#cabatext

[caba-111]

Your post about Lizard skin colors, and cultural perceptions thereof, got me wondering: do pigmentation abnormalities, like albinism or melanism, occur in Lizards? If so, how are such individuals viewed by the Shell’s various cultures?

Yes, pigmentation abnormalities are a thing!

Albinism

Though seen as beautiful by many in the High North, there's an ongoing debate whether albinism should be considered a mark of divinity or a hereditary health problem. Since those two interpretations carry wildly different significance, whether or not state reproductive planners should select for this phenotype has become a flashpoint for cultural conflict between Optimist and Pessimist factions.

Duhra tend to agree that albinism is a gift from powerful spirits, though there's some disagreement on which ones in particular. A gift doesn't always carry a positive connotation however, particularly when there's a chance it's from the spirits of the deep. Many families with albinistic pups end up commissioning an Accountant to search their Family's spiritueconomic provenance for any corresponding debt.

In the Heartland, some orthodox Families view these kinds of abnormalities as a sign of spiritual corruption or divergence, but MOST don't assign any particular meaning to it. It's just a Color People Can be, and after the novelty of seeing a unique-looking person wears off, most don't think twice about it.

Melanism

In the High North, melanism is about as far away from beauty standards as you can possibly get. Ironically though, this gives it a powerful subversive appeal. Countercultural Northerners sometimes even seek out melanistic reproductive partners specifically to stick it to the Temple's genetic planners. Caught between stigma and fetishization, melanistic Temple Staters do not have the easiest time finding healthy relationships.

For the Heartland, Melanism carries the same cultural meaning as Albinism. Some people find the unusualness scary, but most don't care much one way or the other.

While Duhra debate which spirits grant albinism, they truly have no idea about the "source" of melanism. Melanistic lizards are thought to carry the same dangers as artificers--holders of unknowable and uncountable debts. Duhrish spiritual scholars love thinking about this, it's a popular case study and topic of academic debate.

[caba-111]

Since the Shell doesn’t have a moon (that I recall), does it also lack tides? Do lizzers not know the joy of tide pools…

The ocean serves as a planetary coolant reserve. It ebbs and flows according to the patterns of some unknown industrial cycle, giving the planet the appearance of tides, although they're infrequent and irregular compared to tides on earth.

Sana can have tide pools (as a little treat), but the selection of tide pool critters is unfortunately limited. Sea life under the Shell consists of a small number of organisms that were hardy enough to survive the ocean's chemical manipulation, plus a scattering of lost or damaged purposed organisms drifting in from the shadowed seas to the South of the Aperture.

The Shell doesn't have moons in a conventional sense, but it does have a series of orbital structures that are plainly visible at night. Some orbit regularly like terrestrial moons, others make their own paths across the night sky, sometimes changing direction, meeting up with each other, or even descending into the atmosphere to skim across the ground.

[caba-111]

On lizard frills: are there ways to style them, or do they just grow Like That? What happens if you’re a lizard born with the frill equivalent of a bowl cut and you’re just. Stuck with it. For life. Is altering them considered an extreme form of body modification?

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of ways to style meat. Plus, fronds aren't just fat and skin, they're fragile sensory organs. You can tie them back with a cloth, but anything else gets uncomfy very fast.

The size and shape of lizards' fronds is genetic. They function as sensory organs, helping lizards perceive and direct flux. Being born with tiny fronds is annoying but not life-altering. Mx. bowl cut lizzer can live a relatively normal life, although they'll struggle with channeling, and have some trouble orienting themselves in 3d space.

Losing your fronds entirely is a much more serious issue. Lizards without fronds are prone to nausea and disorientation. They can't sense the flux signatures of lizards, artifacts, or custodians, and are incapable of all but the simplest forms of channeling. Any lizzer unlucky enough lose ALL of their flux-sensitive tissue (including the roots buried in their scalp) won't have the ability to metabolize the trickle of flux their bodies require, and will slowly die as the rest of their channeling system rots from inside... It's severely life-altering body modification, but there are a couple of reasons a person might do it voluntarily... First of all, frondless folks don't have a flux signature. That makes it easy to hide from other lizards, and MUCH easier to hide from custodians. Secondly, for Individuals born with an unlucky combination of mental and physical flux sensitivity, cutting off their fronds can be a way to find some peace from a constant, overwhelming, and inescapable barrage of sensory information.

[caba-111]

Are there any clades of animals that lizzers perceive like some humans perceive reptiles—dull and/or creepy? How would they react to humans?

Duhra are generally very pro-critter. There's no clade of life that's seen as especially creepy or inert. Even bacteria aren't "dull" in their minds--they're possessed with the same agency and vital energy as any other living thing. 

Familia like animals that have things in common with “people”—intelligence, complex social behavior, and visual similarities. Conversely, more alien or biologically unfamiliar critters are considered inert at best, and disgusting at worst. They’re NOT fans of mammal-likes.

"Creepy" isn't right word, but Temple Staters are bothered (and fascinated) by large, terrestrial animals. "Beasts" are the alien forms of ghosts and gods, and they seem unsettlingly out of place on the mortal plane.

As far as humans... Lizards would recognize the obvious morphological similarities, but they'd be extremely creeped out by our otherwise alien biology. It would be like running into a vaguely person-shaped sea sponge.

(Thanks to whoever sent me this ask—I deleted it by accident. Really great question!)

[caba-111]

i'd love to know some stuff anout the coldsider's lore and culture if you have any to share, they seem facinating

The Coiled Republics A federated democracy in a windswept western region of the cold side. It's a nation that formed by referendum, which is one indication of how much they love voting on things. Once they were relatively poor shepherds and fisherman. But these days, their economic fortunes have sharply improved. They are a maritime power with a strong navy and an oversized influence on international trade.

Greater Syma is a former queendom located in the agrarian center of the coldside. Though in the midst of a messy revolution, they remain and industrial champion and formidable land power. They're locked in an intensifying conflict with the Coilies, who busy pouring their resources into funding and supplying counter-revolutionary forces.

Agogy (or the Ottar Empire) is the nub of an ancient, theocratic empire ground down by numerous defeats. Though the height of their power has long passed, their cultural and religious influence protects their relevance in international politics.

The plot:

To Expand the Scope of Coldsider Knowledge (i.e. to one-up the Symans and make themselves rich), the Long Coast Trading Company launches a bold new expedition to the Warm side. Captained by failson and hier to the company fortune Iwin Cade, this mission will....... something something something one paragraph summaries are hard! (also thank you I'm glad you like it!)

[caba-111]

I absolutely adore your lizards. What’s life like for kids/babies? Are genetic parents in the picture or (due to the nests) is everyone raised communally/does it vary based on culture?

Thank you, glad you adore my guys :)

As you might expect, childhood varies a lot between Sana cultures.

In the Temple States, hatcheries are enormous and state-run. When they're old enough (and healthy enough) to think and act on their own, children are evaluated and assigned guardians. Guardianship is a sort of part-time job carried out by trained volunteers. Biological parents can become their offspring's guardians if they get the proper certifications, but this isn't often the case.

The actual responsibilities of parenting are split between these guardians and the series of state-run creches and boarding schools that make up a Temple Stater's childhood. While a Temple States lizard is usually separated from their social group multiple times as they move up through the education system, efforts are made to keep childhood friends with the same aptitudes together.

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Hatcheries in Duhr are privately owned, and their services don't come cheap. Many of them operate on a subscription model, where a reproductive pair will send over any fertile eggs they produce until one of them results in a healthy child.

Once they're discharged from the hatchery, children are raised by their parents and extended Family. While this is a more individualistic experience than childcare in the Temple States or the Heartland, Duhr households are large and multi-generational, and some of the responsibilities of parenting are shared with the neighbors. Kids usually grow up in a gaggle of tightly-bonded siblings and friends from the same apartment building. From there, it's either school or, more commonly, commitment to an apprenticeship.

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As for the Heartland, a hatchery lies at the center of every Family compound. Children are raised communally from birth. There's no concept of parenthood--who laid you is only relevant to your medical records. The responsibilities of child-care are provided by a team of nurses, teachers, and "integrators," who engrave the Family's ethos into the minds of its developing offspring. Though there's no equivalent to "parent," most Familia hold a lifelong affection for the people who raised them, and bond with their peers as tightly as siblings.

[caba-111]

Tell me about lizard color psychology! Are particular colors associated with certain emotions, castes, etc.? Are there some colors considered ‘rare’ or ‘upper-class’ due to scarcity of dye (like purple in ancient Rome)? Do lizard cultures have any associations between the color of one’s scales and things like their personality/affinities/etc.?

Dyes and Colors

Across cultures, Blue tends to have a connotation of vitality. It's the color of blood, flux, the sky, the ocean... You see it associated with energy, power, animating forces, reproduction, violence, etc.

In the Temple States it's particularly special, as its dual nature captures both the mortal realm (blood) and the heavens (sky). It's the "color of the world," symbolic of the entire cycle of reincarnation and attainment.

And blue isn't only auspicious, but expensive! As on earth, bright blue dyes are rare and pricey. That makes it a status symbol that's associated with (but not limited to) the Temple Caste.

Skin Colors

Spiritualistic Duhra believe that the source of a person's vital energy influences their personality and appearance. The great cycle starts and ends with the elemental animates of the continents, seas, and skies. Each one is thought to have unique characteristics that rub off on people whose spiritual provenance contains more of their juice.

Blue Folks take from the air currents, making them haughty and wise.

Orange Folks take from the sun that bathes their crops and the water that irrigates them, making them bright, fluid, and impressionable.

Green Folks are seen as taking from the earth, making them solid and incorrigible.

Temple Staters believe the first teachers were blue, so having blue skin is a physical manifestation of being closer to attainment. Other skin colors can be seen as a sign of spiritual and genetic... digression, sometimes associated with the specific infractions of the cultures associated with them.

Heartlanders are the most colorblind of the bunch, but that's not to say they don't have stereotypes and prejudices. Some conservatives are wary of blue and green skin, associating it with foreign corruption of the Family system. They also believe that when members of a group start to look more similar to each other as generations pass, it's as a physical sign of their tightening social bond.

[caba-111]

how do they know the warm side is warm, and it's not just harsh and chilly the world over?

There's a temperature gradient as you sail north, and the cloud wall is evidence of two air masses of very different temperatures meeting.

But the truth is they don't know. Coldsiders make predictions using the "Warm Pole" model, and test these predictions against empirical evidence. If the prediction matches the data, that supports the accuracy of their model.

If assuming the pole is warm leads to accurate predictions (and it does!), then that assumption is a useful way of understanding reality.