[Closed] @eidxiety🧜‍♀️🔬

[winterbolt]

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[eidxiety]

...maybe next time we go to get food.

[He will try... to learn how forks work... he will be so good. He's learnt to put clothes on (kind of), he will have to figure out utensils. He's becoming rapidly domesticated.]

We can try it then. 'Cause I'm almost done with this now, so there's no point, is there?

[Nom. The last few bites of his half are polished off, and boy, his entire mouth and lips are very chocolate-tasting. This is a strong flavour.]

[dyn4m0]

[With the cake eaten, Add closes the plastic container and puts it aside so it can be thrown away later.]

Guess not.

[From there he'll sigh and look down into the tank where the other Sirens are. There's the same kind of mesh grate with a door, which is different from Ain's tank which just has the grate...but he's realizing now that this is useless for keeping the Sirens in. Even this much is too much leeway. Would they still be able to get out if it was completely sealed with a lock or something, he wonders?]

If you guys could leave all this time, I'm surprised you just...haven't.

[eidxiety]

We don't really want to. This place is comfy. You give us enough food to survive and give us things to play with, and we're free from dangers and don't have to worry about things trying to bite us or harmful things in the water. That alpha in the pod down there, the huge one, he could break the glass if he wants to. That's why he's steering clear of it, because he doesn't want to.

I don't think you realise how much we could disturb the whole system if we wanted to, but we're pretty comfortable even if most of us don't like the checkups, so we don't.

[And then he shrugs.]

[dyn4m0]

Didn't realize it until this morning, no.

[It's a sobering thought. All of these Sirens...they could have escaped at any time. Nobody in this facility has ever been safe. Not 100%.]

You have to understand why it's a concern for us. It's mainly because...what would we do if a Siren came in here, and they were injured and needed rehabilitation, but they were confused and upset and didn't want to be here. They could really hurt themselves trying to get out, or hurt a lot of people working here. I don't think you, or any of these Sirens would ever do that, but...

[He sighs again, looking off to the side.]

I think most of us understand there's a certain level of cruelty in keeping you here for research purposes. You belong in the open ocean.

[eidxiety]

...yeah. The things you guys have are scary. Like your big loud machines with all the lights. [The printer. God he fucking hates the printer.] So I get it. It would help if we could speak your language. Your language is really hard, though!

[So many consonants! Have you tried clicking?]

I don't want to go back to the ocean, though. The others, maybe, yeah.

[dyn4m0]

[And in that moment...Add suddenly gets an idea. An idea that would help solve their new problem, as well as settle Ain more comfortably into living the kind of life he wants to here in the facility.]

....my boss has brought up the idea of you become an ambassador for your species. That means, like...

[He gestures with his hands as he explains.]

You'd be our connection between us and the other Sirens. You can talk to me, obviously, but you'd be able to communicate with any new Sirens that come in and explain that we don't want to hurt them. Vice versa with people, since you've learned so much more than the others have. We could probably have you speaking relatively clear English in a year or two. It does mean that we'd never be able to release you back in the ocean. You'd stay here, specifically with me as your guardian.

What do you think?

[eidxiety]

[Add, you may as well have asked him to marry you. What the fuck bud.]

Yes!! I want to do that!! I can't be mated with you if I'm in the ocean, so I want to do that! Then I can have as much human food as I want! [no,] If I'm super special with an important title, will you take me to your human den?? I want to see it!

[He drapes himself across Add's lap again, this time with his face turned toward Add rather than being flat on top of him.]

I'm good at speaking! I'll work really hard and then you can show me things!! Will I get "money" for being big and important? I'm going to use it to trade for food.

[How are you This food motivated.]

[dyn4m0]

[Damn okay he didn’t think he’d be THIS excited…Add scoffs, reaching down to straighten Ain’s messy hair. Gay.]

Maybe. We’ll work our way up to that. Also you realize we can just pay you in food, if that’s what you want.

[But knowing Ain he’ll want other things too, like toys and pets and…yeah he can envision that getting out of hand REAL quick.]

And no, you still have to have your normal diet. Human food is a treat for if you’ve been good, it’s not healthy for you to eat every day. We can supplement your diet with fruits just normally, but things like waffles and bacon…that’s human food.

[eidxiety]

[The second he figures out fish stores are a thing he's going to buy a horseshoe crab.]

But I'm the ambassador now. I want bacon and uni, and, uh, coconuts and bananas. And the red fatty meat, the steaks. And more meats! I know you have more meats.

[They haven't given Ain turkey, or lamb, or anything like that. His ass will go crazy for protein.]

[dyn4m0]

You’re not the ambassador yet! [He gently tugs his ahoge. His antennae.] My boss suggested it, but I need to confirm it with her before we move in that direction. You can have more of that stuff occasionally as a TREAT if you do a good job. Got it?

[Man he fucked up using the “A” word this early huh-]

Do you want to get so fat you can’t move, haaah?

[eidxiety]

Aaa!!!

[His ANTENNAE]

I'm not gonna get fat! My tail would look good if it were a bit pudgier! It sits really cutely over my butt when I have legs!!!

[Whine whine whine]

You'll see!! When it's really wide you'll really like pulling it up when we mate next time!! [oh my GOD]

[dyn4m0]

Oh my GOD shut up-!!

[He puts his hand over Ain’s mouth, not knowing the pain he’ll feel when Ain inevitably licks his fingers-]

You’re so lucky nobody else can understand you, but you’d better not say shit like that out loud if you start learning more English, okay? Christ.

[eidxiety]

[Yeah, Ain licks his fingers. Blelelele]

No, I'm only going to say it in Siren language to you! Only you can hear it!

[...]

What's Christ?

[dyn4m0]

Eugh-!

[Add jolts back, quickly wiping his hand off on his pants. Gross.]

...don't worry about it. [He is Not explaining human religion to you he refuses-] C'mon, we should get you back in the tank now. I need to go talk to my boss about this so we can make it official.

[eidxiety]

Mm, okayyy.

[Ain sits back up, gives Add a kiss (hehe, he got you), and then slides backwards down the hatch and back into the water. Whee!!! There he goes!

He's going to go swim back with the pod and tell them that Add was just worried because escaping means they could hurt themselves. They all nod emphatically like yes, that makes sense, the grate is not very nice for touch and we don't know how you got over that. (It's because he's gay and rough metal texture isn't that horrid when you get used to it.)

Back to playing all day for Ain! You know, before he's roped in for bath because he hasn't done that today since he was immediately doing crimes, doing depression, and now he's zoomin'.]

[dyn4m0]

[The next couple of weeks pass similarly. Add spends most of each of his workdays with the Pod, studying their behaviors and teaching them new words and sign language to go along with it. What Ain already knows gets passed on, and vice versa. He's actually surprised by just how much they're able to learn in a relatively short amount of time. While this is going on, Add makes sure to have that extra meeting with his boss about officially granting Ain ambassador status, which she's completely on board with. Of course she doesn't know how much Ain understands, but she entrusts Add with teaching him as much as he can over the course of the next couple weeks before they near the time to actually bring Ain out for the first time for a public conservation event. He's already done quite well with his behavior within the facility, so she isn't too worried about it.

Ain gets led around the facility a few more times to teach him how to behave and observe his behavior, and when he's polite and doesn't go where he's told not to, he's praised and rewarded. Honestly, even if he does do a crime or two here and there, it's not detrimental to his chances of "graduating", really. He's the most docile and amicable Siren they've worked with, even with a handler as grumpy as Add.

The day his tank is finally complete, Ain is brought to the break room where the other employees throw him a little ambassador party, with a variety of both Siren and human snacks on the table. They put a little sash on him, clap for him, and give him whatever favorite treat he asks for. It's not a big thing, more like a little office party than anything, but it serves its purpose well for showing Ain he's done a good job.

A bit later on, when Add has a moment and can pull Ain to the side and speak to him without being overheard, he'll ask with his hands in his coat pockets.]

Your tank's all ready. But before we put you in it...I wanted to ask if you'd prefer having other Sirens in there with you. We can't put a whole pod in there, but we can move a couple to be with you if you'd be more comfortable that way.

[eidxiety]

[Ain discovers many things over the weeks that follow.

1) He does not like pants. On his multiple visits to Outside The Tank, putting him in hospital gowns becomes impractical because he doesn't seem to understand that bending over to pick things up, look at other things, or generally crawl into places means flashing hole, and it's a blessing that his tail is so fucking chunky that it covers things. Still, he can't be doing that, and if he's going to be domesticated he should probably wear actual clothing. They put swim trunks on him, and he sort of hates them. They brush against his thighs in a way that doesn't feel good, and he doesn't like the waistband very much. The tradeoff here is that Ain has been generally comfortable in a lab coat (no pants) and hospital gown (no pants), which means one time, they try a sundress and boyshorts. He likes the sundress. He could take or leave the undies, but the humans insist he must so he's not showing visitors hole. These are more comfortable than shorts. The facility has to sew tail-holes into his clothing for him, but it generally works. They, so far, have not been able to convince him to wear shoes.

2) There is a food called "candy". "Candy" is many foods. Candy can be chewy, or chocolatey, or peanut-y, or brightly coloured or shiny or dull. Candy is a mystery that confounds him, because he never knows what to expect based on scent. His favourite candies quickly become Almond Joys (because coconut), chocolate-covered cherries, and sour gummy octopi. At first, Ain thought that the gummy octopi were real baby octopi, and got visibly upset about this because why would you eat a baby octopus those are pets (he's going to be devastated about calamari), but it turns out humans just like the shape of various sea creatures. Ain can understand this. He will also go to great lengths to get his hands on gummy octopi.

3) Ain likes parties, especially when they're dedicated to him. He very earnestly asks Add how he can have more parties. Parties are apparently given on birthdays. Ain doesn't know what date on the human calendar he hatched, exactly, but he does know he hatched in winter twenty or so years ago. He does not know what season it is right now. He is filing away "birthday parties" in his back pocket for later so he can get things.

He is a good boy.

He's also gotten better at adding words to his sentences. No longer "aaa??" but "what is this" and "what's that". He has not quite mastered the difference between "what" (object) and "who" (person), and has, historically, pointed at new employees to ask what they are. Oops.

When Add pulls him aside, Ain cocks his head, confused. Isn't this a solo thing... will he have less time to spend with Add if there are others with him? But maybe he wouldn't get so lonely at night if there were others... it's not like the others in the pod don't already know he's been isolated, that he's mated to a human, and that he's pretty goddamn anxious.

He has no idea what they're gonna do when heats hit next, or when he wants time with Add, or what. He does know that he doesn't want female Sirens with him, not because he didn't have fun playing with them, but because he gets grouchy when he's in heat and uhhhh the last female in his tank while that happened got completely shut out (he said sorry to her and she laughed at him because she knew she wasn't getting shit from an omega male) (she's a bit older than Ain is).

The gears turn in his head.]

Um. Maybe? Not the alpha. No females. [do you have to say it like an incel] There are a couple males near my age...

[Sirens age quite slowly after maturity, so some of those in the pod are fifty, sixty, eighty, and still look like a twenty-year-old human. Ain, being only in his twenties, is particularly baby-faced to the older pod members.]

[dyn4m0]

[The leaps and bounds of progress Ain has made are exactly why they're holding this little party for him. He IS a good boy! He's so smart! He's learning, he's speaking! He's wearing CLOTHES!! Of course, this is going to bring about some contention with animal rights activist groups, but Add is hoping to head that off with the fact that Add can actually communicate with them and tell them he enjoys this or that thing, and that he's not being exploited for money or attention. He's simply existing to try and bridge the already gulf-sized gap between Sirens and humans, after all.

Back in the present, Add shrugs his shoulders limply.]

You don't have to decide right now. Just thought I'd give you the choice.

[Since, you know. Ain seemed SO sad and flat every time he went home, and ever since he started staying with the Pod, he's been a lot happier and enriched. Maybe being outside of the tank more often as a general rule would help with that, but he can't exactly be too sure.]

Maybe if you go back in there and decide it's too big and empty, or something. It's up to you. It'll be less private if we do that, but if you're alone, you'll be alone at night except for the garden eels.

[eidxiety]

...what do you want?

[If he asks for one or two males to be added to the tank to play with, will Add be jealous? Would that be a bad thing to do? Ain doesn't know, he's never had the ability to really choose before now. The lab sort of controlled everything, and he's happy to let them do that, save for when he gets into trouble and starts being demanding different foods. That's just asking for things (multiple times, like a four-year-old who saw a toy commercial), though.

Ain does not know. It's hard to make choices.]

I'll do what you want.

[dyn4m0]

Me? This is about what you want, not what I want...

[Add kept Ain separate for his research, originally. No other specific reason. Now though...yeah, he might get jealous. Then again, he might not. It's not like seeing Ain in the tank with all the other Sirens makes him jealous or anything...but he can tell Ain is having a difficult time with this decision, so...]

We'll start out with just you alone in the tank. I'll monitor your behavior at night and see if it seems like you'd benefit from a companion or two.

[eidxiety]

...okay. That sounds good.

[Watch him be so sad and wet tonight after he's done exploring because he's alone and yet again not used to being alone. For now, he's not thinking about it. Wanting things that isn't food and pets is hard!

...

SPEAKING OF PETS—]

Oh, you said I get eels? You're finally giving me eels?? Are they in the tank???

[dyn4m0]

You do. We put a couple in the sand in your tank. I'll show you whenever the party is over.

[He doubts Ain is going to want to leave early, because there's still food to be eating, and the employees are fawning over him as the Siren of the hour.]

We might be able to put a couple hermit crabs, shrimp, and pleco in there too to keep the tank clean.

[eidxiety]

Crabs!! Yay!!

[Crabs need land patches... at least, hermits do. Does this mean that there are land patches for him? Ain is visibly excited about Crabs either way. Crabs and shramps and pleco!! Friends!

He starts chirping, a high and nonsensical excited noise. People here are going to hear him chirping. Clearly Add offered him something... but after that, Ain will trundle back on over to the party.

His ass is devouring these brownies on the table. Like, he's trained enough to use a plate and knows generally the rules of potlucks and potluck-like functions, but this does not stop his hungry ass from grabbing three of them and sitting down to devour them.]

[dyn4m0]

[Oh Ain doesn't even know what's coming for him when he gets to Add's office...but that's a surprise for after the party, and Add hasn't eaten much yet. His boss is here, because duh, and she's about to grab his ear and twist it until he eats, so he'll fill a plate with moderately healthy snacks and take a seat next to Ain while he eats his brownies. He's not complaining about him eating too many sweets today. It's his party and he can eat fifty brownies if he wants to, but it's not his problem if he complains about feeling sick later.]

[eidxiety]

[Unfortunately this is only going to make Ain worse as a person. He's not even food-aggressive like others can be, he just likes eating. He loves Taste.

He eats his brownies, then steps back over to the table (haven gotten markedly better at walking since he's been allowed to wander more, so his gait is far less awkward and strange) and grabs some tiny sandwiches, fruit, and chips. Y'know, party food.

He sits down next to Add again. The next hour is full of him eating and learning words for foods and singing after songs that come on the radio in the room. One day he'll know enough humanspeak to copy the lyrics and then it's Over for everyone, it will be pop music brainrot hours for the rest of their lives.

Nom.]