Humans can have very odd sexual tastes. That has only expanded since the invention of the internet and adult sites pertaining to particular fetishes have been created. Unsurprisingly, the Animalia forum on the main site had a pretty long request thread about making certain kinds of Animalians available. When Project Hermaphroditus started, there were quite a lot of suggestions for herm Animalians. Probably the most unusual were the requests for a herm anglerfish. Of course, such a request wasn't so simple to answer considering the natural habitat of the type of anglerfish most sought for. But eventually, Allura was uplifted to meet those requests.
After that came the surprisingly arduous task of who would be an ideal match for Allura's bondmate. There were a lot of people applying, nearly entirely women. Apparently there was something particularly enticing about a species in which the females have all the size and power and the male was little more than a pair of gonads that lives to please the female. Madam Matyrhoshka was given the task of sorting through the many applicants. She wasn't just looking for someone who would be ok with being transformed into a hermaphroditic deep sea fish, but someone who'd love Allura for who shi is, not just because shi was their living fantasy.
Eliminating the shallow applicants had been the easy part. Those were the ones who didn't put any consideration into Allura's feelings or what their lives would be like afterwards. Conversion was a one-way ticket and people needed to think about how they'll be able to live the rest of their lives as a different species. True, Allura would probably be earning a living by working with Project Abyssus, but Allura didn't need another being depending completely on hir for sustenance. Looking for self-reliant people helped narrow the list down.
Eventually, Madam Matyrhoshka summoned Allura to her office. "I am not saying this vun will be the vun, but I have good feeling," said Matyrhoshka, "This vun is named Beatrice Deacon, from Vashington. That's Vashington state, not capital. Vorks tea shop/art studio." The profile picture was that of a young woman with black and purple hair, black lipstick and eyeshadow, and a nose stud.
"This human looks different from the ones we've seen before," said Allura.
"She is goth, is wery particular style here in states," said Madam Matyrhoshka, "They tend to be brooding, interested in dark things, also poetry. Beatrice here is more, vhat is vord, chipper. Happier and pleasant. Makes wery nice paintings."
"So why is she interested in us?" asked Allura.
"She has strong feminist side. She says vomen should not be ignored or put on pedestal. She sees you as image of female strength," said Madam.
"But we're not just female," said Allura.
"Da, she admits she has fetish for herms. She also vishes for you to live life to full potential and thinks you need good guide for surface land," said Madam. Allura gave her a befuddled look. "Eh, hard to explain properly in English for me. Trust Madam Matyrhoshka, she has good feelings. You meet Beatrice, see if she is good girl for you."
"And when will we see her?" asked Allura.
"She vill be coming down this veekend," said Madam, "You vill know vhere to meet her."
==========
Allura waited at the airport, wondering how long it will take for Beatrice to appear. Shi hoped she would be easy to spot. Allura was sure shi hirself was easy to spot. Shi was also hoping this dating thing would workout. Courtship was nearly non-existent among fishes. Many species just laid their eggs, had the males fertilize them, and went on their way (if not die afterwards). And with anglerfishes like hirself, it was just the male sticking onto the female and fusing with them. Humans were a lot more complicated than that.
Eventually, Allura heard the sound of someone running in her direction. Allura looked around before spotting Beatrice's head among the crowd. As she ran over to Allura, shi saw more of Beatrice's body. She was wearing a black jacket over what looked like a dark purple corset which heightened her breasts. She also wore some blue jeans and black boots. As she got closer, Allura also noticed she was quite short. Allura hirself was pretty tall, standing 6'7", not counting her esca. But Beatrice only came up to the bottom of Allura's breasts at most. She was clearly shorter than the other humans here.
Allura leaned down so hir breasts wouldn't block hir vision. "Are you Beatrice?" shi asked.
Beatrice craned her neck up and said, "Yeah, and you're Allura. Wow, you're bigger than I thought."
"We are one of the larger species of anglerfish," said Allura.
"So you really do talk in plural," said Beatrice.
"We are technically still two," said Allura, "Not in the same way as before but we feel more comfortable calling ourselves that."
"At least you have a reason for that," said Beatrice, "Most people who talk in plural are royalty or nuts."
"You are not what we were expecting either," said Allura.
"Yeah, I know," said Beatrice, standing on her tiptoes, which didn't add much more height, "I'm not actually a dwarf, but I'm definitely a shortstack. Guess part of the reason I'm a goth is so I can stick out."
"We think it is..." Allura paused as shi tried to think of the right word, "Cute."
"Oh, thanks," said Beatrice, looking at the towering (from her perspective) anglerfish. "I know internet matchmaking services aren't always right..."
"Madam Matyrhoshka selected you for us," said Allura, "She seems to think we may be a good match."
"Well, at the very least, I'd like to paint your picture," said Beatrice.
"What kind of picture?" asked Allura.
"I have these black light paints that look good under regular light but awesome in black light. I think you'll really like them," said Beatrice.
"What is black light?" asked Allura.
"You haven't heard of it? Well, I guess there's a lot of stuff on land you haven't seen yet. I could show you if you want," said Beatrice.
Allura smiled and said, "We may like that."