Thank you so much for reading my story! It's been a labor of love, and taken a lot of hashing out and multiple rewrites, but now it's finally done.
I've never finished a story before, so this felt incredible! And amazingly, it feels like it has a sensical plot, with decent character development and growth.
This story began after I got into reading TG fiction on Wattpad, especially the work of sabrynnabrooklyne. I love her stories, because she manages to balance realism with an interesting premise.
For me, I thought that the idea of a boy needing to dress up as a girl so he could live out his dream of swimming in a mermaid tail seemed complex and interesting. I felt it gave Danny/Cindy a character flair more interesting than the basic "a boy is interested in cross dressing."
Although I identify as male and cisgender, Cindy's interest in mermaids is inspired a lot from my own, and how I felt very self conscious in my teenage years about my interest in such a "girly" topic.
I thought about how cool it would be for Cindy to discover who she was based on these traits, and somehow, (maybe it had something to do with the wealth of knowledge I've accumulated about everything to do with mermaids) I was actually able to work the story out very quickly.
Let me know your overall thoughts on the story, I'd love to hear them!
I hope that my story made you laugh, cry, and everything in between.
Thank you!
===== PSA =====
In this story, I talked a lot about mermaiding/tail swimming. It's a relatively new water sport, and many people around the world enjoy it. To those who are interested in learning more, I recommend checking out the mer-tail seller Fin Fun, which is good for new merfolk, and heading to the site Mernetwork, if you want to learn more from people much more knowledgeable about the hobby/profession than I am.
A word though - I tried very hard to depict mermaiding correctly, that is, in a way that promotes safety. If you are thinking of getting into it, make sure that you are a good swimmer, that you understand all the safety knowledge required, and that you are swimming under supervision. If you are thinking about introducing a child to it, make sure they are old enough.
Sadly, my commitment to this made me have to scrap letting them actually swim in the ocean, because many merfolk find it dangerous.
Despite this, it can be a fun hobby, as long as you follow the right precautions.
That's all for now, thanks for listening to my 25 chapter long Ted Talk on why mermaiding is awesome. That's right! This was subliminal propaganda all along!
*EVIL LAUGHTER*
Is it crazy that I’m now planning on buying a tail
Ha ha, no, not at all! That was a partial hope of mine to introduce people to this. Just make sure that you pick a reputable tall maker. I used Fin Fun as the example in the story because they are best for beginners, and for most people, it's the most they'll ever need.
Most other tail makers cater more specifically to adults like mertailor, and those tails can run into the thousands of dollars. Fin Fun though sits at a comfortable $60 - $100, depending on size and what kind of monofin you pick.
Make sure that you are decent at swimming before you start using a tail - fin fun has recommended skills you should have, like being able to tread water for a minute, float on your back, swim a certain distance, etc. You also want to practice the dolphin kick.
Also important, when you swim, make sure you have someone with you - swimming out in a lake somewhere alone is no good. This also gives you an excuse to try to rope a friend into tail swimming too :)
Botton line, learn all the safety stuff you can. If you're swimming at a public pool, make sure you're allowed to use your tail, as some pools don't.
Sorry for the vomit of words, but hope that helps a bit. Fin Fun's site has a lot of good starting stuff, follow their directions. Then you can find additional help at Mernetwork. The forum is kinda old, but they have a discord server. r/mermaid also can probably help you.
Have fun exploring the hobby!
Sorry if this comes across as weird, but I'm honestly kind of surprised to hear that you're a cis guy xD
You did a really good job of writing a realistic trans character, and it's cool seeing someone who isn't trans doing that well with it
Cute mermaid for life I always loved being underwater
Oh wow, I really enjoyed this story a lot. Keep up the good work.
I just want to say, this is an absolutely adorable story. I hope you keep writing.
I always enjoy your writing.
Ship girls are way better
Thank you so much for telling this story!