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

[Rin wastes no time in tossing the pendant over Nagisa's neck and then pulling on the strangely corded seaweed to properly tighten it, leaving just enough space to avoid choking the selkie. It's taken a bit for him to learn how to manipulate his claws just right so that he doesn't sever any of the cording or nick skin, but he's gotten rather good at it, if he does say so.

That done, he swims back a bit to admire his handiwork.]

You look like a real ship scavenger now! Go see if there's anything else down there.

[Nagisa is a bit surprised when Rin suddenly fastens the pendant around his neck, and once he's pulled back he can't help but reach for it, grasping the circular piece of metal so he can look at it a bit closer. He seemed so excited about finding it, so why was he giving it to him...?

Instead of dwelling on that, though, Nagisa nods and flips around to do some more looking. If something like that was down here, he knows there's bound to be other things. He wants to use as much of their time for looking as possible, too, since he knows he won't be able to stay down here for too much longer.

He returns to the hatch a few times to bring back things he finds, zipping back without waiting for Rin to comment on them just yet. A broken pocket-sized telescope with bits of glass falling out of the end, an old ring with whatever gem that was inside long gone, one or two strange circular disks that look like the pendant but are a lot dingier somehow. He also comes back with a few old shark's teeth that he drops in front of Rin with a smile, knowing that those aren't exactly treasure at all.]

[Rin glares at the teeth and sweeps them away with his tail before flinching again. He has to remember it's still tender. Still glaring, he pokes at the ring with his claw and then holds up the telescope to look through it. He's seen the two-legs use it while on their ships before so he has some idea of how it works. It doesn't seem that impressive, but he'll hold onto it. The circles he leaves alone. He already has plenty of those, and these don't look any different from the ones already in his collection.

His inspection done, he yanks on Nagisa's pendant and then gestures to the rest of the pile.]

I already have a lot of these. Which ones are you most interested in?

[Nagisa had a lot of little trinkets and things he'd collected himself, but he couldn't help but be impressed by what Rin had apparently found. Things like the coins and the pendant were new to Nagisa, so he was quietly excited that he was letting him keep it at all. He reaches for the coins and picks those up too, pointing to the pendant...and then moves to grab the shark teeth that Rin had swept away before.]

[Rin gives a reluctant look at the pendant. Sure he has about four from his explorations, but they're also his favorite. And this furry upstart had nearly maimed him. Then again, he wouldn't have been able to see the rest of this cool stuff without his help...

He huffs again and nudges the ring onto his webbed fingers, surprised that it actually fits. He gives it a strong bite for good measure. Then he snatches up the telescope as well. Maybe he can use it for something else.

He shrugs his shoulders at the selkie.]

I guess you can keep that one since it would be a pain to untie it again.

[Nagisa grins, clearly pleased by the agreement. He hadn't seen anything else down there, though he did suppose they could have another look around just to be sure. He glances back over his shoulder before flashing both hands at Rin, palms up.

He's got about ten minutes of air left, guessing on how he feels right now, if he wanted to look around some more.]

[Rin feigns more interest in his new ring. He can't let the selkie have too much satisfaction, although he does catch that countdown out of the corner of his eye. his predator peripheral vision as on point as always. He waves his hand at Nagisa.]

Yeah, go give it one last sweep. There's usually at least one or two things hidden in the far back corners. They shift back there when the ship sinks.

[The selkie nods, making sure all of the items on his person are secure before he swims off again, back into the deepest part of the ship. His eyesight is just as good as any mer's, so if there's anything else shimmering back here, he should be able to pick it out.]

[Rin swims close to the secret trove again to watch the selkie work, peering through the darkness and probably leaving two pinpricks of unnerving red light should Nagisa turn around too quickly. What he really hopes to find is another of those weird circles with the etchings on them. Only four, one for each corner. He's noticed the circles were particularly good at helping you orient yourself, making them ideal for exploration. He'd given his to Sousuke, even though his friend had chastised him for messing with human things again. It would be awesome to come across another one. That would make this whole thing, even the pain in his tail, worth it.]

[Nagisa keeps looking, running his hands carefully over the wall and floor when he gets near enough to make sure he isn't missing something in the darkness. But right when he's about ready to give up and head back, he spots something glistening in the corner.

Blinking, Nagisa quickly moves toward it, until he realizes there's a gap between the floorboards that the thing has fallen into. It looks a lot like the pendant he found, but there isn't a string or chain attached...and he can't quite tell what it is, as deep beneath the wood as it is.

So, naturally, the selkie reaches his hand in as far as he can to try and see if he can get a grip on the thing. It takes a moment, but once he does get hold of it he grins and pulls his hand back...

...only to find that it's firmly stuck.]

[Noticing that Nagisa is taking longer than his earlier expedition, Rin impatiently lashes his tail from outside the trove. The selkie had said he only had ten minutes left so what's taking so long Not that he's worried about him.]

What's the hold up?

[Without thinking, Nagisa opens his mouth to respond, a bubble or two of air escaping before he remembers he can't and closes his mouth again. He grimaces, his tail lashing a little as he tries to pull himself free, but it's no good. His hand and wrist were small enough to go in, but getting out is another story, especially with the shiny thing in his fist.

He looks back at Rin helplessly, trying to angle himself so he'll be able to see the way his arm is stuck in the gap between the wooden planks.]

[It doesn't take much for Rin to figure out that Nagisa is trapped. And more importantly, that he's trapped because he refuses to let go of their potential treasure. His choices are either to tell Nagisa to abandon the trinket, whatever it is, or attempt to see how well he can move around that tight space with his injured tail.

He really wants that treasure. And he'd rather not retrieve it from the selkie's dead body.

Rin huffs loudly and then swims into the crawlspace, doing his best to keep his tail from bumping against the walls. He comes up beside Nagisa and studies the planks.]

I'll take care of it.

[Without warning, he snatches at a plank with his clawed fingers and starts to wrench it back, splintering wood under the force of his strength.]

[Nagisa actually jumps a little when Rin suddenly grabs the wood with his claws, pulling it back with enough force to cause the wood to crack and splinter. While it takes some maneuvering and turning on Nagisa's part to find an angle that will allow both his hand and the object to be pulled free, he eventually gets his hand un-stuck with one last, forceful pull.

His other hand quickly comes around to clap over his wrist as he hurriedly shoves the object at Rin, which seems to be dropping broken glass between Nagisa's fingers. A small bit of blood has started to cloud the water from a cut along the outside of Nagisa's wrist, but he's not paying that much mind right now. As soon as the object is passed on to Rin, he quickly squeezes past him and makes a bee-line for the exit, and subsequently the surface.

Rin will have to be careful handling the trinket Nagisa handed him since it's still got bits of broken glass attached.]

[Rin's about to ask Nagisa what happened when the blood scent fills his senses. His eyes go wide and then narrow sharply, honing in on the source of the scent. He squeezes the trinket in his hand, showing no concern over the bits of glass that pierce his fingers. His only attention is on the fleeing selkie and the trail of blood behind him, inviting the shark to chase after it.

Gone is any thought of the mer that spent the last several minutes helping him hunt for his special treasures. Now, all he sees is an escaping meal.

Rin lowers his head and then surges forward to pursue the selkie, only to have that familiar pain in his tail hold him back. He lashes it in fury, forgetting about the tight space he's currently in. Something heavy (possibly the trove's trapdoor) crashes down the middle of his tail. Try as he might, he can't manage the momentum to fight his way free. Rin curses and tears at the surrounding wood with his claws, enraged at both his entrapment and the loss of his lunch.]

[It's like the situation on the ship's deck all over again, only this time, real fear claws at Nagisa's racing heart as he flees the scene as fast as he can, hearing the crashing and banging behind him as Rin suddenly gives chase. But he doesn't look back. He doesn't stop until he breaks through the surface and gasps, coughing and choking as he tries to catch his breath. Blood still streams from the gash in his wrist along with some smaller cuts from the glass as he wades in the waves, trying to calm down.

Rin...he must still be down there. Did he give up? What happened? Nagisa was sure he was dead this time.

Once he's sure he's got a good handle on his breathing again, Nagisa takes another huge breath and dives. He dives straight down until he finds the wreckage again, shivering inwardly as he hears the shark tearing at the boat, trying to free himself. But he knows he can't leave him. Sharks have to keep water passing over their gills, and if they stay still for too long...

Nagisa grits his teeth and swims below the deck until he's in close quarters again, searching in the gloom until he sees where Rin is trapped. He knows it's dangerous, given that he's still bleeding...but he doesn't stop himself from swimming over quickly to pull up on the trap door as hard as he can to try and free him.]

[Rin's furious flailing is already starting to die down from both pain and exhaustion by the time Nagisa returns. But his eyes still gleam with that bloodlust and he snaps as the selkie nears the door, lashing out with his claws in the same movement. If he could just reach him...

Luckily, the door's pinned him in such a way that he can only turn his body in short inches, not nearly enough to graze Nagisa with his claws, as long as Nagisa carefully angles himself. His human sides heave with the effort, gills flaring to their full size, as his breath comes in wild pants. Through it all, he somehow hasn't managed to drop the last treasure Nagisa offered him, although nearly the entire glass front has broken off now.

He continues to squirm while Nagisa pulls at the door, slowly squeezing more and more of his tail out. But it's still not enough to free him completely.]

[Nagisa's seal-half of his body is admittedly chubbier than most mer's his size, but he's also learned to control it very well. He manages to somehow hold himself out of Rin's reach, his claws swiping at him just inches away. But now that he's gotten a breath of air, drowning isn't an issue. The real issue is figuring out how he's going to free Rin without getting attacked. It doesn't help that he's still leaking blood into the water, not at all helping to satiate Rin's blood-lust.

With his gaze narrowing, Nagisa pulls harder on the door, hoping that Rin will calm down long enough to just pull himself out. It's very tempting to grab up the nearest piece of driftwood to throw at him to knock some sense into him, but that would probably just make things worse.]

[Rin strains against the door as well, still mindlessly snapping, everything lost to that intoxicating smell. Something shifts and he's able to pull himself halfway out this time, but it's also clear the door has badly cut into his tail, leaving a long gash down its length and tainting the water with Rin's own blood. The more he struggles to free the rest of himself, the more of his blood spreads until it begins to overpower the tiny stream flowing from Nagisa's injury.

As it does, the mershark's movements become less manic and jerky, as if clarity is slowly slipping back into his conscious.]

[Nagisa winces, but he resolves to keep holding the door open as wide as he can until Rin can fully free himself. Even if he tries attacking him again, he'll be able to easily get away with him suffering from an injury like that...but on top of how his tail had been hurt before, who knows how long it would take for him to heal now? Nagisa never meant to hurt him, and the longer he's in his company, the worse it seems to get.

But he can't think about that now. He just holds the door with his arms slightly shaking, watching Rin stiffly as he waits to see if he can free himself, or if he's going to have to try to get him out a different way. A more direct way.]

[As Rin's own blood dilutes his mania, his concern about his situation increases. He digs his claws into the floor to try and drag himself out the remaining way, but the door's edge remains embedded in his tail, refusing to let him go without damaging it further. Rin turns and tries to push the door off him, but he can't get the leverage necessary to employ all of his strength.]

[At this point, Nagisa was at a loss. His grip was failing him, and he wouldn't be able to hold the door up with his hands forever. He just wasn't strong enough to lift it high enough for the shark to escape.

There is a split second before Nagisa's suddenly moving, rushing forward to push his body beneath the door alongside Rin's. With any luck, his chubbier seal body will provide enough extra space to hold the door open and allow Rin to pull himself free.]

[Rin's bloodlust has mostly faded, but the closeness of the selkie has him chomping his lip just to ensure his blood continues to overpower the scent of Nagisa's. The added bulk happens to be the final wedge Rin needs to work his tail free from the door's sharp edge and finally squirm the rest of the way out, spraying the water with more clouds of blood. As soon as the obstruction of Rin's tail is gone, the door slams shut again, shaking the room a bit.

Rin draws his injured tail tail close to examine the damage, as he glances back at Nagisa, unsure what to say. How are you supposed to thank someone for saving you after you tried to eat them? Twice? And the second time, he already knew Nagisa was a mer.

So he does the only thing he can. He holds out the hand that's still gripping the trinket that started this mess.]

... it still works. Even without its cover.

[He all but mumbles it.]

[Nagisa's eyes dart a little as he moves back from Rin to give him some space, alarmed by the amount of blood clouding the water by now. This fun little venture into the sunken ship hasn't turned out like he was expecting at all. He doesn't know if Rin will even be able to swim back wherever his home is, now. What if he's attacked by something on the way? He's injured, and this much blood would certainly attract predators...

But those words snap Nagisa out of his thoughts as Rin holds out his hand. The glass covering the compass is gone, but the inner face seems to still be intact.

After a moment, the selkie shakes his head a little, reaching out to close Rin's fingers over the trinket. He deserved to keep it himself, after all of that.]

[Rin blinks, baffled as to why Nagisa won't accept his offering. Doesn't he understand what an amazing find it is? He'd rather worry about that than how obviously injured he is. Getting back to his shiver is going to be a real piece of work like this. While his less-hybrid brethren usually get along just find with his kind, he doubts that will still hold true with the amount of blood he's spilling.]

It's really a lot cooler than it looks. Look if you turn it different ways, it spins back to one of the four arrows.

[He demonstrates, moving his palm this way and that, trying to ignore how light-headed he feels. His kind aren't exactly the best at admitting their weaknesses.]

That's how it helps you find things.

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