30 Monster Girls - 05 - Mermaid

Decided to do another 30 (insert topic here) challenge, this time it's the monster girl challenge, and rather than do one a day I'm taking my time with this one so they'll pop up a bit sporadically.

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Here we have another man eater, the Mermaid.

The mermaid may in fact be one of the most powerful and most dangerous creatures in mythology, because almost every human culture on the planet has a myth about them (or rather a creature similar enough in description) even cultures that have never seen the sea. That and the grand plethora of powers the mermaid is said to have, depending on who you talk to.

The myth may have initially evolved out of our species innate fear of the water, it's not easy to see in, it's very dark deep down, if you stay in too long you can drown, and there are a plethora of real creatures there already who are more than happy to make you die. Yet despite that we need it to survive. So it's no surprise that the largest bodies of water gave rise to one of the most dangerous creatures.

Most commonly if a person sees Merfolk they will see the Mermaid, there are in fact male Merfolk but since (according to most myths) they do not look remotely human they rarely bother with us, thus they stay at home and mind their children, and food unfortunate enough to still be alive.

The Mermaids on the other hand, through either trial and error, a strange bout of evolution, or magic have the appearance of a woman with the lower body of a fish. They have learned that they can use this to their advantage when it comes to catching prey, since even if they are found out those silly human men will still willingly get caught by them. Only to become VERY disappointed a few moments later when they are dragged to the bottom to drown (or be kept 'fresh') torn apart, or eaten alive in the water. Some tales even claim that the Mermaids are more interested in ripping out a man's soul to eat rather than his body.

Mermaids have varying hunting techniques, from pretending to be a shipwrecked woman, a drowning swimmer, or simply swimming up and saying hello. Despite humans being aware of this a Mermaid rarely fails to catch her prey.

Mermaids are by nature playful, they will dart around ships or swim flirtatiously past people. It's unknown if they do this to try to lull their prey into a false sense of security or if they simply do so because they aren't yet hungry; though there have been many accounts of Mermaids simply drowning humans of all ages and genders for fun rather than for food, they seem to prefer women and children the most in this instance.

Mermaids are said to have varying other worldly powers depending on the myth. A common on is that in some form if a Mermaid is washed up on land her tail will change into human legs, many foolish human males try to take advantage of this and get themselves a sea born bride. However in all variations including ones where the Mermaid goes along willingly, the man find himself swiftly with no wife, no home, struck mad, dead, or consumed with an obsession for the sea over which he drowns himself or is eaten be his former spouse. Though one such story did have a somewhat good ending in which the surviving human children of the Mermaid lived very long lives as gifted doctors before succumbing to the sea.

Mermaids are also sometimes said to be able to give humans the ability to breath under water (though those stories often end with the human suddenly finding their lungs full of seawater and a gaggle of laughing Merfolk), they are sometimes blamed for sudden storms or abruptly flat seas. They are said to strike sudden magics and curses on men , and they are also said to be able to weave spells with their singing, which cause even the most intelligent men to throw themselves overboard. (much as the Greek Sirens who were sometimes portrayed as Mermaids)

Despite her human like appearance if one were to get close enough to examine a Mermaid (and somehow live) they would find that she isn't remotely human at all. Seemingly stunning eyes are revealed to be large and glassy like the eyes of a fish, her soft looking hair tough and rubbery like kelp or fish fins, her skin rough and sharp like a shark, and gills hidden up where her ears should be or on the sides of her throat... Not to mention the razor sharp teeth hidden inside her pretty mouth.

It is also interesting to note that for their animal like instinctive behavior Mermaids have been known to speak human languages; and it is common for them to keep trinkets from victims, often weaving them into jewelry or hanging them from a makeshift belt as trophies.

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Mermaid © Alexandra Schoell (Chaos Child)

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