The Val Salian Regional Field Guide, Entry 8
May09
The esteemed Ran Ste-Su G’Mindel is a bit unusual at times, but he truly knows more about the city than just about any other. And more importantly, he isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions.
Out-of-Placers
A story of inconvenient changes
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The HARD questions or the questions about hardness
Though I would be more interested in understanding how a timid race can be so bold as to declare war to begin with.
They must have been fleeing from a “bigger fish” if they were so desperate for a new land.
They’re not naturally timid, so much as… polite.
Canadian insects?
Not ONE word about their incredible ability to blush through solid bone-carapace? I’d thought Ran would investigate this thoroughly.
Studies suggest something about a “4th wall” between dimensions
Here I thought it was related to the “artistic liscence” cosmic phenomenon.
Interesting. I just thought it was like the scutes on a turtle, with a wafer thin layer of skin over the hard bony layer of the shell, and that thin layer able to change colour, like the colour changing cells on the skin of a cephalopod.
Nature is awesome.
I love all this amazing detail on the world and its species. The Baxxid are no exception. Truly amazing work.
Well hey, I didn’t come up with any of it! I’m just relaying the facts about this place.
With Ran, it’s all about hardness, and what is hard or not…or what makes what hard…yeah, hard stuff is his business line for sure.
Let’s face it, Val Salia and xenophilia go together like Earl Grey and lemon. Hard-working and open-minded scholars have plenty of opportunity to get to see the softer side of armoured death serpent math savants or make lasting impressions in human-ratbird cultural and biological exchange. And we haven’t even gotten to see half of the exotic species shipped around this particular port…
I mean, science is basically about hard things when you think of it that way (and are asking Ran what science is)
Reminds me of a course on Orbital Mechanics that I took in the Air Force. The teacher got frustrated… “How many times do I have to explain this? This isn’t rocket science!”
To which my reply was, “Sir, since the topic of today’s lecture is the difficulty of putting satellites in geostationary orbit, this is rocket science.”
I’m guessing Ran must have been a very odd child, growing up.
I like the details about all of the creatures. Now we just need to learn about whatever species Isher is.
Wouldn’t you be, if when you talked to bugs in the woods, some talked back?
Haha, yes, but I was referring more specifically to the somewhat prurient leaning of his scientific curiosity.
Also, still no hints about Isher?
Some bugs, or some woods? 🙂
Been a while since I posted here. But I personally love the Baxxid.
It is delightful to see a polite sharp ‘noodle’ species who enjoy the comforts of society. And as for the gender differences? I think, to humans at least, it is in the voice. IF we can learn to pick apart (let alone hear) the variances in tone between the sexes.
Can you hear the difference between female and male bagpipes? I certainly can’t! 😛
Only they know the difference!
There’s something adorable about making the skeletal snake monsters shy and sensitive.
How did you get so good at worldbuilding? Has it been a thing you had messed around with a lot before making a comic with lots of lore? Because you definitely exude knowing what you’re doing.
I spend an embarrassing amount of time coming up with fantasy and sci fi universe concepts, but nothing this good.
Love that we got a detailed explanation for the head covers.
And the “ranges” of perception that the two back sets of eyes “see” (as Ran used quotations seems significant), sounds like IR but they’re underground frequently. Heck, maybe they can see gamma rays or something! That nebula in the sky would be a beacon in the darkness of the sand.
Nice use of the beach sand and stone separating the ocean from the freshwater aquifer. I wanted to be a geologist when I was in grade school; underground flows of water and magma can be absolutely fascinating.
I’d suggest that near-infrared (not thermal infrared, that’s an entirely different thing) and UV are the most likely candidates. UV would give them excellent low-light vision, as long as there was even a tiny source of light (it still wouldn’t help in total darkness), and IR can help identify warm-blooded prey. They might even have some sort of natural seismic sense to help them identify when potential prey is approaching.
It isn’t unheard of. Most predatory snakes have some sort of thermal sense, and all snakes are actually deaf… but they can feel vibrations through the earth, and sound is just a vibration anyway, so it’s just a different method of ‘hearing’.
Also, how awesome would it be to dress up as a baxxid for a fur-con!
Announcer : “Does Ran know why Baxxid’s like the taste of cinnamon toast crunch?”
Ran : “It’s fascinating you should ask that! It is actually due to receptors on the upper and lower pallets that tr-”
Announcer : “The world may never know!””
Ran : “…”
I thought the Baxxids were plains hunters, using their mass and spikes to take down larger beasts. Digging a sand lion burrowto eat those wee-green-buggers, seems to be an inefficient use of energy. And with the subterranean bent, thir eyes must be fairly weak.
Could have swore I read the plains hunter and large prey info from an earlier segment though.
If anyone wants to help clarify and explain things to / for me, please and thanks!
Hey, you got your commercials mixed up! The first half was Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and then the second half was Tootsie Pops!
Haha! You got me! But since a new comic is up, you may never see this! Well played regardless!
Holy cow! I know Ran’s full name now!
It’s been on all of these field guide pages since the very first one.
The devil you say! I was so busy looking at content, I never paid attention to commentor!
Hey Val, have you considered creating a Twitter page just for these updates? You’re missing out on a gigantic chunk of the fan base.
And burn the forum. :/
I’d be more inclined to check FB (the devil I know) rather than twitter since twitter sees like a convoluted mess trying to find stuff.
Not so much find stuff, just notifications for the millennials who don’t know what an RSS feed is. 😉
And boooo to Failbook.
Only reason I have a fb is for daughter, otherwise I dont mess with any social media. Never saw the draw personally. Daughter lets me know I’m older than dirt cause I have a hard time grasping all this newfangled computer-y stuff. I did manage to get Rss on my phone, but not here, keeps slipping my mind.
Now what was I talking about again?
*wanders off muttering about kids and lawns*
Well, The female seems to have a shorter head and more slender body. Almost like she’s been scaled 90% on one axis.
I have confirmed this with the science of photoshop.
The Baxxid, sexual dimorphism, and you!
Ask for it at your local bookseller.
And who would voice the audio-book? 😉 Maybe Vizlet, cause a baxxid certainly wouldn’t.
It brings me no small amount of joy whenever I imagine Ram interviewing his subjects and waiting for the perfect moment to ask, “And the dick?”
“when I imagine Ram”
Freudian slip, or just your everyday malaprop? 😛
But yeah, this is becoming a great running gag…
Ran: “So, back to the topic of reprodu…”
Baxxid Pat: “Hnnnone of your businesssss“
In fairness, I did post that at 1 AM!
So what were they fleeing from? Did they tell Immergen Salia and he said, “Errrr, yes. I think it would be best if you kept that to yourselves for now, OK?”
I can think of
A. Some monstrous threat that the citizens would sleep better if they knew nothing of it.
B. Some monstrous social taboo breaking that made these baxxids outcasts in their society.
C. Something that would make the Val Salians laugh at them: “There was this horrible plague of flying spider-worms! They’d land on us when we weren’t looking, and they were soooo creepy looking! OMG, you have no idea!” Meanwhile, the FSWs are a great delicacy for the newly arrived yinglets.
LOL, please let it be the flying spider-worms. That’s head-canon for me unless proven otherwise.
What if it was other baxiids?
Suddenly had a funny idea after watching this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzKDH9h2ucg
What would happen if a Yinglet got a hold of the infinity Gems or if a Yinglet got one of each Infinity Gems 6 yinglets 6 gems or 1 Yinglet and all 6 gems
Mmm, Val Salia would make an excellent Dwarf Fortress site.
I get the impression they all sound like vorlons, further obfusicating sexual dimorphism for us poor mammals.
It seems their species developed intelligence out of something like convenience, hm. Also to handle their strategy, to become the magnificent specimens they should be the fastest.
I think that the largest draw for a very peaceful race to perform intimidation tactics has got to be the stupid amount of gold these merchants must offer. And I believe other local Baxxid will most certainly view these individuals as distasteful and possibly dangerous to their race’s peaceful coexistance here.
Sooo they are good thinkers yet they don’t have the adequate anatomy for intelectual activities or crafting and they have anatomy good for violence yet they are pacifists. A bit too dependant of humans to my taste.
The eyes they make visible with their fancy head coverings only emphasise the effect of making those eyes look like nostrils. Not that I would tell a baxxid that to their face.
When it says “Main Gate”, does that refer to the gate to the interior of the Tooth?
Also, how do the Baxxids normally get from their underground area to the surface?