#smithsonian

Geolings as a species are incredibly gregarious and also tactile. In partnerships, it's common for two individuals to practically be glued together at the hip whenever they're both outside of their working environments and to show themselves off as being joined. In this case, they have matching paint on the claw tips of their front most pair of limbs (which are the ones primarily used for manipulating objects).

It's common in polar cultures to get matching tattoos as well, but not in this specific case where copying the tattoos would be seen as deeply impolite. The darker individual is from the southern part of the Wyu’hlkee archipelago where receiving lip tattoos to mark large milestones and accomplishments is standard practice. The majority of his are to show off an exceptional record within his working group, which is seen as nearly equally important as the familial group in most cultures. The three dots near the inner part of the lip denote age, another indicator of social status. He'd be considered rather impressive for his age, but not particularly attractive in the southern pole where higher coat contrast factors majorly into physical appeal (he has a little bit of facial makeup to try and make up for it).