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

[nanaharu]

While I was chasing mackerel, I saw something strange...

[So no, it's not exactly what Nagisa might have thought it was. But it's at least in the area.]

It looked like a human sculpture.

[Though mers also enjoyed their arts, they looked far different from whatever that thing was. Far too realistic compared to what underwater society liked best. If there's a thing that Haru can appreciate from humans, it's that they apparently like art too.]

[naggysa]

[Nagisa looks up from where he'd been poking at the device they found, having figured out how Haru was making the pictures change right as he mentions that.]

Woooah...do you remember where it was? We should go check it out!

[nanaharu]

It's just past that place where there's a steep drop in the sand. By those two red rocks and the forest of kelp.

[That's about as specific as he can get. But for now, he's about to dive back underwater before any humans really do show up.]

It looks like... well, we can go see it.

[naggysa]

Awesome! You lead the way, Haru-chan!

[He'll just hang onto this device...maybe he'll get lucky and the waterlogging it's going to receive won't break it too much.]

[nanaharu]

[Diving back under the surface, Haru doesn't waste time in heading straight towards the site in question. While he doesn't actively pursue an exciting life, Nagisa seems to inspire new and foolish ideas, if just to keep him entertained. His friends sure do keep him from staying in one place for long...

Down they go, further into the dark water-- but Haru knows not to go into the deep water where even a mer's sight becomes obscured.

It's not too long until they arrive at the statue of a handsome man in intricate human clothing. Far too much to bother with, as with most strange human customs. How does their skin not itch with all that on? The thing on his head, however, reminds Haru of the Sea Prince with his coral crown.]

There he is. Looks weird.

[naggysa]

[The selkie follows Haru diligently, gasping when the statue comes into view. He's a little surprised that he's never seen anything like this before now, but Haru always did have a strange knack for finding things that others might just overlook. He swims in close to get a better look, circling the statue as he examines the clothing that has been etched onto its features.]

Ahhh, humans like to cover themselves up with lots of stuff, don't they? You'd think it'd get heavy...

[nanaharu]

Yeah... seems pointless.

[Haru rests his crossed arms and his head on top of the human statue, looking at from upside-down. Just as ridiculous this way. But really, while it's something new, Haru sometimes wonders why they give so much thought to these humans-- all while keeping a distance from them.]

I wonder if humans know anything about us.

[naggysa]

[Nagisa grins, stopping in front of the statue with his hands on his hips, head tilting curiously to one side.]

Maybe! We're a lot better at hiding than they are, though...and humans don't seem to try to keep their distance, do they? I mean, they're in the water a lot, in big oval rafts and things...

[nanaharu]

Humans probably wish they could be like us.

[This assertion comes with an airy tone of "isn't it funny because you were just curious about the human world?" Honestly, what's so great about humans? True he still feels some faint (faint) draw to the unknown, but from what he can see...]

They just look silly.

[Haru grabs the nose of the statue. Just because.]

[naggysa]

...don't they look like us, though?

[He offers suddenly, swimming up close to the statue's frame again.]

I mean, sure, they don't got tails or flippers or gills...but the top-half is still the same, isn't it? Why do you think that is?

[nanaharu]

My grandmother told me that humans were the seafolk who got curious and decided to crawl onto the land. So they grew legs to walk out of the water, but they were cursed to never come back to the ocean.

[His grandmother was so old, Haruka half-wondered if she was around since before the humans left, and she saw this for herself.]

But some of their children want to come back to ocean.

[Haru snorts a bit, clearly showing little sympathy for them. Maybe it's not their fault, but still... too bad.]

[naggysa]

Woah, seriously!? That's scary!

[But also...kindof cool...but still scary since Nagisa himself likes to explore the beach so much.]

...you don't think that'd happen again, do you?

[nanaharu]

It could.

[He'll just let that hang ominously.

Though Haru doubts that anything bad would happen just for a little bit of crawling around. Actually turning into a human would probably take a very strong wish-- something that's driven by the call of the unknown. Not something that Haru himself thinks about... all that much.]

[naggysa]

[Haru whyyyyyyy.

Nagisa frowns, quickly swimming around the statue so he can be closer to where Haru is still beside it.]

I don't want that to happen, Haru-chan!

[nanaharu]

[Haru couldn't resist being like that grandma that scares the kids for a moment there.

But he peers at Nagisa beside him, blinking.]

You wanted to travel the land, didn't you?

[Nagisa's so enthusiastic about the land dwellers, it almost comes as a surprise that he would dislike the idea.]

[naggysa]

Well yeah, but I don't wanna get stuck there! Living in the ocean is way more fun!

[As expected, Nagisa wants all the assumed fun of living on land without the permanent nature of it.]

[nanaharu]

[Well said, Nagisa. Maybe curiosity about the unknown is difficult to repress, and it would have some novelty for a while. The corners of Haru's mouth turn up a little.]

That's a relief. A lot of people would miss you if you ever really wanted to move up there.

[naggysa]

Haha, I'd never really move away! 'Sides, I'd have to actually grow legs for that, and until that happens, I'm staying right here.

[Though part of him is still morbidly curious about that...]

[nanaharu]

If you did... I'd have to grow legs and find you.

[How that would happen, Haruka doesn't know. He already had his fill of land from rolling around on it. Actually stepping on it? Constantly digging in the ground? No thanks.]

So it'd be causing me a lot of trouble, too.

[Because, well... for one, he can't let Nagisa take on all of that world alone. Even if he physically probably could. But the idea of his dear friend alone like that... he couldn't. He'd give up the water he loves so much.]

[naggysa]

Wooah...you'd really do that?

[Wow...that's pretty special, especially since everyone who knows Haru even a little knows how much he loves the water. For a merman, he somehow loves the water an extra amount. compared to everyone else.]

[nanaharu]

[Haru turns away, feeling a little too emotionally open right now. The water sustains him and makes his beloved home. Without his friends, however, nothing could feel more cold and barren. Even the harsh, dry sand and burning sun rays would feel like a small price to pay... because Nagisa is like the sunlight under the water.

... Even more embarrassed by his own thoughts, Haru kicks his tail and swims out ahead. Somewhere away from all this human stuff.]

Just don't make us both have to find out.