Dho'gii (doʊ(.)ɡi)

The dho'gii's are a distinctly alien species, evolving completely separately from the Terran life which inhabits most of the galaxy, and untouched by the Progenitors. They were still affected by the Progenitors indirectly, however, as the galactic overlords sapped away available Vita from everywhere in the galaxy, including the homeworld of the dho'gii's.
As might be expected from a people with not even a remote connection to Terra, dho'gii's have a distinctly alien appearance, which may bring problems when interacting with the wider galaxy. After all, most sapient people are humanoid and thus follow a predictable 'standard' body plan. Dho'gii's are very different, and often thought to be animals before they reveal their intelligence. In modern times, they are well-known enough that it does not occur often, but it has shaded more than a few interactions between the dho'gii's and their fellow sapients in the past.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Though they evolved separately from all other life in the galaxy, the dho’gii’s basic body plan is somewhat familiar, by necessities of biology or pure coincidence. They are vertebrates of a sort, relying on an internal skeleton to lend them support, to which their muscles attach. The layout of their organs, however, is very different. Their respiratory organs are limited to their chest, with air intake and release set on the front and back of said chest. Their brain and heart are also located in their (long) chest, with the brain in the front and the heart further back. All organs related to their digestive system, including their equivalents to stomach, intestines, and so forth, is located in their neck, very near their mouth; the waste is expelled from an organ at the base of the neck.
The head is fairly simplistic, lacking airways and most sensory organs. Their long rectangular heads taper slightly at the tip of the muzzle, but there is no distinguishable mouth, unless one counts the small opening at the end of the muzzle. The truth is not revealed until a dho’gii opens their mouth, separating their four mandibles and pushing back the skin, until it is rolled up at the base of the mandibles. Their four jaws are hard and bony, with no flesh covering them, each shaped like a “V”; a rounded base with two lines of sharp pointed teeth sticking out. The teeth of these mandibles lock together to form a square, with just enough space left between them for water to leak out, but without allowing trapped prey to escape. These are the dho’gii’s first jaws, or their “trapping jaws”. Their second jaws, or “crushing jaws”, are located in the more stationary part of the head. Once a dho’gii has captured food in their first jaws, they will close of their throat, then open their second jaws and swing their head up and back, forcing the prey (whether live or dead) into the second jaws, where they are grinded until little remains of them. The throat is then opened, and the food is swallowed. Besides these jaws, the heads of a dho’gii also houses their eyes: set on eyestalks, they stick out to the side of the head, allowing them to see even with their first jaws fully extended outwards.
Dho’gii's also have four pairs of limbs attached to their body. The first is typically tucked away against their chest, but are actually quite long; instead of paws, these can only be considered arms, ending in hands, used to manipulate their environment… and for communication. The other three sets of limbs are used for moving around, however, with the second set (first set of walking limbs) oddly shaped to help support the weight of the front of the body. Finally, their body ends with their long tail, used to steer while running or swimming, to balance out their front-heavy bodies, and to lash enemies who think they are safer attacking away from a dho’gii’s snapping jaws or curved claws.
On their backs, dho’gii's have an array of upright, fleshy nubs, somewhat like tentacles except they don’t move. These are used for sensing: they smell the air, they act as whiskers to touch, and they can even feel vibrations in the air, though dho’gii's can’t quite translate that to sound.

Genetics and Reproduction

Dho'gii's naturally possess three sexes, a reproductive set-up common their homeplanet. They have two types of isogametes, a "plus" and "minus", as opposed to the gametes of humanoids ("ova" and "sperm"). Two of their sexes, known together as "givers" or separately as "upper" and "lower", naturally produce one type of isogametes. The third sex, the "receivers" produce both. Both givers are similar in appearance, but receivers are larger than both of them. For reproduction, both givers can reproduce but will always produce receivers, but their pregnancy is more dangerous due to the way their reproductive organs work and their size. Receivers more commonly carry pregnancies, able to reproduce with both givers, but not with another receiver as they can't inseminate each other. A pregnant receiver can produce mixed sex offspring, both of their own sex and their partner's. In-depth reproduction mechanics

The dho’gii's have a somewhat unusual reproductive system: they have three naturally occurring sexes, but only use two types of gametes: sperm and ova (or eggs), and only two sex chromosomes, with the three sexes dependent on the mix of chromosomes present. For example, if the ‘male’ (producing sperm) is AA (homomorphic A), and the ‘female’ (producing ova) is BB (homomorphic B), then they could also produce offspring with chromosomes AB (heteromorphic). This separation into three sexes is not unusual on their homeplanet, where the two homomorphic sexes are fairly similar in appearance and functioning, while the heteromorphic sex is somewhat different. They are also isogamous, however, with both ‘sperm’ and ‘ova’ similar in form (known as isogametes they are thus referred to as “plus” and “minus”.
The homomorphic sexes both have a similar reproductive setup, and both of them are capable of making another pregnant, as well as carrying a pregnancy of their own, with the internal reproductive system the same for them. Truly, the only difference between the two, in reproductive systems, is the placement of their three tentacle-like phalluses, and the fact that they produce different isogametes. As such, the symbols used to refer to them are similar: both are triangles, but are facing different directions, referencing the placement of their phalluses. Both are referred to collectively with the word “giver”, or the symbol of a diamond: ◇.
Referred to with the symbol of a triangle pointing up (△) or with the word “upper”, the homomorphic sex which produces ‘minus’ isogametes has the third phallus set above the universal two, hence the name. The translated scientific term of “superior” was considered but dismissed due to the connotations, especially with the other homomorphic sex thus being “inferior”.
Said other homomorphic sex, represented by a triangle pointing down (▽) or with the word “lower”, produces ‘plus’ isogametes, and has the third phallus set below the other two.
Both sexes have extremely similar reproductive anatomy, with their phalluses located inside a channel also used to reach the womb. If aroused, all three are engorged and unfurl to their full length, and can be freely moved by the dho’gii. The single phallus, whose location varies per sex, is set at either the upper or the lower boundary of their reproductive opening. Said opening is enclosed with a single set of labia, which are ringed with smaller, thinner—but still fully prehensile—tentacles. When not interested in reproduction, these tentacles lock together, blocking access and protecting the highly important reproductive organs.
The two homomorphic sexes can successfully reproduce together, and are even evolved for this to be as successful as possible: the mirrored placement of their phalluses makes it possible for them to both insert into the other at the same time, doubling their odds of a successful pregnancy. Best case, both partners might get pregnant, though all offspring will be of the heteromorphic sex. But there is another difficulty: the phalluses, even when not engorged by arousal, block a not-insignificant part of the tract that the offspring will need to leave through. In fact, quite a number of pregnancies carried by these dho’gii ends in a failure after their offspring fails to leave the tract in time, or gets crushed during attempts to push them out.
These reproductive issues are solved by the existence of the heteromorph, who are referred to with the symbol ○ or the word “receiver”. A hermaphrodite of sorts, this sex can naturally produce both types of isogametes, but only has part of the reproductive organs: they lack the phalluses altogether. Instead, the receivers can only receive isogametes from the other two sexes, capable of becoming pregnant but not of making another pregnant, unlike the givers. Their pregnancies are significant safer, however, as they lack the phalluses which may block the way during birth, but also the tentacles outside the genitalia which may be hard to control during birth. Though the tentacles are not fully gone, they are instead reduced to short nubs, which can lock together to block access to the reproductive organs, but which are too short for anything else; the inward-facing parts are also highly sensitive.

Ecology and Habitats

Originally hailing from waterside environments, where they could hunt aquatic prey, dho’gii's have diversified and spread out across their homeplanet. Not only are they good swimmers, they are also excellent climbers, and can maintain a steady run for ages. In modern times, they have formed an effective society covering most of their planet, though they try to stay close to their 'roots', so to say, and live in balance with nature.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Dho’gii's are carnivores who eat primarily small prey which they can swallow whole. Though they evolved to prey on their planet’s equivalent of fish, small slippery aquatic prey, they have diversified to eat anything they can catch and which is small enough to fit in their mouth. In modern times, they will even consume larger prey by cutting up their food; it is now considered inhumane to eat live prey, and even consuming them whole is questionable unless there is clear proof that their food item hadn’t suffered.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

Variable, but roughly equal to humans.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

A dho'gii's primary sense is their sight, being able to receive visual information about the world around them via the two eyestalks on their head. In addition, they also possess fleshy nubs on their backs, which are used to smell the world, and to feel the world, acting both as whiskers and able to feel vibrations in the air, though they can't quite 'hear' them.

Civilization and Culture

Courtship Ideals

Sexual intercourse

It is considered impolite to release reproductive liquid in your own system before your partner has done so; going first forces them to stick their phalluses into your goop, whereas if you go second… well, your phalluses are already in it anyway. This also goes for receivers, who don't have phalluses.

Average Technological Level

Dho'gii's are space-faring, having reached this level of technology without outside help. They came into contact with the greater galaxy on their own.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Due to their limited vocalizations, and lack of hearing, dho’gii's speak exclusively via sign language. Surprisingly, this makes it relatively easy for them to communicate with other species in the galaxy: finding a sign language that they can all use is easier than finding the equivalents of noises that only some of them can produce.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

The relations between dho’gii's and the greater galaxy have been… tumultuous. The dho’gii's reached the ability to travel through space during the Second Age, and thus came into contact with other species. Their distinctly inhuman appearance set them at odds, but their sign languages were recognized fairly quickly, and they were successfully integrated into galactic civilization. Dho’gii's had developed their own culture regarding the newly appearing Vita-Touched, and thus insisted on raising any Vita-Touched members of their species themselves, with only a few allowed into the shared organization, and only if those dho’gii were still allowed to learn their own cultural approach as well.
When the Third Age came, the dho’gii's faced severe hurts. Their somewhat withdrawn nature had made them perfect victims of the newly risen rulers of the galaxy, and their view of Vita-Touched (and the way they were integrated into their society) added to their appeal as scapegoats. The rulers framed the dho’gii's as savage creatures, little more than animals, as monsters that had no true intelligence. That the dho’gii's had their own invented technology, that they had invented space travel on their own, was blown off as them stealing technology. There was no proof, after all, that the dho’gii's hadn’t killed off another sapient species just to take their things, was there?
Much like for the Vita-Touched, the overall impression of the dho’gii's improved as the Third Age went on, however. As more and more people began questioning their dictatorial rulers, and they way they preyed upon Vita-Touched who… weren’t all that bad, the people of the galaxy begun wondering if the same went for other people their rulers disliked.
Finally, during the Fourth Age, the dho’gii's were once again accepted into the greater galaxy, though they are shyer now than ever before. They have made a full recovery, but their kind remembers how quickly things changed before. They are, however, also insisting on leaving a good impression, aware of how their own withdrawn nature made it easier for their enemies to turn the galaxy against them. As such, how well known they are is slowly increasing, with more and more people becoming familiar with them, if only by name and reputation. Their appearance throws most off for a bit, but in the end, the dho’gii's are well-accepted in the galaxy, distinctly alien looks or not.

Conservation Status

Least Concern (LC): though they were heavily discriminated against in the Third Age, with those in charge acting like dho’gii's were savage animals, they managed to wither through it well enough, and have made a full recovery during the Fourth Age.

Average Height

3'9"/1.14m for givers, 5'8"/1.52m for receivers; both measured at shoulders.

Average Length

13 feet/4 meters for givers, 19 feet/5.8m for receivers; both measured from tip of muzzle to tip of tail.

Average Physique

Slender.