Our Mermaids Are Different: Difference between revisions

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''The answers to questions I'm longing to hear;
''Does it relax you to hear the sound of the land?
''Do you, O mermaid, have slightly webbed hands?"''|'''[[Flight of the Conchords]]''', "Mermaid"}}
|'''[[Flight of the Conchords]]'''|"Mermaid"}}
 
Mermaids, or more generally merfolk, crop up quite a lot in fiction. However, [[Our Monsters Are Different|like most mythical creatures and monsters]], they are a little different every time and have different rules applied to them. Their dispositions, morality, and alliances vary depending on the author, and whether or not they can become human is a question everyone answers differently. Even their general appearance isn't fixed: see the picture.
 
'''Appearance:'''
Merfolk are generally portrayed as beautiful women (mermaids) or handsome men (mermen) with fish- or dolphin-like tails in place of legs. Sometimes they are not ''so'' pretty, but still fall under the [[Cute Monster Girl]] heading. Others are more blatantly sea-creatures with few human characteristics and are quite ugly,. forFor example, the [[Harry Potter]] merman ([[Viewer Gender Confusion|mermaid?]]) pictured. Sometimes they have features reminiscent of other, more exotic seas-creatures, and sometimes they ''are'' sea-animals that [[Humanity Ensues|become human-like]] under certain circumstances.
 
Some joke that merfolk have the fish half on top instead of on the bottom in order to resolve "the [[Mermaid Problem]]". Mermaids who are more human-looking (and modest) tend to wear [[Seashell Bra]]s. And then there's underwater folk like Aquaman, Namor the Submariner, ''The Man From Atlantis'' etc. who look like normal humans for the most part but can [[Apparently Human Merfolk|survive and breathe underwater]] and may have some [[Bizarre Alien Biology|odd physical adaptations that are well-hidden]] until they return to the sea. It should also be noted that most mermaids have the "fish half" in a cetacean (horizontal fluke) configuration, rather than a fish's vertical configuration, since this is closer to how an actual human swims, though exceptions exist. Of course, cetaceans are mammals which have evolved to an aquatic lifestyle, so this is probably fair enough.
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* [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|The Fredericka Bimm Method]]: Mermaids can switch forms more or less at will. Unlike the Splash method, getting doused with water is not a problem.
* [[Transformation Trinket|The Magical Item Method]]: Common in some mythologies but, curiously, not often utilized in modern fiction. The Mermaid has a magical item which allows her to change from one form to another. Some of these items are obvious; a [[Selkies and Wereseals|Selkie]] needs her shed seal-skin to return to her home in the sea. Others are... kind of random; a Merrow needs a hat made of red feathers to (depending on which variant on the legend you are reading) return to the sea or assume human form.
* And of course, some mermaids don't posesspossess shapeshifting abilities at all—no matter how much they may want to change, the half-fish appearance is their default, permanent form.
 
'''Good or Evil?:'''
Sometimes mermaids are portrayed as evil seductresses (sometimes called devil fish) who lure sailors to their deaths (this is based on the myths of sirens which were originally birdwomen but who are generally portrayed as mermaids these days [[Lost in Translation|due to language confusion]]). In most mythologies, they display the inscrutable and sometimes dangerous amorality of [[The Fair Folk]], especially if mermaids are treated as marine fae. Sometimes they are good but flirty and mischievous. Sometimes they are mostly innocent and naive. Sometimes they are honorable, and of these, several [[Humans Are Bastardsthe Real Monsters|resent us]] for treating their ocean home so badly for so long. Sometimes (just sometimes) they are just like us and have all sorts of personas. Very often, though not always, they are [[Tsundere]], or even outright [[:Category:Yandere|Yandere]] types. Octopus or Squid-based mermaids (sometimes called cilophytes or cecaelia) are usually portrayed as evil, probably owing to the influence of Disney's sea-witch Ursula, or perhaps because of the "alien" nature of tentacles.
 
Most merfolk can communicate with fish and sea creatures, [[Carnivore Confusion|regardless of whether they eat them or not]]. Expect merfolk to [[Exposed Extraterrestrials|remain naked]] no matter how deep they swim or how little protection their skin has, though their bodies might have some unseen protection against the cold and high pressure of the depths.
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May occasionally overlap with [[Fish People]], though they are generally more of an [[Petting Zoo People|anthropomorphic fusion]] than a half-and-half mix.
{{examples}}
 
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Blue Submarine No. 6]]'' has a genetically engineered, evidently [[One-Gender Race|entirely female]], race of mermaids. Typically, they pilot underwater lobster-ish mecha as the front linefrontline troops offor the antagonist forces. While fittingthey fit the [[Cute Monster Girl]] trope in many ways, they are not your traditionaltypical style of mermaidmermaids, considering that they have a tendency [[Man Bites Man|to bite]].
* Sophia and Thethe Mermaid Tribe and The Merman TribeTribes in ''[[Doraemon]]''. The distinction is important, since the mermen are the bad guys.
* Usamaru Furuya's ''[[Short Cuts (manga)|Short Cuts]]'' has a mock poll about mermaids, asking which would you prefer, a regular (fish bottom) or reverse (fish top) mermaid. The final[[Space Whale Aesop|"moral"]] is that [[Fantastic Aesop|people liking regular mermaids is the reason the population is decreasing]]: Put up with your partner, [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|even if]] [[Butter Face|they have a fish face]].
* ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'' involves mermaids who follow "The Splash Method";, though itthere alsoare hasalso elements offrom "''[[The Little Mermaid" in there]]''. If a mermaid tells a human her secret, it is said she'll turn into sea foam. (supposedly;{{spoiler|Supposedly. itIt's never tested, and the manga implies it mightmay just be a lie spread to keep up the [[The Masquerade]]).}} Additionally, hertheir human formforms is quiteare differentvisually lookingdistinct from hertheir mermaid formforms besides justbeyond the obvious lack of tail, [[Seashell Bra]], and [[Rapunzel Hair]]. The main character also sacrifices her voice -- but ''just'' her singing voice (she can sing beautifully as a mermaid, [[Cute but Cacophonic|not so much as a human]]). On top of all this, theythe aremain alsocast are [[Magical Girl]] [[Everything's Better with Princesses|princesses]] who [[Magical Girl Warrior|battle]] [[Magic Idol Singer|demons]] with [[Magic Music]].
* A one-shot manga tale by [[Rumiko Takahashi]] had a passionate romance between a human boy and a mermaid -- which ended as soon as they kissed. (Mermaid's breath tasted like rotten fish, and human breath tasted like rotting plants. [[Nausea Fuel|Yuck both ways.]])
** The mermaids from Takahashi's ''[[Mermaid Saga]]'' are vastly different thanfrom mostthose featured in popular culture, as they are monstrous, flesh-eating, and very hard to kill. Eating their flesh has a [[Million-to-One Chance]] (really[[Body Horror|literally]]) of granting immortality—and[[Immortality]] -- and otherwise, it kills you.
* The much older ''[[Mahou no Mako-chan|Mahou no Mako Chan]]'' shares some similarities with ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch|Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'', as they are both based loosely on ''[[The Little Mermaid]]''. The titular Mako-chan uses a magic pendant to transform and is more of a [[Cute Witch]].
* ''[[Seto no Hanayome|Seto no Hanayome's]]'''s mermaids can assume human form, but revert to their fishy one ifwhen [[WaterInvoluntary Induced TransformationShapeshifter|touchedwater bytouches watertheir skin]]. Adults grow out of this, and it is possible for younger mermaids to resist the change (albeit with limited success) if they are disciplined enough. Their songs can cause a variety of status effects. Otherwise nice people, aside from being [[Yakuza]]...
* ''[[Rave Master]]'' has Celia, a very beautiful mermaid who naturaly falls in love with [[The Hero|Haru]], much to [[Love Interest|Elie's]] displeasure. Her magic"Sea Magic" is strong, but useless in the absence of water. She is also the younger sister of the Queen of the mermaidsunderwater mermaid village Mildesta, which of course makes her a mermaid [[Everything's Better with Princesses|''princess'']].
* ''[[Rental Magica]]'' and ''[[Rosario + Vampire]]'' have both had the dangerous, flesh-eating kind of mermaid. Though ''[[Rosario + Vampire|Rosario]]'''s, remains true to its style, as they appeared asto abe [[Not-So-Harmless Villain|harmless]] [[Cute Monster Girl|Cute Monster Girls]] beforehandbefore brutally massacring everyone stupid enough to get in the water with them.
* Husky is a [[BishounenBishonen]] Mermanmerboy from the manga ''[[Plus +Anima]]''. Like most +anima, he's the only one of his kind (the only one who is's fish -like, that is). His legs turn into a fish tail [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|at will]]. If he is aboutin todanger drownof drowning, he'll [[Emergency Transformation|change in order to be able to breathe]]:; this is how he was forced to do itperform in the circus. It apparently takes him some effort to turnreturn intoto his human form., He'sand alsohe is perfectly amphibious as a fish-boy. AndNot to mention, he's probably the [[Dude Looks Like a Lady|prettiest]] mer-manmerman around. When he's introduced, he's performing in a circus as the Mermaid [[Attractive Bent Gender|''Princess'']].
* In the ''[[Slayers]]'' anime series, there's a mermaid that's a fish. Literally, just a fish... with tetrapod arms and legs. Not a reverse mermaid. A * ''whole fish*'' with legs, arms... oh, and [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics|lipstick]]. There ''are'' other merfolk seen in the earlier (1st and 3rd) series; turns out they ''all'' look like fish with arms and legs.
** Their most amusing (and oddly touching) appearance is in a ''[[Slayers]] Try'' episode: a young fishgirl and the shipwrecked sailor she saved are in love with each other, and they use a spell that will allow a fishperson to be with a human [[The Power of Love|if they truly love one another]]. The spell actually works, and she changestransforms into a beautiful human girl... {{spoiler|and he turns into a fishman!}}
* A similar type of [[Fish People|Fish Person]] is found in ''[[Papuwa]],'', examplfiedexemplified by Tanno, the cross-dressingcrossdressing fish identified as such by his [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics|lipstick]] and his feminine legs clad appropriately in [[Incredibly Lame Pun|fishnet stockings]].
* In ''[[One Piece]]'', Mer-peoplethe merpeople come in two flavors: Merfolk and [[Fish People|Fishmen]]. Fishmen are humanoid fish that are ten times stronger than humans on land and twenty times understronger waterunderwater. MerfolksMerfolk are the ''[[Little Mermaid]]'' typevariety. At the age of 30, their tails '''''split''''' and maycan be used as legs. Even so, they are the fastest swimmers in the world. In both cases, the typesspecies of fish they're similarmost toresemble, and thus their physical features, greatly vary greatly. Merfolk and Fishmen can intermarry, but insteadrather ofthan being[[Nonhuman Humanoid Hybrid|hybrids]], each child can be either a mermaid/man or a fish(wo)man.
* ''[[Moribito Guardian of the Spirit]]'' features the Water Folk, a mysterious, barely glimpsed race of ''[[Creature from the Black Lagoon]]''-style [[Fish People|amphibious humanoids]].
* Mei Mah / Mei Mer of ''[[Ko Beast]]'' changes into a mermaid when wet, or when something makes her cry. Her tears become pearls.
* Luna of the 2003 ''[[PoPoLoCrois]]'' anime/game is {{spoiler|a water sprite who can change into a human using a magic golden key (used previously by Narcia to become Kai) in order to walk on land.}}
* Hayame from ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]'' has it easier than most. Aside from being a very likeable [[The Ditz|goof]] and a powerful ally, she can [[Good Thing You Can Heal|regenerate from ''anything'']] (even being reduced to a dessicateddesiccated corpse for centuries or cutting out her own liver,), her [[Magic Music|singing voice]] can compel anyone in earshot to act out the emotions in her songs, she can [[Voluntary ShapeshifterShapeshifting|change back and forth from mermaid to human at will]] (though [[Naked People Are Funny|her methods]] leave [[Innocent Fanservice Girl|something to be desired]],), and consuming her flesh and/or blood can grant [[Immortality]]/[[Good Thing You CanHealing HealFactor|hyper-accelerated healing]] to ''anyone'' who consumes them. In her natural form, she's a [[Cute Monster Girl]] with webbed hands, long and [[Pointy Ears|pointy]] fins insteadin place of ears, highly-visible gills over her ribcage, and [[Godiva Hair]] to cover her bare [[Non-Mammal Mammaries]].
* In the short horror manga ''[[School Mermaid]],'', the mermaids actually look like schoolgirls in bathing suits, [[Dissonant Serenity|with an ever-present creepy smile on their facesmiles]], [[Intangible Man|the ability to swim through solid matter like it was's water,]] and([[Super Speed|at top speed at that]]), [[Nocturnal Mooks|only come out at night]], and can only make [[Squee|screeching sounds]]. Oh, and {{spoiler|if a human girl who's hunting them is unable to kill and eat a mermaid by sunrise, they'll all rise up, drag her down into the floor, and [[And Then John Was a Zombie|turn her into a mermaid herself]].}}
* InThe noel mermaids of ''[[07-Ghost]]'' noel mermaids have furry ringsfur around their necknecks and waistwaists, and the ability to change the appearance of their face at will. TheyAlso, alsothey can only express themselves in melody and are otherwise [[Cute Mute|mute]].
* The sea people from ''[[Umi Monogatari]]'' resemble humans exactly (not counting their [[Pointy Ears]], which [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight|nobody seems to notice]]) except for the need to breathe underwater, though they also have magic rings that can solve that problem. They also tend towardto wear skimpier clothing than most humans, something that is noticed when they go on land.
* In ''[[Ponyo]]'', the mermaid equivalents are magical goldfish-sized creatures with protohuman faces and powerful magic who can turn [[Humanity Ensues|shapeshift]] [[Blood Magic|if they taste human blood]]. Oh, and they appear to be the [[Half-Human Hybrid|result of breeding]] between [[A Wizard Did It|a no-longer-human wizard]] and [[Physical God|the goddess of the ocean]].
* According to [[Cloudcuckoolander|Umino]] [[Ill Girl|Mokuzu]] from ''[[Satou Kashi no Dangan wa Uchinukenai]]'', mermaids can be transformed into humans by witches, in exchange for walking with an [[Cut Himself Shaving|imperfect pair of legs]] and with the risk that they will turn into seafoam and fade away if they don't find a [[Discount Lesbians|"true friend"]] in one month's time. [[Lampshaded]] by [[The Snark Knight|Nagisa]]:
* ''[[Satou Kashi no Dangan wa Uchinukenai]]'' lampshades this trope when Nagisa remarks on Umino's supposed transformation story: ''"That's the scenario from'' [[The Little Mermaid]], ''isn't it?''
{{quote|''"That's the scenario from [[The Little Mermaid]], isn't it?"''}}
* [[The Smurfette Principle|Blue]][[Token Mini-MoeLoli|Bluebellbell]] from ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'' has a box weapon which turns her into a [[wikipedia:Shonisaurus|shonisaurus]]/[[Half-Human Hybrid|human hybrid]] that resembles a mermaid. However, she doesn't seem to have heard of [[Seashell Bra]]s, and is instead covered up by [[Godiva Hair|her hair]] ([[Pettanko|not that there is's much to cover up]]).
* ''[[Digimon Frontier]]'': One of the antagonists, [http://dma.wtw-x.net/dexrana.shtml Ranamon], is a humanHuman hybridHybrid fairyFairy digimonDigimon with [[Making a Splash|control over water]]. Despite not havingdisplaying the typical mermaid traits (human upper bodytorso and fish tail), she definitely constitutes being a mermaid. She ishas a biglarge fanfanbase among many digimonDigimon due to her attractive appearance, but this changes when she [[Evolution Power-Up|digivolves]] into her hideous, tentacled beast form, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-3oc1mNUnc Calmaramon]. Her benevolent megaMega form, Ancientmermaimon, is [http://dma.wtw-x.net/dexancientmermai.shtml more typical of a mermaid].
* ''[[Level E]]'' has mermaids with the rather unusual power to [[Living Lie Detector|detect any attempt to lie to them]]... by their tongue involuntarily shooting out and stabbing the liar to death. {{spoiler|Unfortunately, it doesn't stop them from being sold into sex slavery and pretty much wiped out, because a loophole is found to evade the ability, but the mermaids don't realize it.}}
* Isma from ''[[Berserk]]'' is introduced as a lonely, [[Genki Girl|genki]] fisher -girl whose lack of nudity taboostaboo borders on [[Innocent Fanservice Girl]] category,. unlikeUnlike athe typical Mermaidmermaid, Isma appears unaware of the fact that she isn't human and claims that she isn't even sure that Mermaidsmermaids exist, though readers thoughcatch geton fairly quickly ato the ''subtle'' hint that suggest [http://manga.animea.net/berserk-chapter-312-page-21page21.html something else is going on in anthe ominous style true to this series]{{Dead link}}. {{spoiler|Later, it turns out that she didn't lie about being unaware of what she is,. whatWhat's more, her cheerful and kind behaviourself really iswas her true personality, which is quite a surprise [[DarkFrom FantasyBad to Worse|considering]] [[It GotCrapsack WorseWorld|the]] [[CrapsackDark WorldFantasy|setting]].}}
* ''[[Hekikai no AiON]]'': The mermaids need to satisfastsate themselfthemselves with psique, thatwhich is only obtaintedobtained by killing people with tsunamis or earthshakesearthquakes. [[In-universeUniverse]], they're responsablesresponsible for the sinking of Atlantis, Mu and the destruction of Pompeii, and they are the primal prey of the protagonist. Also, apparently, one of the mermaids can followuse "theThe Splash Method" andto canwalk haveon legsland, athaving land anda fish tail atin the water.
 
* The titular 'mermaids' of ''[[Kaizoku to Ningyou]]'', which are actually a race of [[Human Subspecies|demi-humans]] whose hair appears white on land and only reverts to its true color when doused with seawater. They are extraordinarily rare [[In-Universe]] and are frequently targetted for human trafficking on the black market. However, aside from their hair, there is very little separating them from humanity. Not to mention, the only member of this rare subspecies we've met so far is ''male''.
 
== Comic Books ==
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* In ''[[Gold Digger (Comic Book)|Gold Digger]]'', Atlanteans are humanoid amphibious aliens with dolphin-like skin, gills, and small fins on their arms and legs to assist in swimming.
* ''[[Meat Cake]]'' has Effluvia, a beautiful but slutty mermaid who flirts with sailors—and then lures them to their deaths and turns their souls into jewelery. She travels about on land with a wheelchair, usually.
* [[Hellboy|Abe Sapien in ''[[Hellboy]]'' is basically a [[Creature from the Black Lagoon|gill-man]]. A good-natured, erudite, streamlined gill-man.
* The [[Elf Quest]] spin-off ''Wave Dancers'' played with this in several ways. (The "mermaids" were [[Our Elves Are Better|space elves]] modified by magic to live in the water. Exactly ''how'' they were modified varied wildly.)
** One of the females is the octopus variation, but not shunned or evil. Her lower half looks like a hoop skirt made of tentacles.
* ''[[Fathom]]'' is about a race of beings who can turn into water or use it as a weapon, among other things.
* In ''[[Nightmares and Fairy Tales]]'', [[Mister Seahorse|a character]] [[Laser-Guided Karma|ends up pregnant]] after messing with a mermaid. When he complains, another character points out that it wouldn't have happened if [[Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil|he'd simply left the creature alone]].
 
== Fan FicWorks ==
 
* In ''[[Keepers of the Elements]]'', there are the mermaids who live in Aequori Kingdom. They are all shown to wear regular tops on their top halves. The [[Making a Splash|previous Water Keeper]] Marissa lived there for some time and even fell in love with one of mermen there, eventually getting him changed to a human somehow and going to Earth to live with her where they eventually had a family together.
== Fan Fic ==
* The ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' [[Alternate Universe|AU]] [[Fanfic]] ''[[Captivity]]'' by [http://atrieisan.deviantart.com/ Atrieisan] has an interestingly comprehensive take on the [http://atrieisan.deviantart.com/art/Anatomy-of-a-Mer-530231184 "mermian"] species. Seeing as one of the core themes of the story is [[Poor Communication Kills|the tragedy of miscommunication]] ([[From Bad to Worse|and it's a biggie]]), it should come as no surprise that the mers in question [[What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?|aren't exactly kid-friendly]]. The story suffers from sporadic updates, but it's worth taking a look at for the artwork, if nothing else.
* In [[Keepers of the Elements]], there are the mermaids who live in Aequori Kingdom. They are all shown to wear regular tops on their top halves. The [[Making a Splash|previous Water Keeper]] Marissa lived there for some time and even fell in love with one of mermen there, eventually getting him changed to a human somehow and going to Earth to live with her where they eventually had a family together.
 
== Film ==
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** There was also Ursula herself, who had an octopus bottom despite supposedly being related to Ariel and Triton.
** Ursula being Ariel's aunt was left out of the final film and the sequel seems to follow this with her sister Morgana having the same tentacle bottom.
** When Ariel appears in ''[[Ralph Breaks the Internet]]'' she seems able to magically switch her human legs for her mermaid tail when she needs to - obviously a case of [[New Powers as the Plot Demands]].
* Interestingly, the mermaids in Disney's [[Peter Pan]] are of the "dangerously amoral" type, especially for its time. Their shell bras are much more "realistic" than Ariel's, which comes later; they're not held on by any straps, they're just sea-creatures attached to the mermaids' chests. One of them is quite obviously only covered by a flower lei, and another by her [[Godiva Hair|hair]]. When Wendy meets them, they attack her. When Peter calls them on this, one of them protests, "We were only trying to drown her!" By the time [[The Little Mermaid]] came around, Disney had toned down its mermaids quite a bit, and no one seems to remember the ones from Peter Pan.
* ''[[Splash]]'', obviously.
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* There's a running joke in [[The Cabin in the Woods]] about one character's desire to see a "merman." His partner replies, "Why? Those things are terrifying." [[It Makes Sense in Context]].
* In the Animal Planet Horror "Documentary" film ''Mermaid: The Body Found'', merpeople are descended from primates that took to the water, and so look like a cross between a primitive human and a dolphin, and speak a very unusual language.
 
 
== Literature ==
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* In ''The Merman's Children'' by [[Poul Anderson]] merfolk are humanoid, with bluegreen skin, webbed hands and feet, gills and attractive enough that one of them seduces a human woman and has children by her.
* In the ''[[Doctor Who Expanded Universe|Doctor Who]]'' tie-in spin off ''Genius Loci'' one of the characters tells [[Bernice Summerfield]] a gruesome mermaid story in which a fisherman, with a fine sense of the pragmatic, chops a mermaid in two and takes the fish half home as his catch of the day. The bifurcated mermaid turns out to have been the daughter of the queen of the mermaids and hilarity ensues.
* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s [[Warhammer 4000040,000]] novel ''[[Brothers of the Snake]]'', Aekon thinks [[Youth Is Wasted on the Dumb|he has been underwater too long]] because he is hallucinating a merman come to claim his life and carry off his soul. Then he realizes that it looks just like one of his squad-mates, and then he realizes it is the [[Space Marine]] in question, come to ensure that he survives.
* [[Goosebumps]]: Deep Trouble - The main character is rescued by a mermaid before it is captured and almost sold to a zoo by the mean humans.
* In Andrei Belianin's ''Thief of Baghdad'', the main character ([[Fish Out of Temporal Water]] with [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]) and his friend [[wikipedia:Nasreddin|Nasreddin]] encounter a mermaid, who will only help them if one of them satisfies her. The main character, recognizing the [[Mermaid Problem]] promptly passes the "honor" to Nasreddin. After some time, Nasreddin returns with a smile. When asked, he is surprised that his companion doesn't know that mermaids briefly turn into humans when they want to "get it on".
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* ''[[Changeling: The Dreaming]]'' has the Seelie Merfolk and the Unseelie Murdhuacha (pronounced ''mer-RU-ka''). The Merfolk are what one generally thinks about when one thinks mermaid: their lower halfs are of various bony fish (except for House Melsinee, who instead take the form of air-breathing marine mammals and reptiles). The Murdhuacha are [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|merged with crustaceans, mollusks, and other seagoing invertebrates]]. When either Kith takes to land, their lower halves automatically turn into legs and they resemble Sidhe with their otherworldly beauty.
** There's also a bit of [[Nightmare Fuel]], as the Merfolk and Murdhuacha are trying to fight off the game's constantly-oppressive force of Banality. Any changeling who succumbs to Banality loses all access to their fae abilities and forgets all about their second life. Imagine being one of them, and coming to in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean... about five hundred feet down.
* There are merfolk in ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'', but there's nothing that really distinguishes them from your standard merfolk model aside from a slight tendency to advance in the bard class.
** [[Mystara]], like most ''D&D'' settings, has merfolk, called "merrow". Its are unusual in that they can breed with humans (solving the [[Mermaid Problem]] via shapechanging by one or the other). The Queen of Aquas, half-sister of the heir to the Empire of Alphatia, is half-merrow on her mother's side.
** ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' also has sea-elves, sea-ogres (merrow), sea-trolls (scrags), sea-ghouls (lacedons), tritons (good looking humanoids with webbed appendages and fins along the calves, playing in deep sea much the same "aloof and self-sufficient" role as wood elves, but civilized and not as excitable) and so on and so forth. Also the sahuagin (shark-men), locathath (nomadic fish folk, humanoid only in general shape - hands and finned legs, no tail), kuo-toa (Lovecraftian Deep Ones), and about a dozen more. Essentially, ''all the above variants and then some''.
** [[Forgotten Realms]] got shalarin - humanoid fish-folk supposedly gated from some other world, with big dorsal fins, eyes, gills and all, silvery skin, but with legs and no scales.
** Al-Qadim has shapeshifting (woman/tropical fish/hybrid form) sea nymphs they for some reason named Pahari.
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* In some variations of [[Nautical Folklore]], it is possible to take a mermaid captive by stealing an item of magic thus keeping her captive. Because [[Abduction Is Love]] she will often marry the man who did this and raise a loving family. But, she will spend all her spare time trying to find it, and once found she will swim away.
** Those who are nice to stranded mermaids on the other hand receive kindness from them. One Scottish boatbuilder rescued a stranded mermaid and wished that no boat he built would ever sink. His family's boats are, according to one version, famous through large parts of Scotland.
* The [[w:Fairy Flag|Fairy Flag of MacLeod]] might count if you fudge it, as the [[Home Base]] of the Macleods is on a coastal island and mer-folk are basically nautical fairies. There is a real fairy flag but several tales of its origin, all interesting though not equally plausible. The best one is that a MacLeod prince fell in love with a local spirit but she could not decide between her lover and her own people. Leaving the Fairy Flag to protect Macleods in the future was [[Take a Third Option|a compromise.]] According to tales, the MacLeods can [[Rule of Three|call on its protection three times]] against great danger, which usually means [[Proud Warrior Race|war]]. According to the legend the Macleods have already used it twice (although one version says it was never actually used in [[World War 2]] though the MacLeods took pieces of it to battle).
 
 
== Toys ==
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** Not to mention like Real-life Carribean-located water-dwellers, they are very colorful.
* Mermaids are the 'townsfolk' near the Kraken and water crystal in [[Final Fantasy I]]. Apparently, they ran out of [[People of Hair Color]].
* ''[[SagaSaGa Frontier]]'' has Mesarathim, a grey-skinned mermaid who, like Irenes in [[Chrono Cross]], spends more time out of water than in, although she'd like to change this.
* There are merpersons in ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]''. Their bones [http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=25967.0 used to be]{{Dead link}} worth as much as ''dragon bone'', though now mermaids (as sentients) are no longer butcherable and don't have valuable bones.
* Although Aquell from [[A Witch's Tale]] is supposedly based off of [[The Little Mermaid]], she seems to behave similarly to the mermaids in [[Peter Pan]].
* ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' uses typical girls-with-fishy-bottoms mermaids as NPCs in [[Final Fantasy I|the first game]], but somewhere along the way someone decided that they may have been a bit too much of a cliche fantasy element and they haven't appeared in a game since (unless you count the totally-not-[[Star Wars|Gungans]] Hypello in ''[[Final Fantasy X]].'')
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* The Undines from ''[[Monster Rancher]] 2'' have a transparent, Jell-like appearance and use both water and ice based attacks.
* ''[[Etrian Odyssey]]: The Drowned City'' has mermaids appear in the form of {{spoiler|the Deep Ones}}. The first of these you meet is {{spoiler|their childlike [[Ambiguous Gender|Prince/Princess]] who can freely spawn them from drops of hir blood}}. Sorta creepy...
* Mermaids in ''[[Monster Girl Quest]]'' have the standard appearance. They can walk on their tails with enough skill to more or less function on land. [[Sirens Are Mermaids|Their songs have a hypnotic effect on listeners]] and their blood has healing properties.
 
 
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* ''Pearls of Mer'' a webcomic about a standard, ''Splash'' style mermaid.
* [[A Loonatics Tale|Rebecca Burg]] has released concept art which reveals that in Loonatic-land, merfolk are a type of aquatic ''vampire''. When they're luring in prey, they're fairly cute, if slightly overfinned. When they're about to feed, their eyes take on a crazed look, and their mouth splits into a grin which reveals that ''all'' their teeth are razor-sharp. And unlike some vampires in this setting, where being turned isn't even a guarantee, when a mermaid feeds on you, you become one.
* ''[[The Dreamland Chronicles]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120624110641/http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/chapter-06/page-376/ Mermaids to the rescue!]
* In ''[[Homestuck]]'', there's an alien race of horned, water-dwelling humanoids known as Sea Dwelling Trolls. They're considered Royalty among the Land Dwelling Trolls, and the only examples we see of them are the heir apparent and a [[Abhorrent Admirer|genocidal noble with a crush on her]].
* At the end of the first volume of ''[[Tales Of Gnosis College]]'', Li Anwei reveals that she is in the process of a slow transformation into something like a mermaid by showing expanded webbing growing between her fingers. She still looks pretty human when she takes to the sea, though.
* In ''[[Question Duck]]'', [http://questionduckwww.smackjeeves.com/comics/1394051/278discover/detail?titleNo=84210&articleNo=288 tragically, love was not possible between a man and a mermaid.]
* ''[[Girl Genius]]'' turned this somewhere strange. The mermaids seem to be iconic mythological creatures. There are also Deepdwellers, but they are <s>[[Cthulhu Mythos|Deep Ones]]</s> amphibious humanoids with fins and feet, not half-man half-fish. So a chef decides to honour the Queen's guest rumoured to fancy "risque" outfits by making a great pie [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20191211 in the shape of her as a mermaid] (with [[Seashell Bra|starfish bra]]). Then the Deepdwellers see this and decide she really looks like this. Being on their territory and in a diplomatically tenuous situation, she and the rest of present [[Mad Scientist]]s figure a mermaid suit would solve the problem. Then it turns out that maybe this was what the Deepdwellers meant, because there [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20200406 used to be a strange order of humans] using sort of fish tailed diving suits, and ''they'' were in good relations with the Great Cetaceans and their minions, so it's taken as a good sign. Then [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20200422 on a submariner] we see… large, colourful tattoo of [[Youkai|Amabie]], with three tails and all, and the name to make it really clear.
 
 
== Web Original ==
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== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[American Dragon: Jake Long]]'' mermaids can't switch but they can live on land for long periods. Long enough for one {{spoiler|to go undercover at Jake's school for several months as his principal wheelchair-using pretending to be a wheelchair userprincipal}}. It also features a Mermaid who is a afraid of water.
* The short lived (French?) ''[[The Prince Of Atlantis]]'' feature a ''legged'' human-dolphinish-hybrid.
* ''[[Futurama]]'' has a episode with Merpeople, the [[Hollywood Evolution|accelerated-by-caffeine-evolved-humans]] who can't switch. Fry falls for one till he discovers the [[Mermaid Problem]]...
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{{quote|'''Nathan:''' "This one's called Murmaider!"
'''Murderface:''' "It's about mermaid murder." }}
* In one episode of ''[[Re BootReBoot]]'', Dot and Bob turn into shark-people to participate in a game. Unusually, their fin stroke horizontally, like true fish. Their bodies are also slender, and very long.
* There's a new{{when}} show on Nick Jr. called ''[[Bubble Guppies]]'' that flips the mermaid concept on it's head. The merpeople on the show are tiny, about the size of guppies. They can't change shape, but apparantly they've developed the ability to swim through air.
* ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes|Jimmy Two Shoes]]'' features a mer-man, right down to the [[Seashell Bra]].
* Marina from the French cartoon ''[[Zig and Sharko]]'' is mostly a typical mermaid, except she can survive on land and walk on her tail fins. Also, her parents are mermaid and a human man, [[Mermaid Problem|somehow]].
* Applied to Iguana Seals in [[All There in the Manual]] in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''. Similar to the manatee-mermaid misidentification, the hybrid animals were often mistaken as mermaids by sailors due to their melodious sounds. Like the manatee, upon realizing they were nothing but seal-finned aquatic reptiles, they were subsequently killed for food.
* The Blue Mermaid from [[Team Umizoomi]] counts. She is [[Friend to All Living Things|friendly to the sea creatures]], loves her sea home, her [[Curtains Match the Window]], and {{spoiler|her tail glows}}!
* Mermista from ''[[She-Ra and the Princesses of Power]]'' is either a mermaid who can magically swap her fish-tail for human legs or a human that can turn into a mermaid. Whatever the case, she's far more tomboyish than traditional mermaids and has a much different personality, being [[Good Is Not Nice| both snarky and cynical.]]
 
 
== Real Life ==
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** There's a wonderful bit in one of Christopher Columbus's logs abotu seeing "mermaids" in the Caribbean - he says they're less beautiful than they are painted, because their face resembles that of a man. A seriously ugly man, one assumes.
** Referenced on ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''. Barney theorizes that sailors saw manatees as beautiful women because [[Meat-O-Vision|they have not seen real women for so long]]. He adds that this is why men and women can't just be friends: eventually the "manatee" turns into a mermaid.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090301152345/http://www.stuff.co.nz/4858855a11.html Nadya] [https://web.archive.org/web/20130613230209/http://www.itexaminer.com/weta-turns-woman-into-mermaid.aspx Vessey], an amputee, has been given a really neat [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9jCsbii5rs mermaid's] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YMUWe9V-94 tail] '''prosthesis''' by [[Peter Jackson]]'s WETA workshop. That's [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|awesome]] in more [[Awesome Yet Practical|ways]] [[Rule of Cool|than]] [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|one]].
** ''Popular Science's Future Of'' showed the [http://www.lunocet.com/ Lunocet mermaid-style swim fin], designed to increase swimming speed.
* In West African mythology, mermaids (aka Maame Water) are beautiful but evil demonic spirits tasked by Satan to steal people's souls in exchange for riches. However foreign depictions of mermaids such as in Disney's Little Mermaid are still popular because, after all, Their Mermaids Are Different.
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* The ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (a collection of medieval Irish histories compiled in the early 17th century) casually mention mermaids being caught several times. Most impressive is a mermaid listed as having washed ashore in the year 887:
{{quote|''One hundred and ninety five feet was her length, eighteen feet was the length of her hair, seven feet was the length of the fingers of her hand, seven feet also was the length of her nose; she was whiter than the swan all over.''}}
* Mermaiding, which essentially amounts to a form of cosplaying as a mermaid. It's fairly popular with little girls, but some performers do it for the [[Fanservice]]. Tails can be made of almost any material, but silicone is especially coveted because of the near-natural scale effect it gives off.
 
 
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
[[Category:Mythical Motifs]]
[[Category:Our Mermaids Are Different{{PAGENAME}}]]