#because I'm gonna give you the changing algae for you to use on your shit boyfriend

[softquietsteadylove]

hey! I have a request! now this might sound a little crazy and really far fetched…..but let me cook for a sec.

is there any way for the Mermaid AU you could make Gil into a Mermaid? Maybe thena finds a plant for him to eat that either lets him breathe underwater, turns him into a mermaid or both! I was watching Barbie mermaidia today, and I could help but think of these two ( I got the idea from when Barbie and bibble ate seaweed to breathe underwater)! I feel like thena is always learning new things about the human world, so it is Gil’s turn to explore Thena’s world!

as always I love your work! 🖤🖤

"Are you sure about this, Angelfish?" Gil asked, but Thena just nodded so eagerly he wondered if her scales would fly off. She beamed up at him, her fangs shining in all their glory. He sighed. "Okay."

Thena watched from the water as he took a bite of the horrific looking plant she had brought to him. She refused to say what it was, just handing it to him and insisting that he eat the whole thing.

He groaned; it tasted awful, and the texture felt the way algae looked. His toes curled, his feet dipped into the water up to his ankles dangling over the edge of the dock. He gulped it down, though.

"It'll start working any second, just hang onto me!"

And with that, she dragged him underwater.

Usually, Thena was careful about him being underwater. She got nervous about how small human lungs were and what water pressure could do to them. They had only just got his held breath record up to a minute and a half last time they practised.

But Thena sped downward, his hand in hers, her tail propelling them. Gil had his hand over his mouth as she dragged him. He was going to drown down here, they were descending so fast.

But then it got a little easier. He started moving through the water a little faster. He looked down and his jeans were gone, no longer rolled up to the ankles--he didn't have ankles.

He had gills, taking up the work of breathing for him as they sped through the water. His ears changed shape and his eyes adapted to the dark the deeper they went. Scales erupted over his skin and when he looked down at himself, his midriff was exposed and he had a long, thick tail covered in shimmering black scales.

He was a mer!

Thena turned, not even having to slow down as she swam without looking. Seeing her in her element - literally - truly was an amazing sight to behold. "Isn't it wonderful, Gil?"

"Slow down, sweetheart," he chuckled, and she did. Just as naturally as he would slow down from running, his tail was able to slow their speed, moving automatically. He had long fins, too, which both helped cut through the water and assist the power of his swimming. "Wow."

Thena circled him again and again, too excited to float idly. "It's a dream! That herb is almost never found anymore--used far beyond its means, it's all but impossible to unearth."

Good to know the ocean was also capable of overharvesting and causing extinction, just like the surface.

"But Makkari said she had seen something like it and we went digging for treasures," Thena sighed, staring at him with eyes so starry they were glittering--perhaps it was her bioluminescence. "She said I could use it on you."

He looked at his arms, also dotted with scales, although it was different from Thena's scale pattern. "You've always had a magical plant that could turn humans into a mer?"

"Temporarily," she excused, as if what he had said wasn't abnormal sounding in the least. She circled him again before rising in the water in sheer delight. The end of her tail was flapping like a puppy's. "And look at you! I knew you'd be perfect!"

He laughed, accepting it as she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his back - the small trail of dorsal spines would take some getting used to- and kissing him.

His gills breathed for him as he kissed her back.

"Thank you, Angelfish," he nuzzled the tip of her nose with his, "for sharing this with me. It's...incredible."

She took his hand again, at least swimming at a lighter pace now. "We don't have long, unfortunately. But I want you to see some of what it's like down here."

It was beautiful. Of all the nature documentaries and marine biology live streams and deep sea cam feeds he'd watched, it could never compare to seeing it with his own eyes. Fish were everywhere, among other sea life. And the number of mers wasn't overwhelming, but he had almost thought in his head that Thena and Makkari were some of the only ones. And Ikaris, he supposed.

But he could see other mers swimming together, some of them speeding along, some of them happily swimming around each other in a lazy little dance. Their tails were different shapes and sizes, colours and textures. It was beautiful.

Thena purred as he kissed her cheek.

He didn't really want to experiment to see if he could purr too. But he took it in with her from above the reef spanning below them. "It's amazing--I had no idea this was so close to the house."

"Well, it's not that close," she assured, beginning to swim circles around him again. "You can travel several naughts faster with a tail than even in some boats."

He didn't doubt that. He looked down at his tail again. It was larger than Thena's, and something about her still being small and delicate even when they were in the same state endeared her to him further.

"It is a very striking tail."

He felt embarrassed, although blood didn't rush to his face like it would in his human state. He felt flustered, though, as if he should curl his tail up and try to hide it modestly. "Th-Thanks--I guess this is why you get all shy when I compliment yours?"

"I do not-!" she hissed at him. Her natural habits came out so much more when she had her tail on.

He took her hand and kissed the scales on her shoulder. "Show me more."

She was happy to receive the affection--she seemed to relish it even more than usual in this form. Her tail was better for speed, he presumed. Even with a longer, stronger tail of his own, he could feel the pull of her moving ahead of him. He was happy if she was faster than thim--it meant he didn't have to worry about her as much when she was out swimming alone.

Gil watched some of the other mers looking at him, surely trying to size up where he was from and how he had infiltrated their world. Most of them were in pairs, and while they weren't holding hands or anything outwardly romantic, those he assumed were couples had other signs.

They swam more closely, so closely their tails would collide sometimes, or their fins would brush together smoothly. They didn't hold hands, but their hands did move freely, brushing over and even more deliberately running over their partners.

"We can't go all the way out there," Thena mused, "but this is almost where we first met."

"Really?" he blinked. It all looked the same, just never ending ocean sprawling as far as he could see (which was significantly farther as a mer than as a human).

She nodded, pointing out over the end of the reef. "If you swam out that way another ten minutes, you would find where I first saw you sinking."

A very ungraceful introduction, unfortunately.

He gave her hand a squeeze, "I'm glad I could see it from your side of things."

She tipped his chin to give him another kiss. "We should start swimming back."

"So," he began as they made their way back towards the dock more leisurely. "This stuff really doesn't last that long, huh?"

She shook her head, paddling beside him. "It would be too dangers if it did. Humans could learn a little too much about us."

That was true, and also not a risk that was worth taking. He looked around them, "what if--won't they be angry with you if they find out-"

Thena cut him off, "there's nothing to find out. I'm showing my mate my home territory, nothing more."

He smiled; he could understand a little better what the term 'mate' really meant to her. It wasn't just their word for girlfriend or partner or anything. Seeing the mers swimming around together, he could see that mate meant something a little deeper to them. "Is there anything else I should do as your mate?--while I'm down here, I mean."

Thena seemed to really think about it, at least for a second. But she ultimately just smiled and shook her head, her beautiful mane of hair floating around her in the water. "We have no such formalities. And besides, I prefer our mating traditions back home."

"What mating traditions are those?" he asked with a chuckle. The act of mating wasn't itself a ritual ( he had learned). But she did like rituals such as 'falling asleep in front of the tv together', and 'calling him while he was at the store to tell him they were out of eggs'.

Human domestic life had really grown on her.

"Hm," she purred as they started their ascent to the surface. "I think my new favourite is eating between mating sessions."

He felt as if he could blush again. There were some nights when they were both feeling particularly needy and could go several rounds. And sometimes, in the middle of those rounds, they would get hungry and retrieve some dried sardines (for her) and shrimp chips (for him) to keep their strength up.

Gil kissed her cheek again as the light of the surface started warming them again. "Let's come up with some more when we get home."

[scripttorture]

I'm writing a human character in sci-fi setting who has been betrayed by his friend and is then kidnapped and phycologically tortured by the friend to the point after he escapes he has severe PTSD. I'm struggling to write it though as I'm not sure what kind of mental torture he could be put through without going over the top. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

I’m going to start off with a possibly obvious point: kidnapping is traumatic. If the main thing you want from this sub-plot is to give a character PTSD you don’t need to go any further then that. Not everyone who is kidnapped will develop PTSD but it’s a realistic outcome.

 So…. Phycology is the study of algae, I’m assuming that’s not what’s meant here. But if it is then please correct me and I will happily spend some time reading up on algae to help you out. (That is not sarcasm, teach me about algae.) :)

 I am guessing that this is a misspelling of ‘psychologically’ and this is someone new to the blog who hasn’t heard The Talk about ‘psychological torture’ yet.

 So going forward: Anon it’s OK to make mistakes. I’m here because I understand how hard it is to find good quality information on torture. And because I understand how much misinformation is popularised in both fictional and allegedly-factual media.

 I strongly advise that you don’t use the phrase ‘psychological torture’ in your writing.

 Torture isn’t psychological. There’s nothing clever or psychological about hitting someone’s feet with a stick.

 And the phrase ‘psychological torture’ has been used for years by torture apologists. They use it as a way to dismiss survivors and belittle their experience. They do that by declaring that some types of torture are ‘just’ psychological; using this term to suggest particular tortures don’t cause physical harm and that survivors are faking their responses.

 This is bullshit. Don’t buy into it. Don’t support it.

 Torture is physical abuse and physical harm. The lasting psychological symptoms and effects are due to underlying changes in the structure of the brain which happen in response to extreme pain and stress.

 O’Mara, the neuroscientist who wrote about torture, likened it to brain damage. He also went so far as to argue that it’s deliberately inflicted organ failure. And you know what, I’m not a neuroscientist, so I’m not gonna argue with that assessment.

 I don’t know what you’re picturing when you say ‘psychological torture’. You haven’t given me a time frame for how long this character is held or information on the kind of culture this fictional world has. Which makes it hard for me to suggest specific things.

 What I can do is give you an idea of what torture looks like now and what sort of effects you’d expect in survivors. You can then consider whether torture is right for your story.

 Most torture nowadays is ‘clean’. Now different researchers use different terms for this (I use Rejali’s term) but what it essentially means is: a form of physical abuse that is extremely unlikely to leave obvious physical marks on the victim’s body.

 Lest you get the idea that is represents ‘advancement’ most of the clean torture techniques currently used are hundreds of years old. Some of them are thousands of years old.

 There’s been quite a bit of debate in the field about why clean torture is currently so common and why so many organisations have abandoned scarring torture. You can read more about that over here. Or if you feel you have a wealth of time on your hands you can try tackling all 800 pages of Rejali’s Torture and Democracy (highly recommended, also very large).

 The theory Rejali puts forward is that the shift is about evidence. Obvious physical injuries make it easier to build up cases against torturers.

 And a lack of obvious physical injuries can be used to discredit survivors.

 These are the sort of torture techniques that get labelled ‘psychological’ as a way to dismiss them: the ones that are being used around the world today.

 If you’re wondering what sort of thing I’m talking about things like sleep deprivation, beatings (yes this can be done without leaving obvious marks), near-drowning, forcing someone to exercise until they collapse, Tasers.

 I have a post here on typical torture practices in different countries in the modern era.

 While the physical effects of clean tortures are hard to definitively prove we’re still taking about incredibly dangerous things.

 Tasers, used according to the instructions, leave no mark on the skin. They can also cause heart attacks, seizures (in vulnerable individuals) and often cause death by falling injuries. Forced exercise, beatings and stress positions all cause kidney failure. In the case of stress positions that’s after the swelling in extremities that gets to the point of popping the skin open in massive ulcers.

 Sleep deprivation causes a whole slew of interestingly awful physical and psychological effects before (according to studies in mice) leading to death from multiple organ failure as the microbes in the gut take over the entire body.

 What I’m trying to say here is that if you’re looking for something dignified, without the vomit and pus and shit, then torture probably doesn’t fit the bill.

 And clean tortures can still cause physically disabling injuries.

 Drowning and choking tortures (such as water boarding) can cause brain damage. Incorrectly applied restraints can lead to a limb needing to be amputated.

 On top of all this are the long term psychological effects which I have a post on here. Memory problems are discussed in more detail here.

 PTSD is a possible symptom but it’s not guaranteed. The truth is that while we know the possible symptoms different individual survivors develop different symptoms and we don’t know why.

 If you’ve thought about it and you want to use PTSD because it adds something to your story then by all means do so. But don’t feel that it is your only option.

 Survivors do recover. They are not ‘broken’ and unable to live or enjoy life. They’re mentally ill and often disabled and recovery is a process of learning to live with their conditions.

 Wrapping this up: think about what you’re writing.

 I am not saying that you shouldn’t write torture. I am not saying that you should. I’m asking that you, and every other writer who comes here, consider what you’re committing to.

 If you don’t want a character to be dealing with multiple complex mental health problems for the rest of every story you use them in, it’s probably not a good fit.

 If you want something that doesn’t have even a chance of causing lasting physical damage, torture is probably not a good fit.

 Picture where the story is going. If you think the narrative could be the same without torture then you’re probably not capturing the scale of the impact torture has.

 I have a post on common inaccurate tropes here. I have a post on researching torture here. I have a list of sources over here. I also have a lot of asks tagged as sci fi.

 Consider why you want to write torture in this story. What is it adding to your narrative? What is it doing?

 If the main thing you want is this character to have PTSD afterwards that is possible with kidnapping alone. Physical attacks make PTSD more likely but they’re not necessary for its development.

 Kidnap and imprisonment is betrayal enough. It is reason enough for all the big, powerful emotions you want to put into this relationship. Ask yourself if torture really does add any more to that.

 I hope that helps. :)

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