#༺☆༻ MerMay 2024

[fox-buried-in-maple-leaves]

MerMay Day 1 : Marine Biologist

Prompt by: @mossypidder

He’d taken the job working with the eccentric marine biologist to get away from his life on the land. A man on the run, he figured the waters would be a safe place to hide. At least, for the time being. He’d heard rumours of the scientist, his precise nature, he was strict and kept to himself. And yet, those who encountered him couldn’t help but note how…

Uncanny, he seemed.

Katsumi was intrigued by such a description. How could he not be? 

The first night on the ship, he didn’t even get the chance to see the marine biologist. Apparently he retired early, leaving Katsumi to wonder for another day. The man walked along the deck of the ship, listening to the waves and whipping wind as the sun began to set.

He stopped when he more smelled than heard people nearby. Katsumi’s kitsune features twitched, his tails swishing softly behind him. He crept closer, quietly, so he could eavesdrop on the people speaking.

“I heard he doesn’t go anywhere near the water.”

“Oh really? Why not?”

“Nobody knows! But I hear that’s why they hired that weird diver.”

“That fox man?”

“Yeah! Apparently they found him on the Naikama port.”

“Weird.”

“Well no weirder than a marine biologist that doesn’t swim.”

Katsumi rolled his eyes, pushing himself off the metal wall he’d leaned against. Such trivial gossip. But with night rapidly approaching, he decided an argument wasn’t worth his time. Instead he opted to quietly return to his cabin, he would make the most of his time on the seas. Even if he didn’t necessarily make friends whilst doing so.

He took the following dawn in stride, eating something light in his cabin before getting ready for the day. Katsumi held the wave patterned ribbon in his hand, hesitating as he held his ponytail in his other hand. He didn’t want it to get ruined if he had to dive.

He let his blond-brown hair fall around his shoulders and chest, he looked around, eyeing the spare pillow cases in the closet.. Katsumi grabbed one of them, then his dagger, ripping the fabric lengthwise. This would probably be fine, he assumed. He needed a hair tie, somehow.

Katsumi was surprised to find the ship anchored, he hadn’t really noticed. The early morning sun was beautiful, it warmed his skin as he made his way to where he heard people gathered. The scent of the sea, the sparkling water. It was all so beautiful, all so different from the lands he felt stranded upon.

He stopped in his tracks upon seeing a purple haired man, notebook in hand, a hat upon his head. But cutouts had been made for the purple feline ears atop his head. His face was void of any readable emotion, but Katsumi was attracted to his features and calm aura almost immediately.

Was this the marine biologist?

“Oh, you’re here.”

The kitsune straightened out.

“Suit up, I need you to dive for some samples from this area.”

“Yes, sir!”

He turned to leave, but his tails stagnated. 

“I’ll show you, come on.”

Katsumi was quick to follow him and his long strides as he led him away from the deck of the ship. 

“Are you Doctor Asase?” 

“I am.”

“It’s really nice to meet you!”

Eiji Asase.. He was even more interesting in person. Maybe it was due to Katsumi’s own less than human inclination, he wasn’t put off by the man’s feline nature, whatsoever. Of course he didn’t want to go into the water. He was a cat!

The thought brought a smile to his face as he followed the man into a room. It felt more like a closet than anything, but there was enough space for him to change into the diving suit hung on the wall. “Here. I’ll meet you back at the stern. Take your time.” And with that, he was shut in the dark room.

Katsumi carefully undressed from his regular clothing, neatly folding them and leaving them on a bench in the small room. The diving suit was updated, far different from any he’d ever seen. He wondered where the good scientist got the funding. But he merely slipped into the suit, carefully pulling it up and zipping everything up.

He wasn’t paid to ask questions. Wait. Was he paid at all? Katsumi left the small room, adjusting how his tails sat against his body as he made his way back to the stern of the ship. When he stepped back out on the deck, the sun was higher in the sky, it was undoubtedly going to be a warm day.

Katsumi listened intently to what Eiji had to say, what he wanted, what he needed collected from the ocean floor beneath them. With the list in detail explained to him, Eiji tucked his notebook under his elbow. The feline wordlessly helped him into the helmet, making sure it was secure to his suit.

He boarded the lifeboat with ease, sitting down so he could attach the equipment given to him to collect the samples around his waist. “At that depth you have thirty minutes of oxygen. Use it wisely.” Eiji walked away as the boat began to get lowered.

At only eighty feet down, it wasn’t the deepest he’d been. He barely had to rely on his vulpine eyesight like he had in the past. No, this was quite enjoyable. Even if he was scraping weird goo off of rocks.

He lifted the closed container in front of his face, shaking it slightly. His only thought was how gross it looked. Katsumi tucked it away in his carrier. He paid close attention to his time as he completed each task as quickly and efficiently as possible beneath the surface. 

He resurfaced with five minutes left to spare, gripping the edge of the boat, he hoisted himself into it. Katsumi laid in the warm boat under the warm sun, waiting for it to be brought up. He was going to enjoy his time. It’d been a while since he dived, he forgot how tiring it could be, swimming against the waves.

The next several days were more of the same. Dive in the early morning, have the rest of the day to himself, let Masuyo deal with the evening. Every morning was somewhere new, every morning was the deep blue sea. It brought him a sort of joy that the land couldn’t. Even if it also brought with it an inescapable emptiness.

The sun would set soon, most of the crew were enjoying their dinner. It was quiet back here. Katsumi enjoyed the relative silence, just the sounds of the ship and the sea. They may not have been moving, an approaching storm rendering them safer in the current dive spot. But the hum of the ship still pleased his ears.

He knew the expedition was only slated to last a month. But he couldn’t help but want it to last longer. His tails swished behind him with fondness as he stared out at the orange and pink sky, the cotton candy clouds. It was all so-

A yell and a nearby splash caught his attention, the sound was nearby, but quiet. Katsumi pushed himself off the railing, moving quickly along the side of the ship. He noticed the rope before anything else, then it was the dropped notebook. 

“Doctor Asase?!” 

Katsumi held onto the railing, crouching down to search the water. Blue-green eyes quickly processed every inch of water in front of him. He turned his attention to the unravelled rope currently plunged into the depths. 

The man grabbed the rope, pulling on it with a huff. Katsumi fell back when the rope came up with nothing on the other side. “Damn-” He went to the ledge again, once more trying to search the water. He could dive but that was deep, even with his training. Not to mention trying to get a struggling person out.

There was a flash of purple and white and the kitsune had to blink a couple of times. Had he seen that correctly? Maybe it was Eiji- But it wasn’t hair he was seeing. It was almost like- fins. Billowing, beautiful fins. Purple and white, and they looked almost soft. 

Eiji surfaced from beneath the water, on his back in the darkening sea. Mismatched eyes caught his and Katsumi couldn’t help the way his slit pupils quickly turned round with surprise. His hat floated nearby in the water, his lab coat soaked, clung to him awkwardly. 

“You have a tail!”

Well, that wasn’t a feline one.

“Oh dear.”

Katsumi shook his head, leaning back he grabbed the rope and once more threw it overboard. Eiji swam for his hat, grabbing it before he grabbed the rope, allowing the kitsune to drag him back onto the ship’s deck. On his knees, his tails soared behind him, wagging side to side with glee. 

“You’re a merperson!” 

“Not so loud.”

Eiji held his hand up, silencing the kitsune with a look. He lowered his hand, instead wiggling out of his now too tight lab coat. His scales were various shades of purple and white, some were faded with scars, others were shiny against the pink sky. 

“You’re beautiful.”

The scientist hesitated, taken off guard by the comment. He hadn’t expected it. “I- I won’t tell anyone, I promise.” Katsumi touched his chest, over his heart. “Cross my heart.” And Eiji could feel his shoulders relax. The kitsune looked around, dinner would be done soon.. 

Eiji let out a strangled noise when the man picked him up with ease, using his lab coat to cover as much of his flowing tail as possible. “My notebook-” but he was already bending down so Eiji could grab it with ease. He could only wrap one arm around Katsumi’s neck to balance himself as the kitsune made a beeline for the closest room.

Admittedly, it was his own, rather than the scientist’s. But it was a safer bet than attempting to traverse more of the ship. Mercreatures were a rarity, considered a treasure more than a person. Something a kitsune understood all too well, himself. It was an odd kinship, but he felt the need to protect the marine biologist. To protect Eiji.

Katsumi shouldered open his room door and then shut it with his foot. He brought Eiji to the bathroom, lowering him into the shallow bathtub. “There we go!” He immediately sat on the floor beside him, eyes wide, tails wagging again. Eiji tossed his lab coat onto the ground beside him, tail flopping over the side of the bath.

“Can I borrow a towel? I need to dry it..”

He reached behind him, fumbling with the cupboard, he threw the door open and grabbed one of the towels within. He then handed it to Eiji who began to pat his tail dry. “This is why you don’t swim.” Katsumi realised, watching as the man nodded. “And you still have ears.. You’re like a fish cat! A catfish!” He snickered at his own terrible joke.

Eiji exhaled a soft chuckle, the kitsune’s reaction was refreshing. “You really won’t tell? I could fetch more than I can pay you.” But Katsumi shrugged, leaning back, his tails finally stopped wagging aggressively, brown-blond fur pooling on the ground around him.

“I won’t tell. My tails go for a lot too.” 

He held a hand out and Eiji stared at his face, reading him, but he could only read sincerity. He reached out too, taking Katsumi’s hand. 

They shook on it. 

“But now you gotta be my friend!”

“A fair deal, I suppose.”

taglist: @cerasus--flores, @hamausagi

[kororobus]

"Whale" I didn't have enough time for her, but the light here is nice~

[procyoren]

Some crystal merms

[roseshark]

Vow 🪝

[greenfinchg]

🌸🪷🌷

[gvalesdraws]

first mermay art ever ⭐

[peterokii]

seroroki mermay part 1

[dakimchi]

finally did something for mermay thanks to falin my beloved and her tiny gf

[ghostskyee]

happy mermay to those who celebrate

[aussyartz]

The Archifish

it took me entirely too long to do all those eyes enjoy !!

[maskedinfinate]

Woe, mermay moonlily be upon ye!!!

This was heavily inspired by @yamujiburo and their own mermay art!! (sorry for the @ :[ !!!) please check out their art if you havent!! They are SUPER COOL!!!!!!!!!! :D

[fox-buried-in-maple-leaves]

MerMay Day 6 ; Midnight

Prompt By: @mossypidder

He always asked to meet you late at night, when the moon was highest in the sky. 

The moon was particularly full today, bathing the cove you met in in beautiful moonlight. It sparkled off of the dark ocean water. It was cold as you swam out to the rock you always met him at, but you pushed through the chill in your body.

Quickly, you were pulling yourself up onto the stone, breathing hard as you rolled onto your back to look up at the sky. The stars were bright too, brilliant and beautiful above you. If you closed your eyes, you could imagine touching them as you reached up above you for them.

Something wet and slimy wrapped around your wrist, tugging your arm down. Your eyes widened in surprise and fear, your chest pounded.

“Hello.”

You turned your head and came eye to eye with bright yellow eyes. His tentacle released your wrist and you lowered your arm to your stomach.

“Decord.”

You breathed out his name, sitting up and looking down at him in the water. His tentacles were near invisible in the water around him, but he used one to cover his mouth as he chuckled at your fearful reaction.

“That’s not funny!”

“Oh, but it is.”

The man’s tentacle lowered into the water and he leaned against this rock, resting on his arm as he looked up at you. “You really keep coming back, hm?” Although it was a true observation, it was one that made you blush. Maybe so.

“You humans, as curious as the fry.”

“Can you blame me?”

The tip of one of his tentacles ran through his long silver hair, moving it out of his face. “No, not entirely.” He shrugged at you, his smile sharp as he maintained eye contact. His eyes were entrancing, they almost seemed to glow in the darkness.

“You still haven’t told me if there’s a way to join you in the sea.”

Decord hummed, tapping his sharp nails against the rock you were sitting on. “Why are you so insistent on joining me out here?”

“The freedom! Do anything, go anywhere. That’s..” You fell back against the rock, sighing as you looked up at the moon once more. “That’s all I want. An escape, I guess.”

“A romanticised view, my dear. The sea is nothing short of a fight for survival.”

You turned your head, but didn’t sit up again, you just opted to look at the man before you. He wasn’t lying, his face and torso visibly scarred from battles you couldn’t even begin to imagine. But instead of being fearful.

You reached out, fingertips brushing against the scars lining the side of his face. Decord’s eyes closed and he leaned into your chaste touch. 

“As if you wouldn’t keep me safe, Dec.”

He exhaled into your hand, opening one eye to look at you before closing his eye again. He was just going to enjoy this moment, enjoy you and your naive love.

taglist: @cerasus--flores, @taraxacum-vulpes

[liss-art]

Day 10. Free day. HUALIAN!

[scribblemew]

ITS MY TURN TO MAKE A MERMAID WILLOW DESIGN <333333333

[greenfinchg]

First day of mermay 2024 💙🩵💙🩵

[shirecorn]

Often mistaken for the much more dangerous sea serpents, massive oarfish mermaids are peaceful but imposing mirror-skinned figures who hang vertically in the open ocean. Their red fins appear colorless and invisible in deeper water, as red light wavelengths cannot penetrate the depths at which they rest and feed.

Just like humans, mermaids come in a variety of body types, proportions, musculature, and fat distribution. In academia, documented mermaids of each species tends to match the appearance of their fish counterpart. But individuals can look like anything.

This oarfish mermaid is a gorgeous example of the principle. The humanoid torso and the start of the fish body have rolls of fatty tissue, but it diminishes as the long tail stretches downward. Inside the torso, the swim bladders will be flexed to account for the extra buoyancy.

Mundane oarfish use their flat bodies reflect the sea around them like a smooth mirror. In order to be seen by other oarfish, they hold their long pelvic fins horizontally out to their sides, forming a cross with their body.

While this individual's shape is less useful for camouflage, the behavior remains. Many modern mermaids use community to fill their needs, and wits to avoid predators. So while different body types can affect hunting fitness, it does not diminishes their functioning within society.

Nor, of course, their beauty.