![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
space mermaids character development stuff
Still trying to understand my Space Mermaid OCs... I'm learning to know them and inventing stuff about them, but I'm still not sure I really know them well enough. Hrrm. So i'm going to ramble a bit. If anyone wants to point out stuff where it doesn't make sense, or just babble along or something, go for it, though i'm mostly just talking to myself right now. XD;
But if anyone wants to offer "what would they do if (X) happened?"-type questions, I'll be grateful. It might help me define them better. ^__^;
Arun's parents are both doctors in some science or other, so they're fairly well-off. They live on a planet that's geared toward learning and preserving knowledge, full of schools and zoos and museums. That gives them a bit of a "we are the guardians of knowledge!" attitude. Arun rarely socializes with people with more "base" motives, not that he's consciously avoiding them, but like lots of rich kids he never really thought about having a deep, thought-provoking chat with the cleaning lady or the gardener's son. He's polite and jokes around with them, but it rarely goes any deeper.
Arun likes to think himself as a Good Guy, a Tolerant Guy, and also, a Funny Guy. Which he is, most of the time. He's goofy and doesn't like to take things seriously, and is driven by an intense curiosity. To him, learning is a game. Having fun is important. So he learns. As a tolerant open-minded guy, and one who majored in biology to boot, he's concerned with environmental activism, terraforming, ethical treatment of animals and all that. It's partly as part of his image, but he really does care. He cares easily.
He's a little self-righteous, and quick to anger when he feels threatened. He can get downright petty if he feels trapped by someone with authority, which is why he tends to shift his rapports with people over him (like bosses, parents) toward friendly teasing and jokes which allow him to not take them seriously. He'll listen to their arguments, and then agree and obey, or not agree and either inwardly roll his eyes and humor them, or find a way around it. He hates being ordered around. He's not blindly prideful either -- he won't take unreasonable, disproportionate risks by refusing to comply to something he's being made to -- but that's what puts pressure on him. Having to obey to someone and not being able to question it.
...So basically he's a very popular guy, and deserves it, as long as things go his way. He gets grouchy and snarky and passive-aggressive when it doesn't, though he tends to rant and swear to blow off stream verbally. If it gets physical, he would start with shoves and work his way up, but he wouldn't attempt to do serious, lasting harm.
He also thinks that killing is never okay, and while he might kill to save himself and others if there was absolutely no other way -- unless he hesitated too much and lost his chance -- he would regret it forever.
Blue's mother raised him alone. He grew up in a poor area, the kind where a third of the population is without a job and it's not too safe alone at night. His life wasn't utterly horrible, he didn't do drugs (okay, he tried something like cannabis, but that's not his thing), he didn't routinely get into knife fights, he had clothes and ate everyday; still, it wasn't good either. He didn't like school, not through lack of intelligence but he learns by example better than by explanation, so he got an apprenticeship with a mechanic.
Blue thinks of himself as a fighter. He tries not to think in terms of right and wrong because his life wasn't fair and no one cares, so he's not going to care right back. If he had lived a better life he would have cared about people more, but he's aware that he has to make himself come first, so he doesn't. He does what needs to be done to stay fed, warm and safe, though he draws the line at killing in cold blood, or killing children who could be slapped down instead. (he knows a kid with a knife can do as much damage as an adult, but hey, tall guy, more reach, he can probably manage.) He doesn't give his respect easily, and doesn't obey people he doesn't respect, but once it's given he doesn't question orders, unless they're really horrible or stupid.
In the last couple of years he has relaxed because the crew offers him some stability. He still makes a clear difference between in-group and outsiders. In-group people might get on his nerves, but they're his people and he'll kill for them. He's somewhat wary and a lot quieter and colder around outsiders, even those qualified as harmless.
What gets him stressed out is conflict between what he needs to do and what's fair. Deep down he's a fairly "justice" oriented type. He'll get really tense if he's doing something that he knows will seriously fuck over some poor sap who doesn't deserve it... But he'll still do it. >>;; He wouldn't show it though, he tends to withdraw when he's angry. If he really gets pissed, he wouldn't kick or hit things, because he doesn't want to damage anything he might have to spend money to replace; but if there's someone angering him at the time, if they push far enough he'll go from cold and watchful to going for the jugular in a second. He doesn't bother much with posturing and escalating when he fights; he'll give a few disdainful comments if the other guy is ranting at him, meanwhile he decides whether he wants to ignore, knock down the guy, or kill him, and then BAM he does it. He doesn't lose his head easily.
If he had to kill, he would feel some remorse, but he'd smother it because he can't afford to guilt his life away.
Liadan's father is the typical patriarch kind, and she has several mothers and siblings. She wasn't the oldest, but the oldest sons left already and the daughter was also the daughter of the previous leader and became one of her father's subordinates' mates, so she's not considered a child anymore. In their communal lifestyle, Liadan, like all children, was given responsibilities early. She learned to appear calm and dependable because that gave her positive attention.
Liadan thinks of herself as a dutiful, calm and borderline passive daughter. She's dutiful and calm, yes, but she's also good at using the rules and regulations to her advantage. For example, she wanted to drift, so she calmly and gently and smilingly told her father that she was too old to stay in his pod now, and there was another pod not too far away, they'd noticed the stuff on the currents, and don't worry, I'll be cautious... and then of course she never thought she was lying, because in her mind she rationalized it as "there are pods everywhere, I'll just let the sea currents take me -- oh a shiny thing in the opposite direction, well, that will just be a little detour."
She's been raised to be a good, submissive girl, and she is, but only in appearance, because she tends to gently question and advise her husband in ways that, ideally, make him think it was all his idea. She's sort of manipulative that way, and tends to divert any conversation or situation she doesn't like instead of confronting them openly. She uses delaying and denial as avoidance techniques.
Her serene, thoughtful attitude made her mothers give her a lot of authority on the other, younger children; she's got a tendency to be overbearing, because she knows that she knows better, for she is the wise, mature Liadan. She's quite satisfied by her own maturity.
Losing her freedom would rattle her. Not in the "being captured by pirates" way, that's still an adventure. If she was caught by a male, made to join a pod, and got pregnant, she wouldn't be able to drift off again, she'd have a responsibility. And she knows she will have to, someday, soon, but she's trying to hold it off as hard as she can. She wouldn't get violent with a dominant male, though. She wouldn't even think of it. If it was a matter of survival, she would strike, out of desperation, and she would strike to kill, but she isn't physically aggressive. She cries when she gets angry, and might yell a little, but she would keep that to a minimum since she doesn't want to attract danger, either.
If she was pushed far enough to kill, she would not regret it, because she most likely would not even see the opponent as human; she'd see it as a dangerous predator, which must be eliminated for everything to be good again.
But if anyone wants to offer "what would they do if (X) happened?"-type questions, I'll be grateful. It might help me define them better. ^__^;
Arun's parents are both doctors in some science or other, so they're fairly well-off. They live on a planet that's geared toward learning and preserving knowledge, full of schools and zoos and museums. That gives them a bit of a "we are the guardians of knowledge!" attitude. Arun rarely socializes with people with more "base" motives, not that he's consciously avoiding them, but like lots of rich kids he never really thought about having a deep, thought-provoking chat with the cleaning lady or the gardener's son. He's polite and jokes around with them, but it rarely goes any deeper.
Arun likes to think himself as a Good Guy, a Tolerant Guy, and also, a Funny Guy. Which he is, most of the time. He's goofy and doesn't like to take things seriously, and is driven by an intense curiosity. To him, learning is a game. Having fun is important. So he learns. As a tolerant open-minded guy, and one who majored in biology to boot, he's concerned with environmental activism, terraforming, ethical treatment of animals and all that. It's partly as part of his image, but he really does care. He cares easily.
He's a little self-righteous, and quick to anger when he feels threatened. He can get downright petty if he feels trapped by someone with authority, which is why he tends to shift his rapports with people over him (like bosses, parents) toward friendly teasing and jokes which allow him to not take them seriously. He'll listen to their arguments, and then agree and obey, or not agree and either inwardly roll his eyes and humor them, or find a way around it. He hates being ordered around. He's not blindly prideful either -- he won't take unreasonable, disproportionate risks by refusing to comply to something he's being made to -- but that's what puts pressure on him. Having to obey to someone and not being able to question it.
...So basically he's a very popular guy, and deserves it, as long as things go his way. He gets grouchy and snarky and passive-aggressive when it doesn't, though he tends to rant and swear to blow off stream verbally. If it gets physical, he would start with shoves and work his way up, but he wouldn't attempt to do serious, lasting harm.
He also thinks that killing is never okay, and while he might kill to save himself and others if there was absolutely no other way -- unless he hesitated too much and lost his chance -- he would regret it forever.
Blue's mother raised him alone. He grew up in a poor area, the kind where a third of the population is without a job and it's not too safe alone at night. His life wasn't utterly horrible, he didn't do drugs (okay, he tried something like cannabis, but that's not his thing), he didn't routinely get into knife fights, he had clothes and ate everyday; still, it wasn't good either. He didn't like school, not through lack of intelligence but he learns by example better than by explanation, so he got an apprenticeship with a mechanic.
Blue thinks of himself as a fighter. He tries not to think in terms of right and wrong because his life wasn't fair and no one cares, so he's not going to care right back. If he had lived a better life he would have cared about people more, but he's aware that he has to make himself come first, so he doesn't. He does what needs to be done to stay fed, warm and safe, though he draws the line at killing in cold blood, or killing children who could be slapped down instead. (he knows a kid with a knife can do as much damage as an adult, but hey, tall guy, more reach, he can probably manage.) He doesn't give his respect easily, and doesn't obey people he doesn't respect, but once it's given he doesn't question orders, unless they're really horrible or stupid.
In the last couple of years he has relaxed because the crew offers him some stability. He still makes a clear difference between in-group and outsiders. In-group people might get on his nerves, but they're his people and he'll kill for them. He's somewhat wary and a lot quieter and colder around outsiders, even those qualified as harmless.
What gets him stressed out is conflict between what he needs to do and what's fair. Deep down he's a fairly "justice" oriented type. He'll get really tense if he's doing something that he knows will seriously fuck over some poor sap who doesn't deserve it... But he'll still do it. >>;; He wouldn't show it though, he tends to withdraw when he's angry. If he really gets pissed, he wouldn't kick or hit things, because he doesn't want to damage anything he might have to spend money to replace; but if there's someone angering him at the time, if they push far enough he'll go from cold and watchful to going for the jugular in a second. He doesn't bother much with posturing and escalating when he fights; he'll give a few disdainful comments if the other guy is ranting at him, meanwhile he decides whether he wants to ignore, knock down the guy, or kill him, and then BAM he does it. He doesn't lose his head easily.
If he had to kill, he would feel some remorse, but he'd smother it because he can't afford to guilt his life away.
Liadan's father is the typical patriarch kind, and she has several mothers and siblings. She wasn't the oldest, but the oldest sons left already and the daughter was also the daughter of the previous leader and became one of her father's subordinates' mates, so she's not considered a child anymore. In their communal lifestyle, Liadan, like all children, was given responsibilities early. She learned to appear calm and dependable because that gave her positive attention.
Liadan thinks of herself as a dutiful, calm and borderline passive daughter. She's dutiful and calm, yes, but she's also good at using the rules and regulations to her advantage. For example, she wanted to drift, so she calmly and gently and smilingly told her father that she was too old to stay in his pod now, and there was another pod not too far away, they'd noticed the stuff on the currents, and don't worry, I'll be cautious... and then of course she never thought she was lying, because in her mind she rationalized it as "there are pods everywhere, I'll just let the sea currents take me -- oh a shiny thing in the opposite direction, well, that will just be a little detour."
She's been raised to be a good, submissive girl, and she is, but only in appearance, because she tends to gently question and advise her husband in ways that, ideally, make him think it was all his idea. She's sort of manipulative that way, and tends to divert any conversation or situation she doesn't like instead of confronting them openly. She uses delaying and denial as avoidance techniques.
Her serene, thoughtful attitude made her mothers give her a lot of authority on the other, younger children; she's got a tendency to be overbearing, because she knows that she knows better, for she is the wise, mature Liadan. She's quite satisfied by her own maturity.
Losing her freedom would rattle her. Not in the "being captured by pirates" way, that's still an adventure. If she was caught by a male, made to join a pod, and got pregnant, she wouldn't be able to drift off again, she'd have a responsibility. And she knows she will have to, someday, soon, but she's trying to hold it off as hard as she can. She wouldn't get violent with a dominant male, though. She wouldn't even think of it. If it was a matter of survival, she would strike, out of desperation, and she would strike to kill, but she isn't physically aggressive. She cries when she gets angry, and might yell a little, but she would keep that to a minimum since she doesn't want to attract danger, either.
If she was pushed far enough to kill, she would not regret it, because she most likely would not even see the opponent as human; she'd see it as a dangerous predator, which must be eliminated for everything to be good again.
no subject
You've covered Liadan's attitude towards the opposite sex fairly well, particularly her husband. But what about Blue and Arun? Have they had past encounters that would play a shaping role with either the opposite/same sex - Arun sounds like he would have a smidge of play boy in him, but Blue sounds like he might be a little more reserved...?
no subject
-- DOH. I totally forgot about that! XD
Arun's a flirt, yeah, and he dates regularly, sometimes he's even halfway serious, but his first love right now is research, so it never lasts. He emos a bit, and then he gets over it. He tends to become friends with his exes. (he's straight, and while not homophobic in general, he gets a bit twitchy if he's the particular. ...he's kind of a frat boy, sometimes. Well, he was one, so maybe that's why. XD;)
Blue... well, you don't need to trust people to have sex with them. So he doesn't date, but if he's offered sex by someone he finds attractive, and he's reasonably sure they won't stab him in the back or run off with his stuff, why not. (he doesn't really identify as either straight or gay or bi, though. There's just people, and stuff that feels more or less good. So far he's been with three girls and two guys -- though he didn't get around to intercourse with the guys. It's harder to trust them in bed long enough when a quick mutual handjob against a wall would do XD)
no subject
I have a one track mind:DWell that about covers it! (hee, emofratboy!Arun = toocute)
Couple more questions: would Arun have a different view to the straight/gay/bi issue then Blue, having been brought up by classy people? Likewise what does Liadan think (do they have gay merpeople?)
Probably not relevent to the story, but what happened to Blue's dad?
no subject
I love you for it. :3Arun is tolerant of the differences, has thought about what it is, where it might come from, how other people react, and how he was going to react because he wants to be accepting and not be an asshole about something people can't help (even though, he's straight. u.u) Blue doesn't care about the differences, and doesn't even think on it hard enough to label himself because it doesn't matter. XD
Merpeople don't even have a word for homosexual. XD They're so obsessed with survival of the species that for them, sex = what could result in a baby. Orgasms are just a nice byproduct, but you can give yourself one without help, so it doesn't count. XDDD It's well-known that mermaids who are good friends will twine sometimes, but that's just something nice and cuddly to do between friends; maybe drifting young mermen will give each other a hand, but the man-touching stops when they get a girl or six.
Of course there are merpeople who would identify as gay if they'd been raised in a place that recognizes the term. and they know that some people get attached more strongly to members of their own gender than to their husband/wife. Sadly, it doesn't matter enough to have a specific label.
Probably ditched his mom when he found out she was pregnant. They weren't married. ^^
no subject
*feels loved* XDHaha, I like Arun, he sounds very much like a friend of mine. Being a fratboy guy, would he have a knee-jerk reaction to teh ghay before the higher brain function kicks in and says 'I am okay with this'? Or is he solid nice guy (I ask because I'm
hopingwondering if it's going to come up between him and Blue...?)I love the merpeople logic (and the word 'twine' for some reason, that's just a perfect word to use). Though mermaid anatomy is making me wonder how... exactly... do they get that nice byproduct XDD
New question! (I'll stop if you want me to ^__^) You've established that Arun is The Funny Guy, but I'm wondering about the other two. Specifically Liadan, as I can see Blue being the wry foil to Arun's more Duo/Naruto-like humour, but do merpeople go in for chuckles?
p.s.
Ah, that sucks. I assume he's on the far side of Over It by now though?
Re: p.s.
Merpeople anatomy is rather dolphinlike in a way. There's a slit, with the penis/vagina and then the anus underneath. (so they can't have sex from the back. XD) Though the penises still look and bevhave human enough, I think, because otherwise I'd have to pretend they actually have dolphin genes spliced in or something, and that's not be possible in that universe. XD
Do merpeople have a sense of humor? Of course, though it's rather coarse. Liadan is just a very serious girl, is all. XD (as for Blue, he's very snarky. He has absolutely no problem laughing at people.)
Oh yeah, he's way over it. ^^
Re: p.s.
*cracks up* I just had a sudden vivid image of Arun being totally 'yay I DO talk about myself' to pass the time, and completely knocking Blue over the head with it.
And then he'll be all HSS HSS about it, because nooo strong guy from a nice place! being molested by a guy is a no-no! DDD: Basically he wouldn't care that Blue likes guys, if he didn't use it to make Arun uncomfortable. XD
*laughs* guy dynamics are teh fun. So I can see exactly how snarky!Blue would annoy Arun all over, but what does Arun do to get under Blue's skin?
No sex from the back? Well that's no fun! XD Poor merpeople, though I'm sure they've come up with a bunch of ways to compensate for the loss ;)
Liadan is going to be one of those wonderfully blunt characters that unintentionally trips the guys up by Asking Questions She Shouldn't, isn't she?
Re: p.s.
what does Arun do to get under Blue's skin?
He exists. u.u Basically, he's rich(-ish), had an easy life, is wayyy too idealistic (the real world doesn't work like that!), and really shouldn't get in his face too much if he can't actually fight. Okay, Arun can brawl well 'nough, but Blue can hurt him, and Arun doesn't seem to notice the difference. D:
Nope, no doggystyle or anything. Much sadness ensues. ;_; (but then they don't have much gravity down there. >.>)
Ayup. >D
no subject
Hummm~ Liadan and lying, because she's going to communicate with the rest of civilization sooner or later, how does she feel about it? Lying to other people? Other people lying to her? Watching other people lie to each other?
no subject
As for Liadan and lying... actually one of the "things" to know about lying in her civilization is, don't. XD Because when they're underwater they communicate with nothing but hand gestures and body language, and while they're not truthsayers, they're damn good at noticing when someone seems to be acting suspicious. As a corollary, a good liar, someone who can lie and not let it show at all, is extremely disturbing to them.
Yeah, so they're not big on polite pleasantries and other white lies. XD;;; They have other ways to soften the impact, and of course there are liars and all manners of people who don't want to hurt others or put themselves in awkward positions by telling the truth, but compared to current modern people they're hella blunt.
(but when a mer says they don't want to talk about it, you don't ask. If they don't want to say yes or no, it's put as a privacy thing, not so much as a "i'm not telling you that you're not fat because I don't want to lie, and god, are you fat" thing. Since they're always living on top of each other and they don't really have walls to give them some privacy, they need to have other clearly delimited boundaries. So what happens in a mer's head stays there until they decide to get it out. XD;; )
So Liadan's not going to understand polite white lies all too well at first. Arun will probably have to explain to her that they all know they're lying when they ask how they are and reply "fine", and then she'll probably shake her head and be all bewildered and wonder why they even ask if they don't want to know, but if she accepts it as a ritualized concept it will pass easier. XD She'll also accept "it's not your business" and "I would rather not tell you" very gracefully, since to her people it's not as much a judgment of "I don't like you enough to tell you, now back off". But as for real lies, oh boy.
CONTEMPT. >:(
no subject
Since Liadan is such a cutie, I guess I'll ask how it'll work out structurally in her head. And how much of humanity's social standards will she adopts, cause I'm guessing your world would be done with homophobes by then.
no subject
But they're both two-tails. Yuck. D: So... I doubt anything will happen between them as long as she hasn't built some loyalty toward them, and still considers her rules and laws to be important. It's going to be subtexty up the wazoo, but... XD
But anyway her main problem isn't really the mansex, since 1) merpeople don't have anal sex since their body makes it impossible so she doesn't even think they can even penetrate each other (Arun being OMG I'M STRAIGHT D: and Blue not liking anal all that much anyway, it might not come up for years) and 2) what two males or two females do between each other to reinforce their friendship doesn't count as marriage/mating. Her main problem is that there's supposed to be one leader and then subordinates, and Arun and Blue just never really submit to each other. She doesn't know which one she's supposed to belong to. Besides neither of them makes a move because she's a cute, innocent girl, so she assumes they're more like drifting companions than a real pod. It's all very confusing to her. XD
Liadan doesn't get homophobia mostly because she doesn't get homosexuality. She can wrap her brain around "I prefer to form strong bonds with people of my own gender", but not "I'm a strong, healthy man, but I wouldn't do it with a girl if I had a chance to keep her and reproduce". For her, the two are separate. Marrying and loving are pretty much foreign to each other. But then when she doesn't understand something, she tends to be all "oooh a mystery" and then ask and ask until she gets it; she would have a moment of "this is wrong", but it's not really a "eww" thing, more like a "I don't get it, it's not supposed to work like that, is it?"
... not sure I even answered your question there. XD;;;
no subject
:D
(Anonymous) 2007-05-01 02:24 pm (UTC)(link)You have wonderful characterizations - and three rather strong willed people. Is anyone going to try to pull the "alpha" schtick? Who would it be and what would the responses be?
~MommyR
Re: :D
Well, not Liadan, not openly, for sure. She's more into "yes dear" and making them believe it was their idea. As for Blue and Arun, for a while Blue and his crew will have Arun and Liadan captive, I think, so Arun will be forced to obey Blue and he'll hate it. They'll keep butting heads until the end, I think. Arun takes it more personally than Blue, but Blue's not about to let someone he doesn't trust order him around, and he's a lot colder and determined about it. I think they would go their separate ways, but Liadan would stay with Arun, and Blue doesn't want Liadan to get killed. He thinks that Arun has no concept of how to run and hide and survive, or how the real world works, and Arun's not prideful enough to miss the fact that they might need someone with his skills. But mmmm, conflict. *__*
Re: :D
(Anonymous) 2007-05-02 01:41 am (UTC)(link)How does Liadan feel about interest in "two-tails"? Would there be stigma from her pod at all? How will her pod feel about Blue and Arun? How will Blue's crew feel about Liadan?
so many questions! <3
~MommyR
Re: :D
Not for the longest time, because she sees them as deformed cripples and is trying not to think how they would even fit, with the -- ew -- split tail and everything. D: As for who would initiate, I really don't know. Blue thinks she's with Arun, Arun is all D: about her being so young and is trying to hold onto his professionalism, and as for her, she likes them both, though for different reasons (Arun because he shares her thirst for knowledge and explains everything, and is also very easy to have fun with, Blue because he's strong, level-headed and dependable, but kind underneath), but that's not something a mermaid should have to initiate if the men are really men. XD She figures they're not interested because of the tail.
Two-tails are often taboo in many pods. Not quite in hers, but it's still seen as disgusting. A merman with a girl two-tails = eww, well he's slumming because he's not good enough for a mermaid. A mermaid with a male two-tails is her getting dirtied. Think about how it would have been seen to have a well-off white woman sleep with a black slave 150 years ago. D: (the biggest objection to dallying with two-tails, though, is their gross deformities and health problems, but eventually she'll start appreciating the fact that Arun and Blue aren't actually cripples, just shaped differently. It will help her a bit, but it's going to take her a while.)
She's not technically part of her birth pod anymore, since she left. But if she'd done anything with two-tails back then, the mermen would probably have tried to kill them. ;.;
As for Blue's crew, first they're boggling that she even exists, and second they're OMG MUST SURVIVE so they're not pondering much about it. And then some of them get killed off. XD;
I know that the weapons specialist, Lujayn, utterly despises Liadan. Lujayn is a no-nonsense, badass woman who loves her some big guns. She gives Blue booty calls sometimes. XD She sees Liadan as weak and negligible because she appears submissive and isn't physically assertive, and she really despises Liadan's "let the men decide" attitude.
Re: :D
(Anonymous) 2007-05-02 02:29 pm (UTC)(link)Ooooh - conflict with Lujayn? :D I'm curious to see how that would go! Is Liadan very strong? How does she handle being out of the water (since everything is heavier there :p)
I can hardly wait for your next installment! (oh, did you get the pics I'd emailed you of the fight?)
~MommyR
Re: :D
Well, Liadan is very puzzled and awed and a little scared of Lujayn, so she watches her a lot. It annoys Lujayn, but apart from a few "grarr! you're pathetic" moments, mostly she just sneers and ignores Liadan. Maybe she'd shove Liadan around or hit her over the head, but as long as it came off as discipline and not as just trying to hurt liadan for the sake of hurting her, liadan would just take it. She'd 1) be too bewildered to react and 2) assume that as alpha ...wife? warrior? alpha something, Lujayn has the right to discipline her.
She's totally confused by Lujayn's place in the hierarchy. It's like -- she's a girl! But she's a warrior! but she's a girl! but she gives those guys orders and they obey! and she doesn't have a mate! but none of the guys could make her submit anyway -- but that's not possible! but but but.
If Liadan hit her with her tail, Lujayn would go down for the count. XD But Lujayn trains like crazy so for upper body strenght they're about equal, I'd think, except Lujayn knows how to apply it better. Besides on land Liadan is stuck sitting in one spot anyway, or dragging herself around on her hands, so Lu wouldn't have any problem dodging. Even the tail slaps would be dodgeable enough; Liadan needs to brace herself for them if she doesn't want to just flop around.
Liadan is in excellent shape, but she's not particularly adapted to life outside of the water. ;.;
yes! i got your email. (hot guy :333) I'll try to answer on another email adress I have, problem is that I rarely check that one so I might not notice for months if you write me there. ~_~ I receive the mails fine, I think. (but then if i didn't, would I notice. D: )
Re: :D
(Anonymous) 2007-05-02 04:30 pm (UTC)(link)look forward to hearing from you when I get a chance - until then am absolutely loving THIS. (details! love the details!)
Because of the way the mer society seems to be set up, is Liadan going to have any conflict with her biological clock going off at some point? The push towards reproduction (you'd alluded to how strange it would be for her to be in a poly-relationship with 2 guys, multiple women being the norm) seems very strong.
To further push her boundries, how will Liadan take to the idea of a female "warrior", once she processes it?
If Arun annoys Blue just by existing, how does Blue annoy Arun? And what are they going to do about it? :D
(I'm at work now . . . that is how addicting your stories are XD)
~MommyR
Re: :D
Yeah, it seems very selfish to her to not want children, and she does like them, but she can't even think of deliberately conceiving them with a two-tail. There are going to be huge issues there, but I doubt i'll deal with them since the first book is only going to take a summer, and if there's a sequel it won't be more than one to three years later. She won't really start worrying at these issues for at least ten years.
Once she goes past her "what, HOW" reflex, she's going to be very admirative of the concept of female warrior. It's not going to stop shocking her for a good long while, though. She won't want to become one, it's not her style.
Blue annoys Arun with his sarcastic comments and the fact that he's a pirate. Also the first time they meet is when Blue and his crew capture them. XD Also Blue goes out of his way to not learn about how other people live and who they are (because he doesn't want to care), and Arun doesn't understand the attitude. And they're going to bitch at each other a lot. XDD mm so mature.
no subject
no subject
Gene-tweaking to who? I don't think Blue's had any, though Arun probably did, unless it was one of his parents... *ponders* I don't remember right now.
no subject
no subject
no subject
Répond vite, pasque mine de rien, c'est du 18 au 20 mai peita cette année.. dans 15 jours quoi...
no subject
no subject
no subject