bakerstreet | In all my dreams I drown

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[[Willing to play either role, open to crosscanon, and open to all prompts! Prefs in the journal~]]

[Not an actual mermaid, but... *lurks*]

[Still voicetesting, but how could I resist the callout in a title like that? Some dangerously tempting form of Scorpaenidae (such as the ever so well-known P. volitans), or a jolly sailor bold with less than pretty intentions for his catch. Either way, he's a bad one, but you shouldn't let that dissuade you. Trust him. Trust him, darling dear.

Again, no minors please. Even Hell has standards.]

[ Either role, but pass on no.5 regardless - as a mermaid, 2 would suit her, unless she met a human who she found interesting enough not to drown. ]

[ He's a merman-turned-human, so either fits him fine! He's certainly more curious than he is interested in killing people, but if he's the merman here 3 or 4 or a mix of the two would fit him best. ]

[ I mean... ]

[ merman. crosscanon welcome, the more AU the better. ]

[ either role! ]

he’s solved the mermaid dilemma, apparently.

( a river nymph, rather than a salt-water mermaid, close enough for government work. good for three and six; she looks different under the glamour. )

[Merman, selkie, sea monster, or however else you may want to play it...]

[would prefer her as the land dweller! open to characters of all genders and especially crosscanon.]

[Either role is good!]

[Can be the human or a very shark-y mermaid!]

[Creepy Eldrich merman]

Edited 2019-04-25 03:42 (UTC)

[Your average sailor who's way too keen to escape the land for reasons he's not even sure about.]

[ he's the pretty merman that has no concept of human emotion so if he likes you he's dragging you with him to the bottom of the sea, babey.

real talk he's also probably just evil. ]

[Mermaid; slowposting prose preferred, assumed cr preferred to skip playing out introductions]

[Merman who maybe can't get himself to be bad?

Or landdweller who finds a mermaid and makes them their new favorite photography subject?]

Edited 2019-04-25 12:28 (UTC)

[He'd be the land dweller who would take the mermaid home to ~~dissect~~ study and admire.]

[ Either is fine! ]

[Probably the mermaid, but open to being the human~]

[ voicetesting with a mermaid au, as one does

but seriously: eve is the beleaguered but irrepressibly curious landlubber tasked with investigating a shadowy underwater world evidenced by one particularly murderous siren's escapades

OR

villanelle is the predatory and impeccably dressed sailor-assassin set loose on unsuspecting merpeople whose numbers happen to include one security-minded selkie with amazing hair ]

[ Could go either way! Might be a merman in Atlantica or could encounter another merfolk from his ship, or we could go full au with it. ]

[ Definitely the mermaid! I'm good with any of these prompts. tl;dr beware her singing~ Probably in cahoots with Leviathan. Also possesses a trident. ]

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In all my dreams I drown

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