#yes I am reposting Mer!Heathcliff on this blog ...

[throughpatchesofviolet]

Y'know what ... reposting my Mer!Heathcliff here for MerMay.

Going to put some of the lore things under a cut, since I love talking about my Mermaid AU so darn much.

- First of all, my Mer Heathcliff is based on the Irish Merrow! I did a ton of research, and I thought they fit best with his character and arc, what with male Merrow being scorned. This decision was also made because Merrow can assume human form, and that's key for the story I'm writing! - Following him being a Merrow, the glowing object in his hands is a human soul. According to folklore, Merrow collect human souls, and there's a story (although I believe it's been proven to not be a legend or folktale, but rather a made up story) about a male Merrow keeping human souls locked in lobster cages to keep him company. I took that concept and applied it to Heathcliff. - Though you can't see it, here, there's a line of scales that run along the length of his spine, and that's where his dorsal fins grow from. - All of his scars are from either defending his territory from other Mer or from sailors who throw harpoons at him when he gets too close to their ships--ever since he met Catherine when she was sailing on a vessel in the Great Lake, he has swam close to every ship he encounters, hoping she's finally returned to him like she promised she would many years ago. - His eyes work similarly to those of a cat. His pupils dilate and contract in response to light, and also glow faintly in the dark.

There's plenty more, of course, but those are some fun little things ~!