#ESPECIALLY language because theyre nerds who went hard into the sound focus

[rxttenfish]

tbh tho this is EXACTLY what merfolk relationships look like

and they just keep track of this. in their heads. all the time.

#all the care guide says is 'biomass' #they dont have gendered pronouns but they do have tone modifiers for every other fucking word depending on their relationship to the other #and their mood. and if theyre referring to multiple people at once or just one person. and often layered on top of each other too. #merfolk have poor vision but they DO inherently think of things in a more ''three dimensional'' way than we do #considering they live underwater and youre operating with another axis just to move around anywhere #which then gets applied to the rest of their everything #ESPECIALLY language because theyre nerds who went hard into the sound focus #their visual art in comparison has simpler elements than ours (but a lot more focus on light/movement) #this is why merfolk have some very unique spellcrafts and theyre notorious for complicated and detailed spellwork #like yes a part of it is the fact that theyre older than the other species and have had more time to work on it #but also they can just DO really unique things compared to other cultures because they emphasize layered detail in this way #this is also why - from the outside - so much of miranda's job looks like parties and balls and attending to the courts #because again. its all about the emphasis on who has what relationship with who and how to operate within that. #legal agreements are multilayered and come with terms and conditions a mile long and you need to have a very careful hand on the pulse #of all of this #even moreso because royal families go even harder with treating the lineage as the individual and the merfolk #as just limbs and organs of this equation #this is why it was so important that miranda be good at manipulation and speaking and just *charismatic* #literally making people do what she wants or needs them to do is just what makes the merkingdom GO and operate #and why she (and the other royals) occupy a space a little like a public performer does as well #and why royals showing personal favor and having close personal relationships is frowned upon as #mixing pleasure and business #since those relationships ARE their business and so much of the underlying politics #if youre showing undue favor to someone because you personally just like them then you aren't judging them based off of actual talent #merfolk complicated! merkingdom complicated! #(the merkingdom is also SUPER fucked up but thats tangential from this tangent)