OOC: Merfolk Continuity!
I just thought I would throw some information together regarding merfolk and Betta's history as a mermaid. I especially think that nailing down specifics about mers as a species is a good idea if anyone else wants to app a mer (Ryou's Kailey for example)
The most obvious point being the aging issue. In Betta's canon, mers can become human, but if they do they show their age in human years. 82 is quite young for a mermaid, but because she is currently human, Betta looks...well, like an 82-year-old human! This applies to all mers (which is why after their youth they tend to avoid the shore, I figure). According to Hans Christian Andersen, mers live an average of 300 years. I figure they don't reach old age until they're at least 275.
Other details regarding mers I'm going to borrow from the SecondLife mer community (yeah, stfu). Mostly, on the mermish language front. While an entire dialect has not been worked out, a few words are considered standard mermish and can be mixed with english easily.
----
Anit (AH-neet): Search
Antorum (AHN-toe-rume): Beachcomber
Dal (DOLL): Want
Em (EM): You
Fan (FAHN): Am/is/are
Fimra dom (FEEM-rah-DOME): Low tide
Fimra tre (FEEM-rah-TRAY): High tide
Fre (FRAY): Help
Hredenu (HRED-eh-noo): Male
Hron (HRONE): Swim
Ifen (EE-fen): Was/were
Kesseni (KESS-seh-ni): Female
Kila (KEE-lah): Many
Li (LEE): Here
Luron (LOO-rone): Far away
Lusa (LOO-sah): See
Mortum (MOR-tume): Someone who would fail to see a mermaid right in front of his face
Nulma (NOOL-mah): Love
Ohora (O-ho-rah): Storm
Olo (O-lo): There
Sessa (SESS-sah): Mermaid
Sesmuna (SESS-moo-nah): Friend of Mermaids
Setanim (SEH-tah-neem): Human
Setannor (SEH-tahn-nor): Curious but harmless person; litterally "otter person"
Setantreya (SEH-tahn-TRAY-yah): Curious and dangerous person; a sneak
Setsur (SET-soor): Sailor
Suron (SOO-rone): Wave
Tala (TAH-lah): Hello
To (TOE): I
Torm (TORM): Beach
Tritse (TREET-say): Ship
example:
To hisna rendi-to fan sesmuna - "I mean no harm- I am a friend"
to fan in nulma <> with a setanim- I am in love <>, with a human.
----
I'll be implementing some of this language into Betta's dialect, but only in private entries or when she loses her temper or something. Any other mers can feel free to do the same, or choose to ignore it altogether. At the very least, "Tala" should probably be used as a standard greeting from mer to mer.
For me? Please? :D;
I assume mers to be a nomadic sort. Betta was originally part of a small 'village' or tribe that relocated according to season. A few mer cities probably exist, but I can't imagine that there are any large civilizations in the mer world, nor can I feasably expect there to be a 'king' (or president?) of Mers. However, I'm also not closed off to the idea of mers having developed technology to a certain degree. If more mers come into the game, this idea can be expended upon further.
If any potential mer-appers has any input, that would be awesome. I don't expect Nonnom to be overrun with aquatics, but I figured since there are so many sources for mer info it's a good idea to establish a mer-canon.
The most obvious point being the aging issue. In Betta's canon, mers can become human, but if they do they show their age in human years. 82 is quite young for a mermaid, but because she is currently human, Betta looks...well, like an 82-year-old human! This applies to all mers (which is why after their youth they tend to avoid the shore, I figure). According to Hans Christian Andersen, mers live an average of 300 years. I figure they don't reach old age until they're at least 275.
Other details regarding mers I'm going to borrow from the SecondLife mer community (yeah, stfu). Mostly, on the mermish language front. While an entire dialect has not been worked out, a few words are considered standard mermish and can be mixed with english easily.
----
Anit (AH-neet): Search
Antorum (AHN-toe-rume): Beachcomber
Dal (DOLL): Want
Em (EM): You
Fan (FAHN): Am/is/are
Fimra dom (FEEM-rah-DOME): Low tide
Fimra tre (FEEM-rah-TRAY): High tide
Fre (FRAY): Help
Hredenu (HRED-eh-noo): Male
Hron (HRONE): Swim
Ifen (EE-fen): Was/were
Kesseni (KESS-seh-ni): Female
Kila (KEE-lah): Many
Li (LEE): Here
Luron (LOO-rone): Far away
Lusa (LOO-sah): See
Mortum (MOR-tume): Someone who would fail to see a mermaid right in front of his face
Nulma (NOOL-mah): Love
Ohora (O-ho-rah): Storm
Olo (O-lo): There
Sessa (SESS-sah): Mermaid
Sesmuna (SESS-moo-nah): Friend of Mermaids
Setanim (SEH-tah-neem): Human
Setannor (SEH-tahn-nor): Curious but harmless person; litterally "otter person"
Setantreya (SEH-tahn-TRAY-yah): Curious and dangerous person; a sneak
Setsur (SET-soor): Sailor
Suron (SOO-rone): Wave
Tala (TAH-lah): Hello
To (TOE): I
Torm (TORM): Beach
Tritse (TREET-say): Ship
example:
To hisna rendi-to fan sesmuna - "I mean no harm- I am a friend"
to fan in nulma <> with a setanim- I am in love <>, with a human.
----
I'll be implementing some of this language into Betta's dialect, but only in private entries or when she loses her temper or something. Any other mers can feel free to do the same, or choose to ignore it altogether. At the very least, "Tala" should probably be used as a standard greeting from mer to mer.
For me? Please? :D;
I assume mers to be a nomadic sort. Betta was originally part of a small 'village' or tribe that relocated according to season. A few mer cities probably exist, but I can't imagine that there are any large civilizations in the mer world, nor can I feasably expect there to be a 'king' (or president?) of Mers. However, I'm also not closed off to the idea of mers having developed technology to a certain degree. If more mers come into the game, this idea can be expended upon further.
If any potential mer-appers has any input, that would be awesome. I don't expect Nonnom to be overrun with aquatics, but I figured since there are so many sources for mer info it's a good idea to establish a mer-canon.