#Siren's song

[dragonkid11]

Sirens Song, A Mountain's Remorse, by Trey Joiner, or NHP Shaka, is a Lancer first-party supplement set on the world of Kibo, one of the numerous worlds identified by SSC to be selectively inhospitable to humanity, and nurture gene lines that can survive on these world for future colonization efforts.

Responsible for managing these programs are NHP, children of RA and backbone of Union, serving humanity as it expands across the great expanses of Orion Arms, yet while Union recognizes their personhood, a question remains, does it truly put that belief into practise?

CHAGA, the NHP managing the project in Kibo has gone missing, a MSMC team sent to retrieve CHAGA has gone missing too.

Find out what happens, and show the world why you are called Lancer.

[treklesslyabandoned]

The siren watches as her victim finally succumbs,...

[celestiall0tus]

Siren's Song

It's time. Siren's Song has finished its changes and it's time to reveal the revised story for y'all. Let's crack into it:

"Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the future." - Charles F. Kettering

Synopsis:

The world is drawn between the old and new, the need to evolve and progress that clashes with the desperate desire to cling to the past. This worldview and mindset are challenged when a villain by the name of Grandeur seeks to usher in a new age, creating a clear canvas for the new world by erasing the past.

Characters:

Kagami/Lady Beetle – Daughter of Tomoe Tsurugi/Grandeur. She was brought up in an environment surrounded by the best of the best technology, always pushing for the latest. When Grandeur makes their appearance, Kagami is presented with the ladybug earrings by Tomoe and encouraged to help Grandeur. She immediately sides with Grandeur, believing it to be the best course of action to provide everyone with the kind of life she had enjoyed.

Ivan/Razor – A delinquent teen that comes from a single parent household with his father, who is an absentee drunk. He has developed a massive chip on his shoulder as he engages in illegal and gang activities. When Grandeur arrives, Ivan finds the black cat on some of Grandeur's supporters. He takes the ring and chooses to take his trouble to a new scale.

Ondine/Siren – A prodigy singer and swimmer. When she isn't honing her swimming prowess, she is tutored by Nathalie Sancoeur, a former lounge singer that was famous before the legendary Neith. She is given Duusu by Nathalie to make her debut as Siren when Grandeur comes into the picture. Ondine falls into the neutral side, not wanting to pick a side in the fight.

Mylene/Honey Bee – A wicca teen/green witch. She is always there to defend nature and help those who seek her potions and remedies. She is working to set up a coven to aid people with her 'magic.' She finds Pollen while exploring a new age secondhand shop while looking for ingredients and reagents for her practices. She aims to assist the heroes with Pollen.

Luka/Maestro – A musical theater kid whose soul and heart is music. Luka's entire life has revolved around music as he longs to share his songs with the world, telling stories and invoking emotions with simple instrumental pieces. He discovers Trixx while window shopping for music supplies when he finds Trixx's necklace. When Grandeur announces their takeover, Luka fights to preserve the past works and great artists of history.

Marinette/Iridescent – The beautiful daughter of the greatest baker in Paris, female face for the Agreste brand, but also the lovechild of Gabriel Agreste. Ever the perfect child, always doing as her parents tell her. Sabine confides in Marinette the truth and begs Marinette help her in aiding her and Gabriel in remaking the world so they could be a proper family at long last. She is given Nooroo by Sabine and Gabriel.

Adrien/Scourge – The heir of the Agreste legacy and fortune, son of Gabriel and Emilie Agreste. Despite appearances, Gabriel has long turned his back on Adrien, preferring his lovechild (unknown to Adrien) over Adrien. He would help the heroes to destroy his family’s legacy. Given his miraculous by his mother, Emilie.

Zoe/Wyvern – Lovechild of Audrey Bourgeois and Zack Lee. She was taken from her father at a young age, living with her mother, half-sister, and stepfather. She often sheltered under Chloe’s constant overprotective paranoia after she had vanished once at a nature preserve, where she encountered a dragon (the kwami Longg). Since then, Zoe has been an advocate for nature and often returning when she’s able to see the dragon again. Meets with Longg again and gets the miraculous.

Juleka/Banshee – A wicca attuned to ghosts, spirits, and other ethereal entities. She is an empath (just like her twin brother). She would fight against Grandeur to preserve the natural world and the connection of spirits with the land. Finds Styx's necklace in a graveyard.

Rose/Venus – A star ballerina that loves the classics. Graceful and beautiful like a swan, she is the prize of her academy. She fights against Grandeur to preserve the art of ballet and the classics. She will have had Psyche since a young age after find Psyche's discarded armlet in a secondhand shop.

Chloe/Mariana – A natural born leader and overprotective sister. She leads with a fair and just hand, taking into account everything and everyone as much as possible, but fears for their safety, especially her sister, Zoe, the one light in her life. She fights alongside Grandeur to create a safer world.

Felix/Aetolian – The only child of Amelie and Colt Fathom. He follows in Amelie’s family legacy and aims to be an actor more as personal preference but as a slight to Colt, refusing to follow Colt’s business. He fights against Grandeur to preserve the plays of old. Was given his miraculous by Amelie.

Nino/Director– A DJ and aspiring director. He fights alongside Grandeur to carve out a new world and ideas in the filming industry. Will switch sides later down the line but starts as a villain.

Sabrina/Seeker – A young teen with a bright, inquisitive mind. She is always on the lookout for new knowledge about the past, loving the secrets that are buried deep. When Grandeur announces their takeover, Sabrina leaps at the chance to preserve the past that has yet to be unearthed. She finds Min's bracelet at a curio shop.

Lila/Pettirosso – A Primadona drama queen with a natural talent for starting drama and watching the show unfold. While visiting her mom in Paris, Grandeur announces their takeover. Lila sees it as the perfect opportunity to start trouble, helping neither side in the war.

Alix/Megalodon – A teen with a unique perspective on time. Having found her kwami's miraculous while a young age, she has had a different view on time and history compared to others. When Grandeur emerges, Alix is quick to jump into the fight to preserve all of history and time.

Alya/Oblivion – A comic book nerd with aspirations of being a reporter. Alya loves to search for scoops to the point of hyperfixation. She struggles often with focusing and her memory, leading her to forget a lot of things. While investigating Grandeur and the rise of other superpowered people, she finds Lethe's miraculous. She is eager to join to the fight, but she remembers her comics of the bad caused by heroes and villains fighting. She fears what she stands to lose if she or her family are caught up in the fight, choosing to use Lethe's powers to help people forget to keep them safe and happy.

Marc/Eros – A romance writer that loves everything romance. He fights against Grandeur to preserve the classics and other works of the genre he loves to write and read. He finds Barkk's miraculous along with Luka finding Trixx's miraculous while they are out shopping.

Aurore/Sea Breeze – An aspiring photographer that assists Alya with her blog and many others with their tasks. She lives by her grandmother's words that every memory is precious, good and bad, and nothing is worth forgetting. She makes sure to capture every moment she can with photos, journals, scrapbooks, etc. When Grandeur emerges, she is quick to assist the people in reminding them of what must never be forgotten and what they could stand to lose if they side with Grandeur.

Nathaniel/Belphegor– An artist with a lax work ethic. He puts little thought and effort into the war, but steps in when it disrupts his dreaming and drawing.

Colt/Lyncus – Husband of Amelie Fathom and father of Felix Fathom. He is a massive American business tycoon with his mind fully on his business. On the front, he is neutral as he deals with armed weapons, but as Lyncus, he fights against Grandeur, having a Carmilla Carmine mentality (Want to avoid all out war to preserve the things he loves).

Amelie/Artemis – Wife of Colt Fathom and mother of Felix Fathom. She and Colt were arranged into their marriage, and while they don’t love each other romantically, they have a deep, endearing friendship. When Emilie joins the fight against Grandeur, Amelie joins her twin. Hero

Emilie/Eleutheria – Wife of Gabriel Agreste and mother of Adrien Agreste. She has been trapped in a loveless marriage, convinced that Gabriel has long since fallen out of love with her. When Grandeur enters the picture, she fights against them, convinced that Gabriel sided with Grandeur.

Max/Formica – A teen always on top of cutting edge technology. He helps Grandeur by feeding him information about the heroes, pretending to be one of them.

Tomoe/Grandeur – Tomoe was born into the world blinded to it. Despite her disability, she learned how to thrive in a world that was hard on her. She grew up listening to tales of sci-fi and the world around her that she could only imagine. She held onto this idea of what the world was until she stumbled upon Vana, kwami of imagination. With Vana, she was granted the ability to see and that her reality did not meet her imagination. She fell into a depression until Vana shared the promise of making that world a reality. Over the years, she's worked with Vana to make her vision of the world become a reality and to usher in a new age.

Gabriel/Golem– Husband of Emilie Agreste, top fashion designer, and lover to Sabine Cheng. He sides with Grandeur to usher in a world where he can be with Sabine and Marinette. He will have his miraculous from when he used it before with the swan of souls.

Nathalie/Neith – A lounge singer and blackmailer. She works for Grandeur, while feeding information to the heroes. Has had her miraculous for years.

Sabine/Weaver– The wife of the best baker in Paris and mistress to Gabriel Agreste. The two have had a decades long affair that resulted in Marinette. She fights for Grandeur to usher in a new world where she and Gabriel can be together. Is given her miraculous by Gabriel.

Collab of the Fans:

This, at its core, is a crack au. This is a mix of ideas that have come from mutuals, followers, and anyone that stumbled upon anything regarding Siren's Song. You've all waited and now it's time. We have a story at long last and can finally move forward. A lot has been set in, but I will always have my ask box open for anyone that wants to make a suggestion.

Acknowledgements:

For all those that had a hand in creating this crack au, you'll find them here at the Siren's Song Acknowledgements

[bl-soft]

🌊 Sing On Water 🌊

[awkwardgtace]

A Century After...

This is after Harmony has shared her memories with the ocean, time has passed and the mers have kept living. Something has finally changed for them though

(@tripodcat-gt and @coffehbeans I thought you two might appreciate a tag on this since after the comments on Harmony's story <3)

tw: for mentions of death

A Century After...

Kyrie’s heart was heavy as he waited at the cliff where he first met Melody. She would leave her house soon, Pel would help her walk. He knew from the start they’d only have decades, but it was so much harder to watch her age than he expected. She aged so much faster than Caprice did… the times as a mer changed him. He actually thought they would be special at first, but at the end they were still humans. Being human meant they’d never live as long as a mer.

His eyes locked on her the second she appeared. Her appearance had changed, it felt like she might have gotten smaller. The long brown hair he loved was gray now, her eyes didn’t shine the same way they used to, and her skin hadn’t been smooth for a long time. She never believed him when she was young that he found her beautiful, she believed him even less now.

Pelago stayed just a few steps behind Melody as the now elderly human approached him. Every year they spent together expanded his fear he’d hurt her. She became more fragile.  Melody didn’t share that fear. It was like she didn’t even realize what he could do anymore. 

Pelago stopped following once Melody was near Kyrie. She reached out, he offered a finger for her to lean on. She said this was normal, she was an old lady of course it was hard to walk. He didn’t know enough about humans even now to be sure she was telling the truth. He looked at Pelago, the mermaid's face was pained. The two humans wouldn’t be around much longer. At least she could be the size of one to help them…

“Kyrie,” Melody said. Kyrie wished for the hundredth time he could stand beside her. Be the one helping her walk, go to her rather than come to him. “Can you hold me?”

Kyrie made an affirmative chirp. He carefully curled his fingers around her, she couldn’t climb up on her own anymore. He lifted her a little, then brought his other hand close to her. Melody let him move her around, she didn’t care and that hurt more than he could admit. She let him place her in his palm. Where he held her close, watching her. Watching and begging for a way to make her a mer so he wouldn’t be without a part of him for the rest of his life.

Things happened too fast then. Words, promises. Things he couldn’t fathom. Chirps he made. Yes. No. Always. Never. I love yous. I need yous.

Then… then it changed. It felt like the entire world went dark as Melody stared up at him. Her eyes were dimmer, she seemed weaker. She would be fine. She was his Melody. She was strong, brave, everything he wanted to be. She was perfect. She would be fine.

“Kyrie, promise you won’t run away?” she asked. It was too weak. He chirped, she laughed. He would promise to do anything she asked, even when he didn’t know what she meant. “Please say it. Say you promise me.”

“I promise…”

“Thank you.”

Things fast again. Melody’s smile as her eyes closed. A terrible somber calm as he kept telling himself she was asleep. He ignored the way she grew cold. She was fine. She had to be fine. Everything was fine.

Pel came out. Took her. Told him she was gone, but Melody wasn’t gone she couldn’t be. He left. He ran… He ran.

Kyrie didn’t even bother to open his eyes after he woke up. The same memory that played as a dream every night. Always the same. Always that day. Always how he ran from her death. Ran into Harmony’s… ran into his prison. He didn’t keep his promise, he ran…

“-you sure?” 

Some mers were nearby. Not enough for it to matter. He had taken his place in the nest, guarding the stones Melody made. Waiting for the sirens to come for them. The sirens she brought back to the ocean. She brought them back and the ocean just let her die. Caprice helped give color back to the oceanids and he was gone too. Both were gone, but Kyrie had to take his place here. He couldn’t even escape the nest. His own choice to run locked him in this place.

“This — the place— right?” 

Kyrie sighed, they were closer. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually looked at another mer. He couldn’t remember the last time he opened his eyes. That wasn’t true, he opened them once. Right after he woke up after taking Harmony’s place, Byss and Pel called out to him. He refused to open his eyes after that… Not even Byss was the width of one finger.

“Just through here.”

Kyrie moved just enough that his hand was near the entrance. He could reach everywhere in the nest, he was a lot bigger than Harmony had been. A slow twirl of one finger was enough to create a current to pull the mers he heard forward. Out of the tunnel and straight into his skin. One was so small it made him pause, mers didn’t usually stay that size. It reminded him of his song. The other pulled the small one away. That one was bigger, but not enough to matter. Kyrie curved his hand to pull them up. Too big to be avoided…

The bigger one was smaller than Byss. Melody would have been scared of him all over again. He couldn’t even imagine her risking her safety to see him like this. Amidst those thoughts he brought the two small mers up to his face. A deep breath to take in their scents. He had to remember in case they came back. The second time he’d have to scare them. The way Harmony used to, his size took care of it usually.

The scents were strange. Something  he couldn’t quite describe, almost familiar. A faint hint of what he missed so dearly, but not enough to let him hope for a miracle. It did make him loosen his grip on them. He almost hoped they’d run before he could grow truly curious. The larger one squirmed out of his hold, most likely still holding the smaller one.

“Wait!” one of them shouted. He flattened his hand, but held off on grabbing them immediately. “Can we stay here? Please. Just for a little while!”

The voice sounded familiar. He wasn’t sure why, he’d never met these mers before. He’d remember meeting one as small as Melody; he would have wanted them to meet. He started to shake his head. This wasn’t a place any mer could just enter. He was trapped here, but that meant he’d do his job. It didn’t make it any easier when a too small to believe tail brushed his finger.

“Come back!” The one who spoke before shouted.

“Please, it really won’t be long. Just a few weeks. Until it’s safe for us. Please,” the smaller one’s voice hurt his heart. She spoke like Melody. Same mannerisms, but this was a mer. It wasn’t his siren, his mate… his destined.

They may stay, The ocean’s voice rattled in Kyrie’s mind. The ocean allowed it, but he didn’t want them too. The voices, the smaller one’s size, having to face that the world truly moved forward; it was all too painful. Kyrie couldn’t tell the ocean himself no. There wasn’t a choice. The ocean allowed it, so Kyrie would too.

Kyrie opened his mouth, but decided against it. At some point he stopped talking, words didn’t matter when the ones around him could understand a chirp. That was what he did, a loud accepting chirp. The signal he wouldn’t send them off. Added with his hand slowly, so so slowly, lowering down to his side.

“You’ll let us stay!? Thank you so much. We won’t be here long I promise! A few weeks!”

Too familiar and not familiar enough. A whine nearly left him. A cry in his heart for the memories of a human long gone. One century was painful enough, he had no idea how to face the rest.

“Come on, let’s pick a den,” the one Kyrie assumed was bigger said. 

Kyrie slid down slightly. The ocean changed the dimensions of the nest to fit him, but he was scared. Scared of hurting the small mers now near him. He hadn’t been worried about hurting anyone in a long time. A strange part of him missed this. Missed thinking about others. He pushed that as far down as he could. These mers wouldn’t stay long.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Byss, I’m back,” Pel shouted as she swam into their den. She hated how the walls made her voice echo. The cave was too big for the two of them, but neither was willing to leave. It wasn’t far from the sirens’ nest and there were memories here. Memories neither could part with.

Byssal let out a tired chirp for her. It was more than she usually got around now. Only a little while before they go to see Kyrie. Before she goes on land for a little while. Before they lived the pain all over again.

It was sort of funny. Humans had always lived just a blip compared to mers. She’d had others she befriended. Byss had even found some to admire. Melody and Caprice weren’t the same. They were part of the pod and now… now they were gone and even a century hadn’t eased that pain.

Pel swam up to Byss and nestled into the crook of his neck. She was lonely and so was he. Kyrie hadn’t been the same, wouldn’t even look at them. She knew why. That day had hurt all of them. Kyrie the most. They couldn’t even get into the nest to see him for a few months. When they did he was impossibly big, bigger than Harmony. Maybe even twice her size.

“Hello? Anyone in here?” a voice called. Oddly familiar. She ignored the feeling. It wasn’t the first time it happened. Their minds played tricks on them. She slipped away from Byss and to the entrance.

At the mouth of their den was a mer three times her size. He had long red hair, longer than mers his size usually would have. A tail with a brilliant red that would usually make him much smaller. That part made her think of when she met Byssal. A smile crept on to her face from those memories.

“Hello there,” she chirped. She tried to sound excited, happy. It wasn’t uncommon for mers with magic to come find her. The oceanid that helped free the sirens and return color to her kinds’ tails. She kept her white tail, but it had a few flecks of pink. She liked her tail white. “Is there something you need?”

The feeling of Byss starting to loom behind her was reassuring. She knew he was trying to be intimidating. After they lost Melody and Caprice a number of mers approached them for a chance to be trained. That wasn’t all, they wanted to become a part of their pod. As if the death of the humans meant a mer could just take their place. He had to scare more than one away. 

“I was hoping you could help. I need to cast a spell. I only have a few weeks to prepare,” the red mer said. She nodded, a single spell wouldn’t be hard. She could easily teach a mer that. Pel swam closer out of Byssal’s shadow.

“I can help, what spell do you need?” she smiled. Closer she saw mannerisms that seemed out of place. Arms crossed, the waist where skin met scale pushed to the side like standing on a single foot, and a tilt of his head that seemed almost demanding. It was all a bit familiar…

“I need to help a mer change form.”

She nodded, Byss once again came closer. He spoke up this time, “Come back tomorrow. We’ll teach you.”

“Thanks.”

The red tailed mer swam off. More mannerisms she remembered. Swimming with a force to the tail at only two points and arms ahead. Byssal’s hand wrapped around her tightly. She knew why. He saw it too. She turned up to look at him and found his eyes filled with pain. Even if she was right neither could acknowledge it. It wasn’t unheard of for humans close to the ocean to wind up one of her children. They didn’t come back with those memories though…

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning Kyrie woke from a dreamless sleep. It was the first time he hadn’t seen her final day in a long time. He never knew which was worse. Waking up without having seen her or after he knew he was dreaming. It was probably when he knew. On those occasions he looked for anything that could have warned him. Let him know it would be the last time he saw her. The last chance he’d have to tell her what she meant to him. His body wouldn’t listen to him in the dreams. Forced to play out that memory.

“Thank you for letting us stay here,” the little mer said. Kyrie didn’t bother trying to find her. As long as he stayed still she was fine. The way she spoke reminded him so much of Melody. Enough he could almost pretend she was there with him. He knew it was wrong, but his heart needed his song.

He chirped for the little mer. An acknowledgement. He could almost feel her presence near him, near his hands. He couldn’t imagine she wanted to be next to him. At his full height he was twice as big as Harmony. Someone as small as Melody wasn’t even big enough to look like a minnow with a shark.

“We were desperate for somewhere to stay. He’s helping me deal with a problem,” she laughed. It was almost identical to when Melody was laughing about her own pain. It made a sorrowful, worried chirp leave him. “I guess it’s not easy for you to tell, but I’m really small. Too small. I was supposed to be a lot bigger.”

Another chirp from him. It sounded like she experienced his opposite. Others wanted her bigger when he should have been smaller.

“The color of my tail made everyone think I’d be so much bigger, but I wound up as big as a human… They think I did something wrong. Think someone around me was wrong. I’m getting somewhere safe and that guy is helping me. I just needed somewhere to hide while he got what we needed.”

“It’s not your fault,” he whispered. He had to say it. Melody, Byss, Pel, even Caprice told him that. His size wasn’t his fault, her size wasn’t either. On his finger he felt a bit of ice that he could only assume was her.

“Thank you,” her voice was quiet enough he assumed she thought he’d miss it. Maybe it wouldn’t be bad to talk to her a few times while she was here.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pel swam in circles in her den. The red mer hadn’t come back yet. Byss went out to get ingredients for simple spells. She had no idea what kind of form change the mer needed. It could be to a human form, to a more fish-like form, or something she couldn’t think about. She started to chirp from the nervous energy.

“Hey?” the red mer’s voice made her jump. She turned to face the den entrance and he was there. Half of Byssal’s length, three times her own, and with a look she hadn’t seen for a century. Far too similar.

“Hi! Byss went to get some stuff for us to use for spells. Why don’t we start with showing me what you know?” Pelago smiled. The red mer nodded, she clapped her hands before he turned away. “Wait, what’s your name?”

“Oh, uh I’m… Ca-Coral. It’s Coral,” he said. Pelago tilted her head. She noticed the strange way he started to say it. Like he meant something else first. She took in his stance. The manner he looked away, a hand now placed behind his head. It reminded her of Caprice. It had to be her mind playing tricks. This was too much for just a human reborn as a mer.

“Great, I’m Pelago. Let’s go!”

She swam past him. There was a moment where the water between them felt strange as she went near. Something changed, a charge or warning that she had to focus on. Something about this mer wasn’t normal. Unique, different, maybe even dangerous. All similar to the two humans that had been gone for a century. She had to talk to Byssal. He had to know about the mer.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kyrie started to care about time again as days passed where the little mer would talk to him. It was kind of nice. He thought she was the reason his dreams had been empty. That theory was proven wrong close to when she was going to leave. 

He dreamt of Melody, when she was younger. A time where they were laughing together. Until she turned to him, anger on her face. Mad he ran. Mad that he broke his promise. The last thing she would ever ask him to do and he couldn’t do it. He woke up right as she swore to never forgive him…

 He needed the little mer to distract him.

“Hey!” the little mer’s voice came right as he wished for it. Perfect timing… another thing like his Melody. “Do you mind if I ask you some questions today?”

“Go ahead,” he sighed. Her questions could distract him. Leave him able to keep moving away from the pain.

“What are you here for?” Her question was innocent enough. He almost laughed at how much it forced him to face his truth. As if Melody had caught him after a nightmare and was there to make him face it.

“I’m keeping this place safe.”

“Why?” He could see Melody’s face in his mind as the little mer spoke. Innocent brown eyes looking at him with wonder. A scheme behind them to make him be honest.

“It’s my punishment for breaking a promise to someone important… She meant everything and I failed.”

“Did she put you here?”

“No.” The word came out in a growl. The idea his song could trap someone for any reason made an anger he forgot he could have bubble up. The little mer chirped a few times before he felt tiny hands brush against his nose.

“Then how is this a punishment from breaking a promise to her?”

“I…” 

He didn’t have an answer. This was his punishment. He ran away. Tried to escape her death by thinking Harmony could fix it. Ran right into the future he’d been told would be his. Melody made him promise not to run away. She would think he deserved to be here. If he couldn’t stop himself from running away the world itself had to stop him.

“Where is she? I can go ask her,” the little mer offered. He felt her hands near his eyes. “I bet she doesn’t think you should be here. I shouldn’t have asked though. I’m sorry… I wish I was big enough to try and actually stop your tears.”

A pained whine escaped him. He knew the tears were floating from his eyes faster. The little mer pressed her body against him. She was a piece of ice, just like Melody.

“Gone, she’s gone.” The ice on him was too familiar. It felt like she was with him, promising it was ok. That he wasn’t wrong for running after she died. “...she was human and now she’s gone.”

The words came out hoarse, broken. The pain he hadn’t let out in a century finally free. Innocent questions that made him face it. More that reminded him of Melody. She could break through all the walls he built up without him even realizing. It was how she got him to open up about his childhood.

The icy feeling left his skin. A tiny mer would fear strong emotions from him. It made sense. Yet a pinprick of ice landed on one of his eyelids. A rhythmic touch of ice spread across his skin. The best he could guess she was petting him. It was how Melody used to calm him down. This little mer brought her back just by existing. He needed her to leave.

“It must hurt, humans don’t live long,” the little mer’s voice sounded so sad. A spark of memory, how Melody used to talk to him.

‘I know I’m going to leave you hurt someday. Humans don’t live long next to you.’

“I miss her,” he breathed. The icy touch grew still then shocked a larger spot of his skin as she pressed right against him. Against his better judgment he curled his tail up and shifted to his side. He brought his hands up, but kept them from coming close. Sobs he never let out escaped. This touch, that voice, those words and more brought Melody to him again. Brought the only soul he could ever love. Brought the pain he shoved down all the way up and out.

All the pain leaked out of him. It was almost a shock to himself that it was silent. His own pain couldn’t be given a voice. Amidst the sobs and icy touches of the little mer he thought he heard Melody. A faint and too kind, too warm, too familiar whisper of “I miss you too.”

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Byssal had taken over the training for her after she spoke to him the second day. He was worried she would let things she was seeing push her the wrong way. It didn’t mean he thought she was wrong. She saw the shock when he finally spoke to Coral properly. Caught Coral almost calling them Byss and Pel instead of their full names. This mer was special.

If it wasn’t Caprice this mer had been watching them. Had a plan that brought them to visit them now of all times. It would explain why Melody wasn’t there. Why the scent and colors were different too.

“Just like that, use your claws to aim,” Byssal barked.

Coral followed instruction swimmingly. A natural, or already trained. She couldn’t stop seeing it. Even the way this red mer acted around Byssal was similar. She was growing tempted to follow him. See if there was another mer that could be like Melody. It happened before it could happen again, but she knew it and so did Byss. If they were the two they couldn’t be the same. Still… she wouldn’t mind learning about these new mers.

“Good job, hard to beli-” Byssal cut himself off. He looked at her, she knew. Hard to believe he’s half human. It was easy to relive those days. They couldn’t visit Kyrie until this mer was gone, they couldn’t risk being followed and hurting their guppy with such a similar presence.

Coral smiled at them both. A beaming look that Caprice always had. It didn’t match though, teeth too sharp. Face shape wrong and yet… And yet she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to call out his name.

“We can go gather what’s needed for the form change soon. We should have everything close by once you’re ready,” she said.

In the end Byssal was right. She shouldn’t push for this to be him. Chase a dream that couldn’t happen. Nothing would bring Caprice and Melody back to them. It was nearly time. Kyrie never handled it well. The day Melody died…

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An entire week passed where the two mers kept consistent visits with the former pod of the siren and oceanid. The little one visiting the massive merman, the red one visiting the pair of mates. Each night a shared look of pain, words they couldn’t say. Their time was running out, but neither knew what the right answer was. If they wanted the outcome they had originally expected. With mere days left, did their wants truly matter any longer?

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kyrie woke up to a feeling of ice on his cheek. The little mer had been closer to him the last few mornings. As if she knew his pain would grow worse. It was the first time he felt himself smile without having to force it. He sat up slightly, the little mer rolled down his face. He felt the smallest brush of claws before he caught her small floating form in his palm. For the first time in a century he felt curious to see the world around him.

Each day she was there made it harder to believe this wasn’t his Melody. Her laughter, the way she spoke, even how easily she read him. She could only see a part of a part of him, there was no way to properly read his expression. How to break him down, to have his heart pour out into the sea.

“Sorry about that,” she laughed. “It was a bit tiring to reach your face this time. I was only going to rest for a minute, but then I fell asleep.”

More like his Melody.

“I have to leave soon. Tonight actually.”

He didn’t want that. As wrong as it was he wanted to keep thinking he had her back. He couldn’t live for centuries without her.

“Hey, have you ever been on land?”

“A long time ago… when she was here,” he whispered. He never told this little mer Melody’s name. Never told her his own either. It would hurt more when she left.

“It’s where I’m going. I can’t be the wrong size when I fit in with humans. I’m sorry I won’t be able to come see you again.”

Something in her voice. Something final. Too familiar.

“You’ve been so kind. Can I do anything for you? Why don’t you tell me about her? The one you miss… Like a goodbye to her.”

Kyrie felt like it would be the worst possible option to do that. Yet he couldn’t push it away, the chance to say what he never said to her. To repeat it now where he could pretend this little mer was his Melody. He moved his hand, brought it up to his eyes. He could pretend it was Melody.

A little chirp. He could picture Melody sitting in his palm. A little taller than his fingers were wide. Eyes meeting his own filled with curiosity. Warmth. Her tiny form in a hand that could hurt her. Yet still watching him with love, with a smile, with acceptance.

“It always felt like she was something more. Something special, like the ocean themself. In some ways I could say she was perfect. She wasn’t confident in herself, but I knew she’d solve everything. I wish… I wish I told her more before I lost her. That I wasn’t afraid of myself when she was there. Her trust in me let me trust myself. Without her I would have run from everything long before.”

Kyrie stopped, the words too much. He could picture her. The little drip of ice in his palm disappeared. It reappeared as pinpricks at the tip of his nose. Melody was everything to him. He didn’t know how to live without her. He didn’t know how to face what he was without her. She would have given him the strength to open his eyes and see what his world had become after all. Saying it now he realized what his refusal to look truly was. What she actually wanted him not to run from.

“She would have scolded me for keeping my eyes shut. For running when she died. She would have told me to face the pain so it couldn’t hold me back. She never would have wanted me stuck here like this. I knew that when she asked me to promise her not to run away… I’ve known it for so long. Others act like humans don’t understand, but it felt like she lived longer than any mer I could have met.”

The tiny pinpricks of ice moved. He felt himself shatter bit by bit as he faced his inner demons. Faced the truth that she gave him the courage to face the world. He had to learn to face it without her and this was when he’d do it. The night before Byss and Pel would visit… The night before they would come to mourn again together. 

“I miss her… I relied on her to push me forward constantly. If… I could only see her again. I'd promise to be strong enough that she doesn’t have to anymore. I would promise to live in a way she could smile about even if she wasn’t with me anymore.”

This time Kyrie pulled away. The ice on his skin was gone. He moved enough the mer would be near his eye. Where he could finally see her. Today he would live the promises he wanted to make to his mate. Today he’d fulfill the promise he did make a century ago. Today he would open his eyes after a century. Today he wouldn’t run. Slowly, Kyrie opened his eyes to the world again.

Kyrie had to adjust to the light after refusing to see. It took long enough he worried the little mer would move, but she didn’t. He saw a mer with a bright purple tail, one that did mean she should be much bigger. Hair floating around her in a way that didn’t look quite normal for a mer. She had a sad smile. She swam a bit backward, the movement heartbreakingly familiar.

“Are you…,” he murmured.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It’s right through here,” Pelago turned to the bigger mers following her. She received affirmative chirps in unison.

Byssal had been growing more suspicious too. Enough that he was willing to show this red mer their garden. The one Caprice made. She entered and swam to the left. The two bigger mers followed in, Byss pausing to see how this red mer acted. He seemed to recognize everything.

“This is amazing,” Coral breathed. It was only awe. She needed more.

Byss gave her a look then swam forward. Her mate guided this red mer through the garden. Each plant had a brief explanation. Her goal was to find something they could use. The mer said he had to leave today… She couldn’t even call him that fake name consistently anymore.

At first she worried they wouldn’t have the proof they desperately wanted. Then he touched one of the plants. Back when they made this garden with Caprice, he had one habit that he said was from childhood. Every time he touched a plant he’d pat the ground again, ensuring it was safe. The plants here didn’t need that, but he couldn’t stop.

Pelago watched plant after plant as this red mer who gave them a fake name would pat the earth. Byssal didn’t notice, he was explaining still. There hadn’t been anything to tell them what kind of form change the mer planned. They made it to the edge, taking longer to go over smaller ones. She watched and watched, but she couldn’t ignore it anymore.

“Hey,” she started.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two mysterious mers felt something shift at the same time. Despite the distance in the water they heard their names echo. Revealed in unison

“...Melody?” Kyrie asked her, finally seeing through the disguise.

“Caprice, come here,” Pelago called. Successfully having the red mer respond and revealing his true nature.

The twins smiled as their bet reached the outcome they always wanted. The one that felt destined as the time passed with the family they had for an entire human lifetime.

“It’s me,” Melody whispered with tears in her eyes.

“I knew you’d tell,” Caprice smirked.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pelago and Byssal watched in shock as the mer changed. The long red hair broke apart, floating to the surface. Beneath it revealed brown hair that stopped just at Caprice’s shoulders. His teeth changed, looking just a little more human than mer. The red tail drained of color that dispersed into the water. 

“Follow me,” Caprice said. The words, face, voice, everything finally matching the image the two had in their minds. The human was back. That had to mean both humans were back… Their pod, their family, was back.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kyrie could barely breathe. He said it, all of it, to Melody. His Melody. She was back. She came to him. He couldn’t do anything for a second. Then she started to change. The purple kelp-like strands of hair dissipated into the soft brown he loved. He brought his hands close. Her body was so small, but he didn’t care.

Melody actually laughed, it was her laugh, as his skin touched her. He brought her right up to his eye. He had to see every detail. Every little thing that could prove this really was his Melody. The solid color of her eyes turned white just as she was close enough for him to tell. He watched as the brown he’d dreamt of every night for a century came to rest in the center.

A rumble in his chest started. He hadn’t purred since she died. She was what made him happy and now she was back. His eyes went wide as her tiny body started to get bigger. Slowly, inch by inch, she made up more of his fingers. If this was the first good dream he had in years he didn’t want to wake up from it.

“Kyrie?” Melody asked. She started to move, but he stopped her. He had to keep seeing this. Seeing whatever happened. He couldn’t risk her disappearing on him. He just wanted to hear her speak. To know it was her. “I’m really here Kyrie. I’m not gonna disappear.”

He chirped. She could always read him. She was still growing. Already she could stretch out to cover half the width of one of his fingers. He waited for the ocean to tell him it was a dream. Maybe even this was a gift at the end of his life. That his time as guardian was over. Melody kept watching him. Eventually even started to pet the finger behind her.

Once she was big enough he used his thumb to hold her tail down. She was still so small, but it wasn’t as dangerous anymore. She didn’t care, she still trusted him. Even when she was so much smaller. She was here, this was real. He needed it to be real.

“I missed you,” he croaked. His voice sounded wrong. Gurgling. He managed to laugh, he’d spoken human words underwater for her.

“I missed you too. I’m sorry,” she looked away from him.

Kyrie couldn’t understand. She looked guilty. Why would she feel guilty? She came back to him. Nothing else mattered. She was still growing too, they were back to how it was when she died. One finger width was shorter than her again. He couldn’t stop himself from bringing Melody to his chest. Kyrie curled up in a ball, desperate to keep her with him. This dream couldn’t ever end.

“Mel!” Caprice’s voice made him curl up tighter. Now he knew it was a dream. Both of them back, the missing parts of his pod? Impossible. “I brought Pel and Byss with me too!”

Kyrie risked looking up, just in time to see the three of them swim through the tunnel. They grew too… or he shrunk? Kyrie slowly unfolded. Pelago stole Melody from him before he could do anything else. He stared at them, at the ones who he could actually interact with. Caprice smiled at him, Byss looked stunned too. Only the twins knew what was happening.

“They figured me out,” Caprice said once Pel brought Melody closer. It was hard not to reach for her again. To keep her where he could be sure she wasn’t his imagination.

“Kyrie figured me out,” she smiled. It was sad. He couldn’t understand… Did realizing it was her do something wrong?

“Are you two going to tell us just what’s happening?” Byssal growled, but Kyrie could see the tells. Byss couldn’t keep his tail still. He was just as happy as Kyrie was.

“Right, well it kind of started the day I died,” Melody turned to look at him, Kyrie tilted his head. “The ocean came to us. Offered to make us merfolk, but it would take at least a century to make our spirits merfolk and keep our memories. At first it was that simple and I agreed.”

“I didn’t, I suggested a bet,” Caprice joined in. “If you could recognize us within a few weeks while the ocean itself hid who we were they’d do something else.”

Both twins stared up at Kyrie.

“...what would happen if you lost the bet?” Pelago asked. She looked at him. It made sense, they made a bet for him… Even when Melody died she was looking for how to help him. Melody turned away, hugging herself and failing to hide behind her hair. It kept floating above her head.

“We agreed to use the length we’d live to act as spirits in the stones to guide sirens instead,” she mumbled. Caprice moved closer to her, the pride on his face was falling. Kyrie could see the changes in Byss and Pel. Angry and upset. He wasn’t sure how he felt.

“If you didn��t recognize us I’d turn us into seafoam on the anniversary of our death,” Caprice said.

Kyrie swore even the currents stopped. Everyone knew of that spell, it was something you were never supposed to use. It wasn’t a painless journey, you felt every moment until the ocean took your spirit. It was close to entering land, it was why humans had a story built with that as the ending. The part missing was that the one becoming foam had to do so willfully.

“The spell you wanted to cast…” Pel whispered. Her voice echoed in the silent still waters.

“What in all the seas were you thinking?” Byssal roared. Kyrie could swear the sirens’ nest shook from his voice. The twins backed away, looks of defiance on their faces.

“You never would have known if we failed! It doesn’t matter!” Caprice shouted. Byssal clearly hated that response. Kyrie saw the tears floating from Pel.

“So you sign your lives away like that?! Do you realize how long it would have been!?”

“Right because we were human we obviously couldn’t understand the idea of an eternity trapped somewhere! We knew what we were doing!” 

Byssal and Caprice glared at each other. Both mers growling. Pelago looked at them unsure what to do. Kyrie couldn’t decide how to feel. Melody had hidden behind Caprice, he couldn’t even see her. That wasn’t true, he could make out the very tip of her purple tail. He watched as that same tail slowly faded to black.

“Enough,” Melody said. Her voice was soft, but strong. It made the growls die instantaneously. She swam out from behind Caprice, a face he always hated seeing. Anger with tears. This time the tears had to float from her. “It’s always been like this. You saw us as young, childish, naive, ignorant, everything but capable. All because we were human. Caprice made the deal and the reason I was involved is because I couldn’t let him do it alone. Do you really think we aren’t aware? That one life of solitude hadn’t taught me what another would be? That I could let Caprice be the one to make sure you all didn’t suffer for things none of us had anything to do with!”

Still currents and silence settled around them again. Melody looked up at him, Kyrie… Kyrie didn’t know what to think. Even at the end of her life she acted for him. Melody moved first, swimming up to his face. Staring at him with a pain that hurt him almost as much as losing her had.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. More tears, less anger. “I never… I thought it would be easier on you to forget about me. If I’d known I would have done something different. I didn’t know asking you not to run would leave you like this. I just didn’t want you hiding in the deepest waters where I might not find you. I wanted you to stay with Byssal and Pelago… So we could come back and if you all hadn’t moved on we could start over.”

Caprice came up behind her, a hand on her shoulder. Kyrie stayed unsure of what he should do. Both of them. The humans that were a blip to the life of a mer would have done everything to keep him from being trapped. From being what the ocean had wanted him for.

“Like I said, it was my idea,” Caprice turned to look at Byss and Pel. “I did a lot that you two would ask about or point out. I knew you’d notice something and take a chance at least. It wasn’t a bet I could lose.”

“So… it was for me?” Kyrie whispered. Caprice looked at him. Silence followed by memories. A lot of times Caprice had thought Kyrie was a risk. Too much for Melody to be around. Caprice’s face changed, he was easier to read than Melody. He was guilty.

“Probably would have had a better plan if I didn’t spend so much time treating you like a monster,” Caprice crossed his arms and looked away. Kyrie noticed how the twins swam close to each other. “Besides… it was better this way…”

They were back. They took a risk for him. He couldn’t figure out how to feel still. Melody was back and he could leave the sirens’ nest again. Did anything about how matter? The twins were right, they would only learn the truth from success. At the same time, he could have just been waiting for her. Knowing she’d be back to see him someday. If he knew though…

“Kyrie? I…” Melody’s voice was so quiet. It wasn’t how he remembered. It wasn’t… it wasn’t the confident, problem solving words. It was… it was… it was her. It was what he chose not to consider.

All the times she’d worried about hurting him. The times she did hurt him. All the times she was afraid of him. When she avoided him. All of it came flooding back. All the things he had pushed away about her. Every habit or action he could have complained about had been buried deep as time rolled on. The Melody in his head was perfect. The one he would have waited for never would have lived up to the memory.

“I know how it is to grieve,” she whispered. Kyrie just kept thinking. Pel and Byss looked just as lost. “You make the person perfect. Cap and I… we did it. We did it more than once. I didn’t want to come back and not be what you wanted… I-I can’t be what you remember me as. Neither can Caprice. We’re… we were never perfect and we still aren’t.”

“You never should have offered to change yourself to sea foam. I can’t,” Kyrie could tell Pel was struggling with her words. The small mermaid moving arms how Melody and Caprice always did. ‘Talking with their hands’ that’s the saying. A heavy sigh came from the mermaid. “I can’t blame you either.”

Byssal swam closer to Melody and Caprice. It had been a long time since Kyrie felt nervous seeing his mate near Byss, but the way the older man looked had him concerned. One hand was held out and placed on Caprice’s shoulder, the other carefully wrapped around Melody. Kyrie snorted as Byss pulled the twins into a hug against him. Both of the new mers yelped at the force.

“If you do something like this again, becoming seafoam will seem like a dream next to what I do,” Byss growled. Kyrie could see the way the hand with Melody tightened and how Caprice softened into the hug. 

It didn’t matter how they came back. The two were right that knowing wouldn’t have stopped the memories from being tainted. Making the humans perfect, losing their faults. It felt like he had a new chance to meet Melody. To form a bond with her closest family that didn’t hold fear and suspicion. Byss released the two and Melody stared up at him.

Small brown eyes that looked human. Hair that would be soft to touch, they’d need to find a way to make it stop floating all the time. He brought his hand close to her slowly. She leaned into his fingers as soon as they met her skin. He opened his mouth to speak, but the stillness of the waters finally died. 

Kyrie had barely enough time to think. The hand gently cradling Melody wrapped into a fist around her. With his other arm he reached out, winding behind Byssal and Caprice. He closed his other hand around Pel before pulling all of them close to his chest. Kyrie curled up just as the waters became a cruel tempest, enough to push him like a guppy caught in a current.

Kyrie brought the hand with Melody up next to his cheek. Whatever this current meant, he wanted to know she was with him. The current forced him to follow it until it threw him to a sandy ground. He nearly lost consciousness as his head slammed against a wall of stone. A chirp close to his fins kept him awake. A chirp he wanted to hear for centuries. Melody’s chirp.

The current pressed hard against him. No matter how much he wanted to escape, he wasn’t strong enough. Just faintly he could hear things clattering on stone all around him. As long as his pod and mate were safe he didn’t care. It continued for long enough he worried the ocean wanted to kill them. Just as that fear nestled itself in the front of his mind, the current died.

Cautiously Kyrie opened his eyes. He’d been thrown into a cave on the floor of the sirens’ nest, but now it was bigger than any others. Big enough he could comfortably stretch out and still not reach the stone walls. He opened the hand with Pel as he pulled his arm away from his chest. Three of the four now free. Slowly he opened his hand and turned to see Melody.

Melody’s eyes seemed to try and scan everything. He watched the brown specks flicking back and forth until landing on his face. She relaxed almost immediately. It all hit him in one final blow. Melody was actually back. He was back to a size that could actually explore the waters. He could show her everything he found that was too dangerous back then. Do so much more now with his mate by his side.

“This is our den, but no it’s not right. Things are just a bit out of place and the den itself is bigger. What…” Pel was confused. Melody gave Kyrie a look, as if he had any idea. He was just as lost.

“Outside,” Caprice’s voice drew Kyrie’s eyes off Melody. He was staring out of the mouth of the den. “It’s still the nest, but it’s… brighter? The tails are gone too, but the walls all have some writing… Merfolk writing! Its names, at least I think they are. I… Harmony is there. At each spot a tail used to come out of the wall.”

Kyrie looked back at Melody. Just in time to see the small face swap from awe to understanding. There was so much running through his mind, but there was time. Time to recover, time to build a life together. Melody was back in his hand and would be there for all the centuries left ahead of them.

“I missed you,” he whispered. This time he said it in mer language. She’d known it so long, but he never used it until now. “Are… are we still…?”

“I think so, but we can always check right?” Melody smiled at him. She looked around the cave that would be their den from now on. “It should echo in here…”

Melody’s tail gently swiped against his hand as she swam out. Just enough to hover right in front of his face. Then she sang. Words he couldn’t understand, but that spoke to his heart all the same. This was his Melody, his song. They had each other. A guardian and a siren… 

They’d get to fall in love all over again.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ocean smiled to itself as the merfolk finally appeared to settle into a joyful reunion. It would have been easier if the merfolk were the ones that deserved the boon at the start. Humans never understood his boons were truly offered freely. He would have given them this without a bet if they merely asked. Humans always thought there was something menacing beneath her surface. She understood and rigged their little game.

Allowed things to flow through that shouldn’t. Pushed the two newly grown mers to bleed a sense of nostalgia and familiarity. The siren fixed a mistake that they allowed. The oceanid freed those she’d left to suffer. The ocean owed them more than they asked and now it had been given.

A home within the nest, proper goodbyes to each guardian since the sirens were forced to leave. A future where the siren would be the songwriter for a new generation and the oceanids would aid in forming strong bonds between all the merfolk. A fitting end to the problem, one he was glad to finally witness.

[books-in-a-storm]

Currently Reading 💛

Wolf Cursed & Siren's Song

[kedreeva]

Yes!!!!!! I would love to own a copy of it if you're selling 💜💜💜

I'm not! But if you contact me in private I can give you a link to where you can get a copy printed at-cost, through where I had mine printed.

[random-chaotic-bitch]

Siren's Song - Chapter 1

Alisha Kade had always wanted to be like her father Jackson.

It was always obvious she was close to her father. They had Nerd Nights every Friday, where they would binge their favorite old movies and eat popcorn. Jackson Kade taught his daughter to ride a bike when she was five, and later he taught her how to skateboard when she was ten. When she was eight, he taught her to play cards and chess. 

Alisha taught her dad some things too. She taught him how to understand the complex conversations she had with her friends. She taught him how to organize things. She taught him how to raise a daughter right.

There were also things they learned and did together, like how to build a bookshelf or dresser. They learned how to beat Ryara (Jackson's wife/Alisha's mom), at Monopoly. They learned how to paint a bedroom wall together and play pretend. 

Alisha and her dad were always close. Until the day they weren't. 

She tried to tell herself it started out as a normal day. She had gotten up and ready for school. She talked with her parents during breakfast. She had the same normal breakfast as every day, Rice Krispies with some cut-up strawberries and a glass of orange juice. But really, it wasn't a normal day.

Alisha could recall the exact moment her life turned upside down. She was sitting in Algebra 2, listening to her teacher ramble on about the joys of inequalities while praying for the clock to tick faster toward lunchtime. Her phone went off in the phone pouch by the door. It had to be hers, as she was renowned for NOT putting her phone on silent mode. 

Hushed giggles met her ears as her face flushed red. "I'm so sorry, can I just check it? I don't usually get messages during school, so..."

Her algebra teacher nodded and she rose from her seat, quickly retrieving her phone. It was her mother calling. "Mom? What's going on?"

Her mother sobbed. "Alisha, honey... Dad, he... he's dead."

The girl froze. Dead? But he was fine this morning!

Her mom continued. "There was an accident while he was driving to a client's house. The men in the other car were under the influence."

Alisha could barely register her mom's words as she fell to the floor. "No," she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please, no. Please, let this be some cruel joke. Please," she begged. 

What happened next was a blur, but the only thing she could remember clearly after that was falling into her mother's arms, the both of them sobbing.

The accident, I remember quite well—such a shame. The two men in the other car died as well that day. Those two, plus Jackson Kade and a poor pedestrian caught in the middle made four deaths. Four souls, moving on to the next life. You'll see the number four is important to this story, better keep that in mind.

But Alisha. Back to Alisha, her mother, and now-dead father. 

The funeral was lovely. Alisha and her mother maintained composure, surprisingly well. Family and friends gave condolences. A lot of good it did, at least in the grieving fifteen-year-old's eyes. "I'm sorry"s couldn't bring back her dad. Nor could the "It's going to be okay"s or the more uncommon, "Hold tight to the memories you made,". No simple words, no matter how well intended, could bring back Jackson Kade.

Alisha reflected on that hell of a week two years later. The now seventeen-year-old sat in a park inside Ninjago City, under the shade of a tall tree. With her long blonde curls, honey-brown eyes, and dark blue work shirt, she looked just like her dad. Except she was alive, and he wasn't.

She got up, frustrated. Someone cleared their throat behind her, and she whirled around to see a strange-looking old man standing by the tree, with his head bowed. "Can I help you?"

He looked up at her, and young, angry eyes met wise, calm ones. The old man grinned. "Perhaps it is I who should ask you that question. Why are you so frustrated?"

Alisha sighed. This is going to go one of two ways. "I lost someone, two years ago. My mom... our relationship went from strained to downright broken. About a year and a half ago, I had enough. I left home and came here. My mother disowned me, and I have nothing left there to go back to."

The old man raised his eyebrows. "But?"

She groaned. "But, I still feel so conflicted! After a year and a half, can't I just be allowed to exist without guilt and grief from leaving?"

The old man nodded. "I see."

Alisha rubbed her forehead exhaustedly. "What about you? Why are you here? And why are you specifically looking for me?"

He grinned. "I guess you could say I have an eye for special talent. And I know a siren when I see one."

Alisha's jaw dropped. "You- but- how-" she sputtered, completely baffled. "No one here knows of my past, hell, I forget half the time!"

The old man chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eyes. There was no doubt in Alisha's mind, this guy knew exactly what he was doing. He composed himself, looking up again at Alisha. "Well, sirena joven, how would you like to keep doing what you feel you're best at?"

The siren smiled upon hearing the language of her General and nodded. "You've got me intrigued. But I'm curious, why would you need a seventeen-year-old, ex-siren/force user on your side? More specifically, why do you want me to get involved?"

The old man nodded seriously. "Valid questions. An individual of your talent and skills, and your moral compass, would be willing to aid in the ever-lasting fight between good and evil, light and dark. I don't wish for anyone to have to get involved, but I have seen there is no other choice. At least I can choose the ones who are ready and willing to fight."

Alisha nodded. "I'll join your little ragtag team. How many others?"

The old man shook his head. "Patience. All good things come to those who wait."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. What do I call you then, friend?"

The old man grinned. "My name is Wu. To you, however, I am Sensei Wu."

Alisha smiled. "Well then, Sensei. My name is Alisha Kade."

[dailyenglishvoca]

Today's song is Siren's Song by Masuna featuring the Synthesizer V voicebank Solaria

[garagewitchcraft]

I have always loved the mythos and aesthetic of mermaids, so of course, here's a first attempt at making a mermaid-inspired wand. A real shell used on the end, and metallic rainbow paint along with some glitter used on the entirety of the wand, I do have a soft spot for this one. Another experiment with handle and shaft design, I think it turned out lovely, and am excited to make more similar to it. Siren's Song.

[anxiousangerball]

I don't know who needs to hear this, but

YOU DO NOT NEED TO START A NEW HOBBY!

STEP AWAY FROM THE TEXTILES!

YOU DON'T NEED MORE YARN!

THAT FABRIC IS NOT CALLING TO YOU! LEAVE IT ALONE!

[chisaiyume]

Title: Siren’s Song

Author/Artist: Clarju

Genre: drama, psychological, romance, smut, yaoi

Synopsis [baka updates]: One snowy evening out on the terrace, Luan hears Yul singing and is immediately captivated by his voice. Luan is surprised to see his own honest reaction, while Yul is surprised by the simple fact that he was heard by another human being. To what lengths will Luan go to claim Yul for himself...?

Chibi Scale: 5/5

[treklesslyabandoned]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jill Ireland ♡ (@miss.ireland)

Don't let the face mask fool you, this siren is in full-bore hunting mode! 🧜‍♀️

[celestiall0tus]

Siren's Song Master Post

Alright, here we are as I promised last night. So, let's crack into this.

Acknowledgements:

Siren's Song Acknowledgements

Other Important Shit:

Friendships

First Changes

Second Changes

Third Changes

Fourth Changes

Synopsis:

Kagami is a 17-year-old and daughter to technology tycoon, Tomoe Tsurugi. This world is drawn between the old and new, the need to evolve and progress that clashes with the desperate desire to cling to the past. This worldview and mindset are challenged when a villain by the name of Grandeur challenges the old and ushers in the new at the cost of destroying the old.

Cast:

Ladybug - Kagami/Lady Beetle -

Black Cat - Ivan /Razor - A dark, broody teen, Ivan is a loner and outcast often dragged along with the main group of friends much to his dismay. He is rough around the edges with a heart that melts only for Kagami. As Razor, he is arrogant and hot-headed, letting his more volatile traits show through.

Peacock - Ondine/Siren - A budding singing prodigy and hopeful professional swimmer. She gives her all for her parents that push her to perfection and aim for Ondine to be an Olympian champion, allowing her to indulge in song so long as her swimming performance doesn't suffer. Her head is turned by Kagami, seeing the same soul and life, seeing a person that can understand her. As Siren, Ondine is free from those expectations. She fully indulges in song as she hopes her songs and heroics can win Kagami over with her true self.

Bee - Mylene/Honey Bee - A sweet, fiery young teen. She is there to support her friends and fight for a world that she believes in.

Fox - Luka/Maestro - Music is his soul and heart. Luka's entire life has revolved around music as he longs to share his songs with the world, telling stories and invoking emotions with simple instrumental pieces. Both Luka and Maestro are gentle, empathic and endearing gentlemen.

Butterfly - Marinette/Iridescent - A baker girl that caught the attention of the Agreste brand and brought in as the new face of the Agreste brand, replacing Adrien. Marinette is a sweet, considerate heart, though a touch ignorant of others at times. This carries over to Iridescent.

Raven - Adrien/Scourge - The Agreste heir and former face of the brand. Adrien desperately wants to gain his father, Gabriel's, approval, but is looked over, especially when Marinette is around. Honestly, y'all will see some Reverse!Adrien and Claw Noir in this Adrien, just a touch.

Dragon - Zoe/ Wyvern - An adventurous hellion that seeks danger and thrill in the great unknown. Though her escapades frighten her sister, she cannot deny the draw to nature after her encounter with a dragon when she was younger.

Bat - Juleka/Banshee - A shy, unsure wicca teen with a crush on Marinette. Outside her social life, she spends most her time practicing and learning her art. As Banshee, she is a creature of terror, reveling in the fear she strikes in the hearts of others as she toys with them.

Swan - Rose/Venus - A graceful and gentle soul. Rose is an aspiring ballerina whose been training her whole life to be a professional. Fiercely loyal, energetic, friendly and bubbly, she is welcoming to all, but one should be careful of her terrifying keen eye. One look into the eyes and she knows everything about a person.

Turtle - Chloe/Marina - A high-strung girl, who is always checking on what her friends are doing. She always makes to know what they're planning and going to do, always being sure to send texts (and calls when they don't respond to texts) to check them and see if they're ok and what's up. This might make her seem controlling, but the truth is she's just very overprotective. This overprotective nature stems from an incident in her childhood. When she was younger and was paying more attention to playing with her friend Adrien at a playground, she ended up not paying enough attention to her little sister Zoe. Zoe ended up wandering off into her nearby woods where she went missing for 3 days straight, until she mysteriously reappeared back at her dad's hotel. This event led to Chloe feeling immense guilt over the situation, blaming herself for it, and developing major anxiety over something horribly potentially happening to her friends, leading to her overprotective nature. This anxiety is not helped by the fact that ever since the event, Zoe has developed an obsession with those woods, claiming she met a dragon lady in them.

Pig - Felix/Aetolian - A budding theater kid with aspirations of being an actor. Felix has a close relationship with Amelie, but has an estranged, distant relationship with Colt. He attempts to win his father's approval, but is unable to. He fully indulges in the theater, using it as an escape and the only place he feels he is himself, to turn a blind eye to the pain he can't otherwise escape from.

Mouse - Nino - A bright teen with a natural call to leadership that aspires to be a film director. Nino is most comfortable taking a leadership role and directing whatever team he's part of, though it does cause friction when faced with another leader who takes control instead of him.

Owl - Sabrina/Seeker - Smart, sassy, though can unintentionally come off as a little mean, Sabrina is the level-headed, voice of reason with the inflated ego at times.

Robin - Lila/Pettirosso - A primadonna theater teen with a natural curiosity and craftiness. Though she can come off as self-absorbed and attention seeking, at the end of the day, she is a true ride or die friend.

Shark - Alix/Megalodon - A young, rebellious teen, living her best life with her friends. She also won't doesn't hesitate to jump into the fray, always ready to take names and kick ass. Legend speaks of a secret vigilante and has become something of an urban legend in Paris.

Seal - Alya/Oblivion - Adventurous, calm, and so at peace that she can often forget the task at hand, leading her to be pretty forgetful. She often has to rely on Aurore to help her with reminders. She is still a big superhero and comic book nerd.

Dog - Marc/Eros - A budding writer and hopeless romantic. Marc is a quiet lad that adores all things romance (including a touch of erotic so long as there's plot) and gushes over cheesy romantic stuff. This carries over into his hero self.

Dolphin - Aurore/Sea Breeze - A bright, friendly girl. When she was young, her grandmother gave an impactful piece of advice: "The experiences we go through will always teach us something, even the painful ones. That's why it is important to remember instead of forgetting. By remembering, we can learn, and by learning, we can know how to process and move forward." This was the last thing her grandmother told her before she passed away from old age. Aurore took this advice to heart and does her best to remember all the important things she can, which has led to her finding creative ways to do it, like making scrapbooks, writing in diaries, and taking dozens of photos. She also never forgets important upcoming events and appointments, both for her and her friends, leading her to be the one her friends ask about what they learned in class or when the next test is. Aurore is also a budding reporter, which leads her to become friends with fellow budding reporter Alya. Both are in charge of the school newspaper, and Aurore even helps Ayla with her blog, often being the one to do interviews.

Koala - Nathaniel - A dreamer in both a figurative and literal sense. An artist that can often become lost in his ideas, most of which come from his own dreams. He keeps a dream journal and even a dream sketchbook. He can spend hours focused on either his dreams or his artwork. This has led to him developing a reputation of being lazy, which isn't entirely untrue due to his decently sized disdain for stressor physical activity (this boy hates gym class). He's also a big homebody who prefers staying home over going out.

Lynx - Colt/Lyncus - A successful Amercian businessman that is married to Amelie and father to Felix. He and Amelie didn't approve of their arranged marriage, but managed to make it work through the years. However, he is distant with Felix, unable to properly show the level of affection and love expected of a father, leaving him distant and aloof to Felix's wants and needs. He takes up a hero role to save his business and family from Grandeur's takeover.

Rabbit - Amelie/Artemis - A caring and nurturing woman that is mother to Felix. She lives in Paris with her sister, Emilie, after hearing about the marriable troubles Emilie was facing and the lack of interest Gabriel had in being a parent. She assisted Emilie in raising Adrien while also taking on a motherly role for Chloe and Zoe as well.

Horse - Emilie/Eleutheria - A carefree spirit trapped in an unhappy marriage. Emilie was a bright woman that fell for a lowly fashion designer. Though they had their struggles, they never lost that spark until they wanted a child. No matter the treatments they used, she couldn't conceive and was losing Gabriel. She turned to magic to create a child, hoping it'd keep their spark, but it was gone. She has resigned herself to raising Adrien with a nonexistent husband whose head was turned elsewhere. She longs for freedom, but doesn't break free out of fear of her parents and her unwillingness to air her dirty laundry and shortcomings.

Ant - Max /Formica - An intelligent teen that remains in the background for a lot of things, just there for the ride. He observes the drama and pushes things forward, tired of the nonsense he witnesses from his peers.

Chameleon - Tomoe/Grandeur - An incredible businesswoman that wishes to usher in a new age. To long Tomoe has endured her mundane, wayward world and seeks to give it proper direction to make her dreams a reality: To create an advanced technological world for herself and for her daughter, offering her a bright, secure future.

Cow - Gabriel - The largest name in fashion next to Audrey. He has long thrown himself to his work, recently replacing Adrien for Marinette, much to Emilie and Adrien's dismay. Gabriel pushes them away, keeping them at a distance when the attacks begin, blackmailed by Grandeur to do their bidding.

Spider - Nathalie/Neith - A deceptive lounge singer that has her hooks in every big name politician, CEO, crime boss, and everything in between, holding their deepest secrets close to her that she steals as Neith, her femme fatale persona, earning her a comfy life and the attention of Grandeur.

Dove - Sabine - A loving and sweet wife to the top baker in the city. Despite what her facade would tell you, she harbors a dark secret that pushes her to side with Grandeur of her own volition.

Media:

This will be written like everything else that I do.

Collab of Fans:

Alright, the important part, an invitation and transparency. Siren's Song was not my initial idea at first. Rather, it spawned from an anon liking an Ivangami piece and requesting more, throwing in Ondine for good measure. Same came with Lady Beetle, Razor, Honey Bee and Maestro. So, I extend this invitation to y'all.

For those that may be fans, individuals with ideas that want to see them to fruition, and everything else in between, let's have fun. Anyone interested in partaking in this rollercoaster of crack ideas, rare pairs, and overindulgence of fanfiction goodness, I invite y'all. I will acknowledge those that wish to have their name on this as well as anonymous people (I do recognize some people prefer this and offer it as well).

If you have ideas for characters, plot points, etc, hit me up through DMs and/or the ask box. I will credit you as a creator in this descent into pure, unfiltered chaos.

Now, do this? Why not just write what you want? Why ask for help? Again, this concept originated with the fans, not me. It's only fair y'all have a voice (at least imo). Furthermore, I just want to fucking let loose and be crazy. And not completely in a dark, angst way like I usually have. Like an anon literally commented, it's crack taken seriously. And you know what? Let's go. Let's get fucking wild up in this bitch!

[istaris]

the siren's song fic was so scrum deli yumyum, got me wondering if there would be another part 😓. also i really love how you write those two. pls don't delete that fic its so beautiful definitely a new favorite of mine 🩷🩷

AAA thank you so so much! I'm glad you liked it! And yes, I'm currently working on a sequel! Not sure when it will be done, but hopefully in a couple of weeks if my job lets me live! I love that fic, and I have no plans to delete it (pretty much the contrary since my sngy brainrot only seems to be getting worse). Thank you so much for the ask!

[dont-touch-my-fandoms]

Self-reccing my AO3 series because I love it and I wanna share it with everyone!!

It's got superpowers, angst, pining, fluff, more Arrow crossover than I was initially intending, and my main girl Ellie! Seriously, I'll talk about Ellie Allen for DAYS don't test me (haha unless....)