#should I make a pair of guys who’s fates are hopelessly tangled together and they’re desperately trying to escape that but they fall back

[trollbreak]

You ever sit there like. Craving a very specific dynamic but you can’t go to your usual set of characters for it bc it’s slightly to the left

[nico-drives-badly]

Hey guys, wanna read about my Mermaid and Pirate AU that I randomly came up with last night that’s also very loosely based on DMC4?

(Note: this is a really lengthy outline that’s been copied and pasted directly from my notes app. Y’all know how my writing works at this point lol.)

The story begins with Kyrie and Credo’s parents fighting off enemy pirates, eventually leading to Kyrie and Credo’s father killing their captain to get a hold of their treasure. But when his wife opens the treasure chest, she is shocked to find a little baby boy inside; the captain must have hidden her baby to keep him safe during the raid. Overwhelmed with guilt for killing the baby’s own mother, the parents decide to raise the child as their own, and they name him Nero.

19 years later, Nero is now a fully-fledged pirate sailing alongside his adopted siblings. Kyrie and Credo’s parents died of illness a few years prior, so Credo has taken on the position of captain. Everything is perfectly normal for the pirate siblings, until their ship suddenly gets ambushed by enemy pirates one night, and they throw Kyrie overboard. Nero, despite not knowing how to swim, dives in after Kyrie and miraculously rescues her. Nero is too full of adrenaline to realize it, but his legs had momentarily transformed while they were submerged in the water...

After that, all sorts of strange phenomenon start to happen to Nero. Over time, Nero slowly realizes that he can control and manipulate water with his hands akin to a waterbender, but he doesn’t understand why. It isn’t until one day, when Credo finds a mermaid with white hair and a red tail tangled in the net of their daily catch, that Nero suddenly remembers the night he rescued Kyrie and quickly puts two and two together.

Credo is about to kill the creature when Nero suddenly stops him in his tracks. Nero bargains with Credo that they could question the mermaid for information and potentially use him to find treasure. Credo is hesitant, at first, but he eventually agrees to keep the mermaid as their hostage, and he orders Nero to take their prisoner below deck for questioning. Nero proceeds to drag the net downstairs and tie up their hostage, little knowing that the mermaid is quickly starting to dry...

Finally, right as Nero finishes tying the last knot, the last drop of water evaporates from the mermaid’s skin, and his tail suddenly morphs into a pair of human legs! Stunned by the sudden transformation, Nero proceeds to stammer out all sorts of questions, and the hybrid creature quickly realizes that this kid wasn’t holding him hostage, at all; all he wanted was to find someone who could understand him. With this in mind, the hybrid formally introduces himself as Dante and patiently answers all of Nero’s questions he has about himself, and as Dante and Nero continue to exchange information about each other, they are surprised to discover that they are actually uncle and nephew.

Dante reveals that he and his twin brother, Vergil, were half-mermaid and half-human, and they would transform anytime they touched water; Nero, on the other hand, was only 1/4 mermaid and only transformed when his legs were completely submerged in water. Because of this, Nero was able to live a relatively normal life, but Dante and Vergil would never be able to live on the surface world without being ostracized.

For this reason, Dante and Vergil both agreed early on that it was better for them to live in the ocean. They parted ways when they were 18, but they promised to always meet each other at a special rock on the shores of their hometown every full moon. No matter where they were in the seven seas, Dante explained, they would always be able to find their way back home; all they had to do was wear their half of the Perfect Amulet — an enchanted undersea necklace that their father had made so that he could always visit their human mother — and let the ocean guide them.

Everything was going swimmingly for the next 1 1/2 years, until one night when Vergil failed to show up at their meeting spot. At first, Dante assumed it was just a fluke, but when another 3 full moons passed with still no sign of his brother, Dante quickly assumed the worst. Ever since then, he has been searching all across the seven seas for his brother’s half of the amulet; it was all he had left of him.

Nevertheless, Nero is still hopelessly confused about his origins; he knew that he was adopted, but his parents never told him the truth about his birth mother’s death. He eventually agrees to release Dante from his imprisonment in exchange for helping him find answers. Later that night, while Credo and Kyrie are asleep, Nero and Dante sneak into the Captain’s Quarters — which the siblings have left untouched for years out of respect for their deceased parents — and search through their personal belongings.

Eventually, Nero finds a diary that used to belong to his adopted mother: the earliest entry talked about how she discovered Nero’s powers while she was bathing him one night, and how she learned to bathe him standing up to keep his legs out of the water; another entry talked about how she refused to let her husband teach Nero how to swim, no matter how ridiculous the request seemed; yet another talked about how guilty she felt about keeping this secret from her husband, but she knew that it was the only way to guarantee Nero’s safety.

The last entry talked about a nightmare she had during her illness, in which she recalled the day they fought off the enemy pirates and unknowingly killed Nero’s mother. She remembered how they were blasted with torrents of water and pelted with sheets of ice by a mysterious man clad in blue, until her husband struck him square in the chest with his cutlass and murdered him on the spot. She recalled how furious Nero’s mother was by the sudden death of her husband, threatening to set their ship ablaze with Kyrie and Credo inside if they didn’t leave at once, all the while fiercely protecting an old treasure chest behind her. Last but not least, she remembered opening the old treasure chest when it was all said and done, and finding an infant baby Nero inside...as well as a beautiful ruby necklace encased in silver.

Stunned, Nero turns to tell Dante about this revelation, but the words evaporate from his mouth when he sees his uncle staring wide-eyed at his brother’s amulet, which was proudly mounted on the wall as a token of their bounty.

Kyrie and Credo’s parents...the adopted parents of Dante’s own nephew...they’re the ones who killed Vergil.

Overcome with rage, Dante storms out of the Captain’s Quarters suddenly and barricades the door with ice, trapping Nero inside. Moments later, Nero feels the boat start to rock violently, and all at once his eyes widen. Thankfully, Nero manages to melt away the ice with little difficulty, and he quickly warns Kyrie and Credo to grab their cutlasses and follow him. Eventually, the three siblings arrive on deck, and what they see makes all of their jaws drop. Standing before them is none other than Dante, his eyes glowing a dangerous red and a violent cyclone of water circling rapidly around his body. A massive storm cloud is brewing above the cyclone, rocking the ship furiously along the choppy waves.

Dante, seeking vengeance for his dead brother, starts to ruthlessly attack Kyrie and Credo with water and ice. Nero tries his best to protect them without exposing his true identity, but Dante is far too strong to be defeated with cutlasses alone. Eventually, Dante has Kyrie and Credo cornered, and he begins to summon a onslaught of razor-sharp ice daggers aimed straight for the heart...

Suddenly, Nero throws himself in front of them and desperately holds out his hand, connecting with the fatal attack and melting away the ice in an instant. Nero begs Dante not to hurt Kyrie and Credo; they were his family, too. Dante seems to falter at this, and the red glow in his eyes disappears in an instant. Reluctantly Dante lowers his arms and releases the raging cyclone, returning the ocean to its calm, natural state.

Once Credo finally knows that they are safe, however, he suddenly stands up and points his cutlass right at Dante’s chest, stating that he has been far too lenient on him and that he should be slain at once. Nero tries to reason with Credo, reminding him of their father’s golden rule of pacifism that was established shortly after they adopted Nero: no treasure is worth more than a human life. Credo rejects this notion, however, scathingly reminding his brother that Dante isn’t human. Finally, as a last resort, Nero does the unthinkable: he summons the water from a nearby puddle and hovers it between his hands, and he almost shamefully admits to Credo that he’s not fully human either.

Credo is taken aback at this, and as Nero continues to explain his identity and origins, his shock soon gives way to horror when he realizes what his parents had done. At first, Nero assumes that his brother also saw the error in his parent’s ways, but he quickly learns otherwise when Credo furiously detests his parents for adopting a “monster” as their own son. Credo was barely old enough to remember that fateful day, but he knew all too well what these creatures were capable of. He is outraged at his mother for knowingly raising a child capable of so much destruction, for putting himself and Kyrie in so much danger. Nero tries to reason with Credo that he’s never wanted to hurt anyone, but Credo furiously responds that his birth father nearly drowned their entire crew and his birth mother threatened to burn Kyrie and Credo alive; what did that make him?

Unbeknownst to everyone, Kyrie has mysteriously retreated below deck and is desperately searching for something important...

Finally, after failing to convince his brother otherwise, Credo forces Nero to choose: either he stays on board with them and renounces his mermaid origins, or he walks the plank with Dante and never sets foot on this ship again. Nero, hopelessly caught in the middle, begs his brother to reconsider, but Credo’s mind has already been set. Dante encourages Nero to stay behind with his siblings, insisting that he shouldn’t let some old sea hag come between him and his family, but Nero counters that he was also the only family Dante had left.

Suddenly, Kyrie returns to the main deck with Vergil’s half of the amulet, having laboriously pried it off of its wooden mount with her bare hands. She hands the amulet to Dante and tells him to go in peace, promising that they will allow Nero the freedom to fully embrace his identity in return.

Dante is touched by the offer, but he ultimately declines, choosing to let Nero keep the amulet and depart empty-handed. Nero is hesitant to take something that meant so much to his uncle, but Dante assures him that it’s better than letting it go to waste. Dante turns and starts to walk towards the edge of the wooden plank, but Nero quickly stops him and asks if he will ever see him again. Dante simply chuckles and responds: “Just let the ocean guide you, kid. As long as the moon is full, you’ll know where to find me.”

And with that, Dante jumps overboard and disappears under the water, returning to the tides from which he came.

The story ends with an epilogue that takes place roughly two weeks later. Credo and Kyrie have slowly grown to accept Nero’s true identity, and Nero in turn has begun to embrace his strange new abilities, as well. Needless to say, when Credo tells Nero that he has to swab the deck before he’s allowed to leave at sunset, and Nero quickly finishes the task by moving the soapy water all across the floorboards before happily flinging himself overboard, it quickly becomes obvious that life will never be the same for them.

Meanwhile, Dante is waiting at the special rock on the shores of his hometown, just like he always did every full moon. He proceeds to “talk” to his deceased brother, just as he always does, pretending to fill him in on everything that’s happened to him over the past month. He goes on to ramble about Nero and their experiences together on the ship, and he somberly adds that he wishes Vergil could’ve been there to meet him.

Suddenly, Nero emerges from beneath the waves and sits on the other side of the rock, letting his light blue tail float lazily in the water.

“Hey, Dante,” Nero greets his uncle with a smile. “Long time no see.”