What is a "Screwbald" mutation?

Essentially, what this mutation would be is an overlay of the lion's base on top of all the markings. I often find lovely high-marked kings and lions with gorgeous bases, but the bases get buried under all the markings. This mutation would allow for both the base and the markings to be displayed equally. Plus, it would add a really fun new design element that players could try to breed for and work into their lion's designs!

For these examples, I'm using patterns that already exist within Lioden for patches and piebalds, but there could be the possibility that this mutation would get its own unique patterns.

Click on the spoilers to see all of the different designs!

Orchid + Cracked Piebald

Sunrise + Harlequin Piebald

Ducat + Dense Patches

Interstellar + Rift Patches

Ogdoad + Natural Piebald

Arabica + Ticked Piebald

Gilded + Uneven Patches (design made by Katie #106445)

Of course, taste is subjective, but I still think these look really interesting! Plus, markings can always be added to low-marked lions who'd get this mutation, and bases could always be changed if a lion with an unfavorable base gets this mutation.

Now... How would it be implemented in the game?
Originally, I thought this could be a MOD, like all other piebalds and patches. However, I think there's some fun potential here to make these mutations a bit rarer than their piebald and patches counterparts! What if, instead of being an MOD, this mutation occurs naturally when breeding together two parents that have the same kind of piebald mutation? For example, breeding a normal piebald shreds mother to a piebald shreds father has a small chance (think the same odds of breeding a combo or passing a piebald mutation) to come out as an "inverse" shreds piebald, like the example ones I've posted above!

This method would probably suit this mutation the best if new patterns do not get made for this mutation, as the game developers and artists would not have to do as much work to bring this mutation to life. All of the art assets already exist and no new bases or patterns would need to be created, but this new mutation type would add so many more creative opportunities! All I did to make these images was to place a clipping mask of the "inverse" base color on top of a piebald pattern image. Then, I would overlay it on top of the lion's image that I was testing. Hell, I could probably do this for all of the bases and piebald patterns in a day or two if the Lioden teams want.

Now, if new patterns are to be created for this mutation, I could see a couple of other ways this mutation could be added to the game. The first, of course, would be a MOD. If that were the case, this mutation would probably operate the same as piebalds and patches where there is a small chance of the mutation passing naturally as well. However, if this mutation spawns into the game in a different way (like I mentioned in my other example), I think that it shouldn't be so easy to pass. If it can only be bred by breeding parents of the same piebald mutation to each other, maybe this mutation can only be passed if the "inverse" piebald parent breeds to another "inverse" piebald parent. This would heighten the rarity of such a mutation!

I'm also inspired by the mukombero item, and feel as though this mutation could originate in a similar way! There could be a food item like a "void mouse" or "dark matter jelly" would be given to either parent before breeding. Then, the item would "eat away" at the cub's markings, leaving them with parts of their base exposed, and creating this mutation! Of course, either this item would have to be VERY hard to obtain if it guaranteed a mutation, or it would have to have a low chance of actually succeeding in creating the mutation. Or, it could only be used on piebald lions- regular lions wouldn't be able to create this mutation.

There are always traditional ways of passing mutations that could be used for this mutation as well. This could just be another visible mutation that is only passed by females who have had a lion scrote, or passing just the same as the existing piebald and patches mutations. But, I think this mutation has the potential to bring some real excitement and value to the game if it was a bit harder to get than your average piebald!

As for a name for this mutation, I think it should keep the same naming convention as piebalds and patches. The names could be something like "Inverse (Panda)", "Anti (Mosaic)", or "Negative (name of pattern here)". Words like "inverse", "ghost", "negative", "inverted" and "anti" all feel like appropriate titles for this mutation. But, if we are to take a name from nature, maybe something like "calico", "marled" or "skewbald" would be more appropriate! "Skewbald" sounds a lot like "screwbald" which is a word I made up that I think kind of fits this mutation kind of well!

Let me know what you think of this idea. I love having a good discussion about mutation ideas! And, if you have any ideas for what this type of mutation could be called, please feel free to drop a comment :3

EDIT: User #391969 reached out to me with their own art they did of this mutation, which I've included below!


EDIT 9/28/24: Edited to redo images deleted due to discord, and adding some new fun examples!
Snowflake x Harlequin


Prune x Torn


Desolate x Overo


Qahir x Shreds