bakerstreet | Mermay!

Mermay!

Time for mermaids, sirens and other water creatures! Comment with your merfolk characters, or make your very own AU. Splash around in the waters or try to drown someone. I'm not judging.

IDEAS

Merfolk

Longing to see the surface and all it offers?
Trapped in a net! Are you facing your kidnappers or a savior?
Long travels with your pod, to explore new waters?
Hurt or sick, and taken to a mer facility to be healed - but they actually nice, or will the experiment on you?
Taken from your pod, you've ended up as a sideshow, a circus act or any other form of entertainment.
It's mating season! Try to impress your future mate, even if you might come from different worlds!

Humans

Is that an actual mermaid???
Fallen into the water and saved by a person with fins!
Lured to the waters by siren songs, you're risking an early death by drowning...
How do you kiss? Is it going to be wet and salty?
Finding an injured merfolk, and dragging them home to your bathtub to heal?
A little merfolk child needs your help to find their guardian. Hopefully they won't get the wrong idea.
You really want to be a mermaid, too. Is there any way your new friend can help?

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And the communication continues. John’s mouth opens and closes, unsure of what to say to that. What do you say when a mer-person compliments your mind?

“Uh, thanks, I guess. I work really hard at keeping it strong.”

He’s not sure if he should think at the being, or keep talking, but talking seems to be okay for now so he’s deciding to stick with it.

The state of the mer-person isn’t lost on him, either. The more he looks at the being, the more he sees the story. That meant something did this…another civilization, other people, a whole civilization of Mers…

“No, not exactly. I’m from…a place very far, far away. I’m human, though. But you know of the Ancients? At least, that’s what we called them. The Lanteans.”

A beat.

“I’ve never seen someone like you before. We didn’t know there was anyone down here…”

Most tend to stay further down in the cold dark. The Lanteans didn't like being down there. They stayed at the surface, eventually the land, and their great floating city.

His words implied the Ancients were once merfolk as well.

When Sheppard said he was human, the creature cocked its head slightly.

Outwardly...but there's something about you... he trailed off then shook his head, mane of silver hair floating about. Why are you down here?

“Makes sense. Sounds like them.”

He frowns, wondering if he was just imagining it. Obviously Atlantis had been submerged, but the word land is out of place here. Huh. He’s fielding a dozen questions already and he can imagine what McKay would be blabbering on about. He’d had the presence of mind not to immediately call this in, to radio back, for fear of scaring off the being.

But the being didn’t seem to be scared off at all.

“Something about me?” John stiffens slightly, he likes having the ATA gene but any mention of it being akin to being more than human, of being alien freaks him out a little. “Exploring. That’s what I am. An explorer.”

His tone is very dry.

“What are you you doing down here?”

…it’s not lost on him that he just asked a Merperson what they were doing in the ocean.

Yea he definitely doesn't seem to buy it. Either the man knew and wasn't trusting enough to tell, or didn't. He doesn't know what about the man seems inhuman but there was something. He flicked his tail, brushing it off for now.

The question though has him smirk.

Exploring. he iterates right back.

“Right.”

Apparently he lucked out meeting a mer-person with his kind of vibe and sense of humor. What are the odds?

“I really am exploring,” he says, a bit less sardonically. “I’m from Atlantis, obviously. By way of our original home world. And we’d sure as hell would like to know more about your people.”

He pauses, thinking.

“You know, diplomacy and all that. We’re sharing a world, after all.”

Elizabeth would be proud of him.

From Atlantis but from another world entirely. You are an explorer. he chuckled

The creature's gaze drew briefly away and the sensors showed a school of small fish passing some distance overhead. Perhaps he was hungry, his fins rose as if getting ready to dart off to hunt...but his curiosity towards the man seemed to win over as he turned back to him.

The city has been shielded for eons. The Lanteans sank it and then the city went silent. How did you bypass it if you're not Lantean?

For a second John thinks he’s going to leave, and a strange sort of disappointment takes hold of him. For one thing, he forgot to record and no one will probably believe him. But it isn’t just that, he thinks. He really is an explorer, and really does want to get to know this fascinating being.

“Well, uh, about that.”

Guess there’s no other way around it.

“Some of us, have what we call a…certain kind of gene. It allows us to operate Ancient tech. Machines.”

He has no idea, now that he realizes, if mer-people had tech. They may have tech far beyond the Ancients…or effectively live without it, maybe even not know what he’s talking about. He suspects Rodney would have a whole explanation in about two seconds flat.

“Some of us have, I guess, Ancient ancestors.” He makes a face. It’s weird to think about some great-great times a million grandfather puttering around in Atlantis or wherever the hell earth Ancients actually came from.

Lantean descendant, made sense, only they could operate their technology, having it tied to a specific quirk in their blood was better than a password or fingerprint.

But then that meant he...He didn't know what he was? He called himself a human, but if he was of Lantean blood, then had other traits been cycled out? It had been a very long time, and the lives of Lanteans and humans alike were short.

You don't seem to be proud of that relation. he said when he made a face.

"Well, they left a lotta messes and didn't clean them up. So no, I'm not exactly happy with them," John rubs the side of his cheek, wondering where his day had detoured so violently he was now explaining his complicated feelings about the Ancients to a mer-person, under the ocean. Such was life in the Pegasus galaxy, he supposed.

"Look, I don't hate it--I like having the ATA gene and being able to do cool stuff, like pilot this spaceship that can also go underwater," he gestures at the controls in front of him.

He trails off. "Anyway. If you actually know about them, I'm sure our people would be happy to talk to you. We don't know all that much about them, despite all the discoveries we made."

The merman listened, intrigued by the man's attitude towards his ancestors. Despite his heritage, he didn't sound like the Lanteans at all. Which was refreshing.

At the prompt that his people might like to talk to him, the creature seemed less interested.

Perhaps some other time. he said vaguely, looking off toward where he knew the city was. He turned back to the man. When are you coming back out here?

John picks up on that clue immediately. Seems like the mer-person wasn't all that keen on talking to their people.

But maybe...him? Huh. John isn't sure what to think about that, though a part of him preens a little, admittedly. Look at him, making friends with a person from another species like, immediately.

"I don't know. I could come out more often..." John says, sort of stammering. For a second he feels exposed, and he's not sure why. "Do you, or can you breathe air? Because I sometimes go to the mainland, to surf..."

Does he even know what surfing is?

"What I'm trying to say is I think it could be cool if we could talk, face to face? Without..." he gestures at the window.

Yes, I can breathe air too. he confirmed with a nod.

He thinks on it a moment, then nods again. Very well, there's a sandy strip of beach east of here. I will meet you there in two days.

Without so much as a goodbye or further details, he flicked his tail and was off like a shot after that school he'd been tempted by earlier, the desire to hunt winning out for the time being.

And then all is quiet. Like he was never there.

John is randomly struck with the strange sense he’s entered some kind of fairy tale. Because that’s what this is like, isn’t it? But real life wasn’t fairy tales and mer-people were still alien creatures. He stares for another good minute, and then turns the Jumper back towards Atlantis.

He should have told them. He very nearly did, McKay almost wheedled it out of him. He almost told Elizabeth twice. But if he did, there was no way he would be permitted to go alone. For safety reasons, of course, but also there was no way there wasn’t going to be a couple of cloaked Jumpers full of overeager scientists observing and recording every second, and full of Marines with every weapon at the ready. There was a bit of selfishness to it too, of course. And he’s telling himself that after this meeting, he’ll tell everyone. He’s just getting intel. He doesn’t want to scare the mer-person away. It’s more important that they don’t mess this up this time.

Or maybe you’re walking into a trap, and being severely stupid, and they’ll never know why you disappeared because you stupidly did a stupid thing.

He lands the Jumper a bit away from the beach, and steps out from the back. He’d gotten clearance to do a solo Mainland run, for a quiet day off on the beach, he’d claimed. He’s not wrong, it’s just he’s not surfing today. He’s hoping that he gets to meet with an alien being he really hopes is benevolent and isn’t going to lure him to his watery doom.

He’s still wearing his uniform and boots as he sets out on the beach, looking out towards the waves. He doesn’t expect to get into the water today, it’s certainly not safe. Not until he fully trusts the mer-creature. He gets close though, wondering if he’ll see a sign, or maybe he’s too early, or too late. Maybe they count days different, who know…

“This is great. Yep. Not only am I doing the smart thing, I don’t think my new buddy has a watch, I should a brought a grill, could’ve made it a whole thing…”

He might be muttering to himself as he walks up and down the sand.

It's a hell of a secret to keep, a new sentient species right on the same world they were on, but no one is wiser and he's given his clearance.

And Sheppard isn't kept waiting long.

There's a splash and the flick of a familiar white fin before the merman is in the shallows. He bobs in the water a moment, looking around, clearly wary-even looking skyward to make sure no Jumpers were in the air before looking at the colonel. Another tail swish and he moved closer, hauling himself up to where the surf ended.

Two days would typically see some healing of wounds, but his were entirely gone. He was still on the thinner side but the gashes in his flank and the markings around his limbs had vanished. As he "sat" in the soft sand, the pink slits around his ribs disappeared, his gills retracting to avoid drying out.

"You have a strong mind, but it's also a beacon, fairly easy to find you." This time, he spoke normally, the voice a bit more gravelly and tired, as if not used in some while.

He breathes sharply when he sees the splash. Despite this being exactly what he was hoping for, there's at thrill all the same. He's here. He kept his promise. And now he was going to talk face-to-face with another sentient species that lived on their planet, could be potentially and wildly dangerous, and no one knew he was doing so. Of all the idiotic, exciting things he'd done...

"Good to know I'm a beacon," John drawls, both amused and a little alarmed. Does that mean others of the mer-person's kind could follow, ones that may not be so benign? But then again, they'd gone to beaches dozens of times and not had any trouble, so maybe it's only when one of their people was actively looking for them? Or maybe it's just this particular mer-person.

John gets closer to the water, to where the sand is actively sinking under his boots, to where the water just barely surges into it. The fact that the mer-person was looking up and around isn't lost on him--probably a good idea he didn't bring the Jumper back ups.

"Thought maybe you weren't gonna show up." There's a smirk, and despite himself, he can't hide how pleased he is that the alien came.

"Fear not, it's just us." he wasn't currently in good graces with his kin and so if there were any about, they'd both have trouble on their hands.

He glances over the man, not really relaxed for a time at the beach was he? Still the same attire more or less. He thought Lanteans-and humans for that matter-dressed more varied? He does cast another look at the treeline and up and down the sand, no other footprints but the man's, so he was on his own, barring anyone or anything hidden. He chose to trust a little, though remained just in the slow surf in case he had to made a quick get away.

"I keep my word." More or less. "And you're far too interesting to pass up another meeting on."

Edited 2025-05-31 04:56 (UTC)

"Good."

John approaches a little closer, letting the water lap at his boots, trying to show his trust, too. He knows how delicate this is, how easily one false move could end up terrible for them both, and how much the other is willing to trust here. Which is encouraging, of course.

"Flattering," he smirks, even though he's literally having the same thoughts. "What makes me so interesting?" His voice turns just a tad more genuine. Admittedly, he is actually a little flattered. "And I could say the same about you. My first time meeting a mer-person in person. I'm honored."

"Oh, much" he grins.

Honestly where to start? Being the first humanoid to set foot on this world in thousands of years? The fact he's a Lantean descendant? His lack of fear towards himself?...

"Honored?" his brows rise. That was a first. The feeling wasn't mutual, he'd met humans before.

"I am not Merfolk, I am Wraith." he clarified.

"Yeah, I think it's pretty cool." He pauses, he's not sure if slang translates well, so he adds, "I mean, we don't meet alien people every day. And the fact that you wanna talk to me, well. That's neat, I guess."

There's a beat.

Merfolk sounded an awful lot like that was the designation of some kind of people, which meant there were Merfolk, but this guy was not?

He holds a hand up, confusion on his face.

"Wait, what do you mean--are there Merfolk, and you're not? How does that--work, exactly? Are there Wraith and Merfolk? What's the difference between you?" He realizes too late that might be a bit blunt. Courtesy of hanging out with Rodney too much.

"You travel to various worlds and yet don't meet different kinds of species on the regular?" he asked surprised. Seemed like when the Lanteans were around there was always something new-positive or negative-going on with a new species.

The creature laughs a little at the man's absolute confusion. "You truly know nothing about the previous inhabitants of that city, do you?"

He looked away, running his clawed fingers through the soft wet sand, warmed by the sun it felt good after so long in the cold and dark.

He turned to look at the other again. "The Lanteans were once Merfolk. Then they began to build above the surface and spent more and more time there, eventually building Gates to travel to other habitable worlds. Came here, built Atlantis, and created us...from them."

It was a crude summary of their connection to say the least.

“Well, there’s mostly humans out there,” he trails off, his imagination running away with him. Who else was out there that they were missing? He suddenly feels like the galaxy, the universe is much bigger than he’d conceptualized.

“They didn’t exactly leave great accounts. Or manuals. We’re still stuck figuring out most of the really good stuff in the city.” He sounds annoyed—not at his new buddy, but at the Ancients. You’d think they’d at least left a couple of labels telling people what stuff is. “We have so many artifacts and rooms and labs, just last week I accidentally turned on a bunch of glowy spheres, they didn’t do anything except glow but it coulda been real dangerous, y’know? What if they were weapons?”

He has a lot of opinions about the Ancients. Except now with that, that’s a whole new revelation that’s gonna change everything.

“Wait, wait, wait. The Lanteans were once Merfolk?! Like, like, under the sea, fish-tails and everything?”

There’s a lot to deal with all of a sudden and all at once. The Ancients created Wraith, these creatures of the sea, who still existed in their world. The Ancients were once a people who lived under the sea, from the sea. He was related to said people who seem more alien than ever.

He loses focus a second, staring at the ocean which looked both extra terrifying and ominous and mysterious. He’d always loved the ocean, loved swimming and surfing, and he’d always felt more at home on Atlantis and on this planet in the short time he’d been here. Never belonging anywhere on earth, and yet here…

A shiver runs through him.

“And you, your people…are there a lot of you? Do you have a whole civilization down there too or what?”

Edited 2025-05-31 07:17 (UTC)

He watches as his new companion realizes what this means. Of course if his lifespan was that of humans the wraith had encountered before then this one had a heavy count of generations between him and the sea. And the Lanteans were Merfolk long before he was born and had lost most of their physical traits with their ocean ancestors by the time he was. Their cities after all were designed for bipeds, not for someone without legs.

He is silent, simply watching the man go through the motions. And he nods at the question. "Several cities in the deepest parts where even your little ships cannot go."

“Wow. That’s…that’s pretty cool. I wish I could see them,” he rambles, but he’s genuine with it, his usual sarcasm a little bit faded. It’s the same enthusiasm he uses to talk about Ferris wheels and football, though he knew those would mean nothing to a being who lived underwater. Could you even play football underwater…

He steps a bit more into the surf, not minding how the gentle waves flow around the soles.

“Well, I hope this can be the start of some kind of…” he trails off, trying to think of the word. He’s bad at the whole diplomacy thing, where’s Weir when you needed her. “Connection, between our two peoples.”

The world below was indeed an incredible sight, though without night vision one would only see blips of bioluminescence and miss the grandeur of the rest.

The wraith chuffed, "I'm no ambassador" He almost seemed insulted the human would consider he was...or perhaps disappointed he couldn't be? He elaborated, not wanting to give the impression he was upset with the other. "I'm not in the best of graces with those in authority. Even if you had means to come down, neither of us would be welcome."

"Ah. Well I gotta admit to you, we're pretty much the same when it comes to that." He makes a face that tells of a long and storied history with authority. But he seems to not be bothered at all by the other's admission, either.

"I'm pretty good at being a friend, though. My name's John Sheppard. Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard."

He smiles, a genuine one, and maybe even more stupidly, begins to wade out a little into the shallows. He doesn't seem to care he's getting wet, his pants are now soaked up to the knees, but he holds out a hand.

Edited (For got the Lieutenant lol) 2025-05-31 08:47 (UTC)

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