ABOUT - 1
The Royale Express was founded by a council consisting of several prominent nations' ruling bodies in order to unite their people through the post. Working under them is one very tall and intimidating appearing shark, albeit if you get to know him, you’ll quickly find he’s a complete gentle giant.
Sarsaparilla is a courier who views freedom as the most important thing in life. Signing up with the Royale Express to deliver packages and mail carried in water proof containers, Sass finds himself trekking across the seas almost constantly. To some it’d seem like too much labor, but Sass is an incredibly hyperactive person and this level of activity scratches his itch.
Being an incredibly large species standing at 10’2” feet, Sass has always struggled to find a place amongst most slices of civilization and even beneath the water- It is not a rare occurrence for the recipients of his deliveries to gawk at him if present.
Despite this ostracization however, Sarsaparilla tries to always see the good in people before anything else and truly believes in the perseverance of mankind. He has a heart of gold, seeking to help anyone who needs it and loves his job that contributes to giving others a voice and a means to connect with others.
Of course, Sass is aware there are some people in this world who can’t change and will always seek to do evil, but he finds little point in dwelling on this too long when he can spend that time making changes himself. Even if he may come off as completely laidback, the shark is highly determined to do what he finds the right thing and to work as hard as possible.
That being said, those who are morally neutral or ‘antihero’ confuse him. Admittedly, his thinking can be quite black and white at times and so he struggles to understand the line of thinking of those like Darling.
He travels incredibly light, prioritizing others' comfort over his own given that he’s adapted to frigid water and harsh weather, meaning he’s become far more hardy than most people. Unfortunately this does mean Sass has a tendency to push his limits too far leading to burn out.
ABOUT - 2
Sarsaparilla has never met his parents or any other family he may have, something normal for his kind given that they are expected to be completely independent from birth. Instead of spending time with any relatives, Sass instead spent his childhood on isolated shores of small villages and unclaimed territories.
Watching travelers and townspeople from afar would fill Sarsaparilla with a sense of longing for what they had. The sense of community and bonds between them would drive Sass to one day make the long journey to one of the largest kingdoms in his part of the seas and request work.
….Or, more like he startled the guards to the city after dragging himself out of the water and onto the docks and immediately started begging them for something to do for the kingdom.
Despite his unconventional means of introduction and all around rough appearance given his upbringing, Sass was interviewed and given a place in the Royale Express Company after they realized how useful someone of his skillset could be. Sarsaparilla, in turn, could not be any happier with this turn of events and smiles widely as he dives back into the ocean with a new destination everyday.
In addition to his main line of work, Sarsaparilla has also taken up a side gig with the Akabane Publishing House working directly with Akabane Kanon to help her edit her up and coming newsletter publication and then deliver the physical copies. Sass never quite properly learned to read and write until he became a courier, and even then he’s shoddy.
Therefore, in exchange for his help, Kanon has no issue with tutoring him and using the editing process to do so. It’s less proper editing and more so Sass giving insight as someone more well traveled than the solitary dragon, but she greatly appreciates it nonetheless.
REFERENCE, DESIGN NOTES
- You're welcome to make him shorter as long as he is still taller than my other OCs.
- Green tint on parts of the body like snout is optional.
- Pear body shape, slightly chubby. Please do not make super thin.
- Feel free to dress him up/put in alternate outfits! Masc clothing preferred.
- Alternate palettes okay!
TRIVIA
- Sass has ‘adopted‘ several remora throughout his travels that accompany him on occasion.
- Really, really loves ska music. Big fan. But is open to listening to almost any genre.
- Just like real whale sharks, Sass really only eats krill and any creatures just as small. He physically cannot eat anything too large.
- Fashion sense is like a pendulum that is swinging back and forth at max speed.
- Unsurprisingly, his favorite soda is in fact sarsaparilla.