#azulashengrotto

[suntails]

🍎⚔️

[puowei]

For the Azul lovers~

(best w/ 🔊)

[inkymers007]

Spoilers for Chapter 8 of TWST!

You know I don't mean to brag, but I think my Azul design was pretty accurate to canon. Also no I haven't watched the chapter yet. I'm still waiting for a translation and I'm mentally preparing myself lmao.

[flowerofbenevolence]

What everyone in Twisted Wonderland is "twisted" from (my opinions and theories) Part 3: Octivinelle

Azul Ashengrotto is twisted from Ursula. The reasons are because he is the housewarden of Octivinelle as well as an Overblotter, obviously giving him a connection to the Great Seven. Also, he has silvery white hair styled in a certain fluffy sort of way that is quite similar to Ursula's. Moreover, he has a beauty mark on the side of lips, just as how Ursula does. Finally, Azul cheats people through contracts that look beneficial and harmless at first glance, but secretly are much more advantageous to him and result in the other party losing something. This is similar to how Ursula cheated Ariel using a contract that held expectations that would be impossible to meet.

Jade Leech is twisted from Jetsam. This is evident, since both their names begin with "J", the surname "Leech" is a reference to a freshwater worm, similar to an eel's long, thin, graceful body and movements, Jade is an eel merman and Jetsam is an eel, they both have an amber-colored left eye, are cunning and manipulative, and have a twin who is associated with eels and whom they are often accompanied by.

Floyd Leech is twisted from Flotsam. This is evident because of reasons that are (unsurprisingly) the same or the same as Jade's. The only two differences are that Floyd and Flotsam both have names that begin with "Flo", and have amber-colored right eyes.

[kimlumiacos]

Happy Beans Day🫘🌱

Azul Ashengrotto

📸 @ そろーさん

[gl0omur4ai]

♥︎ || Snow Innocence : Reboot || ♡

Chapter 1 : A cat surrounded by prey

Warnings : Poor writing, Out of character characters, MENTIONS OF NEGLECT AND ABUSE, let me know if I missed any heh

Word count :

Alkni fun fact : She loves peaches heh

Pervious : Here

Next chapter : Here

Masterlist : Here

The cold, harsh streets was all the white haired child knew for the past two years. 'Oh, poor baby' is what she often heard from people passing by, although they never so much as stopped to even check if she was alive.

At only the age of five, a little girl, whom used to sparkle as bright as sun itself, sat alone in the streets, a soft scarf to keep her warm through the winters wrapped around her neck, the last thing she had to her name. Watching people pass by was all she ever did, watching as families happily enjoyed the cold winter season, something rare for her small town.

'I just.... I just wanna go home....'

The child would mutter every so often, her voice as soft as the snow that would greet her outside. Yet there was no home for her to return to.

"FLOYD???"

The sliver haired man exclaimed as he watched Floyd, much to his utter dismay, attempt to squeeze a customer. The poor unfortunate soul whom Floyd had set his eyes on quickly tried to break out upon Azul calling to the wild dude, only causing Floyd to attempt to squeeze him harder.

"Floyd, I only asked you to make sure my customers were going through on their end of the deal ! Not to..."

Azul started, yet paused as he heard a soft rustle coming from his VIP room, making the octoperson to turn around in confusion after a brief moment. There was no way someone could've snuck behind him and broke into the VIP room in such a short amount of time, and much less be stupid enough to make a sound like that if they did manage to sneak past.

The sound even caught Floyd's attention, who seemed to be interested in what caused the sound, completely forgetting about what he was just doing. "Which'a fishy broke in this time~" Floyd cooed playfully as he happily began to skip towards the VIP lounge, the customer long forgotten about in favor of something more 'fun'.

A soft yawn escaped the young girls mouth, as she snuggled in deeper into her soft white scarf, a gentle warmth she hadn't felt since the day her life fell apart filling her senses.

Warmth....

Shooting upwards, the little dusty black haired girl frantically looked around at her surroundings, not being able to comprehend how she felt warm.

Having lived on the streets for two years, she had grown used to the cold in the winters and the heat in the summers. With nothing to protect her against the elements, she was used to feeling only the extremes of weather. So, it was incredibly odd to her little mind how it suddenly felt like she was back at home.

Rubbing her little ruby red eyes, Alkni glanced around her surroundings, her mind still being slightly clouded by sleep. The room was nothing like what she was used to. Yeah, while she had been well off before the incident money wise, wherever she seemed to be right now, seemed more fancy then she could comprehend.

"A... A kid....?"

A voice broke the child out of her trance as she looked up to see two young men. Alkni flinched, assuming she was about to get in trouble for being somewhere she wasn't supposed to be.

"H-How'd you get here...?"

The sliver haired man asked, looking at her like she was a unicorn who just jumped out of a tv screen. Alkni, albeit confused, shrugged her shoulders before tensing, looking down to the ground. Every time she used to shrug her shoulders, terrible things would happen. Most of the time, she'd be slapped across the face for 'lying', and sometimes, if she was lucky, she'd be yelled at. She had long since left that life, although unwillingly, and she didn't want to go back.

"Thats quite strange.... It isn't supposed to be easy to get into this school, especially much less for a child" A second voice spoke up from behind the two others. "New fishy to play with !" One of what appeared to be two clones cheered happily as he rushed over to the child, grabbing her in his arms and squeezing her tightly.

Alkni froze as she felt the strange dude who seemed to be around the age of her brother the last time she saw him, squeeze her. When was the last time she felt such love, such warmth, from others. The last time it happened, she was left alone. Ditched on the side of the road like trash left behind for pick up day.

'L... let go of me ! I... I wanna be alone !"

The child suddenly yelled, tears brimming her soft red eyes. She didn't want to trust such warm and happy feelings again. She didn't want to be left in the dirt again. She was much happier by herself than when she was with her family. She had spent two years convincing herself of that and it wasn't going to go to waste.

"Woah ! This ricefishy is feisty !"

Floyd chuckled, making Alkni panic. Quickly pushing herself out of Floyd's grasp, she quickly turned to run towards the door, only to end up stumbling, her little legs failing her as she had been so used to sitting in one spot that her legs had grown weak.

"Here, it's okay"

Said the other clone softly, walking towards her to pick her up. Seeing someone's hand reaching out to her, she felt all the fear she had been bottling up for her entire life fill her sense. Without so much as missing a heartbeat, she lurched towards the unknown mans hand, biting it as hard as possible. She wasn't going to be hurt again. She didn't want to scolded again. She didn't want to go back.

'Fishy.... taste...?" She thought to herself, pausing mid-bite to look up at him. Her family would sometimes bring seafood home for dinner if they had made enough money that week for dinner, and would toss her some random leftovers sometimes if they were feeling charitable, and this man tasted so much like food that she couldn't help the urge but to try and nibble away at him.

Jade flinched back in shock, his usually calm demeanor faltering for a moment as he watched this random child try to eat him alive. Floyd, who found this whole situation amusing, couldn't hold back a laugh as he watched the interaction go on.

Suddenly, a pair of gentle hands lifted her small body off the floor, pulling her away from Jade. Jade quickly wiped his now slightly wet hand on his shirt, before standing next to Azul, who held the small child in his arms. "Shes so.... thin?" Azul whispered to Jade, while Floyd, who had already gotten bored of the entire situation walked off.

"Hey, how about I bring you something to eat and we can talk about how you ended up here, hm?" Azul said softly to the child, needing to know how she broke into such a palce.

A/N : Whoooieeee... First chapter doneze ! Uhm, honestly, my writing has improved A LOT since December of last year, and since my old Tumblr accounts 1 year ani was like 4 days ago, I thought I might as well rewrite this !

[0pawprint0]

I went to Missouri Anime Fest! I had fun for as long as I got to stay there (the guys who came with me wanted to leave early because they’re party poopers 💀). I didn’t get to get as many pictures as I’d have liked because of this. I saw so many awesome cosplayers! Luckily, there was at least another Teen Titan I could get a picture with (I was Terra) lol. 

Greg Cipes wasn’t there, which was a bummer. Apparently he cancelled and they just… never put it on the website. I literally lapped the place like three times and couldn’t find his table, so I asked a staff member and they were basically like, "oh yeah, he cancelled lol." At least I got to see Greg Baldwin and Dante Basco though!

It was so cute, Greg Baldwin was showing everyone his tattoos, one representing Iroh and the other was Aku (Samurai Jack). There was actually tea cups on the table you could buy for him to sign and I considered getting one tbh. He asked all of us in line if we wanted to sing Secret Tunnel with him. So we sang Secret Tunnel with Uncle Iroh! And you could probably hear us across the hall. And since Dante and his tables were a little apart (the guests’ tables weren’t right next to each other), when they split off, Dante told him "see you later, Uncle." 🥺💖 When I saw Dante, he asked me what Zuko quote I wanted and my brain short circuited, so he put a classic on there, but after I left I realized what I should’ve had him put. "That’s rough, buddy." I say it all the time. I can’t believe I forgot 😭 I didn’t talk to him as long as I did Greg because that was around the time whine babies wanted to leave 😒 and also I was nervous and didn’t know what all to say. He liked my cosplay though!

Also, I blocked out my name again because I’m still too nervous to share it online dhdndn 

There was one stand I really loved and kept coming back to. Twst is currently my fav game and I hardly see stuff for it anywhere, so I was really excited to see this booth had some stuff for it! And I bought every single one of the acrylic stands. I love them 🩵 Because it was such a big purchase, they gave me a discount ^^ If they see this somehow, thank you! I also came back later and bought a Grim pin because he’s a precious baby boy and I love him. I’ll post the acrylic close ups in a different post!

The Winx poster is from the artist I bought the Grim pin and Twst acrylics from. I was gonna buy some pillows, stickers, and keychains from them, too, but I wanted to make sure I still had money left to take home lmao. Maybe one day if I see them at a con or online again I’ll get the pillows and keychains. 

I love silly earrings, so I bought some and some more pins at another booth.

Tbh it’s a good thing they didn’t have every character because I would’ve found a way to buy them all. They had my top 5 and I am SO glad. The fact they had ALL of Octavinelle?! That’s my dormmmmm! Azul best boy I love him <3

[gendafluid-goblin]

Silly Octopus pt2

THIS IS A FIC ABOUT AZUL HAVING AN ED PLEASE DO NOT READ IF THIS WILL TRIGGER OR MAKE YOU RELAPSE!!

Mostly a filler chapter of them learning how to function on land as they switch over and is pretty lighthearted before the really bad stuff comes

CW for pt2: very beginning Floyd talks about Azul’s body and pinches him. nothing else unless you want to include the tweels eating octopus dishes in front of Azul?

Azul was not left alone for the next 9 years. The twins still came around and hung out and talked with him thinking how they could trick people into making deals with Azul. They then took the carriage ride to Night Raven College and all three of them were put into Octavinelle. They all struggled with the switch from tailfins and tentacles to legs. Luckily NRC gave all merfolk students some classes before the real school year classes began that eased the switch a bit.

“Aww Azul, look your waist isn’t as chucky and squishy anymore.” Floyd complained, poking his friend's stomach and hips. Azul hadn’t actually seen what he had looked like with human features yet but was relieved to know he appeared thinner.

“Oh! Nevermind you still have some squishy parts here!” Floyd gave a wide smile pinching Azul’s stomach and sides quietly laughing to himself. And there went Azul’s confidence in his new body. He didn’t know why he had an expectation of looking thinner on land. Even though he wasn’t in his merfolk octopus body he was still slow and bigger than the other kids probably. Floyd eventually got tired of pinching and pulling on Azul and found something else to mess with and Azul spaced out debating if he wanted to look into the mirror at himself now or not. In the end he decided not to look at himself in fear of what exactly he would see.

Azul and the twins slowly made their way towards the room where all the merfolk got training and a rundown of NRC and the land. While the twins were having much less of an issue walking down the long hallway, only having to take slower shorter steps, Azul was holding onto the railing screwed into the wall to support his wobbly legs. After a few minutes which felt like forever for Azul they arrived at the training room. About 14 other students were already in the room sitting and chatting with each other. With no railing in the room Azul started to panic and sat in the seat closest to the door. Jade and Floyd joined him at the table smiling to each other as Azul looked around the room to see if he recognized anyone, to see if he would also be tormented at this school even in his new form. Everyone sat and talked except for Azul who was too focused on trying to come up with ideas on how he could be on the top of the school. He checked his watch impatiently. Class should’ve started already, maybe Night Raven College wasn't as good as a school it claimed to be if the teachers couldn’t even show up on time. Right after that the thought popped into his head there was a loud clap followed by a deep laugh.

“Welcome to Land Training little fish!” a very muscular man walked into the class wearing a red athletic jacket. Azul already felt dread just by looking at the man with his over the top loud voice. “My name is Coach Vargas. I’m the Physical Education teacher here and I'm going to teach all of you,” he paused and looked every merfolk student in the eye “how to get strong and buff!” Mentally, Azul had slammed his head against the desk several times.

“Um..We aren’t here for PE sir. We just need training on how to move around and adjust to our human bodies.” a random student spoke up to the buff teacher.

“I know that!” Vargas boomed and laughed to himself “But you need muscle for that don’t you!” the way he said it wasn’t actually a question but what he viewed as a fact. Azul had decided he’d rather teach himself at this rate because this oaf knew nothing. Class had droned on about the basics, left foot then right foot and repeat followed by some leg exercises to strengthen the muscles. It was time for lunch so everyone in class had made their way towards the school cafeteria. Everyone got food they had picked out from the lunch ghost and found places to sit and eat.

Azul picked and poked at his food but hadn’t yet taken a bite. “He looks like a lobster” Floyd had laughed with a mouth full of food. Jade nodded in agreement that their teacher did in fact remind him of a lobster from the Coral Sea. Jade and Floyd talked while eating, well Floyd talked WHILE eating but Jade talked in between eating.

 “Not gonna eat your food Azul?” Jade looked from Azul’s plate to Azul.

“It's weird having..cooked food.” Azul turned over his food again, looking at it suspiciously. “How are you two able to get used to it so fast?”  he looked to his peers and glanced at their nearly empty plates.

Floyd let out a quick laugh and Jade smiled at Azul, “Simple, we choose food that had something we already knew we enjoyed at home in it.” Now Azul was interested. Land had some of the same food from the Coral Sea so he could find some comfort and find something like his mom made for the restaurant here too?

“What was this dish you two were able to find?’ Azul straightened up looking over the plates again, it didn’t look like anything he had seen before.

Floyd grinned wide, “Takoyaki.” was all he said. Azul waited for him to expand his finding but it didn’t seem like it was going to happen as Floyd finished off his plate, so he looked to Jade.

“I had some delicious octopus carpaccio for myself.” Jade said after he finished eating the last of his plate. Azul looked at him in horror and then back to Floyd. If Jade was eating octopus what was the other twin eating?

Floyd only smiled before saying “Hope your family is okay.” Azul was once again horrified that his peers were eating octopus right in front of him! Both the twins got up to drop their dishes off with the ghost in charge of cleaning dishes leaving Azul alone and shocked. He did not eat his food and instead tossed it in the trash and gave his plate to the ghost.

[kimydraw]

Azul Glorious Masquerade Twisted Wonderland finally finished (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧#twistedwonderland #azul #azulashengrotto #twstファンアート #twstプラス #twst #fanart #digitalart #illustration #drawing #paintings #art #twistedwonderlandfanart #semirealism #instaart #artissupport #gamejolt https://www.instagram.com/p/CnAGyimuT-_/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[twisted-wonderland-fandub]

Join us on discord if your interested in voice-acting someone! https://discord.gg/ykwmrDEH #twistedwonderland #twst #twstプラス #twstコスプレ #twistedwonderland #riddlerosehearts #treyclover #caterdisamond #acetrappola #deucespade #azulashengrotto #jadeleech #floydleech #jamilviper #kalimalasim #idiashroud #orthoshroud #leonakingscholar #ruggiebucchi #jackhowl #vilscheonheit #rookhunt #epelfelmier #malleusdraconia #liliavanrouge #sebekzigvolt #silvertwistedwonderland #samtwistedwonderland #grimmtwistedwonderland #yuutwistedwonderland #neigeleblanche https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm7Y40CP-sV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[daduic-lacuentista]

EL HEREDERO DE CAMELOT - TWISTED WONDERLAND - ☀️RUTA DE KALIM AL-ASIM - CAPITULO 3☀️ (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1465642927-el-heredero-de-camelot-twisted-wonderland-%E2%98%80%EF%B8%8Fruta?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_reading&wp_uname=Daduic_LaCuentista ✧☾✧ --------- | ⋆ ✩ ⋆ | --------- ✧☾✧ Como siempre la supervisora de Ramshackle se vio en vuelta en una lucha contra un Overblot, solo que ahora en la academia rival, la Royal Sword Academy. Para su mala o buena suerte, el destino de la chica cambio tras esa lucha... ✧☾✧ --------- | ⋆ ✩ ⋆ | ---------- ✧☾✧ FANFIC DE TWISTED WONDERLAND X OC FANFIC DE NIGHT RAVEN COLLEGE vs ROYAL SWORD ACADEMY CATEGORIA: Doble Twisted (TT) - Del +15 al +17 ADVERTENCIAS: Esta historia contiene contenido adulto como: - Alusión a teoría de Twisted Wonderland - Aparición de personajes OC - Violencia y/o abuso - Lenguaje fuerte (ósea groserías) - Personaje x T/N Los personajes presentes en esta historia no me pertenecen (con excepción de los OC o Personajes Originales, esos son míos y de Hana-sensei), si no a Aniplex, Walt Disney Japan y a la toda poderosa y hermosa Yana Toboso ⋆ ✩ ⋆ ✩ ⋆ Disfruten la lectura ⋆ ✩ ⋆ ✩ ⋆

[suntails]

🐍⚔️

[inkymers007]

So I just learned that there's a version of the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. Where it's a gay metaphor and it's based on a gay man pinning for another man.

SO WHO WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT MY IDEAS OF A LITTLE MERMAID AU WITH AZUL AND VALERIO!?!?

[emiken-070907]

TWST Tarot Card No. 1 - The Magician [REUPLOAD]

The Magician symbolises willpower, desire, creation and manifestation, as well as trickery and illusions.

I swear to CHRIST THE TROUBLE THIS CARD GAVE ME. I had over 10 drafts, of which I liked none. At one point my save file corrupted so I had to watch the saved timelapse, screenshot it and work from there.

I should be payed ffs. Now I am a card behind <33

Changed some things from the original upload - also a reupload so cards stay in numeral order!! :>

(also posted on my Insta emiken_070907!!! :D)

[ashensgrotto]

The Sea's Sacrifice (Part 1)

Characters: AzulAshengrotto / Jade Leech / Floyd Leech x F!Reader

Total Word Count: 14.7k+

Part 1 (You are Here) Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Synopsis: A potential job as a marine biologist’s assistant leaves (Y/N) feeling something fishy going on behind the scene…

Author's Notes: Original Idea came from @merakiui 's annonymous ask with a short story / headcannon -> https://www.tumblr.com/merakiui/684490143936167936/ooohhh-i-love-those-writing-ideas-you-had-for-sea?source=share

and I absolutely love this concept and wanted to take it a step further. I don't write yandere nor fanfiction as much as I did a few years ago. However, I do hope I do this piece justice; I will had links to the next part once it is completed and ready for viewing.

Also, this is a work of fiction. I disagree anyone that justifies the following behaviors which are represented in this fic (if I think of more, I will add them as I go):

rape/non-consent/dub-consent, possessive/controlling/dominating behaviors, and manipulation

Cruel and cold like winds on the seas

Will you ever return to me

Hear my voice sing with the tide

My love will never die

Over waves and deep in the blue

I will give up my heart for you

***

If someone were to tell you that you’d eventually be pulled into the wrong end of the sea by, not one but three, unknown sea creatures - you’d probably laugh your head off, thinking they’ve lost their mind.

But how wrong you’d be.

When you had initially applied to work at Twisted Wonders - an emporium of oddities that were collected and studied by the greatest minds in existence - you thought you’d be taking an everyday desk job; answering phone calls, scheduling tours, directing visitors… that sort of thing. 

Never in your right mind would you believe that you would be working alongside the Dire Crowley - director and owner of Twisted Wonders. Mr. Crowley was an acclaimed renowned genius with an air that was both mysterious and alluring. He was approximately 170 cm in height (five feet, seven inches) and wore rich tailored clothing made of silks and leather with gold embroidery and jewels embedded into the vest and belt; of course, he upped his strange allure by consistently wearing a heavy leather overcoat that hung to his frame, decorated in black feathers - real or faux, no one was sure, a top hat that perched on his head, and a mask of black that reminded you of a crow - his arched nose hidden under the long rim of the mask that poked out like a beak. 

“Here’s the deal, (Y/N),” Mr. Crowley spoke, reclining back in his desk chair as a pair of golden eyes peered out from behind the mask, “We’ve recently acquired three creatures that need to be observed. My team, however, has been unsuccessful at getting remotely close to studying them. They seem to think that an outsider might have a higher success rate at being able to approach them more than any of us will due to their knowing who we are.”

“So, what is it exactly that you want me to do?”

“I want you to observe them,” Mr. Crowley spoke, pushing a contract towards you, “You will work with my group of scientists for about three months as well as the three creatures. You are to notate anything and everything you see the trio doing - how they eat, sleep, react with each other, and so forth - and document everything for our records, no matter how insignificant it is. If you prove your worth and competence within those three months, you will be moved to another position within the facility of your choosing.”

“And that’s it? That’s all I need to do?”

“That’s it.”

‘Seems pretty easy for a payment of twenty dollars an hour…’ you thought as you looked down at the contract before, “And this is my… compliance, right?”

“That would be correct, as well as a safety and confidentiality agreement,” Mr. Crowley answered, offering a pen in your direction.

You took the instrument and wrote your name across the bottom of the page on the dotted line.

“Alright,” Dire Crowley took the contract and stood, pressing a buzzer on his desk, “with everything in order, I’ll have Grimsley take you to meet Divus Crewel and Mozus Trein - the overseers of our aquatic project.”

“I’m sorry, did you say aquatic?” your eyes widened in surprise.

“Dear me, did I forget to mention that part?” Mr. Crowley tapped his chin, his glowing eyes looking up toward the ceiling before returning to rest on your features, “Our newest arrivals are of the oceanic nature - I’ve never met or seen them myself, however Professor Crewel and Professor Trein will be able to go over the basics with you and introduce you to the trio in question.”

“As long as they don’ forget the good stuff!” a snarky voice spoke from behind.

You turned in your chair toward the door to see the man who must’ve been Grimsley.

He was about 163 cm in height with pale skin and dark gray hair with tufts of flame blue poking out in random directions. His eyes also were flame blue and held mischief in their depths that matched the smirk on his face as a set of sharp teeth peered out from behind thin lips. He wore a suit of black with a vest that matched his hair, a black and white-striped tie, and a white dress shirt. Leather loafers padded softly against the carpeted flooring of Crowley's office as he held out a black leather gloved hand in greeting.

"Grimsley Overblot," the man smiled like a Cheshire cat, "I'm Mr. Crowley's henchman and errand runner here at Twisted Wonders."

"(Y/N) (L/N)," you answer, taking Grimsley's hand with a shake, "pleasure to meet you."

“Grimsley, go ahead and take (Y/N) to see the good professors,” Dire Crowley spoke, a satisfied smile on his features, “I’m sure the two are more than ecstatic to meet her.”

***

As it turns out, both men were ecstatic to meet you - though Professor Trein was a bit more reserved about it versus his partner.

Trein's appearance matched his personality - his posture indicated a "no nonsense" aura as did his unchanging features. His lips would quirk into a small smile before they would fall to a straight line as his dark eyes settled on your uneasy form, as if he enjoyed watching you squirm like a germ under the microscope. He was dressed as any scientist would; a heavy white lab coat that fell to his knees hung around his frame that covered a white dress shirt and charcoal-colored dress pants and loafers. His hair was gray with streaks of white and wrinkles covered every inch of his face and neck.  He also wore a set of white pristine gloves and had a cravat around his neck with a singular emerald gem that held the cloth together.

As for his partner, Professor Crewel was a bit more… eccentric. Crewel had a sort of energy about him that reminded you of a young dog - not a puppy, but not an adult either. He was always cocking a smile that bore teeth, chuckling when he patted the top of your head as he called you "puppy." His clothing matched his laidback ideals too - a heavy black and white fur coat with a red silk lining covered the charcoal gray dress shirt and pants. His vest was black on one side, white on the other, and wore a red tie that matched the gloves on his hands.

“So,” Crewel spoke after introductions, pulling a cigarette out of his pants pocket and lighting the object, “any questions before we get you set up?”

“I guess my big question is what exactly will I be working with?” you ask.

“We believe the trio to be mers, but they’re not your typical ones,” Trein explained with a sniff as his features twisted at the smell of Crewel’s smoke,  “All three of them have the upper bodies of men, but lower halfs of sea creatures. Two of the three half the lower half of what we believe to be that of a moray eel and the third the lower half of an octopus. The twins are typically more curious of the three, though they can be aggressive. Several of our closest colleagues were attacked by the duo after accidentally disturbing them - their bites have left scars and one of our colleagues actually lost their leg from their attack.”

“... and you don’t think I will?” you had to question, the comment coming out high-pitched.

“Well, moray eels - specifically - will attack only if they have been disturbed,” Crewel answered nonchalantly, “We believe there are similarities between the animals and the mers, which is why we are gathering as much information as we can. We want to know what the similarities and differences are between moray eels and the twins.”

“Okay, but I still don’t see how I won’t get attacked by those two. And what about the third?”

“You won’t be attacked as long as you stay still and don’t make any sudden movements,” Trein answered, “Once they get used to you, you’ll know.”

“As for the third,” Crewel answered, “he’s a cecaelia - half man, half octopus.”

You blink, “Don’t moray eels eat octopi?”

“Typically, yes,” Trein answered, “which is strange, in this case. The trio were originally found off the coast in the Coral Sea - living in harmony with each other. When we brought them here, the moray mers have consistently been surrounding the grotto that is in the enclosure - the cecaelia hiding within and rarely comes out. We think that the cecaelia may have raised the morays, but we’re not completely sure.”

“And it’s been a devil of a time trying to get a glimpse of him too,” Crewel shook his head, eyes rolling to the ceiling.

“You mean you haven’t seen him? Not once?”

“I saw him when he was first brought into the enclosure,” Trein sighed, “however, it was dark and I couldn’t see him very well - the eels could be seen because of the bioluminescence that exists within their bodies, allowing us to see their figures.”

“Speaking of which, come,” Crewel rested a hand to the small of your back, “let’s get you acquainted with our aquatic trio, hm?”

Crewel and Trein led you to the opposite end of their laboratory where a large glass wall stood with a set of double doors that led to what appeared to be the edge of a massive pool. Once inside, the smell of fish and humidity tickled your nose as the sound of lapping of water reverberated in the slightly dimmed room; the only light being illuminated from the pool itself. The gray walls stretched high, the ceiling covered by long triangular beams that permitted the echoes of voices and lapping water in the room. One the far left was a coat rack and a small freezer with a large fan blowing the heated air around the room.

“When you come in - which will be about six-thirty each morning, you’ll hang your coat on the rack and put your lunch in the freezer before feeding your charges,” Crewel explained, walking over to the freezer and lifting the lid, “We always restock the food the night before, so you don’t have to worry about not having anything in here for the day. There will be nine buckets total in the freezer - three for the morning, three for noon, three for dinner - so make sure you dump all three buckets in the water, but don’t toss the actual bucket into the water.”

“What’s in them?” you ask, wrinkling your nose at the mixture within the buckets.

“A collection of shellfish - shrimp, crab, clam, lobster - and assorted fish are what they primarily eat,” Crewel answered as he closed the lid to the freezer, “We’ve tried feeding the moray twins octopi - but they refuse to touch it and often threw it at the feeders when they came in. Also, feel free to wear something comfortable. The water temperature varies from 45℉ to as low as 39℉ so we have to offset that with the atmosphere in our enclosure here at approximately 77℉ to 85℉ - never mind that one of the twins likes to splash newcomers right off the bat.”

“So, shorts are ok?”

“Shorts would be preferred, so yes,” Crewel nodded.

“But not too short - lower thigh length to knee length is acceptable,” Trein chided, “you are also permitted to wear sandals within the enclosure as well as a t-shirt or tank top due to the humidity. However, if you do choose sandals and tank tops - please bring a spare pair of tennis shoes to wear on the way in and on the way out as closed toed and heels are required within the labs and main building as well as something to keep your shoulders covered; this is a place of employment, not enjoyment.”

When you nod, Trein continued.

“After you feed them their breakfast, take a seat and use the notebooks over here to document any findings,” Trein walks to the opposite end of the enclosure, opening a locker filled with office supplies, “Take whatever you think you might need for the day and have a seat at the edge of the pool and begin your observations. It might take a few days before one of the twins actually approaches you, but once they do, you should be able to start the observations with no problems. During your first few days, remember to stay still - morays attack when startled or provoked, which we don’t want to happen. You’ll let them come to you and, hopefully once you get acquainted, you’ll be able to do your observations with no trouble at all.”

“Alright.”

“Your shift will be twelve hours total,” Trein also explained, “you will be expected to eat lunch with the trio and feed them their supper before you leave for the night at six pm and place any of your notes back in the locker here for Crewel or I to collect at the end of the day. When you leave, make sure the door is locked. Typically, we will be here until eight, so we often check the door on our way out - but just so you are aware, the door does get stuck on occasion; you may need to knock on the door a few times and one of us or our staff will get you out.”

You nod again.

“Alright, are there any questions?” Crewel asked.

“No, I think I’ve got it.”

“Very well,” Trein smiles, “We’ll see you tomorrow at six sharp - no later.”

“Thank you very much for this opportunity,” you bow your head to both of them before shaking each of their offered hands as the two escorted you out of the enclosure - none of you aware of the two sets of heterochromia eyes that watched your figure from below the water’s surface.

***

One week passes slowly as you go through the motions as the Twisted Wonders aquatic observer. 

Every morning, you arrive at quarter to six and greet Crewel and Trein at their laboratory doors. After they unlock and head into their own offices, you make your way to the enclosure and place your bag on the coat rack and the brown paper bag that contains your lunch in the freezer before hauling out the three of the nine gallon-sized buckets one at a time and dump the contents into the water, watching a little bit to see if anything will appear to snatch up a meal as the fish disappear into the murky depths of the pool. After watching the last piece of morsel disappear into the depths, you turn toward the locker, grabbing notebooks, pens and anything else you think you need and take a seat at the edge of the pool. 

As the hours pass by, you jot notes down about anything you see - which is nothing.

7:30am: Ripples of water, no sign of the creatures

10:30am: Still no sign of the creatures

12:30pm: Fed mers, no sign of breaking the surface yet - maybe they know I am waiting for them and want nothing to do with me?

2:30pm: Still no sign

4:30pm: I heard a splash, but saw nothing. Maybe they’re nervous?

6:00pm: Fed the mers their supper - Hoping to get a sign of them before I leave today.

Day after day after day, the notes were the same: No sign. No sign. No sign.

By the end of the first week, you were beginning to wonder if you actually would ever see the creatures or if they even existed - or even, heaven forbid, if you were a test subject yourself for believing that there were mers that lived in the enclosure. 

When Saturday morning came, you trudged into the enclosure with a heavy sigh and slowly began to begin the day’s events. Everything you did now seemed slower as the hope of seeing something otherworldly began to diminish like smoke. You pulled the first bucket of food out of the freezer and brought it to the edge of the pool, dumping the contents in before standing to return the bucket to the side of the freezer when something slimy and light hit the back of your head. Your hand instinctively reached up and brushed the hair behind your head, feeling traces of water and slime. You looked down to see what hit you, finding the bottom half of an unidentifiable colored fish laying behind you. 

Your eyes shifted to look out into the pool - but no movement or any indication that something had thrown the half of the fish at you could be seen.

‘Maybe I’m just imagining things,’ you thought as a sigh escaped your lips, picking up the fish and dropping it into the second bucket before it was dumped over the edge of the pool as well.

As you turned your back to grab the last bucket, again something smacked against the back of your head, a clicking sound following shortly afterwards.

‘Ok,’ you thought, a slight smirk appearing on your features as you picked up the large hunk of lobster from the ground, ‘whoever or whatever you are, I’m assuming you want to play. Well, let’s play.’

You grab the last bucket and dump the contents into the water and kneel at the edge - watching like a cat watches a mouse before pouncing. A few moments pass before you feel your back begin to strain, forcing you to stand. As you do, a whole king prawn nearly smacks you in the face as another round of clicking echoes in the enclosure. You whip your face toward the pool, just in time to see two sets of eyes watching you.

Silence defends the enclosure as the three of you stare in silence at one another.

Your heart races as you realize that the creatures staring at you must be the twins.

You can’t see them completely - their entire bodies are hidden under the water while the tops of their heads and their eyes are the only thing being seen from your position at the edge of the pool as they regard you from a few meters away - but you can see that they are nearly mirrors of each other.

They both have skin the color of seaweed with short hair to match - a longer piece the color of deep sea teal arching in the front of their faces. Instead of human ears, they have fins - likely hiding the gills they use to breathe underwater behind them. The one on your left appears to be more cautious than their twin on the right - their eyes are sharp, their right colored brown and left colored gold, and watching every movement you make as if calculating whether to attack you or not. The one on your right appeared to have more of a droopy expression on their face, their lower eyelids dropping into a bored expression, but their gaze is still sharp. Like their twin, their eyes are different colors - the left colored brown and the right colored gold instead.

You swallow thickly, unsure of what to do exactly. 

Moray eels attack if provoked, you recalled Crewel saying, so you didn’t want to make any sudden movements in case they read it wrong and attempt anything. However, it seems that the decision is quickly made when the one on your right slowly approaches the edge of the pool. You stay as still as possible as they approach, their eyes locked on yours as if in a trance. 

When they reach the edge, you can see the length of his body in the murky depths. His skin is a darker seaweed teal with little stripe patterns on his cheekbones and arms - with likely more on his lower body hidden deeper in the depths. Large fins poke out from his lower arms, giving him and his brother the ability to glide through the water quickly. You couldn’t see his tail, but if you had to guess - you thought he could be approximately six feet in length or longer.

Then, salted sea water covers your entire body, causing you to sputter at the surprise at getting splashed as the moray mer peeled in laughter. His brother follows up with three sharp clicks before the duo disappear under the water, leaving you to wonder what in the world just happened.

[lapin0522]