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#Or just any other mer au
bluest-planet · 7 months
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The lack of KH mermaid aus is criminal, like, it basically writes itself.
#blue speaks#listen like#already read all the ones i liked or was interested in#usually im not one for aus unless its like. Canon divergence#im a modern/highschool/nopowers/coffeeshop/florist/soulmate hater alright#but MERMAID aus? idk man smth about em gets me#rarely but it does#anyways#very sad to see it not be poppin'#at least to my preference#im not the biggest soriku or sorikai person or roman in general#also very picky#no im not writing for this and thats a fact not a 'haha whoopse' bc its not smth im interested in writing tbh#id consider it after doing some other stuff or smth but no. im not adding it to the list and its not a priority#just wish id see that cute giant mer roxas and his fisherman bestie sora fanart in a fic lol id read that platonic or not#btw while i love the heart hotel as found siblings/family that doesn't mean im some kinda hater of any of those ships inside it#i like em all except vanitas and ven bc them being worsties is so funny to me i love it#some of the best kinda relationships are the ones that can fit any dynamic#again why i like queerplatonic heart hotel ftw#but soroku and soven and sovani and even sorxion (?) fans i see u and i hear u literally anything for heart hotel (romantic or not idc)#oh and i guess im not a fan of xion and roxas.... but that again my lack of intrest in a simple romance like that? idk to me they're friends#or siblings even#but cool if you like em#anyways pls send me some good mer fic recs if u got some thanks. or good heart hotel fics in gen. 👍#good night
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squidthesquidd · 1 year
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been procrastinating on the third part of the mer au :p but finally got the thumbnail sketches out!!!
so have some crumbs
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I'm just imagining mers basically forming pods of different types of mers. Like Megatron, going against his generally solitary species, forms one.
And him just having pups with several of them. Probably picked up Starscream, for example, while they were both still fairly young. Totally got Dreadwing and Skyquake from him because there's only so many twins to go around. And then Soundwave. Shockwave. And so forth.
Vehicons as like, sardine type of fish? Basically only they can tell the difference between themselves.
And then he takes over part of the ocean.
This was kinda my idea with the shark nursery baby pooling system? Just a bunch of mismatched children. He's got a pretty fair range of territory imo, with it overlapping with //several// other mer's (such as the dolphin mers or Optimus's!) Which definitely gives us a lot of diversity!
I can also seriously see Ratchet developing a pretty strong friendship with the dolphin mers (Roddie, Bee, Jazz, and perhaps more?) And definitely interacting a lot with Optimus oh definitely.
I feel like we can make him being oddly social compared to the other megalodon based sharkformers a ~thing~ and it'd be intriguing to explore? I could tbh say the same for Optimus, as I'm fairly sure mosasaurs are also typically considered to be a solitary species?
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zamjd · 4 months
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Mer AU
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YAAAAY
Technically I still have a Y/N reference I need to finish but for now have fun :) I most likely won't be able to finish it this week :-:
(Edit Gtm+8 8:45)
I completely forgot to add Sun's little glowy strings in the back guys I am so sorry I just noticed pls don't hate me-
Notes undercut
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I made them siblings!
They usually swim together when they plan in long distances but they are seen separated when they roam in a area for food or other stuff. Their also found in Deepwater but can traverse in open ocean waters, just some times though.
Oh speaking of swimming, they still swim like sitngrays flapping their wings hehe
They can also somewhat control the amount of venom that gets ejected, also I made their venom hallucinogenic
As magical as mers are, they also have their unique trait. Basically if they get bits of indegreints and chew on it for a good while and then they'll blow out a thick iridescent bubble which acts like a potion, pop it and you'll gain the effects
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(Idk how to draw bubbles :C)
They also do this to heal a little of their barb if their are any major damages and such
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anonymousangstmonster · 3 months
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Idea #39
The Fentons were a family of merciless mer hunters.
But when Jack Fenton found a barely-a-year-old, white haired, black scaled, green eyed guppy washed up on their private beach, he couldn’t just leave the little guy to probably get eaten alive by seagulls. He’d always had a soft spot for kids.
He somehow convinced Maddie to let him keep it, as long as he was responsible for it. Jack had to feed it, clean it and it’s tank, train it, make sure it didn’t try to eat people, entertain it, the normal things you have to do to take care of a pet. Sure Maddie was the one that made sure it was fed most of the time since Jack forgot, but he did all the other things! He even gave him a name, Danny.
They actually got to learn a lot about merfolk biology taking care of him.
Over time the pair of scientists grew more and more attached to the little baby mer in their lab. He was practically a son to them. He was so sweet and cute, who wouldn’t love him instantly!
They taught him how to talk(he had such an adorable voice!), they taught him about the outside world(his eyes always sparkled with curiosity and wonder when listening to their stories).
When an old mer hunting friend came over to visit, he told them to be careful, that the creature could be using its siren powers to make them love it. They assured him that Danny’s powers(if he had any) were disabled by the small and unobtrusive cuff around his wrist.
They arranged for a little boy Danny’s age to come for a playdate, since he always seemed so lonely by himself in his artificial habitat. That young boy was named Tucker Foley, and the two hit it off instantly. Playing in the shallow area of Danny’s ‘exhibit’ with beach balls and plastic boats.
More time passed and Danny grew, his aquarium growing along with him.
Sometimes other hunter and scientist friends of the Fentons would come see the lab, and they would see a teenage merman in a comfortable environment and not on an examination table.
The parents wanted to see their boy free and happy, so they released him into the ocean. It wasn’t until later that they realized they never prepared him for the outside world, they never taught him how to hunt for himself, to avoid fishing nets, he might get seriously hurt or even die out there because they were ‘so eager to get rid of him’.
One of their worst fears were confirmed when they found him washed up on their beach bleeding from his tail, abdomen, and arm, unconscious.
Mer au combined with “Danny has always been lab rat” au, and wholesome up until the plot.
“I also just want Jack to invent a ghost(mer) treat and make Danny do tricks for it.” -that applies to this as well. Also I had the idea for that when eating a soft peppermint for the first time in forever.
ALSO GUYS THIS AU IS SHARED WITH @doiyi-yt! GO CHECK OUT HER STUFF UNDER THE #fish boy au TAG!
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starwrighter · 11 months
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A DpxDc prompt because I <3 all of you but am too shy to talk in the discord.
The Subnautica au I promised! (I might make two of them)
Okay, so Danny is around 14 or 15 in this. He is still a halfa but the portal has been temporarily closed for plot reasons. So the portal is closed and Danny has no clue what to do now. Due to the portal being closed Danny's grades have improved exponentially enough that he gets an work offer from Altera (ignore the child labor it's the Giw/Altera's shady business practices fault)
Danny is ecstatic because he's finally getting the opportunity to go to space! He knows if he waits the portal will be reopened and he'll never have a chance like this again so he takes it. In less than a month Danny has been trained and is shipped off to the Aurora. He's heading towards planet 4546b with very little information on the planet itself.
The crash happens and Danny doesn't use his powers to save the ship because something around the atmosphere was preventing full accessing his powers in full. Danny scrambles to the life pods and ends up being the only one in life pod five. The whole life pod scene happens with Danny being knocked out by the panel flying off the wall.
He wakes up with the life pod on fire and quickly uses what he can of his ice powers to put it out not realizing there's a fire extinguisher. Danny exits the life pod and realizes that a lot of people he talked to on the ship not even a day ago were probably dead. Judging by his inability to go ghost, he wouldn't be reuniting with them in the ghost zone any time soon.
He is devastated but goes about exploring and trying to find any other survivors. His hope of finding survivors near the crash zone dies when the ship explodes and starts leaking deadly radiation. Danny of course rushes to try and fix this. It's easier for him to get there because he can stay under water for an inhuman amount of time and has a built up immunity to radiation as a halfa.
Now to the DC part of this. Let's stick with only the batfam existing in this universe. The entire batfam are classified as leviathan's. All of them have two forms with one of said forms being semi humanoid mer like appearance. They are still pretty big in this form, think 7-8ft at the smallest (aka Damian) The other form is something I like to call
Big f-ken fish™
Which is full on terrifying reapers (we'll decide what each of the fam specifically look like later) and a lot of them are chilling in the crash zone when Danny is fixing the Aurora's reactor. Danny has not yet been spotted by the reapers.
Now they're already pissed off because a big arse ship just crashed into their planet and destroyed a great deal of it. They don't exactly know what a space ship is but they do know that the technology is advanced and the only thing remotely close on their planet is from the precursors who were a bunch of pricks.
Before the explosion the fam kept an eye on the weird creatures that crawled out of the metal eggs They watch them almost immediately start dying from predators or Kharaa. They were there when the ship exploded and started leaking radiation and killing the local wild life much to Damian's despair.
So the Fam are pretty pissed off at this point and are circling the ship. They immediately noticed when the ship stops leaking radiation and spot Danny swimming away from the reck quicker than any of the other ones that crawled out of the eggs.
Granted most of the other ones from the eggs immediately died and didn't have faces (the wet suits looked weird and Danny refuses to wear them no matter how much easier they would make things >:(
They start watching him because obviously there's something odd about this thing it looks kinda like a much smaller version of their smaller forms. Danny is getting pretty ticked off that his PDA keeps making false alarms of leviathan's. Duke, and tim are the ones monitoring Danny in the safe shallows. Jason and Dick in the crash zone. Barbra and Stephanie in the kelp forest. Cass and Bruce are patrolling the grassy plateaus.Damian is by himself at the quarantine gun/ sunbeam landing sight.
Danny sets up base near the quarantine gun™ because for some reason even though he's not infected he can't turn the damn thing off. So Damian is the only one currently capable of watching him. Damian has a theory that he 100% sure is correct. As a 1600 year old leviathan he's not a baby he's almost an adult and doesn't remember being a baby. This thing crawled out of an egg and is super tiny so it is obviously a baby and a very smart one at that. While it didn't have the claws, gills, tail, or scales they had it was super fast, could freeze things, had super strong hands despite looking dull and frail, it could take useless scraps and rocks and turn them into complex structures. It was obviously a new type of leviathan the ship carrying eggs. Danny was the smallest of the babies but he was also the strongest, and smartest; surviving long enough to have eyes and hair. This baby was young enough that he still needed to surface for air he needed to be protected.
Danny has no clue he's now being stalked by a group of reapers that decided he was their new baby brother/son
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cheqorb · 1 month
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MER-LOVE! 1.0 ft. isagi, bachira, chigiri, nagi
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mermaid au! bllk boys with a researcher! reader
warnings: none
notes: can be read as platonic or romantic!! while sea monsters could 100% be cool and everything, i like the idea that they’re all sparkly pretty mermaids (and idk any sea monsters except maybe a kraken or something). hope you enjoy this dumb drabble because i sure do!! also, sorry it’s so long, i was just rambling for the majority of this :’)
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ISAGI and BACHIRA were your first encounter of many, many, more mermaids to come.
while isagi needed some time to grow used to your presence, bachira embraced you with open arms, or fins you suppose, always having a toothy grin on his face as he happily assisted you in your endeavours. whether it was gathering rocks, fish, or sea plants for your studies, they eagerly lent their aid, making research so much easier for you. you truly believe you got lucky with them, who knows what they might’ve tried if their intentions were more sinister…
grateful for their assistance and touched by their gestures of friendship, it’s hard not to grow attached to the pair of them. luckily for you, it seemed that the affection was mutual or at the very least, they tolerated you and that was good enough!
isagi, in particular, welcomes your inquiries about mermaid culture and their species as a whole, answering them to the best of his ability. he’s so earnest and genuine that you begin to feel a little guilty not giving him anything in return, so you try to gift him random things he might like every now and then. though, your first attempt still haunts you to this day..!
isagi's reaction catches you off guard as you observe his face, his wide eyes fixed attentively on the trinket nestled in his palm. the longer the two of you remained in silence, the more panic built up inside of you. "d-do you not like it? i'm so sorry, uhm, I'll just take it back—" you fumble for the gift, regretting that you never researched more about mermaid gift-giving customs. what if gifting them things was disrespectful, or even worse, a sign of aggression!?
but before you can retrieve your gift, isagi's surprises you once more. he backs away from you, cradling the tiny object close to his chest protectively, his expression bordering on a pout as if he was offended that you’d dare try to take it back. "i want to keep it," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
bachira's affectionate nature contrasts a lot with isagi's initial wariness. in the beginning when you remained safely aboard your boat (still debating on whether they’d try kill you or not), he whined that speaking to you while you were so far away was so difficult! just come a little closer, he doesn’t bite!
most of the time anyway…
but in the end, it was worth being patient because now the both of you are like two dolphins in a pod! the other merpeople often find him holding your hand in his or trying to drag you into the depths below…what? it’s not dangerous at all! can’t humans swim? he seems genuinely disappointed that you cannot stay underwater for more than a minute at best. the frown on his face is cute, but it tugs at your heartstrings any time you see it; maybe you should try to cheer him up?
the sudden weight on your shoulders startles you but the familiar voice that follows instantly calms your nerves. "it's really you! did you finally learn how to grow gills?" bachira's playful word is accompanied by a radiant smile, brimming with joy. he gestures towards your clothes with a quizzical expression.
unable to respond verbally with a snorkel pressed to your face, you opt to gently squeeze his cheek in affection. but you should be mindful of indulging him too much, knowing full well that his enthusiasm could easily lead to unrealistic expectations. after all, as much as you cherish your underwater adventures with him, staying in the water 24/7 is bound to come with a few side effects + your oxygen tank won’t last forever!
overall, 10/10 experience with these two. both are adorable, well-behaved (for you), and are one of the few duos that can actually be friends with eachother!
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as CHIGIRI joins bachira and isagi on one of their daily excursions to visit you, you're immediately struck by his beauty, a sight that leaves you slightly speechless and captivated by his breathtaking appearance. however, your admiration is interrupted when you notice the scar marring one side of his tail. it’s only when he meets your eyes with an awkward yet understanding expression, that you realise you’re staring. even with the mountain of apologies that spill from your lips, he reassures you with a gentle smile that he knows you’re not trying to be rude.
because he looks like he’s in a mood on most days, you’re pleasantly surprised by his nonchalant personality and his sarcasm that was always delivered in a playful way (not him being a jerk), never failing to make you laugh. he’s just naturally charming, you think. once the initial awkwardness dissipates, befriending chigiri is pretty easy!
yet, despite your growing friendship, you hesitate to broach the topic of his scar, wary of going into potentially sensitive territory. there’s just some things you can be curious about but shouldn’t ask, y’know? it’s only when your concerns inadvertently slip to Isagi in passing that bachira thinks to take it upon himself to ease the tension, a.k.a he tells chigiri everything (“eh? well, you’re worried about him so that’s why you want to ask, right? why would he get mad?”).
you continue to apologise profusely for what seemed like the hundredth time, as chigiri’s attempts to reassure you fall on deaf ears. “it’s fine, really. the scar’s just an injury I got a year or so ago, i don’t even think about it that much anymore…” he says, patting you on the shoulder (which according to humans, should be comforting?)
however, your persistent apologies don’t seem to stop, much to his annoyance. with a swift flick of his tail, he splashes a wave of water in your direction, effectively stopping your stream of apologies mid-sentence. the sudden interruption serves as a clear message; he probably doesn’t care to hear another ‘sorry’ from your mouth.
he’s someone who is easy to get along with, knows when to snap you out of your thoughts if necessary, and all in all nice to be around. what’s not to like? (+he’s also pretty if that helps)
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NAGI captured your attention once you saw him sleeping on the sun-warmed rock, which prompted you to call out to him. after a brief moment, he awakens, his metallic eyes flashing with annoyance that suggested your interruption was less than welcome.
sheepishly, you attempted to ask him a few questions, but he simply closes his eyes and settles back onto the rock. with a resigned sigh, you retreat to the safety of your boat, choosing to bide your time and observe the surroundings while making notes for your research. it’s only when nagi begins to get tired of the waves sometimes thrashing against his skin or other merfolk bothering him that he decides, enough was enough. he’s had an eye on the seemingly smooth surface that you often stand on, which could be a perfect spot for him to relax!
he proposes quite the enticing deal for you; in exchange for allowing him to nap on your water-house-thingy, he’ll help with some research. it’s just answering questions, right? excited at the thought of more information; you eagerly accept his offer, completely unaware to the fact that he just sleeps. like. all day. however you soon discover that in spite of this, he’s actually quite intelligent. hand him a puzzle, a memorisation game or even something like sudoku and he’ll probably solve it within a few seconds.
as nagi places the final puzzle piece onto the board, effortlessly completing the ‘task’ you set him, a sense of satisfaction washes over you even with his complaints. you’ve grown used to his nonchalant tone, even as he unintentionally insults your decision. “it’s just looking at the picture and making it, it’s not that hard.”
you smile, “i think you'll find that you're just quite a clever person.” the compliment seems to cheer him up, eliciting a warm, fuzzy feeling that nagi can't quite describe. "mhm…" he murmurs softly, content to bask in your presence and allowing his eyes to shut once more.
he doesn’t do much but at least he doesn’t cause much trouble for you either!
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yuri-is-online · 2 months
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Traditional fantasy isekai au where:
Yuu is isekaid to Twisted Wonderland as a child, in a setting that's hundreds of years before the main game, and is adopted by a family there. Maybe Grim is a normal cat that came with them and gained the ability to talk and do magic out of a desire to protect his best friend. They grow up and train as a soldier of some sort out of gratitude to their adoptive parents to protect them, eventually leaving their place with Grim in search of adventure depending on where they landed:
City of Flowers! Yuu who was raised by the people who lived in the Court of Miracles and wants to get a job with the city guard to help fight for the rights of their adoptive home. They're helped by a friend they made as a child, the son of well respected parents who came to heavily rely on Yuu after the loss of his younger brother. Now a well respected legal student with his eye on a judge's seat, Rollo is hiding a deadly secret: he is a powerful mage and you are one of the only people who knows. He's also desperately in love with you and at real risk of going insane if something bad happens to the one good thing he has left in his life.
Land of Dawning! Yuu who hunts monsters along the coast line and finds a badly beaten merfolk on the beach and patches him up without a single thought. The man scolds them when he wakes, wondering why Yuu is so unafraid of what he could do to them now that he's awake only to be met with a shrug and a warning that poachers much less kind than Yuu are in the area who see non typical mer such as himself as monsters. Yuu happens to have a bounty for them. Oya? Jade says he's quite aware of that and what's more, they have his brother and a dear friend. Won't you continue to assist this poor, unfortunate soul in rescuing the only family he has left in this world? He doesn't have anything to pay you with. Something about his attitude makes you roll your eyes but so long as you don't have to split the bounty four ways you say you'll help. Pleasure doing business with you he says, and you both go to sleep that night confident you won't get attached to the other at all by the time the job's done.
Clock Town! Yuu who used to be picked on for not having any magic by the delinquent gangs only to find themselves in a party with one of the worst of the worst torn between being hurt Deuce doesn't remember making fun of them or impressed with how determined he is to turn his life around vs Deuce who absolutely remembers but has no idea how to appropriately apologize so he just makes it his mission to bring you home from every mission unscathed, even if it's at the cost of his own health. He swears he'll say it eventually, he just needs to find a way to not make an ass of himself by saying something stupid like he loves you.
Farm Kid! Yuu who gets recruited by Ace for his party because he literally can't get anyone other than you and Deuce and ends up being the glue that holds it together. Ace is dumbfounded as he watches you successfully recruit Jack, Epel, Ortho, and even Sebek without much trouble and hates himself for ever thinking about abandoning you as soon as he got better party members. Yuu who knows that's what he wanted to do from the start and resigns themselves to him leaving when Riddle makes his offer only for Ace to stay with Ramshackle Party because he's "too busy looking after them" to be a card soldier, hiding the burns on his hands from when he punched the Arch Mage for insulting you. He can surpass Riddle's party on his own any day.
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meowmeowriley · 2 months
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@sergeantwoods Sorry for the long wait, but here's the mer!AU
Think I'll call it Fish Out of the Sea
Ghost x Soap, blacktip reef shark mer!Soap, human Ghost, fluff, getting together (kinda)
Ficlet after the cut 😘
"No."
John sighed, he didn't seem surprised by Shepherd's hard rejection, but he kept trying. Simon had to give props to the fishing boat Captain. "You have the best mer rehabilitation facility in the country. It'd be a shame not to use it."
"You said you had a mermaid. That's not a fucking mermaid, John."
"I said I had an injured mer." He repeated himself from their earlier conversation.
"I'm not taking that thing into my facility."
"He needs help-"
"He's hideous, and aggressive." Shepherd barked. "That thing keeps lashing out, it'll scare patrons, attack my staff, and if that *thing* touches my mermaids, tries to mate with them, I'll have it put down."
"Mers are actually matriarchal, sir." The mer expert, Kyle, finally spoke up. "I've never worked with a shark mer before, but I do know he won't mess with Kate or Rosa, because they won't want him. Since they're together."
"Kyle. For the last time, the mermaids aren't lesbians. They're just fish." Shepherd was one of those who thought of mers as lesser than humans. Obviously.
Simon was standing near the door. No one had noticed him sneak in, but when he'd overheard that the mer was a shark variant, he'd needed to see it. Now, seeing the poor thing huddled in the corner of it's transport tank, curled in on itself, he felt so bad for it. He watched, any time someone went near it it flared out it's dorsal and pectoral fins. It would gnash it's teeth and charge the glass. All signs of aggression in a shark but... as soon as it finished its display it was right back to the furthest corner from the humans. It kept peeking at them over it's own shoulder when it thought they weren't looking. He quietly crept closer.
He took in it's markings, gray on it's back, white on its belly, black tips to it's fins. Claspers on its pelvic fins. A male blacktip reef shark then. His inferior end was all shark, something Simon was very familiar with, as he took care of all of the sharks here at the aquarium, several of them blacktips. His superior end, or top half, he supposed a visitor would (incorrectly) consider it, was new and interesting to him. Though he was vaguely humanoid, his skin was all two tones white and gray, like his tail. He had a wedge shaped snout in place of a human nose, a wider mouth with jagged teeth. Slitted eyes, and a black tipped fin atop his head that reminded Simon of a mohawk. Webbed gray and white hands with black claws rubbed up and down it's own arms in a self soothing gesture. One forearm had an odd angle to it, probably the injury that landed him here.
He retreated from the tank quietly before speaking, interrupting the squabbling of the other men. "He looks like a reef shark to me." Everyone else jumped. "Blacktip reef sharks aren't aggressive. Sure they can get a little iffy during feeding, but they're more curious than anything."
"He's been charging the glass, Ghost." Simon managed to suppress his eye roll at Shepherd's nickname for him. They all called him that here. "Fuck you mean 'not aggressive', you don't know mers."
"No, but I know sharks. He's injured, and defensive. You ever think he doesn't like us because it was something shaped like us that broke his arm?" John winced, he obviously felt bad about it. Not like he could've know he'd caught the mer in his net, but it was nice to see some accountability from a fisherman for once.
"Well we can't communicate with him, so he'll stay scared and defensive." If Simon didn't love the sharks, he would've left this place a long time ago because Shepherd was an absolutely abrasive cunt.
"Kate and Rosa can. And their English is excellent." Kyle spoke up again. "We have them pass on the message of our intentions, and Ghost and I tag team his rehabilitation." Of course he uses the dumb nickname too. "It's the perfect plan! And an incredible opportunity to be one of two aquariums to actually work with a shark mer. The novelty of something so rare will bring in patrons." Kyle was really leaning into Shepherd's true interests here, bringing up money.
Shepherd was quiet for a moment and then, "If anything happens, you're both fired." He then stormed out of the room.
"Thanks, Gaz."
"Of course, Cap."
Now the three of them had to get the shark mer into an appropriate tank.
***
They had initially tried to put him in with the other mers, but he'd seen the sharks in the tank across the hall and told Kate he wanted to be with his own kind. That would make Simon's job easier, anyway. Kate had explained that they needed to put a cast on his arm, and Rosa had wrestled it onto him, since the humans couldn't get too close. They decided to name him John, after Captain Price, calling him Johnny affectionately. Gaz explained to Ghost that part of rehabbing Johnny would be gaining his trust, teach him to communicate. To release him without a way to communicate could lead to him attacking humans and being a problem down the road.
Simon had a plan: ignore him. He was a reef shark, his own curiosity would get him to open up. It took a week.
Simon would feed his sharks from a catwalk above their tank, for safety reasons, dropping their food in in the mornings before they opened their doors. No need to scare any children. For the first week, any time he passed by, Johnny would posture aggressively and gnash his teeth, before snatching up his food and swimming off. When Ghost would gear up and go in the water for his evening shows, Johnny stayed far away. At night, Gaz and his mers would move over and Ghost would mostly just observe as the girls tried to teach Johnny how to speak, and he petulantly ignored them, with a little pout on his face as he refused to even make eye contact with them. It was cute.
The first time he tried to speak was also the first time Simon saw him raise his head above the surface. He seemed frantic. "HAAAH!" He startled a bit at what was most likely the first time he ever used his lungs to breath air. "HAAAAH! AH! YAAH!" he was waving with his good arm. Stretching it out towards the platform between his tank and that of the other mers, thrashing his tail with his fins tucked in. Very distressed. Simon went to check, to see what could possibly be bothering him so much, when he found their elusive fourth mer. Simon had only seen Gary once. Gaz called him Roach, because he hid in the tiniest cracks in the reef in their enclosure, why on earth the isopod mer was on the platform, and not in the water, was beyond him, but he couldn't let the poor thing suffer. He had several of his little legs caught in a grate. Simon spent some time disentangle him. He tossed the infant sized mer into the nearest tank, which happened to be the shark tank, with Johnny. The larger mer immediately dove to catch him. He stroked Roach's antennae back like one would the hair of a small child, a soothing motion. Clearly not as much of a loner as he pretended to be. From then on the little isopod mer could be found clinging to Johnny's sides or fins with his many little periopods more often than not. After that, it seemed that Gary encouraged Johnny's more curious side. The mer's language was mostly outside of the human range of hearing, but Simon occasionally caught clicks, whistles or hums shared between the two.
Simon had left a bucket with soap close to the edge once, the two mers were clearly curious about it, but he didn't think anything would come of it. Which is why it was such a surprise when Johnny stuck a webbed hand in and scooped some out, popping it immediately into his mouth. Simon knew it wasn't enough to harm him, which is why he couldn't help but laugh at the poor creatures misfortune as it sputtered and writhed, making bubbles. While laughing he let his guard down, and was surprised when something struck him, knocking him off the catwalk and into the tank. He opened his eyes and looked around, seeing only Roach, floating downward, listing side to side, tiny head in his tiny hands. He surfaced to see Johnny. "Did you just throw him at me?!" Johnny sunk down so only his eyes and cranial fin were above the water. The little shit. "Not cool, Soap!" He forced his palm out towards the mer, sending a spray of water its way. That seemed to really break down the mer's walls.
Johnny started approaching while Simon would try and clean the tank. At first, darting away if Simon caught sight of him. Eventually however, he would get closer and simply observe. He'd watch Simon work at cleaning the glass or vacuuming the sand at the bottom. It was fun to see shark behavior and mer behavior collide. If Simon sat something down, Johnny would pick it up, and without a doubt if he could get it in his hands, it would end up in his mouth.
There was a small crowd, a child's birthday party had been held over by Gaz's mer tank, the girls were always a hit with the kids, and the little show they put on with Gaz was actually pretty funny. They'd harass him as he pretended to try and do his chores. Slapstick comedy was good for all ages.
Simon had his own show with his sharks, but it wasn't for a few more hours. He was actually just trying to clean. Apparently his cleaning sponge had caught Johnny's attention, as the mer had swam up and was watching him intently. He kept inching forward, eventually crowding Simon against the glass while reaching for his sponge. "Oi!" He said into his respirator, not that anyone could hear him. He shoved Johnny away and kept trying to cleaning, but the persistent bastard just kept coming back. He could vaguely see the crowd observing them through the glass. They were probably laughing. When he'd had enough, he got an idea. He turned when Johnny got close again and placed one hand on his dorsal fin and the other on the underside of his snout. He began to rub at the sensitive underside of the mer's snout, and just like his sharks, the mer entered a state of tonic immobility. He repositioned Johnny, nose down tail to the surface, Johnny's arms hung limply down past his head. Simon quickly withdrew his hands and watched as the mer continued to float for a bit, before blinking vigorously. He shook his head before righting himself, and slapped his tail into Simon's chest as he practically fled to his little cave at the other end of the tank. When he surfaced later, Gaz informed him that the kids were raving about how cool the 'shark guys' were.
Simon had to admit that Johnny was growing on him. He looked forward to seeing him each day. Johnny began trying to get Simon to swim with him. He'd grab Simon's arms and try to pull him into the water when he was on land, or he'd push Simon away from the glass and his cleaning supplies, towards the open water. Sometimes Simon would indulge him, and the two of them would make laps around the tank.
Simon realized, when Johnny began posturing towards the sharks and getting territorial about him towards them, that Johnny was attempting to court him. Worse, he couldn't bring himself to try and put an end to the behavior either. Johnny was getting touchy, he'd run his hands along Simon's sides or chest, in much the same way Simon would to per his sharks, but it felt different. He would push Simon until he floated horizontally in the water, then drape himself across the man.
Simon knew he was getting himself into some deep shit, but he couldn't help the small voice in the back of his head that urged him to reach out, to cradle the mer's rubbery cheeks in his hands. He wanted to kiss him. He was fucked.
***
I hope you liked it! Ngl, I really liked this one. If you don't mind, I might expand on this and make it a multi-chapter fic over on AO3? I wanna explore more of society's reaction to mers, specifically interspersed relationships and where this could go. Let me know what you think, and thanks for the idea!
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hisui-dreamer · 10 months
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CONGRATS ON 1K RINNAAAA :((( YOU WERE ONE OF MY FIRST MOOTS EVER AND ITS MAKES ME SO HAPPY AND PROUD THAT YOU HIT THIS MILESTONE!! THANK YOU FOR BEING ONE OF THE MOST WARM AND WELCOMING PEOPLE IVE MET IN THIS FANDOM <33 YOURE SUCH A GIFT ITS INSANE!!!!!
IM SURE THIS DOESNT SURPRISE YOU BUT!!! for the 1k event i was thinking soulmate au with azul (HEHE) except its the doodle one? LIKE WHERE YOU DOODLE ON YOUR BODY AND YOUR SOULMATES GETS THE SAME MARKINGS YK
and i have a habit of doodling sea creatures like octopi and morays on my arms and hands so i think it'd be cute for him to like, take his gloves off one day and just see a little eel on the back of his hand :((( squishy guy <3333
headcanons or a drabble is totally fine, whichever one is easier for you!!!! thank you for easing me into this fandom :(( i will never be able to thank you enough for making my anxious ass WAY less nervous <3 and no pressure if this doesnt inspire you ofc hehe you're never obligated to write anything !!! :D
the doodles that drew us together
Pairing: Azul Ashengrotto x gn!reader
Synopsis: Azul thought all his life he didn't have a soulmate...
Tags: soulmates au (doodling), reader is yuu, fluff, comfort, reader likes sea creatures, bot proofread
Word count: 591
Notes: aubbie thank you so much!!! I'm so glad we became moots, you're one of my closest friends and everything I see something azul related I think of you haha! I hope you'll enjoy this azul soulmate au ♪⁠ヽ⁠(⁠・⁠ˇ⁠∀⁠ˇ⁠・⁠ゞ⁠)
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Azul had been fascinated by the idea of soulmates as a young mer
it was something that gave him hope, that despite all the other mean mers who would make fun of him, there was someone out there who would understand him and love him
and so he kept drawing on his arm, doodles of shells and other fish that caught his eye
but there wasn't any response.
maybe his doodles were too ugly and his soulmate didn't like them?
and so he learned to draw better, drawing again and again, hoping he would get a response
but still not a single mark would appear on him
it had been a tough blow to him, but he eventually accepted that he didn't have a soulmate
if he was going to be alone for all his life, then he had to take care of himself (because nobody would)
he became super greedy and selfish, always prioritising himself and his materialistic needs
although he also had a friendship with the tweels, he really only befriended them because they could help him out (but he did get attached to them over time)
and so, he opened the mostro lounge and became the sly businessman that we all know
on the first day of his second year, as he was going over documents after closing the lounge, he felt a slight tingle in his hand
Azul's eyebrow rose in response to an unexpected sensation. A peculiar warmth, like a gentle caress, emanated from the back of his gloved hand. Intrigued, he swiftly removed his gloves, revealing smooth, pale skin. A gasp of astonishment escaped his lips as his eyes fell upon a minuscule masterpiece, a tiny, adorable octopus delicately inked in pen.
"Is this...real?" Azul murmured, his voice tinged with disbelief. A surge of hope surged through his entire being, dispelling the weight that had burdened him for far too long.
With a trembling hand, he grasped his own pen and cautiously began to sketch his own octopus upon his wrist, with one tentacle reaching out, holding hands with your octopus.
And he can't stop he smile that graces his lips when a little heart appears between the two octopi.
What a hectic day it had been! For a magicless student to arrive in NRC and for him to finally connect with his soulmate!
...?
Oh. Azul had to speak to said magicless student as soon as possible.
when the two of you start being a couple, Azul does everything and anything for you
when you're in exams and your nervously doodling sea creatures, he'll draw some flowers nearby to help calm you down
no he doesn't help you cheat by writing you the answers, he's already given you the perfect study materials, you shoud put in some effort too
he gets jealous if you draw other sea creatures too much though, especially moray eels
he lets you work at the lounge with a very high pay, making sure you're not working too hard, and always offers to tutor you if you're struggling
his soulmate had to go to a different world just to find him, you'll be sure he helps to settle in and hopefully never leave again
Insert clingy octopus wrapping his tentacles all around you because he can't bare to let you go
when you have dates and appointments, he'll help remind you by writing on his arm
this man has waited for you his entire life, he's ready to lay the world down at your feet if you ask him to
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if you liked this post, don't forget to reblog!
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yenqa · 1 year
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NEW ROMANTICS!
in which…
y/n continuously struggles to contain her growing feelings for her crush (and longtime friend), lee heeseung.
PA!R!NG : heeseung x afab!reader
❥ GENRE : short smau (10-20 chapters), highschool au, childhood friends to lovers, literally zero angst… whole thing is like fluff, pining
!WARN!NGS! : profanity, food/eating, y/n is a literal Nerd (jk she just likes tswift and reading), kissing, one too many your mom jokes, jokes abt kms/dying
FEATUR!NG : nam y/n as minju (ex. iz*one), enhypen, wonyoung, yunjin, chaewon
≫ D!SCLA!MER !! in no way am i trying to sexualize any idols! nor am i saying this accurately depicts any idols. this is purely a work of fiction!
TAGL!ST : closed! thank u for being interested!
☆ YENQA < new smauuu!! “yen it took you so long to finish mtwy-“ shut Up. and i will Never let go of the ripped paper
STATUS : finished! april 20th, 2023 to july 25th, 2023
PERM TAGL!ST : @jwnghyuns @ja4hyvn @trsrina @redm4ri @badmuni @yeokii for boosting, please send an ask or comment if you want to be added to the smau taglist.
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profiles! ⁀➷
major swifties!! + the mentally ill.
001 : the song lover
002 : Not a help fr moment
003 : invisible string wc .6k
004 : open your front door
005 : hanamaki?????
006 : geniuenlly
007 : uhh about that
008 : BC YOURE LIVING IN DELUSION
009 : you Freak
010 : shy smiles wc .49k
011 : maybe
012 : hallucinations r becoming real
013 : favorite girl wc 1.0k
014 : y/ns boyfie
015 : who said 🤨
016 : he only smiles at other girls so u should break up
epilogue : the time heeseung failed to propose (and the time he did) wc : 1.3k
end.
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yenqa © do not copy, steal or translate.
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honey-minded-hivemind · 3 months
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🐋Siren AU, Scene One:
(Warning: mentions of cannibalism, Reader being chased from their old home, possible child murder, and Reader wanting to bite everything that tries to touch them. You have been advised)
• The ocean before you spreads beyond you, vast and impending. There is no coral, no colorful fish, no seaweed. It is an unending abyss of blue, fading darker and darker the farther it is from the sunlit water above... But, you have nowhere else to go...
• You used to have a different home, a different life. Born to a school of reef mers, all colorful and elegant, you were different from birth. You were black and white, not a speck of any other color to your tail... And your tail, it wasn't built like the others', full of trailing fins and frills, but bulkier, thicker. While the other guppies made fun of you, you took care of yourself. After all, you were stronger than them. If one bit you, you whapped your tail against their head. If they scratched you, you pinned them to the sandy floor until they begged to be let up. After awhile, you were just left alone, ignored and abandoned in favor of more similar playmates...
• You hated when you found out what you were... It had been a regular day, learning what you could from an elder, playing by yourself, and keeping away from the gossipy guppies, until a hunter had burst into the coral reef. The moment they saw you, they had screeched, "I finally know what they are! A siren!" Murmurs went up, followed by an elder asking for proof... "Proof! Here is your 'proof '" they had spat and they tossed a fin, just like the one along your back, into the group. "I tore that from a siren north of our territory! It was large, a behemoth! In the same colors of that one, bone white and ink black! It wasn't just any siren, but an orca!"
• THAT set the entire school into an uproar. Shrieks and cries burbled into the water as the nearest adults lunged at you, claws aiming for your fins and eyes. You managed to duck by, swimming as fast as you could around the panicking mer. The reef flashed past you as you swam, bits of rock and coral scraping against you as you dodged reaching claws and sharp harpoons. Until finally, you slipped out into the open waters, slapped out by the tail of one of the hunters, who tried to follow you. It only took that for you to turn tail and flee, striking out into the uncharted waters...
• And here you were now, alone, bleeding, and with no skills or school to help you survive. The one thing you had that was yours was your pearl earring, long and dangling, that you had found by yourself when you were only twelve winters old... You weren't sure how it wasn't torn off in the chase, but it brought you a small comfort to keep it. With a bubble-filled sigh, you kept swimming...
• The sea stretched on, never stopping or ending. No signs of any other life were to be found, save for small squid that came up at night, fleeting and swift. It was... unnerving. It had only been a week since you left, and your wounds had started to heal. You found out, only a few hours after leaving the reef, that a harpoon had nicked your tail, leaving a jagged, painful scratch along its side. That complicated swimming, but you couldn't stop. If you stopped, it was likely something would try to eat you while you rested. You couldn't risk a shark, or dolphins, or another siren finding you. If mer would kick out one of their own, someone they had raised, all because they were a siren... Would an actual siren do worse?
• Your reprieve from these thoughts was finding a small, rocky outcrop pointing out of the endless blue. The waters here were colder, foggy and sometimes filled with chunks of white. It wasn't ideal to stop here, but you needed rest, and this was the only opportunity you had had since your escape... Still... You approach the rock carefully, and once found clear of danger, you curl into a small crack, just big enough to fit you.
• Your dreams are fitful, full of sharp claws and deadly spears and familiar voices leering at you, pouncing in for the kill-!
•With a sharp, fearful click, you wake up. Your fingers rub over your arms, as your tail curls up, trying to squeeze yourself into a smaller ball. You feel the small gills of your neck flit, until you are able to calm down from the nightmare... But just as you settle back down... You hear an eerie sound, something that reverberates through the water around you...
• Tensing up, you stay quiet, staring out into the darkness beyond the crack. The moonlight filters through the water, painting everything in alien blacks and silvers, until the noise dies out... Everything is quiet, save for the small rush of a current nearby. The world seems still, unmoving... until something shifts into the light, something large and dark, and you shrink further into the crack. It's the largest thing you've ever seen...
• Another eerie sound rings out, something between a hum and a wail, loud and fervent. You clap your hands over your ears, trying to muffle the noise. Whatever is out there moves again, until you can't see it anymore... With a small shudder, you turn your head away from the crack entrance, and drift back into slumber.
• In the morning, when you wake up, you cautiously approach the crack entrance, sensing the water near it for any vibrations. Luckily, none are there... When you gather your nerves, you slip out, careful not to aggravate the scars on your tail. There are more white chunks in the water, and there are small bits of light turning the water a jewel green. Nothing seems off... No mers, no fish...
• "So, that's where you were hiding."
• A shriek escapes you as you turn around, only to find something larger than you and the rock outcrop...
• It's large, with scars banding it's arm and chest, with old wounds lining its tail. Their teeth are sharp, and their eyes are reddish-brown, like drying blood. Talons as sharp as hooks are at the end of each of its fingers, long and deadly... And their tail... It's... It's... the same as, yours...?
• "What, never seen another siren before, kid?" it asks, in a growl-like voice. In a sharp arc, you dive back into the crack you came out of. A curse echoes around you, as the being shifts around the rock so they can gaze into the small crevice. "Kid, kid, calm down. It's just a joke."
• "..."
• "You've... never seen another siren, have you?" It- he, it sounds like a he- peers at the entrance. One of their claws scrapes at it, but it won't entirely go in. "You can come out, kid, I'm not gonna eat you," he tries. You push yourself as far back as you can go, even when you feel the rough walls scrape your harpoon wound open. A hiss escapes you, following a small stream of blood. Another sound comes from the much (much much) larger siren, like a low growl. "Are you bleeding, kid?"
• You don't answer, only squeezing yourself in further. You're uncomfortable, pressed this far back, but it's the farthest you can get from what is essentially an adult who is bigger and obviously more dangerous than the mers you knew. A billowing sigh escapes the larger creature, the water rippling around it. "Kid... if you're bleeding, it needs to be looked at. Can you please come out?"
• "... No..." You shiver, trying to will yourself to be strong. If push comes to shove, you can't go down without a fight. What are you, afraid? You survived a murder attempt! SEVERAL, murder attempts! You can face some oversized whale, right?!
• "Kid, I can't take 'no' for an answer. Now, please come out. Don't make this difficult." The creature sounds tired now, maybe a little irritated. You let out a warbling click, the most threatening one you can muster. The creature stills, and seems to back off...
• Then... something weird happens. A loud, mournful wail-click, filled with a desperate, assertive tone rocks the waters, sending a cool ripple into you... But... the song sounds nice... Soothing... You shake your head, ripping yourself free from it.
• "No! I'm not going out there! You might eat me! Or WORSE!" you yell, covering your ears. The siren outside let's out an annoyed noise, only for it to pause...
• "Why the h*ll would I eat ya, kid? And what do you mean, 'do worse'?" Then there's a loud, deafening growl, and he speaks again. "The mers... they did that to you, didn't they?" When you don't speak up, he takes that as an answer. "Of course those sons of eels would do that... Kid, look, I'm not like them. We are not like them. We don't do that. We don't scare off kids, we don't try to kill 'em, and we definitely aren't about to make you bleed. Now, I'm going to say this one more time: Please come out."
• You shiver as the water only seems to get colder the longer you stay still... But still... "I... I can't...." You can't go back out there just to be chased off again, or have to battle against a siren whose older and stronger than you, who could easily rip you apart and leave you for the sharks...
• "I'm sorry, kid. That gives me no choice..." The calm wail-click starts again, and even though you try to cover your ears, it does nothing to block it out or to stop the vibrations rocking you gently. Tears enter your eyes, and you try to beg him to stop... But the song seems to echo inside your own head, a peaceful noise offering only relief and warmth... A small whimper escapes you, only for the song to get louder, softer, until you're lying down on the rocky floor and drifting off... The song keeps going, deep and affectionate, until you feel relaxed and tired... A slow rumble halts the song, and you let out a small warble, asking for it to come back...
• " 'Kay, kid, let's see ya." Something clicks besides you, dragging you out of the dark rock and into a warm palm. You sigh contentedly, the heat from it like the warmth of a thermal vent, constant and inviting... Something turns you, until you're staring into dark, vibrant eyes. You blink sluggishly, reaching out a hand to touch it...
• "Oh cr*p, kid... they did a number on you, didn't they?" A sad noise escapes you, and the voice stops. "Don't worry, we'll fix you up... Wait..." A nudge rolls you onto your stomach. "Kid... you look... just like me..." A croon comes from above you, and you feel more warmth pressed into you. "Okay, kid... Looks like I might just have to keep ya, huh? You sure are quite the little survivor, aren't you?" When you nod sleepily, the grip shifts, until your tucked against a warm wall... "'Kay, I can't say no to that... Let's get ya back to the pod, okay, kid? I know the other pups will be happy to see you..."
• You yawn, hearing a deep chuckle. "Seems like you need a nap... Night, kid. Get some rest. I'll keep you safe..." And with the gentle heat keeping you content and sleepy, you fall asleep... "Let's just hope Creed doesn't get word of you..."
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thedemonscrawler · 1 month
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Call/Response
A lil' oneshot for @bloo-the-dragon of a branch of their mer AU cos we kept talking about it in Discord and then I got brainworms OwO
----
When Eclipse wakes up, Ruin isn't on the bed.
That was… unusual, but not overly alarming. Even though Eclipse's ‘just this once’ had extended by nearly two months now, with the slender mer curling up in a nest made of stolen blankets or wriggling under the sheets almost every night, there was still the occasional exception. His current favorite jacket, claimed just before laundry day and which wouldn't be surrendered until the next laundry day, is also missing, which soothes Eclipse’s mild anxiety further. Clearly Ruin had decided to move to a different sleeping spot during the night, that was all. 
Eclipse stretches, feeling cables pull and worn joints scrub, before he leans over to look off the other side of the bed. No sleeping fish here, just a pillow that had gotten knocked to the floor. The door to the closet is wide open, which leaves either the couch or the tub as options.
He hopes it's the couch this time. He's getting really tired of hanging soggy sheets out to dry.
“Rue? You get overheated or something?” Eclipse listens, a faint frown pulling at his mouth when he doesn't hear anything. No scratch of scales against the tub, nor any sleepy chirps. Standing, he heads to the bathroom, poking his head inside.
The shower curtain is pulled back, revealing the tub to be as empty of mers as the bed. There aren't even any puddles on the floor to suggest Ruin might have been here earlier, only to move when it got closer to morning. 
Faint unease coils in his chest, but Eclipse tamps down on it, turning towards the living room instead. Things were fine, there was no need to panic. Maybe the fish was feeling sick or something, and that was why he was hiding.
“Ruin?” His boots thud against the worn hardwood floor. From this angle he can't see the couch, nor if anyone is on it. He crosses the threshold of the bedroom–
– and stumbles as his foot comes down on a swaying deck.
Automatically his optics adjust to the change in light levels, from a darkened room to mid-morning sun, with the added bonus of glare thrown back back by cresting waves. There’s activity around him, men with heavy coats and heavier beards lugging coils of rope and net to the ship’s edge, checking that the hauling chains were in good order. Gulls call to one another in their shrill voices, the background soundtrack for most of his life.
He was… back on the ship?
Eclipse’s ventilations hitch, and he immediately turns on his heel. He shouldn’t be on the ship, he’d left it (brilliant red flames leaping into a sky filled with smoke, the distant sound of sirens) but through the door is nothing but his pitiful little closet, too small to even be called a room. 
“Well there you are!” The harsh voice pulls him out of his stupor, and he looks over to see the captain glaring at him. “Come on, Sleeping Beauty, get your tools and go check out the No. 2 winch.”
“No, I…” His head feels like it’s full of fog, smothering his thoughts under a blanket of panic, but he manages to force words through the static haze. “Wasn’t I guarding the mer?”
“Hm?”
Eclipse shakes his head, fixing the captain with his best level look and trying to keep the distress out of his voice. “The– the mer that we picked up, the one that was all– all mangled. I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on h– it?” 
And the captain tilts his head in that way, scorn and impatience under heavy brows, and it sparks a nervousness in Eclipse that he hasn’t felt since he was a boot just learning what his new life would be. The device at the base of his neck weighs heavily with malicious potential.
“You flush your memory after breakfast or something?” The captain snorts, gesturing towards the stern. “We offloaded it this morning! Nearly wasn’t worth the effort of keepin’ it fed on the way back– I would have made twice as much if we’d just gone ahead and skinned it for a pair of boots!”
Offloaded…?
Eclipse isn’t listening anymore. He pushes past the human and rushes to the stern of the ship, catching himself against the railing.
Just on the horizon is a grey smudge, and something in Eclipse twists with despair when he realizes how far they are from shore. Any wild ideas about jumping ship are immediately dashed; he can’t swim, and trying to grab one of the life rafts would get him shut down before he even got it inflated.
Something rises in his throat, bitterly cold and covered in sharp edges, but it’s only when the half-static sound falls from his mouth that he recognizes the feeble cheep for what it is.
A call for help, or to locate companions.
(Where are you?)
His ventilations hitch again. It feels like his chest is crumpling in, like some uncaring god has reached out and started wadding him up like aluminium foil. He can hear the men moving around the ship, low conversation and boisterous laughter and nothing connected to him. Eclipse was a toy, a machine: on the records as barely sentient, the mockery of life constructed from metal. Of no use and no importance to anyone.
Except, maybe, a mangled little mer, who had met his assigned vigil with tolerance and curiosity. Who hadn’t yelled at him, hadn’t dismissed him as a thing just because he was made of metal and there was a hole where his past should be.
Who had heard Eclipse, and called back.
Another cheep rises in his throat.
(Where are you?)
“Hey! Shut up and get back to your station!”
The railing creaks under his grip, metal fingers leaving shallow dents in the aluminium. Conditioning has his voice faltering for a second, the habit of just enough obedience to buy him another day– but the despair is stronger. The longing is stronger. 
Eclipse slams his volume to max and shrieks. 
(Please, answer me.)
The echoes fade, shrill sound thrown back by countless cresting waves. Land was so, so far away, but surely something would make it the vast distance, and all he had to do was listen. Past the calls of gulls circling the ship, the slap of water against the hull, the complaints of the men behind him.
Listening for the faintest hint of a response. A whisper, a breath. 
Anything to let him know he’d been heard, for once.
“I said knock that crap off!” 
Heavy boots against the deck, jingling buckles and the snarl of promised punishment. Eclipse turns just in time to catch the blur of metal before something impacts his face.
Everything goes dark.
When Eclipse wakes up, it takes his panic-addled mind several seconds to recognize his surroundings.
The soft surface under his cheek and clenched hands is a blanket, a bed, and when he sits up he can feel the gentle tug and sway of a charging cable. Shadows gradually resolve themselves into doorways and furniture, a pile of clothes on top of a shabby dresser, his boots by the door. His roaring fans are loud in the darkness of so-late-it’s-early-morning, yet he can’t seem to get them to quiet.
Something gently touches his arm.
Still on edge, Eclipse can’t help flinching away from the contact, head whipping around to stare down at the culprit. The mer stares back up at him with wide, mismatched eyes, looking nearly as alarmed as Eclipse himself.
“Eclipse…? Are you alright?” 
The British accent is still jarring to hear, even now– some hysterical part of him wants to laugh, or snap at the mer in misplaced irritation. The rest of him is struggling to form words, to figure out how to dismiss this or reassure the mer or just get him to forget about it. Everything feels brittle, like the soft blankets draped over his legs will shatter if he moves, but surely he can get himself back under control. 
He can’t do it. The words won’t come. Expression crumpling in misery, he stops trying to swallow back the lump in his throat and cheeps.
(Where are you?) 
And Ruin blinks, ragged frills flaring out like the rays of a tattered sun, and chirps back.
(I’m here.)
The pitch is a little flat, with a layer of complexity his own chirps lack. It still hits that hollow place inside him, covering near-constant anxiety with a soft blanket of reassurance, a cool hand on a feverish forehead. The rest of his self control breaks and Eclipse buries his face in his hands, shoulders shaking with sobs that are equal parts relief and fading fear, interspersed with pitiful cheeps.
Ruin chirps back every time. A constant stream of reassurance, an unignorable reminder that there was someone here, that they hadn’t left. That he wasn’t alone. 
(I’m here. You’re safe. We’re together.)
Eventually the sobbing trails off, then stops. Eclipse spares a moment to be glad that he’s not organic, otherwise his hands and face would probably be covered in tears and snot and it would just be even more embarrassing. It’s bad enough he just broke down over a stupid nightmare, of all things. Huffing through his vents, Eclipse finally drops his hands from his face, and finds that Ruin has built a nest around him. 
That’s what it looks like, anyway. The blankets have been arranged so that they more or less encircle him, with Ruin’s current favorite jacket tucked in closest to his body. The mer himself forms the outermost layer of the nest: head pillowed on his arms, body curled in such a way that his crooked tail goes all the way around behind Eclipse and comes back to nearly touch his cap thing.
“Thanks…” The gratitude just slips from him, rough and scraping like gravel. He doesn’t even know if a ‘thank you’ is the appropriate response to this kind of thing.
With how Ruin’s eyes light up, the barely visible patting of his hands against the sheets, he can guess that the mer is probably fine with it. “You’re welcome! I hoped– are you feeling better?”
He can’t help the bitter laugh, looking down at the hands that sit limply in his lap. Scratched, dented, scuffed: the marks of a life spent clawing for anything he could hold on to, and having it ripped away anyway. “Yeah… I guess? I’m not– …yeah. I’m fine.” 
Out of the corner of his eye he can just barely see how Ruin’s head tilts. His voice is soft, hesitant. “Did you have a bad dream?”
Well, there was no sense in hiding it, was there? Ruin could sometimes lack what Eclipse considered common sense, or made some bizarre leaps of logic– but it didn’t take a genius to figure out why Eclipse might have gone from peaceful slumber to outright sobbing.
“Just… stupid stuff. Like being back on the boat, working for that asshole again. We were already pretty far out at sea– and it’s dumb, right? That hasn’t been my life for months now, and I made sure that it wouldn’t be ever again.”
Soft tugs on the blanket, a pair of webbed hands slowly inching their way across his legs. It’s easier to watch their progress towards his own hands than it is to look Ruin in the face and see those big, gentle eyes. Eclipse takes a deep breath, trying to keep his voice flippant and steady.
“We were out at sea, and– and I guess I chickened out or something because you weren’t… there. I’d left you in that cage on shore.” The lump is back in his throat, scraping the edges off of his words so that they emerge laced in static, barely more than a whisper. “I tried to call out, but we were too far away, I think. You didn’t answer.”
“Oh. I see.” Soft, organic fingers close over his own, covering the scratched metal with cerulean blue and buttery gold. It always took him by surprise that Ruin’s hands were so warm; all of an animatronic’s warmth was centered in their chest, with the extremities left to range from ‘room temperature’ to ‘christ that’s cold!’. The tail behind him shifts as the coil of Ruin’s body gets a little smaller, the mer doing his best to scootch closer while refusing to let go of Eclipse’s hands.
“I understand. Believe me, I do understand,” he says quietly. There is a deep sorrow behind the words, scars matching the ones that cover Ruin’s body from top to tailtip. The marks of a life spent clawing for anything to hold on to. “However…”
Organic fingers tighten their grip, a reassuringly solid presence. The mer flattens himself against the bed, trying to catch Eclipse’s downcast eyes, and he offers a small smile when the animatronic finally relents. 
“However, I am here. You are here.” His smile widens, showing razor sharp teeth, and he makes a musical, trilling sound that Eclipse has no hope of reproducing. It’s soothing, a sound that doesn’t pull at his programming like the chirps do, but it makes him feel better in a way that he can’t quite nail down. He’s hearing it because Ruin is here, because they’re both here.
“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right, bud.” Eclipse tries a small smile himself, though he knows it's still pretty wobbly on the edges. The tattered remains of the nightmare cling to him like cobwebs, but Ruin is still holding his hands, and it’s surprisingly easy to focus on that warmth instead. 
This hasn’t been taken away from him. Ruin won’t suddenly disappear into the morning mist. Eclipse has his own home and a companion that wants to be here, and stupid nightmares can’t change that. 
“Come on, we might as well get up now and start the day early.” The small grin gets wider when Ruin whines dramatically, flopping over onto his side and covering his face with his tail in protest. He knows that it’s all for show, and he reaches over to pat what he can see of Ruin’s head, his other hand unplugging the charger. “I’ll make you some waffles, how’s that?” 
“...fish waffles?”
“Yeah, I’ll cut ‘em into fish shapes, too.”
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cheqorb · 19 days
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MER-LOVE, 1.1 ft. reo, isagi, bachira, chigiri, nagi
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request: “Hi hi!! I decided to take you up on your offer and request a part two to the Mer-love fic. This time can you add in reo and what would they do if researcher!reader brought someone along with them, like a co-worker and they think it’s reader’s partner?”
warnings: none
notes: jealousy hcs are always fun to write, thanks for requesting!! also to the people not interested in this au, don’t worry i’ll be posting other stuff soon anyway. i just want to get people’s requests finished & completed before i start writing my own ideas again <3
mer-love! masterlist here
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on occasion, you see REO coming to drag nagi off your boat if he overstays his welcome there, or if he thinks the lazy bastard needs a swim break before he dries out in the sun. you don’t mind him, he’s very polite and as a first impression; you would say he’s a solid guy. the type you can rely on.
the merman initially presents himself as the epitome of confidence and elegance, but as you get to know him better, his playful and more down-to-earth nature shines through. while there’s not necessarily a huge gap between the two, he definitely felt like he was trying to keep up appearances as the former personality. you suppose it’s a good thing he came out of his shell, because he visits you a lot nowadays! sometimes, you think even a bit too often. he usually comes with a multitude of gifts in his arms: stuff like pearls and any other valuable treasures from the ocean depths, etc.
like isagi, he willingly engages in conversation and shows a genuine interest in your research (particularly the financial aspects…) so that’s definitely a plus. it’s very sweet of him regardless, so being a charmer must just be part of his personality.
as the days pass, your boat becomes a second home for not just one, but two mermen—reo and the ever-present nagi, albeit with varying levels of enthusiasm for most things. their banter is oddly nostalgic, it’s like your back at the lab, chatting with the colleagues who don’t piss you off (it gets a bit lonely without the mermaids to talk to).
unbeknownst to you however, during those quiet moments when nagi drifts off to sleep and the conversation wanes, reo's attention shifts to you. as he observes your funny mannerisms and habits, he can't help but find them endearing. from your animated hand gestures, to the way you absentmindedly twirl a strand of hair, every detail captures his attention and leaves him quite captivated.
all in all, reo’s quite the sweetheart once you’re closer to him! let’s hope it’ll last.
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i imagine that you’d bring someone who you’d trust to keep this a secret from the higher ups, as well as a close friend of yours. so, what you consider innocent gestures like leaning over their shoulder, sitting together while eating, look quite misleading from a mermaid’s perspective. (especially if their love language was physical touch/in mermaid society or whatever, you’re only doing those types of things with your lover…)
REO would be mortified at the sight of them. who is this person? why the hell did they come along with you? why are you talking to them?? please (and i stress this) don’t tease him by saying, “oh, haha, they’re my s/o” as a joke, he would actually rather die. unlike the others, he seems openly irritated with your friend’s presence and isn’t scared to voice it. to the point your colleague is like ‘wtf did you tell this guy about me’.
ISAGI is the most ‘normal’, rationalising that they’re probably just a coworker that you know. he’d only get antsy if your partner decides to get a little too close to you. even as chill and unassuming as he may be, isagi’s still got a pretty nasty ego on him. may or may not curse your coworker’s entire generation for the rest of eternity.
BACHIRA would be friendly at first, acting all smiles and being his usual chatty self. but if your coworker decides to try anything the merman deems too…unprofessional, they’ve got another thing coming for them. he’ll snap at their fingers, or tear them off. jk, but he wouldn’t be thrilled by it for sure. kinda just sits on a rock, lost in his own thoughts for a while.
CHIGIRI would pretend not to care at first, but it’s obvious by the glares he throws their way and the way his sarcasm seems to triple when talking to them that he doesn’t like them. seriously, why this person? he simply tries to get your attention on him at first, until that doesn’t work and he decides to ‘accidentally’ chuck water onto their face.
NAGI couldn’t care less at first, key word: at first. but then you’re paying them more attention that you do him and his brain subconsciously makes up excuses to why he doesn’t like them, granted some of these could be plausible but others are just straight up mean. their voice is so grating he can’t sleep, their figure is blocking the sunlight shining on him, among other things. get them off your boat. now >:(
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