DragonKin

DragonKin is the term given to species that use a substance known generically as DragonKin Base Metal (DBM), but to the Dragoians as Rare Dragoian Metal (RDM) and the Drakeians as Drake Metal, within their blood and body structure as their base material (in the same way Humans use carbon as their base material). These species nearly all resemble the Dragons of Earth myth and legend in either a small or large way.

Within all DragonKin species, the females have breasts, straight or wavy (but never curly) hair and are the dominant gender, surpassing their male counterparts in strength, intellect and size (in most species, if the female isn't considerably larger, the genders are of similar height with the female being on average an inch or two taller).

It is physically impossible for male DragonKin to grow larger than roughly 55ft, although the size of a female is not bound, and all females are physically capable of growing to infinite sizes if the body is tricked or forced into doing so via something such as Ixnara. The reason for this is due to males organs growing proportionally slower than their bodies, meaning they can't reliably survive above roughly 55ft without basic functions becoming stretched beyond their abilities. Meanwhile the organs of DragonKin females grow at proportionally the same rate as their bodies, and do not limit their growth in any way.

It is also known for female DragonKin to devour their own kind as well as other DragonKin, although this trait only occurs in female DragonKin, and no true male DragonKin has ever displayed this trait in any DragonKin species' history due in part due to the innate knowledge that doing so would be lethal to the male. This remains the case even for large bi-gender DragonKin species such as the Shadraxians. It is considered physically impossible for male DragonKin to devour other DragonKin, as DBM is the only known substance to be toxic to DragonKin, although specifically males, and will be quickly and agonizingly lethal if consumed unless immediately vomited out. As a result, even the largest male DragonKin can't devour even the smallest DragonKin. However, due to a male's slower digestion speed compared to a female, they can vomit out small pieces of RDM before dying to it.

Stomach acid potency varies greatly between the 2 genders, with both genders being capable of digesting anything (excepting DBM in the case of males), however the speed of digestion varies greatly, with even flat-chested females being able to digest heavier materials considerably faster than a male can, with speed of digestion being based both on physical size and breast size. If giving a male and female DragonKin of the same species of near identical size a block of steel, the male will usually take several hours to digest it, while the female even if flat chested will have fully digested it in less than 10 minutes.

Common Cultural Traits

• In general, all DragonKin have a strong military force regardless of whether they are defensive or offensive in nature.
• DragonKin do not generally care for, or have, bland featureless environments, often being excessively grand in architecture and having stylised ships and weapons. Most of these weapons tend to visibly show their barrel as a way of intimidation.
• DragonKin clothing tends to be bulky and semi-formal with skin-tight clothing being highly uncommon. However, wherever a female is concerned, clothing will overtly show her form making sure both the size of her bust and the size of her belly is visible.
• DragonKin Military uniforms tend to be formal, most often consisting of shirts and trousers. Combat armour tends to consist of clearly visible armour plating as well as concealed chainmail.
• DragonKin tend not to use bright colours except for weapon discharges, this is because most DragonKin find bright colours rather offensive to the eye (a good trait for energy weapon discharges, as it makes them very visible).
• DragonKin militaries tend to be overt in their operations, with just a few exceptions. This is because of a typical DragonKin belief that a show of strength discourages further action against them.
• DragonKin militaries will almost never use orbital strikes against species that can perform orbital strikes. This is due to the common DragonKin thinking of responding in kind. An orbital strike on a planet is sure to result in those attacked in such a way to respond in the same way, often with higher magnitude. Example: DragonKin Race X performs an orbital strike on one of DragonKin Y's cities, DragonKin Y would then retaliate by performing an orbital strike on one or more of DragonKin X's cities. This cycle of retaliation would continue until DragonKin X and DragonKin Y continue to retaliate by destroying the other's planet.
• Many DragonKin females participate in brutal sports, up to and including gladiatorial combat, where near fatal injuries (such as loss of an arm or leg) are a normal occurrence. As these are sports, lethal moves are often banned and medical care is quickly given to a participant post-game. Few DragonKin males take part in these brutal sports as their recovery is not guaranteed and since these sports are typically strength based, a male would stand no chance at winning unless against another male.
• DragonKin military technology tends to be analogue for reliability rather than digital, although digital technology is often used for non-military use. This leads to many DragonKin species being considered technologically backwards by Non-DragonKin species.
• DragonKin are naturally culturally and technologically stagnant, with technology and cultural development all but ceasing for hundreds, sometimes even thousands of years. This is partly down to DragonKin having extremely long lifespans. If another intelligent species, such as Human, co-habits a world with DragonKin, the cultural and technological stagnation of the DragonKin tends to bleed into the other species' culture.

Natural Defences

All DragonKin have their outer body covered in metallic scales with small amounts of RDM in them which covers a layer of fat and muscle which makes blunt impacts almost useless. Scales are also typically thicker on the head, to protect the brain, which when paired with the generally resilient nature of DragonKin organs often negates the need for protective helmets.

DragonKin of both genders are almost completely immune to disease, only being affected by genetic conditions which are present at birth, but may take considerable time to became known.

Eating

DragonKin species can eat proportionately more in a single bite than nearly any other species. This is due to their oesophagus being functionally as large as their maws, meaning that if they can stick it between their side teeth, they can swallow it.

Male DragonKin struggle to swallow abnormally large amounts of food, and are more comfortable with food being at most roughly half the width of their maw and as a result, often chew their food. Female DragonKin however, are typically happy swallowing food as wide as their maws, and some will even cram a little extra down if she feels the need (such as devouring prey whole, where the discomfort of forcing slightly too large food down her throat is mitigated by the pleasure of swallowing someone/something alive). While unnecessary to actually consume food, chewing is commonplace among DragonKin as a way of enjoying food,

This large oesophagus and wide maw combination is paired to the fact that pretty much all of the lower body of a DragonKin is filled with a stomach (DragonKin do not have intestines, using the stomach lining to extract nutrients from their food in addition to breaking it down. However, DragonKin do have reproductive organs (for either birthing live young or laying an egg), although these organs are small and take up minimal space, which allows the DragonKin to easily, and quickly get food.

In some rare circumstances, living creatures (often humans or smaller DragonKin) have survived being swallowed by a large DragonKin female by being lucky (or unlucky) enough to not touch her stomach acid. These "lucky" survivors often do not live long, as once their devourer starts to move, her stomach acid is likely to slosh about, catching any survivors and digesting them.

Due to their ability to swallow food as wide as their maws, female DragonKin have highly flexible fronts on their necks (to allow exceedingly large items) as well as a heavily stretchable stomach to contain her food. This can lead to a noticeable temporary fattening (a large belly) if max size food is eaten while the female digests this food. While lacking the stretchy jaw of some Snakes, some female DragonKin have been known to dislocate their own lower jaw to forcibly swallow large prey whole, then cracking the jaw back into place and letting her body's impressive regeneration fix any damage done. The male DragonKin's preference for not swallowing food the size of their maw is due to their lack of a highly flexible front on their neck and a heavily stretchable stomach.

Liquids are digested in the same way as food, but much faster. However, liquids often yield less positive benefits and are typically converted into replacing lost blood or other bodily fluids.

Waste Removal

Unlike humans, DragonKin of both genders and all species do not produce solid waste at all, or liquid waste in the form of urine, instead converting any waste byproducts that can't be expelled as a gas into saliva and sweat. Should solid waste need to be removed, DragonKin are able to vomit. However, most DragonKin vomiting is normally due to disgust at something rather than rejecting food.

Very little waste is produced by DragonKin, and a sweating DragonKin is not a sign of waste removal, as they do sweat to cool their scales in hot environments. While DragonKin do not strictly breathe out, waste gasses are occasionally produced when digesting food.

Anything consumed that does not go into sustaining life goes to repairs, allowing DragonKin to recover from non-fatal injuries much faster than most other species. Female DragonKin are capable of regenerating considerably faster than male DragonKin.

A guaranteed way to make a male DragonKin vomit is to make him swallow a piece of RDM about the size of the largest scale on his body. To ensure damage done is not lethal, the metal is vomited out mere seconds after touching stomach acid. This is a natural reflex to prevent accidental death if a scale falls into food.

Breathing

DragonKin do not require a specific air mix to survive. As long as there is airborne gas, they can convert it into the energy they need to survive. This process is similar to DragonKin digestion, but is faster and only works with gases. The heavier the gas, the longer it takes to process but the longer it's effects last. As a result, DragonKin breathe more often in a light gas environment (E.g. Helium), but don't breathe as often in heavy gas environments. DragonKin will typically take the heaviest gas in the air, meaning they are unlikely to consume Oxygen as long as Carbon Dioxide exists, meaning they do not deplete the air-supply of Humans (or similar lifeforms).

However, as DragonKin breathing is very efficient, it does not produce byproducts, meaning that while the process will take a long time, they will theoretically deplete any gases in the air. As a result, DragonKin prefer planets with ample plant and animal life, to ensure their air supply will not deplete at a noticeable rate. This is only theoretical, as enough waste gasses are generated and expelled by DragonKin when they digest their food to make it a moot point.

This unique method of breathing allows DragonKin to survive in harsh environments, although some environments are considered bad, such as those with lots of sulphur due to the smell, environments with little airborne gases are also considered bad due to requiring heavy breathing.

A DragonKin can survive without breathing any gases as long as they are digesting something, although this practice is highly uncommon, as this process is rather slow for males, leaving them lacking in energy, while this process is not harmful to females, their rapid digestion makes any long term period without gases rather difficult unless they are constantly eating.

Swimming

All DragonKin species can technically swim despite their massive weight, although very poorly in most species' case. DragonKin males can also drown, as vast quantities of water seep into their stomachs too fast to be digested and end up diluting the male's stomach acid to the point where it can no longer do it's job. This takes around 15 minutes.

Female DragonKin will take longer to drown in much the same way as a male, often in excess of an hour, but only if they are around 30ft tall or shorter as the DragonKin body can only digest so much water without solid matter. However, larger DragonKin do not have this problem, and merely experience a major discomfort when underwater that can be mitigated with practice.

Certain All-Female DragonKin such as the Leviathans and Sealachans have adapted to aquatic life over the millennia and can not only swim much better than the average DragonKin, but can also breathe perfectly safely underwater without the immense discomfort normally experienced by being underwater for long periods of time.

DragonKin of both genders can dive extremely deep due to being unaffected by gradually increasing external pressure, although such depths can only realistically be reached by females, as males will likely drown long before reaching such depths.

Regeneration

Main Article: DragonKin Regeneration

DragonKin of both genders possess the ability to rapidly regenerate if they take damage. Despite this regeneration, it is possible for DragonKin to sustain permanent injuries, this occurs if an injury is not regenerated within a few days.

As is usual for DragonKin, Female regeneration is much more potent than Male regeneration.

Temperature Variance

DragonKin can survive massive variance in temperature for short times, with Females having greater longevity in extreme temperatures. Temperatures between -35C (238.15K) and 75C (348.15K) can be handled by both genders of all DragonKin species for days or weeks at a time assuming they don't eat less than normal. The range at which a DragonKin is most comfortable is between -10C (263.15K) and 30C (303.15K). Larger DragonKin such as Shadraxians and Fawdraxans can push the range of both ends considerably further, while immense DragonKin like Leviathans and Heldragnans can push this range much further, being able to survive in the cold of space if needed.

Extreme Cold, up to absolute zero, can be survived by boiling their blood which keeps the DragonKin in question warm. As the energy required to do this is high, a male DragonKin cannot sustain this for very long, even if he is stuffing his face. Female DragonKin can however, being able to survive in absolute zero as long as they are frequently digesting something physically heavy or energy heavy.

Extreme Heat, up to around 2000C (2273.15K) for a small DragonKin, can be survived for less than an hour, with lesser temperatures being survivable for longer. This is due to the DragonKin body being made of DragonKin base metal, which takes a long time under heat to start melting despite it's average melting point. Time in extreme heat cannot be extended by a male, while a female who is digesting something heavy can prolong her exposure for around an extra hour. As is usual, the larger the DragonKin, the higher the temperature threshold can be pushed.

Female Breasts

As neither gender of DragonKin has nipples, even if their species gives birth to live young, it may seem odd from a Human perspective that all female DragonKin have breasts.

The reason females have breasts is for various reasons. The magnitude of these effects vary by breast size, and as a result, females with a large bust are more powerful than females with smaller busts.

• Stomach acid production: Part of the female DragonKin's breasts job is to enhance their stomach acid by producing enzymes that make it stronger.
• Physical strength: Part of the female DragonKin's breasts job is to store muscle, while another part is to produce unique hormones that increase muscle potency, allowing for greater physical strength. The prior here is one of the main reasons DragonKin breasts are typically very firm.
• Storage: While not a reason for their existence, many female DragonKin use the space between their breasts to store/conceal small objects.

Gender Comparison

Below is a list of physical and mental attributes and how the 2 DragonKin genders compare on average.

• Intelligence: Females are smarter than Males.
• Strength: Females are stronger than Males.
• Resilience: Females can take more physical punishment than Males.
• Agility: Males are more agile than Females.
• Running Speed: Males are faster than Females if size is identical.
• Size: Females are larger than Males.
• Eating ability: Females can not only eat more than Males, but don't gain weight as fast either.
• Weight: Females are heavier than Males if height, build, etc are identical.
• Regeneration Speed: Females regenerate lost/broken/etc body parts (e.g. scales, damaged organs, etc) faster than Males.

Belly Shape

DragonKin consider a UU shaped belly (as opposed to a single U shaped belly more associated with human pregnancy) on a female to be a sign of a powerful, happy female. To ensure this shape, all Female DragonKin have a inwards Navel (Belly Button), regardless of whether or not they were born living or born inside an egg (where a Navel would normally serve no use as eggs do not contain an umbilical cord). This is known to confuse Humans, as an egg born species should have no need for a Navel, yet Female DragonKin do to ensure they get the correct, intimidating, belly shape.

Male DragonKin only possess a Navel (always inwards, like females) if they were born living. As a result, egg born species such as the Dragoians do not have a Navel.

Weight

DragonKin are all very heavy due to Rare Dragoian Metal being their base element, however, Females often weigh around 3 times more than an identically sized male of their species, some of this extra weight comes from the female's breasts, the rest comes from a greater concentration and purity of RDM in her body and scales.

This extra RDM found in females, is due to their ability to convert digested matter into RDM rapidly. Males have this ability, but struggle, taking both considerably longer to turn digested matter into RDM, and also requiring more matter than a female to make the same amount of RDM.

Reproduction

Main Article: DragonKin Reproduction

DragonKin can reproduce in assorted ways by either laying an egg or by giving birth to live young after being pregnant.

Regardless of species and whether they are oviparous or viviparous, no DragonKin reproduces in a way that would be considered sex, although some types of reproduction may be considered sexy to vorarephiles.

Genetic Hybrids

At a pre-birth stage, DragonKin genetics are surprisingly adaptive, easily merging with other DragonKin DNA to create hybrids that can be refined to look almost exactly like one one of the DNA donors' species, just bigger. All DragonKin/DragonKin hybrids are Female, even when the DNA of 2 males is used. The same goes for DragonKin/Non-DragonKin hybrids, although these types of hybrid require a much more complex understanding of genetics to merge into a living being.

Desired Traits

Among all DragonKin species, certain traits are desired for each gender. Below are common desired traits for each gender and why the other gender wants these traits.

Males:

• Short: As long as the male has to physically look up at a female to see eye to eye, the trait is desirable.
• Subservient: Males should do what they are told, when they are told.
• Scrawny: Unless the male is being bred solely for food, a scrawny male is desirable so that even the most abnormally weak female children can make the male look rightfully weak. A male too weak to work is still acceptable in some DragonKin species, as this male can be used as food.

Females:

• Tall: A tall female is a strong female, strong females can protect the male.
• Hulking: The more hulking a female is, the stronger she is.
• Busty: The larger bust a female has, the stronger she is.
• Fat: A female with a large gut is overtly displaying her strength, as (for most species) such degrees of body fat can only be gained by devouring vast amounts of DragonKin meat. Therefore a fatter female is normally in a more commanding position than a thin one. A female so overtly showing her strength makes a male feel comfortable.

Trivia

• In same gender species, the parent who laid the egg/gave birth is known as the Maternal Mother and the DNA donor is known as the Paternal Mother. In the case of the Dragoians, the egg layer is the Maternal Father while the DNA donor is the Paternal Father.
• DragonKin are always the Apex Predator on their homeworld (if there are multiple DragonKin species on a world, then the dominant one is the Apex Predator, regardless, a world with DragonKin on always has a DragonKin as the Apex Predator).
• Many Individual DragonKin are revolted by the common human notion of a male dominated society.
• Humans often think that a Female DragonKin's breasts are too big. This would be true if the DragonKin in question was human, but large breasts are considered normal for DragonKin with those who are small breasted often seen as weak. The mere notion of being flat chested is enough to insult some DragonKin females.
• Humans often think that Female DragonKin are morbidly obese, again, this would be the case if the DragonKin in question was human, but for nearly all DragonKin females, a large gut equals a happy and powerful DragonKin.
• DragonKin organs are more rigid and less easy to damage than a humans, often containing a very high proportion of RDM. This means that light organ injury will never be fatal, and that DragonKin can take blows or even wounds to the head that would be fatal to other species.

Universal Insults

There are only a few insults that will work on all DragonKin species. Using these insults, especially on a female, will result in a quick death at the least, or a savage death at the worst. Some however, are gender specific.

• Males are better than Females - This insult is guaranteed to send ANY DragonKin female into a fit of rage, but also most males will take offence.
• You're flat-chested - No DragonKin female wants to be called flat-chested, as while the notion of being flat-chested is enough to disgust most females, being called flat-chested will enrage any female, as it is basically saying they are pitifully weak.
• Humans Breast-Feeding - The mere notion of a human breast-feeding is enough to disgust most DragonKin, male or female. However, the actual act of breast-feeding will disgust all DragonKin, some will just keep their disgust to themselves, some will shout verbal abuse, some will wound the human and/or baby, and the more extreme cases will kill either the human and/or it's baby. This insult stems from the fact that DragonKin breasts and human breasts have radically different purposes, and to see breasts used in such a disgusting way does not help.
• Alternative Names for Breasts - Slang terms for breasts, such as Tits and Boobs, will offend most DragonKin males and females, but will often only provoke a verbal response. However, calling a DragonKin's breasts Mammaries is as offensive as breast-feeding, and has the same response.