Uhm what do you think about,, merman au? or just any kind of sea critter-man au? It's a bit main stream au, but i feel like merman Peter will be a real gorgeous looking fish that catches Juno's eye or human Peter find that this scar filled merman (Juno) is the most... eye-catching being he ever lay his eyes on. Maybe??
I have Opinions regarding mermaids. Or rather, regarding stories containing mermaids. Give me half an excuse and I’ll tell you about it sometime.
The story’s got some Juno-typical suicidal thoughts, so be warned.
“This isn’t funny.” Juno doesn’t have to turn around. He’s already spotted the flash of brilliant green scales on the ship’s bow.
“Isn’t it? I happen to find it hilarious.”
That goddamn fin is flicking droplets of water at him just to make him turn around, and he isn’t going to do it. He isn’t even going to pretend to humor the coldblooded fish. Because that’s exactly what the goddamn merman wants, and Juno isn’t having it. Not today.
There are ways of dealing with him, of course. If he drops gold coins into the water, the merman will dive to retrieve them (but only gold; the fish has standards, after all). If Juno tries to come at him with a harpoon, the merman will disappear under the waves and lead him on a nice long chase that inevitably ends on a rocky shoal.
Or…
Or Juno could always jump overboard and let the merman pull him under the waves himself. Give him what he wants, but take all the fun out of his little game. Juno can’t say he isn’t tempted.
But that’s probably because he’s being stalked by a goddamn siren.
Juno works on adjusting the sail. “Don’t you have some other sailors to eat or something?”
The merman laughs. It’s an awful, infuriating laugh– all bubbly and smooth and so charming it makes Juno swoon a little bit just to hear it. Which means it’s obviously a trap, which means it’s terrible. “Of course I do. But they don’t make for nearly as good a conversation as you. A pity, really.”
“You sure about that?” Juno sneers. “Maybe you should try giving them another shot and leave me the hell alone.”
He only says it because he knows it’ll make the merman laugh again. At least when the goddamn fish is tormenting him, he’s not out eating other innocent people.
“And leave you out here by yourself without even your darling little navigator to keep you company? I wouldn’t dream of it.”
At the moment, Rita’s on shore leave, visiting her sick aunt. It’s probably for the best, too– when the siren comes around, she somehow gets even more weak-kneed than Juno does.
“So come now, brave captain,” the siren continues, ignoring the fact that he’s being ignored. “What important mission is it that has you out here all alone?”
“Maybe I’m hunting mermen.”
Another peal of laughter makes Juno’s heart skip a beat. God damn. “But really. What is it you’re chasing today? Go on, regale me.”
Juno rolls his eyes and returns to the wheel, unlocking it from its fixed position. “Old Croesus’ daughter ran off again. He wants me to talk some sense into her and bring her back.”
“Croesus, hm? Of the Kanagawa company, I take it.” The merman flips his tail, bringing him closer. “So which is it? Are you going to talk sense into the girl, or are you going to bring her back? It seems to me you can’t reasonably do both.”
“Don’t remind me,” Juno says with a grimace. “I’ll think of something when I get there.”
Juno pulls out a compass and corrects his course. Between the needle and his own charts, he can steer the ship just fine without having to turn his eyes toward the beautiful man sunning himself on the bow.
Maybe that’s why he doesn’t notice the storm clouds on the horizon.
It’s not the siren who pulls Juno under, but the sea itself. One minute he’s wrestling the sails and the next he’s swept overboard by a wave so massive it might as well be the hand of God.
The first impact with the water is enough to force the air from his lungs, but then he’s smashed against the ship’s hull a few times, just to wring the last desperate bubbles out of him. He’s whirled end over end, pulled this way and that, his clothes catching the thrashing currents like sails.
He kicks off his boots, his socks, his trousers, his shirt. They float around him for a moment before they’re ripped away by the force of the storm, looking eerily like ghosts being dragged down to Tartarus.
His limbs are numb but his lungs are burning. He needs air. He needs to find the surface. But all around him there’s nothing but black, churning water in every direction, forever and ever.
There’s no escape from this, is there? He’s going to die down here.
He stops fighting it. Reaches out to embrace what’s coming.
What he finds is… a hand. Long, slender, and cold as the hand of death, but less skeletal than he expected. And there’s webbing between the fingers.
The hand slides up Juno’s arm and wraps around his chest. He still can’t see, but he can feel another body bracing against his. He can feel scales sliding against his thighs, the thin membrane of a tail fin brushing his feet. And then, all at once, the cold shock as his head breaks the surface. He spits and sputters, gasping for breath while the waves crash over him all over again.
Instinctively he clings to the only solid thing around him– in this case, the siren who’s keeping him afloat.
A webbed hand rubs his back. “Shh, Juno. It’s alright. I’ve got you. Just breathe.”
He’s too dizzy to make sense of anything else. Juno tries to help swim, but his limbs feel like they’re made of lead, and he thinks he’s probably hurting more than helping right now. Vaguely he’s aware of moving, but he couldn’t begin to guess which direction they’re going– only that he can’t see his ship. He can’t see anything but the siren’s face and shoulders bobbing over the water as he swims.
Juno always knew that face was beautiful– that’s why he never trusted himself to look at it for long– but now that he has no choice but to trust the siren, he lets himself drink in the sight. The siren is lean, his features fine and angular, his eyes impossibly bright. His teeth are sharp. Predator’s teeth, but at the moment, they’re clenched in exertion as he struggles to keep moving.
How long has it been? How long have they been going on like this?
Juno wants to ask, but before he can form the words he feels sand against his feet.
The siren drags him to the shallows before he lets him go. Juno staggers, but his legs carry him past the tidepools and crashing waves. He gets as far as the treeline before he collapses.
Juno wakes up sore, hoarse, and sunburnt, but miraculously alive. He drags himself further inland to find something to eat– wild fruit, mostly, and a coconut whose sweet juices soothe his raw throat. Once the necessities of survival are seen to, he returns to the water’s edge. There’s an outcropping of rocks that plunge past the shallows, where the water is calmer than right at the shore.
He climbs as far out as he dares and settles on a rock that’s low enough that he can soak his legs in the lapping water.
“Hello?” he calls, but it doesn’t carry far. His voice is hoarse from drowning. “Are you there?”
He doesn’t get an answer right away, but it does come.
Holly fuck I have been lurking for the update of your GF comic and goodness gracious, I gotta just came out right here to tell you I fuckin Love how you did Bill's and esp. Dip's expression!!! And goodness that angle and simplistic yet effective backgrounds!!! I have been loving your stuff for a while but havent been brave enough to tell you how much I thrive and loving them! SO NOW!!! Here i t is,,, I love your style and your comic,, ty
thANK YOU FOR THIS OMG, THIS MAKES ME HAPPY YOU LET ME KNOW, YOU’RE A SWEET HEART!
hEy i have question like, so, i was listening to wolf 359 right, cause i remember you talked about it and got curious. then it turns out into one intense podcast i have listened so far, its great. Anyway, i'm like three eps away until the latest update and... i havent... notice anything about Doug being Bi? is it implemented in the podcast at some point or did i miss sth? just cause unless it's as blatant as how TPP or Eos does it then I usually miss it.
my dude... i havent finished wolf 395 yet sdkljf im sorry i cannot be of help here.
