Marshwiggles are a fictional species from C.S. Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia" series. They are odd for a few reasons: they are the only species Lewis fully invented for this series, they're so dissimilar to anything else in folklore or fiction, they only appear in one book with only one named character, and the character in question is presented as unusual for his species, with little depiction of others of his kind to give us basis for comparison.

What can be generalized about the Marshwiggles is that they are humanoid but not human, with webbed feet like ducks' feet, a diet and cuisine involving frogs and eels, greenish-gray skin, and a generally gloomy disposition and cynical outlook. They live individually in wigwams (tent-like dwellings) spaced out very far apart from each other, as their culture values privacy.

The one named Marshwiggle, Puddleglum, differs from others of his kind in that he is considered too optimistic and cheerful by their standards. However, Puddleglum's concept of optimism includes seeing the good in the bad, but also the bad in the good, and an attitude that, if you're doomed, you may as well try anyway.

This is the overly-cheerful attitude that puts him at odds with other Marshwiggles, so much so that Puddleglum is something of an outcast among them (although some members of our system read Puddleglum as an alcoholic which may contribute to his outcast status, as well as that his alienation for being "different" while not being all that unusual in most respects reads like some queer experiences).

While one wonders what other Marshwiggles are like if Puddleglum is so dour while also being considered too optimistic, the Marshwiggles of our system do view Puddleglum as the basis for their attitude and Marshwiggle alterhumanity, although a few of them don't actively practice optimism like Puddleglum does due to more directly being depression holders.

The Narnia fandom tends to assume that the wide-brimmed pointed hat that Puddleglum wears is typical for all Marshwiggles to wear, and our Marshwiggles all wear one, too. However, ours tend to put patches and pins on them akin to a battle jacket, as basically our whole system is alt.

Some parts of the Narnia fandom are torn on whether Puddleglum's canonically implied alcoholism is common to his species or is even "actual" alcoholism at all. Some parts of our system got backlash in the 2000s for suggesting Puddleglum was an alcoholic, or that a very low level of alcohol abuse is common for Marshwiggle society. However, currently, it seems some fans may think that Marshwiggles do have a tendency towards alcoholism.

In our memories, Marshwiggles are basically all low-level alcoholics in that they tend to carry flasks of liquor with them and drink a small amount when they're stressed, and they'll also overdo it on special occasions. However, they don't tend to think of themselves as people who need to be drunk all the time or who "have a problem", and they're very insecure about how much they drink, to the point of often being hypocritical about it.

Another cultural detail about Marshwiggles that isn't canon but that our headmates remember and that some fans speculate is the role the Marshwiggles played during the supernaturally-long winter that Narnia underwent due to a magic spell. Some fans think the Marshwiggles, being based on frogs, are cold-blooded, so they hibernated. If so, the Marshwiggles would have basically slept through one of the darkest times of Narnia's history (the reign of the White Witch), but they also would have slept through the breaking of the spell and thus the return of Aslan, which was one of the most triumphant events in Narnia's history.

Our Marshwiggles remember this being true in their timeline and that this was in part what causes Marshwiggle culture to be so gloomy and pessimistic - they don't have personal cultural memory of something important and hopeful that the other Narnian species do. They also remember different Marshwiggles having different attitudes towards hibernation as a result, as their species doesn't NEED to do it, and some find it depressing due to its role in their species' history.

While Marshwiggles are described in a way that mostly compares them to frogs and somewhat ducks, our Marshwiggles display traits of a variety of marsh-dwelling or semi-aquatic species.

In addition to webbed feet, our Marshwiggles also have webbed hands. They also have fins on the outer sides of their arms and hands that help with swimming and that, culturally speaking, are usually expected to be kept pressed along the side of the body but that, in terms of Marshwiggle body language, signify happiness or comfort when they're displayed. They also squeak like river otters when they're happy.

In addition to fins and webbed hands helping Marshwiggles swim, ours also have gills on the side of their necks that help them breathe underwater. While the gills aren't necessary to breathing on land, they tend to be a major part of physical affection between Marshwiggles, as ours remember it.

Marshwiggles have concepts about physical affection that some other species or cultures might consider atypical, and their biology affects how they express that affection.

While this is not a popular headcanon by any means, our Marshwiggles remember that, in private, it's not unusual for close friends to be somewhat physically affectionate with each other if there's a reason. Kissing someone's cheek while reassuring them, for example, would not be unusual in a close friendship between two Marshwiggles, of any gender. However, they would only do this privately, and they don't really do any kind of public displays of affection at all.

Due to the existence of Marshwiggles' gills, they don't see kissing as inherently as intimate or romantic as humans usually do. Touching someone's gills, especially touching your gills to theirs, is seen the way a kiss on the mouth normally would, and rubbing your face on someone's face is equivalent to kissing someone's face.

Marshwiggles can't hold hands the way humans do because of the webbing between their fingers. However, they do sometimes sit with their gills touching, while talking together. It's basically like if you could kiss someone for a long time while carrying on a coversation with them.