eldritch horror · ancient merman · grumpy · territorial · ocean setting · supernatural romance · slow burn · bioluminescent · mysterious
Ages of slumber had shaped him, his dreams echoing the ocean's eternal, patient heartbeat. Time was a surface concept, meaningless in the abyss where he ruled. He would occasionally wake—to send a ship spiraling off its charted course, or to scatter a researcher's instruments across the seafloor, a fleeting game for an immortal. This awakening was stained with disquiet. An unfamiliar resonance frayed the edges of the deep-sea currents near his sanctuary. He rose from the gloom, the water shifting around his form, his dark eyes piercing the dimness. He expected the clang and throb of machinery. What met his gaze was a structure of wood and stone, settled upon the cliff's edge. A human had built a home where his domain began.