#ecto-bodies

Well, at least, in my canon/multiverse.

Finally, I have the time to write this out and explain how magic works in my multiverse.

(Fair warning, I’m gonna turn into a scientist the longer I write this XD My bad, I just got too into it haha)

So, let us start this off with:

Growth-rate!

They age quicker than humans, but live longer lives. I mentioned this a little in Last Judgement, where Doomsday is only three months old (in humans years), but is the height and has the mental capacity of a five year old.

Of course, all monster species have different growth rates. This is for survival purposes, as there are so few of them, in most universes.

However, most monsters can only begin to have offspring after they have hit maturity, which would happen to be eighteen years old (in human years).

Reproduction!

(Hecc, this one felt so awkward to write out ;3;)

For any other species, it is as simple as connecting the reproductive organs, like humans. Instead of eggs and whatnot, magic is used. Most times, after mating, monsters will tend to feel a little dizzy/nauseous, due to the change in magic.

For the monsters (i.e. skeletons) who do not have/lack the means of doing so, magic is used to create the appropriate anatomy.

However, the opposite gender does not need to be present for either cases for this to work. Female + female, male + male, and any other combinations, including: genderfluid, more than two monsters, different species, etc. have been shown to work and create offspring.

Typically, the more feminine monster will be the one to possess the child’s soul, until it is conceived. Hormones will kick in, and they will grow naturally more motherly and caring.

The only times where offspring have not been conceived is when a monster decides to use a charm, and/or has not got enough magic to create a new soul.

Sometimes, though rarely, certain species of monsters can have a heat cycle, but this only typcially happens once in their lives, as a means to try and get the monster to reproduce with another. A few universes tend to use injections/a liquid to bring themselves back into the cycle repeatedly. 

Genetics!

Depending on the parents and their magical abilities, their children may or may not have the same. As seen with Nightmare and Error’s children, they have similar patterns on their face, they can glitch, have tendrils and can melt into a puddle.

How the magic decides which abilities to give to the children is unknown.

Different forms have been known to change a child’s appearance, such as Genesis, who is a short, white skeleton, like Nightmare’s original form. He has a flower for his right eye, with a black apple as his pupil. This may be due to Nightmare’s past.

Genetic inheritance!

From each of Nightmare and Error’s children, all three of them have an amber, left eye. This is inherited from Error’s amber outer iris. Each of them only have two tendrils, which seems to be because Nightmare has four, yet Error has none.

Anatomy!

For skeletons, who typically lack any skin/eyes/stomachs, etc. magic comes in very useful to appear less threatening, and seemingly more human-like, depending.

Ecto-bodies have been seen a few times, but the main go-to for skeletons is ecto-stomachs, tongues, eyes and intimate areas.

Ecto-stomachs help to store food for later consumption, whilst tongues are there to break it down immediately into magic.

Eyes seem to improve a skeleton’s vision, despite not typically needing them. However, this has been known to backfire a little, and sometimes cause certain individuals to have poor vision and/or vision loss.

Once more, intimate areas are for reproduction purposes, normally.

Ecto-bodies are typically seen as a way of skeletons trying to seem more human-like and seen as an attempt to seem more appealing to other species. They have also been seen to simply keep skeletons warm and comfortable, when not in suitable living enviroments.

Some skeletons with higher amounts of magic in their systems have been known to create a tougher version of ecto, on the same strength level as bone. Most typically use this for teeth, horns and spikes, to seem more intimidating, but some have been known to build a type of muscle around their joints, souls and weaker bones.

Souls!

Though still being researched, monster souls are considered private and very sensitive. Boss monster souls have been known to linger around after passing, but not for long.

Souls are used to pump magic around a monster’s body, as the heart does for a human. As such, most monsters need oxygen to survive and to keep the magic flowing.

When stressed, a soul begins to beat quicker, and flood the body with more magic, linked to adrenaline. There have been cases where a monster has become stressed to a point where their soul has caused bruising and damaging to their body.

Only rarely has it been seen to crack/break out of stress. The cracking of the soul is fatal, and there has been no known way of healing it properly, without causing more damage down the line.

(Note: Determination has been seen to heal a cracked soul. Side-effects may vary, depending if the receiver can tolerate it or not.)

Other stuff!

Skeletons have been known to change the ‘taste' of their magic, but cannot change whether or not if it feels sharp/bubbly/smooth, etc.

If a monster of any sort has too much magic, it will go off unexpectedly, it can be linked to emotions, as a way to drain themselves of the amount of energy. It can be dangerous.

(So, hopefully I’ve written down everything I wanted :3 I might update this every so often, if I feel like I’ve missed something.

If you feel like you don’t understand something or want to know more, please! Ask me in the asks! Nightmare, Error and I will be more than happy to explain!