Toad

Overview

Toad
A bust of Toad meant to imitate Joy Ang's art style, as drawn by Toad/snugglycactus.
Created by	snugglycactus
In-universe information
Alias	The Frog Prince (a childhood nickname, often found in tabloids printed around the 8110s.)
Tribe	MudWing
Gender	Nonbinary
Occupation	Crown Heir
Affiliation	The Mud Kingdom
Relatives	Polliwog, Natterjack, Kaloula, Banded, and Firebelly (siblings, alive) Ex-Queen Bulrush (mother, alive) King Warthog (uncle, deceased) Unnamed uncles and aunts, deceased.
Year of hatching	8,109
Place of Hatching	Mud Palace Hatchery

Toad is the current crown heir of the MudWings, having held a royalty position since late 8,123 [9th of October, 2023]. Despite being beloved within the Mud Kingdom for their philanthropic efforts and campaigns against dragon rights violations, they are often perceived as naive and uncivilized by the dragons of other kingdoms.

Description

Toad is a tall yet slightly thin bigwings, with a sloping nose-bridge and a "general squishy appearance". Their posture is poor, often causing them to appear slightly shorter than they are, yet they still stand a head above the average MudWing of their age. Their moderately pitched voice croaks with vocal fry, but remains generally soft and melodic. Toad has fire-resistant olive-green scales, often seen spattered with mud and clay. The plates along their back are a sandy brown, with their dorsal spines and ridges sporting a dull mahogany hue matching their horns. Their underbelly, paler than most, is a very dull shade of yellow-white. This color is due to a minor pigment deficiency, a purely visual genetic quirk which runs in their family. Their eyes are bright gold, and they sport both a gold-copper alloy septum piercing and one hoop earring, of the same metal, on their left ear.

Personality

Bold, enthusiastic, and talkative when they're "in their element", Toad is generally the antithesis of what royalty is supposed to act like. They are rarely quiet, often joking about something or narrating their own actions. A lack of social cues tends to get the better of them, as well as the desire to always be right, but they are otherwise a positive and caring dragon whose joy is infectious. Unfortunately, Toad is very loud about their strong moral compass, often interrupting official proceedings with their criticisms and arguing with those making decisions they deem to be unjust.

Biography

Toad was hatched from a blood-red egg in the Royal MudWing Hatchery on June 8th, 8,109 A.S. during the reign of their mother, Queen Bulrush, becoming the bigwings of her only clutch of six eggs. The troop was named by palace staff the day after, with the bigwings being named Toad, after the classification of frogs as a whole. To match, their siblings were named after species within said group. Toad, along with their siblings, was educated within the Mud Palace by famed royal tutor, Waterwort. They reportedly excelled in their education, receiving high grades and often being cited as a “stereotype breaker". According to a scroll printed in 8,114 A.S., Toad's best subject was grammar; however, the same scroll noted that they "would still need a scribe during their reign, due to their barbaric talonwriting."

Queen Bulrush stepped down from royalty shortly after Toad and their sibs turned six, passing the throne onto a noble as her own heirs were too young to rule a kingdom. The royal troop disappeared from the public eye for a bit less than a decade, completing their dragonethood in peace and building a small bunkhouse outside of what is now the Cherry Stronghold. When Toad turned 12, they briefly enlisted in the royal guard. However, they quickly discovered that joint instability made carrying out combat duties near-impossible. As such, they retired from the guard within a year of joining, souring their status among the military.

Upon the death of their estranged maternal great-uncle, Toad received an inheritance large enough to comfortably support their sibs while they applied for a position in the succession line of the Mud Kingdom. This attempt was successful, marking Toad's return to official aristocracy after seven years of relative silence. Although their time as noble was brief, they dedicated it to supplying aid to wounded dragons during a spree of attacks on hybrids. After the disappearance of King Glade and the death of Ruler Cherry within the same few months, Toad found themself yet again a heir of the Mud Kingdom.

Toad's time as an heir has been spent building diplomatic relations with other kingdoms, as well as focusing on lessening the wealth gap existing in the Mud Kingdom and acting as the face of the government in situations where Lord Warmouth is unable to complete xyr duties. They are generally thought of as helpful, but inconsequential.

Quotes

• "I like feasts." - to the MudWing Nobility during a tea party.

• "Who gave you the authority to decide whether she lives or dies?" - To Sovereign Postman, just before Hairstreak's execution.

• "On it, boss." - To Queen Pariah, during the aftermath of Hairstreak's execution.

• "She didn't know? Oh, a murderer getting yelled at by their mommy is ostensibly the funniest thing that's ever happened here." - a conversation on the Royalty Stones, about Sovereign Postman.

• "Everything's still blue." - Leopard's Trial, shortly after passing out.

• "It's technically corruption, but it's for a good cause." - to Cranberry, during a conversation in the Palace.

Trivia

• Toad originated in early 2020, as a MudWing-SandWing hybrid.
• One of Toad's sibs, Polliwog, is occasionally portrayed by snugglycactus's actual sibling.
• Toad generally refuses to refer to dragons with honorifics, due to distaste bred from being hatched and raised as royalty.