History Main / OurMermaidsAreDifferent

* "The Keeper of the Eddystone Light".

* Characters/{{Superman|TheCharacter}}'s ex, Lori Lemaris, is a mermaid (it's... complicated) who lived on land by using a wheelchair and keeping her tail covered. Eventually she was magically given the power to turn into a human (any contact with water changes her back, though.)

** They can also shoot seaweed out of their hands like Franchise/SpiderMan.

* ''Series/FantasyIsland2021'': Isla turns out to be a mermaid. Here, they have the usual look of a female human upper body with a fish lower half. However, they can also [[VoluntaryShapeshifting turn fully human]] temporarily, and even make humans mermaids as well. Further, she's attracted to women, offering Ruby ([[InterspeciesRomance her human lover]]) the transformation so they can stay together all the time. It turns out they also have [[SirensAreMermaids siren powers]] to attract mortals, so much that Ruby even starts losing memories of her family.

* The [[https://orionsarm.com/eg-article/47f2faf7f0b2d Merpeople]] of ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'' are simply humans who have undergone genetic engineering (or descendants of such humans) to be suited for an aquatic lifestyle. The extent of engineering varies: some Merpeople still have legs (so they wear flippers to swim better) and can merely hold their breath for a long time, while others have their legs merged into tails and can breathe water. The [[https://orionsarm.com/eg-article/47eafb8fe1d3f Europans]] take it even further, being cold-blooded as they were designed for the cold subsurface ocean of Europa.

Sometimes mermaids are portrayed as evil seductresses (sometimes called devil fish) who lure sailors to their deaths[[note]]this is based on the myths of sirens which were originally birdwomen but who are generally portrayed as mermaids these days [[LostInTranslation due to language confusion]][[/note]]. Others, their singing is a sign of disaster, but not from seduction. In most mythologies, they display the inscrutable and sometimes dangerous amorality of TheFairFolk.[[note]]When faeries and merfolk both exist in the same setting, merfolk are almost always treated as aquatic fae[[/note]] Sometimes they are good but flirty and mischievous. Sometimes they are mostly innocent and naive. Sometimes they are honorable, and of these, several [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters resent us]] for treating their ocean home so badly for so long. Sometimes (just sometimes) they are just like us and have all sorts of personas. Very often, though not always, they are {{Tsundere}}, or even outright {{Yandere}} types. Octopus or Squid-based mermaids--[[{{ComicBook/Cilia}} sometimes called cilophytes or cecaelia]]--are usually portrayed as evil, probably owing to the influence of Disney's sea-witch Ursula, or perhaps because of the "alien" nature of tentacles.

Sometimes mermaids are portrayed as evil seductresses (sometimes called devil fish) who lure sailors to their deaths[[note]]this is based on the myths of sirens which were originally birdwomen but who are generally portrayed as mermaids these days [[LostInTranslation due to language confusion]][[/note]]. Others, their singing is a sign of disaster, but not from seduction. In most mythologies, they display the inscrutable and sometimes dangerous amorality of TheFairFolk.[[note]]If faeries and merfolk both exist in the same setting, merfolk will almost certainly be treated as aquatic fae[[/note]] Sometimes they are good but flirty and mischievous. Sometimes they are mostly innocent and naive. Sometimes they are honorable, and of these, several [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters resent us]] for treating their ocean home so badly for so long. Sometimes (just sometimes) they are just like us and have all sorts of personas. Very often, though not always, they are {{Tsundere}}, or even outright {{Yandere}} types. Octopus or Squid-based mermaids--[[{{ComicBook/Cilia}} sometimes called cilophytes or cecaelia]]--are usually portrayed as evil, probably owing to the influence of Disney's sea-witch Ursula, or perhaps because of the "alien" nature of tentacles.

Sometimes mermaids are portrayed as evil seductresses (sometimes called devil fish) who lure sailors to their deaths[[note]]this is based on the myths of sirens which were originally birdwomen but who are generally portrayed as mermaids these days [[LostInTranslation due to language confusion]][[/note]]. Others, their singing is a sign of disaster, but not from seduction. In most mythologies, they display the inscrutable and sometimes dangerous amorality of TheFairFolk. In fact, if faeries are also present in the setting, merfolk are often treated as their aquatic cousins. Sometimes they are good but flirty and mischievous. Sometimes they are mostly innocent and naive. Sometimes they are honorable, and of these, several [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters resent us]] for treating their ocean home so badly for so long. Sometimes (just sometimes) they are just like us and have all sorts of personas. Very often, though not always, they are {{Tsundere}}, or even outright {{Yandere}} types. Octopus or Squid-based mermaids--[[{{ComicBook/Cilia}} sometimes called cilophytes or cecaelia]]--are usually portrayed as evil, probably owing to the influence of Disney's sea-witch Ursula, or perhaps because of the "alien" nature of tentacles.

Mermaids, or more generally merfolk, crop up quite a lot in fiction. However, [[OurMonstersAreDifferent like most mythical creatures and monsters]], they are a little different every time and have different rules applied to them. Their dispositions, morality, and alliances vary depending on the author, and whether or not they can become human is a question everyone answers differently. Even their general appearance isn't fixed: see the picture.

It should also be noted that most mermaids have the "fish half" in a cetacean (horizontal fluke) configuration, rather than a fish's vertical configuration, since this is closer to how an actual human swims, though exceptions exist.

Sometimes mermaids are portrayed as evil seductresses (sometimes called devil fish) who lure sailors to their deaths[[note]]this is based on the myths of sirens which were originally birdwomen but who are generally portrayed as mermaids these days [[LostInTranslation due to language confusion]][[/note]]. Others, their singing is a sign of disaster, but not from seduction. In most mythologies, they display the inscrutable and sometimes dangerous amorality of TheFairFolk, especially if mermaids are treated as marine fae. Sometimes they are good but flirty and mischievous. Sometimes they are mostly innocent and naive. Sometimes they are honorable, and of these, several [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters resent us]] for treating their ocean home so badly for so long. Sometimes (just sometimes) they are just like us and have all sorts of personas. Very often, though not always, they are {{Tsundere}}, or even outright {{Yandere}} types. Octopus or Squid-based mermaids--[[{{ComicBook/Cilia}} sometimes called cilophytes or cecaelia]]--are usually portrayed as evil, probably owing to the influence of Disney's sea-witch Ursula, or perhaps because of the "alien" nature of tentacles.

** Website/ThomasFaySyndicate's mermaids are drawn with gills on their upper hips, [[BellyButtonless no belly buttons]] and [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife come in a variety of colors]]. They can''not'' assume a human form: times when they do are revealed to be bad dreams. Some mermaids [[http://fav.me/dcaasyq dismiss the comb myth]] as a "stupid human fantasy", while others have [[http://fav.me/ddnf4sr never seen a mirror before]].

* ''WebOriginal/LoomingGaia'' contains two different species based on fantasy mermaids:

See also MermaidMedia, ShapeshiftingLover, TheFairFolk, WaterIsWomanly, and FriendlyPlayfulDolphin, HeroicDolphin and SapientCetaceans. For a similar body plan applied to another type of mammals, see OurHippocampsAreDifferent. Compare TokenAquaticRace.

* ''Series/FantasyIsland2021'': Isla turns out to be a mermaid. Here, they have the usual look of a female human upper body with a fish lower half. However, they can also [[VoluntaryShapeshifting turn fully human]] temporarily, and even make humans mermaids as well. Further, she's attracted to women, offering Ruby ([[InterspeciesRomance her human lover]]) the transformation so they can stay together all the time.

* Pretty much every fandom has been given mermaid [=AUs=] by fans, portraying different characters as mermaids in fanart and fan fiction. The popularity of mermaid [=AUs=] has extended to franchises like ''Manga/HetaliaAxisPowers'', ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'', ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' and most notably ''Free!'', due to a dream sequence where Haru imagines himself as a merman, which fans eagerly ate up.

* ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioBros'':

* The ''VideoGame/DeathInTheWater'' games have sirens, as the "evil" variety of mermaids depicted as fish-women hybrids who attacks you on sight with their harpoons.