felt like writing about Bee’s species a little bit!
Suyeem is a very warm, humid, lush planet. It’s sun is small but close in proximity, keeping temperatures high. Nights are long however, dusk and dawn taking up most of the day. The seas are large, covering most of the planet. The landmasses are large drifting islands. The islands are mountainous and jungle-covered. Trees are actually offshoots of the islands themselves, which are massive floating organisms similar to fungi.Â
Several species of said “fungi” are like cordyceps; parasitic. A particular species invaded the bodies of native primate-like animals, the lumoa. The two developed a symbiotic relationship, evolving together to the point where neither could survive without the other. The lumoa became the body, the fungi the mind. Now inseparable, they’ve grown and advanced, becoming sentient, self-aware, intelligent, and societal.
Each island has a village or two, and these communities see their islands as living, breathing things, because that’s exactly what they are. They care for their land and migrate when they see they are affecting the area. Everything is in constant movement, constant change. Even their islands are not still, and this is what they live by.
Though each child has a parent, they are raised communally. They have many parents, many playmates. They grow up calling each other “friend”, “cousin”, and “teacher”. “Mahhi" is a term of respect and affection for caretakers used by younglings, while adults refer to the young as “Cheya”.
As for names, children will take on an epithet based on the first sound they produce, like “Ai”, “Eet”, “Nma”, etc. When they are older and learn more about who they are, they give themselves a new name.
Despite sexual partnership being unnecessary for reproduction among the lumoa, couplings and bonds do form. Monogamy is rare.
For the most part, there is no gender in lumoa society. Some display what we call masculine and feminine traits, but it doesn’t have much effect on how one is perceived. Some who explore offworld become introduced to gender and accept new pronouns beyond they and them, but offworlding is frowned upon in some lumoan cultures. They love their home, and recognize that it is the root of who they are, literally.
More so, lumoa cherish their bodies as temples; they understand that they were once a separate species that took over the bodies of another, so respecting said bodies is important. Offworlding is seen as risky to oneself. Among older groups, it’s downright disrespectful. Dying offworld can be seen as the ultimate sacrilege, and you will be forgotten.
Despite this attitude, they are perfectly aware of other planets and lifeforms. They accept ambassadors and visitors. They are not ignorant or cutoff, and live a perfectly advanced life in their own way.
Lumoa are for the most part, nocturnal. They have to be, seeing how their home is so often dark. The days are far too warm to function, so most activity happens during dusk, night and dawn.
Their brain fungal mind, or “Anim”, displays itself on the faces of its host as a unique mark or sigil. Touching these marks is seen as very intimate; like kissing, it can be platonic or romantic. One’s mark is more important an identity than their name. Renditions of individuals’ marks are etched into trees when they pass on; these trees become monoliths of history. When they age and eventually fall, it is considered a second, final passing of the ones who are recorded on it’s boughs.
These monoliths are called Anim’at.
A person who performs these engravings are called Anim’noa.
Said etchings are made by carving into the trees with specialized tools, and with much ceremony. The etchings fill with the trees sap and harden into almost bejeweled-like engravings. This sap is called Be’ut and is considered precious and even sacred, especially when it becomes amber. Many carry small pieces with them.
They are a parthenogenic species. Reproduction is technically asexual, an individual capable of producing their own embryos without fertilization, but there are requirements. There must be a combination of proper diet and hormones; the dietary needs are a unique protein supplement found only in certain fruits. Hormone increase happens naturally during times of estrus.
Young either take on all of their mother’s alleles or half during gestation. In the case of taking on all the alleles, they are a perfect clone; if only half, a mutation occurs that “fills in” the other half, creating variation in the gene pool. While gestating, the young will also adopt offshoots of the mother’s fungi into their own brains. If this process fails, the child is stillborn. There can be 1-3 offspring in one pregnancy.
Lumoa have lifespans similar to humans, 110 being the average, though 130 is not unheard of. They reach adulthood by 20, though there are exceptions of course.
They have pouches, which accommodate newborns for up to four months.
They are omnivorous, but meat and fruit are favoured foods.
They are bipedal, but are perfectly comfortable on all fours. They excel at tree-climbing.
Though they are terrestrial, they are decent swimmers, and even bare vestigial gill-like grooves on their necks.
They are mimics, able to produce many complicated sounds.
Short fur that comes in a range of colours.
Lumoa species belong to me, please don’t steal <3
