Someone: Why's this updating so fast

Me:

I got in a mood and prewrote a bunch---

Idk if any of my patrons read this but if you do, do you want early access like---

Third person pov

Shota stayed until it was time for him to get ready for patrol. He told Atlantis to tuck the gold back away, seeing as carrying so much weight on his own wasn't much of an option. Atlantis happily agreed, going back to investigate the necklace once his lover was gone. It felt like too soon that Shota had to go, but Atlantis knew he was lucky to get to see him at all. He was thankful to have someone so special in his life. Had he not met Shota, he might've wandered the sea alone forever.

His attention fell back to the necklace he'd found earlier. It felt warm despite how cool the water was right now. It was dark out. He hoped Shota was safe, wherever he was and whatever he was doing. Being a hero had to be dangerous. Shota hadn't really touched much on that aspect, but Atlantis wasn't an idiot. He knew what fighting was, and it had been made clear villains were no good. Shota was only going to be gone for a few hours tonight, but it was still nerve wracking. He busied himself with trying to figure out what kind of magic this was.

It was definitely of the ocean. He could feel it in the way the necklace drew him in. The crystal itself glimmered several shades of blue, like the surface of an iridescent pool. It was calming, but there was something different about it. He didn't feel any sort of protection from it, or any sort of empowerment. The power of the sea was there, but not in the way he'd infused it into Shota's pearl. It was... changed, here. He had the undeniable urge to slip it over his head, but was apprehensive. It didn't feel cursed, but what if he failed to get it off once it was finally on? That wouldn't lead to much of anything good.

The magic inside was spiralling. It was alive in a sense, in its own way, just as the sea was. Holding it, it felt important. Like something he needed to protect, even if he wasn't going to be putting it on. There was a tension it built in him. He was waiting for something to happen, but nothing was. It felt right and wrong at the same time. He could feel the deeper part of himself wanting to put it on, his own magic wishing to entwine with whatever was in this necklace. 

He gnawed on his bottom lip, playing with it in his hands. Quietly, he asked for the sea's assurance. He knew it would not lead him astray were he to ask for its aid, so that's what he did. He closed his eyes, tilted his head downwards, and allowed himself to sink to the ocean floor. The necklace's dim glow drew curious fish, who circled at a respectful distance to watch. Atlantis kept his head bowed and listened for the wave's call. It would come distant, but he would be swayed in the right direction if he focused.

He wasn't sure for how long he sat there, his tail coiled beneath him as he quietly waited for some sort of guide. The jewel lying in his cupped hand pulsed a few times, almost as though begging. Though it took him a moment to realize it, it finally clicked what the necklace was doing. It was asking permission. Permission for what, Atlantis didn't know. It wanted his trust. It was grasping at it with thin, wanting tendrils. There was no ill intent. Only a soft question, murmured in his ear. The question asked if he wanted this. But what was being offered?

Atlantis' eyes opened carefully, and he frowned at the necklace. It was requesting he do something, but he wasn't quite sure what. He propelled himself upwards and to the deck to sit. Looking at where the moon was now, it was safe to assume Shota would be here any moment now. It was hard to estimate in correspondence with the human's way of telling time. 

Atlantis held his breath, looking down at the necklace. It felt... kind. Giving, almost. Nothing had deterred him from it yet. Were the ocean concerned, it would've warded Atlantis away from the crystal, or send a child of the ocean to take it away. A lone fish or quiet dolphin. A mellow shark, or somber sea turtle. None of that had happened, and now here he was. On the pier, holding a piece of magic older than himself. He hesitated, raising it over his head. Clenching his eyes shut, he let it fall around his neck.

At first, nothing happened. He cracked one eye open, and then the other. He searched for some sort of difference. He brought his hands up to touch his gills only to find...

They were gone.

Before panic could seize him, the scales around his torso began to recede. A gasp of air left him, his eyes growing wide as his tail shrunk and compressed, parting into two halves as it rapidly closed in on itself. He could only watch in muted horror as any sign of him being a mermaid was sucked away, leaving two pale, smooth legs. Legs, like Aizawa's. Human legs. With feet at the end. His gills were gone, and touching his legs, he could feel that they were real. This wasn't being imagined. That was the change in the crystal. The crystal had... given him legs.

The crystal had given him legs?!

A shriek left Atlantis. He tried to push himself away from the legs, but they obviously followed him, seeing as they were attached to his torso. He also had a... a butt? And what was that dangling there? He was mortified. No, mortified didn't even begin to cover it! His tail was gone! As in not there anymore! And now he had legs, and he wasn't supposed to have legs, seeing as he was a merman and all. This was all sorts of wrong. What did he do? Would his tail come back if he took off the necklace, or was he-

Wait... Wait, legs. People walked on legs. Shota walked on legs.

Atlantis felt his panic halt completely as the simple and rather obvious realization fell upon him. He gaped down at himself. If he had legs and could walk on land, didn't that mean he could go with Shota if he wanted to? Not that he knew how to use these things. They felt light compared to his tail, and... weird. He was rather afraid to try and move them. Shota always moved on them with such grace, but looking at them now that they were on him, he wasn't sure how to react. That, and was he supposed to be wearing pants? He was pretty sure he was.

Hesitantly, he attempted to lift one of the legs. He let out a yelp when it actually did what he wanted it to. The movement felt terrifyingly natural. So natural, that he felt as though he could stand up and simply walk if he wanted to. The prospect scared him to no end. He had legs. He'd essentially turned into a human! A human who could control water and talk to sea creatures, among other things, but didn't people have odd abilities here anyway? Shota's hair could float and his eyes glowed, and he could cancel out other people's powers. Well, not Atlantis', but that was a bit different.

He felt oddly exposed without his tail. He brought his hand up to the necklace. It didn't take much thought for him to pull it off. It hummed sadly as he did so, but he felt his gills pop back into place, and his legs felt like they were pulled together by a near magnetic force. His scales reappeared, and his tail grew back to its full size and length. It was still just as it had been before he grew legs, shimmering in the light of the moon. Atlantis felt like he might burst into tears at the sight. He had a magic necklace that could give him legs, and-

"Atlantis?" Shota's voice startled him, and he almost dropped the gem. He swiveled around, eyes wide and guilty. Shota's smile dimmed a bit, and concern overtook his face. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

"O-Oh, I'm fine." He squeaked, holding the crystal like it was a weapon and this was a crime scene. "I-I-I- uh... m-my tail just... i-it-" 

"What happened to your tail? What's wrong?" Shota approached, swift and entirely concerned. Atlantis bit his lip, looking down at the crystal. For some reason, one of the main concerns he had right now about showing Shota his legs was that he wouldn't have any pants on when he did so. It was such a dumb concern, but it flashed to the forefront of his mind and made him feel somewhat miserable. Shota was always wearing pants, and the very few humans he'd seen in the past had been as well. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"N-No, I'm okay." Atlantis shook his head. He... if he had legs, and he could switch between his tail and that... he could have both. He could have the sea, and he could have Shota. The thought of living a life on land by his side made a smile stretch across his face, and excitement fill his chest. He could have legs, like Shota! Their bubble wouldn't just exist on this dock. It could be anywhere they wanted it to be. No longer would they be confined to just this cove. They could have something more. "I'm fine. How was patrol?"

He slipped the crystal under his leg subtly. If he was going to show Shota, he wanted to know how to walk when he did. Wouldn't it be a wonderful surprise for Shota to come to after work? Atlantis, standing there on the pier? He really hoped so. Stumbling over himself like an idiot seemed dumb, and Shota looked tired. Tired and extremely suspicious, but Atlantis hadn't exactly been all that slick about it, so that wasn't all that surprising.

"Are you sure?" Shota asked, shaking his head and approaching with a small smile. Atlantis beamed and gave a vigorous nod, and the underground hero relaxed just a little more as he lowered himself down next to the merman. Atlantis leaned forward and gave him a warm, soft kiss on his cheek, and Shota pulled him closer and allowed the tension from patrol to melt away. Atlantis rested his head on his shoulder, his hand reaching for Shota's free one and intertwining with it. Aizawa felt affection for the merman swell in his chest, and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Atlantis smiled too, gazing down at their connected hands. 

The necklace thumped from its place beneath his tail, and he felt hopeful. He and Shota could be together-- really together-- soon. Atlantis just had to figure out how legs worked first, that's all!