aquata-the-champ

[aquata-the-champ]

"Of course you wouldn't remember," Aquata said, rolling her eyes.

This was, perhaps, a way of buying herself more time. Because the truth was that she hadn't accomplished quite so much herself on Board— she certainly wasn't doing the numbers Drakken was, in terms of getting petitions passed.

But she'd still won at Being A Board Member! There was no way Drakken was superior to her at that.

"My anti-poaching petitions, for one thing. That took years of coordination with different people," Aquata said. "And it had real impact. I wasn't just firing off a bunch of random initiatives to boost my numbers."

@dr-drckken

Half Baked Crumbbacks || Blues

[aquata-the-champ]

"Uh, we'll see about that. Maybe the class is all about sardines on toast. I'm amazing at sardines on toast," Aquata joked. She really, really hoped it wasn't— even if Aquata liked sardines on toast, she did want to learn something she didn't already know. Hopefully something a little harder than getting fish out of a tin.

But her competitive streak never really went away.

@jameshawks

I'm Cooked | Water Wings

[aquata-the-champ]

"Oh yeah. Cycling, pilates, HIIT— that's high intensity interval training—, dance fitness, kickboxing, the list goes on," Aquata explained. She didn't love group classes, because she could get a bit weird and competitive and it was hardly productive to anyone. And the motivational speeches from the instructors tended to annoy Aquata. But she saw the appeal. "I can get you a schedule if you're interested. Some people really like them."

And Aquata didn't think there was anything wrong with that. Being a trainer had opened Aquata's eyes to how many different ways there were to move your body, and how different approaches worked for different people. Even if she, personally, thought cycling was an exercise in torture.

"Anyway, let's keep going. I'll bring you over to the locker rooms, but there are probably people getting changed in there, so you can go in there on your own later," Aquata said. "You can keep your stuff in there if you want, you've just got to bring your own lock if you want one. Or don't. I don't think we have a locker room thief problem or anything. But we're not responsible for lost or stolen items."

@notmuchofatail

Haters Are My Motivators | Aquatory

[aquata-the-champ]

"I'm fine," Aquata said, bandaging her finger. Hopefully she hadn't made too much of a mess. She actually did want to contribute to this, even if she knew she'd be horrible at it. Better than having Boo up half the night making noise in the kitchen—

Okay, she also just, like, wanted to be a nice person or whatever.

"Garlic is minced. What's next?" Aquata asked, elevating her finger to hopefully get it to calm down.

@boointhenight

Holiday Cooking Challenge || Quoo

[aquata-the-champ]

Alana was getting married this year.

There was so much to do. And Aquata wasn't even planning the big day, she was just planning some of the lead-up. The hen party. The bridal shower. And for everything else, she was the right-hand woman.

Honestly, none of this stuff was Aquata's wheelhouse. If she ever got married (very weird thought) she just wanted to get the marriage license at the courthouse and throw a big blowout at Pixie's to celebrate. By that point, she was pretty sure most of her sisters would be married, and probably tired of weddings by that point. But Alana wanted a normal wedding experience, and Aquata was ready to give her the best damn normal wedding experience she could, because she was going to be the World's Best Maid of Honor. Yes, it was a competition.

"Okay, so. For the hen party. Are we doing a trip?" Aquata asked from her spot on Alana's sofa, opening a new tab on the spreadsheet she'd started on her laptop.

@alana-the-brilliant

I Can't Say I Do Without You | Aqualana

[aquata-the-champ]

I Can't Say I Do Without You | Aqualana

[aquata-the-champ]

Tiana had kind of told Herc on a whim that her New Year's Resolution was to learn how to cook. It had just sounded like a good thing to put on that Olympus Gym tweet. But now that she'd put it out into the universe, she obviously had to follow through.

After her shameful showing helping Boo make that dish for the office potluck, Aquata knew she needed professional help. Thankfully, someone else suspected the same, and Aquata received a "couple's cooking class" for her and James from someone. Hopefully this wouldn't be too embarrassing.

"Ready, Chef?" Aquata joked as they approached the restaurant in the Next Town Over hosting the class. "Should I call you that? Chef?"

@jameshawks

[outfit]

I'm Cooked | Water Wings

[aquata-the-champ]

"Okay, okay, give me a second to replenish," Aquata said, just as James started chasing her with more snow. She yelped and jumped up, another handful of snow half-formed into a ball in her hand. Laughing, Aquata whirled around and threw it, stumbling forward with the effort of it to fall right into James.

Not the finest form. But Aquata had never really been good at throwing sports, anyway. And right now, for once, there was something sweeter than winning, and it was right in front of her.

@jameshawks

A Light Dusting {Water Wings}

[aquata-the-champ]

At this point, dropping the issue was probably the best thing to do. Luca clearly didn't want to swim. But Aquata was passionate about swimming and water safety— she didn't think everyone had to be a competitive swimmer, but she did want to help protect as many people as possible from water-related peril. As a swim instructor, it sort of felt like a personal calling.

"It's really nothing to be embarrassed about," Aquata said, trying to sound gentle but probably coming off a little more aggressive than she meant to. "I've worked with a lot of people who were afraid of water. I mean, not saying that you are-" Luca clearly was. "But, y'know, just saying that I know how to ease people into it if it's something they've never done before."

@lucathedreamer

Make It Better || Aqua

[aquata-the-champ]

Were they... agreeing on something?

It wasn't exactly Aquata's rule to agree on, she supposed. It was Herc's rule. And they both just agreed with Herc. Still- common ground was common ground.

"Yeah, it sucks. And honestly, if you need to brag about going to the gym on social media all the time, you're probably not doing it for the right reason, and you're probably not going to sustain the routine," Aquata complained, thinking of all the gym bros whose phones she had confiscated over the years.

She pushed the door to the cycling studio open. "Cycling. If you're interested in that, we can sign you up for a class, but I don't teach that stuff. So I guess it's a good way to get a break from me, if you want it." Aquata raised her eyebrows, a small clue that this was sort of a joke.

@notmuchofatail

Haters Are My Motivators | Aquatory

[aquata-the-champ]

Aquata scowled. She did not, for one second, think Drakken was being sincere in congratulating her. And that was confirmed with that little underhanded comment. Of course he had to throw that in there!

"It's not that I thought it was too hard," Aquata replied, although she imagined her life was certainly going to be a bit easier when she didn't have to do these inane tasks. "I've just got other priorities now. I did everything I set out to do, and now I'm focusing on other things. Besides, I really don't think politicians should hang around in office too long. It's bad for democracy."

Okay, truthfully, Aquata didn't think Drakken was bad for democracy. She thought he was lukewarm for democracy at most. He was there, participating in democracy. That pretty much was it, Aquata thought.

@dr-drckken

Half Baked Crumbbacks || Blues

[aquata-the-champ]

Couldn't swim?

That surprised Aquata. She had her suspicions about Luca— maybe not that they were a merman, but that they had some connection to water— if only because they worked at Whosits and Whatsits and had seemed close with Bruce before he left. Even if all of that was pretty undefined, Aquata had assumed that Luca could swim, at least.

"Oh, okay- are you interested in learning at all?" Aquata asked. "It could be part of training. And honestly, I won't get on my soapbox about it as a swim instructor, but it's kind of a safety thing. Not necessarily for training, but even just for life, you know?"

@lucathedreamer

Make It Better || Aqua

[aquata-the-champ]

"That's something. I'm shit at yoga, but even I admit it's got its benefits. It's great for your core." Aquata liked Pilates a little better, because she knew core strength was important (especially in swimming) but yoga bored her to tears.

She led the way down the hall toward the studios. "But yeah, to answer your question— no photos. I mean, do whatever you like at home, but it's a privacy thing. You take one mirror selfie and half the room ends up in the background, and that's not fair to anyone."

It was Herc's rule, but Aquata believed strongly in it. Even if she did like to take a gym selfie now and then. She just saved it for her mirror at home now.

@notmuchofatail

Haters Are My Motivators | Aquatory

[aquata-the-champ]

Mincing. That meant, like, cutting it into little squares, right? Aquata could do that. She cut the little piece of garlic lengthwise, and then the other way, and it was beginning to resemble something like cubes, but the tricky part was that it was so goddamn small-

"Fuck!" Aquata exclaimed when she accidentally cut into her finger, blood blooming on the skin. It didn't actually hurt that much, but why did finger scrapes always have to bleed like that?

Aquata abandoned the garlic and licked her finger to try and stop the bleeding, using her other hand to open the cabinet and rummage around for a band-aid. "Sorry, give me a sec!"

Holiday Cooking Challenge || Quoo

[aquata-the-champ]

Aquata giggled as James started pelting her with snowballs. She expected the first two or three, but then he just kept going!

"Christ!" Aquata exclaimed, exhausting her own supply. "How did you make those so quickly?"

Did they teach you that in secret agent school? Aquata did genuinely wonder, but of course she couldn't say that in the middle of a crowded park.

A Light Dusting {Water Wings}

[aquata-the-champ]

Yeah, that was probably plenty of details. Aquata was starting to feel bad for this guy, who seemed to be pretty shy, despite what people might assume about him based on his appearance.

But Aquata had been in the athletic world long enough to know that being jacked did not make you an extrovert. In fact, it was often the opposite way around. The term "strong and silent" didn't come out of nowhere.

"Alright, well, I'm sure I'll see you around. Neighbor," Aquata said, giving Bullseye a little wave.

@bullseye-stoddard

Something To Remember Me By | Seahorse

[aquata-the-champ]

Honestly, Aquata kind of loved when her clients came into their first session fully clueless. It meant that there were fewer bad habits to unlearn, and you didn't have to deal with people's pride around how they thought they knew what they were doing, even if they didn't. It was more work, sure, to go all the way back to the basics, but that was Aquata's job.

"Cool, cool," Aquata said neutrally, leading Greg through the rows of machines. "I'll go over this again when we actually start, but just remember the main rules— always wipe off your equipment, and no photos. And use headphones if you're gonna listen to music, obviously. Should be common sense, but some people..." She shook her head

It was also weird to be complaining to Greg about other people. Really, all of this was weird.

"Anyway, I'll show you the studios where we do classes. Just in case you wanna try something different now and then."

@notmuchofatail

Haters Are My Motivators | Aquatory