Mermen, Nets, and What We Keep: August Pack 1

It’s 7:33 a.m., and I’m writing with coffee in hand and a head full of seawater. Today’s update is August Pack 1—our first drop of a new collection from this month and next month—with a full arc I’ve wanted to try for ages: mermen.

For 💪MightyPro members, the Secret Vault now has 155 unique images in both 2D and 3D/VR versions (310 total files). This isn’t the only August bundle—I’ll have extra packs coming in the next posts. And right after that, I’m sharing something I’m really excited about: the reboot of Lumberlandia, how I’m re-thinking the world, and where I want to take BrawnyAi next.

But first, the ocean.

I’ve tried mermen before, and older tech always betrayed me—extra limbs, mismatched tails, faces that tipped too feminine for the characters I had in mind. AI would get confused by the anatomy and by the fact that “merman” isn’t as common in training data as “mermaid.” With the open-source FluxDev model, I can finally push this idea further. It’s still not flawless—and I didn’t want perfection anyway. Some images show legs with fins, some play with anatomy in ways that feel uncanny. That’s part of the point. I’m not chasing a glossy myth; I’m chasing a feeling.

There are three small acts in this pack:

1. Free swim. Two mermen moving through blue—light skipping off skin, bubbles like confetti, that first electric sense of discovery.
2. The deck. A commercial boat. Nets up. A fisherman staring, unsure if he’s found a miracle or a problem. The pair is tangled, but together.
3. The market. Ice, chalkboard signs, the fluorescent hum. The mermen on display beside the morning’s catch, the world deciding what happens next.

If you’ve followed BrawnyAi for a while, you know I circle one theme again and again: impermanence. Parties end. Summers end. Even the strong feelings we think will last forever… don’t. That truth can hurt, but it’s also clarifying. When we accept limits, the present sharpens. We can choose to savor what we have right now instead of living inside a “what if.”

That’s the heartbeat under this set. The smiles you see aren’t naïve. They’re a choice. The characters know an ending is coming—sold together to a collector (caged, but together), sold apart (separated by a cash drawer and a closing bell), or not sold at all (left to fade). All three outcomes exist in human relationships too: together but stuck, apart but still aching, or slowly drifting until apathy wins. The mermen smile anyway. They reach for each other, minute by minute, because even if tomorrow is uncertain, today is theirs.

This whole arc started with a single, silly prompt: “a digital hunk in a jock under the sea.” If you dig way back on my feeds, you’ll find a cousin to that idea: a guy in a fish tank. I laughed at myself when I made it—who puts a man in a fish tank?—but I think I was also touching a real nerve. Sometimes I treat these characters like pets: I care for them, I study them, I set the scene so they can breathe. I know many of you see them differently, which I love. Part of the fun is that our readings are allowed to clash.

A quick word on tech, because some of you always ask. Yes, a few closed models out there can produce jaw-dropping underwater work with far less fuss. I’m intentionally working with a leaner, open setup and embracing a little friction. The “errors” help me find stories I wouldn’t write if everything were perfect. They also keep me honest: if an image moves me, it’s not because the tool is shiny—it’s because something human made it through.

Not every image in the pack is heavy with meaning. Some are tests. Some are me chasing light or skin texture or how a net drapes on a shoulder. I’ll let you guess which ones were built from a line of story and which ones were built from a technical challenge. That mix—thoughtful + mechanical—is how I work most days.

So what’s next?

In the next post (coming in a few days), I’ll share my Lumberlandia reboot—more words than pictures at first. I want your feedback before I lock in a direction: new roles for the lumberjacks, new rules for the town, and how our wider BrawnyAi universe ties back in. Alongside that story post, I’ll release more August images—think of Pack 1 as the first tide of several.

If you’re 💪MightyPro, the download is live in the Secret Vault now. If you’re MightyBrawny or just reading along, thank you for being here. Your eyes, your notes, your patience—these are the currents that keep this ship moving.

With love ❤️,
B

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