#mermaid effect

[miyamiwu]

Cool dice

Cool Dice = nerd (complementary), cool socks, please tell me about your special interest/hyperfixation

Hmmm where do I start

I am really into Chinese bl (danmei). Most danmei are like shounen with the homoerotic undertones, except the sexual tension actually gets paid off!!!

And I say “like shounen” because, unlike Japanese BL, there’s a lot more emphasis on plot when it comes to danmei. Of course, there are also danmei focusing on romance, but the best ones have complex plots you don’t really find in shounen ai/yaoi.

Naming a few mainstream danmei, to start:

Heaven Official’s Blessing = fallen god reascends for the third time and befriends a demon king. Together, they get to the bottom of a lot of scandals in the heavenly court

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun = evil emperor is reborn to the year he was still a teen and is yet to do any evil stuff and once again has to face his loathed master (shizun) and obey him.

Little Mushroom = sentient mushroom takes over dead human body and infiltrates the human base to retrieve his stolen spore

The Earth is Online = humanity is pulled into a death game

Sha Po Lang = ancient industrial Chinese setting (steampunk???) about a prince and his Yifu + war and stuff

And some non-mainstream ones, but are my absolute favorites:

Fourth Perspective = Sci-fi where characters have “logic chains” that grant them random abilities (that may or may not be useful), but with limits. Main character’s logic chain allows him to see other people’s “logic factors”

I Became a God in a Horror Game = Guy who’s obsessed with money gets pulled into a death game and comes out victorious every time (his driving force is money). Very mindblowing arcs and well-written characters

Mermaid Effect = guy picks up “fish” on the beach and keeps it as a pet, but then it turned out to be a biological weapon

Si Tian Guan = guy who died in political drama gets reborn to the year before it all started and vows to not repeat the mistakes of the past and also protect the person most important to him. This one made me cry a lot that I still couldn’t finish it...

It’s like… these stories just happen to have gay protagonists. The characters being gay and in love aren’t their main selling points. They actually have stories to tell outside the romance and the fucking (which is often censored coz, yknow, China) and also explore a variety of deep themes, and that just makes them more interesting to me

[best-underrated-anime]

[Test Poll] Format #1

This is to test what format would be best for the poll posts during the tournament. The media featured are Chinese BL novels (danmei), and propagandas are from my stack of old reviews so they may be quite long. No trailers, so I’m putting images as placeholders for where the trailer should go. Just vote as if this were actually part of the tournament, then later I’ll gather some feedback. You may also leave feedback in the replies of this post.

Group A Round 1: #A1 vs #A2

#A1: Man picks up fish, keeps it as pet, but then it turns into a merman

Summary:

Follows the story of Rand Sievers, the younger brother of the CEO of Deep White, the leading company for biological advancements. Rand was once kidnapped as a child, and when his brother Vincent finally found him years later, he no longer remembered anything.

One day, Rand picked up a stranded “fish” from the beach, kept it as a pet, and gave it the name “Munster.” Little did he know that he was actually raising a biological weapon… a real monster.

#A2: Mushroom turns into a man, goes after another man to retrieve his “child”

Summary:

The story follows An Zhe, a sentient mushroom, after he takes over the body of the dead human An Ze. Assuming An Ze’s identity, he enters the northern human base in search of his spore, which had been harvested by humans. All people entering this base first have to undergo a screening that determines whether or not they have been infected by the mutated creatures outside. If found infected, the person will be eliminated on the spot.

An Zhe isn’t human, but he isn’t infected either. The judge Lu Feng cannot determine his case, but he highly doubts that the man is human. Hence, even after An Zhe is granted entry, he still keeps a close eye on him.

Propagandas, visuals/trailers, and poll under the cut!

#A1: Man picks up fish, keeps it as pet, but then it turns into a merman

Trigger Warnings: Gore, cannibalism, violence, rape*, kidnapping, blood

*rape happens, but the perpetrator was drugged and did it out of his control

Propaganda:

The novel starts out slow and, dare I say, fluffy. It introduces Rand as naïve and oblivious, just happily raising his ugly little fish. Even when said fish begins exhibiting anomalous behavior, Rand has merely chalked it up to it being extremely weird.

Meanwhile, his overprotective brother, Vincent, is secretly engaging in a dubious biological project. Rand has been kept ignorant about it for his safety, but some things are just beyond their control.

When Rand picks up Munster from the beach, he inevitably gets himself signed up to the chaos surrounding Vincent. Mysteries arise and distorted truths unwind, and these are all gonna forcefully unearth the traumas of the past that Rand has forgotten. Like opening Pandora’s box, all hell breaks loose, and never before have I read a danmei novel more hell-like than Mermaid Effect.

The novel would forcibly configure stomach-churning images in my mind. With vivid descriptions of violence and claustrophobic portrayals of the characters’ struggles, one should have high tolerance for disturbing content in order to fully enjoy this amazing thriller. I didn’t think I could handle extreme gore and cannibalism before, but this novel really forced me to raise my limits

Throughout the story, it asks the question on what it is that truly makes a monster. Some characters seem friendly and kind, but inside, their hearts are full of darkness. And then there are those who you’d think were villains, but underneath all the scary exterior, were actually just misunderstood. This novel then explores the answer to the question by bringing out the worst in its characters, showing how every single one of them is a bit of a monster inside, blurring the lines between “monster” and “human.” In the end, all that remains is the essence of the person, who they truly are in spite of the skins they wear.

But at its very core, this is actually a heartwarming story. It’s a story of love and of family, and of healing and second chances.

How Rand develops from staying ignorant to being brave enough to face his past was really commendable. And this was all possible with the help of Munster, who, oddly enough, was at the very bottom of Pandora’s box. Munster gave Rand the push and support he needed to rip off his scars and fix what had been broken.

#A2: Mushroom turns into a man, goes after another man to retrieve his “child”

Trigger warnings: …It’s been so long since I read this, so I can’t remember

Propaganda:

It’s unlike those danmei zombie stories where the apocalypse seems like it’s all fun and games. There is no group of friends forming teams and going on missions. No treasure hunting, no power-ups, and no strengthening of the fort. In this novel, the “enemy��� is not just another adventure; the enemy is a powerful and overwhelming force that can swallow one unawares, and no one can run away from it.

So many of the characters die, and most of the time, their deaths are not even meaningful. The author kills them off like they’re swatting away flies, and you can’t complain that it’s bad writing either because it’s a f**king apocalypse. People are supposed to die.

But either way, the sudden meaningless deaths still wouldn’t be bad writing. The deaths significantly contribute to the tense atmosphere of the whole story. The author setting up the great inevitability of death paints a vivid picture of what the characters are going against, which is important because the Boss enemy has no physical form. The characters can’t fight it head-on like with a zombie.

And amidst all this hopelessness, our main character An Zhe shines like sunshine in the rain. He is the one thing that saves this story from further sinking into the abyss. His character is not exactly sunny and all-smiles, but he has a certain charm that comforts the people around him, and the readers as well. He is the embodiment of hope in this novel, and I couldn’t have asked for a more fitting main character.

Overall, the story highlights the beauty of hope and human will—how humans, in the face of calamity, will struggle and resist. Some may give in, but there will always be those who will continue to fight. This is an apocalypse story that one shouldn’t miss, and I absolutely recommend it to everyone.

[ohno-the-sun]

Brain empty only fish 🐟

[johnnygoth]

Here We Are Alone (Official Music Video)

[useragarfield]

What would I give, to live where you are? What would I pay, to stay here beside you? What would I do, to see you, smiling at me?

[maxyvert]

🐟Mermay 11-13🐟

🐟1-2🐟 🐟3-4🐟 🐟5-6🐟 🐟7-8🐟 🐟9-10🐟 Sketch comparison under the cut-

[thelien-art]

Celegorm-Orca!! 😍

(if it inspires you 😊)

It does inspire me!

Fun fact! Orcas have a higher chance than most other whales and dolphins for being albino or having leucism!

Leucism is the lack of melanin pigment in most of the body because of the absence, or small amount, of melanin-producing cells whereas albinism is the complete lack of it

@elentarial you requested him too but with a different fish but I´m going to tag you just to be sure <3

[rhetthammersmithhorror]

She Creature | 2001

[allisonmckenzieart]

I HAVE RETURNED!

Which means my shop is finally open again!

Here's a coupon, since there's still time to get gifts for the holidays- hope this helps!

20% off code: IMBACK

Shop <-

[protagonist-art]

im drawing h2o fanart at my big age and nobody can stop me

[miyamiwu]

MERMAID EFFECT HAS EXTRAS??? AND EVEN TWO OF THEM???

How have I not read them before??!!

And omg the author's note in the last non-extra chapter:

Munster and Rand stole back Munster's box of childhood teeth, which had been confiscated by Deep White, and then turned it into some kind of artwork and hung it in their living room

Vincent secretly took down the teeth art and hid it under the sofa hahahah

Munster and Rand would sometimes dive into the deep sea just to have sex there

Vincent cheered when he learned that it was impossible for Rand to get pregnant with mermaid cubs

Vincent has feelings for Rand that goes beyond of that between brothers, but he doesn't realize it. (I KNEW IT!!! Vincent is so obsessed with Rand, it was sus)

Vincent hates Munster very much. (Gahahahah)

Until he died, Vincent firmly expressed his disgust for Munster (bro you're just jealous). But deep inside, he has already regarded him as a member of the family (aaaaw)

Their life afterward was so smooth that Rand and Munster had big bellies in old age. Only Vincent maintained a good shape

Simon and Ryan got married (yay!) and had two babies through artificial insemination

Even after a long time, Rand and Munster would still blush whenever they say "I love you" to each other (aaaaw)

Munster loved deeply until the end of his life. His last words to Rand were "Will I become a bubble?" (In reference to the Little Mermaid, which Rand used to read it to it)

Rand said, "No. You will live in my heart until I reunite with you."

I wasn't expecting to learn anything new in my reread of this novel, but god there turned out to be a gold mine!

[aurorepeuffier]

Selkie et small animation test with after effect and tvpaint

[indigos-stardust]

Work In Progress artworks for mermay

Rough sketches and designs, personal thoughts in the tags

Edit: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53871985/chapters/136356367

Please read the fic that inspired me to make mer stuff, its one where legend slowly goes mer mind over the course of being trapped in a cave. The chain try to get him out but shenanigans ensue and its wonderful <3

[aioliravioli-69]

...

I have never realised before how much I needed a story like this

DDOGAK I LOVE YOU OMGGGG

I LOVE THE TWO MAIN GIRLS SO MUCH OMGG

they're so precious

Like, one's dealing with the traumatic effect of bullying and the other(while I'm not quite sure yet) is just doing her best to keep a certain secret and is dealing with a seemingly unloving (possibly abusive???) father (-> all of this is taken from the last scene of the free release)

[moerusai]

PORSCHE PACHARA KITTISAWAT

The KinnPorsche Anniversary Event Week 1: favourite main character(s) (insp) (more pantone)

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

ancient greek mermaid for historical mermay prompts from chloe.z.arts on instagram

based a bit on vase paintings of triton and this one of thetis holding dolphins like clubs??    black figure style my beloved