The Chimera
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Introduction
(Awesome art courtesy of Leighoflight! Thanks so much!
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Name: Curly
Gender: Male cisgender
Pronouns: He / Him
Species: Chimera (Saluki, Frilled neck lizard, Human)
Age: Adult (aging process halted by the amount of genetic engineering)
Heritage: Mixed (speaks with an American accent, but dresses in Persian fashion to homage the oriental origin of his dog DNA)
Profession: Currently none (his human donor worked as a chemist, and having inherited his knowledges, Curly has indulged himself as a hobby botanist, but never thought to turn his passion into a full time job). Recently, Yaaz has talked him into running a hotel derived from the old Ghertivel mansion, which Curly refurbished after centuries of neglect.
Alignment: True Neutral.
Status: Happily taken, in a loving threesome with Yaaz and Laevis.
Children: Four (2 boy, Lawal and Yavis, and 2 girls, Nava and Kaziah). They are biologically his and Yaaz's children but raised by all three partners.
Sexual orientation: Gay (exclusive to anthros and chimeras) / Panromantic
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Personality
Sophisticated, and sometimes aloof, Curly's personality is as much the product of his genetic mix as his appearance. He has the same intellectual faculties of the late Isaac Ghertivel, and retains much of his scientific knowlege, especially when it comes to botanics. Studying, researching or even just growing plants brings solace to his heart, just as it did to his DNA donor; Curly enjoys the long, quiet hours spent in the greenery to recreate long-exinct varieties of plants and flowers, or even just tending to the newly sprouted buds.
Some of Isaac Ghertivel's personality also seemed to mix well with the reserved, noble nature of Saluki dogs. As a result he's often quiet, studious, and somewhat of an introvert. That changes only when he comes across people who attract his attention, in which case he can blossom into a gregarious personality, friendly and caring. However he's also kind of used to be shunned for his "unusual" appearance, even by other anthros - particularly males for which he might have a crush. As a result, and because chimeras like him are hard to come by, he doesn't really have that many opportunities to be easy going and open up to people. Although he often acts like it's not a big deal, he's secretly been feeling lonesome at times - but won't admit it. Nonetheless, he is proud of his chimera heritage and of the unique qualities he derives from his particular mix of donors.
A quiet attitude that makes him a good watcher and listener is also attuned to his lizard instincts. As a result, he's very reactive, often the first to take action whether in fight or flight. And though his first impulse might be always to zoom out of harm's way, he's also quite belligerent when provoked and won't hesitate to how his fangs and fold out his neck frill menacingly when cornered. As clever and astute as he's quick to react, he'll often use his amazing speed and reflexes to catch opponents off-guard. The brain more than the brawn, it might be easy to think his bark is worse than his bite. But Saluki were still hunters, so if push comes to shove... well, he has fangs, and isn't afraid to use them.
Strong points: Loyal to a fault (after all, he's part dog!), ever dignified, and much more of a giver than he really cares to admit. He might seem cold to those who don't know him, but will go out of the way to help his fellow anthros and in general has a soft heart.
Weak points: Having fallen for many people who rejected him just based on his appearance, he's kind of pessimistic whenever he meets new people. He's also very "guarded" most of the times around strangers, so might be perceived as more stand offish than he actually is (even if it just takes a smile to break past his defense... but few people are willing to brave his reptilian stare) -
Appearance
Height: he's bipedal and stands at about 6', but he can appear taller when his neck frill is fully folded out.
Built: Slender, delicate-looking but also toned, think like a male ballet dancer mixed with an athlete.
Fur: Tawny, sleek and very fluffy looking.
Hair: Long, straight and ash-brown, only grows at the back of his head and is difficult to tell apart from the fur.
Eyes: Reptilian green, with the drop-shaped pupil of some dragons species.
Distinguishing traits: He has wide, scaly, iridescent green frills around his neck, just like a Frilled neck lizard. Instead of hands and feet, he has reptilian paws, and can stand on tip-claws on the hind paws to stand even taller and intimidate opponents. Curly also sports a long tail that isn't canine like the rest of his body, but reptilian, scaly and extremely, trailing behind him as he walks.
Voice: Deep and solemn. When annoyed he can alternatively hiss, reinforcing the "s" sounds, or growl softly, which lends him a more "metallic" timbre. He also has a surprisingly beautiful singing voice; a soft, soulful baritone.
Voice claim: young Alan Rickman,
Attire: Curly prefers to wear in an oriental style, to homage his dog donor's Persian heritage. He favors long sherwani, in dark colors (green, rust-brown, copper) and richly decorated, and darker pants. When he's feeling particularly frisky, he might opt for a sarong, still in darker colors and with plant-themed decorations. -
History
Curly was first developed as an experiment on genetic engineering that included both human and animals genes. The goal was to create a sentient being from the DNA of a Saluki dog, a frilled lizard, and the late chemist Isaac Ghertivel; a creature with the speed of dog and lizard and the intellect of man. However, the first computer-generated simulations were far from encouraging, as the mix of three such different genomes was deemed too unstable. After some projections reported that the success ratio was too low for the costs entailed, the project was deemed unfeasible, and subsequently aborted. Eventually, research on genetic engineering would continue unabashed in the following centuries, and although the original chimera project was scrapped, its heritage later led to the creation of experimental anthros like Burt the wolverine or Daren the owl.
However, Professor Ghertivel believed that the original project could be carried out successfully, and took the experiment into his hands, acquiring the original DNA samples of the three specimen. For him, it was a side project, to be carried out in the free time when he wasn't working on bigger things. Yet he never quite abandoned it. And untold years later, he finally decided to see it through to completion. Thus Curly came into existence.
Although he lives for the most part in the lab, with the rest of the Professor's"family", the bond between Curly and his creator was never close. Just like Leonard and his brother Isaac had led their own separate existence, only marginally interacting with each other. Curly was more outgoing than the Professor about the advancements in theirs (and others) worlds, so he'd often leave the lab to roam and explore new things and places.
During his wanderings he came across a variety of people. His dislike of animal robots - in his eyes a poor attempt to "replace" living animals - brought him to clash quite often with Cristina Di Ventimiglia-Aliprandi, a freedom fighter for robot rights that he happened to meet while out and about. Their animosity didn't get any better after Curly became attracted to the elusive assassin that was her lover; although his interest was unrequited, he still held the firm belief that Cris was "unworthy" of her partner, which made the rift between them all the bitter. However, after finding out about her lover - now husband - having allegedly been killed, Curly mellowed just so slightly in her regards; her husband had just been a wide-eyed infatuation for him, but he couldn't deny that they seemed happy together and shared her grief over losing a mate.
They would come across each other again some time later, when she started advocating the rights of prejudiced and marginalized anthros. Curly, for all his reservations against Cris, was sincerely interested in helping others of mixed heritage, just like him. He thus volunteered to assist in approaching them, since as a fellow hybrid he might be perceived as more reliable than a human stranger. This was how he came across some of the experiments derived from the projects that would bring to his own creations; among these, Burt and Daren, a wolverine and an owl who became "fairweather friends" of his (even if he likes arguing with Burt, and dissing him for his bad scoundrel habits, more than everything else).
Recently however one meeting in particular's changed his life; a casual encounter with Yaazecsus the wandering beast. Meeting another chimera, gorgeous to boot and who seemed to like hanging out with him was the height of his day. And he hopes there will be more chances to hang out together...
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Art Gallery
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Character Ties
Romances
Yaazecsus (played by Leighoflight) Not only is he the most wonderful creature to grace this world and others, but he could see my loneliness, reached out to brush it aside, and has since made my life a gorgeous dream from which I never want to wake up. If he is the sun, I am the sunflower basking in his glow, and I love him more than I can describe. Family
Leonard Ghertivel (played by cri86titanium) My creator, that is also - technically - my human donor's brother, and his highly unusual family... which, I guess, is somewhat of my family too. *sighs* It's just complicated all-around. Acquaintance
Light Raygun (played by cri86titanium) I used to despise her, thinking she didn't deserve the guy she married. Then she became the illustrious "alpha" of a joint effort for the rights of animal hybrids. There is much that we share, and she has been nothing but supportive of my new family, showing me there's more to her than what meets the eye. 
The Nameless One (played by GingerHades)
