Ruby of the Sea

Piper Carmine | she/her | 125 year old mermaid

[pipercarmine]

T   :   TRUE LOVE.   does your muse believe in true love?

No, Piper thinks love requires way too much trust that she's just not willing to give to others. She's got some pretty sturdy walls up. Plus she thinks someone being meant for you is silly. But she also thinks destiny is silly too so, you know.

[pipercarmine]

J   :   JEALOUSY.   does your muse get jealous in a relationship?

Piper doesn't have enough experience with relationships to know if she'd get jealous or not. She probably would though, if only because she has trust issues anyways. So maybe less jealousy and more insecurity?

[pipercarmine]

V   :   VALENTINE.   how does your muse feel about valentine’s day?

Piper think it's in good fun but still doesn't really understand it. Then again human holidays in general don't make sense to her. She likes them though, especially if it means food.

[axsaluccixselkie]

Status: Open to All Location: Baked by the Deep Bakery

Adrian wiped his hands as he came out to the front of the bakery.  Someone had called in sick, so he would take over the customer service for the morning.  That didn’t bother him.  Sure, he preferred to be doing the hands-on work to create the food, but he also enjoyed meeting the customers and getting to interact with people.  So many people seemed to enjoy coming in for fresh and homemade – probably so they didn’t have to do it for themselves. He didn’t mind doing the work; it felt good to help people by providing food.

“Good morning,” he greeted, his smile warming as the person walked up to the counter. “What can I get you today?”

[pipercarmine]

Piper pushed into the bakery, admittedly a little half asleep. She had just gotten off the night shift and was eager to get something sweet before passing out in her bed. “Morning.” She nodded, a small smile on her face. Her eyes scanned the menu for a second before answering. “Can I get one of your sticky buns please?” She loved those things, even if they had a habit of making a giant mess.

[nereidamalik]

Location: The Starbeach Cafe Status: Open

Nereida never thought she would be nostalgic for a time when she lived on land, but these days she missed how it was eight months ago when barely anyone from the ocean was here. When she was nothing but a simple outcast parading around as a human librarian. Now, Port Vale was overrun with mermaids, sirens, and now selkies escaping Assyria, and the humans were learning the truth.

She was already suspicious of Vicotria, but after her big speech at the banquet, she was sure the human was onto them. Her words were too pointed for someone who merely thought the town’s mermaid theme was a gimmick. She stressed the fact that Port Vale is a haven to the locals, not the mermaids, and Nereida didn’t know how else to interpret that other than they weren’t welcome here anymore.

So, when they requested volunteers to help with the lighthouse, Nereida didn’t sign up. She wanted to do her best to be as invisible as she used to be, but she was pretty sure she was well past that point. Everywhere she went, it felt like there were eyes on her, and maybe that was just her own paranoia, but she wouldn’t trust anything right now. 

She had just picked up a coffee to go before work when she felt a presence hovering behind her, and, again it could be the paranoia, but she wouldn’t play the idiot and just let someone get away with following her. “You know if you wanted my attention, you could just say something instead of breathing down my neck,” she said, whipping around to eye-up the person. 

[pipercarmine]

Piper almost always had a lot on her mind. Port Vale was a complicated place and with her past she was used to having to be extra cautious. Lately it had only been worse. It seemed like the world was conspiring to make everything more complicated. Things would hopefully die down though. Piper at least hoped they would.

Coffee had become one of Piper’s favorite things since coming on land. She made a habit of getting it everyday, the time of day varying based on her schedule. What she was not used to was some lady whipping around and accusing her of breathing down her neck, when Piper was just trying to get some coffee. “Whoa, easy there. I’m sorry if I got too close. I was just distracted trying to decide what I wanted today.” She held her hands up placating. Sheesh, this chick was tense. 

[pipercarmine]

typhoonaylin​:

          “People back home used to say that to me and mean it in a  bad way. But I never listened to them.” She had thick skin… or well, fur. “You also look lovely. That color really suits you. Oh, who helped you pick out your outfit?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. “It really would be. Also life would generally suck because fish are my favorite food.” The selkie took a seat at the table. “Is it appropriate to order alcohol? Are we allowed to do that? I think a glass of wine sounds nice.” 

“Yeah, people back home always had something to say about me too. There’s always assholes.” Piper shrugged, understanding where Aylin was coming from. “But I make a point to not be an asshole as much as possible.” She chuckled and winked at Aylin. “Thanks! There’s a lady who’s lived here a long time, she helped me out. I watch her granddaughter for her sometimes while she does Bingo.” She took a seat as well. “I think alcohol is allowed.”

[pipercarmine]

allegra-weaving​:

“I do say so.” It was then that someone else wandered up to the bar, Allegra waving Piper to go and deal with them, giving the redhead something to do except bother her. “Yeah yeah, it’d definitely be boring.” A roll of her eyes, Allegra getting back to tending to a guy at the other end of the bar who was motioning for a refill. 

Piper rolled her eyes but moved to help the person who had come up to the bar. It wasn’t like it was hard work to fill a glass with liquid and hand it to someone. “I mean without me you’d only have these salty sea dogs to hang out with.” She winked at the man Allegra was dealing with who chuckled. 

[pipercarmine]

gemmawalker​:

Piper would be screwed if the town wasn’t helpful? That seemed like an interesting way of phrasing things - she supposed it could be true of humans too though, that they would be ‘screwed’ without a helpful town. “Yeah, I think a lot of people who arrived recently would agree with that - myself included.” She wasn’t sure what Piper was, but she did know that agreeing was a good way to seem relatable. “Well, hey - might as well check out the place before you decide, right?”

“Ending up somewhere you don’t know shit about is always hard. I’ve done a lot of traveling and if it weren’t for helpful people I probably would have walked into a ditch or something.” Piper joked, chuckling. She was more competent than that but not by much, at least on land. “Yeah, don’t want to settle down somewhere I don’t know anything about yet.”

[pipercarmine]

gemmawalker​:

Gemma nodded; interesting was certainly one way to describe Renzie. Especially lately - she wondered if he mentioned selkies to just anyone he met these days, or if she was part of a privileged few for having been the first presumed human he’d seen after the incident. “Sure, no problem.” Humans seemed to go around doling out advice and help like it was nothing, so it seemed prudent to imitate their nonchalant helpfulness. She’d probably even ask if there was anything else Piper was looking to get more information on, if she wasn’t worried about the possibility of being met with a question she didn’t have answers to. “Yeah, it’s a pretty interesting place,” she said instead. “Are you moving here permanently, do you think? Or is it more of a temporary arrangement?”

“This is a helpful town and I’d be screwed if it wasn’t.” Piper greatly relied on the assistance of others. Which for her was weird since she spent so much time only relying on herself. She kept her guard up but so far it had worked out alright. “I wasn’t sure at first but now that I’ve seen the town a bit I might move here. Still on the fence.” She wasn’t a big fan of staying in one place, but this was different.

[pipercarmine]

gabidrake​:

.

Gabi whistled a little bit. “Envoy to the North Pacific! That’s a substantial change in fortune. Congratulations.” That had to mean that either the princess of that ocean- Aurelia, to her recollection- was likely not coming to Port Vale. This was good news to her. Mermaid princesses were born into their problems, but appointed representatives had their own vulnerabilities. She could use this, and was highly pleased by the circumstance. “I’m here on something of a mission myself. I seek to build alliances with the other leaders and representatives in town. Our peoples may have some differences in perspective and opinion, but we are all going to fall to the darkness if we don’t work together. A permanent alliance may not be something you can bargain for, but how willing are you to consider this and discuss terms?”

“You could say that.” Piper nodded, though in her mind it wasn’t that much of a step up. She was disposable at best and it was obvious who really ran things in the North Pacific. But she’d do anything for Aurelia. Plus Gabi didn’t need to know all that. Politics were not Piper’s strong suit but she wasn’t stupid. “I can pass on a message but we have our hands full. A piece of our territory was touched by the darkness. I will hear you out though.”

[pipercarmine]

typhoonaylin​:

          “I hope you mean interesting in a good way,” she said, crinkling her nose at the compliment. It sounded like a compliment like she’d make. “The internet said that most people wear stuff like this. I had to go get a new dress for it, but I think I look cute.” She twirled around and then took a seat at the booth they were led to. “Good. I also like fish! Kinda have to in a place like this.” Or like the ocean. 

“I do.” Piper assured with a chuckle. She wouldn’t insult someone to their face. Unless it was Allegra and she’d still only be joking. “It’s a nice dress. You look nice. I had a little help picking out my outfit.” She gestured to her nice pants and blouse. “This would a terrible town to live in if you hated fish.”

[jamsmemes]

(     *     VALENTINE’S DAY ALPHABET   !    

send some letters to find out more about my muse   !

A   :   AFFECTION.   how does your muse show affection?

B   :   BOUQUET.   does your muse like flowers? which ones are their favourite?

C   :   CHOCOLATE.   does your muse like chocolate? which one is their favourite?

D   :   DATE.   what is your muse’s ideal date? where / who with / etc?

E   :   EMBRACE.   does your muse like hugs? what are their hugs like?

F   :   FLIRT.   is your muse good at flirting? how do they flirt?

G   :   GIFT.   is your muse good at gift - giving or do they struggle to get it right?

H   :   HEART.   is your muse quick or slow to give their heart away?

I    :   I LOVE YOU.   does your muse find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

J   :   JEALOUSY.   does your muse get jealous in a relationship?

K   :   KISS.   is your muse a good kisser? why / why not? 

L   :   LOVE.   who does your muse love?

M   :   MOONLIGHT.   what is your muse’s ideal date? where / who with / etc?

N   :   NAUGHTY.   what is your muse like in bed?

O   :   ODE.   does your muse have a way with words?

P   :   PARTNER.   what does your muse look for in a partner? looks / personality?

Q   :   QUESTION.   would your muse ask the big question or expect their partner to?

R   :   ROMANCE.   is your muse a romantic or a cynic?

S   :   SWEETHEART.   did your muse have a childhood sweetheart?

T   :   TRUE LOVE.   does your muse believe in true love?

U   :   UNREQUITED.   has your muse had their heart broken?

V   :   VALENTINE.   how does your muse feel about valentine’s day?

W  :   WEDDING.   would your muse get married? why / why not?

X   :   XOXO.   does your muse use / like pet names?

Y   :   YOURS.   does your muse get protective easily?

Z   :   ZZZ.   how many people has your muse slept with?

[pipercarmine]

typhoonaylin​:

           “It was a compliment, I promise. Just an Aylin styled one.” Which… sometimes those didn’t sound nice. But she swore they were. “And anyways, I’m fun. I don’t know if I know what to do about this date thing though.” What were people supposed to do on dates? Honestly, she still didn’t know. “I looked at the menu and it’s fish, so I hope you’re not vegetarian because I’m sorry. We could go somewhere else though?” 

“You’re an interesting one, Aylin.” Piper laughed and shook her head. Aylin was at least entertaining. “I don’t know the first thing about dating either. I say we just wing it.” She shrugged. “Fish is fine.” If Piper didn’t like fish she’d have a serious problem.

[pipercarmine]

allegra-weaving​:

“Of all the things I want, that is so far down the list.” The siren muttered, shaking her head. Apparently Piper enjoyed poking Allegra’s annoying spots. “You’ve got — something.” She shot back, maybe a twinge of a smile touching the far corners of her lips. Her head was turned away from the mermaid though, so hopefully Piper didn’t see it. 

“If you say so.” Piper was pretty sure Allegra liked her company more than she wanted to admit. Even if Piper was quite the nuisance most days. “You like my something.” She stuck her tongue out playfully. “Face it, your job here would be way more boring if I weren’t around.”

[pipercarmine]

gabidrake​:

“I understand completely. No apologies are needed,” Gabi said, clasping her hands together and smiling slightly. She tried to get a feeling for Piper’s tone here, but wasn’t getting a lot of answers. She wanted to know what was on the mermaid’s mind. Favors were the most important currency to sirens, from Gabi’s perspective, and Piper owed her one. She wasn’t sure how she would use it yet, but she was curious how relations would go with that hanging over anyone’s head. “No, no. I imagine it wasn’t fun at all. Anything in particular bringing you here? It could be a coincidence, but with everyone here… Perhaps there aren’t really coincidences.”

The main issue Piper always faced is she didn’t trust anyone. Gabi was a siren sure, but she had basically saved Piper’s ass. But Piper didn’t trust her because Piper didn’t trust anyone. Besides she owed Gabi and that wasn’t fun to have hanging over your head. “I’m an envoy for the North Pacific and they told me to come here. So here I am.” There weren’t coincidences and she had a feeling that Gabi was here too for a reason.

[pipercarmine]

aster-kang​:

“Right, we should be able to find both of those at the nearest convenience store, then. I can take you there, if you want. I don’t have anything to do now,” she said with a warm smile. “I’m Aster. Welcome to Port Vale, then.”

“Oh thanks, I’d really appreciate that. I get all turned around trying to find anywhere.” Piper smiled back. “I’m Piper, it’s nice to meet you Aster.”

[pipercarmine]

typhoonaylin​:

          She had never been on a date before. Seals didn’t really date each other and she had yet to find anyone that kept her on her toes enough to actually start dating here in Port Vale. But maybe that would eventually change. She hoped so. Being alone for the rest of her life did not exactly sound like fun, even if she knew that she had her family and the other seals in her pod when she eventually went back to the ocean. If she was ever able to go back to the ocean. But… she knew what Scylla wanted right now, even if she didn’t understand it. So she could do some snooping… whenever this date was over. Which… brought her around full circle. 

          The selkie giggled. “Well, I wasn’t expecting you either, so this should be fun.” Although she didn’t understand who you were supposed to expect on a blind date. “At least you’re cute.” She didn’t know what she would’ve done had she been paired with a man other than stare at him the whole time and that wasn’t fun for anyone. Still she wasn’t sure that’s not what she’d be doing with Piper either. “Yes, I think there’s a seat for us.” She went to ask the waitress. “Okay, our table is ready.” Aylin started to follow them. 

“Thanks, I think.” Piper chuckled. “You’re not so bad yourself.” She winked. Of all the people to get paired with, Aylin wasn’t too bad. If she’d gotten paired with someone who sucked that wouldn’t have been good. Plus she was glad it was a lady and not one of the gross guys she’d seen around town. “Great.” She followed Aylin towards their table as well. “Hopefully the food is good.”