#aquan

I've had this theory/headcannon/idea for a while that, like the Seawings from wof, tritons are bioluminescent

While in bright lights, like the surface during the day, the patterns are practically invisible and don't glow at all, but during the night they seem to naturally illuminate

Of course, the trench which is the equivalent to the bottom of the ocean is much darker than simply the oversea at night, so the patterns only really glow in really really dark areas

And I know that Triton's can speak underwater as if they were above water but I imagine the further down you go the pressure (even though tritons are kinda built for that) messes with your vocal cords and the way the sound travels

So over time, tritons would learn to flash specific patterns in specific orders in order to mean certain things

Maybe if you flare out your fins and flash the patterns across them it could mean "here" or "come"

The patterns around the eyes would probably mean "see" or "watch/look"

I am a firm believer that the crown that Gil has is special to him and him only, but in the case that it isn't maybe illuminating the coral could mean "royalty" or "King/queen" or even "silence"

Though, at the same time, primordial and aquan are both languages kind of built for deep water so I feel like those would work as well

Campaign cheeb lineup

[image description: a digital illustration of seven chibis lined up together. The first is a man with olive skin and a purple mohawk, leaning on a surface with his arms crossed looking menacing. The second and third are a mecha tortoise standing over a blue haired gnome, also with olive/brown skin. The gnome is looking up at the tortoise, grinning. The third is an elf with fair skin, shoulder length brown hair, and a book in hand. The fourth is a lynx tabaxi smiling nervously with pink eyes and brown fur. The fifth is a red skinned tiefling playing a violin. He has long brown hair and yellow eyes. The final is a shark aquan who is smiling with tankards in his hands. Description end]

Bufo's spy