal's current attire, the Salamandungarees.

Caudal as a grub.

Lil Firestarter - Caudal's main theme

Fading and Flaring - Caudal's ascension to God Tier