#[redacted] is having the funniest side plot of his life

[lazuliquetzal]

The lu age swap hasn't been updated in a while so feel free to ignore this if it's not something you're interested in anymore, but I just read through it and first off, it's hilarious, I love it, amazing, it's so chaotic. I was wondering what your plans were for Four, cause it seems like there's some foreshadowing in there that's pretty interesting!

(Also, with Wild being so young I can't imagine the sort of shenanigans he and Flora would get up to. They would be unstoppable)

Yeah ageswap kind of dropped out of the backlog haha. But I almost always have a plan, haha.

I may or may not pick ageswap up again? Chances are admittedly low, my writer brain has been pinballing lately. I don't consider it abandoned but it functionally may as well be lol.

A snippet, if you're interested:

(Spoilers for ageswap, though again no promises if I'll ever come back to it)

“Four?” Wild asked. His head hurt, and he tried to focus, but his vision blurred in and out.

“Um, yeah! Yeah, that’s me,” Four said, eyes wide.

Wild relaxed into his grip and let Four carry him. Four was safe.

“Hey, buddy,” Four said, snapping his fingers. “Stay with me, okay?”

“Tired.”

“Sorry. I know. Just hold on, okay? Somebody we know should have a potion.”

Wild squinted up at Four. “Don't you have potions?”

Four did not reply.

“Sky gave some to you,” Wild said. “Just yesterday.”

“That does sound like something that happened to me,” Four agreed.

Some niggling thought tried to worm its way to the front of Wild’s groggy mind. He reached a shaky head to rub at his eyes.

“Did you change your shirt?” Wild asked, baffled by the thought. “Why are you wearing green?”

"Don't worry about it."

Wild grumbled. His head was killing him, and he screwed his eyes shut and tucked his face into Four's chest.

It felt like no time at all had passed, but the next time Wild opened his eyes, the sky had changed from a clear blue to an overcast gray. Four was setting him down on the ground.

"Hey, kid."

"Mnnngh?"

"Kid." Four crouched down in front of him, his eyes deadly serious. "I know your head hurts. I'm sorry. But I really need you to listen to me, okay?"

Wild groaned, but he tried his best to sit up. "What?"

"Next time you see me," Four says. "I need you to remind me of something, okay?"

"Remind you?" Wild wondered, trying to think past his throbbing headache.

"I'm safe," Four said. "And I have everything under control. I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

"Kind of a weird way to ask for a pep talk," Wild mumbled, rubbing his head.

"You can do that, right?" Four pressed. "Can you remind me of that, later?"

"You have everything under control," Wild repeated.

"Yep! Thanks, kid--aww, crap."

Four stood up. Wild blindly reached for his hand.

"Wait," he said. "Don't go! The others are coming!"

"Sorry," Four said. He reached out to pat Wild's head, and then drew his hand back when he remembered the head injury. "Remind me about what I said, okay? Don't forget!"

[strandnreyes]

weekend wip game

thanks @welcometololaland @orchidscript @alrightbuckaroo! I'm a one wip at a time person, but i'll try my best lol

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more).

1. WIP List

a chain reaction of countermoves (formally known as funky cabin to some) - the only one I'm actively working on at the moment

collab with @welcometololaland! (is this a secret? SORRY)

collab with @heartstringsduet!

Carlos escaping his past meets wanderlust TK au - hardly anything more than an idea

a few more time, curious time installments

a third story in the vampire universe (maybe. one day. MAYBE).

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?

a chain reaction of countermoves. the only one with words lol

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

probably the collab with @welcometololaland because it's us

4. Which WIP is your favourite to write/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

well, the only one I've written anything for is acroc so... that one

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

um probably the collabs because I've never done one and my mind is kind of a mix of ?????? and feeling like I've never written a word in my life

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about. Why?

acroc - it's a style I haven't done much of and I'm hoping it’ll all makes sense, doesn't come across as cheesy, etc.

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

all of them to make sure the characters aren't sticking four different hands somewhere or something of the sort

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writer's block?

I haven't been writing a ton lately and I can't tell if it's writer's block or if I'm just busy. maybe a little of both

9. Which WIP has your favourite OC? Tell us about them?

okay I don't count this as a wip because I'm done writing it, but technically it's still a wip for you all and I have to go with my boy Lucky from meet you after dark. you'll meet him on tuesday! he's the cutest, sassiest, prickliest little baby boy and I love him dearly

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

ummm maybe the collab with @heartstringsduet ?

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

the modern day time, curious time installment because they're going to be so sad over their past selves and not even know it. the also third vampire story would also be very angsty for different reasons

12. Which WIP has the best characterisation (in your humble opinion)?

I think the @welcometololaland collab really leans into their funny, bantering side and that's going to be really fun and full of moments that will feel very them. but also acroc is set in canon which really allows me to dig into some big thoughts and feelings

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting (in your humble opinion)?

I think the wanderlust au setting will be gorgeous. I'm thinking small mountain town. (when I said this is barely an idea, I meant it)

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

acroc. this is going to be another fic where I end up doing a bunch of random research for. can't wait to learn adsfad

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

the collabs because I want don't want to let people down. I think acroc will be very cool if it all comes together the way I want it to

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

No, I wish. Imagine waking up and you already have an idea, that sounds like a dream (ha)

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don't?

one time, curious time installment is historical, the third vampire story has well... vampires, and acroc has [redacted] so they're all pretty unique

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humour?

the collab w/ lola. plotting it always has me grinning

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

not that I have planned at the moment, but I do want to write an outsider pov at some point for something

20. Tell us one thing we don't know about one or more of your WIPs.

how about one for each?

acroc - the setting is a fictional place in Texas because I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, but I'm basing it off of a place I've been to a few times

collab w/ lola - if you think no one is capable of looking hot in a blurry, breakroom employee of the month photo while wearing a polo, Carlos Reyes is about to prove you wrong

collab w/ michelle - this is pretty well known, but it's inspired by taylor swift because it's us

wanderlust au - I got this idea about two pages into reading a book. it was all inspired by the setting. (didn't finish that book though)

time, curious time installments - the lifetimes I have ideas for are chapter 5 (baker/blacksmith) and the modern, canon lifetime

vampire au - the plot of this fic is making me laugh now based on recent events surrounding meet you after dark

following the rules and tagging 6 people: @reyesstrand @carlos-in-glasses @heartstringsduet @three-drink-amy @liminalmemories21 + open tag for number 6!

[ask-sincerely-sea]

A rundown of the Mermaid AU

Here’s a bullet list of my Mermaid AU and most of the content I have imagined for it! These are taken from three different posts on my main blog, but for simplicity, I compiled them all here! It is long, but feel free to read and get a feel for this universe!

All the Murphys are sharks, but they’re all different types of sharks.

Science doesn’t exist in my world so don’t expect genetics and aquatic ancestry to be something that is strict. Most families tend to stay within the same family and/or genus.

Connor is a Shortfin Mako Shark.

Zoe is a Blue Shark (Fun fact: Blue Sharks are a species of Requiem Sharks).

Cynthia is a Whale Shark.

Larry is an Oceanic Whitetip Shark.

Evan and Heidi are both octopus.

Evan is a Coconut Octopus.

Heidi is a Mimic Octopus.

Alana is a Pacific White Sided Dolphin.

Jared is a White Spotted Pufferfish.

Although intelligent like humans, mermaids will exhibit behaviors akin to their aquatic ancestry.

Evan being a Coconut Octopus will hide within ocean debris as a form of camouflage. This is often triggered by spikes in anxiety, but he also uses it to avoid interaction.

Jared absolutely puffs up. It’s usually caused by elevated emotion. Sometimes he’ll puff up because he’s upset, other times he’ll accidentally cause himself to puff up just from laughing too hard.

The Murphy family is a family a predators. They all have an acute and accurate sense of smell. Larry, Connor, and Zoe are active hunters, and when they are in hunting mode it’s hard to break them out of it until they are satiated.

Merpeople do form societies and interact with each other. They don’t hunt each other and unlike their aquatic ancestors, they don’t all follow migration paths. Some merfamilies will migrate.

Now I’ll give you all the cute and fun and interesting stuff…

Connor loves to explore any wreckage he can find. He’s super fascinated by human life and loves finding shipwrecks, plane wrecks, and even leftover skeletons.

He frequents the wrecks of military vessels most often and collects dog tags from fallen soldiers. He refurbishes them as much as he can because he likes to see the names of the men and women lost.

He often spies on humans who are boating as well. Be it a wedding boat, fishermen, or just vacationers, he just loves watching them from afar. However, the moment they spot him (usually only his dorsal fin on his tail), he dives away

.Hes accidentally becomes and ocean cryptid when a group of divers got a photo of him, albeit it fuzzy/blurry.

He’s obviously not aware of human cryptid culture.

Redditors think his viral photo is photoshopped.

Zoe isn’t as curious about humans. She is curious of the sky above and loves to watch birds as they fly around and feed on fish.

She goes stargazing a lot against her parents wishes. It’s dangerous at night and her parents (and most merpeople) fear poachers.

Zoe collects starfish on her tailfins. Since they are living creatures, she always communicates with them and makes sure they are okay with it.

Connor will leave jewelry and funky human artifacts he finds in Zoe’s room. She doesn’t know Connor is the one that leaves her random items and just assumes it’s Cynthia.

Cynthia is fascinated with human artifacts and frequents a lot of merpeople who are traders for human trinkets.

However, she is terrified of humans and doesn’t dare go near them. When she was younger, she got tangled up I’m a fishing net that belonged to poachers.

Larry is also fascinated with human trinkets, but not as much as Cynthia. Being an Oceanic Whitetip, he loves the tale of the USS Indianapolis.

He and Connor used to search shipwrecks together, but they’ve since grown apart and haven’t hunted or scavenged together in a long time.

I already said a bit of this in my last post, but being a Coconut Octopus, Evan uses physical objects to hide in and behind as a form of camouflage.

Though camouflage isn’t really necessary for merpeople being that they are able to fend for themselves and create/use tools, weapons, utensils, etcetera.

Evan’s camo is more of a reflex with his anxiety. If he’s nervous, anxious, or embarrassed, he’ll find the nearest Evan-sized object and fold himself up to fit. His tentacles can fold together tightly, he just has to account for his upper body not being as flexible.

Heidi is a Mimic Octopus as uses her camo as more of a fun party tricks. Mimic Octopus are able to disguise with many backgrounds, but are also able to contort and arrange their tentacles to resemble other species.

When Evan was little, they would travel to shallow banks along islands where the sun shone through the water really brightly. She’d contort her tentacles and do little shadow puppets of other species for him on the sand.

So, Jared is a pufferfish and not a porcupine fish. He has spines, but they’re very small and thin. They usually only show up when he’s inflated.

He HATES being inflated but it’s happens a lot.

Basically any elevated emotion inflates him. He’s angry? Puff! He’s playful? Puff! He’s excited? Puff! He’s sad? Puff! He’s [redacted]? PUFF!

He doesn’t care too much about human culture, but he is aware of this cursed video. He was hanging around a boat with a bunch of spring breakers and slipped a phone for a few minutes, stumbling across Youtube. Connor thinks it’s the funniest thing ever.

Oh, yeah, so merpeople don’t have any sort of electronic technology, but some of the most curious ones will snatch devices from boats. They are aware they don’t work underwater, so it’s usually like a dramatic spy scene of mermaids hanging out by boats with phones and tablets and messing around as much as they can for five to ten minutes.

Alana is super social and during vacations from school she’ll travel with merpeople and regular aquatic life and migrate around the world.

She’s traveled literally everywhere and has been doing it since she was a child. Her whole family used to go, but now it’s just her. Her parents trust her to be alone.

Alana has come across Sea World and other marine parks with Orcas and it makes her incredibly angry. There have been a few instances where animals in captivity have… Mysteriously escaped back into the wild…

She does have a super playful side and is very curious of humans despite often having a negative judgement/attitude towards them. When she just wants to have fun or relax, she goes bow riding along the wake of boats. She’s clever enough to not be seen.

Yes, there is merpeople high school because why not.

Again, science doesn’t exist and this au honestly doesn’t have rules.So just go ham and make mermaids, y'all!

I’m still deciding on how I want to portray Miguel, but right now I’m thinking Red Lionfish or Pacific Seahorse.That boy is something very colorful and proud!

So previously I mentioned there being an education system for merpeople as they do form societies.

So all the teens (minus Miguel) go to school together.

Their school, as well as most of the buildings in their particular society, is made up of scrapped parts from shipwrecks and other human debris. There are also some buildings and landmarks carved out of the landscape, but they gotta keep it fresh, keep it interesting. They’re still discovering and learning technology, but in their own unique ways.

(Okay, you probably didn’t even care about that fact but as an enthusiast for a “rebuild from the remains” aesthetic, I have to sprinkle in my little funky twists.)

The particular “town” of merpeople they live in isn’t very large and is constantly changing size and population due to some mers moving in and out.

Evan broke his arm over summer break in a coastal accident.

Seeing that merpeople don’t fully abide by the living standards of their aquatic ancestors, they tend to mix, mingle, and migrate without too much structure. Obviously certain families with stay together and there are some pockets of merpeople who live by more strict cultural rules. But for the sake of au, Evan and the gang live in a more relaxed mer civilization.

So, over the summer Evan was working with a group of mers that focus on coastal wildlife. Evan in particular focused on coral health and how it was being affected by human activity.

But our boy is depressed and lonely, so one day he strays from his usual group of coworkers and ventured toward a cluster of fishing boats. The general rule is don’t go near humans, especially when on the job.

He noticed that some of the boats were anchored, so he grabbed one of them from the seabed, hoisted it up the surface, and launched it above water for his to come crashing down with force behind it.

His arm got pinned under the anchor, thus breaking it.

Now, the rest of the AU at the moment is more freeform and doesn’t follow the plot of the musical, but I did want to included how Evan broke his arm.

Connor is not dead in this particular version of the AU, but feel free to craft multiple storylines and arcs with different outcomes!

Connor does paint his nails!

As previously mentioned, he is very fascinated by human society and like to get a little too close.

So, one day he came across some spring breakers and watched as they went about their activities sunbathing and painting their nails. As soon as they looked away, he stole several bottles.

It’s rare for him to find nail polish, especially since he ruined his first bottle by opening it up under water and losing the contents. But whenever a party boat or a boat of spring breakers rolls by, especially with a bunch of girls, he always has to check.

He quickly learned that whenever he wants to do his nails he has to make a whole thing about hauling himself up to surface and propping on a rock or a beach for some time.

He’s collected his signature black as well as a metallic purple, glittery pink, and bright turquoise. He wears the black and purple the most. He loves the other two colors, but poor baby is insecure and wearing nail polish as a mer is already enough to cause stares.

Jared also thinks that human legs are hot.

When Jared is puffed up, other mers will bop him around like a volleyball. It’s an unfortunate thing for any and all puffers.

Evan’s dad is a Barracuda mer, which for a Barracuda and an Octopus to mate is incredibly rare. It’s a wonder that Evan didn’t come out a totally wack and new sea monster.

But like I said, science doesn’t really exist here! Anything goes! Be whatever mer you wanna be! Love whatever mer you wanna love!