You're just a caretaker, you feed them, clean the tanks, make sure they're content and check for any sick or injured mers.
You've really loved this job…up until now.
“I know he looks scary, Doll, but he's just playing."
Your superior pats you on the back as you stare at the huge mer on the other side of the glass. His big black eyes bore into you, sharp grin bared with his huge hands placed flat on the glass.
Yeah, he's obviously trying to scare you but that doesn't make it any less scary!
“He can get touchy but you just gotta shoo him away."
She waves you into the room where his tank is and you hesitantly walk in with all your cleaning gear. He gets a little secluded tank all to himself because apparently he bullies the other mers and likes scaring guests that come past the small observation window of the tanks.
You keep the door open for some sense of comfort, your steps echoing in the silent room. His head pops up from the water, only his eyes visible as he watches you get all your gear ready. You stand at the edge of the steps leading into his tank for a moment and he stays in his same spot, unblinking.
You shuffle around in your pocket and pull out a sardine, tossing it in front of him. He watches the dead fish sink into the water and then points his gaze right back at you.
You resist a shiver, sighing in defeat and taking the first few steps into the shallow waters. As soon as you reached knee deep, he sinks down into the water and you can see his huge figure swim deeper into the darker parts of the tank.
Hoping that he lost interest, you decide to just get this over with as quick as possible and start wiping down the thick glass of the tank. You wipe down the whole upper part of the tank closest to the surface while trying not to think about how you'll possibly clean everywhere else.
Every now and then you feel a brush against your leg or a force in the water next to you but you end up getting the whole top section of the tank done without much incident.
You sit on the edge of the tank, getting your scuba gear ready, eyes flicking around the pool every now and then. The silence makes everything so unsettling, it feels like he's just waiting for-
You don't even register the huge black blur moving towards you before he bursts out of the water, claws and teeth bared. You scream and swing your fist at the thing your instincts are telling you is trying to eat you, punching the mer right in the nose.
A gasp leaves you as you realise what you've done, holding in a tense breath as he groans and cradles his face. He looks at his bloody hand and then back at you in what appears to be shock. You wait for him to rip you in two but he just stares. Then his mouth slowly turns up in a sharp grin, blood still dripping from his nose.
He lunges forward and your scream is cut short when he wraps his thick arms around your waist, nuzzling his head into your stomach. You wheeze at the crushing hug, confused and still scared but if his happy clicking sounds are anything to go by, he definitely doesn't want to kill you.
You're not sure if you would've preferred cleaning the tank in constant fear for your life or if having a massive mer clinging to you the whole time was the better option.
You managed to get it done, with much struggle. He actually helped you a little at first, but got bored quickly and opted for seeing how far he could unzip your swimsuit before you swatted him away. He also stole one of your flippers at one point and only gave it back when you gave him sufficient head scratches.
Once the job was done, you knew he wouldn't just let you leave, and you kind of felt bad when you started packing up and he let out sad little whines, so you sat on the edge of the tank, patting his head until your superior came looking for you.
“So…you punched him?"
You sheepishly nodded to her, munching gratefully on the donut she brought for you since you missed your lunch break.
“and now he's in love with you?”
You give her a solemn nod this time, watching as he traces patterns on your thigh.
“Well, shit."
All you can do is nod once more in agreement to that accurate assesment of your situation.
Im probably not going to participate in every day in may but maybe occasionally I’ll draw a random character as a mermaid.
Lemme explain the idea. Terra is showing Dazzle and TJ somthing she found, Jack is chasing a fish because why not, Moon is teasing Sun, Solar and Cosmo just chattin i guess. Ive seen some people draw the cast as different types of sea creatures, which is amazing, but I went with a more generic mercreature look for mine (im too lazy to research). I also tried to make the kiddos have some similar traits as their parent/guardian. Such as Sun and Dazzle having a flared tail, Moon and TJ (I finished this a little before the character design change) being more like an angler fish. I was a little lazy for the background. But I like my final result. (:
Just a reminder that all you mercreatures, beings of the sea, are valued and loved and appreciated more than you could ever know <3
Even those with more niche kintypes, cecaelia, markupo, bakuwana, gillpeople, lake monsters, kappa, you're all revered and respected as creatures of the deep :)
