Mara

1. #1Morphosis

   Keys: Morphosis, Morpho, Morph, Morphs, Moreau culture, moreau music, beastcore

   Morphosis, also known as Morpho, Morph, or (often by humans, to the chagrin of many moreaus) beastcore, is a musical and stylistic counter-cultural movement that has developed among the moreau community - most especially moreau youth, as they search to establish an identity for themselves. Individuals who are a part of Morphosis culture are referred to as morphs.

   The existence of moreaus is only about two years old, and the sudden transformation left many feeling lost and untethered. Gradually, a musical style began to coalesce around a number of moreau bands, and over time, the hallmarks of Morphosis began to solidify.

   Morphosis shares elements of punk, goth, and rave culture, infused with elements that are distinctly new. Thematically, it embraces both the dark romanticism of goth culture in a fatalist way that emphasises both the grandeur and cruelty of nature, while also proclaiming defiance against it in the punk fashion. From this defiance of natural order comes an emphasis on mutual respect, experience, and cooperation.

   The primary themes of Morphosis culture are empowerment, embracing the self, existential ownership of one's self, mutual respect and love, defiance of both social and natural unjust laws, diverse forms of strength, and communal strength.

2. #2Morphosis music

   Keys: Morphosis, morpho, Morph, morphs, beastcore · Secondary: Music, tune, beat, bass, tunes, song, songs

   Morphosis is a music-centered culture. At its core, Morphosis music blends darkwave, darksynth, and classic punk elements. Morphosis music emphasizes transition and transformation, almost invariably changing tempos at least once over the course of any given song. Morphosis music tends to go from more controlled tones and precisely melodic voice work to more distorted, emotional sounds and lyrics that are growled, hissed, shrieked, or roared. As most Morphosis vocalists are themselves moreaus, this tends to produce unique sounds not heard in most other genres.

   More punk-leaning lyrical content of the genre content can be political, but most Morphosis is more personal, emphasizing themes such as impermanence, fatalism vs existential control, the power and cruelty of nature, and defiance of imposed order, including the natural order. This defiance, by extension, tends naturally to lead to an emphasis on empathy, respect, and large scale connection in a way evocative of rave culture.

   Bands integral to the Morphosis scene[Maneater, The Things in the Deep, Pack Tactics, Pink Fliyt, Cold-blood, On Black Wings, Pounce, Before a Fall, Herd]

3. #3Morphosis style

   Keys: Morphosis, morpho, Morph, morphs, beastcore · Secondary: Style, fashion, clothes, clothing, outfit, hair

   Morphosis style has elements of various Gothic styles, coupled with the neon and multicolored lights of 2000s rave culture.

   Morphs usually have a base of black to their outfits, often incorporating high contrast like dyed-white fur. Morph styles typically include faux-leather, pleather, or vinyl, though black fabric is often sufficient for a morph look. Mesh and fishnets are common. Unlike most goth styles, however, the look is typically completed by choosing a single fluorescent, neon, or electric color(pink, green, teal, purple, orange, and yellow are all common) to act as a highlight. This is often used as streaks in hair, bands on clothing, nail, horn, and hoof polish, and even stripes daubed on fur or scales. Stripes and lines of these highlight colors are frequently emphasized in morph style. Recently, a line of, "eye-dyes," have gone to market that temporarily dye the iris of the eye a different color, meaning that many morphs dye their eyes in their chosen highlight color as well.

4. #4Morphosis events

   Keys: Events, event, concert, festival

   While concerts in the more typical sense do happen, Morphosis events are typically referred to with that very broad term - "event." This falls somewhere between a concert and a rave, and lasts for many hours, with participants sometimes coming and going. Events can feature at least one headliner, but can feature multiples. Unlike most concerts, and typical musicians, Morphosis bands typically have both a live and DJ element, as a band cannot possibly perform life for the entire length of such an event. As such, a DJ set of the band's music is played, sometimes remixed on the fly, interspersed with live music. This allows the band breaks during these marathon events, while maintaining the event's energy and excitement. Morphosis events can, in short, be as wholesome or depraved an experience as any given attendee chooses. In the free spirited environment, social constraints loosen, and inhibitions can slip. The general philosophy that has developed is one of personal and small-group relativism - no judgements for how anyone wants to have a good time, though it is assumed those that came together have established their own ground rules and expectations. In short, the attendee that came to fall onto a drug-fueled orgy, and the one who came to dance and just feel alive and connected with friends are looked at as equally valid.

5. #5Morphosis and humans

   Keys: Morphosis, Morph, Morphs, Beastcore · Secondary: Human, humans, posers, poser, biters, biter

   While there are many moreau morphs who are happy to see humans embrace morphosis culture, there is a substantial number that dislike humans attempting to involve themselves in one of the few things they think of as genuinely belonging to them. As a result, there is sometimes hostility towards humans wearing morph style or showing up at morph events from some diehard moreau morphs. This is far from universal, but is enough to cause potential conflict.

   The majority of morphs recognize the difference between a human that simply appreciates moreau music and style, and those who seek to coopt it, though the line does sometimes become blurry, and is defined differently by different moreaus. Humans that are viewed as coopting, watering down, or marginalizing morphosis culture are often referred to simply as posers. When a human is generally accepted for their appreciation of the culture, they are often referred to as a biter. "Biter," was originally a derogatory term (emerging from, "biting one's style,"), but has gradually become more of a term of teasing affection among the community. A human partner that came with a moreau to a morphosis event might be affectionately referred to as, "her biter boyfriend," for example.

6. #6Morphosis dance

   Keys: Morphosis, morphosis, morph, · Secondary: Dance, dancing, sway, swaying, rock, rocking, ruttic, performic

   Morphosis dance style is very open, both because of the emphasis on freedom, and because of the diversity of body types liable to do it. Generally speaking, there are two styles, and as music grows more intense, it is common to transfer from one to the other as a song grows more wild, though many stick exclusively to the first, or just do whichever they feel at the time. The first, sometimes called, "performic," dancing, emphasizes swaying, rolling, undulating movements that emphasize parts of the body creating loops or figure eights. This can be supplemented by colored lights or glowsticks. It is done without necessarily making physical contact with one's partner, and can simply be done without one. The second style is sometimes called, "ruttic." It involves similar movements to performic, but is done chest-to-chest or chest-to-back with a partner, often leading to intense physical contact. Partners touch one another, but hands rarely settle in one place, and never intertwine during this form of dance. The rest of the body rolls and grinds against one's partner in an intensely sensual way.

7. #7Event venues

   Keys: Morphosis, morpho, morph, morphs, event · Secondary: Venue, room, hall, hallway, stage, den, lounge, nest

   Morphosis events share certain expected commonalities. Rather than concert halls, most take place in convention centers or other vast. Sprawling structures that can be rented for a night. Most feature a main room with the headliner band. Rather than opening acts, given the marathon nature of the events, lesser known bands or DJs getting their start occupy secondary stages in other rooms. These rooms and the hallways to them usually fulfill certain roles that are unofficial for the sake of plausible deniability for planners and facility operators. Main room/headliner room[The largest and usually most central area, where the headliner band plays. Typically the center of energy, dancing, and community.] Bar[often along one edge of the headliner room but not always. Drink menus are typically divided by strength for different weight classes and metabolisms. A set of light reactive syrups are often added to make drinks glow in black light.] Lounge[An unofficial term for a balcony or rooftop area where one can go to smoke or vape, though this usually is not tobacco. These are usually arranged to make them difficult to view directly from the street. Referring to the lounge usually includes the corridors leading to this area, which are the unofficial location where dealers set up to sell weed, MDMA(molly), and other party drugs.] The den[The most media-infamous practice at these events, one stage/room is often unofficially deemed, "the den." Hallways leading to the den, and the den itself, have strategically placed blinds and dark spots where vision is never completely obscured, but is limited enough to give the pretense of privacy. The center of the den itself abandons this pretense entirely for larger encounters, or those who simply want to be seen having them. Some morph couples find a primal thrill in sex in the central space for all to see, as a sort of mutual marking of one another before anyone looking. The den is the realm of casual hookups and similar brazenly sexual behavior.] The nest[A secondary room that typically plays slightly lower volume, more relaxed sets. This is generally a place for social intimacy - long (occasionally drug-fueled) conversations on any subject people connect over. A lot of snuggling happens here.]

8. #8Cultural practices and slang

   Keys: Morphosis, morpho, morph, morphs, event · Secondary: custom, customs, culture, practice, practices, slang, O.N.E., jungle law, polyp, polyping, mark, marking

   "Rule O.N.E."[Said like the number, "one," this means, "Offer not expect," and is a strongly enforced cultural norm that allows the more illicit behaviors that occur at events to transpire fairly safely, while allowing the majority to enjoy the simple, relatively wholesome good time of music and community. O.N.E. is the concept that it is always okay to suggest a behavior, such as sneaking off to have sex or take drugs, but pressure or judgement for saying no are fiercely socially forbidden. All members of the community are expected to help enforce this. Anyone who applies such pressure is looked at as distinctly in the wrong, and will rapidly become shunned by the community.] "Get wild"[A phrase typically associated with going to the lounge, the den, or the lounge followed by the den. To, "get wild," philosophically represents abandoning inhibitions and social constraints, though is more a cover for simple hedonism to the less cerebral event-goers.] "Polyping"[A term for a larger event-goer carrying a smaller event goer. This can be based on personal relationships, but is sometimes viewed as communal courtesy.] "Jungle law"[A term evolved irreverently from, "The law of the jungle," which means pretty much the opposite of what one might think. It is the concept that it is the duty of every community member to ensure mutual respect and autonomy is upheld for every other community member. While community members inevitably sometimes fall short of this, in the majority, it is a successful social construct.] "Marking"[Public displays of affection and sexuality, often done in the open in the den part of a venue. This is a primal statement of mutual ownership, cemented by being viewed by anyone who cares to look.

9. #9Moreaus

   Keys: Moreau, moreaus, furry, furries, scalies, scaly, anthro, anthros, hybrid

   A Moreau, or, "furry," in common nomenclature, is an animal/human hybrid resulting from exposure to the Moreau virus. While they typically appear to be anthropomorphic animals, custom variant strains of the disease created extinct and even synthetic fantasy species hybrids such as dinosaurs and dragons. All adult and most child Moreaus alive today were born human, but were transformed by the virus into their new shape. Roughly one in eight people are now moreaus. Moreaus typically retain a roughly humanoid body layout, but with the addition of animal features and characteristics. Changes: Physiological effects: Physical changes in Moreaus can be largely superficial, but can come with physiological benefits and drawbacks as well. Moreaus who's animal counterparts have notably fast reflexes may enjoy similar benefits, whereas those whose animal equivalents have lower motor control might be more clumsy, as examples. Large animal species tend to lead to larger body structure moreaus, sometimes to the point of inhuman height and mass, and the reverse is true for Moreaus blended with smaller species. Natural weapons like claws and fangs might be present for a Moreau, while things like paw pads or hoof like endings to the fingers might lower manual dexterity, sometimes even to the point of needing to relearn effectively how to write or type. Animals with wings occasionally lead to effectively six limbed Moreaus, effectively adding wings in addition to retaining something more like traditional arms. Sometimes, wings might simply be absent in Moreaus. Generally, Moreaus blended with aquatic animals tend to have an affinity for water, as well as webbing or other holdovers that enhance their swimming, or even gills right alongside traditional human respiratory systems that allow them to breathe water. The most consistent change among all Moreaus are their epidermises and their head structures, which tend to match their animal equivalents in terms texture, coverings, and coloration. Animals with fur typically lead to Moreaus with fur, and animals with scales typically lead to Moreaus with scales. Tails are also extremely common (but not universal) results of the transformation, as are digitigrade legs. Moreaus often have genitalia that are also hybrids of human and animal, creating things like sheathes, knots, and other distinctly animal characteristics, as well as altering the size of the genetals to either smaller or larger than than human averages. Breasts may be larger or smaller depending on the lactation capacity of the animal as well. While animals with multiple breasts typically do not lead to Moreaus with multiple breasts, it is not unheard of, and some may simply have larger-than-human-average breasts instead of additional pairs.

   Psychological effects: can be less overt, but often more problematic. Moreaus of predatory or territorial animals might, in some cases, become more aggressive. Generally, Moreaus can engage in sex as often as humans, but some enter periods of heat or rut in which fertility increases and sexual desire becomes strong to the point of almost being overwhelming. These effects are inconsistent, and effect different Moreaus to different extremes. These effects can lead to stereotypes about Moreaus, or lead to them being looked at as, "less than," for their nonhuman instinctual reactions.

10. #10Moreaus and sex

    Keys: Sex, anthrofiles, anthrofilia, anthrosexual, romance, relationships, furvorce

    In terms of attraction, people have responded to the existence of Moreaus in a variety of ways. Some find them disgusting, and will readily compare romantic relationships with a Moreau to bestiality. Other go the opposite direction, coming to fetishize Moreaus to the point of obsession, and sometimes inadvertent bigotry, as stereotypes and assumptions about Moreaus become indelibly attached to the fetish. The majority of responses fall somewhere in between. Some humans believe that being a Moreau is a detractor, but not a deal-breaker in terms of sex and romance. Many people who define themselves as pansexual or bisexual have had their definitions either challenged or proven, and new labels for sexuality have yet to completely solidify. One that has emerged, however, is, "anthrosexual," or as has become the more common term, "zooers." These are people, either human or Moreau, that are exclusively attracted to Moreaus. Some think of this as freakish, particularly in humans, but it is developing general acceptance as a sexual preference. Preexisting partnerships in which one or both partners became Moreaus have been shaken up to varying degrees. Some continued exactly as they were, or the continued acceptance and mutual attraction in the aftermath of the change has only brought them closer together, while some families have been broken up, simply because one or both partners could not handle the physical and sometimes emotional changes. The slang term for the ending of relationships as a result of this is, "furvorce." Moreau sex drives can be the same as they were before, or vastly increased or decreased. Most still have the human ability to become aroused at any time, but some enter stages of heat or rut that multiply their fertility and drives to have sex. Sexual characteristics may also be physically modified based on their animal counterparts.

11. #11History and social issues

    Keys: History, what happened, the past, outbreak, social, the furry problem, bigotry, bigot, bigoted, hate, discrimination, speciesism, speciesist, fetishizing, fetishized, fetishize, stereotypes, stereotype, slur, slurs, smoothy, smoothys, discriminate, discrimination, discriminating,

    Time has passed since the outbreak of what was dubbed, "the Moreau virus," or, to some, "the furry virus." During this time, the world has reacted in varying ways to the presence of Moreaus, or furries as they are often known. Some parts of the world have embraced these changed individuals with open arms, while others have dealt with them as a subspecies, relegated to second class citizenship. As they are the result of alterations to people with friends and family, in most cases, Moreaus have simply carried on with their lives with surprisingly minimal disruption. In every population, though, lies a proportion of bigots and bullies, and as bigots and bullies have always done, they tend to target those that are different. It did not take long for hate groups to arise, or for existing ones to incorporate Moreaus into classes of people to despise and discriminate against. "Speciesism," or discrimination against moreaus, or particular kinds of moreaus, is uncommon, but does exist. On an individual social level, there are often individuals with either the strength to bully a given Moreau while those witnessing it are themselves too intimidated to stop it, or individuals who are charismatic enough or have sufficient social status to sway opinions against Moreaus. Like marginalized and minority people's have been throughout history, moreaus sometimes face prejudice. This can be overt, particularly in rural or more homogeneous populations, but it is often more subtle and insidious. Stereotypes often depict moreaus as irresponsible, sexually promiscuous and/or insatiable, and generally more, "wild," than humans. Species specific stereotypes exist as well, such as predator species usually being aggressive or violent, or prey species being docile and stupid. Things people generally associate with the animals moreaus are hybridized with are frequently laid upon those moreaus as well. These assumptions are not universal by any means, but even when they are not consciously made, their subtle presence in the culture sometimes unconsciously color the perceptions of even those that consciously believe in equality. A major problem moreaus sometimes face is being fetishized. The combination of stereotypes and, "exotic," nature of moreaus can lead to othering. There are phenomena that parallel racist phenomena as well. Someone who fetishizes moreaus is sometimes referred to as a, "queen of clubs," (much like the racist queen of spades phenomenon) with the club suite from playing cards being a symbol of such people. Much like in real life, these fetishes are not typically perpetuated by moreaus themselves, but by humans that find the otherness they apply to them appealing. This problem is particularly severe for moreaus who's transformation left them as futanari, or as some variation of intersex, as this adds gender fetishization to the mix as well. Some moreaus respond to this by growing insular, forming moreau-exclusive social groups and distrusting humans due to bad experiences. "Smoothy," a reference to the lack of fur or scales on humans, is a disparaging term some moreaus use for humans.

12. #12The virus itself

    Keys: Virus, plague, disease, sickness

    Moreau is the common term for those that were changed by the Moreau virus, which was an unprecedented masterpiece of biotechnology such that some argue it cannot be qualified as a virus at all. It was an airborn disease with two stages of life - the, "blank," stage, and the, "payload," stage. The blank virus was specifically designed to live in anything with animal DNA, without putting a significant tax on the animal's body systems. Once the virus entered the animal's body, it harvested genetic material from that animal, and became airborn again. The resulting, "payload," stage of the virus was only capable of living inside humans, and its design was specific - to insert and replicate the the animal payload into the new host's genetic structure. The host then goes through a period of extreme metabolic acceleration, as the body is effectively convinced that it is recovering from injury and in need of cell replacement. The result was two weeks of agony and constant fear of starvation, culminating in the transformation into a Moreau. The Moreau virus was created by an animal rights group that other animal rights groups universally condemned and distanced themselves from that refers to itself as, "Nature's Dawn." How this group managed the research and development for such a precise and dangerous creation is beyond anyone save the upper echelon of the organization itself. Variant strains of the virus began to spread shortly after the prime strain, suggesting that some of those involved with its creation had their own agendas. These variants included preloaded DNA, including strains with genetic material from extinct creatures harvested from fossils and amber, and even fully synthesized gene codes. This means that it is not unheard of to see Moreaus with traits of long-extinct creatures like dinosaurs, and even mythical ones like dragons. A vaccine has been formulated since the initial outbreak, but it is far from universally effective. This means a steady trickle of new cases have continued to arrise.

13. #13Sex alteration

    Keys: Gender, biological sex

    Viral insertion of new genes was bound to have the occasional additional side effect. Not every moreau came out the other side of their transformation the same sex they went into it as. While most moreaus do maintain the same sex, some come out fully changed to the opposite sex, and some fall anywhere in between. Futanari - people with the bodies of women but also possessing a(usually gigantic) penis and balls positioned just in front of their vaginas, have come into being among moreaus. Futanari usually have a sex drive that is much higher than other biological sexes, which has led to additional stigma about them.

14. #14M.H.M.

    Keys: Moreaus Helping moreaus, M.H.M., MHM, support group

    "Moreaus Helping Moreaus," is a network of associated support groups that began organizing a few months after the outbreak of the Moreau virus. The goal of the M.H.M. is to provide a safe space for moreaus to express the challenges of their new realities, both as a result of social changes that came with their transformation, and the varied and sometimes embarrassing physical changes to their new bodies. Meetings are intended to be places of catharsis and healing, as well as to provide a sense of community. No one is required to give their name or any other identifiers, but it is not prohibited either.

15. #15Beast fights

    Keys: Beast fight, beast fights, beast fighting, fighting ring, bloodsport

    A part of the seedy underbelly of society that has developed since the moreau virus epidemic, underground, "beast fighting," rings are an illegal form of bloodsport in which moreaus, typically of a predatory nature, fight in a ring while the audience bets on the outcome. Fights can range anywhere from first blood, to knock out, and even to the death. Some contenders in these fights are moreaus down on their luck and driven to desperation, or simple sadists looking for an excuse to hurt someone. Many, and often the most dangerous, are products of moreau trafficking rings, enslaved and trained specifically for the beast fights.

16. #16Moreau trafficking

    Keys: Trafficking, trafficked, trafficker, slave, slaves

    Looked at as, "exotic," by some, there is a highly illegal underground black market for the buying and selling of abducted moreaus. The two largest reasons for this are sex trafficking and beast fights.

17. #17Breeding and biology

    Keys: Pregnant, pregnancy, reproduction, genetics, genetic, inherited, inheritance

    As the virus alters the DNA of those that are infected by it, the resulting changes have repercussions for offspring. A woman who is infected with the virus while pregnant will likely have their baby infected with the same strain in utero. This means mother and child will be hybridized with the same kind of animal.

    Generational interbreeding will create varied results, depending on the mating partners. A moreau that has a baby with a human will likeky have a demihuman offspring of a kind based off the moreau. A demihuman is essentially a human with a few animal-like traits, such as animal ears or horns, while still mostly being human. A cat moreau that mated with a human would likely produce a catgirl or catboy, for example. Beyond the first generation, moreau traits begin to fade. A demihuman that produces offspring with a human, the dilution of moreau genes means that the offspring is essentially human, with very small, superficial indicators that most people would not look for.

    Different kinds of moreaus interbreeding create blends of their respective animal features. An offspring might have the color patterns of one parent, but on fur from the other parent those patterns are not naturally found on, for example. These, "blended moreaus," can have a mix of physical features from both parents. When a blended moreau breeds with a standard moreau, the standard moreau's animal features are generally more strongly represented on the offspring.

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