construct shapes can't charge like mechanical shapes though otherwise they're very similar.
Reel has difficulty speaking considering their teeth so they're quiet and mostly communicate through a mix of pouchlet sounds and modified sign/finger spelling.
Reel likes to sleep on the ground, sure they could sleep underwater, but they'd rather sleep on the beach, on rocks, or just in general on the ground
Reel can breathe underwater
Rotary (or Rota) is a little shit:tm: but like in the way a little mischievous cat is a little shit-
Rota can charge through their blades as long as there's sunlight available.
Rota also likes to hitch rides on reel when they aren't working in the factory.
Reel is 'looks like they can kill you & is actually p chill' meanwhile Rota is 'looks p chill & is 100% down to start maiming'
Rota can't really walk, they can scoot themselves around, but they're like dragonflies, and can really only move with a lot of agility in the air
both of them rarely use energy constructs, instead choosing to keep their energy reserves stable to only use in emergencies.
Reel can shoot both 'cannonballs' and 'fireworks' out of the holes on their tail.
Reel's sails are retractable/foldable and allow them to get help from the wind while swimming.
So, here’s all of the npc/friendly shapes you run into in-game, their tweaked designs, and some updated headcanons, which get a bit… long, so they’re going under a readmore to save y’all’s dashboards-
Saro ‘Plytooth’ ‘Plum’
There might be some feline shape mixed in there somewhere, but nobody’s really sure-
Their condition affects their beat-energy levels/reserves, and the best way to describe it is the following: Every shape is born/hatches with a ‘water bottle’ that is their full energy reserves, it can grow and change with them, and when it starts to overflow, the body starts forcing it out to avoid a corruption forming from the overflowing beat-energy, normally in the form of tears, saliva or projectiles/structures. With individuals with Saro’s condition their ‘water bottle’ has some small holes below the top of it, causing their body to think that it’s overflowing with beat-energy when it isn’t and start forcing it out, the closer those holes to the top it is, the less severe it is, and the farther from the top it is, the more severe it is. Shapes with extreme versions of this condition can die due to a lack of beat-energy, though this normally only happens in pouchlets or even before they’re even born/hatched. Since things like structures/projectiles and even reproducing are linked to beat-energy, individuals with more severe versions of this condition can be infertile or essentially disabled since birth. It’s mostly a genetic condition but sometimes traumatic events happening to a shape’s beat-energy can cause it
The way that this condition gets treated is a bit variable, some go without treatment, others with extreme cases have to be put on life support to keep themself stable, and some with severe cases which cause disabilities will sometimes get treatment devices to help out with their energy reserves
Their ‘cat ears’ are such a medical device, and they work by essentially ‘patching’ the holes in their energy reserves which allows more beat-energy to be stored and can supply the individual with extra energy as well in more severe cases, however, they can’t fix the condition, and individuals with these devices still are low-energy.
These devices are made with peices of the tree like energy sponges, and can come in many different forms, most prefer them to be things like jewelry, or other wearable trinkets, Saro’s was a modified form of the tree peices that the player shapes gave them after their purification, (and it just feels… right to have them there.) their devices reat to their emotions and will often act like ears even if they aren’t actual ears (which is why some think that there’s some feline in their ancestry somewhere)
Saro’s condition is on the severe side, they can function on their own, albeit being unable to make energy structures/projectiles and not having a clutch cycle (since they don’t have the energy reserves to actually make/develop eggs, since eggs take a lot more beat-energy to make than well, the male gametes)
they compensated with physical strength, ladders and stools to get things from higher up, and other devices to help assist them.
They also have a slight advantage with them being a mechanical shape, since mechanical shapes can charge through sunlight, moving water, or by temporarily connecting themselves to a power grid, converting that energy to beat-energy
If they’re feeling tired or think that they’ll need more energy, pre-cat ears they’d just plug themselves into the grid with their tail and charge for a bit before heading out-
They don’t really have this issue post-game, but now they have other issues, namely that they now have clutch cycles, and they now have both structures and projectiles, neither of which they know how to handle at first
When pouchlets first start ‘linking’ with their beat-energy it will develop into a song, and their levels of beat-energy stored are used to make the projectiles and structures that are linked to it, Saro has fully linked with their song, but never learned how to control structures or projectiles, and as such, they’re in the position of a pouchlet first learning how to control them, albeit with more danger since they’re a fully grown shape that’s fully linked with their fully developed song, the constructs and projectiles that they can’t control are fully developed, firm, and can cause a lot of damage by accident.
Structures and projectiles ar first are almost always summoned by instinct when something happens, like feeling strong emotions, or just if the shape needs something, with Saro specifically, they’re slowly learning how to get the summoning and dismissing under their control,
during this time when they feel the structures starting to ‘twitch’ they will excuse themselves from the current situation and get to a isolated place before letting go of their suppresion to let them out.
They’re very motherly/fatherly and do desire to have kids of their own someday, but have accepted that their condition made it highly unlikely- (yeah, that’s something that the corruption 100% would’ve latched onto if they didn’t get purified so quickly)
They parent the player shapes like they would their own kids, they were afraid of doing so after they found out that they were all adults (they thought that they were younger than they were) but the squad gave them permission to do so
They are very physically strong, stronger than most shapes on paradise-
Once beat Fresh in a fistfight even though he’s almost double their size, give or take a bit, shape heights tend to fluxuate (He respects them a lot more than other shapes now because of it)
Very sweet and gentle but isn’t a doormat or a pushover, they will fuck shit up if they feel like it’s neccecary, and that is a promise
Compact and much heavier than they look, to the point where it’s QUITE startling for most people who try to pick them up or otherwise push/nudge them out of the way, it’s like trying to move a brick wall of a house by hand-
Rotary ‘Rota’
They have difficulty walking on the ground, they can still walk, but it’s slow and somewhat clumsy
Their eyes are screen-like and/or bug-like
They are surprisingly light for a Mechanical shape, which makes sense when you consider that they’re mostly a aerial type.
Super fast and agile in the air, and can hover perfectly still above the ground for a good long while if needed,
Water makes them uncomfortable, so they tend to avoid it when they can-
Super bubbly and affectionate but can and will cut a bitch if needed-
Prefers to keep their mouth shut and sealed, their teeth are a bit scary for some folks, plus it can sometimes force them to slow down in the air.
While they can’t really charge through plugging into the mainframe, they can quite easily charge through solar power, and will often bask in sunlight if they need a quick pick-me-up (flight is energy intense after all)
Their pouch is mostly internallized to stop a full pouch from bringing down their aerodynamicness
Reel
Lost their eye when they were young because of a parasite, has several different glass eyes that they sometimes use to fill the socket to avoid issues with it-
They do wear the eyepatch over it to help avoid anything else sneaking into their socket/to keep their socket protected from the air and potential infectious microbes
They keep their mouth sealed and shut unless hunting or actively using it for the same reasons that Rotary does, though mostly it’s because they have a abyssal horror maw and it REALLY freaks some folks out.
They have some dicciculties when talking legibly, due to the way their mouth is structured, so it often sounds like they have a lisp, or a heavy accent that makes them hard to understand. If they’re having difficulties describing something accurately they tend to use pouchlet notes in order to communicate it easier (pouchlet notes are good with simple things and describing emotions, and can be strung together to create complex scentences, but it takes a bit to learn how to string them together properly)
Looks like they could kill you but is really sweet and gentle.
Has been mistaken for fish several times before and now sticks to the surface when not hunting to minimize that happening again. (it’s very awkward, and they still sometimes get folks appologizing to them for that happening)
Pouch is mostly internalized for streamlining reasons, and has some musculature that allows it to be ‘sealed’ to stop things inside from escaping as well as an producing a oily secretion that makes it easier to force water out of their pouch.
They tend to keep any items that they keep in their pouch in waterproof and oilproof containers and bags to stop them from getting wet or covered in their pouch’s oil secretions
New Tweaked Designs for the Bosses, as well as some up-to-date headcanons for them! it's a bit long so it's going to be under a readmore-
Fresh
His voice is actually high pitched (like the vocals in the actual song) he doesn’t see any issue with it, but if someone starts giving him shit about it he will get annoyed and start getting hostile
Borderline blind, has to actively focus in order to see things clearly, so he mostly relies on his energysense to get around for the most part.
He actually likes kids, despite his grumpy demeanor, and he’s pretty good with them too, one of the best folks to leave your kids with if you don’t mind the trek to get to his den in the caves
Actually leans more on the feminine side for other centipede shapes, since he's larger than most (this tends to be a trend with arthropod shapes, larger individuals leaning more towards the female side of the shape gender spectrum)
Semi-transparent midsection with less plating than normal for centipedes, allowing you to see some of his bones (you can’t see his spine, or any of his organs, since they’re deeper in, though sometimes if his stomach or crop is really full, or if there’s something glowing brightly enough in there you might be able to somewhat see it through his skin, it’s more reliably seen with his crop though-)
Territorial towards places and people that he likes, you can tell if he likes you even if he doesn't tell you since he'd start getting lowkey territorial in regards to you
as close to cold-blooded as a shape can get, but it's offset by his general chunkiness and the fact that he dresses warmly
Collar is a comfort item that he almost always wears (also the spikes on them are made with carved treeangle wood, normally they absorb the excess beat-energy he produces, the corruption however overwhelmed them)
if he gets too cold he can go into torpor, sometimes quite suddenly (longest time he's been in torpor has been a month)
has a instinctual behavior pattern of eating more and starting to bulk up during colder months/seasons, even if he doesn't go into torpor during the season. (sometimes he can get pretty mindless with it. Try to avoid being around him if you happen to be small and roughly food-shaped.)
Surprisingly soft, good to cuddle with (as long as you ignore the scattered small plates along his back) don’t expect him to start cuddling unless he likes you though, he’s more likely to straight up eat or maul you, especially if it’s sudden and you startle him.
Likes to dig and burrow, if you can’t find him, just start looking for the big holes in the damp dirt.
He eats rocks and dirt sometimes, no real reason for it, he just wants to-
Rarely washes his clothes, washes his modified boots even less.
He normally keeps his mandibles tucked into his mouth, but if he wants to paralyze someone with his venom or just eating they tend to pop out. (if you get on his nerves enough he can and will bite with intent to paralyze and leave you there)
If he’s feeling strongly about something he starts growing spikes and more plates along his body.
Those ‘spikes’ along his tail are actually tiny centipede legs, they don’t really get used except as a pouchlet or in his shape form, but they’re there.
He actually knows how to make clothes, kinda had to in order to modify his own to fit his needs better. (most of his clothes are made of denim to last longer)
Lycan
Thrives off of chaos and like the goose from untitled goose game, they will cause problems*… on purpose (*minor problems, more mischievous rather than actual problems)
Grows ‘petals’ (they feel closer to feathers) during spring and winter, after that they tend to shed, leaving them with only their short fur
They are a carrier of the shape version of the vitiligo gene, which while meaning that they aren’t actively vitiligo, if certain conditions are met, the gene can get triggered and cause their colors to start to change, a condition/coloration that’s often referred to as ‘False Vitiligo’ (true vitiligo turns the shape white, gray, or black) in their case, their corruption triggered the gene, and after getting purified their fur and petals gradually started turning magenta.
They’re one of the few shapes that Bitis actually tolerates/likes, since they know when to shut up and calm down when needed. Plus they’re warm, and willing to act as a living heater for them.
Very loyal to their ‘pack’ which is mainly Fresh, Bitis and themself, though they have a few others that they consider as ‘pack’
Has a tendency of burying things, and also likes to dig, just to make holes
High energy, social, and a ball of furry chaos in general, prone to affectionate biting and scratching as well, not enough to break the skin, but still-
They do like being pet, and will invade people’s personal space, but tends to be leery and wary of people they don’t know petting them
Their sense of smell and hearing is really good, and can often be driven crazy by things like dog whistles and can hear and smell things that some others can’t
They can in fact howl, and sometimes they have the instinct to howl back when they hear it, it’s a impulse thing and they can resist it sometimes, but if they get caught off guard they will howl if they hear another howl
Will affectionately bully the folks that they like, but will cut it out if they upset them or if they’re not in the mood.
Bitis
Their corruption essentially swapped their purple/magenta colors when it came to their markings
An ‘ew people’ type of introvert who only tolerates a few shapes, everyone else can fuck off in their opinion
They’re a sea snake, so they do spend a good deal of time swimming and hunting fish to eat.
VERY venomous, and fatally so if too much gets put in, which is why they tend to keep their mouth sealed unless they’re actively using it.
Their venom is paralytic, and they mostly use it to hunt
However the instinct to bite something that startles them is still there, which tend to mean that if you startle them you are going to get headbutted, which is going to hurt both of you-
As close to cold-blooded as a shape can get, however, they can’t go into torpor to hibernate through the colder moths like fresh can, so they just stick to the volcano and bundle up in their ‘sweater’ for the most part. They don’t tend to leave the volcano at all during the colder months.
Shorter lengthwise than most serpent/snake shapes, but they’re built more powerfully and thicker as a compromise. Makes them actually pretty fast in the water, if somewhat less agile and harder to fit into crevices.
While it is possible to create a anti-venom for their venom, that involves having to interact with other shapes, and Bitis would rather not have to subject themself to being forced to interact with other shapes if they can avoid it.
Scales are smooth, to the point that it’s hard to find where one ends and another begins.
Keeps their hair braided, keeps it out of the way and in one place, since it constantly looks wet/greasy and is slightly heavier than the average. (the braid is what’s causing it to puff up into that hood shape around their head, nobody knows why and Bitis doesn’t care to figure it out)
Aro/Ace and gets annoyed/disgusted if people start talking about things like relationships or sex in front of them. You will get forced out one way or another.
Their serpent attacks are structures, and they do in fact have a few pet snakes as well, that are well taken care of.
Prone to stress-shedding random scales, which can be good when pressed underwater by something dangerous, distract the thing with sudden swarm of shiny scales, but it leaves that area without scales until they shed.
They can and WILL pop out their fangs and start threatening if someone starts getting on their nerves enough, and if they don‘t get the message they’ll do a ‘dry bite’ that normally gets other shapes to fuck off-
There’s no proof but there was slight increase in drownings when they first arrived, though honestly, Bitis straight up told people that they’re venomous, that it’s paralytic and that they want to get left the fuck alone unless they like you when they first arrived, so if you go swimming/flee into the water after getting bitten by them it’s kinda on you? (def still manslaughter/shapeslaughter though)
Widow
Prefers to live off of the land in the caves, there’s plenty enough big bugs and other animals that they can feed off of, so she really only tends to go into town for supplies she can’t find or make in the wilderness
Makes her own silk cloth with her own thread/silk and makes clothing and other cloth things like bags.
Gets along pretty well with Fresh, and will ask him to babysit occationally while she does something.
Def a milf, and can be quite flirty, though understands if people are a bit anxious about her, it’s only natural. (Arthropod shapes do have a tendacy to have… slightly cannibalistic urges, especially ones that are female/more on the female side of the spectrum, and DEFINATELY while gravid, even if the eggs aren’t fertile/fertilized)
Pretty chill and laid back. she knows that she’s one of the largest shapes on paradise and that most things can’t threaten her, so she’s pretty laid back
Do NOT threaten her kids though, she can go from 0 to 100 on a pin drop if her kids are involved.
Speaking of her kids, she has a decent amount of them, not a large amount (at least for arthropod shapes) but a decent amount, roughly around 8 of them currently, and a good few others which are fully grown now.
Currently single, and yeah she’s open, though generally isn’t fond of marriage, she’s not against the concept, but she likes having multiple partners that she can dote on
She’s very doting and affectionate with her partners and her kids, can and will pick people up and carry them around.
Her voice is chirpy and relatively high pitched, and sounds like it belongs to something far smaller than her.
Will affectionately nibble on folks that they like as long as they’re comfortable with it (no mandibles though since that’s where the venom’s kept)
Her venom is a flesh-melter (she does have anti-venom on her so if she accidentally envenoms someone it’s dealt with quickly) which helps her feed her kids (most pouchlets can only eat fluids or soft foods at first, and spider shapes can have some difficulties eating solid food sometimes)
Morbid
Yeah, they’re a bit bonkers because of their isolation in the tree/level void:™: and are desperate for company, food, and touch- (they need a good amount of therapy)
However their unstable mental state and their starvation often results in… well… bad outcomes for most who come into contact with them in the level void-
Fossilized is really the best way i can describe what’s happening to their beat-energy- since their beat-energy is still the same but it’s gradually getting well… replaced or petrified by the ambient energy of the tree void-
if they were to die in the tree void:™: their energy would still stick around it would just… decay or regress into something that’s more similar to the levels (yes that’s my headcanon about the tutorial levels, the tree’s gotta eat too-) until eventually fading away into the background
However, since they’re a spirit and elemental hybrid, they can feed off of things that other shapes can’t, specifically since they’re a fire elemental, they can feed off of anything that’s flammable, things like clothes for example (which is why they don’t have any clothes) and spirit shapes can essentially parasitize off of other sources of energy, and in their case, they’re feeding off of the energy in the level void itself. It’s not the best, and they are still very much starving, but it’s enough to keep them alive.
Due to their isolation and general insanity, they don’t really remember anything about themselves from before their entrapment there, they can only get glimpses or blurred sensations occasionally, though once they’re freed they do start to remember a bit more
Their mind is actively suppressing their memories to avoid trauma (they were very attached to the rest of their group, which well… aren’t alive anymore- save for antimony’s ‘familiar’ which is prolly the only thing keeping them sane… or as sane as they can be after their release, and tree help you if you are a threat to their only remaining link to their friends their companion)
Pyromaniac (they had this condition before, but being trapped there made it worse and caused them to start trying to set everything on fire just so there’s something else apart from the darkness there) it gets somewhat better after their release but they still have urges to set everything on fire-
VERY touch starved, but wear something flame-resistant or fire-proof because they WILL become VERY hot temperature-wise VERY quickly
Oh yeah since they’re a fire elemental they can control their body temperature, but it normally runs hot enough to burn people without protection (at least internally) and it tends to be a bit wonky due to their mental state as well, sudden highs and lows along with their mood and current state of mind. If they focus they can control it somewhat, but they have to re-learn how to do it, since it’s so unpredictable now.
They can phase through objects and walls since they’re a spirit hybrid, but anything that they have on them that isn’t made with their own beat-energy will get stuck on surfaces unless they actively surround it with their own energy and sorta ‘falsify’ it being part of them
This does mean that they can sometimes get stuck in walls after eating or drinking something.
They are VERY clingy and a bit obsessive towards those who they enjoy the presence of-
their condition is a bit more severe than most of the others that have that condition (name still a wip)
Mechanical shapes and hybrids can 'charge' by tapping into energy sources, while it doesn't tend to be used that often, Cube/Plum however does regularly make use of it pre-game if it's going to be a pretty active/busy day
they're actually p strong physically, could snap people in half if they wanted to, they just don't want to most of the time.
got in a fistfight with fresh and won one time. he respects them a lot more after that.
they're more anxious than normal post-game because of the sudden jump in their energy levels making it suddenly now possible for them to just... have them pop out and start lashing out.
they're not happy about that and tend to try to suppress the structures coming out, which while isn't harmful to them, it's not comfortable
(they really only feel relaxed enough to let them completely free when they're inside their home, they're slowly learning how to manage them but the structures will always seem to have a mind of their own)
The 'mom' friend of the group, and would 100% start biting/mauling ppl if they hurt one of their friends/the squad
yes they're very sweet and calm most of the time, but if you piss them off enough- R U N .
the 'cat ears' are medicinal and help them manage their condition much better, though they still have the adapter. as a side effect- yeah, they're going through some things for the first time and have no real idea how to handle them- (and they're still going to have low energy reserves in general)
