>>37163529>>37171298Good morning!
So I did a bit of rep on how digitigrade legs work (so many furry arts…) and this is what I have in mind
>/vnug/ elves are a human variant that first lived in the vast mammoth steppes during cold periods of the world>the lack of woodland led to them adopting semi-digitigrade locomotion more suitable for sprinting>their feet and lower leg are slightly longer (although likely not very obvious) and their lower body muscle and tendon lengths also differ>the result is their normal standing posture has slightly bent legs even when standing upright>they can force their legs completely straight but it’s as comfortable as humans trying to tiptoe>in terms of weight, they’re a bit less dense than humans, and their balls of the foot and toes have a more developed fat pad (but not full-on paws) to mitigate the increased ground pressure>a harmless form of tarsal coalition is the default for them, with adult feet often having simplified feet bone structure with more tendons and ligaments and less muscle compared with humans>their pelvis is somewhat narrower than humans, which leads to a slower breeding cycle as extra effort is required to give birth with a reasonable survival rate, and strong selective pressure towards providing more care to a smaller number of offspring>although their rear still looks wider than humans due to wider thigh muscles and layer of fat around them, forming a smooth silhouette (compared with “chicken legs” digitigrade portrayal)>their longer legs mean they’re theoretically taller than average humans, but their bent legs mean they usually look shorter when standing “upright”>their stance is not as stable as plantigrade human, and their walk cycle sees more movement across the body>semi-digitigrade locomotion is more effective at running, and their slightly lengthier stride means they can run faster than humans, although not superhumanly so>the increased need to maintain balance led to them having finer control over their body’s muscles, which also has the side effect of increasing their dexterity and finesse, even in seemingly unrelated actions like hand movement and vocalization>their walking, sitting, and standing postures are slightly different from humans, significant enough to be spotted by trained eyes but can otherwise pass as humans with strange postures (similar to how humans move when wearing high heels)>they’re still sufficiently similar to humans to allow for interbreeding with varying degrees of success>the end of the last ice age leads to the decline of mammoth steppe as sea levels rose and forests expanded>elves were at a disadvantage against human expansion due to their lower reproduction rate and stability when brawling>they were soon driven out from the more temperate climate zones and took refuge in /vnug/’s boreal forest and alpine tundra>nowadays they formed a significant portion of /vnug/’s population, especially among Penelites and Remlins due to their physiology fitting /vnug/’s magic well>Elven footwear is similar to human high heels both with or without heels, with traditional designs having a larger and softer sole to further mitigate pressureI think this covers pretty much all the major points covered in the discussion yesterday. Tell me if I’m missing anything! I’ll check between work
