A Mermaid AU
This is something I may write in the Spring or the Summer. It all depends if anyone likes this au.
Anyway Manny is a struggling young artist working at a job he hates, is constantly the butt of almost everyone's joke, and worst of all he believes with his whole heart that he doesn't have one. After getting dumped by his girlfriend he begins to realize that he can't connect with anyone save for his womanizing co-worker T.J and his younger cousin Nicole (On his mother's side) who he's been raising and supporting by himself.
He gets a chance to possibly get a better career when he's assigned to paint something from a peninsula where coincidentally Manny used to vacation at with his parents when he was a kid. He goes there and brings both T.J and Nicole. On the day they arrive, Manny has a near drowning incident but is mysteriously saved by someone and he later reveals that something like this happened to years ago, the last time he was here. They rent a house owned by local Andrea who T.J starts hitting on almost immediately and is immediately rejected by her but that aside she's very courteous and friendly toward them. During their stay Manny has trouble finding inspiration for his painting while Nicole hears tales from Andrea about mermaids who according to legend have been seen around this island. She also warns the little girl to beware of them, saying that they are animalistic, man-eating, and have been known to drown or abduct anyone who comes close to them in the water.
Intrigued, Nicole goes to a nearby cove to swim where she finds and meets a young mermaid called Frida who has a beautiful singing voice and surprisingly does not fit the description Andrea gave her. Frida tells her that while Andrea's warnings are not wrong, she's actually very different from her kind and that she swam away from home because she wanted to take a break from her overprotective father. She also tells her about these incredible landscapes on the island and how she dreams of becoming a famous singer on a land. Problem is though she doesn't know how to appeal to human amusement and attention. Nicole offers to help her achieve her dream if Frida in turn, helps Manny with his work by showing him these landscapes she's seen. She agrees under the condition that Nicole never tell anyone about Frida being a mermaid.
So Nicole manages to convince Manny to let Frida stay with them for the Summer and at first he's a little put off by her outlandish behavior but she manages to win him over with her free spirit and their shared appreciation for natural beauty. Manny's work is soon improved with her help and she ends up becoming quite a popular singer however trouble arises when Manny and Frida find themselves falling in love with each other much to Nicole's panic.
This was inspired by various mermaid movies such as Splash, Aquamarine, and Fish Tales. Please let me know if you like this idea because I really want to write it but I won't if no one likes it or will read it.