#actually my first mermay ever

[a-dumbo-octopus]

Mermay day 2: Cardinal Fish

[panboiiibish]

Thinking about monsters right now. More specifically shark mer and his little scuba diver human.

Hes a terrifyingly mesmerizing sight of one of the biggest white shark mers you've ever seen. His pale grey skin is just covered in faded and new scars showing off the many battles he has been in. Though even with his terror filling appearance hes quite gentle when approaching the swarm of sharks fluttering around an odd cage just bobbing around the water only attacked to a boat above by a thick chain.

Not even spooking the other sharks swimming around trying to nab at fish snacks and sniffing the chum filled waters he is more curiouse by the little creature inside the cage. Covered in a black skin like substance while their face is covered by an odd mask hes most consumed by thie odd fin covered tails? No wait this is a human so their legs.

It takes little effort for him to grab at the bars and give the little diver a big scare. This wasnt their first time seeing a mer but it was a first for any kind of shark mers. They mainly seem to keep to themselves far off in the deep waters far off from humans. Though you are glee filled to see one just there watching you as you toss out little fish snacks to the other sharks. You had offered him on thinking he was hungry but he didnt seem interested.

Instead of grabbing the offered fish snack he fiddled with your diving suits fabric, pinching at the black fabric sticking to your wrist before slipping a finger under seemingly entranced by how it wasn't your skin but infact a covering.

It wasn't long after that your trust in him was startled and his need to see and feel more pushed him into brash actions. His clawed hands gribbed at the cags bars before just bending them away. His strength was nothing against the thin bars as they bend just well giving him enough room to wiggle into the cage and press himself up to you pressing your back flush to the bars trapping you more then you where before.

The boat crew got worried when they saw the cage shifting causing the boat to bob a bit so they started lifting your cage back out of the waters. Only to freak out when seeing the cage emerge from the water showeing your practically pinned form under the large shark mer who is just barely inside the cage. His tail end hung outside of the cage while it swung slightly and his human half kept you under him as his hands fumbled with your mask able to pop it off and see your sweet little face. Warm with embarrassment and trembling in fear as an actual predator of the seas sat there playing with the neck zipper of your diving suit.

Hes just stayed there enjoying the warmth your little body gives off and loving how your pinprick eyes tremble. It's so cute seeing such a pretty little human too scared to fight against him as he rubs at your soft skin with his wrinkled and rough pads while trying to keep his claws from scratching you too much.

Hii!Hi! Its pan, welcome fo my contribution to mermay X3 iv been wanting to do a mer idea for so long but wanted something a bit more different from my softer stuff so here's a jerky mer playing with his prey >;3 I might do more of him later! I like this shark mer idea and might make him into an recurring character, anyways have a nice night and leave a comment if yah got any ideas!

[loremaster]

happy belated mermay! i drew that final pic after i went with my family to the new england aquarium recently, and picked out something they had there for each of the nocturnal detectives - plus kurumi! more description (spoilers) under the cut:

kurumi - piranha! it fits her color scheme, and her little freckles… and well, you know *bites you*

yuma - emperor tetra. actually i lied this one wasn’t at the aquarium i had to look it up

yakou - anemone man. ouughhh so sillyyyy

desuhiko - tried to ID the guy I took a picture of and it looked closest to the crosshatch butterflyfish. could be wrong though.

halara, fubuki - i could not find the labels for either of these fish unfortunately

vivia - electric eel (yeah he’s there, look again)

———-

the mermaids were kinda based off these species, except fubuki changed to a betta fish. bred for glamour, not for function. she is out there living her best life tho!!! nothin gets this mermaid princess down!!!!

obviously squid shinigami (squidigami) is based off ursula. but also i liked her having squid tentacle hair. woomy!

i imagine it would actually be kind of a reverse ursula situation though (reversula?). poor unfortunate amnesiac yuma would go up to sea witch shinigami asking her for his memories back, but she reveals she was the one who took his memories in the first place, and they’ve actually already made a deal. which she’s not going back on, sorrynotsorry lol!!! of course he’s actually not a mermaid at all but a human under a spell to go investigate…. something underwater. idk. maybe the mystery labyrinths are still a thing in this universe?

vivia, i’m sorry to say, would be a hundred times more miserable than we ever see him in canon, because guess what. no books. he’d still have some sort of coping mechanisms like watching other fish, watching stuff above the surface of the water, wanting nothing more to join them and fly someday. (the dragonflies, of course, are a reference to the famous water bugs and dragonflies story.) he’d still find something to get distracted by… although if he had his forte he probably would ghost up to the surface and read whatever the humans are reading up above. i guess this would make him the real ariel of the story.

kurumi of course is still based on a piranha, because it’s cute. of course these fish shouldn’t all live together but whatever. it’s mermaids. she probably is still some kind of informant, and probably hangs out near yakou’s place a bunch.

i could see yakou running some sort of shop. or if he’s still into detective work, he’d probably need kurumi as an assistant since he’s uh. not much of a swimmer. (he claims he can too swim, but it’s really silly looking. google swimming anemone. you’ll thank me.) he considers those little teeny fish to be pests (or at least claims they are. they’re probably helping him hide some sort of secret in there.)

desuhiko is a wandering trader with a keen sense of fashion. he’s great at repurposing sunken sails into mer-clothing, not so great at making sales. also the fact that his hair is gelled is way more obvious when everything is underwater. he’s basically got a helmet.

halara of course puts up an intimidating front, but has a secret soft spot for cute sea creatures. i asked my irl friend what she’d consider ‘the cat of the sea’ and she said pufferfish. i do think they are very cute and make a lot of sense as an allergen. but i don’t think halara’s taste is limited to pufferfish only, no no no. they like anything cute.

fubuki has got to have been kept captive before the story - by humans? or other mermaids? but either way, now she’s free and having a blast exploring the deep blue ocean. she really wants to know what kind of exciting creatures live in the deep!!!

and that’s it. hopefully all this description makes up for being 2 days late to mermay LMAO. i guess now it’s merGAY

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Reader in a Reincarnation AU would be kinda wild. They're doing their best to get by, trying to live a normal life (or just survive the day), but they have a secret: They can converse with their past self. Or at least, their soul's birth parent. (Reincarnation is tricky here, but Reader would essentially be more of a child/sibling to their past self than actually them...)

The platonic yan (or one of them) is Reader's past life/self. And they've been helping take care of Reader since they first came into being. They just exist where Reader does, and they can't go very far from them at all. They talk with Reader the older they get; one of their first lessons is to never tell anyone they can see them, and to never act like they see them in around other people. Reader is the only one who can see them, and is the only one who knows they're with them, so as the platonic yan tells them, it should be a secret between them...

Reader eventually gains the mutations of their past self/first platonic yan, and that's when bad things start happening. The other platonic yan/s (their old teammates or partner/s or kids or whatever they are) find out about Reader, and soon discover that Reader keeps talking to someone... but there's no one there. Yet they say the name of a person they know, someone who Reader had no way of meeting, and Reader has their mutation... It leads to them force adopting (kidnapping) Reader, and trying to figure out how to have Reader and their past self at the same time, while trying to see Reader as their own person...

(I've imagined this with Reader as Wolverine's reincarnation with him as their first platonic yandere, and Sabretooth as their second one, who is trying to make another body for Logan while keeping Reader with him, safe and sedated, so he won't ever lose either of his runts ever again...)

(This is fun, and I'm still doing MerMay, but I wanted to get this out while it was fresh in my mind...)

[leggerefiore]

A silly idea for MerMay:

You get gifted a bottle of perfume that contains ambergris (a substance that comes from sperm whales) and decide to try it. How would it affect merfolk?

It would be funny if different species had different reactions from smelling it. For one species, they might think this means you’ve been marked/scented by another merfolk already, but another smell it and think it’s like a distress signal.

And (of course) one species immediately assumes it’s a pheromone signaling fertility, because of course it does.

cw: sexual mentions in Grimsley's section, pokehybrid au, mermen,

characters: Emmet, Volo, Grimsley, Ingo

▽Eelektross Emmet△

○ As Eelektross would likely have to produce a similar substance due to how they can eat many indigestible things, his first thought is that a pokemon has eaten you and, hopefully, vomited you back up. There's likely been horror stories about Wailords accidentally doing so.

○ Expect him to awkwardly sniff you over before pulling you tightly into a hug and looking around as if something were coming to attack you. After he manages to calm down from his momentary panic slightly, Emmet asks if you experienced something life changing with a cetacean recently, obvious distressed still. You turn to him with a confused expression and reply you have not.

○ “Darling, you smell like a digestive fluid,” he whispers like whatever supposedly ate you and somehow erased your memory lingered nearby. You pull away from him with bold laughter, staring at the worried Eelektross hybrid with a hysterical expression. His yellow patches of flesh glowed with light electricity, obviously ready to protect you.

○ “I think that's the best yet worst way someone has ever said my perfume stinks,” you told him. Emmet gasped. He was now pondering why humans would spray digestive fluid on themselves. A defence mechanism? He could not be sure. “... Ah, it's the ambergris in it, isn't it? That's why you think I got swallowed by a Wailord,” you realised.

○ Emmet really wasn't a fan of the perfume, alas. He is still not completely certain it was not some human defence mechanism against marine life.

💫Milotic Volo📜

⭐️ Milotic hybrids also recognise it as a digestive fluid scent, not as they contain it themselves, but as when Wailord drops happen in the deeper parts of the ocean, the scent mixes in with the stench of death. That is why he hops onto a similar concern that you were eaten by a Wailord (or, much to an improbable horror, an Eelektross). Well, until he recalls how the scent would cling to Mistress Cogita, too.

⭐️ He likely tugs you into the water and pulls you under with him, whether you are in swimming attire or not, to wash off the heavy scent from you. The ambergris overpowered whatever scent the perfume was actually meant to be in his senses. You likely are confused by the sudden embrace and dip into the ocean, but let it happen, as Volo wasn't exactly know to be easily evaded.

⭐️ He places you back on the shore and gives you an icy glare, a reminder that he preferred to take the siren route rather than be a beautiful, helpful water visage. “That perfume you wore,” he explained, “Smelled like someone vomited on you.” You gasped. His harsh words stung, and he obviously took note as he reached out to grab you. “It was the ambergris in it, not whatever sugar sweet delicacy or floral and herby notes it claimed it had,” he corrected himself, feeling admittedly a bit guilty about upsetting you.

⭐️ “... You still manage to be the evil fish I first met,” you sighed and leaned against him. Water dripped from you. You pressed your face into his nape as he took to floating in the water with you on top of him, golden hair floating behind him beautifully. “You don't like that scent?” you asked him, unsure as to why he had strong opinions. His face scrunched up as he had to explain his preferred krill had been coated in it for a while due to a picky Eelektross. You laughed.

⭐️ You have to take a bath in the ocean if you wear it around him. He claims it gives him a headache and bad memories associated with a certain bite mark on the upper part of his tail.

♠️Sharpedo Grimsley❤️

♤ Sharpedo hybrids, unfortunately, are the ones who take it as a horny thing. Grimsley approaches the shore where you sat to greet him with an odd smile on his lips. You thought little of it until he grabbed your wrist and pulled you into the water, swimming away from the shore as fast as he could. It was mostly deserted, but there were one or two people who took notice of the “Shark Attack” and freaked out over you being whisked away, assumably to be eaten.

♡ This was not so uncommon for Grimsley, as there were times he grew tired of humans asking him endless questions about his species. That and he enjoyed a good thrill, and there was nothing like having someone try to “rescue” you from a terrifying man-eating hybrid. When you end up far away from the shore, he slows down and leans over you.

◇ “Oh, man, I didn't think normal humans had a mating season,” his voice was teasing, “You must have wanted to gamble whether I would take you on the beach or not.” You gazed at him with a confused expression, causing him to also grow a bit confused. You obviously had come to him reeking of pheromones to mate, right? He didn't understand why you looked so confused. “You are emitting pheromones,” Grimsley told you boldly.

♧ “... My perfume makes Sharpedos horny, got it,” you said to yourself and him, causing him to nearly lose his grasp on you. His mouth fell open, exposing his sharpened teeth for a moment before it closed. You sighed, “Uh, I think unless flowers have this effect on you, it was probably the ambergris, right?” Grimsley felt even more horrified at your words. Had he been aroused by the scent of Wailord digestive fluids? It… It was honestly not the worst thing that had got him hard.

♤ Grimsley demands you wear it whenever you meet for a night together. In fact, he requests the bottle itself for unknown reasons.

bonus joke:

▲Incomplete Eelektross Ingo▼

● You had entered his office to bring the humanoid fish man a surprise lunch. It was admittedly all run-of-the-mill for you two. A kiss and light conversation were expected, but not him suddenly pulling you into his chest while breathing heavily. You could feel even his gills pulsing on his chest. What had brought out this sudden behavioural shift in him?

● You tried to pull away, but he only held you tighter. The scent that came from you was familiar to Ingo. Something that he knew from his time in the water. His brain rushed with terrifying scenarios of a visit to a beach turning into you getting claimed by some horrifying fish hybrid. What if you loved them more than him, as they were proper hybrids unlike him?

● “D-dearest,” he stuttered out, gazing deeply into your eyes, “Did another hybrid claim you?” Your heart had clenched at his pathetic tone before bleeding into complete confusion. Claimed? By another hybrid? You certainly did not recall anything like that, and you told him just that. “You smell of another hybrid!” he cried, burying his face into your shirt. You realised then.

● “Ingo, that's my perfume,” you corrected him, “I think it had ambergris in it.” He turned his head up to you before going back to take another sniff of your shirt. His face was stiffer than it even usually was as the gears turned in his head. Soon, he politely released you and walked back to his desk, where he hung his head in shame. As much as you wanted to giggle at his overreaction, you felt a bit bad seeing him in such a state.

● Ingo politely requests you not wear it around him, too embarrassed about the reaction he had to it. He will never forgive himself for mistaking a digestive fluid for a mating smell.

[casp1an-sea]

It’s mermay so I’m posting some old merperson art so I can feel like I’m participating but I’m actually just procrastinating making new stuff lol

This was drawn last year after I watched the live action little mermaid I think

Drawings I did last summer when I was in little mermaid the musical (I’m the mermaid with the red tail)

redraw of me and @xen-blank first ever OC ship/rp???? I think it was our first lol. Merman x Wolfblood (i Should redraw them again)

My pony Sona

This is a really old drawing. Maybe 8th grade????? One of my fav merman OCs inspired by the water fire series (If you like mermaids read this series) every time I see @distant-velleity OC Chrysos I think of him.

—————————————————————————

@xen-blank, @thehollowwriter, @l7k-a, @ferris-the-wheel, @keii-starz

@krenenbaker @elenauaurs @the-banana-0verlord @edith-is-a-cat @dove-da-birb

@theosb0rnway @fizzydreamz @ravenwing0110

[catb1tez]

🪸A mermaid meets a human🪸

IT’S FINALLY FINISHED WOOO!!!! I told ya’ll i’d draw Mermaid!Jon, now all that’s left is to write The Little Mermaid au 😈 Which I actually plan to wait till May to do that to celebrate MerMay.

This drawing took me so long and a part of me thinks it looks bad, but i’m still very proud of it. This was my first time ever fully attempting this art style, and also I got to use my brand new device for drawing! (Very happy to admit that the first drawing on it is mermaid au of DamiJon/JonDami hehe)

Speaking of the mermaid au, I’d like to go into details about why I designed Jon’s mermaid tail the way I did. For some mermaid drawings, I find it very fun to base them off of real fish! And Jon’s mermaid is specifically based off of a Blue Gularis Killifish. I’ll leave photos below to show examples of said fish, and some will be the reference photos I used.

[ofmermaidstories]

hi mermie!! just wanted to drop by to greet you a happy mermay 🥺 your mermaid drawings (and really, all your drawings) are so distinct and so so cute 🥺 i am constantly in awe of the talent you hold—being a writer and an artist too?!?! 🥺 you are amazing!! 💗✨

(i also saw you mention iris by the goo goo dolls being a bakugo song, and i 100% agree omg 😭 the last time i listened to it, it was all i could think about 🥺)

sei, have you ever seen the movie iris was written for? city of angels? i’ve been thinking about it for the last couple of days—ever since you sent your ask, actually. for our friends who haven’t seen it, there’s this scene where Meg Ryan has taken Nicolas Cage—an angel, who’s in love with her—shopping, and afterwards they’re sitting at a table and Meg is like, eating a pear, and Nicolas asks her what it tastes like, to describe it (“Describe it. Like Hemmingway.”). And at first she kinda laughs him off (“You don’t know what a pear tastes like?”) but he’s so earnest, he wants to know (“I don’t know what a pear tastes like to you.”) and it kinda… it kinda makes her pause. And then she does. Just for him. Sweet, juicy. Soft on your tongue. Grainy, like… sugary sand that dissolves in your mouth. And I think about that description every time I eat a pear, without fail. In the movie Meg is eating a beurré bosc—the tall ones, in that like, velvet brown colour—but today i had a piqa boo (a crossbreed, little and squat and rosy red and yellow) as i was thinking about what i wanted to doodle for your ask (staring at my tablet, pear in hand) and i thought about that line. sugary sand that dissolves in your mouth.

i wanted to draw you a mermaid. two of them, actually, holding a banner that said happy mermay, with trailing ends that floated around them. but i think the pear is better.

happy mermay, sei. 🥹 you’re so kind to say so many nice things. 🥺 they mean so much. 🥹🌷

[blinddreams24]

Dwelling/House

A Mermay Prompt

Masterlist

Prev / Next

You lived alone. No roommates. No family members. No one to notice if you went back to the beach. Again.

Your gear was already packed in the car ready to go. You kinda left it there after meeting that siren, the shock numbing your mind enough to just head to bed and pass out.

But oddly enough, despite your lingering fear, you longed to go back and see him again.

So you grabbed your keys.

The drive there was short, you only lived a few miles away. You carried your gear to your normal entry point, a hidden cave-like beach. It was tucked away in the side of the cliff and behind a few perfectly placed trees that hid the entrance from view but allowed you to walk in no problem.

The pebbles shifted under your feet as you started putting your gear on.

“I’d ask if this was your place but I’m pretty sure your species needs warmth.”

A yelp escaped you as you spun to look at the water. The orca siren’s eyes crinkled at you, his smile hidden behind his arms as he laid across a boulder a few meters from the shore.

He noticed your gear. “Aw~! Did you come back to see me?” He sat straight and gave you a toothy grin.

You huffed. “Didn’t you promise not to stalk people?” You changed the subject.

“I did. But stalking implies staying hidden. And I wanted to say hi.”

“You also said no loopholes.”

His grin fell. “I did, didn’t I?” At your nod he shrugged and pushed himself off the boulder. “Well, I guess that’s that. Bye.” He turned.

“Wait!” You sputtered out. You didn’t want to scare him off! You were just poking fun!

The smug grin he shot over his shoulder at you made you wish you hadn’t stopped him. “Yes~?”

Dang it, he had you in a box. “Fine! I did want to come see you, you overgrown guppy! You happy?” You crossed your arms.

He laughed at your pout. “You’re cute! I like you. Hey!” He snapped his fingers. “We never properly introduced ourselves. I’m Cross.” He swam forward and held his hand out to shake your hand.

You hesitated. When he got closer, his lower body beached itself on the rocks, displaying his large orca features. The deep black was intimidating against the gray pebbles between the two of you. Scars from different aquatic battles riddled his body like words that would tell you how he got each one.

But what caught you off guard was his dorsal fin. The very obviously male dorsal fin was flopped over on his back. A trait specific to domestic orcas.

He was domesticated. Most likely he was rescued and then released when he proved he could survive on his own. But you’d never heard of any sirens being rescued let alone an aquarium that housed sirens.

You were getting off topic. The point was, he was familiar with people. So he shouldn’t be a threat to you.

You shook his outstretched hand. “I’m y/n. Nice to officially meet you, Cross.”

His grip was firm. “Nice to meet you too, y/n.” The beaming smile he gave you had you smiling back as the handshake ended. “Soooo? You’re comin’ into the water today. Care if I show you around?”

You laughed. “I’ll have you know, I practically grew up in these waters.”

He shrugged and somehow smiled more as his hands held his chin, his elbows digging into the rocky beach. “Things change. I could show you my place?”

You hesitated, not because of the idea of being in a small space with a large predator though that was a solid reason, but because it was the first time someone had asked you over.

The basic movie type response was all you managed to get out. “Most people buy me dinner first.”

“I mean,” He glanced back at the water. “I could grab you something. Though, I have a feeling you don’t appreciate… what do you people call that fancy fish? Sasha?”

Oh stars. “No! Please don’t ever call it that again! Oh my stars! Sushi! It’s called sushi!” You laughed. “And no. I actually don’t like most uncooked foods. It… I don’t know. I just don’t like it.” Shrug.

Cross nodded. “That’s fair.”

You finished shuffling your gear on.

“So… is that a no?”

“Is what a no?” You questioned. What had he asked?

He gave a halfhearted smile and glanced away. “To coming over to my home? You don’t want to see it?”

Ugh. He looked so sad like that. “Oh. Uh, sure. I’m gonna be in the water anyway.” You tried to shrug away your fear but it lingered.

His face lighting up relieved some of that fear. He whistled a happy little tune that had you smiling as you approached the water. Cross backed up off the beach. “You ready?” He beamed.

You took a moment to take a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

The nozzle went in your mouth and his arms went around you again before darting away from the shore. Coral that would have taken you several minutes to reach, was there and gone in less than a minute as Cross expertly sped through the water.

He was talking.

“It’s bigger than most dens. I don’t like small spaces so boss helped me find a bigger enough space to feel cozy. I added a few things too. Just a couple plants and shells, stuff to make it look nice, y’know? Oh! And my pod is out hunting. So we shouldn’t have to see them until after I take you back. You don’t want to meet them. They’re… well, let’s just hope you don’t meet them. They’re more wild than me. And the coral here is insane! Have you seen all those colors? I mean, of course you have. You live here. But they’re so pretty! I didn’t know the water could have so many colors!”

And on and on he rambled, you were content to listen. He seemed like he needed someone to talk to and it was calming. So you settled in for the ride as he talked about anything and everything that came to mind. Coral, fish, water currents, snails. He continued until they reached his home.

“There was this one fish that- Oh! We’re here!” He whistled happily, let you go, and darted forward into a cave mouth. He beckoned for you to follow. “Come on! I’ll show you around!”

Your cheeks hurt from smiling as you swam into the den. He wasn’t kidding about the space. You could fit three school buses comfortably in the decorative cave with plenty of headspace. The edges and corners of the den were covered in all sorts of colorful coral, shells, and pearls of multiple sizes.

“Ta-da~!” Cross spread his arms wide. “Welcome to my home! It’s not the prettiest thing but I try.” He shrugged nervously. “You’ve probably seen better.”

You shook your head at him. No, this was better than any home you’d seen on land. He actually managed to stick every type of color he could find in a space and make it look good. You couldn’t get these same colors out of flowers. A shiny pearl caught your attention and you reached down to touch it.

A hand grabbed your wrist. You looked up to see Cross looking very stern and worried.

“I… Please don’t touch my pearls.” He said before slapping himself in the face. “Oh my stars! You can’t understand me! I’ve been talking forever and you haven’t heard a thing!”

“Mm.” You shook your head no at him and gestured to your ears and back at him. You could hear him.

He hesitated at your flailing. “Uh… are you okay?”

You nodded yes.

“Wait… can you hear me?”

Nod.

“Everything?”

Yep.

“But… don’t your ears stop working when they get full of water?”

Nope.

“Huh.” He eyed you. “You legged people are confusing.”

You playfully punched his shoulder.

“Hey! What’d I say??” He complained, not even bothering to rub the shoulder as you nursed your wounded hand.

You rolled your eyes and turned to explore the rest of the cave. He hadn’t just plucked the coral, he’d moved entire boulders and dug up plants to keep the coral’s lively color. It was beautiful.

You turned to him after exploring the whole den and gave him an approving thumbs up. He laughed at you and you spent the rest of your time listening to him ramble and checking your oxygen before he took you back to the shore.

[weirdenbyferret]

Day twenty two, Koi

Its still mermay shut up

This is actually the first time ive really drawn Eclipse for my sea beasts au! That was mostly because I didnt know what hed be, but thank you my mermay prompt list for helpung with that <3

In this au, Eclipse is called The King, and is the most dangerous sea beast.

He was only ever discovered after a ship attack ten years from the present in the au, where there was only one human survivor, who told of how their ship was attacked by many see beasts that suddenly, as if coming out of nowhere, came to the ship after they heard this loud, long, eerie, but elegant sound from below, almost like the call of a whale.

The survivor had been knocked off the ship and into the water, soon seeing a large oraneg eye looking down at them, before shortly after they heard another one of the loud eerie whale call-like sounds, and just before they passed out they were able to see the other sea beasts leave.

They awoke on the shores, a miracle, and shared the tale.

And soon, the beast was named The King, as it was clear that it had control over the other beasts of the sea.

His sleeves are a pair of flags that have splotches of blood :]

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 26

welcome to the twenty-sixth fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.

1. suite on you by @adelfie

Lance feels a little jarred when he sees nothing friendly in the suitemate’s eyes, and then foolish. He scrambles to find something to say. “Do you have any rules?" Keith’s eyes darken. “Yeah. Don’t bother me this semester. Or ever.”

-- Accident-prone Lance McClain learns that his grumpy suitemate, Keith, has one rule: to leave him alone. Lance would really like to follow that rule. Really. But his clumsiness has other plans.

(Or, 5 times Lance bothers Keith and 1 time Keith lets him.)

any fic that uses the Lance is a Ray of Sunshine tag is a fave of mine bc he is. i loved how in this one keith called lance sweet, not like an adjective but as a petname?? anyways it killed me and it made lance melt as you might have guessed. i loved it

2. Shiro, You Ignorant Slut by notverystraight

“I like Keith,” Lance blurted suddenly.

Shiro blinked. “Oh.” Not exactly the revelation he’d been expected. “He likes you, too.”

- In which Shiro accidentally reveals Keith and Lance’s feelings for each other… without even knowing about them in the first place.

god bless fics that write shiro as the dorky dumbass he is. he WOULD be the one to spill the beans without knowing that there are even beans to be spilled. i love him

3. Escalate by demonsushi01 [EXPLICIT]

Day 15. Flustered

5 +1 Fives times in which Lance is flustered by Keith during their relationship, with it steadily shifting from more innocent things as it continues. And one time in which he gets back at Keith.

this mostly isnt explicit, its mostly just klance turning their relationship into a competition lol. they also spend a significant amount of time embarrassing their friends which is excellent

4. Part of Your World by @floranna

Keith sat at the dock, glaring at the water, wearing only his speedos. It was a bright, warm, and sunny day, with slight enough of a breeze to keep the worst of the heat away. Not like Keith cared or anything like that, of course, but…

Everything spelled that it should have been a beautiful, wonderful day, full of wonderful memories, if only that sharp-toothed half fish would actually show up!

happy belated mermay my loves <3 you want klance? teasing and soft and domestic? monstertron? lance with very sharp teeth? keith being very into lance with very sharp teeth? one stop shop babey

5. Hunk’s List of Grievances by @littlecinnamonbunny

Honestly, Hunk deserves better.

or

Five times that Hunk thought he walked in on Lance and Keith doin’ the hanky-panky, and one time he actually did.

this fic made me LAUGH. like literally out loud. let me introduce yall to my favourite part:

And that’s when it happens.

A familiar gloved hand comes into view, pale fingers pushing back Lance’s fringe with a soft groan, and Hunk realizes that Lance's mouth is currently preoccupied and will not be able to respond. But it’s too late because Hunk’s already opened his own mouth to speak.

“Hey Lance, Allura wants to– hoLY F- oh yup okay that’s definitely a dick, goodbye I’m gonna erect myself out of- eject! - eject myself out of the airlock now.”

He turns on his heel and speed walks the fuck out, and even Yellow is sending him questioning concern that tingles the corners of his mind (though it’s tinged with amusement, the filthy traitor) and he ignores Lance’s choking and coughing and swearing.

He also chooses to ignore Keith’s mortified cry of his name along with “wait-!” because no Keith, why the fuck would he wait?!

‘Oh sorry, let me just pause in my desperate attempt at fucking off for a moment so you can remove your genitals from the back of my best friend’s throat and try and convince me that your penis was checking for cavities’.

like holy shit 😭😭 words cannot express how out of pocket this whole fic is like i genuinely cannot read it without smiling

that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!  

[wacky-nameless-inventor-24]

Tell us more trivia and factoids about your Mermay au for beakheron!

yayyyyy okay kicking my feet twirling my hair I love them

-Beakley regularly ‘kidnaps’ Heron for ransom throughout their relationship, it’s some of the only times she gets to see her. Most of the crew don’t know about their relationship they’re just surprised that the princess is so easy to capture and want to know why she’s being held in the captains cabin instead of the brig 😳

-Miiiight steal the pirates of the Caribbean Davy Jones/Calypso thing and give them matching music boxes for when they’re separated (which is often). Neither of them want to admit it but they keep both of their boxes and listen to them regularly after their split.

-Octopi regrow their limbs so Beakleys missing tentacle shouldddddd be fine but idk I might make it permanent. I was originally thinking in her human form she just has a fucked up toe or something but I’ve been rewatching pirates of the Caribbean and Barbossa is so cunty with his peg leg sometimes so we’ll see what I end up going with 👀 (just looked him up to make sure I was spelling his name right and I’m sorry his first name is fucking hector???)

-Scrooge is a retired privateer who is fucking rich and now just does whatever the hell he wants, he’s the one doing all the crazy sea-related adventures. He met Beakley when he was still in service of the crown, they teamed up for some adventure and have been friends ever since. He’s one of the only people (probably the only one actually) who know both that Beakleys a siren and about her and Heron’s affair.

-I want Beakleys little octopus skull brooch to have some kind of major importance (whether it’s like magical or just has some kind of symbolic meaning to her) but I haven’t figured out what.

-The most cursed thing ever I sincerely apologize but I’m considering Bradford being the king and he’s Herons ADOPTED father lmk if that’s too cursed because I will throw it out if it is

-The little cuff on one of Beakley’s tentacles is right where Heron cuts it off.

-Just recently came up with the silliest role for Goldie idk if I want to spoil it yet but it’s so funny to me I love her.

-I haven’t decided yet how historically accurate I want to keep it on gender roles and homophobia & such, like we’re already throwing period-appropriate racism out the window so who knows. Like I don’t know if I should make it a big deal that Beakleys a female pirate captain and that Heron found ways it weasel her way out of ever getting married (for long. maybe she killed her husbands) and if the whole Beakley/Heron relationship is forbidden because they’re a princess and a pirate but also because they’re gay sldlflfkf idk what do you think?

-Webby is fascinated with the ocean and famous sailors and actually knows a lot about this old infamous female pirate captain who disappeared 12 years ago and was always kidnapping the princes she just hasn’t put it together that that’s her grandma.

[epickiya722]

hey kiya :D whats your personal favourite fanfic/ og work youve ever written? i wanted to read something of yours but youve written so many i wasnt quite sure which to pick 😆

Ah, that's like... the majority of things I have written... by majority I mean, like all...

Okay, for OG works is definitely Shadows of Deckard and Jayce & River.

J & R actually has a horror sidestory I wrote for Halloween that I like, too.

Also, I have a MerMay series that currently have 4 stories that I like a lot.

◇

For fanfics... okay, honestly every BurnBunny and Miruko-centric fic (working on a new one that I love already) I wrote. And yes, Beware of the Bunnies is also one of those fics.

There's also my Class Antics fics I wrote that I like!

There's also Emerald Kisses I Crave For that I really like. I still can't believe that got as much attention as it did.

I don't know if you're into JJK, but I just wanted to give some honorable mentions, too.

Of course, the Star's Rebirth AU that I'm currently indulged in.

Threw a Dragon at Him is an underrated fic I still think is funny.

The Craving That Paints Your Lips Red is also one of those underrated stories I like very much.

You Are My Special is another! Still surprises me that I got a lot of attention on that.

Okay, one more fic and that's Maybe Someday We'll Meet Again. Needed to write a Geto meets Yuji for the first time fic.

Note: Some of these are locked, but once in a while I do go and unlock them. (People who use AI for fics are a disgrace.)

[yonemurishiroku]

So I was gonna just post this myself but then I thought: nah it's s mermaid au so it has to come via yone's ask. that's the law

Nico is a prince, Jason is his deeply devoted naval captain. One day Nico is sailing out on the seas and he disappears. Jason obviously is distraught, and goes to look for him. (Idk why he wasn't with him in the first place maybe he had a cold or smth) After many months he finds the spot Nico's ship was last seen and he is lulled beneath the waves by the voice of a siren. This siren (Percy) had taken Nico and was keeping him in his underwater palace, and Nico had fallen in love with him. To twist things further, Jason realises Siren!Percy is actually his first love whom he lost at sea 15 years ago.

Idk if it ends with tragedy or polyamory or both. Do they break the spell on Percy or do they all become fish people ever after? I don't know but I thought you might enjoy <3

From Feb 6 to May 20 because it's Mermay!!!

No that's just a lie I'm so sorry I got carried away. adksadkasda pls know that my love's present even when I'm not. 😭😭😭

Firstly just let me say a million thank yous because I indeed love this. Well I've always loved Perjasico. Moreso when it's just a mess and none of them is requited---- I love you too so there's that

This prompt hides so many things. I'm delusional just looking at it.

I like the way you make it that Percico, compared to Jasico, appears very fabricated - idk if it's your intention but just let me explain.

As it is, I'm assuming Nico and Percy come together because Percy uses his siren magic (sinking his ship, luring him to the palace, etc...), which implies that the feelings might not be completely willing from Nico's side. There's the interference of magic - and I'm all for magical but untruthful love (hello Jason and Piper----)

On the other hand, let's just say that I prefer more complicated feelings, I think it should be that Percy only keeps Nico because he feels lonely. As in: his requirement for Nico's presence stems from loneliness, not fascination/infatuation. This implies that Percy isn't technically interested in Nico as a person - he's only using him to abate his painful isolation. That's why he's actively using his magic to bind him.

Now, to complicate things further (because I've always been in love with emotional baggage), I think Percy should become a siren because of the heartbreak over Jason.

Now, here's the fun part. What if Percy was a merman who - in a typical The Little Mermaid fashion - came to the land for Jason? Their story was of that Disney movie - a merman overcoming difficulties, signing a contract to reach his love. And they did have their happy ending!

But then that happy ending all broke up because of some reason. I have yet to come up with one but I just need it. Idk maybe there was a strife/ a misunderstanding/ idk! and Percy fell into the ocean, subsequently suffering the curse of heartbreak and becoming a siren - as the witch's way for the sea to reclaim its child. to say that the people on land are nothing good. only the sea would love you.

And now, 15 years later, it all came back to Jason, now with his new love in danger.

I'm vibrating with joy and I'm not even ashamed (I'm so sorry Jason).

But wait. All of this just makes Percy the antagonized antagonist of a Jasico story. Eh. Where's the fun in that? So anyway. I say we put Nico in as the reason for Jercy's breakup.

Yes, I'm having too much fun with this.

Anw. I have yet to come up with one logical reason.

I have some dramatic ones though - like maybe Nico had a crush on Percy when the two were together and something happened that made him the indirect catalyst to a fighting (bc here I'm assuming Jason has his own duties of serving the prince (or the royal family at least) which means Nico has some semblance of power over him)).

Jesus Christ this is all a mess and I'm still cackling. I haven't even touched the ending yet. I just want them all in pain and in blood. jasdhadka

Anyway this is everything I can come up with in the mean time LMAO Your idea never fails to enrapture me 😭🥺🥺🥺 I'm just too incompetent to reply on time askdjakdaajdsahk i love u with everything in me

[clumsiestgiantess]

The Other-world Universe MerMay AU is here! It ended up getting so long I split it into two parts, so enjoy part one today and part two tomorrow!

(Original story here)

On the last day before spring break, all of the ecology classes were going on a trip to the beach only a half-hour out from the school.  Everyone was supposed to bring their own buckets, towels, and shovels if we wanted them, since our college didn't want to waste money on getting every single person supplies.  I'd brought everything I thought I might want: a large bucket, a shovel and sifter, and sunscreen. 

Once I stepped into class — scouting out the seat beside one of my friends — I gasped at the towel in his hands, smacking a palm over my forehead.  "Aww no.  I forgot to bring a towel!  I’m going to be stuck with sand all over me!”  Thankfully, I was friends with one of the best people ever.  Ivan chuckled, “Alexis, that’s like the first thing you bring to a beach.”  I grumbled and he dug through his things, pulling up another towel.  “Don’t worry, I brought a backup one.”

The room was nothing but a chaotic ruckus of voices and antics until the beep of a loudspeaker came on overhead, and everything came to a halt.  It seemed redundant, but once we got to class, we were immediately dismissed to the charter buses.  In no longer than 15 minutes, we were back in different seats.  I made my case for the window seat, and Ivan agreed only if he could have it on the way back.

Ivan and I talked throughout the trip, but during the last stretch we gazed impatiently out the window, scanning the horizon for signs of the ocean.  At last, a kid closer to the front called out that he'd seen water, and soon I could catch glimpses of it as well.  White foamy waves rippled just between the branches of trees lining the road.

Once everyone was unloaded from the buses, we found our teachers and took a quick headcount before they let us loose.  We were supposed to be learning about the intertidal ecosystem and whatnot, but everyone knew it was really just a fun activity before school was out for the next week.

Everyone found their friends and wandered the beach in droves.  There were a lot more shells and interesting trinkets lying around thanks to the small storm that had blown in the day before.  The trip had almost been canceled because of it.  I’d barely reached the sand before spying a neat spiral-looking shell I wanted to scoop up. The legs of a small hermit crab were tucked away inside. I let it down and stared at the little critter in fascination as it slowly inched back out of its home and scuttled away.

After a while, Ivan convinced me to actually look up from the ground.  We busied ourselves by looking for wildlife to document, as that was the whole reason we'd come out here, though most people just set themselves up to tan or started games.  I took multiple pictures of pelicans flying in ‘V’ shapes up above, any the little sand pipers rushing across the beach between breaks in the tide. Ivan waded into the water to sift for creatures beneath the sand. Both of us chased scuttling crabs up and down the sand, flipping them into our buckets with my shovel. All in all a tiring, but successful, trip.

Neither of us even noticed how far up the beach we'd strayed from the group until we were cut off by an outlet of water that pooled into the ocean from a stream.  “Should we go through or turn around?” Ivan asked. “Remember we have to walk the same distance back, too.”  I shrugged, but before I could offer my opinion, I noticed movement from the corner of my eye.

After chasing crabs, I was so used to things dashing around that the movement wouldn’t have surprised me.  However, the thing was much slower, so I paused to examine it.  A piece of fishing net slid down the sand by something moving inside it, dragging bit by bit towards the water.  “Hey Ivan!” I called, “I think something’s stuck over here!”  Using a shovel, I bent down and flipped the netting over.

Shock brought my thoughts to a sudden halt as I gawked at the creature I’d found — only startled into movement once Ivan arrived.  The bottom half of the creature looked like a fish — a bit dried out, but a fish nonetheless.  The top half, though…  The top half was what took me so long to comprehend.  The torso of something very human took up the top portion of the creature.  It froze the moment I got close, and both Ivan and I stared at it for a solid two minutes before he slowly bent down, grabbed a wave-weathered stick, and nudged it over.  Instantly, the creature sprung to life, flailing around in the net.

I flinched back, "Ivan, why did you poke it?"  "I- I thought it might be a toy."  True, the half-fish creature was only about the size of one, but still.  With all the wild thrashing, it had only tangled itself up more and more.  Suddenly, it slowed dramatically, uttering a human-like wheezing noise as it desperately dragged itself towards the ocean.  "Water!" I realized, "It needs water!"  I dumped out everything in my bucket and ran for the ocean.  

Scooping up a bunch of seawater, I came racing back.  Ivan gripped both sides of the net and hoisted it up, which only prompted more thrashing and wheezing from the creature before he lowered it into the bucket I put down.  We waited in anticipation as the creature sank to the bottom, covered by netting.  The surface of the water stilled, and we exchanged worried glances.

Moments later, the human-ish half of the creature burst to the surface, climbing over the edge of the bucket and using its tail to propel itself forward.  "Wait, wait!  Just stay in there!" Ivan yelped, quickly shoving it back in.  "I'm going to try to untangle it," he told me once it had fallen back inside, "Then we'll know for sure."  "Know what?" I asked, still slightly in shock.  "Then we'll know for sure if we've just lost our minds because we're dehydrated, or if we actually.. caught a mermaid."

"Aren't mermaids supposed to be human-sized though?" I asked as he hesitantly stuck his hands into the bucket.  "Yeah, I guess so.  Maybe we found something else."  He fished out the mystery creature, which thrashed in his grip.  Ivan would've dropped it had it not been for all the netting around it to hold on to. He unwound the tangle of cord bit by bit as the creature thrashed less and less.  

Near the end of the bundled material, his face flushed bright red and he practically threw the creature into the bucket, sending up a splash.  "What was that for!?" I asked angrily.  "It.. She..  Sh- She's a bit too human for me," he replied, ducking his face away from the bucket.  "What does that-?  Oh."  I realized halfway through my question that he'd changed the creature from an 'it' to a 'she'.  

Carefully, I reached in the bucket and held up the strange being, now more visible without so much rope around it.  She looked like a tiny human from the waist up, and she wasn't wearing a single thing.  Her hazel skin was a sharp contrast to the shimmering scales that took form below her.  They were much more of a match with her silvery-green eyes, which were wide in terror.  Little gills pulsed on either side of her chest as her breath grew ragged.  

"Oh," I repeated, lighter this time.  Gently, I lowered her into the water for a moment, letting her breathe before I took her back out.  The last pieces of netting were wound more tightly around her, and she struggled when I pulled at her skin to try and get it off.  Ivan glanced back over at me.  "I- Is she alright?"  "I can't get the last netting off; it's too tight.  Do you have your pocketknife with you?"  "I never go anywhere without it."  He slid it open and handed it to me, glancing nervously down at the creature in my hand.  "Just don't cut her by accident," he warned.  I nodded and held her steady.  

However, as the blade neared the being, she let out a shriek and thrashed in my hand, slipping out of my grip and onto the sand.  She dragged herself away from me as I worriedly reached for her.  "Wait!  Please!  Please don't!"  My and Ivan’s mouths simultaneously dropped open in shock.  She'd spoken.  Her accent was thick and foreign, but she was clearly speaking English nonetheless.  

The tiny creature curled itself into a ball, breaths shuddering with tears.  I tried my best to be gentle as I hoisted her up, trying to get her into water, but she still shrieked like I'd attacked her.  The being thrashed more strongly than she had before, causing me to drop her over the bucket instead of lowering her back in.  I cringed as her scream turned to bubbles while she slid beneath the water.

"H- How did she just talk?” Ivan stuttered, “I mean, I get that she looks human, but how does she know English?"  I shook my head, "I have no idea, but I still have to get her untangled."  "Well, now that we know she understands, maybe we could try explaining to her why you have a knife?"  Nodding, I reached in to take her out, but the little creature kept dodging my grasp.  It took me almost a full minute to catch her she was so fast.  

Again, she thrashed as she was lifted out of the water.  "Little.. creature?  I- If you stop wriggling, I'd like to explain what I'm doing.  I'm just trying to help you."  "By what?  Gutting me alive with that blade?" she retorted hotly, though she paused in her attempt to free herself.  "I'm just trying to cut the netting off you."  The creature glanced up at Ivan, "And him?"  I blinked, "What about him?"  "What does he want with me?"  "We both just want to free you," Ivan told her, scooting a bit closer.

Her gaze slid back and forth between the two of us, then she coughed.  I lowered her back in the water again, but she scrambled out of it, hoisting her human half over the edge of the bucket with heaving breaths. "Normally I would tell both of you to go drag yourselves back to whatever nasty hunk of rock you came from, but.." she pulled at the netting around her and flinched as it grew a bit tighter around her torso.  "This.. This really hurts."  

Ivan and I glanced nervously at eachother.  "So, will you let me help you?"  The creature gave a very slight nod and I scooped her up again.  She held still as the knife slid beside her skin.  With a slight twist, I slit the thin rope holding the netting together and it slipped off her onto the beach.  I sucked in a sharp breath of air.  Her chest was wracked with criss-crossed slices where the netting had cut into her skin.  The gills on her right side were crushed so badly that they wouldn't even open all the way.  I gently lowered her down, but she cried out in agony and reflexively clung to my fingers so I would take her back up.  The sting of salt in her fresh wounds must've been unbearable.

"Oh muck that hurts!" she cried, her grip on me tightening as I lifted her back out.  “You don’t have freshwater by any chance, do you?”  Ivan gawked, “Don’t you need saltwater, though?”  The creature vehemently shook her head, “I came from up there,” she gasped, pointing to the stream’s outlet, “When I got caught in this net, I was dragged downstream to the ocean.  I- I just want to get back!”

I glanced down the beach, “There’s a water station by the buses...”  “I’ll be back!” Ivan called, dashing away down the sand while I stayed behind with the creature.  The little being started coughing, but when I reached down to put her back in the water, she curled away from it.  “No!  Human, I told you that hurts!”  “But you’re suffocating.”  She wheezed, lying flat across the palms of my hands.  “I- I can breathe air for a little longer.  My human-ish half can deal with it.”  I nodded, keeping her out of the saltwater.  However, I could feel the sides of her chest heaving against my palm — cuts beginning to bleed.

“So human,” the creature began, trying to take my gaze off of her wounds.  “Now that you’ve freed me, what are you going to do?”  “My name is Alexis,” I offered, “and my friend’s name is Ivan.”  “Alright, fine.  My name’s Eria.  What about my question?  What are you going to do with me?”  I hesitated, “I.. don’t really know.  Should I put you back in the river?  Would you be able to make it back upstream or will you just get tossed into the ocean again?” I asked, gesturing to the water behind me.

Eria was silent for a while.  “I’m.. I already know I’m going to die — from the moment I got caught in that net.  Being human you must think that’s awful, but that’s just how it goes for other creatures.”  I held her a bit higher, scrutinizing her worriedly.  “But there has to be a way to save you!  Surely you know a way to heal yourself!”  The creature only shook her head.  “I’d have to get back to my home, where I store medicines.  I.. don’t even know how far away home is, and I’d bleed to death.. or get eaten.. trying to make it back.”  

Seconds later, Ivan came dashing back up the beach, a few water bottles in hand.  “I’m back!” he panted, “I’ll go pour this out.”  Taking the bucket, he dumped it a little ways past me and began emptying the bottles into the empty container.  Soon, it was filled with new water.  I lowered the creature back to the surface of the bucket and she slid slowly back in, taking a small test-swim around the edge.  “It tastes funny, but otherwise it’s fine.  Th- Thank you.  For all the horror stories about your kind, you don’t seem all that bad.”  “We said we were only here to help,” Ivan told her.  “I know.  Do you think I actually believed you?”  

I explained Eria’s dilemma to Ivan, and he looked her over thoughtfully.  “Maybe we can somehow sneak her on the bus?  And then try to heal her up back home?”  He sighed, “No, she can’t live in a bucket.”  “I have an empty fish tank at home,” I told him, “But how would we get her onto the bus without anyone noticing?”  We argued back and forth over what we could do to sneak her away before she leaped up to sit on the edge of the bucket and cleared her throat.  

“Maybe you should ask the being you captured what she thinks about all this,” the creature suggested.  “For instance, do I really want to be dragged inland to who knows where and stuffed into a little box that I can’t escape from?  I already feel claustrophobic in here...  I knew it!” she exclaimed suddenly, “You do want to capture me!”  Both of us backtracked, swearing left and right that her accusations weren’t our intention.  There was a long pause as we all thought of a way to keep her safe.  Finally, she sighed loudly.  “Alright, fine.  There is a way for me to sneak with you.  I was hoping you would leave me alone once you figured I was a lost cause, but for some reason you seem to care much more than I thought you would.”

Turning in the bucket, she scanned the beach.  “I need an animal that isn’t human.. something small,” the creature said without lifting her gaze from the sand.  Ivan and I glanced confusedly at eachother.  “Why?”  She turned back to us with a tired look, as if we were stupid for not knowing.  “I’m a satyrian.  We can drink the blood of other creatures and obtain their likeness, but only from the waist down.”  “So you’re a shapeshifting mermaid?”  The satyrian gave him a bewildered look.  “I have no idea what you just called me, but if it was anything awful, I will find out.”  

“Why can’t you drink human blood?” Ivan asked.  “Not that I’m offering it; I’m just curious.”  She huffed and turned her attention back to the beach.  “If I take a human form, don’t you think someone will notice there’s a whole extra person on board?”  Oh.  “It’s not that I can’t; it’s just not-  Aha!  There!”  Leaning almost entirely out of the bucket, Eria pointed out a tiny crab scuttling beneath a piece of driftwood.  “Go get that one!”

Ivan ran over and scooped it up.  It was so small he wasn’t worried about being hurt.  The thing’s pincers were only a centimeter or so long.  He held it out to Eria and she snatched it from him, dragging it down into the water.  The bucket became murky with clouds of red blood while Ivan and I looked on nervously.  A while later, the crab scurried out, completely unharmed.  We kept waiting for Eria to resurface, but she didn’t.  

My gaze began to wander in worried thought, and that’s when I noticed the tiny crab.  Its forelimbs waved wildly in the air the moment I noticed it.  Suddenly, I put two and two together.  “Eria?” I asked, hesitantly offering the minuscule creature my hand.  It had to be her.  It scuttled up immediately instead of rushing away.  Ivan gasped as I held up the little being in my palm — her hands cupped around her mouth to yell to us.  However, it was nearly impossible to understand what she was saying.  “I- I think that one was a bit too small,” Ivan said, watching Eria in awe.  “Get your bucket,” I told him, “Find one that we caught that’ll be small enough to hide, but big enough that we can actually hear her.”

While he went off to do that, I gently lifted Eria closer to my face, squinting to try to see her better.  She was hunkered down in the center of my palm, arms protectively tucked over her head.  “It’s alright,” I told her quietly, “Ivan’s working to get you a bigger form right now.”  “How do we keep it from hurting her?” Ivan asked once he found a worthy crab.  “Put it on the ground and distract it with a stick or something,” I offered.  

He did as I said and I lowered Eria to the ground.  She hopped off and stood there hesitantly for a moment before jumping on top of it and clambering to a break in its armored exoskeleton.  The moment she got to it, she flung herself off and away and I scooped it back up with a shovel before it could turn on her.  Slowly, Eria’s form changed — skin rippling larger and larger — hardening in snapping sounds until she was the length of my palm.  “Oh thank goodness!  You were right in saying that form was too small.  I think I got a bit too excited when I saw it.”

“So you‘ll come with us then?” I asked.  “As long as I get a bigger creature to drink from when we get there,” she panted.  Her scratches were wider now, blood slowly oozing from them.  “What happened to you?” Ivan asked, gesturing to them.  He tried to be subtle in doing so, not particularly wanting to scrutinize her bare torso for very long.  Eria delicately brushed a hand over her wounds.  “You aren’t supposed to morph when you’re hurt.  Especially not twice.  I had to, though.  There was no way I’d survive in my completely aquatic form, and I was absolutely not going to sit through the torture of being in that tiny one.”

I dumped out the bucket of water as Ivan took up the rest of our things, packing the empty bottles into the now empty bucket.  Once we were set to head back, we turned and watched Eria, scuttling over the ground towards us.  “This is so confusing!” she huffed, “My legs work better walking sideways than they do walking forwards!”  “Would you like to ride with me?” I offered, kneeling down so I was a bit closer to her height.  Eria scrutinized me for a moment, then nodded curtly.

She clambered onto my hand, little pointed legs digging into my skin.  I held her in the open for a bit while we walked down the beach, but as we neared the first group of people, I gently slid her into my pocket to hide.  Soon, everyone clambered back into their seats on the bus.  Ivan let me have the one by the window on the way back again; that way I could keep further away from the other people near the aisle.  I absentmindedly stared at nothing the whole trip, thinking through how to deal with our new companion.  Something wet brushed my skin when I shifted, startling from my thoughts.  Glancing down to my pocket, I gasped.  The fabric was soaked with dark red.  Cautiously I lifted up the opening.  Eria lay there, breathing hard.  

“Oh my god!  Are-  Do you think you can last until we get off the bus?”  I felt her shudder, “I.. don’t know.  How much longer?”  Glancing out the window, I realized that we weren’t very far away.  “About ten more minutes.”  Eria nodded, “I can make it.”  The second I got off the bus, I walked as quickly as I dared to class, grabbed my bag, and excused myself to the bathroom, towel in hand.  I didn’t even have time to explain what was going on to Ivan, but I knew he’d cover for me.

Locking a bathroom stall, I reached into my bloodstained pocket and carefully placed Eria on top of a covered toilet.  Then I got to work.  I hacked into my towel with a pair of scissors until I had small strips of cloth.  Kneeling down, I cautiously reached for Eria.  She gasped, clutching the now fully-bleeding gashes across her stomach.

“P- Please, if you’re going to save me with some human healing magic, do it soon,” she begged.  Gently, I bent down and brought her close, wrapping the clean material tightly around her.  “Tell me if it’s too tight, alright?  It has to be a bit snug to stop you from bleeding., but make sure you can still breathe properly..”  Eria nodded, letting me do my work.  Hesitantly, she tested it out after I finished.  “Well…  I’m not dead yet.”  “Once I get you home, I can find some proper bandages and medication that should stop you from bleeding.  Will you be alright until then?”

She checked herself over another time, then nodded slowly.  “It’ll be soon, right?”  “I’ll head straight there.”  Eria awkwardly stumbled over to me, grumbling about having too many limbs.  I gently slid her into my other pocket — the one that wasn’t soaked through with blood — and headed for my car.  I kept my bag by my side to cover the dark red mess, but still kept a quicker pace to avoid anyone spotting it.  

On the way home, Eria hesitantly peered over the edge of my pocket.  “Where are we?” she asked me confusedly, “Is this another human-moving machine?”  My brows furrowed, “You mean a car?”  “I.. don’t know.”  I glanced down at her, but she shied away from my gaze.  “You.. don’t get around much, do you?”  She shrugged — her shoulders bumping my side.  “No.  I never really wanted to leave my home, and I certainly didn’t want to live around humans.  Humans are confusing.”  “Am I confusing?”  Eria nodded, “Very much so, yes.”

At home at last, I dropped everything at the door and took Eria straight to the bathroom sink, where I pulled out a bin of medical supplies.  “Alright, my roommate doesn’t take ecology, so she won’t be here for a few hours.  That should be plenty of time to patch you up.”  “More humans?” Eria grumbled, “How am I supposed to take a bigger form with another human around?”  

Gently, I undid the being’s makeshift bandages.  She whimpered slightly, inhaling a sharp breath.  Her cuts had stopped bleeding so harshly, but they were still slowly seeping blood.  “Can you.. heal it?” Eria asked me quietly.  I nodded, taking an older washcloth and wetting it before reaching carefully for her.  Eria’s eyes widened in fright, but she didn’t pull away.  My free hand gently cupped her back as I wiped away the blood across her stomach and chest.  As serious as the situation was, I still couldn’t help but blush as I cleaned her off.  Her chest was.. so exposed.

Afterwards, I gave her some medication to rub on her cuts — deciding it would be best for her to do things herself.  She was so small I didn’t want to risk hurting her.  As I brought her body closer so I could wrap it in bandages, I finally got a good look at her face.  A scar dashed across one of her eyelids, and I found myself wondering how she’d gotten it.  Eria refused to hold my gaze for a bit, but slowly turned to stare at me in awe.  Her tiny wide eyes flickered between the features of my face — taking everything in.  “You-  You’re so different than I thought you’d be,” she mused quietly.  Her tiny hand alighted on my finger as I wrapped a bandage around her torso.  I froze when we touched; her hand was barely larger than my nail.

“Thank you.  Genuinely.  I.. I wouldn’t have survived if it weren’t for your kindness.”  Taking my hand off her back, I slid her tiny palms between my fingers.  “You’re welcome.”  Eria offered me a small smile, revealing two long fang-like incisors.  I blinked surprisedly at them, and Eria covered her mouth with her free hand.  “Oh!  I- I’m sorry I thought that’s how humans show others they’re happy,” she told me, ducking her head.  “It is!” I assured her, releasing her hands and finishing her bandages.  “I just hadn’t noticed your fangs.  It makes for an.. umm.. impressive smile.”  

With Eria all patched up, I took another good look at her.  “So, now that you have this form,” I began, gesturing to her multiple hard-shelled legs, “Do you need to be in water?” Her gills were gone, but crabs are still sea creatures, so I had to be sure. Eria looked down at herself as a few of her pointed legs lifted into the air for her to examine.  “I.. have no idea.  I’ve been completely aquatic almost my whole life.  I feel fine, but it’s a bit confusing with this many limbs.”  “And slightly uncanny,” I added.  “You think?” she asked — clawed legs making little tap-taping noises on the countertop as she looked herself over.  “I’ll just deal with it.  It shouldn’t be very long until I heal up.”

Cupping her in my hands, I brought her over to my room and let her set herself up on my desk just as I heard the door open.  “Alexis!” my roommate, Paisley, called.  “Are you ready to go?”  I gasped, then quickly yelled back to her that I was ready.  I was anything but.  “I'm so sorry,” I told Eria quietly as I quickly slipped on a different pair of pants that weren’t bloodstained, “I forgot about the party she’s dragging me to.  Do you think you’ll be alright here by yourself?”  Eria nodded, “I’ll just be building a home here; I’ll be fine.”  I thanked her for understanding, and left.

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

hi it's mermay and i'm thinking about sirens. i'm gunna do some looking of my own (at seadragons, probably) but can you think of any fish that look like their tails/features would make a cool mermaid?

Hello! I've actually answered a similar question before, here is my answer to that one:

But since your question is a little different, I'll feature some unique fish species you could find inspiration from!

The rockmover wrasse! Here is an adult, the juvenile is a little wilder:

Crazy patterns! Should go to good use :)

Eels! Just any type of eel, really. They come in such varied shapes and sizes, and have various abilities too! If you're the type of person who likes to give merpeople the features of the fish they're based on, just imagine a moray eel merperson with two jaws! Or a ribbon eel merson whose tail sways like a ribbon while swimming. I'd suggest looking into eels!

Electric eels too! Despite the name, they aren't actually eels at all, so I'm mentioning their genus separately here. Long fish that sense things with electricity and can generate it, even being able to cause prey animals to stop or start swimming with careful shocks... need I say more?

Here's one that could have many ways to be interpreted as a merson. Stargazers! They're ambush predators that hide in the sand, only having their eyes and mouth showing. I'd like to see how those would be interpreted as merpeople.

Mudskippers! The semiaquatic fish that live most of their lives on land.

Another one that walks, frogfish! Many species not only have a lure, but also walk along the bottom of the seafloor. How's that for an interesting merson challenge?

I don't think I've ever seen a merson who looks like a billfish, as in like a swordfish, sailfish or a marlin. The particular fish here is a sailfish!

I don't see some reef fish often, either. How about a moorish idol?

Perhaps the similarly-shaped butterflyfish?

Oh hey, maybe mandarinfish! That's one colourful guy :)

Deep sea fish are always a treat, too. They look very otherworldly compared to the fish we see often in everyday life! My personal favourite is the barreleye, but any friend from the deep is a friend indeed. The stoplight loosejaw who has a private red flashlight, the cookiecutter shark who sneakily bites chunks off bigger animals, bristlemouths with their large jaws and tiny teeth... I recommend looking into fish that have photophores, aka light-producing organs! They're fish that glow in the dark!!! Extremely cool and mysterious...

Lanternfish are a good example of this, I think. They're thought to be the most abundant group of vertebrates, they're deep sea-living, they have photophores, they migrate vertically in humongous schools that literally look like false bottoms to sonar.

Deep sea anglerfish are a classic, old but gold. Seldom used in merfolk! I've tried tackling anglerfish merfolk myself before, I'll feature my concept sketches below for possible inspiration... though they contain artistic nudity, so I'll only feature them under the cut.

And there you have it! I got kinda carried away, I'm sure no one minds. Have a fun Mermay! I'm gonna draw some art for it myself, but in the meantime, have this fish ramble :)

Once again, artistic nudity under the cut. Just some cartoon tits. Completely nonrealistic nonoffensive unreal cartoon bazookas, just wanna put them away from a direct line of sight because my blog isn't for art most of the time.

Her first initial concept on the left and some additional ones on the right. Anglerfish of all kinds use lures to trick prey, so I wanted to mix the lure aspect with mermaids to create a siren that lures in sailors with her human half and eats them with her fish half. The human half has working eyes, vocal chords and lungs to first spot sailors, then call and sing to them, but besides that all the other organs are in the fish half. No doubt similar merple exist, but this was my take on it! It's a lot of fun to be creative, I recommend just going with the flow and doing what feels the most natural or coolest. You've got this!