Mermaids of The Aaron Isles

[Alex-065]

Yeah, I think that about nails it. A fun as it might be, we ought to abide by the overarching rule set.

[TrueBlue©]

But there's lots of bralessness in PG-13s. It is allowed. I have a topless mermaid AND a nekkid druid in Embers of the Idle Mind. Just don't go on and on about them and it's the same thing as keeping 'em out of the camera. O.o

Edit: And if by some black magic the EAB gets shut down because of this—which is silly, that wouldn't happen, we already throw the f-word around like nothing and have rated R stories posted here and there and nobody cares—True will personally assume full responsibility and accept the horrible burden of MASTER ADMIN of EAB 3.0. Muahaha!

[Kagetsuki]

Seriously. The first post of my RP alone throws out the f-word...a lot. Of course I did offer a warning in the very beginning, but, you know.

My reasoning for bras being optional goes something like this.

In a society where every member is female, do you truly think breasts would be a big deal? They would have no need for modesty. Nobody is going to be ogling something EVERYONE has. This being the case, as competent writers we should know they're no big deal. We're not going to be commenting on breasts in every single post. In fact, much like True mentioned, for the most part they wouldn't be mentioned at all. It seems very silly to me that such 'clothing' would be required. The only place I can think of it making a difference would be in interactions with humans, and in such cases if humans showed discomfort it would be very simple to put something on then. Plus, considering how fixated these mermaids are on having children with human males, the lack of bras would work to their advantage, would it not? An attractor, if you will. All animals in nature do their best to attract mates. Even humans do, by way of makeup, clothing, working out, perfumes/colognes, etc. Could this not just be the mermaid way? Just to put it into a more...scientific, is that the word?...perspective.

And anyway, all of us should know that just because breasts are involved doesn't mean the RP will suddenly turn into a rated R porn-fest. Like I said, we're all competent writers here. We should know what's appropriate and what's not based on setting and background details.

[Alex-065]

Ah... Yeah, that's true, Kagetsuki. I couldn't have said it better, really. Bras can still be done away with within the limits of what's right and sensible, but still be used for comedic and flirtatious purposes. Nothing too graphic, and I'm sure no one's going to go out of their way to do a whole paragraph that just describes their mermaid's breasts. Of course not, and that's not the kind of thing we'd be aiming for. Nothing like pornography at all. Just a some cross-culture diplomacy compounded by a little sexual tension.

So... I say we go for it. Bras optional.

[Terethin]

Hmm, that seems reasonable. I've just seen it get out of hand before, and it kinda ruins the Rp the others.

[Ninmast]

I trust the EAB to maintain a mature stance here. My only concern was for the rules. I suppose so long as we keep an eye on it, it shouldn't be an issue.

[Alex-065]

I understand this is a little unusual, Nin, but you're right to be a bit concerned, given the kind of incidents that Terethin has seen. No doubt if things really did get that bad the brass wouldn't be happy at all. But you're also right that we're going to handle this in the way we ought to be. We're accountable to each other, and we each know the writers we're working with here. That they are responsible and sensible enough not to cross the line we've now discussed and set in place. So after this talk I feel doubly sure we're not going to have any embarrassing missteps, now that we understand each other. Right?

[Terethin]

I have a question unrelated to the current topic. Can my mermaid have a minor understand of human language? She is 73 years old and has fought them a great deal. Not much though, like a 6 or 7 year old's level of speech.

[Alex-065]

I don't see why not.

As I've told you, mermaids communicate with one another through telepathy, and a little bit of body language as well. Naturally, most average humans have no way to interpret any of this. Likewise, the mermaids do not initially comprehend human speech. Not just the language but the actual process of speaking.

The physical coordination of lungs, lips, and pallet required to form "words" as humans understand it, is extremely difficult for mermaids to master since that's just not how their bodies are meant to work. Still, it's not impossible for them to learn, and in your girl's case it would be much easier to have an understanding of human language than to be able to speak it. As for telepathy, Ian will be able to communicate how the other mermaids can tune their thoughts to the human mind and vice-versa.

This is also something that Flower would be able to help with. I might see about making a CS for her if I really need to, since she's a new character to this game. Flower wasn't really in the original story the first time I ran this RP, but she can be made to fit. I'm just a little ambivalent about managing three main characters at once, but I think I could try.

I'll have the IC up soon and then we'll be able to start the ball rolling. (^^)

[Terethin]

okies, so I can understand them, just not physically be able to speak it due to ignorance on how they make the sounds to speak?

[Alex-065]

To begin with, yes. A mermaid's first attempts at human speech will usually come out as loud shrieking, but with a little practice they can learn to tone it down and to speak normally. This is an important piece of evidence for Ian to prove the sentience of mermaids beyond a shadow of doubt, and will also bridge the gap between the cultures of the two species.

Learning to speak the "mermaid" or "human" language will be an interesting part of your character's development in the IC.

[Terethin]

Thanks for answering that.

[Ninmast]

So when will we be starting?

[Alex-065]

Right now, actually. 0.o;

I just need to do a little prep work first. x3

[Alex-065]

The IC is up and running! We've still got a few players to check in but I'd say we're all off to a very good start. I'm proud. (^^)