Long Description This Time Kjgns - Tumblr Posts

Bubblia (& Perloa)

Directly adjoining the Storm Dimension from beneath, there appears to be a previously unknown area of air sea. The air is so thick here it acts similar to a low-density ocean.

The first species to be recorded in this new area is the Bubblia. It would appear that the plant's smaller bubbles move about the surface of its larger one.

In some specimens, these bubbles followed a strict ring pattern, gliding about the surface of the nucleus bubble as a whole with the angle of this movement changing at random intervals. Whether the bubbles move clockwise or counter-clockwise seems to be connected to the water-air currents, switching when there's a shift in the current.

In other, larger specimens, these satellite bubbles were observed to each have their own path, which like the previously documented specimens, only switched their clockwise/counter-clockwise direction when the air-water currents shifted.

The the first type of specimens have been dubbled Ringia Bubblias. These were observed to have smaller central bubbles than the larger specimens with freer satellites.

Whether Ringia Bubblias are their own separate species or merely a juvenile version of the larger specimen type is still a topic of much debate, as there has yet to be observed any juveniles behaving like the larger specimen type.

On the one hand, there has been no noticeable change in behavior pattern of the known Ringia Bubblia specimens since their initial discovery. This does not discredit the notion of a maturation event still being on the horizon for any one of them, nor does it negate the possibility that the larger specimens are genetically nonviable offshoots of the Ringia Bubblia species, as it has yet to be observed how these larger specimens reproduce.

On the other, there are many indicators that Ringia Bubblias are the descendants of the larger specimens and not the other way around. For one thing, the larger specimens show evidence of being much older than the Ringias. The large specimens often have a somewhat central position in their patch, and tend to only exist in the singular per patch. This would give credence to the idea that the Ringias are desendants.

However, it still does not explain the behavioral differences and the fact that no Ringia has been observed maturing into the larger specimen type.

One hypothesis states that the larger specimen type acts as a sort of a queen or ruler over the smaller Ringias. This would explain why there can only be one large specimen type per patch.

It is also hypothesized that each satellite bubble on the larger specimen type corresponds to the movement of a ring somewhere in the patch, but this has yet to be sufficiently backed up with evidence.

Other than these two primary specimens, there has been another feature observed in Bubblia patches, and that is the presence of one of a third type of specimen, the Perloa, in every patch.

Unlike the first two, Perloas do not appear to be too closely related to either specimen type. They grow an opaquer, solider sphere in lieu of bubble nucleus and appear to maintain petal-like bracts even after fruiting. No external flowers were observed in either of the two Bubblia specimen types, and the primary bubble in each one seemed to form almost in place of sepals just below the base of flowers. Bubblias are thought to be related to Aquabulla genus by various points of evidence, and it is currently hypothesized that Perloas may be a hybird of the Perloa Alnia and Yura Aquabulla based on its appearance. However, this is at best speculation, and it is not yet clear if there really is a direct connection between the two species, or if they merely bear a resemblance to both and have a more indirect connection to the Aquabullas, much less the Perloa Alnias.

The fruit of the Perloa is not thought to be edible, but from their shiny appearance, it is thought they could become a collector's item in the future. This difference in taste is sometimes brought up as an argument against their being closely related to the Perloa Alnia, despite them both sharing the word "Perloa" in their name.