Name: Amerveille
Creator: Calamine and Telomere
Home Zone: Atelier
Project Appearances: Patchwork Kernel
Species Development Thread: Species Development: Amerveille

Amerveille are a bipedal species native to Atelier.

Amerveille were created through a collaboration of Telomere and Calamine - the two high gods of Atelier. Though, they are largely considered to be Telomere's species, and are more closely associated with them than Calamine. Canvas was the original morph of the species, with several more following in subsequent years.

Amerveille originated in Atelier, but only a single small town in the region is inhabitable present day, so most amerveille exist in other regions. The largest population of amerveille exists in Idyth, despite being relatively uncommon when compared to other species. They are fairly rare in other regions, usually only making up small percentages of those populations.

Worship or other forms of religion or spirituality are uncommon in amerveille, especially those within Atelier and Idyth.

The arts are exceedingly culturally significant to the amerveille, the visual and auditory arts are the center of amerveille society. Nearly all amerveille pursue some form of creative expression, regardless of their personal interests. The accommodation of their creative pursuits being the only barrier determining how comfortable a living situation is to an individual amerveille.

Tattooing has a similar cultural significance, though the action is even more central to amerveille society. The ease with which amerveille can mark their appearance has lead to it being a widespread tradition, though the individual amerveille determines how significant their tattoos are to themselves. Some amerveille utilize their capability as to-do lists, writing grocery lists on their inner arms, while others take great care to paint artistic designs across their bodies. There are millions of other applications, whether they functional or aesthetic. The lack of tattoos can be seen as unorthodox. The marking is done with specialized toolkits that contain 'pens' and erasers, which are sold at nearly all stores. The toolkits are cheap and accessible.

Amerveille greatly value the items given to them, especially things with emotional significance attached to friends or family. Amerveille dwellings can sometimes be cluttered with items of this significance.

Amerveille have a natural fascination with colored lights, especially those that periodically shift in hue. They are often used as a sleep aid and sometimes outdoor lights can put them in a trace or dream-like state.

Chosen family is valued over blood relatives, due to their unique life cycle.

Romantic gestures are often theatrical and in stark contrast, the breaking of romance is often a muted affair. Ex-partners tend to remain friends provided the break up wasn't too dramatic.

Combat is avoided in Amerveille society and is typically a last resort.

Amerveille have short, velvety fur akin to the texture of fleece blankets. Their fur is typically a solid monochromatic shade broken by natural markings at their extremities and especially around the eyes, forming a natural eyeliner. Fur colors grow rarer as they move away from muted greys. In order from least rare to rarest; colorless grays, grays w/ slight color tint, pure white, pure black, silver, pearlescent white, and iridescent black. Their markings are similarly monochromatic, often accenting or complementing their main fur color. These markings take shapes specific to the amerveille's morph.

Amerveille fur can be dyed or marked in a process called tattooing, which is distinct from the traditional method of injecting ink into the subdermal tissue, in which the amerveille utilizes specialized tools to create markings in their fur, separate from their natural markings. These markings expose a natural gradient which lies under the topcoat of every Amerveille, unique to each individual. The process causes no permanent markings and can be erased quite easily. This gradient is sometimes called undercolor or ink. Two-tone gradients are the most common but more complex examples have been observed.

The terminating portions of their undercolor gradient can be observed in the sclera and iris of their eyes, amerveille lack visible pupils. Their eyebrows are simple, small dots above their large eyes.

Headhair is uncommon in amerveille and is often short or cropped short in those that do have it.

Amerveille tend towards a lean but strong build. Their heads are rather large with thick muzzles and large upright ears, though there are exceptions throughout the five morphs. Amerveille have long, lanky limbs that end in dextrous fingers, and their hands and clawed feet often lack paw pads. They have plantigrade legs, unlike most other morbit species.

Amervielle possess thick tails that tend to taper to a point, though two morphs have notable deviations when it comes to their tails.

Amervielle voices can vary wildly depending on their morph, but common ones include; brushes on canvas, typewriter sounds, string (harp, guitar, violin, etc) or percussion (marimba, drums, bells, etc.) instruments, and shutter clicks.

They range anywhere from 4'-8' at “normal” adult height, though the distribution of heights highly favors averages around 5'.

Amerveille have skeletons, muscles, nerves, organs, and blood.

Their teeth shapes can vary between morphs but are usually sharp.

They are omnivorous, but lean towards a more herbivorous diet.

Amerveille are a species of mild activity and are said to have an average level of energy when compared to other morbitian species.

Amerveille are physically highly-expressive; usually with exaggerated body posture, ear movements, and facial expressions.

Despite their large size, their tails wag when excited.

Amerveille ears are always large and usually upright, though this depends on the morph.

Their eye shapes and patterns vary wildly between morphs, though they almost always possess two colors, usually the two extremes of their undercolor. These patterns are not morph-based, making them entirely random. Common eye patterns are; crosses and large rings. Having only rings in the eyes is very rare, especially so with multiple sets of rings. Some eye pattern examples:

Some possess pouches, though they are very uncommon and untied to morph.

Mental and physical health can deteriorate if left with absolutely no creative outlets for long stretches of time.

Baby amerveille have random line patterns from their undercolor that can shift but gradually fade as the amerveille matures. Because of this, baby amerveille are called “scribbles”.

The amerveille life span lasts about 90 years, reaching maturity at age 18.

Amerveille reproduce sexually but are not dimorphic. Traits that are dimorphic in similar species are entirely random in amerveille; any individual can possess such traits.

Amerveille give live birth and typically expect bundles of 1-3 scribbles. Scribbles are very curious, requiring a large amount of stimulation, and will often cry if they become bored. They are also notoriously dramatic and can become upset easily, though they will usually pout and avoid eye contact rather than cry.

Family structure is often freeform and can include neighbors, close friends, even close coworkers, etc. Family size can be difficult to determine because of this, though thinking of it as a large network of people rather than an actual family gives a better understanding of their relationship to family. Early on, family is often chosen for the individual amerveille and an individual's rejection of a family reflects badly on the family, as opposed to the individual.

This can make holidays and other celebrations into very large and often confusing affairs.

Casual and committed relationships are equally common amongst amerveille.

Morphs are based around creative arts or specific fields of creative arts.

Mixed morph children are called “Collages,” and possess a mix of traits between the two morphs, one can typically identify the morphs in question due to the specific features associated with the amerveille morphs.

“Canvases” were the first morph, based around Telomere’s personal fascination with painting.

Hybrid children typically inherit amerveille undercolor, eyes, and/or markings.

Animal basis for morphs is extremely flexible and does not seem to follow any particular pattern.

Common horror mutations are bright colors for fur and markings, monochromatic undercolor, wild/uneven or animated eye patterns, rapidly-shifting tattoos, tattoos that respond to sound or light, and general size growth.

The canvas morph is based around the visual arts, such as painting and illustration. Their animal inspiration is somewhere between a kangaroo and a jackal, with large rectangular ears that point straight up. Their markings are splotchy, akin to paint drips or splatters. They have distinctive heart-shaped noses, with a jagged but rounded mouth with two distinct fang-like protrusions. Their tails are typically thick and tapered to a point but rarely their tails will be tipped with a brush-like end akin to a paintbrush.

The melody morph is based around the musical arts and is closely associated with instruments and singing. They are inspired by sharks and otters with short fur and sharp features complimenting their webbed digits. Their ears point backward, rather than straight upwards. They have zig-zag markings and thin, jagged mouths that lack distinct fang-like protrusions compared to canvas amerveille.

The spotlight morph is based around the performing arts and is closely tied to theatre and dance. They are inspired by servals and snow leopards with lean, lithe frames. Their markings are rounded and simple compared to other morphs but they often have freckle-like dots. Their ears are more rounded but point upright. Their tails are thicker and do not taper to a point. Their muzzle is entirely rounded, lacking the fang-like protrusions characteristic of other morphs.

The chronicle morph is based around the written arts, such as poetry and storytelling. They are inspired by dragons and horned animals, such as goats or deer. Markings are squared off, with stripes of various sizes sloping off the blocks of color. This morph sometimes possesses ears that hang down as opposed to sticking up. Their muzzle is jagged with distinctive fangs. They possess horns that take a variety of shapes.

The snapshot morph is based around arts which utilize a camera to capture images of the real world, such as cinema or photography. They are inspired by aardvarks and armadillos. Their markings are blocky, shaped like film and can sometimes have an additional color compared to other morphs. Some snapshot amerveille possess thin natural armor across their shoulders and backs, sometimes at the hips, which resembles their markings but elevated. Their ears are upright and pointed and their muzzles have a distinct, square appearance.