#hi. while i was drafting this the power went out and im Real Bummed about that

[rxttenfish]

really, really bad. my schizophrenia has picked the worst time to have an episode, and my ability to function at all is nil. this was drawn in the middle of trying desperately to sketch anything at all and getting more and more frustrated at it.

did you know abyssal merfolk actually have bioluminescence? it's because i basically never draw it or mention it. they're the only species of merfolk to do so, and the capability seems to have come from the exceptionally low visibility of their environment making it impossible for them to communicate in what little body language merfolk already have. their scales have special dermal pockets in certain layers, where they store bioluminescent bacteria they obtain from their diet. most of the time these dermal pockets are entirely invisible, which is why they don't feature on miranda's ref, but when they are activated, they glow a dull blue light.

it is not very bright and very hard to see even in passive daylight (this was intended for the bottom of the ocean, after all), and really is only ever used as a form of emoting. this is mostly out of my frustration with how bioluminescence is often written and used for monsters and creatures in fiction, and wanted a "boring" version if i had to give my merfolk any. it's also only ever the same shade of blue, since its supposed to be used for visibility.

flashing the bioluminescent patterns on her face, fins pinned stiffly back, head turned away, and eyes clenched shut indicate miranda is having a pretty bad time here. realistically she can't frown to this degree, but she's picked up on a lot of human mannerisms, and so does tend to frown. to a merfolk, the only expression they make with their mouth is tensing their lips or opening their mouth, and it's a bit more serious than a frown.