complexity random - but I believe you said once that your interpretation of the nereids and broader undersea world was that they had their iwn culture politics language etc - do you think that their that live closer to the surface (rivers streams lakes) would reflect or have any similarities to the humans (culturally) that live near them - or does the two smanage to be completely sepperate ](this is most,y about the naiads and cause I realised it was a thing in most headcanons I had mostly cause it seems cute)
did i say that? it sounds like something i might've said. i have no clue but i'll roll with it bc i agree anyway
i do think that yes. i mean nereids out in the ocean would have little to no contact with humans beyond like ships. maybe the nereids that linger near the coasts would pick up on similar human customs and culture in the same way as naiads. so like shallow nereids would be pretty similar to naiads in general but the deeper into the ocean you get, the more the human influence fizzles out into just straight up ocean culture and customs.
coastal nereids swaying their arms as they swim versus deep sea nereids keeping their arms still at their side as they swim, side eyeing costal nereids who seems to be dancing thru the water more than swimming. deep sea nereids being paler since no sun gets down there versus costal/shallow water nereids being darker in complexion from the sun penetrating the water easier but also because they watch the humans on the shore soaking up the sun rays and smiling about their tans and finding it fascinating and trying it out.
then like naiads who have probably the most contact with humans since their water runs through the land rather than surrounding the land, i would think for their safety they would assimilate to human culture versus nereids who visually appear as greek nymphs. didn't that one naiad at the ranch in botl have like jeans on? then the nereid in the ocean had a sort of flowing dress? that's what i mean tho, like if a naiad is caught by a human, she can just play it off as being another human, but (shallow/coastal) nereids are more like just admiring? of human culture. they find it fascinating but don't have much interaction with humans. then deep sea nereids would have absolutely no contact with humans and don't really care much for them, humans are just land animals to them in the same way a dog or a camel is. horses are the only land animal they care about bc their lord made them so they're basically family.
and it would be interesting to see how like human pollution would effect them. like i could definitely see factions between deep sea versus costal nereids where deep sea nereids are like "they poison our waters and kill our animals!!" versus costal nereids who are like "a few do, but so many come out and pick up the trash!! it's not all of them!! not to mention, the bigger spills are because of the rich humans, just a select few! plus they have rules to keep the seas as clean as they can and there are always humans fighting to make better rules! they aren't all bad! plus, a lot of the trash comes from humans having fun and getting too drunk, or from children who don't know any better." since they're there to watch how the humans interact with the oceans directly and they can overhear conversations about the mortal world.
edit after posting: got too into my costal vs deep sea nereid thing that i forgot u said this was mostly about naiads LMAO
i think with naiads having the most direct interactions with humans, i think they'd lose that innocent fascination costal nereids would have and be a lot more like exasperated siblings or cousins like "ugh those creatures?" but nereids would be lapping up their every word. i also think with naiads being so assimilated to human culture, they'd be like the cool older sibling to coastal nereids who idolize them and want to dress and act like them versus the deep sea nereids who view this whole fascination as like?? why are you idolizing them?? why are you acting like them?? you're nymphs, not humans.
