Rakuto

The rakuto were developed by Aerotan Lightpaw and do not yet appear in any published work.

Writing for Rakuto

When writing for rakuto, the following information should be considered. See this document for additional details.

Physiology

Rakuto are mostly bipedal, semi-aquatic lutrine species from a planet tentatively dubbed "Rakunoriku", a loose translation of which yields the phrase "The pearl of Raku's domain", referring to the primary deity in the rakuto faith.

The males are roughly 1.20 meters tall, plus or minus 30 cm. Females are typically 20-30cm taller and proportionally bulkier. Aside from this difference, there are very few dimorphic traits. Both sexes lactate from nipples along the chest and sternum which are arranged in two rows of three inside a pouch whose opening is just above the navel.

They possess a winter coat of thick, downy fur with natural oils to insulate and waterproof it. This usually appears to be cream to dark brown, but frost accumulating on the outer layer is not uncommon and often makes the rakuto appear pure white.

This coat will shed when a rakuto is exposed to more temperate conditions for longer than a few months regardless of the actual season, and typically grows back in the same time frame. The summer coat left behind comprises only a single layer of hollow fur coated with natural oils for waterproofing and insulation. This leaves the fur mostly transparent and makes the dark skin beneath visible.

More importantly, it also exposes a series of subcutaneous light-emanating organs called luminodes. These are laterally symmetrical along the spine and tail, and extend across the rakuto's entire body from tail tip to ears, nose, and limbs in whorls, spirals, lines, spots, and waves whose patterning is unique to each individual. A greater concentration of these luminodes exists on the palms and soles of the feet, allowing these to emit enough light to see by in even deep water. All but the youngest rakuto are able to control the intensity and coloration of their luminodes.

Some combination of these organs and those the rakuto share with other species gives them a highly efficient renal and oxygenation system. Only a few native chemicals are able to substantially effect rakuto without outright killing them, and even fewer non-native chemicals. Notably, they seem to be immune to javea, alcohol, and can filter out most phosphates, nitrates, and organic toxins, but are susceptible to a neurotoxin one specie of jellyfish on their planet produces that's capable of inducing a "floaty", euphoric state when ingested.

Their eyes are protected by two sets of nictitating membranes, one transparent for use underwater and one semi-opaque that can filter out harsh light and ultraviolet radiation. They also can seal off their nostrils, ears, and other orifices to be air-tight, and possess webbing between their fingers and toes to aid in aquatic maneuvering.

They are, however, ungainly on land due to their limbs being somewhat short for their size. It is not infrequent for running rakuto to resort to a bouncy quadrupedal gait.

Planet

Rakunoriku is mostly arranged into two large continents, a few archipelagos, and numerous isolated islands, atolls, and volcanic chains too small to be proper archipelagos. It is the second planet orbiting its star, and the only one with sapient life native to it, but the only resource easily obtained from it is water, which requires boiling, filtering, and desalination before it can be used for most stellar structures. The planet is quite geologically active. There are frequent tsunamis, earthquakes, typhoons, storm systems, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and similar hazards for improperly prepared atmospheric vessels. It is far, FAR safer and more efficient for resource miners to concentrate their efforts on neighboring planets.

The rakuto tend to cluster into villages and settlements on coastlines and in underwater cave systems for stability, and their only major cities are anchored to dead volcanic calderas with massive domes of clear organic resins mostly sealing them off from the weather.

Religion

The rakuto follow a faith mostly analogous to Shinto in the real world. They believe they are watched and protected by a mother goddess, Raku, who rules the ocean and provides for her children (which is also where their name comes from. Rakuto, "children of raku"). It is from Raku the rakuto believe they are descent, and it is to Raku they believe their bodies and souls should return. They see their luminodes as a gift used to communicate with her, especially at the poles.

More contentious is their relationship to the god of the sky, Arras, who they personify as spiteful, jealous, and vindictive. They believe he was once a mate of Raku, but that she spurned him when his true nature showed itself, and that he's been trying to scour the world of all she holds dear since that time. They believe that everything between the heavens and the surface is his domain, and are terrified of spending too long there. It is notable that this does not extend to auroras, which they believe are Raku's voice, and the stars, which they believe are treasures Ankou gave to Raku when courting her.

Next among the major figures is Ankou, a god of the deep places with whom Raku and the rakuto have a complicated relationship. They see him as a distant father-figure who tests them with temptation, and can either reward or punish those who seek to trespass in his domain depending on his mood and the rakuto's luck. Rakuto who escape from his depths often do so with treasures of food, pearls, lost things, or gems exposed by volcanic vents, but these are seen more as Ankou baiting his traps than being kind.

Finally there's Shina, a terrestrial half-sibling figure that the rakuto characterize as temperamental but playful. Kind to those who respect his rules and play his games, but quick to punish those who displease him. He's depicted as being terrified of Arras, who some believe is his father, due to Arras's tendancy to scatter his 'toys' to places too distant for him to retrieve them. While some sects believe his father is a nameless god of fire, Raku is universally seen as his mother.

Countless other spirits and minor gods are said to inhabit or embody natural locations and phenomena, but the rakuto see anything done with their own hands as being entirely secular, or at best as inspired by a spirit. They believe that working raw materials into finished goods extracts the spirit within and empowers the crafter until it returns to whichever god it ultimately belongs to.

Communication

Rakuto communicate in three distinct ways from person to person, with a little-used written language mostly only understood by scholars.

First is the lights on the rakuto's palms and soles. These are called "divelights" by the rakuto, and are used to communicate emotions, directions, distance, numbers, and depths depending on the color, shade, and pattern of the flashes and the directions of the accompanying gestures. Intensity is considered akin to how spoken languages treat volume. This is what rakuto generally consider to be their primary language component, which leads to difficulties when attempting to communicate with other species.

Next is "icespeak", which are the vocalized syllables rakuto generally use to add an emotional component to their divelight communication, but several complex and academic concepts exist only in icespeak.

Then there's "sunsong", which can only be used when the rakuto have shed their winter coats since it involves activating and utilizing all of the rakuto's luminodes to create complex patterns of light. Often, Rakuto performers in specially prepared spaces will put on displays involving the entire spectrum of luminodes projecting patterns onto bowl-shaped stages in dimmed or darkened rooms, sometimes separated from the audience by one-way glass to prevent enthusiastic audience members from washing the display out.

It's helpful, though not entirely accurate, to picture icespeak as formal communication that either requires or allows for greater specificity and nuance, while divelights are for important or immediate general topics that neither need nor can afford extrapolation or contemplation, and sunsong is poetic and lyrical explorations of deeply emotional ideas.

Native Culture

Rakuto are extremely communal by nature, often forming family groups of multiple adults sharing mixed litter-raising duties. Parents generally encourage both parallel and group play in young pups, and it's exceedingly rare for even adult rakuto to be outside their home or workspaces alone.

Pairs and trios are considered polite and normal groupings in public, and solo rakuto can sometimes be alarming for nearby groups unless they're wearing accessories indicating that the individual in question is taking on a task that requires them to be alone, such as urgent courier services, or ironically, being a hired companion to prevent another rakuto from needing to travel between tasks alone.

This is as much a response to the indigenous storms as a social norm, since before the rakuto understood how the planet's weather formed and intensified it was not uncommon for sudden squalls, waves, and currents to snatch individuals away to parts unknown, or even to scatter entire settlements into a diaspora they would be unlikely to recover from. A group of two to three can more easily manage in an emergency than an individual, and rescue goes from unlikely to merely difficult.

This is less of an issue on modern Rakunoriku, since communities are much less susceptible to the weather thanks to aerodynamic and quake-resistant construction techniques, sub-surface tunnel networks linking homes and workplaces, and sturdy netting surrounding most settlements below the waterline. Further, they've learned how to better predict and prepare for storms so there's less risk of supplies running low and necessitating exposure to gather more.

Large settlements often have resin domes over their above-water structures as an added layer of protection against storms and earthquakes, and it's not uncommon for these to be dyed and tinted.

Another response to the risks associated with the unpredictable weather and tides is that most rakuto consider it vital to have a hobby that can be practiced at home, with crafting and artistic pursuits being most common by a wide margin. They generally consider artisanal goods superior to mass-produced for nearly every object from furniture, utensils, and netting to luxury goods like exotic foods and jewellery. The only exception to this are metal tools, particularly the carabiners, hooks, and eye loops that the rakuto consider too important to trust to just anyone, but too ubiquitous to wait for a craftsman to make on demand.

These are usually produced via geothermal vents heating the ore and machines working it into workable shapes that are then filed, ground, and bent into their final shapes. Grist and filings are then melted down and used for jewellery, harpoons, and similar objects where failure is less dangerous.

Nearly every adult rakuto knows how to cook at least a few simple dishes using local flora and fauna, and most know at least the basics of food safety and preparation. Those who don't are usually regarded as surprising, but not shocking, and most rakuto are willing to share what they know without reservation.

This generosity isn't universal, and the more specialized the craft, the less likely a rakuto is to teach it outside of a formal apprenticeship, but individuals are individual, and exceptions in both directions exist.

One skill that's so universal it's barely considered a skill is weaving rope, and working it into knots, nets, and cloth. Rakuto generally use a type of kelp for this, first drying the leaves then breaking them down into fibers to be spun into thread, cord, and rope. Even children are taught safety and netting knots, and nets are used as clothing, tools, and accessories in many aspects of rakuto life. Rakuto climb between levels of their homes using nets, haul goods with net bags, secure valuables in storage nets strung from their walls, and even accentuate their bodies with pouches originally designed to keep sensitive areas close to the body but long since evolved into fashion statements.

Even their art often incorporates driftwood, coral, shells, and dried sea creatures preserved in resin and hung on or held in nets hanging on walls or from ceilings.

Rakuto do occasionally sleep in hammocks or tied together, but it's considered healthier to sleep in shallow pools of water. Many rakuto dwellings incorporate basins specifically for communal sleeping, and adults and pups are rarely segregated. If such separations are needed, it's far and away more likely that the rakuto will reach out to neighbors to arrange alternatives. The most frequent of these is, of course, estrus, but illnesses requiring quarantine do happen, and when it's a pup or a group of pups who're ill, an adult will usually volunteer to join them in quarantine.

As mentioned, family units are somewhat fluid for most rakuto. Mated pairs in any combination of genders are neither unheard of nor commented upon. Thruples and polycules are more common, but the most common arrangement is simply that any adult in a community may court or couple with any other unrelated adult, and pups from any such union are raised with whichever adults are most compatible with the pup in question. Homes are usually interconnected, with hygiene and storage areas usually connected to sleeping chambers and play/relaxation spaces, which are in turn connected to communal cooking and crafting or hobby areas that are then connected to one another. Such neighborhomes generally contain eight to ten adult and between five and twelve pups and adolescents.

Even if they are taken off-planet, rakuto tend to develop into similar communities within a given ship, with shipboard corridors taking the place of connecting tunnels, and apartments and berths converted into and replacing workshops and sleeping partitions. The only thing that doesn't adapt well is the sleeping basin itself since it's the fluid, not the buoyancy, that supports rakuto health. They do take well to hammocks, however, if provided with additional shower rations.

Rakuto generally don't quite internalize the idea of pairbonding for extended exclusive time periods, but they aren't nearly as sexually casual as ringel, seeing sex as something deeply intimate and spiritual, but not something to be denied between consenting adults. Jealousy, in the rare instances it occurs, is more often a source of shame for the rakuto experiencing it than an excuse to act out against the triggering party, as rakuto culture sees jealousy and selfishness as the source of all strife.