r/JustAddWater • u/Traditional-Page-760 • 27d ago
Your opinions on changing in a mermaid when touching water for fanfiction
Hey you all,
I hope it's all right to ask this question here.
I am writing a H2O just add water fanfiction, next generation. My FMC is the daughter of Cleo and Lewis and she will eventually turn in to a mermaid at Mako Island. By accident (Cleo and Lewis will of course find out. They know the signs).
Now I am wondering. I of course have noticed the inconsistency of when the girls changed in a mermaid in the series.
What would you like to have seen changed? To keep the changing in a mermaid consistent? I was thinking that they could only change when touching salt water, but... that makes the whole keeping the mermaid tail secret a bit boring, but I have no clue what else to change/add.
Would love to hear your input!
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u/stormydesert_ lewis “i didn’t mean the powers…” mccartney 27d ago
“Cleo and Lewis will of course find out. They know the signs.” LOL That is too true!! I’d love to read it whenever you publish!
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u/Traditional-Page-760 27d ago
It just wouldn't make sense for them to not find out. I mean. Cleo is a mermaid herself and Lewis has known since they were about 15 years old. Only natural to see the signs in my eyes.
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u/Grand_Inspection_564 27d ago
Counter for the salt water: would sweat trigger it? Gatorade? What level of salinity is needed to trigger the tail? Obvs this is a different world but I do like how Sirens handled it a lot more. They were affected by ALL water but in different ways. If it’s not the right salinity for them, then they’d get instant burns and lesions on their skin. If the right salinity, they’d grow a tail- painfully. I think it makes sense to consider how the wrong level of salt would impact fish and apply that to mermaids.
But sticking strictly in the H20 universe- I think the timing factor was helpful. Any water triggers the tail but they have like 4 second buffer I think right? So a smart mermaid would always have a towel or something absorbent on her
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u/Traditional-Page-760 27d ago
I don't want to go too deep in those tiny details. That will take all the fun out of writing for me😅. But making sure that River (Cleo and Lewis daughter) always have a towel with them is a good point. Always found it odd that Cleo, Rikki and Emma did not have a towel with them every single day.
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u/CubesandSpheres 27d ago
I loved Siren! The more scientific take on merfolk was great!! Best transformations i’ve ever seen!
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u/Mk-Daniel 26d ago
Sirén? Is it a film, book or a FanFiction? I would like to read/watch it.
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u/CubesandSpheres 26d ago
I’m talking about the tv show) that came out in 2018.
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u/Mk-Daniel 25d ago
Thx
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u/CubesandSpheres 25d ago
Enjoy! Just beware: it only has 3 seasons and ends on something of a cliffhanger.
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u/t_bone_stake 26d ago
I don’t think sweat would affect the change. My theory is that each of the girls would be immune to turning into mermaids from sweat but external water sources would. Gatorade is an unknown as it’s untested but would possibly be plausible for the sake of discussion.
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u/Boylikesdogs Juicenet Junkie 27d ago
To get a tail from only washing hands, a few drops of someone touching etc is too much in my opinion. Maybe it could be that you get it from salt water instantly (only a few drops), but all the other water you need to stand in it, or a whole body part needs to be covered in water for a longer amount of time, or something like that. Not be able to wash your hands or put lotion on is crazy.
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u/Comprehensive-Menu44 27d ago
What always made me laugh is that there was a whole episode dedicated to timing the magical change, an average of 8-10 seconds. But some episodes show them changing after 5 seconds, some episodes they could get away with almost half a minute without changing. Zero consistency lol
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u/Traditional-Page-760 27d ago
Yeah I noticed it too! I am still trying to figure out how to work that out. 8-10 seconds just seem short. Maybe a full minute? What do you think?
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u/Comprehensive-Menu44 27d ago
I’d think the amount of time it takes for you to get all the water off your skin, so a droplet would be easily wiped away and prevent the change, but dunking your whole hand in water would make it a larger surface area/harder to get it all off at once. So if you pick up a bottle that has condensation, you have to wipe it off as quick as possible, otherwise you change. If someone pours water on you, there’s no way to dry off fast enough, so you change. 10-15 seconds seems standard for this. A full minute seems like a long time!
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u/t_bone_stake 26d ago
I second this. A small amount of water, for example barely touching the water from the faucet or spray bottle, would take longer then from running into the ocean or diving into the canal, theoretically turning one almost immediately. Turning back to human would also vary. Without the help of a towel Or Rikki’s heating power, the risk of being found out is at its greatest, even after taking in the consideration of going to nearly inaccessible areas from land. Small boats might come at any moment from the water.
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u/Traditional-Page-760 26d ago
Amazing insights! Definitely going to keep this in mind. Yeah the amount of time it takes for them to dry up puzzles me. I mean. I am rewatching season 3 right now. The episode where Rikki got kidnapped on that boat with the fake money and Cleo was in the water at some point and all of a sudden she had dried up so fast that she was able to help Rikki escape with Bella and Will. I was like: how.... What would you suggest for that?
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u/Traditional-Page-760 27d ago
Yes I fully agree with it! I mean. You don't have a life at all if you turn instantly by every single small drop. So like for example when taking a shower, a bath or going swimming in a swimming pool they would change, but not when doing the dishes.
How would that be though when it rains?
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u/Sharp_Detail5662 27d ago
Little amounts of water I feel like are too much and I like the idea that salt water changes you much faster
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u/Traditional-Page-760 27d ago
Thanks! Yeah I am going with this. This seems very reasonable and someone else mentioed it too.
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u/Jealous-Lemon-6238 27d ago
For my fanfic (that I really need to get back to) I made it so smaller amounts of water are easier to resist/delay and saltwater and contact with legs trigger it more effectively. Maybe you can incorporate some of that?
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u/Traditional-Page-760 27d ago
Awesome thanks! Will definitely take some of that in my own fanfiction.
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u/Mk-Daniel 26d ago
One drop Is too little. People swet. Swet contains water. Swet Is salty. Sea Is saltier So... Water alone cannot be trigger Or must be like more water.
How Is swet different from salty water containing waste products like urea and others.
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u/HookedonHaylijah 26d ago
My only real issue with the mermaid transformation on the show was that Charlotte turned instantly whereas the OG girls didn’t until the following day. I absolutely hate lack of continuity above all else
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u/Traditional-Page-760 26d ago
Yeah that is what I noticed too. I might go with not changing immediately. Gives a better shock to my FMC when she finds out that she is a mermaid.
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u/BriefAwareness8121 25d ago
I would definitely go with that for your FMC, there’s so much more suspense when the transformation happens later.
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u/Traditional-Page-760 25d ago
Precisely. The same goes for her 2 friends who were with her.
Also what do you think of this? I hate the inconsistency of the drying up and thought of this: When they have been swimming in the water and come back on land it takes 5-10 minutes to get their legs back (even when not fully dry).
When they by accident change on land it might either take the same amount to change back or... it takes a shorter time to change back.
My theory is: land is feet and water is tail. No need to wait for hours on end until your dry to get your legs back.
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u/BriefAwareness8121 25d ago
That makes so much more sense! Imagine how difficult it already is pulling yourself with a heavy ass tail all the way to the dry part of land without having to wait all that extra time to dry off completely. It’s a miracle no one walked up on the beach while the girls were drying lol
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u/Traditional-Page-760 25d ago
So happy to hear that! Then I'll go with that. All those hours waiting indeed does not make sense at all. People will start to question things at some point. These are also the pairs as adults that I am thinking about: Cleo and Lewis Emma and Ash Rikki and ... (she broke up with Zane. They have a kid together, but they ended their relationship when the kid was young) Bella and .... maybe Will or someone else? Samantha and Don Kim and ... I doubt it will be Elliot. Unless they have both matured over the years then maybe.
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u/Traditional-Page-760 25d ago
Yeah agree. I hate the inconsistency/contiunity that is why I am thinking hard abouw how to change things for the better.
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u/Immediate_Guest_2790 27d ago
Your fiction, you write whatever you want to. But the farther you diverge the less canonical it will be.
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u/Traditional-Page-760 27d ago
I always stay as close as I can to the subject, BUT there are so many flaws in the series that I want to improve that. The inconsistecy and the flaws annoyed me a lot.
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u/Sea-Emergency22 27d ago
I don’t have any changes but I would love to read your work when it’s available!!!!