Message

Message

A Mermay Prompt

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“U-U-Ugh!” Complained the glitchy voice of your new companion. You were starting to understand why his name was Error. “Wh-Why did-d you ha-ha-have t-to nest-st s-so far away-ay-ay-ay?” It was like a broken record. You tried not to let it get to you but it was really annoying that every few minutes he’d complain like a fussy child. Big man baby ribbon eel.

“We’re Only One More Mile Away Error!” Blue chirped. He didn’t seem phased in the slightest by Error’s behavior. “Thank You For Agreeing To Come! It Really Means A Lot To Me!” He swam closer to Error but not close enough to touch. Error had been very strict about touch when you’d met him. So much so that he’d almost immediately attacked you even though you hadn’t even approached him. Blue had gotten between you and calmed Error with surprising speed. Error didn’t threaten you again after that.

“M-M-Mmh.” Error grumbled. “Wh-Whatever. You o-o-owe me-me f-f-for this-is.” He didn’t clarify what exactly Blue owed him. He also didn’t seem like the type ask favors of people, opting instead to get his own hands dirty.

Blue’s smile didn’t waver. “Of Course, Error! You Know I Love To Help!”

“Mhm-m-m.”

It was weird.

You could see the power in this beast. The way the water rippled and sharpened around him into silvery blue strings that whipped around in his agitation. The way Dream had immediately put Blue between him and Error before retreating back to his den, leaving you in Blue’s more than capable hands. The power blazing in his mismatched eyelights that made Nightmare’s cyan eye look tame. The way he didn’t hesitate in any decision because he was certain nothing could stop him anyways.

And yet he was easily calmed by your fellow dolphin siren.

Not completely calmed, Error still growled and hissed and was overall aggressive, he was just less likely to do anything rash while Blue was talking. Which encouraged you to keep Blue talking.

“So, uh…” You rubbed the back of your neck. “How are you both doing?” It felt dumb to ask, but you didn’t know either of these people really.

Blue chirruped. “I’m Doing Great! Thank You For Asking, Y/n! And How Are You? Does That Spot Still Itch?”

“Yeah, a little bit. But it’s not as bad as earlier. Thank you, by the way.”

“Of Course! I Am Always Glad To Help!”

“Wh-Wh-What a-are you ta-ta-talking about-out?” Error grouched, his brows furrowed at being left out of the conversation.

“Y/n Had A Suckerfish Stuck To Them And I Helped Them Get It Off.” Blue supplied.

Error laughed and his eyes locked onto you even though he was still talking to Blue. “A-A-Aww, Blue-ue-ue! Y-You c-c-could have-ave l-left it for a-a-a-a f-few min-min-minutes longer! I-I-I would-ld-ld h-have enjoy-joy-joyed th-that!”

Blue scowled sternly. “Error, We Don’t Leave People In Pain Just Because It’s Funny.”

“Y-Y-You don’t-t.” Error grinned, baring his sharp teeth.

Blue responded with a heavy hearted sigh. “Let’s Not. How Are You Doing, Error? Y/n Did Ask Both Of Us.” He turned the question on the destroyer curiously.

Error scoffed. “M-M-My peace-eace was int-interup-rup-rupted b-b-by two abom-ominations an-and an annoy-oy-oying dolphin-in. I’m ter-ter-terrible.”

“Aw, Thanks!” Blue whistled happily at the insult.

Okay. There was either something terribly wrong with these two or you were missing important information.

You had a feeling you wouldn’t get an answer to that.

“Y/n? Wait, Blue?!”

“Cross!” You and Blue chirped at the same time, turning toward the voice.

Cross caught sight of Error and hesitated as he came closer. “What are you doing here, Blue?” He asked, reaching out for your hand.

“Mweheheh!” Blue laughed. “I Am Here Because Y/n Invited Me! How Are You Doing, Cross?”

“Uh, I’m good, I guess. Y/n, what’s going on?” Cross’s tense gaze didn’t leave Error and the eel gave him a big toothy grin. He pulled you closer to himself.

You let him pull you. “So, you know how Killer got hyped up on positivity and Nightmare helped him balance out? And now Boss has been acting really tired?”

Cross’s brows scrunched together as he looked down at you. “…He has been really tired… but what does this have to do with Blue and Error?” His eyes shot back to the destroyer, who was starting to look annoyed.

Blue noticed Error’s frown. “Mweh! Would You Like To Answer That, Error?”

At the attention, Error relaxed and scoffed. “Y-Y-You t-tell him, B-B-Blue. I d-don’t care-are.” He crossed his arms and looked away.

“Of Course.” Blue smiled, as always, and turned to address Cross. “Y/n Had The Amazing Idea Of Inviting Me And Error Over To Help Nightmare Get Rid Of The Lingering Positivity In His Body. Dream Has Had A Similar Problem Before And Asked Me To Help As Well.”

Cross’s eyes darted between the three of you, more concerned than confused. He pulled you away. “I’d like to talk to y/n real quick.”

“Mweh! Of Course! We’ll Be Right Here When You’re Ready!” Blue chirped

“Sp-Sp-Speak f-for yourself-self.”

As Blue started entertaining Error, you and Cross took a sidebar. Cross pulled you around and held you by the shoulders.

“Y/n. What were you thinking? You left the pod and went to get Blue and Error all by yourself? Are you insane?” He snapped. You could see the worry behind his anger.

“I wasn’t alone. Dream helped me-.”

“That’s worse! Do you not remember what happened the other day?”

“I remember!” You shoved him away. “I’m the one that went through that! But Ink wasn’t there this time and Dream has only ever been nice to me. He just wants to fix things with Nightmare. Cross, he wants to help. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Cross hesitated and glanced back at your guests. “…Maybe. I’d say he has good intentions, but the guys… they won’t believe him for a second. He could just make things worse.”

“That’s why he’s not coming. Cross.” You pulled his focus back to you. “I brought Error and a message and I haven’t delivered either. Could you please help me?” You pleaded.

He glared at you, his eyelights dilating at you. “You’re ridiculous. Fine, I’ll help. I’ll let the guys know what’s going on. Just wait here and don’t do anything stupid.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll try. Be safe.”

Cross turned to your guests. “Blue, I will be leaving for a little while. Guard y/n, would you?” You punched Cross’s arm. You could take care of yourself!

Blue smiled. “I Will Help In Any Way I Can!” He chirped happily.

With that, Cross sped off for only a few minutes before returning with Dust. They escorted you and your guests into the trench while Error kept puffing up proudly and flashing his colors every time he glanced at Dust. Sure Dust wasn’t as pretty, but he didn’t have to rub it in.

You and Cross crested the edge of the trench first and you froze. Now that you knew, it was much easier to spot Nightmare’s exhaustion but you would have noticed anyways. The leviathan was laid out on the bottom of the trench, Killer circling his head and Horror worrying at his hand. Despite the worry from the boys, he had a comforting smile on his face as he tried to soothe them.

His eye was half-lidded.

“Boss.” Cross called carefully. “We brought help.”

Nightmare looked up and his eye caught on Error. The eel sneered at him, smug. Boss sighed. “I did not need help, Cross. I told you, nothing is wrong.”

“Y-Y-You look l-like a dying-ing st-st-starfish.” Error observed.

“Error!” Blue scolded.

“A-A-Am I wr-wrong??”

Ignoring the chaos that came with Error, you swam forward into the trench. Nightmare watched you swim all the way down. Killer and Horror didn’t acknowledge you in their worry.

“Nightmare,” You started. “I know you’re not okay. We know you’re not okay. Please let us help.”

Nightmare glanced between the four other sirens of the pod. He sighed. “If it will make you feel better.”

“Also, I have a message.”

Nightmare smirked at you. “Oh~? A message? From who?”

“From Dream.”

Everything stopped.

Killer, Horror, and Nightmare were staring at you with varying expressions of shock as Error cackled like a glitchy witch behind you.

“Y/n.” Killer said, tense. “You were talking to Dream?”

“Yes.” You responded boldly. “He’s been very helpful to me. He had a simple request, I said I’d do it.”

“Still.” Killer growled.

“Killer.” Nightmare warned. Killer backed off and swam down to join Horror. Nightmare looked back to you. “What is the message?”

“He said he wants to negotiate peace and I quote; ‘I swear on my apple I will let you have the first say.’ And said you can bring whoever.” You supplied. “Out in the dunes by Blue’s place.”

“What’s an apple?” Killer piped up.

“It’s a fruit on land. I don’t know why Dream was talking about it though. I’ve never seen or heard of an apple-like plant in the water.” You said, just as confused as Killer.

Nightmare hummed vaguely. “It’s not a normal apple. Y/n, did he set a date?”

“Uh… no. I think he wanted me to ask you.”

“Good. I will take time to recover and then I’d like you to be my messenger, y/n, to discuss a time to meet with my brother.”

“What?!?!” Yelled four sirens at once.

You smiled. “I’d love to, Nightmare.”

Discover

A Mermay Prompt

(Note: far too much dialogue. Far too little action)

Masterlist

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“Cross?”

Said siren looked up from sharpening one of his attacks with a rock. “Hm? Yes, y/n?”

“I… Can we talk for a minute?”

Concern flashed across his face. “Sure.” He set down the rock, dismissed the attack, and gave you his full attention. “You want to go somewhere more private?”

You nodded. It was… important. To you at least. You wanted answers to questions that weren’t solving themselves.

Cross nodded back and led you to a secluded spot just outside of the trench. The terrain was flat and blank so no one could hide and eavesdrop on the conversation. “What do you want to talk about?” He asked.

You hesitated but went for it. “Dream said he met you when you first entered the ocean and that you had just escaped captivity. And I already knew that you’ve at least been a siren for longer than that. So… What happened?”

Cross straightened and looked away. “Oh. He told you that. Uh.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Shit. Okay. Y’know, Dream is… how do I say this? …He’s not bad. He just wants to help. He helped you the other day. So when he first found me, starving and trying to figure out how currents worked, he helped me. Ink helped too but was about as much help as Killer when he needs to stay still.” Cross chuckled. “He did his best though.”

“Okay. But could you explain why you were in captivity? Last I checked, there was a ban against sirens in captivity unless absolutely necessary and that ‘absolutely necessary’ part was firm about it being a physical disability.” You put your hands on your hips.

Cross shrank at your tone. “I was there all my life. And before you ask, I wasn’t converted. I was and have always been a siren. I was just raised in a lab. The Doctor… he was not nice to me or my pod. He was trying to discover a way to control sirens like how we can control our prey with song. And I think he almost figured it out before……” His eyes flashed and he turned away. “He had to move the aquarium. I don’t remember why. I just remember them sedating us and shipping us across the sea.

“There was a storm, the ship was destroyed, and I made some poor decisions.” Cross looked at his hands as if he expected to find blood and dust on them. Maybe he did. “In my poor choices, I had accidentally forced myself into isolation. Everyone I knew was dead and I couldn’t go back. Not this time. Dream and Ink found me trying to catch fish a week later. They quickly invited me into their pod, Blue welcomed me just as happily, and started teaching me to survive in the oceans.

“And then we had to move, because Dream was tailing somebody. His brother. I decided it was my job to protect Dream and fought to get between him and Nightmare. Nightmare was… careful when he fought me, which I learned later. He could have launched me into the sky if he wanted to, but he didn’t.

“It was a few months later that Nightmare convinced me to join him. Dream was devastated when I left. He kept asking me what he did wrong. He didn’t. He didn’t do anything wrong. Nightmare was just… more prepared for me. Dream, at the time, wasn’t used to dealing with… mortals. Blue was a mortal, sure, but he took care of himself and was busy most of the time visiting his brother. So, since I didn’t know that I needed help, I didn’t learn very important skills. Like song, defense, hunting, and listening for an ambush. I was completely vulnerable.

“Killer caught on to that fact quickly when we first met. He would mess with me. I knew he didn’t like me, I was by Dream’s side just like he was by Nightmare’s, but he didn’t kill me when he could have. Not because he didn’t want to but because Nightmare would stop him every time.

“I didn’t understand. This leviathan, that attacked Dream with enough furiosity to destroy the mountains of the deep, didn’t want his lackey to hurt me, his enemy.

“I also sucked at tactics. I could fight and, in a normal combat situation, I had the upper hand on Killer but Killer was faster. Crueler. He would slip past my attacks and strike me where I was unprotected. He especially loved maiming my dorsal fin. When Dream and I would catch up to Nightmare, Killer would ambush and single me out quickly. Every fight ended either with Nightmare stopping Killer from ending me or Dream dragging me away in retreat.”

Cross sighed in a way that felt like remorse. “It took me far too long to learn how to spot an ambush. And by then, I was exhausted. Dream and Ink don’t need to sleep as much as we do and I didn’t sleep well anyways. They were always doing something, especially when Blue was visiting. Blue was very energetic. So if they weren’t tracking down Nightmare, they were helping other sirens or exercising or making something. Ink insisted that his coral monstrosities were art. They sucked. I don’t know what he was thinking.

“One day, when I could barely see straight, we attacked Nightmare. I tried to fight off Killer, I really did, but he was tearing me apart. And Killer wasn’t alone. Dust attacked me from behind. They restrained me in an embarrassingly short amount of time and Nightmare scooped me up and retreated with me in tow.

“…I woke up three days later, curled up in Nightmare’s tentacles, sleeping peacefully for the first time. He didn’t stop me when I swam away from him and back to Dream. He didn’t even seem to care. He just smiled and turned away as I fled.

“Dream was worried, Ink had already forgotten me, and I was confused. Nightmare hadn’t hurt me or stopped me he just… let me sleep. For days. I couldn’t understand.

“About a week later, we fought Nightmare again. I was tired again, because of how busy Ink and Dream were all week, and Killer approached me instead of ambushing me like before. He teased me about looking like I needed some sleep and jokingly invited me back to sleep with his pod.

“I considered it. And Killer saw me consider it. He laughed it off, we fought, and went home our separate ways. He didn’t tease me after that.

“Nightmare approached me the next fight. He offered, in front of Dream and everyone, to take me in and give me the rest I desperately needed. Dream tried to argue for me but I was so tired. I dismissed my attacks and just swam into Nightmare’s waiting hands.

“Dream was quiet as Nightmare and his pod retreated with me. I haven’t gone back since. Dream just wasn’t prepared for… me. He didn’t know how to take care of a new siren and definitely one like me. I was aggressive, scared, and untrusting. He was not used to dealing with negativity head on so he avoided it. It wasn’t until Nightmare took me in that he realized his mistake. He tried to get me to come back. But I was so tired. I couldn’t go back to that.” He looked so tired and guilty when he finished speaking.

You still had questions. “The… the Doctor. What did he do to you?”

The orca siren was tense, even as he smiled. “Nothing much. Kinda just let me and my pod exist most of the time. Tests were done, sure, but he never physically hurt us. Not our batch, at least.” He mumbled.

“Your batch? Were there others?”

Cross flinched. “Yeah, uh, don’t worry about it.” He wasn’t making eye contact. “It was a long time ago and the details are fuzzy so it doesn’t matter. What does matter, is what Dream and Ink told you.” He finally looked at you, completely serious.

“Uh, it was mostly confusing stuff. Dream said something about helping you out and practically raising you which is why I asked.” Your face twisted in disgust. “And then Ink called both of us useless sirens.”

Cross growled then immediately sighed, defeated. “Yeah, Ink says stuff like that. I can’t say he doesn’t mean it, he does mean it just in the most literal sense. He has no filter and means nothing by it. It’s just how he sees the world. He’ll still hang out with someone he calls useless but, as soon as you’ve heard it once, it’s hard to treat him the same way you used to. Dream and Nightmare understand that he doesn’t mean anything by it, since they can feel the few emotions he does have, but he’s never been able to make friends with anyone other than Blue.”

“Everyone keeps mentioning Blue. Who’s Blue?” You asked.

“Blue?” Cross smiled fondly. “He’s a dolphin siren, like you. Very excitable. He’s always moving, singing, and smiling. You’d like him. Everyone likes him. Stars! Even the destroyer likes him! And he kidnapped Blue!”

“Who what?!”

Cross shushed you. “It’s fine. Error gave him back. Blue had befriended the destroyer all on his own, something no one could even dream of doing. He’s the only siren anyone will allow close without much resistance. He really is magnificent.”

“…W- Was that a pun?” You asked, confused. “I don’t get it.”

“Ah, well,” Cross shrugged. “You’d have to meet him first. He’s awesome. But as I was saying, Ink is kind of an accidental jerk. So don’t take anything he says too seriously.”

“Okay.” You nodded slowly. “All that just opened up more questions than it answered…”

“Yeah…” Cross rubbed the back of his head. “But I don’t think you’ll really understand if I just tell you. It’d be better if you could meet everyone without aggression. Then you could get everyone’s perspective.”

“Why can’t I?” You raised a brow.

Cross hesitated with a guarded look. “Y/n. You can’t swim between two fighting sharks and not get bit. Talking to Dream or Ink right after they attacked you is a terrible idea too. They’ll just want you to leave with them and the guys will attack those Starfish sirens the second they see them. Everyone’s on edge. Don’t do anything stupid.”

You huffed and crossed your arms. “I wasn’t suggesting I go alone. I’m not that dumb.”

Drifting closer, Cross pulled you into a hug. “Just… be careful. We love you. If anything bad happened to you…… just be careful.”

“You already said that.” You pointed out.

“Do I need to say it again?” Cross teased.

You struggled to get out of the hug. “No. Cross don’t.”

“Just be careful.”

“Cross! Stop!” You laughed, trying and failing to stay mad at him.

“Be careful.” He nuzzled his nose into your hair.

“Cross!!”

Hello boys!! Who's more likely to get their heart squeezed by how cute Bean is? :3

Literally or figuratively?

Cause either way it’s Killer

(I’m sorry I took so long to answer this! I colored it for you to make up for it!)

Monster under the bed.

Day 1. Dust (tbd)

Day 2. Cross

Day 3. Horror

Day 4. Killer

Day 5. Error

Day 6. Nightmare

Day 7.

These men are under yo bed-/jj

(I wish I could keep this art style GRRR)

I drew my seahorse siren Dream!

From this chapter

Lore Dump! (TroubleAU addition)

Cause I’m bored :p

The Bad Sanses homeschool Bean which leads to… complications…

Bean never thought anything was wrong. She was always a happy and smart kid, and she knew she was loved. The Bad Sanses took care of her, got her toys, played with her, et cetera. They would even sit with her and help her do her schoolwork.

She looked at the paper with confusion as Killer explained.

“See, it says it at the top of the page… ‘Find the odd one in the group.’” He pointed at the pictures on the paper. “So, what do you see right here?”

She leans closer. “A car, a boat, a bus, and another car.”

“So which one doesn’t belong?”

“……The boat?”

“Yes! Good job!” He offered her a high five which she smacked with a grin.

She looked back at the page. “But why can’t the boat be part of the group?”

“Well, it’s different. So it doesn’t belong.”

“Oh.” She continued to stare at the boat on the page. It was very different, but it was still part of the group.

…wasn’t it?

“You think you got this, kiddo?” Killer leaned forward to see her face, his eyelights barely visible in his sockets.

She nodded. “Yeah, I got it! Thanks, Kili!”

He smiled and walked around the table to talk to Dust which would probably end up with him teasing Dust and getting his butt whooped again. Bean turned back to the page.

Then she looked at her hands. Her hands were pretty small, especially next to Horror’s hands, but that didn’t bother her this time.

……Her hands didn’t look like her brothers’ hands. In fact, she didn’t look like her brothers. They were all made up of bones and magic but her? She was all squishy and soft. She was different, wasn’t she? The odd one. The one that… didn’t belong…

She looked back up at Killer and Dust. Dust had summoned a bunch of attacks and was sending them flying at Killer who expertly dodged them and countered with his own attacks. She couldn’t do that either. Summon attacks. Use magic.

The words on the paper glared at her. ‘Find the odd one in the group.’

“Well, it’s different. So, it doesn’t belong.”

She was different.

She didn’t belong.

After she finished her schoolwork, she locked herself in the bathroom and tugged at her skin for several hours. Nightmare found her and got her to open the door but she refused to answer any of his concerned questions.

So basically the poor girl has identity issues that leads to some very bad outcomes I’ll explain one day. But I kinda wanna leave y’all on a cliffhanger so this is all you’re getting for now.

Love y’all! Stay safe!