MerMay 2020: Two Left Fins

Diving right into MerMay this year with an illustration featuring a mermaid who requires no introduction, Ariel, accompanied by her sometimes-sidekick, Sora from Kingdom Hearts! Contrary to popular opinion, I liked BOTH of the Atlantica levels in Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 (though my love of all things mer may [😉] make me a bit biased). I greatly preferred the adventuring done in the first game, sure, but the singalong levels in the sequel were a fun break from the regular gameplay (except for "A New Day is Dawning"... don't talk to me about that song). Who else liked the Atlantica levels in Kingdom Hearts? What are some of your favorite water levels in video games, or favorite places to swim in general? Let me know in the comments or in the ask box in my story, I'd love to hear about all your favorite swimming spots!

On a more serious note, one of the reasons the Atlantica levels were so beloved by me is because they were a big source of validation to me as a little queer kid who was afraid that mermaid stuff was too "girly" for him to enjoy (toxic masculinity hurts, y'all!). Being able to play as a heroic little merman alongside The Little Mermaid herself was a lesson that it's OK to like what you like—because there are plenty of people out there just like you who like it, too! And that's also just another reason why I love MerMay so much... anyone else on board with turning it into a yearlong thing? 😛