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Culture

TCP culture varies from zone to zone, though some things remain consistent: colonies, learning/teaching, and integration into society.

Colonies

TCPs don't like to be alone. They seek out fellow TCPs, an easier feat than it sounds. While TCPs can spawn globally, the sheer magnitude of TCPs spawning at any given day means that a friend can usually be found within a few hours' walk- and much less if they end up in a more urban area. Making friends with other TCPs is much easier for them than any other species, but many do seek out the companionship of far larger people.

Once a few TCPs have met up, they have tendencies to form colonies- settlements of TCPs anywhere from a small, tight knit group, to sprawling miniature cities. Large enough colonies are often registered as protected to prevent bigger folks from trampling or endangering them, and many urban areas have premade structures for colonies and groups to settle into with ease. Leaders in colonies can occur, but they're not necessary most of the time- most TCPs are content to work together by default. TCPs do not have the same ideas of “family” or “partners” as other species inherently, and typically value eachother as friends of varying closeness. That said, TCPs more socialized by and introduced to other cultures can change the way they look at things, with TCPs in cities more prone to claim others as romantic partners or chosen familial bonds.

Skills

TCP logic does not work the same as other sapient species- they run off of inherent knowledge of concepts. A morbitian TCP can look at rain, recognize it as rain, and recognize that when the rain touches them, it feels wet. They may know that being in the rain for too long can be dangerous, and know to seek shelter- but what if they don't know what would be a good shelter? For a TCP to fully understand a concept, they have to experience it directly; but doing so will give them plenty of information to make decisions on. Freshly spawned TCPs tend to bumble around until they have enough knowledge to go off of, and just because they know how to walk from the start doesn't mean they're very good at it.

TCPs can also be taught skills- simply by sharing the knowledge with eachother. This is typically done through brief physical contact, as light as a simple tap on the hand with the skill in mind. Colonies grow quickly as a result, especially if its members come from different places. Learning too many skills at once can cause sensory overload, so it's best to only do a little at a time.

As mentioned before with walking, TCP skills are simply knowledge of what the skill is, and how to do it- doing it correctly takes time and effort. TCPs may not have muscles, but getting practice is necessary for a TCP to become proficient in a skill. The only exceptions to this are speech and reading. These are often learned quickly, as simply hearing a language is enough to pass it on. Those out in the wild are less fortunate, but thankfully for TCPs, body language and expression tends to be easy to convey and understand.

Society

Every zone has a different way of handling TCPs in their society, most willing to accept them (although begrudgingly at times.) Some view them as less than people, others put them on a pedestal. TCPs in well populated areas have the option of acquiring specialized, niche jobs in exchange for a place to live and pay, or volunteer to be adopted by someone as a pet, or even a family member. While most would find the idea appalling, TCPs are happy to be pampered and taught information through play and care. Not everyone acquires these TCPs for good reasons, however, and many morbitian TCPs are exploited for their abilities. Groups that aim to protect this species are widespread and dedicated, typically funded by gods that appreciate the TCPs' presence in their zones.

Gender

TCPs do not have a similar gender system to that of most Morbitians, both in terms of roles and identifiers. Upon spawning, they have innate knowledge of whatever pronouns they can be referred to with, though it’s uncommon (but not impossible) for any TCP to be particularly attached to these at first. These pronouns can be changed easily in a TCP’s mind, and are oftentimes flexible depending on the situation. Pronouns are very rarely linked to a concept of gender identity unless the TCP themself has been socialized with Morbitians that practice more concrete gender customs.

This isn’t to say that TCPs cannot develop a sense of gender on their own, however- many TCPs find themselves leaning towards specific ways of presenting themselves, though this is rarely ever dictated alone by concepts such as “masculine” and “feminine”, and can equally involve visuals and themes that are immensely personal to the TCP, or just for fun.

In this sense, transgender TCPs can and do exist, but the definition may vary. The easiest is self identified- some TCPs choose to identify as trans, either because they’ve changed their gender identity in some way from their “starting state”, or just because they feel like the label suits them. Similarly, identifying as nonbinary is a common choice for TCPs who feel as if the binary systems that complexes often use doesn’t encapsulate the TCP experience. Gendered terms like “girl”, “boy”, “man”, and “woman” are generally learned from complex society, and aren’t a thing in isolated TCP culture- however, some TCPs identify with these terms upon being socialized among complexes.

Romance

TCPs are capable of forming romantic relationships like most other complex species, though this tends to manifest in different ways, similarly to gender, depending on whether the TCPs in question were socialized within or outside of complex society.

Outside of complex society, TCPs will develop their own ways of expressing romantic intent and affection, and while this generally involves gestures of kindness and physical touch that can be easily recognized by complexes as affectionate, things that wouldn’t immediately be apparent to a TCP due to their biology/anatomy being different (such as kissing) would have to be learned about and adapted from complex society and/or media. Different typings of TCP will also develop their own customs based on what they’re able to do comfortably, leading to extremely varied and interesting behaviors in isolated groups with lots of different typings.

As mentioned earlier- when socialized among complexes, TCPs may learn to adapt complex behavior for themselves. With a lack of mouths, TCPs have often adapted kissing into nuzzles or head bumps, and wearing things like a ring on one’s finger as a signifier of partnership into wearing bracelets or collars. Customs like dates and weddings are also taken up by TCPs in these settings, though similar rituals may exist among those outside of them.

Use of identifiers for romantic orientations is rare in isolated TCP societies, both due to unfamiliarity and the more fluid nature of TCP identity. TCPs definitely have preferences for the kind of presentation and traits they value in a partner, but considering that TCPs outside of complex society do not often pick up gendered terms, classifying orientation is difficult and oftentimes needless. TCPs among complexes, however, do occasionally pick up orientation terms, though their interpretations of them tend to be a lot more fluid and could have entirely different or even subversive meanings.

There are some depictions of romantic relationships that we do not want in the official Morbit communities, and will take disciplinary action upon seeing them posted. Even if these topics exist in the world itself, we do not want the audience exploring them due to both the potential for harmful content/depictions being made and moral/moderation concerns. Critical depictions of these dynamics may be made in official projects, but will never be made for the purpose of exploitation or fetishization.

The following depictions of romance will not be allowed in fanworks posted in official communities (the forums/Discord/etc): Relationships between:

  • feral body plan/more humanoid TCPs (ex: insect type/knife type pairing)
  • minor coded/adult coded TCPs (ex: Writhe/Primus)
  • familial TCPs in either the bond they share (ex: Primus/Buddy) or via typing (ex: twin type, brood type, etc). Some group typings are not inherently familial, such as orchestra or LAN party- but some are!
  • complexes/TCPs that fetishize/romanticize the power dynamic involved

Sexuality

All TCPs are on the asexuality spectrum, both in the sense of not being able to reproduce by any other means than spawning, as well as not being able to feel sexual attraction in the same way complexes can. They do not have libidos, or feel sexual gratification from physical stimulation- but some do get some form of mental stimulation from certain expressions of intimacy and specific interests. They can be attracted to others in the sense of wanting to feel that mental stimulation with them, and this is the closest thing we can say TCPs have to sexuality.

For most TCPs who do experience this kind of stimulation, cuddling and acts of physical affection cover the bases, similarly to how they tend to express romantic attraction (though these are neither mutually exclusive or inclusive!). For others, they may discover specific interests, themes or acts that give the same kind of stimulation- complexes usually refer to these as kinks, but TCPs themselves have no specific word for it outside of complex society. These often come naturally to a TCP based on their interests, typing, life experiences, and potentially typing/features of any partners, and are considered normal by TCP standards unless they lead to someone’s boundaries being violated.

In our community, discussion of these kinds of kinks/interests and mental stimulation are to be kept to NSFW chats/boards, and away from minors in the community. This also goes for fanart, writing, etc- and we have rules similarly to the rules for romantic relationships.

There are some depictions of sexuality that we do not want in the official Morbit communities, and will take disciplinary action upon seeing them posted. Even if these topics exist in the world itself, we do not want the audience exploring them due to both the potential for harmful content/depictions being made and moral/moderation concerns. Critical depictions of these aspects may be made in official projects, but will never be made for the purpose of exploitation or fetishization.

The following depictions of sexuality will not be allowed in fanworks posted in official communities (the forums/Discord/etc):

  • any sexuality/kinks with:
    • feral body plan TCPs (ex: horseshoe crab, wooly bear, insect)- taur-like body plans are allowed (centinel, worm monster)
    • minor-coded TCPs (ex: Writhe) or typings related to being young/a minor/etc (need a better term for this? anyway, ex: brood type)
    • typings related to the military (ex: admiral type)
  • relationships between familial TCPs, either through typing (twin type) or chosen family bonds (Dad/Primus or Dad/Buddy etc)
  • relationships between complexes/TCPs that fetishize the power dynamic between them (no vore, squishing, etc)
  • any sexual characteristics added onto a TCP (genitalia, nipples, defined chests, etc)
  • fetishization of disability within typings (ex: kink art depicting fetishization of weapon types lacking limbs- art broaching the subject of disability struggles within kink art is fine, but things objectifying disabled people are not)
  • mimicry of actual sex acts- while this can happen canonically, we’d really prefer this not being drawn/written about.