Gatoverse Beastkin Headcanons! 🐾
I'm a bastard who always overthinks worldbuilding sooo~ Here you go darlings!
Remember that these are my *head*canon and I am in no way a good source of canon knowledge. Take whatever you like and drop the rest!
Differences between Wild and Domestic Beastkin:
Both categories of beastkin have many, many subspecies. It looks a lot less like 'cat. dog. bird' and a whole lot more like:
due to the messy nature of the animal kingdom, these two categories can continue to be separated into pedigrees and mutts. Upholding a bloodline and a pure set of genetics is typically more important to wild beastkin clans...
Wild clans primarily live in... well, the wild.
These clans do their best to stay isolated from society. They have their own cultures and their leaders tend to be the strongest or wisest the clan has to offer. (a little basic, I know lolol)
only those ostracized or exiled from these clans, aside from solitary wild beastkin would be seen in the human inhabited world. That being said, knowing you've seen one would be a once in a lifetime event.
According to btd2 lore [which could be no longer canon! hence the following explanation] Fox beastkin are 'demons'. This leads me to believe that in some capacity, the wild beastkin are yokai of a sort.
(depending on the culture of the region the clan lives in, they would go by different names)
Foxes are likely lesser versions of the iconic Kitsune, especially when it comes to eating flesh. (and especially hearts)
It's not too far of a reach to assume the leader of the fox beastkin clan has more than one tail to show their prowess and magic affinity
Traditionally, only wild beastkin have markings. They are a connection to the spirit world, As humanity strays further from nature, so too do domestic beastkin stray from their magic.
Domestic beastkin tend to have a harder time hiding their animalistic features with magic, the tradeoff being that they blend in with humans more naturally.
Differences vary, but may include: less fur on their legs and more of a human hair texture, less shedding with seasonal changes, heats being a little more subdued (and likely with medication to help), and less of a burning desire to eat raw meat
Similarities also vary (no suprise there) but can include a strong desire for a 'pack' dynamic, a preference for meat (although this typically only effects predator beastkin) and the aforementioned heat cycle
a lot more mutts. most beastkin will label themselves as the closest adjacent presenting species rather than explaining their whole bloodline
a crossbreed between two different kinds of beastkin is possible. I'd assume this can sometimes lead to a Liger situation, where the offspring is barren. Either that or Beastars rules! probably a punnet square, depending on the similarities between subspecies and genetic backgrounds.
and that's it for now!! I just really got the itch to elaborate more on the subspecies situation... if you have questions or requests my ask box is open~
