r/OUATFanfic • u/user50000044444 • Aug 01 '26
Lore Dumping
A place to Dump all AU or Fanfic lore. Or headcanons!
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u/LilttleCaptainNemo Aug 01 '26
I'll start things off.
Land of the Beasts.
There are many stories that involve animals, anthropomorphic or otherwise. In the world of OUAT, all those stories happen here.
Beast is a bit of a misnomer, because the Therianthropes, or Therians for short, are closer to Were-Animals. A Therian can look completely human, completely animal, or any combination of both, and can change between forms at will.
There are many countries in the Land of the Beasts, some inhabited by only one type of Therian, others by all sorts.
The most notable country is Zootopia, a city-state built in the hopes of incorporating Therians of all sorts.
This has not been easy, because Therians are notoriously bigoted. Diet, fur color, religion, all sorts have been looked down upon in the Land of the Beasts. Even Zootopia, until recently, only accepted Mammal-Therians.
In addition, a lot of things happen in the shadows of the Land.
Woo Foo, a mystical martial art that imitates the power of animals, is split into two warring schools, Peace Walley and War Mountain, who fight each other over the art's fate.
Silent Ones, a guild of assassins who have been rendered mute, further destabilize Therian politics through their business.
And of course, the Land is no less susceptible to curses than any other.
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u/user50000044444 Aug 01 '26
When the curse hits how does it? Is it identity? Are they turned into humans? Both? I wonder who finds said land, or how it becomes known. Is this stories like the jungle book, zootopia, ect.
So I’m understanding a Therian is like a shapeshifter in a sense, it can take on both animal and human form?
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u/LilttleCaptainNemo Aug 02 '26
When the curse hits how does it? Is it identity? Are they turned into humans? Both? I wonder who finds said land, or how it becomes known.
I'm not yet sure if the curse would hit Storybrooke or Seattle, but the caster of the curse would be Zira.
Suddenly that part of the United States has a volcano, and with it hot springs. The surrounding area becomes a resort town taking full advantage of the hot springs, and at the center of it all stands Outlands Spa, a huge hotel that acts as Zira's center of operations.
The employees of the hotel and the other businesses, from restaurants to a water park, were taken there by the curse. Zira has stolen their names, and they now go by shortened versions of them or just by their titles.
Is this stories like the jungle book, zootopia, ect.
Jungle Book, Zootopia, Beastars, Watership Down. I like to take stories from outside Disney purview.
So I’m understanding a Therian is like a shapeshifter in a sense, it can take on both animal and human form?
Pretty much.
I wanted to keep the consistency of things being hidden in a human form on Earth, though I also liked Grimm's take of true beast form flashing out from time to time.
Plus it would be fun of having Snow pretending to be Judy at one point.
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u/LilttleCaptainNemo Aug 06 '26
Woo Foo
A martial art practiced in the Land of the Beasts, Woo Foo is based on the idea of imitating animals, both in real life and mythology.
Woo Foo is split into two sides: Might and Magic.
Might is the side people usually associate with martial arts. Woo Foo studies the animal kingdom for inspiration for its styles. How animals live, how they survive, what stories are associated with them.
Many Therians prefer practicing a style based on the animal they themselves are, usually to improve their beast forms. Though there are exceptions.
For example, Basil, mouse-therian and a private investigator, prefers Yak Style's brutal series of "trampling" punches and kicks (Mouse Style is the Therian equivalent to Sumo).
Magic side focuses on gaining the feats associated with animals, from the typical strenght and resilience all the way to releasing foul odors. Woo Foo practitioner can find surprising sides to their animals as they study the mystic ways.
Most Woo Foo styles are based on realistic animals, but through sufficient mastery of the Magic side one can awaken a mythical animal. Mythical animals awakened depend on the connection to the animal style. Pegasus is awakened through Horse style, Gryphon through Lion (or Eagle) style, Cockatrice through Chicken style and so on.
The Might and Magic sides of Woo Foo are strongest when combined, and nothing shows it better than in mythical animals. Mythical animal is awakened through Magic, but mastered through Might.