#twstfacts

Azul has possibly never mentioned his biological father, talking only about his stepfather, his mother’s second husband:

“He’s a lawyer, as it happens. They got acquainted over the course of my mother’s divorce proceedings…The man is softhearted and sincere, but I can assure you that professionally speaking, he is NOBODY’S fool. He often shares his insights about contracts and the law with me. He and my mother are quite the happy couple, to boot. I admire him greatly.”

After Jade and Floyd become violent inside of the dream-version of La Grotta in Book 7 Azul tells them that “property damage is an actionable offense! I’ll sue!,” possibly influence from his stepfather, whom he refers to as “papa” in his dream.

Azul says that everyone in his family is a mage and his grandmother is “a downright exceptional one:” And so generous! She uses her magic to help solve the woes of her neighbors.”

Azul may have spent a lot of time with his grandmother growing up, explaining that she “babysat (him) a lot while (his) mother was working” and she taught him the basics of magic “…as well as a great many other things.”

Azul explains, “She’s very kind—almost too much. Me coming home from school always seemed like it was the highlight of her day. She’d have a whole table loaded with a variety of snacks and drinks for me…” and that he was spoiled rotten, but also, “once she started teaching me magic, I grew acquainted with a much stricter side of her. She’d frequently scold me when I botched basic potion mixing.”

Jack asks if being scolded so often when he was first starting out didn’t put Azul off from potion making and Azul says that it did, and “there were so many times (he) wanted to escape,” but he explains,

Azul says that he owns only one pair of glasses, though his labwear goggles are also prescription, and the glasses he wears during Glorious Masquerade were provided to him by Noble Bell College (“They knew my glasses prescription—which is a tad disconcerting, admittedly.”)

On the subject of glasses Azul says that they “pose a number of issues when it comes to physical activity,” but otherwise he considers them to be “a marvelous invention, worthy of praise.”

Trey asks if mermaids wear glasses underwater and and Azul explains, “Some do, but it’s not very common under the sea. I made a conscious decision to start wearing them when I came on land.Part of it was for vision correction, of course, but l’d also read that wearing glasses makes you appear intellectual.” (Trey: “So for you, it’s branding.”)

Azul says that his hobby is collecting coins, and he has been doing so for years. The catalyst was a time he found a coin on a seabed near a sunken ship as a child. He had assumed that it was just standard currency, but after some research he realized it was a commemorative coin, with only 100 ever minted.

He explains that, in the collectors’ market, it was a highly sought-after item that went for five thousand times its original price: “I never knew coins could be so rare. That discovery led to me collecting more of them.”

Azul says that he now has about two hundred coins in his collection in total, with his favorites framed and hung on the wall (possibly visible in his dorm room background).

We receive a lot of information about mermaids and the Coral Sea in general from Azul, who says that, while they have “quite a bit of diversity in (their) natures and backgrounds,” possibly not as much as can be found amongst Sunset Savanna’s beast people.

During the Nightmare Before Christmas event Leona, Jade and Azul discover that Sunset Savanna and the Coral Sea have a children’s song in common. Azul is surprised, saying that he had assumed that their cultures were “wildly different,” and Leona responds, “Part of the Savanna is coastal. It’d make sense if the song came from that area.”

Azul is not amused by Leona making the “sweeping generalization” that all mermaids have the same tastes (“Some merfolk can’t sing, while others just don’t like to”), but Jade responds, “Though technically speaking, Leona’s not wrong. I’ve hardly ever seen merfolk who actively dislike music,” and says, “music is the most popular form of entertainment under the sea.”

In another scene Azul explains, “In the sea we call home, music is an essential part of crafting a proper atmosphere. Whether it’s relishing the sea itself, conveying love between paramours, or enjoying an event…We all express things through the songs we sing.”

Azul says that he never used pillows in the Coral Sea, saying, “Much of the time l’d settle into the hollows of large seashells and conches. After all, soft mattresses and pillows aren’t a thing under the sea,” and comments on the convenience of public transit on land.

Azul says that children don’t use building blocks under the sea, as “wood doesn’t tend to last long underwater.” He explains, “We do have study aids made from shells, though.”

When Riddle argues that Azul is “hardly a heavy hitter himself with his magic out of the equation,” Floyd responds,

“Who said anything about Azul bein’ weak without his magic? He’s real strong. He’s slow on land and in water, and he’s got lousy athletic reflexes, but that doesn’t mean he’s weak. Azul’s bigger than me in the water, and he’s got eight huge, heavy limbs. His submission holds are bad news, and he’s got crazy grip strength. If he so much as snags you, he can snare you with your arms pinned.”

Vil says that it is “hard to imagine (Azul) having that much in the way of musculature” based upon his “lean figure,” but Floyd responds, “Octopi are, like, all muscle. Seems to me like that wouldn’t go poof just ’cause he took a potion to turn himself human.”

Azul tells Riddle directly that his arms are “quite powerful, unlike yours” in Book 6, but when given the opportunity to display this strength with the thunder spear he still struggles to wield it, even with help.

We do have examples Azul being physically strong, however: he surprises an ill-mannered reporter (“…Wh-whoa, you’re stronger than I thought!”) during Tapis Rouge, seems to help carry Ortho without complaint, and is able to physically pry the extremely strong Stitch off of the prefect.

Azul does ask for help with evacuating Vargas from the mines during Vargas Camp, but it seems less so due to needing help with his weight and more so due to the awkwardness of the confined space: “These tunnels are so narrow, I was afraid I might bump the coach’s head or feet against the rocks.”

According to Sebek, Azul held onto him with a surprisingly strong grip while dream-hopping in Book 7 (“I half feared you’d pull my arm out of its socket!”), and Azul seems to go to Silver and Sebek’s aid with both magical and physical attacks in Leona’s dream.

Azul explains that things can smell completely different under the sea and, when he first came up on land, he “had to stop and smell everything (he) saw.”

Azul wears cologne, saying it is one of his favorite parts of living on land (“So I’m a bit particular about it”).

During his fifth birthday vignette we see him choose a fragrance for the day:

“As for what fragrance to use…With today’s promotion, I’m sure I’ll find myself in the halls at some point. I should put on something subtle. All right, I’ll use this cologne with herbal notes that l’ve been fond of lately. Not too cloying or strong… And the herbal scent is a pleasant reminder that I’m on land.”

Jade, Floyd and Azul received their transmutation potions free of charge to enable them to live on land, with Jade explaining that they trained in how to walk on two feet and took classes about living above water.

Floyd explains, “It’s a boardin’ school. Lasts a whole month.”

We get more information about their transformation potions from Riddle, who explains,

“Transformation potions are special. They require government authorization and specialist supervision. Only medical mages can issue prescriptions for them. And licensed potion pharmacists are the only ones who can formulate them…Those who take them undergo major physiological changes. So treating injuries of such individuals requires more care. It’s actually illegal to practice medicine on them without a specialist license.”

When asked if his transformation potion won’t suddenly wear off n Tartarus Azul explains,

“Not so long as I take it as prescribed. It used to be that one dose would maintain a transformation for three days max…But with recent advancements in the field, transformations can last anywhere from a week to 10 days. The potions aren’t exactly tasty, so I appreciate having to take fewer doses overall.”

Azul says that Floyd will sometimes forget to take his potion and mention his ears turning into fins or his fingers growing webbing, so it seems that a mermaid neglecting their transformation potion results in their mermaid traits returning gradually rather than all at once.

Azul says that NRC’s professors have complimented him on the good manners of Octavinelle’s students, and that, when he wears his dorm uniform, his students “quickly fall in line.”

It is possible that Azul is a fairly strict housewaren, or perhaps an active and/or watchful one: when Jack discovers mislabeled tea in the lounge an Octavinelle student exclaims, “The housewarden’s gonna hang us out to dry!,” and we see Azul scolding Jade in a vignette where he says an assigned take “only requires a few seconds of thought” and “I expected much more from you” and “Please try not to waste my time.”

Trey mentions Azul making Octavinelle students haul “a ton of giant pumpkins,” and, “Talk about demanding…then again, who am I to talk?” And when an Octavinelle students drops change on the floor in Mostro Lounge another says, “You know Azul. If the money in the till is off by even a single sorcent from the sales log it’ll be nag, nag, nag. He won’t let you hear the end of it until you graduate.”

In addition to being Housewarden of Octavinelle, Azul was also the head of the tournament planning committee for the interdorm spelldrive tournament of Book 2.