#Vycotan Gender System

[vycotans-and-vycelium]

Gender Expression

Vycotans are simultaneous hermaphrodites (meaning they produce both large and small gametes as well as can both sire and carry offspring) and therefore do not have physical markers seen in dual-sex based species which are used as a determiner for gender. However, partly due to being passed around from one alien empire to another, there is an appearance based system for determining the gender of an individual. 

There are two primary determiners which are apparent at birth and two secondary determiners which are not clear until puberty culminating into four recognized genders. 

Primary Determiner—Apparent At Birth

The coding that determines the main pigment present on a mech’s body is a complicated dance of inheritance and it is not always apparent what color a couple’s offspring will be until it is born. It is possible for two stark parents to give birth to a shade, two shade parents to give birth to a stark, and for a couple to have a bitlet which has colors not present on either of them.

Stark

Starks have a higher volume of bright, flamboyant “eye catching” colors present on their bodies. Their armor is often shiny and lustrous. One thing to note is that the colors on stark’s bodies tend to have higher saturation and denser pigmentation. As a result, the colors appear to be very intense and bright. For this reason it is possible for two mechs the same color to be classified as either a stark or a shade.

Shade

Shades have a higher volume of matte, earthy, unsaturated colors present on their bodies. Often it appears that their colors have been muted and tuned down. Their armor does have a glossy finish to it, but it is not nearly as shiny as a stark’s armor. The colors on their bodies look like they have been mixed with chromatic greys and they tend to blend into the surroundings of their environment better than a stark. For this reason shades are more often given caregiver roles.

Secondary Determiner—Apparent At Puberty

When a vycotan is first born they have armor however it is soft and not fully formed. In order to remain warm they are coated in a thick layer of fluffy wires which act as both a source of keeping warmth and nerve endings which allow for neural connection with the parent. This means that at birth there is no way to tell if the bitlet is Crested or Unadorned (the two secondary gender characteristics).

As a bitlet grows into a youngling their armor starts as smooth and rounded with sparse remnants of that baby fluff. If the child is crested their armor will start to sharpen and develop growths. If the child is unadorned these growths will never appear and the armor will thicken.  

But what IS crested and unadorned?

Crested 

Crested means that the armor on an individual's body is angular and often has orate patterns naturally occurring on the armor. This can manifest as armor growths which might appear as thorns/spines, extensions from aft plating (which often resembles coat tails, faulds, or pteruges. Lastly and most importantly on the head armor there are often extensions which might look like horns, crests, antenna, or facial thorns. These extensions do have nerve endings and are sensitive to different types of stimuli.

Unadorned 

Unadorned individuals lack these growths on their armor, which instead is very minimal and rounded with only small raised areas. One drawback which can also be a benefit is that they do not have the same heightened sense that a crested individual has. However similarly they are not as susceptible to overstimulation. Unadorned also tend to have thicker, heavier armor which is more resistant to impact related injuries, while extensions present on a crested individual always have the threat of being broken off by attacks.

Present Recognized Genders

Vycotans have a total of four genders but focus mainly on the primary two which are apparent at birth. However an individual being crested or unadorned is still an category taken into account when the vycotan is older.

Crested Stark -> Bright and Highly Pigmented Colors, Sharp and Angular Armor

Unadorned Stark -> Bright and Highly Pigmented Colors, Rounded and Heavy Armor.

Crested Shade -> Muted and Matte Colors, Sharp and Angular Armor

Unadorned Shade -> Muted and Matte Colors, Rounded and Heavy Armor.

Gender Changes

Because vycotan gender determiners are mostly cosmetic it is fairly easy to change appearance to correlate with a preferred gender.

This could include buying paints or pigments that can be applied to armor to change the presenting color or using gloss to make armor appear shinier. Often because armor growths on a vycotan are sensitive and nerve heavy, they cannot be filed down so instead a crested individual will simply cover them up with a veil if on the head or covers if on other parts of the body. An unadorned individual might add attachments that resemble armor growths.

Obviously this is only one example of how a vycotan might alter their appearance to conform with a preferred gender, but these are just some examples.