badliifechoiice2 | mermaid oh murmur into my ear

mermaid oh murmur into my ear

MERMAID AU MEME

Rules:
● Put down character name and series in subject line.
● Add any preferences (romance and/or general, human and/or mer) in comment.
● Reply to other people!

Scenarios:

1 ♢ Little Mermaid
♢ Mer
♢ One of you is a mer person with something you want. The other is a powerful mage who can possibly give it to you. Can an arrangement be made...?

2 ♢ Exploration
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ Whatever you are, your curiosity has gotten the best of you. Whether it's a sunken shipwreck on the bottom of the ocean or a mysterious cove hidden away along the cliffside... Venturing with a friend or running into something unexpected... What will you find?

3 ♢ Exchange
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ Sometimes, territories are broached, but it's not always a bad thing. Whether you're of entirely different species, or just from different seas, you've met in peaceful circumstances- perhaps as a direct result of those! So it's time for a cultural exchange. Just ignore the fresh water mer.

4 ♢ For Science
♢ Mer and Human
♢ This is a one in a lifetime chance.... for at least one person. Are you on an isolated island? A ship far out to sea? A highly funded aquarium? Or perhaps even a laboratory with more than questionable methods... Either way, you have the chance now to study something rarely seen before. How will it turn out for both of you?

5 ♢ Ariel's Dream
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ Some say it's impossible for a mer to live on dry land... except that's been quietly proven wrong. One of you has taken to living among humans, whether for years or still learning the ropes. As for the other... Are you a concerned friend, checking in on them from the sea? Or are you a landdweller, stumbling onto a great secret?

6 ♢ Sea Life
♢ Mer and Human
♢ While they have the legs for landdwelling, some humans seem to have more saltwater in their veins than blood, and those are the kinds of humans that end up with dealing with the mysteries of the sea the most. A surfer catching waves with shark mer? A pirate bartering with sirens for safe passage? A fisherman working together with those who know fish best? There's all sorts.

7 ♢ Stranded
♢ Mer and Human
♢ Well, fuck. Good job. One way or another, you're stuck where you shouldn't be. Whether that's a human lost in the tides, or a mer trapped against the land, you need help.... So don't be picky with what you do get.

8 ♢ Not Safe For Water
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ The scenario made explicitly for Guillermo Del Toro and anyone who was extremely anxious for a xeno sex scene in The Shape Of Water. Get your smut on. Feel free to mix and match it with any of the other scenarios as well.

9 ♢ Siren Song
♢ Mer and Human
♢ Sometimes, there's a good reason people fear the too wide expanse of the sea, or how deep its depths an reach... Strange songs which string through coastal towns and cause disappearances... The sound of something slipping through the water around a ship in the dead of night... Unexplained shapes which flicker outside of deep-sea vessels or submarines or installations. Do you want to know what's out there?

10 ♢ Capture
♢ Mer and Human
♢ Sometimes, there's a good reason why people fear humans. You don't belong here, being gawked at through thick aquarium glass or trapped in a too-small freakshow tank, but what can you do? Is there anyone who cares for your plight, or are there only people responsible for it?

11 ♢ Chance Encounter
♢ Mer and Human
♢ Well, this is awkward. You didn't mean to stumble onto a mer just... there, doing whatever, on the beach or by the docks or tangled up in your fishing net, but, well. It's happened. Now what?

12 ♢ Transformation
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ For one reason or another, you want to go where you've never gone before... A mer, venturing on the land either as a rare chance or every day business? Or a human, accepting some sort of trade or just to run away from the life you have now? Either way, it might get messy.... Feel free to mix in with other scenarios.

13 ♢ Fantasy Meets Fantasy
♢ Mer and OTHERS!
♢ Who's to say that humans are the only other creatures in the world? Maybe people living beneath the sea's waves aren't the only strange things. Maybe there are centaurs who travel along coastal roads to watch the night sky along with mer astronomers. Perhaps selkies are just distant cousins. Or who's to say that mer can't be a host of things unto themselves? The ocean's the limit.

14 ♢ Sci-fi
♢ Mer and Human
♢ Some say astronauts are nothing more than sailors venturing off into another unexplored sea, one that's above instead of below. And, befitting those same sailors of older days, they seem to tell tails of strange melodic frequencies coming in over the radio to their ears, and strange comets that look like tails passing them by on a landed planet. Do they not know what's accompanying them in space, or is that what they're actively chasing?

15 ♢ Divinity
♢ Mer and Human
♢ There are stories told of what exactly it is that could be both human and fish... So it's not surprising that, eventually, one would land upon calling them divine entities, either gods of the sea or lakes, or just their messengers. Is that true, or just a very clever, long lasting ruse?

16 ♢ Afterlife
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ Some say mer are just humans, wrongfully forced overboard by superstition or cruelty and welcomed by the sea into something more. Others say that they're the spirits, haunting a particular sea or lake town for a wrongful death. What's the truth? Time to find out.

17 ♢ Peaceful Living
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ Not everything has to be a dramatic mess. Sometimes, things just... work out for the best. These are better times, and mer are just another part of life. Water-side towns where everything is built around those that share the waters with them, or huge metropolises with water tubes and sprouts for mer to travel through. How will you imagine this sort of life?

18 ♢ Wildcard
♢ follow your dreams, make up whatever

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sound travels strangely through the water. A bullet impacting the surface, rippling into the depths? Still strange, but Chikusa knows exactly what it means.

Snapped out of his daze, he jerks away from the impact a little belatedly. Shit- he hadn't thought that anyone would be out here this late. He's heard from Chrome that people have been agitated by the issues surrounding the old dock, but he'd thought they would have died down... He can't even hear who it is properly, not like this.

It's a mistake to have let himself lose track of things. There's no helping it now, however, and he forces himself upwards. The bell means he can just duck down so easily, like Mukuro and Chrome can. He has to surge upwards, body rolling briefly against the surface of the water as he forces himself down again. There's a moment where some of his body can be seen with the movement, frills rippling along from where legs would be, before he's under the water again.... for the most part.

Stupid bell... It's still a bit visible as he tries to push himself towards rockier shores, although it's not the fastest movement in the world. He's not particularly built for speed like this.

Makoto at this point has abandoned his senses entirely. There's no point in not chasing after this thing, given that it must have something to do with his brother. It has to. He sees something that looks... familiar... and he snaps entirely.

He runs, chasing the thing down towards the rocky shore, shooting at it sporadically to keep it moving. He knows there's a spot near the shore that he can throws a spear if he gets it close enough. His heart is pounding, and he's trying to keep his breathing steady, but there's no point.

As soon as he gets a closer, clearer shot, he throws the spear at it... and then dives in after it, swimming to try to chase after the thing. His gun is probably not going to deal with this well, even as it's holstered, but he's not thinking of that. All he's thinking is that he needs to destroy this thing. Then maybe, maybe he can have his brother back.

With every bullet that pierces through the water, Chikusa jolts, trying to swim faster. All the while, he thanks himself that the guy is apparently a shit shot, although it doesn't help that he's still being pursued at all. What is with this person...? He knows humans can be violent towards anything inhuman, but for this much, to warrant chasing...

It doesn't matter. All he has to do is get away, find a cove to hide in where he can sink back down to the floor and wait out Mukuro or Chrome finding him... So unused to the dimensions of the ocean and his own body that he doesn't even realize he's drifted too close to the shoreline before something is tearing through him.

'Pain' isn't the word he'd used to describe it. There is no pain, just- something going through his bell, tearing through the edge of it and putting everything out of place. It's wrong, uncomfortable, not right, and Chikusa stops his propulsion to recoil back, seeing that it's a spear drifting down into the depths only a moment later. He's not going to be able to swim properly like this, he thinks, and the thought makes him panic, resurfacing again...

Just in time to peer past the weight of his bell with wide eyes and see his brother swimming towards him.

Makoto freezes when he sees the face - but no, it's the monster that killed him, it can't be his brother. Still, it's enough to tear a noise from his throat halfway between a yell and a sob as he pulls his gun out, pointing it at the monster.

"You... you killed him. You killed him. So... so I'll kill you."

That's fair. That's the only thing he can do. And yet... and yet his hands are trembling as he treads water, still not shooting.

Was he foolish, to think that his own brother would recognize him? To stop whatever the hell he's doing? As the gun comes out, rising above the rolling waves of the ocean, Chikusa jerks his own hands upwards to shield his face instinctively. It's no any use; his body won't stand up to a bullet. It wouldn't as a human, and it still won't as a mermaid, no matter what. Still, what else he can do, with his swimming impaired and not fast enough regardless?

...But no shot rings out. Nothing tears through his body, leaving behind that wrongness in its wake. Just the accusation, hanging in the air. Tentatively, from underneath his raised and crossed arms, he peers past. His whisper is quiet and hoarse.

"Makoto, what the fuck."

He shudders, and the gun slowly lowers. He doesn't have tears, not anymore, but... "It... it's not you. It can't be you. You're dead. That... that monster ate you and stole your face." That had to have happened. It... it can't be that his brother is now a mermaid. That doesn't make any sense.

As his movements slow, his head ducks under the water. When it resurfaces, there's no gun in his hands. ... Shit. Makoto suddenly snaps back towards reality, diving to go try to catch the thing. The water's not all that deep, but diving has never been his specialty. Swimming either, but he can manage. A little.

...Oh. Lowering his arms, Chikusa resists the urge to wrap them around himself. Mukuro was really right. Chikusa knew he had his own preconceptions about mermaids, but somehow it's worse hearing it from someone close to him. Worse when he's this way. "Makoto... You know that's not-"

His slow nature bites him once again, however, with his brother already beneath the waves. All Chikusa can do is float backwards, trying to keep his tendrils out of the way so that he doesn't poison himself by accident. He has no idea what to say that could convince his brother of the truth.... So hopefully inaction will be enough.

It takes a while. Longer than it should, but Makoto's determined. The sea water stings at his eyes, but he finally grabs the gun off of the sandy bottom and surfaces. He sputters out some water, He holsters his gun, staring at Chikusa.

"It... can't be you. You wouldn't just leave. It could... it couldn't be... I've been looking for you for so long, you wouldn't just... hide... so it can't be you..."

By the time Makoto emerges, Chikusa isn't looking at him, although his arms aren't raised up to shield his face. Instead, they're loosely wrapped around him, the same kind of gesture he's always had. Not too tight, because he doesn't want to give too much away.... But always when he doesn't feel comfortable, when he can almost feel his mind start to drift off away from his body and needs something to anchor himself down.

"I left for college," he says quietly, staring down at the water still. In the darkness, he almost can't see his own body down there. Almost. "And of course I'd hide." He doesn't move his head, still, but his gaze flickers over to where the gun is holstered underneath the water.

... It's painful, watching that kind of gesture. His movements slow and he has to kick hard again to keep himself up above the surface.

"You left for college and didn't come back. No note, no call, no nothing. And with the reports of that mermaid around... of course I'd thought you'd gotten hurt. I know you were around when that mermaid escaped the aquarium. I... I want to believe you wouldn't let something like that out..." Something too inhumanly clever, something dangerous... but the clues add up. He knows how much Chikusa can be swayed sometimes.

He moves closer, hands out. He doesn't have the gun in his hands, or any other kind of weapon. "I missed you. You're my brother. We're supposed to be there for each other, and I though... that I wasn't there for you and you just..." Died, but he doesn't want to say it again.

Something like that- "They were torturing him," he says sharply, the words leaving him in a quiet rush. Jellyfish don't have hearts, but do mer regardless? Either way, something in his chest is hurting. His tail gives a pulse, a dozen different frills moving him back through the water and away from those hands. It hurts to do it, but it hurts just as much to know what his brother thinks.

"They'd electrocute him... to get him to do what they wanted. He didn't have any scales on his hands anymore... Because they kept taking them from him." He's really hunched into himself now, the myriad of little tentacles that make up his hair hiding his face further. "And they lied about things he did."

He's quiet for a few long moments, before disappearing under the surface briefly. When he bobs up again, he pushes his hair out of the way. He just... needed a moment. "And I was supposed to know that how? I was scared, Chikusa." It's not an excuse and he knows it. But he'd panicked and lost it, and he turns slightly, staring up at the sky.

"I hurt you. ... I can't make up for that." He'd seen the damage. He draws his gun again... and pops out the ammo slide, flinging the bullets as far out into the water as he can. He pulls the pieces of the gun apart and flings them in different directions before looking at Chikusa again, wiping his face. "I was lost without you. ... You're my little brother. You keep me on track. What am I supposed to do without you?"

That, at least, has him ducking his head a little guiltily. "I would have come back," he mutters down at the water. And he would have, for some things. The ocean is wide and vast, after all. So unlike the land he's been anchored to for all his life- most of his life now. And he's still not great at swimming, either.... Let alone the abilities that let Chrome and Mukuro shift from sea to land so easily.

It takes a moment before he looks up again, still half hidden underneath his bell. "I would have."

"... I had no way of knowing that, either." He lets out a long breath, reaching a hand out. He just wants to touch his brother once more. "Let me... at least pretend, for a moment..."

Pretend things aren't like they are. Pretend Chikusa hasn't become something inhuman. Pretend he's sane again.

Even with how his head is tilted, he can still just barely see that hand reaching out to him. For a second, a twist of longing hits him. He's never really had anyone besides his brother, even in a family raised by parents. If there'd been anything, anyone, to want to go back to...

"I won't feel the same," he says quietly, eyes still locked on that hand. "I'm colder now. But..."

But if that's fine...

"But you're my brother." Even if everything else in the world changes, that simple fact is enough. It's enough to love, to care about the little boy he'd held in his arms once upon a time.

He swims closer, his expression full of longing. He just wants this, just for a moment.

That's enough. And as long as that's enough.... Making sure the tide doesn't force the more venomous parts of him towards his own family, Chikusa slowly unwinds his arms from around himself. A part of him is actually nervous- more than that. Scared.

He's seen how they treat mer, listened to Mukuro on his venomous tirades on how other species are treated. And they both know, from the split now going through his bell, how easy it is for people to harm things that aren't like what they know. And... he's not like how his brother knew him once, not right now. The hand which extends itself out past the safety of his bell shimmers slick and strange in the moonlight, delicate with how thin he's always been. Too smooth, too cool, as if it could fold underneath a tight enough grip....

Is this still alright? He doesn't know.

He holds the other's hand, careful not to press too hard. It's really tempting to just pull him close, but he's not sure if that would even be okay. He sniffs, trying to fight against tears.

"... Chikusa. I... if I let you go, am I ever going to see you again?" He's not sure he could handle it. He's not certain that his heart won't break, leaving him to wither away.

What a question to answer, and Chikusa doesn't answer it for a long moment, just stares at their linked hands. It's weird, to see how different he's become with something else that he can compare himself to...

"Can you keep a secret?" he asks quietly at last, still not looking up. "An important one. One that... can't ever be found out by someone else..."

... Something's wrong. More than it already is. He can tell, from the voice and the way Chikusa doesn't look up, and he can practically feel it hanging in the air.

A secret... "Of course. If it's for you, I'd do anything." It's true - there's no one in the world he cares for more, wants to protect more. When he lost Chikusa, he lost most of himself.

"...I'm not supposed to let anyone else know.." No one human, at any rate, and he really is inhuman now, isn't he? But Makoto, his brother...

A slow, wet breath, and there's salt heavy in his mouth. It doesn't sting as much as when he'd only been human. "They... can walk on land, too.... I don't know how, yet, but...."

... But maybe, at some point, he can. He can visit his brother. Makoto moves forward and tries to take Chikusa in his arms, not caring that he might get hurt. He misses his brother so much...

"I..." His voice is hoarse, and he tries to speak. "... I have a question." There's something there, something inside his mind. He's not sure that he can push it so hard, but... "How did you... even... no." That's a different question, one he doesn't care so much about. "Would you... take me with you?"

He can't bear to lose Chikusa again, even for a little bit.

There are a lot of questions to ask here. Chikusa knows that there have to be. If it were him, in the same situation.... Yeah. He'd have a lot of questions. With half of his mind focused on keeping his lower half away just in case- which means mostly twisting around a little as his brother comes in for a hug so that the current works in his favor- he kneads his fingers into the back of his shirt. Underneath the soft material of his bell, the world seems a lot cooler, with the outside world awash in blue.

The question that does come isn't the one he expects at all, and Chikusa jolts up a little bit, staring in quiet confusion. Does he mean- "Take you with... how?" he asks, tentative, cautious and not willing to be hopeful.

"Take me with you. Out to sea, under the sea... it doesn't matter. You're the only one I've ever cared about. I don't want to lose you again. I'd follow you wherever you went. Just..." He pulls back a little, staring Chikusa in the eyes.

"Just look at what happened when you disappeared. I don't think I could deal with that again. Please don't make me. Please." He doesn't please, never pleads, but this? This, he can't help. The idea of losing Chikusa again makes him feel sick.

It's weird to see his brother like this, looking at him so desperately. More than weird- terrifying. Terrifying, and he knows he can't help as much as he wants to. Without his glasses, the wide confused look to his eyes is all the more apparent. A good thing, considering how blank Chikusa can get otherwise.

"I don't know how." It's a quiet admission. "But Mukuro- and Chrome- they could do it. They could help."

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