The Xenobook, Alien Catalog
Aquarials
Humans
Podrid
Aquarials
Aquarials are a amphibious humanoid race from a planet that's covered 90% in water and home to a large number of aquatic based species that live in coral reefs or cave systems. To adapt to this environment the Aquarial race comes in 3 primary variants including a few off shoots, these primary three being the Paradise Aquarial, the Mudfish Aquarial also sometimes referred to as the river Aquarial, and the Deep Sea Aquarial. All three have the defining traits of strong core muscle strength for incredible control of their ability to swim, large sections of nerve endings in their bodies to assist in sensing changes in water, triangular pointed teeth that can be retracted into their gums when not in use, black sclera in their eyes with varying hues of irises, two large slits on their stomachs that serve as gills, tails that sprout from their back though it should be noted that where and the type of tail varies between the three primary species, webbed hands with only four fingers missing their ring fingers, small tympanum ear canals on the sides of their heads, long thin tongues for coiling around fish at high speeds, and appendages that sprout from their forehead and hang down that sense air flow or water current. Their skin is very sensitive where not scaled, and these areas may include their back under their tails, their inner thighs, stomachs, chests, inner neck, face, under arms, back of the arms, most of the hands, and bottom of their feet. (if you have trouble picturing that just imagine where your body hair would typically grow with a few differences) All Aquarials have a tendency to be slimy when wet due to their need to stay moist to a certain extent to avoid drying out their fins. Though the paradise variant is the only variant that needs to do so desperately to avoid cracking their long elegant and delicate fins.
Their bodily structure is rather humanoid with similar body shapes and reproductive organ structures, though their inner structure is vastly different with two large bone-y plates where we would normally have our rib cage, smaller digestive tracts that process much faster, and two breathing organs capable of processing oxygen from water and air depending on what environment they currently are on, but to accommodate the room for these organs their lung capacity is smaller than the average human's resulting in shorter breaths. Male and females aren't too different in this species similarly to how male and females in human biology aren't too different from each other in terms of drastic changes except for the obvious reproductive changes, though females do tend to be thinner and more vibrantly colored than males likely due to their rapid fat burning to provide for a constant forming of frog like eggs they use for reproduction. The female Aquarial lays her eggs once every two weeks whether they are fertilized or not, but their birthing process is far less painful on them since these eggs are only a few centimeters large and rather soft. Due to the speed they can reproduce and the danger of their enviroments on their home planet Aquarial parents are not present for their child's growth and development relying instead on heavily ingrained instincts to get them through their first year or so of infancy, though at the age of 3 or so they are usually adopted by older couples that teach them more about Aquarial society. This kind of parental detachment in the mating process and the parental stage lead to a very different attitude in Aquarial society about relationships, making loyalty between lovers a very special bond for them.
The Paradise Aquarial is a tropical based variant with much more thin and flowing fins that focus less on swimming but rather more on disrupting water currents. These are considered the prettier of the three primary variants as they often look rather elegant and flashy than the others. Their tails aren't bone based like the others and instead sprout from their lower back and trail behind them similar to a robe, with similarly textured fins from their heads and forearms. These Auarials are popular in pop culture due to their smoother skin areas and soft tropical colors. Royal purple is a rather uncommon color for their scales but when it appears many Aquarials find it to be gorgeous similar to how much of human society thinks blonde is a beautiful hair color, but always their scales transition between similar hues as their scales travel down their bodies. Examples of colors that transition this way could be ooo, ooo, ooo, or even ooo and many many more. These Aquarials prefer warmer temperatures, and hate to dive below 200 meters though they could go deeper.
Deep Sea Aquarials are just as they sound, a deep sea variant that thrives in environments below 200 meters in sea depth. Due to the low light of their ecosystems they have evolved to have reflective portions of their eyes similar to cats that allow them to have low light vision. They aren't abyssal dwelling creatures so they can't see in pitch black or stand high pressures for extended periods. Their scales usually only come in one or two shades of color and they're typically darker hues of blue or purple such as o and o. Their tails sprout from their upper backs right below the shoulder blades, are bone structure based and supported by small amounts of muscle between flexible cartilage allowing it to move flexibly from side to side, but not very well at all up or down, resulting in many DS Aquarials preferring to keep them coiled around one of their legs until needed. Their tails are thin and have crevices where their thighs can lay to make one large tail like propellant, keeping all their more sensitive skinned areas of their thighs and tail hidden from the water at high speeds. Their head fins have more spines than most Aquarials and this is to serve as a sort of steering device when swimming, though these spines are often flexible enough to keep the hair like illusion these fins have. Due to their high pressured life style, DS Aquarials tend to have higher density bone structures, making them incredibly heavy compared to their fellow variants.
Mudfish or River Aquarials are rather unique, the lowest water level dwelling variant as well as the most differentiated of the three. These Aquarials typically only come in shades of brown and grey, and have very fine scales that are softer to the touch similar to silk. Due to this drastic change of appearance, many people don't often even notice they have scales let alone have the ability to differentiate where their skin ends and their scales begin. Out of the three, these Aquarials are more inclined to stay on land longer than the others and don't have to get back into the water as often, and because of this their lungs are at least 20% larger than the other variants. Like their name suggests, these Aquarials prefer river ecosystems and fresh water than saltwater, in fact they can hardly stand salt water. They like muddy waters and will often cover themselves in watery mud to maintain body heat in colder weather that affects their water temperature. They cannot dive deeper than 100 meters or they will suffer very painful migraines and hairline fractures in their bones past 200 meters. If they travel deeper than 250 meters the pressure WILL kill them. However to make up for this they are known to have tremendously good reflexes, the ability to stay very very still for long periods of time, and a very minimal camouflaging ability, allowing them to become masters of blending in. Their tails are actual wide rather than long and sprout from their lower back, some speculate that it could be for kicking up mud to escape danger, some suggest it's to help regulate body temperature through sun bathing. Mudfish Aquarials have a tendency to be smaller than their sibling variants, and breed in smaller numbers since they have less predatory competition. It should be noted that they tend to stay slimier for longer than their sibling variants.
Misc notes
It's hard to classify where Aquarials fit in the scope of biological genus since they have characteristics of both amphibians and fish, but it's generally agreed upon that they are amphibian in nature, and many take offense to being called fish even considering a sort of slur at times. They all tend to love raw fish, though each variant has it's preferences. Many Aquarials have trouble keeping their vocal cords from making a purring like noise when exited or happy, though by some higher class members of the race this is considered as primitive and embarrassing to be unable to control it. Naturally they have different reactions to certain substances that could typically be considered safe to humans or dangerous to humans. Their bodies have high amounts of neon that make their inner bodies a vibrant blue, pink, or orange color. Many Aquarials prefer not to wear clothes at all since it chafes against their scales, but due to societal standards they try to keep their bodes covered to some extent, females even going as far to cover their chests even though they don't serve the same purpose as human mammary glands, even going as far to call it odd. However they almost never have the tolerance to wear confining clothes that cover large amounts of their bodies like tight jeans or sweaters, and absolutely avoiding covering their gills as it's highly uncomfortable. Their tails also get in the way of fashion, so with Aquarials the less they wear the more comfortable they'll be as long as it's not too cold out. Their moist nature makes cold weather absolute hell for them, and they will occasionally bring out plastic heating coats in case of emergencies like snow or someone turning the air conditioning on too low.
Their bodily structure is rather humanoid with similar body shapes and reproductive organ structures, though their inner structure is vastly different with two large bone-y plates where we would normally have our rib cage, smaller digestive tracts that process much faster, and two breathing organs capable of processing oxygen from water and air depending on what environment they currently are on, but to accommodate the room for these organs their lung capacity is smaller than the average human's resulting in shorter breaths. Male and females aren't too different in this species similarly to how male and females in human biology aren't too different from each other in terms of drastic changes except for the obvious reproductive changes, though females do tend to be thinner and more vibrantly colored than males likely due to their rapid fat burning to provide for a constant forming of frog like eggs they use for reproduction. The female Aquarial lays her eggs once every two weeks whether they are fertilized or not, but their birthing process is far less painful on them since these eggs are only a few centimeters large and rather soft. Due to the speed they can reproduce and the danger of their enviroments on their home planet Aquarial parents are not present for their child's growth and development relying instead on heavily ingrained instincts to get them through their first year or so of infancy, though at the age of 3 or so they are usually adopted by older couples that teach them more about Aquarial society. This kind of parental detachment in the mating process and the parental stage lead to a very different attitude in Aquarial society about relationships, making loyalty between lovers a very special bond for them.
The Paradise Aquarial is a tropical based variant with much more thin and flowing fins that focus less on swimming but rather more on disrupting water currents. These are considered the prettier of the three primary variants as they often look rather elegant and flashy than the others. Their tails aren't bone based like the others and instead sprout from their lower back and trail behind them similar to a robe, with similarly textured fins from their heads and forearms. These Auarials are popular in pop culture due to their smoother skin areas and soft tropical colors. Royal purple is a rather uncommon color for their scales but when it appears many Aquarials find it to be gorgeous similar to how much of human society thinks blonde is a beautiful hair color, but always their scales transition between similar hues as their scales travel down their bodies. Examples of colors that transition this way could be ooo, ooo, ooo, or even ooo and many many more. These Aquarials prefer warmer temperatures, and hate to dive below 200 meters though they could go deeper.
Deep Sea Aquarials are just as they sound, a deep sea variant that thrives in environments below 200 meters in sea depth. Due to the low light of their ecosystems they have evolved to have reflective portions of their eyes similar to cats that allow them to have low light vision. They aren't abyssal dwelling creatures so they can't see in pitch black or stand high pressures for extended periods. Their scales usually only come in one or two shades of color and they're typically darker hues of blue or purple such as o and o. Their tails sprout from their upper backs right below the shoulder blades, are bone structure based and supported by small amounts of muscle between flexible cartilage allowing it to move flexibly from side to side, but not very well at all up or down, resulting in many DS Aquarials preferring to keep them coiled around one of their legs until needed. Their tails are thin and have crevices where their thighs can lay to make one large tail like propellant, keeping all their more sensitive skinned areas of their thighs and tail hidden from the water at high speeds. Their head fins have more spines than most Aquarials and this is to serve as a sort of steering device when swimming, though these spines are often flexible enough to keep the hair like illusion these fins have. Due to their high pressured life style, DS Aquarials tend to have higher density bone structures, making them incredibly heavy compared to their fellow variants.
Mudfish or River Aquarials are rather unique, the lowest water level dwelling variant as well as the most differentiated of the three. These Aquarials typically only come in shades of brown and grey, and have very fine scales that are softer to the touch similar to silk. Due to this drastic change of appearance, many people don't often even notice they have scales let alone have the ability to differentiate where their skin ends and their scales begin. Out of the three, these Aquarials are more inclined to stay on land longer than the others and don't have to get back into the water as often, and because of this their lungs are at least 20% larger than the other variants. Like their name suggests, these Aquarials prefer river ecosystems and fresh water than saltwater, in fact they can hardly stand salt water. They like muddy waters and will often cover themselves in watery mud to maintain body heat in colder weather that affects their water temperature. They cannot dive deeper than 100 meters or they will suffer very painful migraines and hairline fractures in their bones past 200 meters. If they travel deeper than 250 meters the pressure WILL kill them. However to make up for this they are known to have tremendously good reflexes, the ability to stay very very still for long periods of time, and a very minimal camouflaging ability, allowing them to become masters of blending in. Their tails are actual wide rather than long and sprout from their lower back, some speculate that it could be for kicking up mud to escape danger, some suggest it's to help regulate body temperature through sun bathing. Mudfish Aquarials have a tendency to be smaller than their sibling variants, and breed in smaller numbers since they have less predatory competition. It should be noted that they tend to stay slimier for longer than their sibling variants.
Misc notes
It's hard to classify where Aquarials fit in the scope of biological genus since they have characteristics of both amphibians and fish, but it's generally agreed upon that they are amphibian in nature, and many take offense to being called fish even considering a sort of slur at times. They all tend to love raw fish, though each variant has it's preferences. Many Aquarials have trouble keeping their vocal cords from making a purring like noise when exited or happy, though by some higher class members of the race this is considered as primitive and embarrassing to be unable to control it. Naturally they have different reactions to certain substances that could typically be considered safe to humans or dangerous to humans. Their bodies have high amounts of neon that make their inner bodies a vibrant blue, pink, or orange color. Many Aquarials prefer not to wear clothes at all since it chafes against their scales, but due to societal standards they try to keep their bodes covered to some extent, females even going as far to cover their chests even though they don't serve the same purpose as human mammary glands, even going as far to call it odd. However they almost never have the tolerance to wear confining clothes that cover large amounts of their bodies like tight jeans or sweaters, and absolutely avoiding covering their gills as it's highly uncomfortable. Their tails also get in the way of fashion, so with Aquarials the less they wear the more comfortable they'll be as long as it's not too cold out. Their moist nature makes cold weather absolute hell for them, and they will occasionally bring out plastic heating coats in case of emergencies like snow or someone turning the air conditioning on too low.
Humans
Humans are the base understanding of biology for the founders of the Colony to base their research on, and are where the term humanoid come from. Founding the Colony project, they maintain a large portion of governmental regulations and orginizations. They tend to be fleshy, light weight creatures that have long thin coarse like fur called hair all over their bodies. They tend to raise their young from birth, and live for on average of 80 years or so. They come in many different pigmentation from a dark brown transitioning all the way up to a pale peach color. Not much to really say about them otherwise, but don't let them fool you, they can be cunning, resourceful, and fast if you give them the chance.
Podrid
The Podrid are short, leathery, and heavy little creatures. With terrible terrible attitudes. Their arms run the length of their whole body length, with thin fine patches of fur covering their forearms and hands. They use their arms as a sort of secondary support for their heavy weight that their legs often have trouble stabilizing. Their arms can pack quite a punch, so it's not recommended you make them angry. Their strength comes from an ecosystem that they had to adapt to lifting large rocks and shaking trees to get their meals, which was imperative to survival since they have to brace against a constant winter on their home planet with very short periods of spring and summer at a time. Their bodies hoard blubbery like deposits of fat to help keep them warm, but this has become a hindrance to them since coming to the Colony due to their more stable living conditions and lack of need to burn this fat to stay warm, making them quick to gain vast amounts of weight and slow to lose it. This leads to them getting incredibly hot very quickly as well, causing them to sweat and secrete a foul salty odor.
Their heads are made up of a large mouth, almost unnoticeable nose holes, large frog like ears on the sides of their necks, two large yellow eyes, two purple tongues surrounded by small lizard like teeth, and thick chitin plating on top of their heads that can only be speculated are use to ram predators. Their necks are short, making it hard to turn their heads when needed, and giving them a even stumpier appearance. Sleep is not very important for these creatures, only needing about 5 hours to function properly. Reproduction works very similarly to mammals we're familiar with, with their females carrying their children for 18 months rather than 9 so they can grow the fat needed to endure the weather. Otherwise, it works much the same way for them. Many people in the colony see these aliens as vulgar and disgusting, which lead to a wide spread distaste for them across the colony, but the truth is they're a kind food loving race that only grows truly bitter when treated poorly for long periods. The Colony's prejudice has killed their once vibrant sense of racial community, and they strive only to look after their own families now.
(*Bogav is a general exception to this, while there are a few out there still like him he is generally alone in his race as far as kind nature goes. Keep this in mind when approaching a Podrid.)
Their heads are made up of a large mouth, almost unnoticeable nose holes, large frog like ears on the sides of their necks, two large yellow eyes, two purple tongues surrounded by small lizard like teeth, and thick chitin plating on top of their heads that can only be speculated are use to ram predators. Their necks are short, making it hard to turn their heads when needed, and giving them a even stumpier appearance. Sleep is not very important for these creatures, only needing about 5 hours to function properly. Reproduction works very similarly to mammals we're familiar with, with their females carrying their children for 18 months rather than 9 so they can grow the fat needed to endure the weather. Otherwise, it works much the same way for them. Many people in the colony see these aliens as vulgar and disgusting, which lead to a wide spread distaste for them across the colony, but the truth is they're a kind food loving race that only grows truly bitter when treated poorly for long periods. The Colony's prejudice has killed their once vibrant sense of racial community, and they strive only to look after their own families now.
(*Bogav is a general exception to this, while there are a few out there still like him he is generally alone in his race as far as kind nature goes. Keep this in mind when approaching a Podrid.)
1x Like
