#(can't believe mermay is almost over)

[vixlenxe]

What kind of Mermaid are you? A Mermaid Quiz for MerMey!

Romantic Heart Breaker ~ Tropical Mermaid

Individual: You are a hopeless romantic. You are filled to the brim with passion, lust, and nostalgia. You have has many lovers at the shore, but none lasted long. You break hearts and kiss lips. You speak perfect human language and are absolutely stunning to the eye. You are caring and somewhat mischievous. You love when young humans vacation to your area with little knowledge that they are about to have the most memorable summer romance of their life. You are agreeable but people should not want to get on your bad side. You are not violent, but you are cunning, which is all the more dangerous.

Species: Tropical Mermaids live in warm climates in, obviously, tropical areas. They are known for being quite social with most other aquatic creatures and humans alike. In fact, they seem to have a good grasp on human culture itself and not just talking to them. They usually move alone or in small groups up to 6. They don't travel much either and normally stay in one spot like a waterfall or a cave. They are not aggressive towards other pods like many of the other merspecies and have beautiful singing voices like Sirens. They have very colorful unpredictable hair and tails and very diverse body types and body mods. They also love to style themselves. with shells and flowers, and are one of the few types of mermaids that cover their breasts with make shift bikinis.

Shy Mysteries ~ Pond Mermaids

Individual: You are unique, mysterious, innocent, and shy. You have very few friends but are extremely close to the ones you do have. You are very reclusive and introverted in result. Would generally think of yourself as a pacifist and will not fight even when attacked.When you do get close to someone you are compassionate and caring, yet reliant.

Species: The origin of this species is unknown. To sum it up, These are mermaids that are a hybrid of human and a specific kind of aquatic creature, such as a shark, a jellyfish, koi fish, or lion fish, just for an example. They are not necessarily born from another creature. They are not specific to ponds, as implied by the list of possible types, but they are very well known to be in ponds. They normally are the only one of their kind in there pod but are accepted as the same species by they're fellow fish. in fact they generally can only communicate with they're type of fish and some humans occasionally.

Rare Predator ~ Cecaelia

Individual: You are certainly a rare specimen. You are resourceful, reclusive, and incredibly aggressive. You are fearless and will fight to the bitter end. Many might see you as just strength and skill, but your other attributes lie elsewhere. You actually quite crafty. Not really in a clever way, though you can be, but in a resourceful way. You are able to think on your feet and make use of your setting and the objects around you.

Species:  Cecaeliae are reclusive, territorial, and malicious. They get along with neither man, merpeople, nor even other cecaeliae. They are very rare and there is normally only one per body of water. (Excluding oceans and massive lakes and rivers). They have the bottom half of an octopus or squid rather than a tail and do posses the inking ability. Many caecaeliae Craft weapons out of the remains and belongings of their victims. They are intelligent and set up shelters in caves, trenches, etc. They normally live in murkier waters and have duller skin to blend in. They are normally reasonably muscular and thick, except for the squid cecaeliae which are still muscular, though thin.

[perpetualexistence]

Sea Monster AU: Agony of a Sea Witch

It sure has been a while since I've made a post for this AU, hasn't it? I know I said I would get this done in time for Mermay. But it's only technically two days away, so I consider this to be Mermay in my heart. That and it's Pride month so now this is just my contribution of incredibly toxic yaoi to Pride month!

What's with the song choice you might ask? And the title? Don't worry about it. Noah'll be fine. Probably.

But yeah this is like 3.5K words so I hope you guys enjoy my blood sacrifice Sea Monster AU update!

Content warnings: Murder mentions, toxic relationship, Alejandro being manipulative as per usual

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With his new body comes new risks. He can't afford to have his legs suddenly turn into tentacles on land. It'd be even worse if they transformed in front of Alejandro. So he's not leaving this cove until he's convinced he can leave it without instantly outing himself.

He starts with turning his legs to tentacles and back. A lot of it has to do with wanting them to transform. Which is good because otherwise this would be a pain.

As the adrenaline fades away, he's more cognizant of how weird it is to feel each leg split into four separate limbs, and then come together again. He shudders at the sensation, but over time he gets used to it.

It takes him all night until he's finally comfortable enough to make his way back home. He sneaks back in at one point only to be caught by an older sibling. They express their concerns about his recent behavior. He manages to get them off his back for now, but they're clearly still worried.

It's summer break at this point, so Noah has plenty of time to learn more magic. He lies to his family about taking summer classes so they don't question his time away. He tells the same lie to Alejandro so that Alejandro doesn't insist the two spend more time together.

That lie he's much more worried about. Not only because Alejandro is more volatile, but also because he knows that Alejandro is going to ask him about how his revenge went.

The intent lie Alejandro believes, so he won't have to explain why he did it. But he'll have to lie about how much he enjoyed it to cater to Alejandro.

Except it doesn't really feel like a lie. Because there's a part of Noah that knows he did rather enjoy it. When his mother asked him whether he was getting a job over the summer or staying at school, he almost admitted right there that he wouldn't need to get a job. Their biggest money problem is gone.

Noah has been considering a lot of people 'problems' now. It's easier to feed a problem to a ravenous sea creature than a person. He knows, on a logical level, that this is wrong and is a very concerning line of thought. But he's been through so much that he feels like he's done more than enough to earn it.

When he goes to talk with Alejandro, the large eel does pick up on his hesitation in taking pride in his kill. He's...surprisingly sympathetic towards Noah's reluctance. He admits that doing it in cold blood for the first time hits a lot harder than simply watching it. It's not something for the faint of heart.

It's why Alejandro was so happy that Noah was willing to try it out. Once you get over the morality of it, it's such a delightful, vindicating experience. Alejandro would love to be there one day to witness Noah finally let loose. Noah deserves it, truly. However, Alejandro won't force it. He's not that crude. If Noah does want to go further down the path of might then Alejandro will be happy to guide him along. Until then, Noah can take his time with it.

Noah leaves that conversation with zero suspicions from Alejandro, but so many questions. The way Alejandro phrased it was oddly sweet and felt like an earnest attempt to comfort him. But it was still encouraging murder. Even if it was arguably justified. And satisfying.

At least it made it clear that shrinking Alejandro was the only way to go. Once he was less dangerous, Noah could figure out what to do with him after.

But first of all he's got to figure out this new body of his. Knowing how to switch between human to cecaelia won't mean anything if his new tentacles keep slapping him in the face every time he tries to use them. Or using suckers to attach onto rocks when he did not mean for them to get adhesive. The retractable fangs are rather annoying since he keeps cutting his tongue with them. Not to mention the excessive amount of saliva that seems to come with it.

The most difficult part is learning how to operate eight lower limbs instead of two. It's also the most exhausting. Chef's training had done little to improve his endurance. Even worse since he's underwater where his whole body feels sluggish.

Slowly but surely, he starts getting better at swimming with his tentacles. He doesn't have the finest control over them, but he can swim with them and go in the direction he actually wants to go in. He isn't sticking to everything he touches with his tentacles, either. He considers that progress.

He'd still like to know how being an octopus was supposed to protect him from a giant electric eel. Sure, he can swim better now. That doesn't do much against someone who can easily outpace him. Or just zap him.

He knows the basics about octopi. He knows they can make ink clouds to confuse their enemies. Which might work for about five seconds until Alejandro goes around the small cloud. The more useful thing is the ability to camouflage. It'd only work when standing still. But if the ritual to shrink Alejandro means he has to go out to open waters, he NEEDS a way to hide himself. He wouldn't be able to afford Alejandro catching him collecting something, or worse, with tentacles.

Through trial and error, Noah finds out that his whole body can go invisible, not just his tentacles. All the better for him. He anchors his ability to camouflage with his desire to disappear. It's an easy feeling to pull up. He usually wants to stay out of most interactions, and his desire to get away from all of this is enough to get him invisible. The harder part is stopping it. Because it means letting go of the feeling. Noah can't really calm down to let go of it because Alejandro has him on high alert at all times. He just forces himself to think of something else, and it works.

All of this is just taking more time away from preparing the ritual. He hasn't even had the chance to read over it properly. He very badly wants to jump the gun, but that'll risk getting caught in a body he can barely control. But being unprepared for the ritual, and the lives it'll probably require given this book's track record so far, is also a huge risk. And during all of this, he's still going on hunts with Alejandro. Risks all around, and Noah feels like he's this close to snapping completely when he's pulled in different directions.

So when Owen sends him a text asking if he wants to hang out over the summer? You know what? Sure. Why not?

Noah deserves a distraction from all the things he's putting himself through. Is this distraction also risky? Yes. But it's not as if he's going to go out in the water with Owen. There's plenty to do in this incredibly isolated town that only advertises its incredibly visible beaches with the extrovert who has constantly been inviting him to going to another yacht party in Alejandro's hunting grounds.

God Owen would be so screwed if Noah wasn't setting up Alejandro's menu.

At least Owen doesn't push so much into what's going on in Noah's life once Noah makes it clear that's not happening. It's nice to actually have the ability to say no. Not the illusion of choice Alejandro brings. It's easier to forget all the things he's done when the most he has to worry with Owen is avoiding a nose milkshake.

Well, there is the fact that Owen is also still insisting on Noah coming along to group hangouts. More people means more lies and more suspicion. But it also means more chance to be in the background conversation. Not do anything.

Noah misses not having to do anything. So against his better judgement, he says yes.

He lets himself get swept into the hurricane that is Owen, Eva, and Izzy. He appreciates Eva not asking any questions from him and just letting him exist. Plus watching her go off on people is fun. Izzy, for all the rabid energy she brings, is more than happy to make all the choices for what they're going to do. He's more than happy to just let her. Owen's both enabling all the chaos and making sure everyone's doing great. He doesn't question Noah wearing a scarf during the humid, sweltering summer. He just scoops Noah up when the heat exhaustion starts getting to him.

And Noah? He's just there. There's no expectations that he does anything. He snarks and they don't complain about his personality.

It's such a nice break from all the murder and deceit. It takes away from the time he could be spending to solve this problem. But if he doesn't give himself this he's pretty sure something's going to snap inside of him. So he fits it in between the magic and the hunting and the hanging out with Alejandro that the eel still insists on.

Hanging out with Alejandro does make hunting more bearable. And Alejandro more bearable. Alejandro still enjoys reading with Noah and bringing him smaller treasures.

Still, now that Noah's started to hang out with other people, he can how conditional spending time with Alejandro is. There's a stark contrast between being with people who could kill you on accident with their shenanigans, and being with someone who would kill you on purpose for trying to pull shenanigans.

It nags at him. Constantly. He doesn't want it to. He wants to relax for once in his life. He can't have that with Alejandro like this. He needs to stop distracting himself. No matter the cost, he has to go through with this. He's done too much now. He just has to keep playing this game a little longer.

He doesn't realize Alejandro's picked up on anything until they're on their way back from a hunt.

The conversation started off simple enough. Noah was making snarks about the people Alejandro had thrown into his gullet. They were long past having any sanctity for the dead.

Alejandro was pushing the boat that was carrying Noah along...and then he began to slow to a stop. They were nowhere near the shoreline. It was just open waters.

Noah asks what's going on. He's trying to sound as casual as possible. Maybe if he keeps faking it, he'll actually begin to calm down.

Alejandro promises it's nothing major, really. It's about a few things that have been bothering him, that's all. He's noticed some new things about Noah.

At first Alejandro thought they were great changes. He does find Noah's scarf cute, and he's very fond of Noah's new interest in Alejandro's passions.

But he's also noticed that their conversations have started to become more awkward. Like Noah isn't completely there for the conversation. He's just curious about what could be on Noah's mind.

Noah's immediately concerned as he now has to come up for an answer for this. It's just him thinking about school, that's all! And the whole murder thing! Giving that serious thought. That's the only thing on his mind.

Alejandro smiles at Noah. He wants to believe Noah. He does. But there's one other thing that's bothering him.

Noah's scent.

The day after Noah came back from his first kill, there was something new to it. Something charged. And salty?

It's very strange. Alejandro was willing to be patient for an answer from Noah. To an extent. The real problem, though, are the newest scents on Noah. They're all human scents. From different people.

Noah would have to be especially close with these humans for an especially long time for their scents to intermingle. Yet Noah hasn't mentioned anything about other humans. Given what happened the last time Noah was getting close with other humans, Alejandro is very interested in knowing what explanation Noah has for this.

Noah knew he shouldn't have let Owen bear hug him so much. Or let Eva carry him around no matter how convenient it was. Or let Izzy constantly invade his personal space. Even though the only way that he could have stopped any of them would have been not to be near them at all.

This was on him, really. For letting himself get distracted. Now he has to figure out what to tell Alejandro. If he tells the truth, he'll be dooming his friends. Alejandro will force him to make an impossible choice. It's what he always does.

He's racking his brain for something, anything to get him out of this mess. Alejandro is waiting for an answer. He does not want to be in this situation. He would give anything to get out of this situation. To just disappear.

"Que es esto?"

Noah looks up to see Alejandro looking down at him. There's some mix of confusion, horror, and anger in his eyes. It's worrying since Noah hasn't given a response yet. His eyes are also darting around Noah. Around?

Noah brings his gaze back down to the boat to figure out what Alejandro is looking at.

Then he looks down to realize that on instinct, he's camouflaged with the ship.

Oh.

No.

Noah's body acts before he can think twice about it. He jumps into the water. Staying on that boat would be a death sentence. At least this way he has a chance at getting away and figuring out SOMETHING.

He knows Alejandro is calling for him and he doesn't care. He's never transformed while invisible and he doesn't want to take any chances now. He's barely gotten any distance until he feels the hairs on his arms raise.

Invisibility means nothing to electrolocation.

Noah is grabbed and is pushed away from the surface. Noah lets out a shout as air bubbles escape him. He switches to using his gills since Alejandro wouldn't notice those anyways. He has a clear view of the fury on Alejandro's face as they swim deeper.

Alejandro demands an answer NOW. He won't return Noah to the surface until Noah shows himself and agrees to explain. Alejandro will keep him here until he drowns if he must. Because he needs to know how Noah knows magic.

Noah thrashes as he tries to get out of Alejandro's vice-like grip. Alejandro doesn't know about the gills, but he'll figure it out eventually. The most he can do is buy himself some time. He's terrible with coming up with plans on the spot but he's got no choice to learn through trial by fire.

He refuses to respond. Speaking would expose his gills. He can hide somewhere and wait Alejandro out if Alejandro thinks he needs to go to the surface for air.

Alejandro is still demanding an answer. How does Noah know magic? That would explain the new scent, but not where Noah got it from. Alejandro has scoured these waters thoroughly. He's the only sea creature here.

So how? And why? They've been having such a good time together. Alejandro didn't even know he could enjoy spending time with a human. Yet he waited with bated breath for Noah's visits. He had been looking for every excuse to keep Noah alive when he fully recovered from his journey here.

Then, when Noah suggested these hunts-

"What?" Noah asked. Holding his cards to his chest be damned. He could NOT let Alejandro try to make Noah out to be the bad guy.

"When you suggested the hunts." Alejandro repeated. He seemed too agitated to even notice that Noah shouldn't be able to speak underwater.

"I didn't suggest them! I never asked for this! You made it clear it was help you or die!"

"I never said you had to help me. I only said you had to give me a reason to let you live."

And no. No, that's not how that worked. That can't have been how that worked. Noah can remember the threat on his life.

"You made the offer to help me hunt all on your own. You could've offered only to spread my legacy and I would've accepted it. You chose to be just as vicious as me. And I was so delighted that you chose me over your own kind."

That's not how that happened. Because if it was, then Noah could have avoided all of this. If it was, then Noah might have been able to reason with Alejandro from the beginning. Noah wouldn't have any blood on his hands. He would still be a good person. Instead of whatever he is now.

It takes more effort than he dares to admit to keep his voice flat. "If it was a choice this whole time, then why didn't you tell me?"

Alejandro paused for a moment. He looked like he wanted to search for Noah's expression. There was none to give with the camouflage. "I thought you'd be happier this way."

How dare Alejandro? How dare Alejandro?

He can't stack the cards against Noah and then blame Noah for not playing the game right. He can't say Noah could have communicated better when he was the one who made Noah feel as if he couldn't say anything at all.

Months of pent up aggravation are bubbling to the surface. He wants Alejandro to hurt. He wants Alejandro to bleed. It's the only way this monster will understand the extent of what he's done to Noah.

Noah feels the transformation happen, and he welcomes it. He's revealed as legs become tentacles. The blue rings on his tentacles glow bright and fierce. He can feel Alejandro struggle to re-adjust his grip. Alejandro is transfixed by the glowing rings. Good.

He uses his tentacles to push at Alejandro's hand to give him room to escape the grip. It's working somewhat. It gives him enough room to sink fangs deep into Alejandro's finger. This was for every time the damnable thing had ruffled his hair. Every time he was given a playful pet or a light jab. Every agonizing moment of patronizing.

He can taste when he pierces through the skin. He keeps going. As hard as he can. Noah's saliva is pouring into the open wound. It's small, but it's something.

Alejandro shouts in pain but doesn't let go. Noah can see the water around Alejandro's tail crackling with frustrated electricity.

Then, Alejandro's grip loosens. Noah bursts out of it. Finally, his sacrifice was good for SOMETHING. He tries to swim away from Alejandro's range.

Alejandro uses the same hand as before to block Noah's escape and bring him back to face the merfolk. Noah is expecting to be squeezed again and tries to get off of Alejandro's palm before it happens.

He does escape. Alejandro's hand closes around where Noah had just been a couple of seconds ago. Alejandro looks...confused. His hand is trembling. He reaches for Noah again, but the hand is slower this time. Much easier to avoid.

"What...what did you do to me?" Alejandro asked.

Noah's rage is marred with confusion. Alejandro's arm slowly falls to the side. Limp.

That's when it clicks for Noah. He'd never looked up the exact species of octopus he was. He'd been far too preoccupied with other matters, and he thought it would never come up. Yet here he was, with glowing blue rings and a bite chockfull of saliva.

Except it was never saliva. It was venom. And now they're both finding out how deadly Noah had made himself.

The fear in Alejandro's eyes is satisfying. Noah's finally managed to turn the tables on him. Even if he never wanted it like this. The plan had never been to kill Alejandro. Just to contain him. Alejandro would have killed him if he thought he had to. So whatever's about to happen is just going to happen.

So long as he keeps telling himself this, he can ignore the sinking feeling in his gut.

He can't ignore the gray mass of flesh barreling towards him.

Of course.

Noah should have realized it was always going to end like this. He's not going to be fast enough to outswim that tail. He's been martyring himself this whole time. Might as well go all the way. At least the few people he cares about will be safe from his stupid, horrible mistake.

His last thought is wondering if there ever was a way this could have ended differently.

The tail hits him. Electricity courses through his body.

He screams, and it goes dark.

(For all of you curious, Noah's a blue-ringed octopus! I would have shared a picture earlier, but I didn't want to spoil the surprise in case you knew about it already. Here is a lovely little picture of an incredibly deadly octopus the size of a golfball that can kill a human in minutes!

[gemini-sensei]

I didn’t know you liked Tory x Yasmine 👀👀👀👀 Do you have any siren!Torsmine ideas for Mermay??? I know it’s almost over, but I didn’t know there were other shippers out there!!! 🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️

Omg I didn't know either 😁 hi there lol.

Siren!Torsmine Headcanons | Mermay 2024

CW: mentions of physical fighting, protective Tory, illusions of blood and murder - basically mermaid survival things, SFW (unedited).

Sirens stick together so it's no surprise Tory and Yasmine swim in the same circle. It makes them super close since most other merfolk are wary of not just them, but sirens in general.

In a way, they are a perfect match; Yasmine is very mean but uses her words while Tory is unafraid to get physical. Tory is everything other merfolk are scared of when it comes to sirens, whether rumors are true or not. So, while Yasmine will lure and tease others with her voice, she won't do any nonverbal damage. The same cannot be said for Tory.

Tory is fiercely protective. If a boat enters her territory, she is on high guard and will likely sink the boat if it doesn't leave in a timely manner. While she's not above using her siren song to lure fishermen and sailors to their deaths, she likes a more hands-on approach...

Appearance-wise, Tory is very much a siren and doesn't hide it. Her claws are out 24/7 and her eyes glow all the time because she is on high alert all the time. She can't help it but she also doesn't care. She wants those who see her coming to know she means business no matter what time of day it is. She has a bright orange tail that matches her glowing eyes; her fins are a darker shade of orange to contrast the rest of her tail.

As for Yasmine, she hides her siren traits until she has to use them. This is a tactic for sirens to be able to lure their prey, so it's natural. She has a shimmery yellow tail, bright and warm like sunshine. She wears a lot of waist chains to decorate her body and tail and necklaces. She loves accessories.

Despite thinking accessories are useless, Tory will always give Yasmine something to wear. Whether that are hairpins, body chains, other jewelry, or new bras - it doesn't matter. She likes seeing Yasmine wear something she gave her.

These two are together all the time, doing things they aren't supposed to be doing. Tory gives zero fucks toward authority and Yasmine is entitled enough not to care. They swim wherever they like and laugh at other merfolk for no good reason.

When they are alone together, they're softer toward each other, though neither of them will admit it. However, to each other, it never has to be said. They care for each other and that softness doesn't matter.

That being said, both of them need words of affirmation when it comes to feeling loves. Yasmine wears so much jewelry because she's insecure about her appearance and is trying to work through those issues, not that she'd let them show, and Tory knows that even for a siren she is very aggressive and believed for so long that no one would like her because of it. They assure each other constantly that over their insecurities, usually with a lot of kissing and I love you's.

If any other merfolk have something to say to them about their relationship, Tory always wants to charge forward and rip their throat out. Yasmine holds her back and verbally breaks them down because she knows when the situation calls for a less bloody approach. That doesn't mean the beatdown isn't a complete murder because she leaves nothing to be desired from her response to simple-minded merfolk who are just jealous that they can't be as great as two totally hot sirens. She almost feels sad for them. Almost.

Yasmine also likes giving gifts but it won't happen as often since she knows Tory doesn't like receiving gifts. However, whenever Yasmine finds something she thinks Tory will like, she grabs it up. These are usually weapons. Spears, knives, rings with sharp edges weathered by the currents. If it can be fashioned into a weapon, she will do it (or get help doing it) and gift it to Tory. These are Tory's favorite kind of gifts.

Overall, these two sirens are not to be messed with but are the perfect match for each other. Other merfolk and even some sirens might not get it, but who cares? They don't, that's for sure.

[theoceanoasis]

Are you still accepting Mermay prompts? Because the idea of selkie!Roddy being rescued by mer!Soundwave after Hot Rod loses his pelt and is forced to be with another person.

"Humans."

He growled looking up at the boat that dared to enter his territory. Swiftly swimming to the surface he stuck his head above the water to see what he was dealing with. It was a small boat with three men talking and a fourth steering.

He was about to dive back underwater and sink their boat when he noticed one of the men hold up a selkie skin. Immediately he tensed familiar with the stories which proved to be correct when the human bragged to his friends.

I found this selkie washed up to shore and he is beautiful. Of course the little bitch won't come with me willing. Stuck up brat doesn't think I'd make a good mate, which is why I took his coat. Now he has no choice but to be with me.

Enraged he wanted to make the humans suffer for their crimes. He knew how important a selkie skin was. They couldn't return to the ocean without it and we're trapped on land. Usually forced to be with their captor, who did all sorts of despicable things to them.

"With this coat I can make the selkie do whatever I want. Right now he's cleaning my house for me and when I get home I'll have a nice warm and tight hole to fuck."

"I hear you should put sparklings in them as soon as possible. That way they won't leave even if they get their coat back."

"I've been trying but he'd a stubborn little bitch who keeps resisting."

His friends laughed and the man grinned.

"You'll get him soon enough."

"I know I just have to teach him... A lesson about obedience."

"Can't have him running away."

He felt sickened and angry. How dare the humans hold a selkie hostage. He was going to make them suffer, but first he needed to find the selkie.

He followed after the ship as it led him to land. The entire time he fantasized all the ways he was going to kill the humans.

He watched as the humans docked and found his eyes drawn to a small human with pretty red hair and freckles all over his pale skin. Mesmerized it took him a moment to realize this was the selkie he'd been looking for.

Moving closer he could see that despite the selkies beauty. He did not look well, which was not surprising. A selkies coat does more than just help them transform. Something humans never realize. Without his coat the selkie will die.

He watched as he shivered. Wrapping his arms around himself. He looked exhausted and sickly as he swayed with the wind. He was worried he'd collapse.

At first the selkie looked unbearably sad as he stared at the sea in longing. Now however as the human approached he looked terrified. His eyes were wide and he was shaking slightly. Which made the humans laugh in amusement.

The silkie flinched as the humans came closer. The one holding his coat grabbed him and dragged him back home. While his friends jeers followed behind him.

The next day when the humans went sailing. He made sure they never returned. After killing them he grabbed the coat and swam back to land. He then transformed into a human and went to find the selkie which wasn't hard.

Following his scent he was led to a cliff where the selkie stood staring at the sea in longing.

"I believe I have something of yours."

The selkie spun around so quickly he almost fell over. Holding out his coat he watched his eyes widen and then he lundged for it. Desperately wrapping himself around it. The selkie looked back at him tilting his head in curiosity.

"You're not a human."

"No I'm not."

"Are the humans?..."

"Gone."

The selkie sighed in relief and he was surprised when he hugged him.

"Thank you."

"Those humans were monsters."

"I know."

The selkie looked down in sadness and he pointed at the ocean.

"Do you want to go for a swim?"

The selkie nodded eagerly and then paused looking embarrassed.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you my name. It's Hot Rod."

"Nice to meet you mine is Soundwave."

The two of them ran towards the ocean and transformed. Hot Rod laughed in excitement as he swam around and he followed after him feeling a weird feeling he'd never felt before, as he watched the selkie enjoy his freedom.

(Sorry I thought I'd posted this days ago.)

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

Run deep

@susstardust thank you for your prompt, I loved writing it!

Can't believe mermay is almost over and it's only now that I'm writing something for it!

Prompt: Wei Ying saves Lan Zhan from drowning. Could be merxian or human.

Lan Wangji is a decent swimmer - he knows how to keep himself afloat and move around, but he very much prefers not to have to do it. He hates not being able to feel solid ground underneath his feet, which means that, if he has to be in water, he's prefers to be near the shore, waist-deep at most.

However, water-dwelling ghosts don't care much for that, and Lan Zhan is a cultivator, which means he has to exterminate them no matter how terrified he is of deep water. Sure, there are plenty of people on this night hunt with him, including his brother and Wei Ying (as well as other people Lan Wangji doesn't care about) - but it's becoming more and more apparent that these water ghosts are actually a symptom of a waterborne abyss.

Which is not only very bad news in general, but it also means that great caution must be exercised or one might be sucked into the vortex and killed. Not that Lan Zhan has a preferred way to die, but if he was to make a list, drowning would be the very last option.

The moment he feels himself lose balance off Bichen, realization and adrenaline fill his body in equal parts. He's going to fall in, and he's going to die.

When he makes contact with the water, resentful tendrils entangling into his limbs, he wants to scream and he does but water fills his mouth and airways when he does - and that serves to only further his panic. He futilely tries to break free, struggles not to breathe because he knows his lungs will fill up and that will only kill him faster - but he's dead already, isn't he?! Nobody is going to jump in and save him because he can't be saved now, the victims of the waterborne abyss are lost causes.

He really doesn't want to die, not like this, not yet. He's so young, he hasn't lived his life at all, why does he have to die now, by his worst fear no less?

He tries writhing out of the tendrils but he fails despite putting all of his strength into it. His body hurts and his lungs and eyes burn. The abyss only pulls him in deeper, and it feels like the world around is losing color and light, fuzzy at the edges.

Lan Zhan feels like giving up.

There is a flash of red that lights up the darkening image of Lan Zhan's vision. A hallucination, maybe. He's dying after all.

But the red flash appears again, over and over, ripping through the tendrils like lightning cutting through the sky. Lan Zhan realizes that he's slowly floating up, tendrils broken apart and letting him return to the surface.

But he's tired and he's inhaled a lot of water already.

He feels like giving up again.

Then he's hoisted up, fast, to the surface, and when his lungs fill with air, he feels like he's been born again.

He coughs, violently, and the person holding him inclines their body so it's easier for him to breathe.

It's not a person, Lan Zhan realizes as he feels the rough texture of scales against his wet robes.

"I need you to not freak out or scream, okay?" Wei Ying's voice comes and even Lan Zhan's nearly drowned out mind can connect the dots and realize Wei Ying is... not as human as he appears to be. "I barely managed to get you out of there without anyone seeing me, so let's try to keep it that way."

Lan Zhan decides he's too exhausted and traumatized to resist. After all, he does trust Wei Ying, after all he saved his life just now. The fact that he's half fish is... well, it's a big, mythical deal, but not right now. They're in the middle of this massive haunted lake and Lan Zhan does not want to think of having to swim.

Wei Ying pulls him on his back and Lan Zhan is distracted with the way he swims, his tail shining into the water, vibrant red. He wonders what it feels like, how he can move using it.

How he kept the secret for so long and why he risked having it found out just now.

They finally make it to a hidden part of the lake shore, large trees and overgrowth obscuring the little patch of sand they stopped on. Wei Ying lays against the shore on his belly, catching his breath as the water laps up at his tail and the little fins on his forearms. Lan Zhan notices his red claws, and the patches of fish scales on his shoulder blades.

"I know you have a lot of questions to ask me, but I'll tell you everything when we get back to the Cloud Recesses, okay? You just have to promise to keep the secret."

"I will."

Wei Ying smiles, tired but grateful. "Let's stay here for a little longer, that waterborne abyss took a lot out of me!" He runs a hand through his hair. "Sing me something nice while I rest?"

[feral-jackdaw]

In the Waves I Belong

day 7 of #steddieweek2023 - free space (I went with a mermaid au since it's also Mermay)

‼️tw near drowning

Steve and Robin go to the seaside together. They spend the days at the beach, and at night, they usually visit the local bars.

One day, they decide to go to a more remote beach. They want to have a little break from being among people and just chill.

They end up being the only people here. The weather is just perfect; it's sunny, but not too hot thanks to the cool breeze.

Steve decides to go for a swim while Robin lies in the sun. Everything is perfect... until Steve feels a migraine kicking in. The world starts to spin like crazy around him, everything melts into a blur. He knows he should get out of the water, but he's quite far away from the shore and it's not that easy. He can barely see anything, he doesn't know which direction to go.

“Steve?” he hears Robin call. “Are you okay?”

Before he can respond, a wave washes over him. He starts coughing as water fills his mouth and nose.

“Hold on, I'm coming,” Robin calls again.

No, Steve wants to yell, you can't swim. But he's unable to say anything, struggling to stay afloat. He's fully panicking now. He's going to die. They're both going to die.

Next thing he knows, a pair of arms wraps firmly around him. It feels almost like a hallucination. He can't even open his eyes to see what's happening; his body just won't listen to him. Soon, he can't feel anything at all.

...

“Steve?”

Slowly, Steve starts to feel his body again. But it still seems too heavy for him to control. He tries to take a breath, which causes a violent cough to shake his body.

“Steve!” someone calls again, grabbing Steve's shoulders and forcing him to sit up. “You're not gonna believe this!”

“What?” Steve mumbles. He finally manages to open his eyes and sees Robin looking at him, visibly shaken.

“Mermaids,” she blurts. “I swear I saw two mermaids, they... They saved us both,” she reports.

“Someone's been sitting in the sun for too long, huh?” Steve mocks. But when he looks around, there is no one else except for them. Which meant that unless Robin had suddenly gained expert swimming abilities, managed to rescue Steve and was now trying to prank him, there was no other explanation for what happened.

“Shut up, dingus,” Robin mutters. “You're soon gonna be sitting in the sun as well because there's no way I'm letting you go swimming ever again,” she rebukes.

....

Steve can't stop thinking about what happened, and neither does Robin. She hadn't really managed to take a proper look at the mysterious creatures; all she was able to tell was that there were two of them, most likely a boy and girl; the boy had long dark hair, and the girl was a blonde.

When they go to a bar in the evening, they decide to ask the locals about mermaids.

“Oh, there sure are some around here,” the barman tells them while preparing Robin's pina colada. “But they're quite shy, you need to be lucky to see one.”

Steve and Robin exchange looks. Nothing needs to be said, they're both thinking the same thing: they trurly had incredible luck earlier today.

Then, Steve sees two people walk in. His eyes instantly focus on the boy, more or less his age, with big brown eyes and dark curls tied into a messy bun. His companion is a blonde girl with a ponytail and bright blue eyeshadow on her eyelids.

“Oh my-” Robin gasps, looking at the pair. “Steve, it's them,” she whispers.

“What?” Steve asks, confused.

“The mermaids,” Robin explains.

Steve stares at the newcomers in disbelief. Is it possible for a mermaid to suddenly grow legs? And then, the boy notices him staring.

“Hey,” he greets with a warm smile. “Wanna dance?”

“Uhh... sure,” Steve stutters.

The stranger offers Steve his hand and leads him to the dance floor. From the corner of his eye, Steve can see that his companion took a seat next to Robin and they seem quite engaged in a conversation.

The boy grabs Steve's waist and they begin swaying to the music. Steve can't help but stare at him in awe. He could spend the rest of his life looking in those big brown eyes.

“Hey, sweet boy,” the man murmurs, pulling Steve closer. “I'm glad you're okay, you gave me quite a scare today.”

[eiseryn]

2023 Art Summary

I can't believe 2023 is almost over and it's been a whole year! These past few months have passed by in a blur and so I feel like I'm barely holding on 😭 I had a lot of time to draw in the beginning of last year but considerably less time now...

But overall, I'm really proud of my progress as an artist this year! I had more time to draw than usual so I honed some skills and worked on some things this year! You can tell from the first Lei and the last Lei I drew XD I learned how to use filters XD to blend the character into the background!

You can also see that I started the year with Nova (Feb-Apr) and then it became Lei in my fave pieces after LMAOOO. Seriously, the last 4 months just being Vail and Lei alternates is so funny to me XD. This year was truly the year of Lei. I suspect 2024 will also be the year of Lei with vis novel development XD

Going through the months:

January: First illustration of Lei back when the campaign first started. She was supposed to be a cold b*tch but uh... that did not happen. She turned out to be a soft and sweet girl, which also reflects in my later art of her. I still want to revisit girlboss Lei though cuz the shots she took in the campaign were like 😳😳😳

February: Pink Valentines Nova~ Nova is a blue girl but soft pink Nova hits differently. I think this art was cute and I love all the heart elements I put in! (Like in her eyes~)

March: Bubble tea Nova! This was my business card for the first art market I sold stickers at! <-- artist feat of the year? Otherwise didn't draw much art this month XD I was stressed out about my first art market. SOMEONE AT THE MARKET SAW THIS ART, ASKED IF IT WAS MY VTUBER MODEL, AND THEN TOLD ME I SHOULD BECOME A VTUBER. The best compliment I got about this art XD I will remember it forever.

April: Idol Nova… technically I drew it in May but shhh the sketch was done in April. I did this because I did some bday karaoke and this was the piece I got inspired to make after having so much fun there! Here is where I started learning how to use filters to help blend the character into the background!

May: Mermaid Merrow for Mermay! This is the only Mermay piece I did but it remains one of my top art pieces this year… just all the colours are so gorgeous in this one + the BG I'm proud of! I did not post it on tumblr cuz I started posting on tumblr in Aug... LOL. But anyways it's gorgeous and took me like 2-3 days.

June: Bad art month… it was between this and the Leticia sketch I made. I ended up with this one even though I don't like it as much as the sketch because it was at least a fully rendered piece with a background and everything... I don't like the face in it, but I worked hard on the hands! (One of my weaknesses) so there's that! Sometimes it's the little things you're proud of.

July: I really like this outfit I drew for Lei! It's the one I use for refs for her now XD I'm also particularly proud of this one cuz it's a fullbody and it's hard to draw fullbody pieces... But also I just think her outfit looks really good here! And I love how dead and tired her eyes look XD which is her mood by the time she got this outfit during the campaign.

August: It was really hard to pick for August because I had two really good pieces... (actually 3 it turns out) but I picked this one in the end because I think the artist composition was just really good. There are parts I don't like about it anymore, but the lighting was good! And I'm proud I drew all her friends in this too XD the pieces of her heart -- as this art piece is called.

September: Made a GIF of disappearing Vail! Not my first GIF I've made but I like how it turned out + I'm especially proud of the background XD It's not great but I put some effort into it. I could have worked on his pose a little more... but I don't have many good Sept pieces 😭

October: Spent too much effort on a meme. But really proud of the hand and lighting. Especially drawing the cyberpunk lighting cuz that's hard... Also yeah I think I spent close to an hour sketching the hand/ making the hand look decent XD So of course this piece is the one I choose. I also worked on making the BG look decent... and Vail's backview was hard... man... I spent a long time on this piece XD

November: Yandere Vail 😳😳😳 One of the hottest Vail pieces I've drawn and it's for a mafia AU Vail LMAO. I used a reference for this XD which is why the pose looks good.

December: Most recent piece! Had to finish the year with Lei cuz we started with Lei~ This one is a modern AU Lei so it can't quite compare to Lei's canon cyberpunk universe but still~ You can definitely see improvement in my art! Or so I'd like to think. I used a reference for the pose (kind of) and also used a picture for the BG. I'm going to do that a lot next year LMAO just take pics and use them as BGs XD Work smart not hard, right?

Runner-Ups

They're all from Aug + Dec LOL… my most productive art months this year XD

Aug 2: Flash piece! I didn't post this on tumblr either... but it is my former best boy from the campaign (Former b/c Vail took his place LMAO he's too sketchy now). I used a reference for his pose so it turned out pretty good in my opinion? I also like the lighting I did for him! I forgot his earrings though... and his necklace... oops... I'll fix that for the vis novel (cope) -- I do want this to be a CG you get from the vis novel XD cuz I think it looks good XD

Aug 14: Pink Neon Nights - First Vail x Lei piece 🥺😳🥺😳 I gotta admit the hand looks hella funky for Lei BUTTTT I am in love with Vail's smile here 🥺🥺🥺 His fangs and I like how I designed his hoodie~ Plus I like the pink neon lighting from the bar they're at~

Dec 21: Nova's birthday piece~ I hadn't drawn a full illustration for her since August so this piece turned out super good. For some reason her hair became more and more grey as the years passed in the way I drew her XD She's supposed to have white hair with grey tips (oxidation???) But UHMMM I think it's hard to do highlights on white hair so I've been making her hair more and more grey as time passes XD but her hair is white, guys.

Dec 22: Lei's Happy Holidays Card - TBH I don't like how her face turned out here, BUT I like her pose and the way I did her clothing folds XD and I put effort into the BG so there's lots of other elements on this piece I like~

And of course, my most popular piece this year was worm on a string Nova.

A classic TBH. She is still so sad and gorgeous in this piece XD I made it into a sticker to put on my laptop! :)

To more years of art and art improvement! ✨ To a 2024 filled with more self-indulgent OC art ✨ Happy New Year!

[hauntingmiser]

MERMAY DAY XXXI

( holy hell I am late I am so sorry I slept and also I forgot about it I'm sorry )

tw : impaling and ( gore? Idk really 👀 )

After our heroes defeated izanami it was time for the killing strike until teddie just swam with a spear in his hand and impaled the fellow goddess of death

*cough* *cough* "well played......" izanami said as she bleds out "you did succeed in finishing your goal..." she fades in and out of obscurity "and now....my time is up....." as izanami fades out and the fog evaporating with her she says her last faithful words

"well played teddie....well played...hehe...."

and she disappears for one last time and after the investigation team finds out about the whole temple going to fall they got out of there quickly

when they got out of the TV world the whole team went outside and it was beautiful the sea was glittering with fresh water, the crystals have evaporated and the bones of many are gone except for the ones buried in the beige-like sand

All of the crystals and fog were gone

"yaaay we did it!" said chie joyfully while hugging yukiko

"high-five naoto" kanji breathing heavily after he carried naoto to the entrance of the dungeon when they were escaping and naoto proceeds to high-five him then she got off him and started dancing

rise however is still mad she didn't even beat izanami up but she still happy regardless then proceeds to dance with naoto

"I'm glad to be a navigator for all of you but y'all are still dumb to me"

"yeah tell me about it!" yukiko said after getting hugged by chie

"says the one that wants to talk trash and chew bubble gum" chie replied after she hugged yukiko and is now pointing at rise

"now listen here you-....know what you kinda right tho...." rise said aggressively then realizing it's kind of true

"hey one of you try and catch me!" Naoto said as she bolted while rise following her "YOU GET BACK HERE!!!!" rise yelled "eat my shorts dolphin idiot" naoto replied

"NAOTO YOU DON'T HAVE ANY SHORTS YOU ONLY HAVE PONCHOS!" Kanji yelled out after followed both naoto and rise after they went far away from the team

Yu after looking at this, he looks at his hands and then looks at yosuke "hey partner..." yosuke politely said "yeah what is it yosuke?" yu replied "I can't believe we've done it, the whole sea is saved thanks to us and the whole gang" yosuke replied with tears in his eyes and him trying to wipe them *sniff* "now saki can rest now knowing this nightmare is over"

"mhmm...she can finally rest now knowing her brother be alright without her" yu said until rise throws a soft can at him and then he stares at her and proceeds to throw an apple at her therefore almost proceeding to run until yosuke stopped him and said "instead of chasing her...why don't we get some popsicles from the surface the money's on me"

"yosuke....I thought you would never ask....of course I would like some!" Yu said

"haha yeah!" yosuke replied and yu and yosuke proceeds to swim to get popsicles from the surface

And as the sky reflects the two sides of the ocean the saltwater and freshwater sea the waves were calm and steady, the sand was hot and the clouds were peaceful

It was now just another day at freshwater inaba.

★{[ Ｔ Ｈ Ｅ ♥︎ Ｅ Ｎ Ｄ ]}★

Fun fact : thank you for making it this far!

I am so glad I did this challenge even though I kind of burnt out of motivation to do so but I finally did it

Thank you all for supporting me in this challenge alone I couldn't thank you enough for y'all to get you all but I have ever got motivation by making this complicated lore and making it really amazing for all of you to see

I appreciate all of you and happy pride y'all

[number1spongebobfan]

I can't believe Mermay is almost over! So here is Hiro, master of the railway, as a merman.

He has an orca tail :)

(Hiro's tattoo translates to "peace" in Japanese)

[grettysart]

The Mermaid and the... Human? You Won’t Believe This Unlikely Animal Friendship

Every May (or "Mermay"), Edgard takes his beloved friend Wave for a drive along the highway so she can enjoy the scenery she can't normally see from the sea. You may be surprised by this incredible friendship, given the self-preservation nature of mermaids. They almost never show themselves to humans. And you might be even more surprised to learn that this friendship has lasted for over 40 years!

Edgard, a former surfing champion (a sport through which he met Wave), is now a high school teacher specializing in the education of children with learning disabilities. We caught up with him to find out more about this unusual friendship.

-Why are you still doing this after so many years?

-I won't deny that it's not easy, especially since I had to move to a landlocked state for my job and now have to drive long distances to see Wave. But just seeing her smile makes it all worthwhile. I am honored to have such a majestic and magical creature come to shore every May so that I can take her for a ride around town.

To learn more about this beautiful story, click on this link (friends, there's no link; I just made this little text up for the post. Thanks for reading. Have a great day).

[reidak-artcreature]

2023 recap!

Can't belive the year is over! Time to look back cause I sure don't remember half the stuff I've done

January

Birb got 10 notes and I couldn't believe how much people loved him.

I tried a crochet kit and was defeated. In my defense I have to say it was right after an exam and it was really cold.

I got a watercolor set and rediscovered my love for watercolor

February

Discovered Funguary, and made 4 charactes. It's a really fun challenge that I'm surely going to participate again.

I made quite a few watercolor pieces, I still like them all a lot

March

Don't know how, but I finished the 100 head challenge. There are some awful monstruosities, but I learned a lot. I'll probably do it again in the future, it's a pretty nice exercise.

I finally made a sona! And this one has stuck! I love my lil shadow creature.

April

Made what is probably the watercolor piece I love the most. And one the pieces I like the most overall.

I got FlipaClip and had a lot fun making some little animations. Someone even used one of the lil gifs! That made me pretty happy

I personalized a little notebook to carry around, and it was the best desition of my life. I love that thing. And it's amazing that I don't have to search for the pen, it's all together!

May

The coin pouch is also one of the best things I've made. The strings are a bit long and the embroidery is a bit loose, I'll fix those on the next one I make (looking at you, squid pouch)

The anual redraw of Coral and Sebastian couldn't be missing. The poor Sebastian finally got his (I hope) final design. I was in love with how it looks, but looking it now... What hapened to their faces?

Decided to redraw some old drawings I had on Ibis. The progress I've made since I drew the originals.

Mermay, of course! Somehow they turned into oficial ocs. I love the stupid trio.

June

Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!! It's almost July and I haven't updated my ArtFight references! "Chibi" versions it is. At least now a lot of them have colored full body references.

Painted a box! It's now buried under too many trinkets I have to clean up, but I still love how pretty it looks!

Started a new sketchbook and painted the cover. I love the mushroom lantern.

Made this year's Artfight gif, banner and artfighters. The silly gif brings me a smile every time I see it.

July

ArtFight! 42 attacks and 21 defenses. I have no idea how I managed to make so many. I did get burned out on the second half of the month tho. I absolutely love every single art I received, but this one with Coral and Sebastian has a special place.

What do you do when you are burned out? You make a new style, of course! I love the simple style that came out of that. Feels weird to see that is fairly recent, I feel like I've been using it for ages. It has evolved a bit since, those thin lines in the eyes look weird now.

August

Nuclear Waste was born. And people went crazy. The silly boy loves and appreciates all the affection you've showered him!

Smaugust is a thing? Dragons! I still need so much prectice with them and animals in general.

I made a comic! I love it, it's so silly. I had a great time with it.

September

Pirate shirt! It fits a bit weird, but I think I can fix it. It took soooo long to hand sew it

I got a drawing tablet! Took me a couple of weeks to get used to, but it was worth it. I love using it.

To practice I made every single prompt of CuteGirltober. The only reason I was able to finish is that most of them were left as sketches. Should have learned from ArtFight, I can't draw every day, that's too much.

November

I made a font! It works really well, and it's so fun to type something and see it look like you handwrote it.

Got to write a bit too. I need to do that more.

I also worked on some proyects I've been wanting to do but haven't touched in a long while.

Including bookbinding a little notebook! I filled it with headshots of my ocs.

December

ArticFight prompts and a secret santa were mostly the reasons I drew. I love this one with Alex and Layla.

I also made some free adoptables. There might be some left when this is posted.

And we are done with the year!

That was so much! Thank you everyone, hope you had a good year and an even better 2024!

[pizzapie30]

MerMay piece 6/7 - #comicbook and #doubleponytail

Androm and Daffy are fast friends, it seems. Yes, those are comics next to a bathtub because why not? Maybe they've been waterproofed.

I've missed using perspective, it really adds depth to a space.

I can't believe this series is almost over.

[angelfoodcake222]

In honor of my newfound love for Mermay, have a silly little piece I whipped up for the TFA mermen/mermechs (???) & on oc of mine.

Details: Megaladon Megatron (Megalatron) [TFA], feeding time, fem!oc, 'do no harm, take no crap' type lady, prosthetic limb, depictions of gore/severed animal limbs & pieces, bodily harm to protagonist, mermech x human (sort of). Research done with Google.

The mighty Megalodon, whose name translates to "big tooth", was once thought to be an extinct species of mackerel shark that lived 23 to 3.6 million years ago, from the Early Miocene to the Pliocene epochs. It was formerly believed to be a member of the family Lamnidae & a close relative of the infamous great white shark. I am living proof that the whole extinction thing is a load of rotten chum with the missing left arm to prove it.

Oh, don't worry! I have a new one, it's multi-functional, waterproof, & ultra-durable; made out of reinforced, repurposed Galvanized Steel a generous Lab member in the construction field of this enormous enigma of a foundation we (the other thousands of workers & myself) were all brought to as a sort of league of expandable brought in from too many places to name. It's almost like having my old arm back.

Almost. I'm fairly sure I gave the clerk a fright when I said, not asked, said I'd be back to working with that Mackrel whether anyone or thing wanted me to or not. -

I hauled a large bovine leg from the bin & attached a titanium cable thicker than my wrist before lobbing it far into the considerably sized tank; manually reeling the still bleeding limb from where it landed to my perch that had been reinforced upon my little incident. Cute. I felt a soft tug on the other end, signaling that he had taken the bait, before yanking it out of the soft grip to speed back to me.

Daunting blobs of near featureless reds glared in vexation at first, quickly shifting to confusion, then to a sort of malicious smug shape as their owner crept up from his artificial tarn's depths with a low sound of amusement.

"Ah~, my snack has returned. What a surprise." Whetted tongue sliding over many honed fangs, his smug vocals didn't retreat or falter from bouncing off of the walls as I yoinked the B/W piece of beef from his stalking claws to untie it, taking a moment to speak smugly myself.

"Is it though? The surprise? I had to have been assigned to you for one reason or another & you know it. Just like every other worker down here & upstairs. Did you think they'd hire some little girl to look over your wellbeing, Mega Mackeral?" He hates that name; it mocks his species & his real name, Megatron. I know that. I didn't care about his feelings right now.

'Upstairs' is a public, civil aquarium where the far smaller, far safer merfolk are in view of visitors. This, like every other place in the town-sized compound, is also where those who are paired with the appropriate aquatic partner(s) via three tests; intelligence, endurance, & psychology. As you can guess, the score & answers determine who the person(s) would be paired with & who they'd be kept away from. Simply put, it's an Aquarium Staff Aptitude Test.

A lot of people were so sure they'd work with the stars of the show & not the darkness they gleam against. I was not one of them. I didn't hope to be above or below, just needed a job to keep myself busy & somehow ended up getting this guy. I guess my newfound persistence & patience drew a new line for him to cross.

"You are unlike any handler I've ever had in all my time within this wretched penitentiary, yet I've never learned your name." By now he was close enough to the catwalk for me to make out his many well-earned scars & the dots that are colored just a shade or two darker than his main shapes that made up his 'pupils'. That's right, I've never told him my name.

That explains the nicknames he's been calling me. 'Sardine', 'Fry', 'Guppie', 'Pup', 'Chum', all those & more that I can't remember the rest right now. Honestly, I thought he was flirting with me until he literally took a bite out of me.

The meat slips into the water & into his awaiting maw as I activate the claw clamp function to haul a thicker piece of cattle into my titanium clasp with a huffy chuckle. Imagine that; one of the biggest, badest predators currently known to the marine field flirting with his equivalent of an horderve on legs. Preposterous. I won't be so foolish this time, no matter how smooth his voice is on the surface; there are many undertows to be wary of.

"The names Aveta Ceres Eleftheria, but everyone calls me ACE." I toss the next piece in just as he caught it between his claws with an intrigued drone, examining it while speaking with an eloquence nobody I know of aside from myself or that Magnus guy upstairs.

"Goddess of fertility, freshwater, & childbirth. Goddess of the harvest & spring. Goddess of freedom & liberty. All very befitting, Miss Eleftheria." His words are decadent & alluring with the undertow's pulls worsening with each passing syllable. How many mates could he have reeled in before coming with only his voice as bait!? No matter.

"That means a lot coming from someone whose name translates to 'Great Machine'. Greek prefixes & suffixes must be a hobby of yours, huh?" His chuckle reverberates through the tank, the metal of the wrap-around catwalk, & my ribs, earning a suppressed sound of amusement from myself.

Time crept by as he munched on his assortment of meats & I filled out some paperwork regarding his meal, types of meat given & when they were given to him, his estimated weight, & so on. A questionnaire of health questions evolved into inquiries about my life with the new limb & how I'm adapting to it, how others reacted to it so far, eventually moving into philosophical pondering. Everything from the vastness of the universe to minuscule subjects like favorite foods or people.

It seemed like he was baiting a trap with honey & he thought of me as a mindless fly buzzing up to collect it. How amusing. Before he could spring his possible surprise, I stand & collect everything I needed before boarding the lift to return to the floor where I roll the cart out the door with my prosthetic limb's steady grip keeping it from slipping away or hitting the back of my company approved shoes.

Giving the clipboard of questions a light adjustment under my innate, stitched up, inked limb, I turn & wave with my metal appendage, flashing a smile almost as bright as the light bouncing off of my limb to highlight his eyes as if his last name were 'Gomez'. The walk filled with chores was pleasantly easy & laced with satisfaction from seeing that look on Mega Mackerel's face. Not a bewildered or stunned look; intrigued. I wonder how long I can go without replacing another part of me~.

Thank you guys for reading my first Mermay piece! I hope you enjoyed it!