caba-111

[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!)

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All aboard!

Lovely art trade with @caba-111 !

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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.

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Another one of these things

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What's the deal with the coldsiders?

Sure! The Cold Side is set on a planet wreathed in clouds. The Storm Wall separates the Warm Side from the harsh and chilly Cold Side.

The Cold Side is inhabited by these white-faced opossum chameleon things. Nobody knows who or what inhabits the Warm Side.

Overall, it's a character and narrative-focused setting starring starring a motley crew of dumb-asses on an expedition North. Happy to dump more information about the characters (this is the only setting where I have like. individual guys I'm attached to), but I'll save that for another post.

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Another one of these things

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Critter

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Critter

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Critters and their landship

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Rob Pointon (British), Winding up the Great Orme, 2025, Oil on board

[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]

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]

Anyone who likes my work should check out 3rd voice. I'd describe it as weird post apocalyptic fantasy about two artificers Gleaners with contrasting personalities--hyper-competent woman (small) and her flamboyant, emotionally unstable partner-in-crime.

The setting strikes a good balance between whimsy and credibility imo. It's intricate without being gratuitously worldbuildy. It's respectful of its internal logic, but that logic isn't "earthlike," or laid out upfront. It's the kind of comic where piecing together the big picture from context clues is part of the fun, and the mysteries feel both mysterious AND answerable. Lots of fun political commentary and character writing as well.

(Vattu is great too)

Rather enormous new 3rd Voice image is done and available as a print from topatoco right now

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Planet Earth II (2016) Episode 05 “Grasslands” Directed by Chadden Hunter

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Liminal Dreams - Far Shores by Artur Sadlos

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What lies beyond the cloud wall...

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Lizzer making some bad decisions faces expulsion from their family.