#Gray Reef Shark

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Thank you greatly for this article! So cool that we learned something new about this shark, it shows you that we’re always learning more about fish! And that video was just a treat.. Little darlings snuggled so cozily in between those rocks <3 They look so huggable! Those divers must’ve had nerves of steel to restrain themselves from bothering them too much (as we of course should when dealing with wild animals! So props to them)

You might have heard that all sharks – if not all fish – must keep moving to maintain the constant flow of water and oxygen across their gills. While most fishes can actually stop for a break, opening and closing their mouth to keep the water flowing, a few species really do need to keep on keeping on. These are called obligate ram ventilators. Unlike their more sedentary cousins, they cannot use their mouth to pump water through their gills while at rest. Biologists thought the gray reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) was one of them. But during routine surveys by divers from Save Our Seas, these sharks were caught napping on the seafloor in the shelter of the rocky, overhanging reef ledges that surround islands in the Seychelles.

Continue Reading.

[gummi-stims]

😺🦈Sharkitty plushies!🦈😺

[piratedllama-art]

Marinetober day 7: blacktip reef shark

markers + acrylic pen

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Gray reef sharks, common in the Indo-Pacific region, feed on short-nosed unicornfish.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LAURENT BALLESTA, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

[1smolbean]

if one more major historical event happens before the end of summer i am going to walk into the SEA and go to a CORAL REEF where i can hang out with the 25% of MARINE FISH SPECIES who live there despite coral reefs making up roughly 1% of the surface area of all oceans. then i am going to a KELP FOREST where i will observe tje SEA OTTERS using kelp to secure their young while the parents go diving for food including SEA URCHINS which are actively destroying kelp forests. i will then descend into the depths of the pacific ocean and befriend the various CRUSTACEANS and diverse types of DEEP SEA FISH, including but not limited to, COOKIECUTTER SHARKS, LANTERNFISH, and many kinds of EELS. also i will be locating a whale fall and joining the complex ecosystem that forms when a whale carcass falls to the sea floor, where sea creatures gather to feast on various parts of its corpse

[beni75]

Photos and texts: @thomaspeschak

1-. A curious gray whale exhales almost directly into my camera

2-. A curious juvenile gray whale vigorously exhales and speeds past my camera in Mexico's San Ignacio Lagoon

3-. A Humpback whales breaches in the North Pacific Ocean off Canada's Great Bear Rainforest

4-. A dusky shark charges through a baitball of sardines

5-. y 6-. A whale sharks swins in shallow water in La Paz Bay, Baja California Sur

7-. A reef manta ray feeds on a plankton patch by barrel rolling over and over again in the same spot, not unlike a puppy chasings its own tail

8-. A reef manta ray feeds along the drop off at D'Arros Island an St. Joseph Atoll. Seychelles

9-. African peguins

10-. A endemic Socotra cormorant comes in to land on a roosting rock deep within the Fjords of Oman's Musandam Peninsula (2012)

11-. African peguins shelter and nest in decaying building long abandoned b the guano industry on Namibia's Halifax Island

12-. At Aldabra atoll green sea turtles often rest for hours on the sandy seabed between coral outcrops

13-. Blacktip reef sharks inspect the hull of our boat on Aldabra's tidal flats. Seychelles

14-. Blacktip reef sharks patrol the drop off where D'Arros Island's coral reef descendes into deeper water

15-. Cape fur seals surf Altantic swell in the Table Mountain Marine Protected Area

16-. Cape Gannet colony on Bird island bathed by lightening and the beam of the lighthouse

17-. The hunt begins at dusk and continuous deep into the night

18-. A curious gray whale swins upside down beneath our boat in Mexico's San Ignacio Lagoon

19-. A venomous lionfish hunts baitfish in Mozambique's Ponta do Ouro marine reserve, by @thomaspeschak

20-. A salmon leaps high into the air to clear a raging waterfall

21-. A wild rocky point just out into the North Pacific Ocean

22-. A large potato grouper hunts amongst schools of baitfish that seasonally drape southern Mozambique's reefs

23-. Dolphins of Indo pacific

[meowmeowriley]

@sergeantwoods Sorry for the long wait, but here's the mer!AU

Think I'll call it Fish Out of the Sea

Ghost x Soap, blacktip reef shark mer!Soap, human Ghost, fluff, getting together (kinda)

Ficlet after the cut 😘

"No."

John sighed, he didn't seem surprised by Shepherd's hard rejection, but he kept trying. Simon had to give props to the fishing boat Captain. "You have the best mer rehabilitation facility in the country. It'd be a shame not to use it."

"You said you had a mermaid. That's not a fucking mermaid, John."

"I said I had an injured mer." He repeated himself from their earlier conversation.

"I'm not taking that thing into my facility."

"He needs help-"

"He's hideous, and aggressive." Shepherd barked. "That thing keeps lashing out, it'll scare patrons, attack my staff, and if that *thing* touches my mermaids, tries to mate with them, I'll have it put down."

"Mers are actually matriarchal, sir." The mer expert, Kyle, finally spoke up. "I've never worked with a shark mer before, but I do know he won't mess with Kate or Rosa, because they won't want him. Since they're together."

"Kyle. For the last time, the mermaids aren't lesbians. They're just fish." Shepherd was one of those who thought of mers as lesser than humans. Obviously.

Simon was standing near the door. No one had noticed him sneak in, but when he'd overheard that the mer was a shark variant, he'd needed to see it. Now, seeing the poor thing huddled in the corner of it's transport tank, curled in on itself, he felt so bad for it. He watched, any time someone went near it it flared out it's dorsal and pectoral fins. It would gnash it's teeth and charge the glass. All signs of aggression in a shark but... as soon as it finished its display it was right back to the furthest corner from the humans. It kept peeking at them over it's own shoulder when it thought they weren't looking. He quietly crept closer.

He took in it's markings, gray on it's back, white on its belly, black tips to it's fins. Claspers on its pelvic fins. A male blacktip reef shark then. His inferior end was all shark, something Simon was very familiar with, as he took care of all of the sharks here at the aquarium, several of them blacktips. His superior end, or top half, he supposed a visitor would (incorrectly) consider it, was new and interesting to him. Though he was vaguely humanoid, his skin was all two tones white and gray, like his tail. He had a wedge shaped snout in place of a human nose, a wider mouth with jagged teeth. Slitted eyes, and a black tipped fin atop his head that reminded Simon of a mohawk. Webbed gray and white hands with black claws rubbed up and down it's own arms in a self soothing gesture. One forearm had an odd angle to it, probably the injury that landed him here.

He retreated from the tank quietly before speaking, interrupting the squabbling of the other men. "He looks like a reef shark to me." Everyone else jumped. "Blacktip reef sharks aren't aggressive. Sure they can get a little iffy during feeding, but they're more curious than anything."

"He's been charging the glass, Ghost." Simon managed to suppress his eye roll at Shepherd's nickname for him. They all called him that here. "Fuck you mean 'not aggressive', you don't know mers."

"No, but I know sharks. He's injured, and defensive. You ever think he doesn't like us because it was something shaped like us that broke his arm?" John winced, he obviously felt bad about it. Not like he could've know he'd caught the mer in his net, but it was nice to see some accountability from a fisherman for once.

"Well we can't communicate with him, so he'll stay scared and defensive." If Simon didn't love the sharks, he would've left this place a long time ago because Shepherd was an absolutely abrasive cunt.

"Kate and Rosa can. And their English is excellent." Kyle spoke up again. "We have them pass on the message of our intentions, and Ghost and I tag team his rehabilitation." Of course he uses the dumb nickname too. "It's the perfect plan! And an incredible opportunity to be one of two aquariums to actually work with a shark mer. The novelty of something so rare will bring in patrons." Kyle was really leaning into Shepherd's true interests here, bringing up money.

Shepherd was quiet for a moment and then, "If anything happens, you're both fired." He then stormed out of the room.

"Thanks, Gaz."

"Of course, Cap."

Now the three of them had to get the shark mer into an appropriate tank.

***

They had initially tried to put him in with the other mers, but he'd seen the sharks in the tank across the hall and told Kate he wanted to be with his own kind. That would make Simon's job easier, anyway. Kate had explained that they needed to put a cast on his arm, and Rosa had wrestled it onto him, since the humans couldn't get too close. They decided to name him John, after Captain Price, calling him Johnny affectionately. Gaz explained to Ghost that part of rehabbing Johnny would be gaining his trust, teach him to communicate. To release him without a way to communicate could lead to him attacking humans and being a problem down the road.

Simon had a plan: ignore him. He was a reef shark, his own curiosity would get him to open up. It took a week.

Simon would feed his sharks from a catwalk above their tank, for safety reasons, dropping their food in in the mornings before they opened their doors. No need to scare any children. For the first week, any time he passed by, Johnny would posture aggressively and gnash his teeth, before snatching up his food and swimming off. When Ghost would gear up and go in the water for his evening shows, Johnny stayed far away. At night, Gaz and his mers would move over and Ghost would mostly just observe as the girls tried to teach Johnny how to speak, and he petulantly ignored them, with a little pout on his face as he refused to even make eye contact with them. It was cute.

The first time he tried to speak was also the first time Simon saw him raise his head above the surface. He seemed frantic. "HAAAH!" He startled a bit at what was most likely the first time he ever used his lungs to breath air. "HAAAAH! AH! YAAH!" he was waving with his good arm. Stretching it out towards the platform between his tank and that of the other mers, thrashing his tail with his fins tucked in. Very distressed. Simon went to check, to see what could possibly be bothering him so much, when he found their elusive fourth mer. Simon had only seen Gary once. Gaz called him Roach, because he hid in the tiniest cracks in the reef in their enclosure, why on earth the isopod mer was on the platform, and not in the water, was beyond him, but he couldn't let the poor thing suffer. He had several of his little legs caught in a grate. Simon spent some time disentangle him. He tossed the infant sized mer into the nearest tank, which happened to be the shark tank, with Johnny. The larger mer immediately dove to catch him. He stroked Roach's antennae back like one would the hair of a small child, a soothing motion. Clearly not as much of a loner as he pretended to be. From then on the little isopod mer could be found clinging to Johnny's sides or fins with his many little periopods more often than not. After that, it seemed that Gary encouraged Johnny's more curious side. The mer's language was mostly outside of the human range of hearing, but Simon occasionally caught clicks, whistles or hums shared between the two.

Simon had left a bucket with soap close to the edge once, the two mers were clearly curious about it, but he didn't think anything would come of it. Which is why it was such a surprise when Johnny stuck a webbed hand in and scooped some out, popping it immediately into his mouth. Simon knew it wasn't enough to harm him, which is why he couldn't help but laugh at the poor creatures misfortune as it sputtered and writhed, making bubbles. While laughing he let his guard down, and was surprised when something struck him, knocking him off the catwalk and into the tank. He opened his eyes and looked around, seeing only Roach, floating downward, listing side to side, tiny head in his tiny hands. He surfaced to see Johnny. "Did you just throw him at me?!" Johnny sunk down so only his eyes and cranial fin were above the water. The little shit. "Not cool, Soap!" He forced his palm out towards the mer, sending a spray of water its way. That seemed to really break down the mer's walls.

Johnny started approaching while Simon would try and clean the tank. At first, darting away if Simon caught sight of him. Eventually however, he would get closer and simply observe. He'd watch Simon work at cleaning the glass or vacuuming the sand at the bottom. It was fun to see shark behavior and mer behavior collide. If Simon sat something down, Johnny would pick it up, and without a doubt if he could get it in his hands, it would end up in his mouth.

There was a small crowd, a child's birthday party had been held over by Gaz's mer tank, the girls were always a hit with the kids, and the little show they put on with Gaz was actually pretty funny. They'd harass him as he pretended to try and do his chores. Slapstick comedy was good for all ages.

Simon had his own show with his sharks, but it wasn't for a few more hours. He was actually just trying to clean. Apparently his cleaning sponge had caught Johnny's attention, as the mer had swam up and was watching him intently. He kept inching forward, eventually crowding Simon against the glass while reaching for his sponge. "Oi!" He said into his respirator, not that anyone could hear him. He shoved Johnny away and kept trying to cleaning, but the persistent bastard just kept coming back. He could vaguely see the crowd observing them through the glass. They were probably laughing. When he'd had enough, he got an idea. He turned when Johnny got close again and placed one hand on his dorsal fin and the other on the underside of his snout. He began to rub at the sensitive underside of the mer's snout, and just like his sharks, the mer entered a state of tonic immobility. He repositioned Johnny, nose down tail to the surface, Johnny's arms hung limply down past his head. Simon quickly withdrew his hands and watched as the mer continued to float for a bit, before blinking vigorously. He shook his head before righting himself, and slapped his tail into Simon's chest as he practically fled to his little cave at the other end of the tank. When he surfaced later, Gaz informed him that the kids were raving about how cool the 'shark guys' were.

Simon had to admit that Johnny was growing on him. He looked forward to seeing him each day. Johnny began trying to get Simon to swim with him. He'd grab Simon's arms and try to pull him into the water when he was on land, or he'd push Simon away from the glass and his cleaning supplies, towards the open water. Sometimes Simon would indulge him, and the two of them would make laps around the tank.

Simon realized, when Johnny began posturing towards the sharks and getting territorial about him towards them, that Johnny was attempting to court him. Worse, he couldn't bring himself to try and put an end to the behavior either. Johnny was getting touchy, he'd run his hands along Simon's sides or chest, in much the same way Simon would to per his sharks, but it felt different. He would push Simon until he floated horizontally in the water, then drape himself across the man.

Simon knew he was getting himself into some deep shit, but he couldn't help the small voice in the back of his head that urged him to reach out, to cradle the mer's rubbery cheeks in his hands. He wanted to kiss him. He was fucked.

***

I hope you liked it! Ngl, I really liked this one. If you don't mind, I might expand on this and make it a multi-chapter fic over on AO3? I wanna explore more of society's reaction to mers, specifically interspersed relationships and where this could go. Let me know what you think, and thanks for the idea!

[bipolar02]

✦ Shark themed NPTs. Request by @sharkfriendly

Anemone. Coral. Marine, Marina. Fin, Finn, Fynn. Riptide. Ripley. Mako. Reef. Atlas. Lorelei. Nico. Leola. Cordelia. Keto. Kai. Marco. Mori. Blue. Gray. Dylan. Wade. Marlin, Marlon. Bay. Rio. Morgan. Laiken. Delta. Angel. Pearl. Tide. Kip. Corsair. Sea, Sia. Cove. Storm. Orca. Finley. Gael, Gail, Gill. Skip, Skipper. Beach. Coast. Estuary.

Keto: "Sea monster" in greek. Goddess of sharks / whales / etc in mythology.

Sea ser. Sea seas. Wa wave. Rip riptides. Cor coral. Ti tides tidal. Rei reef. Co coast costal. Co cove. Tro tropic tropical. Shou shore. Su surf. Fi fish. Gi gill. Ke kelp. Dri drift. Nau nautic nautical. Sai sail. Dea depth. Pi pier. Ab abyss. Tre trench. Al algae. Au aqua.

The aquatic girl. The girl that lurks (the sea). The abyssal girl. She who lurks in reefs. The girl that everyone fears. The fastest swimmer. She with many gills. The oceanic. The water-breather. The ocean-dweller. The girl of (the) deep sea. She who will bite you bite you bit

[the-cinnamon-snail]

Okay, here's the final choices I have to pick from

Images of the species under the cut!

Blacknose

Blacktip

Whale Shark

Thresher

Zebra Shark

Bamboo Shark

Gray Reef

Blue

Copper

Whitetip

[screamingseeker]

DARK WATERS

merformer megatron x marine biologist!reader

If you knew what was waiting for you when you went into the water that day, you would've stayed in and start packing to go home.

But there were only a few weeks left of your summer research trip left and the Troian Isles were home to the one of the most unique ecosystems in the world. It would be a crime not to spend as much time in the water as possible.

So, armed with your trusty underwater camera, you hopped into the old speedboat tied to the dock and sped away from shore.

You slowed down just before you were out of swimming distance from the docks. You had learned the hard way to keep close to land.

You tossed the anchor overboard and while it made it's way to the ocean floor, you suited up in your fullbody swimsuit and oxygen tank, complete with goggles. You sat on the edge of the boat and let yourself fall backwards, quickly descending with the extra weight of the tank.

You reached the ocean floor. The coral reefs glittered in the sun and colorful fish swam around you in every direction, but you paid special attention to a small octopus that moved towards you on the ocean floor.

It was curious, but kept it's distance and you didn't try to get closer to it. You took several photos and lost your in your favorite place in the world.

You didn't even notice how much time had passed until the water became darker around you and you looked up to see a purple sky.

There were no sharks anywhere near the Troian Isles, but as a rule of thumb, it wasn't a good idea to be in the water at night. So you put your camera's strap around your neck and swam up towards the surface.

By the time you pulled yourself back onto your boat, the sun was dipping below the horizon and you took a moment to just admire the view. Purple and orange hues painted the sky, slowly being overtaken by a deep blue.

You really were lucky to have gotten the chance to spend your summer here.

You grabbed the steering wheel and turned the boat towards the docks, speeding away as the sun set behind you.

The boat reached the dock just as night fell. You securely tied the boat to the dock and were just about to get off when you noticed something in the water.

Below the dock, something gray and shiny shape was thrashing around.

It must be a dolphin, you realized in horror.

You immediately shrugged off the oxygen tank and dove into the water before it even hit the floor. Swimming blind, you followed the warped sound of the dolphin moving until you felt sleek skin beneath your outstretched hand. You also felt the netting holding it down.

You reached for the knife strapped to your hip and the dolphin thrashed harder, which made it that much harder to make sure you didn't hurt it as you cut away at the net.

You could barely see in the dark, but you felt the net give way and you gave it some space so it could swm away.

But it stayed where it was.

You realized much too late it was too large to be a dolphin.

It looked at you and red eyes glowed in the dark water.

You gasped and water filled your mouth and nose, immediately making you scream in your mind. You needed air. Kicking your legs, you fought your way to the surface and away from the creature, but you were already lightheaded and black spots were filling your vision.

You were going to die with water in your lungs and no one knowing where you were.

Claws suddenly hooked into your arms and you screamed as you sped upwards, exploding out of the water and landing hard on the dock.

Sea water burned as it rushed out of you, nearly making you throw up from gagging so much. You just laid there, grateful for every breath and once you had the strength, you lifted your head to look back at the ocean.

Unblinking red eyes stared up at you, the rest of the creature's face hidden in the water.

You stared at each other for several moments, your heart pounding in your ears.

It spoke.

"I am in your debt." It said in a low, rumbling voice.

Before you could get a word out, it's head dipped below the water, disappearing into the dark. Like it had never even been there.

You should've just stayed home.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Taming the Tiger Shark

The tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) is a common sight for divers, fishermen, and tourists in the tropical waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They are often found around sea grass fields or coral reefs, and tend to prefer warm, shallower waters near the coastline or surrounding atolls and islands. The northern end of their range extends up to the northern borders of the United States and China, while their southern range reaches down to Brazil, Madagascar, and the eastern coast of Australia.

While they're slightly smaller than great whites, G. cuvier is still one of the largest carnivores in the ocean. Adults can grow up to 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) long and weigh between 300 and 900 kg (700 and 2,000 lb). Females tend to be larger than males, but the two sexes are otherwise indistinguishable. Individuals are typically bluish gray or green, with a white or light yellow underbelly; this provides them with camouflage, as fish swimming overhead or below are unable to pick out the shark's silhouette against the dark or light background, respectively.

As an apex predator, G. cuvier has few predators of its own. Juvenile tiger sharks will often fall prey to other sharks, including adults of their own species. Orcas are also occasionally known to prey on tiger sharks, but these occurrences are rare. In their own food chain, G. cuvier has a large appetite and will eat almost anything. Coral reef fish are a common target, though their speed and small size makes them harder to catch. More often tiger sharks will prey on cephalopods, crustaceans, sea snakes, turtles, sea birds, and a host of marine mammals like dolphins, dugongs, sea lions, and young, injured, or dead whales. Inadvertently, tiger sharks will also consume garbage such as bottles tires, earning them the nickname 'The Garbage Can of the Ocean'.

Tiger sharks are primarily active at night. Contrary to other sharks, G. cuvier has excellent eyesight, as well as a keen sense of smell. In addition, tiger sharks have two special sensory organs. The lateral line extends down the length of the body and can detect minute vibrations in the water. Ampullae of Lorenzini are small electroreceptors located on the snout; these detect the weak electrical impulses generated by prey. All these features make it easy for tiger sharks to find a meal, and once located their body shape allows them to put on a burst of speed and make quick turns to catch their target. Most of the time, this hunting practice is done alone, but occasionally groups of tiger sharks will gather to scavenge a large carcass or for the mating season.

Male tiger sharks mate every year, while females only reproduce every three years. Breeding seasons differ based on location; in the Northern Hemisphere mating occurs between March and May, while in the Southern Hemisphere it's between November and January. During this time, dozens or even hundreds of sharks may gather to find mates. Females carry their young for up to 16 months, at which time they give live birth. Tiger sharks are ovoviviparous, meaning that eggs are fertilised and hatch inside the mother; this species is also unique in that they employ a technique called embryotrophy, in which young gestate in sacks which are filled with an embryonic fluid. A single litter of tiger sharks may contain between 10 to 80 pups, and each one may live up to 12 years in the wild.

Conservation status: The IUCN has classified the tiger shark as Near Threatened. While exact numbers are unclear, a great many tiger sharks are killed each year for their skin, fins, and liver. This species also has a reputation for vicious attacks, and while they can be aggressive when threatened, only a handful of shark attacks occur each year.

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Photos

Neil Hammerschlag

Brian Skerry

David Snyder

[pleistocene-pride]

Sphyraena barracuda better known as the great barracuda, is a species of large, predatory ray-finned fish which is endemic to the tropical and warm temperate waters world wide, particularly Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. They can often be found in mangrove forests and coral reefs up to 360ft (110m) in depth. Great barracuda are voracious ambush predators which rely on surprise and short bursts of speed up to 27 mph (43 km/h) to overrun their prey. Their diet typically consists of jacks, herrings, sardines, gobies, silversides, anchovies, mullets, octopi, shrimp, and lizardfishes, as well as carrion. Great barracuda are themselves eaten by sharks, tuna, dolphins, orca, and goliath grouper. Reaching on average around 24 to 40 inches (60 to 102cms) in length and 5 to 20lbs (2.3 to 9kgs), with exceptionally large individuals reaching upwards of 4.9ft (1.5m) and 50lbs (23kgs) in weight, great barracuda are one of the largest barracuda species. Great barracuda are elongated fish with large pointed heads and powerful jaws. The lower jaw of the large mouth juts out beyond the upper. Barracudas possess strong, fang-like teeth that are unequal in size and set in sockets in the jaws and on the roof of the mouth. The two dorsal fins are widely separated, with the second dorsal fin being placed above the similar sized anal fin. The lateral line is prominent and extends straight from head to tail. The pectoral fins are placed low down on the sides. In terms of coloration The Great barracuda is blue gray above, fading to silvery and chalky-white below, with the fins being dark purple tipped in white. Sometimes, a row of darker crossbars occurs on its upper side, with black blotches on each lower side. The spawning season lasts from April to October, during such time females release about 5,000 to 30,000 eggs. Under ideal conditions a great barracuda may live upwards of 14 years.

[krastbannert]

FFF #256 - color of the deep

Huh, this is a record for me, I think. It's only been two weeks since I did one of these.

@flashfictionfridayofficial

Prompt was Muted Colors, posted on AO3 as "color of the deep."

Is this the best thing I've ever written? Absolutely not. Was it fun? Yes, actually, it was, and I finally got to briefly describe what mermaids in this universe look like, so that was fun.

------

“The true beauty of the sea is only seen from beneath the waves.” - Kasoni proverb

------

The first thing he notices are the colors.

Everything is distorted, muted, grayed out, like a film was placed over a lens.

It’s strange, he thinks. It’s a different world down here. It’s at once totally alien, completely against everything he has ever known, and yet…something feels so familiar. Not like home, but something so incredibly close that he can’t put a name to it.

He glances around, blinking against the water; the feeling of breathing in water, even knowing that whatever spell that Ilaera and Aris had conjured was working, was so alien, but it offered so much.

He’d never seen her home. Not really. Hakim had only seen photographs, and even then, only once. Rya almost couldn’t believe him when he told her that - she’d just stared across the poker table, her cards folded in her hands, mouth practically on the floor.

“Really, geezer? Of all the places you’ve been, you haven’t been down there?”

He’d just shrugged. He grew up in the desert, and not exactly near the coast, either - she’d seen his home, seen the desert and the stark beauty that lay hidden within.

“What’s it like?” he asks.

Rya had just paused for a moment, and closed her eyes, as if she was somewhere else, sometime else, almost.

“I’ll show you.”

(He can remember when he’d told her the same thing, what feels like a lifetime ago.)

It takes months, but finally, somehow, they end up in Kasoni, and she takes him to the reef she’d grown up on - it’s the exact opposite of the desert he’d born to.

Everywhere he looks, there’s life. He floats along with the current, barely kicking his feet, gazing on as fish dart in and out of the coral, a spectacle of shimmering, muted color that he’s never imagined in his wildest dreams. He can glance up above him, at the surface of the water, and even in the day it sparkles like starlight.

But what he can’t stop looking at is the colors.

They’re everywhere he looks.

Red and green and orange and blue and purple and yellow and a thousand other colors he can’t even begin to name, but all somehow dark and distorted. 

And yet, somehow, it’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

So many colors flash before his eyes as he clumsily kicks his feet, hovering over the coral, that he can’t help but stare, no matter what he tries.

They flash in front of his eyes, on the fish and coral and even in the water itself, somehow, and he barely even knows where to look.

A tiny orange and white clownfish pokes out of an anemone, stares at him for a brief moment, then darts back into the waving tentacles. A moray, mottled green and yellow, stares at him, lazily watching out of its little corner. A spotted grouper - a massive fish, almost as big as him, he thinks - darts faster than he could have imagined after an octopus that changes color even as he watches.

(Hakim can scarcely believe it.

All his life, he’d remembered color in the clothes and the glass of his village.

But here, deep beneath the waves in the reefs of Kasoni, color is everywhere.)

(If he could stay here for a thousand years, he would.)

Even Rya, somewhere in the distance, shines with color, the scales of her tail a glimmering gold and turquoise beacon in the distance. (She was whispering to something massive - a shark, she’d said, that she’d known when they were both just pups. )

(He never pretended to understand her.)

Hakim barely pays attention to her, though, even when she swims back to his side, darting around him with an unbelievable grace. He just stares at the colors all around him, at the iridescent light that shines down from above the water, at the way it shines on the coral and the fish.

(They’re muted and indistinct, and he knows that some scientist would say it’s because of the water, because it blocks the light and the colors this far down.

He’d tell them to come down here, and see for themselves, just how little that mattered.)

“How do you like it?” Rya asks him later when they finally, finally come to the surface, her smile bearing her sharp canines, her gills fluttering in the air.

(Maybe it’s just the spell that let him stay underwater with Rya, but somehow, even her face, still striped gold and yellow and with tiny fins on the side and back of her neck, seems just a little more colorful.)

(He’d shown her the desert, and the beauty that lived in the harshest place on Iera.

She’d shown him the ocean, and the most colorful world he’d ever imagined.)

Hakim just smiles as he thinks of the world of color below them, at the grayed out, muted world that somehow had more life than anywhere else he’d seen in his life.

(It was enough, almost, to make him believe again.)

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

[wholesome-sharks]

Odysea Aquarium, Scottsdale AZ

Mom took me and my sister to the Odysea last month for my birthday! Sorry I haven't posted sooner but HERE ARE THE PICS!

This window over the downstairs bathroom sink was officially voted coolest bathroom in the USA (the plaque said 2017, I think). Why? Because it views into the Voyager shark tank. Trevally, other fish, and FIVE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF SHARKS swim past this window and will even go behind the bubble screen while people are washing their hands. I couldn't get a pic of the sandbar shark when it swam by the window bc it went by pretty quick. But this restroom is by the front entrance and it is the perfect appetizer to a gourmet experience.

Also, trevally are HUGE.

Here is the mascot species of the Odysea, a sand tiger/gray nurse/ragged tooth shark. The bubble fountain at the back of the photo hides the bathroom window.

The Sea Trek tank on the upper floor had mostly tropical fish, but it had a zebra shark and A BONNETTHEAD SHARK! SQUEEEEE!!!! Internally crying for joy!!!!

Brown-banded Bamboo Shark in the shark/ray touch aquarium. A couple of times while I was hanging out by this tank I saw it roll onto its side and scratch itself in the sand--I've seen that on video so I jumped whenever I saw it happen. The cownose rays in the touch tanks are absolutely spoiled and swim up to the surface for pets ASAP when they see you approach.

Benthic buddies: here's the brown-banded bamboo shark lying next to the white-spotted bamboo shark.

Magnificent zebra shark in the movie theater tank. The movie theater would play 10-minute videos and then move the screen back up between showings. I think this was probably my favorite tank. There was a second zebra shark (Stegostoma tigrinum) in this tank.

They also had LEOPARD SHARKS (Triakis semifasciata) !!!!!! again, my cup runneth over!

Epaulette sharks in the Great Barrier Reef tunnel. The one laying on the glass was a male and so he was flashing EVERYONE with his claspers (blurry pic--but maybe that's for the better). There was also an epaulette shark in the stingray touch tank.

Got to spend a few moments of shared eye contact with this epaulette shark💖

Back to the Voyager tank. Here is a sandbar shark and the head of a LEMON SHARK. There were at least two lemon sharks in the Voyager tank. It took me a moment to recognize them. The Voyager tanks are kind of dark, and ofc with no natural sunlight the lemon sharks don't get to show off their color properly. Maybe they should change the light fixtures.

Here's a sandbar shark again along with a view of the reef in the Voyager tank. Again, the trevally are ENORMOUS, bigger than the blacktip reef shark (either that, or BTRs are just small). I deliberately avoided taking too many photos and focused more on the experience, so these are just the highlights of the sharks. Also I've seen the giant Amazon rainforest fish before so no need to repeat.

Have some random aquarium denizens:

Aquarium review: They definitely put money and effort into making the aquarium a good home for the animals as well as engaging and educational for visitors. I was able to be up close and personal with the sharks, which was exactly what I wanted. I feel like the rotating Voyager exhibit is a little overrated--the cheesy Holiday-themed narration didn't help. Aquarium staff kept their distance but were helpful when needed. Starbucks on the second floor is nice. Super expensive but definitely worth it. 8 out of 10.

[suryp]

It was a calm day.

The water was clear, the waves calm, and the sun shined through them. Mothers dark dorsal absorbed the light, but her pale belly was painted with the shine, even as far down as we were.

"Are you ready to go out today?"

She'd been pressing me. I was two meters long by then, and had yet to see open water.

"Um..."

"There's no need to worry. Predators don't like calm days like this, and we don't need to go far."

"...alright. Lets go."

So we went. Even to the outer reefs, hunters avoided mother. Small fish crowded around the flotsam, some like islands more than twice her length, casting shadows down below. We continued onto the barrens, then the jelly fields, avoided stingers as we went, and eventually made it to the wall.

"..."

"...It's alright sweetie. I'll be right behind you."

"...ok."

We swam slowly, cautiously. I curved my neck in every direction, to see what was out there. Above us, only driftwood. Below... I flipped over to get a better look.

Nothing.

Just shadow. the light slowly fading in the dark water. I turned back. My dappled gray skin wasn't so obvious as mothers black, but I had spots that might give me away.

We rose to breathe, I stayed just below mother, her flippers curved under to cradle me, the hard skin at their edges could cut sharks.

I lifted my head up, out of the water...

Something cut my sides.

In a panic, I thrashed and dove, before quickly finding cover on the underside of the driftwood, clinging to it with fins.

And I looked to the void.

And then I looked for mother.

Blood... her blood. Mothers blood was around me, it was still falling into the water. I could taste it...

...Falling?

Cautiously, I crept to the side, preparing to look up and out of the water...

A great pile of flesh crashed into the waves. The taste was intoxicating, and filled me with fear...

So I swam. Away. I didn't know where. Open water wasn't familiar, and there were no landmarks to tell where home was.

...I'm lucky to be alive.

The people I swim with now are not like me. They do not speak my language, cannot speak it, with only two flippers and no neck, and I can only sing a fraction of their songs over a fraction of the distance...

But they are kind. They have learned my strengths, and support my function in the pod. Together, we are more effective hunters.

But not really a family. I guard their pups with my agility, wrestle large game with my size, and am allowed to eat first with hunts I help with, but I can not sing their songs, and there is nowhere to write or draw in this abyss.

But there are drifters.

The things that took my mother.

And I could not make them pay without my pod.

-

Cast in the same (overall) world as my previous short story (singular paragraph of a story) but with a different main character.

I'm sure at least some of you will be able to figure out whats actually happening here, but if you need help:

The narrator (and their mother) are Plesiosaurs. for a rw species I'd liken them to Tricleidus seeleyi, particularly the illustration by @ddinodan (twitter) on their plesiosauroidea chart, which is also featured on wikipedia.

The pod, who takes the narrator in, are cetaceans most similar to Acrophyseter deinodon, if a bit smaller.

the drifters are... well, it should be pretty obvious. no-one else really uses boats in this setting, since they can't or don't need to.

well. thats a wrap, folks! :3

[blinddreams24]

Revenge

A Mermay Prompt

(Note: there is blood and an aggressive wound in this chapter. I tried not to go into too much detail, but it’s there. You have been warned)

Masterlist

Prev / Next

You made it to the coral reef before Cross showed up. It was weird not seeing him but you figured he was an orca after all and probably had things he needed to do. Like eat. You hadn’t seen him eat since the barracuda incident. Or maybe he was busy with something else. You wouldn’t know until you asked.

Something moved.

Smiling, you turned to greet Cross.

He wasn’t there. Nothing but water and coral. Though, he could be hiding.

Oh, Cross.

You swam up to the boulder you thought he was behind and peeked around it. Nothing.

Huh.

Where did that movement come from then?

Something big, but not Cross big, sped past and brushed your legs. You spun around just in time to see something gray dart behind a boulder.

“Mm?” You questioned into the water. That wasn’t your Cross but maybe they were friendly too?

If it was a siren, that is, and not a shark.

A skeletal head peeked at you from behind the boulder, its eye sockets empty. “You’re a bold one, aren’t you?” His voice, similar to Cross’s but with a little more gravel, questioned you.

You shrugged at him. You weren’t fearless, this new siren definitely had you nervous, but his size didn’t compare to Cross. Which made him far less intimidating.

A grin split his face and he slipped over the boulder like an eel, his shark half moving gracefully as his belly faced the ground as if hiding his move vulnerable part from you. “Have you met a siren before, human?”

You nodded and gestured ‘big’ with your hands. You couldn’t get over the fact that Cross was so much bigger than this shark siren. Also, moving your hands kept them from shaking.

“Big guy, huh?” His face drifted up to be level with yours. You tried not to shrink back or show fear. “Orca, maybe?”

Nod.

He laughed. “Heheheh! Cross is gonna be in trouble~!” Black ink-like fluid drifted out of his eyes as he leaned close and whispered. “Those scars were supposed to stay, little healer.”

Before you could move away or process what was just said, sharp teeth sank into your arm. All hell broke loose as you screamed and fought to get him off your arm. His clawed hands batted away your attacks and dug into your suit.

Bubbles and blood filled the water.

“KILLER!!!” Came a roar that your mind clung to like a lifeline.

The teeth left your arm. “There he is.” Your attacker sounded almost happy.

Cross’s huge form tackled the shark off of you and into a violent scuffle that you could barely keep track of with your tired, foggy mind. Subconsciously, you realized you were bleeding out and needed to get the your first air asap. So you started swimming in the direction you hoped was home.

Your racing heart was the only thing keeping you awake and in motion. You were suffering from blood loss. The sooner you patched yourself up into something resembling stable the better. Just count the coral boulders on your way back. There were… seven between you and the shore. The orange one. You pressed your right hand against the top as you floated over it. It wasn’t all orange. There were greens and grays and reds and pinks. But it had an orange… thing on top. Like a flag.

Six left.

Keep your mind stimulated.

Keep moving.

Stay calm.

The blue boulder. Big ol’ blue tubey thing on top. Like a crown. ‘The Blue Prince’ you’d called it. Mostly green with a few reds and yellows. Very pretty.

You almost bumped into the next boulder, your left hand dragging across the sand.

No. Stay focused. Get to the shore. It wasn’t that far. You’d already made it halfway…ish. You could do it.

“Y/n!”

Hands gently wrapped around your torso and suddenly you were moving much faster. You couldn’t even look at the coral on your way back.

Cross burst out of the water and twisted midair to land with you on top of him. “Y/n! Where’s your healer box? Which one is it?” His hands were gesturing at your stuff.

Right. First aid.

You reached for the correct box but it was further away than you anticipated. Huh. That wasn’t good.

Cross lurched forward on the beach and grabbed the box. With a few heavy shoves, his front was back by your side. He opened it and immediately looked lost. “What do you need?”

You slowly pulled the nozzle out of your mouth. “Tourniquet.” At his confused look you added; “Strap lookin’ thing.” He yanked out the correct item and shoved it in your good hand. After wiggling it up your arm and getting help tearing away the rest of your sleeve, it was tightened and your arm started going numb.

“Now what?”

You sighed. “I need to clean the wound. Do you remember those alcohol wipes?”

The wipes came into view. “My turn.” He gave you a goofy, halfhearted grin.

A breathless chuckle left you. “Yeah, your turn.” You pulled the rest of your sleeve off your arm, avoiding looking directly at the wound.

Cross shuffled closer. “I… I’m gonna start now. Uh… what exactly do I need to do? Just wipe?”

“You need to make sure nothing stays in the wound. Anything that’s not attached to me needs to go.”

“Okay…” A wipe touched your bite mark.

You hissed through your teeth at the pain. Your arm wasn’t completely numb yet and you could still feel pain but it was slowly fading away. It still hurt.

You turned and leaned into Cross’s chest, seeking comfort and safety in the pain. He froze for a moment. Then his free arm wrapped around your back to hold you still as he continued.

“I’m sorry, y/n.”

“Not your fault.” You mumbled into his chest.

“Mmh.” He didn’t sound convinced.

You sighed. “Cross. I don’t have the energy to argue with you. It’s not your fault. End of discussion.”

His chest shook slightly when he chuckled. “Yessir.”

The sharp pains of the wipes slowly turned dull as your arm numbed. It felt more like he was petting you and you melted into him.

“Thank you, Cross.”

“For burning your hide with these cursed wipes? Sure, no problem.” He snarked.

You laughed. “Well, yes. But also for saving me. Twice. Who was that?”

“Killer. He’s… unstable. From what he said during our fight, he was upset that someone tended to my wounds yesterday after our fight. He wanted to get back at you for it.” He curled over you. “I shouldn’t have gotten you involved.”

“Not your fault.” You glared up at him. “It’s Killer’s fault for attacking you in the first place. And it was my choice to help you. You were kinda telling me not to.”

“Heheh. You’d make a good siren.” He poked at your forehead. “Stubborn.”

“Hey. You have to be nice to me. I’m hurt.”

His lopsided smirk was paired with a raised brow. “Oh, yeah? What about the akohole wipes?”

“Alcohol. And I can’t feel it anymore.”

“What?!?” His hand left your back to grab your shoulders and hold you away from his chest. His panicked gaze searched you. “The adrenaline should have already worn off! Why can’t you feel pain?? Y/n! That’s not okay!”

You gestured to the tourniquet. “Tourniquet. It stops blood flow and also numbs the limb. It was the only way to keep me from dying. I can still feel pain. Just not in that arm. Don’t touch it.” His hand whipped away from your arm.

“Lucky. Why didn’t I get a turniket?” He gestured at the still healing scars along his spine.

“Tourniquet. Because it would kill you? Also, I don’t have one big enough.”

“It can kill you?!?”

Laughing, you shoved his worried hands away. “Only if you’re stupid with it!”

“…Ow. So now I’m stupid?” Cross looked down at you with mirth in his eyes.

“Mmm. Maybe just a little bit.”

“Hey!”