THE ARGOVERSE
A collaborative light specbio furry universe.WHO AM I?
I am a simple biology student, working at a mycobacteria lab (that's tuberculosis and leprosy for ya). I am a huge fan of speculative biology!
Quattupate and Duapates
The term 'wildborn' (formally known as 'quattupates', from latin "four paws" and duapates, "two paws") refers to any non-domestic species.Quattupates, as the IHAO (international health awareness organization) write is "set of physiological, cultural, biological and psychological characteristics."Though there is much debate around how different Quattupates and duapates are, the objective of labelling those individuals is to grant laws that protect, respect, and ensure the safety and dignity of quattupates individuals, as well as include them in key decision makings, educational programs and medical aids.
the universal quattupate code was written to include every quattupate, no matter how different they may be.the IHAO writes;
"The quattupates have been ingrained into domestic society due to rapid colonization and industrialization. As the urban cities grew, they inclosed on habitats that have previously hid the quattupates. these individuals have been subjected to many misunderstandings and abuse throughout history, including slavery and genocide."on quattupates
"[...] quattupates are characterized by their shared struggle of mantaining the 'duapate' posture, as individuals most spent their times in a four legged posture, only switching to bipedalism under certain circumstances. the quattupates, however, have many different characteristics between them, as a label, they may include jackals, foxes, ferrets, birds, bears and many other animals."on duapattes
"[...] duapattes are the group of animals who have adopted a permanent bipedal stance, unable to walk or run in four legs. this group of individuals have molded society to their will."
The wildborn of the argoverse
Any animal not in the domestic list is a wildborn, mustelids, other canines, rodents, birds, aquatic mammals and others.**Not all animals in the argoverse are anthro, some have remained in their natural form, just labelled 'wild animals'. It's important to note that animals may be in the same family as anthro and feral animals alike (simply how humans are sapient, but related to non-sapient animals like other apes.)For canon compliancy; some animals that are ALWAYS ferals;Megafauna
(Due to their weight, structure and size.)Reptiles
(There have been some anthro reptiles throughout history, but ectothermic animals are mostly feral. An exception to this, are birds of course)Amphibians
(Too reliable on specific enviroments, would've been driven to extinction also... a bit dumb.)Felines
(I am simply uncapable of drawing felines)Feel free however to change and mold this ruling as you see fit, this is just my personal thoughts!
----------------------------------Historical canon compliancy
Animals that have been anthro, but now are gone due to genocide. Can be canon in certain time periods.Bats
(Driven to extinction during the medical revolution of 1800s, they were thought to be "plaguebringers" and were promptly executed.)Rats
(Used in experiments around 1900s, rats only exist as feral animals.)Dodos, thylacines, passenger doves
Feral animals, but were still hunt to extinction.Nile crocodile
The nile crocodiles were a group of anthro crocodiles native to (ancient) Egypt, pioneers of agriculture and animal husbandry, now extinct.
BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES
TWildborn and domestics share many biological differences. as wildborn are more closely related to feral/wild counterparts, they may have the same characteritics of animals. this include tastebuds, eyesight, vocal range, metabolism, etc.
Food is a particularly tricky subject to talk about. wildborn have limited options when it comes to their diets and many rely only on supplement boxes.
Both boxes are "General" supplements, they work for many species. Ungulates for example require one that contains more salt than the normal boxes. Hypercarnivores need one with a higher percentage of real meat, and yes, there is also milk powder for wildborn kids.Food toxic to wildborn is fairly common, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, etc.
PERCEPTION
Wildborn senses resemble closely their feral counterparts, most tend to rely on smells and hearing over vision. Their body language also remains untouched, this is a particular problem as many misunderstandings may occur from language differences. (I.e While a smile or eye contact may seem friendly, those are seem as an aggressive threat to many mammals.)Vocals such as howling, barking, gekkering, whimpering and whining are more of vocal stims in response to specific situations. For the wildborn, voices are not gender specific, and a male individual may have a "female" voice.
Reproduction
Wildborn and domestics are unable to conceive children together, even in closely related species (Red foxes and arctic foxes), their bone structure, biology and physiology makes it impossible to do so.Wildborn conceive similarly to wild animals, always litters and the offspring is no different than the offspring of animals. They only gain the ability to walk in two after they learn to walk and run in fours, language also comes later than domestics. after they hit the development milestones, they mature in the same speed as domestics.while domestics have a gestation period of 9 months, this period depends on wildborn species. often that pregnant individuals are way more acutely aware of their pregnancies than domestics, being able to tell the exact time they are about to deliver.. this behaviour manifests in 'nesting' behaviour, in which the individual expresses or starts building a safe enviroment for the future children.important to note: nesting is not necessarily linked to pregnancy, it can also happen to in times of stress of moving homesthe nesting proccess used to be significantly cultural depending on species, parents would build the nests together and use various materials, often passed down, to build it. childcare was also a community efort, 'vixens dens' were groups of closely related women who would share the burden of childcare.with the inclusion of domestic society, vixen dens were no longer a thing, and females who helped raise others young were no longer recognized as 'legal' guardians. Nesting materials were now also sold in stores, like cribs.
Posture
The wildborn as mentioned are facultative bipeds, able to switch from walking on fours or two legs.The natural way for a wildborn is to walk on fours, only switching to bipedalism when necessary, such as scanning a field, building, carrying or performing other activities with their hands. After dometic arrival, it was expected of them to walk on two legs constantly, and while they may be able to, prolonged bipedalism may bring several health issues to wildborns.As wildborns are digitigrades, the pressure and body weight is focused on their feet fingertips, damaging joints, ligaments, spines, muscles and even the nerves. arthirits and hip dysplasia become common issues for wildborn over a certain age, especially for heavier species such as bears and seals or for pregnant individuals.the braces
During a moment in the 1800s wildborns were forced to wear posture braces, a fullbody piece that forced them into a domestic posture. earlier designs were made of cloth and were worn by tying a knot on the back of the individual, as they evolved, they started to include the hips and the legs while adding more intricate designs with iron, leather and screws.As a reminder of a bygone era, older wildborns may have 'brace' scars all over their body, and many have become unable to walk.The surgery
The surgery of wildborn posture was seem as a cheaper, permanent alternative in the 1900s. Surgery of the spinal disks and joints to achieve a more natural 'posture' similarly to domestics, this was practiced in many wildborns without their consent. many had serious nerve damages or became disabled for life.
THE FREEMEN
OF SCIENCE
most characters belong to an terrorist organization called 'the freemen of science'.the Freemen of Science (often shortened to just 'Freemen'), originally an organization that would aid scientists who desperately needed funding for small "useless" research. It was Ruslan's idea, a marine biologist who was very fond of polychaetes (Marine worms) native to a small pond. He miserably tried to save them but had no money to help himself, he reached out to Gerárd, a rich man, who saw those small projects as potential investments for his growing bank. Ferdinand was a later addition, but an important one, he had been giving out lectures on genetics after being previously fired from his job in IVF for... misconduct.The Freemen of science grew, and Gerárd found himself more infused with it, he raised facilities to invite poor researchers with promise of a future career in science, but he became careless in his screenings, dangerous people started filling the ranks. This was the beginning of a rapid decline, word spread, the exiled, shamed and the rotten clung to the Freemen like moths to a flame. Ruslan observed how the organization was growing and he confessed his worries to Ferdinand, a year later, the Freemen would be found of fraud, falsifying data, rubbing shoulders with eugenics, experimentation without consent and even kidnapping.Nowadays, the Freemen hide in the Leviathan's heart, coloquially known as the 'big boy'. What they do here is.. anyone's guess, really. But Gerárd is gone and Ash, his adoptive daughter took the mantle.
The freemen's logo, an embryo as the nuclei of an atom. the three stars as electrons, represent each major department; biology, physics and chemistry.
THE CHARACTERS
'Moira' the rebel
Olivier Hahn
Chantal "Bull" Heinemeyer
"Ashanov"
Ihor kyts'ka
"HUGO" (SE-0017)
Valérie Pasteur
Ferdinand Konig
Minor characters
"Ashanov"
Also known as 'ash' or 'silberner.40-50s
French, swedish ancestry
female...unless?
lesbian
arctic fox (wildborn)
Married to bull (but having a case with her coworker...)
leader of the freemenAsh mislikes unefficiency, she only has liquid meals as to not leave her workstation, works day to night, she writes in the glass in her showers. Her room is tidy clean, she is never home, after all. When she sleeps, she dreams of nothing, a moment of respite.
Abducted at birth from her biological family, held for blackmail in france. She was raised alongside her abductor's children, and while the man himself did not like her, his wife and children accepted her as part of the family.
Though she would be rescued at her late teenager years, her uncle would keep her with him. Fearing that the man would return for her, he would train her to defend herself in hopes that she would return home but he would mysteriously pass away and Ash, with nowhere else to go, found herself crawling back to her abductors.
She would be transferred to the 'big boy'.Her abductor would quickly grow attatched to her after the loss of his wife and children, she was transferred under the guise of a test subject, and test on her they did. A failed surrogacy combined with the grief of loosing her uncle drove her into psychosis. She would be lobotomized in order to control her temper.
Ihor Kyts'ka
40-50s
Ukranian
Male
Straight (Allegedly)
Chortai hound (Domestic)
quantum physicist
Lab partner of Augustus CrimsonSoft spoken and friendly, but keeps others at an arms lenght. Much like a priest, others are drawn to confess to him, but none know what is own his mind, he always keeps his thoughts to himself. a warm figure nonetheless, very inviting, but will always turns invites for parties down.
Mysterious tall, lanky figure, not much is known about his past, why he left his home and how he landed in the freemen, his words implies that it is for protection.a former medical doctor, like his father and his grandfather and the men before him, changing his education after he landed in the freemen. though he fancies himself a quantum physicist, he often leans towards mathematics, chaology, fractals, entropy, the infinite and non-euclidian structures... the anomalies of the universe.he would work with augustus in his chronology projects, olivier was a later addition but the two hit it off shortly after. the lynx being a socially anxious individual, was drawn to his warmth in a rather.. co-dependent way, but one sided.
After a terrible accident involving a time machine, he pierces the extramaterial barrier that separates one timeline from another. he is thrown into the void. the timeline cannot function with a missing variable, nor with a whole in its borders, he must return before time implodes on itself. but he will not be whole anymore.
Valérie Pasteur
30-40s
French
Female
Lesbian
Red fox (Domestic)
Epigeneticist
Former worker of Ferdinand, now manages her own project.Almost as science obsessed as her leader. Can spend hours without caring for herself if something needs to be done, unlike her leader, however, she takes no pleasure in it and would rather go home. Used to run an improvised "nursery" for the hybrid kids, refinely known as an 'education center', her combined knowledge of helping livestock deliver and genetic engineering has made Ferdinand's job of caring for both hybrids and surrogate very easy.
French transfer student studying abroad, she has had a passion in marine biology, specifically hydrothermal vents and deep sea life, but landed an internship in livestock breeding and genetics. Her professor, Ferdinand, who saw potential in her and urged her to not go to marine biology, but to remain in genetics. Like many who end up in the Freemen, her passions were redirected to something else, and while her heart remained in marine biology, she ultimately did settle in genetics, specifically epigenetics, something her professor, now supervisor took full advange.
valérie moved to another department to work in her own project; the leviathan's heart. Alongside Olivier, they found a biological nuclear reactor under the freemen in the seafloor, her background in marine biology and epigenetics gave her the superior hand against the other teams in researching the leviathan and quickly, others joined her mission.
SE-0003
Ash first surrogate experiment, died shortly after. This is who she considers her one and only daughter.
Gerárd Charpentier and Ruslan AshanovCo-founded the Freemen of science, had a tumultuous relationship as the organization progressed.
Augustus 'Kitsya' CrimsonFormer lab partner of Ihor.
Chantal "Bull" Heinemeyer
40-50s
German
Female
Lesbian
Bull terrier (Domestic)
Mercenary
Leader of the Red swinesHotheaded and a bit of a bitch sometimes, though comraderie is what keeps the Red Swines together, she still treats every single soldier under her belt as her little ducklings. Particularly young for her rank but still respected. The balaclava is weared often more as a warning sign, much like someone might wear a badge that signs others, Bull only wears it when she's in a particularly foul mood and is prone to spurring others. Her mates know not to test her patience when she's wearing it.
Troubled childhood, interfered alot with her school life, landing her in one of the 'low grade' schools in Germany for children who probably aren't making to university. Still, met Ash while running from home and the two clicked almost immediately and became that stereotypical college sweethearts couple until [INCIDENT] separated themBull would get roped into crime, then organized crime, then a mercenary group and lastly into a private military organization. The latter she would develop and unhealthy relationship with Anna, a brute and the leader of the Red swine. Anna enters a contract with Dr. Charpentier, leader of another international terrorist organization named the Freemen.
Bull and Ash would reunite after finding out she was under Dr. Charpentier's wing this entire time and inherited the business after his passing, the same would happen to her after Anna met her demise. Though they have 5 billion questions after being separated for almost 3 decades (mainly, How did you get involved with organized crime??) they mostly set it aside for the sake of trying to repair their relationship, though its not going well.
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