#uncanny valley mermaids

[inbox-to-the-void]

ENTRY 001 THE HUMAN DIDN'T REACT BADLY AT ME IT OFFERED ME THE SHELL IT HAD IT FREAKED OUT WHEN I REACHED FOR ITS FACE I'LL BRING IT A PRETTY SHELL IF IT COMES BACK …IF

Skeppy: -I mean, you look pretty freaked out Techno: I'M FINE

Art for @simplepotatofarmer (my main motivation for making rivals duo fanart)

[IMAGE ID: A digital drawing of Technoblade and Dream. Dream is in the foreground, Technoblade in the background. Technoblade is a human with pink hair, a black diving suit, a red shirt, and red fins. Dream looks semi-human, with finned ears, dirty blonde hair, pale skin, and the start of a green tail. Dream is looking at Technoblade, while Technoblade looks at a rainbow-coloured shell. There's text in a black font that reads "ENTRY 001" near the top left on the screen, directly below the water. END ID]

[IMAGE ID: A digital drawing of Technoblade. He's wearing swimming goggles, a black diving suit, and a red shirt. His pink hair floats above him, and he appears to be holding his breath. Text in a black font reads "THE HUMAN DIDN'T REACT BADLY AT ME". END ID]

[IMAGE ID: A digital drawing of Dream. Dream is a mermaid with finned ears, dirty blonde hair, green tail scales starting at the top of his chest, and four-fingered clawed hands. His thumb isn't visible. He has wide eyes and a wide smile, reaching for a rainbow shell that Technoblade's hand has an index finger on. Text in a black font reads "IT OFFERED ME THE SHELL IT HAD". END ID]

[IMAGE ID: A digital drawing of Technoblade and Dream. Dream is in the foreground, Technoblade in the background. Technoblade is a human with pink hair, a black diving suit, a red shirt, and red fins. Dream looks semi-human, with finned ears, dirty blonde hair, pale skin, and the start of a green tail. Technoblade is clearly panicked, kicking his feet to swim away from Dream. Text in a black font reads "IT FREAKED OUT WHEN I REACHED FOR ITS FACE", explaining Technoblade's panic. END ID]

[IMAGE ID: A digital drawing of the water, the main focus of the image being the text "I'LL BRING IT A PRETTY SHELL IF IT COMES BACK". A boat is visible at the top of the screen, Dream's hair at the bottom. END ID]

[IMAGE ID: A digital drawing of over the edge of a boat. Technoblade is to the right, while a coral reef is visible to the left. Dream's smile is highlighted in screen in a dark area of the coral reef. Skeppy's speech bubble, on the boat, reads "-I mean, you look pretty freaked out" in a cyan font with a black background. Technoblade's speech bubble, a red background with white font, reads "I'M FINE" and is placed slightly over Skeppy's speech bubble. Text in a black font reads "…IF" in the water. END ID]

[moj-e]

[mceproductions]

Worst of 2023 Music #1: Awkwafina and Daveed Diggs “The Scuttlebutt”

Oh Disney, when you go in on something you certainly know how to use the talent at your disposal.

This year’s addition to the growing live action remake board involves the fabled mermaid from under the sea.

Which had the old classics, brought to life in new creative ways.

But we got three new ones in addition to this. Although losing the song with Odo as the chef going after Sebastian was a churner.

We had the ok, with Prince Eric wondering his place in his island kingdom and how he wants to see more.

We had the really good featuring the best addition that utilizes the vocal prowess of its star to show what Ariel was thinking while she couldn’t speak.

And then this….

Scuttle the seagull was an unsung part of the original given personality by Buddy Hackett.

Here with the whole needing the underwater setting having to play a part. The bird was swapped for a northern gannet. And here we get Awkwafina a small doses comic that plays a larger part here.

But as her music taste was already not pleasant, here we get 2 full minutes of an eye gouging rap from Lin Manuel Miranda as her and Daveed Diggs mange to grind all momentum to a halt.

A scene in which scuttle lets Ariel know about Eric’s impending nuptials only took 12 seconds in the original. Gets stretched here for maximum Miranda usage.

The face close ups, with the uncanny valley of both Sebastian and Scuttle made all the worse.

I feel for the animators here, not pleasant having to salvage the worst song of the year. The comments on the audio only version made all the funnier.

SUM 22: Ariel did herself and the audience a favor by covering up the bird and the crab. Best way to save our eardrums.

[themichaelvan]

litcherally me.at the beach

[sysig]

Starting with “I’m not a furry but-” is really just digging my own grave isn’t it (Patreon)

[ancient-reverie]

unpopular opinion: no tattoo is bad. you just have a skill issue with art and the human experience. get good.

[rootbeerqueer]

Trick or treat!!

happy halloween 🎃 have some intellectual property-violating airbrush art i saw on a haunted house the last time i went to the county fair:

[jessiescock]

The new little mermaid movie looks like some sort of insurance company, or perhaps smartphone commercial

[thenightling]

Pet peeve about the Internet *Pretending* to have read Frankenstein

I am so tired of everyone and their dog on the Internet saying "Actually the monster was The Doctor." or "Frankenstein was the Doctor. Not The Creature." And no one notices what's wrong with this. First, Victor Frankenstein (in the novel) was no doctor. He was a student of metaphysics. He never graduates. He's not a medical doctor at all. He found the secret of life while reading the works of Agrippa and Paracelsus. A self-proclaimed sorcerer and alchemist. Now what makes Victor a Monster? He had f--king postpartum depression. No. Seriously. THAT is what makes everyone call him a monster. The term Postpartum didn't exist yet but that's what is described. He's excited about creating life. He even chose various parts for their beauty. The Creature has luxurious black hair, and perfect teeth (a detail left out of most film adaptations). But the eyes are yellow and watery. There's an effect that we'd today call Uncanny Valley. Victor does not find him hideous until he comes to life. Then Victor flees. It takes him months to recover from his "Brain fever." He has a sort of nervous break down. When he finally comes home it's to discover his youngest brother has been killed and The Creature has framed an innocent maid for the murder (and is hanged for it). YES, The Creature is sympathetic. Abandoned by Victor and rejected by the world but both make horrible mistakes. Victor is no innocent but he isn't Satan either. Someone on Tumblr even blocked me for trying to point out that Mary Shelley wanted us to sympathize with BOTH Victor and his Creature. It's not black and white. The person claimed I clearly never read the book and then blocked me after saying "Another person who didn't read the book trying to school me." Not only did I read the book but Frankenstein is in my top four favorite novels. To me, seeing the Internet constantly parrot the "The Doctor was the monster" is like seeing the rather sexist "Beauty and the Beast is Stockholm Syndrome" (which actually means "I don't trust Belle and will ignore her agency as a character.") Or the not-so-subtle transphobia attached to the Hot take of "Disney's The Little Mermaid gave up who she was for a man." which requires ignoring that Ariel wanted to be human before she ever saw Eric. I even got into an argument with someone about that once who insisted that she only sang "Part of your world" after she saw Eric. No. That was the reprise. The first time she sang it was before she ever saw Eric. Also I'm sick of people "correcting" those that call The Creature Frankenstein. The Creature views Victor as his father. Usually a son takes his father's surname. On a lighter note we have the people who PRETEND to have read Dracula, sharing the old man image of him with the handlebar mustache as being "This is what Dracula actually looked like in the book." I often point out to them that he de-ages in the novel and is later described with dark hair with grey in it. And a pointed beard. One person, who didn't want to admit they were wrong, tried to claim he was disguising himself so no one would reocognize him. That the beard was false and the hair was a wig. Umm... Why? The only person who knew what he looked like was Jonathan Harker. And at the time Dracula thought Harker was still in his castle. I know this is a long post but to sum it up... Please, stop repeating memes about classic stories as if they are fact and try reading them for yourself. It may not quite be what you've been lead to believe.

[mimicmockingbirds]

OK, but hear me out

Say Ride the Cyclone were to be adapted into a film; imagine how much fun it would be to see it animated.

Because for the main plot, like the intro song and the mostly dialogue scenes in limbo, you could easily do a stylistic, but still grounded in realism style that a lot of modern animated projects are doing right now (think Arcane or Into the Spider Verse). But once each of the kids go into their respective songs/fantasies for what their life could have been? What if those were done in completely different styles?? Imagine the additional, visual storytelling that would tell about who they are as characters?

Like say, for Ocean's number, WTWN, everything became more simplified, and the characters (especially Ocean herself) turned into a more rounded, chibi-like style to enhance just how cutesy and likeable she's trying to portray herself throughout that number.

Or for Noel's Lament, everything goes black and white, and the characters become even more 2D stylized, and the film scales down to a smaller millimeter frame, more reminiscent of cartoons from the early 20's, when animation was just starting out, to enhance his idealization of "the olden days" (as Ocean puts it).

Mischa's song, This Song is Awesome could be animated with a more choppy frame rate, and the character designs turn a little more jagged around the edges, kind of like animated music videos (I'm thinking a Gorillaz band vibe). But as he transitions into singing about Talia, the colors start to bleed out over their lineart, and become more paint-like and Talia herself moves like a rotoscoped character (think Loving, Vincent that came out a few years ago) to enhance the sense that she's somewhere between a real person and a fantasy Mischa's built in his mind.

Ricky's song would, of course, be stylized after those sci-fi cartoons from the 90's, like X-Men or Captain Planet.

For the Ballad of Jane Doe, I would love to see something like what Wolfwalkers did back in 2020, where most of the characters (in this case, the other kids) are for the most part, animated like traditional, 2D characters with very clean lines and neat movements, whereas Jane herself stands out for having messier, sketchy line art, and looks more and more unfinished in her animation as the song goes on, because she can feel more and more of her own identity being lost.

Constance's Sugar Cloud I could see done in the classic 2D Disney style (i.e., the Renaissance era of Disney, like the Lion King or Little Mermaid days) because not only is it really smooth and colorful and just all around nice to look at, but it reminds the average moviegoer of their childhood growing up with those movies (among others, obviously), which ties in nicely with Constance's preceding monologue about remembering her own life, and the good that came with the bad.

I'm even tempted to envision the first half of the finale song in a different style, when the stage production would show a quick projection of Jane/Penny's life after she returned to the world of the living. Imagine watching this animated film, and for that segment alone, it becomes that really hyper-realistic, almost uncanny valley CGI animation style, to show that she really has joined the world of the living, i.e. our world, among us, the living breathing movie goers watching this, and watching the other kids still in limbo fade back to that main art style for the final number.

I don't know; it just feels like something that would be so engaging to see from an already compelling storyline and characters. Especially with more experimental animation projects on the rise right now

[simplepotatofarmer]

i'm glad you found my message well!! i was really worried, and i'm super glad you're okay. and!! i've been working on a mermaid au that i want to make into a series for you; it's a rivals duo "what a WEIRDO i do NOT LIKE THIS GUY" to "this guy isn't so bad. i'm gonna be friends with him". and it has a Dream design that's a little off-putting uncanny valley effect because that's lowkey my favorite way to design Dream cuz. yes he's intimidating. he's also a little guy and has done nothing wrong in his life. and it has a humanoid Techno! and Skeppy is there too <- rambling a little bit but i hope you find joy in my rambling. you deserve nice things

oh that sounds so cool anon!!!

i love that idea and i do love a slightly off-putting dream design! those can be so cool especially when you can tell the artist still sees him as human or a little guy <3 <3 i can't wait to see what you do! definitely tag me because i'd love to support it <3 <3

but never feel bad about rambling! i love listening to what people have to say about rivals!!

[spacexseven]

TUNA. TUNA. [imagine i am shaking you] TUNA. ALL OF UR SEA MONSTER DAZAI POSTS HAVE BEEN SOOOOO GOOD IM GONNA HAVE BRAINROT FOR THE NEXT THREE WEEKS ABOUT THIS. i love how we seem to have just made an evil little mermaid au at this point lol. (to clarify since u just made a post about this im just thought dumping below hehe) i feel like sea monster dazai even in human form will look. Off. like he doesnt Walk Correctly obviously, but he also doesnt seem to understand blinking very well (too used to being able to deploy an invisible third eyelid to keep the water out of his eyes), and hes not much better at breathing without gills either. extreme uncanny valley. itd be fucked up if this really Did go the little mermaid poor reader doesnt quite recognize humanzai as the monster that almost killed them and has been actively stalking them ever since. like, now that he isnt covered in scales and theres no long, razor sharp teeth in his mouth and no ten foot long tail behind him at all times he seems like a different guy. god knows hed take advantage of THAT misunderstanding. also, chuuya and fyodor is a yandere match-up ive never considered before but holy FUCK is it terrifying. like, between chuuya's brute strength and fyodor's... fyodor-ness, theres really no exit in sight, huh? yeesh. - dazai anon (im on computer now so now bandage emoji 4 me :( )

hello !!! i am being violently shaken!!! ive been on computer very often you can always google the 🩹 emoji and copy paste it if you want :> also. No worries when it comes to you i'm telepathic and i know whether you'd want it to be a request or just us conversing about Very Normal Things :>>> this little au is like my child i love it so much thank you

i guess this brings up the question if this is a little mermaid au whos the sea witch hmm i guess sigma works. very witchy vibes idk

cw: yandere character, obsessive behavior, possessive behavior, deception, generally creepy vibe

chuuya and fyodor would be a very interesting matchup heh all the trouble they'd have to go through to start working together....saving that for another time

well apart from the fact that he's still getting used to the legs and the eyes and the significantly weaker fingers and toes and all that, dazai is just not used to the whole human experience. he's tall, towering over most people he meets and coupled with the staring and blank expression, he's a little frightening. the good thing about all this, however, is that you don't recognise him without his claws and fangs and scales and what not. the legs, for one, convince you that he's definitely not the creature that's been haunting you, even though the hair and those eyes look all too familiar.

and maybe the way he grabs you and smiles, the way his grip tightens on you when someone else walks past, the way he whines into your shoulder about not knowing anyone here reminds you way too much of dazai. but this is just a newcomer to the town, someone unfamiliar with his surroundings and dependent on your help, not yet integrated into society and too shy to talk to anyone else.

huh, doesn't that feel familiar...?

get ready, because dazai is going to take advantage of this disguise to become your new best (and only) friend! now that he can do what these other humans can, you won't ask anyone else to walk with you by the beach or hang out together, right? once he finds a more permanent solution that lets him switch between human and monster, he'll never have to leave you alone !

(and of course, if you're interested, he'll gladly pull some strings to give you the underwater experience)

[bam-stroker]

ok but i was debating what kind of mermaid vibes Moon and Sun would have for my 1 shot fic and fell down a research rabbit hole on eels

apparently they'll hunt with grouper??? and like, my heart!!! sun and moon team up of one is slinky/sneaky and the other is the muscle that can't get into the crevices

also learned about wolf fish (sometimes they're called eels too???) and they are absolutely nightmare inducing, i think it's the flat face that makes it fall into the uncanny valley realm????

[misespinas]

I have so many mixed feelings on Disney's 2D vs 3D animation.

On one hand, the earlier 2D animation made the heroines look more like age appropriate and more normal proportions. The downside is that their storylines are more misogynistic and their noses are typically non-existent.

Cinderella (1950), Snow White (1937), Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Meanwhile, a shift begins to form where their faces start to look less realistic, their eyes are drawn larger compared to the sizes of their faces for a “cuter” effect. Intellect is applied to the female characters more in this 2D period, but the storylines are still pretty misogynistic.

Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), Tarzan (1999), The Little Mermaid (1989)

Then the 3D animation comes in and it just becomes the uncanny valley. The storylines become better for female heroines, but they're designed to have disturbing inaccurate human faces, and they more closely resemble toddlers than the ages they're supposed to be.

Frozen (2013), Brave (2012), Moana (2016)

The problem with modern animation is its focus on making it “cute” to the point of the art losing the resemblance of real girls/women.

[shylittlefrogg]

I just found out there was a new animated barbie movie???

And it's not even new, it's from last year - and honestly, I'm having a stroke over Barbie: Mermaid Power.

So come with me going crazy with my 8 year old self And since this movie is good and bad at the same time.

First of all I love that both barbies are in this movie, partly because my first thought when I saw the cover on Netflix was 'Hello island, Meet my girlfriend, Barbie. Barbie, Meet Isla, my girlfriend'

Yes Mattel, let Barbie have all the girlfriends she wants-- (Although it makes me sad that they hardly interacted-)

But let's go to one of the points that concerns me. First.

Why is it bad?

I really had no expectations because it's a current Barbie movie and because I just found out about its existence today. But dude, the plot and story leaves a lot to be desired.

The main thing here is that it is trying to promote the care of the oceans and I am happy about that!

But for the plot that doesn't seem relevant except at the beginning and at the end.

One of the things I thought was that there would really be negative effects on the place far beyond just getting dark.

Do you know the garbage Islands? (plastic islands, toxic islands, there are several in many parts of the ocean that are worrisome)

Those are more dangerous in real life than in this movie.

Animals and fauna tend to be harmed by all that pollution and I really would have put a little more emphasis on why it is important to clean up the rubbish, giving a message that humans can also help make changes, what they should do to help. Why is it important for mermaids to solve this problem

(the only thing about the moon seems important to they??? Your Honor--there is probably a turtle drowning in some cans, help-)

It would have been nice if there were more aid campaign-style humans with Barbie, who would obviously stay on top while the plot unfolds without them knowing. But that they are there, and the mermaids see that humans are not bad as some think, that they are also trying, that we are trying...

It really would have been cute and it would have been a good message...

But well, what it's done, is done.

The next thing I hate is the mermaid tradition, YOUR HONOR I HAVE WORDS ON THIS, MY 8 YEAR OLD ME WAS YELLING BECAUSE SHE HAS HER OWN WORDS-

So I'll try to make sense of her screams.

The Moon thing isn't really fully explained, as I said before, there's no precedent for what can go wrong if they don't do the ritual, so it takes a bit of the worry away.

The fact that air mermaids are the only ones that can breathe does not make sense because in the end all mermaids are out of water???? Like, maybe it would serve more like the air ones are the only ones that can form legs or something.

I don't like the 'transformation' after discovering the power. I like how it looks with the pictures and the effect. But I don't like girls getting a crown and guys getting wristbands and nothing else, I'll literally scream for them to get cool fins and tails that relate to their power. It would really be much better and useful for mermaids.

To finish what I don't like about this movie.

Marlo's redemption.

I actually like redemption! I love when a series or movie knows how to do it well!!

That does not happen here and I refuse to explain why it is obviously meaningless.

Why this is good

Now let's go to why it's good. The characters, they are the only thing that saves this movie from being my worst nightmare about mermaids.

I loved the characters here, hell yeah!

I really like Aquaryah specific , she's a mermaid with a prosthesis!! That's pretty cool and puts her in a good place in my heart (even though looking at her face just sends me into the uncanny valley-)

I really think they could have used more of jer characters, like her father creating her prosthetic!

If he was added to injured animals and fish or mermaids, because of the garbage, to which he makes prostheses, it would have been interesting.

But I'm not complaining.

And!!

I love all the Barbie sisters here.

Yes Chelsea, I understand you, I also had a super mermaid stage.

It's interesting how at one point Barbie seems to feel less after her sisters get their powers! I didn't really know how to explain it but hit close with Skipper saying the 'oh wow, I did something before you, that never happens' thing.

As I said before! I also like transformations! Super cute and quite nice!

And I think good elements they chosen for each one.

Brooklin is emotional and explosive, so I can easily see how her personality aligns with the fire.

Skipper is laid back and tends to move with the tide, so air is pretty much on par with her attitude. (Though she does have a bit of simmering rage)?)

Stacie is tough, she has her thoughts and actions well defined and will stand up for them and fight for them, as well as being somewhat headstrong in some ways so the earth comes as a ring to the finger.

Chelsea is a baby and thanks heavens for her existence, but I honestly can't place anything that defines a water mermaid for her. Maybe they really care about animals? But that's all mermaids.

Barbie in Barbie, she is a tidal wave of changes since she was created, she is like the wind that always continues.

I would have liked a bit more exploration on other characters, but we barely had them with the mermaid group-

It was enjoyable.

thank you for coming to my Ted Talk about me going crazy over a kids movie

[newlyy]

So Mermaze mermaidz was (is?) a doll line by MGA that wasnt super popular because (imo) they were overpriced for what they were and I also know a lot of people thought their faces were uncanny valley.

I personally think they’re pretty, especially the later releases, but I’d prefer them not to be mermaids even though I know that’s the whole schtick. But anyway, so this line had a few releases and then, due to its unpopularity, it was allegedly canceled. But then we got some pictures of a slumber party Mermaze line that had apparently been planned, but now would never be released due to the lines cancellation. Which was a bummer cause some of the dolls were really strong

I’d have wanted the third and the fourth for sure, but again, Mermaze was kaput and these pics were presented as just prototypes, so I’d resigned myself to them never actually coming to fruition. But THEN, randomly, a small batch of them showed up for sale on a UK website and very quickly sold out. So now they’re being sold on eBay by people in the UK that got them and honestly, they aren’t price gouging that much, but with the shipping especially they’re getting pretty expensive. I really really hope MGA sees the popularity and releases more of this line in other countries. I WANT that alien girl.