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2020-08-30
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2024-05-29
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Nautolan Headcanon & Worldbuilding

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Summary:

My Nautolan headcanon has reached the point of "yep, probably should write this down for folks." As I add things I'll be popping it in here, because I think worldbuilding is fascinating.

Notes:

So many, many thanks to TessaDoesThings, who is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this headcanon!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Soft Wars canon!

-Kit has two rows of teeth; the inner row is very sharp and retractable.

-The lek-wraps he wears are covering vibration sensors.

-His arms are very photosensitive, hence glove-sleeves.

 

Canon/Legends:

Nautolan Wookiepedia entry ← I am building off of anything and everything the SW universe sees fit to give me. It is a truly paltry sum.

 

My headcanon & worldbuilding

Nautolani are amphibious. They can breathe in any sort of oxygenated water regardless of salinity, as we’ve seen Kit function in just about anything. However, until they are about four years old, a Nautolan’s gills are too fragile to change salinity rapidly. They can always be put in fresh water but then have to be slowly acclimated to a body of salt water, over a period of weeks to months depending on age and how salty the water is. Glee Anselm is saltier than Concord Dawn because my own plot required it. Not all semi-aquatic species in Star Wars can do this; Mon Calamari cannot breathe in fresh water and would have some difficulty in a saltwater environment with a significant difference in salinity from Mon Cala. In addition, Nautolani adults are more or less fine in dry climates (though they may not necessarily be happy about it), whereas Mon Calamari need to be in a humid environment. Nautolani infants need to be kept damp at all times and young Nautolans prefer to be underwater. The weight of their head and developing lekku is a challenge for very young ones; being able to hold up their own head takes longer for a Nautolan child than a human.

They are born as an egg- betzah- and develop into a ro’shan, which is a tadpole-like state. They are more often born as twins and triplets than as a single. At this point in their lives, they are entirely vegetarian, and are generally left alone by their parents in a specialized tank, and is more like a mammalian gestation period. Being left alone is due to how delicate a ro’shan is; their skin is very thin and their bones fragile as they develop. Handling one is only to be done in extreme circumstances. The parents monitor their development, and having siblings in the same tank is good for their development. Parents who have a single egg usually coordinate care with another parent, so they do not have ro’shan growing up alone. As a very community-oriented culture, it is not uncommon to have a communal tank containing many ro’shan agemates. Their parents can tell them apart by pheromones, so there is no risk of an accidental infant swap. The ro’shan stage lasts approximately two years and a Nautolan is considered an infant when their eyes finally open. Their body is completely developed, and at this point they can begin to transition from vegetarian to omnivore.

To make my own life easier, time spent as a ro’shan does not “count” into their age, similar to in most human cultures, where it is the date of birth that matters, rather than the date of conception (or for Nautolans, date of the egg being laid.) So the date a Nautolan opens their eyes is considered their birthday, their yom chazon or “day of sight.”

Infants are fed a paste that begins with only algae/seaweed and has animal protein gradually mixed into it. They are capable of drinking it from a bottle; as a ro’shan they suctioned algae off the surfaces around them. They are perfectly capable of safely digesting raw meat and prefer it.

Around five-six months, their teeth begin to come in, and it’s the very sharp inner row. This row remains sharp but does not become retractable until their outer row develops later. Unlike with human babies, Nautolans do not allow a baby to chew on people, nor does an infant have the instinct to chew on their own hands. They are happy to chew on absolutely anything else, so teething toys are a constant companion. At this point, they are becoming very interested in catching and eating live prey. They will usually start with smaller, slower prey, and enjoy the challenge of opening bivalves, along with the CRONCH of taking a bite out of a crustacean. They can and will eat anything they can catch. There are usually areas that are stocked with creatures young Nautolani can eat for them to practice hunting. As they grow, a young Nautolan starts chasing faster and more agile prey, and are encouraged to do so. They are kept in the safe, stocked areas until they are a few years old and more experienced, and can understand the difference between something that is safe to eat and something that isn’t, and could potentially escape a predator. Most predators on Glee Anselm will not go after an adult Nautolan but will attempt to attack a child. Children are not allowed to be out alone without at least one adult to monitor for predators. Smaller children are usually physically tethered to a parent for safety so they cannot get too far away, especially in the event of a particularly strong current or a particularly strong-willed child.

Once finished developing from a ro’shan, they have fourteen lekku-tress buds on their heads. (canon calls them tentacles but I cannot, I’m sorry. Lekku, lekku-tresses or lek-tresses is what you’re getting.) These grow throughout their life, though this development slows down dramatically upon adulthood, and are how they interact most with their environment. They hear through the vibrations around them. By age two, larger vibration sensors begin to develop, usually on each lek, which are covered with lek-wraps and only uncovered when hunting. There is usually one towards the end of each lekku, and a second that develops closer to the head upon adulthood. Lekku are roughly shoulder-length by approximately age eight as seen from pictures of Zatt, with the first sensor located a few inches up on each lekku. Zatt's Wookieepedia entry. By their late teens/early adulthood, they fall approximately mid-back, as seen from pictures of Padawan Knox. Knox's Wookiepedia entry. Knox appears to have both sets of sensors, though the placement of the wraps varies among characters.

Roughly 60% of Nautila, their spoken language, is via pheromones. They have very acute senses of smell/vibrations and can communicate very complex information this way. They consider those who cannot sense pheromones to be “pheromone-deaf” and it is not necessarily considered to be a bad thing, but it is why most also speak Basic and/or Anselmic. Pheromones are not as effective outside of the water but in close quarters it is still a viable method of communication. It is also an excellent way for Shel’ya to backsass adults who aren’t Kit, but will still get her in trouble the second he wanders in. Nautolans can still sense pheromones above water, including those of other species, and are quick studies of what those pheromones mean. “Reading a room” is very, very different, and probably a lot easier.

Spoken Nautila, along with a lot of cultural norms, are being borrowed wholesale from Hebrew. Tessa is my primary translator and we are working out the cultural aspects together to blend actual Hebrew cultural tradition into something that makes sense for a semi-aquatic species.

Why Hebrew? Tessa named Shel’ya back in the comments of chapter 1 of “We Have You, We’ll Keep You” and that got my brain whirling. I find the transliteration fascinating, as one alphabet is traded for another, and as Hebrew doesn’t actually have vowels it is very rarely written out in the Roman alphabet. I thought it was far more interesting to use an existing language that the average English speaker hasn’t seen written out, than making something up completely. Tessa seems to find it a fun challenge (she recently started a duolingo course and blames me, I am shameless though) and is enjoying doing the research involved. Or so she says.

Chapter 2: Nautolan Physiology

Chapter by

Chapter Text

Nautolan Physiology

 

Nautolans can be found all over Glee Anselm, but there are four distinct body types that have developed based on location.

 

Tropical:

 

The vast majority of Nautolani are tropical, living in the warmest waters in Glee Anselm. The ambient temperature and humidity on land is ideal for forays outside of the water. There are many cities built along the coasts to invite trade and tourism, which is by far the most common location for tourists. Tropical Nautolans are the most likely to live on land, though they require access to enough water to frequently submerge themselves.

Tropical Nautolans are brightly colored and have the widest color variation of the four, and tend to be very lean in build. They take advantage of resources on land and have a broader diet. Average adults are between 1.8-2.1 meters tall.

They live in warm, shallower waters, building their homes close to the surface within the intertidal zone and use the tides to their benefit while hunting. As a result tropical Nautolans are intolerant of the cold and don’t venture too far from the shore, remaining in waters no colder than 16 Celsius. Tropical Nautolans do not live below the photic zone, which is around 200 meters down and as far as their sun can penetrate. They can survive in deeper water on a short-term basis, usually to avoid tropical storms, but will not venture below the drop off of a continental shelf, which is around 700-1000 meters down.

I headcanon that Kit, Zatt and Knox are all tropical Nautolani, due to their coloration and in Kit and Knox’s cases, tolerance of living topside. Kit has developed tolerance to survive in all weather conditions but he reserves the right to complain the entire time.

 

Temperate:

 

Temperate Nautolans are much duller in color, primarily being darker shades of green, blue and occasionally dark red. Male Nautolani have brighter body markings than females. They average between 1.5-1.8 meters tall, and have a more compact, stockier build.

Like their tropical cousins, temperate Nautolani live only in the photic zone of the water column. They prefer to build homes deeper than the intertidal zone so their homes are not exposed to cold water brought in by the tides. During the warmest parts of summer they will venture onto land, but do not live in permanent settlements on land. Temperature Nautolans do not live on land as frequently as their tropical relatives but will live a terrestrial life if they have to, needing the same considerations while living on land. They are more tolerant to colder temperatures but still do not live below the drop off of a continental shelf. Temperate Nautolani are the most likely to live inland in lake and river systems, with many living a more nomadic life, following the seasonal migrations of preferred prey. Of the four, they are the most comfortable in both salt and freshwater and can adjust between them quickly. Nomadic groups will return to the ocean before winter and while they can survive in lakes that have frozen over, they’re not going to be happy about it. Temperate Nautolani are comfortable in water down to 10 Celsius.

 

Polar:

 

Polar Nautolans are primarily colored white, light grey, and light shades of blue to blend in with their icier environment. Unlike tropical and temperate Nautolans, their body markings tend to affect most of the entire torso with a lighter blue or grey than the rest of their body, appearing more as camouflage for their environment than the flashier markings of their counterparts. They average between 1.8-2.4 meters tall and maintain a much broader, muscular physique, as the predators that live in the polar regions are larger and more aggressive than those in warmer climes. Polar Nautolans will live offworld as well, but prefer to live on very cold planets that the others cannot tolerate for long.

Polar Nautolans also remain within the photic zone, as their coloring is only advantageous in shallower waters. They are vastly more cold tolerant, living in water as cold as 4 Celsius, which allows them to live comfortably even at the very edge of continental drop off points. All hunting is done within the photic zone, but villages are often built in the mesopelagic (“the twilight zone”) to protect themselves from predation.

 

Deep sea:

 

Deep sea Nautolans are the most specialized of the four, living in the deepest parts of the ocean, often at the bottom of marine trenches. They are the only group that live below the photic zone, preferring complete darkness. Their coloring as a result is entirely black and over time they have developed red bioluminescent markings, which provides the most success in locating prey. In addition, they are the largest of all groups due to abyssal gigantism. Rather than the 1.5-2.4 meter average height of other Nautolans, deep sea Nautolans average more than 4.5 meters, with proportional lek-tresses that assist with hunting. Deep sea Nautolans are largely blind and rely entirely on their other senses. They maintain the leanest physique of all four.

Completely opposite to all other Nautolani, deep sea Nautolans cannot tolerate depths above 4,000 meters due to the water pressure being too low. As a result, it wasn’t until modern times that deep sea Nautolans were even contacted, relegated to myth by the other three groups. With technological advances they can survive at higher depths with specialized equipment, but as they are mostly blind and depend on their lek-tresses more than any other species, they rarely venture to the surface where they are functionally blind and deaf due to being unable to expose their lek-tresses to lower pressures. Deep sea Nautolans are also uncomfortable in temperatures above 4 Celsius.

Notes:

If you have questions, please don't hesitate! I'm loving doing this!