Vegimals : Biology and Culture Of Sirens !! ====================
WHOOOOOOOO THE BABIESSSSS OOOOOO!!! Fair warning, this is gonna get long, lolll (also, I am praying this doesn't flop because I worked very hard on this and am super proud of it 😅)
THE VEGIMALS' BASICS:
The Vegimals, as we all know, are funky little fish-vegetable creatures adopted and raised by (mainly) Shellington, and of which there are many. According to the Wiki, there are 16 (not including Vegi-Bot), but for the purpose of simplicity (or not knowing), most people tend to stick to the main five: Tunip, Barrot, Tominnow, Codish, and Grouber
Personally, I believe they all exist, but for continuity reasons and simplicity, as stated previously, anything canon to my AU will only include the main five.
THE VEGIMALS' BIOLOGY (MY AU):
I have always had a fascination with monsters, cryptids, and mythology, but by far, my favorite genre of mythological/folkloric creatures are sea creatures; leviathans, mermaids, and for my Octonauts AU, ✨️sirens !✨️
My vegimals are sirens (the idea came from their humming/song in the show), more specifically Abyssal Sirens, the most aggressive, territorial, and dangerous type of siren due to the harsh conditions of their home/ecosystem. Why? Because I can use it for juicy D R A M A !!
[According to the speculative biology of my AU, there are sirens born and bred for each level of depth in the sea. Epipelagic (Sunlight), Mesopelagic (Twilight), Bathypelagic (Midnight), Abyssopelagic (The Abyss), & Hadalpelagic (The Trenches). Sirens are too complex a species to live in the Hadalpelagic, and resources are too slim for even them, a highly adaptable species.]
Anywho, much of the basic design parts of their biology are in the drawings, but not how they would live in a world, so here that is ! -------------
The Vegimals are amphibious, and therefore can breathe on both land and underwater, but in a more specialized way where they have gills specifically made for each place to get their oxygen from. Because of these specialized gills, they can spend as long as they'd like on either side, as long as their primarily "made-for-salt-water" skin is moisturized. It is a part of the daily care routine that Shellington has for them --- regardless of whether or not they have a mission that day, Shellington will take the Vegimals out to swim and rejuvenate their skin/scales for at least an hour a day. Another part of this routine is a daily scrub/grooming (cleaning) of their scales, although Shellington doesn't have to do much work anymore as the Vegimals get older and learn to groom themselves . . . Except for Tominnow, she's still too small to get that much needed deep clean. Both Shellington and Codish (who I headcanon is closer to her than the other vegimals) will help her out. ☺️
[ @animalsalvationassociation ] very you core moment, lovely 💋
They (sirens) are a species built perfectly for the hunt, using their highly advanced vocal cords and a pheromone secreted during the process of "singing" to lure in their prey. The Vegimals have a natural instinct to sing/hum when "catching" food, AKA, when they are cooking/baking. The Octopod is always filled with their chipper song when the time to eat rolls around.
But cal, the vegimals aren't man-eating monsters. What's that about? 🤔
Well, according to the speculative biology of my AU, and as stated before, sirens are very adaptable creatures and can alter their own genetic makeup in a matter of weeks. This is why the vegimals do not look or act very threatening, although those basic instincts are still in their little bodies deep down. Newborn sirens are extremely clingy, as they need to learn how to live through observation. They learned to be kind and helpful from their papa, Shellington, who is their primary caretaker, and the other Octonauts --- but will always have their base instincts, that's something they can't adapt out of. They just don't pose much of an issue in their day to . . . very often. 😈
Sirens, due to their adaptability, can function in both solitude and company. Young spend around a year together, learning from their mother. The vegimals never had any need to separate after maturity (they are roughly pre-teens at this point and are of that age in the present time of my AU) so they stuck together, continuing to follow the lead of their father figure . . . Aaaaand, their leader.
Leader? Who?
Why, Tunip, of course (along with Shellington and Barnacles, but more-so Tunip)! Sirens, when grouped together, form a hive-minded semi-hierarchical social structure, where the strongest and smartest of the group will act as the "queen bee." The leader of the group will make most of the decisions concerning shelter, food, and the safety of the group, but for anything else, it is a group effort.
Sirens are an omnivores species who will eat what all that is available to them. And that means everything is on the table. Think of them as the pigs, raccoons, or even the vultures of the ocean --- they will hunt, forage, or scavenge for what they need, and with keen senses like spectacular vision, smell, hearing, and speed, they are very good at providing for themselves, once they've learned to do so (and they learn quickly, so is the way of the ocean).
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That's all I can think of concerning the speculated biology of my AU's Vegimals, I hope you enjoyed my rant, fellow Octonauts-lovers!!~
I hope to one day make a post about the more personal details of my Vegimals, like personality and character relationships, but that will have to be another because this one is already too long XD
Mentions (cool people only 😎):
[ @urautismdiagnosis ] I hope you enjoyed my rant, wisty! 💛
[ @mildy-vibing ] I hope you like it, friend 👉👈
[ @oatzimir ] hi oatzyyy!!! 💛💛💛
[ @animalsalvationassociation @hers-underwraps @snowy-yoshi @xoxotifia @anxiousstarlight @trackermycutiepatootie @traumatizedartist @batbitesthebat @cyree @4eyedloser @astro-nautic ]
Sorry to all that I mentioned if this is a bother to you, I just wanted to share my creation with people who like the stuff I like 🥺👉👈
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🦈🪸🪼🥬!!!🥬🪼🪸🦈
