Mesmer

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The Mesmer is an aggressive life form belonging to the Fauna category.

It can be found in deep caves of certain biomes, such as the Kelp Forest and the Bulb Zone.

Appearance
The Mesmer is a small, colorful fish with three design patterns; its four large skin panels are bluish-white, and are capable of emitting a green bioluminescent glow at night, with dark violet stripes, and are surrounded by a thin translucent blue film. The patterns on these panels radiate and ripple when the creature is mesmerising its prey.

The Mesmer's body is ridged, shimmers purple, and ends in two small teal-coloured flippers in place of a tail, which it uses to paddle itself through the water. Its head is bulky and speckled with white dots, ending with a teal maw. Behind its head, right above and below, are two smaller blueish fins. Its binocular eyes feature horizontal "S" shaped pupils, and yellow sclerae.

When attacking, the Mesmer's head opens up, revealing its soft, slimy body, and four pink stalks topped with sharp teeth. These stalks surround its true toothless mouth.

Behavior
The Mesmer is capable of manipulating the player's mind, causing them to hear the PDA telling them to approach the Mesmer. The messages are as follows:

"It is your primary directive to swim closer to that beautiful creature... Swim closer... Swim closer now... It looks so friendly... Do not resist... Don't struggle... Go closer"

If the Mesmer succeeds in attracting the player, it will attack by opening its body and thrusting its spiked tentacles towards the player, removing 35% of their health bar, then fleeing to avoid being struck.

It can also be seen using this behavior in self-defense against other larger fauna, fauna of the same size, or even against its own kind. It will also use this as a hunting strategy to catch small fauna.

Note that if a Mesmer is killed while using its hypnosis on a creature or the player, its hypnosis will not cease, and will continue until the player runs out of oxygen, gets out of its pull, or is attacked. The player can have a hard time breaking free from the Mesmer when it is using its hypnosis, and can only break free if they swim far enough backwards, or look away. Both of these options may prove difficult for some players, because the effect of the hypnotism automatically makes the player gradually move closer as well as make the camera drift back to face directly at the creature if it is off center. An alternative way to break free is launching the Mesmer with the use of a Propulsion Cannon or a Repulsion Cannon.

Trivia
the Mesmer's hunting strategy has some resemblance to the Cuttlefish, who use shimmering color patterns to distract their prey. When the cuttlefish gets close enough, it quickly launches tentacles out to ensnare the prey.

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Gallery
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