MerMarch because i said so

[blackmagicduck]

 

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

Scenarios:
1 ♢ Little Mermaid
♢ Mer
♢ One of you is a mer person with something you want. The other is a powerful mage who can possibly give it to you. Can an arrangement be made...?

2 ♢ Exploration
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ Whatever you are, your curiosity has gotten the best of you. Whether it's a sunken shipwreck on the bottom of the ocean or a mysterious cove hidden away along the cliffside... Venturing with a friend or running into something unexpected... What will you find?

3 ♢ Exchange
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ Sometimes, territories are broached, but it's not always a bad thing. Whether you're of entirely different species, or just from different seas, you've met in peaceful circumstances- perhaps as a direct result of those! So it's time for a cultural exchange. Just ignore the fresh water mer. 

4 ♢ For Science
♢ Mer and Human
♢ This is a one in a lifetime chance.... for at least one person. Are you on an isolated island? A ship far out to sea? A highly funded aquarium? Or perhaps even a laboratory with more than questionable methods... Either way, you have the chance now to study something rarely seen before. How will it turn out for both of you?

5 ♢ Ariel's Dream
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ Some say it's impossible for a mer to live on dry land... except that's been quietly proven wrong. One of you has taken to living among humans, whether for years or still learning the ropes. As for the other... Are you a concerned friend, checking in on them from the sea? Or are you a landdweller, stumbling onto a great secret?

6 ♢ Sea Life
♢ Mer and Human
♢ While they have the legs for landdwelling, some humans seem to have more saltwater in their veins than blood, and those are the kinds of humans that end up with dealing with the mysteries of the sea the most. A surfer catching waves with shark mer? A pirate bartering with sirens for safe passage? A fisherman working together with those who know fish best? There's all sorts. 

7 ♢ Stranded
♢ Mer and Human
♢ Well, carp. Good job. One way or another, you're stuck where you shouldn't be. Whether that's a human lost in the tides, or a mer trapped against the land, you need help.... So don't be picky with what you do get. 

8 ♢ Siren Song
♢ Mer and Human
♢ Sometimes, there's a good reason people fear the too wide expanse of the sea, or how deep its depths an reach... Strange songs which string through coastal towns and cause disappearances... The sound of something slipping through the water around a ship in the dead of night... Unexplained shapes which flicker outside of deep-sea vessels or submarines or installations. Do you want to know what's out there? 

9 ♢ Capture
♢ Mer and Human
♢ Sometimes, there's a good reason why people fear humans. You don't belong here, being gawked at through thick aquarium glass or trapped in a too-small freakshow tank, but what can you do? Is there anyone who cares for your plight, or are there only people responsible for it?

10 ♢ Chance Encounter
♢ Mer and Human
♢ Well, this is awkward. You didn't mean to stumble onto a mer just... there, doing whatever, on the beach or by the docks or tangled up in your fishing net, but, well. It's happened. Now what?

11 ♢ Transformation
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ For one reason or another, you want to go where you've never gone before... A mer, venturing on the land either as a rare chance or every day business? Or a human, accepting some sort of trade or just to run away from the life you have now? Either way, it might get messy.... Feel free to mix in with other scenarios. 

12 ♢ Fantasy Meets Fantasy
♢ Mer and OTHERS!
♢ Who's to say that humans are the only other creatures in the world? Maybe people living beneath the sea's waves aren't the only strange things. Maybe there are centaurs who travel along coastal roads to watch the night sky along with mer astronomers. Perhaps selkies are just distant cousins. Or who's to say that mer can't be a host of things unto themselves? The ocean's the limit. 

13 ♢ Sci-fi
♢ Mer and Human
♢ Some say astronauts are nothing more than sailors venturing off into another unexplored sea, one that's above instead of below. And, befitting those same sailors of older days, they seem to tell tails of strange melodic frequencies coming in over the radio to their ears, and strange comets that look like tails passing them by on a landed planet. Do they not know what's accompanying them in space, or is that what they're actively chasing?

14 ♢ Divinity
♢ Mer and Human
♢ There are stories told of what exactly it is that could be both human and fish... So it's not surprising that, eventually, one would land upon calling them divine entities, either gods of the sea or lakes, or just their messengers. Is that true, or just a very clever, long lasting ruse?

15 ♢ Afterlife
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ Some say mer are just humans, wrongfully forced overboard by superstition or cruelty and welcomed by the sea into something more. Others say that they're the spirits, haunting a particular sea or lake town for a wrongful death. What's the truth? Time to find out. 

16 ♢ Peaceful Living
♢ Mer and/or Human
♢ Not everything has to be a dramatic mess. Sometimes, things just... work out for the best. These are better times, and mer are just another part of life. Water-side towns where everything is built around those that share the waters with them, or huge metropolises with water tubes and sprouts for mer to travel through. How will you imagine this sort of life?

17 ♢ Wildcard
♢ follow your dreams, make up whatever

Mix and Match the two, or pick one!  Pick one of my characters to play with! 

Comments

[blackmagicduck]

"No, it's not you." Though she wasn't looking at him, holding the bread and cheese protectively close to her chest.

"I can't... risk staying there too long. Stirring up hate, putting those children in danger... If their parents strike me, the little ones will pay for it by the gods."

[richestduck]

"Oh. I hadn't thought about that," he murmured.

Though maybe, just maybe, her being a regular customer would soften their attitudes towards her. In time.

[blackmagicduck]

Magica didn't even rise up to snark or bite. No, she was thinking of the children - how long it would take for their parents hatred to grow in them. When would they start throwing stones at her too?

"Mortal lives are over so easily. I'll be gone before you know it."

[richestduck]

"Maybe, maybe not," he told her. "Selkie don't live forever, after all. That and there's no guarantee I'll live to the full selkie lifespan."

[blackmagicduck]

She clicked her tongue, rising to bite defensively. "I don't see you charging into battle or risking your life foolishly."

But now that it was out there... she had to ask. "What is the full selkie lifespan?"

[richestduck]

"About five hundred years, give or take a century," he told her. "And it's not likely to be battle that would cut my life short."

He looked out towards the sea as they kept walking.

"In the old days, the shore-dwellers believed it was bad luck to kill a seal since it might be a selkie whose colony would take revenge for the killing. However, shore-dwellers have dismissed it as superstitious nonsense and have started hunting seals for food and for their skins. I got lucky that I only suffered a deep gash from my last run-in with such shore-dwellers, but next time I might not be so fortunate."

[blackmagicduck]

Five hundred... and how old was he already? She was reluctant to ask, because she knew she'd do the math and try to decide how long he had with her.

"That all depends where you stay," She replied, glancing away. "None of the villagers here fish or hunt the oceans. You'd be safe here if you stayed." As if that was the real incentive for him to stick around, not for her.

[richestduck]

"Aye, that's true," he told her with a small smile.

But after she did pass on and he found himself alone, he'd likely journey back out into the ocean and come across more of those hunters.

[blackmagicduck]

She knew that well, but tried not to think of it.

They returned to the cottage, and had a fine meal of bread and cheese - though this time around Magica made sure to save fair chunks of each to have for later. Ratface had gone out to stretch his wings, and Magica ate quietly, trying not to think yet thinking of everything.

[richestduck]

Scrooge reveled in the bread and cheese, managing to restrain himself from gobbling it down but only just. He licked the last crumbs from his fingers when he was done before looking to Magica.

"I can go for another dive to retrieve more of the coins," he told her. "Then maybe we could work on some of your training?"

[blackmagicduck]

Magica glanced outside - the day was still young, even though it had felt like forever.

"Very well. I'll bathe while you're going, so you'd best knock before you enter."

[richestduck]

"I will," he told her.

With that, he got up to retrieve his seal skin and left the cottage. He made his way to the waves and slipped the seal skin on, plunging into the waves as a seal.

[blackmagicduck]

Magica made quick use of the barrel water to clean herself up. She couldn't afford to clean her dress, as it was all she had and waiting for it to try would take too long - and she only cared now because she had a "guest".

Was their permanent living arrangement going to be, anyway, if this was indeed permanent? Sharing the same bed every night? ... She wouldn't exactly complain...

[richestduck]

He really needed to figure out a better method for gathering the metal bits.

He shoveled some up into his mouth, taking great care not to swallow, as he swam back towards shore. He wasn't sure how many he had, but the little bits of metal were heavy. He'd have to count them once he'd spat them out...and cleaned off the seal spit.

[blackmagicduck]

When he finally returned, Magica was properly bathed and dried, thanks to her house fire, although her hair was taking longer to dry. To wit, she braided it up, letting it rest on her shoulder.

"Let me see what you got."

[richestduck]

"I managed to scoop up about twenty of them," Scrooge said, holding the pile of gold pieces out to her. "They're surprisingly heavy."

[blackmagicduck]

"Twenty!" She jumped up to see them for herself, giddy with greed. "Oh, beautiful, beautiful! I'll have enough for food, and plenty left over to finally get some new clothes! Twenty! I could just kiss you!"

[richestduck]

"What's stopping you?" he asked somewhat hopefully.

[blackmagicduck]

She stopped, then blushed deeply, apparently only now realizing what she just said. She looked away, but... "... I-It's just as gratitude for the coins." He didn't have to look so happy about it!

After a swallow, she turned back to him, shyly pressing her lips to his.

[richestduck]

Scrooge kissed her back, tail wagging happily. When they parted again, he said softly, "I could get used to going diving for treasure if that's my reward."

[blackmagicduck]

What was he so excited about? She couldn't possibly be any good at it, having never kissed anyone else before. She snatched the coins from his hands to place them on her table.

"I-If you're going to teach me anything, I can't have any distractions!"

[richestduck]

"Right. Sorry."

He sat down on the floor. "We'll start by improving your ability to focus your magesight. Without that, you won't be able to master much else. Blood magic can be used without it, but you end up wasting much of the power in the process if you can't sense what you're doing."

[blackmagicduck]

She sat across from him, still doubting she'd learn much of anything, or that it would be anything particularly useful - but it would keep him around.

"So how do I focus something I didn't even realize I had a day ago?"

[richestduck]

"You learn to recognize what it is you're looking for," he told her. "I'm going to teach you meditation which will help you learn to blot out unnecessary distractions. That in turn will help you call up your magesight. With enough practice, you won't need to go into a meditative state to achieve such focus but will be able to focus your will to use your magesight as easily as opening your eyes when you first wake up in the morning. Besides..." He held up a finger. "...many of the Grand Spells require complete focus and that they be cast while in a meditative state. Mastering that now will serve you well in the future."

[blackmagicduck]

Grand Spells?

Magica frowned... had she... ever heard that before?

Something distant and quiet echoed in the halls of her childhood, when she and Poe were tucked into bed, and just as she was drifting to sleep...

Grand spells, at their age? Don't you think it's early?
Things are getting dangerous, my love. I worry for their future.

Magica blinked, back in the present without warning. It took several more blinks for her to shake whatever that had been away. "Meditation, fine. Lets get started, whatever it is."