#;about bruce

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//Is it bad that I'm kinda curious to know what TADC!Bruce's avatar does if he holds his breath?

His patterns do a little ‘wave’!

// Did I animate this just for the prompt? Yes, I did ❤️ it was easier to show it than explain lol

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I read many analyses on Jax potentially being transmasc and buddy, please let Bruce help ya

I HC Bruce as transmasc.

Luckily for him, the ocean is a MUCH more accepting place than a lot of human societies: Clownfish and parrotfish change sexes by social and environmental contexts, nudibranchs are often dualsex, corals are characterized as either dualsex OR ‘brooders’, etc.

Even as a young pup, Bruce’s own mother let him choose his own name. Hence, Bruce grew up confident in himself in that regards.

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// I’m trying to avoid putting the cart before the horse on my TADC verse when it comes to Bruce’s interpersonal relationships with the established characters because — on the off-chance that I do interact with another mun writing a canon, I want it to be organic—

but you cannot tell me Jax won’t up-the-ante on his fake ‘Ozzie’ accent just to push Bruce’s buttons. I counted two separate Aussie impressions (if I’m correct) in episode 5, alone

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Not much tonight in terms of art, but I added a rendered Bruce to the official cast artwork to show his height compared to everyone else!

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Hi I know I'm on anon but it's Scotsmaid I have some of my own personal headcanons about Bruce 😊 🦈

1. He's between 50-65 years old.

2. He doesn't eat fish (of course) but scavenges on already dead mammals such as seals, sea lions and whales and has even occasionally eaten a long gone turtle. He prefers not to as turtle shells are tough. Not that he can't make short work of them, he just doesn't want to. This keeps his protein up while occasionally munching on kelp and seagrass in between meals and thinks he must be the only great white to do so.

3. He, Anchor and Chum found the sunken sub when searching for a good meeting place and decided to stick with it as despite the minefield it had a certain je nais se quois about its rustic, nostalgic touches and dark atmosphere. They conclude the only reason they don't have more members is because it can be hard to maneuver the dangerous security feature, rather than the 30 rows teeth between them.

4. He's incredibly used to being fled from and cowered before so much so that he's prepared responses "It's alright I understand, "Why Trust a Shark, right?" and "Ahh don't worry Morsel, my bark's worse than me bite." He isn't above a playful snap but only with adult creatures, he's not quite so wicked to the juveniles.

5. He was born off the coast of Queensland.

6. He's a big guy and jokes about it but is somewhat self-concious about his weight even though it's mostly muscle and he's bigger than the average male great white.

7. He once witnessed a mine explode as a young shark and it shook him for days. Then he decided the explosion thrilled him more than scared him but he wasn't going to chance poking the mines again in case he or another creature got...hurt. Once to beat boredom he and his mates found one that had rusted off its chain and used it as a volleyball and the game stuck. Nothing sharks love more than fun + a bit of risk!

8. He suffers from nightmares where he snaps and becomes a killing machine or about being fished or hunted. He wakes from these with a jolt and it takes him a while to drift off again.

9. The mines were not his first brush with warfare. He was born during WW2 and had little concept of humans let alone the implications of their wide scale conflicts. He was warned as a pup never to swim through the balloons that pop with the force of the sun. He didn't listen and it left him with a scar. He also saw giant tin fish, which he later found out were called submarines, firing torpedoes at one another.

10. He has other scars from run ins with ex-prey, fishing lures and other great whites who didn't take a liking to his fish-free methods. Once narrowly missed a bite from a particularly aggressive tiger shark and had to talk down several bulls. He won on both fronts.

11. Can't read human writing but actually very good at reading signs from living in a sub which has some small faded illustrations decorating the instructions. He knows when something used to be electric (since it's now underwater) when something is dangerous, which way something turns and how to make a safe exit. He has also made a note of certain flags aboard ships that mean things like Diver Down, Stopped, Dangerous Cargo and About to Sail.

11. He follows Pacificism - (or rather Paci-FISH-ism 😁) he is ethically opposed to a fight unless force is the only way to disarm a seriously dangerous threat. He has killed another creature defending himself before. He's not proud of it.

12. Uses his scary shark face to scare away potential threats, which are more often than not other predators. Sometimes they scare him first. Divers wearing a bell or using an RV freak him out as he can't see the human's face even if he can smell them.

13. Comes from one of the most non-parental species in nature but secretly wants to be someone's Dad or Uncle despite lack of instinct or experience. He would love to teach a smaller shark how to find food and how to bite through things they could get caught in.

14. Loves tummy tickles from friends like Dory (partially canon.)

15. Once came to after an instinctive hunting episode to a gruesome sight that still haunts him.

16. Once played the big scary shark role in a game of hide and seek with Nemo and his friends. They laughed when he jumped out and yelled "Gotcha!"

17. Travelled a lot when he was younger from down the coast to Sydney, around New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji and as far as the US and Mexico. Has thought about heading to the White Shark Café a number of times but is nervous in case they want to hunt and it will trigger his fish-eating instinct.

18. Is fascinated by Destiny the whale shark and thinks she's one of the most beautiful fish he's ever seen.

19. His favourite view is the sunset over the reef in the evening. Sometimes he'll stargaze if he can't sleep.

20. Hasn't met many humans and couldn't talk to them if he tried but likes to observe them from a safe distance as humans like to do sharks. He's seen them playing on the beach with their pups, fishing over the sides of small boats and surfing the waves. He doesn't dare to get too close but finds it incredible they can look so harmless but be so deadly. He's amassed a small collection of human items that have been dumped into the ocean and brought by the currents, mostly rubbish, old boat equipment and the odd toy. They sit in a pile inside one of the rooms in the sub and no human has claimed them.

// I love these SO MUCH!!! I’m so sorry I’ve been taking awhile to publish this— I’ve actually been reading it whenever I have a bad day and need a pick-me-up! ❤️❤️❤️

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More TADC verse exploration:

I’ve been thinking constantly about what kind of Box™ that Jax would try to put Bruce in and I’m fascinated to find that it isn’t simple (which is obviously the point of episode 6, to subvert all of those boxes with pre-established characters but I digress…)

Bruce isn’t the Brainless Bruiser. He speaks eloquently, has been shown to enjoy public speaking, conveys a desire for community— or at least community-building, and is emotionally intelligent enough to be sympathetic to others’ plights.

He’s not the Scary but Harmless Coward (e.g. Cowardly Lion). Bruce isn’t harmless. He’s been shown to not be afraid to flash his teeth at any (conceived) threat towards his friends. One drop of (fish, seal, etc.) blood, and he’s ravaging tank of muscle and teeth. He tries to qualm those instincts to his best ability, but he’s by no means harmless.

And, overall, Bruce isn’t a Big Bad. He’s sympathetic towards others, caring and even gentle. His desire for friends transcends species and he’s willing to change himself rather than lash out at the world because of his bad reputation.

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When Bruce said that he “never knew [his] father”, it wasn’t that he never met him. It’s easier to say that he never knew him than explain how his own father was neglectful at best, verbally abusive at worst. That Bruce never really ‘knew’ him, but almost wished that he didn’t. That Rodney was so certain that Bruce wouldn’t live past his first year and that the little pup’s habit of befriending prey was a sign of weakness.

This affects Bruce heavily— more so than most people who assume, especially on the assumption that great whites are on their own immediately after birth. For Bruce, he’s so hesitant to be a father, himself. He wonders if that ‘mean streak’ is genetic and worries that he’s destined to be that very same awful, cold, and abrasive shark.

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