shinee x mermaid!au
to celebrate the 6th album! and to thank shawols for staying strong!
tw: water imagery, implied drowning
Onew
pearl farming mermaid
his clan of mermaids is known for being keepers of the shells - which refers to oysters, clams, conchs, etc.
his tail is the color of seaweed, a shiny dark green and his scales create a pretty curve up to his hips
he has rather large gills compared to other mermaids because he goes extremely deep to search for pearls
his family is said to be the “glowing eyes” mermaids for if you find them at that deep their eyes give off a yellow gleam
but he is such a sweetheart of a mermaid,,,,,like he isn’t some greedy hoarding pearl farmer
he actually really enjoys making jewelry for other mermaids to wear with pearls
he has his own, the pink conch pearl his mother made him and that he’s worn since he was young
and when mermaids come asking for something pretty - he’s more than happy to make it
younger mermaids sometimes think his tail is a long eel and get scared of it and he’s like TT why do kids not like me and taemin is like because you look like a big water snake im sorry but its true jkjkjk
and u sometimes take your boat out near this place that has a lot of oysters there,,,but when you dive to go look at them
ur not like,,,,,,trying to harvest them or whatever - you just like looking at them because they’re pretty
tbh you just like the animals and plants of the ocean ur just there to see them
and onew has noticed you,,,,,he’s had to hide a couple of times when you come around to just roam
and ur the first no-tail (what they call humans) that like,,,,,doesnt come here to take his oysters
which is like,,,,,,,confusing because you just seem to enjoy swimming around
and after a while he decides he’d like to try something
so he makes you a bracelet of pearls and leaves it in a spot he knows u like to see if ull be tempted
but,,,,,as usual you come by - pick it up - but then leave it there,,,,
even though onew is sure something like that must be a lot of money in the no-tail world above
and he keeps planting all these pretty pearls and whatnot but you never take anything from the ocean and one day
as you’re swimming back up to your boat
and getting in and taking your diving gear off
you feel your boat rock and all of a sudden you see a person, their arms resting on the side of your boat
and ur like ?? hello are you ok are you stuck in the water do you need help ??
and it’s onew he just drops the chain of pearls into your boat and nudges them toward you and you’re like ???
and he’s like “gift,,,,,,,” and you’re like for me???? why??? have we met??? i dont know any other divers around here
and onew is like “do you like it?” and ur like well pearls are pretty sure but who are you -
and onew is just like,,,,, “they’re yours”
and with that he falls back into the water and you’re about to panic
but then you see his tail raise up out of the water and you’re left SPEECHLESS
because was that handsome mermaid the one,,,,leaving pretty pearls for you?????
onew returns to his people and everyone is like ,,,,,,, this is impossible but why is his face so red
Minho
shark mermaid
his clan of mermaids is supposedly the rowdy bunch,,,,,,the bad boys of the sea if you will
because unlike usual mermaids,,,,their teeth are super sharp and their tails are coarse like shark skin
they also can hunt bigger prey than normal mermaids and are always said to be making a mess of their food everywhere
lots of mermaids don’t like them,,,,,,which makes lovable and personable minho really sad
because he just wants to help and use his shark-strength for good,,,,,,but no one wants him around
and smiling with those huge teeth,,,,,,not a good way to impress people apparently
except you,,,,,,,who happens to be the only person in the world who’d meet a shark-merman and be completely and utterly in love
it happens when you’re fishing and you put wAY too much bait onto your tiny little hook
and instead of pulling up a fish,,,,you pull up minho
which almost makes you pass out until you realize what he is (not a person whose body you just discovered - but a poor merman who now has a hook caught in his mouth)
and youre like oh no open up so i can get it out
and he does and you’re like OH TEETH
and hes like “sowry,,,theywe,,,,scawy” (the hooks making him speak al funky)
and you’re like no no no they’re cool just open up and please promise not to chomp my hand off
and he’s like nodding and you get in there and get the hook out and you’re like all good
and he’s blushing because ofc he got,,,,,,,caught on a FISHING line of all things
but you’re just like wow wow so many questions are you like actually part shark wow wow what kind of shark can i see your teeth again
and poor minho is all flustered,,,,no one has ever showed so much interest in him
and you’re just buzzing with this cute sparkle in your eye
like do mermaids brush their teeth???? is that thing for you guys??? omg
and he’s like huh whats that
and ur like O M G and you show him your toothbrush on your boat and he’s like huh do i eat it
and ur like no no no u clean ur teeth with it
and he’s like how and ur trying to explain it and minho’s like OH to get those parts of the fish out of your back teeth that get stuck there right
and ur like what but ur like yES
and it’s cute you teaching shark man minho how to brush his teeth
and promising you’ll come visit him with more funky human products
and minho is like cant believe,,,,,,the person who isnt scared of me is tiny adorable human,,,,,,,
Key
pirate mermaid
used to be part of a clan of mermaids who harvested coral and seaweed but that sort of life got boring so one day he just decided to swim to another part of the ocean
and,,,,kind of began a life of thievery
which he did at first to like survive but now he just sees ships passing by that have cargo and treasure and he’s like
might as well use the whole “mermaids are scary creatures” myth to my advantage
he also,,,,,might have learned a thing or two from siren mermaids - because as vicious as he can come off with ringed red eyes and sharp mermaid teeth
he can also make himself QUITE appealing to sailors ,,,,,,, with his pretty orange scales and golden hued gills
but yeah no he’s only after their goods
especially enjoys finding gems and jewels and anything he can adorn himself with
wears cuffed golden earrings and has some scarring from fights he’s gotten into (which he’s won)
you’re a cabin hand on this ship that’s supposed to be transporting all this art and stuff to europe for a show
and to be honest you hate your job - because most of the sailors are always rowdy and rude to you
and you’re the one left cleaning up their messes
so when they dock for the night on this tiny little island, you’re the one left with clean up duty
and you’re sweeping around the edge of the boat when you hear a soft voice
and you turn around to see someone’s grabbed a hold of the boat
and at first you think it’s some drunk person swimming at night and ur like uhhhhhhh hello do u need a hand
and they just pop their head out and smile
and ,,,,,,, woah theyre cute but uh,,,,,,,,,,,what are they doing in the dark water
and he’s just like “oh i dont need help, but this is the ship that’s got,,,,,all that fancy art on it right?”
and you’re like .,,,,,,,,,yeah?
and he’s like mind if,,,,,,,,,,i look at some of it
and ur like i dont think im allowed to do that and he lifts his body up a little and you catch a glimpse of his waist
which is,,,,,,naked,,,,,,,and not connected to a pair of legs
but a big, glimmering tail
and ur like hold up wait wait wait ur a mermaid
and the boy is like oh silly me i guess i let the human see my tail!!!! but yes im a mermaid and im scary so move aside or ill um eat you
and ur like,,,,,,,,,,,,mermaids dont eat people
and key is like furrowing his eyebrows like u dont know that how many mermaids have you met in ur life
and ur just like i dont think u could eat me ur kinda skinny
and key is like HEY .,,,,,,,,,true but still give me some of the stuff on this boat or ill just have to take it from you by forc-
and ur like ok i hate my job anyway wait here
and u go into the back pick some random stuff and just throw it overboard like here ya go
and key just blinks like,,,,,,,,um this is now how it usually works
and ur like its fine. itll be fun watching some of the idiots get in trouble when we get to europe
and instead of swimming off with the goods, key rests his hands on the edge of ur boat and hes like hey,,,,,,if u hate your job just runaway
and ur like and what become a pirate
and key grins like i did it. its worked out nice for me
and ur like yeah but ur ,,,,uve got the looks and the cool mermaid powers
key laughs at that, but reaches out to take your hand and ur like /??? and he slips one of the gold bracelets he has on to your wrist and hes like
it should be worth a lot of human money. go. run off and start a better life
and ur like w,,,,what i mean,,,,,,thanks i mean,,,,
and you look down and key is like well i have to go,,,,rob some more people and stuff but i hope we can meet again
and ur like wait wait,,,,,,,,,can i come with you
and he’s like ur not a mermaid- and ur like no no i mean ,,,,, what if we just take this whole boat right now. its full of precious art. why not
and key grins and lifts himself up a little to be at eye level with u
and suddenly ur a little nervous,,,,but also embarrassed
and he’s like human,,,,i like the way you think
scavenging fierce pirates,,,,,but also cute human and mermaid who fall in love hehe
Taemin
seahorse mermaid
a super rare type of mermaid whose lower body resembles that of a leafy sea dragon
his coloration is yellow with small spots of brown and green
and from his hair grown the similar long leaf like skin that make it look like he’s wearing these long beautiful earrings
his gills are small and crescent shape on his neck and they illuminate a little when he swims
is very very playful and curious but can also just lazily float when he’s not feeling it
unfortunately, he was captured by scientists at a young age and has spent the better part of his life being experimented on
you’re one of the new lab techs whose assigned to a project on taemin and you,,,,,,hate seeming him all cooped up in that tiny tank
all alone
so every now and then when someone isnt looking you give him a little wave or do something silly to entertain him
recently you’ve started also listening to music when the other scientists and techs arent around
and sometimes ull do a little dance
and taemin,,,,,,,,,starts copying you
but when he does it it’s like ten million times more beautiful because he has that unique tail
and you cant really talk through the glass so you start using hand signals
like a thumbs up and making hearts
and you see how happy it makes him because he’ll do this little turn inside the tank
and swim up real close and smile against the glass
and ,,,,,, at one point you even get close and taemin and you just spend a good two minutes staring at each others faces
till taemin taps on the glass where your lips are and you dont know what he means
but you hear the door open and you have to step back
but anyway,,,,,everything is going fine - the project that taemin is involved in doesnt hurt him in any sort of way it just has some small samples that need to be taken and observation of his behavior
but you can tell that he’s old enough now that this little space is stressing him out
and one day when you’re alone in the lab with him
you try to figure out how to sign to him that you want to help him get out of the tank
and you pull up a photo of the ocean on your phone and point to him and then to it
and taemin watches intently until he presses close to the glass and taps again on your reflection,,,,on the place where your lips are
and you tap back to him
and then,,,,,,
you watch as he presses his lips to the glass, eyes fluttering a bit and you,,,,,,,,you can’t believe it but you think
that the mermaid is asking for a kiss
and you’re embarrassed to death but ,,,, you do it because,,,,,how can you say no to taemins face
and when you pull back he does another happy twirl and puts his hand to the glass
so you can put yours over it
and now more than ever,,,,,more than anything else you want to make sure to get him back out into the ocean,,,,,,
even if your heart is going a little crazy inside your chest at this moment hehe
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Two Tones of a Tabby- pt.I
Pairing: Taehyung x Reader
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Bildungsroman, Idol!Taehyung
Summary: Upon graduating from university, you embark on your first and last summer adventure to explore the wonders of the world with complete independence before becoming confined to a cubicle when autumn begins. But as fate would have it, a chance encounter with a troubled idol in search of his own kind of freedom threatens the solo aspect of your trip.
Word Count: 2.4k
Parts: I II III IV V
A/N: this was supposed to be a lengthy oneshot, but i guess itll be another series instead (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ and im screaming at myself for being extra enough to write bildungsroman as the genre. it’s basically just a fancy term for coming-of-age and the longest word in my vocabulary LMAO.
T is for Taehyung
“travel diary entry #1- it’s 5pm, been stuck at incheon since like 6 in the morning and nothing remotely interesting has happened because this is a fucking airport. if there’s one more flight delay, i think i’m going to combust.”
With a sigh, you drop your pen between the first two pages of your journal to reveal a red cover with tiny tigers running across it. The first spontaneous purchase of your vacation is already proving its worth through the countless flight delays you’ve had to endure thus far. Your mother would’ve told the younger version of yourself not to waste money on a journal at an overpriced airport kiosk unless you were going to write in every single page from beginning to end. Maybe you wouldn’t have made use of such a sentimental object as a child, but as time went on, you’ve grown. Besides, no one’s here to stop you and your rash decisions. You’re on your own.
Or so you think.
All at once, a rush of humans and cameras flood the airport walkway that had been otherwise quiet for the past 11 hours. You notice some young folks get up from their seats with their phone cameras ready to get a better view of whoever it is. A celebrity? You’d get up off your ass to check out what the big deal is, but honestly, you have no idea what all the youngsters are into nowadays. Maybe that’s your own fault for paying more attention to your studies and workload than pop culture and current events. So you decide to stay back and eat your slice of pizza that had gone cold as you were busy writing.
Even from afar, you can see the huge moving cluster of people and bombardment of camera flashes. Is that even legal? Does personal space not exist when you’re a celebrity? Do celebrities ever grow tired of not being able to live freely? Those are the thoughts you have as you munch on your dinner.
Mid-bite, you watch as a black mullet pops up from the crowd with a few sleepy waves. You could swear, for just an instant, he makes eye contact with you, the only person sitting that far away from the chaos. His dark eyes reflect something more—something beyond what the rest of his nonchalant body language shows. With half of your pizza hanging out of your mouth, you give him a polite wave with crumby fingers, although you’re sure he had already looked away by then.
And just like that, the airport finds peace once more. You wonder if you should pull out your journal and write another entry about your fateful encounter with an unknown celebrity who accidentally made eye contact with you for 0.3 seconds.
Beep! “Attention: Now boarding, Flight 1230.” You leap off your seat as soon as you hear that your flight hasn’t been delayed for the thousandth time. Checking twice to make sure you aren’t leaving any of your belongings behind, you lug your carry-on bag with you to the boarding area.
Finally, your solo trip has begun.
Once you’re settled into your seat on the plane, you try to remember what the fuck you were thinking about before boarding. Ah yes, your eye contact with Mr. Celebrity. How could you forget?
You dig through your bag and pull out your tiger journal. For a good minute, you just stare at it, having an internal debate on whether or not to waste a page on another dumb event at the airport. Nah. It’s too late now. Maybe if he was a celebrity you knew, your heart would’ve leapt, and only then would it be worth recording into your journal. But you’d rather leave space for memories that perhaps hold more weight to you.
All that remains engraved in your mind from the occurrence are the boy’s eyes. They were fill with darkness as if they were hiding a secret of some sort, and he had awfully beautiful eyelashes that could be seen from a mile away. So for the sake of it, you draw just his eyelashes, which look mildly creepy on their own beneath your entry on the flight delays.
For the rest of the flight, you try to rid yourself of that one instance and get some rest, but for some reason, it’s more difficult than it should be. As much as you’d like to think of yourself as someone with a carefree personality, little things like this actually bug you quite a bit.
Something about the whole thing is unsettling. You aren’t sure if it’s because of the bombardment of cameras, the lack of personal space, the troubled look in the boy’s eyes, or the fact that that was the most action you’d gotten all day. But nonetheless, something just feels off.
Perhaps the only way you’re able to find peace is by telling yourself that there’s nothing you can do about it. The boy doesn’t know you, you don’t know him, and that’s that. You just want to enjoy your trip and not have to worry about anything—especially not a boy.
So you close your eyes and dream of all the yummy food you’ll eat over the course of your adventures. That's the only travel plan you have so far. Everything else will happen as it comes.
-
After the long flight, the first thing you do is stretch and breath in some fresh air. The sky is blue and the morning sun is radiating down on your jet-lagged body. As much as you’d love to find a hotel to rid yourself of your bulky luggage and take a nap, you don’t have time for that. You’re eager to explore, and that alone is already more than enough to energize your mind and soul.
You wander around the streets in search of the no.1 thing on your mind: food. Rather than use a GPS or Yelp, you leave it up to your intuition and stomach. And somehow, you’re led into an empty café with fancy coffees and desserts.
To give off the least amount of touristy vibes, you shove your luggage beneath the table for two and begin to browse your food options. You lowkey want to eat everything that’s pictured on the menu, but you have to remind yourself that you still have a long trip ahead of you, so there’ll most definitely be plenty of other opportunities for good food. After careful consideration, you settle on an iced mocha and a slice of strawberry sponge cake. A caffeine and sugar rush can’t hurt.
As you wait for your food, you wonder why the café is so empty. Perhaps it has a bad review on Yelp and you would’ve known that if you’d just checked your phone. Maybe the food quality is shit, or maybe the service is terrible, or maybe they know something that you don’t. Oops.
But it takes less than five minutes for your food to be served with Instagram-quality presentation. The strawberry sponge cake looks moist and delicate with pink flower sprinkles that glisten in the sunlight, and the mocha has a cute kitten drawn on the handcrafted foam. But to be honest, you kind of care more about the taste—which is also surprisingly quite delicious by your standards.
You suppose you shouldn’t worry as long as the food tastes good, so you pull out your journal again and write another entry as you enjoy your breakfast.
“travel diary entry #2: got off the plane, stopped at a cute café with no one in it, which is lowkey shady, but whatever. the food tastes good lol. oh and the mocha has a kitten drawn on it to match the tigers on this journal. is this what they call fate?? LMAO jkjkjkjkjk-”
“I’ll order what that customer is eating—except no coffee, please,” a soft and mellow voice interrupts your train of thought. You had been so absorbed in your food and writing that you didn’t realize another customer had appeared. Maybe the café isn’t so shady after all. Your intuition hasn’t failed you.
As you take a sip of your mocha, you casually glance over at the table across from where you’re seated and nearly spit out your entire drink—not because it tastes bad, but because you recognize the long eyelashes. It’s the eyelash boy from the airport.
Between bites of your cake, you keep sneaking peeks at the boy, who’s actually a lot more handsome now that you can see his features up close. With his loosely styled hair, his expensive yet questionable taste in fashion, and his gorgeous looks, there’s no doubt he holds some sort of fame status.
Apparently you’ve stared for too long because he catches you and deadass rolls his eyes. As if you’re doing something wrong.
“If you’re waiting for an autograph or something, you aren’t getting one,” he finally says to you. An autograph? You don’t even know who the fuck this guy is, and he thinks you want his autograph?
“Excuse me?” You narrow your eyes at the celebrity.
“I know you’re one of the fans from the airport. You waved at me with pizza hanging out of your mouth.” You’re half embarrassed by the fact that he witnessed The Great Pizza Incident, and half offended by the fact that he called you a “fan”. Because you’re certainly no fan of his.
“Last time I checked, I was sitting at this café before you, so there’s no need for you to assume I’m one of your crazed fans who follow you around everywhere.”
“And yet, somehow out of all the places in the world, you happen to travel to the same exact city as me,” he scoffs. “Don’t pretend like this is a coincidence.” His thick-skulled ass doesn’t believe you, and you can’t believe it. What did you do to deserve this?
“If you think I somehow found your schedule and took this vacation for the sole purpose of seeing my favorite celebrity, then you’re either paranoid or way too conceited,” you say. “I don’t even know who you are, or why there were so many fans chasing you around the airport. I’m just here to enjoy my trip, so leave me the fuck out of your problems.” It comes out a little harsher than you’d like, but hopefully it’ll get the point across that you aren’t a fan blinded by love.
Out of shock, the boy just blinks at you. He’s probably not used to being scolded straight to his pretty face. But he deserved it, and to your surprise, he apologizes.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take out my frustrations on you,” he pulls back and bites his lip, “especially when you chose to stay away from the airport chaos.” At least he’s willing to own up to his mistakes.
“It’s fine… I’m not actually that mad… I just didn’t want to be wrongly accused of being a stalker, you know?” You soften your expression to ease the tension. “Besides, I’m sure it happens to you all the time.”
He nods in silence as he stares down at his strawberry cake. It seems celebrities do get overwhelmed and sick of living with no privacy. Maybe this boy just happens to have reached his tipping point.
“Look, I’m sorry you have to deal with constant bullshit like that. Everyone deserves the freedom and space to do whatever they wish (as long as it’s legal),” you say, finishing off your last bite of cake. “That’s actually the reason I decided to take this solo vacation—to take time away for myself!” You aren’t sure why you share this last bit of information with the boy, especially when you hadn’t told any friend or family about your spontaneous trip, but it just feels right to let him know that he’s not the only one in search of a liberation of some sort.
“I wish I could be a free spirit like you,” he chuckles for the first time, and it’s really fucking cute. “Maybe that’s why I’m taking this trip too—to loosen up a bit and do what I want, rather than conform to what the world expects of me.”
“Well you aren’t off to a great start, to be honest,” you tease him as you receive the bill from your waiter. As soon as you see how much you have to pay, your mouth forms a big O because you realize why the café is so empty. It costs you a lot more than you’d like to spend on some coffee and cake. But despite the overpriced food, you don’t feel terrible about your stay.
Just as you’re about to get up to pay at the register, you’re blocked by the boy who’s suddenly trying to act like a gentleman. “Let me pay for it… as an apology for interrupting your breakfast. And by the way, who eats cake for breakfast?”
“You ordered the same thing as me!” This guy is unbelievable, but also amusing. “And it’s fine. I may not be a celebrity like you, but I can pay for my own food. Thanks anyway, Mr. Celebrity.” You smile at him before making your payment at the counter. Something about his cute frown from the rejection makes you die a little.
“Then let me take you out,” he blurts out, perhaps on the spur of the moment. “I-I mean… unless you have plans later.”
You take a long moment to stare at the boy who had accused you of being a stalker less than an hour ago. Oh how the tables have turned. The spontaneity of travelling with someone you just met certainly will spice up your adventure—for better or worse. Somewhere in you, a fire is lit. So you shake your head, “I don’t have any plans. After all, I’m a free spirit as you like to call me.”
“Then what would you like to be called?”
“Y/N.”
“Right. Y/N. Then… I’m T?”
“T? Is that what your real name starts with?” you chuckle. “And why do you sound so suspicious?”
“Wait, you really don’t know who I am?”
“I really fucking don’t.”
You hear him mumble something about fires and deoxyribonucleic acid, as if you should get the references. But you suppose you’re too much of an uncultured swine to pick up what he’s putting down.
“Good.” For some reason, he looks relieved that you’re unaware of his celebrity self. “Just call me Taehyung then.”
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