Stitchpunk Biology?

[@ THEWHITENINJA]

Being the nosy little Biology major perfectionist I am, I've been wondering about the biological factors of stitchpunks. Perhaps someone can help me answer a few things, even if they're just specific to this site? Like...

Is there any physical differences between a male and female stitchpunk, or does it depend entirely on the soul?

How long can an average stitchpunk live?

How long does it take for a stitchling to fully mature?

What is the gestation period for a stitchpunk?


I'm not asking all this to be dirty or anything, it's purely out of curiosity, and it'll help me in some future rps and stuff. Also because it's driving me crazy trying to figure this stuff out.

[@ ESHE]

<sub>I can try and answer some of these to the best of my ability. My answers are based off of personal experience and what I've learned through past roleplays. c:>

- There is no physical difference between male and female stitchpunks, at least in the word of The Source. Gender is a concept that exists purely in the mind of an individual. While genders are generally based off of the memory of being male or female as human, it is possible for a stitchpunk who doesn't remember their past to gravitate toward the gender that seems to most fit them. Some have even chosen to be bi-gender, meaning they act more feminine or masculine depending on the situation (take my OC Donnie for example).

- Average stitchpunks can generally live as long as they want, so long as they keep their bodies healthy and in good condition and have a strong alchemic bond to their body. While immortality might seem tempting to some, others might chose to live as long as their body may last them and die when their body gives out. Due to the high mortality rate of stitchpunks because of machines and other such dangers, overpopulation isn't considered an issue.

- Stitchpunk children tend to mature much more quickly than human children. When a stitchpunk child is born, they are able to speak bits of words within hours and attempt to walk within a few days. 9-12 months and past that tend to be the teenage years of a stitchpunk child, whereas by two years old they tend to have the mental capacity of an adult.

- The gestation period for a fetus soul generally ranges within 2-4 weeks, depending on the strength of the parent's soul and how many soul fetuses are growing at one point.

I hope this clarifies a few things. <XDc</sub>

[@ JAZZYRAGDOLL]

If I may input, natural selection and evolution theories posit that a creature in nature with a high mortality rate or that possesses a short lifespan reaches adulthood quickly and has an incredibly short gestation period comparatively. This would back up Eshe's statements.

On a side note, would a difference in body structure be chalked up to artist's interperetation or actual difference of core buildscheme?

[Florin]

Thank you Eshe!

I do have one more question though. I know the parents of a stitchling have to build it a body, but is the body they build that of a baby or child, or already 'adult'? I've seen 'children' stitchpunks around, who are smaller than adults, but no babies. Are they 'born' as children, and have no infant stage? Or can they immediately be placed in an adult body, depending on the parents' wishes?

If that makes any sense. ^ ^"

[@ ESHE]

<sub>Jazzy, the model of a stitchpunk frame that was drawn up by me is a very generic body type. I mainly drew it to be used as a reference for people playing stitchpunk medics. It is in no way the body type of every single stitchpunk, and you're free to exaggerate and be as creative as you want with the anatomy of your characters, just so long as you can explain it and it sounds realistic. c:>

Ninja, there are typically three body types in a Stitchpunk lifetime:
- The child body (ranging from 3-5 inches) is what stitchpunk children are transferred in to once the fetus soul goes into labor and needs to be removed from the host parent. This body houses the soul from the age of 2-4 weeks to 9-12 months of age.
- The adolescent/teen body (ranging from 5-7 inches) is what a child is transferred in to once the mind of the child has developed to the point where a larger body is needed. This body houses the soul from the age of 9-12 months to two years or more, depending on the rate of maturity.
- The adult body is the final home for a soul, and parents generally tend to be emotional when their child reaches this stage. This body ranges from 6-9 inches (with 10 being a rare exception) and houses the soul for the rest of its life or until the body becomes too damaged and needs to be replaced.

While this is a general system, there are exceptions. Parents generally tend to transfer child souls into tiny bodies because they are easier to look after and take care of while they are developing mentally. Children who bypass the teen body and are put directly into an adult body sometimes experience shock and dizziness due to the drastic size change.

/u:/ I hope all that makes sense~</sub>

[@ lici]

So having a character closer to 11 or so inches tall is too far from the norm? The reason I ask is because there are people that are incrediably tall and I have based Joseph ((as yet to be posted, actually)) on someone of incrediable height from his previous life - a Hawaiian "throwback" to the Ancients. As a human, he would have stood 7 or 8 feet tall compared to the more normal 6 foot height.

Does that have any correlation with the size of the dolls?

[@ JAZZYRAGDOLL]

The way I look at it is like this: Six inches relates to about six feet. If you step outside of that and get closer to say eight inches, you're approaching the maximum normal height for a Stitchpunk. My character Nikolai, for example, is about 7.5 inches tall- Bordering on the max height. But my character Hollow is a foot and two inches (Because he's a mutant). So so long as you have a realistic explanation I would say somewhere closer to ten or nine inches of height. BUT! Get Eshe or another Admin's opinions on this- Don't rely on mine, because I could be way off.

[Neodymium [144]]

Jazzy has an excellent point there, but I always saw the height thing a little like thing: 6 inches roughly would equate to about 5 feet, with round 61/2 being more like 6 feet. I get this idea because 6-7 inches (usually 6) is about the average height for a stitchpunk, while 5-6 feet is the average height range for a human. That way, a height like 8 inches wouldn't be as extreme (it'd be like 7 feet, which could be plausible if your stitchpunk was a Scandinavian or a professional basketball player as a human or something). This would also make for less super-duper short stitchpunks, since a three-foot-tall toddler would be put into something like a four-inch body. However, there could always be some sort of variation in this formula, where you could have a person who was average height put into a really tall or really short body, as not all stitchpunk bodies are tailor-made to suit their host (and a height mix-up could lend to interesting backstories/personality quirks!) Also, certain materials and designs would lend to taller dolls that were more believable (like making them have a sturdy-looking build or a heavy frame in order to hold up their tall, heavier-than-normal bodies). Really, I think you can do almost anything with the stitchpunk form (height, construction, etc.) as long as you have a good explanation for why you're stitchpunk's body is like that, and make it believable in the real world. Although, of course, asking the mods first if you're not sure about something is always a good idea.

And, whilst I'm here, I have a question of my own:
I've noticed that many of the skullbeasts have very skeletal, "open" body structures, really nothing more than a frame of organic and metal "bones" with some red wires attached here and there. However, stitchpunks seem to require much more complex tube/wire systems, and they need to be all covered in fabric to protect this stuff. Therefor, I was wondering if it's plausible to have characters with exposed limbs and such, or if they would need some sort of covering for their wires. (or some decent explanation as to why you can't see them/the wires aren't there)
This isn't really an urgent question but it's something control freaks like me wonder about.

[AnonymousWolf]

I have my own head cannon that there are the ‘immortal’ stitchpunks (1-9) who will never die of age, and it is only a matter of what kills them like the machines or damaged wiring. They have no physical differences and it only depends on who they feel like they are. They don’t have ovaries, or any reproductive organs because of this and can’t reproduce in any way or grow like a ‘mortal’ stitchpunk would.

The ‘mortal’ stitchpunks, on the other hand, are a near complete different structure, as they are made by other mortal stitchpunks (or 000, one of my stitchpunk Ocs), and are brought to life through a memory of a now deceased human from the war (unlike the immortal stitchpunks, who are made with a soul, which are 100x stronger than memories), which is extracted through a gadget made by 000. They will eventually die of old age, when that memory dies out like a small flame, their life expectancies are usually about 70-80 years before they become weak and slowly die. The mortal stitchpunks, because of their different genetic structure, have physical differences, the males have a cable in their chest that download random genetic material into a socket on the female’s stomach (this is not sexual I swear xD), this combines their physical genes and create a stitchling. Gestation periods are around a few weeks to a month, and a stitchling matures quite fast, being able to walk and communicate in a matter of days to a week, and by the age of 1-2 years, they are considered adults.

I know this was made 7 years ago, I just wanted to give my own input