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Away from books: Ningyo


JmOz

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The most distinctive feature of a ningyo is the legend that anyone who eats flesh from its tail becomes immortal, and very beautiful. AB Vol. 2 writes that as Regeneration (1 Body/minute), Life Support (Longevity: Immortality), and +10 COM. A variant of the legend says that only women who eat the ningyo's flesh become immortal, while men die or are changed into hideous monsters.

 

Some ningyo have sharp teeth and claws (small HKA). The ningyo either look like traditional mermaids (and mermen), or fish with a human head. In either form the human part looks extremely attractive; but one ningyo was described in legend as having long red hair, eyebrows that connect in the middle, a protruding lower jaw, a monkey-like mouth, fish-like teeth, and golden scales.

 

Ningyo usually live in small groups. They tend to avoid contact with humans, but sometimes come ashore to relax and brush their hair (when they're very vulnerable due to lack of legs). The sighting of a ningyo is sometimes held to be a sign of luck to the viewer; others believe that their appearance on the surface foretells some sort of great strife to come, on sea or land.

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For a variation of the imortality thing, watch/read the Mermaid Saga by Rumiko Takahashi. (In anime form, Mermaid's Forest, Mermaid's Scar, and the TV anime Mermaid Saga).

 

We have level one (death), level two (Lost Ones, monsters which were once human but are now animal in mentally), and level three (true imortality). Note: Ningyo on land can grow old, and the only way to regain there looks is by eating the flesh of one made imortal by mermaid flesh, which would kill the victim. Also, blood of a Ningyo could kill an mermaid flesh imortal.

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