Yep~. Decided to try out for this group too, IdlewoodForest! Yeah, ever since I left DA-Ville (Because of how dead the place was. OTL) I've been ITCHING to have some more use for Tora. 8I Been thinking about making small comics or something, but never got around to do that because.. Well.. Busy! But having him in a group would be a nice excuse to draw him more. :U As well as have some non-Pokémon art in my gallery. 8'D
Let's see if I'll manage to get in. ;u; I've been missing drawing Tora, even if his spikes and stripes are a royal pain to draw. XDD But he looks nice in this lineless style.  


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"Who wants a hug, kurrrrp~?"

 Name: 
Tora

Gender: 
Male

Birthday/Age: 
March 17th / 21 _{(Because he was 19 when he was in DA-Ville and that was over a year ago. 8U)}

Species: 
Thorny Devil (Lizard)

Personality: 
Prolly one of the jolliest and most open-minded little lizards you'll ever come to meet. Tora just loves everything and everyone, it is rare to ever see him down! He especially loves everything fluffy and cute, like plushies! And can be a bit of a 'big child', not in the sense of being a crybaby, but he just likes to act younger than he really is.. Play games, hug people and generally be a bit goofy. He really is honest kinda guy, but not brutally honest. If he knows something he knows would hurt others, he would not tell it. But if you ask for his honest opinion.. You sure as heck will get it! But maybe sprinkled with a bit of sugar.. He doesn't want to make people feel bad no matter what! Also.. He tend to purposefully make himself seem sillier and less-intelligent than he really is. He won't act as silly as Winnie the Pooh and think the sky is falling because of an egg shell falling from the sky, nooo, but he would still act a bit silly like that. He really would try to hog up tons of helium balloons to try to fly up to a tree!
Oh, and by the way, it's pretty much impossible to embarrass him. He has no shaaaame. He just is that good at seeing the good side of things~. He has no trouble making fun of himself. VuV Also, he has a (bad?) habit of treating everyone like little kids. Possibly because of his job.. Oh, and he's pretty much everyone's friend. If you exist, he'll be your friend without a second thought. And if he sees someone sad.. Well, his first instict is NOT to start moping with you and go 'oh, poor you', no, his first idea would be to give you a big (Toothless) smile and try to make you happy again! Maybe he'll take you to a nearby park, if there is any? Or to the ocean? He just wants to help you forget about whatever was making you sad, being depressed is good for no one and a little laugh never hurts!
And he loooves hugs! Of course, being a spiky lizard like him, that can be a bit tricky, but that's what fluffy, soft clothes are for!

History:
Tora is an Australian little lizard. He was raised in the deserts of central Australia. The community was pretty small there, everyone knew each other, everyone was friends with each other and no one was excluded from the fun! There was pretty much next to no tragedies in his childhood so he never had the need to 'mature up'. The biggest set-back he had was of the type of "my pet grasshopper ran away. ;'(" and "My ant-steaks burned!". Such an exciting life he had back there. But at least he grew up to be the very embodiment of happiness. 

In more detail, he indeed lived in a tiny community of Thorny Devils, There were about 30 of them total, but many were often gone, traveling Australia and whatnot, so only 15 or less usually were around at the same time while the others journeyed to the bigger cities near the shore. They lived a rather laid-back kinda life, cooking bugs on bonfire, sleeping in quite modest tents and carawans and.. Playing in the sand. Though they did have some modern-day equipment! Radios so they could listen to music and news, lamps and even some electric fans. Though living where they did, mains electricity (If that is the correct word) was a HUGE luxury that they did not have. Every time someone of the community traveled away, they would also go there to load everyone's batteries and whatnot. :'D They knew quite a bit about technology, they just generally appreciated the simple way of life. Though Tora was always quite fascinated by the more.. Civilized world, where everything was so advanced. So he often would ask for his parents to take him to the bigger cities.. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra.. The biggest cities were the most fascinating for him. Though admittedly it was not the technology he was interested in, it was the culture! Architechture, art and books as well as the people themselves. 

He loved to draw, but never was too good at drawing anything really realistic.. So he went for just cartoony styles. He started by drawing just funny pictures, like caricatures of funny events he had encountered, then they evolved into proper comics.. And when his stories started to develop and get more detailed and longer, he decided to just go for written stories with colourful and cute pictures! And boy, did he love cute things~. His stories always were quite child-friendly and before he was even 18, he knew that he wanted to write stories for kids mainly. Adults were often too stiff and serious to get his humour and be able to accept his quite.. Imaginative stories where people often could breathe in space, build ladders to reach the clouds and even walk on the clouds themselves! Every now and then people might comment on how cleverly he hid a serious subject into the story, like equality and whatnot, but Tora would just tilt his head and act like he had no idea what they were talking about. "I don't mean my stories to be taken seriously or studied like there was some science to them, I just do what I do because it's fun, kurrrrp~!" he would just say. Surely enough, he does occasionally have more serious topics in his stories, but he always tells people he doesn't do it on purpose.. Simply because he doesn't WANT people to take him seriously, nor does he want people to study his books with a straight face in universities. Sheesh, no! He was always a bit of a 'big child' and had a bit of a 'Peter-Pan syndrome'. He did want to become a grown-up, but not to act like one. Tora loves kids and the way they see the world like he does~. Not even the sky or physics are the limit if you have as wild an imagination as him~.

Oh, but enough about that.. When he was 19, he left Australia behind and started to really travel the WORLD. Making stories and illustrations wherever we went, about whatever he saw and whoever he met, but always with that cutesy, childlish style to them~. "Tora in Ancient Rome", "Tora and the bookworms of the library" and "Tora and the Eiffel Tower's dream". I tell you.. He writes some pretty quirky stuff. o^o But yes, he has traveled quite a bit already, mainly in the better-known places, but occasionally he would also visit the smaller country-towns, just because they remind him a bit of home. ;u; That was also the case when he found the letter.. He was camping out near a small British town and founds random acorns all over his tent! Well, only three, but it still was so strange! And after a while he also realized there was a letter just outside the tent.. Wonder what this 'Idlewood Forest' is like? Sounds so mysterious! Yep, sounds like an adventure so of course the lizard picks up on the opportunity! Might give him more ideas for stories as well as new people to meet! This is the first time a town has really invited him to visit it anyways! He just packed up his drawing supplies, tent and other belongings and soon was on his way to see this new amazing place!

 Hobbies: Drawing, hugging plushies (and other animals too if he gets the chance, hoho), entertaining people and just having a good time! Be it hanging on the beach or having a gool ol' barbie-party! (No, I don't mean dolls, LoL.) He is a born entertainer. VuV He of course also loves to make up and tell stories as well as daydream. ;u;
 Catchphrase: "Kurrrrp~!" 
 Job: Author and illustrator of children's books! His main character for his books is.. Himself! Many of the stories are based on silly real events, and some are just funny story-ideas he's gotten. His books are similar in style to books like... Peter Rabbit or The Mole (Krtek)! Lots of cute and colourful pictures~. And because of this, he tends to act like the character in the books; it's just so much fun! Though some might see his behaviour.. Childlish or overly happy. He just wants to BE the character he writes about!

Extras: 
When it comes to music, he likes more up-beat and happy tones! Stuff like.. Well, K.K. Condor and K.K. Ragtime! Anything happy and fast-paced goes~.
He has a pretty distinct Australian accent, of course. : o _{(I will try my best to write it, but.. Well, I have never been to Australia, live pretty much on the opposite side of the globe, and my closest encounter with the Australian accent is watching Bondi Beach and Crocodile Dundee on TV, so I obviously am an expert on that accent. 8I But feel free to educate me if you happen to know more about the accent!)}
Yes, he lives in a tent. He just likes the simple life! Maybe someday he'll have a small house too, hopefully before winter when it gets too cold for the poor ectotherm. But.. He quite likes sleeping outdoors when he can!
He has quite a collection of plushies! Many of them are still back home but.. As time would go one, he would have the fols back home send some of them to him now that he travels less. Though first he'd need a real house for them, LoL. Same goes for books. Though most of those are.. Well.. Children's books. Because he loves those kindsa stories! He doesn't care if others call him childlish for that~.
He eats bugs. All the bugs. He doesn't really care for fish.. But grilled ants, maggots and flies? Omnomnomnom~. 
Oh, and like I mentioned in the story, he used to have a pet grasshopper as a kid. Well, in reality it was a house-cricket, but he insists on calling all creatures of that kind grasshoppers. And no, he won't eat the brown-coloured grasshoppers. Because they remind him of his pet. o^o But then the grasshopper escaped and never was found. It was a tragic day. But he eventually got over it. Maybe he'll get another one for a pet someday. Maybe. |DDD
His preferred medium is watercolour and coloured pencils with some marker for linearts. They are so easy to carry around, you know? Though he could also operate a simple drawing program on a computer.. If he had access to one! But no, traditional he just finds more convenient. 
He can somewhat play a piano. By 'somewhat' I mean that he can't read musical notes, but he does have an ear for music. He can learn stuff by ear, even if they rarely are a perfect fit, but close enough to be recognisable! Though usually.. He just derps around with the piano, improvising random tunes that will never be heard again.. And possibly sings along. But really, he isn't much of a singer, LoL. Doesn't stop him from trying and making up random lyrics though!

Physical details about his design (Just random stuff, just if someone is curious. xD)
He is wearing a pair of shorts, but in reality, they are long pants. Those stripes on the front are actually nylon-belts that have even buckles (hidden under the vest) that can be opened and that way the sleeves can be pulled down to reveal ordinary chaki-coloured pants. Though they still don't quite reach his ankles.
He usually wears a looong, fluffy shirt. He just loves fluffy things so much! The shirt is really long, reaching down to mid-thigh on him, but when wearing a vest, he usually tucks it under his pants. Though he would have no problem walking around without pants and just having that large shirt on. He's a lizard! He has nothing to hide! *Shot* It's not like the animals in the games wear pants either. >> (Also, if you're curious, here is his old app for the other group, showing the long shirt only! fav.me/d4r36c4 )
And no animals were hurt in the making of his clothes. :U It's all faux fur. And faux suede on the vest. The vest is REALLY soft as it has a thisck fur lining. But you still wanna be careful not to squeeze him too hard if you hug him! The spikes may be a bit rounded, but still can sting!
That small thing on his vest says 'Reptelian Force' and has also a small, green embroidered lizard on the left bottom corner of it. ;u;
Yes. His feet are supposed to be inverted like that. |D
He also DOES have spikes on his arms, in a very similar way as on his legs. But I just managed to choose a pose where they won't show at all, LoL. |D Feel free to look at that older picture I linked before if you wish to see the colourful spikes. :'D And no, the white parts of his body are not THAT spiky. And those areas are.. His belly, one side of his arms, backside of his legs and tail, throat.. That's pretty much it. Ah, and also, he does have more spikes on his back that can't be seen here, three vertical rows of spikes, the middle ones shorter than the others on the sides. And they all are shorter than the ones on his sides. |D He does have more too! But those are the ones long enough to require holes on his vest.. He's such a spiky little devil. OTL
Oh, and also, he does have that thing on the back of his neck. The 'fake head' typical to the Thorny Devils. Though the furry collar covers it up quite a bit. But it's still there. (The brown spiky thing on the app, yep, it's there. xD)



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For:
Tora the Thorny devil is mine~. ;u;