This AU was inspired loosely by the song "Gay Pirates" by Cosmo Jarvis. I HIGHLY reccommend it if you want a song about 1. Gay pirates 2. pirate love 3. SADNESS

A vast ocean beat gently against the shore, rocking harbored ships against docks, swaying calmly enough for birds to dip down and catch fish. The salty air roughed up faces and voices of the small harbor town. The townsfolk were happy, though, alive and chattering away in the markets and alleyways; children skittered underfoot and played ball, and some pick-pocketed those unfortunate enough to have forgotten to tie up purses. The harbor was full of shipmates, loading and unloading cargo, shouting to eachother as they made repairs, and drinking whilst playing cards. The hum of waterbugs, people, and wildlife were like a sweet orchestra with a background of waves. Atleast, that was Norman's opinion.

Ever since he was little, Norman had admired his fathers' collection of swords and flag bits from famous ships. He remembered waiting anxiously for his father to return from sea, and making squid soup with his mother once he was. He remembered the long, fantastic stories he would tell him by the fireplace, and would drink whiskey while he did. He tried not to remember when his father had lost his ship when a raging storm had ripped it from the docks and flung it out to sea to sink. He tried not to remember how from that day on his father never told stories, or would appreciate his mother's squid soup, and how Norman had suddenly become the reason for all his troubles.

"Why do ya' have to always be such a strange kid? Y'know, the boys at the tavern been givin' me a hard time since ya' started blabbering about yer weird merfolk and spirits." His father would grumble to him while Norman washed plates.

Speaking of changes since then, it was around the time Norman had begun to see his dead grandmother and just about every other deceased person in town. At first, he told his family and all his friends, but since word about the witch trials a few towns away, Norman's mother had warned him to stay quiet, and all his friends abandoned him.

Even though the last bit of his life had been cruddy and sad, today was going to break the streak. After shoving his feet into his boots, buttoning up his shirt, and sliding on his coat, he headed downstairs to see his mother, who was already waiting in the kitchen. When she saw her 17 year old son descend the stairs in his sailing garb, she began to tear up. She dabbed her eyes with a hankie, and slowly walked up to him, cupping his face.

"Oh gosh, Norman... You look so much older now. When did you stop being my little boy?" Norman blushed and smiled. He shrugged, and his sister's voice chimed in from further in the kitchen.

"Yeah, yeah, he's making me older and older, too! Get'n here so we can eat and get you outta' here!" Norman followed his mother down into the kitchen and saw his elder sister hovering over a pot. The smell hit him and he grinned. Squid soup. He went over and took a big whiff of the delicious dish, and sighed happily, but was knocked off balance suddenly by the blonde sibling attacking him in a hug. She gripped him tightly and nestled her face in his shoulder.

"Don't get killed, alright?" She whispered to him. Norman softened and gave her a gentle hug before pulling away and offering a comforting smile.

"'Course not, Court. I'm not a kid anymore. I'll be fine." He replied and she sighed, turning away to start serving the soup in bowls.

No, today was not going to be bad. Today was the day he left home to work in a crew. One of the captains at the harbor heard about the kid with psychic abilities, and wanted him on board as a cabin boy (and to relax his mind about mutiny). Norman couldn't wait to get on board, and was thrilled to know someone found his ability to speak to the dead useful and interesting.

After breakfast, his mother brought down a stuffed sack. She handed it to him along with a small wallet full of coins.

"I packed clothes, small tools, a few loaves of bread, and some of you drawing supplies." She said, gesturing to the rucksack. Norman nodded thanks and huffed, backing up a bit towards the front door. He took another look around the small house where he'd lived for 17 years, and smiled solemnly. His sister came downstairs, and handed him a small piece of folded cloth. She smiled as he took it, and unwrapped it, and tried not to cry.

Years ago, the day after his father had lost his ship, Norman remembered the terror. His father was so angry and upset, he had drank the day away, and came home a belligerent mess. He scared his mother into locking herself away, and when he stormed into Norman's room while he was asleep, he screeched at Norman, scaring him awake and sending him into a panic attack. His sister had been the one to rescue him, barging through and grabbing Norman, and quickly dragging the boy out of the house and away from his screaming father. They ran down to the beach and his amongst the rocks. He remembered her holding him as he cried and cried. He remembered her soothingly petting his hair and whispering comfort. When they had to retreat farther up the beach to avoid the tide, she found a piece of coral, and while Norman slept in her arms, she scratched away at the dead skeleton and made it into a crude anchor shape. He'd kept it since then, but apparently had forgotten it in his room.

Norman looked up at her and pulled her into an embrace and kissed her on the cheek. He whispered a quiet thank you, and pulled away to hug his mother. When he was calmed down, and reassured them he would be back in a couple months, he turned to door and breathed deeply. He reached for the doorknob and when he opened it, he half-hoped his father would be waiting outside. He wasn't. He waved goodbye to his mother and sister and he strolled into the street, and got swept away in the stream of townsfolk, down to the docks.

Though the sea was relaxed, Dipper definitely wasn't. He swam anxiously in circles, biting at the fins on the back of his hands. His sister had gone out with friends two tides ago, saying she would be back way before then, and now Dipper was having serious anxiety. He had always warned his careless siblings of fishing ships, sailors who thought whale fishing was a good pastime, and pirates. Obviously, Dipper rarely ever left the shelter of their cave hidden at the edge of the coral reef, but his twin was so much more free-spirited, and she enjoyed the warm surface water more than the cool currents below. The only problem, though, was that any time her and her outrageous and crazy friends would swim off to explore sunken ships or harass drunken shipmates, Dipper freaked out. This wasn't the first time she was late returning home, either, and that didn't give Dipper any comfort at all.

A few years back, a storm had dragged his sister up and against the beach, crashing her into the rocks, stranded. Dipper had to wait for the storm to pass, and then for the tide to come back in to pull her from the sharp rocks, and spent weeks trying to heal the deep gashes and wounds in her tail, and repairing her fragile fins. Even though the horrific incident had severely wounded her, shenever lost her yearn to be out in open sea, which drove Dipper absolutely nuts. And now, here he was, again, freaking out and lapping around the wide cavern that was their usual home. Finally he took a deep gulp of sea water and approached the entrance, looking at the dim shafts of light barely reaching the deep mouth of the cave. The place was close enough to the shoreline and shallow enough that ships couldn't even pray to dock without getting stuck, so the ecosystem and their living space was safe. He slowly inched out into the more open water, glancing in all directions to make sure there was no predators, seeing as that was the last thing he needed. The ocean bed was maybe twenty yards downwards, and the only apparent creatures in that direction were a few octopi, some garden eels, and a lone nurse shark resting. He swam up to the top of the cutoff, sweeping his eyes over the reef and smiling at the variety of bright fish. He swam a bit high and paused just inches below the actual surface of the water. He hesitated before popping his head out of the water and looking around.

Now, when one is in water, they are much lighter because the water supports their entire body. When Dipper stuck his head out, it always toppled over sideways, because the sheer weight of gravity intensified and his neck muscles were barely strong enough to hold the ten pound weight above surface. He observed anyways. The shore was a ways farther in, and he shuddered at the sight of the darkened and slippery rocks jutting out of the water. The closest harbor and dock was about a mile North along the coastline, and Dipper would bet a hundred pearls that that was where Mabel would be. He let the water engulf him again, filtered water with relief and quickly headed in that direction. He knew he didn't have long until the tides changed again, seeing as the sun was beginning to go down, and he hoped that Mabel hadn't gotten herself into some sort of trouble.

oh my god do i want to do this or no im so conflicted like

yes

please Mermaid AU yes

but also

i need to woRK ON OTHER THINGS LIKE MAYBE ASHES TO ASHES HAHAHAHAHHA

whatever

I dont own Paranorman or Gravity obv.

REVIEWS PLEASE