#(because i couldn't update the software straight from it for some reason? _?)

[pineapplething]

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[broken-clover]

Since I still have yet to complete the Bedman aquarium fic for Mermay (I promise I'll finish it eventually...) I'm gonna do the thing I did last time where I toss out a bunch of little random bits of lore for the fun of it and to fill the space. A chunk of it name-related specifically this time, since while in-game it's all music references it's a little less realistic here

-Sin was named by I-no, after several weeks of trying and failing to determine where he had appeared from and how nobody had found him until he was already born. In a fit of frustration, she referred to him as 'A sin against nature and a blight on my fucking existence' and that's what they decided to go with.

-Prior to that, he was given the designation 'PE-EK2.' 'PE' is a standard designation for all unnamed subjects, short for 'Piscinus Erectus,' the scientific name for mer as a species

-Millia's name is a result of a bad game of telephone between languages. The Russian lab she was raised in used numerical designations, but the staff would affectionately refer to her as 'милая' or 'Milaya,' meaning 'sweetie.' A scientist mistakenly put it down on a piece of paperwork, and the translation software transliterated it into English as 'Milaya' rather than its actual meaning, leading that office to believe that was actually her given name. Sometime afterwards, when in a verbal discussion regarding her transfer, the director misread it and further mispronounced it 'Millia,' which ended up on the official documentation for Illyria Aquarium

-As a result, trying to get any paperwork from her old facility is like pulling teeth because there's just enough differences in names for nobody to realize that they're all talking about the same octopus

-Sol's is somewhat similar to how he was named in canon. Aria and Dr. Comisky chose it to symbolize his role in the advance of scientific study, as a 'beacon of knowledge and hope for the future of research.' Asuka had suggested 'Frederick' viewing it as a more 'respectable' name, but the vote was 2-1.

-Of the three original project members, Sol was by far attached to Aria the most. After the project broke apart, Sol refused to interact with Asuka at all, and still do this day comes across as having a dislike for him.

-Fanny gave Faust his name because she's a theater nerd

-Most mer don't have surnames, it isn't as though they have similar family structures as humans do. The Valentines only share a name with Aria and Jack-O because Aria had a habit of calling them by that, initially just as a playful scolding when they misbehaved

-Chipp was originally found in a tiny riverside village by a half-blind old man, Tsuyoshi. At first mistaking Chipp for a human, he ended up taking care of him and later trying to raise him like a son. After the man's passing, other members of the village had no idea how to care for Chipp in the same way, they called the aquarium and arranged for him to be picked up

-Because of his upbringing, Chipp is one of the few mer that can read with relative fluency. He couldn't read a novel if you handed it to him, but he can read signs and the panels inside his tank

-Testament was estranged from their father for several years, being a stark pacifist while he was a decorated veteran. The two thankfully reconciled after some help from Dizzy

-Dizzy isn't actually her real name. If asked, she says it was because she was a clumsy child that always crashed into things

-Aria has been sworn to secrecy, but the real reason she's called that is because of the one time she accidentally ate half a tray of weed brownies in college thinking they were normal ones, and for the next several hours she could barely walk straight without plowing right into a wall and tripping over herself.

-Testament's name is actually Testament, at least legally. They changed it when they updated their pronouns

-Goldlewis has a mer-sona, but if you asked him, he would deny it. He has spent a significant amount of money commissioning artwork of it

-The aquarium generally tries to avoid feeding mer any kind of 'people food,' but a handful of mer have expressed a like for certain foods even though they aren't supposed to eat them.

-Nagoriyuki likes rice (nobody's sure why)

-Bedman will eat most meat, including chicken and hamburger (being raised poorly and not given an adequate diet)

-Sin, likewise, will eat basically any meat, but has shown a specific fondness for ham

-Jam once climbed out of her tank to steal Axl's lunch, and they're still not quite sure what was in it that she wanted so bad, or if she was just doing it entirely for the sake of it

-Presumably due to pica from vitamin deficiencies and blood loss, A.B.A. has eaten several coins that have fallen into her tank

-Literally nobody knows where Raven came from. I-no pretends she knows and is just hiding it but she doesn't. They don't even know if Raven is his first or last name. Nobody has any clue, and if not for how affable and accident-prone he was, it would unnerve everyone quite a lot