#mermaid ivantill

[rainbow-cheshire]

☆ιναηтιℓℓ: тнє ℓιттℓє мєʀмαη☆ (implied spoilers for round 6 in second slide but i'm pretty sure every alnst fan has watched that by now lol)

hi and welcome to my first full alnst fan art :D i don't even remember when or how i came up with this idea but yay ivan as the little mermaid, till as the prince, i am specifically basing this off on the original fairytale version for a reason, also apparently the fairytale was about the author being a closeted gay person? which makes ivantill fit even more LOL

and turns out i am faster at drawing full body drawings because there's going to be less details when zoomed out, speaking of zooming do not zoom into the drawing HAHAHA you will see a lot of. details. *coughs* (and happy late mermay, till's birthday and pride month lol i kept delaying this piece😭)

and the no colour layer looks so cool so i'm posting it out as well (DON'T MERGE YOUR LAYERS GUYS KEEP THEM IF POSSIBLE)

💙if you are planning to repost my drawings/edits, etc either ask for permission in the comments/private message me, or mention my username in the caption AND tag me, or else i will ask you to remove the post for stealing thank you💙

[fepupisblog]

Ahaha silly

[redrandomposts]

little mermaid alnst au except it's inspired by han christain andersen's version (the og), so

===

ivan was the prince of his nation that worships the moon and its tides, that is deep under the water, too far for visible light.

when he was six, he first braved near the shores accompanied by his friend, mizi. it's then he saw him. gasping for breath, fighting against the tides.

ivan managed to bring him ashore, and the guards had called him away - leaving mizi there. that was a mistake.

ivan had fallen in love, perhaps, with the boy he saved. the boy, however, had fallen in love with mizi. ivan could tell. when he visited the shore the next week, till was under an umbrella, sketches of mizi scattered around him.

ivan wanted to replace the pink hair for his black, the round eyes for narrower ones, he wanted and wanted and wanted -

- wanted to get rid of mizi so he could hold the heart that was rightfully his.

it was a poisonous thought. ivan was ashamed, he wanted to claw at his skin. how could he hurt his best friend just because she got something he wanted?

ivan visited that shore every week, leaving a gift, hoping that perhaps the boy will see him. however, as though he were mere dirt, till's eyes glided over him. ivan knew why; he was searching for bright pink hair and golden eyes, not the black that disfigures ivan.

in the following decade, ivan had been a tad too obsessive. he grew his hair out, hoping that maybe till's eyes will catch on black under the sea's surface. he forced himself to smile, practicing in the shards of ruined ships. and when he learned till was practicing music, he did so, too. he sang in the depths of the night, when the beach was lonely and the moon hangs high; he learned to compose, to string words and rhythm together to draw in the birds that fly above and the nocturnal fish underneath.

it wasn't enough. why wasn't it enough?

ivan couldn't take it. he visited his cousin, sua, and asked to trade his soul so he could try. he'd lose his tail for feet that stabbed knives into him, his gills for lungs that drowned with each agonizing breath, and eyes accustomed to the salty water for eyes that burned with each blink.

and, if ivan failed, he also gave up his bleeding heart and all its love. he also gave up the consciousness and the memories the sea brought to him. he'd also give up his existence and disintegrate into sea foam. the only thing he bargained for was a voice; a voice to tell till that he was the one who saved him, that he wrote songs and sang them every night.

on shore, ivan was left with only a coat that mizi had given to him, teary eyed as she asked him to live.

and there till was, visiting the beach again. till was a prince; not only in title but also demeanor. he carried ivan to his castle, where he was nursed to health. the room had parchment and ink ivan could write with, fruits in a bowl to keep him full, and a fire lit to keep him warm. a comb lay on the bedside table to keep the hair ivan insisted on growing neat. rings and necklaces and bracelets to decorate ivan, reminding him that he, too, was a prince.

and, even then, even after a week and so much time and effort -

why didn't till look at him? why didn't he visit the man he saved once? how come there were no servants aside from those to deliver meals? how come it felt as though ivan was taken by the sea and isolated in the city of atlantis?

was the entire wing of the palace empty? if ivan sang the songs he spent painstakingly long learning to make, would anyone hear him? he couldn't let that happen! gathering the letters he's written the past week, each a speech that he wanted to tell till, he was determined.

ivan gasped as he took step after step, tears welling in his eyes. he braved the knives in his feet, the aching breath of his lungs, the burning eyes that boiled in tears so he could see till. he was the sea's strongest warrior, for he could take all of this as long as he got to see till.

and mizi?

ivan stopped in front of a cracked open door, catching sight of familiar pink hair and gray hair. the letters in his arms fell, and the tears felt like molten magma from the underwater volcanos. the knives in his feet must have grown rust, for it hurt more than ever, and his lungs must be aching for air, because it felt as though he were drowning.

...of course. it was all futile. ivan grinned, looking down at his letters. every speech would go unsaid, every song unsung, every love unrequited.

letters scattered on the ground, cushioned by carpet, slipping through the door. black hair dissipated, pale skin crumbling; the only remnant of the mermaid-turned-human was sea foam, remaining on the clothing and parchment.

[i-am-cesear]

You know what? Fuck it. After I finish writing In Your Gaze, I'll write Ivantill merman AU. We talk about it a little with my friend. I have some funny ideas.

[racecarcat]

Funny alnst ivantill au where Till’s a pirate constantly trying not to crash into a mermaid Ivan because once upon a time he saved Ivan from a fishing net and now Ivan will not leave him or his boat alone.

[junebluues]

hey so remember when i talked about my weird flower multiversal dream where every time i got ahold of/sniffed a new flower i would go “deeper” into my dream and experience a new universe where i’d meet my qpp in every single one? i’m writing an ivantill fic based on that and i want ideas for the alternate universes till would be transported to in it!

here some ideas i already had:

mermaids/underwater

the canon timeline (round 6 and the meteor shower)

the ivantill beach au

band au

magic/witchcraft/whimsical ??? au

something something religion au

[wesperbrekkered]

My List of published fics;

Of Lies and Rash Decisions > AU where Jesper is hired to kill Wylan

Never Let Me Go > Wesper Spiderverse AU

Tangled In Your Web > Spiderverse AU part 2

The arduous trials of getting one Ivan drunk > 5+1 Ivantill fluff

Flair For The Dramatics > Pirate Wylan X Mermaid Jesper

Little Stolen Moments > Pre Relationship Wesper Fluff

Counting Down The Years > 9+1 Wesper New Years Kisses

Heaven Help A Fool Who Falls In Love > Ivan character study

How dare you think this time’s enough (Don’t leave me) > Till character study

Out of the Blue > Wesper Proposal Fic

You drew Stars around my Scars > First I love you, Wesper Fluff

Don’t Wanna Lie (Don’t Wanna Tell The Truth) > Wesper Spideypool AU

Of Hidden Truths and Drastic Actions > Show!Wesper navigating the key Book!Wesper scenes

The Longest Hour > Wesper Cowboy AU / FWB

Of Latte Art and Sweet Suggestions > 5+1 Wesper coffeeshop au

I Wish You Meant It > Rewrite of the Kuwei/Jesper kiss from Wylan's POV

Now I Know You Meant It > Rewrite of the wesper first kiss from Wylan's POV

Of Merchlings and Letters Home > Wesper Fake Dating AU

Blame It On My Left Side Brain > Jesper is diagnosed with depression, hurt/comfort

Lost on the Shape of You > T4T Wesper smut

You got me wrapped around your finger (not that I'm complaining) > Domestic Wesper Fluff

Summer Days drifting away > Modern AU Wesper Fluff

Always and Forever > Domestic Wesper Fluff

Jesper Fahey Couldn't Sleep > Post - Canon Wesper hurt/comfort

To Capture Perfections Muse > Domestic Fluff

The choice in not making a choice > olard part 2, Domestic Wesper Fluff

Always, always it was Wylan > Post - Canon Wesper Nightmare fic

A Fickle Thing, That Death > Wesper death fic, hurt/comfort

Just you and me Merchling > Hurt / no comfort, wesper dying side by side

Six of Bread > Modern AU Wesper fluff

Hold me close when it falls apart > hurt/comfort Jesper breakdown fic

My current list of wips (feel free to ask to see snippets, it helps with motivation):

It hurts to be something (it's worse to be nothing) > Ivantill FWBs

50 Ways To Kill A Man > Detective AU

To Love Like A Lie > Fake Dating AU

Rose Tinted Glasses > Domestic Fluff

Of Gunslingers and Journey's Home > of merchlings and letters home epilogue

[maodear]

Sigh… *tears in eyes* I want to sincerely apologize to everyone I’ve hurted..💔 and everyone else I will hurt in the future I will think on my actions of this of disrespecting IvanTill💔.. I didn’t realize my actions because such a heartache. I deeply apologize 💔 I don’t expect you to forgive me, but please let me change to be a better person(mermaid..)

Deep analysis of IvanTill

ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴏʀ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀ ᴠɪᴄᴛɪᴍ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ꜱʜᴀʟʟᴏᴡ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴꜱ.١٥٧٤♡

˚˖𓍢ִ໋☄️✧˚.🌌⋆-

I want to apologize for everyone I will hurt.. LMAO. I am going to be really straightforward in this, and these are my thoughts and theories. Info gonna come from official stuff (comics,art book,official channels and etc.)

Alien stage is a more mature show. And is recommend being 15 and up. But I say it’s best for 13 and up.

TW⚠️: mentions of Abuse,trauma, Abuse with children, death and etc. Also spoilers if you haven’t finished watching alien stage. Keep these in mind.

ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴏʀ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀ ᴠɪᴄᴛɪᴍ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ꜱʜᴀʟʟᴏᴡ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴꜱ.١٥٧٤♡

˚˖𓍢ִ໋☄️✧˚.🌌⋆-

IvanTill is a complicated ship in all ways. And is hard to explain. Till loved Ivan in a friend way because Till loves Mizi. While Ivan... Ivan only loves Till, we already know what measures Ivan does do for Till. Even if Till feelings aren’t the same. Even if Ivan has to scream at Till, scream his feelings until his last moment. Just so Till knows that he always loved him.

Let’s look back in Anakt Garden. Before Ivan met Till, he was pretty much a shell. A hallow shell, with no light in his eyes. No purpose. No reason to care for anything. It was never confirmed fully that this was before he met Till, but I believe it is. Ivan looks so dead, which he barely has.

The shooting stars for IvanTill maybe hasn’t caught your attention but it means a lot. And go ways deeper then you think.

Ivan got a punishment once, and he was held off a building. Ivan wasn’t afraid at all. Instead he was mesmerized. Look at the way he views the stars. The shooting stars

His eyes lit up. Kinda like his world shifted, he saw the world in another light.

This is when Ivan first laid eyes on Till. Right this moment. I’m sure he thought to himself “Why am I so curious of this boy? What’s special about him.?”

But he follows him.

“In my monochrome world. You are the most colorful thing I ever saw.”

Going into the Tunnel was Mizi and Till. With an alien. Ivan stared at Till from afar. The same way Ivan looks at the shooting stars. Is the same way Ivan looks at Till. He’s world shifts.

Literally Till is Ivan’s universe. He makes Ivan have life. He gave Ivan life actually.

Shooting Stars in always around Ivan&Till. When they are together. It holds such a big meaning. Ivan wanted to escape with Till once, he wanted Till free.

But Till refused in the end. Because he wanted to leave with Mizi. Till loved Mizi with his heart. He admires Mizi from afar, I mean Mizi and Till were friends but she never loved him that way. Mizi loved Sua. So this whole thing is completely complicated.

Till never realizes that Ivan loved him until his last moments which is just sickening to think about. In round 6, Ivan had to scream the song out loud for Till could hear. Ivan had to kiss Till so he can understand. And when he does.. it’s too late.

Till did love Ivan as a friend. He clearly cared for him, because in round 6. He looked horrified to go against Ivan. In a defeated way. He never wanted to go against Ivan because Till does care for Ivan.

Those who used to say “Till never looked at Ivan.” Till did. But not in a romantic way. Instead it should be said as “Till never looked at Ivan the way Ivan looks at Till..”

ɪ’ᴍ ꜱᴏʀʀʏ ɪ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɴᴏᴛɪᴄᴇᴅ… ᥫ᭡.

When till finally realized it. It was already over. Ivan dead with a smile. Because Ivan dies for Till, he doesn’t care that his life is over. Because Till will be able to continue on. Even if it’s just a few more hours. Because Ivan puts himself below Till. Till realized everything. That was enough for Ivan to die happily.

He fell first but He realized to late..

˚˖𓍢ִ໋☄️✧˚.🌌⋆-

Overview

Ivan and till.. gosh what a mess. As much as I hate to admit this. Ivan is for sure dead. Ivan wouldn’t allow himself to survive, because Ivan wants Till to survive not him. Ivan believes he has done his part, that was the end of his sorry. But Tills will live on for Ivan. A shooting star is for a wish. Ivan’s name means gift from god. Ivan’s wish for Till to survive. Yeah Till is forever traumatized and maybe will never be the same. But that’s the world they live in. Even if you make a sacrifice. You will sacrifice something else. 

Till will survive, he has to much story to just be left out. There is way more for him. And Ivan’s name is still alive in Tills heart.

ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ꜰᴏʀɢɪᴠᴇ ᴍᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ᴅᴀʏ… ʙᴜᴛ ᴅᴏɴ’ᴛ ꜰᴏʀɢᴇᴛ ᴍᴇ… ١٥٧٤♡

Thanks for reading this!! I will do a post poll, of if I should do MiziSua or HyuLuka next. Or maybe some other alnst ship??

[redrandomposts]

Hello! thabk you for writing out tills perspective it was very good! And sad :( what does Till think once he finds Ivan gone? Does he know that Ivan is dead or does he think he’s just gone

and if he gets that Ivan won’t come back how does he mourn? I think it could be cool if till got into sculpting to make a statue of Ivan)

Also , I was wondering what if sua gave Ivan a little more time like 3 months or 3 years to get till to love him/kiss him so we could have more time of them loving eachother secretly. I specifically think Till keeping Ivan in the fancy rooms for longer is fun, because till can try out all the things he says he wants to do just long enough to miss them when Ivan is gone

I personally imagine till braiding and brushing Ivan’s hair quietly (because I love the mental visuals of Ivan with longer hair) and putting 1 thousand little sliver clips in his hair as one thing I find really interesting! Or maybe till collecting beautiful clothes to dress Ivan in and having enough time for Ivan to try them on but not enough time for him to receive them tailored (and I was also thinking maybe till considers proposing to him, or at least asking him to be a concubine if that’s not allowed but he doesn’t get the chance to give the ring- just enough time to have one made)

I am not sure if I make sense, I do not write very well but I hope u like this

-🍎

yeah u make sense 🍎!! dw, i have to sort through my thoughts and get it into a tumblr post... and this is mainly what the baseline looks like.

guys i can't believe i did a bad ending ngl i think i'm un-canonizing the bad end for a happy one and the bad end can stay a thought unreleased to the world.

i was thinking of having ivan be there for a month, but that's a kind of long time not to sort through feelings... so a week it was. ivan was practically bed-ridden and spent a lot of time asleep, so till would sneak in and brush and braid his hair and decorate him up. and, well, a lifetime of yearning for something, getting a taste of it, and then forever losing it...guys i'm sick why did i do that?!

happy ending time or i'm beating past me up (im making them eighteen its kinda weird otherwise)

===

the gentle feeling of his hair shifting along like waves in the ocean woke him up. the moon peaked in through the window, spilling its light across the room. the mirror reflected ivan, who was sitting and leaning on another.

the haziness of the entire situation felt like a dream; calming, slow. ivan's eyes were barely cracked open, irises focused on the mirror and the picture it reflected. his head was tilted onto a shoulder, legs saddling another's to make sure he doesn't slip from the very comfortable position he's in.

the brush glides through his hair, gently tugging on his scalp. ivan leaned in the slightest bit. it felt good. compared to his eyes, his lungs, his feet; this person was like a safe haven, a warm spring bath.

he watched as his hair was carefully divided and braided into a relaxed hair style, not pulled too much this way or that. as the end of it was tied with a silk tie, the other hand reached into a box. ivan didn't see it clearly, but if he did, he'd recognize several silver pins with details impossible to get underwater, each a different design.

throughout his midnight hair, stars were scattered across it.

the sound of pen scratching parchment lulled him back to sleep, forgetting the brief moment of awareness.

another painting hung in till's studio, depicting two characters. one, asleep, was in front and the clear subject; the second was behind, carefully pinning the last hairclip in place, recreating the galaxy.

till's pearl was his muse; from paintings to songs, it seemed as if creativity itself sprouted from ivan.

briefly, till fantasized a life where he and ivan would marry. in a month from now, they'd be engaged, and follow a two-year courting period until they're both twenty, and get married.

the entire empire knew he was courting someone at this point. he isn't sure what gave it away; was it the mass amount of jewelry and clothing and paints he commissioned? perhaps someone saw him carry ivan home? or did a servant gossip about it?

till paused, looking at the painting. he had a new idea, and all he had to do was wait for night to come and ivan to sleep.

flowers were delivered to the palace, where till arranged them around ivan's sleeping form. he let his hair fall naturally, but changed the clothing to be looser, as if ivan were floating on the water's surface. the moon carefully shone on ivan's face, giving a feeling of tragic beauty; as if ivan were a corpse on the water, surrounded by the flowers of loved ones.

...till readjusted the scene to make ivan seem immortal.

and, when he stepped back to paint it, he left a light kiss on ivan's forehead.

one night, ivan woke up during a scene. fully awake with conscious thoughts; it had to happen sooner or later.

this one... was a more dubious one that'd be stored under till's bed. his shirt was rucked up, pillow under his neck and shoulder blades to let his head fall back, hair splaying out. his pants were pulled down just a bit to show his hip bone, and the moonlight fell across him to paint a lascivious portrait. till had left marks of himself too; a cloth that lay across ivan's eyes with till's name stitched onto it, jewelry that till had commissioned himself.

ivan was briefly confused by the darkness, before realizing a cloth was gently laid over his eyes. confused, he took it off, stilling at the sight of till painting him.

"what are you..." he couldn't finish his sentence. his mouth had gone dry. the easel was positioned so that he could just barely see the painting, but the glimpse was enough.

there was an obvious artistic choice in it; in the way that ivan's pearl skin was pink, mouth slightly open.

the night ended with a kiss and a kiss and a kiss.

ivan discovered, the morning after, that the knives had completely left. his lungs stopped drowning in unseeable water, and his eyes no longer burned at the slightest disturbance.

till had paraded his fiancé, who wore a veil to shield themself from the world. it was improper to gaze upon them until they wed, after all.

===

slowly edging to being able to write smut... then no one is safe. this is a mess and ooc, but also, i need to get peace of mind on this au

[redrandomposts]

In ur mermaid story I literally can’t stop thinking about till respectfully looking away as he dresses Ivan up to paint him?!? Like he is completely red in the face and feeling around blindly to be respectful of Ivan’s honor (which means he ends up accidentally feeling up Ivan in the process )

Oh any how many little outfits does Till have for Ivan? Does he have a pseudo wedding suit picked out so he can imagine their wedding night and paint it? So many questions

-🌻

hihi 🌻!

i imagine that till has commissioned a lot of people for outfits for ivan, and there's a little tailor contest where tailors will compete on making the best outfit using the measurements till freely gives out. tldr: till will forever have a new outfit for ivan.

till doesn't have a wedding suit. he fantasizes that they both collaborate on their wedding, and till sketches out the wedding that both of them dream of together.

LMAOOO, till awkwardly feeling up ivan... "oh fuck, that's his nipple. why's it so smooth? how is his skin so smooth? is that his waist?? do i need to feed him more???"

he gets bewildered when he realizes that mermaid genitalia did not, in fact, translate into human genitalia.

[redrandomposts]

For Mermaid AU - smooth rocks thing is actually down to contemplating what would be a precious thing for the underwater society. My personal favorite is hand-made mother of pearl jewelry, especially "gifting one to someone is essentially a marriage proposal" 0u0. I also saw using one's own scales for the jewelry being considered especially romantic. In any case, so much alternative culture to contemplate on~.

true!! here's some ideas!

merparents collect their children's shed scales, which can be used for medical diagnosis (similar to blood) and as keepsakes.

ivan's child scales are placed in the treasury, where he takes some and makes into useful jewelry he saw in ships and stuff to give to till prior become human. he used his hair (significantly stronger than human hair due to differing environments) as string, twisting strands together like yarn.

he also uses varying parts of corpses from fish he's hunted himself to make other things, like bone brushes (brush hair being his own hair, of course), a guitar pick (he spent very long carving bone for that!), and various accessories from fins.

(till keeps these under his bed in multiple boxes. even though he knows that new brushes will appear if he breaks one, it hurts to see something so well made and thoughtful to be destroyed. he learned the hard way.)

its hard to imagine what ivan could make, being under the sea and all...

[redrandomposts]

Sorry u haven’t sent an ask in a while I had school work :(

BUT IM BACK WITH MORE THOUGHTS ! I don’t remember who sent the idea for the happy ending in the little mermaid au but I LOVED IT

I was also like omg they could have so many cute interactions about their cultural differences!!!! Like till has been trying to show his love and poor Ivan is like “I have no smooth rocks I guess he doesn’t like me :(“ and till can be all sad because Ivan seems to like all the gifts but always seems a bit disappointed and he’s all like “ah I guess my gifts aren’t fancy enough I guess I have to win him over with something better” and once they work it out they can feel VERY silly

(also is Ivan mute in this universe? Normally the mermaid can’t speak so they can’t really communicate with each-other but this could also be accomplished by Ivan just not speaking a lot of the human language and I don’t remember if that was in this AU at all lol)

I really really like this au and I find their dynamic so delicious!!!! Yum much munch munch- also does till confess his love actively or is just Ivan putting 2 and 2 together? If he does I would love to hear that (I personally think he skips the I love u and dives right into the “PLEASE MARRY ME” cause he gets kinda embarrassed at Ivan seeing his raunchy painting of him.

also is Ivan sick in other ways? Because he must be sleeping very deeply for till to get away with it, and does Ivan have any lingering pain from the magic?

🎀

hi hi 🎀!! its ok, school is(?) important!!

shhhhh i made mermaids able to speak for plot purposes. if u check og post you'll get why. ig ivan is so obsessed he learned whatever he could, including from books and stuff... so...

i think ivan's unused to being human and out of the water. compared to the soft bedding, the ocean was freezing, and the warmth often lulls him into a deep sleep. its just that till allowed him to get cold enough to wake him up fully... which neither of them realize until a decade later or something. (its really nice to sleep on a cold night in a warm blanket.)

yeah, till goes something like, "fuck! it's not what it looks like! i'm not going to fuck you before we marry or something! it's just-"

and ivan's like, "we're marrying?" in a soft, bewildered voice, freshly woken up.

...i thought smooth stones were a penguin thing. but they are sea creatures, and there could be lore!! like, ancient mermaids learned this when they lived in the arctic after observing some penguins, then as they migrated north they kept this as tradition.

till gives ivan flowers, too, but ivan doesn't realize what it means until he seas a loving couple basically spell it out for him. then he turned red and collapses in flustered embarrassment when he remembers he ate those flowers.

till's love is basically a cure-all for ivan's pain. ivan is the epitome of healthy human.

right yall time to nap and replenish creativity..

[redrandomposts]

hi, I think the little mermaid au idea is so cool and I really like the concept! How does Mizi feel when she sees what left of Ivan and figures it out? I feel like since they are very close she would be very sad and mad at herself :(

Maybe Ivan can come back and everyone can be happy! :D

-🍎

hi 🍎!!!

mizi wouldn't notice, actually, because sua didn't tell her (or let ivan tell her) what would happen to ivan if he failed. sua's just like that. and... idk, man, she's pretty sheltered. too much to even make conclusions based on death, because she barely knows of it. she only feels something is wrong when she has to go back to the ocean without catching a glimpse of her best friend.

(she doesn't notice the letters, either. perhaps a passing servant had dropped them on accident, or it was specifically left for till)

but i can one up you!!! hahaha!

...it's kinda implied that till actually falls in(sane) love with ivan. why else would ivan would have his own entire wing near till's personal office, with jewelry and all kinds of clothes at his disposal?

ivan doesn't notice this because he was a prince and thought that ah yes, fancy lobster dishes and clothing made of the finest silks... this must be how everyone is treated. (guys ive grown fond of ivan and long black hair??? i knew what i was doing)

i have ideas for a HE, but for now...um, ok, here u are, something u did not ask for (till's pov (might be ooc))

===

it started at the beach. till ran away from his duties yet again (he was six! who entrusted him (of all people, nonetheless) with duties?!), this time heading to the beach. he's never been to the ocean so closely before, and couldn't help to just... get closer.

he never learned to swim before, as he was swamped by all other tasks that he despised. oversight on everyone's part. he was swept away by the waves, hopelessly fighting against the salty water. the salt burned his eyes, making him close them, but when arms (...smaller than him, what the hell!) wrapped around him he tried to open them.

pale skin, a pearl breaking through the water's surface. red and black scales that reflected the light so beautifully, as if sunset had just reached its end. jewels and silver chains that slowly fell back to place when displaced.

...skin? scales? what was going on?! is he like those... those addicts his mentor talked about?!

he closed his eyes. this was not happening. this was not happening.

when he opened his eyes, he caught sight of an angel from the sea. her face was beautiful, her pink hair, wet, fell like waterfalls. she had... blue scales, slightly tan skin, with gold decorating her. (what about the black and red sunset scales? the pale as pearl skin? the silver that reflected the sunlight like the moon did?) she was the most beautiful person he's ever seen in life.

a week later, he couldn't help but sketch the angel that had the wrong colors again and again by the beach. perhaps, if he got her attention again, they could become friends and eventually the king and queen of his kingdom! in his fervent imagination, he didn't notice the pearl until it slipped into the waters again, far from his grasp.

annoyingly, this repeated for weeks on end. over a year (or way more) of weeks, actually! the only reason till didn't think this was a weird doesn't-actually-exist image were the odd things he'd find when he was done sketching. fish, crabs, actual pearls, clams, a shattered but ornately-made hand mirror, a locket without anything inside, dadada...

and when he went into the library to find out (the first time he's stepped into there! everyone weeps in joy!), all he found were books about creatures in the sea that love music and make others love music.

music? he could do that! he brought a guitar out to the beach, and somehow got so lost in the music he forgot to check for the pearl! when he looked again, all he saw was black slipping underneath the waves again. what the fuck?!

each time he'd try this, it'd have the same result. he'd be so engrossed in his music and making songs that he'd barely, if at all, catch black hair and silver jewelry slipping into the ocean before he could clearly see it.

and he had a solution! if he came at night, then he'd surely catch the pearl before it could see him!

...listening to the singing, till once again missed his chance. pearl-pale skin reflected the moonlight, the ocean grew quiet to listen to the music, birds and fish crowded the rock the pearl sits on. black hair blended into the night, and the silver took and stored the moonlight, reflecting it to mimic the moon the best anything ever could.

and when it stopped, till was too dazed to react! he had to watch helplessly as it slipped into the ocean once again.

this continued for years. till was driven insane. a face he's never once seen, yet one he kept on chasing and chasing. he bought silver jewelry, imagining that one day, he could lay it out and trap the pearl once and for all. he bought various clothes, both men and women's, so one day he could cover the pearl and keep it for his eyes only.

it turns out he didnt need it, though! on his sixteenth birthday, the pearl was in the sand, a coat on his body, covering his thighs from the sun. long black hair splayed out, framing the face he's gone insane over trying to catch a glimpse of.

till decided to put him in the unused wing, the one right next to his. he carefully washed him, combing his hair and dressing him up to the neck. this could be a foretelling of his future, maybe. it's a much brighter future than he could have ever imagined.

ice-cold water, the kind that only appeared when the snow fell and the nights grew longer than day, poured on him when letters slipped through his door, sea foam decorating the parchment.

[i-am-cesear]

Heyo! Let's do this!!