SEALOPS
Physical
Average adult size:Average, large, very large, huge, giant, or goliath (5-11ft)
Average body type/s:Any size; more muscle/less fat
Limb length:Long
Tail:Very long (1m+), never below 4cm in thickness and often goes upwards of 10cm. No hair; they have finned tails (sometimes even dorsel fins).
Ears:Very wide and long, finned. Range from being lightly webbed to being entirely fins with almost invisible ear holes. Good hearing.
Eyesight:Ranges from 500m to 2km, so mediocre/good.
Smell:Mediocre
Taste:Excellent
Touch:Good
Skin type: Very moist/amphibious
Teeth: Combination blunt and sharp, omnivorous
Respiratory system:Lungs/skin/gills. Depends entirely on whether they're shore-dwellers, shallow-dwellers or depth-dwellers. Shore-dwellers, those who live mostly on beaches and go in the water less, have a combined lungs/gills system. Shallow-dwellers, those who spend most of their time in shallow waters and go the most between water and land, have a combined gills/skin system. Depth-dwellers, those who almost never come to shore, simply have gills.
Body temp: Lukewarm
Body hair: Sparse and thin
Keratin:Fingernails/toenails, claws
Agility:Slow on land, outstanding in water
Endurance:Some endurance; work to rest ratio is 1:2.
Strength: Mediocre/strong
Constitution:Mediocre/strong, occasional mild sickness
Lifespan:Ancient, 200+ years
Diet: Omnivore
Sleep:Moderate, 6-9 hours a night
Reproductive system:External fertilization and development (fish)
Reproductive ability:Can produce children with a few other races (aqualops, mirelops)
Additional features: Dorsel fins are usually limited to depth-dwellers. Also, a lot of sealops have purple, blue, and/or green iridescent sheens on their skin, to various extents.
Social
Average parentage/upbringing:Dual parents
Average child rate:Children uncommon, usually no more than one
Average familial bond:Extremely close and very involved with each other's lives, little boundaries
Average pathway of new adults: Travel alone but always return to family and community
Average generational tradition: Family remains mostly together with some short individual absences
Closeness of extended family: Very close, inseparable from immediate family and all live together
Family power dynamic:Everyone has equal power
Family values and traditions: Community and culture, politics, getting involved in community and worldwide initiatives; travel and individuality, nomadic lifestyle, personal discovery and development
Community values and traditions: Physical prowess and strength, output ability, expertise in trades; art and personality, social ability, performance and charisma; travel and individuality, nomadic lifestyle, personal discovery and development
Average community population:Medium, 100-200
Average community closeness:Very close, everyone knows each other by name on a personal level
Family variation within community: More variation, a few different family structures with one overarching expected structure
Community response to travelers: Very welcoming, tourism is huge and people welcome strangers into their houses, trade is intense
Home permanence:Mobile, different places every few years
Community relations: Very involved, community meetings are very regular and populous and celebrations are frequent
World relations: Very involved, attends all meetings without fail, goes to every single celebration.
Naming conventions: Two to three word names, vowel heavy, temporary and changes at different stages. Their last name is very important to them (usually connected to their family) and in official or serious situations they'll be referred to by their full name. Their first name is chosen by their parents at birth, but typically changes over time into whatever the sealop feels comfortable with. Some sealops never settle on a first name.
Reproduction: All pleasure, no business; sex is a leisure activity and children are just a byproduct
Drugs/alcohol: Little to heavy usage, can be problematic.
Religious groups: One major religion with allowance for others. Sealops worship the Six Kings, typically depicted as six kinds of whale-like creatures. Each King has no name and is simply referred to by its number. The First King, a blue whale, represents and reigns over the ocean at large, controlling the tides and every creature in it. The Second King, an orca, represents and reigns over hunting, sport, and physical power. The Third King, a beluga whale, represents music, art, and communication. The Fourth King, a humpback whale, represents time, memory and the future. The Fifth King, a great squid, represents gathering, trade, and cultural sharing. The Sixth King, a gargantuan yeti crab, represents discipline, justice and humility.
Religious importance in culture: Moderate importance; essential to the culture but not something people constantly obsess over.
Religious practice in community: Collective and usually practiced exclusively in large groups, though of course personal practice and belief is normal. Offerings of foods and goods that each king likes will be made to each of the six kings each month on the arrival of the new moon, to thank them for their guidance.
Environment
Main habitat:Ocean, shore
Secondary habitats: Swamp, wetland; river, lake; deep ocean
General: There are gigantic settlements made up of hundreds of small communities along every shore, shallow and depth to be found on the coast of the mainland.
Fauna: Saltwater crustaceans, saltwater crocodiles, various fish, dolphins, whales, sharks
Flora: Shrubbery, seaweed, anemone, coral, underwater plants
Daily Life
Favourite food styles: Salty and sweet, both preferred to be very intense
Favourite meal types:Protein-based, oceanic, raw/fresh. Most of what a sealop eats is what's immediately available to them, and they greatly enjoy raw seafood and plants, though they'll often ferment or preserve their food in order to flavour it better.
Food sensitivity: Reasonably strong constitution, can eat some things that most other lops can't
Housing materials: Huts and earthen shelters made out of bone, wood, seaweed, anything that they can get their hands on that's in the immediate area. They are inspired by rococo architecture, so typically a sealop's home will be decorated and built in a very ornamental, theatrical fashion with lots of colour and detail that can be almost overwhelming to look at.
Agriculture:Equal architecture and trade
Main trades:Meat and animal-based food items; fabric and dyes; carved wood and rock items; clay pottery and items; raw materials; musical instruments and manuscripts; clothing and accessories; reproductive paraphernalia; sports equipment; sweets and treats; personal grooming services; charmed and cursed items
Trade is very frequent, and sealops tend to be the ones to go for if you want fantastic ornaments, clothing, personal grooming equipment/services, and anything else in the realm of beauty.
Most sought after items include hygeine and perfume items, art and pictures, decorative items from different cultures, and metal items.
Clothing tendency: Little to no rules, depending on the community and how frequent guests are.
Clothing styles:A great mixture of styles; the main layer of clothing in terms of their environment is typically on the skintight side to allow for the best movement underwater. However, sealops are very decorative, so they like to wear loose to moderate clothing in layered styles usually over a tighter base clothing item.
Their skintight layer is typically made of tightly woven, treated blends of seaweed and crushed coral that have been loomed into almost impossibly thin strands that are then turned into fabric. Outer, more decorative layers are made typically of a thin, often sheer fabric that consists of heavily treated fish scales that are ground down into a dusty texture, that is then turned into a very soft and light fabric that does not become waterlogged and moves easily and lightly with the body underwater, as well as falling beautifully on the shore and retaining almost no water.
Accessories: Constant and either decorative or religious, often a mixture of both. Sealops will wear piercings, jewelry and bracelets in places that they typically feel represent the king they feel most served by. Tattoos are also extremely common.
Popular arts: Dance, theatre, magic. The use of magic in performance is common in sealop culture, and typically performances are centered around physical activity and prowess, marveling at the strength and curiosity with which a sealop moves and dances. Magic involvement is typically more of an accessory to these.
Favoured leisure activities: Field, court, and match based water sports; musicals, plays, theatre; dance, acrobatics, body performance; crafting pots and ornaments; beauty, personal grooming; travel, sharing culture, adventure; drugs and alcohol; social events, parties; magic and charms; gadgets, toys and games.
Curation:The clothing and ornaments sealops make are incredibly popular especially in communities surrounding sealop settlements, and if you want to get dolled up, you typically want a sealop to do it for you.