#sorry for going on a tangent

[shyravenns]

What do you think would be some bad qualities of Nikolai, personality wise? Or his weaknesses? What makes him tick, what would he wish to change or doesn't realize he's doing it? The man is intelligent and very kind, yes, but nobody's perfect. I would like to hear your opinion on him!

ohhh this is such a fun ask

Generally, NIk has mellowed out as he's gotten older. He's had his wild (and rather violent) days, and seen where it's brought men unluckier than him.

I like to think that Nik's anger can be rather,,,explosive. He's good at compartmentalizing, and he's even better at looking the other way when it comes to more,,,unsavoury aspects of his work. while I think he's mostly worked on (ignoring) his anger issues, I DO think he's the type to hold a grudge like a mf. And when Nik is mad it is scary and it can take a lot to get him to the point where he wants to genuinely lash out. I like to think that Price has probably seen him violently angry once or twice throughout their relationship, and even one time was enough for him.

He can be lowkey controlling, and condescending mainly because he's smart and what sucks is that he knows he's smart. He's the type to give you that slow, sly smile because he's laughing at a joke that you will never be privy too. Even if he's not doing it to be mean, there's always something he's noticed about someone that tickles him lmao

I also tend to see him as having issues with being as empathetic as he feels like he should be. He cares but also not really unless you're in the small group of people he'd die for. he's good at reading emotions, but he'll struggle to relate to them.

I also have a hc that Nik was raised,,,,pretty religious as a kid and it sorta followed him as an adult. I think he still feels plenty of guilt over his lifestyle, and the acts he's committed against other people and the idea of him traumatizing some poor priest in a confessional is something that amuses me. @magicalweirdism and I have gone over it so much, and if you want a more coherent hc about it then pls check them out. This isn't a bad quality of his, but I do think it leads to him having some pretty toxic ideas about masculinity and his own sense of self that he never really gets rid of esp with the kind of environment I believe he was raised in.

Without making this even longer, I DO think that Nik struggles with depression and past drug abuse. Something about being a teenager witnessing the atrocities of war will that to you

Overall, I think NIk is pretty content with who he is. He's not ashamed of his strength and he will never feel guilty for doing what he's had to do to survive. He's had over 40+ years of figuring his shit out

[transingthoseformers]

Besides my idea for the mercenaries dislike and distrusting both Autobots and Decepticons alike I see them refusing to take jobs involving them due to it making things “complicated”. Also my band of mercs disliking Lockdown well, viewing his trophy habit as both gross and unprofessional.

Yeah!!

After all, they don't want to get caught in needless crossfire or sticky diplomatic situations (I've been reminded of IDW and how the rest of the galaxy's views on autobots and decepticons is complicated). After all, they're here to get in get the job done get their payment and get out.

I 100% can see why many mercs would think that, especially since yes. It's pretty unprofessional and reminds me more of game hunting.

This made me remember one of my favorite mercenary ocs, Crackshot! The ex-decepticon sniper dinobot. I have some material written down for them but they had a lot of interesting frame traits

[letyugisayfuck]

1, 13, 18 ?? (ygo ofc)

1-First ship I can remember has to be Joey/Mai. I didn't realize how much older Mai was when I was like 6-8 years old and watching the 4Kids dub and now I see them more as bros. They are still cute tho ❤️

13- Most Shippable character for me is probably Kaiba but it's because I'm biased and he's my favorite. I ship that bitch with almost anybody. 😂

18- Guillty Pleasure ship is hard for meeeeee. I can't really think of anything. At one point it might have been Honda/Kaiba but I've seen so much support for that ship lately that it makes me feel way better!

Oh yo actually!!!!! Rebecca/Mokuba /Leon is the cutest thing ever. I don't think I've ever mentioned it to anyone but I think they'd all be so cute together. Like idk have hair braiding parties and terrorize Kaiba with their combined wits. Also have cute ideas of like college age them going through life and stuff. I feel like there's a bunch of potential exploring relationship dinamics. Lol I'll stop now before I ramble too long 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[polychaeteworm]

Ok I really really would like animated fight club but the graphic novel sequels were so so so bad that I do not trust Chuck (I'm not looking up how to spell his last name rn) to do it right.

Fight club spoilers ahead (it's old but everyone yells at me when I try to talk about "the twist")

Like seriously, as someone with DID, I feel like the original book went hard and actually had some interestingly well researched nuance about dissociative disorder.

Like it's obviously fantasy and DID doesn't work like it does in fight club, but It was refreshing to see some of the internal dialogue with Tyler and the way it relates to the narrators trauma. Like it went deeper on that rep then just "evil alter does things behind your back" because the book really made Tyler out to be a realistic alter because his motivations match up with all the trauma the narrator buries and doesn't come to terms with. It's implied in the book that he's an introject of the narrators neglectful father, and that he's fed up with his feelings being ignored.

He flat out tells the narrator "I do these things because you won't, I'm everything you wish you could be" and of course it's unrealistic extreme, but the bones of it is a somewhat relatable struggle if you've ever had an alter disagree with the whole system angrily.

But then, the graphic novel- Tyler goes away when narrator takes medicine and Marla wants him to come back so she fucks with his meds and Tyler comes back and starts teaching their kid how to make bombs.

I was so let down. I didn't get past the first chapter.

It was like, dude you nailed a lot of aspects of how DID can make you think and be in denial about your needs but then you threw it out the window when you made a serious psychological condition into something that can be turned on and off with meds like a light switch and now Tyler really is the evil alter trope and that genuinely made me loose respect for Chuck using this disorder to make interesting societal commentary. Like you really had something here but you went and did what every writer seems to do with DID. You researched and then you stopped researching after you made the money.

STOP no more live-action remakes. We're going the other way now. Animated Casablanca. Animated The Godfather. Animated Oppenheimer. Animated Fight Club.

[lotus-pear]

these losers again

[blueblurseptember]

wise who's naturally protective and asaba whose tendency is to keep his struggles to himself. fellas, I AM SEATED.

[demonicseries]

I agree with the second one. The use of symbols can tell you whether something is one term or two

4(6) is one term, while 4 x 6 is two terms. For the same reasoning,

4/2 is one term, while 4 ➗2 is two symbols.

Is what you’re showing a form or a number, or an operation? In each step of the equation, the terms get manipulated into a different form. Using an operator that physically separates the terms tells me that each term is it’s own form of the number.

2(2+1) is 6 as much as the number 6 is 6. They mean the same thing.

But math is also a language. It has its own syntax rules, grammar, and is constantly evolving. In Ancient Greece, they did number theory without even have invented the concept of written number arithmetic, like 2+2=4. They saw it as lengths of 2 and lengths of 2 give a length of 4.

Our modern algebra, using letters as variables and Greek letters as functions is still flawed. Multiple things can mean the same thing.

Take this symbol ∂. It’s used to denote partial derivatives. It’s also used to denote jacobians. You can only know what it means based on context. Hell, we don’t even have an agreed upon name for this symbol, despite it being super common.

To get around this, in math write ups, we usually explicitly define what each thing means, and the rules of using them. It’s all about context. For the original problem op posted to be answered correctly, it’s not that they shouldn’t be using that symbol, it’s that it has to be defined properly.

Stolen from twitter.

Remember that the ÷ symbol is usually not used in equations, and never used in an equation that used brackets to imply multiplication without a X sign, because it would create ambiguity. You can't give a correct answer to an incorrect equation.

[lunatic-pudge]

FUCKING PREACH IT, HOMIE!!!!!!

But seriously, this fandom has a serious infantalization problems with characters such as Scout and Pyro.

Like, they see Scout, they see how he's this hyperactive, childish merc who's "God's gift to women" and immediately immediately boil him down to him being a grown man-child. He's literally 27, can drive, kills people for a living, and has been shown to pull women.

Yeah, he's immature and childish, but you gotta remember he's almost in his 30's, is the youngest of seven older brothers, and works to help support his mom (who he had to watch struggle to raise him and his older brothers on her own)

And then you get Pyro, who gets the worst of it. Pyro's case gets me especially heated cause they're infantilized due to them being mentally unwell. These are probably the same people that wouldn't even sit near Pyro IRL cause they think "Schizophrenia=evil monster"

Yes, Pyro also kills for a living, but that's cause it's their JOB. Schizophrenia is such a complicated condition, and it gets such a bad rep. I don't have Schizophrenia, so obviously, I can't speak for those who do have it. But I know for a damn fact that those who have it don't appreciate how people treat it.

Now we know Pyro is an adult, what age are they we don't know. My guess is that they're close to Sniper and Scout in age. We also know that Pyro handmade their weapons and was CE-FUCKING-O OF AN ENGINEERING COMPANY. I can not stress enough that there's so much more to Pyro's character, but everyone and their Mother's wanna look at them and go, "Aww, look at the precious baby. They don't realize that they're hurting people"

I think another thing that plays into it is that they appear to like things that can be considered "childish" (Balloonicorn, bubbles, rainbows, ect.) But you can be a fully grown and functioning adult and like those things. I'm 22, and I have a huge ass stuffed animal collection. I have friends who are in similar boats as me. It's normal.

Okay, I'll shut up for now. I just hate how people treat some of these mercs.

[coddda]

Hiiiiiii. Episode 25/26 lawlight analysis rant thingy here. I don't know how to write an intro for this so let's just get to it LOL

I think one of the reasons that the rain/foot scenes stick out so much (the. Sheer insanity of a Foot Massage Scene in an anime revolving around two guys trying to kill each other aside 💀) is the fact that the anime specifically suffers a bit in terms of adapting a few of the "emotional" moments in death note.

And I don't mean "emotionally impactful" exactly. For example I think the adaptations of scenes like Raye and Naomi's deaths were very impactful and the atmospheres of their final scenes were great, but I mean more from a characterization standpoint (if that makes sense). Being more focused on mind and logic games, Death Note as a whole isn't as invested in individual characters' deeper feelings as it is in its action (which isn't necessarily a criticism per say, it's simply part of the nature of a mystery thriller series). But just because they're fewer and farther between doesn't mean there are none at all. In the manga we do get to see, for example, how much Light actually cared for his family and especially Sayu, and how he actually felt more conflicted and suffered lack of sleep/appetite when he first used the Death Note.

The anime specifically as an adaptation is pretty good at adapting the main mind fuckery and action of Death Note, but its lacking in properly adapting scenes like the ones I mentioned above is a criticism I see somewhat often, and it's pretty fair imo. Compared to all the other adaptations, it certainly seems to fall short on an emotional level: the musical has entire songs going in depth about the characters feelings and relationships, the 2015 jdrama is. Insane and has its emotional moments in spades (because it's a TV drama, which are more focused on portraying emotional conflict and the like), even the 2006 movies has its emotional beats and L Change the WorLd is. Well. Oh Man.

Anime Light to a lot of people is like. Light but he's "already evil" (which I have my own thoughts on but I digress). Light but after using the Death Note for like 2 minutes he's already like "fuck yeah time to kill criminals". Basically the anime doesn't take as much time to delve into his less cynical sides or really delve into his already vague and harder to decipher feelings in general, he is noticeably colder from the get-go here, etc.

But that's part of why I think episode 25 manages to stand out so much tonally (apart from it being, y'know, the episode L literally Dies). I love the episode so much and could probably rant for hours about how much I love the artistic choices made in it but what I'm trying to get at here is that it's one of the very few moments where the show tries to go deeper into specific character's emotions, and one of the very few moments where the show Attempts (emphasis on "attempts" because, well, you'll see in a bit) to get more in-depth into Light's feelings apart from his cynicism/apathy/justice. ness.

L in these two scenes in episode 25 is, well, pretty damn open about how he feels. It's usually interpreted as him knowing that he's going to die, and you can see it. He visibly looks/sounds lost, somber, etc. He never really had much to hide around Light to begin with (since he doesn't really care about hiding himself the same way Light does) but especially not now and it Shows, and I personally thought it was pretty cool to delve into his thoughts/show how he feels this way. The somberness can be felt throughout the entire scene, even people who don't already know the plot of Death Note from the manga could probably tell that he's about to die.

In the manga, once L starts suspecting Misa again and Rem realizes what Light is trying to do, it goes straight to Watari and L's deaths, but the anime instead gives a distinct and unexpected pause in the middle of this where L contemplates his own death. It's fucking great, and the shift from straight action to slower emotional weight makes these scenes stand out a lot, since, like I said, the show usually focuses more on the former. But it's kind of ironic, too.

Not only does the anime open up L's feelings more in these scenes, but it also tries to dig deeper into Light's feelings as well through L. And it's really funny honestly because while, yes, these are the more "emotionally open" scenes of the anime Light still manages to be Incredibly avoidant and contribute almost nothing to the entire ordeal.

L is visibly upset -> "Yeah Ryuzaki, you're not making any sense at all" (Not addressing the obvious conflict from L)

"Tell me, Light. From the moment you were born, has there ever been a point where you've actually told the truth?" -> "[The most stale, over-explained, avoidant answer to a "yes/no" question that you could ever hear + blatant attempts to reframe the question]"

(L's half-smile here kills me) "I had a feeling you'd say something like that" -> [Nothing]

"I'm sorry" -> [Nothing]

"It'll be lonely won't it? You and I will be parting ways soon" -> [Nothing]

^ From this point Light continues to say literally Nothing for the rest of the scene. I'm not even joking, from then on the rest of Light's voicelines are reduced to nothing but vague noises of confusion.

Everytime L calls Light out as a person ("Has there ever been a point where you've actually told the truth?" / "I had a feeling you'd say something like that." / "Won't it be lonely?") he doesn't actually acknowledge anything. Out of those three lines, he only answers verbally to if he's ever told the truth, and even then it's the most blatantly people-pleasing answer ever, as it usually is with Light. And I don't think it's because Light just. Doesn't care about any of what L's saying at all, or that he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about (questioning Light's authenticity as a person, saying it would be lonely when they part), instead he's choosing not to acknowledge any of what this means about himself or him and L at all. He's like a fucking wall.

And like, for the truth question in particular, the show makes sure that you know it's not something that Light just. Doesn't care enough about to answer. The hard cuts to silence are a very rare but extremely effective way that the show conveys an extremely important moment (see: Light regaining his memories, Matsuda noticing Light opening the warehouse door before he escapes (not as much of a "direct" cut to silence but still)), and cuts to multiple angles/framings/zooms of the exact same shot are also used for the same purpose (see: Light hugging Misa when she was crying, Matsuda aiming his gun to shoot Light, Light regaining his memories Again). Just like the scene where Light gets his memories back, the moment L's question finishes the show utilizes both. That question cut Deep. There's is a solid Almost 5 seconds of silence before the sound of the rain gradually starts fading back in, and honestly that should be telling enough as is (but of course Light doesn't actually admit that. Or anything at all really, so). Oh also another fun detail! We do not see Light's face At All (except for the shot where you can see his mouth moving but not his eyes), for the Entire time that he's going on his spiel to L. We Will Be Revisiting This Later, by the way. This is not, in fact, the first time you're going to see this detail from Light.

The only sort of reciprocation that we see from Light during Any of these two scenes is when Light dries L's hair while L dries his feet. Biblical meanings/references aside it's interesting because it's the only time he directly does anything "for" L in these scenes, but even then he doesn't try to pass it off as anything meaningful really the same way L does ("You're still soaked", a purely neutral and factual statement. It doesn't Add Anything compared to L's. Sin atonement loneliness grieving stuff. While Light is showing his own reciprocation to this more personal moment he also tries to keep it impersonal enough that it doesn't actually have to mean anything deep). And when L says "I'm sorry" after he once again gets no response from Light. It's also after this that L gets that pained look on his face, like he knows that at this point he's not actually going to get anything meaningful from Light (again, very significant and rare from L in the show. We've seen him in distress (see: when Ukita died, hell, when Watari dies), but even then he mostly manages to keep his usually neutral expression), we never see him "look sad" like he does here):

I just think it's interesting that this is one of the few scenes in this particular adaptation of Death Note where they try to open up the character's thoughts/feeling (especially considering the fact that they. lowkey blunder in adaptations of original scenes from the manga), and L himself is being rather open (not that he ever really tries to hide what he thinks nearly as much as Light), and yet all Light contributes to it in return is like. Actually nothing. Bro fumbled it. There is no resolution to any of this, to any of what L asks at all, to any of the many opportunities for a meaningful conversation, and the only thing even relatively close to an answer that you can get from Light is what you can infer from how he acts in the episode after L dies, where he's just going through the motions, but hardly acting as if he's actually living at all.

(Honestly I think the transition from this scene with the taskforce to the subsequent scene with Misa says enough on its own. Light's expressions and tone says everything:)

(Oh sidenote but. This shit again:

"Light, this is our first date in forever. can't you enjoy yourself a little more?" ('Why don't you seem happy? We can finally be together since L is dead') -> No response, Light instead changing the topic to him wanting to move in with Misa without changing his mannerisms at all

Also there's that one detail again. You pretty much don't see Light's expression when he speaks here at all, except for one shot of his eyes, which is quite literally the exact same shot they used when he "saw" L, just altered for the new setting. You have No idea what he looks like when he's responding to Misa, although it's probably fair to assume that it's the same empty stare he has for the whole Two Shots where you can clearly see his whole expression in the entire scene.

Something something Light Yagami bad at feelings I think you get the point though)

I guess Light's Kind of showing what he's feeling now? He'll admit to himself that it's boring without L, but no more than that. Light never actually admits to anything "significant", and L's dead already anyway, so what would that even do?

And then we get, uh. Basically nothing from Light. For the next 5 Years. Except that he joined the NPA, so, uh, yay? Good job, Light you totally nailed it! Thank you for allowing us as an audience to delve deeper into your inner thoughts and feelings as a character so we can find out more about you as a person! Very helpful! Thank you for not sabotaging one of your few dedicated opportunities to look into yourself as a person and reflect on your relationships with others and being 100% honest with yourself! We stay winning guys.

Anyway, this got way too long for a scene that's over a decade old, and I've probably just said everything that everyone else has already said in this fandom before. But unfortunately this has been living in my head for way too long and I must scream. I just think this episode's neat is all :)

tl;dr Part of the reason why the rain/foot scene (tbh episode 25 in General) stands out so much is because the Death Note anime specifically was a bit robbed in terms of its more emotional character moments compared to the other medias, which makes more somber/introspective scenes like the ones in episode 25 stand out a Lot in comparison. But it's also incredibly ironic because it's one of the few moments where the show (or specifically L) tries to look deeper into Light's character, but because he is so avoidant for the entire duration of these two scenes he adds basically nothing at all. It's almost funny. Mostly sad. It's also very gay. Aand post

Okay actually nevermind one more thing I talked about how the jdrama is supposed to be more emotionally in-depth because it is a TV Drama and just for the record, same thing happens there! I could probably do an entire analysis of the Blue Scene in this context like I did with episode 25 but I'd literally be here forever, so uh, just take this iconic line as my main example:

Same Thing. L's statement "I wish we could have met some other way" is personal. It's his own wish, his own regret that he is expressing to Light. While Light's reply obviously has that same regret implied it's also phrased in a specifically impersonal way. It's closed off. "This is the only way we could have met" it closes off the topic and simply renders L's wish as ultimately futile. Light does not say that he Also wishes he could have met L a different way even if it was likely impossible, instead it's a cold statement of cynical fact.

Idk just. Something something L being able and Willing to be more openly sentimental/emotionally open towards Light/about Light vs. Light's inability to be honest with anyone including himself and his own nature preventing any form of meaningful reciprocation. Something something self-sabotage, y'know the drill. God don't even get me Started on how sincere L's tone is when he says "It'll be lonely won't it?"(at least in the eng dub) in the anime I could talk about his tone in that scene for ages. Also yes all of this relates to L Change the WorLd too by the way. Don't ask how it just does okay.

I do think that scenes like these (rain/foot scene, The Blue Scene. Uh. L Change the WorLd The Novel Adaptation) show, at least in those adaptations, that L does genuinely care for Light, and show that he values him as a friend not just in the mindgame-equal sense but also just like, a more sincere sense you know. Idk if that made any sense and that's a whole other topic for another day but you guys just have to believe me on this one alright please please believe me buries head in hands. Okay post over finally thanks for coming to my tedtalk hope you enjoyed my very-unnecessarily long analysis of the week

[mamawasatesttube]

it's like, i really do enjoy most of the bats as characters and i really do like a lot of their comics. but also i am sooooo tired of them being hailed as better than literally everyone else. both in fanon but also in comics (modern ones are esp egregious imo, like WHAT was that shit about batman and the joker being the most dangerous men on the planet. hi. have you heard of lanterns? speedsters? supers? actually if i keep listing groups who could kick batman's ass we'd be here all day). they're like kudzu. that shit needs to stay in its native environment (funky little neo-noir detective stories) and stop being an invasive species (putting down everyone else to make them seem cooler). put bruce wayne back into a murder mystery setting that isn't about saving the world but is about saving one person or one family that no one else would've saved right now or so help me god. the whole invasive species cross contamination thing is unhealthy for both him And the other ecosystems he keeps getting transplanted into. please. it's so dark in here

[secriden]

Honestly, we, as a fandom have been so unfair to Kant about his lying/acting when this whole time, Mr "has my whole life planned out and I have a contingency plan for everything and also I am fully in control of all of my emotions" Fadel has been like:

Fadel, at 10am, pretending he wasn't missing Style: Sorry we're closed. Ignore the sign that says we've been open for the past 3 hours.

Fadel: I'm fine.

Also Fadel: Are you actually. 🥺 Not interested in dating? 🥺 Anymore?? 😭

Fadel, after he accidentally was too honest: OH shit, oh shit, oh shit!!!

Fadel: I'm a struggling business owner!

Fadel (under his breath): Nailed it.

[sakasakiii]

Hii! I just wanna say, your blog is life to me! Literally come here to scroll on tough days, and seeing all the character designs and funny comics makes everything better! Really love your art style and designs. I know this has been asked before but I'm wondering if I could use your art as profile pictures? I really appreciate the joy your art brings!

hihi hello!!! first off, thank you so much for your kind words! i'm sorry for how delayed this response has been (im just getting back into tumblr after one of many hiatuses... AGAIN!!!), but it warms my heart on my own tough days to hear you enjoy my designs and comics! it means a lot, so thank you again!! ❤️❤️

now onto your question about using my art as a pfp: that's absolutely fine! by the time i'm answering this it's likely a bit late already, but i hope this clears things up in the long run. im absolutely ok with anyone using my art as pfps/icons, just so long as you remember to credit me, don't claim as own, dont use for AI training, etc etc.... hope that clears things up, and sorry again for taking so long to see this!

[calamitoustide]

it's this attitude combined with the attitude of "wait no that doesn't have a lot of kudos/hasn't been recced to me on tiktok" like how the fuck do you think fics are going to get "a lot of kudos" if you don't fucking read them?

People refuse to read WIPS so they won't get a lot of kudos... so when they're finished people won't read them... because they don't have a lot of kudos... because no one reads WIPS

And then IF a writer posts all the fic at once no one reads it because there aren't any kudos and if it's not recced to them ten times they won't even think about reading it, it won't even be in the front of their mind to. Why would they? There's not many kudos which means it's awful and they shouldn't waste their time with it?

I've seen it time and time again and fanfiction is going to fucking die out if you don't read WIPS. It's not even about what you the reader are missing out on you're neglecting the entire point of fandom. Fandom is community, and you get that community by reading WIPS and interacting with them!!

Writers write for themselves but if they put all their effort into a WIP that lasts months years and the majority of people aren't reading it because they refuse to read WIPS and don't trust that they'll finish they're going to quit writing! and then what? there won't be any more fics to turn into the "next big fic in the fandom" there won't be any fics at all!

not to do this again. but i simply can't. deal. with the whole. i don't read wips attitude. i can't. I AM NOT. talking about people who have some disability etc. that makes reading wips hard for whatever reason. i'm talking more about the general attitude of like. i want long fics but only once they're completely finished. that is a WILD ask my guy. wild. read wips. READ WIPS. it just needs to be less socially acceptable in this space not to read wips. i am so tired of getting comments being like "i never read wips but--" my guy wut. READ WIPS. WIPS are the backbone of this fandom, i cannot stress this enough. fanfiction will die out if you don't read and engage with wips. who are yall and where do you think u are?

[jade-of-mourning]

finished (please reblog that one!)

don't know shit about this fandom but my friend showed me the youtube videos and i was like oooooo… i have no idea what kinger looks like.

anywho; sketches. will probably clean these up & color properly at some point bc jax got so stretched that he is approximately 3 pixels now. but until then i figured i'd just put it out here bc i have to do college instead of drawing now!

[monsteractiasluna]

Mermaid Eclipse and Siren y/n!

I don't have a name for this AU yet but the basics of it is uhhh alien mermaid/siren reservation and rehabilitation ! Sun and Moon are aliens who are working to rehabilitate Y/N after a major injury and eventually Eclipse as well.

I'm going to go insane about the differences between Sirens and Mermaids now

Mermaids and Sirens share a common ancestor but are very different in how they live and court.

Mermaids value beauty while sirens value survivability, so scars have entirely different meanings to each species. Scars to mermaids are a horrific flaw while to sirens they are a mark of power. The more horrific the scar is the more appealing to a siren it is.

Sirens are considered brutish and more animalistic due to their territorial nature and the fact they sometimes feed on mermaids, so humans that invade their planet for resources (or more illegal activities) often slaughter sirens in droves. Sirens are slowly becoming endangered, hence the need for a reservation.

Mermaids also aren't safe from human intervention, as they are considered "exotic pets" to the rich and powerful. Due to the species main focus on beauty this is doubly a problem. Mermaids tend to flock close to the reservation due to the safety it provides, as well as using the rehabilitated sirens as a safeguard. A well fed siren rarely goes after mermaids and a deal can be struck between a pod and a solitary siren. The siren offers safety from humans and aliens if the mermaids will lead them directly to it. This ends in the entire ship of humans and aliens shredded to bits.

Courting is also different to sirens and mermaids. Mermaids focus on gifting jewelry or other ornaments that can be used to enhance the natural look, while sirens court through hunting and defending territory.

For an interspecies relationship like Y/n and Eclipse it was a matter of doing both. Eclipse courted y/n in the siren way (hunting down something larger than himself) while y/n crafted him something to wear and show off to others (ripping out its own fang and fashioning it into something wearable). The Sea Glass embedded in Y/n's chest was a secondary courting gift from Eclipse, but due to their job as the guardian of the territory they had to find an alternate way to ensure it doesn't get ripped off. Kelp was too fragile, so they decided to just rip open the skin and force the wound to heal around the sea glass.

Claiming bites are something very few mermaids do, and is mainly used to show major devotion to a life partner. The willingness to allow a scar shows loyalty beyond anything else, and can be considered either foolish or romantic depending on how "progressive" the pod is.

This post is too long so that's it on my intense thoughts of "what makes a siren different from a mermaid" but i will be back

[utilitycaster]

I was writing up a whole long stream of consciousness rant for the drafts, as I am wont to do, and without rewriting the whole thing here's something I realized.

There's like, three main flattened archetypes I see fandoms (FANDOMS. NOT NECESSARILY ORIGINAL CREATORS. FREQUENTLY NOT ORIGINAL CREATORS. I CANNOT MAKE THIS MORE CLEAR) place on white male characters:

Tough and Masculine (or Brilliant) Man Who Is Always Correct (often coming from cis straight white men; whether he is Tough or Brilliant depends on if they're a Military Bro or a Tech Bro)

Sad Boy Poor Little Meow Meow Whose Trauma Means He Cannot Be Wrong (rather more popular than the former with the Tumblr crowd)

Brooding Dom With Dark Past (if you've ever gone into the Percival de Rolo tags and used the block button like a machete on a swath of x reader fics, this one is immediately familar)

and to be clear the same character can be the recipient of all three of these from different groups; the latter two often even overlap among the same fans. Anyway it is extremely funny to me that of the men of the Veilguard companions, Emmrich doesn't really fall into this at all given he's way too polite and pleasant for the former and lacking in sufficient trauma for the latter two; and a lot of people are throwing various fits that Lucanis ABSOLUTELY isn't the third category and frankly isn't even the second, since if you exacerbate his trauma he just becomes cold and if you work on healing it his true self (a fucking dork) emerges AND because his entire situation is "I have limited expertise, let's leave the planning to someone else, I'm the dagger guy." On the other hand Davrin is an OBVIOUS candidate for the first one, but even if the story hadn't been like "nice infallible stronghold you got there, Warden, would be a shame if something were to happen to it" as the act one finale, he is also, crucially, a black man, so really all three of these irritating archetypes are impossible to place and while I do not think creators should necessarily try to avoid them since people will, as stated before, do this even if it's entirely unsupported by the text, it is very fun for me that it's actually fucking impossible to twist the text to do this without abandoning it altogether.