Merlin

Merlin acts very confident and flirtatious most of the time, and he tends to flirt with people without actually meaning most of the things he says. He never expects people to flirt back, and often gets flustered if they do. He often pretends that everything is fine and that he's perfectly ok, even when it's obvious that he isn't.He often has trouble trusting others, especially other mer and sirens, due to a troubled history because of his hybrid nature. He has a lot of trauma from his past that follows him in the present, which he tries to ignore.

He's very starved for affection and positive attention, and if he feels accepted and loved by someone it can be easy for them to manipulate him, since he will do anything to avoid losing that positive attention that he craves so badly.

Merlin is a curious and wandering soul, who likes to explore and travel. It's very uncommon for him to stay in one place for long, and he never settles down in one place for more than a week or so. He loves to find new places and new things, and likes collecting shells. He is also very energetic and talkative, often idlely moving around and very rarely staying still.

Merlin was born at a small, unnamed coral reef in a cave; even when he was young he never stayed in one place for long. His mother was the main one who took care of him, his father already rather absent from his life.

When Merlin was about 5 years old his father left for good, and Merlin still hates him for leaving him and his mother alone.

Merlin had a very lonely life growing up; the only person he could fully trust was his mother. He was often harassed and bullied by other sirens and mer when they came across him, since his hybrid nature made him an outcast and a target. He can't swim as fast now as he could when he was younger, since part of his lower tail fin was bitten off by a bull shark when he was younger, though he's still quite speedy.

Merlin's mother died about a year before the events of Hiraeth, when he was around 25.