#mer!soren

[honeii-puff]

England is only ever grey or green

Corvus and Callum talk. Again. Read on ao3

Corvus was able to locate the princes quickly. Callum had been looking for Rayla, and Ez was already with General Amaya and Gren. The three of them were able to usher them away from the commotion while other guards took control of the situation.

King Ezran paced back and forth in his quarters, where he, General Amaya, and Gren had brought him and Callum.

He’s only 16. He shouldn’t have to deal with all this.

“Who would do this?” Ezran turned on his heel, looking at the four of them. “Why?”

Corvus shook his head slightly, rubbing the side of his face. “I don’t know.”

“Erm,” Callum started. “I might know why.”

He, King Ezran, Amaya, and Gren looked at him, and Callum shrunk under their gaze.

“Well, I’ve done some… reading, and came across this ritual. It lets mers walk on land more days out of the year.” He winced slightly. “And it requires a human heart.”

“So one of the mers did this?” Gren translated for Amaya, but it seemed like he was curious, too.

“I think so.” Callum toyed with the cover of his sketchbook. 

Corvus glanced out the window of the room, overlooking the castle grounds. A large crowd of the Mers were flooding out of the castle, as small as ants from up here.

It could’ve been any of them.

Soren could be down there.

He had lost track of Soren due to all of the commotion.

I hope he’s alright.

“We need time to regroup,” Corvus said after a moment. “Have a council meeting, try to sort things out.”

Try to figure out who killed someone in the middle of a party.

“Among other things.” Gren glanced at the door to the room.

“We’ll gather the council tomorrow.” General Amaya signed it, and Gren translated it a moment later.

“Do we have time to wait?” King Ezran asked, glancing back at them. 

“Right now, we need to focus on getting everyone out of the castle safely and back to their homes.” Corvus looked at him. He felt a small crease form between his eyebrows looking at him.

He shouldn’t have to worry about this. He should be acting like a kid. Not being a king.

“We’ll take care of it in the morning.”

——————————————————————

“Are you alright, Pr- Callum?” Corvus sat on the stone balcony next to the prince, overlooking the empty castle grounds.

Callum drummed his pencil against the blank page of his notebook. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” he looked up at the sky. “I just hope Rayla’s okay. It’s not her, I was with her the whole time.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Not Soren either. He disappeared after it all happened, but I was with him before that.”

“The whole time, huh?” Callum elbowed him lightly, grinning at him.

Corvus rolled his eyes “Yeah, yeah. You were with Rayla the whole time, too.”

“Yeah, but we didn’t sneak off somewhere halfway through. Where’d you go?”

“Not far.” He shrugged. “One of the courtyards.”

Callum raised his eyebrows at him.

“We just talked.” Corvus insisted. 

Not to me. Not if it’s you.

He didn’t look convinced. “If you say so.”

“I do.” Corvus pulled out his notebook, flipping back to the page on mers.

-Midsea mers have more spikes

-Mer fins glow in the dark, and seem to be able to be controlled. Possible underwater communication?

“Midsea mers have tougher skin,” Callum commented, looking over his shoulder. “More predators where they are.”

Corvus nodded.

-Midsea mers have tougher skin due to more predators.

He looked back at Callum. “Do you know anything else about Lagoon mers?”

He grinned back at Corvus. “A bit. There are a few mer colonies that live outside the lagoons, but they’re more migratory due to water temperatures.”

“You think Soren moves around?” He raised an eyebrow at him. 

Callum shrugged. “Maybe. His gills are rounder than most lagoon mers, at least from the diagrams, so maybe that affects his ability to be in colder water?”

“I don’t think that’s how gills work, Callum.”

He shrugged. “I’m not an expert.”

“Could’ve fooled me. You’re practically a fountain of information at the moment.” Corvus jotted down the information regardless.

“I get bored.” Callum closed his sketchbook.

“And wanted to learn more about your girlfriend.”

“Like you want to learn more about your boyfriend?”

“Soren isn’t my boyfriend.” Corvus closed his notebook.

“And Rayla isn’t my girlfriend,” Callum said pointedly.

“Sure.”

[enbykelpie]

some recent-ish sketches that I thiiiiink are missing from my art blog?? ( @kelpiedraws ) that im just gonna upload here for now because I dont currently have the login for it

[victors-grave]

Tye Loe and all his parental figures in his life when he was a child.

I just wanted to draw Tye Loe as a kid being comforted to be honest.

Extra:

[kilfeur]

Claudia et la mentalité de la victime (Claudia and victim mentality)

Si il y a bien une chose que je trouve que la série met assez en avant c'est que Claudia se présente en tant que victime contre les dragons et les elfes. Et en cherchant de ce côté là, il y a des traits qui m'ont fait penser à Claudia ainsi que la mentalité de la victime.

Le premier qui vient à l'esprit est souvent qu'ils blâment leurs malheurs sur les autres. Pouvant même avoir un élitisme moral leur donnant un point de vue noir et blanc. Ce qu'on pu voir avec sa discussion avec Soren. Le fait qu'elle dit que l'humanité a souffert et que les elfes et les dragons n'ont pas levés le doigt à part Aaravos. Ou bien quand elle dit que la magie noire a sauvé son frère. Mais qui aussi n'hésite pas à se montrer cruel contre Ibis voir même sadique quand elle affronte un dragon. Et c'est justement parce que la raison, "elle fait ça pour sauver son père". Mais c'est souvent parce qu'on justifie de tels actes qu'on ferme les yeux sur des actes horribles.

Viren n'en a pas mené large car c'est aussi par son influence que Claudia ira plus loin et c'est ce que craint Viren dans son cauchemar. Soren a pu se détacher de Viren avant qu'il soit trop tard mais Claudia s'y accroche désespérément. Rien que le fait qu'elle ait ramené à la vie montrant ses cheveux devenir blancs suite aux effets de la magie noire. A tel point que ça la consume ! La mort de Viren va plus la mener dans le désespoir. Comme on peut le voir dans le teaser de la saison 6, où on voit son regard vide, elle a perdu son phare, n'entendant même pas les paroles de Terry.

L'un des autres traits est aussi le manque d'empathie, lorsqu'elle provoque Rayla en montrant sa famille coincé dans les pièces mais qu'elle la piège pour sauver Terry. Et elle était prête à partir en laissant Rayla comme ça. Ou bien dans l'épisode où elle retrouve Callum, Ezran dans la mer des bannis. Ou elle joue la carte de l'empathie et ainsi les manipuler. En disant que si ça avait été Harrow, est ce qu'ils auraient pas été tenté ? Mais dés que le plan ne marche pas, elle menace de les tuer jusqu'à ce Rayla coupe sa jambe. Et que Callum annule son sort. Ce qui pourrait s'attribuer des intentions négatives à l'oppresseur où, elle voit plus Callum et les autres que comme des ennemis.

Dans ce cas qu'en est-il de ceux qui l'accompagnent ? Viren était à l'état végétatif ne pouvant pas faire grand chose. Et c'est justement ce qui inquiétait Claudia mais aussi la frustrait car elle voulait se dépêcher pour sauver son père. Elle n'a plus son phare ! Monsieur Bavetout, dans l'histoire courte, on a pu voir qu'elle essaie d'entrer en contact avec Aaravos. Et que l'un des seuls dialogues avec lui était 'L'être qui va émerger de ce cocon est celui qui te guidera vers celui qui a les réponses". "N'aie pas peur, tu es une mage noire puissante. Avec mon aide, il y a rien que tu puisses pas réparer pas même la mort". Ce qui n'aide pas spécialement !

Terry alors ? Il a été une influence positive mais le truc c'est que dans cette relation, c'est que leurs principes et les valeurs morales ne sont pas plus défiés ou bien changer. Terry a toujours cru qu'elle avait une raison pour agir ainsi et bien qu'il a pu l'arrêter quand elle a trompé Rayla en lui donnant les vraies pièces cette fois ci ou bien qu'il l'arrête pour qu'elle évite de tuer un dragon. Et ce sont que des petits moments mais ne changent pas pour autant la mentalité de Claudia pour autant. Et bien que Terry a tué Ibis et que ça l'a fait mal, il arrive à la conclusion, qu'il continuera à ressentir des choses. Quand Terry lui propose de se reposer, elle est sur la défensive ne comprenant pas ce besoin. Jusqu'à ce que Terry trouve la solution de créer un bateau, bateau qui a fait tomber Viren lors de la chute de la cascade.

C'est justement ça que je trouvais qui se diffère avec le Rayllum où justement leurs points de vues envers les humains et les elfes changent peu à peu, ce qui rendait leur couple solide. Quand Terry s'était présenté dans la saison 4, j'ai toujours eu cette impression que Claudia voulait remplacer ce vide qu'elle avait avec Terry et c'était agréable. Mais ça dure jamais longtemps. J'avais comparé Viren à un phare, Terry je le verrais comme un ancre qui a permit de garder Claudia. Mais cet ancre est rouillé va peu à peu se briser.

Et dans tout ça à qui ça profitera plus la détresse de Claudia ?Aaravos. Claudia est dans un état vulnérable. Et Aaravos l'utilisera pour justement avancer dans ses plans. La question est ce qu'il va faire exactement ? Va-t-il renforcer sa mentalité de victime en redirigeant sa rancoeur et sa colère sur des innocents ? Ou bien Claudia si elle a la possibilité de lui parler, lui crachera tout son ressenti en blâmant Aaravos pour la mort de son père mais dira que celle qui a perdu du temps à le sauver, c'était elle ?

If there's one thing I find the series emphasizes enough, it's that Claudia presents herself as a victim against dragons and elves. And when I looked into it, there were traits that reminded me of Claudia, as well as the victim mentality.

The first that comes to mind is often that they blame their misfortunes on others. They may even have a moral elitism that gives them a black-and-white point of view. We saw this in her discussion with Soren. The fact that she says humanity has suffered and that elves and dragons haven't lifted a finger except for Aaravos. Or when she says that dark magic saved her brother. But who also doesn't hesitate to be cruel to Ibis, or even sadistic when she confronts a dragon. And it's precisely because the reason, "she's doing it to save her father". But it's often because we justify such actions that we turn a blind eye to horrible ones.

Viren doesn't have it easy, because Claudia's influence will also take her further, which is what Viren fears in his nightmare. Soren was able to detach himself from Viren before it was too late, but Claudia clings to him desperately. Just the fact that she's brought him back to life shows her hair turning white from the effects of dark magic. So much so that it consumes her! Viren's death will drive her further into despair. As we can see in the season 6 teaser, where we see her blank stare, she's lost her beacon, not even hearing Terry's words.

One of the other traits is also the lack of empathy, when she provokes Rayla by showing her family stuck in the rooms but tricks her into saving Terry. And she was ready to go, leaving Rayla like that. Or in the episode where she finds Callum, Ezran in the Sea of Castouts. Or she plays the empathy card and manipulates them. By saying that if it had been Harrow, wouldn't they have been tempted? But as soon as the plan doesn't work, she threatens to kill them until Rayla cuts off her leg. And until Callum undoes her spell. Which could be attributing negative intentions to the oppressor, where she sees Callum and the others as more than enemies.

In that case, what about those accompanying him? Viren was in a vegetative state, unable to do much. And this was precisely what worried Claudia, but also frustrated her, as she wanted to hurry to save her father. She no longer has her beacon! Sir Sparklepuff, in the short story, we saw that she tries to make contact with Aaravos. And that one of the only dialogues with him was 'The being who will emerge from this cocoon is the one who will guide you to the one who has the answers'. "Don't be afraid, you're a powerful dark mage. With my help, there's nothing you can't fix not even death." Which isn't particularly helpful!

What about Terry? He's been a positive influence but the thing about this relationship is that their principles and moral values aren't more challenged or well changed. Terry has always believed that she had a reason for acting the way she did and while he may have stopped her when she cheated on Rayla by giving her the real coins this time or stopped her from killing a dragon. And these are only small moments, but they don't change Claudia's mentality for all that. And although Terry killed Ibis and it hurt, he comes to the conclusion that he will continue to feel things. When Terry offers her a rest, Claudia gets defensive, not understanding the need until Terry comes up with the solution of creating a boat, the boat that knocked Viren over when he fell off the waterfall.

That's exactly what I found different about Rayllum, where their views of humans and elves gradually change, making their relationship strong. When Terry showed up in season 4, I always had this impression that Claudia wanted to replace the void she had with Terry, and that was nice. But it never lasts long. I'd compared Viren to a beacon, Terry I'd see as an anchor that kept Claudia. But this rusty anchor will gradually break.

And who will benefit most from Claudia's distress? Aaravos. Claudia is in a vulnerable state. And Aaravos will use her to further his plans. The question is, what exactly will he do? Will he reinforce her victim mentality by redirecting her resentment and anger onto innocent people? Or will Claudia, if she gets the chance to talk to him, spit out all her resentment, blaming Aaravos for her father's death but saying that the one who wasted time saving him was her?

[every-character-ever-poll]

WEEK SEVEN LINEUP

Soooo. I've been gone a while. What was supposed to be Week Six became more like "Two Months" Six. My bad. I can't promise that random breaks won't happen, but I'll do my level best to not let them become longer than a week if they do (knock on wood - the last time I said "I'll try not to take anymore random breaks" i dipped for a month).

Anyways, here's a very delayed Week Seven! Thank you to everyone who stuck around while I vanished.

Darkiplier - Markiplier

The Puzzler - Generation Loss

The Extinguisher - Jerma's 2022 Holiday Awards Show Extravaganza

The Giant Rat - Rat Movie: Mystery of the Mayan Treasure

Candace Flynn - Phineas and Ferb

Venus aka Kanamori - Heaven's Design Team

Han Ying - Word of Honor

Michealangelo - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Carrie White - Carrie (all media)

Steve the Trooper - Chuggaconroy’s Pikmin videos

The Thunderhead - Arc of a Scythe

Haruki Nakayama - Given

A - Tomorrow Will Be Dying

Doris Frances Barbara - Blood & Syrup: A Vampire the Masquerade Podcast

Juliet Capulet - & Juliet

May - & Juliet

Castiel Supernatural - Supernatural

Derek Hale - Teen Wolf

Lúthien Tinúviel - The Silmarillion

Potamos - Wedding Peach

Jiang Cheng - The Untamed

Poe Dameron - Star Wars

Asterion - Baldur's Gate 3

Dalian - Dantalian no Shoka

Shulk - Xenoblade Chronicles

Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid

Zanza - Xenoblade Chronicles

Kuu - Haibane Renmei

Cole MacGrath - Infamous

Captain Olimar - Pikmin

Raku-chan - Nyan Neko Sugar Girls

Annie Wintersummer - Unprepared Casters

Yona - Akatsuki no Yona

Shane Schofield (Scarecrow) - Scarecrow and Jack West Junior

The Medic - Team Fortress 2

Sailor Jupiter - Sailor Moon

Orbulon - WarioWare

Mike - WarioWare

Cure Honey - Happiness Charge Precure

Crazy Barks - Drawn to Life

Ninjini - Skylanders

Cure La Mer - Tropical Rouge Precure

End (Endymion) - Beyond the End

Kansuke Yamato - Detective Conan

Mr. Crow, AKA Aldous Vanderboom - Rusty Lake/Cube Escape

Vega - Street Fighter

Izumi Miyamura - Horimiya

Aldark - Drawn to Life

M. Bison - Street Fighter

Aoi Inuyama - Yuru Camp

Klara - Pokemon

Virginia Lewis - The 10th Kingdom

Muriel - Good Omens

Nene Kusanagi - Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage/Project Sekai

Michiko Malandro - Michiko to Hatchin

Suzuki Shinya - 10 Dance

Miles Maitland - Bright Young Things

Diavolo - Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell - The 10th Kingdom

Natsume Takashi - Natsume's Book of Friends

Faust - Guilty Gear

Sugiki Shinya - 10 Dance

Cure Finale - Delicious Party Precure

Igarashi Vice - Kamen Rider Revice

Mitsumi Iwakura - Skip and Loafer

The Corinthian - The Sandman

Shizuku Hinomori - Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage/Project Sekai

Mickey Muldoon - The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns

Natsuki Shinomiya - Uta no Prince Sama

Sasha Braus - Attack on Titan

Virtue Courtenlock - Krillverse

Goop Lyn - veryextraincorrectfegbaquotes.tumblr.com

Jean-Francois - Bunny Maloney

Tome Kurata - Mob Psycho 100

Seras Victoria - Hellsing

Pang Pawaret - The gifted

Viren - The Dragon Prince

Brawne Lamia - Hyperion

Dai Lee - Let Dai

Haruka Kiritani - Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage/Project Sekai

Minori Hanasato - Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage/Project Sekai

Cube - Gather Ye Power

C-53 - Mission to Zyxx

Cynte - Endoparasitic

Ged/Sparrowhawk - Earthsea

Sniff - The Moomins

Soren Baltimore - Camp Here & There

Mellow - Endacopia

Eunhyung Song - Let Dai

Rufus - Deponia

Sheik - The Legend of Zelda

Lee Ping - Detentionaire

Kasane Fuchi - Kasane

Shigure Sohma - Fruits Basket

Aymeric de Borel - Final Fantasy XIV

Meta Knight - Kirby

Luka Couffaine - Miraculous Ladybug

Satō - Ajin: Demi-Human

Mudkip - Pokemon

Death of the Endless - The Sandman

[dearestones]

Muscle Memory Part Three (Azul Ashengrotto and Reader)

Warnings: Exploration of merfolk culture, elaboration on certain aspects of canon lore, bullying, mentions of blood and gore, etc. 

@lottieinlimbo Request: Hi Devin!!! Congratulations on the 750 followers :D!! Your writing is incredible, you have more than earned your success!!!! I’m here to steal the final request slot! There were a lot of cool prompts that would have been fascinating with multiple characters, it was hard to choose! But I’m thinking “why did you help me?” With Azul could be really fun, maybe something platonic? I’m really excited to see what you do with this, congrats again on 750 followers!!

.

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To be clear and frank, you were a physical therapist interning at a government facility on a small island not many people knew about. You were not a teacher. You were not meant to be someone others sought out for counseling. That said, you did attend a workshop about empathy and you completed a semester on the principles and strategies of health education. If pushed to it, you could teach a class on how to prevent injury during exercise and what to do after recovering from hospitalization, but you wouldn’t say that you were qualified to settle petty squabbles between teenagers. 

The day started out like any other. You woke up, went into the cafeteria after grooming yourself and had enjoyed a meal that was savory and warm. After a cup of coffee, you retreated into the labs to take stock of the recently delivered potions and reviewed your notes from yesterday. The session with your batch of merfolk wasn’t until the early afternoon (mornings usually consisted of lectures on land culture, reviews of previous lessons, and perhaps a few quizzes if their instructors were so inclined), but you wanted to be at the top of your game. You were one semester away from graduating and that meant that you couldn’t tolerate any mistakes. 

Soren, an early riser like you, teased you for studiousness until you reminded him that he was the same. 

“I always wake up early.” He defended himself. “Unlike you, though, I happen to be spending most of my time playing games.”

He then shoved his phone in front of your face until you were assaulted with images of famous idols dancing and singing to the most popular music. Try as you might, you ended up spending a half hour watching memes and making crude jokes before the both of you finally settled down. 

At some point, your supervisor had bustled in, face shiny with sweat and her eyes preoccupied with important matters that you and your fellow intern had refrained from making a smart comment or a joke. It was clear from the beginning of your internship that while your supervisor was nicer than most, there were still limits to her mercy and that if she showed signs of taking her job seriously (not that she ever fully let her guard down since there was always a risk of lawsuits), so should you. 

Upon seeing the both of you, she charged forward and set a sheaf of documents upon the lab table. As one, both you and Soren took in the contents and then—

“Damn,” Soren whistled. “You seriously weren’t kidding when you thought one of yours would end up quitting. I thought the second day quitters were a myth.”

Your eyes traced over the letter that she had submitted. It was well written, if a bit hastily scrawled, but there was a hidden strength in your classic mer’s words. It was brief, but Adria conveyed how happy she was to have received this rare opportunity to attend land boot camp, but she realized how much commitment and sacrifice it took to live between two seemingly different, uncrossable worlds. After explaining that she was not strong enough to continue with the rest of the training, she ended up thanking you personally by name. 

After confirming that you were done scanning the letter, Soren turned it over to find that there was a signed NDA. 

Of course, there was no need for bad press considering nothing bad happened yesterday. 

Just a scared little girl who needed more time to process. 

“You get used to it, Soren.” You put Adria’s file into a cabinet for future safekeeping. Knowing the bureaucracy and red tape that governments were so fond of, you didn’t doubt that they had already scanned and uploaded the letters and pertinent documents into a virtual archive. “Some merfolk love the idea of getting legs, but don’t understand how much pain and willpower it takes to achieve it for full time use.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he waved you off. “I saw you eyeing the other groups yesterday. What do you think? Other quitters in our midst?”

You shrugged, not wanting to contribute to such negative talk about the merfolk. It wasn’t their fault that accessibility to the transformation was fraught with complications and pain that had not yet been fully circumvented. 

“I think all three of mine are staying… and if I’m not mistaken, I think your twins are staying too.”

Soren rubbed the bridge of his nose before shooting you a dark look. “If you say it, you’re manifesting it. Shut up.”

“Isn’t it our job to convince them to stay?”

“Shut up!”

After a brief lunch, Soren, your supervisor, and yourself made your way back to the boardwalk. Today, the three of you were early, which meant that you and Soren were busy splashing each other in the water while your supervisor studied the beach for any misplaced trash or pretty shells. She wasn’t strict, relatively speaking, but it shocked you sometimes to see that she could look so approachable when she wasn’t busy delivering live demonstrations or lectures. 

Pretty soon, though, your brief fun was cut short when your students began swimming in from their underwater dormitories. You had only been down there once during orientation: it was a series of grottos and underwater caves that could be lit or kept dark depending on the type of mer’s preferences. The bioluminescence was controlled by magic that could be invoked by a simple incantation. For those who were magicless, they simply needed someone to aid them. 

Once again, you stationed yourself upon the far end of the boardwalk, your three mers either floating or trying to wriggle up the boardwalk to paw at the cooler. You gently nudged the interloper away (the angler fish was a tad more mischievous than you thought she would be) as you stated that no one should be messing around with equipment especially provided by the government. Rules were supposed to be enforced, you reminded all three of them. Even if they meant no harm, it was still best to err on the side of caution. 

Potions could be volatile if not handled correctly and the risk of drowning was still high even if they were born to swim. 

“With that out of the way,” you took a peek at your roster and pulled out the second name on your list, which happened to belong to the angler fish, “since Azul was so kind to volunteer himself to be first yesterday, we’ll have Pacifica as the next volunteer.” 

The teenagers snickered amongst themselves as the angler fish mer steadily drew herself up to the boardwalk and held out a clawed hand. Carefully, you gave her the vial and watched as she neatly uncorked it and tipped the contents into her gaping maw. 

Like yesterday, it was apparent that she was in great pain. However, while your assigned spotters had to make sure that she remained upright and above water from the previous session, she had enough presence of mind to grasp onto the boardwalk and breathe steadily through the pain. As expected, she had become a little more tolerant of the pain. 

“Excellent,” you praised her. She beamed up at you, sharp teeth still on display, but you were confident that you were not in harm’s way. You turned towards the rest of your students and waved them away. “I’ll focus on her for now just to make sure she remembers the basics. Keep to yourselves and don’t bother the other groups.” 

At their nods of assent, you retraced your teachings of treading water, which would hopefully lead into learning how to float and swim in the water. 

For a while, it seemed that all was going according to plan. It had been almost five minutes and she was already showing considerable growth in both her speed and reaction time when it came to her human body. The angler fish mer was resilient and keen on trying out how to swim and had been excitedly clicking her jaws in delight when she began to sniff the air experimentally. 

Most animalistic mers, particularly the predators, had a keener sense of smells than most humans and were on par with both beastman and several species of fae. Of course, with the addition of the transformation potion, you would think some senses were muddled, but every mer that had taken the potion had mixed results concerning what was lost and what was retained. 

Even the mermaid princess had lost her voice before her father had given her enough magic to return it to her. 

That said, you wondered what had caught her attention. Was it a prospective meal? Or—

She snapped her face towards you and for once, you felt yourself gulp at the serrated teeth jutting out of her mouth in an overbite that could only spell trouble. 

“Someone’s bleeding.” 

You felt the chill of reality envelope your entire being as you surveyed the area. Every worker at this facility, especially the ones who worked closely with the merfolk, were aware of the risks. Prey could be just as dangerous as predators if pushed, which meant that even the most affable of mers needed to be taken seriously. 

You helped the angler fish mer into the boardwalk to keep her out of trouble and so she could start splashing the water to keep her active before you scanned the water for any anomalies. So far, nothing, but you could tell that the other two groups were becoming antsy. 

Hurriedly, you approached your supervisor, her aged face wrinkling in dismay. 

“One of my students smelled blood.” 

She nodded to you, immediately understanding the situation. Her batch of merfolk consisted of the older generation with one other who was closer to you in age. Under hushed tones, she gestured for them to keep themselves and to continue treading water. One of the older male merfolk spread his arms wide, treading the water without holding onto the boardwalk for support.

Your supervisor hurried over to your fellow intern, who was busy trying to stop two—two?—eel merfolk from dashing away to your side. You wanted to check out why they were so agitated, but your own batch of merfolk required your utmost attention. You only saw the brilliant flash of dark green tails diving underwater before Soren began barking out orders to resurface.

Three predators to one prey.

That would make at least nine predators in the entire group and if the eel merfolk were any indication, that would mean at least seven others were going to be just as restless.

Thankfully, your angler fish mer was sitting rigidly on the boardwalk, her feet submerged but motionless under the water. You couldn't blame her for not training her muscles. Her face, while expressionless, was stone cold with concentration and you saw that every time she flexed her fingers upon the wood of the boardwalk, bits and pieces would flake off into the water. It was apparent that she was doing everything she could to not move from this position.

The scent of blood must be close.

As much as her restraint filled you with relief that she wasn't moving anywhere, you were still very much aware that you had three students because one of the classic mers quit. Where was the other classic mer and the cecaelia?

Your mind immediately jumped to the worst possible scenario. Had the cecaelia finally decided to bite back at the classic mer? Strange, you could have sworn that there wasn’t any animosity in the group yesterday, except for the wary tension between the cecaelia and the angler fish mer. The fright from Adria yesterday shouldn’t be an impetus for today’s mishap, right? She was gone and as far as you knew, the other classic mer hadn’t itneracted with the cecaelia at all. 

Despite your racing thoughts, you didn’t want to waste time. 

Diving into the lowermost portion of the cooler, you picked up a vial that was to be used only in emergencies. It was a potion that helped surface dwellers breathe underwater. This single vial was horribly expensive, but the effects were immediate and could last up to an hour if used correctly. You had no time to recall your training; you took off the stopper, threw back the potion, and then dove into the water once your mouth began to close and gills carved themselves into your neck. 

Another thing that was great about the water breathing potion was that it mimicked what it would be like to have heightened senses like a mer. Humans or any land dweller wouldn’t gain fins (not unless they had a true transformation potion), but they could hear, speak, and breathe underwater. Eyesight was also heightened and there were some people who thought that their sense of smell was also strengthened, but there was still research done into this topic. 

Because these potions (alongside the transformation potions) were highly regulated, you had only used this potion at least five times before. The first three times were due to practice and to acclimate you to its effects should you need to dive (literally) into an emergency but the last two were because… 

Sometimes, the screening for the merfolk was not stringent enough. 

It was rare, but sometimes a few bad eggs happened to slip through the cracks. Speaking ill of other land boot camp operations wasn’t a hobby of yours, but during those two emergencies, you knew for certain that sometimes, the stress of adapting to new things combined with basically competing with other merfolk facilitated an environment that could potentially lead to infighting. Most operations made sure to group merfolk based on the zones they came from, but it was most apparent between the pelagic and benthic zones (although, it was rare for mers to come from the deepest parts of the ocean). 

Most predator and prey mers had long since learned how to coexist in an uneasy truce (quite like how the different species of beastfolk learned how to live under one rule), but it wasn’t uncommon for fights to become deadly. 

Equipped with that knowledge, you allowed yourself only a few seconds to get used to the sudden physiological changes in your body, before opening your eyes and heading towards the source of the merfolks’ discontent. 

What you saw shocked you. 

Underneath the waves, you had expected to see a trail of red blood drifting like spilled ink throughout the underwater environment. However, what you didn’t expect to see was thin, whispery swathes of royal blue wisps dancing in the water and spreading like wildfire. You gasped, shocked, as you traced the royal blue liquid to the source…

What was even worse than the sight that you held before you, was the shouts and keening whimpers from the two merfolk who were currently locked in battle.

Actually, that was a mistake of perception on your part. 

It wasn’t a battle or even a struggle for that matter. 

At the bottom of the sea floor, the cecaelia was curled into himself, his limbs protecting his torso and his head. Two of his octopus arms were loosely curled around the tail and torso of his attacker. At first glance, one would think that Azul was squeezing tightly, but it was quite apparent that even if he were doing that, it was out of self defense.

The remaining classic mer, a male, was biting and punching at Azul's arms, his nails somehow piercing through the thick skin that was slick with slime. Azul, was trying to curl into himself while simultaneously extending the arms that held the classic mer far away from himself. Due to his efforts, it seemed that most of the damage was concentrated around those two main appendages, but you saw the same tendrils of blue blood lazily stream from scratches upon Azul’s pale chest and upon his cheek. 

You were horrified. 

For a moment, your body refused to move, your eyes wide with horror. However, just as you were stuck floundering with what you had to do (your inexperience as an intern inevitably rearing its head for the first time in a long time), your eyes were caught by a pair of bright blue pupils. 

Azul, who was trying to curl into a ball and stem the blood flow from his wounds, seemed to shy away from your gaze. Despite the helpless situation that he was in, you couldn’t detect a cry for help or even the same sort of determination that you often associated with him considering how much work he put into kicking and treading yesterday. No, instead, you were stunned into silence at the resignation that lay heavy in his eyes.

All too soon, Azul's gaze drifted back to his attacker, the grip that his arms had on the classic mer gradually slipping from the effort that the other mer was using in order to both escape and attack.

"Stop!"

Without so much thinking of the consequences, you uttered a short incantation meant to incapacitate and another to separate the two mers. Although you didn't often advertise your adeptness with magic, magical proficiency was one of the few skills that was guaranteed to get you far. Technically speaking, you didn't need to know magic to become a physical therapist (be it for the merfolk initiative or not), but it was a boon to have. In fact, with the way you raved about merfolk culture and how much you wanted to help out your dear friend Shelley, your parents and other close friends thought that you would participate in the science of transformation potionology with your ample supply of magic that coursed through your veins.

That was simply not the case.

Potions were one thing, but they were notoriously complicated and it often took years of experimentation and trials before change could be enacted. For someone like yourself, you wanted to be an inherent part of a mer's experience when it came to helping them adjust upon land. You had your eyes set upon physical therapy long before you knew what it meant. 

Helping Shelley was the step in the right direction and you had kept walking that same path all these years.

In a way, aiding merfolk this way had become nothing short of muscle memory: unconscious and immediate instinct honed from practice.

The invocation of a third level spell was more than enough to tear the merfolk apart while also simultaneously pinning the male classic mer to the ocean floor. Satisfied that your magic would hold, you furiously swam to the cecaelia, fully intent on scanning him for injuries.

Amidst the shouted obscenities, threats, and slurs against the cecaelia, you heard baseless accusations of Azul driving the other classic mer away from the boot camp. In helpless resignation, you could only watch as the young wounded mer curled into an even tighter ball now that all ten of his limbs were free to protect himself. Had you not been paying attention to him the entire time, you would have thought that he was melting into the ocean floor with the way his skin effortlessly blended in with the environment.

One of the masters of camouflage, you remembered reading from your mother's textbooks. Second only to cuttlefish.

"Azul," you whispered. You tried to speak louder, to overcome the angered yells from behind you. Normally, you would cast another minor curse amid the other spells to shut the classic mer up, but your mind was too frazzled and you were more focused on Azul's comfort than on the other mer's anger. Furthermore, you hadn't seen a reason to bring your magestone with you, often opting to leave it in your dorm room because you rarely used magic. Because of your lack of foresight, though, the sting of blot was only barely noticeable against the backdrop of anxiety and stress.

Breathe, you had to remind yourself as you had so often reminded your students.

In through your nose.

Out through the mouth.

"Azul," you said again, but you were not surprised to note that your attempts yielded no reward.

Before you could beat yourself up, you instead focused on the blue blood steadily drifting from his wounds. Despite the fact that his limbs were tightly around himself to make his body look smaller, you were able to separate some of his octopus arms so that you could assess the damage by gently rubbing and patting his skin, careful not to apply too much pressure or to move erratically.

Of the arms that he decided to loosen around his body, he only obliged with six. For the rest of his appendages, he continued to hide his face away or to wrap his torso and tighter and tighter... almost as if he were hoping that he could become a rock to accompany the rest of the landscape.

As you continued to clinically catalog all of the scars that would have to be noted in his file later, you heard your supervisor speaking to the classic mer while Soren swam up to you, his face lined with worry and in his hands, a medkit.

"That bad?" You muttered.

Soren sighed.

"The paperwork is going to be worse."

Together, the two of you tended to Azul while your supervisor called for security and the immediate removal of the classic mer from the land boot camp program.

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Tagging: @missam

[PART ONE] [PART TWO] [PART THREE HERE] [PART FOUR]

If you want to donate a Ko-Fi, feel free https://ko-fi.com/devintrinidad.

TWISTED WONDERLAND MASTERLIST

[kalgalen]

i just think iaus would b good at braiding hair

[littleghostarts]

soren 15? (merperson)

Just a curious sea creature with a lot of questions :D

not gonna lie i focused more on trying to pick a design rather than going into real detail so I’m sorry if this hasn’t turned out as good as the others ;u; I’m gonna let you guys guess what kind of creature his design is based off of~ ;3 

[celestialmango]

May I ask which Soren fics are you working on or have partly done? Not to ask you to speed up or anything, just being nosey and wondering 😅

I dunno if shark mer count as sirens but I'm almost finished with shrimp reader but found I'm going to need to add trigger warnings like fatal, hard, blood and gore due to Sun and Moon well, I'm going to be blunt, take bites out of another smaller shark till there's nothing left and the hints of what happens to the other 🦐🦀s they were with at the time(all strangers however, setting starts at a feeding ground reader had found the other crustacean mer at.

Still haven't gotten any farther with the jellyfish mer problem so I'm probably going to scrap most of it and weave the key point scenes into a picture slightly different than the original.

[necrolentil]

Blue koi fish

[sorenxnader]

status: closed for @vera-lynns​ location: the mermaid museum 

   Now that he was (mostly) settled in town, Soren had been eager to spend some time with his makeshift family of selkies - it made sense, to him, that they should all stay close in this new place. After all, they had one common goal and plenty in common with each other, and after spending a month on a deserted island with Scylla and just the others like them, he was beginning to miss the presence of these new friends he’d come to care so much for. 

   He’d invited Vera to the Mermaid Museum with him, both curious about the place and what it could have inside, but also figuring that since he hadn’t found his mer to spy on yet, he could help Vera out with hers. Rumor was, the North Atlantic leader was the operator of the museum, so it was a classic two birds, one stone situation. As he strolled up to the quaint museum set up against the water, Soren gave a cheerful wave to the friendly face waiting to greet him.  “G’morning!” He smiled in a sing-song tone as he approached, taking a moment to give her a look over. It was interesting to see how all of the selkies were sliding nicely into their own personalities with the newfound freedom to do so. “You’re looking good! Do you like it here so far?” 

[honeii-puff]

Razorblades all in your feet

In which Soren wishes his relatives were less murder-y Read on ao3

Soren wasn’t someone who stared, but if given the opportunity, he’d probably stare at Corvus’ face for the rest of his life and just let the world pass by without him.

He wasn’t extremely expressive, but he liked watching the microexpressions cross Corvus’ face; The way his nose scrunched ever so slightly when talking, the small crease that would form between his eyebrows when he paused to think about something, and the way the left side of his lip would twitch slightly when Soren made a joke.

 Corvus was just so fascinating. Every bit of him was something unexpected, and Soren loved it. He might’ve even said he loved him, if he was naive enough. 

But he wasn’t. He knew better than that.

The two of them had headed back inside from the small courtyard, now walking down the empty hallway, their footsteps echoing against the walls.

“You think Rayla and Callum made out yet?” Soren asked abruptly. Not because he was curious– he was, though– but because he wanted to see Corvus’ reaction.

He sputtered slightly. “I mean- I hardly think it’s my buisne–” he paused. “You’re messing with me.”

Soren snorted lightly. “Yep.”

“You do that a lot.”

“I like seeing how you react to things,” Soren admitted. “You seem like this super stoic person, always 100% serious. I like trying to make you laugh.”

Your laugh makes me want to kiss you over and over again. 

Corvus gave him a small smile. “For the record, I-”

A loud scream and the sound of breaking abruptly cut him off, coming from the ballroom.

Oh no.

They both looked at each other before breaking off into a run, towards the ballroom. Once they got there, they weaved through the crowd to figure out what the hell was going on.

The first thing Soren saw was blood. Thick, crimson blood formed a pool on the pristine floor, under the corpse of a man he didn’t recognize. A gaping hole was in the gentleman’s chest, right where his heart was supposed to be.

He knew what this was…

Viren and Claudia.

How were they so careless?

Usually, they’d be more… discreet. Not that he approved of it in the first place, but they were making a scene.

The air felt too hot and stuffy like it was boiling around him.

He had to get out of there.

Soren weaved back through the crowd, back towards the door, and into the empty hallway, leaving Corvus.

He’d see him again.

Hopefully.

He felt someone grab him by the arm and drag him around the corner. Jerking his arm away, he turned to see that it was Rayla.

“What are you doing?” Soren hissed at her.

“What are you doing?” She shot back at him. “Are you in on this?”

“What? No!” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “You know I’m not.”

“That’d be much more believable if you weren’t leaving.” she narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Rayla, you know I don’t like the surface, and you know that I never partake in whatever blood rituals Viren and Claudia do.” Soren frowned slightly. “You do know that, right?”

Surely she did.

Right?

She ran a hand down her face, sighing. “Why would they do it in public?”

“How should I know?” He threw his hands up. “I haven’t talked to them since yesterday. The best thing I can do is go back and wait.”

It’s getting too dry up here, anyway.

An uneasy silence filled the corridor, and Soren took his cue to leave.

Rayla didn’t try to stop him this time.

——————————————————————

The water was cool on Soren’s skin as he dipped below the surface of the water.

Makes him wonder why he left in the first place.

He dived down alongside the underwater cliff, his hand running along the rocky wall. His eyes adjusted to the darkness of the water, the outlines of lower rockfaces sharpening.

His hand hooked into the top of the cave entrance and dove through it, pausing to look around.

Nothing.

What was he expecting?

He wasn’t sure.

Soren pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, leaning against the cold stone.

He could’ve stayed. He should’ve. There’s nothing here. Why would Viren and Claudia come back down here after doing a ritual to have legs?

He was stupid.

Soren shifted into a sitting position, curling his tail under himself. In doing so, a small clang rang out, causing him to look down. 

The small sheep sculpture had fallen out of his bag and was now lying on the stone next to him.

He picked it up, cradling it in his hands carefully. It was adorable, and hadn’t spent as much time looking at it as he had wished.

Probably because he was too busy looking at Corvus.

He should give it a name.

He flopped onto the ground, peering at the ceramic sheep.

Pyrrah. He’d name it Pyrrah.

[dork-empress]

So the 6 different sources of magic seem to have corresponding elf...races? IDK how that divvies up, but each one has certain magic associated with them, so I am going to spitball (read: Pull out of ass) what they do. 

Moonshadow: the one we know most about. Their magic is stealth, illusion, misdirection, and at the height of their power, invisibility. They are the night, creatures of darkness, probably a little nocturnal.

Sunfire: We know them mostly by their creations, the dagger, and at one point Soren drops the name “sunforged armor” which is presumed to be good armor, so sunfire elves are crafters. they are very resistant to heat, and can...i dunno breath fire or something. probably not that last one, I don’t want them to just be firebenders, but they’re definitely crafters. 

Skystorm (now I’m making up names): Clearly have wings, there are little snippets of winged elves. Very light, light-footed, with a good for wind changes. I hope they also have bows they can use with their feet because that would be awesome. I don’t want to say ‘control the weather’ but thats probably where their powers lie. Maybe they have a thunderous roar or something.

Starlight: (I saw this name somewhere, i don’t know where they got it from) this might be a little out there, but I’m thinking some kind of mind-powers, Really powerful ones may even have some level of telekenisis. Alternatively, some oracle-sense, being able to tell future events, because thats a thing that has to do with the stars. 

Oceanwave: MER-ELVES. Or, well, I don’t think they have tails, so they’d just be kinda amphibious, with gills and such and underwater kingdoms. 

Earthstone: very good at tracking, knowing the land and what lies beneath it, and probably very good with plants as well, expert gardeners. 

I want to give them all powers on-level with the moonshadow’s invisibility, but I’m not sure beyond element manipulation, which is just a little TOO ATLA for me. but what do I know?

[youremymiracleelliot]

Between The Sea And The Stars || review

** Firstly, I received this book for free, provided by Parliament House Publishing, in exchange for an honest review. **

In summary, I really enjoyed to read this book which is the first installment of a series called the "Lena series", a title which definitely could be more outstanding. To be honest here, I was quite disappointed in the name Lena chosen for the main character while there were others, especially the mer people with so, to my mind, extraordinary names. Anyways, it's Lena.

Talking about the characters, they were the reasons which kept me kind of glued to the book. I think, the plot itself, though it started very captivating (maybe it was just my admiration for the mer world), after Lena had become a human, I felt calm down and instead of having much action, there's a real ton of feelings and developments among the humans in the center of the plot. Actually, I had hoped for more thrill. Luckily, I at least got it in the end when I literally raced through the pages! And then it was over! I was pretty shocked because this cannot just end in such a moment, when there are so many questions on my mind, and a few worries left behind!

The plot, well, I wouldn't say it's necessarily predictable, though being sort of a retelling of The Little Mermaid. Unfortunately, there was no single moment which caught me off guard or blew me away. No moment which made me grin or laugh, or that superior feeling when my favorite rocks the scene. It was a comfortable read, that's it. Some scenes, additionally, were a bit off. For example, how could lord Jarl simply sneak into Edwin's chamber in the middle of the night and why did no one hear Lena scream? Also, I found the change of Jace's behavior kind of odd, though lord Jarl could be the reason... Hm.

The protagonists were real gems to the story. Each of them was unique and I didn't dislike a single one of them. Even rhe bad guy. I hope in book 2, he'll turn out to not be simply evil because this would be a disappointment to me. My favorit character was Javelin. Seriously, I fell for him on first and actually, his fate touched me the most, in comparison to all other happenings. Between Jace and Soren, I can't really choose. I'm actually most worried about Jace because it is not like him not to keep in touch with his family...

But I can tell, needing to know what becomes of them, is why I will definitely read book 2 when it's available.

Watch the book trailer

[dearestones]

Muscle Memory Part Two (Azul Ashengrotto and Reader)

Warnings: Exploration of merfolk culture, elaboration on certain aspects of canon lore, etc. 

@lottieinlimbo Request: Hi Devin!!! Congratulations on the 750 followers :D!! Your writing is incredible, you have more than earned your success!!!! I’m here to steal the final request slot! There were a lot of cool prompts that would have been fascinating with multiple characters, it was hard to choose! But I’m thinking “why did you help me?” With Azul could be really fun, maybe something platonic? I’m really excited to see what you do with this, congrats again on 750 followers!!

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After a long day of getting splashed and almost getting dragged off the boardwalk by overly anxious mers, you were grateful when they finally transformed back into their normal selves. While ingesting the potion was quick and painful, the process to return was gradual and felt more like sharp tingles that flowed and ebbed depending on the location and intensity of the pain. Before you had transferred to this new location, a colleague of yours who was a mer, confirmed that it was a near universal experience that taking the transformation potions daily upon the first week followed by the natural regression into their former selves after such a low dose was more effective at retaining students rather than having them take the full dose that would last seven days.

It helped strengthen their ability to overcome the pain and helped them adjust by allowing them to take breaks after working their human legs. There were actually a few studies done on it, but since the population of merfolk who wanted to live on the surface was so few, it wasn't a conclusive study. For all you knew, it was more of a placebo effect.

After saying goodbye to your students, you picked up the equipment, the cooler, and the clipboard with the roster so that you could return it to the government facility. Inside, your supervisor and your fellow intern were comparing notes and commiserating at some of the antics that you had been slightly privy to. It wasn't often, but sometimes you were called to step in if one of the mers were acting unruly or if someone needed medical attention. Thankfully, you didn't need to call for help—your batch of merfolk were surprisingly well behaved—but the other intern was unfortunate enough to have landed himself not one but two gleeful troublemakers.

"I thought eel merfolk were supposed to be shy," Soren muttered as he wrote down some notes into his log. His pen blotted a little on his notes, which made him curse a little into his open palm before he produced correction fluid to cover up his mistake. "But, somehow, I manage to land not only the most brash mer I have ever seen, but also one who happens to be the most suicidal!"

You laughed a little to yourself as you joined them at the table.

"He is still a child, Mr. Andersen," your supervisor scolded. "And not only that, but he is also a child granted the opportunity to experience life on land. You've read his profile, he's due to attend Night Raven College if his magical proficiency and grades are any indication."

"Are you sure it's not the fat stacks in his parents' back account?"

You punched Soren's shoulder playfully. "I don't think paper money can handle the moisture," you laughed. "More like tall towers of gold!"

Your supervisor rolled her eyes at the both of you before she gestured at the paperwork that littered the table. "Make sure to clean up and organize the documents for tomorrow's session. The second day is usually better, but it's also the day when we get the most dropouts."

"You think that the Leech twins will drop out?"

"Mr. Andersen!"

You didn't know Soren too well, only that he was from the Land of Pyroxene and had spent most of his adolescent years in the City of Flowers before attending Noble Bell College. Although a proficient mage in his own right, he decided to dip his toes into a field that not many would have imagined him entering. 

Years ago, he had told you, he thought that he was going to be an archivist for magical artifacts. However, he fell in love with the many canals and underwater routes that flowed in and out of the City of Flowers. One thing led to another and eventually, he had immersed himself into learning more about merfolk culture and how they acclimated to living on land. Given his background in magical artifacts and history, he was a heavy proponent of the research and experimentation of using talismans or charmed objects to make the transformation both instantaneous and painless. Unfortunately, such an invention was still out of reach for various reasons, but he was confident that one day, accessibility for merfolk would be greatly increased.

Until then, he had to satisfy himself with this internship.

"Do you think any of yours would drop out," he asked to continue the conversation once your superior had headed out. He tapped on his notes, a furrow in his brow before circling something in red ink. "I think all of mine are willing to stay the whole period, but I can't say for certain they'll actually live the rest of their lives on land."

"Hmmm…” You thought for a moment. “One of my classic mers looked a little too weirded out after my cecaelia transformed. He actually handled it well, but she looked like she was about to turn tail and swim away."

Soren nodded, lost in thought. "Shame. It's rare that we get a one hundred percent attendance rate."

"True, but for those who do stay, we definitely get high ratings on how well they adjust and adapt to life on land."

After at least half an hour of chatting and locking up the lab, the both of you proceeded to your assigned dorm rooms. The initiative for acclimating merfolk to land life was fairly small, which meant that the community was fairly well knit and cohesive. Sure, there were times when a new intern or a transferee would cause some friction, but it wasn't all too often.

You passed a few other interns (some of whom were hard at work monitoring and working out the correct dosages for the merfolk) and a security guard (he tipped his hat to you in greeting after you presented your badge) before entering. Inside, you had your classic dorm room layout. 

On one side hugging the wall, there lay your bed with hastily made covers and a few clothes strewn at the foot of it. There was a small desk with a chair parked in front of it, and a window with a view overlooking the ocean. You were assigned to the third floor, a fact that you flaunted to your friends and colleagues just to mess with them. It was perfect: you could see how the full moon lit up the sky and if you waited for the right moment, you could see some bioluminescent creatures light up the water around them. During your first week, you had sent photos and videos of the phenomena to your parents, both of them delighted that you were having a grand time at your internship.

Tonight, however, you were tired.

While you did not have to call for help, you did have to jump into the water to soothe one of your classic mers. She was far from a predator, which was apparent from her whispery soft voice and the way she hugged herself despite your efforts to tell her that it was best to either hold onto the boardwalk for balance or to spread out her arms for proper wading.

Instead, she gave a low keen that had your heart clenching in your chest. You wanted to pat her head and rub at her scalp to soothe her, but protocols dictated not too much skin to skin contact. There were too many incidents when certain people in positions of power took things too far when manhandling their charges. (There was a scandal a few years ago which resulted in cold relations between the land dwellers and the children of the sea before reparations were settled between the two parties). To make up for the lack of comforting contact, you gave her a floating paddle, to which she awkwardly cuddled it close to her chest while tears ran down her smooth skin.

The angler fish and the other classic mer took to the pain and the loss of their tails and fins with just as much grace as the cecaelia, but they were quicker to use their legs and arms. Within half an hour of coaching and practice, both the angler and the classic were able to tread water and even swim like a human! It wasn't unheard of—there were even stories of mers who drank the potion, crawled onto the boardwalk and started walking as if they had been doing it since they were born—but you were surprised to see such rapid growth under your care.

(You made sure to take special note of this and the time taken from your heavy duty waterproof watch).

You let the angler fish play with the classic mer (both of them didn't look like they were going to antagonize each other, but you made sure to keep an eye out just in case playful nips became gaping bites) before you turned your attention to the cecaelia and the other classic.

The classic mer kept her head down low, tears still dripping down her cheeks, but you gently reminded her that the pain would go away if she moved her newfound legs for a little bit.

"Just a little bit," you cooed. You climbed back onto the boardwalk (you were soaked to the bone and wet from the angler fish mer trying to play with you) and sat down so that your shins and feet were submerged in the water. Kicking your feet made little splashing noises; you were pleased when you saw that in between the sniffles, she was trying not to laugh at how the water felt on her skin.

However, try as you might, she refused to move her legs and continued to cry even with your kind words caressing her ears.

"It's okay—" Quickly, you tried to remember the list of names upon your roster. Not Azul... Not Pacifica... Oh! Her name was Adria! "—Adria. The potion will wear off soon. Do you want to float while I help the other student?"

Adria shot you a terrified look, the tears in her eyes spilling like a fountain over her cherubic cheeks. She glanced at the cecaelia—who, up until that point, had chosen to float by hanging off the pool noodle in the most rigid way possible—before fearfully nodding in your direction.

You frowned. Had the cecaelia bullied the classic mer earlier when you were tending to the angler fish and his playmate?

Not wanting to jump to conclusions, you advised Adria to stay close to the boardwalk and to keep the buoyancy paddle close to her chest. She was welcome to keep trying, but something deep inside of you knew that she would be dropping out as soon as the transformation potion wore off.

Now that your attention was no longer split between the other mers, you focused on the cecaelia.

Shelly was a bit of an oddball, even according to others of her own kind. Back on the beaches of the Land of the Red Dragon, she would chance capture or sightings from the locals by wading up the shore and proceeding to walk along the sandy beach. The dryness of land and the harsh feeling of pebbles and rocks upon her suckers caused irritations at best and bleeding at worst, but she proudly told you that it was practice for the real thing. In fact, that was one of the reasons why she was so close to the beach in broad daylight during your first meeting. She had been scouting for a good place to practice, even if she didn't have proper human legs yet.

For most cecaelia and other species of mer that had to give up multiple appendages, the loss was almost too much. Most dropouts were octopus and squid based merfolk, which was a shame considering you knew that most depictions of sea dwellers were heavily skewed in the classical mers' favor.

Shelly was able to breeze through her lessons within two weeks of her land boot camp experience.

(Well… not without plenty of help and assistance from you. The land boot camp she had gone to was not as pleasant an experience as it was now). 

You wondered if this cecaelia would do the same.

First of all, however—

"Right arm and spread your fingers, please."

You had to make sure that all of his limbs were in working order and could respond on command.

And so, for the better part of at least an hour, you helped the cecaelia master all four of his limbs. His customary human arms were the easiest to obey him, you found. That was good, that meant that any and all problems had to do with his lower half being downsized into two working legs. After making sure that he could grasp onto the boardwalk of his own accord, rotate his arms to show off his full range of motion, and even write his name upon one of your notes, you deemed it safe enough to start working his legs.

This was trickier. It seemed like the cecaelia was firing off too many commands at once, but they weren't being well received by the lower half of his body. His legs would twitch one way instead of another or maybe he would overshoot and end up losing balance upon his pool noodle.

Shelley explained it to you once when you were stuck in the same dormitory and she was busy penning down her thesis.

"All of my arms have brains in them, you know that right?" You kind of had to know that. Your mother would bury herself alive if she found out that the most basic of octopus facts had never pierced your skull. "Well, when most of your body have a mind of their own and that disappears, the lone brain that gets left behind has to overcompensate, but then you end up sending mixed signals or canceling demands that were never completed in the first place."

"Like... a computer overloading on too many open applications so you have to use task manager to end them?"

"Kind of." She canted her head to the side in thought. "You know what? Yeah, you're right."

"So how did you stop overcompensating?"

"By relaxing."

Easier said than done.

There wasn't a lot of overlap between land and merfolk culture, especially in regards to the expression of feelings, but you had the feeling that the cecaelia was trying too hard to appear confident. His eyes were bright and determined, but beneath that steely veneer, you could detect the same sort of tension that you had previously associated with the other tearful mer. However, despite the similarities, you found that the cecaelia was more likely to attend the entire boot camp.

"Azul." His name sounded foreign on your tongue, but you kept your hesitance to yourself. At the sound of his name, he straightened upon the pool noodle and regarded you with a distant expression. "What do you like to do for fun?"

You tried not to laugh at the naked expression on his face. For all of how he seemed to hold himself up with a rigidity you would normally associate with your haughty superiors, the young cecaelia looked absurdly adorable when he tried to process your question. His mouth went agape and his eyes had widened in comical surprise.

"Fun?" He spluttered out. The grip he had on his pool noodle wavered, causing him to thrash a little on the water. Out of instinct, you gave him a steadying hand upon his shoulder. It was a slight touch, well within regulation, but Azul stared at you with an indiscernible expression on his face that you didn't have the heart to interpret.

(There was another reason why this government initiative was so discreet and small compared to other well known government plans: land dwellers were often let go and blacklisted if something untoward happened. Given his age, if he said something...)

You kept a professional smile on your face before you nodded down at your legs.

"When I was younger, I liked to chase my friend around. Both of us liked to swim in the water, but we ended up splashing each other more often than not." You peered at him, true curiosity brimming in your eyes. "You're from the twilight levels of the Coral Sea, right? How often have you gone to the surface?"

Suspicion lined the tension in his shoulders and darkened the brightness of his eyes.

"You're not going to get into trouble," you murmured, "it's not like I have the power to turn you into the authorities. It's just that I've taught a lot of merfolk over the past few years, and a number of them liked to sneak up to the surface to have fun."

A number of them had also been delinquents, often choosing to skip school just so they could splash water along the decks of small cruise ships or to wreak havoc upon the local fisherman. Out of respect for your past students, you refrained from saying that last bit.

Besides, something told you Azul didn't look like he was a troublemaker.

"Well..." Azul looked like he was weighing his options, probably scrutinizing you for any sort of underhanded behavior. You let him take his time. With more rest, you hoped that he would muster enough energy and bravery to start kicking his legs. "A few associates and I would explore sunken shipwrecks... but there were also nights when we would swim up to the surface and watch the fireworks show."

"Associates? Not friends?" You couldn't help but tease him. He glared at you and you watched as his eyes seemed to drift past your figure and towards another group of merfolk that was spearheaded by your fellow intern. Before you could inquire as to what held his interest, he turned towards you again, only to haughtily huff at you. "Okay, associates."

Were all fifteen year olds this edgy?

"Indeed." He sniffed, clearly done with this conversation.

"Well, have you splashed each other once you guys breached the surface?"

A scandalized look this time, that bordered on incredulous.

"Watching the fireworks was purely for educational purposes and—"

You didn't want to give him the look, but you had no choice.

With the full force of your irritation, you gave him one of the most deadpan stares ever. Even the most vicious of predators hailing from the abyssopelagic zone would have been stunned at the pure power behind your stare.

"A little bit." He muttered more to himself than to you. 

You would think from the solemnity in his voice that he was talking about a funeral. Still, you nodded your head and smiled with what you hoped was encouragement.

"Do you remember how you splashed each other?"

He looked at you and you decided to amend your approach.

He didn't want to be babied; that was understandable.

"Well, I want you to utilize those memories of splashing each other so that you can start kicking your feet. You used all ten of your limbs, right?"

"Not at first," Azul conceded. "Eventually."

"Good." Without missing a beat, you sank into the water with practiced aplomb, much to the surprise of your student. He gasped, a sound that he tried to stifle, but you were too close to hear it. "Splash me."

"P-pardon?"

"Come on! You need to exercise and gain control of all four of your limbs. Splash me."

At his continued hesitance, you splashed him with both arms before returning to wading in the water.

Surprise was quickly replaced with irritated determination. Before you knew it, you found a tidal wave of water heading in your direction.

Not bad, you couldn't help but think as you dove beneath the waves.

But he still needed to use his legs.

It took some time, but later on, you saw that he was wading in the water; his movements were a little jerky, but sure enough to signal that he was consciously controlling his legs.

It was strange seeing a cecaelia beaming at himself as he allowed his arms to splay out gently in the water as his newfound human legs tread the water underneath. For a moment, as you murmured congratulations to him, you saw Shelley in his place. Once upon a time, she had also been a young, aspiring cecaelia who had also been in the same boat as Azul. The only difference was, when she showed you how well she adapted to her legs, she lunged and tackled you into the water without a care for your need of oxygen. 

The cecaelia in front of you had no intention of doing that, but the hope within his eyes mirrored that of your best friend’s.  

For a moment, as you lounged within the dorm room, your head still swimming with the possibilities and opportunities that would surely arise come tomorrow, you watched as bioluminescent algae sparkled and glowed to life as small waves began to wrack the beach. If you paid attention, you could see that there was a large mass disturbing the glowing algae, but you chalked it up to either a fish or one of your students fooling around. 

You took a glance at your clock and cursed to yourself. 

Tomorrow was going to be an even longer day.

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Tagging: @missam

[PART ONE] [PART TWO HERE] [PART THREE] [PART FOUR]

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TWISTED WONDERLAND MASTERLIST

[strigops]

was tagged by @junecsea to list and gush about my 10 favorite characters (sorry if you sent this a while ago, im just now seeing it!)

max caulfield (life is strange) - i love max so much. i’ve never seen a character i related to more, as embarrassing as that is to admit. i love that she’s freaked out about everything but she still just rolls with it, she’s afraid but she gets angry at the idea of giving up, and there is literally nothing in this world that could stop her from trying and trying until she physically can’t anymore to get chloe back. her character seems so real, i love my dorky, brave weirdo.

doc yewll (defiance) - my favorite gaylien with dubious intentions. doc’s character was the most the interesting to me in the whole series and it’s a shame they never got to delve into her backstory more than they did. i love that she really is a good person, but her curiosity gets the better of her and she does some Bad Things just to see the outcome honestly that’s very relatable

aloy (horizon zero dawn) - MAN it is super rare that i fall in love with a character as fast as i did with aloy. 30 min in and i was done for. i like that she’s like, a smart meathead. like she’s SUPER intelligent but she has two problem solving skills and one is cleverness and the other is “hit it and/or yell at it until it stops being a problem”. also this is a praise for the game in general but i love that she looks like an actual person.

cristina yang (grey’s anatomy) - queen of my LIFE. i desperately need more female characters like cristina, she was kind of the first time i saw my view about any future career reflected in a character (not saying that view is always healthy tho). i love that anything that isn’t mer gets bulldozed the fuck over if it’s impeding her growth and goals. what a goal in itself.

meredith grey (grey’s anatomy) - is it cheating to have two character’s from the same series give mer a break PLEASe i love her just stop torturing her. honestly idk what to even say about WHY i love her, i just do. probably because her personality reminds me a lot of my mom’s.

merrill (dragon age) - pretty much anybody that likes merrill has said this before, but merrill is so much stronger and smarter than a lot of people think. not that she isn’t ADORABLE but like. i like that she has that other side to her.

terezi (homestuck) - HOO BOY i have. a lot of feelings about tz. half of which are somehow related to vriska and the other half about how she sees herself. like i love that she’s a goofy jackass but that serious side to her character is what made her my favorite hs character.

george lass (dead like me) - so much snark, so much confusion. her relationships with the other characters are neat (especially with rube), and just. i love her and all the other characters and im STILL BITTER

soren (guardians of ga’hoole) - i loved soren when i was eight years old and i will always love my owl son.

tulip o’hare (preacher (at least the tv show version of her, haven’t read the comics yet)) - sorry cassidy i love u my man, but i would die for tulip o’hare.

tagging @paixen, @poultrypalooza, @birdwithapeopleface, @mothsexinspace, @skuttlebutts, only if you want to tho!!