badliifechoiice2 | I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue

I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...I've been down pretty deep before. Just...not quite this deep.

[It's totally his first time, which is why he overestimated how long he could hold his breath to be honest.]

You'll have to go even deeper if you want to reach the ship's belly. It's all the way down there. But that's usually where the best stuff is too.

[He had wanted to add to his collection, but that's out of the question with his current injury. There's no way he'll be able to manage those powerful tail thrusts he needs to get down that far. And he has no idea how long his tail will be this sore. At least the rest of the day, until it gets some real rest.]

Even deeper?

[He was already so deep already...how much farther would he have to go? He did waste a lot of time and oxygen exploring the ship's deck, but he couldn't help himself.]

...well, I'll just have to go deeper then.

Is that stubbornness talking or is that something you can actually do?

[Rin's studying him more closely now. Maybe the day doesn't have to be a total wash after all. Not if he can get himself a courier.]

I can do it! I just need to go straight there, and I'll be fine.

[He took too much time exploring and messing around before, but he could still hold his breath for a long time. Long enough to get back to that ship and explore it more thoroughly, at least.]

[Rin pulls back and grins again, less viciously and more genuine excitement.]

Good. You can be my eyes then. Since it's your fault I have to take it easy for the rest of the day. I'm looking for anything you can wear. Or anything sharp.

[There are probably nicer ways to ask for this sort of thing, but Rin sort of fails at that level of politeness, especially while his tail still smarts.]

Eeeeh? You want me to help you?

[Well color him surprised. And also suspicious.

Nagisa squints a little, folding his arms over his chest again.]

...this isn't just a 'help me and I won't eat you' thing, is it?

[Rin also folds his arms over his chest and huffs.]

Well, you're the one that made me bruise my tail. It's only fair.

And I don't eat mers.

[Even if this one does have an especially plump and tender looking shift.]

[While Nagisa could retort and say that it was all in self defense, he really didn't mean to hurt Rin or anything. Even if that was deserved. And he really does want to explore the ship a bit more, even if it means having a shark in tow.]

....okay. But I get first pick of the treasure if we find any!

Depends what it is. You have to show me first.

[Rin doesn't mind giving up some of his prize, but not if it's something really good. He knows more about human ships anyway. He can tell Nagisa the best places to look for things, the ones he can't reach in his condition.]

Fiiiiiiine. But if we're gonna go, let's hurry up and go already! Whatever's down there might be all gone by the time we get there.

[It really is highly unlikely that will happen, since there didn't seem to be any other mers exploring the wreck.]

Someone's in a rush. Keep in mind that I can't go that fast right now.

[But Rin's doing his diving thing, ever so slowly and kicking his way back to the ship. He has to stop after every minute or so and give his tail a rest, usually glaring at Nagisa in the process, before moving again. It hurts, but he does his best to keep most of his whimpers to the back of his throat, where they're harder to catch in the water.]

[It's a little frustrating, having to go so slow, but Nagisa deals with it as best he can. He doesn't turn back into a seal, even though doing so would give him some extra time under the water. If they did find anything, he wanted to be able to use his hands to examine it, which he couldn't really do in seal form.

Swimming down again, it really underscores just how deep down it is...it seems like it takes forever before they ever reach the ship. If the selkie hears Rin's whimpers at all, he doesn't comment on them. He really hopes there are actually treasures to find though, because that would make this whole experience worth it.]

[Once they're back to the ship, Rin directs him past the deck and toward the doors that lead into the ship's hull. The pressure down here has already burst them open so they don't have to worry about the further trouble of smashing against them. Instead, they have to navigate through an area that's even darker than the rest of these depths, its enclosure robbing any of the remnants of light that might have filtered down from the surface. Within the room are the ruined remains of several bunks and various furniture strewn across the water-warped flooring.

Rin searches a hand under the lowest bunk, slowly pumping his tail, while he gestures Nagisa toward a bit of flooring with a strange hard ring attached to it.]

They use it for hiding their best stuff.

[Nagisa takes his time exploring the inside of the hull, his curiosity piqued when he sees the bunks and pieces of furniture strewn about. So these were the kinds of things humans kept around...he wondered what might have happened to cause this ship to sink like it did.

He looks over when Rin speaks up, venturing a bit closer to the floor. Without thinking, he reaches his hand out to touch the ring, giving it an experimental tug before looking over at Rin questioningly. Should they try pulling it open together?]

[Rin stops his bunk-searching at the look and floats over to Nagisa, with a wry grin.]

Ah, too heavy for you? The water pressure can make it harder than it looks.

[He reaches out to grab the ring alongside Nagisa.]

I usually kick back a bit to open them. So you're going to have to cover that part for the both of this. Think you can handle that?

[Nagisa scowls, very tempted to just shove Rin away and keep trying on his own, but he knows he doesn't have the strength to get it open by himself. He nods curtly, ready to power both his tail and his flippers when they start to pull on it.]

[Rin grits his teeth and gives the ring his best pull, pushing the flat of his tail against the ground for more leverage and doing his best to avoid putting too much pressure on the lower part of his tail. He only hopes the selkie can manage the usual force Rin can exert with his own massive tail.]

[Nagisa pulls with all of his might as well, kicking back with his fins to help Rin get the door pulled open. Its time beneath the water's surface seems to have forced it shut pretty good, but with their strength combined they manage to jerk it free, bubbles escaping from inside.]

We did it!

[Rin doesn't have to worry about staying quiet and conserving his air so he figures he can carry both their excitement for them. He does a quick, giddy circle around Nagisa (looking very much like a young shark pup instead of a nearly grown one), totally forgetting about his tail injury before it forces him to slow down again, with a yelp. But even that doesn't seem to dampen his enthusiasm this time, as he nudges Nagisa toward the opened hatch.]

Go on! It's pretty tight down there so you need to be able to maneuver easily. I'll make sure the ship doesn't list or anything.

[He might not be able to express his excitement verbally, but he can't help but grin widely when they get the door open, watching Rin as he suddenly swims around him. It's a little funny to see a shark of all things acting that way. He almost wishes he could talk so he could tease him about it, but they've got more pressing matters to attend to.

The selkie nods, hesitating for only a moment before he pokes his head and shoulders through the hole in the floor, and then follows by wiggling the rest of the way through to see what there is to see. It's dark, but the holes in the ship's hull make it easier to make out shapes in the darkness if there's anything to be found.]

[Rin watches him, hoping the selkie shares enough of his keen vision that he'll be able to pick up on the glints of light in the darkness, indicating the shiny material two-legs often use to make their most interesting objects. Things they use to look through, things they use to decorate themselves, things they use to attack, things they use to store stuff and things that he can't even begin to guess at a use for but still look cool. Like the tiny flat circles they always hide in various places. Maybe they're for some sort of game.]

Anything yet?

[Just as Rin says that, Nagisa spots something glinting in the gloom. It's farther off, at the very back of the hull. Instead of pointing it out to Rin, he dives straight for it immediately, reaching his hand in to see what he'll come up with. Definitely not a wise thing to be doing, but Nagisa isn't one to think twice about things like this.

It turns out to be a slightly beaten up pendant lodged between the floorboards that he has to tug on a good few times to pull free. Once he's gotten it, he turns and holds it up for Rin to see.]

[Rin actually claps his hands together in his glee and swims closer to the hatch to peer at the trinket. He doesn't have any with these type of markings.]

Yeah, that's a really shiny one! They wear them on their necks for some reason. Come here, I'll show you.

[Around their necks? Weird...Nagisa swims back over to where Rin is waiting, handing the pendant off to him. Normally, he might have just kept it himself, but there are too many cracks in the floorboards down here that he could accidentally drop it into, and if he did that he might never get it back.]

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