#phobia of swimming

[ghosted-draws]

You sit there, sinking, barely struggling- as waves of emotions wash over you, pulling you under.

White space is a starting place for Sunny and, in turn, Omori. It’s the very first room headspace ever made him. If he doesn’t distract himself, he finds himself sinking back into those feelings that created it to protect him in the first place.

[zutaras-where-its-at]

zutara prompt: au in which zuko doesn’t know how to swim and katara teaches him while she’s still unsure whether they can trust him (at the beginning of his redemption arc)

she hates him. really, she does.

he’s a no-good, lying, son of a bitch, and if he hadn’t betrayed them in ba sing se, aang wouldn’t have a scar cratered in the skin of his back. she hates him.

except—

he just looks so…pathetic right now.

everyone else is carving graceful arcs in the water, whooping as they dive headfirst into the frigid-but-still-functioning pool they found in the western air temple. even toph—who notoriously can’t swim and hates being in water—wades casually in the shallow end next to teo.

but zuko won’t even get in.

the heavy look of dread that muddles his sharp features and curls his proud shoulders inward is enough to elicit a stab of sympathy in her for the scorned prince, and katara wonders at the fact that sympathy and hatred are apparently not mutually exclusive.

it’s pity that leads her to brush past him with hardly a glance as she says, “if you don’t know how to swim, you don’t have to get in.”

“i know how to swim,” he snaps, then flinches when he sees who he’s speaking to. calmer, he repeats, “i know how to swim.”

she just ticks a brow speculatively. “you sure?”

zuko has tried very hard to be extra civil with her the last week, but now, she can see just how difficult it is for him to keep the glare off of his face. “i’m sure.”

there’s something there, then. something hesitant and anxious and dark that twists his mouth and keeps his eyes from really looking at her. and katara—observant as she is—recognizes it for what it is.

“okay. so you’re scared.”

he looks stricken, suddenly, adam’s apple bobbing once up and down in his throat. he still won’t look at her. “i’m not.”

it’s sharper now, sitting just under the surface, so katara sinks her talons into it and tugs—“you don’t like the water. you’re afraid of it.”

“i’m not afraid of the fucking water, okay?” he inhales and bites his lip and balls up his fists, “it’s just cold, is all.”

“cold?” she drawls disbelievingly. in the background, aang hollers loudly as he cannonballs into the deep end. “aren’t you a firebender?”

at that, his gold gold gold eyes finally find her face, and she’s startled by the raw panic she sees in them. after a long moment, he seems to make up his mind about something. she watches as he gathers his words properly in his mouth and confesses quietly, “i almost drowned. in the north pole.”

she puts two and two together in record time—because she’d always wondered how he’d snuck into the heart of the northern water tribe under such intense war-time surveillance, had always been confused and resentful of the fact that he’d stolen aang out from right under her nose when she’d least expected it—and frowns.

she thinks about her childhood, how hakoda taught them to check for thin ice, carefully pick their fishing spots, and above all, what to do should they fall in. it’s been drilled in them since they were young, that the ocean is no joke, but the poles are a nightmare should you step wrong. hypothermia, hidden icebergs, the disorienting dark beneath the surface—

katara hates him.

but it’s just so pathetic and sad the way he watches them all with lonely eyes and a fear anyone could see from a mile away.

because all too soon, she’s convinced aang that there’s absolutely no way he and zuko are strong enough firebenders to heat up the swimming pool, and surely zuko hasn’t taught him well enough that they could actually do it in under five minutes, and really, she doubts zuko even knows how to control the temperature so it doesn’t boil them.

she hates him, but maybe—maybe she doesn’t.

[rainbowbarnacle]

I helped make a little thing for Mermay:

I wrote the dialogue, PhasmidASMR made the video and did the voice acting and sound effects. He's already written and voiced tons of audio dramas, and I've been having amazing fun writing some scripts for him lately.

In these one-sided audios, the idea is that you, the listener, are a character being spoken to. In this one, you're out looking for agates, attempt to cross a log, and end up falling in a river. Fortunately, there's a merman there to haul you out of the water and give you some swimming lessons.

And he's interested in your hiking snacks.

Listen for great voice acting, soothing water sounds, fun merfolk headcanons, backstory, and a ton of affectionate snark. (No romance in this one, you're just buds.)

[serial-designation-jey]

2:10AM

[oldfritz]

i try to read more about bugs to help ease my phobia and honestly all it does is make me fear them more

[cn100eg]

At last, we have the third and final part of the Frylock screenshots from the Quiet Shake episode. And this one would shock a lot of people. View the first two part before this one.

Content Warning: Gore

Part 1: link

Part 2: link

Frylock comes home and was surprised that Shake's band was doing so well! He finds it impressive.

Frylock expressions while doesn't believe that there's a different alien that eats nerds.

Uh oh... Frylock is attempting fate!

That precious smile as he knew that something bad isn't gonna hap-

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO *inhales* OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! WHY DID MY CUTIE FRIES HAVE TO DIE LIKE THAT WHEN HE SAVED THE WORLD?!?! HE DESERVES WAY BETTER THAN THIS!!! THE ENDING OF PLANTASM HAS ALREADY GAVE ME A SORE HEART LAST YEAR! Welp... it is Aqua Teen after all... ;_; 💔💔💔💔💔💔

Despite the unfortunate death scene, this episode is great. The fact Frylock saved the world was a satisfying touch. While this ep is an parody of a movie, it's relatable to the 2020 Covid pandemic in a way.

Now will you excuse me… I must now grieve to Frylock's unfortunate death…. ;~; 💔💔💔

Until the next episode of course! :3 💖💖💖

[monty-glasses-roxy]

Hey did you guys know that wolves have webbed paws in order to swim better?

Hydrophobic Roxy being built in both biological and animatronic AUs where she's designed closely to a wolf is a little entertaining to me I dunno how to explain it

[supportingfire]

thoma doesn't have many acute phobias, but one of them is drowning, and by extension, thalassophobia (fear of open/deep water.) i don't think it really needs to be explained but in short, his boat bringing him to inazuma was destroyed before he reached land, and he spent hours in open water on a piece of drift wood before eventually passing out. it was by luck and chance that he washed up on ritou's shores where someone was able to find him and revive him. he swallowed a lot of water during the process, and nearly died from drowning. the event was traumatic, though thoma has never admitted this to himself, and left him with an almost subconscious fear of drowning, and open ocean.

[catt-crossing]

aight besties im not gonna reveal details just yet but

did i buy a swimsuit purely because this really kind guy im talking to said he would love to hold me in his arms and try to reach me to swim 😳

I sure fucking did!

[lucidicer]

i wanna play stranded deep since its my library but i think id get nauseous if i went in the water in the game

[demonindistress]

I'd add the Tom Cruise tier to the list , where the actor himself calls a director up like "yo, i just thought of some new certain-chance of-death-small-chance-of-success stunts, can you build a script around them? Also I will also be needing a single thread of spiderweb from which I will be dangling over a live volcano. "

Movies where the lead actor did their own stunts are always either "the director forced them to stand in freezing water for fourteen hours a day while periodically throwing rocks at their head for the sake of 'authenticity' and they got PTSD and almost died" or "they insisted over the explicit objections of the production's insurance company that they be set on fire for real because it would 'help [them] understand the character's motivation'" – there's absolutely no middle ground.

[shaplandswimschools]

How to Help Your Child Face Their Fear

Take Baby Steps: Gradually introduce water in a fun, non-threatening way. Start small, like letting them play with water toys without fully getting in the water.

Make it Fun: Turn bath time into a game by using toys, bubbles, and lots of encouragement. The more fun they associate with water, the less scary it will feel.

Be Patient: Don’t rush or force them into the water. Give them time to adjust, and celebrate small wins—whether it's splashing around or just dipping their toes.

Consider Professional Help: If the fear persists, enrolling your child in special swimming lessons designed for water-phobic kids can make all the difference. Instructors with experience in dealing with water phobia know how to create a calm and supportive environment.

[wryn-redacted-thrives]

lost a fight to a small creepy crawly in my bedroom a few minutes ago and now i’m stuck standing in the middle of my kitchen, hands in pain from repeatedly washing them in steaming hot water, losing vision in my right eye, unable to open my mouth, and gently shaking.

i think i may need to up my dose of zoloft

[adelie-empress-penguin]

What? You scared of a fuckin Mola Mola? Whale shark go :o at you? :O?

you sure?!?

[butchlifeguard]

need an ethical way to go on a trip where the only things to do are snorkeling and swimming and chilling at the beach