MI Stuff- Major anatomy/ crests (Patreon)

One of these wacky posts XD For a refresher on Majors, see this post. This post probably has some info that could be construed as a spoiler, but only in hind-sight. So unless you don't want any background info at all unless it comes up in the comic, you can read safely.

So, a long-ago Martian-like ancestor once lived in the surf zone and on the coasts of the sea, eating animals embedded in the great cliffs there. These primitive creatures often dove below the surface of the ocean, and conserved energy by floating at the surface. Both actions utilized a bladder located at the top of the head, which served not only to control buoyancy, but to signal socially to other individuals. Today's true Martian still retains a crest, though in Majors it's considered a bit grossly oversized (compared to the sleek and very modern Minors that make up the bulk of the population). Minors have their own more subtle form of signalling, which also includes some color shifting, but we're only talking about Majors right now :]

There are three basic elements to the Major crest; the double pronged bones that make up the trunk (which are sort of busted up, but semi-visible on this page if you look closely), a more flexible flat stabilizer that covers the body of the trunk and forms the arms of the crest, and the bladder-like area inside the crest itself. The crest position is controlled by a centrally located flow of air that travels down the trunk and disperses evenly to both sides. The pressure of the air controls the position of the crest, and can be restricted or shunted around by a sphincter (that's a bit of a simplification, it is more like a system of valves, but I don't feel like working it out to that level, haha).

ANYWAYS, you probably notice that Kalla needs to turn her head to Michael clearly, he often gets caught in a bit of a blind spot directly in front of her nose. A lot of non-verbal communication among Martians is more lateral. You don't really need to see the facial expression since generally there isn't a lot. But crest position does say quite a bit. When it's tucked back, it communicates a sense of non-trust or ill-will. Usually this is a protective measure to prevent damage from slamming or slashing. Any sort of extended position says "hi!! nice to meet you here I am very visible in front of you," sort of like approaching someone with open hands. Depending on the angles, you can add another layer onto verbal communication to see enthusiasm, passion, anger, boredom, etc. Kalla probably finds Michael completely unreadable or very enthusiastic/ trusting when he's waving his arms around, haha.

There's some other stuff with crests at the bottom. In Kalla's time there was a lot of focus on the pursuit of beauty (and the constant redefinition of beauty) so a lot of those mods were actually styles of the time, though some are more severe than others. Intentionally mangling or cutting off your crest is like... idk it's like cutting off your legs to make a fashion statement. But at the time, some people were doing those sorts of things. Weird generation.