#for mermay ending i guess? :P

[gjdraws]

✨️ 🦋 🚦 💡 (Also congrats on the 2 pages of your comic!!!!)

thank you i had to un-transcribe some really awful notes I deserve your congratulations T_T

✨️ Out of the comments you’ve received on your fics, what are two or three of your favorites?

Oh man sometimes there's thesis level art nerdery but then there's perfectly terrific people in tags screaming about a short strip/oneshot i did and going 'OP WHERE'SS THE REST OF IT' and tbh i love that bc it means the world-building in the oneshot got you huehue 😈

Or another favourite, where people say I should be writing CK instead of tb3. And you know what THEY'RE RIGHT :P

🦋 Which character is your favorite to write?

Technically a no-brainer, I'd say Johnny? Because Johnny is me, but without the alcoholism and if he had some years to get over himself. I also have several band t-shirts and listen to classic rock 90% of the time.

But sometimes I'll get brainwaves for the kids, or Terry Silver (who's just fun because he's so affably evil lolol). I'd say they're all sort of okay except Daniel who I have to double check each time to see if his voice is okay.

Also in non-CK I think sometimes I have a decent bead on Charles Xavier from XMFC? But that comic has been stuck in notes for like. 2 months :')

🚦What sort of endings do you prefer to write: ambiguous, bad, happily ever after, etc.?

I don't know about prefer, bc as we all know sometimes the story just takes you where it takes you? But I probably go for happy to ambiguous (but squint and its happy). I'm simple like that I guess.

💡How many WIPs do you currently have?

Lauren why must you bring up my shame like this T_T

Carmen time loop S5 fixit

A comic for @belphegor1982 which is still in script stage (which I really like so thank you for the reminder!)

A MASH AU comic BJ finding Trapper's hat and all the Hawkeye thoughts that revolve around it

Forever alone 'maybe-this-mermay-i-will' Johnny is a seasnake

Running through my veins (but this one has progress woo!)

Carmen and Miguel and Robby arc fixit for S5 (post the pregnancy comic I have)

An XMFC character study of Charles Xavier

A probably ditched comic for The Bear on Hulu

Huh. I'm in more fandoms than I thought atm

#chatter #it's all coming together #(but so slowly - like at geological time scale) #one day i will be prolific like you but today is not that day lmao #thank you so much for the ask i know that if i spit out bs ask games at idiot times you and brie got me T_T #ask meme #not art

[halebaccari]

multiamory may 33 --> heather/kira/violet as mermaids!

#multimay20 #twpolyamory #twrarepair #heather x kira x violet #twedit #picspam #femslash #first tag #ship: comes and goes in waves #for mermay ending i guess? :P #multiamory may

[anchoredtether]

2020 Writing Roundup

Stolen from Rue! This was fun to reflect on!

Everyone is welcome to use this same format if they’d like to do the same!

~~~~~~~

S T A T S

Words written:

A whooping 232,867 - which is more than half of all the words I’ve written on Ao3 in the past seven years LOL. I guess I wrote to keep myself sane this crazy year.

O N G O I N G: S T A R T E D / U P D A T E D

AN UNORTHODOX APPROACH  (21,586 words)

First new fic of the year, this is my Shrek AU! I really adore this fantasy AU and it’s fun to explore such a crack concept and treat it seriously. It’s also a Pikelavar AU of sorts. 

DEFENDERS OF AURITA  (62,538 words)

Only updated my fantasy AU epic with one chapter this year, and I’m actually kind of sad I didn’t work on it more. It’s been hard to find muse for it when it hasn’t gotten nearly as much traction as other projects. 

PARADISE LOST  (13,013 words)

Another new fic started in June, this is a Zootopia AU! Heavily inspired from Zootopia, Beastars, and The Last of Us, it’s an apocalyptic future involving hybrids, people who have animal traits in order to combat a deadly strain of cancer. Plus I just love fox!Lance and rabbit!Pidge. 

SCALING BACK  (6,041 words)

New fic started in March, this is one I’ve had stewing on the backburner for quite awhile actually, and decided to start. It’s basically canon but Lance is actually a merman and hiding it from the team. It surprisingly fixes a ton of plot holes and fits with canon narrative. 

SHATTER AND TESSELLATE  (19,661 words)

This new project kind of took over my life if you couldn’t tell from all the art I’ve cranked out this past year for it. Oddly enough the idea just kind of hit me one day in March. I think Rue’s “worst timelines” got me thinking along those lines and I came up with the idea of Honerva seeing into the future and kidnapping the future paladins and turning them galra to prevent Voltron from defeating the Empire. So it’s a Galra AU but in the worst way possible. 

SIX IMPOSSIBLE THINGS (7,243 words)

Another new fic started in August, this Wonderland AU I’ve had notes and ideas for since 2018 or something. And it’s hilarious because I thought of Lance being the Cheshire cat long before Pike existed. Thanks to lots of brainstorming on Discord I’ve figured out a lot more worldbuilding for this AU and I can’t wait to expound on it. 

SLIDING LEFT MAKES MR. RIGHT (2,788 words)

Crack Tinder AU which says I posted in 2020 but I think I wrote it in November/December of 2019. This is a oneshot and it’s taking me forever to finish because it’s hard for me to write short things lol.

THE VACANT ETHER (31,121 words)

This is from the Stories in the Dark bang back in October 2019 and I’m still working to finish it. Post s8, horror, cosmic Reaper AU. This is a favorite AU of mine because of how nicely it fixes and explains all the plot holes of s8.

WHAT TIDES MAY BRING (20,704 words)

The Mer AU that Rue and I started writing last year! I really adore this AU and the Plance family feels it has, and sadly I’ve been slacking on my end with writing the next chapter but I hope to get more content in before MerMay this year. 

WHERE SAPPHIRE ROSES GROW (31,101 words)

I wrote a lot this year for my Beauty and the Beast AU. I’m quite pleased I finally got to the part where Lance learns Pidge is a girl because that’s when things start moving into motion (and obviously the romance starts developing, but still not for awhile yet because I’m a sucker for slow burns).

WHERE THE SUN MEETS THE OCEAN  (8,620 words)

I barely touched my Atlantis AU this year. This is another AU that doesn’t get as much love so it’s hard to find muse for it at times. 

R E F L E C T I O N S

Best title

I am really fond of Shatter and Tessellate. Not only does it sound pretty and gives great imagery but it’s symbolic of how the paladins are broken and put back together. 

Worst title

Probably Paradise Lost. It’s unoriginal (I stole it from the book by John Milton) though it fits the themes of the fic. But I also couldn’t think of anything better and I do find it funny that shortened it becomes PL which is like Pidge/Lance.

Best/worst last line

Best: from Where Sapphire Roses Grow: 

She opened her eyes to see Lance looking up at her with his captivating irises as brilliant a blue as the very sapphire rose that cursed him, eyes that were still human.

“I swear to you Lance… I will figure out a way to break your curse.” 

Worst: from Paradise Lost:

“Please…” she says in a muffled voice between sobs. “I can't - I can't do this alone."

“You won't have to,” he promises softly as he holds her close. “I'm here. I'm right here..."

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

I wrote uhhh.... way more. Than I thought possible considering all the stress that happened this year. I started six new fics and progressed a ton in others. 

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

This is a hard one to choose... but based on the content I covered this year for the fic as opposed to the fic itself, I’d have to say Where Sapphire Roses Grow. It’s so fun writing feral Lance and him protecting Pidge from the wolves was one of my favorite scenes to write this year. 

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

By a freaking landslide, Shatter and Tessellate. This really caught me off guard - I never thought this fic would be so popular, especially considering it starts out as a kid fic of sorts (paladins are all early teens at first) and most people don’t like kid fics. It’s also quite dark and highkey horror? So I’m shocked it’s so well loved.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

By far The Vacant Ether. I thought it would gain a lot more traction considering everyone and their dog wants a s8 fix it fic, but then again TVE covers really dark topics and is technically a horror fic. So I shouldn’t be surprised it isn’t for everyone. But I am really happy with how it has turned out, even if less people read it. 

Story that could have been better?

All of them Hmm. I feel like Scaling Back could have been more imaginative, considering the second chapter mostly follows the events of a canon episode with little divergence. 

Sexiest story?

None of them have really gotten to that point yet... though I have been working on some future steamy scenes for some fics. If I had to pick one though probably Where the Sun Meets the Ocean because Pidge ogles Lance in that one. 

Saddest story?

Yikes this is a hard one. I think I have to say Shatter and Tessellate, because not only does that one cover death and kidnapping, but metamorphis and body horror. And it’s all the more sadder because they’re just kids. 

Most fun?

I think the one most fun to write is Where Sapphire Roses Grow. I love the time period, I love monster!Lance, I love Pidge and Lance bickering, there’s just so many good points to it. Plus BatB is a classic I loved and grew up with as a kid so it’s really fun to write out the themes I love. 

Story with single sweetest moment?

I think Lance comforting Katie in Shatter and Tessellate when she asks him to call her by Pidge from now on fits this one. Lance and Pidge have a lot of little moments like this in this fic but this one in particular is very tender. 

“Pidge is cute,” he finally says as he nervously rubs his wrist. “Reminds me of Pokemon.”

She makes a small sound which he thinks is an attempt at a laugh and turns her head to face him, tucking her hair behind her ear. “That’s where Matt got it from, actually.”

He smiles at her. “Is Matt your brother?”

She nods. “I’ve always loved owls, but I had a hard time saying it when I was learning how to talk. I watched Matt play enough video games that I could say ‘Pidgey’ though, and so I started calling any owl I saw as Pidgey. At some point the nickname Pidge stuck.”

Hardest story to write?

Easily The Vacant Ether. It covers a lot of heavy and dark topics and it’s hard to really nail the horror vibe sometimes. But also Sliding Left Makes Mr. Right solely because I can’t write short one-shots to save my life LOL.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

Not really? Aside from just... cranking out a ton. I suppose starting 6 new fics can count as taking a risk. Keeping up with all my projects is also a project but I somehow manage to do it.

Proudest Achievement:

I think Shatter and Tessellate reaching so many kudos and hits. I seriously was not expecting that. 

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Just keep writing I guess. I do have two ambitious plans, to finish Not All Pain Heals, my Teen Wolf fic that is long overdue to be finished, as well as The Vacant Ether which is the fic I have planned out the most and would be easiest to finish. 

#fanfic writing roundup #2020 stats #Ao3 stats #my fanfics #plance

[the-lupine-sojourner]

A Merman and a Teacher [Request 1] [Merman!Kirishima/Takara] [No Quirk AU]

Hello my friends! No this story isn’t dead lol. In honor of MerMay, I guess, here’s another chapter of this story! 

This was requested by @kitteylove​ who is super super sweet and patient. They requested this a while ago and I just now got around to finishing it. Sorry my friend! Anyway, I hope you like it! 

One thing I need to mention is this entire story is basically a spin-off of @thetrashywritingwitch​‘s AMAZING story, Tedium in Blue (here’s a link to the story on AO3). In their story, they kept the reader gender neutral, so while I used female pronouns accidentally in the first chapter when I mentioned the reader from Tedium in Blue, I will use they/them and Y/N as their name from now on. 

Alrighty! Here’s Chapter 1 Link and Chapter 2 Link! Now, let’s get on to the story! I kinda feel like this went everywhere, but I’m getting tired and I wanted to get this up before I go to bed, so...please accept this. I might go back and edit later. Idk.

Ok for real, hope you all enjoy! 

God Bless and Good Day! 

~The Lupine Sojourner

It had been several months since I’d started meeting with Kirishima, whose first name I had yet to find out. 

In that time, we’d grown very close, but Kirishima told me with his limited English that first names were very personal and intimate for merfolk. 

Their first name was rarely shared with anyone until such time as the merperson in question chose a mate or had grown to trust another person so completely that they felt safe revealing their first name. 

I had no right to ask him his first name, and still felt lucky he trusted me with his last name at all and kept risking discovery to see me every day (with a few breaks that he always told me about). 

He was getting so good with English, we could almost hold normal conversations, but it was still limited to smaller words and we had to stop to let Kirishima figure out how to say a word in English sometimes.

“You’re good at words.” I praise when we were starting to wrap up our little meeting for the day. 

“Kara stay please?” He asks in reply, looking suddenly sheepish.

 ‘Please’ and ‘thank you’ had been some of the first words I’d taught him after our first meeting, when I’d gotten dunked and Kirishima stole a kiss on the cheek. 

I raise a brow. “Um...why?” I ask. He’d gotten so good about my leaving, trusting me to always come back the next day, I wondered if he was regressing for some reason.

“Meet friend.” 

I frown. “What friend?” I ask. 

“Friend.” He repeats. 

I know he might not have the words to explain further so I try to help him. “Are they...like you?” 

Kirishima nods eagerly. “Meet at dark on wood!” He chirps. 

It takes a few moments for me to interpret what he’d said. “...You want me to meet your friend when sun down?” I ask. ‘Sun down’ or ‘dark’ was how Kirishima said night. Of course, living underwater, merfolk probably didn’t have the same concepts of night and day or even likely the passage of time. It was probably a miracle he was always here at roughly the same time. “What you mean ‘wood’?” 

“Big wood human use.” Kirishima says slowly, pointing down the beach. I look where he’s pointing and see the very edge of the pier. 

“That’s called a pier.” I explain. “That’s where you want me to meet your friend?” 

Kirishima nods. I nod back. 

Okay, so he wants me to meet some friend of his tonight at the pier. 

Wait...hold on...that was where I saw that human (I think, anyway. For all I know they could have been a pixie. Who’s to say pixies aren’t real if mermen are?) and that blonde merman! 

...Is the blonde merman Kirishima’s friend he wants me to meet?

There was something bugging me about this sudden desire of Kirishima’s to introduce me to his friend; why? Why now? I’d barely gotten him to admit there was a secret city of merfolk somewhere deep and far away in the sea. To repay his trust, I hadn’t asked any more questions about the city. 

I wondered if there was a different friend he wanted me to meet, other than the blonde merman. Some merperson from this hidden city. Doubt it. He’d mentioned that no one leaves, and certainly never reveals themselves to humans. 

That raises several questions about both my uncle’s encounter with a merman and the blonde merman meeting with that individual on the pier. 

I push my questions aside for now, the curiosity about the friend proving too much to ignore. “Sure. I’ll meet you and your friend at the pier when sun down.” I promise, grabbing my phone and my water bottle before settling my goggles over my eyes. “Will we swim?” I ask just before heading out so I know if I can shower or not.

“No swim. Sit on p-peeer. We come see you.” He replies, stumbling over the new word. 

I nod and let him swim closer as I got closer to the exit of our little alcove.

As is tradition, even after these few months, Kirishima offers his cheek and I give it a quick kiss. “See you later!” I call, another usual goodbye between us. I then dive and swim for the shore to get food, shower, and prepare myself to meet this friend of Kirishima’s. 

I felt...oddly nervous. I knew this friend likely meant a lot to Kirishima and I suppose I just wanted to make a good impression. But then again...why? Why was I so concerned? 

Maybe because Kirishima was trusting me with meeting his friend. Kirishima had been such a fascinating part of my life, I forget there’s so much I still don’t know about this merman. 

He loved spicy food (but only some spicy food) and meat, playing with the phonetics app, and scratches behind the ear (in place of kisses) when he managed to learn a new word. He was always happy, playful, and a bit coy with me. 

But I still didn’t know if he had siblings, how he got on with his parents, and really anything about his life. And merfolk culture, as well. 

I knew that there was a lot to it and most of it I couldn’t understand if I tried, but there was a part of me that wanted to learn. That wanted to grasp just who Kirishima is. 

Shaking myself, I finally stepped out of the shower, drying off and applying my few hair products quickly. 

Then I pad barefooted out to my fridge and grab a few eggs, frying them quickly. I had to eat fast. It was already sundown and I didn’t want to keep Kirishima and his friend waiting. 

Once I am done eating, I grab my phone and a light jacket. It got a little chilly at night.

Feeling my nerves returning as I walked closer to the pier, I find no obvious signs of merfolk about, so I go toward the end. 

That’s then I hear a splash I somehow know wasn’t just a wave or a fish. I search the water and, again, find no signs of merfolk. 

Sighing, I sit on the edge with my feet dangling toward the water, eyes and ears alert to any sign that the merfolk had arrived. 

There was nothing yet. 

Then, maybe a minute or two after I had sat down, I feel a sharp tug on my feet, nearly pulling me into the water. 

Letting out a cry of surprise, I manage to keep from falling into the water, sitting back down with my now wet feet tucked under me. 

I gaze down to see two ruby red eyes glaring at me from behind a rock, blonde hair swirling around the angry face I saw in the water. 

I knew it! The blonde merman was the friend Kirishima wanted me to meet! 

“He-hello.” I stammer, waving, unsure why I was feeling shy. 

The blonde merman continues to glare at me from the water, then I hear a familiar voice. 

“Kara came!” I look a little further out to sea to find Kirishima waving from the water, coming closer every second. Realizing he was about to come up to the pier, I hastily scoot aside to make room. He flops up to the pier, letting his tail flop in the water absently as his elbows took his weight and his chin went into his hands. “Bring friend.” He notes happily, gesturing vaguely to the angry blonde merman who thought he was hiding. 

I chuckle. “Yes, but he no like Kara.” I reply. Kirishima rolls his eyes. 

“He shy. That all. He meet other human here. You no other human.” 

I blink. So it was a human. No pixies, after all. Interesting. “Right.” I say slowly. “Um…” I lean back over to look at the blonde merman who’s still glaring at me. I slowly wave at him. “Hi there! I’m a- -hey!” I got a face full of seawater for my troubles. The merman spat a mouthful of seawater at my face! Wiping it on my jacket, I glare back at the blonde merman, waving a finger at him. “Don’t be rude! I was saying ‘hi’!” I bark. 

“I don’t like you!” The blonde merman snaps back. 

I was taken aback that he knew any English at all, and I nearly overbalanced in shock that it was actually him that had spoken. I knew there was no one else around and that Kirishima would never speak to me like that ever, but it was so insane to me that this merman knew English. 

Then his words truly processed and I glare at him. “Well, that’s just rude. I didn’t do anything to you.” I explain, crossing my arms. 

“Wants his friend.” Kirishima stage-whispers in my ear. I laugh, but then the blonde merman grabs Kirishima’s powerful tail, and hauls him down into the water. 

Squeaking in shock, I look over and see them wrestling beneath the surface, the blonde one seeming to barely be winning when Kirishima suddenly thrusts the blonde merman off of him, talking to his friend and gesturing angrily before coming back up and I have to move quickly aside again as he flops back up to the pier.

“You make Kirishima be stupid.” The blonde guy snaps at me, coming back closer to the pier and glaring at me again from the water. 

“No, Kara not make me stupid!” Kirishima protests angrily The friend beckons to Kirishima gruffly and Kirishima pats my leg as if to say ‘sorry about him. Be right back!’ before diving back down. 

The pair hold what looks like an argument before Kirishima seems to say something that shuts the friend up. Kirishima lets his words sink in a moment before coming back up. He was chittering, whistling, and hissing in his own language, which meant he was upset. He rarely got upset with me, but it had happened. Mainly when I tried to push him learning a more complex word before I stopped trying.

Kirishima was about to speak when the friend cuts over him, a webbed finger pointing at me. “Don’t tell humans about us or else.” He growls. 

I cross my arms and roll my eyes at him. 

While it was still shocking he knew so much English, I was also annoyed he was being so rude. He seemed different when I’d first seen him on the pier, but that was one incident. I didn’t have the full story on that scenario.

“If I wanted to do that, I would have done it when I first saw him.” I say, jerking my head toward Kirishima. Something told me telling this merman and Kirishima that I had first seen them talking to a human was not a good idea. 

“Be nice!” Kirishima barks at his friend, saying something else in merfolk language (merspeech?) to which Blondy scoffs. 

“Kirishima likes you. Don’t crush his heart.” Blondy growls. 

I ruffle Kirishima’s hair. Blondy must really like Kirishima if he’s being this overprotective “I don’t plan to. Hey...Kirishima told me this is personal to you, but...what’s your name, if I can ask?” I try to phrase it in a polite way, so he wouldn’t be madder at me than he already was. 

“...I don’t have to tell you.” Blondy growls. 

I chuckle. “True, you don’t. But, it’s either that, or I call you Blondy from now on.” I tease. 

“You do that, I scratch you. It’s Bakugo!” 

I nod, extending a hand. It worked like I thought it would. “Great! My name is Takara, but my nickname is Kara.” 

Bakugo reluctantly shakes my hand, appearing to realize he’d been duped into giving his last name. 

Then...I heard a surprised voice call out from further down the pier. “He-hello?” I turn and see the person from that night on the pier striding toward me. 

I stand. “...I suppose I need to explain, huh?” I begin, extending a hand again. “My name is Takara. I met a merman named Kirishima almost six months ago. I’ve been meeting him over in that alcove” I point out where I mean when the person makes no move to introduce themselves or shake my hand, “every day, and earlier today he asked me to come here later to meet a friend.”

The person is quiet for several seconds.

“...That dumbass.” The person growls, face-palming. 

Kirishima unhelpfully pops his head up a few feet further in the water, watching us. 

“Kirishima wants to say goodbye.” Bakugo says, rolling his eyes. 

I blink, my heart dropping into my chest. 

“What do you mean?” He hadn’t left in a long time. I found myself not wanting him to go anywhere despite knowing I couldn’t keep him here.

The human turns to me. “Bakugo is going back to the merfolk city. It’s a long story, but they’ll be gone at least a week, but maybe more. Kirishima is guiding him.”

I turn to Kirishima. “Why didn’t you tell me?!” I snap, irritated. He flinches back and I realize he might not understand all of what I was saying. I take a breath. “Kirishima, I would have understood if you need time away. No hiding things from me, okay?” 

Kirishima slowly comes over, nodding sheepishly. “Sorry, Kara. No hide no more.” He murmurs.

I sigh, unable to stay mad at him for long. “I hope you have fun, okay? See you in a week.” He comes even closer and I take a few steps into the water to meet him, wearing shorts and sandals so I’m not ruining my clothes. He hugs me tightly and I hug him back, inwardly sighing at the instant rebuttal to my thought about not ruining my clothes. Ah, well. “Let’s let them say goodbye, ok?” I guide him toward our alcove, the water lapping against the bottom of my shorts now. 

“I miss you all time.” Kirishima promises, blinking rapidly like he was about to cry. 

“I’ll miss you, too.” I reply. 

“Kara wait here?” He asks sheepishly. I tilt my head to the side. 

“Ok...why?”

“Close eyes and no open!” He cries, now excited. Sighing at his antics, I close my eyes. 

I hear him splash into the water and he’s gone, the sound of the waves and the distant conversation on the pier the only sound I heard. 

Then, I felt a hand grab mine. Knowing it was Kirishima by the webbed fingers, I let him plop something into my outstretched hands. It felt like maybe...a rock? Or a shell? 

“Kara open eyes.” Kirishima instructs and I do to see…

A oyster shell crafted into a necklace case. There was a necklace inside, with a very large pearl (one of the largest I’ve ever seen) as the pendant, with driftwood craftily carved around the pearl. The rest seemed to be some kind of cord, but from what I don’t know. It seemed like seaweed, but I wasn’t sure.

“Whoa...Kirishima...where did you get this?” I ask breathily, eyes locked on the gift, fingers brushing over it gingerly. 

“Search all round. Find good pearl for Kara, get help make gift.” Was this what he was up to when he was gone?

I find a very simple version of a lobster claw clasp on the end of the woven cord, so I clip the damp necklace on. It rested halfway between my collarbone and sternum, the pearl glistening in the moonlight. 

“I love it, Kirishima!” I praise, hugging him again. 

Cheekily, Kirishima puts his cheek close to my lips in his traditional request for a kiss. I laugh. “Ok, but just one, then you gotta get going, alright?” 

“...Alright.” He murmurs, not happy at leaving me for around a week. “Kara be waiting?” 

“Kara wait.” I assure him. I kiss his cheek. “Now go before your friend gets madder than he already is.” Kirishima chuckles and dives, speeding toward Bakugo and the pair take off after Bakugo gets a kiss, too, only...on the lips? Whoa.

I shake myself. That was none of my business. 

I could just leave and let the identity of the mysterious human on the pier remain a mystery...or I could go talk to them. 

Deciding that it was too late to start talking about how we both knew mermen, I decide to pull up a notes app and type out my contact info while walking back to the pier along the shore, waving to Kirishima when I spot him in the distance. 

I show them the note. “Here...in case you wanna talk.” I yawn as the other person takes their phone out and snaps a pic, yawning as well. 

“I’ll see if I can call you tomorrow. We’ve got time to kill til the boys get back.” They reply slowly, as if unsure if they should really be doing this. 

“Goodnight!” I call over my shoulder as I walk back to my apartment. 

=#=#=#=#=

I’d waited four days before coming again. I knew it would take closer to a week at the earliest, but I couldn’t help it. 

Most times, I waited til evening when the other person who knew about merfolk (Y/N, as I came to learn their name was) would be there so we could talk, but they were hesitant and still a bit wary of me, which I suppose was justifiable, considering that I was a sudden interjection into their life and routine. 

I started going to the alcove instead and waiting just outside the entrance, leaving Y/N to wait in private.

Time seemed to speed up somehow and, 8 days after the two mermen left for the merfolk city, I saw Kirishima’s long red tail zipping toward me as he raced to get back to me. I duck into the alcove and manage to get far enough back that Kirishima, while he does splash me, doesn’t land on top of me. He eagerly hugs me and I fall backwards into the shallow end of the pool in the alcove. Kirishima’s necklace dug into my chest, but I couldn’t care less as I scoot myself and Kirishima back so I could sit with his head in my lap. My legs were extended on either side of Kirishima’s lean muscular body. 

His hand takes mine and he seemed to relax, smiling at me broadly.

“Kara waiting!” Kirishima purrs, stroking my hand happily. 

I nod. “Yes, yes I was.” 

“Not on wood like thought.” Kirishima muses and I blink. 

“Oh I’m sorry!” I stammer. 

“It ok.” 

Before anything else could be said, I felt my foot being grabbed and, looking up, I see green eyes with a mop of green hair looking up at you from the water. 

It took several seconds for anything to happen, both of us too stunned to do or say anything. 

Kirishima then took the initiative, scooping me up, plopping me further up the shallow end and lightly shoving the new merman toward me, taking up what appeared to be a guard position at the exit, and I can’t help but still be flabbergasted. In a few more moments, my curious nature won out and I ease myself forward a little. 

“Hello.” I greet, slowly extending my hand. 

The new merman, this one green with hints of red in his tail, eyes wary but also curious like mine, swims a little nearer, hand reaching for mine. 

Once his fingers touched mine, he seemed to forget his fear, coming closer still and examining my hand eagerly, my fingers and arm thoroughly explored by his webbed hand. 

Evidently, the lack of webbing was as strange to this merman as it had been to Kirishima the day we met face to face. 

The merman then started to explore down my torso and before I could peel his hands off, Kirishima barked in merspeech and the merman scooted away a little, looking ready to bolt, eyes darting sheepishly around to look at anything but me and Kirishima, his cheeks flushed. 

I scoot back, draw my legs up, and extend one leg to him. The merman looks to Kirishima, who says something else in his language, nodding at me, and the green merman responds, sounding relieved and grateful, before gripping my foot again. 

If it weren’t for all the times Kirishima had grabbed my foot, I’d have laughed aloud and withdrawn. 

As it was, though I laughed, I held my foot still. The merman continued prodding and examining my foot before my ankle became a point of interest. After that, though he looked at my legs, he didn’t touch them like Kirishima had. 

In fact, he scooted away from me, his curiosity apparently sated for now.

I look at my friend, a strange feeling forming in my gut. “You tell him not to touch my leg?” I ask. 

Kirishima nods. “No touching you there.” He says with a bit of possessiveness in his voice and manner. It hadn’t been there before. 

“Why not?” I ask, frowning. Normally, Kirishima was the type to go with the flow, not enforce rules. 

Kirishima gets flustered, his face turning nearly as red as the green merman’s cheeks, but he swims closer to look me in the eyes. “Because merman no touch other’s mate.” He says sincerely. 

My eyes go wide, and my heart skips a beat. His...what?!

“R-really?” I ask timidly. 

“Yes. We mates in merfolk ways.” He explains. “That...that ok? Kara not mad?” 

It takes a long few minutes for me to answer. 

...I was someone’s mate?! What the hell happened at the merfolk city?! 

“N-no...ah...no, Kirishima. Um, Kara not mad. Just...surprised.” I murmur slowly, trying to figure out why I wasn’t more upset about this. 

I hadn’t been offered a choice, and yet...I wasn’t actually that upset at all. It seemed...fine, in a way. I knew I ought to be furious, but then again, I’ve never had a boyfriend and likely never would have. I’d simply never met the right guy, so...what if...what if maybe I could be happy meeting Kirishima everyday? I know we’d never be able to...well, make kids, but frankly I never liked the idea of intimacy. 

I could honestly say I’d be happy to call Kirishima my mate and continue meeting as we are now if it made him happy. 

I smile at Kirishima. Somehow, we’d make this weird relationship work. 

I had a feeling this would be a great adventure. 

The green merman now inched closer, not touching me but swimming to my other side.

In all the excitement about being declared Kirishima’s mate, I’d nearly forgoten about the other merman. 

He says something in merspeech, as if asking a question, hands fidgeting nervously. 

“He wants to give you his name.” Kirishima translates.

I blink. “Really?” I ask. 

I look at the merman curiously. He smiles at me, then nods at Kirishima as if to say ‘go ahead’. 

Kirishima points to the merman. “Midoriya.” He says. “That his family name.” 

I nod. “Can you tell him my name is Kara?” I ask. Kirishima does, I assume, then Midoriya extends a hand. Apparently, hand shaking was also used in merfolk culture. I shake Midoriya’s hand. 

Kirishima yawns suddenly. I smile empathetically at him. “You’re tired from your swim.” I say, stating it as a fact so he wouldn’t argue. “Go get sleep. We’ll meet here tomorrow.” I promise. 

“You will?” He asks. 

“I will.” I swear. “Always.”  

#Fanfiction #Fanfiction Request #BNHA #MHA #MHA AU #BNHA AU #no quirks au #Merman!Kirishima AU #Eijiro Kirishima #Eijiro Kirishima X OC #Eijiro Kirishima X Takara Yamada #OC #Original Female Character #Takara Yamada #Izuku and Katsuki are here too #Briefly

[dandyangelica]

Mermay, day 11 Ah,ah you thought I would have skipped it? Nope! I wasn’t really inspired, at first, but I decided not to abandon the piece halfway and carry it to the end: the result is quite great, I guess. I wanted to explore a figure between water and land, as if the mermaid turned into a human and then started to go back to her “fish” form while walking to the sea. Enjoy the sunset! 🧜 🧜‍♀️ 🧜‍♂️ 👾👾If you LIKE my art, COMMENT and FOLLOW me: I really appreciate it 👾 DM for commissions/collaborations 👾👾 (soon a commission chart will be uploaded) Remember to stay safe and stay at home. Everything will be all right! ❤️🌍❤️ . . . #mermay #mermay2020 #mermaychallenge #mermayartchallenge #mermaid #siren #fantasygirl #illustration #illustrationdaily #digitalart #drawingart #illustrationoftheday #artfeaturehelp #artmeme #artistofinstagram #instaart #fantasyart #artfeature #sketchbook #sunset #landscape #beautiful #magic #artway https://www.instagram.com/p/CADbjIsAxMl/?igshid=1o7th9sdqfybm

#mermay #mermay2020 #mermaychallenge #mermayartchallenge #mermaid #siren #fantasygirl #illustration #illustrationdaily #digitalart #drawingart #illustrationoftheday #artfeaturehelp #artmeme #artistofinstagram #instaart #fantasyart #artfeature #sketchbook #sunset #landscape #beautiful #magic #artway

[oak23]

So May is #mermay and Asian Pacific Heritage month so I wanted to do a bit of a spiel as a first generation Asian Australian man and my struggles of being caught at the crossroads of different cultures and especially how important it is for me to accept my ethnicity after years and years of resenting and loathing this aspect of myself. I did not have a normal childhood and I didn't grow up to be a normal person, and a lot of it is how my race, my sexuality and the culture I grew up in all pulled me into different directions because of it. I can't speak a sentence of Vietnamese, and even now I am adrift from my family but I am Vietnamese, and no amount of denial, resentment or anger can ever change that. And I guess that is why I feel so drawn towards fantasy dolls like mermaids or green skinned aliens because I'm not quite one or another, I am a strange hybrid slightly out of step with the world around me and I'm learning to accept that in myself. So yeah, there's no ending to all this, it's just a confirmation of my existence and the fact I love being Asian and I love mermaids. https://www.instagram.com/p/BxzCi5mJ08S/?igshid=qmrjaccasj03

#mermay

[fleshmp3]

Literally the last day i could post this but here’s another mermaid (or merman I guess) for #mermay for the end of the month ~ go to my art blog for better quality ;) ~ https://www.instagram.com/p/ByJTD0nA9g3/?igshid=1jmt88txinaos

#mermay #digitalpainting #digitalart #illustration #artistsoninstagram #mermay2019 #mermaid #merman #digitalillustration

[ssnakey-b]

Welp, I was hoping to finish this before the end of May but it looks like it’s not going to happen. :P

So enjoy this sketch of the one contribution I wanted to provide for this year’s Mermay even though I don’t do the daily challenge. With all the pretty, Ariel-style mermaids that get posted on a daily basis, I wanted to remind people that originally, mermaids were bloodthirsty, man-eating monsters.

I do intend to finish this one day, but I guess it’ll have to wait. Oh and please ignore the text in the upper right corners, those are just notes I scribbled for other ideas that weren’t supposed to appear in the finished drawing.

#Mermaid #mermay #memray 2019 #giant #ship #wreck #monster #sirène #vaisseau #bâteau #galion #gallion #monstre #sketch #rough #croquis #dessin #WIP #tail #queue #drawing #sea #ocean #mer

[urbanfaeriecottage]

We are nearing the end of #mermay and I had thought I would have shown more of the #beachboulevard collection but well, I guess the month just got away from me so I will end the month strong! #mermaid #mermaiddoll #mermaids #mermaidcharm #mermaidjewelry #iridescent #fantasyart #mermaidfluke https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx-KOQ-FIsl/?igshid=1a2e5jmka7n5r

#mermay #beachboulevard #mermaid #mermaiddoll #mermaids #mermaidcharm #mermaidjewelry #iridescent #fantasyart #mermaidfluke

[artofacca]

I guess this is my first #mermay on Instagram!! I had so much fun experimenting with different materials, I always have a good time when I make traditional art 🌈🌈 I hope I can do a couple more until the end of May!! c: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #mermay2019 #traditionalart #sketchbook #markers #colorpencils #illustration #ilustracao #artistsoninstagram #artoftheday #painting #pintura #drawing #cuteart #kawaiiart #womanartist #inspiration #aesthetic #otakuart #manga #anime #photoshop https://www.instagram.com/p/BxNRK2blM_M/?igshid=1irsdce91nvl6

#mermay #mermay2019 #traditionalart #sketchbook #markers #colorpencils #illustration #ilustracao #artistsoninstagram #artoftheday #painting #pintura #drawing #cuteart #kawaiiart #womanartist #inspiration #aesthetic #otakuart #manga #anime #photoshop

[sydneylinkletter]

Since all of my followers are leaving because I haven’t been posting drawings lately, fish person, for the end of #mermay2020 I guess? That’s not why I drew them though, this is for a book design, surprise. . . . . . #fishperson #mermaidart #mermay #mermaychallenge #mermaidmay #sketchbookdrawing #sketchbookpage #sketchbookart #bassfishing #bassfish #alantian #atlantis (at Albuquerque, New Mexico) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAtOouvFzoK/?igshid=qadw9e3jiva1

#mermay2020 #fishperson #mermaidart #mermay #mermaychallenge #mermaidmay #sketchbookdrawing #sketchbookpage #sketchbookart #bassfishing #bassfish #alantian #atlantis

[bloobunnywuv]

I have never done of these things so I guess this is my top nine ( also art vs artist thingy) had to do it before 2019 ended. It’s my favorites from this year’s witchsona week, mermay and inktober. . . . Who knows I might do this next year, we’ll see until then catch ya later ya filthy animals! ✨😍✨ . . #topnine #topnine2019 #artvsartist #artvsartist2019 https://www.instagram.com/p/B6q0ICzl2ba/?igshid=1fjeubozpz892

#topnine #topnine2019 #artvsartist #artvsartist2019 #personal #my art

[writing-magician]

As Pride Month 2019 begins, I HAVE to start it with a book recommendation of a really great LGBT+ book called Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. It’s about the First Son of the United States and the youngest prince of England, Henry, falling in love amidst the chaos of the 2020 presidential campaign. It has a lot of adult themes and a lot of swearing, though, so just be cautioned of that. It’s a truely great book and I’d love it if you’d check it out. I made Indian Butter Chicken and that’s how it turned out. It was amazing, I loved the recipe I used. @raeminoodles and I went to go see Detective Pikachu a bit ago, and we weren’t disappointed!! She guessed what was going to happen a while before the ending, and I applaud her on that. The drawing is something I did for a headcanoned birthday of one of my favorite characters’ birthday, so I drew him gettng a kiss from his very supportive and lovely boyfriend. Love you, Evan!! I also did a drawing for MerMay, drew Frodo from Lord of the Rings, and did a commission I did for a friend, so if you’d like to see any of those I can post them shortly. In the meantime, I’m going to be checking out the locations and times of some Pride Fests near me, and I’ll be celebrating the one month where I can wear head to toe pride stuff without seeming weird. Anyway, Happy Pride Month!!! #redwhiteandroyalblue #caseymcquiston #pridemonth #pridemonth2019 #happypridemonth https://www.instagram.com/p/ByO7inGgZs9/?igshid=1nye1kivg7of9

#redwhiteandroyalblue #caseymcquiston #pridemonth #pridemonth2019 #happypridemonth

[dandyangelica]

Mermay, day 27 So, I had this “not so happy” idea of making another painting try, but right after the sketch, I had so many bad feelings about it... I am sorry to say that, but I guess this is one of those pieces I won’t like in the near future, ‘cause I already don’t like it so much. Yeah, it is something, but I made a mistake after the other and instead of going back I just kept pushing: I merged all the color layers (never, ever do that, unless you want to), I messed up with the face...in the end, it still look like a raw piece, but I surely never gonna work on it again: if I’ll have to, I’ll just restart from the very beginning. Ok, I guess today it was a bad mood day, but I hope tomorrow will bring me some more inspiration, ‘cause I’d like to do a new sign: we have just 3 left, yeah! So, do you have a trashy work you believed in but then it dumped you? How do you cope with those damn days everything seem not working? Oh, but what am I talking about? I did something cool today! I bought some canvas from amazon, ‘cause I really wanna try paint something in the real world. It won’t be so soon, and I can’t promise you my very first works, but if it turns out I am not that bad, I will surely share them. 🧜 🧜‍♀️ 🧜‍♂️ 👾👾If you LIKE my art, COMMENT and FOLLOW me: I really appreciate it 👾 DM for commissions/collaborations 👾👾 (soon a commission chart will be uploaded) Remember to stay safe and stay at home. Everything will be all right! ❤️🌍❤️ . . . #mermay #mermay2020 #mermaychallenge #mermayartchallenge #mermaid #mermaidart #siren #fantasygirl #illustration #illustrationdaily #digitalart #drawingart #illustrationoftheday #artfeaturehelp #artistofinstagram #instaart #fantasyart #artfeature #sketchbook #originalart #artoftheday #artsofig #octopus #octopussy #darkmermaid #tentacles https://www.instagram.com/p/CAtSgaGB7UY/?igshid=1qy0xetsh0fki

#mermay #mermay2020 #mermaychallenge #mermayartchallenge #mermaid #mermaidart #siren #fantasygirl #illustration #illustrationdaily #digitalart #drawingart #illustrationoftheday #artfeaturehelp #artistofinstagram #instaart #fantasyart #artfeature #sketchbook #originalart #artoftheday #artsofig #octopus #octopussy #darkmermaid #tentacles