Space. Honestly, when you screw your whole planet up, I'll be real- it's just a whole bunch of nothin' up there. And boy did the fashion get BAD, but can you really blame us? Space pirates led every trend in fashion and crime. All we saved from Earth was hairspray and 8 anime VHS tapes.
And who is stupid enough to idolize a group of dangerous criminals just to get the tacky outfit?
It was me. I was that stupid.
And who is stupid enough to idolize a group of dangerous criminals just to get the tacky outfit?
It was me. I was that stupid.
— Victor Imai, showing just what sort of comic this is.
Seaglass is a Space Opera webcomic by Valdrick Vile and a love letter to Studio TRIGGER (among other inspirations). It follows the exploits of Victor Imai, a space pirate with more guts than sense. Along with his (only) crewmate and boyfriend, Glen, he pursues a mythical item known only as "Seaglass". Their search grows more complex with the arrival of cyborgs, mermaids, and all manner of competition for Seaglass itself.
As of May 2020, three arcs (Lily Crown, Sea Dragon, and The Abyss) are complete. Seaglass can be read here.
As of July 2022, Seaglass as we know it is a Dead Fic- a Continuity Reboot of the setting known as Siren Song has begun however and can be read here.
Seaglass provides examples of:
- Big Bad: Sylvain, a mysterious golden octopus that seemingly only Victor can see.
- Body Horror: Victor's "punishment" for explaining part of his deal to Glen. Specifically, he is graphically (and painfully) transformed into a mermaid temporarily.
- Cast Full of Gay: Most, if not all, of the main cast are LGBT- Victor is bisexual and transgender, Glen is bisexual, Elba is bisexual, Orla is asexual, Calder is transgender and mlm, Mercury is transgender, and Kiyo is ambiguous but probably bisexual.
- Cerebus Syndrome: Gradual, but hits hard during the Grimmstadt Arc- particularly with Tsukiko's death.
- Devoted to You: Deconstructed with Victor, who is a 'Siren'- a subset of mermaid that naturally draw attention, whether positive or negative, from everyone around them.
- Gory Discretion Shot: Tsukiko's death is only shown via blood splatter on Gretchen's face.
- I'm a Humanitarian: By technicality, every royal family.
- Immortality: The consumption of mermaid flesh leads to this. It's unclear what form of immortality it gives (total, simply longevity, etc), but mention is made of certain royals being hundreds of years old.
- I Never Told You My Name: Kiyo towards Victor when he uses Ningyo's name.
- Knight of Cerebus: Kiyo marks the start of the Sea Dragon arc's tonal shift with her explanation of the effects of mermaid meat.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Apparently one of Sylvain's abilities, to the degree that Glen can't remember the existence of his sister, Anthia Rosebrook.
- The Lost Lenore: Copper, a fellow Daughter of Air, for Elba. Subverted with the reveal that Copper may not be dead after all...
- Mecha: Due to one of its major influences.
- Old Friend, New Gender: Played with in terms of Victor's deal; Kiyo can't remember that he was her sister Ningyo, and Elba can't remember that he was (most likely) Copper. Their memories have been purposefully tampered with by Sylvain.
- Our Mermaids Are Different: Mermaids appear to be only vaguely humanoid, giant creatures that inhabit space. Cutting a mermaid's hair is the key to obtaining Seaglass, and consuming mermaid flesh grants immortality. They also originate from genetic experimentation on humans.
- Rebel Prince: Glen, who has defected from the Rosebrooks.
- The Reveal: Several, often in rapid succession.
- Victor will become a mermaid if he doesn't obtain Seaglass.
- Mermaids are killed and eaten by the royal families for longevity- including Glen's.
- This isn't space- it's an alien ocean.
- Copper, Elba's lost love interest, is (most likely) Victor.
- Shout-Out:
- The comic's description notably mentions Victor and his crew "[making] the impossible possible".
- Sylvain refers to the inner workings of Victor's mind being an enigma.
- The underlying plot of Seaglass (essentially) follows The Little Mermaid's original plot. A mermaid ( Victor) seeks to remain human in order to stay with a prince. Notably, the Daughters of Air also draw their name from the spirits of the original fairytale.
- True Love's Kiss: Believed by Victor to be what cured his temporary status as a mermaid; it's unclear whether this is true or just coincidence.
- It's revealed as of #135 that this is false- anyone who has consumed mermaid's flesh can cause a incomplete transformation to revert.
- Was Once a Man: Mermaids, as it turns out.
- Yandere: Calder for Victor.
- Your Days Are Numbered: The case of Victor and Olra (as well as any other mermaid).
Siren Song provides examples of:
- Arc Words: "Rules of Pirating" for the introductory chapters.
- Arranged Marriage: Lotse and Klara- this seems to be the norm in Grimmstadt.
- Canon Foreigner: Aldo, Lotse and Levin are exclusive to Siren Song without prior equivalents in Seaglass.
- Continuity Reboot: Of Seaglass- they share a protagonist (Victor Imai) and themes/locations, but otherwise differ. As stated by the author in Siren Song's prologue, Seaglass and Siren Song are companion pieces to each other, not continuations.
- Darker and Edgier: Zig-Zagged- while the overall tone is still initially light, references are made to the declining birth rates of the world and the prologue alludes to societal transphobia as a theme (something which was nearly absent in Seaglass despite its overwhelmingly LGBT+ cast).
- Nervous Wreck: Lotse. His first interaction with a non-Grimmstadt individual ends with him screaming and running from their (seemingly normative) sharp teeth.
- Persecution Flip: In Grimmstadt, men have severely restricted agency over their own lives compared to women, the opposite of Real Life patriarchal societies.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Levin, the main antagonist of the first few chapters, cements himself as a villain when he repeatedly deadnames and misgenders Victor.
- Scary Teeth: Certain residents of the sea have sharp and pointy teeth in spite of their otherwise human looking appearances, which Lotse finds disturbing.
- Took the Wife's Name: Lotse was expected to take his arranged fiancé Klara's last name of "Mondlicht" over his own last name "Geist" because Klara is a higher ranking member of society than him (being a woman and the high priestess to boot).
