#7oby absorbed radiation and used it to power a magic sword that looked like a dragon head. It didn't have a blade by default but when it-

[solradguy]

wait- your name is 7oby (Toby) and you had a cat named toby- which came first your name or the cats name- who stole who's name ~pumpkin anon

The cat came first. I needed a name to sign my art with and didn't want to use my birth name so I borrowed the cat's. But then it started getting a little confusing because there was Toby (cat), Toby (me), and Toby (character), and I was super into Halo at the time so I swapped the T out for a 7 haha

Bungie, Halo's devs, used to hide references to the number 7 EVERYWHERE in their old games. Like map layouts would branch out into 7 directions, random numbers would add up to 7 or were a multiple of 7, characters would have 7s hidden in their textures, etc.

Somehow 7oby stuck. It's been 18 years. I'm indifferent about it at this point and honestly only still use it because Sol (character) and Sol (me) can get confusing. 5ol is out of the question, I've already laughed at that idea lol

#asks #Way back when I used to have an original setting that my very first fursona fit into #And there was a character for each number 0 through 9. 5 was 5oap and was an albino cat mechanic with biomecha wings #I didn't write any of it down so my memory is foggy... #But iirc they were all experiments in DNA splicing and they all had unique powers #5oap had sort of like an anti-gravity thing going on but it was hard to control hence the wings. He couldn't propel himself without them #7oby absorbed radiation and used it to power a magic sword that looked like a dragon head. It didn't have a blade by default but when it- #-was turned on it would flash-freeze moisture into a cobalt blue magic ice blade #I think there was a big downside to 7oby's radiation powers like it wasn't entirely safe to be around them when- #-they had a lot stored or something but I can't remember if I ever came up with a workaround for that or how 7oby dealt with it #7oby did have a red bandanna/headband though. /Hilarious/ in hindsight

[solradguy]

Might be an odd question, and I'm sorry if it's already been asked, but how did you come up with your fursona?

Not odd at all!! But it's a long story hahah I gotta start from the very absolute beginning. Minor warning for a mention of animal death.

So the first one was an orange and white cat with an olive green trench coat, glowing neon green eyes, a red bandanna (pirate-style, not ninja-style), and they had 7 stripes on their tail. They happened sort of on accident because I was actually 12 years old and couldn't draw humans in a way I was satisfied with and just drew people with cat heads instead. Idk where I got that idea from, probably Thundercats or Swat Katz or something lol. Eventually this character evolved from being based on my actual cat, Toby, to being a character I used to represent myself, 7oby. This fursona is what I refer to as 7oby v.1. They had a sword too, Excalon, that made a blade of frozen ice that was powered by the radiation that my fursona absorbed. I wanted to write a comic with them at once point and had a whole setting and cast fleshed out but this was right around when I entered a very dark period and self-criticism kept it from ever happening.

Unfortunately, Toby, the cat 7oby v.1 was based on, passed away in early 2013. I was really close to this cat, we'd been through a lot together. Around this time I was kind of falling out with the idea of having a fursona too and Toby's death made drawing 7oby v.1 feel... depressing. I tried mixing up their design a little around this time and decided it would be best to just retire them entirely.

This led to 7oby v.2, which was an android with a powerplug tail and 4 motorcycle exhaust pipes on his head lol. I was going through a lot of identity changes around this time (2013-2014) and had a falling out with a friend where they called me a robot and I got a little spiteful about it. I still kind of like 7oby v.2's design but he was a pain in the ass to draw. He didn't last long.

In 2015 I started missing having an actual fursona. I'd gotten a little back into the fandom and having a fuzzy guy I could draw hanging out with my friends' fuzzy guys is a lot of fun. But I needed to design a fuzzy guy again. I didn't know what species to go with and I didn't want to go with a house cat again so I asked my biologist friend for ideas and he suggested a spotted hyena. This was around the time I started realizing I was probably trans so I thought female hyena biology was especially humorous. 7oby v.3 was to be a hyena.

7oby v.3 has gone through a lot of changes haha

7oby v.3 from 2015 through 2017 was just a normal spotted hyena.

From 2018 on he had a robotic endoskeleton like a Terminator and could also make super heated holographic claws and stuff.

In early 2019 I got REALLY into Legend of Zelda and Ganondorf and was like "7oby v.3 is going to be a hyena/boar hybrid now." He still had the Terminator skeleton and laser hands but now he had tusks too. I think this was around the time I gave him lightning/fire magic and decided to combine him with my art mascot, the Somnivagrant, too. Somni's a genderless, amorphous, eyeless, dream demon. It kind of looks like a white dog/wolf and has a sun orb between its ears. The Somnivagrant hitches a ride on my fursona (like a ghost) for fun.

2021 7oby v.3 (the last redesign I've done) is pretty much the same as 2019 but I cleaned up his general anatomy a little and brought back 7oby v.1's Excalon as a giant laser gunsword. Of course.

I think v.3 has gone through more changes than the other two because I've also changed an incredible amount between 2015 to now, but I think, too, that on some level I just don't entirely vibe with v.3. Like v.1 was absolutely me, v.2 was honestly just a stepping stone, and v.3's just kinda... I dunno. I think it might be time for v.4.

#asks #v.3's been my fursona longer than the other two combined but I drew v.1 more by FAR #I redo my reference sheet every couple years and it's funny tracking my interests over time with them lol #I can post them all if anyone wants to see them