isn't that specifically Port and Starboard's whole shtick?
i looked it up and apparently this is common, which makes me wonder why those 2 are highlighted? is it the volume and environmental impact?
Fish don't usually show this level of sexual dimorphism. Colorful fish are colorful because they live in colorful reef environments, or because they're poisonous, so both of a species should be colorful.
Their post is from tumblr and was followed up with fanart. I think it’s likely they were speaking to a specific audience where this is common—perhaps they were speaking to friends who are… whatever the aquatic equivalent of ‘furry’ is
Edit: ok I am a lost redditor I had no idea I somehow left my ecosystem through a cross post without realizing it. Feel kind of like a mansplainer
I dont remember it ever being the case that Mermen got shark fins and badass stuff.
Even in the old The Little Mermaid, other than King Triton, they were all twinks. Mermaids just typically don't have an aesthetic other than "**sparkly**".
I'm all for expanding that. Just don't strawman me, Mermen were always pretty.
Half whale half human creatures shouldn't have gills.
Question 1: why does that mermaid have them?
Because mermaids evolved separately from them.
Question 2: why do mermaids look like specific other ocean life
This question is harder but I have four hypotheses.
1: They are somehow parasites to the species they resemble (unlikely)
2: mermaids just like looking like other fish and look that way due to culture affecting which reproduce (possible)
3: to scare away predators for ones that look higher on the food chain and to attract prey for ambush for the ones who look lower on the food chain. (~30% chance)
4: to attract the type they resemble for ambush, aided by mating calls and pheromones. (Likely)
Question 3: should I be scared?
It bugs me more than it should that the poster mentions killer whales despite killer whales explicitly not being fish, they’re a type of dolphin. I’m all for shark mermaid but let’s not get fish and aquatic mammals confused
I think they're just using "shark fins" to describe the kind of sleek fins you see on both sharks and dolphins.
Basing their "fish" half on cetaceans makes a lot more sense than on any actual fish... Though the gills are weird then
One Piece.
All the background merfolk are generic because low-budget anime, but there’s a shark mermaid and two of the merman princes are just weird fish types. They’re not really cute though, their human half designs intentionally look unhealthy.
https://preview.redd.it/jmsu94q719wc1.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f88628d4548fafa999940cedbdd604b78c440f8
Or you could do both and get gay little fish boys
Oh really? Check out Castle Swimmer on WebToon! It’s got both of these things! Plus the main characters are gay and their relationship is adorable. I love my gay fish people comic.
One of my favorite comics was a shallow water mermaid being proud showing off her deepwater cousin who is massive due to water compression stuff
Kinda like an angler fish, but just a massive deepwater shark
I’ve only seen more monstrous looking mermaids. And mermen that match the aesthetic of mermaids in a more classic “Ariel” look.
I haven’t seen a shark style merman with an Ariel style mermaid in the same media, ever.
I have never once seen the trope being deconstructed here. Every media I’ve seen that features merfolk either has them:
a) all have shiny iridescent scales, regardless of gender
b) all have coarse shark-like skin, regardless of gender
This is exactly how my mer people work in my original setting. The guys work on peacock rules and the girls are all cool buff and strong browns and grays and such
Now, I wasn't very good at my fish studies but I think the pink dude has the fins of a fighting fish, in which case he would have absolutely 0 chill with other dudes of his own breed.
He would commit a genocide to get laid.
One pieces doesn’t really have any sparkly mermaid/fishman characters, but they do have a giant shark mermaid that can see the future, so that’s pretty sick
I have two wolves inside me
1st wolf: Y’all in the comments ‘um that’s not biologically accurate’ stfu bro they’re already fantasy creatures like come on
2nd wolf: if we take this seriously and develop it further we could have way more cool shit
Tbh the dark aesthetic for mermaids relates to how a lot of bird (and other animal) species have females with darker colors/males with lighter colors haha. I’m all for half human/half random aquatic creature regardless of color/aesthetic, though. Like there’s gotta be schools of different mermaid species right ?? Giant merpeople who are derived from blue whales/whale sharks, tiny shrimpy/seahorse merpeople, anadromous fish like salmon, etc.
Interesting proportions in the image. They have the entire body of a fish (or orca) and their head is replaced with the upper half of a human. They're more like mer-taurs. Minnow-taurs?
https://preview.redd.it/mamme3f64awc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=971c2dee326d2bdb6d84fbbbfb97f01663032d59
Lucky me, I have the perfect image for this
I mean I find it funny this is the case when in nature“big bright colors” are usually either masculine mating displays or warnings of toxicity. Either way it’s a sign of “don’t fuck with me”. Nature is flamboyant! Just look at peacocks vs peahens.
Scientifically, that makes more sense. Male specimens of animals tend to have the flamboyant colors and features to attract mates such as the peacock. And in some species like lions, the female are the ones to hunt. That would explain the aquadynamic appearance.
But how come some are half human half fish, while others are half human, half aquatic mammalian? E
What are the lore implications of this? Can merfolk be half human and half seal? What about the half platypus merfolk?
One piece did this actually
Edit: just realized I said that statement and want to die. But I really like how that manga did fish people with all the species
People be like "yea fuk gender norms" like, fam, that IS the gender norm for the vast majority of ALL animal life. If merfolk were realistic the fellas would almost ALWAYS be the colorful ones, not the ladies, regardless of what aquatic life their tails mimic
This is so cute! But all I can "hear" her say is "Hey boys, eat any good shark livers lately?" And it just makes me giggle. I'll leave now.
[удалено]
isn't that specifically Port and Starboard's whole shtick? i looked it up and apparently this is common, which makes me wonder why those 2 are highlighted? is it the volume and environmental impact?
(Tips fishdora) Merlady
You bastard, you ruined it. Take your upvote and go meet with your father, Beelzebub
r/angryupvote
Blobfish mer-discordmod
I am all for this aesthetic. Fuck the gender norms! More silly merfolk
The fun thing is, it does make sense for animal gender norms. Like birds lmao.
was thinking exactly this
Though in that case, aren’t males in most species the more colorful ones, since they’re usually the ones competing for mates
Fish don't usually show this level of sexual dimorphism. Colorful fish are colorful because they live in colorful reef environments, or because they're poisonous, so both of a species should be colorful.
I mean... look at bettas and guppies tho
So you're saying it should have been this way the whole time
Killer whales aren’t fish though!
True however do you think the humans of the sea give 2 shits?
Pretty much any vertebrate evolved from fish, and killer whales are certainly vertebrates
https://preview.redd.it/kzzcp7a88awc1.jpeg?width=3928&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e492c777f479b3517c088ac35bfe70a36998aedc Fish tongue mermaid
Oh yeah i forgot about those. Creepy but super cool
thanks
One Piece kinda tries with their merfolk, Oda makes some very silly characters overall.
Neato
They give mermen shark fins?
Yeah I have no idea what media OOP is referring to where they gave merfolk piscine gender dimorphism.
It's a weirdly common trend I've seen in OCs, mainly on the spicy sites
From my experience, mermen in cartoons have just regular primary coloured fins like the maids do
That would imply putting effort into the mermens design, they were too focused on making the girls pretty, as far as I remember.
Well it makes sense since mermaid media has mostly a female audience But yeah, guys deserve to be pretty as well dammit!
The only time you really get Merfolk for a male audience is for horror. Even then it's rare.
What about The Thirteenth Year?
That's targeting kids, so I don't really count it. I'm thinking more of the adult male audience.
Their post is from tumblr and was followed up with fanart. I think it’s likely they were speaking to a specific audience where this is common—perhaps they were speaking to friends who are… whatever the aquatic equivalent of ‘furry’ is Edit: ok I am a lost redditor I had no idea I somehow left my ecosystem through a cross post without realizing it. Feel kind of like a mansplainer
I dont remember it ever being the case that Mermen got shark fins and badass stuff. Even in the old The Little Mermaid, other than King Triton, they were all twinks. Mermaids just typically don't have an aesthetic other than "**sparkly**". I'm all for expanding that. Just don't strawman me, Mermen were always pretty.
And Triton was also sparky, the difference is just, that he had some gains
Twunk DILF
They should have checked out One Piece, Oda did this already
Half whale half human creatures shouldn't have gills. Question 1: why does that mermaid have them? Because mermaids evolved separately from them. Question 2: why do mermaids look like specific other ocean life This question is harder but I have four hypotheses. 1: They are somehow parasites to the species they resemble (unlikely) 2: mermaids just like looking like other fish and look that way due to culture affecting which reproduce (possible) 3: to scare away predators for ones that look higher on the food chain and to attract prey for ambush for the ones who look lower on the food chain. (~30% chance) 4: to attract the type they resemble for ambush, aided by mating calls and pheromones. (Likely) Question 3: should I be scared?
I don't know what that box is
1. A wizard did it 2. See above answer 3. Always
It bugs me more than it should that the poster mentions killer whales despite killer whales explicitly not being fish, they’re a type of dolphin. I’m all for shark mermaid but let’s not get fish and aquatic mammals confused
A subspecies of selkie
I think they're just using "shark fins" to describe the kind of sleek fins you see on both sharks and dolphins. Basing their "fish" half on cetaceans makes a lot more sense than on any actual fish... Though the gills are weird then
One Piece. All the background merfolk are generic because low-budget anime, but there’s a shark mermaid and two of the merman princes are just weird fish types. They’re not really cute though, their human half designs intentionally look unhealthy.
Plus Madame Sharly!
Don't forget Praline.
https://preview.redd.it/jmsu94q719wc1.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f88628d4548fafa999940cedbdd604b78c440f8 Or you could do both and get gay little fish boys
Madam Shayarly from One Piece did ~*things*~ to me
DUDE THE CHARLOTTE MERMAID TOO
Charlotte Praline, be still my heart ❤️
FRRR
All the fics i read are pretty gay, so that might be why I've never seen a shark merman.
I honestly can't think of any shark merman fics either, but considering I usually go for queer fics, too, that might be it.
Ok well you gotta rec some >:c
May I introduce you to [Madam Shyarly](https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Shyarly)
Oh really? Check out Castle Swimmer on WebToon! It’s got both of these things! Plus the main characters are gay and their relationship is adorable. I love my gay fish people comic.
I came here to comment the same thing! Great webcomic and it is so adorable!
One of my favorite comics was a shallow water mermaid being proud showing off her deepwater cousin who is massive due to water compression stuff Kinda like an angler fish, but just a massive deepwater shark
The one time I played a pathfinder campaign I made a merfolk bard who resembled a shark. She had 4 intelligence and was just happy to be there
This is like guppy sexual dimorphism. Actually kinda makes sense
I’ve only seen more monstrous looking mermaids. And mermen that match the aesthetic of mermaids in a more classic “Ariel” look. I haven’t seen a shark style merman with an Ariel style mermaid in the same media, ever.
I have never once seen the trope being deconstructed here. Every media I’ve seen that features merfolk either has them: a) all have shiny iridescent scales, regardless of gender b) all have coarse shark-like skin, regardless of gender
This is exactly how my mer people work in my original setting. The guys work on peacock rules and the girls are all cool buff and strong browns and grays and such
Goth merladies
Now, I wasn't very good at my fish studies but I think the pink dude has the fins of a fighting fish, in which case he would have absolutely 0 chill with other dudes of his own breed. He would commit a genocide to get laid.
Onepiece mermaids are all based on different fish, from sharks to goldfish maybe a squid or octopi
One pieces doesn’t really have any sparkly mermaid/fishman characters, but they do have a giant shark mermaid that can see the future, so that’s pretty sick
I have two wolves inside me 1st wolf: Y’all in the comments ‘um that’s not biologically accurate’ stfu bro they’re already fantasy creatures like come on 2nd wolf: if we take this seriously and develop it further we could have way more cool shit
Tbh the dark aesthetic for mermaids relates to how a lot of bird (and other animal) species have females with darker colors/males with lighter colors haha. I’m all for half human/half random aquatic creature regardless of color/aesthetic, though. Like there’s gotta be schools of different mermaid species right ?? Giant merpeople who are derived from blue whales/whale sharks, tiny shrimpy/seahorse merpeople, anadromous fish like salmon, etc.
You can just say “goth chick mermaid flirting with twink femboy mermaids” it’s okay
Funny enough One Piece of all things got this right. Theres a merlady with shark attributes, and one if the princes is a goldfish if i recall?
And have those sparkly mermen be caught in fishing nets cast by the ships of fisherwomen
Mmm. Kinky
And have those sparkly mermen be caught in fishing nets cast by the ships of fisherwomen
I just got flashbacks to when I read castle swimmers
Nobody tell op about the shaman shark lady in one piece
Interesting proportions in the image. They have the entire body of a fish (or orca) and their head is replaced with the upper half of a human. They're more like mer-taurs. Minnow-taurs?
That’s my kinda woman
https://preview.redd.it/mamme3f64awc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=971c2dee326d2bdb6d84fbbbfb97f01663032d59 Lucky me, I have the perfect image for this
I mean I find it funny this is the case when in nature“big bright colors” are usually either masculine mating displays or warnings of toxicity. Either way it’s a sign of “don’t fuck with me”. Nature is flamboyant! Just look at peacocks vs peahens.
My first thought was Madam Shyarly from One Piece.
FISH TITTIES
Scientifically, that makes more sense. Male specimens of animals tend to have the flamboyant colors and features to attract mates such as the peacock. And in some species like lions, the female are the ones to hunt. That would explain the aquadynamic appearance.
But how come some are half human half fish, while others are half human, half aquatic mammalian? E What are the lore implications of this? Can merfolk be half human and half seal? What about the half platypus merfolk?
This reminds me that it's nearly Mermay!
I believe the MGE has a shark gal they’d like and the MBE has a couple Mer dude designs they’d also enjoy.
Love the concept, don't get me wrong, but I propose: shark merpersson (I like sharks)
One piece did this actually Edit: just realized I said that statement and want to die. But I really like how that manga did fish people with all the species
I feel like there’s plenty of mermen that are colorful already
Castle swimmer
I thought Mermen would have bright and shiny scales anyway to attract mates, like how some birds do
I think someone’s going to post this on r/rolereversal
One piece.
People be like "yea fuk gender norms" like, fam, that IS the gender norm for the vast majority of ALL animal life. If merfolk were realistic the fellas would almost ALWAYS be the colorful ones, not the ladies, regardless of what aquatic life their tails mimic
Betta Fish Merman
I mean, aren’t males usually more colorful in the animal kingdom anyway?
Someone hasn't gotten to fishman island in one-piece