#seamonster talks

[itsaseamonster]

Bestie wake up another ship with (hundreds of) years long mutual pining just dropped

[cyradius]

An extremely quick rough little doodle of my sona and blue from sea beast based on a shot from the film partly because I need to release my doodles more and also because blue from sea beast is very much the marketable small adorable animated movie side character for me. also very much like that the movie is decently enjoyable and comments on the dangerous othering of the other side that the cycle of war promotes and how the victors write the history books.

[vpofcookies]

Me when I think of my ocs that I never talk about or draw

[discobiscotto]

“Signor Marcovaldo is my father, call me Alberto, Alby…or Maestro 😏”

If we’re talking predictability in design, adult Alberto was NOT easy. I had literally nothing to work from. No (living?) family to compare to, no hints at what kindof quirks he may develop. I had nothing!

All I had was that (assumed) deep-seated desire to be accepted, useful/helpful, and not left behind…..that, and yanno, that Charisma In Excess (as a KID no less, dude calm that shxt down or you’re grounded lol)

Alot of pawing around in the dark and just going with what felt right to me.

I took some cues here and there. Some pretty forward and commonly accepted (“You, the big strong one.” etc), others subtle and unassuming but I ran like the wind with it?

Anyway, here we go. What’s the deal with this walking bowl of spaghetti anyhow?

This will be a two parter. His seamonster form requires a separate post.

Alberto as I said is a bit of a wild card. He doesn’t have as much of an obvious blueprint compared to Luca or Giulia.

His physical appearance for his human form was based solely on environmental influence.

Physically I imagined him to be a bit rough around the edges. Kindof gaunt but not so much that he looks sick or weak. He’s pretty much just one big muscle. Not an ounce of fat on him. Nothing but sinew. Very toned and muscular but certainly not huge. He’s just solid and FIT.

He’s a guy from the docks. He’s a fisherman. He’s salty and peppered in scars. Heavy calloused hands. He picked up smoking at a young age. He spends endless hours in the sun, thus he’s still very freckly as an adult. His impulsive ass got a tooth busted out in a fist-fight. Five o clock shadow and untidy sandy facial hair. I imagined his hair growing more “out and up” than down. Tight coils suggest he’d likely have a ‘fro or pomp, so I combined the two, keeping that old Alberto “top heavy” hairdo lol.

Profoundly Italian, so he’s pretty furry everywhere. Being a hard worker for years, excessive sun exposure, substance use, he looks alittle “older” than he actually is. (Pushing 34 ish).

I made him very tall, 6’4” ish. I admit, I love a good “Tall Man x Small Man” dynamic, so that’s definitely a shameless “luberto-centric” choice lol But I also considered a funny “goldfish” concept where just like a goldfish only gets bigger when his bowl is bigger…perhaps nature was trying to make him “compete” and measure up or even end up bigger than Massimo. 😆

If there’s one thing I learned from “Ciao Alberto” it’s that Alberto has a deep desire to be useful and accepted. He tries through the entire film to impress Massimo and in turn hope Massimo accepts him and sees Alberto can be just as good at his knife-wielding barrel heaving badassery as he is.

Alberto ultimately ending up as a fisherman by trade was an easy choice. Not only do I write what I know (being a Mainer in the coast with a deep affinity with fishermen and shipbuilders) but it is the ultimate way to show his love for Massimo. To help carry on the legacy.

Alberto has mastered some unlikely skills as well. Not as unlikely as you’d expect though considering his desire to impress Massimo.

So consider this:

-Alright, Massimo is great at cooking. Alberto sucks EPICALLY at first but over time, his motivation to measure up to his hero and dad-figure makes him an amazing cook? Check.

-Massimo likes to sing. Alberto picks it up and finds he’s an Unreasonably Excellent Singer and prodigious musician who plays by ear? DOUBLE CHECK.

(Note: The lore and reasons behind this and Alberto’s mandolin will be a blogpost on its own eventually)

-Alberto being a competent and prolific/productive fisherman resulting in the family biz growing and delivering outside of Portorosso? Definitely a proud moment for Massimo.

So to me it all checks out, and drives home Alberto’s strong gumption and the next generation being better than the generation before. As a parent, I subscribe to this goal. I want my boys to be the “Big Strong Ones.”

There’s also the bit that Alberto is a bit of a lush and a party animal. Charismatic, has a bit of a Casanova complex. Charm pouring out of his ears. Why? Well, dang, I really don’t know. I guess bringing it back to that “Charisma In Excess” statement at the beginning of this, it just felt right somehow. I had it so that he really wasn’t all that conventionally attractive but had a level of animal magnetism that’s hard to resist.

There’s lore behind that too…but will be reserved for his “Fish Form” post.

I dunno, it’s probably cus he’s Italian. It could be that simple. 🤷🏻���♀️

[violetscanfly]

Here's part two of the mermaid au doodles!

The drama has arrived

More ramblings about what's happening under the cut!

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

They're at some sort of a social event of the clans that takes place on a ship, definitely not lwj's wedding though since he wasn't engaged to mm in the first place (much to lqr's irritation.)

Jgy has been getting close to lxc in hopes of potentially advancing his status through marrying into the Lan clan because his future at Jin clan is seeming pretty dim at the moment. Whether he has actual feelings for lxc is up to you. There's only one problem, that being lwj who seems to know he's up to something and needs to be dealt with. Though the younger of the twin jades isn't known for either drinking or partying hard, quite the opposite, him drinking alcohol by mistake and stumbling over the edge is believable enough. The Lans aren't known for their high tolerance after all.

What jgy hasn't accounted for is that now there's someone practically glued to lwj's side. He waits for the right moment that just doesn't come, so he just decides to go for it. He can be subtle, distracting them with small talk (that is frustratingly hard when lwj only gives one word answers and his friend only communicates with sign language he doesn't understand,) but wwx ends up catching him slip the drug into lwj's drink anyway. He sees red and in a fit of protective rage he attacks jgy, slipping back into his original form.

The humans are horrified and nmj hauls wwx off jgy. (Ironic I know, but he hates the "seamonsters" more than he hates jgy.) Wwx slams into the railing of the deck and curls up in pain before lwj rushes to him. Wwx had not revealed his true form to lwj in fear of him seeing him as a "monster" and loosing him. As they stare at each other in other in horror (wwx bc his secret is out and Lan Zhan must hate him now and lwj because he is reeling from how is he going to protect Wei Ying in a situation like this) lxc comes to try and pull him back from the dangerous creature that's been hiding under their noses for weeks.

This is as far as I've drawn so far but there'll probably be more to come later!

[wolfstarshipping]

I’m in a reading slump, do you have any good fics that you can recommend me?

Hi, thanks for asking lovely anon! I've thought about this and I have several different approaches on how to answer your ask, so this'll be a longer list, I hope you find something you like!

First category: Texting Fics!

I love text fics because they're usually very fast-paced and easy to read, so I think they might be a good way to combat a reading slump!

You could either go with the iconic Text Talk by merlywhirls (141.250 words), a boarding school AU with a home-schooled, chronically ill Remus, a true classic and the fic that started the whole wolfstar texting fic trend back in the day!

Or, one of my personal favorites from the same era for purely nostalgic reasons, aesthetic: trash boys by Emaly/merlywhirls (89.473 words, everyone is super queer, strong chosen family vibes, with an HIV positive Remus and genderqueer Sirius).

Or if you want a modern text fic classic, there's always Staying Strangers by 3amAndCounting (319.368 words, university AU, this is one of those fics I've reread a couple of times already, just because I love it so much, especially the texting in the beginning).

Snow In June by BrigidFaye (25.561 words) is a magical AU set in the US that also has some texting elements, even though it's not as text-heavy as the fics mentioned above, but the worldbuilding and the setting is wonderful, and lumberjack Remus is everything I ever needed in my life!

Dear Your Holiness by @mollymarymarie (142.264 words) is a priest AU and band AU, with a bit of texting, though this one is also already kind of moving into the next category of fics mentioned below. Obviously the whole catholic priest theme is not going to be for everybody, but if you think you might enjoy that, I highly recommend it, it's so, so good! And if you don't think you'll enjoy the themes of this fic, check out literally any other fic by mollymarymarie, I think at this point I've read almost all of them and enjoyed every single one I read immensely!!

Alright, so now the next category is fics with plots that will get you out of any reading slump:

I've recently become obsessed with @lynxindisguise's fics, so I'd also recommend checking out all of them, but since I've mostly recommended longer fics on this list so far, I'll go with a shorter one: in the dark, there is discovery (11.796 words) is a wonderful pirate AU that you can easily read in one evening, and it has beautiful world building, Remus Lupin as a seamonster and my new favorite trope - there was only one hammock.

Let Me Get What I Want (This Time) by Sierra_Sitruc (69.878 words) is a plot-driven and amazing fix-it-fic, that I keep thinking about even months after I've read it, and that had me stay awake at ungodly hours just because I couldn't put it down and wanted to know how it ended!

The Bent by @ebp-brain (40.257 words) is an incredible fic about queer lives, politics and art, oppression and resistance, so if any of those things sound like something you'd enjoy I highly recommend reading it, I always love earlybloomingparentheses' writing, it's so, so beautiful and powerful!

take me as i am (48.494 words) has one of the most unique settings I've ever read - it features Sirius as an (adorable) sleep demon, who is supposed to give Remus nightmares, and I also love the way this fic depicts various mental illnesses.

In saccharine by moonymoment (26.447 words) Sirius is a ghost haunting Remus's apartment, and this is another one of those fics I keep thinking about because it was just so so good.

full moon twofold by renaissance (12,031 words) is a Gothic-romance style AU and an incredible take on the question "what if Remus never went to Hogwarts?".

And now maybe a few shorter fics:

The first rec in this category is not even a specific fic but just a tumblr account: @wolfstarmicrofic, if you scroll through their blog you'll find lots and lots of really short fics which might just be what you need to get back into reading!

In You, I Count Stars by @wolfpants (1.540 words) is a wonderful hogwarts-era oneshot set in the Astronomy Tower with a pining Sirius.

It's Cold Outside by Remustrash (1.788 words) is a very fluffy and cosy there-was-only-one-bed fic, featuring the most oblivious of all oblivious puppies!

June, and Other Natural Disasters by montparnasse (5.524 words) is a beautifully written fic that made me feel all the feels and has great summer vibes!

Okay and the last category is fics with A+ vibes that'll make you forget all about your reading slump:

The Long Way Home by @hollyivydruzy (177.337 words) is a university AU and the kind of fic I didn't want to ever end, because the characters felt so incredibly real, and it's so easy to get completely immersed and lost in their wonderful, chaotic world and follow along on all their university adventures.

this desperate in love by drowsyanddazed (20.776 words) is a very cute high school AU, and reading it felt like watching a coming of age / teen movie in the best kind of way!

wading in waist-high water by @colgatebluemintygel (82.060 words) is a Great British Bake-Off AU that features Remus as a contestant and and Sirius as a host who's thirsting after Remus, and I just love the whole setting and atmosphere of the fic, as well as the writing! And this fic's Arthur Weasley needs to be protected at all costs, I love him a lot!

A Brief History of Dragons by @eyra (23.488 words) is an incredibly cosy and wonderful modern AU set in Cornwall, I absolutely ADORE Remus in this fic and love the way his and Sirius's relationship slowly develops, this fic has such a special place in my heart.

Alright I think I could keep going and add to this list forever but I'll stop now, let me know if you read any of these, and I hope they'll end your reading slump! x

[mega-punani]

If you have too many questions feel free to delete this one, but I am curious: what are the 'bad sanses' doing in the pirate au, if they're there at all? Do they control some islands? Are they another pirate crew? Are they seamonsters? With the Marines maybe? So many options!

YARRRR! Very good question... honestly though, I don't know much about the bad sans. I'm pretty sure they all have lore that I am unaware of, but I've only seen fanon stuff (SO I APOLOGIZE IF IM VERY VAGUE/WRONG) (One Piece SPOILER ALERT!!!!)

So, I didn't really think they would be in the au, but now that I think about it, it would be really cool if they were warlords of the sea! For those who don't know, warlords are pirates that basically are super powerful and so they are basically allied with the government.

I feel like Nightmare would definitely be a sea monster that lives in his castle in the depths of the sea, like the edge lord that he is. Error would be tormenting (more like pranking) marines for fun and would definitely get a kick out of fighting the main crew. He fucking HATES when the Marines tell him to do something. Dust is lowkey obsessed with getting stronger. He will literally kill anyone in his path for the sake of becoming greater. Even his own brother... Although, he seems remorseful and is often found talking to himself. Killer is... scary. No remorse, no way to contain him. He has nothing he cares for and will kill mercilessly. Whole ships will be blasted into high hell just cause he can. Is it so he could get stronger? Maybe? Who knows... (Found out Cross is technically not a bad sans, but I feel like ppl would still want to know sooooo) Cross would fo sho be brooding hella whenever there are meetings, Sometimes, he just doesn't show up. Cause why??? He doesn't really like going out and about talking with people so once in a while he'll actually listen to the Marines and take out weaker pirate crews.

BONUS: Dream is a Marine Admiral! Always looking to change his brother's heart, he is found visiting Nightmare only to be kicked out. He's a nice guy and finds the crew to be an incredibly charming bunch! Even if they are pirates,,,

[moonlightsmasquerade]

SOOOOO hi i’ve got... some tmc aus, and i think it would be fun to talk about them, i’ll talk about Monsters in Mandela au first, then Submandelaphobia au

Monsters in Mandela: This is a monster au! Most of the human cast end up being monsters and the alternates are monsters instead, theres also plot:

Gabriel is an elderitch horror disgusing itself as an angel, and it used to have literal monsters running around the county until it was sealed away in its church, only humans from the outside can break the seal to get it out, so it tricks two unsuspecting police officers into opening the church doors thinking someone inside needing help and now its escaped and theres monsters running around the county again, as well as Gabriel needing another eleritch horror to help him take over not just the county but the world

Thatcher is a werewolf, Ruth is a zombie, Cesar is a vampire, Mark is a dhampir (more humaney vampire), Sarah is a witch, Adam is a shoggoth, Jonah is a ghoul, Evelin is a gremlin, and Dave stays human 

Gabriels an eleritch horror, but im taking inspo from great old ones for his inhuman design, Six is a shadowman literally melting into the dark and reappearing, Preacher is a harpy, big scary bird.

Submandelaphobia: A play on the word submechaniphobia, Mandela County but with Shadow over Innsmouth vibes. A seaside town slowly being taken over by deep ones that are also stealing townsfolks appearances to trick others into drowning. Those who survive facing a deep one go mad (haha see what i did there) and theres also ghosts n stuff, general timeline events goes

the real cesar asking mark for help and mark dying bc of this (seamonster tricked him), the murray family disappears and one of the officers sent to find them also ‘disappears’ (ruth dies), thatcher quits bc of ruth dying becomes lighthouse keeper, sarah makes bps and has adam n jonah on the team (they do a lot of underwater wreckage searches), different hand hallways thing instead its sarah n adam stuck underwater and his oxygen tank breaks (yet hes fine... wonder why) adam n jonah fight and jonah ‘disappears’, and then mandela catalyst (fish edition) 

this one im still figuring out other stuff like how dave dies BUT i like it so far and i love creepy and wet horror

feel free to ask about either one they r very silly, sometimes i shorten the names  so Monsters in Mandela is mim au and Submandelaphobia gets shortened to submandela au, these are just kinda summaries theres a lot of extra details n such that would make this post TOO LONG 

[separatist-apologist]

Hi hi! First of all, I just finished Vanmerman and I am absolutely obsessed! I love it whenever Lucien is ready to commit murder just as soon as Elain gives the word. I hope you don't mind my asking, and please know it's no pressure and just genuine curiosity, but I noticed Vanmerman was in the same series with Erina and Feysand sea monsters. Does this mean we might get a Cassian sea monster?

You are DEFINITELY getting a Cassian!seamonster. @c-e-d-dreamer brought this up today? Right? Was that what we were talking about? Monster Cassian and his shiny, blood red tail?

[solarwindswriting]

Running on Instinct

Pairing: Merman!Shoto Todoroki x Male!MarineBiologist!Reader

Word Count: 5500

Summary: Quirkless AU for Mermay 2022. Y/n works endlessly to improve the living situation of a small group of merfolk being kept in poor conditions at a rehabilitation facility. One playful merman in particular pulls more of Y/n’s attention than the others. When an orphaned merpup comes into the rehabilitation facility, will Shoto be willing to help the frantic Y/n?

Inspired by this artwork by @peterokii

Warnings: Merfolk kept in bad conditions, Reader almost drowned on accident, baby in critical need

A/N: In a surprise addition to Mermay, I come in with less than 24 hours left in May. This is the longest single chapter story I’ve posted. I was truly inspired by Pete’s artwork and how he drew Shoto’s facial expressions. Just as a warning, I proof read the first half of this but not the second half. I hope y’all like it!

Y/n squat near the edge of the deep tank, hand between his legs for support, looking for what could be in the depths. The occasional glimpse of a tattered tail caught the light. After a few moments, just below the water’s surface, a pair of eyes looked up towards Y/n, one grey and one electric blue. Half red and half white hair fell flat to the sides of the mermans face as he emerged from the water, looking at Y/n curiously. Y/n looked behind the mermaid and noticed how much the normally long fins of the Butterfly Koi merman were short and jagged.

“You’re new,” the merman whispers, nose now inches from Y/n’s.

“I am,” Y/n smiles, reaching into his messenger bag and offering the small plastic container of cooked shrimp he had brought.

“Hey! Watch out!” Someone calls from behind Y/n.

The loud voice of the research manager, Warden spooks the mermaid, causing him to quickly grab the container of shrimp, turn tail and disappear back under the water. Looking over his shoulder, Y/n gives Warden a confused look.

“Watch out for what? We were doing introductions.” Y/n says casually, standing up and wiping off the water that had been splashed onto his arms by the merman.

“I’ve nearly lost two interns to that seamonster pulling them under,” Warden stood tall, arms crossed.

Y/n had quickly learned what kind of person Warden was. Multiple anonymous complaints was filed for this rehabilitation center for how they were treating their resuces. Things like barely feeding them, not maintaining enclosures, and profiting off of the merfolk instead of actual rehibiltaion and releasing those who can be. All things that went against the wildlife code of ethics. Which is why Y/n, one of the leading merfolk experts was sent in to asses the situation. Warden had already attempted to block Y/n from looking at certain rooms of the facility. Being interrupted when he was finally meeting one of the merfolk here felt like the last straw.

“Do you have incident reports from those two interns?” Y/n asked, body language matching Wardens.

“I probably do, in my office,” Warden turned, heading towards the front of the facility.

Probably? This man felt less like a rehabilitation specialist and more of a villain with every passing second. Digging into his bag, Y/n pulled out his work binder. Flipping between paper folders, he stops on one labeled Emergency Power Transfer Paperwork. Tapping on the back of the binder, Y/n turns back towards the tank, reading what information he’d need to get from Warden, hopefully without him realizing what he was doing. Y/n began filling out some of the paperwork as he waited. A quiet stuttering voice pulled Y/n’s attention to the water in front of him.

“Marine Poli-cy Speec- Speci…” The merman from before was squinting at the binder in Y/n’s hands trying to sound out the words on the front of it.

“Marine Policy Specialist. You can read?” Y/n asked, setting down the binder and pen as he squatted down to talk to the mermaid.

“No. Yes. A little.” The merman lit up a bit, his hands found the edge of the tank, pulling himself to mid chest out of the water so they were eye level.

“Nice, who taught you?” Y/n questioned.

“My old keeper. She stopped showing up on day when I was young,” the merman seemed to deflate at the memory.

“How long have you been here?” Y/n shifted so he was sitting with his legs crossed.

“My whole life.” He smiled at Y/n, excited to have someone to talk to.

Y/n paused. He had been born and raised here? How long has this mistreatment been going on? This merman couldn’t be much older than him, but unlicensed merfolk breeding had been outlawed since before either of them were born and this facility hadn’t reported rescuing any pregnant mermaids in all its time in operation.

“Are you in this tank alone?” Y/n’s head quirked to the side, trying to find anyone else in the large tank.

The merman sunk back into the water so only the top half of his face was showing, hair pooling around him. He shook head from side to side. Y/n’s eyes go wide. He knew Butterfly Koi merfolk lived in groups, or glints. How long had this merman been alone? That would explain the interns being dragged into the water. If this facility wasn’t going to re-release these merfolk back into the ocean, the least they could do was bring in enough for a small pod.

“I’m sorry our introduction was interrupted earlier. My name is Y/n. What’s yours?” Y/n reached his right hand out, palm facing the ceiling.

“Shoto,” he whispered, reaching out to lay his hand atop of Y/n.

The chill of merfolk was never something Y/n had become accustomed to. The hair on his arms raised.

“What did I say about that creature?” Warden boomed, running up and yanking Y/n back by the collar.

Y/n tore himself from Warden’s grip, turning back to where Shoto had been. A small puddle where Shoto had lifted his hand out of the tank was all that remained. Turning back to Warden, Y/n’s face was red and fuming.

“In accordance with the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association,” Y/n grabs and flips through his binder again, pulling out the folder he was looking at moments ago and shoving it into Warden’s arms, “I hereby take control of this facility as we restructure it. And don’t ever grab somebody like that, or you’re no better than what you think that merman is.”

Warden’s eyes go wide as he flips through the partially filled out forms, sputtering to find words.

“If you think this is a mistake, you are welcome to contact the board and have a second person come out and investigate, but I doubt they’ll disagree with my conclusion. Until then, I must request you hand over your keys,” Y/n aggressively adjusted his ruffled shirt as he spoke.

The next couple of hours were occupied by filling out paper work and closing the aquarium side of the facility until further notice. Y/n couldn’t ignore the smug smiles on the faces of some of the volunteers as Warden left in his car without saying a single goodbye.

Y/n reached into his lab coat pocket for his pen when he realized he had left it tank side in the flurry of commandeering the facility. He let out a soft sigh and weaved his way back through the facility and up the tank ladder to where he was earlier. At the edge of the tank stood the empty plastic container and his pen placed neatly next to it. Approaching them, he noticed the poorly scribbled word ‘thank’ on top in blue ink that smudged with the droplets of water on top. Y/n smiled, picking up the items and storing them in his bag. The shrimp was supposed to be a part his lunch, but he could always get something on the way home.

The next day, Y/n woke up at 3 am in an attempt to beat the restaurant owners to the local fish market. He had received a list of all the different merfolk being kept at the facility and wanted to make sure he bought all the preferred foods for each. But when his white van pulled into the fisherman dock, it was already bustling. Y/n jumps out of the van, grabbing his messenger bag as he does. Entering the large warehouse, the familiar smell of fish and the shouting voices of those around him assault’s Y/n’s sense.

“Y/n! Long time since we’ve seen you down here!” Eijiro, a fisherman who had let Y/n sail with him while he was in school, barked out across the aisle.

Y/n smiled, shifting between people to stand in front of Eijiro’s stand.

“I’m working at a new facility that desperately needs help. Think you can help me with what I need?” Y/n help out the shopping list he had thrown together.

Eijiro looked at the list in his hands, inspecting it and nodding every so often. Looking up, he handed the list back to Y/n.

“I can give you most of this stuff myself for free and what I can’t, I can get you a discount from the others.” Eijiro shouts.

“I can pay for it, Eiji! I don’t want to take advantage of your kindness” Y/n smiles.

“Absolutely not! You’re doing good work. Couldn’t take advantage if you tried.” Eijiro says over his shoulder, already packing what he could for Y/n.

“Fine, but I’m going to need this stuff consistently. This is the only time I’ll take it for free!” Y/n shouts back.

Eijiro just waves his hand aimlessly over his shoulder as he continues to pack fish. About two hours later, Y/n’s van is packed with crates of fish, crusteations, and even some fresh produce. Eijiro closed the back barn doors, leaning on it and looking down at Y/n.

“So, how bad is it?” Eijiro asks casually.

Y/n lets out a long sigh, “pretty bad. They aren’t even keeping the grouping merfolk together. There’s a butterfly koi merman who has never met another merfolk.

Eijiro let out a long low whistle before he spoke, “Didn’t you specialize in butterfly koi? Whatever. I just don’t understand some people. Merfolk are so important to our oceans, and they’ve got just as many emotions as we do. The operators of that place are lucky I wasn’t there, or else I would hav-”

“Well, we can’t all be big and buff like you, Eiji,” Y/n chuckles lightly, rubbing his eyes. “I need to go and get started on food prep. I’ll see you around.”

“Don’t over work yourself, Y/n,” Eijiro lightly shoved Y/n’s shoulder before disappearing back into the fish market.

The facilities small kitchen was packed with food and the four volunteers who agreed to show up at 5:30 am to start preparing the food with Y/n. He showed them each a few different food preps for the merfolk they were each assigned before getting to work on his own designated meals.

“Uh, Mr. Y/l/n? I know for a fact Momo, the Black Moor mermaid hates blood worms,” the volunteer Y/n had learned was named Uraraka mentions, walking up with the container of blood worms he had put in the Black Moor’s food box.

Y/n looked up from the large pan of shrimp he was cooking, smiling at her, “oh, well then don’t include those.”

“Really? But you bought them. Warden would have told us not to waste the money and feed them to her anyways.” Uraraka looked relieved at Y/n’s words.

“If a merfolk doesn’t like something, we won’t feed it to them. What if someone forced you to eat meatloaf, but you hated it?” Y/n turned to the other volunteers as he spoke, “if there is anything in the boxes that you know the merfolk won’t like, don’t force it. And if you could write a list of each merfolks likes and dislikes, I’ll be sure to adjust what I buy. And I want to add enrichment to their tanks. Mirrors, foliage, hideaways. Anything you can think of that we can get on the short term before we can really renovate the tanks would be great.”

They all nodded back to him, large smiles on their faces. Some took a few items out of their boxes or switched items with each other. It was 8 am before they were all ready to start delivering breakfast to them all. Y/n and Uraraka walked down one of the hallways together, each with a cart full of prepared food.

“When was the last time they had food prepared like this?” Y/n asked, side eyeing the volunteer.

Uraraka shrugged her shoulders, “I couldn’t tell you. Not since before I started volunteering here about 7 months ago.”

They separated at the fork. Y/n saved the Butterfly koi merman for last. The other Y/n delivered breakfast to didn’t look much better than him, some obviously ill. Y/n would have to get a merfolk doctor as soon as he could to check all of them. Y/n struggled up the last tank ladder with the tub of food. Getting to the top, he set down the tub, kneeling down at the edge of the water.

Y/n reached out, tapping the surface of the water a few times before sitting back with his legs crossed. Across the tank, similar red and white hair surfaced looking towards the water was disturbed. His eyes squint before landing on the man who had visited yesterday. Sinking back under the water, he quickly swam his way over. Reemerging from the water up to his shoulders, he could smell the food in the tub.

“Did you bring more of those little pink things?” He quizzed, craning his neck to get a look into the tub.

“Shrimp? Yes, I did. You’ve never had shrimp before that, have you?” Y/n smiled softly.

Shoto just shook his head lightly, reaching out for the tub. Y/n caught it before he could drag it into the water. Shoto looked back to Y/n confused.

“I have one question,” Y/n said quickly.

“More shrimp,” he quickly said.

When Shoto didn’t respond, Y/n continued, “is there anything you want? I can have it brought in.”

Y/n had asked all of the merfolk he had fed this, and he planned on asking the rest when he was finally able to make introductions with all of them. But this some how felt more important. This merman has never experienced what to ocean had to offer. Would he even have anything to wish for?

Y/ chuckled softly, “You’ll get plenty of shrimp. I meant something for your tank.”

Shoto looked into the tub with a thoughtful gaze before patting the edge and whispering, “More things with tops. I liked opening the thing you gave me yesterday.”

Y/n smiled at him, letting go of the tub. Shoto quickly yanked it, turning it over in the water as he sank it to the bottom to eat. Y/n sighed. Bucket with lids? All this merman could think of was something he had been introduced to yesterday? Y/n shook his head as he got up to go ask the rest of the merfolk things they wanted. He left confident the volunteers there would be able to handle dinner prep.

Y/n had noticed how dirty the merfolk enclosures were when touring the aquarium side of the facility later that week. He didn’t want to put anything into their tanks without some sort of basic cleaning being down. He started with partial water changes on all the tanks, stopping there for any merfolk who refused to let him into the tanks. Y/n had already cleaned most of what he could before getting to Shoto’s tank a second time that day.

Y/n climbed up the ladder with his scuba gear. The tub from breakfast was sitting neatly on the edge of the tank platform. Grabbing it, Y/n turned back towards the ladder, taking a step back towards the ladder to drop the tub down to the bottom. Before he could take another step, an ice cold hand wrapped tight around the ankle of his wetsuit. Look behind him, Shoto reached far out of his tank up to his waist, chest almost flush with the platform. He looked at Y/n’s wetsuit boots, avoiding eye contact.

“I’m just putting the tub where one of the volunteers can grab it. I’ll come right back,” Y/n said casually.

Shoto released Y/n’s ankle and watch as the bent over and dropped the tub to somewhere he couldn’t see. Turning around, Y/n walked back towards him, a bright smile on his face.

“I saw you across the way in the black mermaid tank. Are you going to get in mine?” Shoto’s face wasn’t readable to Y/n.

Y/n paused halfway, looking at him worried, “only if you want me to. I won’t do anything you don’t want me t--” 

“Yes!” Shoto almost shouted, face lighting up.

“Okay,” Y/n’s smile back on his face, “but I can’t just hang out. I’m going to do some cleaning. And then,” Y/n pointed behind him to a large bag full of something Shoto couldn’t see, “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Y/n geared up to jump into the 50 degrees Fahrenheit water. As he pulled the air mask over his face, Shoto looked at him confused.

“Why are you putting so much stuff just to swim?” He asked, tapping his hands in the puddle of water he had created on the platform where he waited.

“Because,” Y/n said, pulling the mask away from his face slightly so he wouldn't be muffled, “I can’t breath underwater like you can.”

This pulled an even more confused look from Shoto and suddenly his pulling down of those interns made even more sense. They were probably nice to him and he hadn't known they couldn’t breathe under the water. Y/n gave him a sad smile before pulling the clear full face mask back over his face.

Y/n sat at the edge of the platform, feet dipping into the water. he went to push off the edge of the platform when two hands grabbed his waist and yanked him into the water. The sudden all-over cold shocked Y/n for a second despite the thick wetsuit he wore but the excited look of the merman pulling him deeper into the water quickly distracted him. Shoto watched as Y/n’s scared look turned into a bright smile and how his hair started to float around his head exactly how Shoto had imagined it would.

Y/n tread water where Shoto had let go of him deep in the tank. Shoto swam back up to the top, grabbing both the bucket of cleaning brushes Y/n had brought and the sack of mystery Y/n had mentioned earlier. He let the sack float to the bottom of the tank as he carried the other box back to where Y/n swam.

“Here you go,” Shoto’s voice was clear as day to Y/n as he held the bucket between them.

Y/n started to clean the sides of the tank after years of algae buildup. It was obvious whoever the divers were before were instructed to only clean the main viewing window which was relatively spotless. After about ten minutes of Shoto carefully watching Y/n clean the sides of his cage, he was over, picking up a matching brush for the box and scrubbing next to him.

“Like this?” Shoto asks.

Slowly turning his head towards the Merman, Y/n chuckles, watching Shoto enthusiastically cleaning the side of his own tank. Y/n nods, hair following slowly behind. His hair reminded Shoto of the big fake seaweed plants that were in his home when he was young with how it moved. With the extra help, Y/n was able to scrub clean the sides as best he could. He packed up the cleaning box, having to try and convince Shoto to give back the brush he had been using but eventually gave up.

Y/n swam back up to the surface, hoisting the box up onto the platform. He took off his breathing mask and positioned his arms to hoist himself up onto the platform when a hand grabbed his ankle pulling him back under the water. Taking whatever breath he could before being submerged.

Shoto pulled them halfway down before looking up at Y/n. His excited face suddenly filled with panic when he noticed Y/n’s breathing mask floating a couple of feet above his head. He reached up trying to put it over Y/n’s face. Y/n shook his head back and forth frantically, trying to swim back to the surface. Shoto’s hands scooped under Y/n’s arms, swimming as fast as he could back to the surface. As they broke the surface, Y/n gasped for air.

“You could have killed me,” Y/n heaved between breaths.

Looking at Shoto, Y/n could see the fear in his eyes before he disappeared deep into his tank. Y/n caught their breath as they swam back to the platform, pulling himself up without interruption. His legs and flippers were still in the water, expecting Shoto to resurface eventually. After a few moments with no return of the merman, Y/n left Shoto’s area. The rest of the day until dinner would be filling out paperwork and checks for the medical care the different merfolk needed.

“Knock, knock,” Eijiro’s bright smile filled Y/n’s office a few hours later.

“Hey, Eiji. Ready for that tour?” Y/n asked, arms crossing and leaning forward onto his desk.

Y/n promised to give Eijiro and his crew a tour of the facility during dinner so he wouldn’t actually be helping with the delivery of food. Most of them had never seen merfolk up close and Eijiro next to begged Yn to let his crew see them. Y/n had reluctantly agreed of course. It was next to impossible to say no to Eijiro Kirishima when he gave those puppy dog eyes.

Y/n showed them first where they prepped the food and how the diets of different merfolk differed depending on where in the ocean they were found. Then he led them down the different hallways aquarium side. The boat crew was mesmerized by the merfolk who swam up to the glass once they saw Y/n had been walking with them. Y/n introduced the different merfolk with their names and where they were normally found in the oceans.

Walking up to Momo’s tank she was quick to swim up to the glass. One of the crew, Mashirao was humming a song and Momo could hear it through the glass. She tapped the glass in front of him, a wide smile on her face.

“You like that song, Momo?” Y/n asked her, he then turned to the crew, “I had a sound system set up so I’d be able to communicate with the merfolk while on this side of the glass. Which means any sound you make, they’ll be able to hear.”

Momo nodded her head quickly in agreement. Eijiro let out a deep bellied laugh, before turning to his crew.

“Well, give the lass what she wants!” Eijiro punched the shoulder of Mashirao.

Mashirao laughed in response and started to sing Randy Dandy-O, the song he had been humming. More of the crew joined in, causing the merfolk in neighboring tanks to swim up with their dinners to the glass to watch with excitement. Y/n stood a few feet from the group and looked around at the scene with a fond smile.

“I’ll have to bring you guys back more often if the merfolk like your singing so much!” Y/n called out to Eijiro who led his crew into a second song.

Y/n looked behind him at the glass of Shoto’s tank. He could faintly see the white and orange tail of the merman but he was keeping his distance for some reason. Walking over, he cupped his hands around his eyes and put his face up to the glass. Trying to focus deeper into the water, something suddenly came flying right where his face was, causing him to jump back. Looking at the bottom of the tank, a single shrimp lay there. Suddenly, a frantic looking Uraraka came scurrying up to Y/n.

“Um, excuse me. I’m sorry to interrupt, but Shoto is refusing to eat his food.” Uraraka looked at her feet.

“Why do you look so glum?” Eijiro’s booming voice asked, walking up to the pair.

“I’m sorry, Eiji. I’ve got to go deal with something. Uraraka. You used to give tours right? Could you show them the rest of the facility while I take care of this?” Y/n asked.

Uraraka agreed and Y/n quickly disappeared through one of the doors that led to the tank access area. Y/n puffed, ascending the ladder the Shoto’s tank platform, the sound of one of the volunteers bickering at the merman.

“Hey! Stop! Don’t throw your food at me!”

Y/n saw the sour-faced Shoto, arm reared back to throw another algae ball at the volunteer when he reached the top of the ladder.

“Hey!” Y/n barked.

Shoto’s head whipped to Y/n.

“Stop throwing food at him. He’s just doing his job. What’s got you so mad?” Y/n said, picking up pieces of food as he approached, dumping them all into the tub he snatched back from Shoto.

Shoto glared at the volunteer as he scurried out of sight down the ladder. Y/n tucked the tub under their left arm, his right hand found his hip. Tapping his foot, Y/n waited for Shoto’s response. Shoto watched Y/n’s feet, refusing to speak.

“Fine! Don’t tell me.” Y/n set the tub back in front of the merman. “Stop throwing your food at people.”

Y/n turned to leave. As he neared the ladder, he felt something thump against the back of his head, landing without a sound on the ground behind him. Turning back around, he sees a shrimp near his feet. Looking back up at the merman irritated, Shoto’s back was not turned away from him. Without hesitation, Y/n picked up the piece of shrimp, launching it back at the merman, hitting him in the back of the head with the shrimp before it sunk into the water below. Shoto turned around with an incredulous look on his face.

“Unlike my staff, if you’re going to throw food at me, I’ll throw it back at you,” Y/n spoke sternly with Shoto.

Y/n turned back around to leave before he was hit in the back of the head, this time with a ball of moss. He whipped back around, ready to chastise him when he saw the wide smile Shoto wore. He thought this was a game. Y/n’s stern look dropped, chuckling lightly as he picked up the ball of moss he had hidden in one of the containers he had given Shoto earlier that day.

Y/n crossed back over to the merman, squatting in front of him, holding out the ball. Shoto reached for the ball, but instead grabbed Y/n’s wrist, pulling him into the water. Y/n quickly bobbed back to the surface as Shoto swam around behind him, pushing him towards the center of the tank. Shoto turned Y/n quickly in the water to face him, hands staying on his shoulders. Y/n shivered in the water in his street clothes.

“Who is Eiji?” Shoto asks, eyebrows knitting together.

“Eijiro? He’s the captain of the boat I studied on. Why?” Y/n responded, confused.

“Why did you bring him here? Why is he the one you buy all our food from?” Shoto interrogated.

“He wanted to show his crew what merfolk were really like. And because he’s a friend. Hey, wait, why does that matter to you? Why did you pull me into your tank? It’s freezing to me,” Y/n questions back, placing his hands over Shoto’s to help him stay afloat in the cold water.

Shoto slid his hands out from underneath Y/n’s swimming a few feet away before speaking, “I don’t want to eat shrimp from him.”

Shoto disappeared back beneath the water without another word. Y/n rolled his eyes, paddling back to the platform, and getting out of the tank. By the time Y/n had found a towel and changed into dry clothes, Eijiro and his crew were gearing up to leave.

“Sorry I missed the second half. Shoto seems to be bothered by something.” Y/n apologized as he walked up to Eijiro, rubbing the towel into his hair.

Eijiro laughed at his soaked friend, “ I heard from Uraraka. Sounds like you’ve got a jealous siren on your hands.”

“Huh?” Y/n’s face filled with confusion.

“My dad used to tell me about how he became close with this mershark when he first started sailing. His first love, he’d always say. Would pick off any of the crew that got too close to him. Had to set some boundaries after the third first mate drowned. Anyways, We should head out. We’ve got an early day tomorrow.” Eijiro flashed his sharp teeth with a smile and pulled Y/n into a tight side hug before disappearing outside.

Y/n sat in his office, face in his hands as he sighed. Only about half of the merfolk were candidates for rerelease. Thankfully, the rest would be able to be used for education and research, granted they were willing to do so. The only one Y/n worried about was Shoto. He was the only one Shoto would really interact with, and even that had been sparse since Eijiro’s visit two days ago. Y/n wasn’t sure if he’d be able to stay at this facility or not. He had already filled and turned in the necessary paperwork for a permanent, but that wasn’t guaranteed. Y/n worried about what would happen if Shoto refused to cooperate with other marine biologists. Would they release him anyway? Hoping he’d be able to survive on his own? Shoto had never seen the world beyond what his tank would let him see. Y/n knew he wouldn’t last a day alone in the ocean. A harsh knock sounded on the office door before Uraraka came bursting in, out of breath.

“Baby merfolk. No mother. Way too cold.” She spoke quickly before disappearing back into the hall.

Y/n jumped out of his desk chair, following behind Uraraka to the loading dock. Opening the door, Y/n saw Tenya, the newest volunteer, running towards them, a tiny Butterfly Koi merpup in his arms. Transferring the baby to Y/n, he rushes down the hall towards the incubator before coming to a skidding stop.

“Why are you stopping?” Tenya asked, slowing down so he wouldn’t run into Y/n’s back.

“The incubator will be too hot for him,” Y/n said, turning and running through the doors towards the tanks.

Uraraka followed him fast, “but we don’t have any mothers.”

“I know,” called Y/n, climbing a ladder as fast as he could.

Once on the platform, Y/n ran, taking a deep breath in, and jumped into the water. He held the baby close to his chest and gave it as much of his own body heat as he could. Uraraka skid to a stop at the edge of the tank, watching Shoto swim faster than he ever had to the sinking Y/n. Shoto grabbed either arm of Y/n ready to pull them back to the service before he noticed the baby in his arms. Y/n shoved the child into Shoto’s arms, which he quickly took. Y/n swam back to the surface as fast as he could, gasping once he finally made it back to the surface.

“You think he’ll know what to do?” Uraraka asked frantically.

Y/n pulled himself out of the water with the help of Uraraka, “there’s only one way of knowing.”

Y/n slid down the ladder and ran around to the glass of Shoto’s cage. He stopped, heaving as he attempted to catch his breath. Tenya was soon next to him, wrapping a towel around his shoulders. Looking into the tank, Y/n could see Shoto curled into a ball in the corner that kept his bed. Y/n let out a deep sigh.

“It worked,” Y/n whispered, falling to the ground and sitting.

Tenya and Uraraka did the same as they watched Shoto start to fret over the child as it tried to wiggle out of his grasp as it warmed up.

“How’d you know that’d work?” Uraraka asked, a smile on her face.

“I didn’t,” Y/n admitted. “I sure prayed it would though. There wouldn’t have been a mother. Butterfly Koi mermen are the ones who care for the young. Are they sure there weren’t any merfolk in the area that was watching the baby?”

“Yeah,” Tenya started, “I watched the pup for the last three days and not a single merfolk ever approached the baby.”

“You did the right thing, Tenya.” Y/n said, falling onto their back, suddenly exhausted.

[moonfortunetheatre]

hey, my name is mihou. my daughter told me i should probably make a blog or something about my theatre(although its quickly becoming a personal one), so here it is. its a demon-run theatre, and we're working on a couple different shows right now, so i'm gonna be talking about those a whole lot. feel free to send me questions or comments, no guarantee ill answer you though. current shows:

Amaterasu and the Cave

Tamamizu

The Jorogumo

Shippetaro

The Iliad (HELP ME)

Frankenstein

The Sun Maiden and the Crescent Moon (Valentine's Day Tragedy Event)

The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl

Later Next Year shows:

Chang'e and Hou Yi

Arachne

The Tragedy of Medea

Hyacinthus

Eros and Psyche

Midsummer Night's Dream

The Minotaur

Utgard Loki

Tokoyo and the Seamonster

i'll be reblogging theatre and traditional chinese dance stuff and occasionally i'll rant about something that annoys me but yeah. thats it. // ooc: hihi!! my friend made an rp account so i made one too just for funsies. im roleplaying as macaque and acting as if this is his tumblr blog to talk about theatre stuffs! my main is @watercolorofthemoon

[itsaseamonster]

This moment right here, yeah?

Morpheus is about to leave (and of my gods Tom is such a good actor) but before he moves Hob does this tiny but sure step towards him and I. Am. Not. Okay. About that.

What did he want to do really? Did Hob try to iniciate a hug? Or what was that about?

That disappointed look down, for a split second he looks so dejected when Morpheus storms out. And then, as a good opportunist, he again almost confidently? defiantly? raises his head and looks towards Morpheus to catch him in the rain...

I had Ferdinand Kingsley for half an episode and I would kill for him.

(gif credit @ithappensoffstage )

[moorishflower]

there was this amazing fanart for your sandman siren au, where dream was captured by seamonster hunter Burgess and put in a fishbowl on his wooden ship... the style looks super similar to the jellyfish!delirium post you reblogged recently. anyways I can't find the post anywhere, do you know what I'm talking about?

Yeah yeah! I think it's this fanart by @silver-dream89? Which HECK YEAH, poor Dream in his hamster ball ToT It's good good art yes!

[fruit-salad-ship]

Have you done anything regarding spies or pirates yet?

spies breifly, pirates a while ago now but honestly pirates holds a place very dear to my heart, and id love to do more with it.

Sea monsters bound to a tattooed peach, an actual terrifying pirate whos renown for her tactics. Sunk her last ship and faked her death to have a break, spends her free time in a seedy port drinking and fighting.

Meets plum who is trying to be scary, new to the pirating gig, thinks shes doing great but her crew will probably kill her in her sleep and her navigator Grey is very aware of it. Convinces her to pull into a port and give them some time to blow off steam, and this leads her to find Peach, and she recognises her as this wanted criminal presumed dead. Definetly not dead, shes on a table yeeting a bottle at someone before getting tackled to the floor, the pair brawl, she puts them on their ass with a smug grin.

Thats the one. Thats the pirate who'll whip her crew into shape and help her gain some notability. No other woman is bold enough to do what shes done, at least not one she has the potential to meet.

They come to an agreement be it mutual or trickery, and peach falls in line as second mate. Not sure if she'll kill plum herself and take the ship or just vibe until this is boring to her. The crew are terrified. Shes a demon, people suggest she's unkillable, and sure enough even wounded shes fighting, something crazed in that woman.

The stories of seamonsters however are ones she takes great note of, while most deem them things to scare kids, she's very cautious about them. One night Plum cant sleep, goes up to the deck to see peach, tucked in a corner leaning over the rails, talking, reaching out to something. A creaky floorboard catches her attention and for a moment plum sees peach face to face with this serpant like creature, a monster of the deep, not something ordinary in any sense. it dives fast and peach tries to cover for it, just imagining things. nothing convinces plum that was not real and she starts to pry, noticing peach's tattoos are of a similar beast, curled around almost every limb of her body like a snake.

Does she see it again? Not sure. But i love the energy of pirates. I think about it a lot. The contrast of prim and proper, finely trained swordswoman plum, and rough and harsh sea worn peach is just too good. Grey despratly trying to hold 40 odd toddler leashes of both captain, first mate, and all the crew. A man never needed a vacation more.

[discobiscotto]

Just Guys Bein’ Dudes: A Needlessly Huge TED-Talk About Luca & Alberto’s Relationship

Ready for some big-brain BS?

Well, ready or not, here’s a “little” dive into how I interpret/perceive Luca and Alberto’s relationship.

Note: I’m referring to them as my own headcanon versions of them as men. It can certainly be applied to them as young adults and teens for sure, but I’m diving into ‘Ciao Luca’ territory specifically. So, there, just being clear on the who’s who.

What’s their deal anyhow?

Are they romantic partners? Are they attracted to eachother, yanno 👉🏻👈🏻? Buddies? Buddies with benefits? Are they even a couple? Are they husbands? What’s their deal?

So, a couple years ago when I was starting to get really busy with the headcanons, I went on a tear about their relationship to lay down some kind of clear foundation for it. I felt alittle conflicted at the time about how their relationship was going to feel/act like.

To me, because I love ambiguity, I wanted to keep that energy going from the original source material…but with alittle “oomph”…considering there’s been time and maturity tacked on. They can’t just be Pallin’ Around forever, something’s gotta give with chemistry that strong imo.

If I’m being honest, them being point-blank romantic partners felt too cliched and predictable/boring. Courtship, wooing, marriage…snore. It just didn’t feel like ‘them’ to me. It bordered heteronormative somehow. I was just …PUTTING MYSELF TO SLEEP.

Not to say they aren’t romantic, because they certainly are in their own right! It just isn’t the defining Vibe of their relationship.

As a queer lady with a pretty open mind in terms of what defines a relationship and/or bond, I believe that love expression is on a spectrum. Different strokes for different folks, yanno?

I scooted myself over to that old filing cabinet in my brain with random Greek Philosophy tid-bits (that I was impressed wasn’t put thru the incinerator) and I got polishing.

I remembered a few terms, like storge (family love), Eros: romantic, mania: obsessive/stalkerish love, agape, philia, the list goes on.

We’re gonna focus on PHILIA, typically deemed affectionate and/or “brotherly love”, I think also falls under platonic love.

We’re going to come back to this later☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻

As a couple of seamonsters (first and foremost) the human concept of love may not necessarily compute to them. Not that they get confused or turn their nose up at it, but rather it’s more boxed-in and rigid than, I guess, fish love? Haha.

Example: homosexuality, bisexuality, and heterosexuality as concepts are human inventions to help humans navigate their life and their identity in the world, be part of a tribe, and potentially find mates.

They’re social constructs, like gender conformity, and Mondays.

Seamonsters really don’t have that. They’re similar to humans in alot of ways, but in terms of attraction, love, and social awareness, they just kindof ride the wave and go where the current takes them.

Opposite sex pairings likely happen more often because [gestures] instincts and Makin’ Fries. But just like humans, same sex relationships happen just as much!…but seamonsters have no concept of homophobia (strictly a human invention) so there’s no discouragement or imposed fear of the relationship…it just happens if it’s meant to and the world keeps spinning. [deep sighs]

Luca and Alberto are aware of human society and customs (especially now that they’ve been living amongst them for atleast 15 years). So, they still try to do-as-the-humans-do sometimes. They know that they feel a strong bond to eachother that can’t be ignored, and when humans sense a similar bond between each other they express it by being physically intimate, or giving gifts, or creating things for eachother, etc.

So, basically, it boils down to “I love my friend, so I wish to express that love for him like that [gesture].”

Now bringing it back to Philia up there!👆🏻

That particular source defines philia as brotherly love, both must be men (in the Greek system), they respect and take pleasure in eachother’s company, bond through exploring philosophical truths, and sexual intimacy or attraction is optional.

This other source takes it a bit further saying that we could be diving into “friends to lovers” territory which is the aforementioned “oomph” I was referring to. The bridge into Eros stuff without being completely rooted there (ie your usual romantic pair).

Their relationship isn’t based on physical attraction, but began as a close friendship that progressed into something more. Not built on lust, but on mutual affection and respect for eachother.

They are an “unlikely” pair. Where a hockey hug became alittle tighter, and the joined hands in a good old “Piacere Girolamo Trombetta” started to linger.

They feel safe with eachother, they love and prefer eachother’s company, they share eachother’s worlds and feel deeply connected in them. Alberto cooks meals for them because he loves Luca, and Luca gives Alberto [SPOILER] because he loves him back.

They share a “I can’t quite put my finger on it but I feel safe, warm, and happy with you, I enjoy your company and what we have, I love the feeling of you being close to me, exchanging warmth and heartbeats, and I feel like this is more than going out on dates or ‘picking out curtains’.” kind of thing.

They’re roommates who kiss and “play house”. They are in love…but express it in their own unique way. They are openly affectionate. They keep people guessing, they confuse the neighbors, they have an “inside joke”.

Alberto lays on the housewife schtick: straightening Luca’s tie and sending him on his way with a packed lunch.

They call eachother heteronormative terms of endearment, mostly to be cheeky. Sarcastic “Honey” or “Dear” followed by someone affectionately ending up in a headlock.

They love to play with the human version of “married life”, little do they realize they’ve grown genuinely accustomed to it.

They’re queer but have no name and nowhere they’d rather be except each other’s arms (that one place that makes perfect sense).

They aren’t married…they never can get married…but that doesn’t stop them from sharing their homes, their beds, and a last name written on their Christmas cards.

In conclusion, humans say they’re gay.

The Paguro’s say “They built a farm together.”

SOURCES:

[simmeons]

More seamonster scotty! Does he have a favorite type of fish? Is he a fast swimmer? Would he make little gifts for mccoy out of shells and seaglass? Any more fun facts?

oh boy i love talking about this guy sm

his favorite fish is the Palenose Parrotfish, based on the color of it alone. who wouldn't love this? it's also pretty tasty too!

he is a pretty fast swimmer, though he doesn't swim fast a lot. he's more of a casual swimmer, just going with the flow of the fish around him

and he absolutely would make gifts for McCoy! tie some shells together with seaweed, stuff some other things he finds in the ocean in the shells, and you've got a pretty nice gift! Scotty keeps all the things McCoy gives him in his little hidey hole cave home, like a little shrine of sorts lmao

anymore fun facts? hmm.... well, he loves to sunbathe. the water of the ocean is always pretty chilly, so it's nice getting above water sometimes and digging yourself a nice hole in the sand to lay in. though, it's very rare, having to stay away from humans all the time

it's pretty hard to get your scales cleaned, so like other symbiotic relationships in the ocean, small fish or shrimp will clean Scotty's scales to get rid of all the nasties. he doesn't go as far as some other animals to open his mouth and get his teeth cleaned, but it's like a spa day when he gets the time to get cleaned