#ichthyotoxin

[eepernation]

HYRULE IS A MORAY EEL ITS EEL TIME EEL TIME EEL TIME

Hyrule is a moray eel! I am showing clear fish favoritism because I am about to infodump a LOT. about moray eels while explaining Hyrule's design. Everything is under the cut so that this post isn't 10000 pages long ASHDHASD

Hyrule is specifically based on Gymnothorax monochrous, the Drab moray eel (I added a picture at the very bottom of this post)! He tends to blend in very easily with the group, and not draw a lot of attention from strangers. He is very plain-looking, but being a humble traveler, he doesn't mind it at all. He actually rather prefers not being the center of attention.

Yesterday I hinted at Hyrule's fish species having some special quality to his blood. Congratulations! It's poison! Moray eels carry ichthyotoxins in their blood, which is a substance that can be rather dangerous and potentially lethal in large enough quantities. Case in point, Hyrule is still very much terrified of bleeding! The angst potential continues!/lh

He still has his healing magic, of course! This creates a nice juxtaposition. Hyrule is the resident medic, but also someone who could easily accidentally poison someone if he isn't careful.

Yes, Hyrule has two sets of jaws. Moray eels have an entire second set of jaws. These are called pharyngeal jaws! They sit in the back of the throat and can extend forwards to grab at things. You know, if you wanna be extra-bitey! Hyrule uses them to freak the rest of the chain out LMAO

The little dots on Hyrule's face, right on the bridge of his nose? Those are not piercings. Those are his nares (aka fish nostrils)! If you look at any picture of a moray eel, you will see that it has little horn-looking protrusions on its snout. Since fish have gills, they don't need noses to breathe, so they need an alternative way to pick up chemical sensory information. All fish have nares, but since moray eels have particularly bad eyesight, they have to rely more on their sense of smell to catch prey, so their nares are more pronounced. I wanted to carry that aspect over to Hyrule's design!

Hyrule has bad eyesight and depends more on his sense of smell than the rest of the chain. He might not be as good at navigating the open ocean, but put him in a cave or somewhere with low visibility and he is a WHIZ at getting around while the rest of the chain fumbles around in the darkness. Hyrule is also exceptionally perceptive of danger and is usually among the first people to notify the group when any sort of enemy is nearby.

He's one of the only members of the chain who actually wears clothing. He likes the color green because not only is it pretty, but it helps him blend in even more with the seaweed and rocks. Also, since I took Legend's hat away from him, I gave it to Hyrule instead! Hyrule and Minish bond over having cool green hats.

FINALLY!!! Here is a picture of the fish I based him on- the Drab moray eel! AKA brown moray, monochrome moray, or plain moray eel. Contrary to its name, I think this fish is actually very pretty. What beautiful shades of brown! I will be taking NO moray eel slander in this household/lh

[merakiui]

saw your answer to previous anon talking about how mers usually exhibit signs they're in love or when they want someone and that got me thinking... do you think because the octatrio are, well, merpeople, they would be more inclined towards courting rituals or traditions that are common in mer culture but absent in humans? since stuff like mating dances or colorful displays (iirc correctly, male cephalapods flash different colours and textures across their bodies when trying to attract a mate) are pretty much a staple in the animal world, I feel like there could be something akin to that for mers too. anything that would hint at their non-human-ness makes me crazy

Yes!! Azul has probably researched human courtship and how humans show affection (both platonically and romantically) so that he can better understand human society and all of those curious cues humans give when they’re attracted to someone. Although I like to think that even in human form there are little details about him and the twins that are just so very clearly not human. Like Azul’s horizontal pupils or his blue blood (and blue blush!!!) or the twins and their pharyngeal jaws or (very obviously) their sharp, serrated teeth or even the fact that their blood has ichthyotoxins, which can be harmful if you come into contact with it. >:)

I love the idea of the trio often forgetting about how humans date because they’ve never really navigated love on the surface before. Azul’s so used to hearing the stories of female octo-mers cannibalizing males after copulation and that’s enough to instill plenty of caution when it comes to romantic and sexual attractions. No, Azul, your darling is not going to kill and eat you if the two of you get nasty in bed. As for the twins, you’ll have to explain to them that yawning so frequently (or opening and closing your mouth when you’re speechless) isn’t an invitation to mate. When the trio learn that relationships on the surface are just as complex as in the sea, they’re very intrigued and curious. Won’t you teach them more? They’re all hands-on learners, by the way. :)

[mtariqniaz]

SERUM ANGUILLAE -Eel Serum SERUM ANGUILLAE Eel Serum (SERUM ANGUILLAR ICHTHYOTOXIN) The serum of the eel has a toxic action on the blood, rapidly destroying its globules.

[mtariqniaz]

SERUM ANGUILLAE, Eel Serum SERUM ANGUILLAE Eel Serum (SERUM ANGUILLAR ICHTHYOTOXIN) The serum of the eel has a toxic action on the blood, rapidly destroying its globules.