I didn't expect nearly 1400 folks to come vote for these two. I thought maybe a few hundred would chime in. There was a winner with more votes, but the number of votes for both was overwhelmingly high. On top of that, this campaign has already far exceeded my hopes for how much it raised for the Sunshines, and still has a week left to raise even more.
With all of that in mind, on top of the tons and tons and tons of love both Inferno and Ashes got, I will do what I know everyone was wishing for and BOTH OF THEM WILL BE UNLOCKABLE IN THIS CAMPAIGN!!!!!!
In my bigger campaigns I have ALWAYS stuck to ten characters... in both Snug-Alongs 1 and 2, some poll losers had to go home empty handed and wait until the next year for their turn as backpacks. I really did want to stick to ten characters for these huge plushies but the people have spoken.
Not only will they both unlock, I began prototyping them in anticipation of either outcome and here is a sneak peek!
ON TOP OF THAT! They both get enamel pins as well!!!!!!!!
ON TOP OF THAT!!!!!!!!!! You can now read their entire story from start to finish. This is the most lore I have ever written for any characters, but with the fervor they created, they deserve it. ❤️ Enjoy!
Warnings: fire, injury, death, bad faith assumptions, lack of communication
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Inferno the Phoenix Gryphon hatched alone at the bottom of a volcano hundreds of years ago. He taught himself everything he knew, and made friends easily with his exuberant and friendly personality. One day he risked his life to save a whole forest full of critters from a fire, but succumbed to his injuries soon after and melted away. But, to everyone's delight, an orange egg appeared atop his ashes, and from that egg sprang Inferno once again. Soon after hatching, he learned that the phoenix side of his lineage had bestowed upon him the gift of rebirth. With his new knowledge of this divine power, he flew across the world rescuing those in need. He even found his long-lost cousin, a grey gryphon who looked rather like a harpy eagle mixed with a snow leopard.
Ashes the Wyvern dragon was the opposite of Inferno -- born into a big loving family. She was the smallest egg out of five, with many uncles, aunts, cousins and siblings to adore and care for her in addition to two doting parents. Born on the same volcano as Inferno, she watched his exploits, admiring him even though she was too shy to ever say hello. One terrible day the volcano erupted, and Ashes' family became trapped in their cave as magma rose around them. Tiny Ashes was able to wriggle free and looked desperately for the hero Phoenix to put out the fire, but he never appeared.
Since that day, anytime she saw the phoenix she attacked and roared in her loneliness and grief, blaming him for everything. He playfully danced around her jabs, unsure why this dragon hated him so much. She never explained fully what happened, being unable to face her terrible loss. This continued on for a century, and their rivalry became the stuff of legend in their forest.
One day when looking for a fight, she was shocked to encounter Inferno as a newly hatched chick, sitting alone in his nest. Curiosity overcame rage and, in tears, she finally asked him why he didn't come save her family. It was then that Inferno grasped the source of her grief and anger. He explained to her that by the time her family perished, he had already been reduced to ashes; he'd spent the day saving others from the flowing magma and fires and hit his limit. She realized then that it wasn't his fault, and he finally understood her pain. The life-long rivals became the closest of friends from that day on, never to part. The duo are fiercely protective over each other, and Ashes, having learned of Inferno's life and rebirth cycle, is especially watchful over her best friend when he's in his baby chick stage.
See you with the final week countdown, more prototype progress, and let's get these two unlocked!!!!!!!
ALSO! We got some late fanart so I will do another fanart post next week, so send in anything else to [email protected] !!! THANK YOU!
