bakerstreet | Your siren song

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[meme] shipping

Your siren song

mermaids & land dwellers
a possibly (au) mermaid ❝shipping❞ meme

Few fantastical creatures have captured the imaginations of those of us stuck in the mundane quite like mermaids. It's understandable: the ocean provides an endless canvas for us. Who knows what may live in those deep, seemingly endless depths? There's something intriguing about the mermaid, too, as a being that exists between two worlds. Beautiful human up top, dangerously alien down below, a mix between the comforting and the unknown. Such a combination is all very alluring, speaking perfectly of both the sense of freedom and adventure and and the impending doom offered by the high seas.

Because of the mystery and excitement provided by mermaids, people have been considering what the relationships between those who live on land and those who dwell in the sea would be like. For as long as there have been mer-tales, there have been stories of lucky or unlucky seafarers who earn the attention of mermaids. In some cautionary tales, merfolk are said to be little more than sirens who relish in driving sailors to their doom, luring them to the waters with gorgeous songs so that ships may be crashed, blood spilt, and flesh rend to fill the bellies of sea-demons. In other, more optimistic tales, there are lonely mermaids who fall in love with sailors, fishermen, and princes and will do anything to be with their objects of affections, even if it means turning to sea foam. Of course, earning a mermaid's love may not be better than becoming their prey; after all, in their ignorance of the children of earth, they may pull a person under the water and forget that air is a necessity for some.

Perhaps you are a human or other offspring of the land who has grown up with the tales of mermaids. You know that caution must be taken should you go on the ocean, lest you become nothing more than a meal. If you were in that situation, you would never fall for the merfolk's charms. However, that's so much easier said than done.

On the other hand, you could be a mermaid. Whether you are "good" or "bad" depends entirely on upbringing, just like with anyone else. Finally, you've come upon a land dweller. Will you be infatuated with them, look at them as a sweet morsel, or be more scared of them than they are of you?

how to play;

- Comment with your character and preferences. This meme allows for characters to be the one who lives on land or the mermaid. Feel free to do a mermaid AU for your character!
- Reply to others. Use the RNG to get your prompt.

prompts;

1.Good: Everything said about merfolks is wrong. They are reclusive, but not evil. Especially not this one. Maybe they even saved you. No matter what, they love you, absolutely. And, were you to be honest, it was love at first sight on your end, too. But that doesn't mean you can be together...at least, not easily.
2. Bad: Come, jolly sailor bold. Come into the arms of a mermaid, and you will not regret it. They will hold you, and you cannot resist, even as you're dashed against the rock.
3. Wild: Good and evil cannot be applied to mermaids here, for they are like any other wild creature, more beast than man. Yet the more they're exposed to the kindness of humans or others who live on land, the more fond they grow towards it - and those who show them that kindness.
4. Ignorant: The mermaid's intentions are good, yet he or she doesn't realize what they could do to hurt their land dweller lover.
5. The Mermaid Dilemma: What can be done if someone wants to do more with a mermaid than give them kisses or sweet words? Not much, it seems. At first glance, that is, though who knows what can happen if one puts their mind to it.
6. Not What Was Expected: Beauty is always expected of a mermaid, but what if such a creature looked more like this? Who could care for such a beast? Well, there's still charm there, and with enough personality, appearances can be looked past.

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[Eldrich Crane anyone? Definitely a malevolent, Lovecraftian merperson, but willing to play him as selectively sweet.]

(Hi, malevolent Lovecraftian merperson. Up for something with a mer-shark who's probably not going to trust one of your [character's] kind?)

[You betcha. Did you have any ideas for starters or would you like me to throw something up?]

(YES PLEASE. BTW I'm up for anything. Also, I should draw up something, but the general idea is that Wash is a part of a merfolk clan with no concept of gender. Specifics about body parts are up for discussion, but his tail is dark grey with yellow patterns/stripes, has decent fin sizes (not terribly fancy), and his clan finds extravagant/large fin sizes beautiful, though the sub-category of shark is seen as dangerous and is generally valued for that. Teeth: Sharp, two rows. Ears: Fins. Gills+Lungs for breathing (think whale+shark). Hands come with sharp claws, the first joint is like a cat's, so it's a part of the hand. "Male" members of the tribe have a fin-like phallus on top of a cloaca and are smaller, "female" members have a cloaca and are bigger. Some sharks can deposit and carry their own fertilised eggs.)

[And I'm thinking Crane looks more like that second picture, without the weird long crab legs, and the fingers are more like claws than needles. Crane's claws are also venomous, and getting scratched makes you hallucinate your fears.

Also, since Crane's Lovecraftian in nature, I'm thinking Crane likes to prowl around a seaside town where the superstitious locals are convinced he's some kind of deity. He likes to make a personal appearance every month or so and a few "lucky" individuals may get a taste of his venom. Also, there's creepy a sunken city deep below the ocean that he sometimes hangs out in.

Does any of that sound good?]

(sjfhjsjf That sounds exactly up my alley. :D Wash's tribe would probably send him to investigate, regardless of how they feel about the seaside town or the sunken city-- they're probably not expecting a lovecraftian sea creature, though they have sirens among them, but it's more amoral mythical creatures than flat out horror. Him hallucinating his fears would be fun to roleplay, but it'd depend on what Crane wants with a mershark.)

[Lemme know if anything needs changing.]

The town of Innsmouth was a strange place indeed. Located by the seaside, it was an eerie, unwelcoming place. Strangest of all was that one couldn't get more than five feet before seeing an icon of a strange being that looked half-man, half-sea creature. It was especially all around a building of worship. Exploring the building would find that the main hall contained a pool connected to a narrow tunnel that led to the ocean. Once a month, the residents spoke of how "he" graced them with his presence and would "bless" a select few with visions of terror. The visions could last anywhere from an hour to a few days.

Jonathan thought these people were were superstitious fools, and found their reverence for him amusing. Who was he to complain if they wanted to feel the sting of his venom and provide him with an amusing evening?

Having just gotten done with the ritual for this month, Jonathan swam back out through the tunnel and into the open sea.

The agent was sent out by his tribe to investigate a nearby village, to see if they could be of any use to them. He lay low and observed, parking himself in shallow waters. The lack of vibrancy in his stripes were considered to make him undesirable to the merfolk of his clan, but he was a mer-shark, and mer-sharks did not rely on their looks to hunt. (Or voice, for that matter.)

It became clear that he was observing something strange. The village was abnormal; he heard talk about how there was a god of sorts who would 'bless' them-- but why terror? He was getting close, though; he'd found a tunnel, thinking it could lead to a lair of sorts.

The merperson was nothing like he'd ever heard of-- the wonders of the sea weren't something to be taken lightly, and while his job was to investigate, he could fend for himself. Something about this one gave him a sense that something was not quite right. He ignored the feeling in his gut out of sheer pride, and, with a tingling in his spine, he tailed the merperson, swimming behind carefully and keeping still when he thought it turned to look at his direction.

Jonathan thought he sensed something following him. Probably a shark thinking it found a meal, or a foolhardy swimmer. Nothing a little nick from his claw wouldn't fix.

He looked over his shoulder and raised an eye-ridge. It was a shark all right, but not the kind he'd been thinking of. Even with the water being dark at this time of night, he could tell that the upper body wasn't that of a fish.

Glowering at the other merperson, Jonathan raised a clawed hand and gave a quiet snarl. That usually scared people off.

Wash kept still -- until the merperson adopted a menacing stance, suggesting that it was ready to posture, and even possibly fight. He didn't know anything about this creature-- it was humanoid, yes, but was it capable of language, much less the same language as his kind? Or reason?

He did what he usually did with the unknown; he bared his teeth in instinct, arching his back and brandishing his claws, letting off a loud subsonic wave from his gills.

It wasn't even his or his clan's territory, but it seemed reasonable to show that he had nothing to fear and could handle himself.

Jonathan saw that the merman wasn't backing down, and seemed to be challenging him back. Unfortunately, he was well aware that a shark could tear him apart. Jonathan's kind defended themselves with psychological and underhanded means, but weren't very strong physically.

"Is there a reason you're here?" He hissed at the other mermand.

Wash glided a little to the side, tail arched to facilitate this movement. It looked like he didn't need to fight, which was all the better for him, at least for now.

"I'm from a nearby clan." He replied, voice steady and clear, as much as underwater sounds would allow, anyway. "We have heard stories of supernatural happenings in the fishing village of Innsmouth, and I am here to investigate."

Didn't need to mention anything more. He wasn't a diplomat. He steeled his gaze and looked at the other merman. "I have never seen your kind before."

Jonathan lowered his claws for now, since the merman wasn't making any moves to attack him. Not right now, anyway.

"My kind prefer to keep to themselves," Most of his kind lived in the deep waters, in the vast trenches where nobody dared swim, and the few that lived in the lighter parts of the sea mostly made their homes in sunken ships or caves. "As for Innsmouth, the townsfolk are a foolish, superstitious sort. I would not worry too much about it."

Edited 2017-10-08 23:36 (UTC)

Wash relaxed visibly.

"Hmm." Wash found it unsurprising; a lot of merfolk were solitary. "I suppose my kind would like to know more about yours, if you don't mind."

"We thought as much, that it was likely merfolk. We wanted to make sure that whoever was causing the ruckus won't be a threat to us."

Jonathan just kept floating in place, not approaching the other merperson. "What sort of things would you like to know?"

This other merperson wasn't threatening him, but Jonathan wasn't sure just how much information about himself he was willing to indulge. Lest he give up the element of surprise.

"As for the people of Innsmouth, I imagine they would only move against your people if they angered the town's deity."

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Your siren song

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