#i was like ‘oh this will be cool to think about mermaid aus’

[tiredofthehumanlife]

Wanna play mermaids?

Barbie dolls: jegulus x reader (James, regulus, you)

Words: 3.4k ish

Summary: you and regulus work as mermaids at the renaissance fair and shockingly a lot of dads hit on you guys but what if one of them was hot?????? OH GOD PLEASE RELASE ME I WANT PEACE PLEASE GOD PLEASE

Warnings: your mermaid name is meryn, I personally think mermaid is a gn term but I understand why you wouldn't view it that way I was a mermaid kid so all I did was read books on them so to me personally I just feel like they wouldnt care about gender norms or gendered language BUT I UNDERSTAND so you and regulus are referred to as mermaids but there is no other gendered language, morden au, marylily is real, regulus is trans with stars around his top surgery scars and he's a tad insecure about the scars but it's cool, that's all.

You and your boyfriend, Regulus, loved working at fairs. You both had spent a very long time honing your costumes and characters. So when the biggest fair in your area hired you both, you were giddy. After you hung up, you and Regulus both screamed and jumped around the kitchen, holding onto each other. After waiting and picking at the fine details, the fair had finally opened again.

Every summer for about three months the fair on the outskirts of town was open. People dressed up, fairies, witches, queens, knights, regular old Renaissance peasants, came from all over to join in the festivities. Behind the large, fake, castle gates was a massive amount of care and love. People worked to fill their booths with handmade products. People spoke with old accents, calling out to thou to payeth for a large pretzel with your Chime credit card. You loved it. All the costumes, all the activities, all the love people put in, seeing the joy in children's eyes as they met real life mermaids. Even if it was just you and your  dumbass boyfriend in costume, it was real to them. You were even more excited to go to the one in town, you had seen how their mermaid tank was set up.

For quests they had to find the building with the painted mermaids all over it. It was open concept mostly, as most things at the fair were, no ac, all wood, and still beautiful. The building was mainly there for the gift shop, if the people wanted to see the real mermaids they'd have to follow the small stone path. Through a small arched gate, vines climbing up it, was a small winding garden path. Stunning flowers and vines growing around them as they made their way down the line. Eventually they'd turn the corner and see it. The large tank of water, usually with a mermaid inside. Around the tank were large fake rocks, making it look less like a tank and more like a tiny cave. Inbeaded in the rocks were gold dabloons and seashells. False seaweed twisting around the rocks. It was convincing enough for a child. Then there was another small path that led the guests out of the garden and back to the gift shop.

For the mermaids however, the path was different. You entered in through the gift shop, an employee showing you behind the beaded curtain in the back. Through there you found two doors, both painted teal that was now peeling and dim. Through the door on the left was a bathroom aka changing room. Through the door on the right was a small pool, the half of the tank that wasn't visible to the public. On two of the walls there was a space to walk, sidewalk wide. There were regular old swimming pool steps off in the corner, a lovely space to sit and take a break in your opinion. Then across from the door was an entryway. It started at the bottom of the tank and raised all the way up to just above the water. You entered the tank for the children to see you by getting into the pool and then swimming through the entry. It was most definitely one of the nicer set ups. There was one time where you showed up and found a troft waiting for you.

You and Regulus had gotten dressed, slid into your tails, and flipped yourselves into the pool all within an hour. You still had about thirty minutes to waste before you were needed outside. You had noticed that Regulus was quieter than usual but you just assumed he was tired. It was early in the morning and he was more of a night owl. Though now as you were both sitting on the steps, passing time in silence, you felt worried. You nudged his shoulder with yours. You asked him if he was alright and he seemed to sink. He shrugged. There a moment of silence before be started whispering to you.

"I'm just worried someone might say something." You raised an eyebrow at him.

"About?" Regulus rolled his eyes and gestured at his chest. He had scars, but so did millions of people. Regulus once vented to Sirius about his insecurities over his scars and Sirius offered the solution of tattoos. Of course he would. Regulus took it though. He went and got stars littered around them. Regulus was definitely more confident in them when you were alone or with friends but he always seemed to get a little antsy before working. You shrugged.

"Has anyone said anything before?" You already knew the answer. You just needed to remind him of it. Regulus pinched his lips together, shaking his head. "Then why would anyone say something now? What makes this job any different?" Regulus sighed and dropped his head on your shoulder.

"I have no real merit behind my anxieties." You nodded. You pressed a kiss to his forehead, glad he finally came to a proper conclusion. You slipped off the step, dropping to your shoulders in  the water. Regulus soon joined you. You swam through the opening. The outside part of the tank was much nicer than the inside. It was still early in the morning, the fair opening accnoucment started at 7:40 but no one really entered the fair until 8 ish. If you looked to the side you could see the sunrise. Regulus' head popped up out of the water next to you. You smiled at him. There were two small false rocks with flat tops in the two corners at the front.

You loved how Regulus looked in this lighting. He glanced over at you when he noticed you staring at him. Regulus rolled his eyes and made his way over to the corner across from you. He plopped himself down on the rock and rested his arm over the edge of the tank.

His tail was purple. You were there when he got his inspiration. You and Regulus were shopping for Luna's third birthday present when a little girl ran up to him holding up her Barbie doll. She kept pointing at them both. You saw the similarities instantly. It was a little mermaid doll with short black hair and a purple and blue tail. After her mother came running around the corner apologizing a million times and throwing the girl over her shoulder. Regulus turned to you. You shrugged and looked back to the dinosaurs. Luna was going through a dinosaur phase. She only wanted dinosaurs. Dinosaur chicken nuggets, dinosaur socks, dinosaur cereal, if it wasn't dinosaurs she wasn't having it. Regulus sniffed. You looked over at him. He was wiping at his eyes. You wanted to laugh a little. He was crying over a Barbie. All things considered though you've done the same so you hugged him and cooed.

Now he really was a spitting image of the doll. Your tail was orange. For no other reason than you thought it looked cool. You kept flapping your tail over Regulus'. He looked away from the garden to glare at you. A man in full peasant garb came around the corner, scrolling on his phone. He turned it off and shoved it into his leather pouch attached to his belt. He smiled at you two.

"Hey you guys, I'm John. I'm basically going to be right by you guys at all times if you need anything, if anyone gets weird. And also so I can direct people towards the exit but majority I'm here to support you." You both nodded at John. You shook his hand, introducing yourself and Regulus with both your names and mermaid names. Regulus gave John a short wave before looking back out at the garden.

"Yeah we're already having a line build up out there, your first meeting time is at 8:30, that's when the gate opens. Then the second meeting time starts at 9:30. And then so on and so forth, but after 11:30 that's it until 1:30 so we all have lunch time then." John explain, pulling his phone out the scroll down the schedule. You didn't have the heart to tell him you already knew the schedule.

After Regulus had celebrated with you for the first 5 minutes of finding your new job he was pulling out his laptop and reaserching everything. He took notes. Color coordinated notes. Regulus then helped you memorize everything. From the schedule to the blueprints to the faux accents people put on. He even went over your characters' lore with you again.

However you appreciated John's kindness to explain the schedule to you anyways. So you thanked him. You decided if he didn't run off to have lunch with his other peasant friends you'd find a way to get your lunch outside and eat with John. John notified you when the other workers opened the gate.

Quickly after that the first family was rounding the corner, jumping over the vines. Regulus fixed his posture, sitting up straight and smiling wide at the little boy. He was clutching onto a cloth mermaid doll like it was his lifeline. He squealed when you both waved at him. he was quickly advancing on you two, leaving his loser family behind. He was more interested in Regulus than he was you. The little boy told Regulus his favorite color was actually blue. He also explained siren lore to Regulus. Regulus smiled and nodded along. The boy asked Regulus what his name was. Regulus pressed his finger to his lips before pointing to you.

"His name is Llyrrick." You said, smiling at the boy. He pouted looking back to Regulus. Regulus had quickly realized after your first few jobs, talking to people for that long, masking for that long really, was extremely tiring. So you both adapted. Suddenly Llyrrick just didn't talk and Meryn, you, was talking double time.

"Do you not talk?" The little boy asked, tilting his head to the side at Regulus. Regulus pinched his lips together, shaking his head no. The boy's smile grew, letting out an excited squeal. He quickly ran back to his family, who was standing awkwardly next to the tank. He latched onto what looked to be his older sister. She looked to be only a few years older than him. He dragged her over to Regulus.

"This is my sister, she doesn't talk either. So sometimes I talk for her at restaurants and stuff, like you." He said smiling at you. Regulus smiled brightly, waving at them both. The girl looked more than giddy to meet a mermaid who was like her, her smiling biting back at her cheeks. Regulus held up his finger before flopping himself off his rock seat. He quickly swam back through the opening. Both the kids looked back to you, with sad looks, scared he was running away from them.

"Llyrrick is getting you two presents. Hey do you two where we merfolk keep our money?" They both shook their heads at you. "At the riverbank." You giggled at your own joke, even though you didn't really find it funny. Both the kids chuckled at your joke. You kept running off puns to keep them entertained. Regulus was back in few more seconds. He pulled himself back into his rock seat. Regulus reached into his now soaking cloth bag. It was small but it held a lot of false mermaid coins. Regulus reached into the bag and pulled out two, dropping one in each of the children's hands. You both waved them off as John pointed them to their way out of the garden.

You and Regulus gave each kid a coin before they left. Some of them spent more time talking to you, some talking to Regulus more, and some just stared at you both in silence. As the hours passed you started looking more and more to your lunch. You loved watching the childrens' excitement at seeing real life mermaids, but it was still tiring. Lunch was quickly approaching, you were already at the end of your 11:30 line.

"Sorry, he doesn't know how to flirt. He just kinda stares with his mouth open." She whispered to you, trying not to disturb Harry The Number One Mermaid Fan and Llyrrick's conversation. You shrugged.

The last family was rounding the corner. A small boy and three adults following after him. The boy was in jorts, light up lighting McQueen sneakers, a red shirt with a cartoon mermaid plastered on the front, and glasses too big for his face. He looked to be 7 or so. He was holding onto what was most definitely his father's hand. They looked like carbon copies, even in matching glasses.

Behind them both were two beautiful women.  One was in all green, with long red hair and the other was in as many bright colors you could imagine, her curly hair pulled into two buns. If you didn't already think it was the hottest set of parents you most certainly did now.

The man had a mustache that could truly only be described as a pornstache. Even worse, he made it hot. His muscles were large. You felt sympathy for his tshirt sleeves. You slowly turned your head to stare at Regulus. He gave you the exact 'you seeing this?' look you were giving him. You smiled and turned back to them as they got closer.

The little boy was dragging his father to the edge of your tank, his two mums following behind them. You thought they were the hottest throuple you ever did see. If you were the mirror mirror on the wall and they asked you who was the finest of them all you'd consider death. It'd be easier than picking. The boy smiled at you two as his father froze at the edge of the tank. You said hello to the boy as Regulus waved. He introduced himself as Harry, The Number One Mermaid Fan. You smiled at him. He talked to you both. Regulus gave him encouraging looks. Regulus crossed his arms over the edge of the tank, dropping his chin on his forearms.

You noticed the father was staring at you both. It unfortuently wasn't as uncommon as you wished it was.  A lot of people would stare, most of them making you uncomfortable. You glanced over at him. His jaw was slack and his shoulders slumped, making him look like a child salivating at a candy store window. You stared back, raising an eyebrow at him. The red headed woman came up from behind him, giving you a smile.

"I'm not flirting with your husband. I'm actually just sitting in a tank. Us merfolk don't flirt we give each other seaweed bouquets for courtship." You stated blankly. It wasnt the first time a partner of someone has chewed you out for looking at their loved one. Apperantly an orange fish tail was quite flirtatious.

"Oh gross no. I'm married to her, not him. Anyways just give us a second." She pulled the man away, over toward the other woman. They both gave you a small smile before gripping onto the man's shoulders. You continued to talk to Harry The Number One Mermaid Fan and ignored them entirely. As Harry started to ask Regulus more questions about sea life, all of which Regulus answered, the father came back up to you clutching his phone tightly. He had shinked into himself, looking as small as a buff as shit dude could.

"Excuse me, sorry I don't mean to be irritating, but do you think it's possible I could get both your numbers?" He was muttering so quietly you barely even heard him. You looked over to Regulus. He was already staring at you. Regulus gave you a light nod before answering Harry's question on the economy system with his hands, John stepped over to him, pressing his hand to the father's chest, giving him a light shove.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave." John whispered. You reached out and tugged on the edge of John's shirt.

"Thank you, John. It's alright." John looked back at you to check a second time that you were speaking and not clone. You nodded. John looked back to the father, looking him up and down with the stink eye before moving away.

As John shut the exit gate you looked at Regulus. He groaned and slumped lowing into the water. You nodded, understanding completely. Regulus stared at you, you could see his admiration simmering under his gaze. You gave him a knowing look as he continued to slip lower and lower under the surface of the water. You rolled your eyes as his head disappeared under the water before popping up next to you again. Regulus pushed him up next to you on your rock seat, dropping his head on your shoulder and interlocking your elbows.

"Well I can't give you my cell phone number but i can give you my Shell-phone number" Your smile grew as you said your own pun. The man started laughing at your joke as he opened his contacts. You warmed, most people ignored your puns. Who would've thought a dad would enjoy your dad jokes?

You quietly whispered your number and real name to him. He was giddily smiling the whole time, giggling as he entered in the numbers. When you were done you looked over to Regulus, silently asking if he was sure you can gave his number away. Regulus sent you a wink and pulled his hand out from under the water, a shell in his palm.

On occasion, you genuinely wondered if he was a mermaid because you never packed shells but he always had pulled some out from nowhere. You turned back to the man listing off Regulus' number and his real name. The man was bouncing on his heels. He looked to be fighting off the urge to do a jig in celebration.

Just as you were finishing handing off Regulus' number, Regulus was dropping two coins into Harry's hands. The man thanked you a million times before lifting the boy off his feet with ease and throwing him over his shoulder. The boy squealed and laughed as the four of them left. Both of the women sent you two bright smiles.

"He was hot." Regulus whispered against the skin of your wet shoulder.

"Fuck, I know. Jeez Louise." Regulus nodded understanding your exasperation. He gently kissed your shoulder, sitting up. He looked back at John.

"Thanks, John." John stared at Regulus with wide eyes. You looked over your shoulder to smile at John.

"Right well, I'm going to go to pop over to the food court. I'm going to wander around a bit but I'll be back before 1:00, okay?" John said. You both gave him a nod. He left through the garden.

You and Regulus ate lunch in the inside tank. After that you both continued to meet more children and families. As the Fair closed for the day, you were slightly ashamed to say you glad. You and Regulus were out of your tails, not bothering to wipe off the painted scales on your faces. All the guests had left, you both leaned on each other as you left through the faux castle walls. Staying in a pool all day and being exhausted made your legs slightly wobbly.

"Mm bath, dinner, bed?" Regulus muttered, his voice slightly hoarse from not using it all day.

"Would you still love me if I said, A bath is too much energy?" You really weren't sure if you could last another second in water. Regulus hummed.

"Okay, Dinner, stinky bed time?" You nodded against his arm. He dropped a kiss to your forehead as he lead you through the parking lot.

"Glad we got that sorted, now the question is what are we having for dinner?" You groaned at Regulus asking you so many questions.

"Hey maybe that guy from earlier will be up for coming over. I'm entirely positive he won't mind being dinner, he was jumping up and down getting your number." You offered. Thinking about real answers was too hard.

"Really? I was thinking noodles." Regulus muttered, his tone flat. You lifted your head off his shoulder and smiled at him, lightly pecking his cheek.

“Noodles work.” Regulus nodded, pulling you off towards your car.

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 58

hello and welcome to fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.

The Value of a Moment by @a-fools-errand

When Lance’s previously obsolete skills in language suddenly become very useful, he finds himself wondering why aliens can’t account for the fact that humans, particularly him, need sleep and would prefer linear timelines. (Or: an Arrival AU because I love that movie)

yall OBSESSED does not begin to cover it. i have never read a fic where lance was so goddamn cool. and in like. the insanest of ways?? like of course lance is a polyglot but THIS....this is a whole new level. i havent even finished it fully yet but like god this thing is so fucking cool. if ur looking for a longfic stop looking

2. Rest Stop by @flaming-potato-arsonarson

Lance wasn't like the rest of the world. And he had never had a loving mother tell him it made him stronger for it. So he told himself, gathering up his courage and grit to face a world of winged humanity, when he, in fact, has no wings and turns into a mermaid instead. A world that wants him to die. So he'd keep this secret like a knife in his boot, a sharp weapon until he died on his own terms. Not because of who he was. Except, Team Voltron isn't so sure why Lance is all rough edges and sharp points about showing off his wings. Or acting like a member of the Flock in general. It's clear he cares for them, but he's never shown an intimate part of him. Until he has to.

oh god this has gotta be one of my CLASSIC fics. read it a few dozen times. i read it right when it came out, six ish years ago (goddamn), i can remember curling up in my old bunk bad and eating this up as the hours ticked by. i was HOOKED. my jaw was dropped my eyes were glued. could not get enough. if youre looking for mermaid lance with a twist....brother this is it

3. Looking for Rain by @thewriter2

Like most things, it starts with the little things: his smile, his confidence, his talent. Eventually, all these little things add up to one big thing that threatens to crash over them like a heavy rain. But, maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing. Maybe something beautiful would come from it. A 5+1 (really a 10+1) of Lance and Keith falling in love.

oh god guys..... @thewriter2 knows how to fucking haunt you. if a 10+1 (!!) isnt enough for you, i want you to know this line has been echoing in my head since i first read: "He looks at you like you’re a storm and he’s a desert desperate to drown." UM??? EXCUSE ME???? SIMILE OF ALL TIME ACTUALLY???? keith being so so visibly obviously in love with lance is my actual roman empire shit never leaves my mind

4. Astronauts by @thewriter2

When they entered the Blue Lion, Keith was Lance’s rival--the person Lance was working so hard to surpass. But slowly, Lance found himself thinking of Keith less as a rival and more as something close to a friend. So of course, Lance’s traitor of a heart decided that it would be Lance’s kind of friend that it would fall in love with.

tags to sell you: "keith is a dork but lance loves him anyway" (dorky keith my beloved), "hunk is an a+ friend" (yes he is), "lance is a lovesick fool" (yeah), and "allura is older sister goals" yes yes YES you get it. and like....while keith pov is my favourite to write by far, lances pov as he realises he is in love....that will always hold such a special special place in my heart

5. his own worth by frogsterz

In the middle of the conversation, Lance stops talking and no one notices. It’s not like he had been leading the conversation, for he hadn’t been, but somehow the fact that his lack of input or opinion isn’t noticed tightens the grip loneliness has on his heart. He looks down at his food, his face burning, his throat tightening up.

now usually anything but team as family isnt my deal. im not big on classic langst. but keith as a knight in shining armour.....what can i say i am weak willed. deeply. also " It’s what made it worse. I miss home and I miss being held and the rain, and I loved you. I thought you hated me." got me so bad got me WEAK like i have never recovered from that line and i doubt i ever will

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

[jazzyblusnowflake]

First off, just wanna say you’re one of my favorite md creators when it comes to art and commentary ❤️ ty for being cool n stuff

Secondly, got any more nuzi headcanons or aus in mind? Would love to hear about them.

oh shit people ACTUALLY read my commentaries???

shit, welp time to relocate and change my identity-

and oop i have a lot of AUs, its just that not all of them are nuzi centered XD i mean Nuzi eventually happens, its just that its not the center of the story.

here are some:

i have some personal Reverse Solver au with ocs which is basically an overglorified future au with fankids and humans and aliens and Tessa being alive and new types of drones >:)

i have a Nuzi personality Switch&Swap au which im hoping to draw later on- cuz i already have some story snippets decided on it >:3

i have a massive Human au which i still dont have a name for yet smh- which is very crime, mystery and horror related, the romance comes as a thing that happens during the story- which has a lot of ships that yall probably have seen @keebokuun draw some of uwu basically Uzi is a semi-handicapped girl in the future year of 2371- who in searching for the mystery behind her mothers death, gets stuck in a story way bigger than herself.

i have an Unsolver au in which the solver is just simply a super advanced AI with a sense of indeviduality and the horrors basically just dont happen. Cyn gets to grow as a host, Tessa becomes the head of the mechanical maintanance devision in JCJ, and the disassembler drones are transformed willingly without any gore or beheading lmao. the purpose and plot of the story is something different from the original show, but they eventually do meet Uzi and the others later. its just that the story is a bit extra sunshine and rainbows just cuz i want the characters to have a good ending 😭

Theres the Exorsists au which i posted about a while back :"3 - though this and the Unsolver au are pretty recent and im not sure where to go with them yet, or if i ever will lol but they are fun to think about uwu

anyway i think thats all i can think of for NOW- yall cant keep my brain down for too long lmao- id make a Siren/Mermaid au too but honestly i feel like thats a bit too easy for me, i like a challange- >:3

[vodika-vibes]

Hi vod'ika! Congrats on the 650!!

For the event, could I request a Jesse fic 😍 set in the same Mermaid/soulmate au as your Tup fic.

Maybe Jesse helping his Cya're get used to her tail? Or whatever you want, just my first brush 😋

Thank you!

Don't Worry, I Have You

Summary: It’s done, after one long year, the binding is done, and you’re a mermaid. Just one problem. You don’t know how to swim.

Pairing: ARC Trooper Jesse x F!Reader

Word Count: 980

Prompt: Mermaid AU

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly @the-bad-batch-baroness @kimiheartblade

A/N: I wanted this to be longer, but my brain decided that it was done wording. I hope you enjoy it! I can't wait until I can sit at my computer again. One more week.

The magic washes over you, cool and soothing, like a hand pressed against your forehead when you’re sick. It feels like a homecoming, like this is how you have always meant to be. 

You worried about so many things about today. That you would make a mistake, that you would ruin the binding, that the magic would reject you. You worried about what your tail would look like, worried that Jesse would no longer want you when you were mer (a ridiculous worry, but anxiety is a bitch), worried that the transformation would hurt, worry that you would panic the first time you tried to breathe underwater—

But now that you’re here and the transformation is over, all of those fears have vanished. 

You blink over at Jesse, who’s watching you with a look of such adoration on his handsome face that you lift your hands to cover your face. Or, that’s your plan, until you catch sight of your tail.

It’s shorter than Jesse’s, though your fins are longer and a lot more flowy. Your scales are a darker shade of blue than Jesse’s own, and you have a lot fewer white scales than him, your colors appearing to be more dark blue and gray, rather than the vibrant blue and white of Jesse. 

If you had to explain it in a word, Jesse’s tail looks more streamlined while you look more decorative.

You open your mouth to ask something, only to realize that you’re sinking. “Uh…?” It’s at that very moment that you realize that you have no idea how to move your tail. You try to move your tail, your face scrunching up in thought, but all you manage to do is flip yourself upside down.

Above you, Jesse laughs, warm and bright, sounding genuinely amused. Though you’re relieved when you feel his hands on your hips as he repositions you so that you’re upright again.

He keeps one hand on your hip while the other one moves to cup your face.

You close your eyes and rub your cheek against his rough hand, “How do I look?” You ask without opening your eyes.

“Perfect, just like I knew you would.” Jesse replies, and you open your eyes to see that he’s staring at your face. There’s a look of such adoration on his face that you can’t help but smile at him.

“My tail is darker than yours.”

“Safety thing. Women have darker scales to keep them safe from predators.” Jesse explains, “Babies are darker too.” He adds.

That makes sense, you decide after a moment of thought. It’s how it works with birds, at least.

“How are you feeling?” Jesse asks, his voice gentle. “I know you were pretty anxious for the last couple of days.”

You wrap your arms around him comfortably and consider his question, “Now that the binding is done,” You finally say, “A lot of my anxiety has faded. Some of my anxieties were a bit silly, thinking back.”

“Not silly. I couldn’t prepare you for everything, so they made sense.” Jesse corrects as he leans in and bumps his forehead against yours, “Have all of your concerns faded, then?”

You nod, and then smile at him, “There’s just one more concern.”

“Oh?”

Your smile turns sheepish, “I can’t seem to figure out how to swim.”

He grins, “I had noticed that.” Jesse pulls away from you and presses a quick kiss against your lips. “I’ll help you.”

“I won’t get in the way of you swimming?” You ask nervously.

“Never.” He pulls away and holds out his hands to you, and you immediately take them.

Jesse pulls you through the water, out of the chamber where the transformation happens, and into deeper water. Your hands tighten nervously around his hands, and he squeezes your hands reassuringly.

“It’s okay, cyare.” He says soothingly, “Don’t worry, I have you.”

Your anxiety fades almost instantaneously. Jesse would never let anything hurt you, you know this with the same confidence that you know that the sun will rise in the morning.

“There we go,” Jesse murmurs as he moves closer to you, “Just relax.” He releases one of your hands and presses it soothingly against your hip, “You’re doing great, cyare. Can you feel the water against your fins?”

“Mmhmm,”

“Excellent job,” Jesse praises, “Can you try and move your side fin for me sweetheart?”

“I…how?”

He hums thoughtfully, and then presses a quick kiss against your lips, before he swims several feet away. You almost panic when you start sinking, but then, it’s like something snaps into place, and you’re able to find your tail. 

“Excellent job,” Jesse says with a grin as you keep yourself on level with him, “Now. Come over to me and get a kiss.”

You huff good naturedly as you turn your head to look at him. For a moment you don’t move, but then, slowly, you manage to turn and swim the short distance between you and Jesse.

He grins at you and sweeps you into his arms as you stop in front of him, his lips falling heavily against yours. “Stars, I love you.” he breathes against your lips, “Look at you, picking up swimming so quickly.” He peppers feather light kisses all over your face for long enough that you dissolve into giggles.

You reach up and cup his face, “I love you too. So much.” Your smile widens, “And now you’re all mine.”

“Was always all yours,” Jesse corrects, “Now we’re just part of the same world.” He kisses you one more time, and then pulls away, “Now that you have the basics down, let’s go home. I want to show you our grotto. I’ve been perfecting it for months.”

You swim over to him and take his hand, “Show me the way?”

His gaze is bright as his eyes lock with yours, “Always.”

[witchofthesouls]

(Pitter patters into your inbox) You know what would be cool? The transformers witnessing a human turn into something that isn't normal. Like, imagine the autobots being very curious as to why their new human friend is SO adamant about not going out on full moon nights and one fateful night during a conflict with the decepticons, they get caught out during a full moon and they all witness them agonizingly turn into a werewolf. That would be so dope! It can work with vampires, gimps, druids, and mermaids too!

It's a fascinating concept that I do like to think about, especially with all the weird quirks between the two species getting weirder with humans into Cybertronians with secret/hidden heritages.

And the 'bots probably thought that humans were holding out on them. Humanity can transform as well? Sweet! There would be diehard and vicious arguments over whether or not humans are beastformers and which one is the cutest beast-alt.

The closest to this I have posted online is the Creature into Sparkeater!Reader AU and thoughts about the multiple Other AUs.

The Sparkeater!Reader was in G1 but it's more in the sense of the Cybertronians' collective thoughts going like, "I wonder why this squishy isn't close to the oth-oh shit OH FUCK THAT'S A FRAGGIN' SPARKEATER!!"

They didn't understand why the humans were freaking out with the neighborhood vampire until they get the taste of the closest approximation. And that ex-human is even more bizarre since they adapted their hunting tactics to suit their metal frame that can tolerate the sun. As in they derive substenence from drinking the fuel lines from other mechs since it's Energon that's been suffused with spark energy.

I had a lot of thoughts about G1!Soundwave getting a Selkie as a wife by complete accident with my own twist on the 'animal bride' trope and a First Contact story as the Decepticons get jumped by the magical side of the Earth's oceanic communities because I wanted to explore what happens when a Selkie becomes a bride but is still home? I waffled on committing to it since it morphed into an original character rather than a Reader-insert due to a lot of world-building of the Selkie colony's mutual relations with a Melusine reef. While Selkie had a human parent, they're very much the product of seafolk sensibilities that would horrify a lot of modern-day humans.

[craycray-wolf]

OKAY BUT Y'ALL. I'm genuinely curious. About the Monster Falls au. Fyi this post is going to be me throwing crap at the walls to see what sticks.

When it comes to Monster Falls...why has no one ever suggested a Harpy or Werecat for Mabel?? I feel like these monsters also fit our Mabes. Now the question for Werecat Mabel- is her body like that of a faun or a tuar?

I mostly agree with the main cast's monsters (erm Deer-per is precious??) aside from Mabel even if Merm/Unicorn her is cool

Also Wendy is usually a werefox but I feel that a werewolf also fits (especially considering how hairy werewolves are. Who else is hairy? Oh yeah! The Corduroy men)

According to the GF au wiki Soos is a clay golem. It works! I think we can still get creative with this! He could be a slime or alien (I'm picturing Toy Story lmao. "You saved my life dudes, I'm eternally grateful") or robot or faun or really any monster lol. I suppose he's of Mexican descent and therefore could be a Mexican creature! Maybe HE'S the unicorn because he's pure of heart...🥺 He could also still be a human super hyped that his friends are now monsters. What we think y'all I'm stumped.

Again going by the wiki Pacifica is either a gorgon or unicorn. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE IDEA OF GORGON PACIFICA I just wanted to propose a nymph as an idea. Do I want gorgon or nymph...

"Old Man McGucket is usually a scarecrow, warlock or a demon." - GF AU wiki. Ehh idk about these. Maybe McGucket is the slime? A cow creature or smth? A Kill Billy? Oh, he's a Kill Billy I found it! EUREKA!!

Now that I'm thinking about it Gravity Falls/Journal 3 specific monsters could be included in the ideas. Soos is another Abominable Broman haha.

Gideon is said to be a vampire, which just makes sense (bloodsucker lmao). I purpose an alternative: gnome.

Once again according to GF wiki Candy is a kappa. I say no. It's a cute idea but I'm also iffy about it considering the fact that Candy is of Korean/Chinese descent and a kappa is from Japanese folklore. That's not to say species/monsters can't cross nationality/ethnic boundaries, I'm just saying why not a Korean or Chinese monster? For example a g/kumiho (Korean) or qilin/kirin (Chinese/Korean)!

It also says Melody is a Harpy. Approved. She can apparently also be a ghost which is fine but Harpy Melody is adorable thx. I suppose maybe she's the mermaid of the bunch but now I'm team harpy

Is Tad Strange still a human? Or a piece of bread? IS HE THE SQUARE VERSION PEOPLE THEORIZED ABOUT

Maybe Tyler Cutebiker is half werepuma half werepanther...or a bunny or smth

Okay I'm going to stop now before I list the entire town of Gravity Falls.

General ideas for grabs for anyone: fairies, ghosts, skeletons, nagas/lamias, mummies, angels, demons, nephilim, dragons, ANY MONSTER REALLY.

I haven't had proper progress on my initial GF askblog BUT I'M GONNA MAKE A MONSTER FALLS AU WHY THE HELL NOT. Stay tuned! I'll be adapting an existing but inactive blog of mine for these purposes.

Thanks for coming to my (frankly unhinged) TEd talk it's been lit fam 🤙

[factual-fantasy]

28 ASKS! THANKS AGAIN YALL!! 🥰💥

I've thought about this a bit actually :00

Way back when the crew was only four people, (Seafoam, Octo, Ellie and Louis) they got caught in a great storm while out at sea. Becuase there was only four of them, they didn't have enough hands on deck to control the ship.

Blue Beauty saw this ship clearly struggling and in danger so she helped guide the ship back to calmer waters. It was her help alone that prevented the ship from sinking. Seafoam thanked her profusely. She hadn't been treated so kindly before.. So she secretly followed them around for a while before making herself more known and officially joining the crew. :}

XD I imagine that wouldn't fare well for Blue Beauty-

XD Foxy would be like "..Am I malfunctioning or are those cookie talking--"

Hmm.. I assume the textures all relate to the food/animal they're based on. Or maybe their personality..? <:0 I don't know!

OOO these are so good!! Thank you! :DD

XDD Its really tough for me ngl. I've never been the best with names-

@luna-purple454 (Post in question)

The Undyne one is a bit vague.. I pictured the group has a run in with an Undyne. She is able to maybe separate Papyrus from the group and even capture him. Maybe her Papyrus is dead or he's on the other side of the underground. For one reason or another she knows this is "not Papyrus". So she questions this imposter to his face.

..But Papyrus is silent. Its been so long since he's heard Undyne's voice.. he suddenly cant speak..

Now the Alphys is actually an older character in the AU. I mentioned that at some point early on the gang found an AU with an old Alphys. This Alphys had made a bunch of robotic arms for Monster Kid in all different sizes.

Well since MK is all grown up, some of the smaller arm models don't fit him anymore. So she gave some to Goner Kid! I didn't really have intentions for her to come back into the AU in any major way. I just felt like drawing her :)

Oooo that sounds cool!! :DD

ASKJANJ SALTY TENTACLES XDDD THATS AMAZING!

Also thank you so much!! :DD

XDD Well "actively", I don't tend to dip my toes in that fandom too much anymore. I've dealt with a surprising amount of uncomfy stuff there so I'd rather mostly stay away from it-

But I have drawn a decent amount for it none the less! And I'm glad you like what you see so far! <XDD

Oh boy, the Jevil gang wouldn't stay there then! <XDD

@astaherussy

I unfortunately still to this day have not watched the Mario movie. So I cannot answer the first part of that question :( I think I have a problem upstairs-

As for Peach or Daisy breaking down, I believe they would approach them the same way Luigi did Rosalina :00 Very gently and try to figure out what's wrong 🥺

@neo-metalscottic

Thank you!! :DD I'm glad you liked what you saw! And I'll keep Jevil and the gang in mind! :))

AND YESSSS THE CALICO JACK IDEA WAS SO GOOD!! Thank you so much!! :D

And once again- thank you for the compliments to my Toadsworth drawing! I was rather proud of that one! XD When it comes to his relationship with Peach,, that is a good question.. I was thinking it was an Alfred Pennyworth situation. Kind'a a royal advisor turned father figure situation.? :0 He was running the Kingdom while Peach was gone, and he was overjoyed to see her returned safe and sound!

(Post in question)

XD Just wait till you find my Super mario bros tag and all the comics and angst under it

(Also thank you!! :}}} )

@rotting-glitter-corpse (Link in ask)

I NEED!! TO LIVE THERE!!! RIGHT NOW!! 💥💥

Oh man, he'd do everything he could. I'm not sure what kind of demands he would make to the rest of the group. But if there was something they could do to help he would absolutely demand they to it :0

@fawncr33k

<XD I don't know if Seafoam would want to have kids at his age- but its a good question. I'm not sure what a child between them would look like, considering that Blue is a mermaid- :0

@pinkbomb08 (Post in question)

My Welcome Home AU is kind'a all over the place becuase of some changes I'm making to Sally and Poppy.. <XD But I can talk a bit about Julie! She hasn't changed much--

The idea I have for Julie is that her and her sisters are actually these huge grotesque monsters.. much more horrific looking than they are in canon. Anytime anyone saw them they'd run away screaming.. Julie grew up knowing that she was scary and people are afraid of her becuase of her appearance..

Now at some point when she was little, she discovered the Neighborhood. She would see Wally, Barnaby, Poppy and Eddie walking around every now and again. She wasn't sure why.. but she was so fascinated by them and their lives. Something about the way they walked, the way the talked, how they dressed, how they sounded, how they looked. She loved all of it.

She was so fascinated by the Neighborhood and she dreamed of becoming apart of it one day. But she knew that she couldn't show up looking like.. this.. so she used the Neighbors as a reference and began to drastically alter her appearance.

No one has horns, so she was able to greatly shorten hers and make them look more.. cute! All the residents have 2 eyes so she shall as well! Poppy has pretty eyelashes.. so shall she! She cant get rid of her tail but she can make it shorter and cuter! Wally, Eddie and Barnaby all have 4 fingers. So she shall as well!

Now the feet.. She never saw Wally or Eddie without shoes on.. but Barnaby is always bare foot. So feet paws she shall have! A lot of her form was transfered to her mane-hair! To her hair- :DD

Now she was trying to get her legs to be shaped more like Wally's. So she altered them a bit and began to practice walking. But she tripped and fell, letting out a yelp!

Someone heard her, and came looking.. Since she couldn't use her new legs yet- she couldn't escape-

..Poppy found her. .

Julie hadn't completed her transformation from "monster" to "person" yet! So when Poppy saw her she thought she blew it. Surly Poppy would run away screaming upon seeing this horrible monster.. Julie started to cry.. but Poppy didn't run. She saw this poor little child covered in mud and with a scraped knee. She quickly jumped into action, "Oh dear! You poor thing, here sweetie let me help you up," Poppy guided Julie out of the woods. After she was cleaned and patched, they talked a bit about Julies situation.

"Where are your parents, dear?"

"..I don't have parents.."

Suddenly Poppy had adoption papers in her hand XD Huh, wonder how those got there-

(Post in question)

I mean... I got my skin back at least.. 🥺

thh... thank yoiuuuu!!! :33 ✨💖✨

I don't know.. is it offensive in the games for a character to be called a cracker? Are there cracker characters?? <:00

Oooo I'll keep this in mind! :00 Thank you!

@djadecutie

AKJJSD CRIMINAL XDDD

@storylover2

<XD Oh man, I looked through some doodle dumps and found I drew that creature at least 20 times. None of which looked the way I saw it in my head.💀I gave up on drawing Chain Chomp a looong time ago.. 💔💔

(Thank you for the suggestion though! :000 )

I'm not sure <XD Google doesn't want to tell me what real seafoam tastes like. Its only showing me what the candy seafoam tastes like!

I cant really remember much of that movie,, so I'm not sure how they would interact with the residents there. But a world made of candy? I'm sure they'd feel right at home! XD

@beryl-shade

Oh yeah for sure :0 that could be what happened to Tuna! 😱

(Also sorry for not including the gifs! There wasn't a way I could paste them into this ask post :((( )

@yourstrulylightstar283

Aww! That's adorable! :D

[pillowspace]

Oh, I really like that idea. The family fluff and them treating y/n like a pup. I have so many questions my dear.

What I've been thinking is would y/n be built different? Living in water most of the time since being a child would affect their anatomy I imagine. Things like having wider, more developed shoulders, thighs or upper body (what you can often see on professional swimmers) would come as natural i assume also the trained ability to hold breath for longer periods of time and being able to use mer language.

But I wonder if their body would also adapt to environment in some different ways, would they develop abilities and anatomy not quite natural for humans? Like better eyesight under the water, possibility to digest raw food without getting sick due to this kind of diet they practiced their whole life or natural intuition regarding animals, their intentions and moods.

Would they have contact with other mermaids? Something like Spider from avatar the way of water like being a weird monkey friend among a group of mers.

How would they learn about human culture? the human language?

As a bilingual person I sometimes struggle with proverbs or slang, because you can't translate them word to word, they won't make any sense that way, I like to think y/n would have the same problem haha. Like imagine them saying ,, Nah there is no way they ripped their gills as a pup in this" which would translate to having something as a hobby you spent lots of time and work on.

Also would they struggle with human speech as an adult? Like despite the education would they struggle with some words or didn't knew the meaning?

After growing up would they live on the shore? Boat? Or in the village near the water?

You wrote about them being totally oblivious to human dating strategies and I'm in love with it. Love me some oblivious y/n's. But also let's reverse that y/n have a human friend that found something cool like a pretty rock or a seashell and knowing y/n is someone who loves sea and has surprisingly big collection of rare shells, rocks etc they showed it to them like:

Friend: Look what I found while diving last week! * shows the pretty pearl/shell/rock/some anemone*

Y/n : Oh! It rare, must be brought from away, not appear here. *after inspecting tries to give it back*

Friend: No No! Keep it it's for you, it reminded me of you when I saw it so I took it. It's not as gorgeous as the rest of your collection but I hope you will accept it!

Y/n being convinced they are trying to court them now : :O *Runs to Sun and Moon* Dads/Guys holy fuck

And like they start this chain of present giving where

Y/n : omg courting omg what I do? They are good providers, good eyes, strong. I must show the same! I will think about it but I will show I'm interested, considering the proposition *Gives sea glass*

Friend: Hahaha exchanging not really meaningful gifts and eating lunch with my bff. Oh! A sea glass! I must repay for a gift with another! So fun!

Or the other scenario where there is a mer that doesn't know y/n have been raised by mers and knows a lot about human culture for some reason and tries to court them that way and they are both so confused.

Also I think it would be funny if y/n had a sea slugs obsession, like they are their favourite animal, they are like sea puppies for them. And they feel personally attacked when someone doesn't know about them.

Ohhh I'm sorry about rambling but I'm in awe of this au I would love to hear more about it! The relationships dynamics! Characters! Everything! Everyday you surprise with your creativity more and more!

I'm gonna say "PROBABLY" to all of the anatomy stuff because I was not even aware of that being a thing for professional swimmers

Yeah, they'd be able to hold their breath for awhile! Not an abnormal amount of time though, however you'd define that (one of my friends can hold its breath for 2 whole minutes). I would like to also imagine that there is a way for Y/N to breathe underwater for a period of time with Sun and Moon's help. Like how in some romantic AUs, it's done through a kiss, but kisses themselves aren't inherently romantic in nature, are they? So the very cute image I'm getting here is Sun telling Y/N to hold their breath, pulling them under the water, then pressing his mouth to the top of their hair to do a very exaggerated "mmmmm...wah!!" like parrot owners do with their parrots. There's a few little sparkles around the top of their head, then Y/N is freely giggling under the water. Sun swims around them in circles like "swim with me! Swim with me! Like this!"

They can also use mer language. It would perhaps sound a little bit like there's a speech impediment to a mer. Still understandable though, so *Sun voice* 👏👏 good job, good job!! :D

Yeah, they can digest raw food better than the average human can!

I'd like to imagine Y/N meets other mers too, yeah. Maybe even gets to play with some other child mers, and Moon has to warn them that his kid is more delicate so they have to be careful. Y/N might feel a little left out though, so Sun and Moon still take them back to the human island from time to time where there are human children who won't leave them behind for being too slow. Even if Y/N is seen as a little weird, but oh well. A lot of kids are weird

Aaand that also goes into human culture and language. Again, Sun and Moon take Y/N to the small human island from time to time. Perhaps they have a deal with one of the humans to babysit essentially. Keep watch for them and keep Y/N taken care of. Hey, maybe it's Vanessa! Jdkghd yeah I like the proverbs struggle

I imagine they're pretty good with the island's human language. They had a small vocabulary with it already before meeting Sun and Moon, then they learned some from Vanessa, plus the other kids. Buuut they're not perfect with it, even in adulthood. They still have struggles, and maybe even don't know how to form certain sounds all too well. They sound like they have an accent, and don't know what to say when people ask what it is

I feel like boats would make Y/N feel a bit weird. Sun and Moon would always grab onto Y/N and flee whenever they saw one, maybe there had been a bad instance with someone in a boat hurting Sun or Moon at some point, and Y/N knows Sun and Moon take down large boats from time to time. So boats, especially large ones, might somewhat be associated with danger and the ability to be torn straight through. Perhaps they moved into a house by the shore and occasionally go out on a very small boat, since small boats had always seemed to be less of a source of fear and more so just caution

AWWWW THE THOUGHT OF Y/N TRYING TO COURT SOMEONE LIKE A MER WOULD IS ACTUALLY SOSO CUTE. I don't even know who this friend IS, and I'm obsessed

Oh sea slugs... you have got me there

[ghostiidasponk]

GNSUFGHHHHH BATHYUB MERMAID AZUL HAS MY BRAIIIINNNNNNN

brainrot below the cut but HEAR ME OUT

tw: non graphic body dysmorphia, angst, VERY DARK

I will embrace

Embrace your membranes, your bones

And keep you cool

Then, I will squeeze out

Squeeze out your evil, your grim and your woe

Transform myself

Once and for all

Sink into the tub

Reborn, Reform, Twist my legs to one and mind to none.

Tell me, tell me,

What do you see In the mirror that's covered in chalky steam

Touch me, touch me, Kiss me to sleep

So I can breathe

Cut me open and give me gills

^^^ OK SO HEAR ME OUT BUT LIKE

something something MC finds Azul (merform) on the beach (NRC isnt a thing in this au LET IT HAPPEN), crying because he constantly gets bullied by mermaids/ hates himself a lot- but then MC finds him so captivating (because omg OCTOMER?1!1?1?) and decides to take Azul home and keep him in his bathtub (IM STILL WORKIMG THAT PART OUT) but Azul still ignores Yuu because he's still thinking about those mermaids, he's still thinking about the harsh words, still wants to be accepted by them

but Yuu loves Azul so much, so much that they even start changing themselves *physically* for him, looking for mermaid scales to stick to their body, twisting their two legs into one to make a mermaid tail- because maybe when they're finally a mermaid- a mermaid that recognizes Azul and accepts him for who he is, then maybe they could finally, *finally* have that taste of a love they oh so desperately longed from him.

and that's when Azul finally recognizes just how much Yuu loves him- that they're even willing to change in horrifying, self destructive ways that he sees that the more Yuu's infatuation grows for him, the more his mind spirals into madness- and Azul can't help but love Yuu because 'oh my god you're destroying youtself for me that's so sweet and concerning.'

And I know Azul would probably like,,, make a contract or something to turn Yuu into a mermaid but BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE SONG PSLSPSLPSLSPSSL LETS PRETEND ANOYHER SCENARIO

With tweezers and nippers, Trim off my fins

And forever I'll be yours

I won't fight or make you cry

Whatever you need, Whenever you need

I'll be by your side

And then I gave you my eyes, To see all the colours

And then I gave you my ears, To hear all the sirens

And then I gave you my heart, To fill in the emptiness in your chest

And then I gave you my brain, So that you can learn to love

That's right baby, as the lyrics suggest Azul starts giving Yuu his ACTUAL body parts to get them closer and closer to being a mermaid- wanting to help Yuu reach their goal, as sick as it is

Tell me tell me, What do you see

In the water that's clinging onto my skin

Cut me cut me

Please make it deep

If I'm covered in scars, Will you look at me

Kiss me kiss me, Don't leave me be

I'm a bathtub mermaid, I cannot swim but only sing

Just pull the plug

Flush down all your memories

Into the sea

At the end of it all, Azul begs for Yuu to forget about him, to go back to living the life before they met Azul, before they started ruining themselves, before they descended into madness, when they were still happy, a self-sacrifice for a self-sacrifice.

haha anyway yeah thanks for listening to my ted talk good night folks. Very scuffed very last minute- but if you wanna sing to the song it's 'Bathtub Mermaid' by Mili :3c

this entire thing was inspired by a song interpretation I found online- I'm gonna look for the link and post it here mwehehe

[chiriwritesstuff]

Meet Me at the Farmers Market! - 7. A Clean Slate

A Farmers Market! Joel AU x Confident! Plus Sized! F! Reader

Series Masterlist

Series Summary: What does a Contractor do in his spare time? Sell his wood carvings at the Saturday Farmers Market, of course! A Grumpy x Sunshine Joel Miller series collective of one-shots.

Chapter Rating: T

Word Count: 1380

Warnings: A whole lot of swearing from our favorite teen, talks of infidelity (not by Joel), reader has PCOS and has a hard time conceiving, Joel has some thoughts about Tommy, mentions of Sunflower having a miscarriage, Sunflower's backstory is mentioned briefly, Ellie's shitty puns makes its big debut

Summary: Ellie and Joel spend some time together at the market. Joel takes a chance. This story takes place one month after the events of pt.6.

A/N: I had originally intended to bring up Joel's knowledge of Tommy's feelings towards Sunflower in another way, but thought that it fit better with this story, especially now that we have Ellie to banter with. I missed these two, and love their eventual relationship. It is building into something bigger, and I am excited about the Christmas special that I've been planning since starting this series.

There is a slight bit of angst as Ellie talks to Joel about Sunflower's past, so if the loss of a child or mentions of miscarriage is triggering to you, please skip this chapter. Thank you for reading!

Reblog Banner by @saradika-graphics

"Why do you carve critters?"

Ellie swiped an otter from the table and settled into the foldable beach chair she'd taken from Sunflower's van. She admired the small carving, tapping its head with her finger before placing it back on the table. "It's cute, but it doesn't seem like something you would make." she teased.

"What do you think I would make?"

She blinks, deep in thought. "Fuck, I don't know. Bowls or cutting boards or some boring shit."

Joel sighed, turning his head back to face her. "It was Sarah's idea; she wanted to find ways to spend more time together. She was the one who encouraged me to sell these at the market." He smiles fondly at the wooden otter Ellie had picked up. "She was really excited about them."

"Does Sarah know how to carve critters too?"

A small smile formed on the corner of Joel's mouth. "She sure does; hell, the otter is one of hers."

"That's so fucking cool," Ellie exclaims, reaching for her backpack perched on the side of her chair. She rummages through its contents, extracting a set of wired earphones and connecting them to her phone. A well-worn copy of No Pun Intended Volume Too rests on her lap. "Hey, Joel? Mind if I hit you with a serious question?"

Joel frowns. "Sure."

Sporting her most earnest expression, Ellie leans in, resting her elbows on her knees. "What did the mermaid wear to math class?"

Joel winces, his head shaking in bewilderment. "Ellie-"

"An Algae bra!" she exclaims, her body wrought with her giggling. "Get it? an ALGAE bra?"

Joel shakes his head. "No. Oh please no."

"Oh come on!" Ellie whacks him with the book, "It was funny!"

"Feel free to share these puns with Tommy, I'm sure he'll love it!"

She scoffs, placing her earphones on as she leans on the beach chair. "Tommy is actually quite fond of my shitty puns, you know."

"I'm sure he is," Joel mutters to himself. He gazes into the distance, anticipating the presence of his brother, knowing exactly where he would be. Spotting the two of you laughing, Joel notices Tommy looking at you with a hint of longing, causing him to shudder and turn away. He can't shake the discomfort of knowing that Tommy has always had a soft spot for you, even though things with his new girlfriend Maria are going well.

Ellie looks at the two of you, a smirk forming on her face. "it's weird, right?"

Joel looks away, busying himself with rearranging his critters, smiling at the passerbyers. "Whats weird?"

"The fact that your brother is madly in love with Sunflower. Don't tell me you can't see it," she gives him a knowing look, her eyes narrowing as she looks back at the two of you. "He's quite the smooth talker."

"That he is."

"...but you have nothing to worry about, you know. She's absolutely crazy about you, old man." You observe them from your stall, exchanging a wink with Joel as you silently mouth "I love you." Joel reciprocates with a wink of his own.  

Ellie scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Yuck, you guys are gross."

It had been a few weeks since Anna's passing, and Ellie had made the move to Austin, settling into the guest room adjacent to Sarah's. "Make yourself at home," Joel had told her, unsure how to navigate the newness of having another kid in his space since Sarah moved into her own apartment closer to campus. Even if her presence was sudden, he had to admit that the inclusion of Ellie in both his and Sunflower's lives was interesting, to say the least. She was rough around the edges and curious, always wanting to tag along with Sunflower at the nursery and randomly popping into Joel's workshop from time to time. Joel was afraid to admit that he liked having her around, even if she had a penchant for shitty puns and riling him up about his age, not wasting a second to comment on his bad knees and calling him an old man. She was a little shit, but she was growing on him.  

It was undeniably daunting, having another kid around, pestering him just as much as Sarah did when she was Ellie's age, Joel reflects. He believed his life was complete, especially with you coming into his world. He never imagined a second chance at happiness beyond Tommy and Sarah, especially at his age. Yet, your presence and radiance were something he yearned for so deeply it was almost painful. Sometimes he contemplates if Ellie is also a part of his second lease on life, something he was destined to have, despite the sorrow that brought the three of you together.

"You know, I'm happy she has you," Ellie muses. "... even if it hurt that she left Seattle, I understand why she had to, no matter how much it pissed me off."

"She had her reasons," Joel agrees, sitting on his stool. "I'm sure it was enough to want a clean slate."

"Well, if being cheated on and having a miscarriage because of it wasn't bad enough..."

Joel stalls, his face in shock. "Wait, Ellie-"

Ellie's eyes widen, her hand covering her mouth, realizing she had indeed put her foot in her mouth. "Shit Joel- I thought you knew."

"Well, no. She didn't say anything."

"Shit," Ellie whispers. Letting out a sigh, she turns to Joel with a serious expression. "Well, yeah, it happened. She was married to him for a long time. High school sweethearts. She... had a hard time getting pregnant," she chews on her lip, "...was told that the probability of getting pregnant was next to impossible, given her condition-"

"Her condition?"

"She has PCOS. Doctors blame her weight, which is FUCKED, but Sunflower is just built like that, you know? She's really healthy! This baby was her rainbow, right? She did all the right things, ate rabbit food and worked on her mental health and stuff... and then she found out that fucker was banging her sister..."

"Ellie-"

"She would've been a good mom. A great one! She's always been there for me, no matter how much I was a shitty kid with an even shittier attitude," Ellie stands beside Joel, her gaze fixed on you in the distance. "... I think that's why Mom trusted her with me, even if I have an aunt... when she knew..." Ellie looks down at her feet, her voice laced with sadness. "...maybe she thought I could fill that void in her, you know? She's a good one, you have no idea, Joel."

"I know," Joel admits, sighing deeply. "Hell if I even deserve her-"

"You don't," Ellie smirks. "No one does. But she loves you, and I know you're such a fucking simp for her..."

"What the hell is a simp?!"

"Oh, don't be such an old man! Google exsists!"

"Hey!" Joel exclaims. "You know, you can tone it down with your sarcasm and language, girlie."

She laughs, sharing a smile with Joel as she nods towards someone in the distance. "Thank you, Joel. You know, for taking me in and letting me crash at your place. You didn't have to, and I know it's probably not easy, having someone you barely know in your space and another mouth to feed-"

"Ellie, stop." Joel cuts her off. "It was the right thing to do. Besides-" he picks up a block of wood and a chisel, handing it to Ellie. "... now I have someone to help me carve these fucking critters, now that Sarah isnt home as often-"

Ellie jumps off her seat in excitement. "Fuck, really Joel? you're gonna teach me how to carve?"

Joel smiles fondly as she takes the wood and chisel out of his hands. "Sure, why not? Do you have anything else to do?"

"Fuck no! Teach me how to carve, old man! I want to carve a turtle!"

As Joel and Ellie begin to carve, you laugh to yourself as you observe them in the distance, Tommy standing beside you. "Well, if you look at that. She fits right in, no?" he asks, tsking as he shakes his head.  

A small smile forms on your face.  

"Yes, yes she does."

[somefanficrecomendations]

April Monthly Recap

I’m back! I took some time off to finish out the semester and get my life back in order and I’m finally able to post again. I’ve barely had time to post about fics, let alone read them, so this month’s recap is a month late. But hey, better late than never?

BATMAN

Plato's Allegory of the Batcave by hppjmxrgosg (gen), 2k, Dick Grayson Character Study “So who do you think was the angstiest Robin?” Stephanie asked. In which Dick Grayson contemplates what Robin meant to him, what it means to everyone else, and how he has to reconcile the two. OR I get my filthy hands on one (1) Dick Grayson and shake him until a character analysis falls out.

Hat Off to the Bats by dietpudding (gen), 6k, Crack Treated Seriously "I've identified a pattern in the frequency of Mad Hatter's previous breakouts. Data shows he's more likely to stay put after he scores a new hat." "Go on." Steph perks up in her seat. Now that she knows to look for it, she can easily spot the manic twink to his eye that Tim gets whenever he's about to act a little unhinged. "I like where this is going." Tim's lips twist into a mischievous grin. "How comfortable are we with ghostwriting a heist?" "Extremely comfortable," Steph replies with an equally roguish smirk.

Ad Infinitum; Modified by familiarities (twistsandturns) (gen), 8k, Time Loop Tim is hunched over his computer, bouncing between a report for B (Batman, not Bruce) and a spreadsheet for B (Bruce, not Batman) when Jason stumbles into the cave. If it weren’t for the fact that Jason had been in a somewhat good mood lately, Tim probably would have been a little more concerned about this fact. Still, it’s weird when, instead of ignoring Tim’s existence like he usually does, Jason walks over to him directly and says, “I'm in a time loop and I don't know why. Fix it."

IRIS Log #1548 by deadchannelradio (gen), 8k, Paperwork, Humor (01:25) Red Hood: (Mild static) (Out of breath, slurred) You motherfuckers. Put some fuckin- (01:25) Batman: (Shaking) Red Hood- (01:25) Red Hood: Shut up. Put some fucking respect. On my name. Start fucking copying me. I just got thrown fucking. Um. 40 feet. Into a fucking uh. What's it. Ditch. I'm still fucking conscious. (01:25) Batman: Red Hood, do not move, we're en route- (01:25) Red Hood: What'll I win if I stand up. (01:25) Batman: (Loud) Do not stand up.

Shark Week by heartslogos  (gen), 2k, AU-Mermaid "Do you have a tail? That'd be cool." Bart says, "If you had a tail. Could we give you a sea-shell bra?"

DCU

myself and this body that they stuck me in by misspickman Superboy, (multi), 14k, Non-Binary Kon-El “Oh,” Bart says with a hint of surprise in his voice. “You look so pretty.” “I look like a girl,” he rebuts. He's not sure why he's even continuing this conversation. Bart, blissfully unaware of Kon's internal crisis, shrugs and says, “Well, I think you'd make a lovely girl.”

The Outlaws’ Guide to Parenting by Flowerparrish Pod Collabs (Flowerparrish), kbirb pods (kbirb), Opalsong (Roy Harper/Koriand'r/Jason Todd), 4k, 40 mins, Podfic, Texting Roy: so you know how I had that fling with Chershire for a month or two a couple years ago? Roy: apparently the condom broke Kori: You have a child! Jason: of fucking course we're keeping her

SHERLOCK

The Least of All Possible Mistakes by rageprufrock (Multi), 118k, Female!Gregory Lestrade If ever a people deserved tasering, it’s Holmeses.

[crazylittlejester]

Something which I'm really suprised about is the fact that nobody has come up with a story for Warriors that's basically the princess locked in a tower guarded by a dragon trope.

Like, the Chain in general tend to fit fairytale princess stories. Wild and Sky are quite literally Sleeping Beauty, Wind is basically The Little Mermaid but reversed and Hyrule and Time are very much Snow White in a different font and people acknowledge that but I've never seen anybody put Warriors in the classic fair maiden formula which genuinely suprises me because he's literally just that specific trope if the princess had a sword.

Imagine a story where somebody, say Artemis if we're going for the most basic play on this trope slays a dragon (WE HAVE A DRAGON! VOLGA!) and then came into the tower being like "hey yo. What's up? I heard a certain fair hero needed rescuing?"

I think this might just be my love of Links with classic fairytale tropes like the poisoned apple or sleeping curse talking but COME ON! You can't tell me that Warriors doesn't give you that vibe because this trope is basically an extremely toned down Helen of Troy story without the Trojan War 😭😭

Oh man.. I just keep finding ways to make Warriors suffer. First it was Sky and now Warriors has joined.

The little parallels between them and classic fairytales are really cool! I haven’t really ever thought about the fairytale aspects of it too much, but Warriors is definitely this world’s equivalent of Helen of Troy, which is an essay post I will have to write once I have the time to sit down and get really into it.

The mental image of Warriors as a damsel in distress up in some tower guarded by a dragon is an absolutely beautiful one. I imagine he’d be more like Fiona from Shrek where when the help finally comes he’s like “Excuse me?? You’re doing it wrong! Ugh! You’re supposed to be my one true love!!! 🥺🥺🥺”, because as traumatized as I write him, he really is a bit of a drama queen and I adore him for it.

(You’ve awakened in me an urge to write something of a crack shrek au after I finish my big hero 6 au, and I’m sitting here cackling at the possibilities I’ve just been awoken to see)

[thedreamworldlibrary]

Can A Human Date A Merman Chap. 1-The Start of a Fairytale

Another new WTDW fanfic by me?! Yes! I have a few ideas on the brain for WTDW fanfics and this was one of them. I originally planned to write this for Mermay, but I was focused on my other WTDW fanfics for a while.

For those who’ve followed me for a while I did have a mermaid AU for the A Hat in Time fandom, which I’ll hopefully get back into, but I wanted to write a mermaid AU for WTDW too and the ideas I have for this are so cute! Hopefully, you guys love it! 

Big thanks to @gigilefache for being my beta reader.

Enjoy!

Happy Hollow Beach was just like any other beach, however many of the townsfolk have told stories of sea monsters and even merfolk living deep in the waters. However, some claim to be old town legends passed down from generation to generation.

Despite the claims, this was Lewis Bright’s favorite place to go to since he and his mother moved here a few years ago. The eight-year-old boy loved coming to bask in the sunlight, collecting seashells, and exploring around the beach.

Today was like any other summer day. Lewis spent the first hour on the beach finding seashells before going to one of the tidepools to relax.

The tidepools were Lewis’s favorite place on the beach as it was hidden away, and very few people came around there. He could read a book or relax without having to hear other people running around on the beach.

The young boy took off his sandals and slowly dipped his feet in the cool water. He let out a sigh and let the coolness rush through him. 

As he relaxed, he heard a splash coming not too far from the tidepools. He quickly turned and saw what looked like a tail. Lewis got up, put his sandals back on, and walked over to see a kid his age swimming in the ocean.

“Hey!” Lewis yelled.

The kid turned and quickly dived back into the water, Lewis’s eyes widened seeing a mermaid tail on them. He removed his glasses and cleaned them thinking he was just seeing things, before putting them back on. The kid didn’t pop back out of the water and Lewis walked over to where they were swimming.

Once Lewis got close enough he sat down and soon a pair of brown eyes came up from the water. The eyes glanced at the other boy, who waved.

“H-Hello,” Lewis said.

The kid dived back into the water.

“W-Wait!” Lewis yelled. “I-I’m not going to hurt you!”

The kid slowly came out of the water and was able to show his face. Lewis blushed to see the kid and got close to them, as the kid did the same.

“A-Are you a mermaid?” Lewis asked.

The kid gasped and using their teal tail splashed water at the human boy, who shielded himself from the sea water being splashed into his face.

“H-Hey!” Lewis yelled. Once removing his arm the merkid was gone. Lewis looked around hoping to find them, but sighed knowing he scared them off.

Lewis sighed and got up deciding to go home from the beach early today. However, just as he was about to leave, a splash of water hit his back causing him to shriek. He turned to see the merkid again, chuckling that he got him.

“Oh, so that’s how you want to play, huh?” Lewis asked, smirking. He went back to the water and splashed the merkid back.

The merkid shrieked and laughed before splashing Lewis back. The two kids kept splashing one another and laughing. Lewis didn’t care he was going to be soaking wet going home, he was having fun.

After a bit of splashing each other, the two stopped and laughed. Lewis smiled and got close to the merkid, “so you are a mermaid.”

The kid frowned and turned, which made Lewis concerned. “Well, technically I am, but I’m a merman.” The kid spoke.

“Oh.” Lewis realized. “Sorry, darling.”

“It’s fine.” The merman replied.

“Well, what’s your name? I’m Lewis Bright.” Lewis introduced himself.

The merman was about to open his mouth to say his name, but closed it as he blushed in embarrassment sinking into the water.

Lewis frowned, “what’s wrong? Don’t you have a name?” He asked.

“I-I do!” The merman exclaimed. “It’s just… my name is very girly and I hate it.”

“What is it?”

The merman ushered the human boy closer. He leaned in and the merman whispered his name to him before blushing red.

Lewis chuckled, “okay! Your name is really cute, but it is very girly!” He laughed. The merman groaned as he splashed Lewis with his tail. The human boy coughed as some seawater got into his mouth. “Sea water! Yuck!”

“You deserve it.” The merman replied.

“Sorry darling.” Lewis apologized. Suddenly he got an idea, “hey why don’t I give you a new name?”

The merman looked surprised as he faced the human boy. “A-A new name?” He asked.

Lewis nodded, “something you like and what I can call you.”

The merman thought for a bit and agreed on it, anything better than his birth name. “If you can think of something I like then it’s okay with me.” He said.

“Awesome!” Lewis exclaimed. He then tried to think of male names that would fit his new friend. “Michael?”

The merman shook his head.

“Hmm…Sunny? Henry? Jeremy?” Lewis asked.

“Nope.” The merman replied, glaring.

Lewis thought harder, and his eyes widened as an idea came to mind. He remembers reading a horror series about a boy exploring haunted places with the help of a star. “What about, Wiatt?”

The merman blinked and turned. “Wiatt?” He asked. Lewis nodded. The merman thought and said the name again and smiled. “I like it.”

“Alright, it’s nice to meet you Wiatt.” Lewis said with a beaming smile.

Wiatt chuckled, “it’s nice to meet you too Lewis.” He replied.

“So Wiatt,” Lewis started as he took off his sandals again and dipped his feet in the water again, “what are you doing around here?”

Wiatt dived underwater and seconds later popped out and showed Lewis his seaweed bag filled with random items. He opened the bag and inside were shells, jewels, and trinkets. “Treasure Hunting.” He answered. “I like to explore different islands and beaches to collect items.”

Lewis smiled and gave a light chuckle. Wiatt reminded him of the mermaid from the movie, the Little Mermaid. “Amazing!” He beamed. Wiatt nodded. “How does your family feel about it darling?” Wiatt frowned and turned away. Lewis saw the merman’s change in emotion and frowned. “Oh s-sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Wiatt replied. “I lost my family recently, so I’m one of the few merfolk left.”

Lewis frowned not knowing what to say, he then reached out his hand, which confused the merman. “Well at least you got a friend.” He said.

Wiatt chuckled and held Lewis’s hand. “Thanks Lewis.”

Lewis smiled slightly blushing.

“Lewis!” A female voice called out.

The young boy let go of the merman’s hand, as he recognized the voice.

“Lewis! Come on, it's almost time for dinner!”

“Mom!” Lewis exclaimed. He quickly pulled his feet out of the water and put back on his sandals. Before he could head over to his mom, he turned to his new friend feeling bad for leaving him so abruptly. “I-I don’t mean to leave you so soon, but think I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Wiatt smiled and nodded, “I’ll be waiting right here.” He said.

“Great! See you tomorrow, darling!” Lewis yelled before running off. 

Wiatt blushed at being called “darling,” and smiled before grabbing his treasures and leaving the beach to discover more hidden treasure.

Lewis’s mother, Danica, waited by the beach looking for her son. It’s been a while, and she hoped her son didn’t drown or went further away from the shoreline. Before she could go looking for him, she saw her son running over.

“Mom!” Lewis yelled.

“Lewis!” Danica beamed. Once her son was closer to her, she saw how soaking wet he was. “Lewis, why are you all wet?”

Lewis looked at himself and forgot he and Wiatt were splashing each other. “Oh I accidently fell into the ocean.” He lied.

His mother sighed, “well luckily I brought your towel. Come on, we got to head home for dinner.” She said, handing her son his towel that had stars and planets on them.

He took the towel and wrapped it around him. “Thanks, Mom,” he said. Danica smiled and wrapped her arm around him as the two walked home to eat dinner. Lewis looked out at the ocean hoping his new friend Wiatt was alright. He couldn't wait to see him again tomorrow and hear what adventures Wiatt went while he was gone.

[caramel-catss]

warm afternoons and cool waters

on ao3

word count: 2.3k

link and marin take a break together after a dungeon; link's awakening mermaid au

thanks again to @deuynndoodles for the awesome idea and sorry for tagging you on like three platforms at once lol

Marin and Link sit just outside the Key Cavern. Link soaks her tail in the water while Marin sits on the dirt, sandals off; her ankles are dipped into the miniature lake. Link pulls her tail to her chest, picking off dead scales. Marin holds the Sea Lily’s Bell. She lightly shakes it back and forth, listening to the ting sound it makes.

“Where did the Owl say to go next, again?” Marin asks. She places down the bell next to the two other instruments the pair have collected. Link looks up. She swims to where Marin is sitting, resting her elbows to hold her up on the sand.

Waterfall, Link signs. 

Marin’s lips purse. “There’s so many waterfalls here, though. I wonder which one he means?”

Link makes a shrugging motion. Depends on what you define as a waterfall. Half the island is underwater, anyway.

“That’s true.” Marin hums to herself, thinking for a moment. “Well, Animal Village is all above-ground; that’s why all those land animals settled there in the first place.”

Link nods. She pushes herself back towards the middle of the water. Link dips her head backwards, wetting her hair. The hot sun had been drying it for the past fifteen minutes; Marin can already feel the sunburn forming on her arms.

Marin watches as Link then sinks entirely below the water. This isn’t the cleanest lake out there, but it’s crystal-clear like all of Koholint’s waters, and Link’s been using it to wash off the blood on her. The two had spent a good four hours inside the Key Cavern this morning. Marin has to admit there’s a good amount of grime on her as well.

Link propels herself around underground, enjoying her freshly picked tail. Marin grabs Link’s satchel from where she had placed it down earlier. Well, more like thrown it down; once they left the dungeon, the first thing Link did was dive into the lake.

As Marin rearranges the items in Link’s bag, she takes out little pieces of junk. A rock that fell in. A fairy, who Marin releases since Link isn’t looking. A small key…? Roc’s feather is a little curvy and tangled in places, so Marin smoothes it out.

“We have an extra key,” Marin comments. Link is still underwater, but she had already proven that she can hear Marin regardless. Link’s hands surface - just her hands, the rest of her still enjoying the cool water.

Spare for next dungeon, I guess.

Marin tilts her head. “Do keyholes stay shaped the same in each dungeon?”

Link stays still for a second. …No.

Marin snorts. “A gift for Tarin, then?”

Yeah, he’s already worried about you. It won’t just freak him out more. Marin giggles at Link’s silent deadpan.

“I’m with an adventurer! A hero! I think I’m safe enough.” Link’s hands drop back into the water, and Marin can barely catch the redness on her cheek. “Welllll, aren’t you the Hero of… of however you pronounce that sign?”

Link surfaces, eyes drifting away from Marin. She’s flustered. Her hands form the sign Marin referenced, and then she continues, but they also call me the Hero of Legend.

“Well that’s a very grand title, Hero of Legend,” Marin giggles. “I’m impressed.” Link flushes harder, placing her hands over her face. Outwardly, Marin smirks, but inwardly, she tries not to squeal. Link looks so cute like this. Oh, Wind Fish, save her!

Stop looking at me like that, Link signs, but it’s weak. …Embarrassing.

“Um, oops!” Marin replies, laugh turning nervous as she scratches her head.

Link huffs, not actually angry. Marin places back down Link’s pack. She moves to the instruments, polishing the Sea Lily’s Bell with her shirt. Link sputters a bit more before returning to swimming.

Some minutes later, Link appears in front of Marin.

I’m thinking, Link starts. What if there’s a dungeon that’s underwater?

“What do you mean?” Marin replies.

All the dungeons on my first adventure were, Link explains. Including in the Dark World.

Marin’s only heard a little about the Dark World, but the thought makes her puzzle. Yes, it would make sense, with Koholint being half land and half water. And everyone but Marin and the animals are mer. Whoever designed the dungeons must have at least had merfolk in mind, since the Wind Fish is the siren god, right? Plus Link had only been in fully underwater dungeons before…

Link is here to retrieve her voice; as a siren, she’s supposed to have a song that can enchant people. But she has none. She can’t speak. In the beginning, Link explained that she had heard of the legends of the Wind Fish, God of the Sirens, before. She had actually been on her way to Koholint when she lost consciousness and washed up on the beach. And what a sight when Marin found her - only normal mer live on Koholint, so Marin had never seen a siren before. But with one look at Link’s tail and fins, she knew Link had to be one.

Marin’s been tagging along with Link on her adventures. Link had apparently never been on land before Marin took her home (minus the rabbit thing). Marin also is one of the only people around who knows sign, since she was mute as a child. And so Link and Marin had been through three dungeons, now, Link slaying monsters as Marin teaches her how to walk.

“This is really fun,” Marin thinks out loud. Link tilts her head, eyes confused. “Sorry, my thoughts drifted.”

Adventuring, you mean? Link questions.

“Yeah,” Marin replies. “And… being with you. Your life is really interesting. I’ve just been living on this island and singing to myself… I never knew there was so much to explore.”

Link seems surprised, furrowing her eyebrows together like the words “adventure” and “fun” being in the same sentence is paradoxical. Her mouth opens, then closes. She raises her hands.

Fun? She questions.

“Um, yes? Is that weird? Haha…”

No, no, Link’s motions fly at rapid pace. Then she slows down. I… had a different experience first adventuring.

“Oh,” Marin says, a little saddened. “I’m sorry that it…”

Sucked, Link supplies, for lack of a better word. Marin forces down a snort.

“Sucked,” she echoes. “I’m sorry that it sucked.”

Link shrugs. It’s fine. It’s more fun with you, too. I like being with you. She dips underwater again, leaving Marin sputtering.

“L-Link!” Marin exclaims. She feels her face grow hot. Bubbles appear at the water’s surface, betraying Link’s giggling. The siren’s head slowly comes back up, but only to her eyes, which look up at Marin.

Marin throws her head back and forth, trying to shake off the blush. Her fingers fidget with her pendant. Link continues to stare at her, pupils shining in the sunlight.

Suddenly, after a silence Marin wouldn’t dare break, Link shoots up out of the water. Her hands wrap around Marin’s wrist and pull. Marin lets out a gasp as she’s brought forward. The long-forgotten Sea Lily’s Bell falls on its side; it rolls into the pile of their things.

Splash! As Marin falls into the water, she becomes infinitely more grateful that she chose shorts over a dress this morning. That was for the dungeon, but apparently a cute mermaid is far more dangerous.

Marin surfaces, running a hand through her now-tangled hair. Her fingers eventually find her hibiscus, now displaced, and she throws it over to everything else. 

“By the Wind Fish, Link!” She complains, but she’s laughing. Link laughs, too. It’s one of the only sounds Link can make, and it’s Marin’s personal favorite.

Link quickly signs something vaguely forming had to, and then she’s swimming away from Marin, unceremoniously splashing the girl in the face with her tail. Marin squeals as she ducks away. She dives down, because if Link wants to start a splashing war, she is on!

Marin, the only human in a village of mer, naturally has grown up as a good swimmer. But compared to Link and her tail, she might as well be standing in place. Link leads Marin in circles until the islander tires and gives up. She clutches the side of the lake as she takes deep breaths. Once Marin surrenders, Link cautiously makes way to her, only to be rewarded with a weak splash by Marin’s hand.

“You… deserved that,” Marin huffs between breaths. Link only smiles.

I don’t know what you mean, Link signs. I did nothing. Marin rolls her eyes.

Marin pulls herself back onto land, rolling over and laying on her back. She’s instantly and harshly greeted by the sun. Marin groans and looks around for shade, but she has no such luck. Unless a dungeon still actively populated by monsters counts, because that’s only a few paces away.

Link starts to get herself out of the water, too. She has a bit more trouble than Marin, so the later offers her hand. Link takes it, grateful.

Marin lets herself dry out in the sun. Link decides to do the same, apparently, because she lays down right above Marin. The girl can feel Link’s warmth, and Link’s so close that her wet hair brushes against Marin’s ear. Marin closes her eyes and hums.

She’s able to get through her ballad a few times before Link taps her on the shoulder, prompting her to open her eyes. Link’s fingers are reached above her.

Hey, let’s go to Mabe, Link says.

“Why?” Marin asks, stifling a yawn. She gets sleepy in the afternoon sunlight.

You know the library, the one above water? I have the Pegasus Boots now so I can get the book on the shelf.

“Ooh, that’s true. Alright, we can detour there. Then should we go to Animal Village?”

Yeah. Also, the book could have something important about the waterfall.

“Has that… specific thing happened to you before?”

Reading something and it helping me open a dungeon? Yes.

“Huh.”

Don’t forget I’m a siren who turned into a rabbit… weirder things have happened.

Marin giggles. She remembers how embarrassed Link was when Marin first asked what her moon pearl was. “True~!”

Link has to poke and prod at Marin a few times before the girl relents and sits up. Link had already dried off her tail and gone back to having legs. She smoothes down her skirt and tunic, and then helps Marin to her own feet.

Marin puts her shoes on, then bends down and gathers Link’s pack of materials. Link takes Marin’s and fills it back up with the Instruments of the Sirens. The enlarging enchantment on the fabric will always confuse Marin, and she still doesn’t quite trust it. The girls trade packs.

“Okay,” Marin begins to recite their schedule. “So we’ll head back to Mabe, probably have a late lunch with Tarin, get the book, and if there’s any more time in the day, should we start for Animal Village?”

Could we get a room for the night if we did? Link asks.

“I think so, the animals have let me stay before.”

Link ponders for a bit. Wait, I want to look back at the Dream Shrine.

“Oh? Why?”

There’s a tent thing in there, and I have these now. Link motions to her pegasus boots, clicking her heels together. Marin giggles and nods.

“So we go to the Dream Shrine, too. I guess we’ll just stay home tonight, then?”

Link smiles. I like your dad’s cooking.

Marin snorts. “Then I guess we’ll be in Mabe!”

Link’s smile brodens, and she actually hugs Marin. The latter rolls her eyes but accepts it. Tarin’s cooking isn’t bad, yes, but Link can praise it a little too much at times. It makes Marin worry about what Link eats on the road.

“Okay, okay, Link,” Marin says after Link’s hug lingers. But she doesn’t make an attempt to pull back, and Link doesn’t either. Marin can smell Link’s hair, recognize the special scent of merfolk. Her tunic is still damp, but her hat is perfectly dry; she had actually remembered to take it off first this time. Marin can feel herself already getting lost in Link’s touch, in Link, and-

Marin pulls away like Link is fire. Link seems to jolt back at the same time, and they stare at each other.

“Um,” Marin says. And she realizes that with as much as they dance around each other, both Link and Marin are too nervous to ever actually say anything. (That’s okay, though. They’re both bad with words. But Marin can sing, and Link can touch.)

Link blinks. She acquires a sudden interest in the sand next to Marin’s sandals. Marin doesn’t know how to continue this, and her face is getting warmer every second; she eventually puts all her energy into forcing herself to move.

Marin quietly hops to the first landmass, hearing Link follow behind her. As they continue forward, Marin begins to sing. She can’t help it (and she wants to make the atmosphere less awkward). The air becomes calm and serene. Link’s shoulders always relax when Marin sings.

The duo have nearly made it to the actual path when Marin feels a brush against her hand. She looks down to find Link’s palm, her fingers spread in offering. Marin accepts it.

Link’s skin burns against hers, but Marin is fine with that. Link’s hands are calloused compared to Marin’s soft ones. Marin rubs her finger against the roughness. Link doesn’t move her hand away, but her eyes widen slightly. 

All the way back home, Marin and Link stay holding hands.

That night, in Marin’s family home, she lays on her bed without sleeping a wink. Link snores softly next to her, curled up in a soft blanket. 

Staring into the ceiling, all Marin can think about is the siren who washed up into her life. And how she will never, ever, lose her spot in Marin’s heart.

[queewp]

I wanna hear more about ur merturtle au pls. I think it's pretty neat and u have very squishy designs. Also is it okay to write fanfic of ur au? It wouldn't be much and it'll be my first time writing but I have a tentative idea.

OH!! Ofc u can use the designs // idea with credit ^^ If u ever write something, defo mention it to me on here so I can read it >:) The overall thing was originally just going to be fun ideas, and nothing major. Overall, basically everything is the same from the original, other than a few quirks and designs the turtles have. Leo would always make a snarky comment about how he'd have "The voice of a siren." Which ofc, Donnie would always correct. He's the fastest swimmer of the group, and is the one that usually dominates fighting fields. Ofc- only if he uses his brain, which he kinda needs to work on. Donnie on the other hand, had to figure out how to comfortably live his life out of the water, and be able to be happy with it. He's made a few adjustments, probably like keeping water in his battle shell and having a regular schedule to keep himself from not being too agitated. In this version ofc, he's made all of his equipment waterproof! Including Shelldon ofc!! Raph, as a thresher shark, I'd imagine his fighting style would change a bit. Ofc he'd still be the absolute tank, but I like to imagine he'd manage to kinda use his tail to his advantage. Like Splinter, he uses his tail as a weapon and can stun enemies And as the Raph fan I am, thought that maybe it'd be cool to explore a small idea: Raph's always been paranoid of his smile, of being too rough, of being too scary, etc. I want him to both understand his struggles and realize that those he really cares about just want to see the true him, and not a hand covering his sharp smile. Aka, some free angst I could mess around with ;) Mikey... i actually don't have a lot for him? He'd be a force of keeping the family together, kinda like in the cannon. He'd have the most colorful fighting style, especially when u add water to the mix! He'd be the one to make Raph realize how wrong he was about himself, he'd be the one to help Donnie with his designs, and he'd help Leo realize that a lot of the stuff that's happened to them wasn't his fault. Also, part of me would find it funny if HE was the one who had some sort of 'siren' 'mermaid' powers. Or this could just be me watching too much avatar and the last airbender- but i think it'd be funny if he could manipulate water, and have all that cool mermaid powers!! Just an idea tho ^^ NOW UH- sorry if that's a lot to read, so have this lil comic WIP. I probably won't finish it knowing me- it is my birthday after all, but I'm glad people are taking interest in my little au :]

[applepies-and-starlight]

Was Ishmael always your favorite from day one, or did Canto 5 swing things in her direction?

So, she wasn't like, my favorite favorite day 1, but I did have a higher opinion of her compared to the rest of the cast (barring Ryoshu and Sinclair as food name oomf was making propaganda about them like a madman), her initial demeanor also gained her extra points because I generally gravitate towards characters that Actually Respect The MC/PC i won't say no to unhinged characters can we at least pretend to be civil during work hours and not treat me like a dog? It makes me sad :(

And then Canto V dropped.

Normally, this wouldn't be. That Big of a deal, if it was in literally any other position I'd just go "oh cool, so that's what happened" and moved on.

Problem: there was probably at least 20 different sleeper agents in my brain. And all of them involved Azur Lane

(Context for confused LCB moots: Azur Lane is Arknights' weirder, hornier cousin set somewhere in a WW2-adjacent period where all of your units are warships given human form known as Shipgirls (official term: KAN-SEN) and you fight against a robotic menace known as the Sirens)

(Editing Apple: putting this under cut because... oh lird. It's long.)

I had this like, entire ramble I wanted to go off on but at some point I didn't know where to take it lmao, but the basic idea is the following:

I got into Azur Lane last year because of spite and (eldritch-ish) pirates (Hello Royal Fortune!)

Got dragged into lore rabbit hole

Got convinced to read eldritch apocalypse fanfiction of Azur Lane (Whispers of Saturn)

Loved the fanfic a lot, started making Pirate shipgirl ocs based off the fic's concept (eldritch creachurr)

First iteration of Whaleship Essex created; whale-like mermaid-siren figure who has albinism and is a little Too trigger happy with whale murder

Made her look like Ishmael LCB because haha funny reference

Devs went fuckshit crazy with the anniversary event; Marco Polo was raining the wrath of God (who, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, was a false god), the god in question was fucking up the world with a weird white membrane (which, now that I think about it, kinda acted like pallidification), the french were getting back together, everything is great

I try to add the false god(s) into the lore timeline of my Azur Lane shit, cue updates happening to Whaleship Essex where she's the only survivor of her group and knows that someone else also survived but blames them for not being able to Do Something about it

New Pirate event happens

Devs stole 2 of my OCs and made them canon (hi, Hind; hi, Galley) and they also happen to be close to Whaleship Essex while they were my OCs

I work around what the Devs have given me and decide that they're in a state of kinda died-but-not-really (long story)

(Note that I came up with all this oc stuff around like. November or something.)

Overall my hype for The Sea™ and eldritch horrors have reached an all time high

Canto V releases; I learn about it while trying to make a Limbus AU for Murder Drones

I decide to check it out because. Water.

Doomed sailor yuri

"Holy fucking shit did I just predict Canto V with my OC that's completely unrelated in every way except for the fact that she looks A Lot like Ishmael???? What?????"

Present time; I have been stuck in the Limbus hole ever since (and apparently my brain has delusionally stuck itself onto our favorite ginger sailor so uh. hi fellow ishmael irls!)

Sooooo... yeah

Basically we wouldn't be here if the stars didn't align at Halloween 2022 and Manjuu + Yostar gave the AL fans someone who isn't a pirate