Our Mermaids Are Different: Difference between revisions

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'''Appearance:'''
'''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, for 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.
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. For 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.
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.
* [[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.
* [[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 posess shapeshifting abilities at all—no matter how much they may want to change, the half-fish appearance is their default, permanent form.
* And of course, some mermaids don't possess 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?:'''
'''Good or Evil?:'''
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* Isma from [[Berserk]] is introduced as a lonely [[Genki Girl|genki]] fisher girl whose lack of nudity taboos borders on [[Innocent Fanservice Girl]] category, unlike a typical Mermaid Isma appears unaware of the fact that she isn't human and claims that she isn't even sure that Mermaids exist, readers though get fairly quickly a ''subtle'' hint that suggest [http://manga.animea.net/berserk-chapter-312-page-21.html something else in an ominous style true to this series] {{spoiler|Later it turns out that she didn't lie about being unaware of what she is, what's more her cheerful and kind behaviour really is her true personality which is quite a surprise [[Dark Fantasy|considering]] [[It Got Worse|the]] [[Crapsack World|setting]].}}
* Isma from [[Berserk]] is introduced as a lonely [[Genki Girl|genki]] fisher girl whose lack of nudity taboos borders on [[Innocent Fanservice Girl]] category, unlike a typical Mermaid Isma appears unaware of the fact that she isn't human and claims that she isn't even sure that Mermaids exist, readers though get fairly quickly a ''subtle'' hint that suggest [http://manga.animea.net/berserk-chapter-312-page-21.html something else in an ominous style true to this series] {{spoiler|Later it turns out that she didn't lie about being unaware of what she is, what's more her cheerful and kind behaviour really is her true personality which is quite a surprise [[Dark Fantasy|considering]] [[It Got Worse|the]] [[Crapsack World|setting]].}}
* ''[[Hekikai no AiON]]'': The mermaids need to satisfast themself with psique, that is only obtainted by killing people with tsunamis or earthshakes. In-universe, they're responsables 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 follow "the Splash Method" and can have legs at land and fish tail at water.
* ''[[Hekikai no AiON]]'': The mermaids need to satisfast themself with psique, that is only obtainted by killing people with tsunamis or earthshakes. In-universe, they're responsables 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 follow "the Splash Method" and can have legs at land and fish tail at water.
* The titular 'mermaids' of ''[[Kaizoku to Ningyou]]'', which are actually a race of demihumans 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 have met so far is ''male''.




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