in which Lando is a siren with species dysphoria and Oscar is the defintion of Just Some Guy, who happens to get caught up in Lando's mess. and obviously they fall in love along the way etc etc
I first posted about this idea over 2 months ago and I'm happy to announce that there is now a fic in the works!!! which will likely take at least another 2 months because goddamn the concept outgrew itself (as you can tell by the fact charles and max also, like, exist now) it's sitting at ~8k words rn, which is by far the longest thing I've ever written in my life already, but story isn't even close to being finished, so yeah it'll take a while lmao
for now though I have some character designs and lots of thoughts, which I'd like to share :3
ramblings about their individual designs and details below the cut!!
and massive thank you to my dear partner @lailau7904 for not only holding my hand through writing the fic so far but somehow being even more insane about this whole AU than I am???
LANDO
main character (and POV holder) his design isn't based on any real fish, closest resemblance is to a fake fishing lure (reference provided)
very little scarring despite sirens' hunting culture, some tiny cuts and scratches around the top of his tail from smuggling pretty stones and shards of glass
absurdly bright green scales (I really could've made him fluorescent but I think that would be overkill) which is absurdly shit for stealth purposes but good for catching the attention of potential victims
vague triangle shape language but in a semi-elegant way
doesn't eat fish and would rather not eat human either
MAX
fills the position of a leader in his and Lando's colony, inherited the role in his late teens but grew up to it pretty quickly
shark motif, all sharp and angular shapes, visibly intimidating
lots of scars collected during hunts, wounds covered over by red scales from Charles
his scales are pretty dark but they shine blue when the light hits them just right (plus Charles' scales are a bright red lmao, which is a bit suboptimal for stealth but he thinks it's worth it)
CHARLES
koi fish motif, soft and round shapes
no scarring at all
has known Max since they were kids but actually didn't meet Lando until their 20s despite Max and Lando being childhood best friends
considered legally dead by monegasque officials (this has lore reasons which I'm not about to spoil)
GENERAL NOTES
the AU plays in a modern setting, altough sirens are very behind on human technology
their gills are on the side of their ribs! they can also all breathe with their lungs above water
funky scales patterns on their torsos around "modified" areas such as their gills and back fin
they have no hands but don't let that fool you! I was simply too lazy to draw any, what you would see if I did draw them tho would include:
webbing between fingers!! matches the colour of fins
longer, and more solid, claw-like nails
wrinkled palms and fingertips
I really wanted to make Max and Charles' torsos more life accurate but could not be arsed, they all have Lando's body type, aka I've accidentally twinkified Charles and Max lmao
by now you might have noticed that there's no design for Oscar, and as much as I really want to make a siren design for him that would have some pretty heavy lore implications so I'm... hesitant to do so
other people on my sirenification waiting list are:
George Russell and Alex Albon (for the 2019 rookies circle to be complete)
Franco Colapinto (based purely off vibes)
the whole grid really god I'm so ill
for the record Logan is a human in this AU but he IS present fuck you James Vowles
you may have also noticed the papaya version I labeled as McLaren themed (this one is also the highest quality image I have in this thread if you're gonna do any zooming in please do it on this one,,,,)
all throughout writing and drawing I couldn't help but think about another banger siren!Lando fic: Salt Skin by @strawberry-daiquiris! in which Lando has orange slash papaya scales, which I just had to draw honestly
a lot of my design process was also inspired by a piece by @dumbf1sketches (it's somewhere in the pile of other gorgeous art in that post)
bonus underwater version of all of them because it wasn't bright enough for me to feel good about it being at the top but it's still like, the main colour example to my brain
TAGLIST(S)
AU @mintraindrop @cx-boxbox (I know the og post is from actual ages ago but you two were interested so I humbly offer you these crumbs)
ART @santongkabayo @cyclonixi @alto-the-avocado @loquarocoeur
people that put up with my ramblings on dc @lyslsstuff @peppysinc @girlrussell
GUYS. YES. ALL OF THIS. let me take this in order.
I of course DMed @thechocobros (newt) immidiately bc I HAD NOT NOTICED THAT HE IS WEARING HEELS
Oh, Lea, I didn't think you could get more of a disaster, I love you so much. HEELS. FREAKING HEELS.
@taliaxlatia I'm sorry it took long, I wasn't sure what I wanted to talk about for kh3, but I knew I had to adress his outfit. BECAUSE OF COURSE I DID. and there's nothig but positivity and an empt emotionless void here. I'm fine. totally fine . When is KH4 coming out? I can't deal with that Isa and Lea look sooo bad, when Xion looks like an ANGEL. LOOK AT HER OUTFIT. NOT A STRIPE OR CAMO SPOT IN SIGHT. it's so clean and fashionable, did she walk STRAIGHT off the catwalk? I'm very sad that my coat theory went to hell tho... and a bit salty.
@curiasitas THIS WAS MY INNITIAL REACTION TO HIM. I saw them on the clock tower and I went: fuck, he's still in black, he didn't bother giving him an outfit. I AM ENRAAAAGED NOMURA I WILL FIND YOUR LOCATION AND MAIL YOU PLAID LEA, I'm GONNA--- oh-wait, his.., his arms.. are bare... he's... not... wearing his coat???? OH MY GOD MY BIGGEST WISH HAS BEEN FULFILLED THANK YOU NOMURA I STILL WANNA MAIL YOU PLAID LEA BUT ITS FINE NOW ITS FINE.
Harkening back to the days when all scotch was peated, this peated speyside is a force to be reckoned with. Warm vanilla and honey wrapped in oak, with perfectly integrated peat. A magnificent dram. #benriach #curiositas #peatedspeyside #peatedmalt #peatreek #avalancheofpeat #singlemalt #scotch #whisky #whiskey #dram #glencairn #aquavitae #uiscebeatha #uisgebeatha #whiskyaesthetic #whiskeywithaview @benriach @theglencairnglass https://www.instagram.com/p/BodPVG3AvBo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15kmhcfsz035n
🌤️Share your favorite piece of dialogue from your WIP. from this ask game
from the siren!AU aka Curiositas. for context: Lando and Oscar just met, and are out at sea™
For a moment Lando panics, realising he never told Oscar to bring any food for himself, he doesn’t even know what humans eat and oh fuck is Oscar is going to starve because of him-
“Uhm,” Oscar interrupts Lando’s spiralling thoughts “so I brought... definitely not enough canned food and a portable cooker.” Lando’s heart rate sinks back to normal. He notes how Oscar was somehow conscious enough to take preparation steps for their journey even through the haze of Lando’s spell, which is a bit strange but Lando doesn’t really know how the spell works so he files it away as convenient instead of concerning.
“I assume you can hunt for some fish, but I'll have to ask you to catch some for me when I run out if that's alright by you.”
There’s only one small problem with that, Lando stays silent for a second before replying.
“I don't like fish.”
Not only did Lando forget to make sure this guy he’s practically kidnapping wouldn’t starve to death, he’s about to give him another reason to loathe Lando. The first human he’s ever talked to will hate him just like his colony, because he’s weird and useless and-
“Whaddya mean you don't like fish? Isn't that like, what you eat? Or is that cannibalism-”
Well Lando has never heard of can-a-ball-is-him or whatever it is Oscar just said but that sounds vaguely insulting, and he can admit he’s a bit strange but he’s not about to let himself be insulted like that by someone he’s barely just met. What does Oscar know about sirens anyway?
He cuts Oscar off. “Just don't like it, okay?” His voice comes out a lot higher than he intended it to, pitch betraying the hurt behind the words, but there’s still a chance to course correct. “I'll get some.. birds or whatever.”
