Discord
MELODICA
[CW: very simple/brief mentions of reproduction (literally just a mention cmon now it's a SFW thread)]
ORIGIN
- Originated in Descant
- Created by XLR in [year]
- First morph: Cantata
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CULTURE
- Heavily Present across all of Modicium, prone to travel, and will happily leave their region if they are able to.
- Highly independent, usually one parent one child.
- Very very strong religious ties to XLR, partial ties to Lain.
- Nearly universally worship
- Injuries are hard and costly in terms of resources to repair, so disability is common, treatments usually involve body modification rather than just repairing to what an injury was before.
- Body modifications of all sorts are commonly targeted to the Melodica
- Melodica can sleep just about anywhere, but tend to sleep on beds with tough rubber covers, so their sharp feathers don't cut any bedding.
- Cameras and electronics are greatly appreciated
- Melodica tend to participate in any education system where they live, descant has a traditional schooling system
- Housing in Descant is tightly packed and usually open air, with a select number of covered rooms in each living unit for privacy and projects that can't be exposed to the sky.
- Melodica are very durable, and depending on their morph, also highly adept at combat and hunting.
- All Melodica talons and feathers are very sharp, and many wear talon caps when doing delicate work.
- Podcasts/Videocasts/Songs, and all forms of vocal/visual performance are the most popular forms of entertainment among Melodica
- Melodica bathe as normal, but need to be careful about tarnishing and or rusting from exposure to too much water and not drying themselves properly, because of this, many melodica choose to bathe in alcohol and or industrial cleaner where they can obtain it.
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APPEARANCE
- Melodica have lots of sharp edges their metallic bodies have an almost glossy texture. Some opt to have a synthetic skin-fur membrane added over different parts of their body, or a more organic feather coat.
- Natural body markings are nonexistent, but body modification created ones are common.
- Voices tend to sound vocoded and or modulated to some extent, chirps and beeps and whirrs.
- Hands and feet end in talons.
- Some Melodica have tails of varying length, usually depending on their Morph
- Hair is in the form of metallic feathers naturally
- 4'-6' tall at adult hood
- Two legs that end in talons, and two arm-wings that end in taloned hands.
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BIOLOGY
- Melodica have a synthetic vascular and muscular system, as well as a fully functioning micro-mechanical CNS and PNS.
- Melodica can eat anything, and tastes tend to vary based on preference.
- Tend to be high energy, and very exciteable.
- Head motion is very important, focus is shown by where the person is looking (direction, not specific).
- Ears are antenna like, and connect to Melodica's heads, they are streamlined so they are not obstructive when they are in flight.
- Eyes are like camera lenses, can be automatically focused and zoomed.
- Melodica need to preen their feathers like other avian species, and the metallic feather stalks can and will grow slowly and continually.
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LIFE CYCLE/FAMILY STRUCTURE
- lifespan of 100-120 years
- Reproduction occurs between two parents.
- Child numbers are usually 1-3
- Children learn speech through mimicry, and are at first very sensitive to light until they learn to control their eyes lenses
- Family structure is closer to 'traditional family' structure of two parents and children.
- Family sizes range from 2-5 People usually, for a generation of Parents + Children.
- Committed relationships are more common in Melodica's society, though a larger number on Descant are shifting away from the focus on long term relationship importance.
- Children are encouraged to leave when they want, but the importance of family as a home is key to Melodica's society and cultural identity.
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GENETICS
- Inspired by various types of bird species and forms of machine power sources.
- Mixed morphs are common, but mixed trait expression is uncommon. Unique/mixed traits are respected as a sign of the family that that person came from.
- The First Morph were the Songbirds
- Hybrid traits typically are their talons and lensed eyes.
- Very avian in appearance
- Mutations effecting eyesight, hearing, and speech are common
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MORPHS
Cantata
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- Inspired by Muscicapida aves, specifically Nightingales.
- Brightly colored metallic feathers, often blues and greens.
- Songs are vocoded and voices sound modulated / passed through a synthesizer
- Higher ranges and tones usually.
- Smallest of the Melodica in height, beaks and talons are more rounded and less sharp than other morphs
Graves
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- Inspired by Corvidae aves, mostly Crows, Ravens, and Jays.
- Darker colored metallics. but sometimes brighter blues and white as well.
- Songs are lower tones, slower, speech is audibly slower but still conveys the same information rate
- Middling in terms of size of the Melodica.
- Created later than the other Morphs, when XLR was mourning the deaths of Square and Sine.
Sharps
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- Inspidred by Falconidae Aves
- More natural tones in their metals, longer tails and longer wingfeathers than other Melodica
- More angular wing structure and more durable arm-structure to sustain immense g-forces from hunting.
- Extremely sharp beaks and talons, mostly used for hunting
- Created just after the Cantata
Lacuna
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- Inspired by Strigiforme Aves (Owls)
- Softer tones in their metals, wide, rounded feathers adapted for silent flight.
- Unlike all other Melodica their vocal tones are dry and almost entirely unmodulated.
- Larger ear-antenna and eye-lenses for increased hearing and vision.
- Created just after the Sharps
RULES
This is a species development thread! Here you can have discussion on the species presented, and offer suggestions/ideas for developing them- thus directly contributing to the species! Anything is fair game so long as it follows the restrictions (if any are listed). This main post will be updated as we go, allowing for people to always have an up to date resource on the species.
Restrictions/No-go's
- Keep it SFW!!!!