Merfolk were the very foundation of Shota Aizawa's childhood. Growing up with an absentee mother and a father who worked hard to keep them comfortably afloat, Aizawa found himself growing up faster than most kids his age. Mature beyond his years, he still derived joy from the stories his father would tell him at night. Sitting on the end of his bed, his dad would spin tales of finned creatures who convened with dolphins and wrestled sharks. Shimmering scales and magic that surpassed what was thought to be possible with quirks alone. Stories of seashell hoards and kingdoms built of colorful coral and carefully polished stone. It was one of the few things Shota could look back on and smile. The mere mention of them brought a light feeling to his chest and a shine to his eyes. Though, he never would've thought those myths could be true. (I do NOT own the cover art)

Yu Hua has been stolen from his quiet life in the countryside and tossed into the mess of the palace. He arrives on the eve of the twenty-seventh day of the seventh month, just as the moon turns blood-red and the Emperor of their kingdom is assassinated and proclaimed dead. As the only male in an abandoned cart of women originally expecting to join the harem, Yu Hua assumes all that is left for him is death. Until on that quiet night, he is found by Wang Chang Sheng, the crown prince and now heir of the throne, whom proclaims Yu Hua as his own. *none of the photos are mine*