#triton: Father I would like to read books please

[yusuke-of-valla]

Y'know, Triton hasn't been mentioned yet in Hades or Hades 2...

3rd game where Poseidon's son has to escape from Atlantis for whatever reason?

Poseidon encourages it just to get him out there. Zagreus and Melinoe are such great kids after fighting through hoardes of enemies, surely it will help Triton

Hades, in the background: BROTHER WHAT THE FUCK

[housamo-stories]

Tokyo city of stone chapter 2 (Housamo)

MC was awoken a few hours later upon hearing L'il Salamon's cries.

Sal-master! Master! Master please wake up!

MC-huh? ...what? What happened?

They look around a bit before attempting to get up.

MC-Ded you can get off me now ...Ded? ...hon?

They get no response from the man before wriggling out from under him, what they see next horrifies them, there Ded lies his body frozen in stone still hunched over as he was when he threw himself on top of them his head down and his arms holding the sides of his head.

MC-D-D-Ded?! W-What happened?! Why is he stone?!

Sal-master look! Father and the others their-

They look in the direction of where Sal is pointing and see Mononobe, Jinn, and Triton frozen in stone as well, jinn crouched on one knee hunched over with his arms covering his head, Triton standing there with his arms still covering his eyes, Mononobe as well.

MC-NO! How did this happen?!

Sal-it's not just them master! Look at the stage!

They look over to the stage and see everyone is now frozen in stone still in their poses like glorified lawn ornaments.

MC-my loves!

They rush over to see if everyone is alright, though unfortunately there isn't a single one of them that has been spared the fate of the others, they see Asterius frozen with a worried look on his face, his mouth agape as if he was calling out to someone and his hand outstretched one leg in front as if he were going to run to somewhere.

Sal-master? Is there something wrong?

MC-it seems like he's looking at something.

They trace his gaze to see it is where Ded is laying, before realizing.

MC-h-h-he "hic" was trying to "hic" protect me, oh my sweet "hic" bull!

Sal-m-m-master! Please don't cry! I'm sure there's some way to fix this!

MC-y-yes, "sniff" I'm sure your right.

Hephaestus-Mama! There you are!

They look back and see Hephaestus and Talos standing there with Tezcatlipoca.

Tezcatlipoca-my other half! It is good to see you are unharmed, as I feared you had suffered the same fate as everyone else.

They quickly jump off the stage and hug both Hephaestus and Tezcatlipoca overjoyed to see that they are ok, tears streaming down their face.

MC-I'm so happy your ok! "hic"

Hephaestus-o-oh M-Mama.

Tezcatlipoca-yes well we can all exchange affections later, now however we must determine the cause of this sudden petrification is, and if it can be reversed.

Hephaestus-well I might have some Idea, as I've come across something in a potions book that could explain all of this.

Talos-oh? Do tell us creator.

MC-yes, please!

Hephaestus-W-Well have you ever heard of a basilisk?

MC-no, what's a basilisk?

Hephaestus-it is a reptilian creature who's eyes can kill anyone who looks upon them.

MC-how terrifying!

Tezcatlipoca-and what does this "basilisk" have to do with our current situation?

Hephaestus-well there is a potion that uses the basilisk's eyes to create a very powerful healing Elixer that if made correctly could heal any wound even if it is fatal, or even grant someone eternal life.

MC-wow! That would probably be worth a mountain of coin for something like that.

Hephaestus-indeed, however in our case some idiot was probably trying to create the Elixer and botched it, which explains the light we saw earlier and rather than healing it amplified the basilisk's powers and turned everyone to stone.

MC-but wait, how come we weren't affected?

Hephaestus-well for me it was most likely due to my rule, and you Mama I'm sure it was your sacred artifact and Talos it is because he is a machine.

Tezcatlipoca-I see what you mean, as my body is artificial I was unaffected.

Hephaestus-precisely.

MC-wait you said the eye's kill their victims, does that mean their dead?!

Hephaestus-no Mama the process usually dilutes the power of the Basilisk's eyes so they are very much alive just probably sleeping.

Talos-creator had me do a scan earlier and my readings indicated signs of life.

Hephaestus-had the eyes power not been diluted, everyone would have died instantly.

MC-well that's a relief.

Hephaestus-however we must be careful not to shatter or break them otherwise we may not be able to revive them.

MC-I understand, just please tell me there's a way to revive everyone.

Hephaestus-there is a high concentration of Mandrake root should reverse the petrification and return everyone to normal, fortunately I had some Mandrakes I had received from Volos a week ago! And had Talos begin working on the antidote, it should be ready in a few hours.

MC-oh thank goodness, when this is over Heph, I'm going to let you have me all to yourself this weekend just you me and Talos.

Hephaestus-a-all t-to myself, t-t-thank you Mama! I look forward to it!

MC-i'll stay here and watch over them while you concentrate on making the antidote.

Tezcatlipoca-and I shall remain by your side my other half.

Hephaestus-w-well ok, I'll be down in the lab so I can make some more preparations, come Talos! we still have much work to do!

Talos-understood!

As the two men leave MC survey's the stage seeing their loved ones stone forms, they then see Snow and Claude frozen together locked in an embrace as Snow more than likely tried to Shield him with his body.

MC-oh my poor darlings.

they then see Macan frozen with his usual smile on his face as he was enjoying himself, they then head into the crowd and see Leib and Cusith frozen with Leib lying on top of the fairy dog most likely in an attempt to protect him, they then look over and see Y'golonac and Cipactli frozen in conversation before walking towards the stalls, as they walk they see Jambavan frozen mid-sprint wearing his swimsuit with food in his arms, and Shino with Moritaka and Tadatomo working the stalls, Shino frozen with an angry look on his face while staring at Moritaka and Tadatomo likely yelling at them again in an attempt to train them, they then to their horror see Gyobu frozen sitting on the ground clutching his little ones close to him tightly.

MC-it's so awful, and none of us could do anything.

Tezcatlipoca-indeed it is, so many caught off guard and now we are faced with such a terrible sight.

The two walk back to the stage before seeing the stone forms of Kimun Kamui and Jacob with Kimun in a battle stance standing in front of Jacob who was frozen in almost a calm pose as he never knew what hit him, they then see Qinglong hunched over on one knee with Amanojaku and Echo in his arms as the kind-hearted dragon attempted to spare them the fate of the others, they see two more large figures clutching each other and see it is Ashigara and Yasuyori frozen on their knees with the large bear enveloping his lover in an attempt to shield the Hakkenshi warrior and Yasuyori frozen with a look of surprise on his face.

MC-oh my darlings, don't worry we'll save you I promise.

They soon look around and notice that one person isn't here that was earlier.

MC-wait I don't see Tianzun anywhere.

Tezcatlipoca-Tianzun?

MC-yeah, he was standing right next to me before-

Tianzun-hey sweetie, finally got back.

MC-Tianzun!!

Tianzun-hey did I miss any-oomph!

MC practically jumps into Tianzun's arms wrapping their arms and legs around him glad that he isn't stone as well.

Tianzun-goodness! what's gotten into y-mmph

They then press their lips to his in a passionate kiss that felt as sweet as honey to both of them as he began to melt into it before finally breaking free to ask his questions.

Tianzun-well that was quite the welcome you just gave me! But tell me why are you crying?

MC-I'm ...I'm "hic" just so happy "hic" that your ok!

Tianzun then looks around at his surroundings before seeing the stone forms of everyone, he then pulls them close to him in a tight embrace before gently stroking the top of their head.

Tianzun-I'm sorry I worried you my love, I should have returned to you sooner as you must have been terrified.

All MC can do is cry into his hairy chest as they stand there in an embrace, soon however Tezcatlipoca interrupts them before explaining everything to the bearded man.

Tezcatlipoca-and that is about the gist of it.

Tianzun-how awful! It is no wonder that they were so upset, though I am fortunate that I had left for the other world when I did, otherwise I would have become one of these stone figures as well.

MC holds Tianzun's hand squeezing it a bit at the thought of what could have been, Tianzun then places a kiss a top their head letting them know that everything is alright, until Talos returns and urges them to come to Hephaestus' lab.

They enter the lab and see Hephaestus working like mad on the large computer setup before he notices them and wasting no time begins explaining almost frantically.

Hephaestus-I am glad you are all here, but I must skip to the matter at hand, our friend's lives are in great danger!

MC-danger?! What do you mean danger?!

Hephaestus-well Mama the stone that has encased their bodies is slowly sucking out their lifeforce!

MC-what?!

Tezcatlipoca-do explain yourself!

Hephaestus-what this means is, is, graah! Talos you explain! it as I must concentrate!

Talos-yes creator, what my creator is trying to say is, is that the stone is like a parasite slowly sucking out their life energy.

Tianzun-what will happen when their energy is gone?

Talos-well there will be nothing but a frail empty husk left, I'm sorry to have to put it bluntly but they will shatter into rubble.

MC-NO!!

MC quickly runs outside to the stage before falling on their knees as the weight of their despair becomes too much, through tear filled eyes they see the stone figure of Ahura Mazda who is still flexing his biceps with a smile on his face, before they begin to sob, however they soon hear a cracking noise and look up to see cracks quickly forming on Ahura's massive body before they begin to panic.

MC-Ahura no!!

The cracks spread more and more until the stone gives way to flesh and like a chick hatching from an egg Ahura Mazda breaks out of his stone shell.

Ahura Mazda-graaaah!! Oh, oh goodness, that was quite a nap, h-hey what happened here?!

MC looks up at him with tears in their eyes.

Ahura Mazda-my brother! What has happened here?! What evil has befallen us?!

MC says nothing as they jump into his large chest and wrap their arms around his thick neck.

Ahura Mazda-B-brother unhand me at once! Before I- brother?

He hears MC's sobs of anguish from over his shoulder before wrapping his massive arms around them.

Ahura Mazda-my brother were you truly worried about me?

MC-of course "hic" I thought ...I thought I was going to lose you just now!

Ahura Mazda-I apologize for I did not mean to scare you so.

MC-it's ok, your alright now right?

Ahura Mazda-yes, in fact I feel rejuvenated like a budding blossom after a frigid winter!

The others soon arrive and see that Ahura had broken free from his stone prison much to their surprise, they soon return to Hephaestus' lab with Ahura so that he may give possible insight to the petrification so that Talos and Hephaestus can gather more data.

Ahura Mazda-it was as if I was in a dream, almost weightless in fact, however I heard a voice crying and then I awoke and my brother was there in front of me.

Talos-I see, so even though they are all stone they still retain a form of consciousness, but how were you able to break free?

Ahura Mazda-it is simple! As long as my brother exists in this world I cannot perish!

MC-so it's because of me that your still alive?

Ahura Mazda-indeed it is.

MC-so in other words I saved you.

Ahura Mazda-ack! W-well when you put it like that!

MC-I saved you, ...I ...saved ...you!

Ahura Mazda-p-please cease this! As it is unsettling to hear!

Tianzun-they could've smashed ya into a pile of rocks ya know, but they were so worried about ya, you could at least give 'em a reward or somethin'

Ahura Mazda-is this true my brother? You ...were ...worried about me?

MC-of course I was! I love you, ya dumbbell!

Ahura Mazda-you... l-love... me? Oh, oh heavens, well I guess I could reward you then, after all I do owe you my life now.

MC-how about... A date!

Ahura Mazda-a date?! W-well I suppose if that is what you desire then I can do that at least, very well then a date it is.

MC-hey if you broke free then it's possible, let me go check something.

They run out of the lab and head for the stage once more before testing their idea.

MC-hey!! If any of you are in there!! WAKE UP!!

They shout almost at the top of their lungs at the stone figures before something begins happening, the stone figure of Balor begins to develop cracks around the left eye that begin to spider web out before the stone gives way and freeing the giant.

Balor-raaaaghh!, oh my, what the hell happened to me? My grandchild where-

MC-grandpa!!

They launch themselves into the Balor's chest almost knocking him back.

MC-grandpa your ok!

Balor-oh my beloved grandchild, I am happy to see you as well!

Balor embraces them tightly but gently before kissing them on the forehead.

Balor-what on earth happened my beloved grandchild? I remember a bright blinding light then I woke up to find you, also why has everyone been turned to stone?

Talos-if I may? I shall explain.

Talos begins explaining to Balor the events that caused the petrification and how they are working on the antidote.

Balor-a basilisk eye huh? Nasty little creatures, I've fought a few back in Tir Na Nog, they're pretty difficult to fight without lookin' into their eyes, gave me some pretty nice scars though! Gahahaha!

MC-did you win?

Balor-damn right I won! I wasn't gonna let some oversized lizards beat me! I made them into a nice stew they're meat was pretty tasty Gahahaha!

While everyone is enjoying hearing Balor's tale cracks begin to rapidly form on Macan's body before he too is freed.

Macan-MMMMEEEEEAAAATTTTT!!!

Everyone turns their attention to the stage seeing Macan moving around before heading their direction.

Macan-that was a good nap! So where's the meat? I'm starvin'

MC-Macan!

Macan-oh hey there my mate-oof!

MC practically tackles the large tiger to the ground knocking him on his back and wrapping their arms around his neck.

Macan-nice attack! That's my mate!, uh hey why ya cryin'?

MC-your ok, i'm so glad!

Macan-did I miss somethin'?

MC-just kiss me my hunky tiger!

They then press their lips to Macan's and the two passionately kiss s their tongues intertwine before pulling back.

Macan-guahahaha!, that was amazin'!, you really know how to get me pumped up!

MC-we'll have to finish later hon, right now we have to turn everyone back to normal otherwise they'll all be nothing but rubble.

Macan-whadda ya mean? Everyone's fine se- whoa what happened to everybody, they look like fancy lawn ornaments.

Balor-the power of a Basilisk eye did this, it reduced them to the forms you now see before you.

Macan-bet they would make great trainin' dummies mind if I smash a few?

MC-NO!!

Macan-calm down babe! I was just kiddin', sheesh.

soon everyone hears more cracking before seeing cracks rapidly develop across Arsalan's thick body before the massive lion breaks free.

Arsalan-raaaagh!, goodness me, that was quite a sleep I just had, w-wait MC?!, my cub where are you?!

The lion looks around frantically before spotting them with the others before running over and scooping them up in his powerful arms.

Arsalan-MC! Oh my love, are you ok? You are unharmed I hope?

MC-y-yes, and you?

Arsalan-yes I am well, oh dear what happened here?, why are all of our loved ones now solid stone?!

MC-it was a botched healing Elixer, they used a Basilisk eye and well.

Arsalan-you don't mean the Elixer of eternal life do you?!

MC-you know about it?!

Arsalan-indeed, as I have read about it in the Missionaries guild's library, it is a very powerful potion that can heal even fatal injuries or cure any illness with a single drop, but drinking it would give it's user life everlasting, to think someone would be foolish enough to try and make such a thing, had they not considered the consequences their actions would bring if they failed!

MC-why?, what would happen?

Arsalan-it would annihilate all of Tokyo and everyone in it.

MC-that's horrible.

Tezcatlipoca-yes, I had no idea that there was such risk involved in creating an Elixir so powerful!

Arsalan-we were fortunate however their failed attempt was not fatal for us, some mandrake root should be able to reverse this, however will there be enough to turn back everyone in Tokyo?

Hephaestus-of course there is!

everyone turns to see Hephaestus standing there with Talos dragging a large metal container behind him.

Talos-creator, all preparations have been completed.

Hephaestus-good work Talos!

Arsalan-hold on, how do you plan to cure everyone in Tokyo?

Hephaestus-have you forgotten?, we live in a world of technology, I have loaded these drones with the antidote and shall have them fly around the city spraying a mist over all of Tokyo!

Arsalan-ah I see, quite clever!

Hephaestus-watch Mama as I show you my true genius, Talos!

Talos-understood creator! Activating drones now!

The metal container slides open before several drones begin taking off one by one into the vast blue sky across the city.

Talos-calculating flight path, adjusting spray nozzle, now releasing antidote.

The drones slowly begin releasing they're payload causing an orange like fog to blanket the city, the mist-like spray soon begins to rain down on everyone before MC looks over at the stage hoping that it will cure their still petrified loved ones, soon however they see cracks rapidly spreading across their bodies before falling away leaving them unharmed, MC soon runs over to Hephaestus and hugs him before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

MC-you did it Heph!, it worked!

Talos-yes creator, you are truly remarkable indeed.

Ded-o-oh my what happened? I remember a sudden flash of light before- wait MC?!, my love where have yo-

MC-Ded!

Ded-MC!

Ded opens his arms before embracing them tightly to him as if they were a precious thing he would never let go of.

Ded-MC, oh my dear beloved child, I was so worried about you!

Ded then kisses them on the lips before pulling their head under his chin and rocking them gently while stroking their head, all the while with tears in his eyes, MC's eyes begin welling up with tears as well but they are not tears of sadness but of happiness at being able to feel the warmth of Ded's body once again.

MC-I love you Ded.

Ded-and I you my love, very much.

Mononobe-my child!

Mononobe,Jinn and Triton soon run over to the two before Mononobe wraps MC in his arms.

Mononobe-oh my darling child! I am so relieved that you are alright!

MC-Dad!

Mononobe then barrages the top of their head with kisses before taking their face and pressing his forehead to theirs.

Mononobe-oh my baby, my MC.

Jinn-oh sweetie, I was so worried.

Triton-I as well, I am glad you are safe my little guppy.

everyone on stage soon begin to recover from their awakening.

Tajikarao-ugh, what in the world happened? I feel like I just awoke from a deep sleep, wait MC! are you alright my love?!

Horkeu kamui-my beloved!

Aegir-My precious gem!

Ophion-my darling spouse! I am here!

Everyone gets off the stage and rushes to their side making sure they are ok, completely oblivious to the fact they were stone only moments ago, MC is relieved that everything is now back to normal before their relief causes them to fall asleep in Ded's arms.

Ded-My beloved!

Talos-please do not worry Mama is just exhausted, as they have been worried for all of you, just let them sleep for now.

with that Ded holds them to his chest allowing them to sleep peacefully.

Tokyo city of stone chapter 2 epilogue

end

[sweetchup]

Bi•valve

Noun

an aquatic mollusk that has a compressed body enclosed within a hinged shell, such as oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops.

AKA

The Most Common Seashell in the Ocean

————————

Vol. 1: Just Keep Swimming // Ch. 2

Type: Poseidon x reader

Word Count: 4,000+

Masterlist

————————

Sounds of horns and shouting filled the air outside as you stood on the packed bus. Cramped in from every side, it was hard for you to tell where you were going. Not as if you were paying much attention anyways.

“Okay, you left fish and pasta in the fridge… he could use the tv or read a book for entertainment while you are gone…what about…” You ramble incoherently to yourself.

Even though the storm hit Athens hard yesterday, your studio art professor was still having classes today. Forcing you to leave Triton alone at home. You shouldn’t be nervous. There was no reason to. After all, Triton is a god, he was hundreds of years old.

But…, he was still a child. No matter how old or what type of being he is. He could still possibly injure himself or get into trouble. And that single fact alone made you feel sick to your stomach.

“Is this how parents feel leaving their child alone for the first time…?” You groan to yourself, leaning your head forward so it hits the window in front of you.

“Now Approaching *Athens International School of Art*. I repeat, Now—“ The robotic voice announces over the intercom. At the familiar name of your college, you squeeze your way through the other patrons on the bus to make your way to the doors.

Sweet, sweet air, you think to yourself as soon as you exit the bus. It was starting to get way too cramped in there. So much so, you wondered if it was a safety hazard. Though it wasn’t as if you were one to talk, you left a little boy alone—

“Argh!” You scream out, slapping the cheeks of your face. You needed to stop thinking of Triton. He was going to be completely fine. But, what if…

“I’m getting too attached already…” You groan to yourself. It had only been a day. One singular Day. But you were already smitten by the blonde haired child. “It doesn’t help that he's absolutely adorable as well…”

“Who’s adorable?” A voice calls out from behind you, making you jump in surprise. Whipping around, you let out a sigh once you identify who it was.

“Bryce… how many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that…”

Bryce Kroger. He was studying abroad at Athens International School of Art for a year just like you except he was instead an architecture major. You met him by coincidence while taking art history so you didn’t know much about the guy, the only thing being the few stories he told you about his home country of Australia.

“Oi! It’s not my fault you're so skittish!” Bryce banters back with a huff.

“Whatever…”

“Eh? Wait, where you heading?” Bryce questions as he watches you walk away, “I thought you had Studio Art on Fridays?”

“I do. I’m heading to the library first though.” You yell back to the tall male who stayed put where he was standing. Not even bothering to follow you.

“You need to stop studying so much!”

“Shut up!”

“IT’S THE TRUTH!”

“SHUT UP!” You scream back with one final huff before storming off. So what if you studied so much. You just wanted to get good grades in the classes that counted. It’s how you got here in the first place. By working your ass off.

Unconsciously, you feel your hand twitch as you open the library door. So what if you spent hours studying. So what if you didn’t go out with friends that often. So what if you didn’t have a social life. So what—

You feel yourself pause, your expression turning sour. Lonely. That’s what you were. You were lonely. A miserable lonely girl.

“Miss!”

Startled out of your thoughts by the sudden call, you realize you were no longer standing at the front door but instead standing in front of one of the librarians. You must have unconsciously walked up to the front desk while you were lost in thought.

“A-Ah. Sorry, I was just looking for books on Leonar—“

You feel your voice trail off at the end as a book on the counter catches your eye. It wasn’t the gold detailing nor the leather texture. No. It was the simple words of “Greek Mythology: Tales of Zeus” printed neatly on the front.

“…Actually, Do you perhaps have any books about Poseidon?”

You just found something better to do with your time.

—.—.—.—.—

“Damn… this is extremely confusing…” You mumble to yourself as you glare at the pages of notes in front of you. Each book seemed to be a little bit different from the last. “Perhaps I should recap…”

Okay, so what makes sense to you is that Poseidon is the second eldest of three brothers and is the ruler of the seas. The things that don’t make sense are… practically everything else…

You weren’t sure if you wanted to cry or scream out of frustration right now.

According to the books, Poseidon has had many consorts over the years. One of them being Triton’s mother, Amphitrite…

“My mother… can be quite mean to other women. Even to some of the female servants around the palace. She believes that they are trying to seduce my father…”

…but that doesn’t match up with what Triton mentioned last night. According to him, it sounds like Amphitrite scared away any women that would even come near Poseidon. This also leads to another flaw in the mythology books. You doubted that Poseidon would be able to have an affair with any other women with Amphitrite antics, nevertheless have 10 other children with them.

“Triton also never mentioned having any other siblings…”

Letting out a groan, which you seemed to be doing a lot today, you banged your head against the table. It seems like these mythology books weren’t going to be of any help after all. Though…. you couldn’t help but wonder why the books were so off in the first place.

Lifting yourself back up from the table, you glare down at one of the book covers. It was blue, almost silvery in a way, with a giant black silhouette of Poseidon right smack dab in the middle. Or, at least, what Poseidon might look like…

“Well, my father is extremely strong and handsome. All the sea nymphs stare at him with big heart eyes half the time. Oh! B-but, father doesn’t pay any attention to them. Father is not a cheater like uncle Zeus…”

“…Is Father…? Oh. He’s alright… He’s nowhere as bad as my mother. He’s never hit me or anything. He’s just… cold. Extremely cold. He really just ignores me half the time…”

“…I do love my father…I just wished he would at least spare me a glance…you know?…Acknowledge his own son…”

“God damn jerk!” You hiss out in anger as you push the book aside. Your blood practically boiling at even the slightest thought of Triton’s father, Poseidon. He doesn’t deserve to have such a good and nice son like Triton.

However, as much as you want to curse out Poseidon more, you realized class would be starting soon and you really had to get a move on.

“Shit. I can’t afford to be late again.”

—.—.—

“Ugh. Why did the professor have to assign me this type of painter…?!” You whined to Yuri. Class had already ended by then with the professor long gone. The only people left were students that were conversing with others or trying to get a head start on their paintings.

“Well, it didn’t help that you barged into class late for the second time this week, (y/n).” Yuri explained with a sigh as she continued to set up her palette, not even sparing you a glance.

Yuri Saito, Or rather Saito Yuri, was an abroad student from Japan. She was the closest person you knew at the college as you both were similar in many ways. Especially since you were both homebodies.

“I get that but at least I showed up in the fir—“

“(Y/n)!” A voice shouts out interrupting your talk with Yuri. You turn around to see Bella Woods, a student apart of your major, approaching you. “(Y/n). You were part of your student council back in high school right?”

“Uh, Yeah. Why?” You answered hesitantly. You weren’t sure why, perhaps instincts, but you were already having a bad feeling about this situation.

“Well I need your help on something…” Bella explains, her voice trailing off at the end as she grabs something from her bag. It’s a piece of paper, a flier to be exact.

“A…A Cultural Festival?”

Bella nods her head at your words, “Yeah. The college wanted to put something on for the public to show what our art school is all about and Mrs. Yamamoto suggested this. A-Apparently, it’s something schools and colleges do back in Japan.”

“B-But how can I help? Wouldn’t it make sense for someone like Yuri to do this? Since she’s from Japan and all.”

It was the truth. You didn’t know a single thing about japanese culture festivals.

“Hey don’t drag me into this, I’m busy.” Yuri counterbacks with a glare before returning back to her painting.

“Well… you see… The school wanted to change Mrs. Yamamoto’s idea a bit since they really didn’t know anything about Japanese Cultural festivals either. So it’s like a Cultural festival, kind of not.” Bella rambled. You could tell all this information was scrambling her brain as well. “Basically, it’s like a Greek version of a Cultural festival where each major picks a Greek god and plans an event or booth around it.”

“…Okay… So it’s just like a school festival in a way?” You questioned cautiously. This was a lot for you to take in at once.

“Yes. Precisely. We are just taking inspiration from Cultural festivals.”

“Okay. Okay…” You answer as you rub the back of your neck, “I still don’t understand why you need me though?”

“Well, I kind of… kind of saw you reading the mythology books in the library today and we need more people on the planning committee…” Oh, god. It seems like everything is coming back to bite you in the ass, “…Just. Please (y/n), We need your help!”

You let out a small sigh as you watch Bella give you a pleading look, “Fine…”

“Yay—!“

“But…“ You start cutting off Bella’s cheers, “But I’m taking care of something really important right now at home so I can’t always make meetings and things like that. I can help with planning but that’s it. Okay?”

That was correct. As much as you wanted to help Bella and your department out with this festival, Triton was your top priority right now. His care and needs were above all else right now, even your own. So if this would get in the way of that then you would drop this project instantly. Instantly.

“Of course! Oh, thank you (y/n)!” Bella cheers, her body visibly relaxing now that a stress has been taken off your shoulder, “Well, I’m not sure if you're busy right now but… the committee is currently planning two classrooms down… so if you could…”

“I’ll go…” You sighed out. Damn, what’s with you lately. Less than two days ago, people hardly approached you. Now you are as busy as a bee. A person magnetic… Well, more like god magnetic as wel—

Wait, a minute. You feel yourself tense up as a thought flies into your brain. If Gods could travel and spend time on earth, could they live here as well? Just like how Triton wants to?

Shit. What if some that live here are able to identify Triton? You could be in big troub—

“(Y/n)? Are you coming?” Bella calls, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“Y-yes.”

It seemed you would have to worry about that later. Not that it mattered right now, you could always just ask Triton when you got home. And even if he didn’t know the answer you would just have to be careful bringing him out of the house. Yeah… you would just do that.

“Guys, I would like to introduce you to (y/n). She’s a fine arts major just like us and knows about mythology. I think she would make a great addition to our group.” Bella introduces you as you enter the room. As you looked around the group of only 4 other people, you realized you really didn’t know anyone.

That is until everyone started to introduce themselves. You never heard of the first three—Brian, James and Kyle—but you found the last name, Marissa Samudra, quite familiar. You wonder if she was that Marissa.

Who you were talking about was Marissa, the hottest girl in school Marissa. Well, at least that’s what all the boys in your major told you. The girl in front of you at least seemed to fit the part. With white silk like skin, light green eyes and dyed coral pink hair, she truly was a sight to see.

“Okay. So shall we get started.” James suddenly spoke up, seeming to want to get the meeting started. You nodded your head in agreement before taking a seat next to Holly. As well as across from Marissa. “Well, I think we should first decide which god we should do. Culinary, Music, Visual performing arts and architecture already have chosen Aphrodite, Hades, Ares and Zeus. (Y/n)…”

You lift your head up at the call of your name.

“…as you know the most about Mythology, who do you think we should pick?”

“Well,…” You feel yourself pause, your palms growing sweaty out of nervousness. You really didn’t know that much about Greek Gods, only the class you took last year and the books you skimmed this morning. You also didn’t expect so many of the main gods to be taken already.

“…How about…”

You needed to think of someone fast. Someone that would satisfy all parties here. Someone that would bedazzle people coming to the festival.

“…Poseidon…?”

Why… Why was that what your brain had come up with? Poseidon? The very god that you were cursing out this morning. Wishing near death upon.

“Fish man?” Brian questioned, letting out a small chuckle at his own joke, “You really want to go with Fish man as our god? Isn’t there anyone better?”

“I think Poseidon is pretty…cool.” You feel a shiver go up your spine as you compliment the man. It was official, you might actually puke. “…He’s the king of the seas. It gives us a lot to work with for his character. Especially since most Fine Arts students are good at realistic elements, we could really do well on painting or using sea life.”

“True… but—“

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

You are shocked as you hear Marissa cut Brian off. When you first sat down, she seemed totally uninterested in the topic at hand. Caring more about her hair and nails than anything else. But now, now, she was paying attention to every little thing. You couldn’t help but wonder why. “Oh sorry. I really like the sea. It holds a special place in my heart… you know?”

Oh, that makes sense. You totally forgot Marissa’s paintings were mostly about the ocean and sea. Never drifting off to other topics.

“N-no. That’s actually pretty cool. You know what, we should totally do Posedin… or whatever the dude’s name is. He sounds really cool.” Bryan agrees as he bashfully rubs the back of his neck. Gross, could he make it any less obvious that he was smitten by her. And not in a nice way either.

You feel yourself shiver as you watch him sneak small glances down at Marissa’s chest area. Disgusting pervert…

“Well, with that decided let’s move on…”

…Great… You could already tell this was going to be a long meeting…

—.—.—.—.—

Again, for what felt like the hundredth time today, you banged your head against the wall. This time however it was against the door of your apartment.

“Seriously… a Café…?”

Yes, a Café. That’s the brilliant idea your group came up with. An under the sea type themed café.

In hindsight it didn’t sound all that bad. You could have a couple of students paint some props and decorations. Then another couple of students who know how to cook plan out the menu. Maybe even borrow some culinary students if you were lucky.

But,… there’s that.

Outnumbered three to two, the boys of your group insisted the girls that are serving customers should wear togas. Togas. They stated it was to bring in more customers but it was pretty obvious they had other intentions behind it. Especially since they didn’t even bother waiting a couple of minutes afterwards to ask if Marissa wanted to be part of the waiting staff.

“Poor girl… I feel bad for her.” You mumble to yourself as you pull out your keys, finally unlocking the door to your apartment. You wished you could just beat all those men senseless with a baseball bat. “That’s actually not a bad idea… Could I bring a wooden club and say that it's part of the character? They seem to not know that much about—“

“Miss (y/n)!” You hear shouted as something comes barreling into you. Knocking you onto the ground right as you enter your apartment. “O-oops I meant to only say (y/n)…”

Even though you got the air literally knocked out of you, you still let out a small chuckle as you reached up to run a hand through the perpetrator’s locks. Triton’s blonde locks. “It’s okay. I only told you this morning to stop referring to me so formally. It will take time for you to get used to it.”

Suddenly, you wince at a feeling of pain as you move slightly. Triton sure was strong. You, honestly, wondered if he held back some strength when he jumped at you. If so, you wondered how strong Triton was nonetheless an adult god.

Speaking of an adult god…

“Hey Triton.” The boy lifts his head up at your call, “Do any gods live on earth?”

The boy seemed to take a moment to think, “Well kind of? Not really Greek Gods though. Most of them are too proud to live with humans.”

“Oh well that’s goo— Wait, a minute! Other gods are real as well!?”

Triton nods his head furiously, “Yeah pretty much all gods. As long as it is considered as one, it exists. There’s Nordic gods…, Indian gods…, Oh! Even Buddha. I like Buddha, even though I’ve only met him once. He introduced me to salt water taffy! It’s delicious.”

“I-I see…I’ll try to get you some then. Another time.” As much as you wanted to hide your surprise you couldn’t. Learning that Greek Gods actually existed was one situation but learning that All Gods existed was a whole nother ball game. Did that mean demons existed as well?

“Hey (y/n). Could I ask you a question?” Triton asks, suddenly seeming bashful all of a sudden.

“Sure. What’s up?”

“Could I…” Triton pauses for a moment, “Could I call you…”

You leaned closer to Triton as his voice slowly got softer and softer at the end. His ears and cheeks were bright red as he waited for you to answer. However, you couldn’t answer him as you didn’t hear the last part of what he said.

“I apologize. Could you repeat what you said, Triton? I couldn’t hear the end of it.” You felt bad for asking him to repeat it as his face only seemed to get even more red when you asked.

“I-I… Could I call you… Mom?”

It was silent as his question, or rather request, fell upon your ears. You thought about it for a moment. Especially whether it was morally right for you to have him call you ‘mom’. Even if his true mother was a terrible person, she was still his mother.

Though, then again, She really didn’t act like his mother. Especially in all her hundreds of years of existence of having him. At least from what you’ve heard from Triton. She’s had plenty of chances to show her love for him and she never did.

“Of…Of course you can.”

You feel yourself smile as Triton’s face lit up. And you knew, Deep down inside, that you did the right thing. You would show this boy the love he deserved.

“Hey (Y— Mom.” You giggle at how Triton seemed to practically beam with happiness once the title left his lips.

“Yes, Triton?”

“Could we have dinner right now?”

You feel yourself jump up a little in surprise. Since you stayed later than what you usually would, due to the meeting, you didn’t have anything prepared ahead of time for dinner.

“Ah, yes. Do you think you could wait in the living room while I prepare it?”

“Of course!” Triton answers as he scrambles up off of you. As you make your way to the kitchen—which was technically in the same room as the living room—to start dinner, you find yourself drifting off into your thoughts.

You realized you really hadn’t thought this through. Taking care of Triton and all. Your apartment was small, he didn’t have his own room, he seemed to eat a lot more than a human boy his physical age and so much more.

You wouldn’t be able to buy a bigger apartment right now. Going through college and all. But you could take more shifts at work. After all, it was literally down the street. You were also good friends with the owner of the toy shop next door. You bet he would allow Triton to play with a couple of toys while you worked.

As you continue to list things you would need to take care of Triton especially if it was long term, Triton was watching cartoons on the couch.

“…Wonder cats will be right back!…”

As the show goes to commercial break, Triton feels himself let out a sigh. Television sure was awesome and all, much better than the plays and coliseum matches used to entertain gods, but he despised ads more than anything.

“Who in the world created such a malicious thing…”

Triton’s voice trails off at the end as the ad changes to another. As he stares at the screen, he feels a shiver shoot down his spine. As quickly as he could, Triton changes the channel to another before shakily dropping the television remote. A cold sheen of sweat breaks out all over his skin as he collapses back onto the couch.

To anyone else, the commercial before looked like any normal hair dye commercial seen on Tv. But not to Triton. Especially when he saw something oh so familiar.

“T-that hair color…” Triton feels himself shiver at the thought, “L-looked too much like Aunties. Mom’s…No…

…Amphitrite’s Sister.”

Author Note: Ahhh this chapter contained so much but I knew I couldn’t split it up. Especially if I was doing posting Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was worried that the time frame in between would mess my readers up. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter. I know there wasn’t a lot of Triton moments but I wanted to get the ball rolling on the plot so that things and certain characters (*cough* Poseidon *cough*) will appear soon. Well that’s it for now, see you next time :)))

Taglist: @angeli-fucking-cat @marixxhq

[undercoverclover]

Land Or Sea

Part 1

Genre: A giant mix of angst, fluff and spice if you want to call it that?

Pairing: Lee x Ari

Warnings: Mentions of death... I think that's it?

Word Count: ≈6k total

-My twist on The Little Mermaid for the Tell A Fairytale event hosted by @acewriters 

“Ari! Wait for me! You know it’s harder for me to swim with my hurt fin!” I hear from behind me. Looking back I see the bright orange hair covering my friends eyes. Brushing it aside, he huffs at me.

“Oh come on, River. Don’t be such a guppy!” I laugh. My younger friend, though he was almost a whole half a tail taller than me, had hurt his fin two weeks ago and though it had gotten a lot better, he was still slower than me.

“Oh hush you or I’m going to tell Mal that you’re going where you're not supposed to be.” I hear him snicker.

“Go right on ahead, then I’ll tell her that you were with me. Let’s see who’s in the dog house then.” I look behind me at his face. Noticing his lips in a tight line and his eyes glaring knives at me, I grin.

“That’s what I thought.” I snicker.

Mal is my best friend and the royal advisor to my father, Triton, the king of the sea. She is so much fun to be around, but let us get caught in a forbidden area and I’d never hear the end of it. River is her boyfriend, so it’d be double trouble for him… Especially with the hurt fin.

We push a little further, finally noticing the sunken ship we’d been looking for.

“There it is, River!” I smile, waving him forward to hurry.

"You know, if we get caught. Your father is going to throw us in the dungeon for a week." He smiles.

"That's why we can't get caught. Duh."

Swimming to the window, I peek inside. "AH!" jump back as an eel slides out. Grasping my chest, I hear River behind me laughing hysterically. Shooting him a look, I slip through the window. He stands guard as I search to see what I can find. Seeing something shine on the floor out of the corner of my eye, I look over to notice a ballerina figurine.

I pick it up, putting it in the bag on my back.

"Ari, come on. The waters are getting darker. We need to get back."

"Just 5 more minutes."

"Ari, now." He said, starting to get agitated.

"5 more minutes Ri!" I plead.

"Ariel! Let's go now!" He demanded.

"Fine!" I grumble, "I swear."

Heading back out of the window, I noticed it had gotten darker. It looked like there was a storm rolling in, but there were no signs of it when we came this way.

"Alright, we need to hurry back." I say, avoiding his 'I told you so' gaze.

Swimming as fast as he could, I tried to help him.

"Okay, this is my bad. We should have left earlier."

"I couldn't have left earlier. Now, let's get moving. Mal is going to have our tails for this."

Right, I’d had to wait on him because he’d wanted to spend time with Mal before she had to go to my father’s council meeting. Those things always lasted forever.

Finally reaching the city, we parted ways and I headed home. Swimming in the door, I notice Mal in the living room.

"We need to talk." She says.

We go up to my room and I place my bag on my desk.

"You missed the meeting today."

"What meeting? I never go- Oh snap! I completely forgot I was supposed to be there today. I'm sorry Mal!" I say, feeling horrid.

"Your father is furious. You may want to apologize to him, not me. I have a feeling someone else is going to be apologizing to me."

"I will… I'm going."

-------------------

Apologizing to my father had been a failure. I'd spent most of the evening trying to apologize. I'm grounded, even though I'm an adult. The joy of being a princess, you never fully escaped.

I'd made my way back to my room after that chaos and collapsed on my bed. Looking out of my window, I see something flickering at the top of the water.

It was distant but I got curious. Swimming closer, I notice it's flames! I swim up. There's pieces of wood and trinkets falling everywhere now, I have to dodge them.

I poke my head above the water and hear men screaming for someone from a lifeboat.

"Lee! Lee? Where are you?" They yell. They look around frantically, but never see me or the man. They head away. I'm assuming giving up hope.

I begin wandering around and looking, pushing pieces out of my way.

I happen to notice him stuck on a piece of wood drifting off in the opposite direction. He had been hit by something, knocking him out and had a cut on his head.

"Oh! Wait!" But they were already too far gone. I decide to take him myself. I grab the wood and push him in the direction of the beach a few miles away. It wasn't easy but I managed. He weighed more than he looked and I'm not huge myself, but I finally made it to shore. The sun was coming up now. The only thing I could do was drag him off the wood and onto what little sand I could get to.

He was beautiful. Brown hair that was fluffy after it had dried on the way here, sharp features and a small scar on his left side of his face.

He groaned.

Oh no… I start to head back to the water.

His eyes flutter open and look directly at me, his brown eyes shining in the morning sun, "You saved me."

"I did. If not you would have drowned. Now, I have to leave. I'm sorry."

"Wait!"

It was too late, I was already in the water and swimming home.

Wow. A human. A man. A gorgeous one at that…

I make my way into my bedroom window and get under my blankets, hoping nobody noticed I was missing.

"Where have you been?" I hear from the corner of my room. I jump and look over.

"River! You can't do that to someone!"

"Answer the question, Ari."

"I took a swim. Now I'm going back to sleep."

"Yeah okay. If you say so." He swims out of the window, agitated and I lay there daydreaming of the man I saved.

The next few days that passed, all I could see was his face. I want to see him again. I will. I'll go and see him tonight! I manage to keep my excitement down to a minimum, only River and Mal notice. Which is normal because I spend a lot of time with them.

I go to bed early, and sneak out. Swimming until I arrive at the beach where I'd left him. He was walking along it. His brown hair straight, in a white sweater and slacks. He was holding his shoes as he walked, feeling the sand on his feet. I wish I could do that.

He looks my way and I hide behind a rock.

"Hello? I saw you! Please don't be shy!"

"I'm sorry! I'm not supposed to be here! It's forbidden!" I yell to him from behind the rock.

"But you saved me."

"I did and I'd do it again."

"At least tell me your name."

"I'm sorry, I have to go."

"Please!"

I'd gone under before I could say more. I feel bad about leaving him standing there so I decide to go back there tonight to see if he was there. Lo’ and behold, he was. I decide to swim close enough so he could see me.

“What’s your name?” Lee asks, wide brown eyes looking in my direction, as if he’s not believing what he’s seeing.

“Why should I tell you? So you can tell all your friends of my existence and they can hunt me down?” I say.

“No! Of course not! I’m in awe… I want to thank the woman that saved my life, properly.” My mouth opens in shock as he continues, “I saw a glimpse of you last time, I just want to know your name to match your face. Which is much more beautiful up close, if I may say.”

“Ariel.”

“Ariel? Well, it’s so nice to meet you Ariel. Thank you for risking your life to save mine.” He smiles.

“Ari.” I say, smiling, “Call me Ari.”

I went back the next few nights, singing to signal him that I’d arrived, I waited for him to come out. He hears me and comes out, smiling, coming to sit on the rock at our meeting spot. We talk until he’s so tired he couldn’t keep his eyes open and I had to tell him I’d come back tomorrow because I need to get back before my father wakes. We continued this for a few weeks and I grew to love talking to him. He was funny and handsome and I became comfortable with him. He’s the first human to see me, the first human I felt a connection to.

I couldn’t hide my happiness any longer, I had to tell someone. I knock on Mal’s door, after returning from my visit with Lee, so it was around 6 a.m. River answers, with a strange look on his face.

“What are you doing here so early and why are you so smiley?” He asks.

“I need to talk to your girlfriend.”

“Alright, come in.” He says, moving aside so I can slip by, “she’s in the bedroom still.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Opening their bedroom door, I see Mal laying in bed, reading. She’s normally up and ready for work by now.

“Hey. You’re here early this morning.” She chuckles, closing her book.

“Yes, I am. I haven’t been to bed yet,” My smile fades, worrying about her. “Are you okay? Normally you are about to come to the palace. You’ve felt sick for a few weeks lately.”

“I’m fine, I just needed a day off. I was grateful your father approved,”

“Of course he would! You’re like a daughter to him, not just his advisor. He takes anything that you say seriously. So if you needed a day, he’d do it in a heartbeat.” I smile.

She smiles at me and pats my hand, “You guys and Riv are the only family I have, I’m happy with that. Now tell me, why did you come in here smiling to no end.

“It’s a slightly long story. Do you have time? And remember, this is best friend territory, okay? Completely sworn to secrecy, until death”

“I have all day. Well, as much as needed. I’d like to stay in this bed all day if possible.” She smiles and nods. I chuckle and dive into my story about everything, starting with the shipwreck.

Her face went from mortified that I was being so careless, to understanding. To say she was mad at first, was an understatement…

“Why would you do this, repeatedly, without telling anyone Ariel? Do you know how stupid that was? You could have been hurt!” She panics, causing River to come in and check on her.

“Please, Mal, calm down. Let me explain.” She calms down, but River doesn’t want to leave her side. Mal reassures him she’s fine now and leaves us to finish our talk. She breathes deep a few times and signals me to continue.

I explain what has been going on and the talks Lee and I have had. About how he is an only child, and his parents passed away when he was in school far away. How he’s managing the small kingdom he runs, on his own. I also explain that he’s seen me and that he is the type, like she, to hold that secret until death. She isn’t happy that I showed myself to a human, but she understands taking leaps of faith because Mal and River were never supposed to be together either. Seeing her understand what I’m dealing with and being there for me even though she’s not happy with the situation, I feel tears in my eyes. She’s genuinely happy for me. And her and River’s hopeful love story of forbidden love, leads me into my next dilemma.

I also tell her that I think I love him,,,

She smiles widely, “I always tell you not to do what I’ve done. Seems you one upped me, in that department anyway. You fell for a human, but I have my own secret to tell you.” I smile and laugh. Grabbing the pillow beside her and smacking her with it playfully.

“Someone has to make you look good. What is your secret? Tell me. Tell me.”

She leans forward and whispers in my ear. My eyes get wide and I’m so happy that I could scream. She shushes me and I hold in my excitement.

“Mhmm. Sure. So as your best friend, when are you going back to meet him?”

“Tonight. I really need to get home to sleep for a while.” I laugh looking at the time, 8:43 a.m.

“Yeah, you may want to, in case your dad looks for you this morning.” She laughs.

River knocks on the door and pokes his head in, “May I have my girlfriend back now?”

“Yes, you may. I was just about to leave.” I smile, getting up and giving her a hug, “Thank you for understanding.”

She nods, “Just remember to let me know some way that you’re going. I don’t care if you leave a pebble on my windowsill.”

I laugh but agree and head home, finding my bed and drifting off to sleep within minutes. I wake up to eat before slipping out for the night. I swing by Mal’s and place a pebble I’d painted a yellow smiley face with a blue heart, on her window; smiling I take off to meet Lee.

I began to sing when I went tonight, hoping he'd hear me and appear, yet he didn’t… I decide to wait for him. I'm beginning to worry after a few hours of him not showing...

"He's not here my dear." I hear behind me. Spinning around, I see the sea witch.

"Why? What's going on?"

"He's sick, my dear."

"Sick? Sick how!?"

"He fell ill yesterday morning."

"But that's impossible! I spoke to him just last night!"

"Well, he must have hidden it really well or really wanted to talk to you."

"Oh no. No! I have to get to him. I have to help him."

I need to find a way. I would.

“I'm sorry. I've got to go." I start to go around the witch to get home.

"I can help him."

"What do you mean you can help him?" I ask, cautiously.

"I can fix him for a price."

“What price?” I ask, more nervous this time.

“Give me your voice and I’ll fix him right now.” she demands.

“You could do that?”

“Yes, I could.”

“I- I don’t know if I could do that.”

“Well, if you decide to. Follow the current south from the castle. I assume you know how to get there though.”

I nod and take off home.

I swim as fast as I can and make it back before dawn. Instead of going home, I make a stop at Mal’s. I need to talk to her. Knocking on her door, I realize she may still be asleep, even though she gets up early, it’s still too early for her.

To my surprise, she answers the door…”Ari, what are you doing here? Is everything alright at the castle?” she asks, her eyes growing worrisome.

“At the castle, yes. But, I need your advice as my best friend and not the royal advisor.” I say.

She asks me to come in and I begin telling her everything. River is still asleep, so it’s like old times.

“So, you’re saying that you really love him? Even though you barely know him and may never know him in any other way and you want to help him?” She asks, “And yes, I know you feel like you know him through your talks.”

“Yes. And I know it sounds weird, but I have to.”

“Best friend’s advice only? Don’t go to the witch. She’s mean and cruel. Scope the beach out and make sure she’s not lying. Maybe your father would grant you time on land, if you told him it was to only make sure he was okay?” she suggests.

“Okay, I’ll talk to father when I get home. Thank you, Mal.”

“You’re welcome, Ari. And do me a favor, don’t take River out so far next time. His fin is doing better, but it’s been aching again for the past few days.” She smiles, coming to hug me and send me on my way.

“You got it. Thanks again.” I hug her back and head home.

Father was already awake and in the dining area. I decided to tell him the truth. Even if it meant getting punished.

“You did what?” He demands, getting angry.

“Father, please.” I plead, “I told you what I did and I’ve found out he’s sick. I need to see him and help.”

“You disobeyed me too many times, Ariel. Absolutely not! Why should I even remotely want to do this for you?”

“Because I love him! And I will do this one way or another Father, please. I’m asking for your help, not the help I’ve been offered already, but I will go to her if that’s the only option I have.”

“You think you love him. What other offer?” he says, angrily.

I stand tall, even though my insides are twisting from anxiety, “The sea witch.”

“Ariel, you will do no such thing! She’s a witch and an evil one at that!” He says, getting up from his seat.

“I will father. I may be a princess, but I am also an adult.”

“Ariel…” He says, hurt by my words.

I turn and walk out, hoping he’ll think about it and agree.

“Wait,” he says and I turn around, “I will help you, on one condition.”

“What? Anything, please.”

“I will grant you legs in order to go help him for 2 days and only two. But at the end of the second day, you will come back home. No questions or complaints. You will come back home and resume your duties as princess.”

“Deal.” I say, without hesitation.

With reluctance, even after I promise to come back, my father agrees to take me at the end of the night.

“Ariel, what are you planning on doing?” I hear as I come out of the dining area, where father had been eating breakfast. I look around and see River, arms crossed, looking at me.

“I’m doing what I have to do,” I reply.

“Mal told me. You don’t have to do this. You don’t know this man.”

“I do, River. I really do. Please don’t do this. Mal trusts me, that’s all I’m asking from you.” I say, sadly.

He shakes his head at me. “I hope so.”

He leaves and I get things ready and make some medicine for Lee, hoping it will work better than human medicine. I get completely ready and when I finish, I decide to nap.

“Ariel, wake up.” I hear and I shift in my bed.

“Ariel.” I hear again, opening my eyes slowly.

“What is it father?” I ask.

“Are you still wanting to go?” He asks. I jump up and grab my bag and the dress I was planning to wear.

“I’m ready.” I say, in a serious tone.

He smiles, “You really are willing to do this?

“It’s the easiest decision of my life, Father.” I smile at him.

“You really are your mother’s daughter. The most like her out of you and your sisters.”

I feel tears sting my eyes. My mother had fallen ill after she had me and passed. I never knew her like my 4 sisters did and always wondered. I hug my father tightly, happy to hear what he told me.

“Now, come Ariel, let’s get this done.”

I nod and we set out for the beach where I had met Lee on many nights and talked until early morning. We swim for a while, not bothered by the silence between us. Once we get there, I speak first, “This is it, What do I do now?” I ask, looking at my father.

“Go to him, do what you must and be back in two days' time. I will be waiting here at the same time as now.” He says and I smile and hug him tightly.

“Thank you. I love you.” I say, quietly.

I head close to shore to where I could touch sand and my father swirls his trident on top of the water. Feeling weird sensations in my fins, I look down, only to notice legs. Human legs… I smile, looking up at my father and wave my toes at him.

He laughs, tossing my bag at me. I grab the blue dress wrapped around my bag and slip it on, it’s wet, but it’ll dry soon enough.

“Be safe and strong, my darling Ariel. I will see you soon.” He says, smiling sadly and disappearing under the water to return to our home.

[unironicduncanstan]

the “Tangodeltaindia” blog explained,

aka my brain has cringe spots on it and needs to be inspected by the FDA

hi my names randi/uni and i created a total drama island themed ARG two months ago on a whim that almost no one interacted with bc i started off way too niche and difficult, so i kinda just went increasingly off the rails because i knew most likely no one was monitoring my posts and i could just make a real cursed hidden tomb that could one day be discovered by someone in a goonies esque unveiling. but then i got lice and now im sad and uncomfortable so i’m just gonna explain the entire damn thing in one shot. its absolutely batshit and theres a reason no one uncovered it ok here we go;;;

first of all the name. its so stupid but. ‘tango delta india’ = ‘tdi’ in the NATO phonetic alphabet. it just felt like a funny place to start that implies its gonna be a puzzle blog idk,

moving on to the actual content tho; some of the earlier posts mean p much nothing and were just an attempt to draw people in, such as the mr coconut ‘like if you agree’ or the ‘let him inside hes cold’ posts. 

then theres the cipher (x). it was posted shortly after the height of the ‘using total drama reference pictures to make an alphabet’ meme. in case anybody didnt see that; for a while it was a joke in the fandom to take the transparent references of total drama characters, and line them up, using them like hieroglyphics to make translatable pictures. its supposed to correspond to the alphabet, based on the first letter of their first name. an example could be, alejandro = a, bridgette = b, and so on. there was no solidly set alphabet amongst the fandom though, it was self explanatory most of the time so i made my own solid personal cipher key for that blog to make the whole thing easier.

NOW ONTO THE FIRST PUZZLE POST,,,, (x). theres a scene, a string of text, the cipher key, and a link to a decoder. the way to decode it all is to plug the characters on screen into the tangodeltaindia cipher key, and then plug That translation into the decoder website, and then finally paste in the text under the photo. 

the website linked is to a Caesar cipher decoder. the Caesar cipher is just a code where the alphabet is assigned to numbers (a=1, z=26), and to encode something with it you can move this pattern however you want as long as you keep the regular sequence of alphabet and numbers. so you could scootch over One letter, and “abc” would now say “bcd”. so on and so forth.

looking at the scene + my own total drama reference cipher, alejandro = A, and the beaver = 1, which gives A1. so you could now follow the link to the website, press ‘decode’, and paste in the text under the picture. the ‘shift’ in the middle is automatically set to ‘7′, or as it shows, a -> h, meaning ‘a’ has been moved over by 7 letters. so if you set the shift to just 1 over, or A1, now you can translate the text. it reads;

“lets start simple. after all, a trail of breadcrumbs begins with a loaf. whats the harm in another long winded fandom meme. another inside joke. and arent you curious whats truly lurking inside?”

edgy! simple! kinda just a test to see if people would do it or not. which they didnt so of course i tried to make it weirder-

puzzle 2; (x) using the exact same translation rules as above. we have alejandro and the snake, which with the tangodeltaindia cipher key means A6. going to the website, putting it in ‘decode’ mode, pasting in your text, and setting the shift to ‘6′ gives you this translation.

“in his eyes are an island. nothing but a dream, born out of going to bed angry. sink or swim.”

this was just hinting around at where the story was gonna go so it’ll make more sense later. something else to note; if you zoom all the way in and look into alejandros eye (’in his eyes’), you’ll see the word ‘Thera’. ~thats a surprise tool that will help us later~

so after this one, there are two non-puzzle posts that are also just hints (i was just tryna see if i could get people hyped), the first is a close up picture of chris with red eyes that simply says “those arent his eyes”, and then a post that says “his real names not chris :)”, they’re again referencing his eyes, and this time further implying theres something fake or wrong about them, or with chris as a person. again, it’ll be explained better later on.

moving on to puzzle 3 (x), another test to see if anyones keeping up (which also failed josdfjsdfkjs), using the same translation rules, dj = a dash or minus, and the snail = 5, “-5″, shift the letter ‘A’ BACK five instead of forward, and you get the simple translation of; “getting harder now.”

puzzle 4 and 5; at this point, there are two images posted within hours of each other that i’ll explain together as they line up. (x) (x)

These are some of the only ones that can be translated from just the tangodeltaindia key directly. They end up a string of numbers, which are latitude and longitude coordinates. The first post, labelled “the lie”, translates into “45.57394802102744, -81.46817207492494″. googling that will take you to maps and show you to a place called Lonely Island in Canada.

The second one, “the truth”, translates into “36.404663113177534, 25.39605673375295″, taking you to Santorini, Greece.

This is where the hints got really out there bc i realized nobody was following along but i still wanted to paint a picture. so this is the set up;;; the idea that the ‘island’ (camp wawanakwa) existing somewhere in canada, is a lie. the ‘true’ location being santorini isnt meant to be taken at face value though. the mythology behind santorini is that a man impregnated a goddess and to escape the wrath of her father (triton), she formed the island (santorini) by having her lover throw clay into the sea, and then she gave birth to her son, Theras, on this island, giving the island it’s Other nickname, Thera.

this is again just a vague implication that the island might not be real at all, or that it was formed through cosmic means.

the next two posts are more non-puzzle hints, the first showing the definition of the word ‘fresh’ (new), and the second being images of total drama backgrounds with no characters and the text reading “they were always empty.” more, admittedly very outlandish implications that the island is some kind of illusion, but again mostly just another try to drag people into the blog.

puzzle 6. (x) this one introduces a new concept to the regular translation rules, some of the characters are laying down. its kinda supposed to imply they’re “dead” and that you need to take their corresponding letters out of the alphabet given on the Caesar cipher page, below the shift. The upright characters translate to “-9″, so you shift ‘A’ back 9 letters. Then remove the letters; “TH-E-R-A-S”, and with those letters taken out, you can finally translate the text.

“he creates life solely to destroy it. to crush it in his hands. he births chaos so that he may have something to control. the power has given him madness. the isolation, arrogance. don't try to stop him, he's already chosen to be unstoppable. his mind is a perfectly crafted prison, one we will all soon be living in.”

this is where the story gets more on the nose. it’s talking about chris, and about him being an unstoppable cosmic force, a diety who can create worlds within his own mind, and he does so maliciously just for power. hes created the campers through mental energy just to torment them. it also hints that his plan is to expand the world of total drama island and engulf the whole universe.

puzzle 7. (x) same as the last puzzle. beaver and moose translate to ‘1-0′ or ten. the characters lying down to remove from the caesar cipher alphabet are “T-U-L-P-A”. this doesnt have anything to do with the modern way some ppl interact with tulpas but just the actual idea of creating thoughtforms, or willing your thoughts into real life creations, referencing how chris has created the entire island and everyone on it solely through his mind. with those letters removed and the shift set forward 10, you get this:

“his psychic power is unfathomable. the reality he bore was just a passing thought. an idea that became so dangerous. he predates the idea of a mind, the minds own ability to recognize itself, his synapses are paradoxically ancient. the island exists only within himself, to torment the souls hes created, and damned from the start. will they ever be free?”

it states that chris is more than a man or even just a diety, hes an all powerful god already, yet he craves more power. the final line, “will they ever be free” is in reference to the campers, which segways into the next arc;;; freeing the campers from chris’ psychic island imprisonment.

puzzle 8. (x) to solve this one you have to translate the top image with the tangodeltaindia cipher key, and add it to the text given, which creates a link. this leads to a PDF, a page from a book written by terence mckenna. he’s a famous ethnobotanist known best for his studies on DMT, the strongest hallucinogenic drug in the world, its also known as the spirit molecule. many people on this drug (without any prior knowledge of this phenomenon) will recount meeting strange fractal beings that can create things in the universe just by speaking them into existence, theyve come to be known as ‘machine elves’, a term coined by mckenna. ill show the most important excerpt from the page;

this is less about the psychedelic drug part and more about the words and ideas, like “punching a hole through a dimension so it pours through” and “if god didnt exist man would invent him”. its more worldbuilding towards chris’ power and cosmic abilities

then come 2 more clues. a picture of chris holding his own body captioned ‘ego death’, and the meaning behind the name ‘chris mcclean’. the latter is another “please look over here” post, but the first is another minor reference to the previous puzzles answer involving DMT and terence mckenna. ‘ego death’ is a term again used with strong psychedelic drugs, its the sensation that your spirit as you know it is literally Dying, and you are instead connected to and a part of everything around you. another reference to chris’ power and how he may look like a man but his body and spirit are connected to the world hes built in unfathomable ways. at this point im cementing the idea that chris mclean is not a mortal man and cannot be fought with mortal weapons

puzzle 9. (x) this one was an attempt to make easier to solve puzzles, and comes with a visual of chris looming over the island. the text is in wingdings, which can be translated through multiple websites found through google. it says;

“s︎o︎o︎n︎ h︎e︎ w︎i︎l︎l︎ s︎l︎e︎e︎p.︎ h︎e︎ w︎i︎l︎l︎ d︎r︎e︎a︎m︎ a︎ n︎e︎w︎ h︎e︎l︎l︎,︎ a︎n︎d︎ t︎h︎a︎t︎ w︎i︎l︎l︎ b︎e︎ o︎u︎r︎ o︎n︎l︎y︎ c︎h︎a︎n︎c︎e︎,︎ t︎o︎ s︎a︎v︎e︎ h︎i︎s︎ c︎r︎e︎a︎t︎i︎o︎n︎s︎,︎ a︎n︎d︎ f︎r︎e︎e︎ t︎h︎o︎s︎e︎ w︎h︎o︎ w︎e︎r︎e︎ n︎e︎v︎e︎r︎ d︎e︎s︎i︎g︎n︎e︎d︎ t︎o︎ b︎e︎ f︎r︎e︎e︎.︎ t︎h︎i︎s︎ m︎a︎y︎ c︎o︎m︎e︎ a︎t︎ a︎ c︎o︎s︎t︎.︎ t︎h︎e︎ n︎i︎g︎h︎t︎m︎a︎r︎e︎ m︎u︎s︎t︎ e︎n︎d︎,︎ t︎h︎e︎ o︎u︎r︎o︎b︎o︎r︎o︎s︎ o︎f︎ h︎i︎s︎ s︎y︎n︎c︎o︎pe︎ m︎u︎s︎t︎ c︎l︎o︎s︎e︎,︎ b︎u︎t︎ i︎t︎ m︎a︎y︎ t︎u︎r︎n︎ o︎u︎r︎ e︎f︎f︎o︎r︎t︎s︎ o︎f︎ s︎a︎l︎v︎a︎t︎i︎o︎n︎ t︎o︎ d︎u︎s︎t︎.︎ o︎u︎r︎ f︎i︎g︎h︎t︎ m︎i︎g︎h︎t︎ e︎n︎d︎ i︎n︎ s︎a︎c︎r︎i︎f︎i︎c︎e︎,︎ r︎e︎n︎d︎e︎r︎i︎n︎g︎ h︎i︎s︎ l︎a︎s︎t︎ i︎n︎v︎e︎n︎t︎i︎o︎n︎ b︎u︎t︎ a︎ c︎e︎a︎s︎e︎l︎e︎s︎s︎ v︎o︎i︎d︎.︎ w︎e︎ m︎a︎y︎ s︎e︎e︎ h︎o︎r︎r︎o︎r︎s︎ t︎h︎a︎t︎ c︎a︎u︎s︎e︎ t︎h︎e︎ s︎t︎a︎r︎s︎ t︎o︎ s︎h︎u︎d︎d︎e︎r︎,︎ b︎u︎t︎ w︎e︎ m︎u︎s︎t︎ t︎a︎ke︎ t︎h︎i︎s︎ c︎h︎a︎n︎c︎e︎.︎ w︎e︎ h︎a︎v︎e︎ n︎o︎t︎h︎i︎n︎g︎ t︎o︎ l︎o︎s︎e︎,︎ a︎n︎d︎ a︎ w︎o︎r︎l︎d︎ o︎f︎ n︎o︎t︎h︎i︎n︎g︎n︎e︎s︎s︎ t︎o︎ e︎n︎d︎.︎ m︎a︎y︎ t︎h︎e︎ s︎e︎a︎ s︎w︎a︎l︎l︎o︎w︎ u︎p h︎i︎s︎ i︎s︎l︎a︎n︎d︎ o︎f︎ l︎i︎e︎s︎.︎ g︎o︎d︎ pr︎o︎t︎e︎c︎t︎ y︎o︎u︎.︎”

this is essentially saying that the island, the campers, werent all just created from his mind, but from his dreams. this confirms that he Sleeps, and claims hes going to sleep again soon, and during that time period theres a chance to kill him before he can dream up another world (or season) to control and torment. its also saying that theres a chance killing him will destroy the island and campers, but that its the only choice we would have to end the cycle. hey guys i am so bored and over the years i have been on every stimulant and anti depressant doctors are legally allowed to prescribe and its still just not quite there yet huh

puzzle 10. (x) the video, the title translates to “the island of his eye”. its just meant to encapsulate everything ive already been hinting around at but with real footage and some audios taken from the show, and again, it was me tryna make some lore that was easy to digest and also terrifying to an audience with no other context. the final images are the only new clues, if you pause fast enough you can barely make out the characters that (paired with the tangodeltaindia cipher key) would say “set them free”, and you can also see an aerial view of what is actually called “the eye of argentina”. it is a real island that rotates atop a swamp, it is geometrically perfect and no one really knows for sure why it rotates the way it does or how it was formed. this clue is simply related back to the idea that the island of wawanakwa’s location is not in canada, and that it does not function like a normal island.

puzzle 11. (x) what td blog is complete without a uquiz? anyways, it doesnt matter how you answer the quiz, theres only one possible result. the title is a link to a mega file, which is protected with a decryption key. the image attached to the result, when deciphered, is the randomly generated key to the unlock the file. the image you see from the file is this; (TW for mentions of self harm and eye trauma)

in case this is too hard to read ill transcribe what it says;

“How to escape the dream - accept that there is no dream to escape, and no you to escape it. - believe in it anyways. - sleep on your back. - cover your eyes. - hide a nail under the pillow. - wait for the ringing. - when you first see him, dont call his name. dont speak. - keep your eyes shut. - on the second night, ask where the camp is. he wont respond verbally. - on the third night, you’ll see his eyes. - on the fourth night, you’ll enter them. - you can’t turn back after the fifth night. - don’t try to hide your fears. he knows them before you arrive. - don’t shut your eyes for too long when it becomes too much. you risk losing them. - find chris mclean. - don’t stop till the nail is through the socket. - repeat on the other side. - repeat on yourself. - congratulations. they are free”

this is, believe it or not, an idea that comes from my very own sleep paralysis experiences. ive dealt with it a lot, so why not make a weird ritual thing for an arg based off it ig. so whenever i’d fall asleep on my back, i’d eventually hear this ringing in my ears (or it’d happen upon waking up), and then the sleep paralysis would begin. i only ‘saw’ stuff a couple times but the fear for me was really more about the overwhelming sensation of pure dread that always came along with it even when i was aware what was happening, and i Always got this feeling too that if i opened my eyes in that moment, something was gonna stab them.

so moving on to how that applies to the arg, the first few lines are about how, obviously, the island is not real, even in the lore being given its a figment of chris’ imagination, but you have to enter it anyways, and the only way to do that is to believe its real. then it tells you how to ‘enter’ that world, (btw i didn’t expect anyone to actually follow these instructions if found, but even if they did, the whole ‘sleep paralysis being caused by sleeping on your back’ thing usually only happens if you’re predisposed to having it and only happens to Some people who have it, so the intent was like. never to bring that upon anybody. but if you are prone to sleep paralysis plz do not attempt even as a joke or anything thx)

the parts about hallucinating chris then are as follows, “ask about the camp / he wont respond verbally” , meaning he will show you through a dream instead, one that might look a lot like the video from before. “on the third night you will see his eyes”, meaning you will see the island but not be able to interact with it, or basically, how we see total drama on tv right now. “on the fourth night you’ll enter (his eyes)” references the island existing ‘within his eyes’, meaning you will enter the actual island. the next night chris will sleep and you will be able to enter the island again and find him. the idea with the nail is that, if you destroy his eyes you destroy the ‘island’ within them. wrapping back around to sleep paralysis, the idea of stabbing yourself with the nail afterwards is because sometimes, the only thing you can move during sleep paralysis is your fingertips and toes, and wiggling those can help bring you out of the paralysis. so at first how i used to wake myself up, but it didnt usually work fast enough so oftentimes id just pinch the shit out of my fingers and use pain to make my muscles start up faster.

the next post is a link to a countdown. again, i knew nobody was rly following at this point, but i wanted a little more build up before just dropping the ending. it was set up to end 5 days after the last post, aka the one that mentioned a 5 night dream ritual.

puzzle 12. (x) going all the way back to the normal multi step translation puzzles. the coloring of the cipher is a bit different, and its missing chris, but its meant to be used the same as it was before, these changes are only for dramatic effect. and chris is gone because well. we mentally offed him in the inception dream land last time. so anyways the snake = 6, shift A to 6, take out the letters “R-I-C-K” of the characters laying in their graves, and you get this translation;

“its almost time. we must now crack open our minds like a crowbar to a sealed chest. like an egg to a pan. to find our way into camp wawanakwa our ego cannot remain intact, and to traverse it we must stay strong. to escape it, we must glue the pieces back together. now we sleep. dream. end the nightmare.”

this is a final message before ‘entering the island’ to kill chris and free the campers from the island. it acts like a pep talk.

the next post is just the countdown ending.

puzzle 13 (the finale). (x)

this post sends you to a new blog entirely, called @awakenfromthenightmare​. there is only one post on it. the post has another link to a mega file, and the link is attached onto a string of text. follow the link by clicking, then copy the text and paste it in as the decryption key. now you have another image to translate with the tangodeltaindia cipher;

when translated, the text is another link to a youtube video. 

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

so there you have it, that video is the ending to the entire arg. it didnt really end the way i wanted at first, i got burnt out from no engagement about halfway through which isnt anybody elses fault, but i still felt this was a well crafted and fitting finale. thank you all for reading.

[percabeth4life]

The Prince of the Sea

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter || AO3

Triton heard the rumors from the fish. The whispers of a child controlling the water in the river. A child that smelled strangely mortal and yet a layer of the sea clung stubbornly to them.

Triton eventually went to see this child, perhaps a child of a minor god was learning how to use their powers?

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

The child was so much more than a child of a minor sea god.

Triton watched him manipulate the water better than half the students of Atlantis’s elite academy. He watched him freeze it.

The amount of skill that took was ridiculous. Ice does not come easy to those of the mid seas. The northern most and southern most were skilled in it, but this child was definitely not of those.

The eye’s gave him away.

They were the same eye’s Triton had. The same eye’s that every child of Poseidon ever had.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He watched his half-brother for a time.

He wasn’t sure what he was doing at the start, but it seemed he was cleaning the river?

Did he lose something in it?

Triton watched though, he watched as the boy learned to raise the water, learned to make waves, spoke with the fish, studied some of the harder magics of the sea, seemingly without even realizing.

He spoke with an eel named Elli a lot.

Triton did not understand this spawn of his father’s. How was his scent so weak when he obviously knows his heritage? His presence only felt faintly of immortal power. It was strange.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

His name was Percy.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He knows nothing of his heritage.

He has no idea of the gods and no idea who Triton is.

Triton was… confused.

He called his control of the water, waterbending. Triton would allow it for now.

Triton studied him more though, he was cleaning in the middle of winter. That was a dangerous time for mortals even today. He was young, he shouldn’t be risking his health like that.

Triton wasn’t sure he approved of a foolishly reckless half-brother, even if it was to help the river.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

His half-brother asked if he was named after… himself. Triton had to hold back a laugh.

His brother was powerful yet ignorant, a dangerous combination. But right now, one that kept him hidden. Triton would not destroy that protection yet, he was not needlessly cruel.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton hid his knowledge of Percy from his father. He was good at keeping a straight face.

Triton also didn’t tell his mother though, she may not be vengeful but she would be rightfully angry with Poseidon. And that would give it away.

Poseidon didn’t seem to check on Percy often, perhaps because he didn’t want Amphitrite or Triton to know about him.

Jokes on him, Triton was already interacting with Percy.

He was careful not to visit him on days that Poseidon wasn’t busy though, no need to make it easy for him to find out about their meetings.

He wondered if his father had noticed Percy training his Hydrokinesis? (Or Triton supposed it was actually his Thermomancy, seeing how he wasn’t only controlling water. Ice control was extremely difficult for his heritage, perhaps he was able to do it so easily because he was emulating this water bending he spoke of.)

He doubted Father had noticed yet, his father cared but he would be too afraid to check often. It would not just be to keep Triton and Amphitrite from knowing but also to prevent any other immortal from noticing him checking on someone so often and investigating.

That would reveal Percy quicker than anything else.

It didn’t matter though, right now it worked in Triton’s favor.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton told off those two river god’s who’d been spying on his half-brother so much.

They had better things to do, maybe they could clean their own damn rivers instead of letting a child do it.

Truly shames to water immortals.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton decided that his half-brother should learn to use a trident.

It was the weapon of their family, and he would dishonor them to not learn it.

Percy was determined to prove himself more skilled than Triton expected. He made a trident out of ice. He wasn’t even trying to show off, but it was impressive.

Sure, it was brittle, but he could make actual shapes now, and they held for a short time.

He would be strong one day.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton could not believe his half-brother got expelled for doing as he was told.

So, what if they got dropped in a shark tank? Sharks weren’t dangerous anyways. They were absolute sweethearts as long as you didn’t try to hurt them. He’d had a dozen pet sharks over the years!

Honestly that guide should get fired.

Perhaps he should introduce them to a true dangerous sea creature…

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton decided he’d let Percy play around long enough, plus there were some incidents in the sea that were taking more of his attention.

If he’d been raised in the sea, he would already know the basics of sea law and culture. He could not remain ignorant there, not if he was to be a prince of the sea.

Thankfully, Triton didn’t need to worry about that weakening the protections around his interesting half-brother. Percy was convinced there was an underwater society. Triton could work with that.

He gave him books, just a few. It would be a good base for future lessons.

He also had to give him a dictionary for the Halmaheran language apparently, he didn’t know it. What did land dwellers teach anyways?

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton was not pleased that he’d had to go away, sure he’d expected to be busier with the incidents happening, but this was far worse than he’d expected.

There was a massive oil spill.

It required all hands-on-deck to try and save as many lives as possible, and to try and relocate all the coral.

It was a massive undertaking with a lot of merfolk and sea beings involved.

Triton was working overtime both in his duties as a prince to reassure the people and work with the rescue crews to show that he was willing to help, and also in his duties as a messenger and ruler of the tides.

He barely had time to breathe for over two months.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He finally had the time to check on Percy again.

He needed to be sure he’d been doing his reading and practicing the Halmaheran language.

He only spoke to Percy in Halmaheran, make sure he could get used to it. Percy actually did pretty good.

The river seemed dirtier than the last time he was there though.

His eyes narrowed, that was suspicious.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

His half-brother just called him a great friend.

Were they friends?

Triton hadn’t had a real friend in a long time.

His last few… they hadn’t made it to the current day.

And then there was Athena.

He supposed he would accept his half-brother calling him a friend.

It certainly meant nothing to Triton, he was an immortal, he was not attached to his mortal brother.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He couldn’t believe the little brat didn’t tell him about his birthday!

Birthday’s were extremely important for children!

This would not stand.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He gave Percy his presents, and almost turned to hunt down this mortal ‘Smelly Gabe’ who apparently wouldn’t allow his brother to properly celebrate his birthday.

How dare he.

He held his anger in though, watching Percy find the sand dollars he’d spent a week carefully compressing and shaping, along with the bracelet that he’d made for Percy.

The coral conch shell charm on it would keep him updated to Percy’s health.

He had a feeling he’d want that in the future.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I don’t get my brother’s obsession with going beyond in his thermomancy.

It’s a powerful magic, but he’s doing well so far. He should focus on using weapons now as well. He was able to make a solid trident that didn’t break so easily now, why did he need to work on drawing water from plants at his age?

Thermomancy was a dangerous magic, he was doing excellent at it but going too far to harm his source of power, the power he inherited from father. I tried to distract him from it.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

So apparently, Percy learned how to draw water from plants.

Well, if his brother wanted to work so much on that then Triton supposed he could humor him, at least then he would know when his brother was practicing.

Triton assigned him homework on drawing moisture from other sources, ones that shouldn’t be too hard with his base of skill.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton was touched by the gift Percy had gotten him.

It was clearly hand-made, it still radiated Percy’s power.

The bracelet fit his color theme, and the charm was a sparkling version of his trident. It was very well made.

He wasn’t sure his trident charm in return was as good, but Percy seemed happy, so Triton simply decided to get better presents for him in the future.

This one was practical, and something Poseidon should’ve done if he wasn’t off pretending Percy didn’t exist.

Maybe Triton was a little bitter on Percy’s behalf.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton added assignments for Percy to do.

Things that he should’ve been raised learning, Triton would fix his father’s failings.

He made sure to quiz Percy often, making sure that he was up to date on current events and knew about the different forms of magic he may face.

He made sure he knew the territories to avoid and how to identify them.

He made sure his brother could be the perfect prince when needed.

Triton would make sure he knew his heritage.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton couldn’t help being impressed.

He’d guessed already which magics Percy would probably be best at.

Thermomancy for one, but that was common in children of the sea (or at least Hydrokinesis was). Though Percy seemed to have a special knack for it.

He had the potential for Siren’s song, but that would have to be trained. It had some instinctual parts yes, but to really unlock it’s power you had to focus it. Percy would require a lot of time before he was truly skilled at it.

But what Percy had shown a subconscious skill for was Purification.

It wasn’t considered a dangerous magic at all, but it is powerful. And it was extremely useful these day’s with all the pollution around.

Percy had a clear talent for it, cleansing the water around him even without meaning to.

It seemed he’d started practicing some of it, though being him, he’d immediately jumped to one of the more advanced forms.

Sand dollars are extremely valuable when made by a Purifier (someone skilled in Purification). Triton could make some of course, and he was rather good at purification magic out of necessity, but Percy had an instinctive knack for it that was rare.

Triton needed to encourage that.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Of course, another of his brother’s schools were run by complete imbeciles.

Expelling him because an exhibit collapsed, how idiotic. He was not pleased.

But he gave Percy more work, distracting him from the expulsion.

He gave him more history to study, he decided to work with him with other weapons. A sword would be a good weapon for now. Perhaps knives next.

He still worked with him on the trident though, that was the weapon of the sea and the one he must know.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Those filthy idiotic immortal pieces of trash told Percy that he was a demigod.

How dare they, they ruined all the work Triton had put into keeping Percy untouched from the immortal world.

Percy had questions, Triton would have to be careful about answering them, less he reveal too much and completely destroy his little brother’s protections.

But first, he paid a visit to those minor river gods.

No one would miss them.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He played along in court, he needed to see Percy, but his father had requested his presence. So, he went to his father.

Playing the prince was tiring right now, he just wanted to talk to Percy about what he’d learned.

His only reassurance was the conch shell pin that was connected to Percy’s charm. It showed that Percy was safe.

He should give Percy a way to escape from danger.

Just in case.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Explaining the history to his little brother was… difficult.

He had to be careful, he couldn’t tell him about certain things, things that may lead to him understanding and accepting the immortal world around him.

Him accepting the sea was one thing, that didn’t damage his protection, but for him to accept the immortal world as his… that couldn’t be allowed. Not yet.

So, Triton made sure to explain it, made sure to tell him he would be in danger, because he would not allow his brother to be harmed.

Percy is his brother.

The sea protects its own.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Percy was getting better at purification magic. Triton was glad.

Percy’s gift was impressive, he kept it in his room.

The purifying stone probably wouldn’t work long. But it would last a few weeks probably. Triton liked it regardless.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton made sure his brother had an escape route now. The pearl would bring him straight to Triton if he was in danger.

Hopefully he would never need it.

He also gave him a book on the Siren’s Song.

It was one of the most basic though, just describing it in detail and explaining some of the most basic exercises to train it.

It wouldn’t help him much yet, not without an instrument to practice putting his power through first.

Using your voice was both the easiest and the hardest way, it was the most powerful, but the hardest to control once you’d unlocked it. It was always best to start with an instrument.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Percy was attracting monsters now.

He was very lucky it was a young, weak, empousai, the younger ones tend to reform slowly. He should be safe for a while from other monsters hearing about it.

He needs to get better at fighting with water though if it’s going to be his go to. Exploding the pipes was extreme, but if he was going to turn to the ocean first, then he would need to improve on controlling it in a fight.

Triton started drilling him in it.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton couldn’t help but be pleased, Percy had a large interest in the sea magics.

He seemed to have a strong affinity for some of them.

That usually came with drawbacks in other areas though.

Percy was young now, so it was hard to tell. Perhaps his mortal half would balance it?

Nonetheless, he was more than willing to help Percy learn more.

Even if it meant he had to go learn more, he’d never paid a huge amount of attention in those classes. His skills lay more in other areas.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton spent a lot of time studying sea magics, so he could teach Percy more.

His father was pleased that Triton was showing an interest at last.

Ugh.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

So maybe Triton assigned a Cyclops to watch over Percy this year.

It didn’t do any good it seems.

He was not pleased that the school was just as idiotic as the last five.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton got Percy a Rainbow stone.

Making them is ridiculously hard, but he was able to convince (read: bribe) Natia, one of the strongest in enchantments that he knew, to make it.

He added the protections himself though, he didn’t trust her to not try to tap into it.

The Rainbow stone’s were almost shaped like gems, made of a pale white stone that seemed flecked with rainbow glitter. Channeling a little power into it would make a rainbow form.

He also made sure his brothers had drachmas to pay for it if he needed to.

He was touched by the hair pin his brother made for him. He quite liked it, it matched his trident well.

The sand dollars though, those were very impressive. He was already matching the skills of mer’s Triton knew that had practiced for many years.

Percy may be skilled in his Thermomancy, but his purification was where he truly shined.

Father was confused as to where he was getting the small presents.

Triton didn’t tell him.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton was annoyed that his little brother’s school didn’t accommodate his differences. He was of the sea not the land, yet they expected him to learn through land methods?

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

The Cyclops didn’t succeed in keeping Percy out of trouble, despite literally being an alibi, somehow they failed to get Percy out of trouble.

How troublesome.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

There was a small event coming up, between some of the younger high-ranking merfolk.

Normally he wouldn’t attend those, but it would be a good introduction for Percy.

He could make up a backstory for him and did.

They wouldn’t suspect much, Triton had helped do introductions before, usually because he was ordered to or as a favor, but they didn’t know that.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Making the stone to give Percy the tails he would have if he were changed to a merman was amusing.

His little brother was delighted by it.

It was… adorable.

He was determined to keep his little brother out of the mess that the prophecy would cause. He wouldn’t let this one go. Percy was his brother, he would protect him at all costs.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He was extremely pleased with how Percy handled the little event.

He showed he was strong, he showed he was polite, and he showed that he knew how to stand up for himself too.

Triton of course took over when the one brat thought that they could speak out of turn in his presence, but otherwise he let Percy learn.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton took Percy to a few events after that. He wanted to be sure that Percy could handle the politics that come with being high ranking in the sea.

He was doing well and had made some friends.

He found it every so amusing that Percy didn’t quite understand yet that the brighter and more visible you were in the sea, the more dangerous you generally were.

Percy’s tail glittered, even in the dark of the sea depths. It’s blues of many shades shone, the flowy additions almost glowing in the dark.

Percy was befriending quite dangerous merfolk to match.

Samoa was all white, though that wasn’t natural, she’d created a magic dye that lasted for a few years. Her hair was naturally a brown. She just wanted to seem scarier. She was very good at making sand dollars though. Her and Percy were bonding over that.

She was probably the least dangerous of his friends.

Elei was dangerous, but not in magic. She was the daughter of one of the generals of father’s army. She was trained as such too. Though she was young, and thus had little experience, she was still a good sparring partner for Percy. She usually won. Her hair and tail was a deep red, though it seemed green in the dark of the ocean. Her tail was also one of the sleekest he’d seen, a sign that she had zero skill in magic.

Masina was a rising expert in controlling the ocean currents. They could weave them in ways that most trained for years couldn’t even begin to imagine. And they were only a little older than Percy. Their tail was a blend of blues and yellows, some dashes of pinks mixed in as well. It was bright and very flowy, like Percy’s. They tried teaching Percy how to use the currents, but he definitely did not have an affinity for the currents.

He said he felt he would lose himself to them. That’s alright, it was a sign that the current’s just weren’t for him.

Triton couldn’t help but find it amusing.

Fetu and Lagi were twins, both were skilled in different magics.

Fetu had an unnatural talent for the Siren’s song, and many were wary of him for it. Lagi was one of the best healers around. Both were rarer talents, but their parents had been powerful themselves, so it made sense. Their tails were matching yellows, bits of orange shining through them, and they were flowy, though not quite as much as Percy’s. Their hair was obnoxiously bright yellow, a real sign of the danger they posed.

Triton was glad Percy was making such powerful friends, they would be great help to him should he need it.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

The summer solstice was nice.

Percy had given him a box made of ice.

Percy seemed to like ice a lot. The runes were carved well, he was pleased with it.

He also liked the sand dollars. They were very well made.

Percy had clearly improved a lot, they now drew in power like they were supposed to. They weren’t quite perfect, drawing in the power far slower than a proper sand dollar, but he was improving.

He gave Percy a hair pin that he’d had made for him.

His hair was getting long after all, he needed it out of his face for battles.

Also, it may or may not be enchanted to keep him safe from poisons. Not many would be able to affect him with his Purification skills, but better safe than sorry.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Getting an enchanted waterskin for Percy’s birthday required a bit of work.

He could make one, but that would clearly have his signature on it. That wasn’t something easy to hide.

He ended up managing to get one when they had to go to a… dinner…. With Oceanus. His grandfather.

His mother didn’t want them to fight too much, but father was always very tense when they interacted with him.

The important thing was that Oceanus let him take one of his old waterskins (the proper name for this one was Oceanskin, but Percy probably wouldn’t care).

They were useful when on land, but Oceanus hadn’t left the sea in ages. It was one of the few that just felt like the sea in general, not a specific signature.

Percy was delighted with it, so it was worth the curious gleam in Oceanus’s eye when he left.

Hopefully Oceanus didn’t try to investigate.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Percy was back at school, and apparently had gained a sense for curses.

It wasn’t that surprising, he probably had the ability sooner, just hadn’t been around anything cursed.

It was a useful skill to have, very valuable. Father always had a skilled Purifier to check over any gifts given to those at the courts.

Nonetheless, Triton got him more books on Purification. He supposed it was time for Percy to branch out more.

Curse breaking was where purifiers really shone. Though none were skilled enough to break the great curses, perhaps one day.

He was curious how quickly Percy would get the hang of it.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Percy got him a variety of foods for the fall equinox.

Really that wasn’t good, Triton liked them a lot, and Percy had infected him with a matching love of blue food.

It was hard to explain to father.

He wondered how father didn’t know about Triton interacting with Percy yet.

He wasn’t exactly hiding it anymore.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton had worked hard to get Percy some clothes fit for a prince for the winter solstice.

It was hard because he’d never needed to buy them. Everyone was confused and interested in his sudden interest.

Father made a comment about him finding a lover.

Disgusting, as if any land dwellers were worth his interest except for Percy.

Honestly merfolk were so nosy.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Percy’s teacher was annoying. Triton didn’t like them at all.

He suggested Percy use school to practice his “princely” skills. Might as well, it would be good practice when away from the sea.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

The stone horse Percy had enchanted was impressive. They were obviously done by a novice, but he could see the work his little brother put into it, he approved.

He kept it in his room, it made it feel just a little safer.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He loved the equinox, Percy got him a sunflower preserved in ice, they were really pretty flowers.

Poseidon had finally noticed that something was up, as had Amphitrite.

Apparently the three years of disappearing a lot to talk with Percy, and the last few months of literally bringing Percy down here didn’t give them a hint. But him bringing home a sunflower did.

Go figure.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton got Percy a star stone. They were one of his favorite things when he was a child. To see the stars underwater, he thought his little brother would appreciate it.

It was after all, something his father had failed to give Percy.

The stone could project the stars around, but otherwise it was almost like those snowglobes Percy had told him about, except with stars.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

So perhaps Percy’s latest school flooding had been his fault. But the school deserved it.

That pathetic excuse of a teacher expelling Percy just because he had been kicked out of schools in the past.

She was trash.

On another note, he got Percy more books on purification magic. It made sense that he failed to fully release the curse when Triton finally met this “Guinea pig”, though now it was a fish.

Circe was too powerful for Percy’s current level. His attempt to release the curse simply morphed it, changing it to more sea based instead.

It was a pretty good first attempt though.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton got Percy more new clothes. He needed to be sure Percy had a full wardrobe by the time he went to camp. That would be when Poseidon would notice.

Triton was perhaps being a little petty, but he wanted to rub it in his fathers face a little that he had been the one to raise Percy, he had been the one to teach him of his heritage.

Poseidon had done nothing for Percy, it had all been Triton.

He also got Percy an Ocarina, it was a good starting instrument for Siren’s Song. It would help Percy improve his curse breaking to mix Purification and Siren’s Song.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton liked the geode snow globe Percy made him. It was sparkly and rather unique.

It also matched his tail.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He thought it was hilarious that Percy’s mom didn’t approve of the hair dye. The hair dye was brilliant. It was made by Samoa after all, and her dye wouldn’t come out or let any of the original color show even at the roots for a long time. It was magic dye after all.

Those of the sea rarely had plain colored hair, there’s a reason Samoa created the dye.

Father was one of the few to have straight black hair, even Triton’s own was simply a very dark blue.

He quite liked Percy’s hair.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He decided that Percy needed something to keep his belongings safe now.

He was growing older and would likely be going to camp soon.

Triton gave him a bag made by the Cyclops’s. It wouldn’t let anyone, but Percy, take things out of the bag, and would protect the contents from outside forces.

Percy seemed delighted, he was glad. His little brother needed more people looking out for him. He just hoped his gifts were enough to help.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Percy was going to a boarding school.

Triton was a lot less pleased than he let on.

Percy would be away, harder to reach, harder to talk to.

He was glad he’d given him the rainbow stone because otherwise he might have to influence Percy’s mom away from that school.

And that would be hard to explain.

Still though, he worried, Percy would be alone for the year.

But surely Percy would be alright for the year, it’s not like he’d be going back.

Nothing too horrible could happen in the space of one year.

Right?

[hockeysweetheart]

Hunger Games Characters I picture in Disney  Characters. 

Katniss  I Put her with Merida ( Brave) Belle ( BATB)  Meg ( Hurcules) Elsa (Frozen). 

Why Merida. Well shes good with the bow and arrow ( I actually haven’t seen Brave fully so I don’t know much about her). 

Belle. Both are strong willed women Willing to do anything for family.  Both have no choice but to stay where they are “captured” both are like if I have a will to live through this I’m not gonna go down without a fight. Both have 2 men after their hearts, Both know how to survive on their own if needed.   She learned to fall in love with a beast. 

Meg.  This is more the love side  for Katniss. The Song I wont say I’m in love is basically Katniss’s theme song. Like she wont admit it she loves Peeta but girl we all know.. 

Elsa. In a way Katniss did shut out Prim to protect her. She didn’t want to hurt her sister strong willed to protect her sister at all cost.  Plus I know Cinna is to credit for this but her mockingjay outfit *Chefs kiss* plus they wear their hair the same. 

Peeta.  Hercules  Kristoff ( Frozen) Kovu ( Lion King 2)  The Beast (BATB)

Hercules he’s strong. But he literally gave up everything for love. Which is so Peeta. 

Kristoff. Okay this one both  have such a charm that attracts everyone. Tho both have obessions and flaws So they are a bit of fixer uppers.  But both are somewhat accpecting to the fact  I will wait until you make your choice. Both have kind and sweet hearts.  Both are kultzy but pull it off like a champ.  ( And Katniss didn’t fall in love with a man she just met. They knew each other since the age of 5) But Never truely met until the games. 

Kovu. Hes the sexiest damn thing. In Disney characters I freaking swear  He has a way with his words. Charming.  Loyal tho. He is willing to go against his families ( whos kinda a bunch of ya know bad guys) for Love and whats right. So Peeta. 

The Beast. This is Peeta in Hijacked Form ( Some parts). Besides the totally Hitting on Belle part. We all know deep down the love he had for Katniss never left. He never stopped loving her.  Not based on how good she looked but who she is.  Plus A Kiss broke the spell.  Also he had a bit of charm in his hijacking but so much anger and Katniss was the only one who could truely break him outta it.  Also I was hoping that He would of said so you came to look at the beast have you. 

Finnick  King Triton ( Little Mermaid)  Maui ( Moana) Flynn Rider ( Tangled) Aladdin. 

Kin g Triton. Well for that  Trident comes in handy.  ( The king is kinda a jerk why are most fathers in disney movies total jerks I’ll never know) But I hope that Finnicks son at least knows what a fork is compaired to a freaking trident ( and doesn’t use it as a hair brush) man that was stupid. Both are basically the big shot of  where they live.  Both  love water live  near or in water... ( What they hell do they eat under the sea ?) 

Maui. Okay Finnick is a bit of a show off a little.  Not his fault hes so damn good looking.  Both have that sarcasm that makes you laugh but your like oh my god please stop. Both have there  if Finnick had a song It would be your welcome. But still so much we never know about them both.  

Flynn Rider.  Okay  well both just have the certain personality that is strangely Alike.  Both know how to fight if needed. Both  are like well the ladies are okay but not intrested until they find the one..  Both have their charm.  ( Plus I love Flynn rider). 

Aladdin. We know that Finnick has a huge part of him he never opened up. Before when he spilled what the real price to winning is. That was not everything. There is a part that  Beetee said If you knew Finnick it’s amazing he’s still with us at all. So hes been though it.  

Johanna  Bo Peep ( Toy Story 4)  Mulan  and Mulans Grand mother ( Mulan) Tiana (Princess and the Frog) 

Bo Peep. From the first toy story to the 4th one Bo peep has changed a lot. ( Kinda like Johanna from  after her games to who we met in Catching fire) Tho a lot of them is still there that hasn’t changed. But their will to fight. and that they dont take BS as an answer.  That they  both may look weak but inside them so much more then that. ( I was shocked to see Bo Peep kinda like Johanna in toy story 4). Not scared of a little fight and blood.  Frankly I’d be worried that they both would try to kill someone in their sleep.

Mulan. I love in movies where the weakest person goes to the strongest like that. Totally Johanna.  And they are the girl worth fighting for I see more of her in Johanna then Katniss because  Johanna went from faking being weak to deadly like that. Where as katniss she didn’t hide it at all really. Plus if this wasn’t a disney movie i would of love to say what Mulan would of said  when they found out shes a girl really.  But both are bad ass females. Who really had no choice to go into this ( Mulan had to save her father Johanna got picked to be in the games) 

Mulans Grandmother ( I didn’t realize I did this) But I Johanna’s humor she says what she wants and no damage. They don’t ruin the moment they make the moment 100 times better. 

Tiana. She was totally fine not finding love ( But its disney she did) I really like her will to not give up no matter how many changes are thrown at you.  and  tolerting her best friend but I freaking love Charlotte She is the one who knows what to say in a moment where no one else would understand basically the girl talk that Katniss hates but we all have it in us. 

Prim  Repunzel ( Tangled) Baymax ( Big Hero 6)  Anna ( Frozen) 

Lets Ignore the fact that I brought up 2 of these lovers before to other characters 

Repunzel  The healing part Prim has it is in her born with it.  and she has a nack of many talents. And In a way is locked up in District 12 ( But Protected by her sister) 

Baymax He is the cutest thing out there. Caring knowing when you need a hand ( Like katniss)    a healer  ( I might of went out to look for the healer of disney).  Not much of a fighter ( But I swear if you did what  Hiro did if you did that to prim oh my god the fight in her but the healing will always be apart of her) 

Anna. Okay I basically but Anna here because she is Elsa’s sister. Simlar hair styles but.. Both are willing to do anything for each other.  Prim had a knack to see if the fence was on to see if Katniss was gonna be late coming back from hunting. Both are gental who wont hurt a fly (Unless your almost husband is a total jerk)   

Effie Charlotte ( Princess and the Frog) Dory (Finding Nemo )  Yzma ( The emperors  New Groove) 

Charlotte. Oh my god If this isn’t effie I have no clue what is. She  does stuff to get a better district. But then Truely cares about her district 12 tributes 74th Games. She would almost do anything in her power to make them on time and for her victors.  

Dory Okay Effie is a bit clueless in her own little world.  Telling them about the pearls lol and whitty. Effie doesn’t have short term memory loss she has I’ve been living in the capitol and this is what I know. 

Yzma This is the effie we dont wanna see Frankly I am happy we didn’t see this side of her. It’s the one who gets really pissed off I’m sure it would be something else tho to see. 

Cinna.  Fairy God mother (Cinderella) Genie ( Aladdin)  Nick ( Zootopia) 

Fairy God mother. Cinnas out fits are like  bibbidi bobbidi boo I make an awesome outfit for you. Also He takes good care of Katniss.(  Like sent from up above) On her side beyond his end.  A bit of a rebel but over all a really good guy 

Genie. Cinna is like the Genie without 3 wishes.  But he is there and supports Katniss fully.  And just  helps her out when se needs it.  and Is a friend in Katniss. Basically the one  she trusts first and fully, 

Nick  Okay this is an odd one But he  rebeled from his bad guy character to help Judy ( Police officer) with a crime.  Cinna helped out katniss and pretty much a rebel to go beyond to help her. To show shes the symbol of this war... To show that she  should go a head fight for it all its worth. Plus I got your back making your costumes not only good looking but you wont have to worry about death yet your costumes prevent that. 

Haymitch.  Mushu ( Mulan) Lumiere ( BATB)  Crush (Finding Nemo) 

Mushu He is that reality check that Katniss and Peeta needed but also will do almost anything to protect them ( Even lying for there own good)  But also oh my lordy funny. 

Lumiere. It’s his carefree side where Katniss shot an apple at the gamemakers and just like oh well. That happened... Plus not playing by the capitol rules and  He is just like a good mentor to Katniss and Peeta hell the best. He really wants them to try to win this thing.  

Crush. Okay that turtle was the most stoned turtle I’ve met. To this day. And as for Disney Characters this might not be the most drunk but It’s one i can Find. 

Gale Robin Hood  Hans ( Frozen) Gaston ( BATB) 

Robin hood Umm he shoots I think he hunts thats about it

 Hans  Not only did he confuse Anna for a love  But we see his true colours too. I mean they were not even friends first but still. Like so Gale. 

Gaston.  He’s a hunter after his girl Katniss ( But shes already taken) Really wanted her once she was gone  also is strangly after Katniss and only katniss ( when shes around) when he has plenty of takers. 

Okay I realized this is very long. So these are the last picture. 

Snow.  Evil Witch ( Snow white) Scar ( Lion King) 

Evil  both are totally okay with murder and poison. At least she only poisoned Snow white enough to put her in a coma. 

Scar. If you read the newest  Hunger Games book ya know.  What snow did to a certain someone...  And like wont take the blame but he will tho at the same time 

Coin  Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)  Mother Gothal ( Tangled) 

Maleficent I am deeply scared of her just saying and Coin as well

Mother Gothal. Totally Coin.  They both dont want there golden Flower to leave protection  if it was really up to Coin she would never let Katniss go. But she had little control over her Frankly Katniss never trusted her at all.   But like Mother Gothal we all knew she was bad going in but   Coin first time Reading I said I bet you will be bad lol. 

Annie Hei hei (Moana) Jane ( Tarzan) 

Hei Hei ( Sorry Annie ) But kinda crazy.  Kinda out of it...  

Jane I have no idea why but I see this crazy girl from 4 Jane. Just going a bit crazy at everything like Jane 

Wiress Clogsworth ( BATB) Okay simple very smart  but Kinda out there and  has a thing for clocks 

Mags (Grandma from Moana) A little crazy but alright. I mean better then alright down right awesome. 

Beetee Wall’e I have actually  never seen this movie but I am like hell robot  Beetee.

Careers Bruce and the other sharks (Finding Nemo)  Scary yet the biggest idiots on the planet. Sure they get the best of best  as districts go but damn who doesn’t know how to climb a tree or knowlage to idk chop it down burn it down.. 

The Claw 

Not Sure who this is ( Monters inc) I just thought Plutarch at Katniss’s propo attemps lol.

Caesar Flickerman  Kuzco ( Emperors new groove)  If this isn’t him I have no idea what is. Total Kuzco vibes the but also somewhat caring but most of the interviews is how he does.  Its beauty and its grace its Caesers face. But He does try to help out to the best of his ability. 

Boggs Mattias. Frozen 2  Basically he actually cares for Katniss doesn’t want to see harm done to her. A  rebel against his leader. ( I think he would of honestly be proud of Katniss for Killing Coin). But Only hopes for the best. 

Cato Prince Eric ( Little mermaid)  No offence but  holy crap hes an idiot lol  ( Eric I mean).  Cato is smart but clueless.  If he beileved that 2 could win. ( I honestly have no idea why I chose him for Cato) 

Katniss’s Mother ( Iduna) Frozen ( Anna and Elsas mother). Yeah  Mrs Everdeen did leave her daughters to fend for themselfs but bits of her came back to life every day.  and if she had a choice she would of died with her husband but she is the strongest damn person because she could of  died if she wanted to but she stayed for her daughters sakes. I would like to think Iduna would of done the same if she had that chance.

Game Makers  (More monster inc dudes_ This is their faces when Katniss blew up the arena)

Madge Moana. Okay I will admit stange but Madge is pretty bad ass like Moana tho she doesn’t leave she is very family is everything quiet. But not a sas for a village leaders daughter Moana isn’t bad at all. I could see her being the Madge we don’t get to see. 

[ldrmas]

Descendants Shipping

Okay I’m already getting called names and being blocked just because I am supporting my ship. So right now I’m going to list my ships so that if you don’t like it you can not say anything and just go ahead and block me. 

Now what I love about the Descendants series, movie series for I have not read the books yet, is that you can literally ship anyone with anyone. There is evidence for it all. I am supportive of all ships because I can understand where one is coming from with that ship. 

Now I’m not going to name all ships but I’m going to name my top ones so here we go. 

If you all know me you know I am a deep deeeeeep shipper of Uma x Mal! 

I have been shipping this since the What’s my Name scene in D2. I ship it because it’s got so much mystery and questions. How long were they together before she shoved Uma in the sandbox. Their relationship getting respentation in D3 made my inner fangirl really happy. 

Now I understand now with us finding out that Hades is Mals father changes things. But here is the thing, 

It’s Malficiant x Hades => Mal 

For Uma its Hades, Brother Poseidon, Brother Zeus 

    then it’s Poseidon -> Son Triton & Daugther Ursula -> Tritons 7 daughters and Ursulas one daughter Uma. 

They are on completely different sections of the family tree. 

Also this is also based on what origin one goes with. Now in the 1989 little mermaid, the concept that Ursula and Triton was siblings was trashed and deleted from the film. Then in the musical the sibling concept was added. So lets say that when I ship Uma x Mal i follow the original idea of the 1989 film where Ursula has absolute no relation with Triton.

Putting that cousins in royal families got married all the time aside, I am not freaked out by this. If they were sisters then I would have a much bigger problem but where they are on the family tree now I am okay with it and will still sail this ship. So if you don’t like it please just block me and don’t say anything against me. 

Now moving on. 

~

This also doesn’t mean I don’t ship Uma in several other ships like HarryxUma, UmaxHarryxGil, UmaxEvie, etc. 

My other big ship thanks to D3 is Gil x Jay 

Oh my gawd this ship is adorable and I love it so! But I also ship Jay x Carlos, Harry x Carlos, Jay x Harry, Gil x Harry. 

The ship I will protect with a army is Carlos x Jane!!! Oh my gawd am I pissed that Janlos, I’m calling it Janlos not Jarlos because I know the Jay x Carlos fans use that as a ship name, did not get a kiss scene!!! Ben and Mal did, Evie and Doug did but not JANLOS!!! ARGH!!! 

Then the final one I majorly ship thanks to D2 is Jay x Lonnie, I still love Jay x Gil, but I’ve been shipping this so deeply since D2 that I can’t let it go. It’s such a cute pairing and it’s wonderful. I wish they would have gotten something in D3 but I understand and was happy that we got the Jay x Gil instead. 

Alright those are my major ships and I hope you have enjoyed this post. If any of these ships make you uncomfortable then I understand. But this is what I like and I am not going to change it, and I don’t appreciate being called nasty things because of it. The ships I almost forget are Dizzy x Celia, Freddie x Mal, Mal x Jay, etc. 

Anyway what are your ships, let me know below and lets discuss them like fellow fans should! 

[asoftervirge]

between the salt water and the sea strands

RATING: PG, may increase as the story goes on PAIRINGS: R. Sanders/P. Sanders (main); T. Sanders/OMC (mentioned)

FIC WARNINGS/KINKS: Drinking, Near Death, mentions of drowning FIC SUMMARY: Roman, a young sea captain, is rescued by a mysterious person

TAGLIST: @backatthebein, @levy-the-b00kw0rm, @ierindoodles, @rosesandstuff, @notveryglittery, @patchworkofstars (if anybody else wishes to be tagged, please let me know!)

CLICK HERE IF YOU READ IT ON AO3 INSTEAD!

“And we’ll roll the old chariot along, we’ll roll the old chariot along, we’ll roll the old chariot along and we’ll all hang on be-hind~”

Roman smiled as he listened to his crew finish their shanty before clanking their tankards loudly and raising them to the high heavens, then laughing jovially as they spilled beer and ale onto the deck of the ship. He didn’t mind it of course, as he had his fair share of being a sloppy drunk and spilling everywhere. Besides, the ship’s deck also had her taste of sea water, blood, and fish guts, so a drunken sailors’ mess is just something else that makes her unique.

The young man made his way to the front of the ship, gracefully maneuvering around the swaying sailors that are mere seconds away from collapsing, gazing out at the view in front of him. The night’s sky was black and dark gray with no stars twinkling amidst its thick clouds, while the water that surrounded the ship was a eerie mix of dark green and blue. With how beautiful it was, it was hard to tell where the sky ended and the sea began.

He inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of salty water and feeling the cold wind blow harshly in his face, then exhaled slowly opening his eyes as he did so (which he didn’t even know were closed in the first place).

“Lovely, isn’t Logan?” he asked the mysterious person walking up to him from behind. He knew it was Logan due to how loud his footsteps were against the deck. That, and Logan wasn’t much of a drinker of ales and beers, stuck-up wine connoisseur.

“In seascapes and literature? Yes. But actually going out on a sea-faring travel? I’ll pass, thank you.”

Roman pouted. “You’re just a ripe old fuddy-duddy, aren’t you?”

Logan pondered that thoughtfully. “No. More like, someone who’d rather not become a victim of the sea’s cruelty and become feast to the creatures that call her their home.”

“In other words, a fuddy-duddy.”

“To each his own, I suppose.”

Roman groaned and dragged Logan closer to him. “Look at her, Logan! How can you call her cruel? She may be a wild thing, but she still as her moments of peacefulness!”

“And we have yet to see that since we left earlier this afternoon,” Logan reminds him, completely focusing his attention on un-wrinkling his sleeve rather than at the sight of the sea in front of him. “Remind me again, why we’re still out here? You know what your Father said—”

“That I shouldn’t be out at sea when it’s dark and dreadful out,” Roman mocked while rolling his eyes which, in turn, made Logan roll his. “Listen, we’re not that far off from port—”

“Nearly 20 nautical miles.”

“—My men are happy—”

“Because they’re drunk to the gills with beer and singing shanties.”

“—So why not enjoy the sea just a little while longer?”

“Firstly, a storm is on the horizon, so it would be best to sail back to port now. Secondly, I don’t understand how you became a thalassophile in the first place. You always liked riding your horse across the mountains, yet you suddenly develop a love for the sea a few years ago. How is that?”

(Truth be told, Logan knew the answer, and Roman knew he knew the answer.)

Roman had always loved the sea. Ever since he was a child, he always called the sea his second home. He loved her personality, her energy, the way she caressed the shore of the beach on her good days, and raged with fury on her bad. The way she stretched on for miles and miles. Empty, open, free. He loved the feeling of the wind blowing in his hair, the salty spray on his face, the sound of the waves lapping against the side of his ship and crashing in his ears.

He’d grown up in the capital city of Alexandria, which was also the largest port town in the country. You would think as someone who grew up near the sea, he would eventually get tired of it, but he never did. He didn’t have the heart to, his love of the sea remained to this very day.

His father Thomas was an actor in a theatre troupe, while his papa Alejandro was a sea merchant and a sailor. Whenever his papa came home from his travels, he would always tell little Roman story after story about what life was like on the sea, the places he had sailed to, and the people he had met during his trades. It would always bring a excited sparkle to the boy’s eyes, proudly declaring that he wanted to travel the sea with his Papa one day.

Unfortunately, that day never came because Alejandro was killed in an unexpected pirate raid when Roman was a small child. While Thomas wanted to forbid his son from going out onto sea, that only increased his desires. He couldn’t stand being so close to his calling, yet he wasn’t able to answer her. From morning to night he could hear sing beckoning to him, yearning for him to control her tempestuous nature and explore her mysterious, adventure-bound waters.

(And bless Poseidon, Amphitrite, Triton, and any other deity of the sea that gave him that opportunity.)

Being from a sea port town, he was used to having the occasional visit from pirates, usually making trades or wanting to get smashed at the drinking house, rarely did the town get pillaged due to it’s importance in sea trading, but that doesn’t stop pirates from being idiots.

One night, Roman and his boyhood friend and future navigator, Logan Faraday, found a young pirate captain swindling the residents out of coin and weapons, along with any other trinket they happened to have bet on. That, was when Roman decided to strike. He decided that he was going to challenge the captain to a bet; this time, through a coin toss. The rules where simple: if Roman won, he’d take the captain’s ship. If the the captain won, he’d take Roman’s most prized possession, a necklace that his papa gave him before he died.

Roman chose heads, the pirate captain chose tails. The coin landed on tails, yet it was Roman that was the real winner.

(Let me explain, both Roman and Logan noticed the captain cheating during all of his challenges. With Logan’s knowledge, and Roman’s papa teaching him about pirates and gambling, they were able to figure out the captain’s trick. Even one as petty as swapping a real coin for a fake.)

(With a chill and humbled smile, the captain surrendered his ship to Roman. Turns out that the young pirate captain was secretly hoping someone would notice his cheating so he could give up his life as a pirate. Wasn’t all that fun for him anymore. Fortunately, he managed to find fun with his handsome, sellsword of a husband.)

And that, was how The Crimson Prince was born.

“You do happen to know The Salt-Water Poems and Ballads, by any chance?” Roman asked after a long period of silence.

Logan quickly snapped his head towards him, the redoing of his cufflinks coming to a screeching halt. “You mean the book of seafaring and maritime history poems by John Masefield?” he asked, making sure he heard Roman right. Once his friend nodded, he only guffawed (not that he would admit that) and exclaimed, “Of course I do! It is, after all, the only poetry book you’ve ever read in your life.”

Roman rolled his eyes. “Then you know what I’m going to recite.” he tells him, standing proudly now, pretending to hold a tankard in one hand and gesturing to the sea in the other as he begins to quote:

“I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by; And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking, And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.”

Logan sat down, not actually caring about how dirty his clothing will get, and propped an elbow on one of his knees, resting his chin in his palm. He couldn’t help but shake his head fondly because even if he’s heard Roman recite this poem hundreds of times over the years, he secretly loves hearing Roman loudly proclaiming his love for Mother Nature’s cruelest mistress.

“I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.”

Logan gave a miniature applause when Roman finishing reciting (even if he intentionally leaves out the third verse). Roman smiled and bowed dramatically, laughing heartily as he helped Logan to his feet.

The sea was his home; she loved him and his father as they loved her. If there was ever a life he lived where it didn’t involve the sea, it wasn’t a life worth living.

A flash of light suddenly made the sky glow for a second and Logan grew worried. For as much as Roman loved to talk about the sea’s beauty, he knew she held as much fury as she did serenity. Logan knew her wrath as well as her comforts, her storms as well as her gentle waves, and he knew to fear the darkening of the skies above and the enlivening of the water below.

He knew to avoid the sea’s wrath— and he knew how hard it was to escape it.

“Roman,” he began calmly, not wanting to raise alarm in his friend and captain. “Now do you believe me when I say we should head back to port?”

Roman nodded. “You’re right.” he said, quickly making his way back to the ship’s helm. “Alright men, enough lollygagging! Get sober quickly and raise the anchor, we’re retreating to shore!”

Soon, rain began to fall across the deck in sheets of freezing cold, and violent waves tossed the ship from side to side; Roman shivered as he clung to the ship’s wheel to keep from tipping the boat over, his knuckles stark-white as he desperately tried to steer out of the raging storm. Logan stood to his side, snapping rapid-fire commands to the crew below, his grim face illuminated by the lightning crackling above and his sharp voice carrying over the deafening rumbles of thunder.

Roman shoved his dripping hair from his face and grit his teeth, yanking the wheel to the side. The ship rocked dizzyingly beneath him as the ocean battered it from below with all her might.

Crack, boom!

He whirled around, a desperate cry tearing from his lips as lightning suddenly slammed into the deck, sending his crewmates, his family, flying. The rain fell but did nothing to stop the flames the lightning left behind, growing bigger and more monstrous with every inch of Roman’s ship they devoured. As the embers flew and the heat licked at Roman, he turned and gripped the wheel once more, desperate to steer them out, to save them…but it was too late.

The water filled his lungs the moment he fell beneath, and though he chocked and struggled, he couldn’t find the surface in the midst of the chaos, couldn’t escape the darkness and the whirling, churning waves. The sea engulfed him at all sides, sending him tumbling, and darkness crept at the edge of his mind as the sea dragged him below.

He’d always known he belonged at sea, and now, like his Papa before him, he was coming home.

When Roman finally regained consciousness, his head hurt and lungs burned from the salt water he coughed up, he heard a singing voice. A singing voice that sounded like it belonged to an angel, hymnal and otherworldly, but he couldn’t understand any of the words. He considered it to be one of the most beautiful voices he had ever heard. He blinked wearily, the high sun shining directly in his eyes, wanting to see who the enchanting song belonged to.

Vaguely, he could see the silhouette of his savior’s face, the sun illuminating around their face, almost like they were carrying a halo. Due to this, he first believed them to be Papa coming to take him to the Great Kingdom in the Sky (he wouldn’t have minded that if he was honest). He gave them a gentle, appreciative smile, but before he could uttered a word of thanks or even a question as to who they were, they disappeared.

“W-Wait! P-Please!” Roman’s voice was raspy and it broke a little when he called out to them. He began pushing himself upward, ignoring both his head and body aches as he tried to stop the person from leaving. When he had fallen into the ocean, he was certain he was sinking to his grave, but here he was, still alive and breathing. All thanks to this mysterious savior who wished to remain just that, a mystery.

When he was finally able to sit up completely and all sunspots had left his vision, they were gone, no sign of them whatsoever. He frowned as he began to look around, wondering where they’ve gone.

For a few moments, Roman was afraid he imagined the entire scenario…but here was no way he could’ve come up with something that creative, could he? But if he did…why did their sweet voice and warm touch continue to linger in his mind. Why did it seem so realistic?

The young captain’s overthinking was soon interrupted by another voice calling out to him, followed by the loud crunching of footsteps on the sand.

“Roman!” the familiar voice yelled. “Thank the Gods you’re alright! We thought you’d died!”

A pair of hands carefully grabbed his shoulders as their form came into his field of vision. As soon as Roman was able to fully recognize their face, an enormous sense of relief washed over him as he let out a shaky breath.

“Logan,” he whispered hopefully, becoming overwhelmed with emotion. When he was thrown off the ship, one of the other thoughts that flooded his mind (aside from his Father and Papa) was Logan; how his beloved friend and navigator was also to meet a watery grave because of his pride and stubbornness. “I…I’m so sorry!”

“Shh,” Logan soothed softly, his voice strangely calm and gentle. Even if it went against his usually cool demeanor, he pulled Roman into a protective embrace. One that showed that everything was alright, and that he was alive and feeling Logan’s warmth encompassing him. “We believe you drowned. Some of our crew tried to aid you, but the currents were too strong. How did you manage to swim against them, surely your nose and lungs would’ve been filled with water.”

“Someone…someone saved my life.”

“Oh?” Logan asked, voice tinged with curiosity as he looked around the cove. “If so, then where are they? And how did they manage such a feat?”

“I don’t know…they’ve gone.”

“I’m sorry?”

“They’ve gone,” Roman repeated. “I woke up to the most gorgeous singing I’ve ever heard— what it was, I don’t know since I couldn’t translate the words— and then I saw them, or almost saw them, but then…they were gone…”

“Roman, I’m sorry but that doesn’t make much sense.” Logan tells him. “Are you sure you weren't hallucinating?"

“Logan, you— you have to understand I’m not making this up!” the young captain protested strongly, glaring at his friend with firm eyes. “I saw them, I heard them! I know they’re real!”

“You nearly died from drowning. It’s quite common for seafarers to have hallucinations, especially when they’ve nearly drank themselves to oblivion." Logan placated, resting the back of his hand on his friend’s forehead. "You also know that we’ve heard similar stories at the bars we’ve been to, sailors saying they’ve been saved by mysterious folk to draw in a crowd.”

Roman growled and violently shook his head to the point where another wave of pain rushed to him. He wasn’t even drinking on the ship, Logan knew that! And why would he make something like this up?! He was known to tell an exaggerative story, but nothing of this scale and grandeur.

This person, angel, whomever, was real! The vague, sweet-looking face, the angelic voice, the feeling of soft skin lightly brushing against his own. It couldn’t have been a hallucination, Roman was convinced of that.

Where had they gone when he tried to thank them? How could they have disappeared so suddenly and without a trace? Who were they? Maybe it was Papa, Roman thought with a sad chuckle.

But if it was Papa, he would’ve known; he would’ve called Roman “his little hijo del mar” and affirm that “the seas have called us home”; he would’ve sung to him in a deep voice, rich with passionate experience, not light with a calm gentleness; and he would’ve held a guiding hand and led him to the Heavens. So who was it that saved his life?

“Come, Roman. Let me take you home. I’m sure Thomas is worried sick about you.” Logan wrapped his arm around his friend’s waist, leading him back to port. After a few moments of trying to convince Logan his story was true (and the navigator remained in denial), Roman begrudgingly ceased his protests and allowed himself to be lead home.

[louthegreatfurrry]

The Same Eyes, Pt.5 (end)

Ariel hasn’t visited in four days.

Ursula has deduced that she must hate her.

Flotsam isn’t having none of it. “Why do you always assume the worst?” they ask, sighing in exasperation.

“How is that the worst?” Ursula puts down the book she’d been reading with a little more force than necessary. “Her having enough of me is way better than the alternative - her death! Or her kidnapping! Or her falling sick!”

Flotsam takes a sharp turn around her. They give her a stern glare. “True,” they allow, “but not helping your point. Maybe something’s come up - Triton, or that crab, the fish - ”

“Sebastian and Flounder,” Ursula interrupts.

Flotsam’s look speaks volumes.

Ursula groans, half-heartedly batting them away. “Yes, well, what do you propose I do about it?”

“You could check up on her,” Jetsam suggests, having the nerve to sound dry on top of the shelf in their little corner.

Ursula casts them a flat look. “And how, exactly, would I do that?”

Flotsam rolls their eyes, floating over to Jetsam. “The same way Ariel has looked at her princey boy the last few weeks,” they say, nudging their sibling off the shelf with a pleased little hum. “You know how to do the Animus Spell, don’t you?”

Every single muscle in her body freezes up. “That,” she says, coldly, harshly, straightening up to her full length, “is not. Going. To work.”

“Ursula – ”

“I haven’t seen anything in that cauldron in decades, Flotsam!” Ursula cries, sending a book flying through the room. “Nothing! Nothing for years! Not even you – ” She cuts herself off, then decides against it, and ploughs ahead even louder than before. “Not even you! I never saw you! I never saw anything but – her –”

Flotsam bristles, but rises against her, snapping out in their hissy voice, “And now you will see her daughter! How many times haven’t you looked at her fondly? How many times haven’t you appreciated her presence, cried over her absence, fallen into depression when she’d gone?” They heave after air. Jetsam lifts themselves up and floats closer, flanking Flotsam with a seemingly undisturbed expression. “She’s pulled you out of the dark, Ursula! I haven’t heard you use your voice in years, and now you’re shifting between them at Ariel’s whim! She gives you a look and you burst into song!”

Jetsam chimes in. “You read each other like open books. We see how she looks when you turn away.” They adopt an uncharacteristically serious look. “We see you, Ursula. We see you both.”

“Try,” Flotsam whispers, edging closer, brushing against Ursula’s arm as they swim pass. “At least try.”

Ursula closes her eyes.

(she dares. not. hope.)

“Okay,” she says, and moves towards the cauldron.

Her blood is rushing in her ears, heart thumping loudly in her chest as she grapples for the cork of the seaweed bottle, fingers shaking as she adds it to the bowl, and she cannot even hear her own voice as the incantation falls from trembling lips –

(she won’t see anything she will not)

(despite it all, through all these years, there has never been anything in the cauldron except Athena, always Athena, never anything else –)

(not even Flotsam and Jetsam, her children, her best friends, her siblings, her supporters through thick and thin, and if she hasn’t loved them then what has she)

(and of course she won’t see anything she’s broken she’s broken –)

The spell flickers to life –

the lights dance, twist –

and Ariel –

appears.

Ursula stares.

She closes her eyes.

Breathes.

Breathes.

When she opens her eyes again the tears are gone.

Flotsam says nothing, but surely they can guess that they were right, for they press up against Ursula’s side, warm, close, warm. Jetsam is on her other side, close, warm, close –

Ursula leans forward and looks into the cauldron.

Ariel is sitting in a room, bent over the notebook Ursula had given her. She’s writing somewhat frantically, her hair the most unkept Ursula has ever seen it, brow furrowed in a concentrated frown.

There’s a window in the room, and a door – but the window is small, and the door bolted shut. Upon closer inspection, the wall around the window looks… newer, somehow, than the rest of the room –

“They’ve shut her in,” Ursula whispers, and her lips are numb.

A beat. “What?” says Flotsam, a breathy hiss, twisting to look into the cauldron. They can’t see Ariel, obviously, but they seem determined to try. “They’ve what?”

Ursula’s fingers tighten on the edge of the cauldron. “Her door is bolted, the window bricked – ” She falls silent as Ariel leans back, allowing her full view to her notebook.

The visible pages are filled with sketches and notes and desperate, hope-filled scratches of plans and question marks and names Ursula can’t recognize.

“And… and she’s planning an escape,” she says, struck dumb by the fierceness in Ariel’s eyes, in the furious sharpness of some of the letters on the page.

Ariel jumps, then stuffs the book beneath her satchel. And just in time as well, it seems, for the door swings open a moment later. A mermaid, dull-brown in color, carries a tray of kelp, coral, and something that looks like caviar into the room. She puts it down on Ariel’s desk, bows, and makes to leave –

Ariel grabs her wrist and pulls her back, saying something, and there’s a desperate look to her eyes.

The mermaid answers, but the answer is apparently not satisfying, for Ariel only lets go and sinks back into her chair. The servant disappears out of the room, leaving only the tray with the food, and Ariel rubs a hand over her face.

“We have to help her,” Ursula says, without thinking, without considering, without hesitating. She stands up, and her arms are shaking. “Flotsam, Jetsam – you must go to her, ask her what to do – she might need an outside helper.” She glances over at her work-table, filled with books and scraps and a single page with a detailed description of a finished spell. “And tell her…”

Ursula swallows, then turns to meet Flotsam’s gaze. Determination wells inside of her.

“Tell her the spell is done.”

*

While Flotsam and Jetsam disappear out of the cave, Ursula hurries to pull out the crystal ball she’d assigned to them ages ago. A drop of blood and it’s activated, two eyes forming the sight of one person.

Ursula settles back. She wrings her hands anxiously, time and time again. She hates waiting.

After a long swim, her loyal little eels arrive to the castle, sneaking in and around guards and watchers, up along the castle wall, dark against the pale brick. Meanwhile Ariel keeps writing, though it has slowed now, a cloud of hopelessness brewing in her eyes.

“Ariel…” comes the hiss from Jetsam, and in the cauldron, Ariel starts, looking over to her window. A flash of green, then yellow, and both Flotsam and Jetsam have slipped in through the small opening.

“Flotsam!” Ariel exclaims, standing from her chair in surprise. “Jetsam, what are you – ”

Jetsam lets out a hissy laugh. “Thought you might want some help,” they offer, sliding across Flotsam to get closer to Ariel. “Ursula sent us.”

Ariel hesitates. “How… how did she know I was…?”

Both Flotsam and Jetsam tense. “Well…” Jetsam says, casting Flotsam an uncertain look. They’re waiting for Ursula’s response.

She clutches at the crystal, sinking onto the work table, cradling the cold stone in her hands.

(be brave, part of her whispers, be brave, she deserves to know)

“Tell her,” she whispers, and even she can hear the desperation in her voice.

“She worried,” Flotsam says. “When you didn’t visit. So she…” They glance over at Jetsam for support.

Jetsam rolls their eyes. “She saw you in the cauldron,” they say. “Yes, that cauldron.”

“But,” says Ariel, uncertain, nervous. “But that’s – ” She blinks, then puts a hand to her chest. A slow, warm smile spreads on her face. “Oh…”

“The spell,” Ursula urges, for she can’t bear it, can’t stand that warmth, doesn’t want to hope that it’s directed at her. “Tell her about the spell!”

“She also wishes to inform you that the spell is completed,” Jetsam adds smoothly, before the silence can become strained.

Ariel widens her eyes. “Wait, can she – ” She gasps. “Your eyes, of course – Ursula? Can you hear me?”

Ursula blinks. Then she tilts her head back and roars with laughter. “Oh, yes, and see you, too!” she exclaims. “You are too smart for your own good.”

“She can,” Flotsam says drily. “And she says you’re too smart for your own good.”

Ariel smiles again, lowering her arms to her sides. “Thank you for coming to get me,” she says, soft, grateful, and it’s obvious that the words are directed at Ursula and not her eels.

Ursula clears her throat. “Yes, well, of course. Uh – the spell is done, after all.”

“The spell,” Jetsam repeats. “It’s done.”

Ariel gasps, straightening up so abruptly that Ursula is surprised her back doesn’t break. “Well – why are we still here? Get me out of here!”

“Ariel,” Ursula says, glancing over at her cauldron and wincing at the bolted door. Flotsam echoes her words. “If you leave now, in this condition, your father might never – ”

“I don’t care!” Ariel snaps, interrupting them both. “Dad has made it obvious what he thinks about Eric, and I – I love him! He’s my Heart! His world, I can’t just –” She takes a deep breath, running a hand through her hair. “I won’t stop loving him no matter what dad does.” She raises her chin. “I’m coming now.”

There’s no use arguing when she obviously knows what she wants and what the price will be. Ursula inclines her head. “Very well. Flotsam, Jetsam, tell her to pack whatever she wants to take with her. Break the wall when she’s done, and hurry out of there. The sound will alert the guards, you must be quick!”

Flotsam repeats this, and Ariel nods, starting to stuff a few choice items into her satchel. Ursula notes, pleased, that her notebook goes in first.

Then Ariel hesitates, hand hovering over a bracelet. “Whatever I want to take with me, you say?” she asks.

“Yes,” says Flotsam.

And Ariel turns, her hair ablaze, her eyes set, expression determined. “Ursula,” she says, looking right into Flotsam’s eye, right into Ursula. “Come with me?”

And Ursula’s whole world stops. “What?” she whispers.

“You said to bring whatever I want to take with me,” Ariel says, “and I want to take you.”

Ursula doesn’t even know what to think. “Why?”

Ariel loses some of her fight, rubbing a hand against her collarbone. “You said – you said you see me. In the cauldron.” She shrugs. “Hadn’t Eric taken up the space, well… I would have seen you, as well.”

Ursula breathes.

(she would have seen her would have seen her would have seen her –)

“I haven’t,” she says, but her voice cracks, and she must try again. “I haven’t moved outside of my cave since – since Athena,” she whispers. “Not to mention above sea –”

“Time to stretch your tentacles, then,” Ariel says, cracking a cheeky smile. “Tell me, Ursula – what do you have to live for, here? Banishment? Exile?”

Ursula closes her eyes.

(she’s right she’s right she’s right, when she leaves there’s nothing left, when Ariel leaves Ursula will have nothing –)

“Flotsam and Jetsam,” she says.

Flotsam pauses, then turns to Jetsam, and when they whisper us they sound terrified.

“Ursula!” Jetsam exclaims. “We’d follow you to the end of the world! You know we would! What is losing this form, when the payment is your happiness?”

Ariel waits, perhaps for a response from Ursula, but her heart is in her throat and she can’t breathe, there are tears in her eyes and she can’t see –

“Please,” Ariel whispers. “I don’t want to choose between you and him.”

Well, that settles it.

“I’ll… I’ll pack my things,” Ursula says meekly.

Ariel beams.

*

She brings her dearest and most-used grimoires, the bottles with the rarest ingredients she has, her favorite pen, a few different trinkets –

and, right before she leaves, she grabs the old sketch of Athena, as well. She tucks it into a book, hopes it will survive the journey, and doesn’t look back.

*

(She swims with Ariel on one side, Flotsam and Jetsam on the other, and the water is clear and fresh and the sunlight, she sees sunlight for the first time in decades –)

(and when they breach the surface of the sea and Ursula breathes air she nearly cries.)

*

“Do you think he’s going to like me?”

Ursula scoffs, treading carefully on the sand. It’s strange, having two limbs rather than eight, and seeing dark brown skin instead of pale blue, and being dry instead of wet, but –

she’s free.

She’s free.

“If he doesn’t I’ll slap him for you,” Jetsam offers, walking arm-in-arm with Flotsam. They’ve taken the forms of children, twins, dark-haired and with one blind eye each, skin a duller brown than Ursula’s.

Ariel looks the same as always, only given legs to match her body, and she’s the one who takes the quickest to walking.

There are identical bracelets around their wrists.

A shape appears around a rock some space before them, and Ursula tenses. She’s not quite sure how to explain this situation, but she’ll have to manage, somehow –

“ – Ariel?” the shape cries, and then it’s running, twisting and shaping into a human man.

Ariel gasps. “Eric,” she whispers. “But – but how does he know – ”

And Ursula understands. She can’t quite help the small smile that blossoms on her face. “Well,” she says, looking down at her nails, “sometimes Hearts share dreams.” Ariel turns wide eyes on her, and Ursula gestures dismissively. “Go to him. He’s been longing as much as you.”

Tears well up in Ariel’s eyes, and then she runs. “Eric!” she yells, and they’re laughing, the both of them, spinning in each other’s arms, and Eric looks just as happy to have Ariel as Ariel is to be there. “Eric, Eric, Eric,” Ariel chants, laughing and crying among each other, and she presses their foreheads together, winds a hand into his hair, and then she pecks him on the lips, and oh, now she’s laughing again.

Ursula watches fondly, crossing her arms over her chest with a small smile.

Flotsam casts her a glance. “You aren’t upset?”

She hums, considering it – and while there is a dulled, pained ache within her, it’s melting away in the afternoon sun, drying out as fast as the waterdrops still clinging to her skin. “No,” she says. “I’m happy for her.” She sighs, looks back over at where Ariel and Eric are talking together in loud, happy tones, and drags a finger down the side of her shell. “I think…” she says, determination and calm content swelling in her heart. “I think it’s time to let her go.”

They both know she isn’t talking about Ariel.

A gentle, small tap against the side of the shell, and the voices in her throat shift.

A small hand slips into Ursula’s. She starts, glancing down at Flotsam. They’re smiling, a small little thing, their hand pale against Ursula’s. “I’m proud of you,” they say. “You’ve come a long way.”

“Ah, well,” Ursula says, in her voice, offering a wobbly smile back. “Don’t blame it all on me.”

She looks up just in time to see Ariel grabbing Eric’s hand, pulling him closer. “Come, Eric! You have to meet my family!”

Ursula closes her eyes and comes home.

[shanastoryteller]

wouldn't you think I'm the girl, the girl who has everything?

so i know i already wrote a retold fairytale for the little mermaid, but please consider: 

ariel is the youngest of triton’s children – the most treasured, the most coveted and protected.

ariel is triton’s only son, and the heir to the kingdom of the sea.

his mother had given him his name. the healers hadn’t had time to tell her that she had borne a son, not a daughter, before she died.

they all call him ari.

~

he is beloved. his eldest sister fawns over him, attina trying her best to be a mother to six children even though she’s barely a teenager. she may be queen on day – no one yet knows who will succeed her father, but she is the eldest, and clever and not a bad hand at magic. she may be queen one day, and if she cannot comfort six mourning children, how will she rule a nation?

they have many nannies, people to make sure they are fed and dressed and bathed. but it is attina they turn to with their nightmares, their cries, and their hurts. it is attina who first forces ariel into their father’s hands. “he’s your son,” she says, desperately.

triton has been as affectionate as always with his girls, has embraced them and kissed their cheeks when they come to him sad and scared at the loss of their mother. but he has not yet picked up the child his wife died to give him. triton looks down at the small babe and says, “he has her hair.”

“and her eyes,” she says, “don’t you want to see mom’s eyes again? look into his, and you will.”

he heaves a great sigh and hold out his hands, something guarded and stony in his features. attina carefully places ari into them, anxiously watching as her baby brother breaks into a huge grin, grabs onto their father’s beard, and tugs.

she wants to scream. why couldn’t he have giggled or smiled or done something else adorable and lovable –

but triton’s whole face softens and he throws back his head and laughs, the first one she’s heard since their mother died. the sadness is still there, but as he gazes down at ariel the first hints of true happiness peak through.

“he’s just like her,” he says, and when he looks up at her, she realizes she’s smiling too. she hadn’t done that since her mother died either.

~

ari is two years old, sitting in his father’s lap in the middle of a council meeting, when he topples forward and grabs onto the trident for balance.

“no!” triton yells, horrified, pulling him back even though it’s too late, even though one touch is all it takes.

but his son is unharmed. he’s not a pile of ash, he isn’t crying, there are no deep bloody wounds on him. instead he reaches for the trident again, and this time no one tries to stop him. he bites it, liking the feel of cold metal on his sore gums as his teeth start to poke through. all that happens is a little spark of electricity travels up the trident.

the advisors are staring. triton has no choice but to make a public announcement.

prince ariel, the youngest of his children, is the chosen heir to the throne. there is no longer a question of succession.

the trident has spoken.

~

if this were normal circumstances, then the confirmation ceremony would commence immediately, and ariel would be named a regent.

but this is not normal circumstances. ari is not of age, is a baby who touched the trident by accident, who was named crown prince of the sea by accident. “we do not know how the trident will react to my daughters,” he objects, “perhaps it likes all my children equally, and it is simply ari who touched it first.”

“regardless, he has touched it and been declared worthy,” his councilman says, unimpressed. “let your daughters hold it then, and we shall know for sure.”

there’s a chilling fear up his spine, because if they are not so favored it may kill them. they are of the royal line and magic blood and it will not mean to, but there is a reason he himself did not hold the trident until he was a man.

this must all show on his face, because his councilman softens and says, “we shall move up the timetable from eighteen years old to ten years old. your two eldest daughters will attempt to hold the trident immediately, and each daughter shall attempt the same on her tenth birthday. then, if the trident chooses any or all of them, we shall know for sure who shall be declared regent on the day of their eighteenth birthday.”

it’s a compromise, and one he doesn’t like, but one he must stomach. news of ariel using the trident as a teething toy has already spread even farther than the oceans, is being whispered about by the gods and spirits of the surface and the sky. “very well,” he says, pretending he has a choice in this at all.

attina manages a full five seconds with her hand on the trident before she releases it with a cry of pain, her palm coming away bloody. alana barely places her hand against it before she pulls it back, shrieking, the skin where she touched it gone completely.

triton cleans their hands and heals them, kissing the wounds even as he comforts them. somehow, he’s feels like this is how each of his daughters will fair when the time comes.

he’s not wrong.

~

ari is slightly less beloved after that. it is unavoidable – he is a treasured, a crown prince when they are only princesses, and even as a child his talent with magic is obvious, his affinity for controlling the power of the ocean plain for all to see.

he spends long hours with tutors, with old men and women who teach him the basics of wielding power, and then even more when his talent and intellect demands it.

but he is still a child.

“this isn’t fair,” ari pouts, clinging to his sister’s hand as she tries to tug away, “i want to go to!”

“you’re too little,” aquata says, finally shaking him off, “father doesn’t want you leaving the castle.”

he runs to the window and calls out, “when can i leave?”

“when you’re older!” andrina answers, laughing. he watches his sisters’ tails create a rainbow as they all swim away from him.

andrina is only a year older than him. this doesn’t seem fair.

~

he is five years old when he realizes he’s not just jealous of his sisters’ freedom. but even that young, he knows he can’t have what he wants, so he says nothing.

~

ari has big blue eyes and hair a brighter red than anything else in the ocean. he looks like their mother, or so everyone tells him, and he wonders if that’s part of the reason their father doesn’t let him stray.

he grows his hair long, and it raises a few eyebrows, but not too many. triton has long hair, even if it’s not the current style. ari’s is different, though, and he knows it. he spends longer than his sisters combing it each day, and loves it’s softness and it’s shine.

alana grabs him one day and shoves him into their room. he loves his sisters’ room. as the only boy and crown prince, he has his own quarters, away from them. he wishes he didn’t.

it’s bright and glittering, littered with jewelry and hair ornaments, with sparkly shell tops that he loves to touch. he wears his hair in a long braid down his back because it gets in the way when he’s reading, when he struggles to summon the power his father uses so easily, and memorize spells and languages no one else in the kingdom will ever know.

there are other magic users in the kingdom, of course, but the extent to which they can utilize their power and effect the world, and the extent to which the ruler of the sea can do such things, are so far apart as to be laughable.

“sit still and let me practice on you,” alana commands, undoing his braid with impersonal, practiced motions.

arista sits by them, “wow, his hair is the longest of us all. trying to look like a girl, ari?”

he freezes, a cold lump at the bottom of his throat. is she – do they know – is he so obvious?

“be nice,” attina says absently, head buried in a book. “you’re just jealous because your hair keeps breaking midway down your back.”

arista scoffs, but takes one of his hands, “here, brother, you should have the nails to match.”

for the next hour arista polishes and shapes his nails before painting them the same shade as his tail. alana twists his mass of red hair into several styles, before deciding on a complicated updo dotted through with pearls and abalone shells carved into floral shapes.

“this looks fun,” adella decides, and takes her own spot in front of ari. she brings over a set of pots and a couple delicate brushes. she swipes on eyeliner and paints his lips red, then grabs some of the expensive glittery green powder from that attina’s vanity.

attina rolls her eyes but doesn’t move to stop her, “that’s only for special occasions.”

“be quiet, it’s perfect,” adella says, using delicate fingers to smudge the powder onto his eyelids.

finished, they all lean back to look at him. his other sisters crowd in close, and even attina looks up from her book. “huh,” arista says, “it was meant to be funny, but – you look really pretty ari.”

heart in his throat, he turns and finally allows himself to look into one of mirrors. he raises a hand to his reflection, then lowers it. it’s so close to perfect that he wants to cry. “guess it’s time to take it all off,” he says, but doesn’t move to do so, only keeps staring at himself.

no one says anything until attina snorts, “they spent so long making you look pretty, ari. you should at least keep it all on for the rest of the day.”

he snaps his neck around to look at her, but she’s already focused back on her book. “okay,” he says, and the wave of relief is pathetic.

“you might as well keep the pearls,” alana says, trying for nonchalant and failing miserably, “they look better on you than me.”

“i don’t know how to put them in,” he says, and winces. he should have said that he didn’t need them because he was a boy, and boys didn’t wear pearls in their hair.

“well,” alana says, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips, “i guess i’ll just have to teach you then.”

~

“when can i use the trident for my spells?” he asks hungrily, the dizzying power of having it so close crackling up his spine.

triton sighs, “only when you have progressed to the point where you do not need it.” 

what’s the point of being able to handle and use the trident if his father won’t let him? what’s the point of spending so much time cooped up in the castle, reading and learning and practicing, if he can neither explore with his sisters nor fully explore his magic?

“you have more important thing to do than your sisters,” triton tells him, “you will be king one day, and you must study your magic. on your eighteenth birthday, you will be tasked with proving your claim to the throne, and you must also be able to wield the trident.”

ari holds out a hand, and his father willingly passes him the trident. if anyone lacking great power attempts to hold it, if anyone deemed unworthy of being the ruler of the sea tried to use it, they would be killed.

that ari is able to hold it with nothing more than a spark of static electricity on his fingertips is the only sign of his rank and status of heir that matters. his sisters have all tried to hold it more than once, and it left angry, blistering welts on their hands. it did not kill them, but neither will the trident allow them to wield it.

it is ari, and ari alone, who will one day wield the trident of the seven seas.

~

ari is five years old when he figure out that he’s not a boy. he’s a girl. and he wants to say something, to go to his father and demand he use the power of the trident to make him look like his sisters, to tell everyone to only call him the name of his birth, to wear pretty things in his hair and seashell tops.

but he doesn’t. not as a child, and certainly not as he grows older. he knows what’s at stake.

he can’t be a girl. if he’s a girl, the trident will reject him just as it rejects his sisters.

if the trident rejects him, there will no longer be a clear heir to the throne, and the kingdom will weaken. triton’s rule is peaceful, but not uncontested. there are sea gods who seek to claim the oceans for their own, water spirits who would snatch it away at even the hint of opportunity.

if atlantica loses its crown prince, if there are signs of unrest in the kingdom, it will be as good as inviting war onto their doorstep.

he can’t be a girl.

~

when’s he’s fourteen, he masters illusions.

he leaves a double in his bed, and sneaks out past the palace grounds for the first time in his life. he’d feel guilty about sneaking out from his father’s watchful eyes, except –

he doesn’t know how anyone can expect him to rule a world that he does not know.

ari does this, night after night. he explores, visiting all the places his sisters talked about and he could never go. he goes down caverns and takes naps on the back of blue whales. he rides rip currents and plays tag with tiger sharks.

at night he has all the freedom that’s denied to him during the day.

but even at night, he refuses to think of himself as a girl, because he’s worried if he thinks it too loud the trident will know, and the next time he goes to pick it up it will sense it and reject him.

~

ari doesn’t have friends. he has his sisters, and he has servants. those are the two types of people that are in the castle, besides stuffy advisors and dignitaries.

he meets a boy one night at the edge of atlantica, a boy with bright yellow hair and electric blue eyes. he’s an orphan, and too-thin, but he teaches ari to pick locks and steal food from the cook first thing in the morning.

his name is flounder. ari starts to bring food with him to all his nighttime adventures, and flounder doesn’t steal so much. “what’s it like being the prince?” flounder asks one day, both of them lounging on a rock on the surface under starlight. triton would be furious if he knew ari went to the surface, that he went not just once but nearly every night.

ari frowns and doesn’t look over at his friend, “lonely.”

flounder rolls over and pokes him in the shoulder, “you’re not lonely now, are you?”

“i’m not a prince when i’m with you,” he says, smiling. he can’t be lonely around flounder, who knows him better than anyone else in the sea.

flounder rolls his eyes, “you are a prince always, no matter where you are. that doesn’t change.”

“i suppose,” he says, but won’t say anything more than that.

~

ari is sixteen when flounder grabs his wrist and says, “you know you can tell me anything, right?”

“obviously,” he says, tearing his eyes from the shipwreck they were so close to exploring. he loves ships, and all the things they contain, all the things from the surface. sometimes he worries he’ll never be satisfied by the world he was born in, but will instead always be searching for something more. “why?”

“why doesn’t anyone call you ariel?” flounder asks, and suddenly all of ari’s attention is on his friend and not on the ship.

he crosses his arms, “don’t be ridiculous. my mom gave me that name because she thought she was having a girl.”

“she did have a girl,” flounder says, “didn’t she?”

his skin’s hot and too tight, and he wants to cry. “why are you doing this? i thought we were friends.”

“we are!” flounder darts forward and takes his hands in his own, “we are friends! and – and i’m a boy, and i would get really upset if my friends treated me like a girl, because i’m not one. i’m a boy. but – so – if, i mean, i think you’re a girl. and if you’re a girl, and my friend, then i should call you a girl and treat one like one, if that’s what you are. because you’re my friend.”

he’s definitely crying now. “i can’t be a girl. i can’t.”

“i don’t think that’s the type of thing you can control,” flounder says gently, “look, how about – how about if i treat you like a girl, and call you ariel, okay? because you look sad so much, and i think this might be why. i mean, what do i know, i’m just an orphan street urchin and you’re the crown prince – crown princess – but i think that – that we should call people what they are. and you are a girl.”

“i can’t be a girl,” he repeats, shoulders hitching.

flounder’s face screws into determination and he darts to the sea floor and then back up, a smooth round rock in his hand. “this is a shell.”

“it’s a rock,” ari says, confused, trying to regain control over himself.

“it’s a shell,” he says, rubbing a layer of caked on mud to reveal a pale orange layer below. “maybe some people would think it’s a rock, and say it looks like a rock, maybe everyone would call it a rock and treat it like a rock. but it’s not. it’s a shell. and no amount of calling it a rock will change that.” he places the muddy shell in ari’s hand, “just because everyone calls you a boy and thinks you look like a boy doesn’t mean you are one. if you don’t want to correct them, i’m not going to try and make you. but – it’s okay if you’re a girl, ari. it’s okay.”

they stare at each other for long moments, the silence stretching out to the point of being uncomfortable, flounder not sure if he’s crossed a line that he can’t come back from, not sure if he should apologize or just leave or what. then his friend breaks the silence with an almost hysterical laugh.

“call me ariel,” she bawls, throwing her arms around flounder’s neck and clinging to him. “i’m a girl!”

“i know,” he says, nearly weak with relief as his arms encircle ariel’s waist. “i know.”

~

that night she sneaks into her father’s room as he sleeps. the guards are diligent, but her magic is strong, and its easy not to be noticed as she slips into his room. she hovers over the trident, gleaming even in the darkness in the corner of his room. “i’m a girl,” she whispers to it fiercely, “i’m a girl.”

then she swallows her fear and places her hands on it, like she has so many times before. it heats up her touch, and for a moment she’s terrified that she’s ruined everything, that it will reject her and she’ll be left with nothing, having opened up her kingdom to attack through her selfishness.

but it cools after a moment, and it was uncomfortably hot, but it did not burn her, did not hurt her. it seems like a warning.

“okay,” she says, and this is more than she ever thought she’d get so she’ll make it be enough. “i’m a girl. but it’ll be our little secret. well, and flounder’s.”

the trident doesn’t react, so ariel takes it as agreement. she puts it back in its stand and gives it an affectionate pat before leaving as silently as she’d came.

~

her studies advance. as her magical abilities grow, so does her connection with the sea. she knows when storms rage on the surface, when typhoons and hurricanes rip across the ocean. she can’t control the sea yet, but she can feel it, and that’s the first step.

“i was four times your age when i felt my first hurricane,” triton says, hand heavy on her shoulder and his approval making her feel light as a feather. “son, you’re doing amazing.”

“thank you,” she says, and forces her smile to stay on. he loves her, and he’s proud of her.

so what if he doesn’t know she’s a girl? no one else does.

~

now ariel does her hair and make up before going out to meet flounder each night. she lets it go free in waves down her back, dotted with the pearls that alana gave her so long ago, or up in a complicated bun when she’s worried about it getting in her way. she’s pretty in either gender, and it’s easy for her to look like how she thinks a girl should look.

before, she only did it in the privacy of her room, or when her sisters would pull her into theirs and insist on letting them practice on her. now she does it whenever she leaves the confines of the castle. flounder swings her around and pretends to be a noble and kisses her hand. “you look beautiful, crown princess ariel,” he says, first thing, every time he sees her.

“you’re my best friend,” she tells him, beaming.

his smile gets even wider and he kisses her on the cheek, “i better be, because you’re my best friend too.”

~

she’s seventeen, and one of the most magically accomplished people in the whole sea. she steals a purple shell top that not even andrina wears anymore, stuffs into her bag, then slips out of the castle like she has so many nights before.

“where are we going tonight?” flounder asks, “you have a plan. i can tell by your face.”

“there are some people,” she says excitedly, swimming in the direction of their cave where they keep all the treasures they find in abandoned ships, “who are powerful enough, and talented enough, that they can do physical transformations.”

flounder grabs her wrist and pulls her back. he looks horrified, and she doesn’t understand why until he says, “you’re not going to ursula, are you?”

she laughs in his face. “i’m the heir to the seven seas. if a sea witch can out-magic me, i don’t deserve my title. no, i’m going to do this myself.”

he gapes, but doesn’t say anything else.

she has him stand back while she performs the spell. and she’s been casting illusions in the mirror since she was twelve, but this is the first time she’s tried to make real change.

it hurts, she bites her bottom lip so hard it bleeds, but it works. when she opens her eyes flounder is grinning and she reaches up to her chest. “no one will mistake you for a boy looking like that,” flounder teases, keeping his eyes on her face as he hands the shell top over to her. “how long can you maintain it?”

the burn of the magic is in her bones, screaming at the strain. “not long,” she admits, “but that’s what practice is for.”

and practice she does. ariel casts the transformation spell every night that she sneaks away, and she’s a girl no matter what, with it or without, but she likes having breasts and softer features and a rounder tail. soon she can hold the spell for the whole night, first it’s a strain and then it’s easy.

she can’t make it permanent, not just on her own. she could do it with the trident.

she won’t, because if everyone else figures out she’s a girl the trident will reject her, but she could. that or trade her soul to a sea witch, which she has no interest in doing.

~

attina knocks on her door one day, and her sisters almost never seek her out. “yes?” she says, wary. attina has never played any tricks on her or teased her, but there’s a first time for everything.

“ari,” her sister says, and she does her best not to wince. she actually likes her nickname. she just minds that everyone uses it just because they think she’s a boy. “i’m having trouble with this spell. can you help me?”

she takes the book from her. it’s a spell to promote growth in plants, one that she’s been able to do since she was seven.

attina is thirteen years older than her. she’s a real adult, and it’s times like these that ariel understands the terrible power she has, how the scope of her abilities differs from even her own sisters.

“of course,” she says, instead of articulating any of that, “let’s practice in the garden.”

~

they’re swimming through a long abandoned shipwreck half sunk through the bottom of the ocean floor when flounder licks his lips and says, “your confirmation ceremony is coming up soon.”

that gets her attention. she looks up from the chess piece she’d been trying to dig out of the mud without breaking. “not for another two years,” she says crossly, “and it’s pointless anyway. i’m already the crown prince, and i touch the trident all the time. doing some magic with it won’t change anything.”

“representatives from all across the ocean will show up to witness you wield the instrument of the sea,” flounder says, “after that, it will be impossible for any to stand against you. you will no longer be the son – daughter – of the king of the sea, but a recognized regent in your own right.”

“it doesn’t change anything,” ariel repeats uneasily, “i’m not taking the throne for a long, long time. and the regent stuff is just a bunch of paperwork, it doesn’t actually mean anything.”

flounder rolls his eyes and sighs, “i’m only bringing this up because - when the time comes, don’t – wouldn’t you prefer to be named the crown princess of the sea, rather than the prince?”

ariel stares, betrayed. they don’t talk about this, not since that conversation they had about it over a year ago. “i can’t. the only reason the trident doesn’t reject me is because everyone still thinks i’m a boy, because most of the time i look like one. if everyone knew i was a girl there’d be no confirmation ceremony because i wouldn’t be able to wield the trident, and war would be brought to the doorstep of atlantica.”

“don’t you think you’re being a little over dramatic?” flounder asks, “you think you have great magical power because the trident chose you. how do you know the trident didn’t choose you because of your great magical power?”

ariel gives up on the chess piece. she has three more just like it, after all. “i know because all my sisters are talented with magic, all of them have things they excel at, are beautiful and personable. i know because attina studies, because she’s level headed and kind and smart. she would make an amazing queen. but she won’t be one, instead i’ll be king, and the only thing i have that they don’t, the only difference between us, is that i’m a boy and they’re not.”

“but you’re not a boy,” flounder says, “you’re a girl. you told the trident you were a girl, and it still lets you touch it.”

“it wants a king on the throne, not a queen. i know i’m a girl, and you know i’m a girl, and it knows i’m a girl, and that’s as far as this can go,” she says, using her firm voice, the one she uses on tutors and ambassadors who have irritated her.

flounder sighs, unimpressed, but says, “all right, ariel. whatever you say.”

~

ariel goes to the surface more often than she should, but never close to shore. that’s how she catches sight of this particular ship, and usually she’d watch them talk and drink by firelight and let the ship be on it’s way, but – she sees a man on the ship, and there are many beautiful men in the sea, and she has seen her fair share of handsome humans on ships, but this one – she can’t explain it, but his smile makes her heart lodge in her throat. he’s got dark hair and eyes as perfectly blue as the water on a clear day, and she wants him in a way she’s wanted no other.

“he’s a human,” flounder points out, scowling disapprovingly even as he stays be her side and spies on them  with her. “we shouldn’t get involved with humans.”

“he’s a human and a man, and i’m not some mermaid that can go around seducing sailors whenever i feel like it,” she says absently, “that doesn’t mean i can’t look.”

“what’s him being a man have to do with it?” flounder asks. “you like men. besides, even if you’re dad does think you’re a boy, alana has a girlfriend and he doesn’t have a problem with that.”

she knocks her shoulder into his, “don’t act dumb. i can’t marry a man because everyone thinks i’m a guy, and i’m to be king. i have to have a line of succession, which might be a little difficult if i take a husband. I can’t be known to like men for the same reason.”

“not if you used the trident to make your physical changes permanent,” flounder says, trying for innocent and missing the mark entirely.

ariel grabs onto his shoulders and pushes him under the water, both to get enough leverage to see better and to shut him up. he crosses his arms, but lets her continue to use him as a ledge.

~

most storms build. they take a long time to form, ariel can tell when one is coming two days out and her father can feel one a week in advance.

this is not one of those storms.

it seems like it takes only minutes for the sea to go from perfectly calm to intolerably rough. the humans try to control their ship, try to move it with the storm, but this sudden tempest makes it impossible, and soon the massive ship is capsizing.

“we have to go!” flounder yells in her ear, trying to tug on her arm, “we have to back to the sea floor! we’ll be safe there!”

the humans have started scrambling into lifeboats, but ariel can feel the power of this storm, each massive wave makes her bones shake. this is a storm that plans to leave no survivors. “i have to help,” she says.

flounder yanks on her, managing to pull her a bit more into the sea. “ariel, you can’t! you don’t have the trident, you can’t control the sea! we need to go before it swallows us too.”

she shakes him off, “i am the heir to the sea. trident or no trident, i will control it. you need to go.”

“i’m not leaving you behind,” he says stubbornly, “this is crazy, come with me!”

the waves are larger than the men can handle, rocking and threatening to smash their small boats. “i’m really sorry about this,” she says earnestly.

his eyes widen and he grabs for her, his blunt nails digging into the skin of her shoulder, “no, don’t!”

she uses a spell to make him heavy, heavy enough that he’ll sink to the sea floor. he reaches for her as she’s pulled under, screaming for her, but she ignores it. the spell will wear off in a few hours. he’ll be fine, no matter what happens to her. “go to my sisters! tell them i’m okay!” even if this doesn’t kill her, it will leave her weak enough that it will take her days to make it back home.

she knows this is stupid. she’s the crown prince of the sea, and her life is more valuable than that any number of human’s. but that man, the one with dark hair and blue eyes – she doesn’t know why, but the thought of him dead is like a knife to her chest. she can’t stand it. he has to live, no matter what it costs her.

ariel has never tried to control a storm before. she’s not stupid enough to try to do it now, that’s something she doesn’t even know if her father can do. but the current – that she can comman, probably. she thinks. it’s hard, so much harder than anything else she’s ever done, but it’s working.

she controls the current under the boats, guiding them to safety and out of the way of the harsh waves that wish to claim the sailors for their own. she feels the heat of magic burning her from the inside out, but she doesn’t stop. she’s going to save these men’s lives.

but then the one man in particular she’s trying to save jumps into the ocean and climbs onto the ship that’s currently on fire.

she doesn’t understand how humans have survived at all if they’re all like this.

her foolish human succeeds in getting his dog onto the boat, but is pulled beneath the sea. ariel didn’t think she could do anymore, she thought that controlling the current so all the boats wouldn’t be torn apart and the sailors drowned was taking all of her magic and energy.

but she sees her human swallowed by the ocean, and she goes after him. she won’t allow the others to die just to save him, so she continues controlling the current even as she wraps her arms around his torso and pulls him to the surface. he’s unconscious, a nasty head wound bleeding sluggishly, but he’s alive. the boats are far ahead, but she ignores the ache of her body and pulls him onto her back, determined to see him to safety.

she rides the tail end of the current out of the storm, and as soon as they’re on calm seas, she releases her control of the ocean. they’re sailors. they can get to the shore by themselves now.

all she wants to do it sink to the bottom of the ocean and find a cave to pass out in. but her human is still unconscious on her back, and she hasn’t gone through this much effort only for him to drown now. she’s exhausted and her body feels heavy, like she’s made of lead, but she keeps moving forward. she’ll get him to land, and then she can rest.

it’s the cool grey of almost-dawn by the time she gets them to shore. she drags him onto the sand, and collapses beside him, eyelids begging to shut. she’s never done this much magic before, has never swam so far before, especially not with a person on her back.

her hair had come undone at some point, and it splays out around her as she shifts onto her side, determined to get one last look at him. the wound on his head had stopped bleeding hours ago, and his breaths are coming out deep and even. she raises a hand, hesitates, but presses her thumb against his lips, then splays her hand so she’s cupping his cheek. he turns into her touch, and for a moment all her drowsiness disappears. she’s wide awake, heart pounding as she shifts forward enough that she’s looking down at him. he’s not awake, not yet, but he’s turning into the warmth of her hand, skin against skin, and she feels like she’s falling.

she leans down, oh so carefully, and presses her lips to the corner of his mouth.

“prince eric!” frantic voices call out, “prince eric! are you here? prince eric!”

she tries to drag herself back into the ocean, but all at once her exhaustion comes rolling over her. her magic has had time to recover, but her body hasn’t. her human’s beginning to wake, the voices are getting closer, and she can’t make herself move.

she closes her eyes, pulling at her magic. it should be weak and trembling, barely recovered, but it feels as strong as ever, stronger even. she doesn’t have time to question it. instead she uses it, transforming herself into a shape she’s never taken on before – a human woman.

she barely has the time to see her human’s perfectly blue eyes open before her own slide shut.

~

she wakes up slowly. her first thought is that everything hurts. her second is that she’s – dry. she comes awake completely at that, gasping, and tries to push herself up but when she does sharp pain stabs her throughout her body. “miss, please be still!” calloused hands push her back onto the bed, and she looks up at a woman staring down at her worriedly, “you’re bruised – well, all over,” she says, blushing. “not to worry dear, i’m the one who dressed you and all that. i am carlotta, miss. i am afraid you gave our young prince quite a show!” she winks at her, “i believe he would have been quite taken with you just for saving his life, but you’re such a pretty thing too!”

ariel has no idea what’s going on. “where am i?” she tries. how long has she been gone? there’s sunlight filtering in through the window. her father must have noticed she’s missing by now.

“the palace,” carlotta says, “the prince requested i get him right away when you got up. he wanted to wait with you so he’d be here when you woke up, but the poor dear’s a bit banged up himself!”

her human. “is he all right?” she asks urgently.

“just fine, just fine, nothing some food and rest won’t fix, thanks to you!” carlotta pats her knee. “now, he did say right away, but why don’t we get you all dressed up first?” she pulls out a beautiful pink gown from the closet. a gown, because ariel has a human woman’s body, and legs she hasn’t even gotten a chance to walk on yet.

she’s spent hours in this form. her magic should be gone, it should be burning her up from the inside out. instead she’s just warm, the heat of her magic a pleasant feeling across her skin. even though her body is sore and weak, she’s never felt stronger in magic than she does right now.

she should run. she should run to the shore, leap into the sea, and never look back.

but a kind woman is holding out a pink gown for her to wear, and her human wants to see her.

“okay,” she says. her father has to have already noticed she’s missing. she might as well make his anger worthwhile.

~

carlotta bathes her and helps her into the dress. she brushes ariel’s hair and attaches dangling pearls to her ears. then she’s brought into a grand ballroom, and her human is there waiting for her. he takes a step towards her, then pauses, unsure. he’s just as handsome as before, and he’s alive, and ariel runs to him before she can think better of it. “your face!” she cries, reaching up to delicately tilt his chin down. the cut on his forehead has closed, but it’s surrounded by a big angry bruise. she lightly runs her fingers over it and bites her lip. “does it hurt?”

he stares at her for a moment, stunned. ariel remembers that her human is supposedly a prince, and that if anyone ran up to her in her palace and started touching her face without permission, they’d face a harsh punishment. before she can figure out whether she should apologize or not, he breaks out a large grin.“i’ll live,” he says, taking both of her hands in his own so he can kiss the back of each one. “you saved my life. i don’t know how, or what you were doing in that sea by yourself. but – you saved my life.”

he’s holding her hands. he’d kissed her hands! “i like to swim,” she says, too distracted with looking up at her prince to think of a better lie.

“i like you,” he says, painfully earnest, and ariel’s heart is in her throat. “i’d like to get to know you better. will you stay here, in my palace, as my guest? just so we can get a chance to get to know each other. please.”

she can’t. she has a kingdom to return to, people who need her and depend on her. besides, even if she and her prince do fall in love, what then? she can’t keep her human form, and she can take no husband in the sea. this can only end in heartbreak. she has to tell him no, and go back home.

“yes,” she says. and only regrets it long enough for her prince to grab her waist and lift her up, spinning her above him as he laughs from pure joy.

she will go back, just in a couple of days. flounder will tell her family she’s fine, and if her father get impatient he can use the trident to find her. but until then, she can have her prince, and he can have her.

~

days stretch to weeks. eric and ariel spend almost all their time together from the time they wake up to when they fall asleep again. both of them skip the shy stage, and jump right to eric trying to teach ariel how to dance and laughing at her when she steps on his feet, and ariel laying claim to his library, devouring books as she curls up by the fireplace and eric goes over charts and nautical maps on the other side of the room, looking up and smiling at her every few minutes. she demands eric teach her chess, and as soon as she understands the rules she soundly beats him every game.

he takes her to town and buys her every strange and random object that catches her eye, and when she starts elbowing him in the ribs and telling him to stop it, he only laughs and does it anyway. “i don’t understand your fascination,” he says as he pays for a copper fork with a delicate flower carved up the side, “but i like how happy you look. i’d be willing to trade a lot more than gold to keep you happy, ariel.”

she rolls her eyes and scoffs but she can’t keep from smiling, which was his goal to begin with.

there are nights when they look up at the stars, curled into each other’s arms, and just talk. he tells her of how his parents are dead, and how his whole country is merely waiting for him to get married to take the throne, of how the fear and pressure of being prince is almost crippling. and she understands, of course she understands, she’s the child of a king too, she set to inherit her own throne. she doesn’t tell him any of this, but instead offers him the comfort and encouragement she wants for herself. he seems lighter, and kisses her hands, and says she’s the best friend he’s ever had.

they take long walks on the beach together, and are affectionate and kind to one another constantly, thoughtlessly. ariel didn’t expect it to be this easy, she didn’t know anything in life could be as easy and right and perfect as eric’s hand in hers.

everyone talks. they all expect eric to propose any day now, it’s clear as day that he’s in love with her, and she’s in love with him.

she’s in love with him.

he’s her soulmate, her friend, someone she wants to fall asleep with every night and wake up to every morning.

ariel loves him, and she cannot have him. staying was a mistake.

she still can’t force herself to leave.

~

she’s been there a over a month, and it’s the cool dawn of morning. she’s standing in front of closet, trying to decide which dress to wear. she hadn’t been specific, of course, but she’d mentioned that she’d never had a chance to wear a lot of dresses or pretty things growing up. he’d responded by ordering the seamstress to go to market and get two dozen beautiful dresses, just for her.

(“you’re spoiling me,” she’d accused, trying to pretend like she wasn’t crying and failing miserably.

he’d leaned down to kiss her forehead. “you deserve to be spoiled.”)

she doesn’t know how she’ll ever live in any way but this. she’s a girl, and everyone knows she’s a girl. she feels freer than she ever has, even though no one knows she’s from the sea.

the first golden ray of sunlight has just passed through her window when there’s a pain in her chest. it starts out dull, but soon it’s to the point where she’s doubled over and gasping, each beat of her heart a new wave of agony.

something is wrong in atlantica.

she need to return home.

she hurries, she doesn’t have time to question it. she runs from the palace to the shore, still wearing the clothes she slept in. “miss!” carlotta call out from where she’s hanging laundry, “miss! where are you going?”

“i’ll be be back!” she calls out, and hopes it isn’t a lie, “tell him i’ll be back!”

she runs into the ocean, diving below as soon as it’s deep enough and releaseing part of the spell, keeps the woman aspect but returns to her true form of a mermaid. it’s a long swim back home, but she does just as she did before, and redirects the current, forces the water to take her back to atlantica faster than any fish or boat could take her.

she returns in the midst of a battle.

the great sea monsters cetus and lotan are attacking her home. her citizens are huddled in their homes, while their soldiers struggle to defend the city. her sisters are coordinating the attacks, acting as generals and mages to keep the monsters at bay.

her father is fighting ursula, the sea witch having transformed herself into a being of horrendous size. this shouldn’t be a battle, it should have been over and won but the time ariel got here. except that, for whatever reason, her father fights without the trident. his magic is strong, but so is ursula’s.

she swims, darting around cetus’s snapping jaws until she reaches her eldest sister’s side. “attina!” she cries, “what’s going on?”

attina whirls around to face her and her face goes slack in shock. she grabs her shoulders and pulls her into a fierce hug. “ari! you’re alive!”

“of course i’m alive,” she stares, “why would you think i wasn’t? didn’t – did flounder find you?” she thought for sure that flounder would be fine, but what if she was wrong, what if something had attacked him and hurt him while her heaviness spell was on him –

“your friend came to the palace,” attain says, and ariel’s shoulders drop in relief. “but he said you were trying to control the waves, and then the trident stopped working, so we thought for sure you were dead.”

“the trident stopped working?” she repeats in disbelief. is this her fault? did it stop working because she’d been living as girl with eric? that doesn’t make any sense, but neither does the trident simply breaking. her mind puts the rest of the pieces together. the trident wasn’t working, so her father couldn’t find her like she’d thought he could. they thought she was dead, that the line of succession was unstable, and then if the trident had broken somehow, thanks to her – it’s no wonder that they’re at war. she’s shocked it’s just ursula here now, and not any of the other spirits and gods who are so eager to claim the sea for their own.

there’s a loud crash as lotan’s tail swings wildly and a tower comes tumbling to the ground. “no!” attina shouts, but there’s nothing she can do.

people scream as the rubble comes raining down, and ariel doesn’t even have to think, she whips around and moves the water, creating a barrier over her people so none of the rock falls on them. “move!” she yells, and they all scramble to get of the way. once it’s clear, she lets the broken tower fall to the sea floor. people are starting to notice her, her sisters yelling her name and people staring. “where’s the trident?” attina is wide eyed, and ariel resists the urge to shake her. “attina!”

“in the throne room,” she says.

ariel moves to go to the palace, but lotan snarls and comes barreling towards them. soldiers line up, but ariel is not interested in any of her people dying today. she spins in place, magic unfurling from her hands. a small hurricane appears within the water, capturing lotan in it’s grip and dragging him away. “i can’t leave,” she says grimly. her soldiers jaws are slack. “attina, i need you to get the trident for me. i know it burns–“

“i’ll do it,” she says immediately.

ariel uses her magic to slice off a foot of her bright red hair, and pushes it at attina. “here, use this to hold it. it will help.”

her sister nods and hurries to the castle. ariel takes up her post, magic gathering in her hands. lotan has escapes her hurricane and she send it tumbling back with another large wave. “adella!” she calls out to her sister who’s leading the defense on the other side of the castle. “send cetus my way!”

adella nods, and her soldier marshal together, trying to push the monster toward the center of the battle line where ariel stands. cetus and lotan are beings of magic, and can only be killed by a tool of magic, like the trident. ariel can’t kill them on her own, but she can slow them down. cetus hisses at her, and she calls the power of thunderstorms down to them, sends a bolt of lightning that pins him to the sea floor. it glows and sizzles while cetus inefectially tries to free himself from its grip.

this is more magic than she’s ever done, more than she’s ever seen her father do. it should be killing her, but instead it feels like it’s bringing her alive. it’s like the electricity of the lightning bolt is filling her, powering her.

ursula’s cackle surrounds them. ariel looks up in time to see triton fall limp to the ground with a thunderous boom. “father!” she cries. she wants to go to him, but she has to stay, has to defend her home. she looks to andrina and aquata and says, “help him.” they specialize in healing magic. if any of his daughters can save him, it will be them.

they don’t need to be told twice. they bolt to where their father has fallen, and soldiers line up in a path to protect them. ursula moves to stop her sister, but ariel gathers another lightning bolt in her hand and throws it. it misses the sea witch, but it certainly gets her attention.

“so the prince isn’t dead after all,” she cackles, sauntering towards them. her soldiers raise spears and weapons, but don’t move to attack her, waiting for ariel’s command. she won’t give it. she’s not interested in any of her people dying today. “learn a few new tricks did you, boy? like your pathetic little illusion? if you think pretending to be a girl will save you, you are sorely mistaken.”

attina swims up beside her, holding the trident wrapped in ariel’s hair so it doesn’t burn her. “ariel, here, take it!”

she doesn’t. she’s furious, an anger as deep as the sea rising up within her. she shouldn’t do this, shouldn’t have come here still transformed as a mermaid instead of a merman. but she had. it’s who she is, and she’s tired of pretending otherwise. the trident can reject her or not, it’ll be harder to drive them all back without it, but her magic is just as powerful as her rage, and she can do it if she needs to.

“i,” she says, practically spitting she’s so angry, knowing the eyes and ears of all her people are on her and there’s not going back from this and not caring at all, “am not pretending to be a girl. i am ariel of the seven seas, crown princess to them all. i am the seventh daughter of king triton, and this is no illusion. i am a girl. and this girl,” she finishes grimly, “is going to destroy you!”

she lifts the trident from attina’s hands.

it burns.

but not to hurt. it comes alive in her hands in a way it never has before, sparking and shining. for the first time fear flickers across usrula’s face as the sea swirls around ariel, her hair flying and her eyes glowing with power.

she picks up the trident, and she understands what happened. when she controlled current, when she tamed the sea to her will, she did something that not even her father has done. when she commanded the sea to save eric, it knew. it knew that she had surpassed her father, and as such only she could wield the trident.

she’ll worry about that later.

she slashes the trident down, and a deep cut opens across ursula’s shoulder, blood oozing and black. ursula presses her hand to it, howling as she sears it shut. “you think that just because you wield the trident you matter?” she pants, standing straight. “it means nothing.”

“you’re right,” ariel says, something her father said to her long ago surfacing in her mind, and finally making sense. “being able to wield the trident means nothing, because only those who have no need of the trident’s power are able to weird it.” she lets it go, and it remains floating at her side. “if it will comfort you, sea witch, i will kill you with my own magic, and save the trident for your allies.”

ariel focuses, finds the sea witches heart with her magic, and squeezes. lightning runs up and down her arms and she flings every bit of it at usula, watches with grim satisfaction as the witch tries to move against her and finds she cannot move at all. ariel gathers a lightning bolt with the strength of a typhoon in her hands, and thrusts it through ursula’s heart.

her screams are cut off, and she’s reduced to nothing but ash. what’s left of her is carried away by the current.

ariel hold out her hand, and the trident obediently falls into it. she makes quick work of cetus and lotan, powerful stabs to the neck with the trident are all it takes for them to be reduced to nothing more than bad memories.

she takes a deep breath, centering herself for just a moment. then she goes swimming to the sea floor, where triton lays surrounded by her sisters.  everyone she passes bows to her, and she tries not to focus on it.

“father!” she says, and her sisters part for her so she can sit by his side. “daddy, look at me.”

he’s weak but alive, and turns to face her. he’s crying as he lifts up a trembling hand to her, and she clasps it in both of hers. “you’re alive,” he says, voice scratchy, “my beautiful daughter, you’re alive.”

she breaks completely at that, throwing her arms around him and bawling. “i’m so sorry, i didn’t mean to worry you so much, i didn’t mean for any of this!”

“it’s all right,” he tells her, “you’re alive, and you came back. all else can be forgiven, ariel.”

~

flounder finds her when everything calms dawn, and yells at her and then hugs her tightly for so long her arms go numb, but she only laughs and hugs him back. she formally introduces him to her family, and can’t help but notice the interested glances arista keeps sending him. by the flush on the back of his neck, he can’t help but notice either.

with some help from ariel, triton is back to full health in no time. he still can’t wield the trident.

ariel is having none of it. triton and her sisters look on amused as she glares at the trident, “i’m not ready to be queen,” she tells it sternly, “i’m much too young. you will obey my father until i take the throne, and you will like it!” she shakes it for good measure, and then holds it out to her father.

he picks it up, and after a stubborn moment it glows, becoming his once more. “thank you,” he tells her, amused, “i am willing to retire, you know.”

“no thanks,” she tells him, wrinkling her nose. then she rubs the back of her neck and says, “i – i was thinking, actually, that i should get some practice on being a queen first, before i take the throne.

“your human,” triton says, frowning. “is there no mermen you will be satisfied by? it must be him?”

“i love him,” she says helplessly, because she does, as truly and honestly as the first day she met him, but even more deeply.

he sighs, “then you shall have him.”

~

her family comes with her when she goes to him. he’s sitting on the beach, knees pulled to his chest as he stares out intto the waves. “he’s looking for you,” attina says, nudging her. “go on.”

ariel takes a deep breath, then swims closer to shore. “eric!” she calls out.

his head snaps up, and he catches her eye instantly. “ariel!” he cries, running into the ocean, “ariel!”

she swims to meet him so he doesn’t drown trying to get to her, and he’s submerged to his waist when he grabs her and pulls her close. she wraps her arms around his neck and he presses his face into her shoulder. she can feel his shoulders shaking. “oh, eric, i’m so sorry.”

“where did you go?” he asks, but doesn’t pull back enough to look at her.  “carlotta  told me you ran into the ocean, and no one could find you, i thought – everyone thought – but now you’re here, and–” his arms around her waist graze lower, and he freezes.

“there’s something i have to tell you,” ariel says nervously, “well, several somethings, actually.”

he adjusts his grip and lifts her up in a bridal hold. she impressed he doesn’t drop her when she waves her tail at him. “i’m a mermaid. and a prince. well, a princess. i, well,” she takes a deep breath, because she doesn’t have to do this. her magic is more than strong enough to hold the transformation forever, and it doesn’t change anything. she is a girl. but she wants him to know every bit of her, every part of her, and this is one of them. “this wasn’t the body i was born with. well, it is, mostly. but, uh.” she gets frustrated with herself, and instead of explaining she lets the spell drop so it’s just her, flat chested and sharp jawed. she doesn’t look that much different, but it’s different enough to notice.

eric rubs his hand against her scales, eyes wide. “honey, you have a tail.”

this is not the physical difference she expected him to focus on. “i’m a boy,” she blurts out, which isn’t true, but she needs him to understand because if he’s going to reject her he needs to do it now, do it fast, because this is killing her.

he blinks and looks at her chest, then her face. he leans so he can press their foreheads together, looking into her eyes and smiling. “what are you talking about? you look like a girl to me.”

she throws herself at him, and he stumbles back and falls, soaking himself completely. she grabs his face and kisses him, the first kiss they’ve shared, and it feels warm, feels important, like the trident in her hand. “i love you.”

“i love you too,” he answers, smiling so wide it looks like his face will break in half. “will you marry me?”

“yes,” she answers, and kisses him again because she can, because he knows all her secrets and loves her anyway.

there’s the cool sensation of magic that isn’t her own covering her, and when it’s gone she’s back in the shape of a human woman, in a blue dress that sparkles in the sunlight.

they look over to triton, eric flushing and inclining his head to him, since he can’t exactly bow with ariel in his lap. “this feels different,” she says.

“it’s not just a spell that will need to be maintained or broken,” he tells her. “it’s permanent. this is who you are, ariel. you’ve been hiding long enough.” his lips quirk up at the corners, “the legs are not permanent, of course.” he addresses the both of them, “when your time as monarchs of the land ends, you must both return to the sea. ariel will be made queen, and you her husband.”

“i love the sea,” eric says, looks down at her and a blush covers her face, “it will be my pleasure to stand at queen ariel’s side when the time comes.”

she kisses him again, because she can’t help herself. “as it will be mine to stand by your side while you are king.”

when they look back, her father and sisters are gone.

ariel isn’t worried. the magic and power of the sea still hums in her bones. she can simply transform back into a mermaid and visit them whenever she wishes. she’ll bring eric with her, so that he can know the place she grew up and he will one day call home.

eric and ariel walk out of the ocean onto the land, hands clasped and with a whole future together spread out before them.

read more of my retold fairytales here

[instantangelstudent-blog]

What More Could I Possibly Want? (Part 1) (Dick Grayson x Reader)

Dick Grayson Hogwarts AU (Part 1)

Dick Grayson x reader

Prompt: we stumble into the mirror of erised together. we look into it. neither of us know it’s anything special. we just see our reflections

 Age 5

You giggled, gripping onto your father’s back as tight as possible as you whizzed across the sky on a broomstick. Everything seemed so small, almost as small as your little pinky finger, the one you used to make your promises to your mother.

Soon, a green field appeared beneath you speckled with little white circles like clouds in a green sky. Your father gracefully landed the broom in the field and you hopped off, straightening the skirt of your yellow dress like you had seen the lady do in the painting that hung above the fireplace.

Grabbing your father’s hand, you walked through a magnificent arch made up of all kinds of flowers. Your eyes held wonder as you took everything in. You never knew so many people existed!

“Papa, where’s Mommy?” you asked, tugging at the bottom of his coat. He smiled as he sat you down on one of the chairs and explained that she would be standing on the stage soon with the bride and the groom. You smiled, dimples already prominent in your cheeks. You were going to turn into a stunning woman one day, your father knew.

A rather large man, with a billowing black robe tapped on your father’s shoulders. You craned your head upwards and you were shocked to see he looked like one of the princes in your storybook.

“You look a lot like Prince Eric from the Little Mermaid,” you said as you stared at the man with a large smile. You plucked a flower that was growing next to you and gave it to him. The man shot you a small smile as he tucked the flower away in his robe.

Your father propped you up on his waist, kissing your forehead. “Darling, this is Papa’s friend from work, Bruce Wayne,” he said to you, “Bruce, this is my little ray of sunshine, (Y/N).”

“Hello Mr. Wayne,” you said, flashing the Prince-like man a large smile, “where is Ariel?”

Mr. Wayne chuckled. It was a beautiful sound, like waves crashing against a rock on a summer day.

“Well, I haven’t found her yet,” Mr. Wayne began, “but I do have someone else for you to meet.”

Your eyes widened. Maybe he would introduce to King Triton? Or Sebastian the Crab. But you were disappointed, when instead a pair of periwinkle blue eyes peeped out from behind Mr. Wayne’s robe. A scrawny boy, a finger shorter than you scrambled out.

“Hello, I’m Dick Grayson,” he said in a squawky voice, looking anywhere but towards you and your father.

 Age 10

You sat near your window, drawing shapes in the fog that covered it. The pitter patter of raindrops was the only sound that was heard as you created elaborate storylines on your window panes.

 You spotted the top of the hot pink umbrella that your mother liked to carry moving through the driveway. You scurried down, almost tripping over your own feet as you rushed to the door.

You gave your mother a huge hug and pulled her into the living room as she struggled to balance the jute bags in her arms. You looked at her with wide, expectant eyes. Grinning, your mother took out the muggle candy you asked for. You squealed as you said thank you, clapping your hands in excitement.

Your mother placed her hand on your shoulder, silently urging you to calm down as she explained she had a surprise for you. Your grin practically stretched to your ears. She placed a heavy looking jute bag on the table in front of you and urged you to take a look.

Clumsy as you were, you toppled the large bag and its contents spilled onto the table. You froze, marveling the sight. On the table, were sprawled several books, all of different shapes and size, some blue, some yellow, some purple. It was your very own rainbow in the middle of the storm.

You hugged all the books to your chest, tears gleaming in your eyes. You loved books. You loved the fantasy and the adventure and the alternate universes that you so desperately wanted to be a part of.

A knock sounded at your door and your mother left to open it, leaving you in your trance as you eagerly read the synopsis of each and every book as fast as possible.  You were so caught up in the book that you didn’t notice the blue-eyed devil enter the room.

You felt a sharp tug on your pigtails as Dick Grayson sat down, shooting you a bright, gap-toothed smile to you. You scowled at him, rubbing your head. You gave him a light shove.

“Don’t pull my pigtails Dickie,” you said, shooting him a glare.

“But isn’t that what boys do to the girls they like?” he asked, with an adorably confused expression.

“Who ever told you that?” you asked as you gave him an incredulous look.

“I heard some muggles talking about it on the train,” he said, cheek reddening as he looked away in embarrassment, “I’m sorry.”

“Dickie I know you like me,” you said pulling him into a hug, “you’re my best friend. I like you too. You don’t need to hit me to show that.”

 He returned your hug, his heart fluttering in his chest, his cheeks turning red for a very different reason this time. You let go of him too soon for his liking as you pointed excitedly at the new books your mother had gotten you.

You pulled up a book and trotted over to the fireplace, Dick following closely behind. He decided to show off the new move he learned from his father the other day, a cartwheel, but it didn’t quite go as expected.

He stumbled over the end of the rug, effectively knocking over the bag of candy and dissolved into a mess of limbs and candy as a resounding thud erupted in the otherwise silent living room. You turned around abruptly, immediately dissolving into a fit of giggles as you saw your best friend twisted into a human pretzel.

“Stop laughing and help me up,” he pouted, trying to untangle himself from the straps of the bag.  You couldn’t help but think how adorable he looked with his bottom lip jutting out. Managing to contain the peals of your laughter, you knelt next to him, hurriedly picking up the candy bars.

“Please don’t be such a clumsy dodo when we go to Hogwarts,” you teased, nudging his arm as you both sat side by side, reading Hogwarts: A History. Dick just waved you off, too engrossed in dreaming about your future. Your future with him.

P.S This is probably going to be a three part story because once I began I practically couldn’t stop writing this. I really want to make this a good story. How do you guys like it so far? 

P.P.S THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OVERWHELMING RESPONSE ON MY LAST FIC. I DID NOT EXPECT EVEN 1O NOTES LET ALONE 82?! THANK YOU SO MUCH.

[inloveandwords]

I upped my reading list this year by 50 books.

I have no idea what I was thinking, honestly.

Actually, I do. I got a little overzealous after upping my goal last year by 50 books and reading 10 more books than I’d challenged myself to.

200 books. That’s how many I thought I could read this year. And, surprisingly, I’m actually pretty much on schedule to reach that goal.

Below are the books I’m likely going to reach for to finish up my goal. Many of them are the shortest books that are currently on my bookshelf, the shortest audiobooks that are in my Audible Library already, and a few highly anticipated books I picked up recently on Kindle.

Bloom by Kevin Panetta, Savanna Ganicheau

Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band―if he can just persuade his dad to let him quit his job at their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and hot ovens. But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom . . . that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.

Writer Kevin Panetta and artist Savanna Ganucheau concoct a delicious recipe of intricately illustrated baking scenes and blushing young love, in which the choices we make can have terrible consequences, but the people who love us can help us grow.

✦Goodreads✦

♥

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

A debut novel based on the true story of the iconic painter, Artemisia Gentileschi.

Her mother died when she was twelve, and suddenly Artemisia Gentileschi had a stark choice: a life as a nun in a convent or a life grinding pigment for her father’s paint.

She chose paint.

By the time she was seventeen, Artemisia did more than grind pigment. She was one of Rome’s most talented painters, even if no one knew her name. But Rome in 1610 was a city where men took what they wanted from women, and in the aftermath of rape Artemisia faced another terrible choice: a life of silence or a life of truth, no matter the cost.

He will not consume my every thought. I am a painter. I will paint.

I will show you what a woman can do.

✦Goodreads✦

♥

Owned by M. Never

***Content Warning*** Owned is a dark erotic romance. Please pay close attention to the use of the words dark, erotic, and romance. It has intense sexual situations, a Master/slave relationship, mild abuse, and some violence. Reader discretion is advised.

“I like you collared, baby. I like you naked, I like you mine.”

Ellie Stevens has lusted over Kayne Roberts since he first walked into the import/export company she works for a little over a year ago. As Expo’s most important client, Ellie has always kept a safe distance from the man with the majestic blue eyes — until temptation finally gets the better of her. Impulsively, Ellie invites Kayne to one of Expo’s infamous company parties her flamboyant boss is notorious for throwing. Unbeknownst to Ellie, the god in the Armani suit isn’t just the suave entrepreneur he portrays himself to be. Underneath the professional exterior is a man with a secret life, dark desires, and nefarious contacts.

In a hidden corner of a trendy New York City lounge, the spark kindling between the two of them ignites. Unable to resist the sinful attraction, Ellie agrees to leave with Kayne, believing she is finally bedding the man of her dreams. Little does she know when she walks out the door, she’s about to be Owned.

✦Goodreads✦

♥

Cirque de Minuet (Cirque Masters #1) by Annabel Joseph

It’s no easy feat transitioning from the disciplined arena of competitive gymnastics to the artistic whirl of the Cirque du Monde. Kelsey Martin finds secret inspiration in Theo Zamora, a dark, taciturn trapezist–until his partner dies in a tragic accident and he decides to leave the circus for good.

Theo doesn’t understand why Kelsey reaches out to him, only that she compels him with her unique combination of innocence and recklessness. Before long the two are collaborating on an aerial silks act for a new production, the Cirque de Minuit. Theo’s impatience with Kelsey’s naivete is matched only by his passion for her, and the two soon become embroiled in a tempestuous, consuming romance.

But some still blame Theo for his partner’s accident, and danger wraps up the two performers as inevitably as the scarlet silk of their act. Theo and Kelsey must find a way to connect and trust one another as he leads her deeper and deeper into a dangerous world of control and desire.

✦Goodreads✦

Rise of the Sea Witch (Unfortunate Soul Chronicles #1) by Stacey Rourke

Details of the sea witch’s banishment have been exaggerated. The body count that preempted it was not. Once an illustrious princess, her hands and tentacles were stained with the blood of thousands. No one could comprehend how the hooks of madness dragged her down from her life of privilege. Born Princess Vanessa of Atlantica, the ambitious young royal was one of two children born to the great King Poseidon. She and her brother, Triton, were groomed from birth to rule. Yet only one would ascend that coveted throne. While carefree Triton flits through his training with a cavalier demeanor and beguiling charm, Vanessa’s hunger for her father’s acceptance drives her to push herself to the limits of magic, and combat to become a leader worthy of her people. When war against the humans ravages their once regal kingdom, political sides are chosen. Factions from the seven seas challenge the existing leadership, pitting Vanessa against her brother in a vicious battle for the crown. Traitors are exposed, dark family secrets revealed, and a once strong sibling bond is strained to its breaking point. Only when the ink black waters from the ultimate betrayal rescind, will the truth be known of how the villainous sea witch rose with one name on her vengeful lips–Triton.

✦Goodreads✦

♥

Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone

A double life with a single purpose: revenge.

Jane’s days at a Midwest insurance company are perfectly ordinary. She blends in well, unremarkably pretty in her floral-print dresses and extra efficient at her low-level job. She’s just the kind of woman middle manager Steven Hepsworth likes—meek, insecure, and willing to defer to a man. No one has any idea who Jane really is. Least of all Steven.

But plain Jane is hiding something. And Steven’s bringing out the worst in her.

Nothing can distract Jane from going straight for his heart: allowing herself to be seduced into Steven’s bed, to insinuate herself into his career and his family, and to expose all his dirty secrets. It’s time for Jane to dig out everything that matters to Steven. So she can take it all away.

Just as he did to her.

✦Goodreads✦

♥

The Virgin Gift (The Gift #2) by Lauren Blakely

I might be a virgin, but I know what I want in bed. It’s just that I haven’t found him yet.

So I’m stunned when charming, laid-back Adam volunteers to work through my wish list. That’s when I discover the voracious, commanding man in him, my next door neighbor. And I’m enthralled — in and out of the bedroom.

Every night we explore my fantasies, and every morning I try harder not to want more from him. Because there’s no item on my list about falling for the guy. Besides, we agreed to the last item already — when we’re done we walk away.

But every fantasy unlocks another. Each hotter than the last. Until I discover there’s one last thing on my to-do list to check off. One so daring I can’t figure out how to ask him or what it might do to my heart… 
 The Virgin Gift is a red hot and sexy exploration love story exploring all sorts of fantasies.

✦Goodreads✦

♥

Love and Other Wild Things (Mystic Bayou #2) by Molly Harper

Available in audio first, this hot, hilarious stand-alone will keep you wildly entertained!

Welcome to Mystic Bayou, a tiny town hidden in the swamp where shape-shifters, vampires, witches, and dragons live alongside humans. The town formed around the mysterious energy rift in the bayou, which helps keep the town’s magic in balance. But lately the rift has been widening and destabilizing – threatening to send the town’s magical population into chaos.

Energy witch Danica Teel has been sent by the League to figure out what’s going on, with the help of bear-shifter Mayor Zed. While working on the case, Zed falls head over paws for Dani, but she’s reluctant to engage in anything beyond a roll in his cave. Dani’s family is counting on her to get the job done, and she has no time for distractions. But when an ominous presence begins stalking Dani through the bayou, they’ll need to band together to make it out alive.

✦Goodreads✦

Sadie by Courtney Summers

A missing girl on a journey of revenge. A Serial―like podcast following the clues she’s left behind. And an ending you won’t be able to stop talking about.

Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.

Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page.

✦Goodreads✦

♥

Man Hands (Man Hands #1) by Tanya Eby and Sarina Bowen

He puts the “screw” in screwball comedy…

BRYNN

At thirty-four, I’m reeling from a divorce. I don’t want to party or try to move on. I just want to stay home and post a new recipe on my blog: Brynn’s Dips and Balls.

But my friends aren’t having it. Get out there again, they say. It will be fun, they say. I’m still taking a hard pass.

Free designer cocktails, they say. And that’s a game-changer.

Too bad my ex shows up with his new arm candy. That’s when I lose my mind. But when my besties dare me to leap on the first single man I see, they don’t expect me to actually go through with it.

TOM

All I need right now is some peace and quiet while my home renovation TV show is on hiatus. But when a curvy woman in a red wrap dress charges me like she’s a gymnast about to mount my high bar, all I can do is brace myself and catch her. What follows is the hottest experience of my adult life.

I want a repeat, but my flying Cinderella disappears immediately afterward. She doesn’t leave a glass slipper, either—just a pair of panties with chocolate bunnies printed on them.

But I will find her.

✦Goodreads✦

♥

Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert

Enjoy another Dirty British Romance by Talia Hibbert, author of Bad for the Boss. Christmas just got sexy…

“There’s a beast inside of me. I keep it caged. You drive it wild.”

Cash Evans has come a long way since his troubled childhood, but all the wealth he’s earned as a tattoo artist can’t fix the hole in his heart. He knows that the sweet barista who haunts his dreams is off-limits… But life doesn’t always go to plan.

”There isn’t a man on earth who could ruin me.”

Bailey Cooper is determined to learn from her mother’s mistakes. She’s seen how cruel love can be, and she’s not about to sacrifice her self-respect for a relationship. But when a bad boy with a heart of gold comes to her rescue, she finds herself wondering if this beast might just be her Prince Charming.

Will these two lost souls find a happy ending under the tree this Christmas?

Or is their love doomed to wither with the mistletoe?

Merry Inkmas is a steamy Christmas romance starring a brooding, bad boy hero and a Black, BBW heroine. Be warned: this love is hot enough to melt any winter frost!

✦Goodreads✦

♥

Get a Life Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1) by Talia Hibbert

Talia Hibbert, one of contemporary romance’s brightest new stars, delivers a witty, hilarious romantic comedy about a woman who’s tired of being “boring” and recruits her mysterious, sexy neighbor to help her experience new things—perfect for fans of Sally Thorne, Jasmine Guillory, and Helen Hoang.

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamourous family’s mansion. The next items?

Enjoy a drunken night out. Ride a motorcycle. Go camping. Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex. Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage. And… do something bad. But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.

Redford ‘Red’ Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.

But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…

✦Goodreads✦

The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1) by Lyssa Kay Adams

The first rule of book club: You don’t talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott’s marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him.

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville’s top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it’ll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.

✦Goodreads✦

♥

Christmas in the City by L.J. Shen, Helena Hunting, Corinne Michaels, Melanie Harlow, Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward, Sierra Simone, Kennedy Ryan, Penny Reid, L.H. Cosway, Sarina Bowen, Elle Kennedy

Twelve bestselling authors have come together to brighten your holiday with six ALL NEW co-written novels. Travel through six cities and fall in love with these enchanting love stories.

L.J. Shen & Helena Hunting Just The Tip It’s not every day you meet a stranger who knows how to jingle your bells…

Corinne Michaels & Melanie Harlow Baby it’s Cold Outside My Christmas list did not include a broken heart, freezing temperatures, or my tree stuck in the door to my apartment building, but that’s what I got. Just when I thought Santa had failed me, I got something I never thought to ask for …

Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward Kissmas in New York It was just supposed to be a simple kiss with a stranger. I’d done it to prove a point–that I hadn’t lost my sense of adventure. But you know what they say about the best laid plans. Maybe I’d get something in my stocking after all this holiday season…

Sierra Simone & Kennedy Ryan The Christmas Crown Noelani, queen of Manaroa, has one mission on her diplomatic visit to the States: forge strategic alliances for her homeland. When she meets brooding security specialist Brock Grimsby, their unexpected alliance heats up the holiday. One night. No promises, but come Christmas, will either be able to walk away?

Penny Reid & LH Cosway Songbird Two lonely souls find companionship in Dublin for one magical night. Broderick Adams doesn’t mind his solitude, until she walks in. Ophelia Kelly sings to heal her heart, but has no idea he’s listening.

Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy EPIC Jamie and Wes are having a blast living and working in Toronto. Until a scout for another team swoops in to make one of them an offer that might complicate the life they’ve built together.

CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY is a holiday gift as a thank you! It is available for a LIMITED TIME!

✦Goodreads✦

♥

Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1) by Tessa Bailey

A brand new romantic comedy from New York Times bestseller Tessa Bailey!

Georgette Castle’s family runs the best home renovation business in town, but she picked balloons instead of blueprints and they haven’t taken her seriously since. Frankly, she’s over it. Georgie loves planning children’s birthday parties and making people laugh, just not at her own expense. She’s determined to fix herself up into a Woman of the World… whatever that means.

Phase one: new framework for her business (a website from this decade, perhaps?)

Phase two: a gut-reno on her wardrobe (fyi, leggings are pants.)

Phase three: updates to her exterior (do people still wax?)

Phase four: put herself on the market (and stop crushing on Travis Ford!)

Living her best life means facing the truth: Georgie hasn’t been on a date since, well, ever. Nobody’s asking the town clown out for a night of hot sex, that’s for sure. Maybe if people think she’s having a steamy love affair, they’ll acknowledge she’s not just the “little sister” who paints faces for a living. And who better to help demolish that image than the resident sports star and tabloid favorite?

Travis Ford was major league baseball’s hottest rookie when an injury ended his career. Now he’s flipping houses to keep busy and trying to forget his glory days. But he can’t even cross the street without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there’s Georgie, his best friend’s sister, who is not a kid anymore. When she proposes a wild scheme—that they pretend to date, to shock her family and help him land a new job—he agrees. What’s the harm? It’s not like it’s real. But the girl Travis used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman and there’s nothing fake about how much he wants her…

✦Goodreads✦

♥

The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

Listening Length: 5 hours and 18 minutes

A captivating romantic comedy with a thrilling sci-fi twist by award-winning author Alyssa Cole!

Trinity Jordan leads a quiet, normal life: working from home for the Hive, a multifunctional government research center, and recovering from the incident that sent her into a tailspin. But the life she’s trying to rebuild is plagued by mishaps when Li Wei, her neighbor’s super sexy and super strange nephew, moves in and turns things upside down. Li Wei’s behavior is downright odd—and the attraction building between them is even more so. When an emergency pulls his aunt away from the apartment complex, Trinity decides to keep an eye on him…and slowly discovers that nothing is what it seems. For one thing, Li Wei isn’t just the hot guy next door—he’s the hot A.I. next door. In fact, he’s so advanced that he blurs the line between man and machine. It’s up to Trinity to help him achieve his objective of learning to be human, but danger is mounting as they figure out whether he’s capable of the most illogical human behavior of all…falling in love.

✦Goodreads✦

End of the Year Reading List I upped my reading list this year by 50 books. I have no idea what I was thinking, honestly.

[naive-naiade]

Chapter One | Revising

"King Triton, sir, I have set up today's lesson with the utmost care. First we shall cover his studies, and then move onto the ceremonial dan-- ...sir?" A scrawny, nervous looking fellow followed the king with writing utensils in hand to the throne room located in the heart of the palace. The king seemed to be distracted by some thought in his mind, as he kept scanning the room for something of note.

"Sebastian." The scrawny merman stiffened, squeezing his arms to his sides. "Y-yes sir!" he squeaked, a crimson tail swishing underneath him. "Did I not summon my son to the throne room earlier?" Sebastian hastily checked the schedule he had made, nodding when reaching the correct page. "What about yesterday's dance lessons?"

It took a moment for Sebastian to summon the dance instructor, and the king and servant were informed of Arel's poor performances, especially during waltz trials. The young prince had no rhythm whatsoever, and could not lead to save his life. Triton's thick gray eyebrows furrowed, his aged face looking even more distraught. "Table etiquette this breakfast?" Sebastian shuffled through scoring sheets till he found the right one, and his face visibly paled. "He scored a sixty percent today..." he whispered, a bit shocked by the result, himself.

"Go find him..." Triton ordered, his hands forming in the fists. His voice had quivered in anger, quite upset that his only son was doing nothing to prepare for the responsibility of the title of Crown Prince. Sebastian dip his head and turned around to leave. "And one more thing, Sebastian..." Triton continued as his dutiful servant nervously turned back to face his king. "I will not tolerate this child's behavior any longer!" he roared. "Arel will be a proper crown prince! Make sure of it." Sebastian apologized, then shot out of the throne room, still apologizing to the king as he swam. He accidentally bumped into many merfolk along the way, whimpering further apologies to his fellow people.

"Okay, Arel. It's not a big deal. It's just a rock. Yeah. And air. And maybe a land walker will see me, and--" The young prince shook his head as hard as he could, attempting to shake away all the worried thoughts. In a few moments, he lifted his head out of the water to scan the area for any land dwellers. Once the coast was clear, he lifted himself onto a large rock near the shore. "Now that I'm up here..." Arel worriedly scanned the area again, making sure he didn't miss anything. Once he was finally sure to be safe, the young merman let out a breath and giggled. It was his first time breathing above the water! "Maybe I need to be dry?" he questioned himself, looking at the pale green tail he was swishing up and down. He lifted his hand, and pointed his palm at the tail, focusing on the thought of heat, dryness. Like the sun that was shining down upon him. In a few moments, Arel could feel his tail heating up, and see steam evaporating just above the scales. "I-it's working!" he shouted with glee, but instantly raised the other hand to cover his mouth. He scanned the area again, hoping no one was close enough to hear him. Back to concentrating. "Just a bit more..." Arel felt like the scales were going to crack and fall off, but he kept drying himself until he felt like his body would split right down the middle. The young boy felt uncomfortable. He was starting to clearly feel a sharp pain in his lower half, as he continued drying off the tail. It was almost unbearable, but he continued drying himself off. If he wanted to walk around on land, he would need legs. The books he'd read to accomplish such a feat detailed that this would be a painful, but worthwhile process, as it quite literally split a mermaid's tail into two parts.

Arel stared in awe as he saw the scales fade in color until they were a pale creamy color. His caudal fin had completely changed and hardened into bigger, fatter hands. Or feet, as he had read. Curiously, Arel rubbed the new creation, shocked to feel the scales still there. Although, instead of lubricated, they were coarse and rough.

"I...I did it!" Arel cheered, shooting his arms up in excitement. Which was a big mistake. As soon as the arms went up, his body went down, and his back hit the rock with a loud plop! "Ow...Maybe I got too excited...how do you even work these things?" Arel studied the new, puzzling part of him. Apart from books, he had only heard stories of merfolk who had done this before. They were able to get just dry enough to roam around on land. And ever since he was young, he dreamed of doing the same. Rubbing his back, Arel did his best to pick up his body with his arms. He succeeded in sitting on the newly created appendages, but grunted in pain, as he could feel nothing but soreness and ache in his lower body.

"Just a little more..." One foot after the other, Arel shakily stood, looking like he was about to fall at any moment. Each slightly movement shot pain through his body, and he couldn't seem to control the legs as they furiously wobbled in an effort to sustain balance.

"What are you doing up here?!" Arel's body instinctively jumped, and he fell backwards into the water. It was as if the ocean was restoring life to his tail as the scales fused back together, and the young prince with a soothed feeling. Arel's eyes locked with Sebastian's, and all relieved feelings vanished. "Sebastian! You scared me~!" Arel smiled, and tried to play the circumstance off as innocent fun. Sebastian glared at the prince, hands on his hips. Arel didn't know why, but the secretary's beady red eyes intimidated him, and he knew he was in trouble. "You are the crown prince!-- Or at least you will be after the ceremony. Which only a few months away! Being officially titled Crown Prince is not something to take so lightly!" Arel crossed his arms, shaking his head. "I don't want to be the new king! Something like that is so boring! I'm pretty sure Attina can rule over the sea. Just change the name to Crown Princess or something. She's good at being boss--" "YOUNG MASTER!" Sebastian yelled with all his might, making the young prince stop mid-sentence, "Really, you shouldn't talk about Her Highness like that. I can't believe this...As the eldest son, you should be doing your best to uphold certain duties. Not, trying to walk on land before coming of age?!" "I wasn't really--" "I saw them. The legs. If you had been attending your lessons, maybe you would know they take years to strengthen. Not minutes." "I-- ...understand..." Arel hung his head in defeat. "Now. We are going back, and you will continue your lessons, young master. I won't tell His Majesty about this. But please try to please your father from now on. He is not happy with your constant absences." Arel nodded, melancholically following the older merman back to the palace.

Later in the evening...

"And then, and then!" Adella dramatically paused, looking at each one of her excited sisters. "Oh, continue already, please," Andrina urged the verdette tailed sister. "He looked at me from across the hallway!" Adella finally shrieked. A hushed silence fell across the royal siblings, Adella's boy story falling quite flat compared to her excitement in telling it. "What's so great about that?" Arel questioned, his sisters sighing. "Oh, you wouldn't understand, you're a boy," Adella rubbed his head like a little kid, to which he pouted. "If you explained it to me, I might," he muttered. "Oh, it's a girl thing! You won't understand any more if I explain it than you do right now. I mean, he looked at me. Directly at me. I swear I could swoon. I would fall into his arms right now." Adella dramatically fell into Alana's arms, both girls giggling at the prospect of romance. Arel sighed, laying back on Arista's bed. "Nevermind all that romance, hooey, practice was amazing today! My horn sounded especially good! There's just one thing that keeps the band incomplete. Or maybe it's more like a troupe? Anyway!" The band obsessed, carmine tailed mermaid, Arista, made direct eye contact with her brother. "Arel, sing with my band!" "Ah, I don't thi--" "You have the best voice out of us all--honestly it makes me jealous--but you'd be so good!" "Well I-I suppose--" "Awesome! Practice is every day at high tide--you can tell because the sea feels so big! And we practice for two hours--do you think that will be too much? Nah, you'll be able to handle it and--" Arel was about to snap at his sister for treating him like a guppy, when the oldest sibling intervened. "Jeez, give the boy a break! He's probably stressing about the land viewing," Attina said, hands on her hips. At this, Arel perked up, finally interested in the subject. "That's right!" One of his sisters gasped. "You finally turn eighteen. In as soon as two days!" Another cheered. "Are you nervous about the land viewing, honey? I can make you look gorgeous for your first time," Alana offered, swishing over to her brother, makeup sponge in hand. "Ah, no, really, I don't need that," Arel nervously laughed. He smiled at his sisters, thinking of the viewing. "I'm actually really excited. All of you have been to the viewing before me. I hardly know anything about the land and the land dwellers apart from stories! I want to see for myself!" he said, unable to hold back his excitement. The six girls crowded around Arel, happily sharing their experiences with him. "You so totally cannot get caught!" cawed Andrina. "Those land dwellers are scary! I've heard stories that they will kidnap and eat us! When I went up for my viewing I so thought I was gonna get caught!" rambled Arista.

"I think just a quick view is good enough. At least it was for me," sighed Aquata. "But there's also something a bit ravishing about the land dwellers!" cooed Adella. "I would hate to be there for long. The sun is so icky and it dries my scales!" complained Alana. "Just, whatever you do, be careful. There's no such thing as a completely safe viewing," Attina finished. Arel shrugged at his sisters' advice, knowing his idea of the viewing was completely different from theirs. "Anyway, I'm excited!" he said, before Sebastian swam into the entrance to the room. "Alright, curfew your highnesses!" the secretary said, waving his hands to shoo them into their shells. "Aw!" the girls cried, scattering about to put things away and prepare for the night. Arel left Arista's bed, and sped out the girls' window, despite Sebastian's complaints about impropriety, making his way to his own room just down the hall.

Laying down in the shell, the young prince tossed and turned, too excited about earlier success to lie still. It hurt like nothing he had ever done before, and still it was the most amazing this he had ever accomplished. To distract from these thoughts, young Arel tried hugging said tail, stretching, even counting mackerel in his head to try and fall asleep. Nothing seemed to work as his mind raced about all the possibilities for the viewing if he could only he could master balancing on the split tail thing he made earlier.

Slowing rising out of bed, Arel made up his mind. He was going to try again. Carefully, Arel went to the window and checked for any of the night shift guards outside. Once he thought the coast to be clear, he shot out of the opening, and straight down the side of the castle wall, down, down, down, to the city.

It was quiet at night. The normal hustle and bustle of the day was gone, and the streets were relatively empty. Arel had visited the city many times before just to skip class during the day. The atmosphere was very friendly then, a contrast to the strange emptiness clinging to the place at night.

Arel stuck to backstreet alleys with good hiding spots to avoid guards, before finally making it to the city limits, where he shot past the last town hut and turned his way to the rock near the shore. The rest of the ocean was still very much awake, as Arel passed some fish here and there. Even schools of fish. They were all minding their own business, only concerned with what was two inches away from their faces.

Arel broke through the surface carefully, deeply breathing in the fresh oxygen in the air. It was a strange feeling, and almost tickled, as the gills behind his ears didn't have to push out the ocean water. From this breaching point, Arel made his way to the nicely positioned rock and used all his might to pick up his heavy body and throw it upon the surface. The coarse stone wasn't exactly kind to his hands, no matter how well the rubbery skin protected from the elements, but the young prince anticipated the even greater pain of drying his tail.

And there he waited, drying, until he felt the barely familiar feeling of it splitting into two parts. It took the prince everything in him not to scream. The second time was worse, as he felt every little separation. However, Arel was still amazed as he focused on his fins turning into webbed feet. Even in the dark he could see the green scales fade to a soft peach. "Merfolk aren't meant to be able to use these huh..." He wiggled his toes, and winced, trying taking the transition slower this time. He carefully rubbed his new appendages, hoping this action might soothe the pain. Unfortunately it did not. "So drying makes the color fade...?" he questioned, rubbing the coarse legs harder. He stopped soon, though, a bit fearful that he would rub them right off, as they were so dry. His upper body felt fine. A little slimy, but not exactly wet.

"Should I try standing now?" Arel questioned himself, bending both legs and placing both feet on the rock. It was hard pushing himself up. Arel's newly formed knees simply weren't strong enough to support him, and he wondered how he was able to stand in the first place, no matter how shaky that first attempt was.

Arel groaned in frustration, not able to stand properly no matter what he tried. He leaned back on his arms and looked up at the full moon. A land dweller would definitely be able to see him this night, but the young prince wasn't thinking about that troublesome fact. He was thinking of a time long ago when his mother would just hold him in her arms, both of them looking at the watery image of the moon high above the sea. She would sing softly, the lullaby of the moon.

"Silver Light,

O so high...

Why won't my dreams

Be formed tonight..." Arel's voice rang out softly across the surface of the water, the very ocean seeming to want to hold onto the tune.

"Silver Light,

O so bright

Gently you gleam

In watery sight..." Arel stopped singing for a moment and giggled at the irony of this verse. Up on land the moon didn't shimmer with the current as he was used to. The young prince, a little more confident using his voice out of the water opened his mouth to begin the third verse when a shift in the water caught his attention.

Immediately on edge, Arel quickly dove into the sea, the legs fusing into a tail again. Something in the water just beyond the rock moved, and the young prince chased after the dark figure heading out into open water. It was too small to be something like a dolphin, yet too big to be a seal. And it was smart. Once the seabed dropped, it shot down further than Arel had ever attempted to explore. But he kept after the creature, determined to find out what it was.

The creature was fast and it swam in an unpredictable fashion, dodging rocks, plants, and other fish left and right. Arel struggled to keep up, but was finally able to corner it into a rather large hidden cave. Arel came to an abrupt stop before the creature, panting in exhaustion.

"Who...who are you...?" Arel demanded. The creature made no remark, its back turned to the prince.

"I don't...I don't mean any harm or anything, but you did just run away as soon as I noticed you, so..." The creature stepped into the light from the moon inexplicably shining down a hole in the top part of the cave. A set of dark, kale colored eyes stared back into Arel's deep azure ones. The young prince could make out a rough body shape and a face...

"You're...what is an undine doing out here?" The creature bared its sharp teeth at Arel, the gills on its neck flaring.

"Ah, I'm still not gonna do anything! Here, my name's Arel. Yours?" The undine stared at him before relaxing just a bit. The creature scanned for a way out, but pressed its back against the cave wall when no such thing could be found.

"Are you lost?" Arel asked, trying to get the undine to talk.

"Did you get separated from your pod?" Still, the small water creature remained silent, its dark tail nervously flicking back and forth.

"You can...understand me, right?" Arel asked another question, not entirely sure he could be understood.

"...I can..." Arel blinked in mild shock. The voice was soft, high pitched, and hardly sounded mature in any respect.

"You're just a kid," Arel mused.

"I am not!" the undine hissed, baring her teeth again. Arel studied the creature's form again, paying more attention this time. It was painfully obvious now that this was a female child, her coloring less vibrant than that of male counterparts. She was very small, her tail being the longest part. Her tail fins, dorsal fins and such were completely translucent, the rest of her body colored a dark blue. Arel found it interesting that the front of her body was a few shades lighter, perhaps to blend in better. She had long, wispy hair that seemed have a mind of its own. The tips were also a dull yellow, and her eyes were a beady green.

Before he was done analyzing the different features of the undine, she tried to whisk past him, but only succeeded in colliding headfirst with the young prince's abdomen when he moved to stop her.

"Wait," Arel coughed, the hit being harder than expected.

"I said I wasn't going to hurt you. Maybe I can help find your pod." The undine paused, not knowing whether or not to trust the stranger, but her stance became a little more relaxed after a few moments.

"Are you lost?" Arel questioned, rubbing his ribs. Her lips protruded into a frown.

"I'm not," she muttered. The young Prince shook his head, slightly amazed at the young creature's ability to be so prideful. Were all undines like that? He surely hoped not.

"I'm Arel. A resident of Atlantica. And you?" With those words, the young undine's body became tense again. Arel scratched the back of his head in frustration. How could he get her to trust him? Maybe open up to him a little. Then he had an idea. It would require a little cooperation on her part, but it could very well work.

"Wait here," Arel requested, holding a finger up.

"I'll be right back, but you have to wait here for just a second, okay?" The undine didn't confirm that she would stay, nor did she refuse the request. Taking that as acceptance, Arel exited the strange cave and swam back to Atlantica.

[shanastoryteller]

what's a fire and how does it - what's the word? - burn

so i have this disney playlist i listen to usually when i’m driving and i was blasting poor unfortunate souls this morning and i was thinking

what if ariel didn’t sign the scroll?

because she’s about to, okay, and she looks at the paper. the parchment made of seaweed, the ones that’s specially treated to survive underwater. and she thinks of her cave of treasures, her books that remain perfectly preserved underwater. “no thank you,” she says slowly, becoming keenly aware of air of this place, of the not-people she’d seen who hadn’t been able to pay the price for sea witch’s bargain. “i – no. thank you. but no.”

ursula tries to convince her otherwise, but ariel runs. she goes back to her cave, destroyed as it was by her father’s anger, and thinks.

she’s the daughter of triton. her books never got wet, though she lives in the ocean. she feels a pull inside her, to the land, to somewhere else, but what if – what if –

what if she doesn’t need the sea witch or her father to perform magic for her? what if she has her own?

ursula had wanted her voice because that’s how she performed her magic. singing in this cave had given it powers and protection, and when she saved her prince from the sea – she sang then too, to keep him safe, to guide him back to life and away from death.

so she has magic. she only needs to figure out how to use it.

so that’s what ariel does now. she’s quiet and keeps to herself, and her father and sisters think that it’s because she’s upset with her father, that she’s busy licking her wounds. she’s moved on from that. she has no trident, and is uninterested with fueling her magic with the souls of the damned like ursula has. so she needs to figure something else out.

she does what she’s not supposed to do, and goes where she’s not supposed to go, slipping past the guards and patrols to the one place in the sea that is forbidden to all of them.

the crevice in the earth where what remains of her grandmother lives.

ariel goes to amphitrite, and the sea goddess is so much bigger than ariel, the size of great whale as she curls at the bottom of the sea floor, too old and too tired to do anything more than sleep. “granddaughter,” the great being croaks, opening an eye as blue and as unfathomable as the sea, “you look like me.”

“they say i look like my mother,” she says, and to herself adds: that’s why father can barely stand to look at me.

“you have more of me in you than your mother,” she says, and she shifts and pulls her mass of red hair over her shoulder. “more of me in you than your father does, even.”

“i have magic,” she says, pulling her bravery to the fore as she swims closer to her grandmother, “i want you to teach me how to use it.” amphitrite pushes herself up, and it’s the first time she’s moved in a millennia, and ariel notices for the first time that her grandmother isn’t a mermaid – she has legs.

she has legs.

“you have power,” amphitrite corrects fiercely, “and i will teach you to wield it.”

and so she does. ariel spends her nights by her grandmother, learning to harness the power of the sea that runs in her veins, and sleeps her days away while her sisters and flounder and sebastian grow more and more concerned, but she refuses to tell them why. she refuses to be stopped.

but her heart still aches. she fell in love with her prince, and she wants him still. so she swims to the edge, goes to the beach where his castle resides in the dead of night when her lessons with her grandmother are complete, and sings

. she’s careful not to let any magic leak through, only her voice. she does not want to enchant him. she wants him to love her as she is. so she sings, her voice clear and powerful and cutting through the air. she hopes he can hear it.

then one day a figure walks to the beach, and it’s him, her prince. “hello?” he calls out, “are you out there? are you – please, it was you that saved me, wasn’t it? won’t you come out and let me see you?”

so she does, waves her tail at him until he catches sight of her and takes hesitant, disbelieving steps closer.

“you’re a mermaid,” he says, eyes wide, “i thought i saw – but it couldn’t be.”

“i am, and it can,” she says, heart beating wildly in her chest. he’s just as handsome as she remembered, and she wants him just as much. “my name is ariel.”

“ariel,” he repeats, and pulls off his boots and goes wading into the water, watching her to see if she flinches away from him. she doesn’t, and his strides grow bolder. “my name is eric.”

“eric,” she whispers, and when he’s close enough he touches her, trailing fingers across the bare skin of her shoulder and tangling them in her hair.

when he kisses her, she feels powerful enough to undo the world.

so there’s that now, spending her nights with her grandmother and her prince, and she knows how to make her own legs now, could walk onto land and be made a queen among the two legged men.

but she’s a princess here first, and before she can do that she needs to take care of something.

ursula.

the rotten sea witch with her rotten sea magic won’t be allowed to torment her people any longer.

she tells her grandmother, and amphitrite smiles and says, “an excellent decision, child. i’ve enjoyed our time together, but i think it’s time for me to sleep once more. i’ve taught you everything i can.”

and tears prick ariel’s eyes, but she holds them back. she knew that it couldn’t be forever, that her grandmother can’t die but no longer desires to live and this is the in-between.

“you’ll be an amazing queen,” amphitrite murmurs, and closes her eyes for a millennia more.

this isn’t something to be done in the dead of night, although it would be easier to do it then.

she will make a spectacle of it, she will remind the sea that her people are not to be trifled with.

once upon a time they feared a blue eyed, red haired sea queen with the power to destroy them all. it’s time for them to do so again.

so she drives ursula to the center of the city. her sisters cower and people hide, and her father comes rushing forward to save her.

“you’ve committed great crimes against my people,” she says, not flinching as lightning gathers in the sea witch’s hands, “so now shall a great crime be committed against you.”

“foolish girl,” the sea witch snarls.

triton is yelling. he won’t get there in time.

he doesn’t have to.

she doesn’t need to sing anymore. instead she lifts her hands and pulls ursula apart without ever touching her, not only renders flesh from bone but also sets free the souls she’s been hoarding, reverses the magic done to those who’d fallen into the sea witch’s trap.

they all stare at her, her people, her father, and her sisters. she looks to triton and says, “i’m not a little girl anymore.”

he opens his mouth, closes it again, then says, “i can see that.”

all at once everyone’s perceptions are turned sideways about their youngest princess. she commands a power that even her father doesn’t have access to, she’s not depressed and dreamy – she’s powerful young woman who knows exactly what she’s doing.

so she does what she wanted to do, she gives herself legs and steps onto the sand and launches herself into eric’s arms. she becomes his bride, and the rumors run rampant of what she is, of where she came from, but they can’t prove anything and so they rule.

they live long, happy lives. ariel is his consort, his advisor, his wife, his tactician, and his best friend. all those years reading drowned books have certainly paid off. she ages herself along with her husband, bears his children and then teaches them they ways of her – their – people.

her husband dies, and she disappears, like the stories of selkie women that everyone whispers around her. their children give their father a sea burial, and vow to see him again one day. what they know and none of their subjects do is this – their father’s body isn’t in that casket.

she returns to her ocean, her legs form into her glittering green tail, and she goes home. she uses her terribly powerful magic, and brings her husband with her. she went from princess ariel of the sea to queen ariel of the land, and now she’s back again.

she’s not quite a teenager, but neither is she the old woman she pretended to be on land. she’s returned her and her husband to the prime of their life, and as she gained legs to be with him, he now gives his up to be with her.

eric becomes a merman, and a prince by virtue of being ariel’s husband.

she returns to her family and her world without missing a beat, and they all welcome her as if she never left, treat her husband with kindness and respect.

because they all know.

it doesn’t matter that she’s the youngest. when, far in the future, triton’s reign ends –

ariel’s reign will begin.