(Discontinued) Metior_Ice’s Story Thread
After trying to play through a legacy, I wanted to do something different, something that isn’t related to a specific challenge. I’m hoping to share my stories here for fun. It’ll be a way to conti...
Forum Discussion
Extra: Merfolk Developing their Fashion Sense With ThrifTea
In my stories, a merperson's human form isn't their natural form. It's a kind of shapeshifting that merfolk are able to do when they go on land. Water comes in many different forms, so I do like to think that, while my merfolk can never become human, they can change their form to go on land as needed. But for the most part, I'll use Dylan as an example for how I develop what my merfolk wear in game.
This is Dylan's Natural Form
A little bio of why merfolk don't have outfits like humans do:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586205405_debf15c91f_b.jpg
In their shapeshifted form, they are still merfolk. Even if Dylan takes a human appearance, he's still a merman and will dress accordingly. Merfolk don't suddenly get a functional or social need to dress like humans when they change their form. They are still merfolk. So, among a group of merfolk in human form, this wouldn't raise any questions.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586285523_2acd6579ea_b.jpg
But, the greatest danger to merfolk might be humans. Humans can threaten the environment they live in and because humans are mortal, merfolk became myths, legends. Humans who would seek to use merfolk for their own gain or threaten them in other ways would notice that merfolk look different. Among merfolk, they look normal, if they appear around humans, they look out of place. And that's when merfolk start to need to blend in with humans. Merfolk might joke about human fashion, question it, or feel uncomfortable with so much weighing them down and restricting movement, but the need exists when around humans. This doesn't mean that merfolk are perfect when it comes to blending in with humans.
Dylan's father used things found around the island to give his sons their first human outfit. The outfit has some obvious flaws in terms of blending in with humans and is largely made from organic materials like beach grasses and various beach plants. For a merfolk that doesn't naturally have legs, the thing humans call a "skirt" is much more comfortable than something like jeans. Again, developing something for two legs would never happen among merfolk because they naturally have only one tail.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586031139_05d9da1431_b.jpg
But, if a merperson were to see how other humans dress, they might copy what they see and start to develop a fashion sense for when they shapeshift.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586286518_523657c80d_b.jpg
What my merfolk wear does depend on what they buy from ThrifTea. Outfits purchased at ThrifTea do become availble in CAS as a new item.
After removing the filters for a particular outfit, I was able to find the outfits purchased at ThrifTea. Outfits purchased at ThrifTea don't always appear under the CAS categories if you strictly use what is intended for certain weather conditions.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586286508_ff7d1cb038_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586286498_e74ea0211f_b.jpg
The same goes for shoes.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52585298092_6d7e8ceded_b.jpg
And shirts.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52585769756_ce9e250797_b.jpg
If you don't pick a different style, the items don't appear in CAS.
If I picked this jacket at ThrifTea, it wouldn't have shown up as a new item in CAS. This is helpful if you want your sims to only wear what they spent simoleons on.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586286483_31bc5b35fb_b.jpg
I picked a jacket in a different style so it showed up, but some of the outfits didn't because I didn't know it had to be a different style to show up in CAS as a new item. So, some of the outfits my merfolk will be wearing are still purchased from ThrifTea, but I don't have it indicated in CAS.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586286458_ff3fa1421a_b.jpg
Here are a couple more outfits I created for Dylan and Zeph. Dylan and Zeph are identical twins, and I like to think they make some mischief by dressing the same. Having others confuse who is who is something they might have fun with as merboys.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586205420_d4d309af4e_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586205415_3446791fed_b.jpg
When I have time, I might upload a copy of my merfolk households with only their human disguises for those who don't want to edit how they look or delete their mermadic attire. For now, their mermadic attire is something that needs to get deleted in CAS if you don't want merfolk showing up dressed in their mermadic attire at human venues. I do micromanage this in my own game.
In my stories, a merperson's human form isn't their natural form. It's a kind of shapeshifting that merfolk are able to do when they go on land. Water comes in many different forms, so I do like to think that, while my merfolk can never become human, they can change their form to go on land as needed. But for the most part, I'll use Dylan as an example for how I develop what my merfolk wear in game.
This is Dylan's Natural Form
A little bio of why merfolk don't have outfits like humans do:
Spoiler
Because my merfolk are immune to extreme changes in temperature, they don't create clothes to protect themselves from the elements. They live in the water, so most of their appearance is tailored to living in the sea. Also, because merfolk are perfectly adapted to living in the water, they can tolerate all the extreme changes in temperature that happen in the water.
Many clothes humans wear would actually hinder their survival in the ocean, baggy clothes slow them down and weigh them down by absorbing water. For mermen and merboys, it's normal to be shirtless and have minimal accessories. It's actually better for them because they can swim faster and evade predators in the sea more efficiently like this.
Merfolk might use certain accessories to indicate social status in the pod, but this isn't a strict system they follow all the time.
There is no functional or social reason for having outfits like humans do. Without a need, there normally isn't a strong motivation to develop a sense of fashion.
Many clothes humans wear would actually hinder their survival in the ocean, baggy clothes slow them down and weigh them down by absorbing water. For mermen and merboys, it's normal to be shirtless and have minimal accessories. It's actually better for them because they can swim faster and evade predators in the sea more efficiently like this.
Merfolk might use certain accessories to indicate social status in the pod, but this isn't a strict system they follow all the time.
There is no functional or social reason for having outfits like humans do. Without a need, there normally isn't a strong motivation to develop a sense of fashion.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586205405_debf15c91f_b.jpg
In their shapeshifted form, they are still merfolk. Even if Dylan takes a human appearance, he's still a merman and will dress accordingly. Merfolk don't suddenly get a functional or social need to dress like humans when they change their form. They are still merfolk. So, among a group of merfolk in human form, this wouldn't raise any questions.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586285523_2acd6579ea_b.jpg
But, the greatest danger to merfolk might be humans. Humans can threaten the environment they live in and because humans are mortal, merfolk became myths, legends. Humans who would seek to use merfolk for their own gain or threaten them in other ways would notice that merfolk look different. Among merfolk, they look normal, if they appear around humans, they look out of place. And that's when merfolk start to need to blend in with humans. Merfolk might joke about human fashion, question it, or feel uncomfortable with so much weighing them down and restricting movement, but the need exists when around humans. This doesn't mean that merfolk are perfect when it comes to blending in with humans.
Dylan's father used things found around the island to give his sons their first human outfit. The outfit has some obvious flaws in terms of blending in with humans and is largely made from organic materials like beach grasses and various beach plants. For a merfolk that doesn't naturally have legs, the thing humans call a "skirt" is much more comfortable than something like jeans. Again, developing something for two legs would never happen among merfolk because they naturally have only one tail.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586031139_05d9da1431_b.jpg
But, if a merperson were to see how other humans dress, they might copy what they see and start to develop a fashion sense for when they shapeshift.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586286518_523657c80d_b.jpg
What my merfolk wear does depend on what they buy from ThrifTea. Outfits purchased at ThrifTea do become availble in CAS as a new item.
After removing the filters for a particular outfit, I was able to find the outfits purchased at ThrifTea. Outfits purchased at ThrifTea don't always appear under the CAS categories if you strictly use what is intended for certain weather conditions.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586286508_ff7d1cb038_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586286498_e74ea0211f_b.jpg
The same goes for shoes.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52585298092_6d7e8ceded_b.jpg
And shirts.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52585769756_ce9e250797_b.jpg
If you don't pick a different style, the items don't appear in CAS.
If I picked this jacket at ThrifTea, it wouldn't have shown up as a new item in CAS. This is helpful if you want your sims to only wear what they spent simoleons on.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586286483_31bc5b35fb_b.jpg
I picked a jacket in a different style so it showed up, but some of the outfits didn't because I didn't know it had to be a different style to show up in CAS as a new item. So, some of the outfits my merfolk will be wearing are still purchased from ThrifTea, but I don't have it indicated in CAS.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586286458_ff3fa1421a_b.jpg
Here are a couple more outfits I created for Dylan and Zeph. Dylan and Zeph are identical twins, and I like to think they make some mischief by dressing the same. Having others confuse who is who is something they might have fun with as merboys.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586205420_d4d309af4e_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586205415_3446791fed_b.jpg
When I have time, I might upload a copy of my merfolk households with only their human disguises for those who don't want to edit how they look or delete their mermadic attire. For now, their mermadic attire is something that needs to get deleted in CAS if you don't want merfolk showing up dressed in their mermadic attire at human venues. I do micromanage this in my own game.
