Sapphina's Mars Commons

Our stories on Mars are of a highly speculative nature, of what a possible utopian sapphic-centred existence could look like. One that cherishes disabled people, plural families, and transfemmes. New ideas and ways of thinking often need new terms or renegotiations of existing ones to encompass them. Those terms are here, along with a brief explanation of what living on a terraformed Mars would be like. In the broad strokes of such things as lengths of seasons and other ways in which it would be distinct from our present experiences on Earth. We try to not outright contradict the real world properties of Mars in our writing, but our Mars is not a hard science fiction Mars. It is first and foremost another place, one which permits pondering possibilities.

And as always, speculative spaces are possibilities, not proscriptions.

One year on Mars takes approximately 668 Mars days, each one being only slightly longer than an Earth day at 24.6 Earth hours. Most people on Mars count seasons rather than years, each one being 167 days long.

A quick and easy way to convert is to divide Mars seasons by two and subtract a tenth of the new number to get a pretty accurate number in Earth years.

Our present system of months, weeks, and fixed 'start' and 'end' of a week in general is not really widely used on Mars anymore. People tend to think in terms of contextual segments of time not anchored rigidly to anything fixed points. One common term is a "finger", which is six days, based on counting both the joints and knuckles of said finger.

People tend to refer to their age in terms of which season of their life they are in. The season they are born in being their first season. Rather than saying they "are thirty" they say they are "in their 30th" season.

There are many different ways in which people of different areas and traditions measure the threshold for coming of age. The two most common are:

On 38th occurrence of their season day, that is the date on which they were born, irrespective of the specific season. E.G. a person born on the 27th day of spring has a season day each 27th of Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Summer. This threshold tends to be more common in large cities as it spreads the demand for related spaces and services over entire seasons at a reasonably steady rate rather than creating intense periodic demand.

Passing into their fortieth season. This means that everyone comes of age on the same day rather than throughout the season. There are many assorted traditions and rituals associated with that day across regions and groups, often including communal events and celebrations. This tends to be more common in smaller towns and rural areas, though there are subgroups within the greater population of cities who observe this threshold.

Due to the many variables at play one might be barely considered of age within one system, while slightly underage in another. For example someone born on the last day of a season compared one born on the first would both come of age on the first of their fortieth season yet be 165 days apart in absolute age. Whichever threshold one has for themselves, whether or not another is of age is always based on that person's observed threshold, not one's own.

'Cuttle' and 'Cittle' are terms derived from the contraction of 'cute little'. Which term is more commonly used varies from region to region. Cuttle refers exclusively to sexually active plural littles in bodies of adult age.

The terms 'child' and 'children' are used exclusively to refer to people yet to come of age. This is based on their body's birth age, so a headmate with an age older than their body is still a child if their body is not yet of age.

'Kid(s)' is used for both cittles and children.

When someone comes of age, they are generally gifted 'season cloths' to mark the occasion. They are elaborately decorated ,traditionally embroidered by hand, small cloths used to clean up after masturbation or sex. Often they are displayed for their sentimental nature as keepsakes.