#askaquarian

[loominggaia]

Since aquarians are wet most of the time, I wonder if they get stuck if they touch a cold pole or other metal thing in winter like with people's tongues?

This is a real problem that they have to watch out for!

In fact, sirenes, cecaelia, and other Aquarian peoples have been hate-crimed by Terrians who drag them out of the water and stick them to frozen surfaces. This can (and has) led to serious injury.

Other times it's simply an accident. Young Aquarians who venture on land may not know better, and get themselves stuck to things in cold weather. I imagine this is a lesson every Aquarian learns early on...but some of them learn it the hard way.

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[loominggaia]

¿Que pasa si una mermaid nace con un defecto que no le permite nadar? Osea, que su cola no funciona. Lo pregunto porque empecé a leer "lecciones de natación para una sirena"

(Translated by Google Translator)

What happens if a mermaid is born with a defect that prevents her from swimming? In other words, her tail doesn't work. I'm asking because I started reading "Swimming Lessons for a Mermaid."

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Interesting question! It is known that if a mermaid's legs are damaged in her terrestrial form, then her tail will also be damaged in her aquatic form. But what if she was born with some kind of defect that prevented her from swimming altogether?

There are different possibilities:

1 ) Prosthetics and bionics. An artificial tail that slips on and off might give her better mobility.

2 ) Service animal. She might rely on an animal, like a seal or dolphin, to pull her around in the water.

3 ) Technology. If the mermaid lives in an industrial kingdom like Zareen Empire, she can use technology like a sea scooter to propel herself. Something like this:

All of these things apply to sirenes as well!

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[loominggaia]

Cosas:

Ideas de cultura de cecaelias de aguas profundas: la magia de luz para calentarse. Algo que mucho gente no piensa, es que al vivir en aguas profundas donde no llega la luz del sol, ahí hace tanto frío que se te congelan hasta los mocos. Para conservar el calor las cecaelias de aguas profundas podrían usar hechizos de luz para calentar lugares

Fauna marina de halostria: relacionado a lo anterior, es muy posible que la fauna marina de halostria sea especialmente grande. Esto debido a que es más o menos como la Antártida, dónde varias condiciones han dado como resultado un gigantismo abisal, Pero en la superficie (no se si se entendió)

(Translated with Google Translator)

Things: Deep-sea cecaelia culture ideas: light magic for warmth. Something many people don't think about is that living in deep waters where sunlight doesn't reach, it's so cold that even your snot freezes. To conserve heat, deep-sea cecaelias could use light spells to warm places. Halostrian marine fauna: Related to the above, it's quite possible that Halostrian marine fauna is especially large. This is because it's more or less like Antarctica, where various conditions have resulted in abyssal gigantism. But on the surface (I don't know if that's clear)

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I think you're onto something with both of these!

Mr. Ocean used a light spell to keep Solveig warm in "Ocean Returns to the Sea". He must have learned this spell from somewhere, so I bet it's used widely among many cecaelian cultures.

Cecaelia (and all Aquarians) are very resistant to cold naturally, they actually don't get hypothermia. When they freeze, they simply enter a stasis and safely thaw out when conditions warm up. Cold temperatures do slow them down though, they get quite sluggish and disoriented in near-freezing temps.

Canonically there are orca whales swimming around Halostira, but I bet there are other, even larger creatures in those waters too. Krakens, sperm whales, and giant crabs are some of them. I'm imagining a giant species of walrus as well!

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[loominggaia]

I can't help but keep thinking about aquarian land and i can't help but think of all the live fish they'd be eating for their cuisine (there's always something about fish people eating live sushi under the sea in media that i cannot shake off lol)

I want to make an Aquarian Cuisine article, but I run into this problem where most Aquarians eat their food live and raw, so it would just be an image of a bunch of sea creatures lol.

Most oceanic Aquarians have no concept of cooking. Some of them don't even know what fire is. This concept was explored in "Ocean Returns to the Sea".

However, there are also inland Aquarians who live close to Terrian societies, and they have learned the joys of cooked food. I imagine they have developed their own cuisines, so I try to add different seafoods to the cuisine articles where it's applicable. Otherwise they just kinda eat whatever everyone else is eating.

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[loominggaia]

Would remora fish be a popular pet/ fashion among aquarians? Like sirenes having fancy remoras stick to them, showing them off like a purse dog?

That's such a cute idea! There is actually a little section about this in the hygiene article. Aquarians use these fish for various things; sometimes as a spa treatment, other times as a medical treatment for stubborn skin infections.

But I imagine in some cultures, they could also be considered a fashion statement too. Maybe there are fish-farmers who breed flashy luxury suckerfish, and it's these breeds that Aquarians like to stick to themselves and show off as a status symbol.

I'm imagining a sirene sticking one to each earlobe like earrings lmao.

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[loominggaia]

Do sirens use weell chairs to get around on land

Sometimes they do! They actually have a few different mobility options.

Riding a small beast is one of the most popular options. There are usually services near busy shorelines that offer animals for rent. These animals can be ridden by sirenes if they need to go further inland. Donkeys, ponies, large dogs, ala-beguzo, and horses are most common. Sirenes are not the only ones who rent these beasts though, sometimes Terrian tourists will rent them when their feet get tired from walking around. It's a lucrative business.

Sirenes can also buy potions of levitation to fly around the city. Now, there are some safety regulations regarding this in most places. For example, you're not allowed to levitate more than X number of feet off the ground at any time or you'll be fined by police. So while it may be tempting to soar around the rooftops, it is not permitted in most cases. Potion use is illegal or heavily restricted in some regions, so it's not always an option depending on where you are.

The price of these potions varies based on how long the effects last. 30 seconds to a few minutes is cheap. A couple hours is doable for most people. More than a day is where it gets too pricey for the average person. There is also a risk of getting a bad potion, which may give the patron a different effect entirely, not last as long as advertised, or just do nothing at all. And good luck getting a refund after you've already drank it!

Sirenes can also simply hire rickshaws/carriages/cart operators to take them inland for a fee.

No matter which option they choose, all Aquarian species must be sure to pack enough water for their trip. They dehydrate very quickly, so they have to periodically splash water onto their scales and drink as much as they can while they're out. Usually they'll wear a large canteen like a backpack and keep refilling it whenever they have the opportunity.

Alaine wears one of these in a few stories, most notably in "The Wretched Forge".

And like you mentioned, they can also use wheelchairs to get around, which they might own or rent from vendors near the shore. Depending on what kingdom they're in and how much they're willing to pay, they can get a self-propelled chair, a magic-powered chair, or a battery-powered chair. These chairs might have wheels, mechanical legs, or hovering capabilities.

I will also mention that sirenes can move around on land with just their flippers. They move with the same speed and grace as a seal on land, which isn't very fast, but if their destination isn't too far inland they'll just travel by flipper.

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[loominggaia]

Do cecaelia and sirene have surnames? Which species do and don't have surnames?

This is more of a cultural matter than a species one. The reason many cecaelia don't have surnames (or lack names entirely and just go by titles) is due to Sovereign's rapid takeover of Aquaria.

The titles-as-names practice used to be just a Tekeetian thing. Tekee is the tribe that Sovereign and Mr. Ocean were born into. But when Sovereign took the crown, he began aggressively expanding Tekee by raiding all the smaller tribes around it, either killing them for forcing them to assimilate into his culture.

Sovereign managed to take over almost the entire sea (Aquaria) within a few centuries, so this titles-as-names practice became common for cecaelia worldwide.

However, it didn't reach everyone. Cecaelia living in the other Great Kingdoms typically have more "normal" names--meaning a first and last names. Many are immigrants from Aquaria who bring their titles-as-names with them, but upon immigration, they adopt a legal first and last name.

This naming practice was never forced upon sirenes because Sovereign believes sirenes are lesser beings than cecaelia. He has a lot of pride in his Tekeetian heritage and doesn't believe sirenes should appropriate his culture (but he is perfectly happy to treat them like second class citizens...)

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[loominggaia]

What do sirenes do during a hurricane/tsunami? What happens to their nursuries?

Sirenes are an Aquarian species that spends most of their time on or near shorelines, since their young can't breathe underwater. The young live in nursery pools on the beach, which are tended by their parents. Childless sirenes typically live further off-shore and spend more time in the water.

Most larger sirene settlements have built infrastructure to protect them from natural disasters. Dikes, flood walls, magic barriers, etc. However, freak accidents do happen sometimes and the infrastructure may fail.

In these cases, the sirenes are usually warned in advance that big waves are coming. They have a few choices depending on the situation:

A) Go deeper into the water, where there is less turbulence, and stay there until the disaster has passed. Childless sirenes usually take this route.

B) Go further inland. Sirenes with children who don't yet have gills must somehow get these children further inland. Since sirenes don't have legs, this can be nearly impossible without help from land-dwelling species. Most Great Kingdom governments are pretty good about protecting their sirene populations by rushing soldiers to the beaches before the disaster hits. Sirene parents surrender their young to the soldiers, and the soldiers take them to a safe location like a hospital or temporary camp until the disaster has passed. Afterwards the children are returned to their parents.

C) Alternatively to B, many sirene parents are taken inland with their children to ensure they have a caretaker, because not all cities have enough resources to care for them properly--especially if the disaster if affecting a large area. Those soldiers and medical staff will be stretched too thin in these cases. The parents and their children are both returned to the beach after the disaster has passed.

D) Abandon their young. Isolated or neglected sirene settlements may not receive help from land-dwelling communities, and this puts them in a heart-wrenching situation when disaster strikes. All they can do is tuck their young away somewhere on shore and hope they’re still there when things calm down. Thankfully, many of these communities have developed magic spells to combat this. Most commonly, the young are kept in magic air bubbles which are taken deep underwater with the parents until the disaster passes. There is only so much oxygen in these bubbles though, and this solution may fail if the disaster sticks around for too long.

Tragically, many sirenes still get killed or maimed in these freak events. High winds and turbulent waters can fling them into rocks, those who flee deeper into the water can be eaten by predators, and despite the kingdoms' best efforts, sometimes their young get lost in the chaos of the surrendering process.

On a positive note, sirene civilizations are very good at bouncing back after disasters like these. This is because sirenes don't really need shelter. All but the very youngest can survive without a roof over their heads just fine. They are resistant to very cold temperatures and obviously the rain is no bother to them.

While land-dwelling communities are scavenging scraps to put their houses back together, the sirenes just rebuild their community nursery pools and call it a day. They're a highly resilient species in these situations.

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