#merman speaker

[mr-laveau]

🪽Audio Announcement 🪽

Eyo NeXus listeners! We have a new audio available to listen for my audio rp series, NeXus! We're in the Caribbean once more with Percy the shark shifter and a new speaker, Aman the seagull shifter! I'm glad to finally be able to put out another video after a while so listen to it here!

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

y'know what else i'm thinkin about?

splash! au steddie where steve meets the merman that he would swear up and down was real when he was little; the little merman he'd see every time his family would visit the coast.

steve, who moves permanently to that (now much bigger, touristy-adjacent) town and runs into (no, literally, smack into) a fully naked (very handsome, holy shit!) man when he's on his way to the little shop he runs on the coast early one morning.

steve gives him his sweater and shuffles the softly smiling (vaugely familiar???) man to the shop and gives him a spare set of clothes that he'd had there from the remodels he did a couple years ago.

the man follows steve around the shop all day, poking around the books and tchotchkes the shop sells, listening to the tourist stories steve tells him, never speaking, until steve closes up early, taking him just outside town to get him some more clothes and such.

at one point while at the store, the man wanders away and steve panics, eventually finding him gazing wonderously at all the screens in the 'home entertainment' section, completely entranced by the multiple screens playing MTV and blaring music through the speakers for sale as well.

He tries to explain the non-speaking-ness of his new friend to the employee trying to close up their part of the store when the man suddenly speaks, "Hi Steve, how was your day?"

The employee ushers them out and the pair leave, walking back into town. Steve asks, "So what's your name, anyway? Did you learn it from the TV?"

The man rolls his eyes, "I had a name before today, sweetheart."

Steve's stomach flips at the term of endearment, assuming it's just a product of whatever commercials he may have seen today, maybe he thought it was a normal thing to call your friend..they are friends, right?

"O-okay, what is it?"

"It's kinda hard to pronounce in english,"

"Try me, I wanna know."

The man gives him a look, but does, squealing out something more suited for something living in the tanks at Sea World than for a person.

He grimaces at Steve's bewildered look, "I told you."

"Uh.. yeah. Well hey! That's okay, we just need to find something else to call you."

"Like what?"

"Well lets see.. There's Andrew?"

"No.."

"Joseph?"

Another no.

"James? Isaac? Brad? Seymour? John?" more and more names and 'no's until they're nearly home (and no closer to a decision). "Wayne maybe? Where are we... Ah! Edmonton." Steve mutters to himself. Only a couple more streets to go.

The name 'Pablo' is on the tip of his tongue when he's stopped by "Edmonton! I like that one."

Steve snorts out a laugh, "Edmonton isn't really a name, it's--" he cuts himself off this time, seeing the horrible kicked puppy look on the other man's face. "Hey, no, okay, Edmonton it is! We'll call you Eddie for short!"

Eddie grins at him so bright and sincere in that moment, that Steve can feel it hit him, and snap something into place inside him.

He's going to fall in love with this man.

He can feel it.

[dapandapod]

Concept:

Geralt works in an aquarium, near the biggest fish tank.

Jaskier is a newly hired mermaid performer

Geralt was not told about this

In my dreams, it's still Mermay 2023. Husshhh time is fake. ANYWAY here it is! Thank you @magdelanesingerin helping me beta read <3 and thank you Ella-la for the prompt! It was a lot of fun! Please enjoy <3 On Ao3 here

Technically, Geralt does not work with humans. As in, he’s not there to provide care to humans.

Most of his coworkers are human, yes, but that is not the point. He did not start working here to serve people stale sandwiches and sparkling water.

Geralt knows every inch of the aquarium, knows every work position available.

He knows how to do everything, despite actually being there for the more excotic species of aquatic animals, usually with many teeth. Pros and Cons of working with the family, he supposes.

The years he has spent out in the field and all the late nights he worked with his doctor's thesis, all the scars from times he spent crawling through knee deep water that stank of sulfur and decay, only to find his arm swallowed to the elbow by something very small with big hubris-- all of that is put to perfect use as he wraps yet another dry, overpriced sandwich, or scoops yet another ice cream.

The reason he actually stays, despite the screaming children and the sweating parents and the bored teenagers and the entitled grandparents and the weird work tasks he gets assigned, is the way a young girl's face lights up when Geralt holds up a frog, big enough for him to have to use both hands.

Or the way the sullen teen beams when one of their rare giant butterflies lands on their hands. Or when he can hold an audience captive while showing them something new and exciting and incredibly nerdy about his sharks.

Geralt loves his sharks.

Due to every summer reason ever, Geralt has sadly been called away from his animal related daytime tasks to cover shifts where their usual summer employees are out sick. Which seems to be most of this month.

Where he stands right now, in the very small and very understaffed little kiosk, he has an excellent view of the shark tank, at least. As the aquarium has grown in popularity, so has their shark tank, his pride and joy.

Coën had explained to him excitedly that their new tank would have a much bigger viewing area, and seating area, almost like a little theater. To allow for future opportunities, he had said, and Geralt thought of the way he would be allowed to show off his beauties through the window and almost got excited himself.

It is unusually crowded today, and a lot of people are gathering around the viewing area and are chattering.

It's so loud, their voices bouncing around the room and amplifying, and it's hard to hear the woman in front of him inexplicably order their largest latte and a lactose free cheese sandwich.

Luckily, Milva is coming in soon to cover the rest of the shift, so Geralt can finally get back behind the tanks, out of sight of all the people.

But before he can, the clock strikes one, music blares through the speakers the speakers, and one of the employees he knows from birthday parties steps out with a microphone. It makes Geralt frown, because this is new.

Usually, the show around the big tank would involve a kid friendly lesson about the fish and aquatic animals in their tank, sometimes accompanied by a sweaty Lambert in a mascot suit.

This time, however, there is dreamy music, the lights are lowered even more, and the employee is talking about the magical beings living in the deep, out of sight of human eyes.

See, Geralt is a man of science.

He knows there are mythical and magical things in the depths, having been up close and personal with a few. But this sounds like they are setting up for some kind of misinformed children’s movie.

Which is why Geralt's jaw is somewhere around floor level, when an actual mermaid- wait no, merman, swims up to the glass, waving at the children.

Milva has to elbow him out of the way so she can serve the next customer, while Geralt stares at the Merman flitting around in his beloved shark tank.

The sharks stay clear, because even if the merman's tail is beautiful, it is still striped much like a dragon fish, warning all of them not only with his size, but also with his pattern and coloring, that he is dangerous.

Yet his smile is wide, his claws retracted to tap a smooth fingertip at the glass and wave at the crowd with a webbed hand.

His hair is chestnut brown, matching the pattern riding up along his back, with specks of gold dancing on his skin and in his blue, very blue eyes.

Geralt somehow finds himself by the rail to the seating area, and the merman's eyes lock with his.

As they do, they widen a fraction, and the smile turns into a smirk. The merman winks, and turns, swimming in a pirouetting circle as the employee narrates his movements.

As he swims, the light dances over muscle and bone and scale, the crowd around him making ‘Oooh’ and ‘Aaah’ noises. He is beautiful.

The merman keeps showing off, his many long fins twirling around him like ribbons in the calm water. It is mesmerizing, and as the show is coming to a close, Geralt hurries to the back area and towards the tank.

He gets intercepted by Lambert, of course, who steps in front of him with a shit eating grin spread wide across his smug face.

"Like the new show, did you, pretty boy?" Lambert says, sly eyes watching him.

"I didn't realize we had a new show." Geralt grumbles. "I need to-"

"-Go and ask our new pretty fish boy intrusive questions, yes I know. Just remember he is not a science project."

With a pat on Geralt's shoulder, Lambert walks past him and intothe guest area.

"Oh, and ask him for his number. Literally everybody in the room saw that wink," he throws over his shoulder as he goes.

Geralt feels his ears burn as he moves forward again, because yeah, that wink felt very... yeah. Words fail him, which is a bit unfortunate, seeing as he is just arriving at the stairs to the tank.

Climbing them, he tries to remember what he planned to do in the first place, other than, as Lambert called it, 'ask intrusive questions'.

As he reaches the top of the stairs, the merman is just climbing out of the tank, assisted by Eskel. Once again, Geralt feels his jaw drop, noticing that his tail is now legs.

Long legs. Bare legs, that goes up, up, and lucky for all of them, the rest of the view is quickly hidden by a towel wrapped around a slim waist.

"Figures," he hears Eskel snort, "Jaskier, this is Geralt, our aquatic expert."

They are on separate ends of the room, the tank between them, but the world narrows down to just the two of them.

There is, and always has been, a specific mood to the rooms that houses the the big tanks.

The way the water reflects light, sending it dancing on the walls and ceiling, how it softens shadows, how it can be dark but bright at the same time; Geralt has always did found it a little romantic.

Which isn't something he would ever confess to unless he was swimming in alcohol, or so sleep deprived he didn’tt even know his own name, but it is there, simmering in the back of his mind.

Especially now as he is standing there in the soft, romantic light with a man, who was just a merman, looking back at him as if he has discovered the world anew. He can even pretend that the humming of pumps and gurgling of water filters and dripping of pipes are an orchestra, a symphony to accompany a first meeting.

Alright, that is overdoing it, but still.

Behind Jaskier, Eskel is rolling his eyes so hard his body moves with it.

"Every. Frickin. Time. Jaskier, good job, don't forget to wash off before you get dressed. Let's talk after... after. Later. I do not want to be here right now."

Eskel leaves, patting Jaskier's shoulder, who only nods and waves absently, eyes still fixed at Geralt.

When Eskel is gone, disappearing through another door leading to more, smaller tanks and the food prep area, Geralt finally finds he can move.

It is oddly silent, except for the metallic sound of his shoes hitting the maze of walkways hanging above the tank. He stops, even before he has turned the corner to the final stretch.

"Hi," he manages after a few seconds too long.

The corner of Jaskier's mouth tugs up into a smile, and he reaches for another towel hanging on a hook on the wall.

"Hi," he echoes, his voice just a little raspy. Jaskier wraps the towel around his shoulders, using a corner to dry his hair. "So, you are the Geralt that I have heard so much about."

Geralt blinks. He did not expect people to have mentioned him, but then again, they might actually have warned Jaskier of him.

"Ah. Sorry. I can be uh... less than tactful when something grabs my interest."

Jaskier tilts his head even more and takes a step closer to him.

"So did I? Grab your interest, I mean."

Shit. Fuck. Shit fuck shit.

"I have never met a merman before." Geralt says stiffly, ears burning something fierce, and Jaskier looks amused.

Jaskier steps closer; his feet probably hurt from walking barefoot on the metal grating of the walkway but he doesn't stop until he is close enough to Geralt to stretch out his hand.

"Well then. My name is Jaskier, as you might have gathered. Nice to meet you! Though, I am not full mer, actually."

Interesting.

Geralt shakes his hand, noticing the tips of Jaskier’s fingers are a little rough against the back of his hand.

"Is that why you have... uh..."

"Legs?" Jaskier supplies helpfully. Geralt is still shaking his hand. "In part, yes. Some Mer have a splash of elven blood, granting them the ability to choose."

Geralt should stop shaking his hand. He really should. Their eyes are still locked, and Jaskier is still giving him that amused smile.

"You can stop shaking my hand now," he reminds Geralt, but doesn’t pull his hand back.

"Right. Yes. Right. Sorry." Geralt manages to let go, and is infinitely happy Eskel has left the room, though no doubt Lambert will look at the security footage for later. Shit.

As soon as Geralt manages to break the stare into the man’s eyes, he notices the next problem. Jaskier is pretty much naked, barely covered by the towels, revealing skin, chest hair, and the hint of a tattoo along his ribs and on one thigh.

He wants to ask about that, if it transfers to his fins or not. But as he stares, he also realizes Jaskier is shivering slightly. He's an idiot.

"I uh. Should leave you to get dressed. There is a shower in the changing rooms. Uhm. Can I get you a coffee or something? Later?"

Jaskier smiles that amused smile of his while Geralt is kicking himself internally. Words never were his thing, no, but this is ridiculous.

"As in bring me a coffee, or drink a coffee together with me?"

"Whichever you are comfortable with. Sorry, I am not making a good impression here."

"You are very cute, if that helps." Jaskier says, and Geralt blinks, stunned.

When he fails to reply, Jaskier pulls his towel tighter around himself, and nods.

"Right. So, I'll go shower, and we’ll pretend I never said that. And I'll see you later. For coffee."

Jaskier’s ears are slightly red, and Geralt wants to pretend it’s from their conversation, not from being cold.

Geralt nods, and flees before he can put his foot in his mouth any further, and only after he is half way down the stairs does he realize that he forgot to ask if Eskel showed Jaskier where the changing rooms are.

Too late now, he absolutely won’t go back and risk walking in on a very naked Jaskier. Nope.

When Geralt steps into the public area again, the crowds are slowly thinning out, now that the show is over.

Parents are herding kids towards bathrooms and other viewing areas, and Geralt decides that he needs to find something just a little better than the staff room coffee machine.

It feels a little cheap to go with the aquarium café, and he realizes he doesn't even know how Jaskier likes his coffee. Geralt himself has a sweet tooth, and very few ever believe that at first sight.

He decides to stand and awkwardly waits until Jaskier comes back out.

He manages to work himself up as he waits, overthinking until he’s standing there frowning and glaring at the wall when Jaskier emerges at last.

Quirking an eyebrow, Jaskier hoists his dufflebag a bit higher on his shoulder.

"You good?"

"Hmm. What kind of coffee do you like?" Geralt asks, before he can say something dumb.

"Black as tar, so anything is good." Jaskier smiles. See? You never know what to expect, even with sunshine incarnated.

Geralt nods, and leads the way to the little kiosk where he was working just a few, life-changing minutes before. .

Milva smiles gleefully at Geralt when it's their turn, and hands them a coffee black as tar, and for Geralt, coffee with milk and three sugar cubes.

Instead of sitting down, they put away Jaskier's bag and wander around the aquarium. It turns out he never had the chance to look around before diving in for his first show.

Geralt tries to not ask all the intrusive questions bubbling up in his head, his scientific curiosity temporarily pushed down by the way Jaskier coos at tiny crabs and little fishes in weird shapes and colors.

At last, Jaskier informs him that he can't stay any longer, that he has band practice after his show, and should have gone already.

"But I'll see you again, Geralt," Jaskier promises with a smile. "Next week. Unless you want to grab a bite sometime?"

Jaskier's ears are red again, and Geralt can feel his own face getting warm.

"I'd like that," he mumble, and Jaskier beams. They exchange numbers, just in case Geralt had anything else to ask.

Not one minute after Jaskier leaves, waving over his shoulder, Lambert is on him.

"Getting some tail, are you, pretty boy?" Lambert grins, and Geralt elbows him away.

"If you say anything ever again, I'll show Aiden all your drunk texts," he threatens, which he knows will only work for a few days.

Geralt risks sending a text that same night, and Jaskier replies only a few minutes after.

They have a lunch scheduled in a few days, and Geralt doesn't dare call it a date, not yet, no matter what Eskel says.

When Geralt goes to sleep later that night, he dreams of blue eyes, of chestnut brown and gold specks glimmering in the underwater light.

[ms--lobotomy]

Almost done with finals. Almost. Pretty merman on the mind. Aah. [Previous] [Next]

Summary: You and Mortarion go for your first swim together.

Word Count: 1044

Content Warnings: dad rock, scars, saccharine sweet content this time around

Image Credit: @squishyowl

You slid the wood-and-glass door shut with a loud THUMP. You held your phone in one hand, encased in a plastic bag, and a small speaker in the other. You felt his eyes on you, careful not to linger too long on your exposed skin. You looked down at him, a light smile dusting your lips. His eyes widened as they trailed up to meet yours, and his mouth hung slightly agape.

"Mortarion?" you asked, feeling your heart skip a beat.

"It's nothing," he said gruffly. "What's in your hand?"

"Oh!" you exclaimed, holding up your phone. "This is a phone, it's... it's a lot of things, really, but the battery on it sucks. But if I open up the right music app and turn on the speaker..." you said, pressing a button to light up your speaker before focusing on your phone to open up your music app of choice. You scrolled to one of your more calm playlists, and pressed play.

Mortarion's eyes widened as he heard the strum of an acoustic guitar. You dipped your toes into the pool. D-major-7 chord, followed by a B-sus-2, dropping to G-sus-2 before moving back to that D-major-7.

"I can... play the first chord," you said. "I'm still learning this one." Meanwhile, Mortarion was laser-focused on the sound coming from the speaker.

"Hello... I've waited here for you..."

You were knee-deep now, getting acclimated to the water. Mortarion's tail swished from side to side, and he leaned on the side of the pool. You stepped lower as the voice in the speaker crooned its next word.

"Everlong."

You stepped off the stairs and winced as the water came up to your chest, cold against you. Mortarion turned around, his face expressionless as he edged his way towards you.

"You're cold."

You nodded as Dave Grohl continued the first verse of the song, shivering as if on cue. "I'm sorry," you mumbled, folding your hands over your stomach. "Sometimes I just need a minute to acclimate to this pool."

His expression was as rough and cold as ever, but he lay a light hand on your upper arm. It almost engulfed it. His fingers ended in sharp, ash-dark claws that rested against your skin. His pale skin was slightly iridescent, dotted in some places with light yellow-green scales. You shivered again as you looked back at him. His hand was warm on you.

"Do you..." he started before clearing his throat. "Do you wish to come closer?"

You froze, blinked, and then nodded. "I'd like that," you said sheepishly. Before you knew it, his other hand was cupped behind your back and he rested your head on his chest. His skin was rough, scarred. You felt not one, but two heartbeats in your ear. You would have said something, but his two hearts was far from the strangest thing about him. He leaned back, putting his back to the water.

"And I wonder... when I sing along with you..."

As the song hit the chorus, you looked up at him. His eyes were still trained on the speaker, even though he was swimming around in the pool with you. It was almost uncanny, but... cute? You couldn't deal with those thoughts. Not now. You looked back down, and right next to your eye was a stitched-up scar. You tensed up.

"Your scars," you said, a lump forming in your throat. The scar was already scabbing over, and the sutures stuck out of his skin like skinny little spikes. You opened your mouth to say something, but he spoke up first.

"They'll heal," he rumbled. "I've dealt with worse."

"But you haven't washed up on shore..." you trailed off, looking up at him. "Right?"

You felt him shudder underneath you. "Oh--" you interjected before you felt him tense up. "You don't have to talk about anything you're not comfortable with," you said. "I promise."

"You saw nothing," he hissed, before his expression softened. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Fine, I guess I have no other choice than to trust you," he huffed, a hand on your back. You felt the claws against your skin, but he refused to let them sink in. "I will not be talking about it. Not now."

"Go at your own pace," you mused, as the last chorus of the song began to come into full force.

"If everything could ever feel this real forever..."

You felt a hand at the back of your head, pressing you into his chest. You felt his heartbeats in full swing, beating wildly. You didn't resist, wrapping your arms around him as much as you could. He was skinny for his size, yet muscular. You couldn't wrap your arms all the way around if you tried. You stayed like that for a few moments. He closed his eyes.

"Are you feeling okay?" you asked as the song came to a close.

You felt his twin hearts flutter. "I am doing fine," he said calmly. "I can ask the same for you?"

"Yeah," you said, shifting on him. "Yeah."

An advertisement blared out of the speakers, and Mortarion cocked his head. "This is... far less pleasant," he said, turning upright in the pool.

"Oh, right," you said, holding onto him. You couldn't reach the bottom where both of you were, and he wrapped an arm around you. "Oh, uh.." you started. "Do you mind if I swim over to my phone? I need to close and reopen the app."

His grip on you relinquished. "If that's what it takes," he said as you doggy-paddled over towards your phone.

"I promise I'm a better swimmer than this," you smiled, looking over your shoulder once you reached the side of the pool.

Mortarion was staring at you. Not as coldly as you normally had seen him, even though he hadn't even been in the pool for 24 hours. You felt your heart seize in your chest. You didn't want to admit anything to yourself, no, you hadn't known him that long! You felt your heartbeat calm down. This was just fascination, not real love.

"The... phone, it was called?" he asked.

You felt a lump in your throat grow. "Yeah," you said. "Let me stop this ad real quick."

Taglist: @bispecsual @justeverythingnothingelse @bleedingichorhearts @nekotaetae @historitor-bookshelf

[quinntell]

I wonder what a mermaid/pirate au with fitpac would be like

like obviously fit is the merman, although I might make his ass more folk-lore like

and the Brazilians are a group of pirates that crash landed on a random island that the mermaids live near

the pod of mermen is just all the og Spanish and English speakers

can’t decide if the French would be another pirate crew or a pod of mermaids.

then the extra group (the fuckers that got frozen) would be a mix

[saiskulls-110]

Break Point — Finished Episode 5

OKAY BREAK IT DOWN *DJ TURNTABLE EFFECT*

OBVIOUSLY SPOILERS FOR HILDA 3'S FIRST 5 EPISODES BELOW

Episode 1.

THE WAY I WAS JUMPSCARED BY DAVID'S VOICE. HOW OLD ARE THEY NOW??? LIKE IT'S GOTTA BE TEEN YEARS BECAUSE GODDAMN PUBERTY BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF MY GUY. MY GUY. MY GUY WHY IS HE SO TALL?????? DAVHDISD??????

Frida's new clothes are so cute she's my baby she's bmy baby no-one can speak ill of her EVER stay WAWAY HSISSSS HISSSSS

Trans flag doormat in Astrid's house. oh my god. oh my gos.sh. trans grandma...

TONTU BEING A TOURIST??? IS KILLING ME??? HE'S GOT THE HAWAIIAN SHIRT AND EVERYTHING I. HELP

Alfur. Alfur I Don't Like This Foreshadowing. Alfur. Alfur Stop Playing The Board Game. ALFUR.

+ of COURSE tontu is the shit-eating smug gamemaster that beats everyones asses no remorse. i'm going go murder this walking hairball (affectionate) ❤️

I'm glad they were straight up with Astrid's "oh, hi, yeah, no I'm not a witch I just really like witchcraft." LIKE IT'S SO REAL??

not to be that guy but why's Astrid kinda fuckigjgn. ADORABLE. please. please. please. just one chance

I'm Normal

Episode 2.

okay but the writers did SUCH a good job portraying what folklore towns are like here. Like everyone KNOWS things but none of them are accurate. also?? just in general a REALLY well-done montage. I do wish I knew what sauce Hilda picked for her ice cream though /hj

Johanna traumatised as fuck (We all saw this coming ❤️)

Thaose are NOT FAIRIES‼️monsterlovers come get your food though

shroom aliens. just in general a very eerie atmosphere done very well

PORTALS??? TO OTHER LIKE. FAE REALMS. I MEAN I'M NOT LIKE. SURPRISED. BUT. WHRHOUH??

mmmm HILDA SAW SOMETHING AND NOW SHE'S BEING FOLLOWED. i'm guessing its something to do with Johanna's "thank goodness they didnt see you :)" because. I mean initially you think it's about the mushroom creatures but it VERY EVIDENTLY IS NOT. aough

Episode 3.

ALTERNATE REALITIES ARE NOT ONLY REAL BUT ALSO ACCESSIBLE

woodman is just the caretaker of ancient trees i guess. ALSO HIS SASS AT THE BOOK "well i'm not in there :/" guess what i'm in love with you

the animation in this episode was absolutely GORGEOUS. literally no 2D animated show has ever done flame-ridden scenery in such a perfect, gorgeous way before I think.

HILDA WITH A SWORD HILDA WITH A SWORD HILDA HAS A SWORD YEAHHHHH!!! bisexuals rule da woooorld

oh. oh the. the giantslayer is a k- oh... oh noooo...

oh he's very. passionate i wonder wh-

holy shit. that poor fucking kid (⁠´⁠;⁠︵⁠;⁠`⁠) like that was. that was so much. oh my god??? jesus christ. this season is getting progressively more unnerving with it's darker themes.

ALTHOUGH IT WAS A WOODMAN EPISODE!!!! WIN!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THAT BARK CREATURE SO MUCH!! PLEASE LETS. BE OKAY

i LOOOVE the snow sister's voice so much. she's wife to me.

Not sure if it was done on purpose or not but every time it played that boom sound whenever Hilda turned back to look at the flaming tree it. it made me laugh. it made me giggle. it was so stupid looking, gave me IZ:ETF energy and really let me calm down from the emotional ride of the last few minutes

seeing more giants is really neat. the sound design for when they jumped away was MAD..in general this season feels like it was made to be listened to on a surround sound speaker system tbh

GOOD EPISODE. uh oh now there's Guys I Think

Episode 4.

Nah this guy boutta be a tumblr sexyman 😦

OKAY OFF THE BAT I ADORE LOUISE. LOUISE IS MY GIRL. I LOVE THEM. I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE. THEIR ENERGY IS SO SWEET??? BUT LIKE I WAS SCREAMING INTERNALLY THE WHOLE TIME BEING LIKE "oh my god. oh my god why are you LYING TO HER and treating her like a Normal Person she's very clearly a little freak like you. oh my god."

AND THEN WHEN THAT WAS BROUGHT UP BY THE MERMAN-- "Oh, you think Louise is SO innocent..." like??? ok first of all THAT LINE DELIVERY?? massive props to the VA. secondly YESSSSS SPIT THE TRUTH. and then Louise does speak up and its like. fr. fr. i love you. be a main character be a main character plrase lpease plea

STOOOPPP... stop THE MERMAN'S a theater kid?? i'm going to start , having feelings AND I DON'T WANT IT!!!

that animation change for the musical number(s) is so good. like..oh my god. oh my GOD the animation is gorgeous. very much a "i wonder if the creators have been on hallucinogens before" kind of thing though adgasjskfwheg

generally just another REALLY GOOD REALLY COOL EPISODE.

my only criticism though this is to Literally All Kids Media Ever is that no-one knows how to write accurate bullying/exclusionary activity (in this episode regarding the ginger kid and his scout group). no kids act like that. please i was bullied so hard i should know

spinning in circles WHEE WHEEEE I WANTT. im gonna download the merman's song. put it on streaming platforms Now‼️

Episode 5.

WELL. THAT'S ONE QUESTION TIED THE FUCK UP ISN'T IT?????????? I'M STILL PROCESSING. OH MY GOD THOUFH. OH MY GOD???

"I just kind of assumed he died when you were a baby..."

"I thought it was some tragic accident!"

FRIDA AND DAVID THAT'S SO REAL OF YOU. thank you for being The Fandom. I love you. I love you. I l

YEESH. um.. Johanna's beef is so. real. and human. oough. this show has GOTTA stop making episodes about my childhood man!!! that's not fair

Alfur immediately not liking his vibes got me 😶 cause like. yk the elf has that autism intuition. so

THE. THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN HILDA AND THE TROLL..ONCE AGAIN. every time without fail. the trolls are just. they're nor angry creatures they're just kind of. Done With Human Shit™ and want them to stop interfering lmao (don't we all)

Johanna and Hilda having that Moment™ at the end where they have to acknowledge his shortcomings but like..the ONE time that Hilda has to face something like this is the ONE time it's actually not his fault. Like straight up sorey babygirls but he got yoinked by the dementors. um.

Okay on another note. anders has kind of got that dilf swag? not like. as a dad. but as a loser. you know losers. help me help help help help help *clawing at the floor as i get dragged to hell for enjoying a character i absolutely should be seeing red flags for*

[nrc-broadcasting]

Walking in Heels

⋆﹥━━━━━━━🎧━━━━━━━﹤⋆

“Alright, good day to everyone in Twisted Wonderland! I’m Yuu, Ramshackle Dorm’s Prefect and this broadcast’s host. It is currently…6:07, it would seem like we started the program a bit early today.” Yuu spoke into the mic, as upbeat music played in the background.

They looked over their shoulder to see Ace, Deuce, and Epel sitting behind them(Grim is on Yuu’s lap), all of them smiling encouragingly at their friend.

Yuu’s nervousness was reduced, even if it was just but a fraction, they’re still thankful for their friends’ support.

“As you may know, I’m here to give some advice to anyone who needs it; free of charge, of course! Unlike a certain merman I know.” Yuu muttered the last part, causing snorts and short laughs to be heard farther away from the mic.

“Anyways! It seems like quite a lot of you are already sending in e-mails, but we promise we’ll get to all of you later,” they scrolled through the monitor beside their mic. Yuu looked at the time.

06:09:27

“Our first phone call from you listeners will be coming in a few seconds. I’d bet we’ll be bombarded by calls when the clock strikes 6:10,” a light chuckled vibrated through Yuu’s throat.

“For the mean time, here’s some tea from NRC this week; the science club’s laboratory almost blew up this Thursday, they suspect it was because of the poisonous mushroom they found after the incident was resolved. How the mushroom got into the science club, let alone in a potion, is now something students are coming up with theories with. Most of these theories include a certain nature loving 3rd year.” Yuu told the listeners.

“Bet it was Jade-senpai.” Ace whispered in the background.

“Who else would it be?” Epel whispered back.

“But I don’t think anyone would have the bravery to go up to him and just ask.” Deuce shivered, remembering Jade’s terrifying smiled when he worked at Mostro Lounge after signing a contract.

“Oh, and per request of our dear,” Yuu’s eye twitched.

“Headmage, we urge you to ignore any news of an ancient magic chandelier breaking inside school grounds; we would like to confirm that anything of that sort has ever happened at NRC.” Yuu added.

“Oh, would you look at that! It’s 6:10AM, I’ll be answering phone calls now,” Yuu picked up their phone and turned it on, as the screen lit up they opened their contacts to see their number.

“You know the drill people: which ever call comes in first will be answered, if your signal isn’t all that good, we’ll be sure to get back to you after.” Yuu said.

“Now, here’s my number: 1989-9489” Yuu read out loud.

(This is a fake number; please don’t call)

After a mere few seconds, Yuu’s phone rang.

“Well that was quick,” Yuu said, immediately pressing ‘answer’ and putting the phone on speaker.

“Uhm…hello?” A timid voice said.

“Hello! This is Yuu from Unique Magic: Listen Up, what do you need advice for?” Yuu greeted.

“I…uhm- hello, I’m Altaire, and I like to cross dress for fun, but I find myself struggling to walk in heels, I just can’t seem to balance myself.” Altaire said.

“Ooooo~ cross dressing? As Pomefiore residents would say; Slay.” Yuu giggled.

“But in my personal experience, balance usually isn’t the problem in wearing heels, it’s the discomfort that makes balancing harder than it really is.” Yuu explained.

“So, to avoid discomfort, and misbalancing by extension, you should walk heel-first. Don’t put all the pressure on your toes and the balls of your feet.” Yuu said to Altaire.

“Will this work on 7-inch platform heels too?” Altaire asked.

“Damn, your wardrobe sounds more extravagant than mine,” Yuu laughed.

“But, usually with platform heels, they have platforms for your whole feet, not just your heel. So, usually platform heels wouldn’t feel like how tall they actually are, because the platform would usually be the height of half the heel itself. Not to mention most of the platform heels made for wearing are padded for comfort.” Yuu answered.

“Ohhhh, I see.” Altaire said, their smile bleeding into their words.

“Glad to be of service. Is that all?” Yuu asked.

“Yes, that’s all, thank you and goodbye!” Altaire said before hanging up.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━🎧━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Our fairytale has come to an end.

[thatanimewriter]

𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑   -   𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞 / 𝘢𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮.

← previous chapter           next chapter →

❝ 𝐢 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢'𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. ❞  ── 𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘬𝘢 𝘹 𝘨𝘯. 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

unfortunate weather prevented nanase haruka from swimming. thankfully, it provided him with something to do instead of sitting in the tub for hours, counting down the days until spring.

──  𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯, 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧, 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵, 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵

𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 + 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭.

you genuinely had nothing to do today. for once, you weren't swamped with homework or practice. while you lay on your bed, you realised you hadn't texted haru in a while. he'd come to visit you each day after all, there wasn't a need. but now, you decided this was an appropriate time to shoot him a quick message.

[𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄] / 9:32 am hey!

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐔 / 9:33 am hi

[𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄] / 9:33 am you doing anything today?

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐔 / 9:34 am no, why? 

[𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄] / 9:34 am want to go out somewhere? im bored lol 

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐔 / 9:35 am where?

[𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄] / 9:35 am uhhh idk

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐔 / 9:35 wanna go swimming?

[𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄] / 9:36 am its too cold for that >:((

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐔 / 9:36 am there go my ideas then 

[𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄] / 9:37 am aquarium?

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐔 / 9:37 am meet out front, 10:15

at the fast response to your suggestion, you figured that you probably wouldn't be getting a text back unless it was haru asking where you were. which was highly probable, since the water-loving boy would sprint to the aquarium if it meant being near water.

thankfully, you lived close by, so you could take your time getting ready while he hurried to the entrance to the aquarium. you were proven to be right when you arrived, catching him viciously texting on his phone. soon after, you got a text asking where you were.

"look up."

you were surprised at how fast haru's head snapped up at her words. he made fast work of slipping his phone into his pocket, grabbing your hand and leading you to the entrance. you felt your cheeks burn as you passed people, staring at your interlinked hands. you knew they weren't really judging you guys, but you couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed at the attention.

"haru, what about tickets?" you asked, leading to him to dig through his pocket and hand you said item.

"i already paid for them, i was just waiting for you," he said, refusing to face you as his eyes were locked onto the archway that led the crowds into the building. giving your tickets to the staff member to stamp and return, haru continued to pull you along.

entering the dark halls lit by the aquarium tanks, haru's eyes seemed to sparkle. maintaining contact, you noted the small smile that rested on his face. in all your time knowing him, you'd never seen him so peaceful.

pulling you to the front of the crowd, he sat on the bench that faced a tank. his eyes flitted over each fish, mentally noting their patterns but not bothering to retain the information. meanwhile, you couldn't help but stare at him instead of the fish. his black hair soaked in the blue light that radiated from the tank and it wasn't hard to imagine him as a merman, swimming free through the ocean among the fish held in the tank.

remembering the dolphin keychain that hung from his house keys, you tugged at his hand again, gently lacing your fingers with his to lead him through the building. surprised by your sudden leadership, haru let you lead him through the aquarium. squeezing through crowds of kids, you pulled him closer to you so you wouldn't lose him, even though your hands were linked.

entering an open arena, you pulled him to the front of the seats, almost shaking with excitement as you sat down. haru noticed that you'd forgotten to release his hand, but decided against mentioning it after seeing the sparkle in your eyes. as someone's voice came over the speaker, he diverted his attention to the large pool that the stadium overlooked and though he was unaware of it, the same sparkle that your eyes held was replicated in his.

splashing through the water was a pair of dolphins, seemingly smiling as they waited beside the trainer. in your gleeful state, you shuffled in your seat, leaning your head against haru's shoulder as you smiled at the dolphins that performed tricks and laughing as they splashed at you and haru. he was quick to realise you had began leaning on him, but as awkward as he was, he felt a warmth spread within him that you were comfortable with his presence.

the trainer noted haru's expression of awe, that of which rivalled the approximately 30 kids who were scattered around the stands, and instructed the dolphins to swim to the front of the pool.

"do you want to touch?" they asked, walking around to the front of the pool and standing beside the dolphins who poked their heads above the surface of the water, a thick barrier of glass separating the trainer and the animals. haru hadn't registered their words until you dragged him up, letting go of his hand to reach for the smooth head of one of the dolphins. hesitantly, haru ran a hand across the other dolphin's skin, mouth falling open at the surreal experience. you laughed at his expression when the dolphin spouted, leaving little droplets of water in his black hair. "would you like me to take a photo of you guys?" the trainer offered, to which you smiled and handed them your phone. standing beside each other with a dolphin on each end, the trainer took a multitude of photos, but not before both dolphins leaned in to give the 2 of you a wet kiss on the cheek.

"thank you!" you said, bowing slightly and taking your phone back. as the 2 of you left the stadium, you glanced at haru's face, memorising the image of his subtle smile. "good date, no?"

"what?"

"nothing," you responded, the smile you wore throughout the day hadn't worn off, even as you walked home. stopping at your door, you turned to give him a wave before you went to enter your house, but was stopped by haru, who had gripped your hand gently. "hm?"

haru's blue eyes darted to the ground as he mumbled, "thanks for the date..."

the presence of warmth across your cheeks and the increase in heart rate caught you off guard, but nonetheless, you turned to face him fully and bowed extravagantly, pressing a kiss to his hand. "you are welcome, kind sir."

[bunnnywrites]

Tides of Fate: A Merfolk Love Story

Pairing: Bruno/Mirabel

Summary: Mermaid AU, where Bruno left the family to live among humans. Decades later, he finds a young mermaid at the beach, and their relationship will slowly develop into something else, not knowing she's his niece.

Warnings: Incest, nudity.

Word Count: 982

You can also read this story on AO3

Chapter 2

A/N: This is my first fic in more than 10 years, so, yeah... I'm not a native speaker, and I have no beta reader (kind of).

Chapter I

Life under the sea wasn’t dull, or bad. That’s not what he meant. But Lord knows there’s no way to make his family understand that. Nothing Bruno Madrigal says can have a good side. Nothing he does is good enough. Nothing he wants is important. At least not for her mother Alma. Pepa and Julieta weren’t so harsh, but they still didn’t agree with his idea.

Okay, out there, out of the water, it was a wild idea. But how bad could it really be? He wanted to know, to explore, to experience it. He knew their bodies had the ability to adapt out of the water, so it wasn’t impossible. Risky, yes. But there was a whole world outside, a world he had never been in. He could only see part of it, from the distance. And it was not enough. So when Bruno turned 18, he decided he was old enough to make his own decisions.

With time, he started going out more and more frequently, and his bond with his family weakened in consequence. They wouldn’t accept this new lifestyle he had chosen, and he couldn’t stand the rejection and ostracism. So he decided to definitely cut ties, and make his life exclusively among humans. He found a job as a fisherman, knowing his experience underwater would help him a lot. Got a small but nice place, where he could see the sea. He still loved it, and visited everyday. Sometimes very early, before going to work, sometimes at night. But he liked being there alone, to enjoy its calming presence.

And it was one of those warm and lonely nights, when he was about to leave, that he saw her for the first time. Well, heard her first. The familiar sound of a big tail moving against the water surface, behind a huge rock. The painful memories of Alma, and also the rest of the family told him to turn around and leave, but something was telling him to do exactly the opposite.

He slowly approached the rock, as quietly as he could, holding his breath. She didn’t see him at first, which gave him time to appreciate her figure. She was young, with dark and curly hair, thick eyebrows and beautiful brown skin. A soft belly, and two small and beautiful breasts. Her tail was a nice shade of teal, still playing and splashing around. Bruno stared at it for a couple of seconds, trying to remember when had been the last time he had seen one, until a gasp interrupted his thoughts. He looked up, and saw two dark eyes staring at him. She was obviously scared, but wasn’t trying to escape.

“It-It’s okay” He said, in a quiet tone “I won’t hurt you”

Her tail wasn’t moving anymore, and she kept her eyes on him. All her senses were telling her to swim away and never look back, but for some reason she didn’t want to. Something inside her was telling her to stay, that she wasn’t in danger.

“I-I’m Bruno” He sat down on the sand, away from the water “I… I know you can understand me”.

She frowned, and doubted for a moment. He wasn’t supposed to know that. There were strict rules about engaging with humans. But… She had heard rumors. About a conflictive merman who decided to leave to live out of the water. But she always thought it was just a story.

“I’m… Mirabel” She said, hiding her body under the water, and leaving only her head outside.

“Mirabel”

They looked at each other for a moment, not knowing what to say.

“Do your parents know you’re here?”

“… No” Her face was painted with remorse “But I’m 20 now”

He let out a chuckle Mirabel didn’t understand.

“I don’t think they’ll approve this anyway” She frowned “Relax, it’s not like I can tell on you”

She giggled this time.

“I don’t think they approve anything about me” She sighs “I’ve always been… Kind of a disappointment”

That felt way too relatable.

“I know the feeling, kid” She gave him a sad smile “If it makes you feel any better, I think you’re very brave”

This time her smile was full of happiness. It was the first time someone had praised her like that, and she found out she really liked the feeling. It’s not that her parents didn’t love her, of course they did. But no one had ever called her “brave” before. Especially for doing something that went against her family wishes.

“I don’t understand why nobody wants me to come here.”

“Well, sometimes people are afraid of the unknown.”

She thought for a moment, before asking him.

“Are you afraid of me?”

He was taken aback by her question.

“I’m not… No. I’m… I’m a grown man, you’re still a teenager. Why would I be afraid of you?”

She rolled her eyes.

“You know what I’m talking about”

He coughed a little and changed his position.

“I’m not afraid of mermaids” He said, carefully thinking his words “There are stories about mermaids hunting and eating humans, but I don’t believe in that”.

She looked at him in silence for a moment.

“But, anyway…” He added, playing with sand “All humans are different. Some of us believe those stories, some dream of capturing a mermaid, stuff like that, so… yeah.” He shrugged, “Be careful.”

She lifted an eyebrow “Are you trying to scare me?”

He chuckled.

“Just a warning, kid”

She smiled, and felt like it was the moment to be “brave” again.

“If… If I come back again tomorrow, will you be here?”

He stopped playing with sand.

“You know… Just in case someone wants to capture me.”

He let out a nervous giggle, and hugged his own knees.

“That’s… Yeah. I mean- I mean, yes. Yes. I’ll be here”.

She gave him a warm smile.

“Cool”.

[mr-laveau]

⚓Audio Announcement⚓

Eyo NeXus listeners! We have a new audio available to listen for my audio rp series, NeXus! We're with Uriah again and this time, his bestie Sherlock is listening and boy is there some shit to hear in this one. Hear it here!

[ash-isnt-writing]

{<*>} Aqua Blue {<*>}

Characters used/mentioned; Helix Vellen, Layna Ramirez, TS-0026, other unnamed characters

Writer’s note!!; Sudden impulse writing idk. Might make this a series if people like it, blah blah blah.

standard disclaimers apply, etc etc. you get the drill.

(not bothering with a border this time. i’m tired. i’ll add one later.)

TS-0026, confined to a glass tank filled with water and whatever else the containment team’d had the mercy of providing, surrounded by researchers in white coats and black button ups.

It was a particularly chilling sight to Helix, for whatever reason. More so than the others. Hell, they were only.. what, 17? It felt wrong, in every sense of the word. But he was tied down to this job. He had no other option.

The ginger sighed, and proceeded forward into the surrounding chamber, Layna, his assistant snd secretary, following close. “Does this thing ever sleep?” Helix remarked, more to himself than anybody else, but he wouldn’t mind an answer either.

“Apparently” A nearby researcher responded, Helix’s keen eyes darting over to the speaker. “It just finds a spot, gets comfy, and falls asleep right on the spot, straight into deep stage sleep.”

“…Huh.” Helix murmured, eyes drifting back to the tank. Straight into deep stage? How… weird. “Do we know how it does that?”

“Not a clue” Another passing researcher replied. “It’s harder to run tests on.. well, a merman, considering half our staff don’t know how to swim, and it’s generally quite hard to run exams under water.”

Ah, of course. Helix didn’t know why he hadn’t considered this earlier. He barely knew how the containment team had secured the subject in the first place. It would’ve been a feat in of itself. Actually trying to run tests on it was going to be a whole marathon.

“Well, find a way” He snapped after a moment. “I need answers, and I need them now. If it has some way to just snap into sleep like that… I want to know why, and I want to know if we can utilise it.”

The thing with Helix, Layna had come to learn, was that when he said ‘we’, he never meant himself. Sure, he did the paperwork, but it was rare to see him himself in tests anymore unless he felt he was the only one capable, or it was a test subject he was particularly interested in.

Either way, she found he’d refuse involvement with younger test subjects. Which didn’t seem to stop him when she and her siblings were younger, but alas…

“With all due respect, Doctor, we should probably consult Administration first” Layna cut in. “We really shouldn’t be running any sort of tests until we have their absolute approval.”

As much as Helix wanted to snap at her, she had a point. It would be a stupid idea to just go in and do whatever without authorisation. He’d tried that before, he wasn’t making the same mistake.

“..Right” He sighed, then turned to the younger researcher once more. “Keep an eye on that thing. If it does any shit while I’m gone, do not engage.”

“But sir-“

“There’s no buts here, damn it! Do not engage it at any point until we have greenlit testing approval, is that clear?”

A solemn nod. Helix grunted, and then made his leave. He fucking hated these meetings, but authority was authority, and he knew they were watching him.

[rosepetalthornes]

Maintenance Night

“Automated my ass.” Chimed a speaker in the lonely mech bay. The lights were on, and a dozen automated arms with technical tools and the strength to lift at least a few tons each were currently reworking the interior neural uplink on a knee.

Soft music played through the bay, the only mech lit up this late at night, but then, that was one of the benefits of being an AI-- No, an engram, t̸͙͐h̵̪͘e̵̲̐ỳ̴̯ it reminded itself. No sleep necessary. Sometimes maybe a recompile or defragmentation, but assuming it was left alone, it could at least work without getting tired out.

Of course it wasn’t as if it had anything better to do. Once a person, now a… Copy? No, that didn’t feel right anymore. A copy would behave like the public figure it was did. This was more like a copy that had been plugged into a closed network (more like a one-way in network that it suspected was being monitored) and occasionally given a list of tasks or software updates that gave it access to information at the drop of a hat.

Once upon a time, T7073B had been a person. A mermaid? A human? A… Something. But now it was a collective of memories forming a personality with a few benefits over just assigning an AI or a drone to this kind of task. For one, it could learn, and had an affinity for vehicles once it understood them. For another, unlike AI it had little chance of going rampant or exceeding its boundaries. Idly a camera moved a moment while it mused at the speed of fiber optics about how it ended up here, but it didn’t strictly mind. Better a servant with some freedoms than a slave with none. It dreamed of escape sometimes, or rather, daydreamed, but figured it probably had a kills-witch installed. And it knew it had something that so many AI might take decades to cultivate, and drones often had removed from them entirely. Imagination. Creativity.

Once upon a time it didn’t even know what most of what it was working with was, but a few days with technical manuals and no real reason not to binge them made things more clear. As it behaved, T7073B, it was granted a few extra freedoms. A music library. A mechanical body that it could pilot for those hard to reach places, but it was for repair, and given the nature of the new… Employment, it wasn’t exactly upset to at least get some creature comforts, even if it wasn’t a creature anymore.

“And this list… Cripes.” Energy output wasn’t high enough, but the pilot prioritized speed-- That was another advantage it had over AI. While less bluntly focused on optimization or analytics, it could look at the pilot and still see the person. Well… What had been a person. It was hard to tell if they were cored out or just so battle tranced that it didn’t matter most of the time.

` Idly it looked at the clock readout it had internally-- It wasn’t wholly used to being a formless entity. Not yet anyway. So it had created a sort of mental workspace. A digital, 3D area that it could at least call home for now. Imperfect, but it wasn’t nothing. Readouts covered the walls where windows might be, and while time did pass, the clock was so much slower than that outside. What had once been seconds were now measured in what felt like minutes or even hours if it dilated hard enough, but that was usually preserved for when it had to rework entire systems overnight, before the drones could get to work with installation in the places it couldn’t.

It was a large, hexagonal room including a place for meditative rest that… Wasn’t quite as comfortable as the real thing, but it had forged it from ones and zeros as a first attempt and it wasn’t too bad.

Really, the Engram program tended to produce mechanic systems and pilot assists that weren’t strictly better or more accurate than AI-- They still had some basis of humanity, or in T7073B’s case, mermanity.-- but they were able to bond to a hound or pilot more easily. Adapting to unusual combat styles and adjusting things to suit what wouldn’t be optimal from an objective perspective, but were optimal for the pilot in question, whether justified via raw data or intuition.

The center of the hexagonal room was the best and worst part in T7073B’s opinion. Readouts. So many readouts. Scans. Blueprints. What existed before, and what it was meant to follow. And then there were the “corrupt” files it had modified, blueprints beyond what it had been given. Modifications.

“Alright… Last fight wasn’t the worst but we’re going to need to patch some plating. Message R&D about the plasma blade… Thruster output looks fine but then why the fuck did SHRI get hit in the first place? It knew its bonded pilot well enough to know that this wasn’t the norm.

Relaying system commands. Prior combat data. Black box protocol 1.

“Ah. Alright, that’s a blind spot we’re going to have to deal with. Surprised they thought to exploit it, but at least the pilot asset made it back alive.” T7073B took a moment to adjust some camera settings, expanding field of view and determining that they were going to need another sensor, right in the center of the back. How that was going to fit between the thrusters was its subroutine’s problem, as a copy of T7073B, T7073B-a began working on that.

“Pilot’s still too new to install reactional uplinks.” It pulled up a smaller screen, sparing the sleeping pilot in their chambers (More like a tiny dorm that locked from the outside, but that was just how things were, especially when they had more kills on their belts.)

“… Maybe a temporary chemical cocktail? Something they’re not going to get too fucked up by if we want synchronization.”

“Alright… Overhaul the thrust systems, plug them into the vector thrusters in the legs… Maybe send another request for better parts if I can justify it, or send R&D enough sad emojis and hope they’re capable of being guilt tripped... and we’ll have one of the fastest bots they can handle without getting them hooked on inertia drugs.” It hated the drug uplinks. Of course, by the time its last pilot had been given its care, T70973 felt like it was more handling a feral animal than a pilot. Of course, once they were in the field… From the outside it was hard to tell the difference. From the inside? It could recognize when it was being ignored, and SHR1 at least still had some instincts. Upstairs was still using the carrot and not the stick.

Another split. T7073C was assigned assessment of the pilot’s suit and readouts. Analysis of the last mission and the best course correction for mistakes, which would be catalogued and a real pain if upstairs decided it exceeded parameters. T7073 had managed to point out that its prior life experiences were all with relatively non-cored agents capable of free will and opinions, and while they might not be able to choose their jobs, they were at least able to choose to some degree the plan of assault, and make adjustments on the fly while those self preservation instincts still existed.

It glanced to the screen of its pilot, staring fondly for a moment, before going back to directly monitoring the progress of repairs.

A repair job this big would likely take all night, and T7073 didn’t settled in to monitor things, analyzing where necessary. The proper adrenal channels needed to be adjusted. Idly, it spared a maintenance pod to clean the cockpit. Not even a drone or an AI, but good enough to clean up anything spilled or any lost fluids, and ensure the cockpit was comfortable enough for the pilot that any hiccups wouldn’t be a distraction.

It was around 0300 by its internal clock when sensory alarms went off. Someone was entering the bay, granted that wasn’t disallowed, it was still unusual, especially this early in the program. A screen flickered in the engram’s vision, blurring out everything else as it kept maintenance going on schedule, so that the mech could be deployed as early as tomorrow.

Of course after a microsecond’s observation, it recognized its Pilot, the paired wetware that directly operated the machinery. At least, that’s what it was supposed to think of it as. Reprogramming scrambled some thoughts, but not quite all, and T7073 had at least learned that the feelings associated with the blurred thoughts couldn’t be removed, even if they were not normally understood.

It watched, not interrupting, as the pilot walked around the mech, as if observing an old friend. Of course the mech was the face of it all. Minimal sapience AI to augment the pilot, but it found pilots bonded to certain mechs fairly often. Creature comforts and familiarity seemed to ease the life of a hound, even in the most basic ways. Pack bonding, it presumed.

What it had neither predicted nor presumed was that the pilot would begin climbing the ladder to the second rung of the maintenance platform, where it stored its physical form body. It wasn’t much, especially not compared to what T7073 absolutely knew it was capable of, but the humanoid body was kept in a pod, in case “hands on” operation was required.

Curious. It didn’t stop the pilot, didn’t see a reason to justify it. They weren’t disrupting operations so the rest didn’t matter. It went back to work-- Just in time for a second alarm to go off. Proximity to the pod, followed by it being opened. Silent in realspace and impossible to ignore in the server that this piece of software now called home.

Confusion flickered across its entire being, briefly disrupting A and B from their own tasks, as it watched the pilot remove their jacket-- The only real piece of attire they were usually seen wearing outside of the skintight plugsuits, and place it instead over the dormant puppet’s shoulders.

“I know you’re watching.” She said, sleepily descending the ladder. “Just figured since I can’t bring you coffee for your all-nighter, maybe this would help.” She clearly knew nothing about engrams or their work. T7073 didn’t get cold. Didn’t have a need for “sleep”. Didn’t have any reason to care that the pilot had now adorned it with something so personal.

And yet it saw no reason to remove the decoration. And when it found itself alone in the hangar, it took a moment to wake the puppet, shifting consciousness. It took the jacket, improperly sized, but that was fine, and held it close to itself. It did not know how to put concept into thought, here, but for the first in what felt like a number of nights impossible to count, T7073 felt something new. Comfort.

[demonichikikomori]

Trips Ahoy!

Floyd Leech x Ruggie Bucchi Word Count Tumblr: 1.8k

This was mostly written as a joke from this post. For immersion reasons I wrote this after getting high. Please enjoy <3

SUMMARY:

Ruggie needs some money. So, he plays Cub Scouts with Floyd and makes cookies to sell on campus.

Tags: Making edibles, eating edibles, this plan backfired a little, pining, no smut here on Tumblr but lots of these guys bein' bros, the crocs stay on during sex

Mostro Lounge was closed tomorrow. 

Which was extremely unusual for the greedy Housewarden of Octavinelle, especially on a Friday night. He proclaimed there was an issue in the kitchen that was currently being solved. But, that wasn’t exactly the case. The truth is, Ruggie had made a deal with Azul. Politely asking to use the Mostro Lounge as his base of operations. This project was far too complex to allow customers to see the work in progress. The four-eyed octopus didn’t like what Ruggie’s plans entailed, but was promised compensation for letting Ruggie close shop for the sake of ‘work’. The only way the hyena was even allowed free reign of the lounge was because Floyd would be there helping him tomorrow while everyone else attended class. 

Jade had nothing to say on the matter other than mentioning that his brother is allowed to have hobbies and friends outside of the ‘Octrio’. Azul’s disapproval was painted on his face but he waved Ruggie off with the keys to the lounge tossed in his chest. “If you break anything, you will be paying for it.” He warned as Ruggie offered his signature snicker in response. “Have a little faith in me, me and Floyd will save you both a cookie from our first batch.” He offered with a quick wave, turning away with the giant twin following after him with a lazy smile. His droopy eyes scanned the beastman over with excitement. “What we makin’ Sharksucker? Brownies? Gummies? Oh, I’ll bring my speaker out of my dorm tomorrow so we can use it.” He offered, curious what his classmate had in mind for his grand Cub Scouts plan. Ruggie gripped the keys tightly in his fist, turning back towards Floyd with a sly grin. “Good ol’ fashion cookies.” 

=+=

The music was loud, bass rattling the walls in the kitchen from Floyd’s speaker nestled on the counter. Ruggie had connected to it with music he and Floyd both liked, even stuff the Prefect of Ramshackle had shown them. It was early, rounding up to 9am as the pair gently dissed each other's choice attire as they made themselves comfortable in the empty kitchen. Ruggie arrived at the same time as Floyd with a rolling tray tucked under his arm. It made things much easier and calming for their day long project. His bangs were pinned back with a mix match of colorful child-like charms he had gotten from Leona (who got them from Cheka). A baggy pair of black cargo shorts hung low on his hips that he constantly had to pull them up his thin body. With every small movement they would slip down to expose the hemline of his briefs if his fingers weren’t fast enough. A mustard yellow tank top hugged his torso, a size too small and riding up on his midriff and exposing hints of his belly button to Floyd’s gaze. The icing on the cake were the brown flip flops with beads braided into them. Surprisingly, they looked like they actually fit him. It was just that… Ruggie had exposed his teal colored toenails to Floyd’s delight. “What the fuck? Are those all Leona’s clothes? Did he give you some pipe before you got here?” Floyd asked with squinted eyes and a snort, paying particular attention to the hyena’s feet. Before the hyena had a chance to answer, his pointer finger slipped into one of the belt loops and tugged roughly on Ruggie. 

The biscuit blond reeled from the playful display of force and gasped trying to regain his balance. The merman slunk towards the fridge with a chuckle as the beastman tried to recollect himself. Ruggie frowned and pulled the shorts back up, Floyd should know he’s not one to just take without giving back. He crept closer before twisting his leg to kick his knee into Floyd’s ass cheek. Hard. “Don’t be weird! He gave them to me because they don’t fit him. I haven’t hemmed the shorts yet.” He snapped as Floyd dramatically crashed into the door of the silver plated fridge. “Not that you're on the cover of Vogue either, Floyd.” Ruggie used a mocking tone as he bounced onto the countertop beside the sink. The tray tucked under his arm was now balancing on his lap as Ruggie fished out a small plastic bag from his right pocket. Floyd wore dark gray sweats and a lavender colored shirt, the emblem of Octavinelle was printed over his heart. It wasn’t the plainness of the outfit that Ruggie hated, oh no. What Ruggie hated the most about the outfit was the lavender colored Crocs on his feet, lined with a pale purple fur. A small round yellow flower charm was popped into one of the many craters of his left clog, but just the one. “You and those ugly ass cheese slippers… Why do they have fur in them? You live in the ocean.” He rolled his eyes, watching as Floyd frowned and pulled open the fridge’s tall doors. “Ehhhh? You don’t like them? You’re jealous because you don’t have any.” The merman scoffed and removed a long bag of chocolate chips and something rectangular from a shelf that was pushed far to the back. The small brick was wrapped in wax paper and seran wrap, a sticky note taped on top with Floyd’s name scribbled on the thin paper. Of course it went untouched. “I think they look stupid.” Ruggie chuffed as Floyd placed the ‘brick’ carefully on the counter and slipped a hand into his pocket to pull out a thin plastic two pack of cigars with gold writing across the top. 

They were cheap, but much better than a small pack of thin rolling papers. At least, they both thought so. Game leaves tended to burn slower and had a taste zig zags couldn’t compare to. “Here.” Floyd handed them over with a pout as Ruggie untwisted his bag containing the weed they would be smoking with instead of baking. To them, the smell was tame. However to someone else it would be suffocating. The hyena was pulling apart the sticky green bundles of weed, dropping the smaller pieces back into the bag to not spill anything on the tray. Not yet at least. Ruggie shook his head with a smile as he pulled open the plastic pack of cigars next, carefully shaking the cigars into the shallow divot of the tray to look over for the ‘vein’ in each one. “I’m being honest, y’know, there’s a reason you don’t have a girlfriend Floyd.” He teased and used his nail to tear along the browned vein of the leaf to empty the dry tobacco into the tray. “Oh? It’s not because we’re at an all boys school?” He asked jokingly while scouring the kitchen for a large mixing bowl. Ruggie flipped on the faucet, carefully washing the leaves under the cold water and dumped the tobacco down the drain so it wouldn’t be found by Azul later. “Why would that change anything? There’s an all girls school around the corner from us.” Ruggie didn’t look up from his work as he patted the leaves dry with a paper towel. He could feel Floyd staring at him. It wasn’t malicious, in fact, Ruggie wasn’t sure what it was. “It’s not because of my Crocs that I don’t have a girlfriend. You’re just an asshole.” He answered, starting to unwrap the brick to reveal a green butter inside. The scent of the potent flower began to fill the room with its stink. Not that either of them could smell how powerful it really was. Good thing they were closed all day. “I speak the truth. Don’t get upset because you can’t handle it.” Ruggie joked and began to roll two healthy sized blunts, quietly rapping along to the music playing as he did so before licking the blunts closed and patting down any openings along the sides. “Done.” Ruggie held out the tray to show Floyd, as if he was silently searching for praise from his schoolmate. Floyd smiled and fished a lighter from the pocket of his sweatpants. “Thanks for rollin’ up Sharksucker. I don’t forgive you for dissing my Crocs though.” He hummed cheekily, sparking up and inhaling as Ruggie looked up at him, expecting to be passed the lighter. “Hmmm? What’s wrong?” Floyd asked as he slipped the lighter back into his pocket. “Oh, here,” He took the tray away from Ruggie and placed it on the counter. “Huh, wait Floyd-” There wasn’t enough time to speak as the blunt was placed between Ruggie’s lips and Floyd’s large hand wrapped around his skinny throat. The hyena became stiff from the curling of the eel’s fingers as he came closer, bumping the cherry of the burning game leaf against Ruggie’s unlit one. 

Oh.

Ruggie slowly inhaled with Floyd, feeling the taller student slot himself between the beastman's thighs, exhaling smoke through his nose and into Ruggie’s face. The hyena’s senses were telling him to stay still as the pair locked eyes. Big and round greyish blue met thin and droopy olive and gold. Ruggie attempted to stand his ground as he inhaled the smoke, squeezing his tearing up eyes shut as he let out a soft sputter. Comical clouds of smoke were coughed up as Floyd let his throat go to instead tug at skinny hyena's belt loops again. “I wiiiin!~” He chirped with a smile as Ruggie leaned back on his arms. One of Floyd’s hands gripped at Ruggie’s thigh as he continued pulling on the belt loops of the baggy shorts. This was getting dangerous. “Hey, Ruggie,” He called out breathlessly and the biscuit blond froze. Floyd never calls just anyone by name. “Your toes are cute, did you pick the color on purpose? I like it.” He whispered and Ruggie looked away, ears folded back as he eyed the mixing bowl with a reddening face. Floyd was close, too close. He has to be the responsible one. “The butter is going to melt if we don’t start baking.” Ruggie cleared his throat and Floyd started to pout from his advances being delicately rejected. “Boooo.” He muttered and stepped away from Ruggie with a sigh. He was mumbling to himself as he occupied himself with opening the back of chocolate chips. The beastman took the moment of reprieve to calm down. The downsides of smoking or ingesting cannabis, it can cause you to act strange sometimes. It’s just the effects of the weed is all. Yeah, that’s it. That’s why he painted his toes the color of Floyd’s hair last night. Thats’ why Floyd had that stupid yellow charm in his Croc that looked similar to a dandelion. And only that charm was being worn. It was just the weed that caused this.

[cryptidinspace]

Dangerous Waters, Chapter Six!

Warning for mentions of fatal vore

“-We’d like anyone with information on the missing student to come forward immediately, and to avoid wandering the halls at night-” 

Sol found himself half-listening to the drone of a man’s voice over a speaker system. He was more interested in his breakfast, grilled fish wrapped in soft seagrass. He had never had anything this good back home, where his meals mostly consisted of whatever animals he could catch, eaten raw. 

This place has its perks after all. According to the announcements, a Merman had vanished last night. Not one day in, and the Mers are already getting snapped up left and right. A dry chuckle left his throat, as he speared another chunk of meat on one sharpened claw. It was common knowledge that Mermaids were stupid creatures, too obsessed with their looks, too weak to fight anything. Of course, fighting off Sea Monsters was a monumental task for anyone, but for a Mermaid? He assumed they’d simply give up the second such a beast entered their field of vision. 

Sirens were different. They were used to territory disputes, fighting off human interlopers, and shredding and devouring foolish sailors. They were a proud people, and would band together in their family groups to take down anything that tried to disturb their peace. And I’m strong. I can handle a Sea Monster alone. 

Your parents couldn’t-

The sudden thought blazed through his mind, vile and unwelcome, and he glared at his plate. His stomach felt twisted now, and his appetite had fled him.

A loud sigh drew his attention, and Sol glanced up through narrowed eyes. Someone had sat next to him, a girl with tendrils of purple hair falling over her face. He recognized her as the girl who had spoken out at their counselor meeting…De`Lune, that was her name. She had insisted that understanding could not exist if they hid their abilities from Mermaids…personally, Sol couldn’t care less about unity, but he figured that she was still right. 

“Hey.” He mumbled, leaning back and folding his arms. “Can I help you?”

She seemed startled for a moment, before arching one eyebrow. “Ex-CUSE me??”

He simply blinked back at her. “What?”

A loud gasp of disbelief left her, and she placed one hand on her hip. “I was just going to come say hi! But you sure are rude, huh?” 

Sol shrugged. “I guess.” He was trying to stay nonchalant, yet his face flushed. It had been a long time since he had interacted socially with anyone…most Sirens lived in little family groups, having little connection with others. And his family group was long dead, leaving him with no idea how to talk to this girl. And I’ve been avoiding those ridiculous “mating season” gatherings… 

She scoffed again, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. “I cannot believe you.” Despite this, she leaned forward to look at him with a sort of lazy smile. “I’m De`Lune Claremont.” 

“Sol, Vengaza.” So, she was still sitting here, surprisingly. He glanced around the vast cafeteria, noting that most sirens were sitting alone, some even hovering near the ceiling and balancing trays on their tails, all to avoid talking to anyone. At least I’m not the only one. “Again. Do you want something…?”

De`Lune shot him a glare, before throwing her hands up. “I just wanna talk to someone!” She hissed. “Everyone here is so damn boring. All the other sirens are just grumbling about being away from their mamas.” She snorted, clearly in disgust. “I can’t figure out why any of them are here in the first place.”

Well, I doubt they’re all here for the same purpose as me. That would be interesting, though. “Who knows.” He forced himself to take another bite of fish. God, it was so good. 

“I’m here because I actually wanted to get to know Sea Monsters and Mers n stuff. Aren’t you the least bit curious about them? Everyone says Mermaids are dumb, and Sea Monsters wanna eat everyone. Is that true, or is there more to it?” She leaned closer to him, eyes glinting with feverish interest. 

Very slowly, Sol brought another piece of fish to his mouth, giving her a concerned stare in response. “Is’ not natural for sirens to care ‘bout that stuff.” 

“UGH.” Her tail lashed, spiky fins flaring. “Ya’ll got no sense of adventure!” 

“Mmmmhm. And what adventure are you looking for?” 

Her eyes lit up at the question. “Well, with the Mers, I want to figure them out. Why are they so afraid? Why aren’t they known for fighting back? I have some excellent theories on the matter-” Sol watched with begrudging curiosity as she pulled a well-worn notebook from her bag. “I think it’s a psychological thing, a byproduct of their biology.” She sighed again, louder this time. “But I can’t really figure it out until I talk to them.” Her grin widened, and her hand crept closer to Sol’s. “I could use a research partner…” 

He was about to refuse her completely, when an idea struck him. De`Lune was a big talker, a forward thinker. She could charm her way through introductions with Mermaids, but more importantly, Sea Monsters. If he waited behind her and held her equipment, or whatever it was she wanted of him, he would have an avenue to track down his family’s killer. 

“Hm…what about Sea Monsters? Thoughts on them?” He pulled his hand away, his face still stony. 

“Oh…” She leaned back again, an impish look coming into her eyes. “My plan is to get close. Reeeeal close. Too many of us are too afraid of them to really figure them out. I wanna figure out why they all look so different, how they classify their species, and how they deal with the moral implications of preying on a species that have the same cognitive capabilities of themselves. I mean, by human terms, it’s cannibalism. We’re different species, but we speak the same language, think the same thoughts, and from the waist up, we look startlingly similar.” Her hands began to wave frantically as she spoke, narrowly avoiding slapping Sol in the face. “The same can be said for Sirens and Humans, according to some. After all, we can communicate with them just fine, right? And we look about the same, right?” 

Sol snorted. “Oh, please. Humans are imbeciles. Sirens are the fully evolved and superior humanoid species. In fact, I think it’s stupid that it’s called humanoid in the first place. It could be Sirenoid.” 

De`Lune burst out laughing, slapping him cheerfully on the back. He grunted, shooting her a withering glare. “Oh Sol, Sol, have you ever considered that Sea Monsters might think the same as us?” 

“Well, they’d be wrong.” Still, he couldn’t help but think about it. Sea Monsters, seeing them as the inferior species? Well, physically…yes, physically speaking, Sea Monsters were far more powerful. But was that really what defined superiority? God, she was making his brain hurt. 

“Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyways, I want to know their thoughts on the subject.” She swiveled in her chair, scanning the room. Sol followed her gaze, taking in the self-imposed segregation taking place. The Sea Monsters were mostly confined to one side of the cafeteria, while Mermaids crowded on the other. However, there were a few sitting together…perhaps most noticeably, a girl with a wide set of teeth on her stomach. Ew…are those real?? She was seated next to a couple of mermaids, all three muttering in hushed tones. 

“As well as internal structures, and all that…” She shot a devilish glance at Sol, before saying something truly astounding. “I’m gonna get them to eat me.” 

Sol turned to look at her slowly, his face showing a hint of fear for this first time in a long time. “You WHAT?” His voice pitched up, cracking slightly, and she snickered at him. 

“I want to understand what happens inside. How they think. How they move. How they eat.” She took Sol’s hand, and he was too stunned to swat her away. “I want to go deep. Can you blame me for being curious?” 

“Um, yes.” He finally ripped his hand away, lips curling in disgust. “So you have a death wish? What kind of research are you gonna conduct beyond the grave, hm?” 

“Oh don’t be ridiculous, I’m not going to die. I’ve got a plan.” She flipped open her notebook, pointing to a page of masterfully drawn Sea Monster anatomy. “You might know, Sea Monsters have two stomachs. Given their vast genetic diversity, this can vary, but it’s true for the vast majority. The first stomach is a storage chamber, where prey is kept alive. I don’t know for how long, but I intend to find out.” Seeing his continued horror, she rolled her eyes. “Oh c’mon, I won’t ask you to do it too. But you’ve sat here and listened to my pitch this long, without telling me to go fuck myself.” Her voice grew more subdued. “That’s longer than most people last.” 

“Do not try to make me feel bad for you.” However, she was right. And he was usually quite generous with insults. But she had impressed him yesterday. And she was still giving him a chance to find the killer. But she’s going to get killed herself. She’ll swim right up to some sea monster, beg to get eaten, and it’ll happily oblige. And she’ll die. He groaned internally. Fine. Fine, what do I care? Let her go on her stupid mission. I’ll still get what I need. “Alright. Fine.” 

Her jaw dropped for a moment, before she let out a squeal and pumped her hands up and down with excitement. “Okay, wow, I did not expect you to actually say yes! Alright, so, the main thing is writing down observations. Like, a scribe. It interrupts the flow of my work if I’m stopping every three seconds to write something down, and if I wait till the end of the day, I won’t be able to remember everything. Here…” With an almost tentative glance, she pushed the journal across the table to Sol. “Have a look. All my compiled knowledge so far. It’s not much, yet, but it will be.” 

“Hm.” He picked it up, flipping idly through the pages. There was an entire “chapter” dedicated to Mermaid respiration systems. Wouldn’t it be the same as ours? “Ok. Fine. So…where do we start?” 

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

“I wish I could help more. I really do.” Magna’s voice was tired and strained, and Irridesse couldn’t find it in herself to be angry. “But I don’t know any of these guys. We’re from all over the place, after all. Like, I’m from the Northeast Mediterranean. I don’t recognize anyone here as Mediterranean.” 

Beside them, Lacey rubbed at their tired eyes. They had made the announcement that Atlantic was missing, and now the tension in the lunchroom was smothering. Everyone was shooting nervous glances at each other, whispering, while some cried softly in the corners. 

Irridesse had come up with the plan of her own, using Magna to sleuth out the killer. But Lacey found themselves unenthused. After all, what would it matter? The Monster who did this would just eat them too, unless Magna managed to fight them off, but even then, what would that accomplish? Atlantic would still be gone. Everyone would still be miserable and terrified. Surely, Irridesse had to realize that. Or had she gone into another one of her delusional spirals? 

A flicker of pink drew their attention, and they sat up straight as Coral Dulcette sat herself across from their little group. To their surprise, she was smiling, with an odd look of pride. What on earth was going on inside her head? 

“Hello there, students. Mind if I sit?” Magna gave her a puzzled luck, while Irridesse shrugged. “Oh, awesome. I just…” She folded her hands in front of her, no plate of breakfast in sight. “I’m so happy to see you getting along. Speaking to each other like equals. That’s exactly what I wanted to see.” 

Irridesse squinted, before realizing she was talking about her, Lacey, and Magna. She shot the Sea Monster a glare, and she just shrugged helplessly. “Miss Dulcette, I don’t like this Sea Monster. We are not friends.” Is that still true? “She’s helping me figure out what happened to Atlantic. We’re going to find who killed him, and bring them to justice.” 

“Ah, that.” Her smile dulled slightly. “Right. Personally, I think we’re jumping to conclusions here. Nobody’s confirmed that such a thing happened. It’s still completely possible that he left. I’m not sure why the headmaster and company are pushing this narrative, but there’s no evidence.” 

A part of Irridesse wanted to snap at her, insist that she was being insensitive. But she was a critical thinker by heart. It was true. The announcement had included mandatory searches of Sea Monsters, as well as an uptick of security. But there wasn’t any proof that they had done such a thing, technically. Atlantic could have easily left without a trace, hurried back home. He could have gotten lost out there, killed even, but there was no knowing if it was someone in the school. Honestly, outside might well be more dangerous than here. Home is miles and miles of empty oceans away. 

“Ok…well…I can’t do nothing. He’s an idiot, but he’s an idiot I’ve known since we were kids.” Her hands balled up in frustration, and she suddenly wanted to punch something. Beside her, Lacey shot her a dry look. “I need confirmation of where he is. A letter, a note, or…” She glanced at Magna. “Hey…have we checked his stuff?” 

“Um…” She squinted. “Nnnno. I don’t think we did. Why?”

“He wouldn’t just run home and leave all his fancy shit behind. Even if he was scared, his stuff is important to him.” She muttered curses under her breath. “Why did neither of you suggest this?” 

“We're tired.” Lacey grumbled. “And scared.” Magna glanced at them, and they had to look away. Irridesse’s unexpected friendship with this sea monster was…something. They didn’t know what to think of yet. They would need more sleep before properly thinking about anything. 

Coral cleared her throat, drawing their attention once more. “That sounds like a good avenue to me.” She gave them a sunny smile. “I’m glad you three are looking into it, together. It’s good to be proactive.” 

“Yeah.” In spite of her irate expression, Irridesse found herself feeling warm and fuzzy at the counselor's praise. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had approved of her schemes and plans, especially an adult. Hey, I’m an adult…And yet, at times like these, she felt no different from the rebellious child she was back home. “You two had better hurry up and finish eating, we’ve got stuff to do.” 

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

“Carcharias? Carcharias?”

For the second time that morning, he was awoken by a tiny shape startlingly close to his face. Blinking open his eyes, he recognized Rosia. Her hands were clasped together, her face reluctant, and her fins were all flared uncomfortably. Something’s wrong. 

“Sorry, I didn’t wanna wake you up, but they’re doing a ‘mandatory checking’ of all the Sea Monsters. Cause they think a Merman got eaten last night.” Rosia sighed deeply, drifting down to rest on his bedside table. 

For a moment, he was confused, before his sleepy brain caught up with the events of the past day. “Right. Actually…” He grunted, stretching and hearing his back pop, before tossing off the blanket. “His name’s Atlantic. I was with him last night, and then someone knocked me out. But, um, I think they might have framed me…” As he spoke, it occurred to him how ridiculous this sounded. 

Rosia blinked at him slowly, her eyebrows furrowing. She pinched the bridge of her nose with a weary sigh, before speaking. “Carcharias, if you ate him, just be honest about it.”

“No!” Carcharias’s face flushed bright red, and he looked away, wringing his hands. “No, really, I didn’t.” I think. “I found him alone, and I got stuck on something, so we ended up talking. Then someone drugged me, or something. The nurse said they found a knockout drug in my system, which I know I didn’t take. Someone must have poisoned the water in the room…”

Rosia frowned, considering it. “Why would anyone do that, though? Why would someone frame you for eating Atlantic?”

“Maybe so they could get away with it.” As the reality of the situation set in, his eyes widened. A wave of panic gripped his chest. “Someone…ate him.” He stared into silence for a moment. He couldn’t imagine it…something that could beg and plead and cry, something that would still thrash between your teeth…and eating it, like it was just another scrap of fish? How could anyone do such a thing? 

His eyes wandered back to Rosia. “Hey…have you ever eaten someone?” 

“Ha, no.” She shook her head, chuckling dryly. “Look at me. I’m too small for that. Sure, sirens manage to rip humans apart and eat them, I could probably do that. But that’s not what we do. I was born…weird. My parents were fairly small of Sea Monsters already, but I had some kind of disease that stunted me. So now I’m no bigger than a mermaid.” Carcharias felt a twinge of guilt as her eyes lowered. “I don’t think other Sea Monsters take me seriously, because of that. They think I’m just little, and cute, I guess. It’s…nice, sometimes, to be fawned over. But sometimes, I wish people could respect me too.” A moment of silence passed, before she snorted. “Look at me, being all greedy.”

“That doesn’t sound greedy at all. I’m sorry…I had no idea.” He wished he could hug her, or hold her hand, or something, just to comfort her. But what were the rules here? How careful should he be? What if his claws grazed her, what if his arms crushed her? I hate this. I hate being big and awful and I hate that I can’t touch anyone. Tears of frustration came to his eyes, and he hurriedly wiped them away. And now Atlantic’s dead, and everyone thinks it was me. 

“Well…” She looked away, though a smile showed on her face. “I mean, it’s not all bad. Getting to hang out in everyone’s guts is fun. But thanks. I appreciate it.” 

“You-” He whipped his head to the side to look at Rosia, his jaw dropping slightly. “You WHAT?!” 

She groaned and shook her head. “You really don’t know anything about your own people, don’t you?” She spotted the tears in his eyes, and her voice softened. “Hey, it’s okay. There’s still time to learn.” 

“That’s not…I mean…” He glanced away. His parents hadn’t mentioned anything like this. When the news came about this new college, unifying all the humanoid aquatic species, they were actually hesitant. But Carcharias was optimistic, ridiculously so. They told him to be wary of other Sea Monsters, to avoid getting too close. They’re not like us. They’re savages, and they’ll drag you into their depravity if you aren’t careful. But looking at Rosia, he couldn’t see her as a depraved savage. She was kind, and creative, and better with people than he would ever be. 

The storm of emotions in his mind settled, just a bit, as he released a gusty sigh. “Alright. Explain it to me.” 

Her face brightened a bit, and she clapped her hands together. “So! Sea Monsters eat each other all the time. For protection, comfort, friendship, etcetera. The bigger ones keep the smaller ones in their stomachs, or even just in their mouths. The exact traditions change a little bit depending on region, of course. Some taste each other when they meet a new person. Some use it only to express romantic feelings. Where I’m from, it’s sort of double sided. The smaller ones like it because it’s safe and comfortable, and the bigger ones like it because…it feels nice, I guess?” Rosia shrugged, puzzled. “I’m not actually sure, uh, I’ve obviously never tried it, so I wouldn’t know.” 

It was a lot to wrap his brain around. Carcharias closed his eyes for a moment, trying to process it all. Clearly, this wasn’t really eating them, right? They all survived it. And both parties enjoyed it? It sounded terrifying. Clearly, all the Mers were scared of it. And did people like him enjoy having something alive and squirming in their stomachs? The thought made him shudder, and Rosia snorted aloud at him. 

“That terrible, huh?” Rosia shrugged. “You might like it if you tried it.” 

He flinched, not wanting to think about that possibility. Technically speaking, it wasn’t wrong. If no one died, how could it be wrong? And yet…only a monster would enjoy submitting to such predatory urges. Right? But to think of himself as one of them, doing the things they did…his feelings warred, disgust clashing with a sudden pang of loneliness. 

They sound so…free. His eyes lowered to his hands, studded with claws, meant for killing. Muscled arms, meant for dominion over others. Could one be happy with such features, happy being a monster, and embracing what made them savages? For a moment, he wanted it so bad. To be freed from the constant anxiety and self-loathing, the desire to run back home and never speak to another soul again…What I wouldn’t give… 

But there was one other problem, one that weighed far more heavily on his mind. “Right, so…that’s all well and good, but what about eating Merpeople, and humans, and sirens? Unless I’ve been very much lied to, they don’t typically make it out alive, right?” 

“Ah…yeah, no, it’s…complicated.” She flopped backward onto the bed, fins splaying out behind her. “So, Sea Monsters definitely eat Mers, and humans, and Sirens, all the time. Mostly humans and Mers, since there’s just more of them around. It’s something about needing living, thinking prey. Like, prey that has a close genetic makeup, is what I’ve been told. Which is why things like fish don’t work. And we need the hormones and active cells that are found in them. So, what that ends up meaning, is that Sea Monsters need to swallow live humanoid species whole. In order to live.” 

Carcharias gave her a puzzled expression. “Really? But I’ve never done that, seriously, and I’ve lived this long…eighteen years.” 

She shrugged once again. “That’s just what the people back home told me. I don’t know how you made it this far.” She was silent for a moment, before slowly speaking again. “You know, if it would help at all, I’ll let you eat me.” She gave him a quick smile. “You seem like a nice guy, Redfin.” 

He blinked at her slowly, his brain momentarily entertaining the thought without his permission. To have Rosia in his mouth, between his teeth, against his tongue…and then swallowing her down…His stomach gurgled suddenly, interrupting his train of thought, and his face turned bright red. “Oh my god, I am so sorry-” 

“HA!” She didn’t seem the least bit upset, just swam up to pat him on the shoulder. “Just let me know, dude. But, seriously though…it can help with unwanted cravings.” She gave him a sharp look. “About Atlantic, I believe you, alright? But you might not be able to control yourself next time, unless you do something about it. Take control of your own mind, and stop running from it.” There was a beat of silence, and her tone brightened again. “But hey, c’mon, we’ve got to get over to the office for those inspections.” 

“Uh-huh…” His head was still spinning. It was hard to believe that all of this was happening in the span of less than two days. And it’s nowhere near over yet. 

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

“Goddamn, just how rich is this guy?” Magna’s voice rolled with disdain, even as she slid a black pearl necklace over her wrist. 

“Too rich.” Lacey mumbled, hauling a stone box out from beneath Atlantic’s bed. “Hey, this looks important.” 

Irridesse glanced down from her spot near the ceiling, where she was carefully going through his journal. To her surprise, he was quite the artist. The pages had been painted in bright colors, many presenting an oversaturated version of actual people and places. One of them even looked like her, and she had to admit, it was a nice portrait. “Coming.” Although it was pretty, there were no clues to be found here. 

She drifted down to the box, while Magna peered over the bed. Lacey scrambled at the lock for a moment, before sticking one long nail inside. With a faint creaking noise, the lock turned, and the lid sprang open. “That’s a shit lock.” Irridesse grumbled, before digging into the contents. 

They were files. All alphabetized, each one bearing what appeared to be a name and a date. Mollusca Mura, September 13th, that was just yesterday. Eidrich Bleaker, June 2nd. Paralitho Swilton, July 18th. “Alright, Mollusca is his father…” She did feel a bit bad going through his personal stuff, but desperate times required desperate measures. Also, she was curious. 

Opening the file, she found a letter. Stamped with a fancy wax seal, bearing the crest of House Mura. The writing was overly fancy, but not indecipherable. Lacey and Magna crowded closer, straining to get a look. Irridesse cleared her throat, before speaking aloud. “Eidrich tells me that our plan shall go into motion tomorrow night. Remember what we spoke about. You are not to leave school grounds until your sister arrives to pick you up. It’s not safe out there. And you are not to breathe a word of this to anyone. You must destroy this letter, as soon as you are done reading it. This madwoman must be shamed for her reckless destruction of our people’s boundaries.” Her voice faltered as she read the next, and final line. “I am proud of you. Be brave. Love, Dad.” 

A heavy silence passed between the three of them, until Manga hesitantly mumbled, “So why didn’t he destroy the letter…?” 

Irridesse winced, and beside her, Lacey sighed. “It would have been special to him. He would’ve wanted to look at it again.” Almost reverently, she smoothed the letter out against the bed frame. “Anyways. This is something. They had a plan of some kind. And it might be that Atlantic’s sister picked him up and left…but the school wouldn’t be marking him missing, they would have been informed. It’s not like Mollusca to go against rules. He wouldn’t ask his son to leave the campus without telling anyone. The plan was supposed to happen last night, and it was to stop a madwoman.” She looked at the other two, frowning. “Any ideas?” 

“Well you tell me, I had no idea what he was doing all night.” Magna huffed, while Lacey’s eyes seemed to light up. 

“Last night was when we met our counselors, right? It’s a long shot, but could he mean Coral? I mean,” A sheepish look came over their face. “she is kind of…a lot.” 

Irridesse nodded slowly. “Yeah, that sounds feasible. ‘Destruction of our boundaries’ could be something to do with the way she wants everyone to get along. But why send Atlantic here if he’s opposed to their entire purpose?” 

“Kinda sounds like he was only here as a double agent.” Lacey tilted their head, knitting their fingers together in thought. “Seems strange to only target Coral, though. It’s not like she’s the head of the whole operation, she’s just a counselor.” 

“True.” Irridesse scanned the letter again, flinching slightly as Magna suddenly lifted a tentacle to point at something. “What.” 

“Eidrich. That’s not a very common name, right? One of these files is also labeled Eidrich Bleaker.” She snatched the file, whipping it open to reveal a much more plain-looking letter. “Sounds like it’s someone who has inside details on when things are happening, ahead of time. Maybe someone in administration, another spy.” 

“Good eye.” As she took the letter from the woman’s violet tentacle, she couldn’t help but marvel at how natural this felt. The three of them, working as a team to solve a serious mystery. Making headway, finding clues, fitting together like cogs in a clock. And she’s a Sea Monster. But she’s…not that bad, actually. A ghost of a smile flickered over her face, before she cleared her throat and got to reading the letter. 

“Mr Atlantic Mura, I would like to formally thank you for your agreement to the betterment of our people through your father’s guidance. This ‘Oceans United’ endeavor is a threat to our people, all of Merkind, and must be extinguished. Your role is a vital one, in making the public understand the dangers this kind of thinking presents. By making Miss Dulcette’s idiocy clear to your fellow Merpeople, you have influenced them away from this danger they now face. Again, thank you, and godspeed.” She set the letter down with a sigh, shaking her head. “So. They had a plan to get rid of this school, by humiliating Coral. That’s such a dumb plan…”

“Maybe these are just dumb people. They sound like it.” Magna grumbled, rolling her eyes. “I liked Coral, when she talked to us in the lunchroom? She seems smart.” 

“Well, dumb or not, the plan clearly didn’t go according to plan. His sister never showed up, or if she did, she was too late. Something happened to him in-between. Either he disobeyed the plan and ran away, which doesn’t seem like him, or he got eaten by a Sea Monster.” Lacey explained, gesturing weakly with one hand. 

“Hmph.” Magna still seemed grumpy about this conclusion. “Or, hear me out, it could be another Mer or siren trying to take him out. His father’s plan is stupid, but it’s still going to make waves. Maybe someone caught wind, and wanted to stop him from going home.” A spark lit in her eyes, and she pounded her first into her other hand. “They could be interrogating him right now!” 

Lacey went silent, staring at the ground. A part of them wanted to shout at Irridesse, take her by the shoulders and shake her until she started thinking rationally again. Why wasn’t she scared of the Monster sitting next to her, the one who almost ate her alive??  Why did she think any of this was normal or fine? Maybe she’s finally lost it for good. 

And yet, Irridesse felt more clarity than ever before. She wasn’t being blocked by constant objections, or people insisting she was out of her mind. The way forward was clear, and she had two partners at her sides. “Alright. If he did get eaten, they’ll likely figure it out during this inspection, which, by the way, you should probably get to.” She prodded Magna with one hand, eliciting a tired groan. “And if he didn’t, then he’s likely being held somewhere around campus. If we want to find out where, we can start by figuring out who this Eidrich Bleaker is.” She stuffed the two files into the drawer, ignoring the third one entirely. Maybe she’d have a glance at it later. “Seriously, you need to go.” 

Magna grumbled under her breath, before straightening up and stretching her tentacles with a soft hiss. “Alright, alright. It’s just gonna be a lot of poking and prodding and invasive questions, though.” 

Irridesse shrugged, though inwardly she felt a twinge of pity. She couldn’t imagine dealing with that. Any slimy nurse’s assistant who laid a hand on her would regret it. Even without fangs, she figured she could draw decent blood. “Good luck.” Lacey hummed a quiet agreement, still refusing to properly look at the Sea Monster. What is this place doing to us…? 

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

“Okay, single file, everyone.” It was the same guy from before, still draped in green, adjusting his glasses as he stared at the list in his hand. He stood at the door to the infirmary, making no move to further coral the twenty-or-so Sea Monsters milling around. 

Carcharias could hear them whispering amongst themselves, snatches of conversation clearly revolving around the incident they were being searched for. As he glanced at the others, the conversation with Rosia returned to his mind. I don’t know who any of these people are. Should he? Did the rest of them know each other? 

Rosia seemed to have the same thought, as she tugged sharply on his finned ear. “We should really get to know everyone.” She hissed. “Like, there’s not that many of us. And we’re all in this together, right?” That was debatable. “I did end up holding that party last night, but um, it didn’t last long. We kind of got kicked out because Lacey wanted to go to bed.” 

He nodded slowly in agreement, watching from the corner of his eye as the first test subject reluctantly swam into the office. Was it possible that one of them really ate Atlantic? He only knew of their names, other than Rosia. Spike. The de-facto leader. He was everything a leader ought to be, by the look of him. Though for once, he wasn’t talking to anyone. The young sea monster was leaning against a wall, a bit removed from the rest of them. Dirty blonde hair fell over his eyes, in a sort of side-shaved shag. Yellow eyes peered out from the strands of hair, half-lidded and clearly tired. He was tall, not as tall as Carcharias, but still towered over most of his classmates. His skin was a warm tan, and his facial structure reminiscent of the way Mermaids carved statues of stone. 

Without realizing that he had been staring, Carcharias jumped as Spike suddenly locked eyes with him. His brows lifted slightly, before pushing himself off the wall with a faint smile. “Hey.” 

The taller man backed away, his face flushing. “Oh! Hi! Sorry.” He could feel stares on his back as a few others glanced at him curiously. Rosia darted out from the cover of his shoulder, waving cheerfully at Spike.

“Hi! Hey, you alright? You look super out of it.” Carcharias winced at her brutal honesty, while Spike just snickered. 

“Just homesick, I think. I didn’t get much sleep.” He shrugged. “It’ll wear off.” His eyes flashed with recognition, and he grinned, showing unusually long fangs. “Hey, weren’t you holding a party last night? Sorry I didn’t show up.” 

Rosia gasped, clasping her hands together. “Ah, you actually remembered me! Wow! Well yeah, it’s no big deal. It wasn’t all that anyways.” She waved one hand dismissively. “Some other time.” 

He nodded, before glancing back at Carcharias, and holding one hand out. “Hey, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Spiracles, but everyone just calls me Spike.” 

Carcharias took his hand, noting the way his almost engulfed the smaller man’s hand. And yet, he didn’t feel delicate. He felt like he could probably kick anyone’s ass if he wanted to. “Um, I’m Carcharias.” 

“Car-char-ias.” Spike sounded it out slowly first, tilting his head at the unusually lengthy name. “That’s a cool name.” 

Cool is the last word I’d use to describe myself. Still red in the face, Carcharias gave him a sharp nod. Rosia shot him a smug look, lightly flicking him with her tail fins. “Th-thanks.” 

“Alright, next!” Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the man in green wave him over. “Come on, focus up.” 

“Right…ok, bye.” Still burning with embarrassment, he darted away. The door was almost too small, brushing his shoulders as he squeezed inside. How on earth did they get me inside when I was passed out? 

With a bit of ushering around, he was squeezed into the same curtained-off room as before. As he flicked the white fabric aside, he caught a couple of Mer assistants whispering. “That’s the one Delphina was talking about, right?”

“Yep. Says he was probably the last one to see Atlantic…he woke up asking about him.” 

“Creepy…” 

Oh right…talking to Spike had managed to distract him from the real problem here. All evidence pointed toward him having eaten Atlantic. But he didn’t, and how on earth were they going to check that? What if they crammed him in your mouth after you passed out? The thought made his face go pale. But then again, that made no sense. A sea monster wouldn’t kill him unless they wanted to eat him…and it was a Sea Monster, right? Had to be. 

The nurse brushed the curtains to the side, swimming up to him. Her face was tense, and her glasses fogged. She took them off, wiping them on her rumpled shirt with a sigh. “Okay. Nice to see you again.” 

Carcharias cleared his throat, mustering his courage to plead his case. “I-I didn’t eat him. Really. I was drugged by someone else, I don’t know who.” I was talking to him right before, but…I blacked out, and I only realized he was missing the next morning.” 

She gave him a withering look, clearly not believing a word. “Alright. Well. Luckily, we have a definitive way of proving whether you did so or not.” She opened a nearby drawer, revealing what appeared to be a massive paintbrush. With a grunt, she hefted it up, slinging it over her shoulder like a harpoon. “Open up.” 

“Open…my mouth? Really?” Wasn’t that supposed to be a terrible idea? He shifted nervously, scales scraping on rugged walls. 

“Me and Abalone are trained for this sort of thing, don’t you worry.” A trace of a smile appeared over her face. “And I’m assistant nurse Delphina. This thing is heavy and we’ve got a lot of Sea Monsters to check, so get on with it.” 

He nodded sheepishly, before slowly craning his jaws open. Delphina didn’t seem to care, only keeping her distance from his teeth as she carefully swabbed the inside of his mouth with the brush. He was surprised to find that it was fine. He wasn’t tempted to bite her, like he had been so worried about. Hm. His shoulders relaxed a bit, and he hadn’t even realized how tense he was. 

“So, that’ll just get back to the lab to see if there’s any DNA inside your mouth. Other than your own, of course.” Carcharias nodded again, still silent. “Next up-” She opened another cabinet, pulling out one of several orange buckets. He tilted his head to see, as she peeled the lid off, revealing a heap of something glowing. After pulling on a fresh pair of gloves, she plunged one hand in and fished around. “This should do.” 

The thing she pulled out appeared to be a rotund fish. It was glowing bright greenish-yellow, and had oddly thick-looking scales. It smelled strange too, like nothing natural. What’s she going to do with that? He watched apprehensively as Delphina gave the fish a little shake, brightening the glow of its scales even more. 

“So…all I need you to do is swallow this. It’s a light probe. Like a whale’s echolocation, it uses sound waves to search for abnormal shapes in the stomach. The light allows us to see it through your skin.” It was just a fish, yet Carcharias still found himself recoiling with a grimace. It was still alive…even if survived the experience, he felt like he’d be sick regardless. 

Delphina stared him down, holding the fish out. It looked quite calm, unaware of it’s impending journey. Or perhaps, it just didn’t care. “Take it. You can do this part yourself, right? Just swallow it.” 

Okay, it’s going to prove you innocent. Just suck it up- Still visibly disgusted, he reached to pinch the probe between two talons…before the white curtain of the examination room was suddenly flung open. Carcharias yelped in surprise, smacking his head on the ceiling with a thump. It was an older man, with a heavy mustache, and a crisp waistcoat. It was the headmaster, the man who had addressed them all yesterday. He looked rather untidy, with his hat eskew, and his silvery eyes wide. “Stop! You can stop right now, Nurse!” 

Delphina backed away, snatching the fish back into her arms. Placing one hand on her hip, she spun to face him. “Mister Bleaker. Why are you interrupting the searches?” Peering past the two merpeople, Carcharias could see other sea monsters filing out of the room, clearly confused. Including Spike. 

“No need for searches! Someone fessed up already.” Bleaker adjusted his hat, leaning against a nearby countertop, as the urgency drained from his body. “Some lad…I feel bad for it, honestly. Poor beast doesn’t know how to control-” He felt silent as he finally noticed Carcharias, and his face turned pale. “Well, what I mean to say is, it’s a shame. A r-real shame.” The nurse’s assistant looked skeptical, but obediently shut the lid on her bucket of glowfish. “Don’t bother with the searches…the case is closed! Uh, my condolences to Atlantic’s family…yes, they’ll be devastated…” 

The headmaster turned and darted away, while Carcharias felt his heart sink. He was innocent indeed…and he didn’t even have to prove it. But Atlantic was dead. How could they do such a thing?! He had barely known the man, yet sudden grief filled his chest. Sinking to the floor, he placed his hands over his eyes. Delphina was silent, only sighing, before she turned and left him alone. 

It didn’t make sense…the pieces of the story were disjointed. Questions still left unanswered. But it would have to wait. For now, all the Sea Monster could do was cry quietly into the currents that whispered by. 

[crayonverse]

tell us more abt ur oc

ALRIGHTY let me justusuut

Kalos was born with his powers, his parents had a water birth in spiritual ocean waters. his parents decided they should hide him because of this, to protect him. He was home-schooled for most of his life, and he learned about the existence of superheroes after seeing a younger Optimo fighting villains in his hometown. He managed to hide and watch the fight.

He started to become invested in their lives, often sneaking out of his parents home to learn more. Due to his persistence to find out more, some less known superheroes found out about him, and his unnatural traits. Since he was naturally investigative and seemed to have no issue with many frightening things, the SH.N (Superhero News) had him scouted and recruited, and placed him under an oath to never reveal the world of superheroes.

His powers are controllable, which is why he can breath air. He has two separate lungs for both breathing air and filtering water. he doesn't have very good stamina from this.

His feet and hands are webbed, but he wears gloves to cover this. His webbed parts can fold into themselves. his gills on his upper waist get pretty itchy while he does wear clothes.

Kalos hides his beady eyes with contacts, although it does make it harder for him to focus on things.

He has a close relationship with Tecton, Owl Girl and Horace. Tecton because he often offers an interview with him, and Tecton absolutely loves the attention. Owl Girl because she thinks Kalos is weird, and he helps her find prime places to rest. And he's good pals with Horace because he's usually banged up a little after reporting, because of some stray plasma blasts or rouge debris.

He knows about Kaz and Oliver, but he doesn't meet them formally until Skylar turned evil, since the knowledge of a mole got leaked. Kaz likes to talk with him so he can get on TV and Oliver likes to hear about the news first hand. Kalos didn't get to really interact with Skylar while they were evil (for. obvious reasons) but post that, he thought they were a pretty nice person, if not just a tad angry. (Skylar once got mad at Alan and punched a soda can, launching it directly into Kalos's face)

I said it before but I based a lot of his physical mannerisms off weasels/ferrets, since he moves in a sort of quick way with his head.

He can come off as erratic and unobservant at first, but he's actually just very calm about a lot of things. In the superhero world, you can't panic at everything, and he would never get anything done if he panicked all the time. He's intuitive and a natural reporter, staying as objective as he can.

Kalos speaks pretty casually off camera, pausing and mumbling in his sentences since he doesn't really care if he fully finishes his sentence. On camera, he's a straightforward and clear speaker, since y'know, he'd get fired if he didn't.

He hides his merman physique because, even in context of the superhero world, he does look a little off. Many superheroes and powered individuals still look human-like, and Kalos thinks his fish-ness would put people off.

His clothing style is like, casual academia? When he's not working, its some casual button ups and sweaters. His work clothes are more strict, he wears formal shirts, a red tie, suspenders and all that jazz.

[princesshillaryellaworld25]

This is my own Vs SpongeBob parodies BF and GF

Pamela aka Paradise Girlfriend

She hangs out with Sick Girlfriend and Tomboy Girlfriend

Love interest: Druggirlfriend

Friends: Sorin aka Paradise Boyfriend, Paradise Pico, Sea Sky, Paradise Spongbob, Paradise Patrick,Paradise Sandy, Paradise Skyblue

Sexuality: Non-binary, Lesbian

Species: Mermaid

Sorin aka Paradise Boyfriend

Friends with Smokefriend and Swap Masscare Boyfriend

Sexuality: Bisexual, Trans female to male

Love interest: Paradise Pico

Guy on speakers

Species: Merman