#i apologize for typos or grammar mistakes i only type properly for fic or school

[ethmaron]

mer au ramblings under cut ↓

i was thinking about the mers and their behaviors in particular-- i can't remember if i've ever really talked about it (if i have it's on one of the older posts? probably under one of the asks from capricorn) but bc i had spotted that recent thing i drew in my canvas library the mers are so cat-like in my head. or something. i do think they hide under their tails a lot when they get upset or embarrassed and stuff but that's probably more coming from i think they hide away in little caves and stuff normally and its like just a placeholder behavior sorta deal. they like the dark and small spaces bc like tims got that cave he likes to go to a lot (he takes kon there eventually--idk if ive ever mentioned tims little hideaway lol)

i do think they also like to smack each other with their tails as a playing thing which is fun until its a human and they get absolutely wasted by 30+ lbs of pure muscle. i do think it would be hilarious if in some of the first interactions dick smacks someone and there is very quickly rules established. he ends up only being able to play with jason until he goes . "missing". (tbh this is making me think about little dick and jason and im getting very teary. thinking about bruce deciding to reach out to the humans as a way to help protect both himself and his sons from poachers and stuff. gets them access to medicine.)

i DO think that dick and jason woulda been much closer in this though and i feel like being honest mers kinda have shorter lifespans in the wild? (bruce is probably still pretty young by human standards i think, but is getting up there by mer standards) limited access to food + getting into fights + poachers. actually the fighting aspect is interesting to me because i dont think i've thought much of it before? the only natural defenses they have are teeth, nails and tail. i think mer fights would probably be very quick and typically escalate fairly fast. (also realizing bruce would definitely be a killer in this au by virtue of protecting his territory + his family. wonder if it would turn into a more he doesnt want his kids to have to ever kill? but idk bc that would be a part of the lifestyle of a mer, and they would need to know how to defend themselves anyway) weak points definitely tail fins and throat. fins specifically because they cant swim without them so they'd just kinda sink and rot at the bottom of the ocean if they dont have someone helping them; which is to say in the case of shredded fins because jason kept his fins but theres holes in them which Does effect his swimming speed but only because of the holes and not the material of his fin (i do think the humans have tech that could theoretically replace tail fins in order to help them swim again but they wouldn't be as durable as their natural fins. wouldn't be able to tolerate fast swimming. probably what would've happened to babs--i don't think ive ever addressed her in this au? i should go and design some of the people that are missing. i think shed be reallyyyy pretty.) but i think that once a fight is determined to be to death they just go for the throat/gills.

regardless that is to say that the hiding behavior i think is funny and i do fully believe the first time kon or jon sees it they immediately make a cat comment and then show pictures. depending on who the mer is/their landside education they dont even know what cats are which would be kinda funny i think. hilarious to me if damian convinces jon to bring a cat because he wants to meet it (he definitely still loves animals--probably bffsies w some of the sharks and other animals in their territory.) I DESPERATELY WANT KON TO BRING KRYPTO oh god kory would have a heart attack if he snuck krypto in. bart would love him. i think tim and cassie would be a little ehhh about him but krypto so sweet just a little baby .

i had talked about a while ago that i should try to work bernard in--i think itd be kinda silly if there were a bunch of tims like comic HS friends that are just interns or something in different areas of the facility and stuff and they all end up kinda becoming friends anyway. bernard, darla, ives, etc. idrc if it doesnt make sense this entire au is a trainwreck anyway lol

ACTUALLY very funny to me i was thinking abt how tim gets a little demanding in getting carried/carted around on land and he finds out kinda quick most the people there can't actually lift them up (kon can technically lift tim/bart/cassie but he Struggled at first). him asking ives to take him to a different tank and ives just gives him a really long look before getting a wheelchair and helping tim drag himout of his current tank LOL i think there would be lots of cursing and sniping from both sides .

ill wrap this up but now im thinking abt mer courtship stuff--idk if ive ever talked about that here? its kinda silly LOL