Mermay 2023 - Tumblr Posts
Shark
Horror was lazing around, curled up in one of Nightmare's many tentacles. He had insisted on hunting, but Dream took it upon himself to bring back something for everyone. It had been a long time since Horror could rely on someone else to take care of him, so he hesitantly allowed it. The two twin leviathans were far from the shiver he had lost, but they were still caring and loved him, so he could deal with them spoiling him if they wanted to.
As they waited, Horror was tangled up in one of the many gargantuan tentacles Nightmare had. Shortly after Dream left, Horror made the request to snuggle with the much smaller octopus form that he had only seen a few times from the leviathan. He was, grievously denied and Nightmare, though he apologized, still felt the need to make it up to him. So here Horror was, tangled up and enjoying the feel of the large suckers carefully caressing him. It was some mix between grooming and petting that the great white didn't care to place.
The peace was slowly chipped away as the water got warmer, uncomfortably hot, even. And Horror found himself squirming deeper into Nightmare's hold where the tentacles were still just a bit colder. Moments later, a massive, glowing beast entered the Depths. Nightmare didn't grace it with a reaction, so Horror stilled himself.
"๐ช๐ฝ, ๐ท๐๐๐๐ฝ๐๐!" Dream's familiar, yet endlessly louder, voice chirped. And the mer in Nightmare's grasp felt rather silly for forgetting that both his datemates were leviathans, not just Nightmare. "๐ผ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ฝ๐ ๐ท๐ถ๐ธ๐ ๐ป๐๐๐น!" The goldfish swam up to his brother, forcing Horror to stay in the tangle of tentacles lest he be boiled alive. The golden brother noticed the discomfort and quickly returned to his normal, huggable form, letting the water start to cool.
"Great. Enough for everyone, yes?" Dream nodded his head enthusiastically causing a swarm of bubbles. Nightmare laughed and took the catch from his brother, dividing it equally among the group present. Horror got the smallest portion, due to his non-leviathan status, and Nightmare had- Was that a...
"Nightmare?" Horror asked softly, and though he was quiet, Nightmare heard him and turned his attention entirely to his smallest mate. "Is that a shark?" Dream flushed gold as he realized just exactly what he had caught and the possible implications such a feast might have.
"Goodness, Horror, I am sooo, sorry. Brother, I'll go right now and get you som-" Horror scooped up Dream who was already on his way out of the Trench and brought him back to Nightmare, who was pushing the carcass away from the rest of his food.
"Apologizes Horror. I did not realize-"
"It's fine, both of you. I'm not a full shark. Just... surprised." Nightmare gave a small smile and gulped down the shark first, just so Horror wouldn't have to look at it any longer. Horror, on the other hand, was quite flustered that both of these deadly, ancient beings, were worried about being disrespectful to him, a tiny mortal.
-------
Ah, yes, a wonderful chunk of fatty tuna. Dust was purring away in Horror's arms as he ate his meal. The pilot fish were swimming around nabbing whatever crumbs they could pick up from Dust's admittedly messy dining habits. Nightmare was also eating, his brother perched on his shoulder, tentacles wrapped around his shiver of two. It was quite the feast the twins had in front of them. A ray, crab, and a hammerhead, and that was only what was left from everything. Dust paid no mind as his more fishy, not-mer cousin of the ocean was devoured by the kraken that he loved so dearly. He did, however, notice that Dream had been watching him for a reaction on said meal. And that was quite amusing to the whitetip.
------
The shouting and hollering that echoed around the trench alerted the two leviathans to the return of their tiny shiver. Killer, the source of the noise, was the first to dart back into the Depths, bragging with his chest puffed out. He was so proud of who-knows-what that Dream just wanted to scoop him up and kiss him. But, that could wait. The bull shark grabbed Dream's hand and led him over to where Horror and Dust were still dragging back their kill, all the while chattering about just how very impressive his hunting skills were. Nightmare allowed himself to emerge from his part of the trench, following his brother and their newest shark out to greet the others.
Horror branched off from Dust and made his way over to the behemoth that was one of his mates. He settled into Nightmare's palm before offering up a carcass that looked just a bit too much like three of the mers present. Nightmare hadn't noticed that Killer had stopped prattling, his eyes staring directly at what Horror had just given to Nightmare. Dream had noticed, thank you very much. And was gently shaking Killer's shoulders, really hoping that when he returned, he wouldn't be hostile or afriad.
"YOU EAT SHARKS?" He asked rather boisterously, as he did everything. Nightmare finally turned his attention to Killer and ducked his head in a way resembling shame. "Oh shi- That, sorry Night. Didn't mean it like that- I just-ย didn't.... Expect it? I mean, you and Dream have three of us now and- uh..." It was a pitiful attempt at backpedaling, but it was just amusing enough that Nightmare let out a small laugh.
"Worry not Killer, I just didn't want you to fear Dream or myself"
"Never," Killer said as he pulled Dream to Nightmare and snuggled into the both of them.
-------
"Hey, um... Has Nightmare ever... How do I say this..." Cross said, stumbling over almost every word. "We're not on the menu, right?" Horror made a humored sound as he looked at the familiar tail of a shark disappearing into Nightmare's mouth. Killer made no attempt to hide his maniacal cackling at the question. Cross flushed purple. "It-it's a good question, alright!" He tried to defend himself. "We're tiny and he could easily swallow us,"
"Wouldn't that be nice," Killer said through his insane-sounding laughter. Cross somehow got more purple.
"It's fine. We're good. He only eats normal sharks," Dust explained, handing an anchovy to Cross as he sorted through their latest hunt.
"Cool... That's good." The poor thresher said before gulping down the fish he was given.
"It is funny how all of you react to the same situation," Nightmare mused as he scooped up the shiver.
"Very much so. You mortals are all so silly!" Dream said, darting around and giving each shark a quick peck.ย
Seaweed Nest
Cross was running his hand over the soft nest that he and the shiver had been sleeping in since he arrived. It was soft and plush, warm and safe. But it was starting to fall apart. He would have repaired it himself. If he knew how. There were quite a few nests hidden in the Trench. At times Cross saw the others working on theirs. It was amazing how everyone, everyone except him, knew how to weave these special nests that were all so comfortable. He wasn't jealous per se, but he certainly would love to learn.
"Whatcha doing Cross?" Dream swam up and curled himself around the thresher. He gave a small hum at the warmth.
"Just thinking," Cross received a bonk for his response. "How do you all make these nests?" The leviathan gave a squeal and darted away from Cross. Had... had he said something wrong. Just as the poor mer was about to leave, Dream swam back in, kelp in hand. He dumped the seaweed on Cross and sat next to him.
"Ooh, I've been wanting to teach you this!!"ย
------
"Baha, oh my gosh Crossy-" A certain bull shark mer burst out laughing at the sight before him.
"Shut up," The mer glared at Killer for even thinking about teasing him. "It's Dream's fault."
"Don't blame me! I was just trying to-"
"Brother, you don't even know how to make a nest,"
"I do! It's just... Different is all," The goldfish pouted. Nightmare allowed himself to fall into his smaller form. Once a reasonable size, he untangled his brother and mate from the mess of seaweed they had made.
"Don't do this again. Horror will be happy to teach you both," He gave both of them a pat before leaving to dispose of the knot of kelp.
------
"This is nice," Cross murmured as he sunk deeper into the newly made nest. Horror only purred in response. Dream was still off sulking somewhere, though, it was likely Dust was with him as the whitetip had mysteriously vanished some time ago. "Thanks for the lesson," Cross got a kiss for his words.
Purr
Reaper had always been drawn to the dead and dying. It's how he found Geno. The selkie had been attacked by poachers and on the verge of becoming sea foam when the leviathan first saw him. He didn't quite know what compelled him to save the selkie that day, but he was glad he did. Geno... not so much. The poor leopard seal now had a constant follower, a clingy orca mer he just could not shake. It wasn't the worst, considering the alternative was that he died, but it wasn't the best either. Because this particular orca was a massive flirt. Geno wasn't good with romance. He was a solitary selkie who didn't much appreciate the new company. At least, for a while. Some way, some how, Reaper grew on him. They started courting. And it was shortly after that when Geno learned what his partner really was. A giant leviathan with control over ice and death itself. Boy was that a chilling revelation.
Geno was busy chasing down penguins on his lonesome when he spotted the skull of his partner peeking from the water. He almost wanted the scold the behemoth, but that would only frighten away the prey. So Geno remained silent and continued his hunting. Until he was unceremoniously plucked from his hunting spot by a large hand.
"Hello darling!" Reaper chirped as he cradled his tiny seal in his hand.
"Put me down." Geno growled. The orca sighed dramatically and fulfilled his love's wish. And promptly beached himself to be right next to him. "REAPER!" Geno screeched as he tried to maintain his balance on the ice that was now weighed down by one- nevermind, Reaper was back in his smaller form.
"Here!" He gave the seal a smile and presented him with two penguins, freshly caught and ripped up in just the right way. Gifts weren't uncommon but something was different. Geno stared at his partner, hoping for some answer to the gifts to emerge. The cheeky bastard only gave him a dopey grin in return.
"What's the occasion?"
"Does there need to be one?" Reaper tilted his head in confusion, giving him the look of an innocent sea creature. Red blush crawled on Geno's skull.
"N-no. But, why hunt penguins? It's not exactly easy for you,"
"Can't I do something nice for my love?" The selkie's face got redder and rather than give the orca a reply, he dug into the meal he was presented with. Reaper smiled, something soft and sweet, looking almost unnatural on the face of death itself, and he curled around his smaller mate. Geno said nothing as he pressed against the warm body and continued his feast.
A pleasant silence settled around the two, Geno crunching away at the penguin carcasses whilst Reaper was content to just sit and watch. The two simply enjoyed each others company. It was only when the meal was finished and Geno felt exhaustion creep up on him that something changed. A rumble from the selkie started up, not startling Reaper as much as it surprised him. His- Geno was purring? It was a sound of utter contentment and Reaper was so happy he could provide. He curled his tail closer around the leopard seal and pressed a gentle kiss to his skull before allowing the smaller to fall into a comfortable and safe sleep.
Suckers
Ink was the oldest. He was not about to be upstaged by this young upstart. He didn't care that this thing was technically the youngest. Sans and Papyrus decided to make another one that looked like him and that was their mistake.
"You look stupid,"
"ีกษ สึ ึ ำ ศถษฆษ ึวสษ, ษจีผำ-สึ ส-ษฎสวษจีผึ,"
"Do we?" Nightmare sent a sharp glare at his eldest brother and held up his tentacles. Ink huffed sending a swarm of bubbles up to the surface. "I have more color. You look drab and plain."
"สึ ส ฦสวึษฆ. ษจ วศถ สษวึศถ ษฆวสษ ว สวศถฦษฆษจีผษข ฦึ สึ ส ึฦษฆษสษ"
"โทโโจโขโฏ-"
"HOW DARE YOU! My colors match perfectly!" The kraken made a show of looking up and down with a disapproving eye.
"ึสสษ สึ ส ษึ ,"
"๐ฉ๐พ๐๐ฝ๐๐๐ถ๐๐-" A tentacle smacked Dream in the face. He didn't know which one of his battling brothers did it, but they left a sucker mark behind simply out of spite. He was tempted to bite it off. Rather than resort to violence, the goldfish swam over to Papyrus and settled under his wing.
"แ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ แ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐แ๊ ๐แต๐๐๐?"
"โโโโโฃโโโกโ โโโ โนโกโโโ โโก โโโโโฃโโโกโ โโโ โพโโ?"
"๐ แ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐แต ๐๐ ๐ ๐แ๐๐๐, ๐๐ต๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐แต๐ ๐ แ๊๐๐ ๐๊๊"
"๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฝ๐พ๐๐!" Dream screeched his defense. The trio of leviathans turned their attention back to the oldest and youngest of the siblings. Reaper was drifting by, silently watching everything play out. Tentacles were tangled with each other, the siblings wrestling. Ink, being older and larger, had the upper hand and was easily able to take down his little brother.
"I hope you learned your lesson."
------
"YOU FUCKER!" Nightmare screeched, tentacles flailing. Ink gave his normal sharp smirk. Colorful tentacles were twisting around each other with sick glee. Nightmare very much did not want to have this fight with the shiver watching.
"Should have thought twice about having one of your own enter my territory,"
"He's a landwalker you dunce. He doesn't abide by our rules." Nightmare growled. Yellow and blue tentacles wrapped around Nightmare's own. "Let go of me! You stupid squid!" Ink made an attempt to pin his younger brother to the ground. Nightmare twisted out of the way but his limbs were still tangled with Ink's.
"Has this happened before?" Cross whispered to Blue.
"Not that I'm aware of," Was the selkie's response.
"Yes. Yes they have," Dream bemoaned beside them. "Many, many times,"
"I thought they were done with this when we all started fighting," Error said, growling.
"You thought they could ever be done?" Dream said with obvious disbelief.
"Stupid, I know"
"Very."
"I'm still stronger than you~" Ink sang out.
"In your dreams" Was Nightmare's reply, his voice somehow more threatening than ever.
And so the battle begun. Dream whisked the shiver away, Blue and Error followed shortly after.
Free Day! - Legs
"Why did I agree to this?"
"Because it's Kelp's birthday?" Dream suggested as he got a feel for the new appendages he now donned. Nightmare was still in the water, his tentacles wriggling in agitation. "C'mon Nighty,"
"No." He growled. Dream glared and scooped his brother out of the water. The two teetered dangerously until the leviathan-turned-landwalker regained his balance and started to walk away from the ocean. "DREAM!!" Nightmare cried out, more out of shock and fear than anything else.
"We're going to see Kelp for his birthday and that's final." Nightmare curled his tentacles around himself, hiding his form.
"People are gonna see me," The octopus whined.
"Best start using your legs then," Dream shot back. Nightmare growled before allowing his tentacles to melt away giving way to an unsteady pair of legs. Dream smiled and set his brother down. Nightmare, already in a skirt Dream insisted on him wearing, clung to his brother as the fabric brushed against bones that hadn't been there. His legs were shaky and far too unused for someone who could do this at any time. "Lets get going!" Dream chirped as he dragged his stumbling brother to the house he knew to be Kelp's.
"Let me learn to walk, Dream." Nightmare said, digging his heels in the sand in a fruitless endeavor. Dream only continued to drag his brother along.
"No, because you're going to take all day just because you can," The grumpy leviathan admitted to nothing. Dream knocked on the door with a firm hand three times and stood back, waiting for Kelp to answer. The fisherman didn't take long and opened the door only moments later.
Now, on this very day, Kelp had invited Sans and his brother Papyrus to talk about a long fishing trip he was planning on taking. There was much talk about supplies and how Papyrus would fair on his own unless he wanted to join. It was normal. As was the knock on the door. Kelp was accustomed to helping people save the local marine life, so it wasn't uncommon for him to get people at his door at any time of day or night. But he had been greeted with a very unexpected sight.
"Dream?! Nightmare? How did you guys-" There was the sound of breaking glass causing all three to look into the house. Sans was standing with a confuddled expression.
"Hi kids?" The older fisherman offered a small wave. Dream promptly dropped Nightmare. The octopus fell into a boneless lump, not bothering to try and pull himself onto unstable, flimsy legs. He propped himself up on his arms and stared dumbfounded at the other leviathan in front of him and his brother.
"Sans! Where have you been?" Dream managed to get out. Kelp took it upon himself to help Nightmare into a chair whilst Sans floundered for a response.
"Uh- um... Just... around?"
"He's been here for at least 20 years," Kelp answered in an attempt to help. Nightmare hadn't released the fisherman yet, not trusting the wobbly stool Kelp wanted to place him on.
"We've been looking for you!" Dream exclaimed. "I have to tell the others and-" Dream was scooped up by a lanky skeleton and carried into Kelp's house. The door was kicked closed and Dream was set on the floor.
"We'd prefer it if you didn't," Papyrus said, brushing bits of shattered glass off his clothing. "Sorry about your window Kelp, I was hoping Sans would follow me and we could avoid the kids," The ray admitted sheepishly.
"It's fine Paps," Kelp assured.
"So, no telling Reaps and the others?" Dream asked.
"NO!" Sans and Papyrus shouted in unison. The goldfish flinched back.
"Geez, okay, okay." Nightmare had returned to his many-limbed form and taken to clinging to Kelp who was still trying to remove the octopus from his person. He pulled Dream over and clambered on top of his twin.
"Why did you even leave?" Nightmare asked from his new perch.
"Thought you kids would stop fighting," Sans said with a shrug.
"It did work," Dream acknowledged.
"Papy thought it wouldn't," Papyrus glared at his brother.
"I thought no such thing! I said that it would work, but it would still be a bad idea!"
"Hey, why'd you guys come over?" Kelp turned his attention to the twins, opting to ignore the bickering brothers in front of him. As well as the broken window and glass covering his floor.
"Oh. To wish you happy birthday!" Dream chirped.
"That's nice," Kelp replied, slumping against the wall to fight his oncoming headache.
Cuddle Pile
Night had fallen and the shiver was curled up in their shared nest, hidden away by Nightmare's tentacles. Well, all of them except one. A lone thresher shark sat curled up at the entrance to the Trench. Despite his poor eyesight in the dark, he scanned the area for any possible dangers to his shiver. It was a ritual that he had started almost as soon as he arrived in the Depths. Cross hated the idea of the others sleeping unguarded, even if they did have two leviathans watching over them all. So he took it upon himself to be a lookout.
He yawned and watched the bubbles that escaped him float up into the darkness where he lost sight of them quickly. He wasn't tired, not at all. That was why he wasย absolutelyย able to notice that someone was sneaking up on him and didย notย let out any sort of shocked cry.
"Heya Crossy," Killer curled his tail with Cross's much longer one. "It's time to go to sleep, ain't it?" Killer was shoved away for his efforts.
"He's right you know," Horror's voice was a sleepy rumble as he scooped up the thresher. "Off to the nest with you," The great white and bull shark swam back to the rest of the shiver, Cross's wiggles and complaints dying not even half way there. Dust, who was also apparently awake, moved to the side to fit in the tired guard. Horror settled Cross in the nest before he and Killer took their spots again and curled around everyone.
Dust let out a soft purr as he cuddled into Cross, who was taking longer and longer blinks as he sat in the nest. He mumbled out some word of affection that the others couldn't quite make out, but got cuddles and kisses for it regardless. It wasn't too long after that the shiver, and Dream who had been watching them, fell back asleep in a pile of cuddles and purrs, all in the safety of Nightmare's tentacles.
Soulmate
"Do you believe in soulmates?" It wasn't a question Kelp was asked anymore. When he was younger, he heard stories of people finding their person, their soulmate. Stories of love and happily ever after. He might have believed in them then. When he was a child looking at the adults around him. Growing up though, he found that sometimes those stories ended in tears and broken hearts. He stopped believing in soulmates and a true happily ever after. And no, Kelp wasn't being pessimistic, just realistic. Things like that are just made to make the world seem like a better place to innocent minds. And, there is always the occasional story of everything going well, giving hope to other people.
But Kelp never fell in love. He wasn't given a real reason to believe or not. His calling wasn't to anyone around him, but the ocean and all her creatures. A fisherman he might be, but he had respect for the waters that provided him everything, his income, his food, his way of life. So he protected her as she did for him. Kelp took it upon himself to try and right the wrongs done by others who dwelled on the land. Everything from picking up litter to freeing marine life trapped in trash from the land. He saw just how awful it got. The wounds of seals trapped by fishing nets, he hated having to carefully tug the tangled strands from around the poor thing's neck, doing his best not to cause any further damage.
Oh how Kelp hated nets. So, when he saw a large creature trapped in one, he rushed to help. He met face to face with a growling shark mer who tried to get himself away, thrashing around and only hurting himself more. It pained Kelp to see him in such a state, could a mer even understand him?
"I'm going to help you," He said softly, setting his clippers down in the sand so that giant red eyelight could examine them. "I'm just going to cut to out, okay?" The mer stopped moving around so much and fell still. Kelp took this as a sign that he could probably start working. It was long and tedious, trying to free the shark mer. The net dug into his fins at places and it was tangled so much that his hands hurt from all the clipping. It seemed like it took hours, and it probably did. But eventually, Kelp got the mer free. He gave a small chrrp and pressed his head into Kelp's hand in a show of gratitude. "Need help getting back to the water?" The mer looked at the tide, which had lowered since Kelp had found him, and nodded. "Alright big guy, lets get you back," With a bit of effort, Kelp got the mer back to the water where he only looked back once before swimming away.
In the days following, Kelp noticed that his luck was looking up. He would catch far more fish than normal, hadn't lost any of his equipment overboard or off the dock, and the weather had been clear ever since, even though there was a high chance of storms for that week. He didn't think much of it, just that he had a lucky streak. So, with that in mind, he went to the dock to just relax. He had caught more than enough to keep him sustained for weeks to come, so he didn't have to be out on the water as much. Kelp could finally take a moment to himself.
The landwalker removed his shoes and dipped his feet into the water. It was cool and refreshing, something he- There was a loud splash and right in front of Kelp was the shark mer he had rescued not that long ago. With a bloody fish in his mouth.
"Umm, hi again?" Kelp had backed up considerably, staring at the mer. The fish was gently placed on the dock in front of him.
"Thank you," The mer said almost bashfully. He nudged the fish closer, single eyelight looking at Kelp for a reaction.
"Y-your welcome?" He took the fish. A purr came from the mer who promptly flopped onto Kelp's lap. There was a moment where the fisherman was thinking through all his life choices and wondering how on earth they got him here, but... Hearing the satisfied rumble from the shark... Kelp placed a hand on his head, mindful of the gaping wound, and just, pet the mer. They sat like that for quite a while before the mer bid him farewell and sunk back into the sea.
And the visits just kept happening. Kelp did learn the mer's name, Horror, and the mer his. They met and sometimes talked. Most of the time they sat in silence, looking out at the horizon.
And, for the first time in a long time, Kelp wondered again; are soulmates real? Because if they are, he had certainly found his.
Mermaid Tears
Nightmare had long since gotten used to the water harshly crashing into him, as well as the oceans boiling as he swam through them. He was used to claws and teeth and other such sharp things penetrating through his flesh and bones. The weight of his trident was familiar, just as much as throwing it. The leviathan's world was little more than storming clouds and spewing volcanoes. He cared not about the disasters he and his twin caused. Why would he? All that mattered was the fighting. The ceaseless war that wouldn't stop until one side claimed victory... Or died.
The kraken couldn't be sure what had happened. His skull was in such pain, ichor painting the water so thickly that trying to see past it was impossible. Something was horribly, terribly wrong. Nightmare made an attempt to collect his thoughts, but everything was muddled and fuzzy and in so, so much pain. Somehow, he heard the voice of his twin through all the pain.
"๐ธ๐๐ท๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐น?" Not as much as he was hurting. "๐ผ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ ๐ธ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ถ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ธ๐ ๐พ๐ป ๐๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐?" And didn't that sound nice. What if they could just go back to being brothers, even just for a day. Nightmare stopped trying to listen to his brother and instead tried to removed the ichor in his sockets to no avail. Dream had said something else, Nightmare hadn't heard it properly. Should he respond?
"ษ-ษสษวส? Iศถ hurts," He drew out the s longer than he should have. Did that matter?
"๐ฉ๐ผ๐ข๐ป๐ฏ๐๐๐ ๐ธ!" Oh, something was really wrong. Dream sounded terrified. Warm hands cupped Nightmare's face, his injury only feeling worse from the heat. "๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ, ๐พ๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ถ ๐ท๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐. ๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐'๐๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐, ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฝ,"
"ษฆurts," Nightmare managed to say through the pain, tears mixing with the cyan ichor. "ษฆสrts so bad"ย
"๐ผ๐'๐๐ ๐ท๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐," Dream was hugging his so close. They hadn't been like this since... For a very long time... But the heat was making everything even fuzzier. His tears felt like lava.
"Dreaส?"
"๐ด๐๐ถ๐ฝ?"
"I'm gonna ึass out ีผึ ีก," And he did, leaving his frightened twin to try and stop the bleeding. Dream tried not to look at the ichor mixing with the water as he tied makeshift bandages over the wound.
-----
Blood. It was all Horror could smell. He couldn't see much anymore, however, even if he wanted to. But even with his now damaged eyelight, he could see the carnage. Blood and seafoam floated around, the scent taunting him for living. Bodies of the dead and dying were barely visible with his new injury. Everything had gone so wrong so quickly. And now he was the only one alive. If he actually recovered from this. His head pounded. Some of the blood was from him, he had little doubt in that. But what could he do? He was stuck here with only those turning to sea foam. He could focus on the sights and scents, but what good would that do? He couldn't exactly escape it all either, the sea foam sticking to him whenever it got close.
So he cried. He cried for those who were alive only moments before, he cried for the pups who were barely starting to live, he cried for those who tried so valiantly to defend the shiver, he cried for the memories he had of them all, lost when his skull was crushed, he cried for those who he loved and cared for, never to be seen again. He cried so much he could have filled the ocean from his tears alone. For that was all he could do.
-----
In some colorful reef sat a quiet whitetip shark mer. Pilot fish flittered around him, the only family he had left. A few were exploring the reef, the rest were just swimming around Dust, like a fishy barrier between him and the rest of the ocean. It was nice. Dust got a moment of calm and quiet. And Papyrus was always watching him. A pilot fish swam up and bonked their heads together. Oh. Dust really missed having his brother around for real. These fish, they acted just like him but- Dust didn't know he had started crying until all the fish had huddled around him, trying to give comfort. Something so familiar, Dust yearned for his brother to be the one pressing soft kisses to his forehead, telling him that everything was going to be alright. But he was gone. And all Dust had left was a school of ghost fish who were painfully similar yet just that much different than his brother.
-----
Killer would never admit it, but sometimes, he got really lonely. He never had a shiver, but who needed one anyway? Sure, some company would be nice, but why go out of his way to look for someone? Made no sense to him. Took up too much time and effort. Besides, he could go anywhere he wanted! He had no one place to tie him down! One day, he could be in warm waters, searching for the freshest of tuna to catch, the next he could find a cooler, shallow beach to lounge around in with no one to bother him. It was a good life he was living. A life of adventure and thrills! Why would he need someone else to slow this all down? He didn't. Sure, it would be nice to have someone to share it all with, but Killer liked his life right now. He didn't need to change it because of some silly emotions. He could drift to his soul's content.
Happy trills sounded from somewhere near by. Killer went over to investigate. A few mers were darting around each other in the brighter water making the shallows of the area. A goldfish mer was curling around a larger great white mer and giving him affectionate kisses while a whitetip settled on the sand nearby, petting a small fish. Killer watched with, not quite envy, at the display. He wouldn't lie and say he didn't want to have that sort of love with someone, but he wasn't jealous of them.
The bull shark quickly made his way back to the cavern he was staying in. And there, all alone with no one, not some sweet goldfish or other shark, he cried. Not that he would ever admit it.
-----
"Hello?" Cross peaked his head out of the container. There wasn't anything. Well, fish and a small squid, but no other mers. Or any giant beasts with writhing tentacles capable of ripping the container's door open and snapping off his shock collar. "Anyone there?" No reply. Was this a test? Did Gaster set this all up? Cross carefully swam out of the container. What was the goal? Did he even have one or- Or was he really free? He swam further. No, how would he have even escaped? Sure, the container could have just fallen into the ocean, but Gaster was not a careless man. He wouldn't have let something as simple as a storm knock Cross overboard. Not when he had been working on him for years. Still...
Cross darted away from the container as fast as he could. He was free. Even if this was all just some test rigged by Gaster, he wasn't in some small aquarium anymore. This was open ocean. It had to be- It- it... Cross glanced at the container, getting smaller as he swam away. This was real, right? Cross settled on the sand covering the bottom of the ocean. It was soft on his fins, unlike the rocks that had been in the bottom of one of his old tanks. Seaweed floated, a massive cover for fish and other sea creatures. Bubbles floated from the occasional lobster or crab returning from the surface. Some were just dropped back in, how, Cross didn't know. Maybe landwalkers, maybe it rained crustaceans out here. In wasn't scientifically impossible. Was it? Frog rain was a thing. Gaster had talked about it once. And frogs weren't much bigger than some crabs.
The newly freed mer had laid in the sand for hours, watching the fish swim past, snapping up the occasional critter that strayed too close to the shark. It was... Nice. The open water, all the animals swimming around, the waves, the light, the water. And Cross would hopefully get to live in this forever. The very same seas that he was robbed of in his puphood, they were all his to explore now. Much too late, yes. But he was still here now. Tears pricked at his sockets, and for the first time, Cross allowed himself to cry. there was no doctor who would mock him for it out here. He could cry, he could swim, he could hunt. And no one could stop him anymore.
A pirate with his beautiful mermaid boyfriendโจ๐๐
I am determined not to quit this time.
it will be different this yearย
Thank you for sharing your artwork so I can have fun coloring it in.
Thank you @mdoodlerfandomart for the ink art. I had fun coloring my favorite HTTYD ship.
The original
A spearwoman and a knife-dugong
Rare Tumblr post! Been working on this for a little while, and had already committed to completing it when I heard about the #MermayWarriors XP Pen challenge. Since they fit the theme of the challenge, I decided to send them as an entry.
The spearhead is a sharktooth, and the gunong that the dugong is holding is copper alloy. I wanted to pick materials that won't corrode too easily in seawater, but I didn't wanna think too hard about it (which is rare for me). I mostly wanted to redraw them because I was enamoured with the concept of Baby Dugong and wanted to draw him again.
Here's the original version. Looking at them side-by-side is kind of interesting.
I truly wasn't sure where this was gonna go when I started. This kind of stuff has always seemed a bit too far out of reach for my self-taught, weapon-designing self. I kind of pushed my anime boundaries by a lot when I drew the original (I'm still proud of it), and I wasn't sure how much further beyond I could push it at my skill level. It's not as precise as I wanted, it's not as detailed as I wanted, but I can safely say I'm proud of this one too. More importantly, I actually finished it! That's significant considering how many foolish ambitions I've put to rest in WIP limbo and never touched again. Anyway- in my head they protect giant clams. At present, giant clams in the West Philippine Sea are constantly at risk of poaching, and their habitats vulnerable to deep-sea trawling from foreign encroachment. Dugong are somewhat vulnerable as well. Their main diet is seagrass, and seagrass beds are frequently under threat of destruction from ill-advised land reclamation work, as well as well-meaning but improperly handled mangrove planting projects. Also the baby dugong is at least ten times more likely to stab someone than the spearwoman.
Seek no mercy from these eyes, they will grant you only pity.
That's all for now. Going on a short hiatus after this- not that I was very active on here to begin with. But I'll try! But I'll do that after. Have a good day folks.
Hey, the Fishy has made some mermay stuff, and it is mostly purple
Who would have guessed?
*My first victims were Celestial (10) and Villan (day 11)
Villan was my favorite and inspired by the lion-fish, they just look kinda malignant to me
Going for Malificent vibes? Maybe?
Here are some of my favorite sketches.
At the end of the month, maybe the favorites will become full pices, all depend on time
[To much stuff, celestial on the next post]
Celestial!
She's shiny
She's strong
And she's gotta a batle axe ๐ช
Hey, the Fishy has made some mermay stuff, and it is mostly purple
Who would have guessed?
*My first victims were Celestial (10) and Villan (day 11)
Villan was my favorite and inspired by the lion-fish, they just look kinda malignant to me
Going for Malificent vibes? Maybe?
Here are some of my favorite sketches.
At the end of the month, maybe the favorites will become full pices, all depend on time
[To much stuff, celestial on the next post]
More fishy!
* This time old money, I'm not sure if it was supposed to be literally old money (like buried gold)
Or something else
[ Internet told me old money means UK and USA 50 house wife, and I'm no sure I understand]
But pears are pretty, so I've made a little dumb comic and also included dystopia
Oh no, my hand...
The sketch
The fish of this time was golden-fish because of reasons
*Look at him, no thoughts in his mind, love little fish
Day 1: Self Portrait
Barreleyes are those half translucent fish with their little green brains/eyes visible and i always thought that was so swag. Also their beautiful array of visible colors are like a shimmering galaxy, cause of the way it reflects water movement around it.