Someone (an anon on tumblr) said to us "i'm just imagining merman lysandre as post-redemption arc "L" ".
Oooh... actually we were so focused on the plot of the story we're creating (our writing group, cactus di fuoco, is also giving us a hand of help!), that we didn't even think about the possibility of L.
Thanks for this ask!
An unbalanced or insufficient diet can cause a pistrix to completely change their appearance. The color of a pistrices' fins and mane is primarily due to natural molecules called carotenoids, such as astaxanthin, which are introduced into their bodies through the consumption of carotenoid-rich animals, primarily krill, which in healthy specimens constitute nearly 90% of their diet.
A specimen that hasn't been able to consume their adequate amount of crustaceans will rapidly lose the color in their fins, but that's not the only side effect: to function in the frigid depths where they live, pistrices must consume fatty foods, such as crustaceans, and limiting this will make the individual much slimmer.
Almost always, a malnourished specimen is unable to maintain their full body length, which requires a constant supply of calories, and will autotomize, losing part of their tail through self-detachment. Specimens with an incomplete diet will therefore have pink fins, rather than carmine red, slimmer bodies, and almost always lack a caudal fin. If the incorrect diet persists, the fin rays can suffer structural damage, becoming droopy, rather than erect.
The interesting thing is that pistrices can actually transform so drastically, like from Lysandre to L, in a completely natural way: with nutrition.
[More pistrix info here! https://fantasydiario.blogspot.com/2025/08/pistrix.html ]
#DigitalArt #OdysSea #Merfolk #MerfolkAU #Lysandre #PokemonLegendsZa