#elumax mermaid au

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

Okay Jonathan-Max friendship is gonna be so so There and a Thing in the AU-------------

[angelbymadonna]

Everything was so surreal yet so ordinary.

A mermaid girl with a yellow-gold tail and an honest to god clamshell bra clutched a large conch in her hands, miming finger motions on it while studying a scroll. A ginger mergirl with a slinky lime tail and red fins and blue shell dangly earrings brought her a lunch tray of kelp salad. Some other merdude was sewing eclectic patches on a vest that Max really hoped he didn't poach off some ill-fated sailor. Merpeople from ages seven to twenty milled about, crowding the atrium and pushing eachother arund in an ever-changing blur of jewels, shells, and scales.

Aside from the fact that mermaids didn't exist in Max's mind until a week ago, the same scene could've existed in Brightport High.

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

And when I make Stonathan canon in my mermaid au?

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

Okay but VSCO girl El

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

Gonna see if I can unearth my Emily Windsnap books so I can study up for the AU✨️

And if you happen to know that I've got to be up early tomorrow, no tf you don't.

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

Okay I will be making my Robin mermaid tomorrow.. unlike the others I do not have a design idea yet, so if you have a favorite thing about her you want me to incorporate it a pretty detail I should add, leave it in the replies! That means fit details, color schemes, an object associated with her, whatever.

I tried to match the other ones to their canon personality, giving Max blue because she's a "blue" character and using one of Erica's color schemes. I'm sure I will think of something, but I would also like to talk :)

Goodnight😌

[angelbymadonna]

Okay here is a corrected version of mermaid Lucas bc his skin looked so washed out on the other photo--

I color corrected the left photo, but for the right photo I used a warmer tone marker to fix it bc the coverage was pretty patchy to begin with.

Wait a sec so I can paste in the ID and links <2

Erica elmax

Details✨️

[angelbymadonna]

ERICA!

Okay I know I said I was gonna do a Big Kid- but the results from that poll aren't in yet and I was gonna do Erica too anyways since I did Lucas so I already knew she was a mermaid in the AU.

Stranger Things Three primary color scheme my beloved~~

I also copied her hairstyle from ST3- I guess I chose the most iconic one in her case.

I gave her a beaded necklace to match Lucas', since they're both *from* the merm town and probably dress however is normal there, which I say means pretty jewelry because I can! But otherwise, I didn't make her too jewel-heavy since she's eleven and because she's already got alot happening visually with the sleeves. That combined with the tail gradient is also why she doesn't have side fins like El and Max. I think she kinda matches Lucas that way though. Plus I made her facial fin's bigger to compensate. I tried to give the effect that the bottom part of her tail was turned backwards, like she was just having spinned around, but I hope it comes across that way. I did screw up the library for her hands but lemme tell you the sketch-

Link to elmax

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

Mermax getting wanting to get tail piercings but knowing she'll have to take them off every time she surfaces and she can't do that because they're a bitch to heal

[angelbymadonna]

Little details✨️ Lucas edition

The blue gradient on his armband, bi beads, and multicolor scales

The facial fin's edge where it's attached to the skin goes around his cheekbone, he glows blue, shoulder fin. Reflective eyes via shiny gel pen.

I didn't want to put too much detail in the face and eyes bc of the size, so this was what I did instead, but you'll notice Max saying his eyes are alike to gold in the ficlet. Same for his hairstyle, if you saw the concept sketch you'll notice the greater variety of doodads. I used the expression based on Shona's personality in this case. If you don't know her, she's who this AU is based on.

I tried to copy the style I did for yesterday's art when U drew El and Max. Since I decided to do an elumax AU, here is the Lucas art!

Link to original, with ID

[angelbymadonna]

The skrunkly✨️

ID in alt.

Link to elmax

I fixed the coloring

[angelbymadonna]

Oh, she could not be serious.

She had to be fucking kidding.

Because there's no way in hell that El was really sitting on that stupid chair with the stupid parasol in a red crewneck sweatshirt and a one-piece swimsuit.

And there was no way even El's rebellious spirit went that far.

Max paid no mind to anyone else on the beach as she stomped down the sand to the lifeguard post.

"A minute, El?" She asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

El turned, presumably looking at Max through the dark sunglasses on her nose. She gestured to another lifeguard to take her place and hopped down, grabbing her flip-flops.

The other lifeguard, a sandy blonde in a matching one-piece, have Max a suspicious once-over, but Max couldn't care less what anyone thought at that moment. She grabbed El's arm and marched her up behind some cabin. El took off her shades, letting them hang on her neck by the elastic strap attached to the ends. She held Max's elbows and pulled her closer.

"Hi, Max." She was grinning, sounding smug, fixating on Max's lips rather than eyes. Did she have to make it so hard to be mad?

"What were you thinking!? A lifeguard? What happens when some ass needs saving and you have to jump in the water, huh?" Max said through her teeth.

Finally, El's eyes flitted to Max's, her hands slipping down to grasp her fingers. Her smile fell. "You're mad at me?" She asked.

But honestly, Max couldn't be. She was too afraid that El would end up having to choose between exposing their world and letting someone drown. And hurt that El didn't consult her. "Just.. answer the question, El."

"I do not think that will happen. I just wanted to work, like we were talking about."

"It's too dangerous! Work somewhere else."

"Okay. But I like it out here. With the water."

Max's resolve was crumbling by the second, what with El's earnest words and her pink-painted thumb tracing Max's hip above her trunks.

"Ugh, fine. Stay."

She was *definitely* going to have to save El from some type of situation. Either that or El had to learn some goddamn subtlety. This girl had practically introduced herself to Will as "Max's mermaid girlfriend" and that was not the last of her incidents.

A smile crept into El's face. She moved her arms to drape on Max's shoulders and leaned in for a kiss.

[angelbymadonna]

Concept sketching Lucas for the mermaid au

I thought the top hairstyle was more mermaid-y but his regular hair might be too iconic✨️ I'm still concepting how to integrate his jewelry and seaweed accessories.

I may or may not just try writing out a description from Max/Emily's pov...

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

Lucas "what's that thing humans say? Totally tubular?" Silkfin jqjsjfjjdjwjwjjdhfndjfjjfjjfjfjqkid