#maybe he's interested in things like coral and anemone too

[meownotgood]

Aki could recreate that one scene from part two of him talking about fishes and other aquatic stuff and I'd listen to it all fully 🥹

Let autistic Aki be autistic,,,

HE WOULD AND I STAND BY THAT!!!!!!! HE LOVES THE AQUARIUM!!!!!!!!!!!

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 21

I'm going to guess the title image is Chilchuck's workshop at his house.

And there are some dolls under the table.

After finally dealing with the undine, the party makes their way to the fifth floor and now have to deal with a winding staircase full of tentacles.

Either the orcs had to just power through all the tentacles or they have thick skins and/or thick clothing to deal with the tentacle stings.

I'm more interested in how they got through the water in the fourth floor. They managed to build a small settlement so they likely had brought tools and supplies with them when they fled their village. Either someone in the orc tribe can cast waterwalk, they brought a boat or the materials to make one, or they just had to swim.

I guess tentacles are actually more like anemones than jellyfish. They're interacting with the trap crevices as if it were a coral reef.

That bit about how they can grow on mimics reminds me of the boxer crab which places small anemones on its claws so it can use their stinging tentacles to hunt prey. Maybe some mimics do something similar.

Marcille has a new hair-do.

I don't think there's anything bad about Laios's idea. We've domesticated tons of plants to be harmless and decorative. Most of the plants we grow for food are the results of centuries of selective breeding.

Kensuke is trembling in every shot he's in. It's probably because of all the tentacles in the area, but I am worried if he feels the sting from the tentacles when Laios cuts them.

Those giant frogs are kinda smart. They observed how the party fought and focused on disabling them before attacking. The frog that grabbed Kensuke likely observed that Laios was using him to cut the tentacles.

Although they're not too smart because they didn't realize that Marcille's staff and Senshi's axe might be similarly dangerous until after they'd managed to kill another frog with them.

Ambrosia is the food of the gods in Greek mythology. It's subtle, but Marcille is a bit of a foodie which is probably a big reason why she's been so frustrated about eating monsters. Makes sense that she'd name her staff after a mythical food item.

That ended up being a really close call for Chilchuck. The party is already trying to rescue one party member from the belly of a beast. They don't need to have a second party member in that scenario.

Chilchuck nearly suffocated inside the frog.

The frog hides have the damage caused to them. Marcille blew one of their heads off, while Senshi sliced one of their heads open.

It took me a second to realize that Senshi was doing something else entirely. I was still thinking they were all making frog suits.

The page of Laios and Chilchuck making suits and the page of Senshi making gnocchi are side-by-side in book format. It adds a little to the whole "They're both making weird things at the same time" feel that Marcille had.

Senshi took off his wrist covering when kneading the dough but put it back on after. Guess he doesn't want to get fur in it. If he's that concerned, he should probably wear a beard-net when cooking.

Love how Chilchuck's outfit is just a sack with legs. They only killed three frogs so they had to sow something up out of whatever parts weren't used.

Also, Laios's outfit is made from the frog that Senshi killed, Senshi's is made from the one Marcille killed, and Marcille's is made from the one Chilchuck killed.

Chilchuck's being real careful with his steps since he's just a little sack with legs. The party had to tie his backpack to him since he doesn't have use of his arms.

The frog suits managed to protect the party from the tentacle stings, but now they're coated in frog blood because Laios wasn't able to tan their hides properly. I would assume a properly tanned frog skin wouldn't be good at protecting them against against tentacles because what probably keeps the frogs safe is a mucus layer over their skin, kinda like what clownfish use to keep safe from anemones. If the skins were properly dried, then the mucus layer would dry out too.

I don't think Marcille has anything to worry about. Falin would probably adore seeing her in a frog suit.

SENSHI FLASH!!

back

[dirty-bosmer]

Tell me about the fish you saw snorkeling please :)

Oh my GOD I nearly burned my self with my coffee when I saw this. Thank you so much for asking, but also you've opened the flood gates because it just so happens I am about to dump so many fish on you. While I primarily study freshwater fishes, I am a lover off all things aquatic, so here we go (all these images are from the internet):

Parrot fish galore and HUGE ones at that. The biggest one I saw looked like this. I don't know my scarids very well, but I do know that I saw a bumphead parrotfish. So funny looking. I was honestly surprised by how all the fish out there are CONSTANTLY nipping at the corals, but the current was pretty strong so we all had to swim a lot. It makes sense that they always need to be eating. I had no idea life on the reef was so turbulent

A lot of acunthurids. No blue tangs but plenty of brown ones and some unicorn tang! The ones I saw had really small humps.

So the common name for acunthirds is surgeonfishes because they have these sharp, blade like spines on their caudal peduncle called a scalpel. You can see it a bit more clearly on the Clown Unicornfishes (which were my fave cause the colors were so bright). Here they're the bright orange processes near the tail.

Wrasses. SO many wrasses. We saw birdnose wrasses with their long snoots, moon wrasses that were as colorful as rainbow lorikeets. My favorite were the cleaner wrasses following all the big parrotfish around and eating their ectoparasites,

I saw a moray!! That was the most unexpected find for me. I was the only one in my group to see one, but it was so far out that the crew working the sailboat had to call me back in 😅 It was brown and spotted black and looked just like this guy. I didn't actually see his head, but I saw his long long body. He was huge!!

Some gobies hiding in their holes. Apparently some species of goby have a mutualistic relationship with shrimp. The shrimp digs a series of tunnels in the sand and the goby stands sentinel at the entrance. The shrimp then maintains contact with the goby with its long antennae so that it knows if the goby moves or startles when predators are nearby.

The goatfish was probably my second favorite find after the moray because I had no idea they were out there. Goatfish have two long chin barbels covered in tastebuds that they use to probe along the sand in search for prey. They are quite dextrous barbels too. They flick em around so fast!

I got stung by something! it whipped me across the face pretty much 20 minutes into the water and it felt long and filamentous so i thought maybe it was some stray strand of anemone or jellyfish with active nematocysts. The crew member said it was likely a small jelly so woohoo! I got stung by a jelly on the great barrier reef :D

Triggerfish. Iw as hoping to see more tetraodonotiforms like puffers or filefish or a cowfish maybe, but I'm glad I still got to see at least one representative of the order cause they are among the most bizarre groups of fishes

This Moorish Idol that looked exactly like Gill from finding nemo

Lemonpeel angelfish, bluegirdle angelfish, emperor angelfish, you name it.

a lot of chaetodontids too. As I said, I don't study marine fishes so all the butterfly fishes looked so similar to me XD most of them were some combination of white, yellow, and black with their characteristically tall bodies and narrow snouts.

Giant clam!!! THEY WERE SO BIG. And so colorful. The movement of their spiracle truly hypnotized me.

Alright. That's all I got time for at the moment, as I need to pack and head up to the rainforest for the last leg of my trip. I'm sure I have forgotten dozens of fish already XD Thank you for attending my show and tell and for expressing interesting. Truly, I'm living any biologists dream rn, and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity to visit such a beautiful part of the world 🥲

[hospitalterrorizer]

diary404

10/31-11/1/24

thursday-friday

hhappy halloween.

ate korean takeout and candy today... didn't do very much else, not going out or anything. tomorrow we are going to an anime con. excited about that. just trying to be normal today so i can have enough sleep for tomorrow.

the coloring is going okayy... it's fun and weird to figure out. i'm still working on like. the shirt type thing. cardigan type shirt type thingy. it's a thingy. it's a photo i can't even dl off instagram, so i cannot post it. or i'm basing it on that but it's obviously different. it's hard to figure materials out. i am realizing though, it pays to go brighter and darker, despite thinking it'll be too much. too many shades near eachother in color range + temperature makes stuff look kind of gross. so i'm happy to realize this. i should probably go colder + lighter for bright parts of this top. that would probably look rather good. or at least, help me out some in terms of getting the thing to look not so flat. but i don't want it to look... un-flat? i don't want it to look like a 3d orb.

ummm... what else. the daan drawing has stalled i think i need to erase tiny daan and needles and stitches... or... i'm kinda attached to those two. but tiny daan... he's just not doing it for me... maybe i do big stitches? remove tiny stitches, remove tiny daan, do bigger stitches. or idk... idk what my problem is. i think it looks fine actually. i just want more somewhere. i think the composition is a little weird. okay i moved it to the center more. that works much better.

i am currently just doing skincare to go to sleep soon. i finished what is free of that caveh zahedi show, the show about the show. 13 episodes. very odd thing. i do not like caveh but i am unfortunately compelled by him or powerfully curious about what it is he does because it seems so misguided. he's interested in radical subjectivity, preserving his subjectivity and confronting you with it, or not just you, the people his life, showing you that, and showing you the lengths he goes to articulate himself, the things he says about how he feels when he feels them. he grounds all this in philosophy stuff, you know, there's some nietzsche here in how he approaches morals, what is actually good, what is just the invented good made to defend some ideology, that kinda thing. but it feels, i don't know. i always appreciate people trying to operate that way, to see that what is good can often be, or often is, invented to support some other structure and in truth doesn't do very much that is good or creates unpleasant hierarchies for instance, forgiveness, people who always say sorry because they've been made to feel sorry and so then there is this issue of the multiplication of guilt, the need for penance, and then the fact that, having done little to nothing wrong, rather than forgiveness all one really does is forward that guilt and desire to be seen as not something in need of forgiveness to others, making it you know, this desired thing. but saying sorry is important, you must say sorry, and change, when you do wrong. you can't be carried around by shame, you have to face what has been done, you know. caveh is interested in facing things, with other people, and interrogating himself, but the only perspective of interest in his interrogation is his own. or it feels that way, others you know they just seem to be these discrete units which move past him, as if in a coral reef he is a fish, others are anemones, and he articulates the pains or the pleasures they offer to him, as he floats by, always by, sometimes with these things for some time, but always by. we are all transitory, this is something else though. it is manipulative feeling, his humor even, the fact he is funny, i can't tell if he tries or not but he must be, this disarms people, as does the spectacle. isn't it strange to want people disarmed, if you can disarm everyone or at least lots of people, then doesn't that mean you are by definition on guard, not disarming anyone. even if you don't hold anything back, the way you do it and interact with the other subjectivity before you, you're articulating it in a way which will get something out of someone. always something out.

i'm not sure... humor is an interesting thing to reflect on socially. i really like making people laugh and being funny. i don't think of it as disarming people usually, unless they seem cagey, then i think, i need to like, loosen this person up. but subconsciously, am i up to anything? i don't think so but it i guess troubles me but this is really just leading me down a path i travel down frequently because i worry i'm secretly evil and i don't know it a lot. but i'm always funny because i want to entertain myself too, then it helps loosen people up, and we riff with eachother, there's something happening there. i don't know, if caveh is just entertaining himself or entertaining himself by framing things a certain way... still it just seems so different when it's done via film and shown to people, you know? it feels purposeful when done like that, about these particular things, cheating, being unpleasant to be around, stuff of that nature. i dunno...

here's a shot from his show i thought was funny because of this big woman. all i really have to say about it. funny mural.

okay, i need to go sleep now,

so,

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[strawberrymilk-sunshine]

My lovely shining sea star, be mine forever!

I have way too many w.i.p.s, haha...

Also this was hard to write, since Azul basically says nothing after overblotting. He has, what, three lines? Nevertheless, I wanted to write this, so I tried my best.

Warning(s): death, kinda gorey when describing the deaths, strangulation, you're restrained by his tentacles near the end, yandere behaviour, implied delusions/stalking, maybe not great writing (I'm really tired again)

When you returned to the campus of Night Raven College and the dormitory of Octavinelle, you didn't really expect to see Azul in the middle of an emotional breakdown.

He was using It's A Deal, over, and over, and over again. And as he did, you noticed something. He was... crying? No, not crying. It was more like something was leaking out of his eyes. It was leaking out of his eyes, his nose, his mouth...

"Eww, what's that black gunk dripping out of Azul?" Floyd asked. "That's... not his ink... is it...?"

"He's using his unique magic too much! If he doesn't stop now..." Jade paused for a moment (for dramatic effect). "He's going to overblot!!"

The magestone that rested upon Azul's staff turned to a pitch black as he began to laugh maniacally. He dropped the staff, and his entire body began to change, much like what you saw happen to Riddle and Leona. His legs turned into octopus tentacles, and his body was covered in coral, shells, starfish, and of course blot.

You couldn't believe your eyes. Every other time an overblot has happened, there haven't been any casualties..

But this time...

Everything has been burned into your brain. You'd never forget the screaming. Nor would you ever forget the gruesome deaths they suffered.

Jade and Floyd were brutally torn apart with magic. Leona and Ruggie had been stabbed by Azul's trident. Deuce, Ace, and Jack... you can't even bare to think about what happened to them. With a snap of Azul's fingers, the anemones grew once again, though much more... violently than before. All that remained of the bodies of your friends were the anemones.

You were the only one left.

"(Y/N), it's just us now." Azul told you, smiling widely. "Nobody's in the way anymore!"

You grabbed Azul's staff off the ground. The staff had a metal octopus on it, and that was the only thing around you could think of to defend yourself with.

You ran towards Azul, holding his staff like a baseball bat, and then... you hit him across the head with the staff's metal octopus.

Azul was unresponsive for a moment. Though, you remained on-guard, you knew from the previous overblots that he wouldn't go down that easily.

And it seems you were right.

Azul grabbed you by the neck with one of his tentacles, and began to lift you up off the ground.

"Now now, (Y/N), is that any way to treat the ruler of both the land and sea?" He asked you. "No. No, it in't."

"Let... g-go...!" You struggled to breathe in his grasp. It didn't help that he was tightening his grip on your neck.

"You're forever going to be mine." He said, stretching out his arms. "You're the most important thing in the world to me! My precious sea star... precious and deadly..."

You tried to pry his limb off of your neck to give yourself a second to breathe, but you just couldn't.

"Ah, (Y/N), isn't this wonderful?" Azul asked. "I'm all powerful, I have the power to get back at everyone who's ever wronged me! And... I have you. I have you, my love, my everything."

You've never seen him like this before. You were used to Azul sounding calm and rational, and he had never expressed any romantic interest in you before. Had he been this way the whole time? Was he in love with you...?

"Please let go of the staff, darling." Azul demanded, tightening his grip on your neck once more. In pain, you did as he asked. "Good." He finally let go of you, causing you to fall to the floor, coughing and gasping for air. "Oh dear, was I too strong~?" Azul asked you, a smug grin on his face.

"A-Azul... please c-come... to your senses..." You begged, a hand on your throat after it was nearly crushed. Azul looked down on you, as if you were some kind of bug.

"No, no, don't you understand...? This is the best I've ever felt! I feel so strong... I can finally get back at everyone who bullied me!" He began evilly laughing once again. "Oh, my precicous sea star... my lovely, shining sea star... please, promise to be mine, forever...!"

Then, Azul wrapped his tentacles around your body once more, though thankfully not your neck this time. Holding you still with his tentacles, he leaned in and kissed you on the lips.

You're not sure what's going to happen to you... nor to Azul, for that matter. You know that apparently people can die from overblot, so... is that what's going to happen...? You just have to wait for Azul to die? You're almost certain nobody's coming to help, so... it seems that is your only option.

How tragic...

[wof-reworked]

Consider: Turtle is a trans woman

Listen ok not to get too attached to this idea but like. A lot of Turtle’s arc is about self loathing, escapism, and family expectations and I think Turtle being a transwoman and/or transfem compliments Turtle’s character arc. 

(just a note: I switch around pronouns from he/him to she/her in this post, partially because I wrote this in segments and partially to reflect my analysis of Turtle (who uses she/her) vs what the books tell us more explicitly about Turtle (he/him). hope that helps!)

First off: it makes sense with how Turtle percieves herself

Turtle’s book is at its core about trauma, neglect, and anxiety/self loathing. And I don’t necessarily want to take away from that but I also feel like her being trans could be hella interesting with that taken into consideration.

So, Turtle thinks of herself through the lens of a book character. This is consistent throughout the book- first as a dragonet as the hero of her story, then later as essentially worse than a side character, completely insignificant or actively detrimental to the “real heroes”; throughout the book, she tries to figure out how other dragons percieve her, what role she fulfills for them, like the sidekick of a detective, or the messenger, or the spy. She doesn’t view herself as a real person, but more as a trope or a tool. This seems like it could be gender dysphoria to me. It’s the fact she’s always disconnected from who she is, she’s always someone else other than herself. Qibli is similar, but Qibli is more specifically trying to make himself useful and someone worth space, Turtle just wants to be someone at all. 

If Turtle takes herself seriously, if she considers herself a real, tangible, important dragon who’s not just a role in a story, that means she has to have a real identity, one that isn’t just whatever other people have decided she is. And when you don’t want to admit something about yourself, it’s a lot easier to just pretend you don’t have an identity than that you have one that scares you. And I feel like a lot of her talking down to herself as being insignifigant and not interesting, while fed by trauma, also speaks a lot of repressing herself- She continually shoots herself down whenever she tries to establish herself as a person.

Plus the whole idea of being a hero is undeniably intertwined with masculinity. You can so easily read “being a hero” as being a stand-in for “being a man”. (which is also why transmasc Turtle rocks as a hc considering he creates his own definition of hero, but I digress). And I think the way Turtle tries to shove himself into the box of heroism really speaks to me as a trans person trying to force myself into gender roles. 

With that said though, my main point is: it makes the story more interesting imo.

I really like the ending of Talons of Power already tbh, that scene with him, Coral, and Auklet is heartwarming and lovely. But I also think Turtle being trans, and realizing she’s trans, really makes it a really powerful story. As Turtle’s whole perception of himself is falling apart with what Queen Coral’s told him, I think it’s interesting if you have Turtle consider “what else have I been thinking about myself that’s wrong,” and having her put together the pieces she’s been trying super hard to bury the entire book.

The books, to their credit, don’t end with the conclusion of “Turtle was the hero after all actually!”, but I want to take the ending where Turtle realizes he never had to be anyone other than himself even further. I like the idea of Turtle just going “this version of me I’ve created isn’t true and hasn’t ever been true. I’m not any of these things. I’m not useless, or a side character, maybe I’m not even the hero at all.” and then “But I am still me, and that’s good enough. It’s always been good enough.” 

Turtle is essentially stripped bare even further than in canon, and that means it hits so much more when she then puts herself back together, especially then to go confront Anemone (who’s less so in the same boat, but the same pond). It’s a cool end of a character arc is all I’m saying (and a great segueway into a new one, she doesn’t even need to realize immediately who she is, just that she isn’t who she was before, and it still really hits). 

Speaking of which: it adds another layer to the complicated cake of Anemone/Turtle’s relationship.

in the book, Anemone and Turtle are already foils: Anemone believes she’s the protagonist of the world. She has been, for most of her life, the sole recipient of Queen Coral’s undivided attention/affection- she’s the animus princess who will save her tribe. and Turtle is the exact opposite: another faceless prince in the crowd, untalented, unrecognized, and basically nonexistent to his mother. Turtle both wants to be Anemone and is terrified of being Anemone and I feel like if you throw Turtle being trans onto that it gets even more intense. Anemone is now even closer to Turtle, and I genuinely feel like that would upset Turtle even more; especially with the weight that being a princess in Wings of Fire carries. It’s also even more fuel for Turtle’s self-loathing and repression (how could she ever be a princess, after she’s failed already she could never serve her people like Anemone does, it’s better that she’s a boring prince with no responsibilities, that way she can never fail). But she still feels like she sacrificed Anemone to Coral instead of her, and now with the added feeling of it being more personal considering Turtle could’ve been The Animus Princess(tm). 

They both crave approval and recognition: Anemone feels babied, while Turtle feels ignored. They both feel like their life has been laid out for them: Turtle as a useless side character, Anemone as an evil animus (tbh Anemone’s story is really interesting and worthy of its own post, but I digress). It gives Turtle’s speech to Anemone about how she doesn’t have to be evil more weight again: Turtle is essentially living proof that their destinies aren’t set in stone and that people can be more than their past. It’s a tidier ending.

Other relevant things from the text:

-A lot of Turtle’s notable relationships in the books are with other women (Peril, Kinkajou, Moonwatcher, Anemone).

-And the inverse is also true with like. Turtle feeling different from his brothers + feeling rather disconnected from Qibli and Winter.

-It’s also notable a lot of those girls are also dragons who are very sort of. loud and expressive, in the line of Kinkajou, Anemone, and Peril. They know who they are and what they want, and that’s especially something Turtle admires about Peril in particular, as well as Kinkajou. 

-Speaking of which you really could argue Turtle’s crush on Kinkajou being wanting to be her as much as it is wanting to be with her.

-No seriously he wakes her up because she’s much more suited to heroism than him, he loves her specifically because she’s “not like him”, like I def think that’s romantic feelings and self-hate mixed in but also. bro. When I get crushes on people my first instinct isn’t “I wish I was more like them, that would be so much better than being me, they could be me so much better than I could be me.” 

-This bears a lot less weight since it’s a hc but Turtle does find a lot of escapism in Queen Coral’s books: there’s no textual evidence for Queen Coral favoring female protagonists but it is a fun headcanon to tack onto this existing headcanon.

Final thoughts:

Most of this is pure speculation and me wanting to put my own take on the story: Turtle is definitely not trans in canon (as much as he should be, seriously even without this long post so many hcs him as some flavor of trans) But I think it helps give even more room for Turtle to grow and opens up exciting new possibilities

I just also think if Peril is also trans it just becomes really sweet, like imagine: Turtle comes to Peril with her head in a whirl, all anxious and unsure of herself unsure if she’s really a girl or what this means for her place in the royal family and what if she’s wrong or stupid or she’s gonna fail somehow, and Peril’s like “well who cares, you can always just BE a girl if you want to be. That’s what I did anyway and it turned out pretty great for me.” and Turtle’s anxiety just crashes to a halt because, yeah, I guess it doesn’t actually change much does it, and Peril seems to be doing great, so if it worked out for her I should be fine too. 

Just also the sweetness of her being validated in that other dragons like her for her, and not for some character archetype she fulfills, her friends don’t have any reason to accept her but of course they do, because they’re her friends and they love her. 

I think there’s a lot of ways to incorporate this headcanon, especially since I think everything I’ve said still applies as being an interesting character arc for Turtle even if you give it to her as a continuation of canon rather than a rewrite. This is one version, but Turtle’s a dynamic character, and I can see a lot of different storytelling possibilities with this. 

Tl;dr: Turtle’s story gets really interesting if you read her as as a transwoman

[failedintsave]

🌧️ skwistok?

[Send an emoji and I'll write a drabble]

I listened to rain sounds to get the *mood* for this, but I ended up taking a long nap and I kinda lost the thread for a second OOP this ended up silly!

🌧️ Rainy Day Activities

A fleeting white flash preceded the low, rolling peal of thunder, like the purr of a massive, unseen feline roaming the grounds of Mordland. No cat would be caught outside in this downpour, Toki thought, glancing up at the sheets of water cascading gently down the windowpane. The landscape beyond was a wash of desaturated tones, the mountains in the distance outlined briefly by another burst of lightning before they faded into the gray backdrop once more. Watching for too long made him dozy, so he turned his attention back to his project.

It had taken him the better part of the entire day to assemble, but as the image coalesced into its completed state, Toki regretted not a single minute spent crawling around on hands and knees on the cold stone floor of Skwisgaar's room. There simply hadn't been enough space in his own quarters for the expansive puzzle (he'd selected the largest available from the aquarium gift shop after their trip for Nathan's birthday) and he'd hoped to entreat Skwisgaar into helping him put it together—the thing was nearly as wide as the Swede was tall!—but after less than an hour, Skwisgaar had grown restless and returned to his scales. He watched and sometimes pointed out a piece Toki was searching for, but otherwise didn't seem interested in assisting further.

The door opening and clicking shut behind him drew Toki's eyes away from the colorful still life spread out before him. "Look, ams almost done!" He smiled up at Skwisgaar as the blonde crossed to join him, carrying a plate.

"Pff. Abouts time. You missed dinners completesly." He held out the dish, potato chips piled high around a halved sub sandwich. The rich smell of marinara wafted down as Toki accepted it, his stomach growling in time with another rumble of thunder. "Moidaface ams starving himselfs again I guess. Dis time he not mad abouts de shape of de food, but de fact day it ams meatballs."

Laughing, Toki took a hearty bite before setting the dish aside. He plucked away a string of mozzarella that stuck to his lips and wiped his hands on his pants. "His loss, dis ams delicious. But look!" 

Gesturing to the puzzle, Toki waved a hand over the picture of the vibrant coral reef. The sparse monochromatic decor of Skwisgaar's room made the kaleidoscopic rainbow of fish and anemones seem even brighter. Skwisgaar nodded, heading back to perch on his bed with his guitar.

"Very pretties. Now what? You all done?"

"Now I just puts de last piece of underwater friends here," Toki pointed to a clownfish's missing face, "and den—" 

His fingertips touched bare stone where the dwindling work-pile of pieces had been. Toki looked around, lifting both knees and checking beneath his plate before letting out a dismayed cry.

"Where'd it goes?!"

"What?"

"De last piece!"

"You don't has it?"

"I did!" Toki crawled in a circle, carefully flattening the edges of the puzzle to make sure it hadn't slipped underneath somehow. "I knows I had it, I countsed dem all before I starts!"

Skwisgaar's plucking stopped. "You counted all ofs dem?"

"Ja, I always does wif all my models."

"Ten t'ousand pieces?"

"Ja."

"Huh." He sounded impressed, if a bit bewildered. The muted plunking of strings started up again. 

Still searching the floor, Toki flipped up the corner of the polar bear rug to no avail. "You don't starts to pracstice de guitar wifout all's your strings, right? Cuz what's would be de point?"

"Well ja, but Toki dere ams like…six." He picked an open note on each before resuming his arpeggios. "Maybes you miscount?"

"I didn't! Wills you just helps me look for it? Ams orange, should be easy to spots."

Skwisgaar gave a cursory glance around the room and shrugged. "I don't sees nothin', dids you look under de bed?"

With a huff, Toki scooted to that side of the room and pressed his ear to the floor. Nothing, not even a dust bunny hid under the vast platform. A booted heel bumped against his backside and Toki lifted his head to frown at the snickering Swede. As their eyes met, Toki's narrowed in suspicion, and Skwisgaar pressed his lips together in a flat line to smother another giggle.

"Where ams it?"

"Dunno." His voice quavered with suppressed amusement.

"Where ams it?" Toki repeated, his hands landing on the mattress, boxing in Skwisgaar's hips.

Bony shoulders rose and fell in an unconvincing shrug. "Search me."

"Fine. I thinks I will." 

Toki wrestled the guitar from Skwisgaar's grasp, setting it on the floor and bodily rolling the taller man from side to side, checking under and behind for the missing piece. No flash of orange anywhere on the fur duvet.

"Turns out you pockets."

Skwisgaar started to oblige, but Toki was faster. He turned the linings inside out, rewarded with a few spare guitar picks, a tube of chapstick, and a poorly restrained squeal from the blonde as investigating fingers poked the join of his leg and pelvis. Momentarily sidetracked by the sound, a grin spread over Toki's face, barely masking wicked intent.

"Don't you does it." Skwisgaar warned, catching the change in demeanor. Too late.

"What? You means dis?!"

"Toki, noo-hoohohohueaghaah!" 

Skwisgaar dissolved into a floundering, chortling puddle as Toki pounced, fingers now seeking soft, vulnerable flesh. His hands roamed over the Swede's ribs and belly, poking under his arms and squeezing his knees until his victim gasped for air.

"Gives it up, Skwigelf, I knows you took it!"

"You gots no proof!" Skwisgaar panted, kicking and swatting ineffectually at the strong hands pinning him down.

"I don't needs proof, I gots inskinkts, and dey's telling me—" Toki stopped, his thumbs pressed into bared skin where Skwisgaar's shirt had come untucked. He looked from the pale, exposed strip to the studded belt underscoring it. "You gots to be kidding me."

Skwisgaar's flailing lessened, his cheeks flushed from exertion. An innocent smile played across his lips. "What?"

"You know whats." Toki was already unbuckling, unbuttoning, unzipping. "Why? Ams dis? In your pants?!"

The bashful face of a clownfish stared back as Toki peeled open the gray denim. He plucked the orange shape off Skwisgaar's white briefs and held it up.

"Now how did dat gets dere?" Skwisgaar tapped his mouth with a long, elegant finger, squinting one eye as if recalling some morsel of information. "Hmm. Didn'ts we loirns at de aquarsiums dat dese guys likes to hide?"

Toki slapped Skwisgaar's thigh with the back of his hand, eliciting another stifled chuckle."How long has dis been in dere? It's all bent!"

"I t'oughts you'd be happy to sees him, hueghuehhuegh." 

A long leg hooked behind Toki where he kneeled, pulling him closer. He got the distinct impression that Skwisgaar wasn't referring only to the missing puzzle piece. Lightning streaking across the sky once more reflected in the burning blue gaze that watched him from the bed. Looking from the puzzle piece in his palm to the man sprawled beneath him, already halfway undressed, Toki smirked and threw the silver of cardboard over his shoulder.

"I cans finish it later."

[polarurchin]

Heart Pirates week day 6 : Uni : Underwater

Uni absolutely adored the sensation of water running over his skin. whether that was from the communal showers on the Tang, or whenever he had a chance to dip into the ocean or any local island body of water didn’t really make much of a difference to him.

Water was water, and like water, Uni loved to flow with the currents, letting them tug at him gently or even test his strength agains’t stronger tides. The later of which has gotten him a scolding or two from the local grumpy Doctor and Captain, and yet it was one thing Uni persisted on doing.

However, it was natural bodies of water that he much preferred to soak himself in. Showers were bland and there was a limit to how long you could be under there until the waters ran cold. But the ocean and those beyond it provided and endless blue to dive right into, as well as the marine life Uni spent so much admiring up close whenever he could.

Like now for instance, the Hearts had stopped at an uninhabited tropical island that boasted a beautiful deep blue hole in it’s center that Uni was dying to explore. It was days like these that Uni shed his bandana and boiler suit in favor of just a simple pair of swimming trunks.

Here where there was nobody else to bear witness the terrible scars of abuse on his face but his own nakama was he at his most comfortable to share his fishman like attributes. Most noticeably of which was the spikes framing his face normally hidden by his bandanas, along with webbed feet and hands beyond that of a normal humans but still possessed blunt nails as opposed to claws.

There was already chairs set up around the circumference of the seemingly endless blue of that pit. Volleyball nets and floaties too were included as the crew set out to enjoy their limited time there until the log pose reset itself.

It was while they were there that Uni had every intention of diving into those crystal clear waters. Curious to see just what was down there as while the bottom was just barely in view, surely there was more to be seen beyond that.

“Think there might be anything of interest in there Cap’n?”

“Is this just you making an excuse so you can go underwater exploring again Uni?”

“...Maybe.”

“ Just get on with it then, but just so you know, I’ll kill you myself if you end up drownin’ thinking you can beat your previous record or something reckless.”

“ Aye Cap’n!”

It didn’t take long for Uni to do just that, taking a running leap before relishing in the feeling of cold water submerging him in their depths.

Uni could spend all day down there if he really wanted to. Combined with his ability to hold his breathe for long periods of time as well as the fact that he doesn’t ever suffer the effects of pruning on his skin as the others do, Uni could easily fall in sync with the small schools of fish he saw swimming around them.

The voices he could detect from them indicated a small curiosity overridden by a suspicious fear of his appearance. A rather common occurrence really, it was sea kings or predatory fish that gave off a completely different vibe, one Uni did his best to avoid on his own diving excursions.

Releasing small bubbles in an almost sigh, Uni turned all his focus at the bottom of this pit. It was admittedly much larger than he first thought it was coming down here. The bottom being quite a bit aways down then first estimated, but still something he could easily reach given his lungs air capacity.

The bottom himself was littered in colorful undersea flora. Coral and anemones alike dotted the sandy bottom, giving shelter to tiny fish while also benefitting from microscopic nutrients surely spread out everywhere in the water. Mollusks and clams too covered where there was an open space.

Just as he was finished soaking in the sheer surrounding beauty of this natural treasure, Uni spotted something out of the corner of his eye. Was that a... pearl? And a rather large one at that!

Unfortunately it was about time for Uni to head to the surface to get a fresh breathe of air before he can investigate further.

His sudden appearance however, did end up startling a few Hearts enjoying the shallower ends of the hole.

“Ah, sorry about that! But I’ve got something cool to show you guys real soon.”

Before anyone could start muttering about what that could mean, Uni dove back under to make a beeline for the mollusk possessing that pearl. Once he got close enough to appraise it. Uni’s thoughts turned from how much it could sell for to fund the crew to, oh look! Another artifact of the sea he could keep as part of his collection.

Not wanting to dwell on that too much, Uni gently grasped the pearl and removed it from the mollusks mouth. Briefly appreciating the weight of it in his palms and inspecting how shiny it was, he soon turned to head back up to show off his prize to the crew.

And that quickly turned into a frenzy the moment he stepped out of the water and exposed it to the light. As he should of expected by now from his nakama.

“Oooo Uni’s got himself a pearl!”

“Lemme see!”

“ What, ya think he’s gonna make a necklace out of it or something? No way! My bet is he is gonna keep it like all his other neat kick knacks.”

A chorus of agreement that followed made a drop of sweat form on the back of his head.

“Now hold on guys, what about Cap’n? maybe it’d be best used towards funding!”

As much as Uni would like to keep it, if it benefitted the crew then that was the likely option he’d go for.

But apparently seeing something else cross his features, Law was quick to give his response to all this noise... In all likelihood to try and go back to relaxing against Bepo as soon as possible but who wouldn’t? Their polar bear mink had some of the softest fur around!

“ Uni if you really want to keep it you should just say so, not like we need the extra cash after what happened last week. We got plenty to spare for the next few islands.”

Uni really did attempt to hide the glee he felt at what his Captain said, but his eyes once again shone with that certain glimmer that said just the opposite.

What a lovely day it had been. Not only did he get to enjoy some time in a lovely lagoon, but he also got to discover something rare to remember the place by.

Another experience to be added in the long list of reasons why Uni loved the deep blue sea so much.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Awe

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Gen Genre: Family Characters: Virgil, Gordon

More for @gumnut-logic​‘s #irrelief!  Another one for you, Nutty - “artist!Virgil and science!Gordon go on an underwater photography jaunt” -  although I’m starting to get really bad at actually keeping to prompts beyond the vaguest links, oops... *(forgot the prompt mentioned photography)*

The Shelbys were probably expecting a certain beautiful Lady when Gordon asked to bring a plus one, not an older brother.

Virgil had a soft spot for Thunderbird Four.  While nothing could possibly replace Thunderbird Two for him, and as far as piloting his brothers’ Thunderbirds went, Four was quite possibly at the bottom of his preference list, there was something about the little yellow sub that brought a smile to his face.

Maybe it was the fact that she was, in a way, part of Thunderbird Two.  She had her own island launch, yes, but Thunderbird Two had an entire module dedicated to the small ‘bird, which definitely counted for something.  Or maybe it was her bright yellow colour, a splash of cheer that matched her aquanaut’s taste for loud shirts and lightened the mood.

Alternatively, it was because she gave him views like this.

He was trained to pilot her, of course, but the cabin was minuscule (perfectly suited to the soon-to-be shortest brother) and he got a shoulder cramp if he remained in there for any real length of time.  But her passenger bay was reasonably spacious in comparison, and he sat perfectly contently in one of the seats, looking out the clear airlock doors to the underwater view.

And what a view it was.

Gordon had received an invitation from the Shelby family to come and see the restoration work that had been taking place on the Supreme Barrier Reef, and being Gordon he had immediately leapt at the opportunity to live underwater for a few days.  As an oceanographer-in-training, particularly one with an interest in the underwater ecosystems, studying the Supreme Barrier Reef was a dream come true and woe betide anyone that tried to tell him he couldn’t go (no-one tried).

Virgil’s presence on the trip was not quite so clear cut.  Having two operatives out of action at the same time made Scott jittery, but his eldest brother also refused to push them too hard, nowadays – Dad’s return had marked the end of that problem, even if others had sparked up in its wake.  Virgil was due time off, and it had been Gordon’s idea that he come along, too. Dad had supported it, reasoning that if Two was needed, Alan or Scott could pilot her.  Virgil sincerely hoped Two would not be needed, and not just because if she was needed that meant someone was in trouble.  Speed freaks had no business piloting a freight plane, and he didn’t plan on replacing burnt-out coils (again) because a certain brother had forgotten she only went a quarter of the speed of his usual ride.

That was a potential problem for when he got back.  For now, he had much higher priorities.

From a scientific standpoint, Virgil knew nothing about reefs aside from the fact they were coral and had a thriving ecosystem when not being attacked by acid.  That area was all Gordon’s, and he was welcome to it. However, from an artistic standpoint, reefs were a thing of beauty.  Virgil had always wanted to draw one, but the films and photographs didn’t do them justice, and getting to see one up close was incredibly difficult.

Unless, of course, you were an oceanography student who also happened to be a member of International Rescue and chose to save the reef as well as the human lives at risk.  Then, you got invitations to come back, and Gordon had pushed his luck to get the invitation extended for a ‘plus one’. Virgil suspected the Shelbys had been expecting Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, not an older brother.  Still, he’d promised to behave, obey all instructions given, and stay inside the submarine, so the sharp-eyed Helen Shelby had approved his presence.

Deep-sea diving was Gordon’s area, anyway.  Virgil was fine splashing around near the surface, but at these depths he was perfectly content to stay in the dry, sketchpad open across his knees and pencil skating across the high-grade paper as he got the basic shapes down.  Almost out of view, three figures were darting in and around the reef, taking measurements and photographs of the recovering section.

It was their second day underwater, Thunderbird Four barely large enough for the two of them to live in without ending up on top of each other.  Given their location, neither cared to complain at the cramped quarters.  One of the lockers had been temporarily repurposed for Virgil’s required belongings – most of them art supplies, with actual hygiene essentials pared down to the absolute minimum.  Already, he’d filled a sketch book with study after study of the fantastic sight before him, acutely aware that he was unlikely to ever get such an opportunity again.  That had been all in greyscale, a practice in identifying and translating the shapes. His current sketchbook was based in colour.

The B pencil had been discarded, placed back into the tin with its fellows.  In its place Virgil wielded coloured pencils, teals and turquoises, indigos and azures, aquas and cadmiums to try and capture the depth of colour in the water.  The reef itself used every colour in his not inconsiderable arsenal, so vibrantly full of life and movement as fish and other aquatic life Virgil couldn’t begin to identify flickered around the plants and coral that made up such a magnificent feat.

Tomorrow would be their last day, and it was then that Virgil planned to combine his two studies – shape and colour – to try and accurately reproduce the indescribable beauty of the reef.

Gordon had already preemptively called dibs on the first piece of art Virgil deemed suitable for sharing, peeking over his shoulder during the mandatory breaks back inside the submarine to replenish his oxygen supplies and rest from the swimming.

His younger brother was different, in this environment.  Nothing could ever take away his natural tendency to joke, but while he was often making a nuisance of himself on downtime, or determined on a rescue, here he was relaxed.  This was the Gordon doing what he truly loved the most, with no expectations or consequences.

Virgil had a fourth sketchbook that he found himself sporadically adding to, one Gordon (probably) didn’t know about.  Inside it, various Gordons smiled lovingly at the fish – and other things that the blond could no doubt name instantly but Virgil couldn’t begin to guess at what they were – that came up to investigate the strange blue-clad creature encroaching on their home.

The sketch of Gordon and the clown fish (thank you, Gordon’s childhood obsession with Finding Nemo, for that identification), was headed John’s way.  A surprise encounter with what Gordon had told him on his next rest period was a dugong would find its way into Alan’s room.  The breath-taking appearance of a whale would be a present for Dad.  Kayo would appreciate the sea-snake, while the seahorse would go to Scott.  Grandma would get Gordon cautiously greeting an enthusiastic dolphin, and then Gordon could pick whichever one he liked from the rest to go with his pre-claimed reef artwork.

Outside the little submarine that had claimed a small soft spot from Virgil, her aquanaut was returning, signing something beyond Virgil’s basic underwater sign language knowledge (which consisted entirely of a thumbs up that didn’t mean ‘okay’ and a thumb and forefinger circle that did) to the Shelbys as they headed for their own craft.  Virgil hid the fourth sketchbook away before Gordon’s attention returned to him, a jaunty wave that warned him of an imminent airlock opening.

Gordon kept his distance as he re-entered, aware that paper was not waterproof and that, amazing though his uniform was, it was still wet after the latest expedition into the water. Still, he peered over Virgil’s shoulder from the other end of the bay and made an appreciative noise at the splash of colour on the open sketchbook.  Virgil nodded in acknowledgement of his presence and turned onto a fresh page.

His eye caught by what looked like some sort of anemone, he once again put pencil to paper.

[fuwafuwamedb]

A Cursed G Pt 25 (Gilgamesh, Enkidu, Hakuno)

Previous Part: 1 - HakuPOV / GilPOV, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

_____

She dressed up.

It was a bit of a mystery why she bothered to do so, but she found herself spending several minutes after the shower in the morning looking through her wardrobe and picking out something a bit nicer than some of her other attire.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu were talking about fish they’d looked up while she’d been asleep, the king commenting on building something similar once they returned to Uruk.

“We could put it in the gardens,” Enkidu offered.

“I would like to get a good look at these sharks, since they are prevalent to weather disasters and known for their violence against those who tread their waters. They remind me of my lions.”

She wasn’t going to get involved in that discussion.

No, instead she was putting on some of the jewelry that Gilgamesh had left in the room. She was brushing her hair out and taking the time to fix her dress a bit more before she found herself pausing by the mirror.

Ages ago, she would have been spending her Saturday afternoon in the living room, watching crime dramas and snacking on some cheap snack from her fridge. Her phone would have been on an app or playing some light music in a vain attempt to help her focus and to fill in the silence of the empty room. She would have taken the time to maybe order a pizza as the evening wore on, perhaps some Chinese food if she felt in the mood.

The woman in the mirror was entirely different.

The attire was far too much for a lazy weekend. The extra color to her face was entirely different from her usual pallor… and then there was the impression she got from her own reflection.

Things were happening.

They hadn’t really been happening before.

“Hakuno?”

A knock at the door stopped her from thinking too deeply about what it all meant. She closed her eyes and turned away from herself, opening her bedroom door and looking at the two.

“Ready?”

“We’ve been ready,” Enkidu promised.

They drove to the aquarium with the same conversation continuing of what to look at once they were inside. She found her hand slipping into Gilgamesh’s own as they made it to the parking lot near the place, Enkidu bouncing ahead only to walk backwards as they spoke.

And then they were soon inside.

The entrance was exactly the kind of thing that would impress the two: a large dome room showed a world of jellyfish swimming with a quiet ambiance of smooth jazz and the lines of those wishing to enter the rest of the building.

The movement of the jellyfish were just as soothing to watch as one would have hoped. Their string-like tentacles flowed forth from the great umbrella shaped bells of their body.

“Hakuno,” Gilgamesh nudged.

“Jellyfish. They’re called that because they’re really gelatinous. They look like they’d be really weak, but they’re packed with stingers on those tentacles that would cause serious damage.”

The line moved, inching forward further and further as Enkidu and Gilgamesh distracted themselves with looking at the scores of jellyfish swimming around them. She could feel Gilgamesh pulling her in, wrapping his arms around her more and taking in the area.

This is what the future holds.

It was things like this that she’d be giving up if she went to live forever in the past. There would be no watching majestic fish swim or listening to music without a band playing nearby. There wouldn’t be places were everyone could go to see something without having to have a certain status that she would lack due to her gender.

They made it in, with her paying their entrance fees and moving along.

Scores of colorfish passed them as they moved into the next room. A whole reef passed before their very eyes, with hundreds of fish moving in schools to and fro. The clay being stared in awe, needing her to tug them along to the glass to get a better view.

“This is impossible.”

“Welcome to the ocean, Enkidu.”

Gilgamesh was still holding her as Enkidu moved as close as possible and watched it all.

There was something about how they looked at it all.

She had never seen someone look that way before. Their eyes were so alight, their hands were pressed to the glass. She could see them trying and failing to keep their mouth shut. It helped with the light music playing, creating more and more of an atmosphere.

“Hakuno!”

Hakuno moved forward a bit, bringing the silent king with her as the being pointed to the floor of the large tank.

“Look at that! It matches the sand.”

“It does.”

“What’s it called?”

She hadn’t a clue, but… Her eyes went to the area around them, motioning to the sign nearby.

“You can learn about them there.”

The being took off for it, finger moving along the information panel a moment before they were noting the kids around them.

A series of eyes were looking to them as Enkidu laughed and began to read aloud for them.

“No sharks,” Gilgamesh noted.

“You want to see the sharks?”

The man shrugged, all too pleased with himself for some reason. Whatever was on his mind, she wasn’t going to intrude right now. Leave him to his bubble of emotional space.

She motioned for Enkidu and began to head deeper into the building.

The rooms grew darker and darker as they went.

Once per room, they had to stop.

The glowing fish from the pressured depths of the ocean had the king and clay’s attention. Hakuno found herself reading aloud the signs for them, remaining held in the king’s arms the whole time.

They paused again at the sight of the seahorses, watching them swim around and around in their circular tank, clinging to the plants within. Each of the little fish seemed to simply gleam like gold underneath the lights, drawing murmurs of praise from the clay being.

“They’d be noble steeds if they were bigger.”

“I don’t think they’d be the best ride for getting across the water.”

Enkidu dismissed that immediately with a handwave.

Further on they went.

And there, just beyond the anglerfish statue, was the large tank she had remembered all too well. The reef below and the anemones sheltered great numbers of clownfish. The depths of the coral showed signs of eels, all of whom seemed to be enjoying the task of sticking their heads out or simply bathing under the artificial lights of their enormous tank structure.

What was most important though were the fish on prominent display, swimming just over their heads and before their eyes. Their great size was only matched by the rows of teeth that a few showed off.

They lost Enkidu to their awe once more, finding the being scampering forward to look at the collection.

The room was mostly empty right now, but they could sit on the benches near the tank without anyone interrupting them.

It was nice to settle in, even moreso to just watch Enkidu move from panel to panel to read aloud from the information. They would look to her for clarification.

“New Zealand is south from here, it’s near Australia.”

“Australia is a country and continent. Think an enormous island.”

The being nodded at each answer before they began to follow after the movement of the large beasts above their head.

“That one has younglings,” Enkidu noted.

It did?

She looked up, finding the king’s face looking down at her.

They were… cuddling.

She hadn’t really noticed until she found his face so close to hers.

The whole time they had been traversing through the aquarium, she hadn’t moved more than a half a centimeter from the king’s side. Her hand had remained firmly laced with his, holding it close until this moment, when she realized that she was holding his hand.

Her heart began to beat a little faster in their tank surrounded space. The sounds of Enkidu’s voice seemed to blend in with the silence in the background.  Now there was just that soft beating in her ears, the sound of her own chest hammering away. She could feel her body warming as she felt the other’s shadow loom over her a bit more. She could feel him-

No, she couldn’t feel him moving.

He wasn’t moving an inch now. He had simply leaned a little closer, looking to her.

It was her who was closing the distance between them. It was her who was being the fool and prolonging this eye contact.

Her hand tangled in his hair, watching the smug hint of a smile. Her breath simply stopped at an inhale as the man tilted his head towards the hand she had in his hair. Her lips found his, seeming to almost drift to his.

There was something nice about being in his arms, she thought idly to herself.

Gilgamesh pulled her onto his lap.

Hakuno closed her eyes and simply sunk into the depths of his support.

This was truly like nothing else.

She hadn’t come here in so long, having found that none of her friends ever wanted to really look at the fish or learn more about them. She’d forgotten how much the building emptied out between the guided tours.

“Gil!”

Those lips pulled back, the king setting her on the bench before he moved to look at what Enkidu was pointing out.

It was genuine interest.

No humoring her like Cu and Emiya. No yawning like Rin and Rani. Sakura tried, but she would get tired after the seahorses and want to leave. It was rare that she got to visit this room.

They could see a couple turtles joining the swimming collection now, earning the king’s and the clay’s attention. The two were commenting on the shell and the capabilities of the creatures. Both of them were grinning, taking in the scene around them.

‘You plan to marry Gilgamesh, take him home, marry him there, and then come back here to…’

Hakuno looked around at the space they were in again.

There wasn’t a single soul in there with them right now. Everyone was opting for the guided tours so they could sit through the other unique features of the aquarium. There were no friends or acquaintances.

Right now, if she picked up her phone and she opened up her contacts, she had more for her bills and her money than she had for her friends.

“Hakuno!”

Enkidu was motioning at the turtle, mimicking its motions through the water. She couldn’t help the smile that came to her face at the sight, but…

‘It’s lonesome here,’ they had told her during the last evening.

It was lonesome here.

The being and the king were moving back to her side though, Enkidu leaning in and frowning a bit.

“Is something wrong?”

She was thinking about staying in Uruk, somewhere that she barely knew a thing about and was still working to become fluent in their language. She was considering staying with Gilgamesh, who she had only really just started to get to know.

And she was thinking now about the being smiling and dancing around them through the aquarium, finding unending joy in the sight of a bunch of little fishes and in turtles.

She was finding herself unable to make a list of things in her mind that required that she be here.

Everything in the world seemed to be moving her towards the hands that were extending her way. Both Gilgamesh and Enkidu were offering to help her to her feet.

Her hands went to theirs, finding herself up upon her feet once more before she was being led to the glass.

“We were looking at this fish,” the king informed her. “We’ve seen a few like it in our Euphrates.”

“That makes sense. It’s just a ah…” She paused, looking at the two as she realized.

They were speaking Sumerian.

How long had they been doing this? When had she stopped speaking her own language? She had been talking to the two, working around saying words and things that she meant, but she didn’t know the word for turtle.

“It’s a turtle,” Enkidu replied, motioning at the sign nearby.

She gave a small nod, moving to lean against Gilgamesh a bit more.

“I like a lot of the fish, but the turtles have always been one of the ones that I look for when I’m here.” She enjoyed their swimming around just as much as the being seemed to enjoy. She could see them looking at the scene before them and thinking deeply.

Perhaps…

She really shouldn’t miss a week of classes.

She would miss a couple more after that as well, missing the last of her semester. Her teachers wouldn’t be pleased. Her friends would be wondering about how she was doing.

The strong arms around her waist said that she wouldn’t fall into despair though. The being in front of them flashed a smile that said that everything would work out just fine. The more she was alone with these two, the more the world felt like their oyster.

The two at her side seemed like they ran the world. Money was not a worry. Boredom was gone, entirely out the window and running as far from her as possible. She wasn’t thinking about what had to be next.

Her eyes were on the scene she hadn’t seen in a good couple years and she was finding herself in awe with the two at her sides.

The world she lived in…

It felt like a pair of shoes she could no longer fit into.

The new life was too promising, too exciting and vast, lying just beyond her fingertips.

“Hakuno?”

Gilgamesh drew her attention back to him.

“We should keep moving.”

People were coming into the room, rushing to the glass as they stepped back.

Enkidu wrapped their arm around hers and motioned her to head off.

They moved to the next area, settling onto the front row for a show with whales and dolphins. The king and the clay being looked upon the beasts in excitement, chattering away to her about the beasts as they would perform flips and jump through hoops.

“Hakuno! They’ve tamed the beasts!”

“We should tame ours, Gil!”

“Enkidu’s right. We’ll have to look into how they managed this. The information should be on a sign, shouldn’t it?”

“I don’t see a sign nearby, Gil.”

She pulled the two in closer, pressing her lips to their cheeks.

The two settled in.

The two settled closer.

“Siduri would like this too,” Enkidu murmured as the show went on. She was nestled between them nicely as the show came to an end, leaving her to force herself and them up to their feet.

“We should head out, shouldn’t we? It’s getting towards closing,” she told them.

“Is it?” Gilgamesh asked, glancing to the room around them.

“Ah, right, they’re only open until a certain time.” Enkidu nodded. “We figured they’d just keep the place open for us.”

Every employee would hate them if they did that.

She shook her head, motioning towards the front doors. “It is getting close to dinner time.”

“Hold on,” Enkidu motioned to the manta exhibit nearby. “You can pet the fish here.”

It had been a while…

Her hand was in Enkidu’s immediately, Gilgamesh laughing as Hakuno ended up smirking to the being and leading them to the room nearby.

They had to pet the mantas.

The skates and the mantas were too cool to miss out on.

“Hakuno?”

Gilgamesh was talking to one of the employees nearby for a few minutes as they pet the fish. At the being’s call, Hakuno turned, glancing their way.

“This was a great trip. We never would have seen half of these fish if it weren’t for you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The being glanced to their friend again, their smile going soft.

“You are worried about him still?”

“I do not like thinking about Uruk without you there.”

She hadn’t even stepped foot there yet. They were in this world, learning about a bunch of fish they would never encounter outside of this building.

Perhaps it was best to tell the being about her change of heart in the shark exhibit. The more she got herself used to the idea, the more she found herself accepting that it was going to be a thing. She would need Enkidu’s help in the end, since she wouldn’t know much about living in the palace and Gilgamesh seemed like someone who would give half directions about things.

Her mouth opened. The words were on the tip of her tongue.

A slow shift from near one of the other doors caught her attention. The dark haired woman in white and gold glanced her way, smirking a little before looking to the king nearby.

“…Hakuno?”

She forced herself to look away from where the goddess was, to where Enkidu was.

“Did I say something wrong again?”

“No, I just…”

The woman was gone.

Enkidu looked uncomfortable, pulling their hand back and accepting a paper towel from a nearby worker.

“Enkidu,” Hakuno followed after them, wrapping her hand around their arm. “Listen-“

“It’s alright.”

“I want to stay in Uruk.”

She could feel the being still, but the room still felt off from before. It felt like Ishtar was still watching them.

The being in front of her turned to face her.

“You want to stay?”

“I do.”

It was risky, but she would have the two of them and Enkidu and Gilgamesh were both incredibly attentive. She wouldn’t get bored, not with so much to do and see. This world was at the touch of a keyboard and an internet browser search.

Their world was barely even touched upon in her most detailed of books. It was full of lives that they helped and a whole kingdom…

It would take adjusting, but she would do her best.

“Just promise not to let Ishtar near me,” she asked of the being.

“She will never touch you,” Enkidu vowed, pulling her into their arms and holding her tightly. “You will like Uruk. If anyone will get along with you well, it will be Siduri. You both’ll drive Gil and I crazy there.”

She really hoped so.

“Enkidu!”

Gil’s firm tone left the being snickering, hugging her closer.

“Aw, Gil, Hakuno and I were just sharing a warm embrace. You cuddle her so much I figured it was my turn. You had only how many months before I came along?”

“Don’t forget we can send you back to Uruk,” the man growled.

“He threatens me, Hakuno. What are we to do with him?”

Marry him, probably, Hakuno thought idly.

She found herself pulled back to his side, the two beginning an insult contest that was thankfully incoherent to the other aquarium guests. Their insults turned to playful jabs in the side as they left the building, heading further and further from the doors and towards the car.

Something still felt wrong.

Hakuno glanced back, frowning as she found nothing.

“…Gil?”

The king paused from giving the being a good kick in the rear end to glance her way. “What is it?”

“How much safer is Uruk compared to here?”

“It depends,” Enkidu answered for the king, “The gods protect the people when it’s divine problems, like other angry gods.”

There was a flicker of gold not too far off, just behind the bushes.

“I think I need to do my homework,” Hakuno told them both. “Let’s head home.”

[emsartwork]

If you’re comfortable with sharing, it would be cool to hear more about your winx next gen, if that’s okay with you?

Yes of course!!!! below the cut cus i get rambley

the story so far: Daphne and Thoren are king and queen of domino. Ashia and Nex are king and queen of Andros. Sky and Bloom are king and queen of Eraklyon. Stella and Brandon are queen and king of Solaria. Tecna was queen of Zenith for a while but got bored and decided to do something else, now she and Timmy run an exploration research company that explores the outer reaches of the magix dimension. Flora is the potions teacher at Alfea, Helia runs a small art gallery in Magix city. Musa started her own record company, and Riven became the assistant combat instructor at Red Fountain. Icy broke Tritannus out of mer-prison and transformed his tail into legs, the two are now in hiding along with Darcy. Stormy left the Trix after an issue with Icy. 

THE CHILDREN:

alrighty lets start off with Sky and Bloom, or Skoom as I like to call them. This is Aidan.  He attends Novatan University, a new school now on Magix. He’s a classically trained necromancer but will use magic in just about any way he can. He uses the tile of Necromancer of Ash.  Aidan does not posses the dragon flame, and boy is he angry about that. Though he gets along with his cousin Ophelia pretty well, he is intensely jealous of her destiny as bearer of the dragon flame, and to compensate he seeks power above his own and some times other’s safety. Aiden is loud, prickly, and easy to rile up, but cools down quickly and forgets about whatever made him angry. Bloom, in true Bloom fashion, generally avoids her son because she doesn’t know how to deal with his attitude (he also occasionally reminds her of Valtor and that scares the hell out of her). Sky does his best to spend time with and curb Aidan’s more destructive impulses but he also has to rule his kingdom. Aidan basically only gets along with Ophelia, he can hang out with Selene and Jack occasionally but they tend to annoy him. He and Thorn do NOT get along. 

Daphne and Thoren!!! Daphen? Thorphne? idk their names don’t mesh that well lol. any ways this is Ophelia. Ophelia attends Alfea and is known far and wide as fairy of the dragon flame. After Daphne became pregnant, she had to ask bloom to return the dragon flame to the royal line of Domino since its always been passed down from one heir to the next. Bloom(after a few emotional breakdowns) eventually transferred the dragon flame to tiny fetus Ophelia. Ophelia doesn’t want it. She doesn’t really tell any one, but she hates being the bearer of the dragon flame. She hate the attention, the pressure, the legacy, the kidnapping attempts, the random attacks, the fact that she’s always the target. Ophelia isn’t even sure she wants to be queen of Domino in the future. in her free time Ophelia writes stories. Ophelia shoves her feelings down, holds grudges, and she can be VERY passive aggressive. When she finally explodes she can very destructive and cruel. Ophelia loves her cousin Aidan but can’t spend a lot of time with him because she can eventually feel the jealousy streaming off of him. She gets along really well with Anemone, but when they do fight its Armageddon. She also gets along really well with Thorn, as they’re both level headed older sibling types.  

Timmy and Tecna!!!(Tecmy?) I know. She looks nothing like either of them.This is Ruth, Timmy and Tecna’s adopted daughter(they have actually adopted several other children but Ruth is the oldest and most important to the plot). When Ruth was about 10, her family’s ship crashed on a tiny desert planet in an uninhabited solar system. Her parents didn’t make it, and Ruth herself was severely injured. She managed to stem the flow of blood from the gashes in her shoulder and thigh, and cobbled together a radio system from the pieces of the ship. Timmy and Tecna were out on an scientific exploration mission when they picked up her distress signal. Infection had already set into her deeper wounds and her arm and leg had to be amputated. Ruth uses a prosthetic leg in day to day life, but prefers not to have a regular prosthetic for her arm. Ruth attended and graduated from Cloud Tower, and is the Witch of Metals, she manipulates metal into a movable prosthetic arm when she needs to, but doesn’t maintain it as its a drain of her magic. Ruth is Koyuvian(a fake planet/race thats in my version of winx club) and wears the tinted glasses to filter light. Ruth is a mechanic, and loves to build different contraptions. She’s hopeless at coding, but builds a lot of prototypes for her adoptive parents. She gets along Selene the best. 

Flora and Helia! Floria!!! (Helora?) This is Thorn. Thorn is Silva Lynphean and a quarter Vaonaaj. He attends Red Fountain and is a team lead in his class and possibly the strongest. Thorn is quiet and sarcastic, generally preferring a books to spending time around people. He’s a little awkward when not in a “specialist” situation. he kind of wishes he was really good with people, but also doesn’t bother practicing socializing because he’s scared lmao he’s basically Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. to compensate for his social ineptitude, Thorn hangs out with Jack a lot. He is very observant though and can pin point people’s weaknesses in a snap, and he’s not shy about using those weakness if he needs to.  He and Ophelia get along well, but he thinks Aidan is a spoiled brat who throws too many temper tantrums. 

Musa and Riven = Riva. So this is Jack. Jack attends Red Fountain. Jack loves to be the center of attention, and hides all of his insecurities behind an over the top inflated ego. He isn’t terribly interested in his dad’s career (fighting) or his mom’s career (music) but he is decently talented at both. Jack true passion is design. He isn’t totally sure the type of design he wants to do yet, but fashion and architecture are both interesting to him. He’s the best or the worst dressed guy at Red Fountain depending on who you ask, considering he usually throws together items that don’t seem like they should be on the same body at the same time. His mom and dad don’t really get either of his interests, but are trying very hard to be supportive. Jack is the easiest going out of these characters (except maybe Ramiel) and gets along with just about anybody. He’s Thorn’s “wing man”(for both platonic and romantic interests because Thorn just doesn’t frickin talk to people) and the two are kind of a funny pair to look at since Thorn is so so tall, and Jack is….. not. He also gets along well with Anemone. Jack is very intuitive, and doesn’t feel comfortable around Eirlys, usually actively trying to avoid any contact with her. 

Stella and Brandon have Selene. Selene attends Alfea and is the Fairy of the Sun and Moon. Selene is kind of a screw up. She’s clumsy, forgetful, chronically late, messy, and awkward af. Selene doesn’t really think she suits the role of “princess of Solaria”, one of the most televised planets of the Magix Dimension(kind of like Los Angeles is the celebrity center of the US), but is constantly trying to be better at her role. Unfortunately she’s trying to force herself to be like her mom instead of trying it her own way. The one thing Selene is really good at is sculpting, and can usually be found hidden away in her studio with clay in her hands. and in her hair. and on her clothing. basically everywhere she is not neat. She’s pretty quiet in general but get her started on a project and she’ll rattle ideas off one after the other. She and Ruth are crafting besties, and trade creations frequently. She’s horribly intimidated by Thorn, though its mostly their mutual awkwardness clashing. She doesn’t like to be around Aidan much at all. 

This is Anemone! The unlikely product of Aisha and Nex! Anemone is the Fairy of Coral, and is attending Alfea. Anemone is the girly-est girly girl to ever girl. She likes the pink she likes the ruffles she likes the make up and the fashion and the pastels. But the thing Anemone REALLY likes about being a girly girl is that it means stupid people underestimate her, giving her the upper hand and allowing her to reign terror down upon her enemies. Anemone is a girly girl and also a stone cold bitch. She’s not the nicest girl, but that’s mostly because she has the highest self esteem of any of these characters and does not bother with things that are not worth her time. She’ll be respectful and polite as long as you are. She does confide in Ophelia and considers her a good friend, but also thinks Ophelia needs to get her shit together and stop moping lol. She also gets along well with Jack, as they both enjoy fashion and whatever trend is happening at the moment. She dislikes Eirlys, but doesn’t have a solid reason for why lol. 

Ramiel! Ramiel is Stormy’s son, his father isn’t in the picture. So basically after the news broke that some of the winx were pregnant (because lets face it they would be celebrity news) Icy processed it as “shit. they have reinforcements. we need reinforcements.” and proceeded to have herself, darcy, and stormy try to have kids. Icy had already broken Tritannus out of prison, and it was now just a matter of getting their human merfolk mix to actually work. Darcy has always been a romantic at heart so she promised to have a kid with the next man she was actually interested in. Stormy on the other hand has never really given a damn about romance, so she bore the brunt of Icy’s new obsession with continuing the ancestral witches blood line. Stormy didn’t necessarily mind the actual sex part(wasn’t enthusiastic about it either tho so :/ ), but HATED being pregnant. After a rough pregnancy, Stormy gave birth to a son who Stormy immediately became attached to, which was NOT was Icy was looking for, the ancestral and the trix power is passed down through the female line, meaning a son was functionally worthless to her. After Icy basically told her she would have to try again, Stormy took her son and noped out of there asap. She went to Ms. Griffin for help as a last effort, and after agreeing to be stripped of her magic she and Ramiel were relocated to a hidden, sparsely populated village deep in one of Lynphea’s forests. Ramiel knows nothing of his mother’s past, and, against her express wishes, decided to enroll in the Paladin program at Lynphea College. He thinks of Cymmeri as an annoying younger sister, and doesn’t know Eirlys or Arcturus. He vaguely knows of Thorn and Jack due to Red Fountain and the Order doing group training together occasionally. 

This is Darcy’s daughter Cymmeri, usually just called Cymi. She’s kind of a know-it-all, sassy child, who has only just started to display signs of her magic. She and Ramiel form coincidental friends after a random encounter, and she’ll occasionally go to him when she has a problem she can’t talk to her mom or other cousins about. She, like my version of Darcy, is at least part Koyuvian(my own personal made up planet not from the winx) which gives her the solid eye color. She wears enchanted glasses to make her eyes appear more ordinary, and to filter light that would otherwise hurt her eyes. Cymmeri also really likes to lean into the creepy goth child role just for kicks.

Eirlys and Arcturus are Icy and Tritannus’ twins. Eirlys attends Alfea and is the Fairy/Witch of Snow, Arcticus will eventually attend Red Fountain, though right now he’s learning magic from Tritannus, and acting as a support to his sister. The twins are actually too young to be attending either school, but their height and forged documents take care of that. both of them usually have spells in place to hide their more fishy traits but i wanted to draw them lol. Eirlys is a fitness nut and spends most of her free time exercising or playing sports. This also gives her an excuse to go on long solo runs so she can relay info to Arcturus who then takes it to their mom. Eirlys is kind of arrogant and can do no wrong in Icy’s eyes, where as Arcturus lacks self esteem and is constantly trying to prove his worth to their mom. Arcturus has an affinity for water, and most of his spells use it. Eirlys tries to force her relationship with most of the winx’s kids, but does genuinely get along with Ophelia.   

this isnt totally accurate for their heights but i did some of these really fast and the proportions are off lol. 

[rxin3srandomthoughts]

Ok here’s something interesting I thought I’d do since apparently I’m having a weird Ice Age phase. I’m gonna take all 5 films and I’ll tell you what is the best and worst thing about each film. So yeah, LETS GET IT!

Ice Age:

Best aspect - All the emotional moments and Manny’s whole backstory in general. This is one of the ONLY Ice Age films that have silent/emotional moments. They’re handled extremely well and I wish more were incorporated in the later films. Also, Manny’s backstory and his relationship with the baby is what makes him my favorite character.

Worst Aspect - The animation. I know it’s harsh to say because the first film came out in 2002, almost 20 years ago. But there isn’t anything else I would say that would be that negative toward the film.

Overal: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Ice Age: The Meltdown:

Best Aspect - Manny developing a relationship with Ellie. When Manny finds out his species is going to become extinct, he loses hope in finding a mate because his previous one was killed by hunters. That is until he meets Ellie. He is at first not onboard with having her tag along, but they soon grow a bond. I could go on for HOURS why I love this plot line. Ellie is also a nice edition to the cast. She’s Manny’s polar opposite which fits really well. Also, there is a moment in the film that’s one of my favorite scenes. When Ellie and Manny come across the place she meets her “brothers” Crash and Eddie. She is a young mammoth around this time, she loses her family in a snow storm so she hides underneath a tree. She comes across and opossum mother who adopts her into the family. It’s all spoken without any dialogue. It’s on the same level as Manny’s backstory in the first film tbh. But yes, this is practically the reason why I think this film is the best of the franchise.

Worst Aspect - Crash and Eddie. Ok I know they’re supposed to be comic reliefs, but I don’t know I’m not too big of a fan of them. Though, they aren’t as bad in this movie as they are in the 4th and 5th movie. Like they actually still care about Ellie and want what’s best for her and aren’t just being annoying little shits *cough* Collision Course *cough*

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Best Aspect - The dinosaur’s world. It’s very interesting to see Dinosaurs here. I really liked the concept and it was probably the craziest thing the franchise has done that is ACTUALLY believeable *cough* Continental Drift *cough* Buck was also pretty interesting. Even though he gets worse in the 5th film, in this movie he’s pretty alright.

Worst Aspect - So this might be something that doesn’t relate to the film but I wish this movie mentioned Manny’s previous child. The films could’ve made it like how Marlin was after Coral’s death in Finding anemones. Where he becomes over protective of the child because he lost his previous child. They almost work that into this movie and the next one after but they never bring up Manny’s backstory so it gives no reason as to why he’s being overprotective about the new baby. It’s honestly a nitpick and maybe that was what the writers were intending but yeah this is still a pretty good film

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ice Age: Continental Drift

Best Aspect - Peaches and Louis’ subplot. Yes, they are the clingy teen stereotype that MIGHT already be dated, BUT they are what saved this movie. Like I was really was invested in their relationship. Louis became one of my favorite characters in the whole franchise. *Cough* He should’ve gotten with Peaches, not Julian. *cough*

Worst Aspect - The fact that the villains are PIRATES. Like WHAT!? This was when the films started to introduce more crazy ideas, like pirates in the ice age. The only think I really liked about them was their little song they sing in the film. It’s oddly catchy. And the fact that Shira exists. (AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD A SEMI-CRUSH ON HER WHEN I WAS A KID!?) I ended up shopping Shira with Diego A LOT when I was a kid. Like it was one of my favorite ships back then lol. But yeah other than those two points, the whole idea of pirates in the ice age is just ridiculous.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️1/2

Ice Age: Collision Course

Best Aspect - Um.. I don’t know.. The song at the end was okay...

Worst Aspect - The movie acting like a bad sitcom episode, it trying to be hip but failing miserably, Buck coming back and becoming EXTREMELY annoying, Julian existing, half of the characters having no point to the story, Scrat in space, the whole plan to get the asteroid to not hit the earth, the fact that there are now animals that can live for an eternity because of the asteroid or some shit, the fact that when I saw this movie in theaters, there was a little girl in front of us and she would randomly get LOUD as we’re trying to watch the film, she literally screamed at the top of her lungs when the villains showed up at one point, it was ridiculous. Trust me, I would go on for HOURS about why I hate this movie. It’s so FUCKING bad that I now just pretend that it NEVER existed.

Overall: -⭐️ (Negatice 1 star btw)

[oceanmastertrash]

the tides know our names- 9/?

Summary:  -takes place after the movie- Orm is working with Arthur to try to help Atlantis move forward when Elara has a vision of his death. As part of an order of Atlanteans dating back to the reign of King Atlan known as Tidewatchers, it is her duty to warn the king of her vision. Predicting and reading the future through the tides of fate has never been easy but Elara is in for the challenge of a lifetime working with her former king to save his life.

Part: 9/?

Word Count: 2,299

Warnings: alcohol mention

Read on Ao3 / start from the beginning

Author's Note: apparently I forgot to post this chapter on here when I wrote it days ago. whoops. Sorry about that.

Working hard to be less aware of how close she and Orm suddenly were, Elara looked down to the coral reef below them. She kept her eyes locked on Calysa until the party was hidden from view by the coral reef. And, just like that, she and Orm were on their way to the surface and an uncertain fate.

-

Assuming they wouldn’t have been crushed by the ocean or exhaustion, it would have taken surface dwellers weeks to swim to their destination from Atlantis. Elara and Orm, however, managed it in the better part of a day.

Several hours of that, and by far the day’s longest stretch of time was spent travelling with the humpback whales. They had decided it best to stay with the pod for several hours in the name of stealth. It wasn’t til they were leagues and leagues away that they broke formation and struck out on their own. Elara had scanned the tides for any sign of a tail and, finding none, they changed headings for the Gulf of Mexico.

If they weren’t trying so hard to hide their tracks, they likely could have made the journey in just a couple hours. Atlanteans are extremely strong swimmers to begin with but Orm could cut through the water like a missile. Elara found herself having to do her best just to keep up with him. The last thing she wanted was him thinking of her as dead weight by asking him to slow down.

They hardly talked on their journey except to suggest a course change. They swam alongside other pods of whales and numerous schools of ocean life. Part of it was for stealth but to Elara, it seemed like it was something else for the prince. It felt like Orm was trying to soak up as much of the ocean while he could.

Throughout most of the day, Orm wore a look of complete concentration but there were times- when they swam with the stingrays or over a seabed of vibrant sea anemones that his expression changed. He seemed to be trying to remember and bask in everything about life below the waves while he still could.

While Elara had a fondness for the surface, she found herself doing the same. There really was nothing like the freedom and the ease of the ocean. Everything that felt so natural down here just felt stiffer and more bogged down up above.

Atlanteans in general had a superior sense of direction and location so Elara and Orm were able to find the correct inlet in the gulf of Mexico that would lead to the cottage Arthur’s friend was lending them. It really was an ideal location: close to the ocean but secluded and away from prying eyes.

At sunset, after all the effort and planning, they reached the surface with very little ceremony. They had been under the waves and then they stood on the shore, their fet still in the shallow tides.

Elara was exhausted physically and emotionally and wanted nothing more than to go inside and fall straight to sleep wherever she landed. But she stayed where she was. Orm seemed unwilling to move farther inland from where he stood on the shore. Almost to give him permission, she turned around to face the ocean they’d just swam through. Very slowly, Orm turned to join her.

They said nothing, just watching the sun set as they said their silent goodbyes to the waves. As the sun finally passed below the horizon, Elara felt all of the exhaustion of the day hit her anew. She didn’t want Orm to feel alone in this but the need to rest was not to be ignored.

She sighed, turning ever so slightly so she could look at him and the ocean as she said, “I’m going in. I’ll see what there is to eat.”

When he didn’t reply she turned back around and began walking up the beach to the cottage. Surprisingly, a beat later, she heard the splash of the waves as he followed her.

-

Their first couple days on the surface were miserable. Elara mostly blamed Orm for this but it was partially her fault. They’d gotten off to a rough start when, minutes after entering the safe house, she’d suggested that they change and dry off. He’d looked at her stiffly even as he dripped onto the lovely wood floors as he’d asked her “why on earth would I want to do that?”

She’d just sort of blinked at him and then went back to making dinner for them both. She understood being proud of the water and all but hadn’t had enough energy to explain to him how uncomfortable it was to slog about on the surface in drenched clothing. She’d decided this was just going to be one of those things that she’d let him discover on his own.

The first night she’d decided to let him sulk. She left food on the counter, but as he seemed disinclined to get up from where he sat soaking the couch she took her food to the furthest bedroom she’d decided to claim as her own. After eating she’d meant to shower but warm as she was in her dry clothes, she fell right to sleep.

The next day wasn’t much better. He’d at least changed into some different clothes but his mood wasn’t any better. She didn’t want him to get into the habit of relying on her to do cleaning and cooking but she also feared the idea of his clothes from yesterday laying in a sodden pile on the wood floors and growing mold. Instead she’d told him she was taking her wet clothes out to the deck to dry in the sun and suggested he joined her. To his credit he did but he was taciturn and silent.

He had a lot of resentment brewing and it seemed the list of things he resented about surface life only grew. He resented having to be told how to prepare food on the surface. He didn’t like the beeps from the microwave and he hated all of the food items that were highly processed. He complained about various packing materials and non-recyclable containers.

Bearing his complaints as best she could, she decided to go to the store and find some things he might like more like biodegradable packages, and loads of organic vegetables and meats that were as organic and unprocessed as she could find. Down below, Atlanteans ate a lot of what the surface might call seafood but she was convinced he’d hate something about their presentation so she’d opted for land meat instead. She invited him along to the store with her but he seemed disinterested in any interaction with the surface dwellers. Elara sighed and went without him.

Unfortunately, his mood didn’t improve the next day; if anything his frustration had grown and been joined by a sort of restlessness. He assented to cooking lessons but she sensed it was less to do with any real interest and more so he could have something to do with his hands.

He liked what she’d picked up better or at least complained less about it and he seemed to at least get some satisfaction out of chopping vegetables and fruits so she made burritos one day and a stew the next that would require his skills.

He wasn’t as bad as he could of been but he was miserable and by proximity he was making her miserable too. She tried to relax, to read what books were in the cottage or to try to meditate on the tides but Orm’s nervous energy was infectious. If he wasn’t pacing or chopping, he was surveying the land and house. Sometimes he’d scoff at something but, happily, he kept whatever dissatisfaction he had to himself.

She understood what he was feeling and certainly didn’t hold it against him but it was a lot to handle. She tried to keep to the common areas in case he had a surface question or seas forbid he wanted to talk instead of pacing about or practicing training routines. Not that she minded seeing him work through fighting forms through the windows but it was kind of hard to pretend to focus on anything else when he moved like that. At one point all of his anxious presence got to be too much for her and retreated to her room.

She’d said she was going to meditate the tides but really she took a bath and tried to unwind. She did actually try to glimpse relevant patterns but their future was as frustratingly muddy as it had been before they’d come up here. She tried to check in on Arthur but she failed to glean anything useful or any kind of progress.

She also tried suggesting that she take him into town to maybe see some local life but he was decidedly against such plans and she didn’t have it in her to argue with him. Did she think getting out of that house and off that beach would help? Yes. But she knew it would take more than just a few days for him to be desperate enough for that.

At first she’d thought it was convenient that the cottage was right off the beach but now it felt more like a curse. Because anytime they went outside or looked out the window, there was the ocean staring back at them.

She’d had a moment where she considered inviting him out for a swim with her but, she almost worried that if she got him back in the water she wouldn’t be able to get him back out of it again. Orm seemed to be on a similar wavelength because he never got close to it.

It felt like there was some invisible boundary line between them and the beach that he refused to cross. At first she thought that he was trying to resist temptation but then she sensed something else from him that shocked her. It felt, in that glimmer, that he was almost punishing himself for something by keeping his distance. The idea seemed so strange to Elara but, a couple times after she’d caught him looking out the windows he’d had this look in his eye that seemed to confirm her sense.

Four days passed in this kind of purgatory. They talked little but most of what they said was functional and pertained to tasks that needed doing. She would have loved to try to talk him through this but she didn’t feel she had that right.

On top of all this, she was endlessly restless as well at being essentially cooped up but she was doing her best to give him space. It was all driving her crazy. So on the fourth day, after failing to persuade him to go to town with her, she’d decided that something had to give. Remembering a very memorable evening she’d had out once as a Tidewatcher apprentice on the surface she went to town alone to get some supplies.

-

Carrying her spoils back to the house in her reusable bags, Elara began to wonder if she’d gotten too much or if this was even a good idea. Entering the cottage, she saw Orm in a short-sleeved shirt doing some of his training forms, the muscles in his arms tensing and relaxing in mesmerizing ways. No, she decided on the spot, this was definitely a good idea.

 Not addressing the prince, Elara went to the kitchen where she began to unpack her purchases. There were a lot of bottles and they basically filled the counters. Trying to position them all, she knocked a, thankfully non-glass bottle on the floor on her foot. At her muttered oath, Orm stepped in before seeing her purchases.

He had frown of confusion on his face, “What is all this?”

“This, my prince,” Elara said motioning before her to the many bottles of alcohol, “Is how we’re going to spend our friday night: partying like the surface folk.”

Orm’s frown was now one of distaste. “I have no interest in ‘partying’ especially not as they do up here.”

Elara had expected that, “aha! That is exactly why you need to.”

Orm began to turn away but Elara stopped him, “Orm wait.”

He paused, perhaps only because she’d called him by his name and not his title for the first time.

“Listen, I know it’s hard for you being up here. It’s driving you crazy and I get it. It’s hard for me too. But it’s not going to get easier by us ignoring each other and hoping we can get back to Atlantis tomorrow.”

He was silent for a moment before saying slowly, “I’m not trying to ignore you.”

“Well it still feels like you are,” she said sighing. “Listen, I’m not asking you to like all this but could you try to accept that this is happening? Arthur said he wanted you to get to know the surface and you’re not going to do that by pacing and training here all day everyday.”

He said nothing and she couldn’t read him so she kept going. “I’m not asking you to go out to a bar with me or go out and befriend the local townsfolk. Just work with me here.”

Finally, as if he might actually be taking her words to heart, he asked, “What would you have me do?”

“Tonight,” she said, “I want us to drink and if we’re feeling festive maybe actually talk to each other.”

He was still highly unhappy and hesitant as hell, but, to his credit he followed her into the kitchen to look at their collection of alcohol.

“Where do we start?”

A/N: hehehehehehe. Yeah buddy it is surface shenanigans time. XD In other news, as much as I love to write Orm's redemption, it was actually a lot of fun writing him being sulky and petulant in this chapter. As they say "Orm wasn't saved in a day!" okay so the original saying might have had to do with Rome, but whatevs. Despite my first thoughts for this chapter, I realized it was wildly optimistic to assume that after trying to wage war with the surface that he wouldn't be a Supreme Unhappy Camper if he was stuck up here. So that's what I was trying to stay true to here. Alright enough rambling, hope you guys liked!

[katieskarlette]

Talons of Power reactions

I got tired of waiting for the latest Wings of Fire book to come in at the library, so I bought it off Amazon, along with the paperbacks of books 1-7.  (#8 isn’t out in paperback yet.)  I rarely buy fiction, because usually I read it once and never again, so it’s easier on the pocketbook and the book shelf if I get it from the library.  But this series is such a delight, I had to add it to my collection.

Like, book 8 ended on a huuuuuge amazing jaw-dropping cliffhanger, and then there was an interim book that was a flashback that made the aforementioned cliffhanger even more significant, and now I finally got to read book 9, and it was amazing and so much happened but now I have to wait months and months for the next one and OMG I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH!

I laughed out loud several times, and was on the edge of my seat other times.  So many twists and unanswered questions, multiple gray characters, cute ships, cute dragons, scary dragons, shy dragons, conflicted dragons, perky dragons, grouchy dragons, flirty dragons, bickering dragons, jealous dragons, dragons dragons dragons dragons aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Ahem.  Anyway, I have a bit of a cold right now so the book couldn’t have arrived on a better day.  I curled up in the recliner and read the entire thing in two sittings.

Spoilers below!

Darkstalker is such an interesting character.  He keeps zig-zagging back and forth from “evil” to “misunderstood antihero who sneaks off at night to cry alone” and then back to “holy crap this dude is a veritable supervillain” again.  The best villains are those with whom the audience can sympathize with, to a point, and he’s definitely that.  One moment you’re thinking, “Well, he means well, and maybe it really is the corrupting influence of his magic eating away at his soul” and then you’re like, “The guy was already power-hungry and selfish as he was hatching, before he’d ever cast a spell.”  But he and Clearslight truly loved each other, but then he cast spells on her mind which was TOTALLY NOT COOL, but the only example of a relationship he had to model was his parents’ complicated mess, but Clearsight specifically asked him not to do that to her, but he meant well, but it destroyed the trust that is vital to a healthy relationship, but but but but MY BRAIN HURTS!

And his mom is still out there somewhere!  She HAS to come back and give him hell for being evil, then give him a hug because he needs one.

And Clearsight!  What happened to her?  I need to know!

I’m so glad Kinkajou is okay.  She’s so darn cute and bubbly.

Deathbringer/Glory continues to be my favorite ship.  I want to meet their marvelously snarky babies someday.

I was a little surprised that Darkstalker didn’t use his powers to restore the Nightwings’ city to its former splendor.

Turtle was a very likable POV character, how he kept unsuccessfully trying to pass the hero duties on to someone else.  Poor kid.

I remain a bit skeptical that he actually gave Anemone her powers, though.  It could have been coincidence that her powers manifested at that moment.  I’m not sure why I think that, but it seems like it could be a red herring/misunderstanding.  Then again, if Darkstalker can take away someone’s powers, it stands to reason that someone could give them, too.  (I was totally imagining Amon from Legend of Korra when he did that.)

Oh, and baby dragons tethered to their mommies with leash harnesses is still one of the cutest things I’ve ever heard of.  I know it’s just Coral’s paranoia and not a common practice, but dang the mental picture is SO DARN CUTE.

Anyway, yeah, loved the book.