Arielody

Arielody is the family ship between Ariel and Melody from the The Little Mermaid fandom.

Melody's Infancy
When Melody was born, Ariel planned to raise her daughter between her homeworld of the sea and her new world of land. Ariel wanted Melody to know the two sides to her heritage and believed that her father's magical locket gift to Melody would help her. Ariel's plans for Melody's childhood, however, are changed the moment Morgana tries to use Melody to force King Triton to give up his trident for the baby's life. Ariel's quick actions allow her and Eric to save their daughter, but Morgana gets away. Ariel becomes worried that they won't be so lucky the next time Morgana tries to harm Melody. With a heavy heart, Ariel decides to keep Melody away from the sea until Morgana is found and caught. To ensure that Melody is kept safe, Ariel has a large wall built that keeps the land separate from the sea.

Melody's Twelfth Birthday
The only thing that Ariel didn't account for was that Melody would take after her. Just as Ariel was drawn to the surface world, Melody feels drawn to the sea. Melody inherited Ariel's fondness for collecting trinkets, so she sneaks under the wall to collect shells and other items she finds on the ocean floor. Ariel's mermaid origins also gives Melody the ability to understand sea creatures and seagulls. Unfortunately, everything Ariel has done to protect Melody has made it hard for Melody to tell Ariel her secrets. She fears that her mother could never understand her.

On the day of Melody's 12th birthday, she goes on one of her secret swims and finds a shiny shell. She shares her thought about possibly telling her mother about her love for the sea with Sebastian, until he reminds her about the party she needs to be at. (Melody's reaction to the reminder is a similar to how Ariel acted when she remembered the concert in The Little Mermaid). Sebastian tries to get Melody to her birthday party before her mother realizes that she is gone.

Even though Ariel cares a great deal about Melody's safety, she still greatly misses the sea and the family that she was forced to leave behind. After Melody sneaks back into her bedroom, she looks out her window to see Ariel dipping her toes in the seawater. Melody calls out to her mother, asking what she is doing. Ariel panics and tries to play off the moment. She then tells Melody she'll be right up to her room, which causes Melody to panic as she's only half-ready. Melody does what she can to get herself ready before her mother enters her room, and while she is able to get dressed and hide her bag of her most recent sea treasures, she doesn't have time to properly fix up her hair. Seeing this, Ariel offers to brush it for her, and as she does so, Melody tells her mother not to bother as she doesn't want to attend the party anyways. She explains that most people think she is weird, but Ariel tells Melody that she is beautiful and that it is only right of her to attend her own birthday party. Ariel tries to relate to her daughter, explaining that she, too, felt like an outcast at Melody's age. As they continue to talk, Ariel reminds Melody that she can tell her anything. Melody feels that it is the right moment to tell her mother about her dreams involving the sea, but Eric walks into the room before Melody can say anything.

During the party, Melody turns to her mother for support when she is approached by someone asking her to dance. Ariel encourages her to do so and is happy that Melody appears to be having fun. Unfortunately, Sebastian ends up ruining the moment, causing a chase scene between him and Chef Louie. When Melody asks Sebastian if he is all right, everyone laughs at her for talking to a crab. Melody, distraught, runs crying out of the room.

Ariel hurries to Melody's room to check on her. This time, however Melody is not in the mood to talk. She cradles the shiny shell she found earlier in the day to her chest as she cries, picking absentmindedly at the sand that coats it. She quickly discovers that the shiny shell she found has her name on it, and is actually a locket. Melody opens it, and sees Atlantic and merpeople. Ariel is shocked, demanding to know where Melody found the locket. Knowing that lying would be pointless, Melody tells her mother that she has been going under the large wall and into the sea. Angry that Melody has disobeyed her and put herself in danger, she starts to scold Melody. Melody yells that her mother could never understand her, then grabs the locket and storms out of the room.

Melody Runs Away
Realizing that she has messed up, Ariel and Eric discuss telling Melody the truth about her heritage. Unfortunately, Melody decides to take a rowboat and run away from home in an attempt to find answers on her own. Sebastian informs Ariel of this, and they arrange a rescue party to go out and find Melody. Ariel offers to help conduct the search underwater, and King Triton grants her a tail once more. Eric leads the search above water, and they all set out in an attempt to find Melody. The film transitions into the song "For a Moment", which is a duet between Ariel and Melody. Melody sings about how much she loves being a mermaid, and how she wishes her mother would understand her. Ariel sings about missing her daughter, and the regret she feels for not telling her the truth sooner and avoiding all of this.

Since Moragana gifted Melody with a mermaid tail, the one thing she's always wanted, it is easy for her to manipulate Melody into doing what she wants She lies to Melody, telling her that King Triton stole the trident from her. If Melody returns it, then Morgana will allow her to be a mermaid permanently. Melody does what she asks and steals the trident, much to the shock of Ariel and her father. Ariel spots a pair of manta rays in the palace that she recognizes as being allies to Morgana. She and Flounder follow behind them, and are led directly to Morgana's hide out.

Melody is there, about to hand the trident over to Morgana. Ariel swims in, and the two are shocked to find out that the other is a mermaid. Ariel warns her daughter about Morgana's intentions, but Melody is still hurt from the twelve years of lies from her mother. Ariel says that she would do it all over if she could, but Melody tells her that it's too late. She hands the trident to Morgana, who instantly changes her tune with Melody. She uses one of her tentacles to restrain Ariel, then tells Melody that everything Ariel did she did out of love for her daughter.

Morgana, now with the power of the trident, declares herself the queen of the sea. She orders everyone with fins to bow before her. Melody, who has since reverted back to a human girl, takes this opportunity to stand up against Morgana. She grabs the trident from Morgana and throws it back to King Triton, who traps Morgana in a large block of ice.

Melody & Ariel Reunite
Melody is reunited with her parents, and apologizes for running away. Ariel apologizes in return, telling Melody that they should have been truthful with her. She explains that she thought she might be a better mermaid than a human girl, but Ariel replies that they love her no matter what. They love her for who she is on the inside, and Ariel calls her brave. King Triton then joins the reunion and offers Melody a choice -- he can permanently make her a mermaid, or she can return to her home on land.

Melody suggests a different idea. She uses the trident to destroy the giant wall surrounding the kingdom, then invites everyone to come swim in the sea. The film ends on one final song, "Here on the Land and Sea". Ariel and Melody share a small duet, which says that they can now sing together in "perfect harmony". Ariel is seen placing the locket around Melody's neck. Melody hugs her mother and puts an arm around her father as King Triton creates a rainbow over the water and the movie ends.

Songs

 * Down to the Sea | Jodi Benson, Rob Paulsen, Clancy Brown, Kay E. Kuter, and Samuel E. Wright
 * For a Moment | Jodi Benson and Tara Strong
 * Here on the Land and Sea | Jodi Benson, Tara Strong, and Samuel E. Wright

Fanon
Because fans love their mother and daughter bond, they feature Ariel and Melody in some of their mother's day fan artwork. The small number of fanfics on AO3 could be due to Melody being a sequel character who hasn't appeared in other Little Mermaid/Disney media since the second film's release. Along with the fact that most retellings of the Little Mermaid mainly focuses on the first film, as sixteen year old, mermaid Ariel has more attention and media presence than human mother Ariel does. Despite this fact, people still love Melody and how she takes after her mother.

This ship currently has over 10 works on AO3 and there are over 70 works on Fanfiction.net which feature the two characters together. Ariel & Melody is Melody's most popular ship on AO3.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Ariel/Melody on FanFiction.Net
 * Ariel/Melody on FanFiction.Net

WIKIS
 * on the
 * on the