Awww. ...yeah vague principle will not hold up long he's hot. Makel Alasi would be repulsed.

Then Makel Alasi is an idiot.

It's possible he's a fetishist, those exist, witness Katin, but most Amentans would be repulsed, nothing to do with how bright they are. He's probably smart, he's green.

What do the other colors mean?

Blues run and own all the everything, greens are artists and scholars, yellows are bureaucrats and programmers and clerks, greys are cops and soldiers and dancers, oranges are doctors and teachers and sex workers, purples are farmers and retail and manufacturing.

Sounds, uh, complicated and restrictive.

She is not really clear on how casteless societies might work in practice.

...well, I command the empire's armies in Lothlann and compose magic music and would be King if something happened to the King and if I had the time to take up embroidery that'd be a reasonable thing to do and it seems to work all right.

Huh. Maybe it helps that they're immortal.

I guess that helps. Humans often don't work for money after they're done with their civil service term, they just watch their kids and teach them and do home and village improvement of their own initiative and maybe maintain a small garden for the variety, and if those were all the same color then they might not mind having colors.

If they're not doing it for money it's okay.

In my brother's province everyone uses money for everything, even 'can you watch the kids this afternoon while I plant both our gardens', because he thinks that works better and did a bunch of incentive campaigns to encourage it. But it seems to mostly work fine without, in little villages anyway.

Why's he think that works better?

Getting ostracized is very bad in a gift economy and less of a big deal in a money economy. Money lets your villages grow bigger. Valinor was a gift economy. But Valinor was horrible in lots of ways, I don't think that was one especially. 

Hey, since you beat me arm wrestling can I not be chained to the wall now.

Yeah.

He can fix that.

She scoops Katin up and paces with her a little.

Something wrong?

Just used to moving around more than that.

Should we go find some prairies to run around in?

That would be pretty fun honestly.

Should I assume you have no idea how to ride a horse?

I've never even seen a horse in person.

Gosh. He picks her up.

"Eep!" She was not expecting that.