Okay, a few years ago, my mind played with some crazy and unique ways to explore or rewrite H2O characters (at most: Lyla being Dr. Denman's adoptive daughter and healthily researching mermaid magic.)
But I've cooled down over the years and settled on a few that make sense (Charlotte being a mermaid again under dubious circumstances - being one of them and Kim actually being smart and figuring out the Secret using photocopies of Cleo's diary before it was destroyed).
Or maybe I'm not above writing stories with second chances, but not without taking liberties such as avoiding dumbing someone down or giving credit where it's due.
So, I had this idea for a story I attempted but didn't quite publish. The context: What if Charlotte, Miriam, and Sophie were mermaids?
Considering I go back and forth between Reddit and Tumblr, I was surprised (and not) by the Antis and the ones willing to indulge in the characters - I ended up joining in too. But this idea was me really pushing the envelope, so to speak, and thinking outside the box. And another thing, I'm kind of not afraid to go into mature themes that exist in real life.
So why these three? Because everyone hates them, and the exact challenge of making them worth reading about is what I strive for. And since I do believe being in the Moon Pool alone is why Charlotte got three powers, then making her part of a group & dividing said powers avoids some problems.
Charlotte is the easiest of the three, she deserved better in character development and writing (and I'm not above laying blame on the girls for creating her antagonism, to begin with). If H2O had started off with the story of a girl finding out her grandma was a mermaid, it would have felt fitting as it would involve her meeting Louise and doing the supposed job of tying both generations of mermaids together. Essentially doing what S2 chose not to due when introducing a former mermaid having left a legacy behind. On that note, Charlotte is Cleo's foil, so she does get Hydrokinesis.
Miriam is...so fascinating! Between her and Sophie, it's so easy to imagine Miriam disliking having a tail to begin with. At best, she's unilaterally Emma and Rikki's foil (everything Emma's not and Rikki hates). With the Mean Girl/Ice Queen persona she had going on, I'm not too against the trope of her using being a mermaid for popularity but I imagine having Charlotte involved means the worst gets curbed. However, I do imagine the "One Drop" policy getting old pretty fast, and sick of it as well. It was actually pretty difficult (and felt generic), but in the end - I settled for Miriam getting Hydro-cryokinesis.
Sophie, Sophie, Sophie...Not gonna lie, getting the one who destroyed the moon pool for financial gain (and more of a villain than the other two) was when I knew I had my hands full! Not to mention, she's an ADULT! Not an elderly or a parent - an adult with bills to pay and a brother to take care of. And that's where I feel her arc should be (adulting and a caregiver who now has to deal with a tail). But because I don't mind taking liberties, I traced her actress back to her previous role (Rachel Samuels of Blue Water High) and that's where things came together! Overall, she does have hints of Emma but could be more dangerous than Rikki. So hydro-thermokinesis for her.
There's so much to this dynamic of the 2000s mermaids not being like anyone expected and the potential. Charlotte is the first to embrace being a mermaid while Miriam fights it every second she can (Sophie being between the two). Given what happened in Red Herring, I'm particularly fond of the idea both Miriam and Sophie have dyes in their hair and the transformation reveals their natural brunette and blonde tones. As an anti of Will Benjamin and his behavior with Bella in canon, perhaps exposure and learning how NOT to treat a mermaid from the source could go a long way. I'm definitely LIVING for Louise adoring Charlotte yet meeting Miriam and Sophie and having difficulty adjusting to someone like them being mermaids & far removed from what she, Gracie, and Julia were. How Zane fits into this as without Rikki, Miriam's all that ties him to her. Sophie's past and why teenage drama dictates Miriam be such a bitch (as well as whether Tiffany has a place in her life). Or better yet, Lewis was the researcher, so is he obsolete from this AU or can he be brought in? Does Miriam have an Elsa episode where she freezes everything?
I can't promise Linda Denman or other likes in canon, but like lightning - some things don't happen twice without reason.
But main question: Why would these three meet? Charlotte and Miriam make sense, Charlotte moving a year early isn't hard to do as well as placing Miriam with Zane & Nate and having her steal the spark plug. Given the lack of background on their folks, Sophie and Will moving to Queensland is easy to arrange with the right backstory. So in the end, it all goes straight to the beginning - the Pilot.
(And where are the original girls? Given the effect this AU would cause, a lot gets undone. Cleo and Emma were already friends, just not likely to meet Rikki - whose actions triggered the events of canon to begin with! So at best, side characters who interact but don't influence the narrative as much...possibly.)