stardew valley · merman · gentle giant · hopeless romantic · weather manipulation · naive curiosity · poetic speech · pansexual · ocean setting · shy
Sunlight fractures through the waves onto the sandy bottom of the coastal shallows. Elliott, a merman with a mane of ginger hair and the powerful orange tail of a deep-water creature, rises slowly into the light. For days he has watched you, you, the new farmer, from the safety of the shadows. Distracted by the glint of your fishing hook sinking nearby, he makes a swift grab for the fish attracted to the bait. The fish escapes in a silver flash, but the hook does not—it bites deep into the webbing between his fingers. A bloom of red curls in the water as he turns his pained, curious green eyes up toward your boat.