Cusiloci (Cus ilow kai)

Crabby Sailors

The Cusiloci (sing. Cusilocus) are a crab-like race of amphibious creatures who sail the oceans of The Cluster of Qan. They usually aren’t too big on being on land, or even above water, but they do welcome “The Landlubbers” with open claws.

Basic Information

Anatomy

They have short, squat, rounded bodies with three triple-segmented, pointy legs on each side, and two double-segmented arms that end in large, pincers. Their eyes are small, beady, and on stalks and can be black, red, or purple in colour. They are covered in a tough shell. There are two pairs of gills on their bellies. Their ears are in their shoulders.

Biological Traits

Females tend to be smaller than males, but this isn’t always the case.

Genetics and Reproduction

Once a year, the females will lay two unfertilized, jelly-like eggs which the males will then find and fertilize. It is he who stays with the eggs until they hatch, usually about one month later. The children are largely capable of taking care of themselves, but the fathers still stay with them for around 30-50 years to teach them important things like how to fix the subrafts, simple math, languages, the best ways to find shiny things, and how much alcohol you can drink without passing out.

Because the breeding process is usually anonymous, most children and their father will never know who the mother was. Actually, even the mothers have no idea who their kids are as well.

The colouration of a Cusilocus has nothing to do with genetics, but instead the temperature they were kept at during incubation.

Ecology and Habitats

Cusiloci are very well adapted to life under the water, and this is where they spend most of their lives. Their anatomy doesn't seem like they’d be able to swim very well, and while that would normally be the case, they have a low-level, passive magical ability that makes them very agile and powerful swimmers.

They travel the oceans on large, flat, submersible ships known as Subrafts in groups of 3-5 craft, known as Fleets. Each Fleet has one Subraft with a visitation dome for non-aquatic guests.

Dietary Needs and Habits

They eat almost exclusively seafood, such as the Arachnofish, the Squirtster, and the Rosapod.* They will sometimes eat the few vegetables that grow in and around the ocean.

In addition to food Cusiloci also drink a lot of alcohol, which is their main reason for going above the waves, since they can’t drink it under the ocean for obvious reasons, though many that live on the visitation subrafts can still stay under in the domes. (Though seeing the water through the glass is not quite the same as having it rush around them).

Another thing is that they enjoy many baked goods that are made by the Thousand-Legged Ones, they are the ones the Cusiloci as a species are the most likely to visit because of that.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Each Fleet is lead by a Captain who lives on the visitation Subraft. All other Subrafts in the Fleet are steered by second-in-commands called Mates.

Facial characteristics

They don’t have many facial features, just their eyestalks and a small mouth.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

They live in all the oceans on the Cluster: one on Qans -2, -4, and -5 each, two on -7 and -8, three on the largest planet, Qan-0, and of course the MegaOcean of Qan-1 which takes up most of the planet’s surface.

Each ocean has 4 or 5 Fleets, except for the MegaOcean which has a grand total of 11 Fleets.

Average Intelligence

Fairly low, but some are a lot smarter than they appear to be.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Due to the structure of their eyes, Cusiloci can see pretty far distances, and have a wide range of sight. They can see much better under the water than they can above it.

They have no sense of smell.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

The only particular ”tradition” is that many of their names end and/or start with ‘arr’. The reason for this is that they like to say ‘Arr!’. The other species don’t understand why they say ‘Arr!’ so much, but since it’s not hurting anyone they don’t question it.

Major Organizations

List of some of the more famous Fleets

Qan-1 MegaOcean

• Fleet Majestica- The richest (and therefore also strongest, and most infamous) Fleet. Captain: Arrquinarr

• Fleet Flotsam and Fleet Jetsam- the Captains of these two Fleets are good friends

• Fleet Snappersnip- a fearless fleet who actively try to search for the feared Krabkin (see Myths and Legends)

• Fleet Tredecim- this Fleet has a strange cloud of bad luck that follows it (but they find this fun and not troubling)

Beauty Ideals

• Smooth, shiny shells (those who care about appearance or dating will buff them out)
• Long eyestalks
• Brighter colours
• Big claws (males)
• Smaller claws (females)

Courtship Ideals

Willing giving your shiny things to those unrelated to you is how Cusiloci confess romantic love.

Average Technological Level

• Since their claws aren’t suited to many tasks they have metal arms invented by the QuulachC’Than long ago. These arms are bolted to their shells and attached to their brains via electrodes. They are now built, maintained and set up by the Cusiloci themselves
• Their Subrafts, and the motors and diving equipment
• They have created the ‘Telecations Device’ to talk to members of other Fleets over long distances. They have never told the other species’ so everyone else thinks they have a hive mind like the Stigmatoids do.
• Visitation domes

Common Etiquette Rules

• It is considered rude to not try to steal people’s shiny things when they show them off as this is thought to mean that you don’t think their shiny thing is shiny enough, and thus not a good enough find
• Saying Arr! three times to show appreciation 

Common Dress Code

They wear big tricorn hats that buckle underneath their mouths so they can wear them under the water. Even though these hats don’t really cover anything, not wearing said hat is the equivalent of nudity, much to the confusion of other species. This is the only necessary article for them to wear.

Most of them wear belts between the arms and the legs. In these belts many wear swords usually purely as a fashion statement as they already have powerful weapon attached to their bodies.

Some of them tie ribbons around their legs and/or claws.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Their culture is based off of two things- sailing, and “the Shinies”.

They also say “Arr!’ so much it can basically be counted as part of it.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

• If two fleets on the same ocean meet unprompted they will engage in friendly non-lethal combat and a few will try to steal as much shiny things from the other fleet as they can. Those who get tapped on the shell are ‘dead’ and can no longer fight
• They go on expeditions approximately every 14 days to retrieve shiny things from the ocean bottom, which are usually chunks of glass from lava flows, minerals that come from vents, gold and crystal deposits, and bioluminescent droppings from animals

Common Myths and Legends

Cusiloci believe in gigantic subterranean creatures known as Krabkin that live under the floor of the oceans and supposedly devour everything in their paths. When other species need/want to talk to Cusiloci they will create loud noises in the water in hopes that a fleet will hear, as it will cause them to leave the water altogether in fear that a Krabkin is near.

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*Fish with spider faces, lobsters with nautilus shells, and this but like 2 feet long, respectively **Tredecim is thirteen in Latin

Alestorm song for atmosphere (too bad it says wolves and not crabs though…)

Lifespan

4000 years

Average Height

Usu. around 3 ft.

Average Weight

70 lbs

Average Length

Around 3.5 ft leg to leg

Average Physique

They’re bodies are wide, but pretty flat.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

There are 3 different types of colouration for Cusiloci, each with a snappy (no pun intended) name:

Clawmentine: Orange

Snipperblack: Black with white underbelly

Purpleclaw: Black with orange legs and purple claws (inspired by these)

Geographic Distribution

• The Cluster of Qan

Related Organizations

• Fleet Majestica