belly enjoyer

Here's the mermay sketch I forgot to post

i'm unsure of what the goal of the dungeon is, but i think jayce's origin as a dungeon crawler could be he's looking for a certain treasure, a blue gemstone he's only seen once, but they've failed so many times that all of his party members dropped the party one by one until it was only jayce left. viktor happened to overhear when the final party member left and offered to join jayce's side because of how determined jayce was that this treasure could save lives if he got his hands on it. tiny, two member party... and when viktor joined into jayce's party, the difference in how his schedule used to be would be stark. jayce is passionate about descending the dungeon, but he also knows how important it is to take breaks and refuel. and of course the biggest shock to viktor's system would be jayce's willingness to cooking up the monsters they've slain. but as jayce knows how to cook, knows how to pair spices, knows the ins and outs of what flavours would go best with what, the resulting meals never look unappetizing. and viktor understands the idea of waste not, want not as he grew up in a village where foods could be scarce at the worst of times, so he can't imagine turning down a dish someone else prepared for him - even if it did come from an... uncommon source. but after that first dish, after getting over that initial ick factor of knowing where the food is coming from, i think viktor would very much be on board with jayce's enthusiasm! i like to think jayce has a handwritten journal that he swaps out every time he fills it, so the monster recipes would be new, and one he can share with viktor as they start making dishes together!

can be anything! more of hucow vik, mermen, fairies, etc! i wanna know about your ideas 👀

omg i have so much to say about my aus!! lore dump comes first lol

so for the mer au of course i love world building, so there would be an actual plot going on in the background. i see mer as having a deadly venom that's entirely translucent in colour, basically distinguishable from water once released. locals keep the mer's existence hush hush from outsiders, but word can carry and there are people who want to capture mers for said venom to use it for nefarious means.

another aspect of mer is that they soulbond, that they're fated to another that they must travel the sea for - kind of like a compass, like mer will always know what direction to travel because they can feel their mate's presence. in viktor's case, he's been fated to jayce. [a mer-human bond is rare, but it can happen.] unfortunately, it left viktor to follow a dead lead for years once he became aware of his bond because his travel would always bring him to land.

its only when jayce moves to the bay that viktor can finally partake in his own mating ritual. jayce being human is a hurdle, of course it would be, but specifics aren't exactly thought about when a soulbond finalization is in sight.

when viktor transforms into a human, there is trial and error. there's a limit to how long he can be out of the water before needing to go back in, and getting wet reveals the scaled armour of his skin. and ever present, there's a risk of being revealed as a mer walking among humans.

but viktor just wants to experience life as jayce does, to get out and enjoy all the new sights, the food, to learn how humans connect after a bond - things are so different on the surface. and he's careful about covering up; thanks to the changing of the seasons, heavy jackets don't raise any eyebrows.

also viktor would be VERY protective of jayce [and jayce is protective of viktor, we love a little co-dependency here lol] the food would be something of a marvel to viktor, who's only ever eaten seafood all his life. in the town i can imagine there being a fair amount of restaurants and at least one bakery along the downtown area. and viktor can get a little demanding in wanting to see everything the town has to offer, but its hard to be patient when so many things to discover are a short car trip away. but jayce definitely enables him too, who just can't say no when viktor wants something, his wallet be damned - after months of having viktor in captivity, even if it was for his own safety, jayce wants to make up for how awful their first few weeks together were. and seeing viktor smile is so worth it. even if viktor brushes it off with 'eh, how do you humans say... water under the bridge?' there's still the guilt. because jayce went along with viktor's mating ritual just to make viktor happy.

but there is something else too. [i need to put one of my favourite tropes in] jayce who buys all this food for viktor to try, pastries at the bakery, takeout from a nearby restaurant, or even just the run-of-the-mill snacks bought from the grocer, who feels funny watching viktor eat. viktor isn't exactly neat, having never used utensils in his time as a mer. who eats with his hands, licking crumbs from his fingers, who burps unabashedly. and jayce has no idea how to unpack those feelings, so he buries them deep and doesn't address them

i see viktor putting on weight pretty quick - he's already gained a little weight when he was in mer form because jayce was overfeeding him/lack of proper exercise, so when he starts eating human food the scale really starts to climb. but the weight is a positive to him, he loves the feel of soft, blubbery fat gripped in eager hands. he's never gained weight before, so its an exciting progression. and he doesn't hide how he feels either, so he never hesitates to tell jayce that he feels good, right, like this. [like maybe mer culture is about survival of the fittest once they become adults, so compared to the other mer who could hunt for hours for their own food and eat regular meals, viktor struggled to.] now viktor has an abundance. preparing meals becomes a routine for them both as jayce teaches him how to cook. but i just love thinking of all the cute moments they could have together. going clothes shopping after viktor tires of wearing jayce's clothes, who wants his own style. finally cleaning the little workshop in the backyard of the cottage now that jayce's motivation to get back to designing has come back. the both of them joining the autumn festivities, carving pumpkins and walking through the small corn maze set up. they grow closer. the soulbond that jayce was first worried about due to his lack of feelings is soon paved over with real attraction. he realizes he doesn't want viktor to go back to the ocean. but with winter, viktor needs to go into a type of hibernation. it's a long shot, but jayce will try anything to get viktor to stay, even if it means making a makeshift salt water 'pool' in his tub - in a best case scenario, maybe viktor won't even need convincing since he sounds so happy being on the surface. as winter closer approaches, jayce suddenly thinks, 'could viktor outgrow the tub?' and then has to lay in bed fighting Demons.

so there's other things he wants to say to viktor. he wants to explore these strange feelings inside of him, how he likes taking care of viktor by means of food, likes seeing him comfortable, full - more than full, bloated, stuffed. viktor's appetite could be voracious, so mealtimes could leave him basically beached at the table, rubbing his belly as he talks about how good being full feels. and jayce can only clean up and pretend he isn't looking all while trying to calm his racing thoughts. viktor had said it felt good, but is that all? jayce wants so badly to explore it further. to worship viktor's growing body with his own hands - a body he helped nourish.

in his fantasies, viktor would let him explore these feelings while in mer form, laying on his back in the water and showing off a belly fattened from all the love jayce had poured into him over the months -- his long tail would be curled around jayce's waist to pull him closer, to not let him get away -- taking the bites of food from jayce's hand and showing off his sharp teeth --

'so humans can be kind of strange, right? ' jayce would run how he could say the confession in his head, 'sometimes, we can be attracted to... certain traits that isn't necessarily common.' but it never sounds right. even with all the knowledge viktor has given him about mer culture, he doesn't know everything.