I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue

[sassybird]

Mermaid AU Meme



Rules:
- Put down your character name and series in the subject header. Put down any preferences (romantic or if you're a mermaid/human) in the comment.
- Reply to other people! RNG a choice from the prompts below, or just come up with whatever on your own.
- This is not a strictly romance meme. Feel free to have whatever shenanigans you like.


Merfolk and Merfolk

1.
Little Mermaid it
♢ One of you is a merperson with something you want. (Power? Help figuring out what this weird human doodad is? Becoming human?) The other is a powerful sea mage of some sort... And for the first of you, you better hope they're the good sort as you venture forth to their lair...

2.
Exploration
♢ C'mon. What's the worst that could happen when checking out this enormous sunken ship at the bottom of the ocean? You're merpeople! What's the worst that could happen? (Besides sharks. Or giant squid. Or maybe worse.)

3.
New tides
♢ Hey... That person isn't from around these parts, are they...? Maybe one of you is from deep seas, or a swamp-mer way out of your territory, or just from simply a different ocean. Hopefully neither of you are particularly territorial...

4.
Hey there, Ariel
♢ So. Looks like one of you actually took up on some sea witch's deal and is living in some human settlement. The other? Is trying to help you deal with that. Whether it means puzzling out human culture and items with you, pleading with you to come back home, or even offering you a dagger just in case you need to stab your crush (what? it's a legitimate strategy), you two need to cope.

5.
Wildcard.


Merfolk and Humans

1.
For Science!
♢ You're a scientist, here to study a fascinating new creature. Although the 'creature' in question might take offense to you saying that... So are you searching them out for the first time in the open ocean? Keeping them in some sort of containment? It's up to you.

2.
Stranded
♢ There was a shipwreck, and you're the sole survivor... Although you very nearly weren't. Whether you've just woken up or have been trying to puzzle things out on this deserted island, well... It seems you're not alone, although they're not exactly on the island with you.

3.
Siren Song
♢ Merpeople aren't always good signs... Sometimes they lure sailors out onto rocks, or extinguish their stamina and drown them in the ocean's tumultuous waters. Is this another encounter that will end in tragedy?

4.
Chance Encounter
♢ You're nothing extraordinary, just a regular person in a beach town, and one way or another... You find something that's very much not regular. Maybe you just walked into the cove at the right time, or found something- someone- trapped or injured that needed your help. So now what?

5.
Wildcard

Comments

ironically fishing!

[crabkind]

It had been a long time coming, and at last, the kingdoms of Abendstern and Morgenstern had been united, thanks to King Ryuuta and Queen Hayato. Once again, land and sea could live in peace with each other, and defend one another from neighboring foes. Things weren't perfect, however, as the peace between the two kingdoms was new, so mermaid flesh could still be found on the Black Market. The king's guards were in the process of cleaning that up. But most of the land and sea folk now knew harmony.

Whatever problems had been plaguing Dave Strider on land, they were no bother to the creatures under the sea. For you see, Morgenstern was still a fragile kingdom, suffering from its losses over the years. It had its own problems to deal with. It was still trying to recover, still training new soldiers for fighting.

Karkat Vantas wanted to be a soldier.

The thing was, he was kind of a puny merman. He was short, battled clumsily, and had a foul temper, one that turned off all the trainers in Morgenstern. Not only that, but Karkat was considered a mutant. He had grey skin, where most of the merfolk had the appropriate skin tones. Grey was not an appropriate skin tone. He also had yellow sclera and claws, and small horns atop his head. Because of his looks, Karkat had few friends, yet he seemed to think he would be an asset to the kingdom's guard, so he constantly hung around the training area, waiting for someone to notice him, oftentimes adding colorful commentary to the trainees' failings.

Today, he was doing the same thing, flitting back and forth just on the outskirts of the training area, spiky red fins shimmering in the water. He was already told to go away several times, and a few of the bigger guards eventually had to chase him off. He swam off in a huff, not paying attention to where he was going. That was how he ended up in shallower waters.

Something suddenly snagged one of his fins. What the fuck?! He turned to see what it was, and discovered a hook. It had sunk so far into his fins that he was having a terrible time of shaking it loose. That was when he saw the line attached to it. Some human was fishing! Here! What an idiot. Well, Karkat was going to give whoever it was a piece of his mind.

He thrashed a few more times, still connected to the hook, before darting up to the surface. "Hey, asshole! What do you think you're doing?!"

[amateurtimelord]

The last thing Dave expected was to catch anything. He had just tossed the line out in hopes of avoiding awkward questioning about his purpose on the pier. He was about to close his eyes and think up a new rap when he felt something tug on the pole. It was a strong pull and despite being a strong knight, Dave was struggling to keep the pole in hand.

And then the tugging stopped as the line went limp, the merman attached to the other end of the line surfacing. Oops, merfishing was illegal, it was actually rather embarrassing to have caught one. Well, he'll get the hook out and treat the wound, but it sounded like this guy was a bit more irritable than he thought. And what was up with his skin? Weren't most merfolk just like humans except with fins and the ability to live underwater? Must be a skin condition. Maybe this was merfolk acne.

Oh wait, the merman probably wanted an answer. "Fishing. You're not part of my permit, so I'm gonna have to put you back, man," Dave answered, cool kid vibe turned to 11.

[crabkind]

There really was a guy fishing out here. Extraordinary! Karkat didn't know what to think. On the one hand, it wasn't as though fishing in Abendstern was completely illegal. But it still was kind of a dick-move. At least he thought so. Weren't the kingdoms trying to reconcile? Morgenstern was made up of more than just merfolk, you know!

...But who was he? Some Animal Rights activist? Not really. He was merely annoyed. Karkat was usually annoyed by something, or other. He was already upset that he had to leave the training area earlier, and this fisherman and his hook were just the next things on his shit list. Dave was going to receive the brunt of Karkat's anger, whether he liked it or not.

With a huff, Karkat reached around to yank out his hook. Unfortunately, his claws were getting in the way. And look at all this blood, man. The hook only pierced a fin, and yet there was still blood. More annoying things.

"Maybe you shouldn't fish if you're so bad at it," the merman hissed, still fumbling with the hook. He was a good distance away from the dock, but close enough that he could direct his yells at Dave. "The last thing we need is a clumsy as fuck human picking off our people by accident!"