In my internal backstory, Pohl did some preparatory Wikipedia research on handshakes beforehand.
Also, if you don’t usually read the Director Commentary (The Transcript button below), make sure you check it during this arc. Today I discuss some additional background work on the sarnothi and their handshake, and a little extra backstory on Pohl. Yay for ancillary content.
My initial concept for the sarnothi's mode of greeting was an east-asian inspired hand-clasp and bow at the waist. I wanted a sarnothi greeting to be something that disabled or impaired use of the hands/claws as a sign of trust. But the use of a bowing gesture didn't make sense to me. The act of bowing doesn't "feel" to me like something an underwater culture would develop. So it makes more sense to me that, since sarnothi are hunters and predators by evolution, a sign of trust in their culture would be to blind yourself and "sheathe" your weapons. Although the premise of "lowering yourself" before a superior does exist in Sarnoth, in a fashion. Culturally, it is rude to float or swim at a higher elevation than a social superior. If traveling together the social lesser does so at a lower elevation, and if addressed or summoned the social lesser must be the one to take initiative to correct any discrepancies in elevation (for example, if a social superior addressed Pohl while Pohl was currently swimming above him, it would be Pohl's social obligation to swim downward and place himself at a lower elevation while addressing his social superior.) Backstory bonus extra: During his first year or so on the surface, while taking medical school courses, Pohl had to learn not to be very uncomfortable with being taller than some of his instructors. He had a lingering social obligation impulse to "swim lower".
Selkie is sooooo cute here! “I totally won’t hurt you”
Nicely thought out!
It’s interesting to see your rough sketches. No complaints here.
I’m looking forward to seeing Selkie interact with Suko and what she thinks of his little sister. Todd’s reaction to the baby should be interesting as well should it come up.
Oh! I forgot about sister! I’m really excited to see where Dave takes this arch 🙂
Closing your eyes during this greeting seems like an odd thing to have developed. If you point your claws towards yourself and then close your eyes, how can you see that the person you’re greeting is doing the same thing, or when they’ve completed the act?
I’d assume it would be a matter of mutual trust – ‘I do not only mean no harm to You but I also close my eyes’ – where indeed it might be custom for either the visitor or the one entertaining guests to initiate the greeting first.
It seems to be an ultimate form of trust, and probably a cultural thing. It doesn’t matter if the other person does or does not, it’s expected that they will, it’s showing good manners.
I think that’s sort of the point: it means that not only are you disabling yourself, but you’re trusting the other person to do the same.
That makes it a lot like bowing. When you bow, (particularly deep bows or kneeling bows) you expose the back of your neck and put yourself in a position that’s difficult to attack from.
In a deep bow, you can’t see what the other person is doing, whether they are getting ready to attack or if they have returned the gesture until you start to rise.
Fun Fact: One reason left handed people were seen as untrustworthy long ago was that a left handed person was seen as being capable of still drawing and using a weapon well even with their hand held in a grip that put a right handed person at a much greater disadvantage.
I didn’t know that! As a lefty, that’s super interesting. Thanks for sharing that little fun fact. 🙂
As a lefty, I did know this.
As a lefty trained in sword fighting, it’s somewhat relivant. }:)
Let’s not forget, this is supposed to be a meeting of two separate cultures. It would be perfectly natural if you and I thought the other’s customs to be weird.
I love, love, love, love making up/seeing made up cultural things for other worlds. This is awesome and so very cute, too.
This page. Has all of the cuteness.
“I even made my first salad!”
“Doorbull”!
“I totally won’t attack you!”
Totally love that smile in panel four.
Wait….transcript button? AAAIIIGH ….! I never noticed the transcript button!! *Goes all the way back to the first comic and starts slowly clicking forward again*
The first 50-ish comics use alt-text instead of the transcript feature for Director Commentary. FYI. :3
Speaking of Pohl’s medical education…
Was he already a Sarnothi doctor/medic/whatever when he came to the surface? If so, was he able to skip/test out of any human medical school, or did he have to start from scratch?
I assume he would have had to start from scratch. The physiology, medications, diseases and conceptions of health/wellness are certainly completely different.
Hey we’re on a similar wave length when discussing greetings. I had a similar concept with my dragon people. When regards to strangers or new people, drakkhani would raise their hands near their face palms out and head lowered as a sign of submission towards others a very similar. “I am not a threat “action that you have.
🙂 a less formal greeting among their people is they will lightly bonk heads, to clack their horns against another.
Okay, Suko is totally adorable…too bad he’s not a bit older, can just imagine him and Selkie’s prom pictures!
They probably COULD still have prom pictures down the line, but I suspect it would be a “Suko couldn’t get a prom date, I’ll help the kid out” thing while Selkie would, in this scenario, be about 23-ish.
Hah, I can already imagine that. A very embarrassed Suko and big, mischievous, toothy grin from a more mature Selkie.
AAAAH CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ~
This is really wonderful Dave. I’m bouncing in my seat waiting to see what happens next! 😀
I love the worldbuilding you’ve got going on here!
Seconded. I’m a worldbuilder in my own stories, so I highly appreciate it in other people’s stories as well. 🙂
(Homestuck Spoilers)
http://images.wikia.com/mspaintadventures/images/3/31/Caliborn_worldbuilding.png
I love the cultural info included in the transcript today; it looks like a lot of thought went into the Sarnothi’s culture.
I do have a question about the tradition of swimming lower than your superior; is being higher than someone really an advantage underwater? In a three dimensional environment, it could be advantageous to be below your enemy, as it’s easier to see above you than below. (Unless you’re blinded by the sun…)
It’s more about reducing inconvenience on the socially superior member. Instead of making them look upward (or severely downward) to speak to you, you take it upon yourself to adjust elevation for their convenience.
I love it. I love the director’s commentary. I absolutely LOVE the detail you’re putting into the background of the Sarnothi. It’s fantastic!
I’ve been basically waiting for this moment since I started reading this comic. I’m sure I’m not alone in that.
You’ve settled on his being on the lower end of the two to three range, I think? I know a four year old boy and he’s entertainingly articulate.
I would imagine that early childhood development may also not be identical between the two species. Suko seems big for a toddler to me, but perhaps Sarnothi have more rapid growth in their first few years than humans so that they are more quickly independently swimming and catching prey. At 5 Selkie was already pretty interested in chasing fish. This could be extended to acquisition of various skills including language.
By elementary school age, Selkie is pretty similar in size to her peers, so they could slow down at a different points etc. Selkie also has language issues possibly due to transitioning from her native tongue to human english at a developmentally awkward phase.
Anyone else wondering what the salad will look like? I expect large quantity’s of fish and almost no lettuce if any.
Considering they apparently know Todd’s vegetarian, I’m pretty sure it’s a vegetarian salad. Her excitement doesn’t look like someone trying to insult a guest.
I bet lecture halls with auditorium style seating were a bit awkward in college, too.
Something I’ve noticed lately. Selkie, Suko and Suko’s mom all have webbed hands but Phol does not or it not nearly as noticeable. Is that a just a normal variation or did he have surgery for some reason? I can’t tell with his fingers so much but there is clearly a difference in the amount of webbing between his thumbs and the rest of the his fingers compared to all the other Sarnothi we’ve seen so far (that I can remember).
Perhaps he had the same webbing earlier in life, but clipped it. I’ve known two people who had webbed toes, and they both got the webbing removed, resulting in better dexterity. Maybe it’s easier for him on land to not have the webbing?
In an earlier comic, Dave mentioned that he had his webbing removed to facilitate his work. I believe it was the comic when he was taking the stairs and calling his wife…
Thank you. I must have missed that when it was first brought up.
Having re-red this comic several times now, I think this visit is my favourite story arc. I hope we get a chance to see these folks again.