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

[showyouthesight]

Hoh, what would you put up?

[Obviously, he'll win so he doesn't have to worry about what he risks in the bet.]

[naggysa]

Well, since I'm not afraid to lose...did you see anything of mine that you really liked?

[showyouthesight]

[Rin looks around again, assessing his choices. Anything here would be a worthy prize. And he does take a shining to that box thing, or would if it wasn't busted and unable to do the cool things Nagisa described. Now that bottled ship on the other hand...]

Let's wager that tiny ship of yours.

[naggysa]

[Why isn't Nagisa surprised that that's what Rin went for? His gaze narrows a little with determination as he gives a curt nod.]

Okay, fine. But if I win, I want one of your fancy medallions you were talking about.

[showyouthesight]

[Rin winces internally. As much as he's sure he'll win, he is partial to his medallions.]

... fine.

[naggysa]

Okay, it's a deal then. ...wheeen you're all healed up again, anyway.

[Cause yeah, that looks like it still hurts a lot.]

[showyouthesight]

That better not take forever. Sharks hate sitting around, you know.

[Yes, yes it does.]

[naggysa]

It's all wrapped up, so unless you tear it open again, it shouldn't. Have you ever been hurt that bad before?

[showyouthesight]

I usually hunt with Sousuke. We look out for each other.

[Read: Sousuke manages to drag Rin away from doing something stupid.]

[naggysa]

Who's Sousuke?

[Nagisa asks curiously, his head tilting to one side as he hoists himself up onto the nearby rocks again.]

[showyouthesight]

My best friend. We're in the same shiver. We do a lot together.

[He pulls himself along with his arms.]

You got anyone like that around here?

[naggysa]

[Nagisa is quiet for a moment, as if considering that.]

Mm...no, not really.

[Seals, by design, are pretty social creatures. But Nagisa...well, there really aren't any around where he lives, seems like.]

I mean, there's my sisters, but...they're always off doing their own thing.

[showyouthesight]

[Rin's tail twitches. While sharks aren't the most social creatures in the ocean, his brethren manage a sort of hybrid existence, gathering in smaller groups of four or so for hunts and regular meetings but still living mostly on their own. He can't imagine what it would be like to not have any others like him around.

Wait, didn't Nagisa mention something else?]

Sisters?

[naggysa]

Uh-huh. I got some older sisters that come by now and then, but like I said they're always busy doin' their own thing...and they say I live too close to the shore, so they don't like coming here often.

[showyouthesight]

Hoh, are they scared~?

[To be fair, most mers would be skittish about spending too much time near the land and its Two-Legs. But Nagisa's type have the advantage of being to go full seal when they don't want to be noticed so it's not nearly as dangerous for them as it might be for other mers.

Unless the humans were seal hunters.]

[naggysa]

...they don't like the boats.

[Nagisa says as he looks over to the shore far off in the distance.]

They're not like the one we found all that stuff at. They're...smaller. Louder. They're always surrounded by fish, but I've heard people say seals get hurt real bad by the noise all the time. I don't really get it.

[showyouthesight]

Just the noise hurts you? How?

[Rin glances in the direction Nagisa's staring.

Rin's always had better hearing than most of his shiver. They say it's due to the type of mershark he is. Nowhere near as big as Sousuke but able to detect things from a lot further away through their vibrations in the water. Using that skill against him sounds terrifying.]

[naggysa]

I dunno. Seems pretty weird to be scared of that, doesn't it? They've never hurt me, and I hear 'em all the time.

[What Nagisa doesn't know is that it's not the sound that hurts...but what makes the sound.]

[showyouthesight]

What do they even sound like? I want to know if I've ever heard them before.

[naggysa]

They're like...real loud. They sound like monsters or something.

[showyouthesight]

Have you ever seen them? How big are they?

[They'd have to be huge to make noises like that, unless Nagisa is exaggerating. Which he wouldn't put above the selkie. Aren't seals easily startled?]

[naggysa]

[They are, and it's very possible that Nagisa's exaggerating just a little.]

They're pretty big. But big or small, they all make the same, weird noise...all rumbly and growly.

[showyouthesight]

I kind of want to see one. We don't have to get too close. Just enough to see what all this fuss is about. All of the ones I've seen are the ones with the big kelp pulling them across the water of the ones that have already sunk.

[naggysa]

You do? You'd be the first I've heard of to say that...

I kinda wonder about 'em too, though...I mean, they can't be all that scary.

[No scarier than a mershark, anyway.]

[showyouthesight]

Well, that's the kind of guy I am. I'm going to be the first to do a lot of things!

[He pauses for a moment, studying Nagisa more thoroughly than he has so far.]

We should track one down together. Once my tail recovers.

That is, if you're not too scared.