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

[Nagisa rolls his eyes a little, shaking his head as he pulls himself up onto one of the big rocks flanking the water. They're constantly wet from the waves lapping up over them, the familiar coolness against his belly a calming thing in comparison to the excitement of the day.]

There's little holes in the walls at the back of that cave. That's where my stuff is. We can go look after you're not bleeding everywhere.

I'm not bleeding everywhere.

[Rin can't help the petulant note in his voice or the moody slap of his fins. He's always hated being told what he can't do. Nothing's impossible if you want it bad enough after all.

But he also knows as well as Nagisa that forcing himself will only make things worse. He needs to rest if he hopes to be able to return to his shiver anytime soon.]

... what, do you have something that will stop it?

Well, not moving will prolly help.

[He supplies with a grin, folding his arms over the rock so he can rest his head on them.]

I might be able to make something to wrap around your tail though, if you want.

Easier said then done. Sharks have to keep moving in some way or we'll drown. We're not mammals.

[He gives a full body wiggle in the water to emphasize his point.]

Oh yeah? What have you got in here?

Mmm...hang on.

[Without much more explanation than that, Nagisa rolls over again so he can slide off the rocks and back into the water, so quickly and smoothly that he doesn't even make a sound when he does it. The path he takes to the back of his cove is marked by the bubbles he leaves in his wake, and he's only gone for a few minutes before he returns.

When he comes back, he's holding what looks to be a cloth shirt that's slightly damp and very salty. He looked to make sure it was one he didn't mind parting with, because as soon as he gets back, he starts using his claws to tear the shirt into long strips.]

[Rin immediately recognizes the item as one of those strange mass of reeds the two-legs wear. He's never found any spare ones himself, as the cloth didn't mix well with the depths where one usually found sunken ships. Anything left behind was more scraps than something resembling the two-legs' choice of body covering.

He practically yelps when Nagisa starts to destroy the rare item.]

Wait! What are you doing?

Eh?

[Nagisa blinks, pausing in his work to look over when Rin suddenly shouts at him.]

I'm...making bandages?

[Rin sheepishly draws back at that. Of course. Nagisa had said he would look for something to stop the bleeding.

But ripping up something so precious? For a shark he barely knows? Why?]

A-Aren't those really rare? You shouldn't...

[You shouldn't do this for me.]

[Nagisa shrugs, turning the shirt in his hands.]

No, not really! I mean, humans leave these on the beach all the time...you haven't really been on the beach before I guess, have you?

[He's got the physiology for it; Rin, however, can't actually leave the water like he can. He probably hasn't seen very many artifacts like this one, ones that wouldn't really make it that far into the ocean.]

You've been on a beach?

[Okay, yeah so Nagisa just said that. And obviously a seal would be more capable of land travel. But the idea of a mer spending each time on land to traverse a beach is still mind-boggling. Even the mammal-like ones are still water-bound. What would it be like to explore an area like that? He can't help envying Nagisa right now.]

Sharks don't do well on dry land. They tend to get stuck.

[He's seen enough of his other brethen beached or heard tales from other mers to understand that much. He also doubts he'd be able to move even half as fast as he does in the water. Not with only something as rough as sand to swim through.]

Mhm! I mean, technically I'm on one right now.

[He says as he resumes carefully tearing the shirt into long strips, placing them on the rock so they won't get sandy before he has a chance to use them.]

I usually go to look for stuff at night when humans aren't there, but it's a lot more fun to watch them from the water. You wouldn't believe some of the weird stuff they've got! They don't always leave everything behind though...the coolest stuff they always take with them.

That doesn't count. It's inside.

[Rin watches what Nagisa's doing more closely, taking note of the care Nagisa is displaying with the strips. He's clearly done this sort of thing before.

But his head shoots up when Nagisa talks about exploring the beach. He's always considered himself to be a two-leg expert among his kind. He's investigated more of their ships than anyone. He's even spied on them a few times when they took to pushing their strange wooden plants into the waves. But to be able to get a hold of stuff that isn't damaged? Rin's never been able to even dream of such a thing outside a great deal of luck. This selkie could help him figure out exactly what he's been missing out on, being limited to only the water.]

What sort of cool things? What do they leave behind on the beach?

All sorts! Lots more shiny things than in those wrecks. They're different, though. Almost like they come from a whole different world.

[Or different time period, rather. Nagisa finishes tearing the shirt apart before he belly-crawls his way back up onto the rocks, leaning over toward the water as he gestures for Rin to swim to the edge.]

If you be good for Dr. Hazuki, I'll show you some of the stuff I've found.

I bet they're not that shiny!

[Though they would be less rusted for sure. Not that he's going to let Nagisa know that. But he can't help pressing for more, as he swim-drags himself closer to Nagisa, his fins twitching in anticipation.]

Tell me about them. And who's Dr. Hazuki?

Me, duh! Get closer.

[Nagisa bends over the rock even further, snatching up one of the strips of cloth as he goes. He doesn't have anything to secure these with, so he hopes that wrapping them around the wound and tying them up will do, at least until it's healed up some.

He continues talking as he starts wrapping him up with the first strip.]

Lesse...humans carry lots of silver rectangle things...I dunno, they're like rocks but smoother. Harder, but they break a lot easier if they're bashed on something or whatever. There's the little yellow and silver chains way too small for actually using on anything, but I think those are for decoration. Yaknow, wearing and stuff.

[Nagisa continues chattering away animatedly about the things he's found. Old plastic utensils, beach blankets and balls and toys left in the sand. Lots of garbage, some of which Nagisa touches on as being deeper tales of how he almost drowned getting caught in something that washed too far out to sea.]

Is that like a nickname or something?

[Rin watches curiously at Nagisa works with the strip. Tending to each other isn't common to sharks. They usually wait out their injuries or find some sort of mud to act as a sealant until they can heal. Revealing wounds is usually seen as a weakness. But Nagisa doesn't seem to be using Rin's injury to press for any type of advantage, although he'd be well in his rights to do so. In fact, he seems to be taking the process very gently. Must be a seal thing.]

Oh, I've seen plenty of chains. Sometimes they try to hide those on the ships. [He stops to consider.] But I don't think I've ever seen any shiny rectangles. I guess they keep those close to them so they don't get left behind in wrecks.

[None of this explorations have ever involved fatalities. So he assumes the two-legs must have escapes somehow before their ship sank.

His gaze rolls up when Nagisa gets to the part of getting caught.]

How can a mer drown?

Ehh...sorta.

[Nagisa doesn't bother elaborating as he works to bind Rin's tail, mostly satisfied with the way the cloth seems to staunch the bleeding. It will probably need to be changed soon enough, though, and Rin won't be able to actually swim for some time if he wants it to heal properly.]

Whatever they are, humans like them a lot. I see them carrying those things all the time.

[The selkie tears one of the strips into a thinner piece as Rin asks him that next question, a brow quirking as he leans over to apply the makeshift bandage.]

Easy. At least, mers like me can. I can't breathe under water. I can hold my breath for a long time, but I always gotta come back up for air.

[Rin discovered that for himself already. If he really wanted to make a meal of Nagisa, all he would have had to do was trap him somewhere...and wait.]

I wonder what they do. Humans have a lot of things that they keep on them just to mess with. Maybe they like looking at their reflection through them.

[That would make the most sense to Rin. He enjoyed looking at his own reflection after all. He'd even climb onto some of the higher rocks near the beach to do so.

Rin grins playfully at Nagisa's admission.]

I forgot that you're a weird mer. How'd you get out?

[Huffing, Nagisa gives the bandages a slightly sharper tug at the comment.]

I'm not weird. I'm just different from you, and you don't know how to deal with that, that's all.

[Nagisa is pretty proud of what he is. Sure, he might not be the most graceful, but he's fast in the water and can traverse the land. Not very many mers can do that.]

I almost didn't. I was stuck floating on the top of the water until I finally washed up in some rocks...once I got there and rested for a while, I was able to untangle myself. It was a ton of ropes and stuff, I think...they dug into me pretty bad.

[Rin might not be able to see from where he is unless he looks for it, but there are very faint, white lines along certain areas near Nagisa's flippers and tail that serve as reminders of the incident.]

Ow. Careful with that! And what do you mean I don't know how to deal with it? I stopped trying to eat you, didn't I?

[And getting a shark to not try to eat something is a big deal where he comes from.

He grows more somber at Nagisa's explanation though, especially with those scars. Rin reaches out to touch one of the marks on Nagisa's flippers.]

Sounds like you've been through a lot. I've never actually been caught in one of their nets before. I've only seen them. To get out of one of them...

Maybe...but you almost didn't.

[Nagisa hasn't been up close and personal with very many predators caught in the jaws of bloodlust. It's...frightening.

He glances down when he feels Rin suddenly touch his flipper, the appendage twitching reflexively at the contact.]

The hard parts were the heavy things. It had like...rocks or something tied to parts of it, so I couldn't really swim. It had a buncha fish trapped inside. I just didn't notice the rope until I was already stuck.

[Rin jerks his head to the side, embarrassed at having his loss of control brought up again.]

That wasn't my fault. You were bleeding!

[He draws back his clawed hand when Nagisa's flipper twitches. It looks so delicate like that, like it could crack with just the right amount of pressure.]

Yeah, you have to watch out for those big swarms. Humans like to track them just like us. It's better to stick with the frenzies that you create by yourself. Better yet, hunt in groups. That way, the other guy can bite you loose if anything goes wrong.

[Sharks always hunt in their shiver. He thought that seals hunted in groups too. Maybe selkies are different.]

[For as much as Rin sounds concerned about Nagisa's past predicament, Nagisa himself doesn't seem bothered. In fact, his expression doesn't change much as he finishes tying the last strip of cloth to Rin's tail, knotting it securely in place.]

I don't really think about stuff like that. I mean, I've never had trouble with it before. 'Sides, I don't really see a lot of others like me. Not recently, anyways.

[They're not extinct or anything severe like that, but a lot of them know better than to hang out so close to human civilization. Nagisa's too curious for his own good sometimes, even for a seal, which makes him too much of a liability to be around much.]

[Rin checks the knot for himself, more out of curiosity than actual critique. It's quite good and the blood seems to have stopped seeping as well.]

What do you mean not recently? Did something happen to the rest? Or did you just wander off too far? Like I said before, I haven't seen anything like you around here before. Unless they're all very good at playing seal.

Nah, nothing like that. They just don't come out this far, usually. If they do, it's not like this.

[He says that with a glance down toward his mer body, his tail slapping faintly against the rocks.]

But it's too boring, being out in the open sea all the time. I like it better here.

...your tail's done, by the way.

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