#baby mer shark sun and moon

[because-why-not-a-fnaf-blog-too]

Oh right. Here’s the (late) mermay snippet (here’s hoping I’ll get the next chapter of the mer fic up this month. It’ll be a shorter chapter, but I’d like to get back into it.

This is a what-if scenario where Eclipse didn’t lose the egg and got to raise sun and moon. ~

The cold of the deep ocean waters was soothing, head fins flicking back as a large sea monster with four powerful arms swam with strong beats of a great fanned tail fin resembling a solar eclipse. Reds and black mixed throughout the sea monster’s scales and soft underbelly, oranges and yellows flecked throughout the powerful body.

With a single twist of that body, Eclipse cut through the water, into a cave, and dragged his body through the small opening before he swam upward, to warmer waters as he surfaced in a small cave, enough for his upper body to rest on sand, and settle his head near the precious egg he’d been guarding ferociously.

Even with only half of Eclipse’s body out of the water, he still dwarfed his egg. The egg that was all that was left of his now-gone mate. A webbed hand lifted out of the water as a clawed finger gently brushed the side of the egg as he let out a low warble of greeting to its soon to hatch offspring.

It was a beautiful egg, larger than usual, with swirl of two colors that met together. One half was a vibrant yellow and orange like the sun blazing overhead, the other half deep blue with scattered white all over, a clear night with the stars in full display.

A fine offspring would hatch from this egg, and they were sure to be a gorgeous mixture of his and his dead mate’s marking and colors.

Head fins flared out as deep orange eyes brightened upon hearing the telltale cracking of the egg.

He was going to be a father.

The egg splintered all over, rather odd, but not concerning.

Eclipse’s head tilted to the side as he watched the egg begin to wiggle back and forth, remaining just within the soft, shallow water nest he’d made for it to rest within. It would not do to lose his child so quickly to the ocean waters when it would be so tiny and fragile compared to him.

There was more movement within the egg.

Another head turn, head fins fully flared out, rapt to attention.

The egg cracked; a much smaller head than expected poked out, followed by a tiny arm.

So small.

Much too small.

The dark blue and white arm clawed viciously at the egg.

Eclipse preened, proud of the life despite its diminutive size, as his child wiggled their way out of the egg and plopped perfectly into the safe nursery pool he’d made for his child. Movement caught Eclipse’s attention, four orange eyes snapping back to the egg just in time to watch a clawed hand grip the shell. A yellow and orange arm pulling itself out of the egg, which revealed another tiny head, this one with frilly fins stuck to the top and sides of it.

Eclipse marveled, fins around his head flaring wider, struck dumb by what he saw as this second child wriggled out and dropped into the nursery with its kin. The frills filled out around both children’s heads as their soft scaled bodies went about removing anything stuck to them by rubbing into the softer rock edges of the nursery that wouldn’t damage those frills around neck, waist and tail.

Two.

Two offspring.

A gift.

Perhaps his dead mate had not wanted him to feel alone, by having two children to raise.

Eclipse’s entire body shivered as he crooned delight over being able to provide for not just one, but two mer children.

A wonderful gift indeed.

Eclipse loomed close as he let out wordless warbles and chirps, excited when he heard answering warbles and clumsy chirping.

The first one to emerge, the dark blue and white mer with a soft fin that trailed from…his head, a frill framing the head as red eyes stared up at him, before turning and dipping underwater with a slap of a crescent tail.

Ah, took after his mother.

Eclipse looked over the yellow and orange mer, fanged smile widening over this little one having a tail fin much like his own, yet a sunburst in shape.

The first hatchling began to groom his brother, who had missed a few spots near his neck frills. Once done, the night colored child gently nuzzled into the other’s head.

Eclipse crooned to them and gently wrapped his massive body around the small body of water, bringing his face close to nuzzle the two tiny mer shark before him, who responded to pressing into him and biting.

A low rumble rose.

Ah, youth.

How he missed the curiosity and innocence toward the world.

Eclipse settled down in the water near his offspring, watching indulgently as the two mer shark splashed about before eventually tiring with little squeaky warbles and yawns. The two mer shark children curled up tightly with one another, taking refuge by Eclipse’s giant webbed hand as his fingers curved protectively around them.

His children.

Eclipse would protect them and raise them well.

[missterious-figure]

Litol Babu Sun and Moon :)

Some doodles of the boys as wee little things. They loved being small enough to swim close to shore and watch the locals at the beach. They got pets, played with kids, and checked out anybody wading in the water, etc. Such innocent fun...

Until the incident...

Quick note: I want to try and write this au! I have a basic story already, but I want to try to do it in a "decision/consequence" sorta way. I'll try to have two links, one for the end of each "chapter" as a what if sorta thing. Some "decisions" might lead to the same ending. But if I do do this, it will probably take a really, really, REALLY long time to update. (I have other aus I'm working on, namingly swamp things au)

I would love to hear some feed back and opinions about this!

[everythingenthusiastt]

My mermay sun n moon designs 

What are they looking at?

[naffeclipse]

I’ve been being eaten away at by devil eyes brain rot for a while now and even though it’s not may anymore

What if devil eyes eclipse was like, a mer creature of some sort?

And what would he be?

Anon, I'm looking directly into your eyes and shaking your hand. It is always MerMay in our hearts!

Devil Eyes Eclipse would be a tiger shark mer! He is large with long fins and a long tail. He has a light-yellow underbelly with currant red skin and striking dark stripes across his entire body. His teeth are terrifyingly distinct with terribly sharp, pronounced serrations. He can locate prey (or mer Y/N) with electroreceptors which allows him to detect electric fields, including the weak electrical impulses generated by his prey. Oh, and did I mention he's a solitary, nocturnal hunter?

Since I'm already here, I'll toss in Devil Eyes Sun and Moon mers as well!

Moon is a blue shark mer. He prefers cool waters and is generally lethargic, but he can move very quickly. He has long fins and a long tail just like his brother Eclipse but is slightly smaller. His skin is midnight blue with small spots of baby blue while his underside is white. He's a cold-blooded mer and has a unique sense of smell which he uses to avoid other mers and keep him and Sun safe while they wait for Eclipse. He's also memorized Mer Y/N's sense and is still deciding whether he likes how pretty you smell. (He grows anxious whenever he smells your blood, blood on Eclipse, or both at once.)

Sun is a shortfin mako shark. He's the same size as Moon but slightly smaller than Eclipse with long fins (despite taking after a shortfin) and a long tail. He possesses a brilliant yellow color on top and a white underside. He's very agile and swift which makes him an incredibly fast swimmer, and he can leap to extreme heights out of the water. He maintains a body temperature that is warmer than the surrounding waters which he has used on the occasion to keep mer Y/N warm in the cold sea. He doesn't do well sitting tight in one spot and will often venture out to scout and scan the area for dangers or watch for Eclipse coming back to them.

[ramblermagpie]

rehabilitated harpy y/n and eclipse!

@naffeclipse glorious cardinal instinct makes me ramble a quick idea so please don't laugh at me!

I had an idea op the harpy y/n the rehab graduate! fresh in the wilds never having met another harpy of their kind but meeting other types of harpies and people learning how to one day go back to the wilds OP got a unique set of skills and mixed costumes and cultures was taught pretty well everything but sirens danger they know stranger danger met many types of people but is siren unexperienced just see a potential friend/neighbor op met shark mer and other sharp tooth friends don't know about the danger of the siren song! can hunt hide and run just fine even make a pretty good igloo and for their hobbies learned from other harpies songs, swimming, and dancing with crafts! the first few days in the wilds they waddle and swim trying to find others and just meet Eclipse cause OP is excited to make a new friend and Eclipse thinks they are funny and cute harpy op is a nice neighbor and even does gifts and helps and eclipse is flattered! y/n thinks Eclipse has a beautiful voice and thinks they're a lil weird but sweet guy Op is just a sweetie bird who is a lil naive but gaining experience! If Eclipse has his sun and moon OP has babysitting experience and loves babies and will ride and die for babies the stories OP has of babysitting other species fluffs and grooms their feathers well for nap cuddles.

[bri-does-art]

Just found Call of the Abyss, and absolutely love it! So if it's not spoilers, I was wondering about the mers fish bits. Like, if a sea slug based mer could have offspring with a shark based mer? Would they be too different to have offspring? Would the hypothetical offspring be a slug shark?

Thank you nonny! It's not spoilers! But I... don't have an actual answer for you. 😅

I'll be honest, I haven't spent much time thinking about the actual mechanics and the nitty gritty details of merfolk reproduction/morphology in CotA - it just wasn't all that relevant to the story I wanted to tell. :'D

Okay, that's not entirely true. I did think about it a little, the fact that there's such a huge diversity of bauplans, phenotypes and other physiological characteristics amongst the characters I've adapted for the story and that it would probably lend itself to some very complex reproductive issues did not escape me. I simply chose to put these issues very carefully aside and told myself not to think too hard about it. It's all fantasy.

Would a slug mer having a baby with a shark mer make a slug shark? I don't know. Maybe? Perhaps it would explain why some merfolk share characteristic from multiple species, such as Moon with his mixed characteristics from both octopodes and jellyfish. Or the offsprings would pull a Lady and the Tramp/Treasure Planet and you would end up with slug babies and shark babies, that happen to inherit one or two characteristic from the other species.

Or maybe they're simply aliens and comparing their characteristics to Terran animals is a little misguided, like unironically saying that serviceberries have to be a cross between blueberries and cherries - because they look like blueberries and grow in trees like cherries do - would be.

The only thing that I've somewhat figured out that I can safely tell you about is that there are two main types of merfolk: vertebrate and invertebrate ones. Sun and Moon fall into the invertebrate category, whereas others such as (Withered) Bonnie would fall in the vertebrate category. And it's pretty likely that members from one category could not viably reproduce with members of the other category. (Which I suppose would make the answer: no, a slug mer and a shark mer would be too different to have viable offsprings, one's an invertebrate and the other a vertebrate)

Now, why would there be merfolk in two entirely paraphyletic groups? Gosh, I don't know, I'm not a biologist. :'D Convergent evolution? Again, I did not spend nearly enough time thinking about this to give a proper answer, so all I can really tell you is: your guess is as good as mine. There is no actual "canon" in CotA addressing this. Have fun! Go wild! It's not quite my thing as I like my worldbuilding in CotA to have some basis in reality, somewhat, but I'm simply not equipped to provide these answers myself, unfortunately.

I'm sorry if this isn't quite the answer you were hoping for, nonny. 😭 I got a little philosophical/scientifical there, and ended up with a big whole non-answer. OTL But hopefully, this isn't too disappointing an answer!

[amphiptere-art]

I'm not sure which, if any of your aus would be the most likely to adopt a land shark. I probably should go to sleep so my brain isn't fully on. Thoughts? On land sharks, not my sleep schedule

If we're talking about Tsams then red blue and black is probably the most open to grabbing something like that.

And if we were going to Chuck this into cruel copy then I could see wizard adopting a baby one.

If we're taking other AUs.

Stop you silly siren is a really good one since that's just something that could just exist without questions. I could totally see them adopting a landshark.

Cryptid eater could also work like that but there's a good chance the YN would just eat them due to their nature.

Safe waves is a mer Sun and Moon AU so I could see a land shark existing although if they could adopt it I don't think they could.

And then if we're talking about some sort of heavily mutated metal mess I could see rusted wheels by some circumstance having land sharks.

I'm assuming by landshark you mean a shark with legs. Whether it's two or four. I always imagine land sharks as for legged predatory running sharks like some crocodylomorphs. But I have no idea what your land shark looks like.

[sigery]

Fic ideas

Will I ever get around to writing anything? Maybe? Will I finish it? Less likely.

Mer AUs

You are working at an aquarium or lab or something with mer Sun and Moon. Life isn’t bad for them but you know they would be happier in the ocean again. There isn’t much you can do other than make sure they continue to be well taken care of. Then you get a new intern, Eli Clips and the boys take to him rather quickly, particularly Moon who hates most humans. You suspect your intern isn’t who he says but he might be key in releasing the boys back to freedom.

Kids Aren’t Snacks- Moon disposed of the bodies and The White Rabbit’s crew stayed out of his territory. A snack for him and safety for Sun. This worked fine till they threw a kid who had seen too much overboard.

Pissed off a coworker who feeds you to the "man eating" mers... but one, Moon only ate someone's limb and that was after they kept invading his space. two, they threw you in Sun's tank (which is connected to Moon's tank, but finders keepers or something). May include Sun thinking it's a test because he might get to be in a petting zoo event (and teeth gummies so no one gets nibbled by sharkish teeth)

Show Mer boys get Y/N as a (snack) treat, they keep them as a bud instead because Y/N is too cute for actual eating. Only nice noms

Nomad!Glitch and Lunar- Lunar was an orphaned scavenger; Glitch took reluctant pity on them (he grew up an orphan till his late teens), leaving them leftovers, letting them sleep near him (cuddle the shivering bae), etc. Eventually Glitch lashed out (doesn't feel he's safe/reliable), nearly injuring Lunar who fled. Glitch regretted it immediately but didn’t follow... till a few hours later when he heard Lunar crying for help. Glitch tore the attacker's arm off and nommed Lunar. Ends up 'adopting' him because Lunar won't stay with Eclipse so he is mostly nomadic like Glitch {} Glitch killed a frenzied shark mer that tried to eat Lunar... found teeny baby Blood Moon in their pouch after they died. Lunar is officially a preteen, Mostly self-sufficient (fast and sneaky scavenger) except for when he can't outrun a bigger predator. Up in the air if Glitch adopts BM or give them to Eclipse because he can't raise a baby normally, let alone as a nomad

Research/zoo/whatever. Reader is put with Eclipse since he is the calmest and most level headed of the mers, plus he doesn't have a tankmate. Sun and Moon are tankmates, Glitch and Lunar are tankmates (Lunar is still relatively new and an anxious baby)

Animatronic(?) AUs

Abandoned pizza plex, they think we are a child that needs protecting

Apocalypse; boys protect you from harsh elements and possible creatures

Zombie Apocalypse (1); You are abandoned by someone important to you, "Survival of the fittest" or something. Glitch finds you, thinks you are a cute morsel, noms you, ends up finding the person that abandoned you and breaks their leg... survival of the fittest, but they aren't too fit now. (The others probably have a camp of people they are taking care of where Glitch presumably take you to)

Powerful (Mafia maybe) boys save you from abusive s/o

Brother Location daycare; Picture this; mega pizza plex burns down, Sun is mostly okay so they send him (& you, his handler) to another location. Moon seems virus free, but he is still under review. So Sun is partnered up with the location's current naptime attendant, Lunar (soft pastel smaller Moon basically). You are curious about what happened to the previous daycare attendant before Sun, there is no recorded info on him and no one will tell you anything. Eventually you end up in the basement and find who you were looking for… Management couldn’t decommission him, so they locked him down in the basement. He is infected with a dangerous virus and has ‘upgraded’ himself with extra limbs and quite a bit of height. The question remains whether he sees you as friend, foe, or food? {} Now including Glitch's kid; Blood Moon (BM or Scarlet) because he was lonely

Other 'Fantasy' AUs

Dragon!Sun was supposed to kidnap a royal… we aren’t a royal but he took us anyway

Dragon!Sun kills a group of knights, adopts squire!reader because we are 'innocent'. We are a treasure now.

Reader’s village is in danger, so they sacrifice Reader to their main god Eclipse in hopes they will be saved. Reader arrives at the temple/shrine/whatever to learn Eclipse is already doing that and the sacrifice wasn’t really necessary… regardless of who is there, Reader will end up adopted and/or Nom’d… how the initial meeting goes does depend on who was there. (Sun wants to keep them till Eclipse comes back at least so they don’t get in trouble with the village, Moon basically says “no take backs”, and Glitch is ecstatic at tiny and tasty friend)

Writing the apology chapter to Glitch in the Mythical Creature Research and Retreat storyline

Literally anything for the Nesting Doll SCP, but particularly interactions with Mango's Colossal SCP boys

“I can’t let you buy that creature if you won’t hire Y/N, not in good conscience. It’s far too wild for a random keeper.” your boss told them. (Whatever this is supposed to be)

'Magical Familiar' AU featuring Reader!Rat, Dog!Sun, Cat!Moon, Owl!Eclipse, Raccoon!Glitch. We were a domestic rat that was abandoned. Moon saves us from eating rat poisoned food.

Yeti!Sun saves you from freezing to death (avalanche? lost hiker? etc?)

Pirate!Glitch and fairy!Reader

Reader is a prey animal (Rabbit? Mouse? Small bird?). They are bought and then set loose along with some other prey to be hunted down by the owner’s actual pets; a range of predators. They struggle to avoid predators, using their smaller size to their advantage. Eventually though they are cornered by Glitch. He eats them and they cry and squirm, terrified of a slow death by digestion. A while later, Glitch throws them up in his ‘room’. There they meet Sun, a similar species to Glitch. Unlike Glitch, Sun’s tail is almost fully missing. Sun can walk, but without his tail, he can’t run or jump very well. Glitch won't abandon Sun, so he is kind of stuck there (possibly implied Glitch/Sun, but it's a cover up to keep Sun safe since Glitch is aggressive enough to claim full 'ownership' to Sun)

"I have an obsession with harpies I think" AUS

Pouch Passenger: Naga!Moon gets kidnapped to reptile research facility with Harpy!Sun in his "naptime belly". After malpractice and a lot of human death; we, an avian specialist get hired. Sun takes a liking to us. Eclipse, the boys' older brother is eventually shows up at another research facility and there will be (hopefully) wholesome stuff there with a bit of angst

Baby-Harpy!Glitch (possible same verse as Pouch Passenger): I decided reader couldn't be taking care of Glitch and have their job with Sun at the same time. So now reader's coworker (reader 2) will have Glitch instead. Glitch is artificially created by their previous job, possibly because harpies are endangered. None had survived till Glitch, however he was still messed up. The company still tried to work with him (shock collar? general abuse?), but ultimately decided it was impossible so they were going to terminate him. Reader 2 thought it was unethical so they fought the company for ‘ownership’ of him. Reader 1 helped them, which is how they ended up jobless. So reader 2 will get custody of Glitch (who will grow up an entitled ass because reader 2 babied him due to traumatizing beginning) and there is still the possibly that little Glitch will get to visit Sun and Moon (he will get one of those child leash backpacks when he wants to walk… though he prefers to be held by reader 2)… well this is what I’m planning but who knows if I will get to it

Baby-Naga!Glitch (possible same verse as Pouch Passenger) As much as I like my baby-harpy!Glitch, the idea of baby-naga!Glitch is creeping up on me. Like the lab that took Eclipse happens to find an egg and the baby has 4 arms like Eclipse so obviously it would be his. Other than the additional arms, Glitch looks nothing like Eclipse, but the arms! Eclipse is confused like I don’t have a kid? The last mate I thought about tried to eat Sun and that wasn’t happening. Seriously, couldn’t be my kid. Then he proceeds to watch Glitch accidentally tangle himself up in his own tail and is like “On second thought, I want him. Give me the baby, hopefully he is less of a little shit than Moon” (oh how wrong Eclipse is).

Harpy Family- Adult!Eclipse, Teenage!Glitch, Baby!Sun & Moon: Eclipse leaving teenage Glitch to watch baby Sun and Moon at home to do something important. Glitch is upset because he can't leave them alone, predators or something. So Glitch put them in his pouch and leaves anyway. Eclipse comes back and panics because everyone is missing. When he gets back Glitch of course argues there wasn't a rule against leaving and he did take care of the boys. Eclipse is not amused. {} Teenage-Harpy!Glitch: so when do they start eating solid food? / Eclipse: They already do, why do you ask- turns around Why is there a human here? / Glitch: I'm being a good brother and feeding them / Eclipse: The food needs to be smaller than them to start! / Us: trapped between the sleeping boys who are barely smaller than us I'm all for cuddling, but I would prefer not to be eaten actually

"Might as well make a section for Nagas" AUs

We own Naga!Eclipse, Naga!Moon, and Naga!Sun already. We adopt Naga!Glitch who was about to get euthanized because he is uncooperative and dangerous. Glitch lost an arm (down to 3) and an eye (down to 1) from his previous 'family' which is why he is so untrusting.

Me giving Glitch a super dark and angsty backstory, then a codependent people pleaser Lunar that almost starves himself to death when he got separated from Glitch for his 'safety'. Hopefully will end up with us. Eclipse probably was in a 'dog fighting' ring before he was adopted by us. This might be combined with the above in some manner. Glitch and Lunar are huge angst messes... I can possibly get them a more comfortable setting, but they won't ever be okay okay.

Something about lab or zoo setting, Moon is constantly muzzled for bad behavior... something something plot

Similar to Pouch Passenger but Sun is a naga too

Lunar based AUs

Glitch got kidnapped by a research facility when he was young. He eventually meets Lunar and ends up escaping with the young hybrid to take home to his brothers. They are a rabbit that Lunar decided was for cuddling not eating... might include Moon and Glitch fighting since Moon joined the 'clan' later so he doesn't know Glitch. Probably vague physical rehab because Lunar has a broken leg (from his abusive mother), which was the push that Glitch needed to actually leave. {} Creature!Glitch: *coughs up bunny!reader* Food / Creature!Lunar: Fluffy! *cuddling reader* / Glitch: no no no, that’s for eating / Lunar: *burying his face in reader’s fur, muffled* so soft / Glitch: *pulls reader away from Lunar* Do you need me to kill it for you? / Lunar: *horrified, starts to cry* no, no, no! / Glitch: *panicking now* wait, no. don’t- *shoves reader back into Lunar’s arms* Lunar: *takes reader back and snuggles them closer, turning over to face away from Glitch* / Reader: *shocked to still be alive* / {Later once things calm down} / Glitch: So what do you need them for? / Lunar: To cuddle / Glitch: *pouts* I cuddle with you / Lunar: Not enough! / Glitch: I can’t hunt and cuddle you / Lunar: Yes *pats reader’s head* cuddle friend / Reader: *content to snuggle because Lunar is also soft, knowing Glitch is an apex predator so we are safe from being consumed*

Reader is sacrificed to God!Eclipse. He doesn't really have a use for them. Lunar asks to have them. Eclipse is wary at first because humans are small and fragile and would need extensive time and effort to take care of. Lunar can be forgetful and easily distracted so having a living creature that depends on him is a very iffy situation. Lunar is insistent that he will take good care of reader and will love them lots

Foster Parent!Reader & Child!Lunar with his guardian angel demon, Glitch.

[celestialmango]

Hi i hope you feel better soon, and when you do could you do mer child reader with mer sun and moon? Platonic vore of course but maybe they find mer reader with their tail stuck and got left behind by their pod? Fearplay vore please, cause like, big mers who you dont know come up and eat you.

this has the potential to become extremely fluffy. I'm gonna mark a note of the fearplay being because the little baby fish(in Sun's words) isn't old enough to have learned other Mer languages besides their own yet, already decided reader is going to be a very small but pretty fish species(so tiny child, very tiny child) and Sun and Moon are gonna be sharks.(.....I just really like sharks ok?) Sure I'll add it to the list.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Siren Song: The Mer

Follow-up to Anacapa’s Own: Get to Know the Mer on Everyone’s Minds 

CW: Dehumanization, nonhuman whumpee, blood, shoulder injury, drugging, abduction, nonconsensual touching (nonsexual)

The night is deep, the mer is alone.

He feels held in the warmth of it, as though he were still a small calf cradled in his mother's arms. 

The dark air is indistinguishable from the ocean, except for the difference in the inflation of lungs or the cool rush of water along gills. The sky above is full of stars, a bright full moon shining a stripe of light along a calm sea. 

The mer slaps his tailfin to watch water burst upwards in a shimmer edged in white. Like smooth fishbelly just before he bites down, the pretty fish that live near the mating grounds. They shimmer like this. 

What he loves most about the nights is the sky full of stars. The mer thinks sometimes the sky must be as deep as the darkest places beneath him, those places in the ocean where the weight of the water will flatten unlucky mer dragged down by the monsters that live in the trenches. Even the Big Teeth, the black-and-whites who sometimes talk to the mer families, wouldn't go so deep even if they could breathe water like the mer. 

What the monsters wait for, the mer don’t know. 

But they know better than to find out.

The mer boy drifts with the softest dip and rise of the water beneath him, floating on his back looking up at the brilliance of stars. His fingers splay with the webbing stretched between them, settled out to either side. He can feel the water as it moves against the fin on his back, at his elbows, lapping just at the edges of his ears. 

The water is getting colder. 

The time the sun spends warming the upper layers is lessening each day, and so the mer knows that soon his family will come back.

They should have at least five new baby calves for him to meet, tucked beside their mothers. The others his age will have stories about the days spent exploring, scaring the brightly colored schools into scattering, burying themselves in sand. He will miss getting the chance to do it all himself, but the stories will help him enjoy the long swim towards the brightest star.

What he dreams about is when they’ll be back home in the coldest waters, where there is warmth that simmers beneath the earth to keep their dwellings comfortable in the village while they spend the winter doing slow, soft things. They will help the new calves grow and flourish, so they will be ready for the long swim to come again in spring.

He’s not worried - his pod will know where they lost him and come back. 

He only has to wait.

He tilts his head, taking in a mouthful of water, spitting salt up into the sky and then closing his eyes tight as it splatters back down over his face. Waiting is… hard. 

It feels like all he does is wait - he swims around in the same circles, suns his thick, smooth skin and shimmery iridescent scales on the same rocks, letting the sun dry the salt in his pale hair. Waiting is hard, but they will come to bring him home, soon soon soon, and he can wait for them. 

At least there are many birds and fish here, so he won’t go hungry. And the ones who don’t swim are always interesting to see. They stumble around on legs, live only on the little lands that break up the oceans, and they’re always fun to say hello to. 

The mer likes to smack his tail in the water to see their small dark eyes turn his way, and their unwebbed fingers like bits of driftwood pointing at him, the bright colors they drape on themselves like a beacon of poison, a warning, only the mer knows they don't wear them that way. 

He likes them.

They come out in big fake whales made of ringing metal that make it hard to hear under the water, but they smile and wave, and the mer has learned to wave back. Sometimes they throw him things, although other ones yell at them when they do. Sometimes the ones who all wear the same colors will come and sit by his favorite rock. 

He likes them and their legs, but he likes the ocean more. He can’t imagine a life spent breathing only air. 

Drifting in the water, he can feel, through the smallest vibrations in his fins and fingers, one of their big metal whales somewhere nearby, unseen in the dark. He turns his head and trains his eyes, thinking maybe he can see where the metal whale is blocking some of his view of the stars.

Then he hears it, low and mournful, and twists over to sink beneath the water and listen to see if he hears the sound again.

His podsong.

Not all of them, not even most, but he can hear their voices raised, some of them, together. They are singing, and calling out, for him. Missed you, missed you, come to us, come home. A shiver runs through the mer from where his hair drifts around him to the very tip of his tailfin’s long, fluttering edges. 

His pod has come back. 

He zips through the water then, following the sound. The land-walkers have nice voices but they don’t sing, not like this, with voices made for traveling through the waters. There’s something odd about the podsong that he can’t place, some tinniness to its sound, but maybe that is just distance, or some way the sound moves. He calls back, pulling on the primary vocal chords, the sound vibrating down through him to the tips of his fingers.

Missed you, missed you, I’m coming, I want to go home.

He is joyful as he follows the podsong, as it gets loud enough to surround him and warm him like an embrace. He will miss the land-walkers, and he is sorry not to say goodbye, but his family is here and he thinks that the land-walkers have pods, too, just very small ones. They’ll understand.

He calls out, again and again, but the podsong of his family never changes. A stir of unease takes his joyful rush of blood and nips cold at it like the calves at fish from their mother’s hands, and he slows, finally coming to a stop. He should have seen them by now, or there should have been some change in the song as they saw him.

He should have felt the way they would move the water around them, the sense of them even from this far. He should... but he doesn’t.

He clicks, soft and puzzled. No one clicks back.

The big metal whale from earlier is nearby when he pops his head up out of the water again, looking as the rivulets run down his face to see if he will see his pod breaking the water, a sign of them other than the song.

“There he is.”

The sound is distant, and the words don’t mean anything to the mer - they are the mush-mouth way that land-walkers speak. There must be some up on the metal whale, and he cranes his head back to look up at it, lifting his hand in an echo of the wave they have taught him on their visits.

No one comes at night, not since the standoff between the island land-walkers and the metal whale land-walkers, that had ended with shouting and fists shaken and the mer hiding in the smallest place he could find under the water, hugging the coast of his favorite islet. 

“Got him.”

Flash of cool moonlight on something in a land-walker’s hands, a bright burst of something like light, and then the mer’s shoulder erupts with pain. 

He screams, a shrieking cry that bounces off the water and the metal of the land-walker’s whale, thrashing, his hands up to try and pull out the long dark cold stick that has burst through his shoulder. It has a rope attached, and as the mer tries to slice at it with the claws on his fingers, it pulls quickly taut and the pain of it pulls him through the water, closer to the whale.

He cries for his family and pleads in wailing for the pain to end, but the podsong continues on and on as though they can’t hear him at all. He is dragged to the big whale like a calf pulled away from inattentive parents by a shark, and he keens as he claws at the thing in his shoulder. The drag of it feels like it will pull his body apart. He splashes loud, manages to throw himself up and back against the water, slapping his tail as hard as he can, again and again, making sounds he knows will carry far. His pod will hear the warning in the splash, they will scent the blood that he is losing even now to the water. They’ll know to avoid it, the big whale.

Why do they keep singing the same song, when he is calling for help?

When he’s close to the boat, the pulling stops, and for a second he is left to thrash and try to pull the thing from his shoulder, keening, his hands slick with his own blood, shuddering at the unending pain.

Then there’s a clunk, the soft whirrrrrr of land-walker machinery, and the mer feels himself closed in by a thousand knotted ropes that pull tight at the top, capturing him in what he understands is a land-walker’s fishing net as it lifts him out of the water up alongside the whale.

They have no good teeth or claws, so they use the nets, and every calf knows to avoid them. The mer cannot escape, no matter how he thrashes and fights, and the net swings horribly in empty open air.

He gasps, choking until he remembers to use lungs and not gills, and the net moves, bringing him over the top of the metal whale, before lowering him down to its floor. The pain throbs from his shoulder down through every inch of his body and his tail flops, miserably, as he tries to fight his way free of the net to no avail.

“Turn off the speaker.”

The mer doesn’t know these words. But a moment later the podsong stops, stops all at once mid-word, and the mer cries, thrashing harder. His pod is so close by, and they gave up so quickly. He calls and calls but they don’t sing again. 

“God, listen to it. That’s beautiful. Recordings just don’t do it justice, do they?” 

The land-walker’s voice is too close and the mer twists in the net. It goes from horror to hiding place, all at once, and he curls up under the heavy lines of rope, groping weakly at the thing through its shoulder, but it doesn’t budge.

He looks with wide, terrified eyes as a land-walker female moves towards him, dressed in black so her pale skin seems to float through the air, just a head and eyes, hands. Her hair is back like a tail - he has seen some of the ones who visited him wear it like that - and she moves into a crouch, arms resting at her knees, looking at him with a soft smile. 

A man behind her speaks, and she speaks back to him. Their words are mush, they are sharp, spiky dead coral, and the mer looks from one to the other and understands nothing. He calls for help from his pod again, to a dull, dead silence that sends dread rippling through him stronger than the pain.

He doesn’t understand why his pod isn’t coming. They were right there.

“Shoot it. If it keeps making sounds like that, we’ll have the fucking park rangers to deal with again.”

“Oh, hush, Anders. We’ll be long gone before they notice anything’s missing. But fine.” There is a new thing in her hands, like the thing that sent the metal stick through his shoulder but smaller, and then mer whimpers in panic, curling up around his tail. He cannot imagine any more pain, and his blood is slicking the floor beneath him purple in the darkness already. “Sssshhhh,” She says, gently, and he clicks at her in a kind of useless warning to stay away. 

It’s no good. He can’t do anything, wrapped up in their net like a fish.

“Careful-”

“I know what I’m doing.” Her fingers find a hole in the net and grip tightly into the mer’s pale hair, yanking his head back with precision and without gentleness. “Let’s get you some rest so I can deal with the harpoon.”

“It’s not strictly a harpoon-”

“Anders.” The rounded end of the thing in her hand presses through the net against his neck, just beneath his ear-fin and above his gills. There’s a click - he flinches - and then a sudden new pinch of pain that fades as quickly as it came. She lets go and scrambles back as he tries to claw at her, just missing the swipe of his fingers, the gnash of sharp teeth. “There we go.”

The world spins, suddenly, and the mer’s limbs feel heavy, dropping to the floor with his head. He chirps, weak and scared.

Something is very wrong.

He tries to call out to his pod again, but his song is warbling, too soft to carry.

“Get him into the travel tank and we’ll move him to the facility.”

“Warehouse.”

“Anders-”

“All right, all right.” Footsteps moving away, and the mer blinks slowly, blearily up at the woman as she smiles down at him.

“I know this was a rough way to meet each other,” She says, and he wonders at the nonsense words and why she bothers to say them. “But don’t worry. I know how to care for you.” His head thumps uselessly into the floor, unable to so much as move, and the salt of the ocean is the same as his tears. Her blunt dull fingers are back in his hair, then, but more gentle, and he whimpers. His body trembles, waves of whole-body shivers, and his gills shift, open and close, desperate for the rush of water against them. He has to breathe with his lungs, through the slits on his face, and it’s tough to breathe deeply enough when his whole body feels like it has been weighed down. It takes all his effort simply to breathe in and breathe out. “Sssshhhh, you’re okay. It’s okay to be scared. But we’re going to learn so much about you.”

She pets him, like the land-walkers pet their own animals, and the mer is so, so afraid.

“Look at you, you’re so scared.” He turns, tries to snap at her arm with sharp teeth, only to have her shake his head violently enough that he feels like his mind is rattling. “Hey now, none of that.” 

Her hand moves, closing over the thing that is still stuck through his shoulder, weeping red-violent blood, and she pulls, just a little. The pain is too much even for the mer to make a sound. His vision goes white, and his mouth is an O, gasping, rigid as he waits for the swell of agony to recede, to shift away like the tide from the shore.

“Remember, we have a deal,” The man from before says, and the mer stares blankly in his direction. The meaningless sounds wash over him, they don’t land, they fly away. His ear-fins twitch a little, as he hears a low sound from a great distance. “Shit, we need to hurry. We have a deal, still, right?”

The woman looks up at him, briefly, and the mer doesn’t know their words but he sees the disdain on the woman’s face. “Of course we do. I get what I want, you get what’s left. Get us out of here, Anders.” 

The man walks away, and the woman goes back to rubbing just under his ear-fin, and the mer wonders, still, why his pod stopped singing so suddenly. Were they also caught in the nets? Were they also hurt by the sharp thing in his shoulder to pull them close enough to catch? Why did he hear them and not see them, or hear their bodies in the water?

The woman moves to cup the back of his head with her hand, and she does a grotesque expression that shows all of her flat white teeth. Her voice when she speaks is strange, falsely soothing, like a mother cooing to a calf but without love. Sh rubs her thumb over the spot below his ear where he had felt the pinch that turned him into this useless lump, maybe dying here on the metal whale, with no water to take his body back home.

He shudders. The spot she is touching is a spot that only mates touch on each other, and the mer feels his stomach flip and twist in nausea, clicking in disgust at the violation. She doesn’t seem to notice.

“I’m Dr. Rachel, little thing, and I’m going to take really, really good care of you.”

The metal whale jerks into sudden motion and the mer can only raise his eyes, with difficulty, to watch the stars.

The night is deep, and the mer is alone.

----

@astrobly @burtlederp @finder-of-rings @slaintetowhump @moose-teeth @misspelledwitch 

[hazzabeeforlou]

Digging Deeper

Thanks @alienfuckeronmain for the tag, this I’ve loved reading everyone’s, and I tag @taintedlav @rahashirley @raisemybody @twopoppies @cuethetommo @metal-eye and @seasurfacefullofclouds1 if anyone wants to play!! 

1. Do you prefer writing with a black pen or blue pen? ink color matters less than ball-point-ness... 

2. Would you prefer to live in the country or city? I want a witch’s cottage with a giant messy garden on the edge of the moors and a forest a million miles away from everyone. So country. 

3. If you could learn a new skill what would it be? I’ve actually stretched myself this summer! Am learning French and guitar, and idk if it counts but learning my new job which I NEVER thought I could handle lol since I’ve never worked retail 

4. Do you drink your tea/coffee with sugar? Honey ;)

5. What was your favourite book as a child? Well I have to say Narnia and Redwall, but when I was very tiny I loved this book about a girls who could whistle and speak to animals (named Mable) and the Velveteen Rabbit, and a book called “The Lost Princess” which is fucking amazing, by the precursor to CS Lewis, George MacDonald

6. Do you prefer baths or showers? I usually take showers because baths take too much time. Also baths are romantic and that makes me sad, and also I have to look at my body which, ug, not prepared to do that all the time rip

7. If you could be a mythical creature, which one would it be? Mer. Fucking. Maid. Though I’ve always wanted to fly too, I used to spend HOURS in the water just underwater swimming with my legs stuck together just pretending to be on ocean adventures

8. Paper or electronic books? I usually much prefer paper, but since I got these blue light blocking glasses I am finding i’m fine either way physically. Soul-wise though, yeah, paper

9. What is your favourite item of clothing? Probably my mango colored crop hoodie that I once smashed melting frozen blueberries on and then spent hours and days getting the stains out...

10. Do you like your name or would you like to change it? My real name is super boring and typical, though I do like it. I enjoy my tumblr name a lot, Toni, and it feels more genderless and constrictive than my actual name lol

11. Who is a mentor to you? I’ve had so many great teachers, but the biggest lesson I’ve learned in life is that so many you admire can be deeply flawed. I have lots of trust issues. I only take advice from a select few people, and they don’t include anyone ‘old and wise’ lol 

12. Would you like to be famous and if so, what for? Oh for sure, I used to want to be an actress or a rock star or whatever. Famous author. I would fucking LOVE to have a platform and help people and cheer people up and see people grocery shopping and have instant friends. I know that sounds terribly naive but I’ve said before I share a lot of Harry’s personality, and I just love flirting with people and smiling with them and giving hugs. Now, I would want to be famous as TONI me and not real me, because then I could never be myself because my fam would find out rip

13. Are you a restless sleeper? Depends on my mattress. Currently, yes, ugg. I wake up in an omega nesting scene from a fic every morning

14. Do you consider yourself a romantic person? Unfortunately yes. 

15. Which element best represents you? idk I usually say fire but I’m feeling more water lately 

16. Who do you want to be closer to? I’m working on getting to know my amazing sister better, and that’s been lovely.  

17. Do you miss someone at the moment? All my friends have been long distance for actual years, so i don’t miss anymore more than normal. I am missing just... the POTENTIAL for someone. This indefinite distancing is wearing on me. 

18. Tell us about an early childhood memory. I was like two or three, and we were out on a full moon walk and I was in my stroller in the red sheepskin bundled up, and I remember coming up our sidewalk and looking at the world and moon and thinking, “remember this moment, or you’re going to grow up and forget how wonderful it was.” Also when I was five I had a breakdown on my mom’s lap because “I’m going to grow up and be too big to be sung lullabies to!” and I didn’t want anything to change EVER  

19. What is the strangest thing you have eaten? I used to make a concoction of rye crackers, mustard, and pickles. Don’t ask

20. What are you most thankful for? all the opportunities I’ve had in life. I’m so massively privileged 

21. Do you like spicy food? depends on how hot

22. Have you ever met someone famous? I saw a few celebs in NYC, Shosh from Girls, the guy from Monk, Tim Gun, John Oliver (and his golden retriever) and I passed a drunk as a skin Alec Baldwin outside Lincoln Center one day. Probably other people I didn’t recognize. Oh and S**** M***** rented my instrument right before covid hit here, and drunk him (or high him) couldn’t believe he had a h*** to play around on, and then I saw him staring at mountains being the most stereotypical rich white boy ever, also he did not send out gay vibes but don’t let that stop your Shiall, please don’t let it  

23. Do you do you keep a diary or journal? I almost always start with the new year and do like. A day. And then forget. 

24. Do you prefer to use a pen or a pencil? PEN

25. What is your star sign? Aries sun, Aquarius moon, Pisces rising

26. Do you like your cereal soggy or crunchy? Depends on the cereal, those golden grams were BEST thoroughly soaked in milk fight me 

27. What would you want your legacy to be? make the world a little better 

28. Do you like reading, what was the last book you read? Yes but you know, i’m the worst at making time for it. Still getting through that Brief Interviews with Hideous Men or whatever it is

29. How do you show someone you love them? Just thinking of them and doing little things to surprise them, I think

30. Do you like ice in your drinks? Yep the smaller and more crush friendly the better 

31. What are you afraid of? I really do not. like. limb loss. no horror movies for me EVER

32. What is your favourite scent? wet Labrador because it means there’s a WET LABRADOR

33. Do you address older people by their name or surname? surname always unless I’ve always known them by firsts. Religion, man

34. If money was not a factor, how would you live your life? I have this dream of buying up all the land shitty developers snatch up in this country and ceding it back to its rightful owners. I’ve legit cried over little forests turned into parking lots, thanks Joni Mitchell 

35. Do you prefer swimming in pools or the ocean? pools are so clean and have no sharks or jellyfish. that said, they also have no waves... 

36. What would you do if you found £50 on the ground? turn it into the store it was closest to. I’m the lawful good box and yes I hate it

37. Have you ever seen a shooting star? YES in Breckenridge one year I saw a fucking meteor shower! I’ve wished on some, they’ve never come true I don’t think. 

38. What is the one thing you would want to teach your children? I’m too scared to have children even if I could (I can’t) because of the pressure of what would fuck them up and what wouldn’t 

39. If you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? I love my baby tat @alienfuckeronmain gave me, idk if I’d want another one someday, maybe a sister tat with my sis

40. What can you hear now? The fan, my typing, my parents watching old TV shows

41. Where do you feel the safest? With a pet outside in nature somewhere

42. What is the one thing you want to overcome/conquer? putting limits on things /myself/people

43. Of you could travel back to any era, what would it be? You know I used to really DREAM about this shit, but since I realized I would have genetically DIED in any other era, and that my dreaming was a literal result of white privilege since it would fucking SUCK to be anyone else (I mean even now it’s awful wtf) I just. Stick with the present. 

44. What is your most used emoji? the laughing face. oops. 

45. Describe yourself using one word. Supercalifragelisticexpialidocious

46. What do you regret the most? I have so many. social. anxiety. nightmares from my 28 years of life that haunt me

47. Last movie you saw? l think it was the Downton Abbey movie? 

48. Last tv show you watched? Monk 

49. Invent a word and it’s meaning. Surplumn. a really divinely wonderful thing, like ‘oh her lips are surplumn’ like a juicy chocolate mousse and perky breasts idk 

[because-why-not-a-fnaf-blog-too]

I’m hoping I’ll be posting the next chapter of Within a Sun and Moonlit Cove by early to mid February. For now, I thought I’d share two snippets from part of a future chapter of meeting with Eclipse, since the images made me snicker while writing it.

Blood mention but no one’s hurt.

[metalotaku-da]

MerMay Shance

Prompts stolen from @justshance. all pieces are up for grabs if anyone wants to take them further or rework them. @shancemermay

warnings: shiro is not the best in this one. nor keith. shiro has kidnapped lance and is holding him against his will. but he doesn’t physically hurt him.

21. Royal Blue

The royal guard was assembled at the balcony around their king. The army below gathering into formation ready to face the threat gathering on beach just within the castles sights.

“What’s going on?” lance asked from his wheely chair. As he liked to call it. Unable to see over the railing or crowding soldiers. He was mostly ignored. The only reason he knew he was heard was shiro brought his arm protectively around the mers shoulders. Keith standing at his brother side a spy glass to his eye. “Hey i want to see!”

“Lance now is not the time…”

“It’s never the time for anything but what you want." Lance whined. "You said you wouldn't…"

"God just shut your fish up and help him stand or I will." Keith said with a roll of his eyes.

"I wish I had passed out before I finished healing you. So you'd be all rashy and scratch and make your scars ugly instead of all mysterious!" The mer shouted back at the prince. Keith just rolled his eyes and went back to his spyglass.

"Lance will you be able to stand on your own?" The king asked the mer. Though shiro had agreed to give his pearl a bit more freedom in the palace he was still just as possessive as he had been when he first laid eyes on the mer. Maybe more so with his distaste of clothing unless forced. But he did not like others having to touch his treasure.

"I can lean on the rail." Lance sassed back. He tried to lift himself up the chair kept moving on him. Shiro set the small break to keep it steady before offering his arm to the mer. Lance got both his bare feet on the ground before he lifted himself up onto Shaky legs. The short simple cut dress covering just below his knees as he stood. The material still damp to keep the mer from drying out. His steps were slow and wobbly but he did make it to the rail to hold himself up right. The mer needing more time to find his balance with each step. Once he felt secure he looked out over the rail with the humans. "I miss the ocean." Lance said sadly as he looked out on the horizon to the sea. The king was very careful to not let Lance go anywhere where near it even when he as allowed to travel with the king into town.

"I know. And once I trust you not to swim off we maybe able to visit. Till then I will continue to bring the ocean to you." The king said as he braced the mer from behind. Placing a kiss to his soft brown locks.

Lance just responded with a raspberry. He learned in early attempts of escaping that it was a pointless endeavor when one couldn't quite walk like a human. His slow pace, and the quick fatigue that sent him crashing to the ground usually ended such attempts. The one time he got even a decent distance, he had dried out faster than he had expected. Prince Keith saving him from a very painful shedding experience. That time was when the king had made an effort to let him get about more to fight off boredom. It had allowed Lance to open up more and not just cower in the king's tub or the large pool that he had built for him.

A bright shine of royal blue similar to his own scales caught the mer's eye on the horizon, just to the left of where the humans we're looking. There was smoke there at the port. Several ships listing in the harbor if not outright sinking. But this was closer to the beach of the bay. "Hey can I have the glass tube thingy?" He ignored the king's chuckles against his back.

The prince and antok turned to look at the mer. Both with looks of displeasure. "It's called a spyglass." The prince corrected.

"It's called a spyglass." The mer mocked. "And you'd be called a dry scale where I'm from." He made a grabby hand at the prince who snarled at him. "Let me borrow it. You can have it back."

"Give it to him Keith. He can't hurt it." The king instructed. His brother handing it over to the mer. "Backwards." The king said with a chuckle at his pearl.

"I knew that." He pouted flipping it around.

"He could drop it." The prince hissed. "And you indulge him to much."

"I indulge him to my content. He did give me a great many gifts. I prefer to keep him docile and happy. Easier to get what I want. And his beauty is even grander when he is pleased." The king said to his brother. A smirk on His face as he took in his half brother's annoyance. His head snapped to the mer though as he heard him gasp and start to sink to the ground muttering oh no to himself.

"Lance what's wrong?" The king asked following his mer down a bit but not sitting on the floor as his pearl was now doing. Arms wrapped around his legs. Keith snatching up his spy glass to look in the area Lance had been.

"Oh no, I hope hunk is ok. Goddess I hope she didn't do anything bad to hunk. It wasn't his fault. It's never hunk's fault. It's always my ideas." The mer mumbled looking out between the slats. "She's gonna kill me when she finds me. I'm never going to see the sun again."

"Lance hey what's wrong? What did you see?" At that question the king was forced to stand S the sound of bell rang out over the land to be heard even at the castle. He looked out towards the water to see a large wave crash into the pier. Sinking part of the docks to the left of the first damaged ships. The king snatched the spy glass from his brother to get his own look. A woman adorned in the same blue as his pearls scales and pink with long white hair was barely made out. Around her men in their own bright colored armor perhaps seemed to be rising out of the sea. The water moving with them as they came inland. As if they brought the tide with their steps. The woman in blue and pink leading them.

"My mom " Lance's answer came up from the ground. "I've never been here before. So she had to have found hunk to find me. And she's probably livid. I've never been gone this long. Like the most was a moon cycle. She's going to feed me to the sharks."

"Your mom?" Keith asked incredulously. "She is leading an army. How was she able to do that for a mer? Fishermen bring in dead mers all the time. They aren't met with raised armies."

"Cause I'm the baby of the family Keith. Can't help it that my whole family actually likes me." The mer pouted. Shiro stopped Keith with a single look from attacking the mer for that comment. But shiro also had gotten to know Lance's tells a bit more since their first meeting.

"Lance." The king scolded watching the mer pout.

"Ok and she's the queen. So like throwing me into the trenches and burying me in a landslide is totally in the realm of possibilities of punishment for breaking the rules and hanging out with humans. And now she's gonna be proven right. And it's going to be bad. Really bad. So please hide me mullet man."

"The queen?" Kolivan, thace, and antok all said at the same time.

Shiro stairs down on his prized pearl with wide eyes. For a moment before he spoke. "You're the prince of the mers?" He asked.

Lance pouted and shrunk up into his legs. "Don't call me that. I'm a prince" he finger quoted not looking at anyone. "But I don't want to be. Besides I'm the youngest. I'm not needed to be a prince. Two brothers and two sisters to take care of that job. I'm good as just lancey Lance. Healer estrodanear."

"My apologies Lance." The king said to the mer looking to his best man thace. "Send for ulaz. I wish for him to bring a letter to the mers from me. Lance what is your mother's name and title so it's addressed properly."

"Queen allura of altea." Lance answered. He took shiro's offered hands and allowed the king to get him back on his feet. The king assisting him to his chair.

"Yes queen allura of altea."shiro repeated. "Invite her to the palace for an introduction and meeting between our courts. Maybe she'd be open to fostering relations between our nation's. Specially be sure to inform her, her son is alive and well cared for."

"I don't see that going smoothly when you kidnapped her son." Keith said disbelievingly.

"Well just have to see then won't we?" Shiro said with a sardonic grin. He started to wheel Lance back into the castle. "Send the soldiers into the city to clear people from their path. But do not engage in skirmishes if it can be avoided."

“You are going to hide me first right?” lance asked turning in the seat trying to get a better view of the humans. He both hated and loved the chair. The chair meant he could get around the palace on his own without being exhausted, but it also left him below the humans talking, and at their whims when they moved him. He wasn’t able to face any of them easily to talk or see their faces. He hardly walked on land with hunk. But when he did hunk always walked with him at his pace with plenty of patience. These humans were always in hurry.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?” keith said slowing down his brother and getting in front of lance to speak to him and see his face. “You’re serious? You’d rather stay here with us than go back with your mom?” he glanced up to meet shiro’s eyes. Raising a brow. Well that might be some kind of leverage.

“No, i don’t want to stay here. But i don’t want to go with mom. I will never get back to surface again. Like forever. I want to go back to hunks. You guys are just like mildly less suffocating and controlling than my mom is going to be since you proved she was ‘right’” he air quoted. “About how humans really are. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Shiro kept a straight face as his brothers eyebrow began to twitch and the side of his mouth lifted into a snarl. “Seriously. You’d pick a shanty town over all this? Shiro gives you everything you ask for practically. And you’re telling me all those escape attempts was just to go back to the same human village you were collected from?”

Lance crossed his arms over his chest and snubbed the prince. “I’m not some shiny rock to be collected. And hunk is way better at cooking than anyone here.” he pouted. “And hunk and his family didn’t ever make me go anywhere or keep me trapped. I could come and go as i pleased. And i did. And all i wanted was more stories. And his family tells way better stories than your boring and mean teacher lady. Mrs. sanda. Should be mrs. sandy bottom.”

Iverson cleared his throat at that from behind the king. Who needed to intervene before keith ruptured a blood vessel.

“Lance we’ve been over this. You are safer here at the castle. Anyone could have taken you from the garrets had anyone else learned of your secrete. Including many who would be far more cruel in just taking your gifts.” he rubbed a hand down lance’s shoulder and arm. Bring the mers attention to him. He was squirming in his chair a bit.

“Yeah but you are the one who took me.” lance pouted. He was fidgeting more.

“I couldn’t just leave a shining pearl like you in the sand and flotsam.” the king said again. “Are you getting dry?”

“No.” the mer pouted. “I want my tail. And i don’t want this.” lance started pulling on the dress he was wearing as the procession continued into the palace. Keith grabbing his hands before he hiked it up to high.

“You want to hide in the bottom of your tank.” keith huffed. “Keep your clothes on till you’re in your room.”

“You can’t prove it.” lance countered. A servant came forward with a pitcher of salt water. Standing back. Shiro and keith stepped back to allow the servant without further prompting to pour it over the mer to soak in his clothing. His fidgeting reducing quickly with it.

“Keith just take our ‘royal’” shiro put emphasis on the word. Ignoring the hmph directed at him. “Guest to his room. And see to it he has ample guards posted in and out of his room.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll babysit the troublemaker.” keith took the handles on the chair and began pushing lance ahead of him. A few of the guards following.

“You are the one who took me. Not the other way around. So who’s really the trouble maker here?” shiro smiled to himself as the two exited down a hall. He continued on with his escort to make plans to deal with the mer army at his door. He had no plans to let his pearl slip back into the waves.

[sassycassieshipsimaginesprefs]

Mermaid/Man/Person AU Ideas

Some are romantic, some are platonic, some could be both!

-“I’m a relatively new employee at the local supermarket when I hear that there is a cleanup on aisle 14, one of the refrigerated sections. I plod on over with a mop and a plucky attitude and---OH MY WORD THERE IS A SOPPING WET MERMAID/MAN/PERSON ON THE FLOOR WHAT DO I DO THIS WASN’T COVERED IN TRAINING OR MY JOB DESCRIPTION! Turns out, you’ve been human-passing for years but some idiot spilled their water bottle on you” AU

-“You’re half-mermaid and going to college, living in the dorms on campus. You’ve been singing Mamma Mia in the shower quietly and showering at 3AM so you won’t enchant anyone with your voice and you only shower at a normal time when you don’t feel like singing. One night I get off work late and shower at 3AM too in the other set of shower but hear you anyway. I think I’m technically immune to your mermaid magic powers but frick I’m not immune to the fact that you have the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard. Who are you?!” AU

-“We’re both in marine biology class because we want to clean the ocean pollution and I’m the only one who is more passionate than you and you can’t figure out why I act like ocean pollution is personal ‘til you’re scuba diving and come across me underwater and see my tail. I scream and swim away and refuse to talk to you in class” AU

-“What do you mean I can’t audition for [insert _______’s Got Talent/other show/some musical] because I’m half-mermaid? I can’t enchant people---oh shoot well now I’ve tried to prove that and proved the exact opposite and you’re declaring undying love for me. Please stop you don’t really mean what you’re saying how do I undo this hELP” AU

-“I automatically transform into a mermaid during the full moon, equinoxes, eclipses, and solstices. My significant other doesn’t know and invites me to a pool party on the summer solstice. The sun goes down WAY late and I transform, falling into the pool and that’s how my S/O finds out. Please don’t be mad?” AU

-“My S/O just broke up with me because they found out I’m a mer and thought I’d been enchanting them to be in love with me (I wasn’t). You find me and comfort me and I tell you everything and yeah I’d like to join you for dinner to cheer me up. Thank you so much!” AU

-“I unintentionally enchanted this entire karaoke bar with my voice because of my mermaid genetics and you just came in to see every single person staring mooney-eyed at me and help me get away before anything happens” AU

-“You’re asexual and/or aromantic and believe that you’re immune to mermaids’ and sirens’ songs so you’re plodding around your ship while the rest of the crew has earplugs to block us out but we, the mermaids and sirens, sing about whatever it is you want most and it adapts magically. I am really confused as you jump off the side of the ship because why in Poseidon’s name are we singing about pizza?! Oh wait hey you’re cute like a baby fish I don’t want to drown you” AU

-“You’re the lead singer in a band called Shrieking Sirens (or something) and have a mermaid aesthetic going on. I’m a big fan of your music but one night when I’m drunk/sleep deprived I manage to email you/your manager/your publicist an angry, typo-ridden email about how sirens are bird-ladies not mermaids. You email me back with a ‘We know :)’ and when I’m sober/well-rested I’m really embarrassed but you thought it was hilarious. We started emailing and I find out that you’re all mermaids passing as humans and trying to slightly steer it away from being suspicious with the siren name” AU

-“As if our romance wasn’t forbidden enough because I’m a mermaid and you’re human, you’re actually a dragon disguised as a human because dragons were sick of being persecuted by humans and oh CRAP if my pod ever found out I’d be kicked out for sure” AU

-“What do you mean the dragons aren’t staying in hiding anymore?! They’re going to expose US too!” AU

-“I’m out for a late-night swim in the ocean because I’m hardcore (read: reckless) like that and you’re a mermaid with the fluke of your tail caught in a crab trap and I found you underwater and got your fin out of the trap but it was bleeding and torn and made it hard to swim so I took you home and fixed you up and now you’re recovering in my bathtub?” AU

-“You’re a marine veterinarian and I’m gravely injured after I got attacked by a pod of aggressive orcas/other marine life but you’re out on a rowboat and I’m floating near the surface and you see the blood in the water and manage to pull me into the boat and get me to shore before the sharks come after the blood and you rehabilitate me at your facility in secret because, hey, mermaids aren’t supposed to exist but thank you” AU

-“I got trapped in a rather deep tide pool when the tide went out. Hey you! Yeah you! Strong-looking human! You mind picking me up and hauling me into the ocean? Please? I will reward you with a pearl or something!” AU

-“I grew up in a landlocked area but me and my family just moved to a town on the ocean and I got to swim in the sea for the first time and AAAAAHHHHH! WHAT THE HECK?! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY LEGS? WHY DO I HAVE A TAIL?! And you, a native mer, heard me screaming underwater in the language mers use to communicate and came to see if I was okay and I freak out even worse and you use your singing magic to lull me to sleep and I wake up in an abandoned cove and you’re lounging on the sand next to me and I’m still freaking out but my legs are back and you ask me lots of questions and Look Buddy, I got nothin’.” AU

-“I’m a curious mer hiding under a dock and watching a group of human friends goofing around through the wood and one of your friends pushes you off the end of the dock and into the water and Oh NO! it looks like you can’t swim very well! I should help! But it’s forbidden...” AU

-“You found yourself in an enchanted forest, somehow, and when you make it to a lake, you find me perched on a rock, my tail dangling into the magic lake, talking pleasantly to a unicorn and now you’re positive you’re dreaming and I dunno what to tell ya, mate” AU

-“I’ve been human-passing for years until yoU SPILLED YOUR WATER BOTTLE ALL OVER ME! WHAT THE HECK?!” AU

-“Okay, listen human, the ocean is terrifying and full of creepy/scary stuff. Don’t EVEN judge me for deciding to live on land!” AU

-“I was adopted by human parents when they found me in the sea foam with a little tail that hadn’t even taken on a color yet but turned to legs when I was dry. Turned out they also adopted other abandoned supernatural creatures so I have a werewolf sibling, a vampire sibling, a changeling sibling and their human ‘twin’ and... let’s just say when I brought you home to meet my family you were... very confused to say the least” AU

-“Oh shoot my roommate’s Significant Other is a mer who was singing a love song for my roommate and I fell in love why are mers like this?” AU

-“There was a storm while I was out on a boat and I got knocked overboard and I woke up to you swimming me back to shore and your tail brushes my legs and wHAT THE HECK?! WHY ARE YOUR LEGS SO SLIMY?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T HAVE LEGS?” AU

-“A kiss from a mermaid can keep a person from drowning. But apparently the kiss does that by traNSFORMING WHOEVER WAS KISSED INTO A MER IN THE WATER! And apparently I kissed a mer recently because whAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING TO ME?! WHO WAS IT THAT I KISSED?” AU

-“I promise my tail looks heavy on land but it’s really graceful and strong underwater. Stop complaining it doesn’t actually weigh two-tons” AU

-“Sometimes humans lose their glasses in the water and they always end up in the mer community and I can’t see underwater for the life of me because everything is blurry and one day my friend, who is also something of my seeing-eye friend, finds some in the sand and puts them on me and OH MY GOODNESS SAND HAS INDIVIDUAL GRAINS?! I have visible scales?! I CAN SEE!?” AU

-“I MAY BE THE MOST PETITE MERMAID YOU’VE EVER SEEN BUT I WILL STILL SINK YOUR WHOLE SHIP, JERK!” AU

-“You have wings and I have a tail. We met by accident/chance and we’re deeply in love but there’s no way we can be together. I’m aquatic and you’re avian. Land is the literal middle ground of us to meet but it’s hard for me to be out of the water and you can’t swim without your wings dragging you down” AU

-“I run a cute cafe/coffee shop/bakery right by the beach. I see mermaids in the water all the time, but no one else ever seems to notice?” AU

-“The local children’s hospital buses the kids who are well enough to the beach every so often where I get there first and pretend to be a mermaid to entertain them---I sing and tell stories. One day you wash up on the shore next to me after they leave but you’re real what the heck?!” AU

-“I’m a single parent and my mermaid-obsessed child(ren) swear up and down they saw a mermaid in the water and I pretend to be interested but my kid(s) can sense I don’t believe them so they rush in to prove it to me and get caught in a riptide before I can get to them. You appear out of nowhere and save them but vanish before I can thank you. Who were you? I spend the next week(s) visiting the beach as often as I can to see if I can find you again. One night I swim out a ways and there you are---now what do I do?” AU

-“I’m dating a mer and somehow we ended up married by mermaid culture customs but not human and... what do???” AU

-“A hurricane scooped you up out of the ocean and flung you inland and thank the heavens you landed in my swimming pool but I didn’t know mermaids existed and screamed” AU

-“Me and my mermaid choir squad are out on some rocks/tiny abandoned island singing for choir practice and you’re sailing nearby with a buddy and hear us. But when we sing and a person ‘falls in love’ they try to impress us so you’ve joined in with our song singing baritone and we drop the magic of the song completely. Get over here we haven’t had a baritone sing with us in ages no we’re not going to drown you just get over here!” AU

[decidedlysarah]

Mer Questions

This part will be rambling, sorry!  Mers have pointed ears (like Alteans) that can very in length.  They can breathe air or water and they have claws and sharp teeth (like seals, not jagged like sharks).  Their tails are on the long side.  It makes them about twice as long as they would be if they were human.  Hands are not webbed.  

Variety of tail types!  They are all long and sinuous/flexible but not to the degree of prehensile.  They get more flexible the further they get away from the body.  The fins are long and tapered (I’ve included a shitty sketch for your viewing pleasure above--thank you, Paint and also free image search).  When a mer is relaxed or asleep or just floating, the fins are soft like a betta fish’s.  More blood gets pumped into them as a mer swims, making them stiffer so they can move faster.

What type of fish do they look like?  A variety!  More for coloring than fin variety, but there is still some.  A few have extra fins along the tail, but it is rare and they are smaller.  Their human half is more “normal” in coloring.  Hair and eye color has a lot more variety than humans, though.

Are there mer!sharks?  …..maybe, lmao.  I kind of like the concept because let’s face it—mer!sharks are badass.  Two reasons I don’t really like it: shark skin is rough and not conducive to cuddling or sex  and, more importantly, the tails are wrong!!!  I have mers (in my mind) set up as having fins on the side (like a whale) not up and down (like a shark).  So…maybe??  

And mer!squids? Also maybe.  I like the idea of consentacles (what do you mean I base all my decisions on the sexual implications??), but for the pure aesthetic of it, I don’t like a mer ending without a tail.  So…… *maybe*.

And mer!Puffer fish? Lmao!!!!!!  Too good a question.  I’m going have to go with no, in part because of the bad sex/no cuddles, but mostly because my mers are streamlined and puffer fish are (adorable) little boxes.

Genitals—hidden via slit when unaroused, like whales.  Tits Out™ for the ladies. On the off chance you want to draw my mers, feel free to give shell bras.  They are cute.  ^3^

Mers eat fish.  They really don’t do much by way of “cooking”.  But, they will combine different fish or add in seaweeds or mollusks or what have you.  They don’t go searching for special ingredients or spices—everything is salty underwater lol.  Mers don’t eat mammals or birds unless they are wanting pelts or tusks or what have you (they don’t waste meat).  

Mers use weapons! Spears and knives!  Mostly for hunting.  For self-defense they use claws or their tails.  Their tails are very strong and whip-like, so most creatures would get knocked out with a hit.  The only creatures that really give them trouble are  larger sharks or some of the more aggressive seals (leopard seals will kick your ass to the moon—lovely creatures but omg so dangerous).  Killer whales can also be a problem, but generally only if they are competing for food.  Mers are immune to most poisons, so jellyfish and urchins aren’t a problem.

Mers get along very well with dolphins and the friendlier types of seals and definitely sea otters because omg they are SO cute.  Mers live near shorelines (will go to deep water but don’t live there as a rule) and if they live near an island where there aren’t any humans, they will sometimes sun themselves on the beaches/rocks and snuggle with any friendly seals.  They don’t go to the surface that often, though, and almost never hang out anywhere even near humans. They consider humans to be mostly harmless but potentially deadly and keep their distance.

(Keith is a stupid fish.  Pidge is very curious about humans, but she doesn’t hang out under docks like Keith the Stupid.)

Very important but entirely unnecessary sea otter facts:  The babies can’t drown—they are too fluffy to sink!!  Otters sleep holding hands so they don’t drift away from each other.  And they keep favorite rocks/shiny toys in their arm pouches because they are God’s most perfect creatures.  Also, they are dying in droves and they are essential to the ecosystem—if they aren’t there to eat sea urchins, the urchins will eat all the kelp.  Everything in a kelp forest needs kelp for food or protection or something else.  Sea otters dying = no more sea life in that area.  Well, some crabs and stuff.  But NOT a real ecosystem.  ;^;  They are so cute and important omg.

Mers aren’t exactly solitary, but they do spend a lot of time alone.  There won’t be more than three or four families in a given area and even then individuals will find their own caves/hidey-holes.  

Mers see very well in low-to-no light and do alright above water, but on very sunny days the glare can be too much for them.  They can handle extreme temperatures so they live in the tropics all the way up to the arctic comfortably.  They have very good hearing but do not use echolocation.  The skin on their finger tips very sensitive to vibrations, so they will do some seafloor hunting by placing their hands on the sand and “seeing” that way (makes for an easy time finding treasure in sunken ships!).

Homosexuality in my AU

There isn’t *too* much homophobia.  It’s mostly a live-and-let-live thing, but there is some of it for royalty/gentility because of issues of succession. It’s sort of like polygamy, but if a lord or ruler has a same sex partner, they are supposed to still produce an heir with someone else.  Both the lover and the heir producer hold titles/honor/influence.  This dual partner thing also applies if the lord or ruler is infertile (they’re allowed to try with a concubine).  So, a nicer approach to the importance of bloodlines, basically.  In Shiro’s case, he has a younger brother (Ryou) who would be next in line, so as long as Ryou has kids, Shiro wouldn’t be required to have a lady.  Also, Ryou is unofficially the crown prince at the moment since no one (Shiro included) expects Shiro to be well enough to become a proper ruler.  I felt This Shit was important to include because it bothers the crap out of me when fantasy stories don’t care about the political difficulties of succession.  Yes, I am That Person.

Families:

Shiro has three siblings (listed by age): Yumi (sister), Ryou (brother), Yuki (sister).  I haven’t decided on the ages, but they are about 23, 19, and 14.  Shiro is 27.  He’s closest to Yumi but he gets along well with Ryou and Yuki.  He doesn’t know Yuki very well.  

Lance has a  ton of siblings and family members (as in canon).  His father is the valet of Shiro’s father, so that’s how he got the job.  He and Shiro have known each other since childhood.

Keith is an only child.  He has mother, Krolia, and several uncles (Kolivan, Ulaz, Thace) which is unusual as merfolk don’t usually have a lot of children.  Fertile grandmother!  His father was an only child and has passed away.   Is this a plot point that I spy!?!?!?!??!  Maybe.  I have like 6 different endings to sort through still omg.

Pidge is like in the show.  Matt, Sam, and Colleen.  Kickasses, one and all.

[popdroid]

POPDROID REWIND: FAVORITE SINGLES (Best of 2017 So Far...)

click song titles for videoclip...

001 TOPS: Petals 002 Polo & Pan: Coeur croisé 003 The War on Drugs: Thinking of a Place 004 Jain: Makeba 005 Cigarettes Afer Sex: Apocalypse 006 Paradis: Toi et moi 007 Juniore: Panique 008 Lana Del Rey: Love 009 Juliette Armanet: L'amour en solitaire 010 Haim: Want You Back

011 Blanche: City Lights 012 Calypso Valois: Le jour 013 Pumarosa: Dragonfly 014 Fishbach: Un autre que moi 015 Lorde: Green Light 016 Alexia Gredy: Paradis 017 The Lemon Twigs: I Wanna Prove to You 018 Tennis: Modern Woman 019 Blondino: Jamais sans la nuit 020 Noga Erez: Off the Radar

021 Clara Luciani: Comme toi 022 Eugénie: Puis danse 023 Témé Tan: Ça va pas la tête? 024 Fazerdaze: Take It Slow 025 Aldous Harding: Imagining My Man 026 Michael Kiwanuka: Cold Little Heart 027 Peter Peter: Bien réel 028 Ibibio Sound Machine: Give Me a Reason 029 Chromatics: Shadow 030 Frànçois & the Atlas Mountains: Tendre est l'âme

031 Amy Shark: Weekends 032 STUFF.: Galapagos 033 Fleet Foxes: Fool's Errand 034 Arcade Fire: Everyting Now 035 La Féline: Senga 036 Father John Misty: Pure Comedy 037 Laura Marling: Next Time 038 London Grammar: Oh Woman, Oh Man 039 Marika Hackman: My Lover Cindy 040 Hazel English: More Like You

041 Desperate Journalist: Hollow 042 Grimes feat. Janelle Monáe: Venus Fly 043 Calypso Valois: Vis à vie 044 Bedouine: One of These Days 045 Aimee Mann: Goose Snow Cone 046 Bazart: Lux 047 Témé Tan: Sè Zwa Zo 048 NAO: In the Morning 049 Soulwax: Missing Wires 050 Lindsey Buckingham / Christine McVie: In My World

051 Julien Doré: Sublime & Silence 052 Jane Weaver: Did You See Butterflies? 053 Steven Wilson feat. Sophie Hunger: Song of I 054 Kevin Morby: City Music 055 Childish Gambino: Redbone 056 Marie Flore: Passade digitale 057 Amber Coffman: No Coffee 058 Juniore: Difficile 059 Julie Byrne: Natural Blue 060 Steven Wilson feat. Ninet Tayeb: Pariah

061 Paradisia: Dancing in the Dark 062 Marble Sounds: Ten Seconds to Count Down 063 The Weeknd: Secrets 064 Fleet Foxes: If You Need, Keep Time on Me 065 Gorillaz: Andromeda 066 City of the Sun: Sugar 067 Moonchild: Cure 068 Queens of the Stone Age: The Way You Used to Do 069 Dope Lemon: Home Soon 070 Holybrune: Nuit noire

071 Pond: Paint Me Silver 072 Phoenix: Goodbye Soleil 073 Wilsen: Centipede 074 Fishbach: Y crois-tu 075 Juliette Armanet: Alexandre 076 Austra: I Love You More Than You Love Yourself 077 Declan McKenna: Brazil 078 Millionaire: I'm Not Who You Think You Are 079 Pumarosa: Lion's Den 080 WWWater: WWWater

081 Grand Blanc: Bosphore 082 The Jungle Giants: Feel the Way I Do 083 Lo Moon: Loveless 084 The War on Drugs: Holding On 085 Rolling Blackouts Coast Fever: French Press 086 School Is Cool: Trophy Wall 087 Peter Peter: Loving Game 088 Spoon: Hot Thoughts 089 Thievery Corporation feat. Racquel Jones: Letter to the Editor 090 Elastic Bond: Honey Bun

091 Black Mirrors: Funky Queen 092 Becca Stevens feat. Laura Mvula: Well Loved 093 Dan Auerbach: Shine on Me 094 Vince Staples: Big Fish 095 Feu! Chatterton: Porte Z 096 Feist: Pleasure 097 Real Estate: Darling 098 Fleet Foxes: Third of May / Odaigahara 099 Timber Timbre: Grifting 100 Amatorski: Welcome

101 Sylvan Esso: Radio 102 Le Manou: L'homme 103 Dans Dans: Rumour 104 Tsar B: Golddigger 105 My Baby: Love Dance 106 London Grammar: Big Picture 107 VUURWERK feat. Khazali: Face It 108 Novella: Change of State 109 HMLTD: To the Door 110 Mathilde Fernandez: Mon Dieu

111 Rive: Nuit 112 Urban Cone: Old School 113 The Mysterons: Sold My Medicine 114 Thurston Moore: Aphrodite 115 Bleached: Flipside 116 Gretta Ray: Drive 117 Bonobo feat. Nick Murphy: No Reason 118 Amber Arcades: Can't Say That We Tried 119 Beach House: Chariot 120 Paramore: Hard Times

121 Intergalactic Lovers: Between the Lines 122 The Japanese House: Saw You in a Dream 123 Andrew Combs: Blood Hunters 124 Anna of the North: Oslo 125 The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk: I Feel It Coming 126 Grandaddy: Evermore 127 Cosmo Pyke: Chronic Sunshine 128 Slowdive: Sugar for the Pill 129 The Aces: Physical 130 Now, Now: SGL

131 Soldout: Forever 132 BRNS: Pious Platitudes 133 Arca: Desafío 134 Kendrick Lemar: DNA. 135 Dua Lipa feat. Miguel: Lost in Your Light 136 The xx: On Hold 137 Radiohead: Promise 138 Anteros: Cherry Drop 139 Honeyblood: Walking at Midnight 140 Ella Vos: White Noise

141 Mr Little Jeans: Stitches 142 Marlene: Next to Me 143 Rae Morris: Reborn 144 Mogwai: Coolverine 145 Marika Hackman: Boyfriend 146 Goldfrapp: Anymore 147 Susanne Sundfør: Undercover 148 Briana Marela: Quit 149 Inheaven: Treats 150 Ibeyi: Walk Away

151 Lana Del Rey feat. The Weekend: Lust for Life 152 Mellow Diamond: Ashes to Breathe 153 Laure Briard: Les pins des Landes 154 Lorde: Perfect Places 155 Benjamin Clementine: Phantom of Aleppoville 156 Ruelle: The Other Side 157 Maya Payne: Self Defined 158 Lorde: Sober 159 The Regrettes: Seashore 160 Pale Waves: There's a Honey

161 Sir Sly: High 162 Girls in Hawaii: This Light 163 DíSA: Reflections 164 Oscar and the Wolf: Breathing 165 L'impératrice: Sultans des îles 166 Camila Cabello: Crying in the Club 167 Courtney Barnett: How to Boil an Egg 168 Sharon Van Etten: Not Myself 169 Lana Del Rey: Coachella - Woodstock in My Mind 170 Cloves: California Numb

171 Sale Gosse: Boys 172 Trentemøller feat. Jennylee: Hands Down 173 Ionnalee: Not Human 174 Angus & Julia Stone: Snow 175 Trouble: Snake Eyes 176 liv: Heaven 177 Blondino: Bleu 178 The Courtneys: Silver Velvet 179 Maggie Rogers: On + Off 180 Paramore: Told You So

181 Dan Auerbach: King of a One Horse Town 182 Tennis: In the Morning I'll Be Better 183 Arcade Fire: Creature Comfort 184 First Aid Kit: You Are the Problem Here 185 Iron & Wine: Call It Dreaming 186 LCD Soundsystem: American Dream 187 Father John Misty: Ballad of the Dying Man 188 Allison Pierce: Evidence 189 Rive: Vogue 190 Liv Dawson: Searching

191 Cat Pierce: Weapon of War 192 Liam Gallagher: Wall of Glass 193 Wild Beasts: Alpha Female 194 David Bowie: No Plan 195 Big Thief: Shark Smile 196 Toro y Moi: You and I 197 Sparks: What the Hell Is It This Time 198 OMD: Isotype 199 Halo Maud: Du pouvoir 200 Corine: Pluie fine (Polo & Pan Remix)

201 Foxygen: On Lankershim 202 Metronomy feat. Robyn: Hang Me Out to Dry 203 Blood Orange: Better Than Me 204 Melanie De Biasio: Gold Junkies 205 Sigrid: Don't Kill My Vibe 206 Aldous Harding: Blend 207 Lucy Rose feat. The Staves: Floral Dresses 208 Fyfe feat. Kimbra: Belong 209 Hazel English: Love Is Dead 210 Bedouine: Solitary Daughter

211 Pixx: Waterslides 212 Kevin Morby: Come to Me Now 213 Vendredi sur Mer: La femme à la peau bleue 214 The Preatures: Girlhood 215 Declan McKenna: Humongous 216 Depeche Mode: Where's the Revolution 217 Luminize: Twilight 218 Grizzly Bear: Mourning Sound 219 Valerie June: Shakedown 220 Kate Tempest: Europe Is Lost

221 Beach Fossils: This Year 222 Few Bits: It Will Set You Free 223 Soul'art: Django 224 TaxiWars: Fever 225 Julien Doré: Coco Câline 226 Fishbach: À ta merci 227 SOHN: Hard Liquor 228 Yelle: Ici & maintenant 229 John Mayer: Still Feel Like Your Man 230 LCD Soundsytem: Call the Police

231 Cigarettes After Sex: Each Time You Fall in Love 232 Brutus: Drive 233 Thundercat feat. Michael McDonald & Kenny Loggins: Show You the Way 234 Day Wave: Promises 235 A/T/O/S: Blackout 236 Baloji: Spoiler 237 Julie Byrne: Sleepwalker 238 Oddisee feat. Toine: NNGE 239 La Féline: Séparés (Si nous étions jamais) 240 Loyle Carner: The Isle of Arran

241 Regina Spektor: Black and White 242 Agnes Obel: It's Happening Again 243 Tei Shi: How Far 244 Yelle: Interpassion 245 Skott: Glitter & Gloss 246 Woods: Hit That Drum 247 Superpoze: Azur 248 Real Estate: Stained Glass 249 Lenachka: Private Eyes 250 Grizzly Bear: Four Cypresses

251 Temples: Strange or Be Forgotten 252 Grizzly Bear: Three Rings 253 Methyl Ethel: Ubu 254 Shaefri: Monster 255 Nite Jewel: 2 Good 2 Be True 256 Clare Louise: La vase 257 Fufanu: Liability 258 The Big Moon: Sucker 259 Saint Etienne: Magpie Eyes 260 The Sherlocks: Chasing Shadows

261 Earl: Baddabing Baddaboom 262 Warhola: Jewels 263 Sink Ya Teeth: If You See Me 264 Joe Goddard: Home 265 Cathedrals: Don't Act Like a Stranger 266 Is Bliss: Into a Dream 267 From Indian Lakes: Sunlight 268 NxWorries: Scared Money 269 The Kooks: Be Who You Are 270 Snail Mail: Thinning

271 Ride: Charm Assault 272 Maud Geffray: Polaar 273 Matt Watts: Joanne 274 Phoenix: J-Boy 275 Vérité: When You're Gone 276 AlunaGeorge: Not Above Love 277 Haim: Right Now 278 Arcade Fire: I Give You Power 279 Wolf Alice: Yuk Foo 280 Bleu Toucan: Matin à Toucanopolis

281 Dua Lipa: Thinking 'Bout You 282 Los Angeles Police Department: Grown 283 Ionnalee: Samaritan 284 Puma Blue: Want Me 285 Sylvan Esso: Die Young 286 Cléa Vincent: Samba 287 Laure Briard: On dit que je ne suis pas sage 288 Crooked Colours: Flow 289 Thurston Moore: Smoke of Dreams 290 Bernache: Your Name

291 Sweet Spirit: The Power 292 Paradisia: Warpaint 293 Tim Dup: Moïra Gynt 294 Kelly Lee Owens: Throwing Lines 295 The Killers: The Man 296 Little Dragon: High 297 Kina Grannis: When Will I Learn 298 Archive: Splinters 299 Circa Waves: Love's Run Out 300 Las Aves: Antistar