Teuunuurians

Teuunuurians evolved from Tenians, Squid-like ocean-dwellers from the planet they orbit.

## **POWER STRUCTURES**

They know, if they lost their queen, theyd fall into dissaray. she by all means is a public servant, protected by her escorts. less of armored guards with weapons, more so meat shields in case the queen tripped on a rock or chipped a nail, these guards lead the queen wherever she may need to go. In the palace, this means bringing her food, and tending to her comfort. When traveling, any passerby on the street knows immediately to part the crowd to allow passage of the queen. (maybe theres a horn alerting of her coming?) None of these courtesies are due to respect. If the queen were to die, Teuunuuria would fall into chaos. Of course she will die one day, but anticipating a natural death is less worrisome than a sudden and unexpected death. minimizing casualties and preserving the queen's life is the goal.

Some teuunuurians beleive this is becoming an unnecessary practice, a relic from a more harsh time. teuunuurians must be consistently educated enough not to require the queen anymore. the other side of this argument is without intervention from the people of teuunuuria, the queen would be free to do whatever she pleases, and is too risky to have one all knowing teuunuurian in normal society.

## **BIOLOGY**

###  **SKELETAL STRUCTURE**

teuunuurians have an unique type of endoskeleton, made of hard cartilage like a dense rubber.

their skull does not fully encase their brain, and only acts as a front plating to protect facial muscles and sensory organs.

### **FACIAL ANATOMY AND SENSORY ORGANS**

Teuunuurian Eyes are large and glossy, and usually appear light in color during the day or in bright environments. In darker settings, thd iris folds back, flipping fully inside out. The other side of the iris is dark black, allowing as much light to enter the eye as possible. this adaptation allows Teuunuurians to see in extreme darkness as well as extremely bright settings. Teuunurians do not have eyelashes.

The eyebrows appear as 6 flaps of skin above the eyes. This has descended from Tenians eyebrow tendrils, and some aquatic Teuunuurians still have long tendrils protruding from their brow. u

The Philtrum Groove is an indentation at the top of the head, sometimes extending over the brow. This spot starts at the skull's cleft and is cushioned by soft fatty tissue as it continues all the way to the prepuce at the back of the head. This has a few purposes, one is to allow comfortable movement of the tendrils; either ones own, or another teuunuurian's to rest on the philtrum. Also to guide sounds and scents to funnel to the ears and nose behind the head. This spot is packed with nerve endings and very sensitive to the touch. it is a strong contender for massages, and teuunuurians infatuated with each other may gently use their tendrils to do so. This is definitely considered an intimate body part, and often plays a large role in teuunuurian intercourse, though is certainly not considered inherently sexual in nature.

 **NERVOUS SYSTEM**

### **CIRCULATORY SYSTEM**

Teuunuurian heart has two main ventricles, which pump in alternating beats. this pumps hemolymph through the body, and between the bones.

###  **DIGESTIVE SYSTEM**

Teuunuurian use their flaky jagged teeth to crush food, and even gnaw through bones or other tough material. though their teeth crack and flake off, they grow continuously through the skull, allowing them to expend lots of force chewing without much reprocussion. in desperate retaliation against predator species, teuunuurians have been known to bite hard enough to shatter their teeth into their attackers flesh. from there, they can ensnare their attacker with their tendrils.

after swallowing, the food moves into the stomach, behind the right side of the head. after digestive enzymes break the food down, they travel through a tube down the neck, arriving at the pancreas, beneath the right shoulder, and into the intestines behind and below the heart.

 **EXCRETORY SYSTEM**

Teuunuurians have a considerably refined system to dispose of excrement; as waste enters the third intestine, the remaining nutrients are absorbed as energy. the third intestine opens into a pocket connecting to the heart. a special valve controls the dispersal of waste into the bloodstream, which is pumped evenly through the pores, and lubricates the skin of the teuunuurian. the waste stays held in place by the composition of hemolymph, and remains on the body until wiped or washed with soap or removed with chemicals. some medical practices require the skin to be dry before treatment.

As resourceful as this waste system is, anal defecation is much more common across the galaxy, and ironically has earned teuunuurians a reputation of poor hygene to many citizens of the GPC. Teuunuurians would most likely be just as repulsed by the thought of taking a number 2. Hell, even a number 4 or 5 would probably gross them out. This lack of hygene is a misconception however, as excrement is neccesary to regulate temperature and keep the skin moist and healthy. Some may assume the texture to be slimy, but in actuality, teuunuurian skin is soft and dewy, more akin to the wet nose of a terrestrial dog.

## **LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION**

### **BODY LANGUAGE**

Used more colloquially than verbal language, Teuunuurians exhibit nonverbal communication through physical behaviors. this can be separated into two categories; general body language, and tendril body language. Tendril body language tends to be more specific and descriptive to emotions, while general body language tends to be supplemental to the tendrils.

TENDRILS:

The tendrils are an incredibly complex sensory organ. describing the sensation of communication using tendrils is somewhat of an impossible task; Try describing the color red to a blind man. Tendrils have evolved specifically to touch other tendrils,

Each tendril has thousands(?) of nerve endings. Along the tendril, many individual patches of nerves correspond to specific purposes, the same way certain sections of a brain corresponds to different functions. The human brain's frontal lobe is for problem solving and emotion, the cerebellum controls motor skills. Stimulating different areas along the tendril will activate different responses.

The best way to imagine what its like to use tendrils is to imagine you are holding another person in a tight embrace. There will be an inherent understanding, different from definitive meanings of verbal communication. You feel their heartbeat. the pace of their breathing. Their hand rests on your chest, you feel the gentle pulse of blood from their wrist. A slight twitch indicates a excited nervousness. You feel the tension of their muscles, they arent fully relaxed. Your tummy gurgles. We are meant to be close with one another. And when your breathing and heart sync up, when the warmth of each other keeps you from the cold, when you match your pace walking beside someone, when you unintentionally mirror body language, you become one organism. We are meant to cooperate and understand each other.

Sit in a forest, and close your eyes. You can locate each noise, birds chirping, rustling of leaves, creaking of trees, the howl of the wind. You could point in the direction where each sound comes from. You can estimate the distance of each sound. you can feel the emotion of the sun, beaming healing light down to you. Your hair blows, but the wind is affected by your presence. It must now flow around you, with you, the energy of the environment changing to coexist with you.

You can hold another person, and feel their body as if it is your own. You can feel the world around you as if it were your own self. There is a deep intuitive understanding that can be found within us.

This is the basis of Teuunuurian's tendrils.

relaxed, draped gently down- Completely at ease. fully relaxed, and most likely resting.

wiggling back and forth, grabbing at others- excited, or feeling love. The faster the wiggle, the more excited the Teuunuurian. a few front tendrils might grab at others to bring them in to cuddle, wiggling still.

Pointed straight down- Dissapointed or sad. Even grumpy.

Poised, tips supported and lifting, twirling slightly- Alert and confident. The tendrils arent fully relaxed, but squirming at the ends in anticipation. ready to make a move.

Quickly extended and jittering- When startled suddenly, its common for the tendrils to jolt out, making the teuunuurian appear larger.

Squirming/squiggling- many teuunuurian's arms and tendrils squirm and slither when nervous, similar to human fidgeting. This is a compulsive behavior in the same way, but whereas human beings usually view fidgeting as awkward, in some instances rude, teuunuurians understand squirming as just an indicator of emotion, the same as a smile or frown implying happiness or anger. Nearly all cultures respond to squirming the same way: cuddle whoever is squirming. In larger groups, teuunuurians tend to break off into clusters, but maintain close quarters between cuddle clusters. This is a defense mechanism, which forces teuunuurians to think intentionally and work as a single unit. This is similar to yanking your friend's arm before they carelessly step into traffic.

GENERAL BODY LANGUAGE:

### **NUMERALS**

teuunuurian numerals are based on every eighth number, due to their four fingers on each hand. the numeral system comes from Tenian numerals, which use every other number, though arguably the use of evens and odds is mainly for visual clarity. Both species are fast writers and fast counters, as tendrils and fingers can be used to count.

An exception of the cuddle response is the province of New Zikzikzik. Here, most teuunuurians use a popular toy called a \_\_\_, derived from a tool northern province of Zikzikzik's tol to keep warm by pumping their tendrils, the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.

### **WRITING AND LITERATURE**

Teuunuurian books take the shape of long ribbon-like scrolls, written in their own pheromone-soaked sweat. Reading for Teuunuurians looks like a gentle tendril writhe, sliding the ribbon in and out between the base of each tendril. Sensitive nerves read the pheromones like braille. But how, you ask, do they write in their own sweat if they read with their tendrils? Surely they must sweat on the books and ruin them? Well dear reader. Just *dont* sweat on the books, you weird ass human. Is that something that happens on Earth? you guys get so sweaty you ruin your books?

Modern Teuunuurian books can be digitally aided, updating new information to the ribbon. this is used commonly for information-heavy jobs.

A network of ribbon connects the planet to a network of information accessible by all teuunuurians. this is usually found in a designated building for research purposes, though some teuunuurians may request a personal ribbon scroll for use. This request is always accepted, though is rarely necessary, usually due to geographical landmarks that cannot be moved. for example an archeologist may need to relocate a ribbon dispenser to a secondary location if information shall be transferred from the site.

## **CLOTHING**

with a slightly lower than earth gravity, and a velvet-like skin texture, teuunuurians wear loose, simple shaped clothing, usually draped across their body, as opposed to being securely fitted. it is common to keep skin mostly exposed.

they often wear ribbon-wraps on their tendrils or limbs, some may also function as books, wearing their favorite novel or current interest on their arm.

Ribbons may be a sign of a busy or working teuunuurian, chefs may keep dozens of cook-books wrapped around their tendrils. Librarians may have a specialized ribbon that informs the whereabouts of specific literature. even full networks of mile long ribbons connecting dozens of teuunuurians all at once into a mutual pool of instantly accessible information.

## RELIGION

Teuunuurians beleive in teuunuurian jesus who first wrote the catalyst books. they also believe number of tendrils correspond to parts of self, each tendril a split fragment of the mind. those born with more tendrils possess more parts to cooperate with, and potentially more insight to draw from. those with less may be more grounded and have a more integrated mind. however these tendencies can be false, and act mostly as a prediction. time will only tell how a teuunuurian's mind and system develop.

Some examples have been found in teuunuurian archeology of clusters of teuunuurian remains grouped with close proximity of each other's heads. Much time would pass and this mystery would be solved, a fossil of a cluster of 12 teuunuurians with their tendrils tangled together. with this discovery, and most examples found in one region of teuunuuria, it was safe to assume this phenomenon died out with evolution allowing their tendrils to not have this happen. especially since this phenomenon hasnt happened in recent times.