r/mermaids

I haven't felt actual JOY in decades...but when I look back some of my fondest memories had to do with water (Pretending to be a mermaid for hours in the tub, counting down the days until the Tell City Pool opened and always getting at least 1 slice of pizza before leaving cause it was the best, all the times we went to Tipsaw Lake over the Summertime, Playing Racquetball with my mom and then swimming or exercising in the therapy pool at the Health park~) The only thing I hated about all those times were all the people that were there, I always dreamed of being able to swim somewhere alone or just with family.

At some point I lost that dream but recently I made a new YouTube channel where I wanted to post my poems as ai songs (something new to try to occupy my mind until my brother gets home) but with a new channel comes new recommendations and I think because I had so many poems about sirens (which I didn't really even realize at the time) they started recommending a channel called The Magic Crafter...she's a professional mermaid, I watched a video and was instantly mesmerized...it ignited a spark in me that I thought was long since dead.

I wanted to be a mermaid...I always felt so at home in the water and I have that same yearning to swim in my own private pool as I did when I was a kid...just the thought of it brings a smile to my face. I know EXACTLY how I want it to look, I've had the exact same dream every night for a full week now that I walk through a door in my bedroom out to a 4ft. wide corridor that leads out to the backyard and into a big pool room (with a frosted skylight, porcelain walls and anti slip porcelain floors) I already have the pool picked out and some of the decor I want for the room...

The problem is we're all just getting by and we can't afford to have this built...we're going to be trying to save what money we can but if it's just us it'd likely take us 10 years to get enough money...I have cried over this, my heart hurts with a deep yearning to swim again~

I know this is a long story/rant but I wanted to give you the lowdown on my life... I started receiving disability due to mental issues in 2007 (My Grandma who was my entire world died from doctor's neglect when I was 12, going on 13 and it made me spiral into a deep depression that I never really was able to crawl out of...I lost interest in nearly every single hobby I had and the pain and anger turned to numbness and going through the motions on autopilot~

I was raised by a single mom with Bipolar, who was constantly wanting to move every 6 months or so...so I never really had stability either, we moved from apartment to apartment to apartment (sometimes moving to a different unit in the same complex~) My only real friends at that time were animals and most apartments wouldn't allow them so what little bit of joy I got from that would also get sucked out~

Finally in 2009 my brother got a mortgage for a double wide on a foundation and my mom and I moved in with him and thankfully that's where we have stayed since...however my phobias have gotten to the point where I haven't willingly left the house since moving in (I fear being around people (I have not had many people be nice or show respect in the past), I massively fear bugs (We have a lot of spiders and sometimes wasps and mosquitoes around our place~), I am obese and can't wear shoes (one foot is always super swollen and they try to cramp my toes the moment I try to put a shoe over them :()...I can't stand very long (less than 2 minutes without holding onto something) and I have horrible balance every since I had to be rushed to the E.R. back in I believe 2016? (it was one of those time where I felt forced to leave the house because I couldn't breathe) Turns out somewhere like 97% of my lungs were filled with Carbon Dioxide that I wasn't releasing...I spent 2 weeks in I.C.C. then spent 4 weeks in Rehab relearning how to use my arms, hands, and legs again...my balance never truly came back from that~

My entire day is spent sitting on my bed, doing a few things on my iPad every morning, then listening to YouTube while I play games on my phone trying to earn dribs and drabs of money here and there and trying to keep my brain occupied with something until my brother gets home from work (which is the highlight of my day cause then we can play games like World of Warcraft or 7 Days 2 Die to escape reality until he gets ready to go to bed.

I have a mini fridge and microwave in my bedroom so I spend 24/7 in my room and only ever leave to go to the bathroom...I don't really feel like I have a right to be in the living room (that's usually where my mom and her boyfriend is, and also where my mom's boyfriend's adult adopted daughter sleeps).

I know this would be a huge step to not only elate my mental state but it would also allow me to exercise (being weightless in the water helps joints so much) and swimming as a mermaid would help me strengthen my muscles, AND on top of all of that I actually think it would help me FINALLY be able to lose weight (I've already slowed WAY down on the eating because getting this done is my only thought right now and I want to look better as a mermaid.)

If you can find it in your heart to donate I would be eternally grateful and it would boost my faith in humanity, if you aren't able to help financially then PLEASE share this and try to get the word out...I finally have something that will bring me the joy I've so desperately missed most of my life. My GoFundMe link is here-> https://gofund.me/69a2f3faa

I loved how shimmery the tails were while not looking like fake Barbie tails but properly fishy. Just a beautiful design in my opinion.

Mermaids being fictional creatures, obviously the tails are up for interpretation, but I was wondering what style of tales your average mermaid fan best likes.

When I was a kid growing up there was a surprisingly small variety. You had the basic green fins of Ariel in the cartoon or you had Barbie mermaid in pastel colours ranging from hot pink to pale blue. Even movies like The Thirteenth Year (which stands out as one of the few merman movies) weren't especially creative in the tail department. (Splash had a neat looking tail, but unfortunately I didn't see it as a child despite being a millennial, which is a shame because kid!me loved Rom Coms and Mermaids and would have been thrilled if she knew it was a thing!)

I did see some very, very interesting and beautiful mermaid tails in picture books that had a bit more variety than movies growing up. But these were overshadowed by more generic ones which were more popular and based off they Disney Ariel style.

It wasn't until I was a teenager I saw more interesting (but still streamlined and functional looking) mermaid tails. Fifteen year old me was really impressed with how sleek and long Aquamarine's tail was, and seventeen year old me originally thought the orangey tails from h2o looked a little stubby in comparison (though as an adult I would argue I now actually prefer the h2o tail design to the Aquamarine one).

But in the current age of people cosplaying as mermaids online there have been a lot more creative designs for tails. I've seen tails that are bright red meant to be devil or vampire mermaids, lavender "dragon" tails. And as drop dead gorgeous as they are, I'm often caught thinking those don't even look especially aquatic anymore. They're so unfish-like I sometimes think they miss the point.

Looking at the tail for the recent live action version of the Disney Little Mermaid I find myself conflicted. Because it's unique and kind of pretty the way it has all those flowing tendrils, but at the same time it looks more cartoon-y than the cartoon did. It makes me miss the simplicity of the original design, and how it was immediately identifiable as a "mermaid tail". I kind of think we peaked in media with the H2o tails and then we got so insanely elaborate we don't even know what it's supposed to be anymore.

I will admit I think genre plays a huge part. If it's dramatic gritty story then a mermaid with a flashy pink beribboned tail looks absurd but in an underwater fantasy cartoon where everything is supposed to look like it's from a children's colouring book a more elaborate tail looks cool.

But what do you think? Does the style of the tail effect how you feel about a mermaid story as a whole? Does it distract or pull you out of it? What's your favourite mermaid tail design?

https://open.spotify.com/album/5GLGETBg2KBoaHX3YBhOOR?si=QDK7c0v-QHWgZRyUbYHgUg

I am not new to mermaids/mermen, but I am to the idea of all of the mermaid/mermen TV shows and movies. I love both versions of Disney's The Little Mermaid movies, and I am currently watching Siren (does it count?)for the first time. I would love to watch more TV shows and movies with mermaids/mermen.

If y'all don't mind, I would love a list of mermaid/mermen shows and movies to watch. Or if there is a master list online somewhere, that would work also. Thanks!

Merman pic tax! This is Sternauge, my BJD (Ball-Jointed Doll) I turned into a merman. I'm also working on a Disney Little Mermaid BJD. Right now, she's in her human form, but I have the fabric for her mermaid parts, I just have to sew it.

Edit: Thank you all for the recommendations! Looks like I have a lot to catch up on after I finish watching Siren. YAY!

And as a way for me to say "Thank you " here's the post I made of Ariel when I first joined this sub. 😁🧜‍♂️🧜‍♀️🧜🩵

Ariel, my Little Mermaid WIP

In a lot of mermaid stories, especially TV and film since it's usually not feasible to film your entire media piece underwater or in the ocean (but in non visual mediums like books too, for narrative purposes) there will usually be a huge chunk of plot where the mermaid is on land.

Which got me thinking, what do most mermaid fans prefer? A story where the mermaid's tail remains but is hidden in some way, typically by putting her in a wheelchair (think Miranda, the book version of Aquamarine, or that one scene from the ABC family film Princess)? A story where the mermaid CAN change her tail to legs but there usually some rule that she can't touch water or be out after sunset (think Splash, movie!Aquamarine, Mako Mermaids)? A story where a transformation is possible only as part of a magic spell or potion and is largely irreversible (think Little Mermaid)?

Which do you like best, and is your preference just your preference for fun or personal taste reasons or do you feel it makes for a better narrative?

Also, for life-long mermaid fiction fans, has your preference changed since you were a child? Is there a mermaid to human transformation plot ex machina you'd cringe at as a viewer/reader now but in childhood wouldn't have batted an eye at or been bothered by?

Art made by me. Hope you like it!

When I say "humancore" whimsy, I mean mermaids just doing underwater versions of human activities or living like humans but the "undersea" version. Like mermaids riding giant seahorses (when we know of course seahorses that gigantic are not a thing, even in a world where belief for mermaids can be lightly suspended) or living in sea cottages and sea castles that are just like a regular castle or cottages but made from shells or corals.

These motifs are adorable in children's books and decorations and fun in cartoons (Disney's little mermaid series leaned hard into this much more than the movie did), but I was wondering if a book, film, video game, or other piece of media meant for older than middle grade can use this style without it seeming weird or cliche or suspending disbelief?

What do most mermaid fans think?

I made this for a summer art conquest.

She (Lily from Magic Island) was my favorite fictional mermaid as a kid. But nobody seems to know what I'm talking about when I mention her.

Pic 1 & 2 by GoldiPhotos, edited by me.
Pic 3-6 by PhotoStegi (incl. edit).

BG3 Astarion Siren AU fanfic (M/F) on AO3.... A snippet from the sequel in process and posting!!

This post is 🐙🧜‍♀️ FOR MERMAY!!🧜‍♀️🐙 I'm writing a sequel focusing more on the siren aspect!!

....Last year I wrote my first ever fanfic for the BG3 community as my return to writing after 10 years. Now, it feels like the sequel is coming along nicely!

If anyone cares to read it, I think it overall needs traction within the mer fan community since BG3 fandom was the first audience I geared it towards, merging it with my love of mermaids/sirens/selkies/etc.

18y/o+ PLEASE- 🔞

{\\\[Good Things Come \\\](https://archiveofourown.org/works/62737273/chapters/160611004)\\\\\\\\- by Poetsiren}

(pt 1 of All Good Things series) \\\[https://archiveofourown.org/series/5156251\\\\\\\](https://archiveofourown.org/series/5156251)

Astarion lords over the Underdark:

After defeating the Absolute with Tav, Astarion is glad to have his beloved remain beside him. He didn’t expect it to be easy, living in the Underdark with his siblings and the other vampire spawn. Still, a new manuscript detailing vampire spawn has been discovered, and no one could expect to know what knowledge it reveals - about Cazador, about the other spawn.

Tav is a human Paladin, with an Oath of Devotion that has guided her and her companions through the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, saving as many beings as possible and protecting the weak and defenseless, as is her tenet. But she also has a secret that she has yet to tell anyone… That it’s time to tell Astarion …

But there is so much more to it than either of them know.

All things considered, even she doesn’t know how things will end for the two of them.

(Longfic sequel currently at chapter 30 and climbing....

{What Comes After - by Poetsiren})