#the heart of the ocean

[howifeltabouthim]

. . . there had been a moment. And it had been numinous and wonderful and transcendent and all those other words for the metaphysical, but that was what it was—a moment. As if he had been given a precious diamond and had held it for only a second before before accidentally dropping it into the ocean and having to feel the agony of watching it fall, glinting, through the water, less bright with every passing moment, knowing it could never be retrieved from the depths. (Was he just remembering a scene in Titanic?)

Kate Atkinson, from Death at the Sign of the Rook

[sentientcave]

IT'S WIP WEDNESDAY LADS - For something a little different, have a taste of one of my original works *The Heart of the Ocean*. It's just a fun little treasure hunting fantasy novel, featuring pirates, and magic and princesses and elves and intrigue! And orcs!

Tycho ducked into an ally to catch his breath, listening for the tell-tale clatter of hob-nailed boots down the cities narrow cobblestone streets. It was quiet, a sign that he had lost his pursuers, for the moment at least.

He was too big to blend in with human crowds, forcing him to navigate his way from the castle on the hill to the safe house on Pine street through the narrow, winding back streets, where he was less likely to be seen by anyone who would turn him over to the Imps. Other criminals would be likely to turn a blind eye, as loathe to draw Imperial attention as Tycho was.

He kept going, walking rather than running now, although his long legs carried him along the streets at a brisk pace. The medallion in his boot was chafing slightly and he looked forward to kicking them off once he made it to Pine Street.

“Now gentlemen, I really do think you’ve made a mistake. If you go about your business you will not be harmed, but I’m afraid I don’t have time to play nice. Get out of my way.”

Tycho’s ears pricked forward at the voice spilling out from around a corner. A woman, nervous, if not fearful, despite her bold words. There were gangs in King's Head that ruled the streets, and they would be none too kind to a woman out on her own in the back alleys. Why wasn’t she out on the well-patrolled main streets? Didn’t she know any better?

Harsh laughter followed. “Big words from such a pretty little girl, hey lads? It’s sweet of her to think about our welfare.”

Tycho peered around the corner, contemplating the scene. A plump little woman stood with her back to the brick wall, with four men standing in a loose semi-circle around her. She held the strap of her satchel with both hands, her dark eyes wide and anxious. She dressed simply, dark trousers tucked into boots and a well-made blue tunic belted around her middle, a warm woolen cloak pinned around her shoulders. Her hair was braided, but curling hair had escaped all around her face, giving her a slightly disheveled air, and her cheeks were rosy-red from either anger or the cold weather.

“I’m not concerned about your welfare,” she snapped. “I’m warning you.”

Mist was collecting around her ankles, rolling in from the far end of the alley. The thugs laughed again, not paying any heed to the thick, static feel of magic in the air. Humans weren’t as well-attuned to it, unless they worked their own spells, and even the worst human mage could make better coin than what could be made robbing women in dark corners of the city.

She must have been a mage, but she held herself like a noble, shoulders back, spine straight and stiff, her chin raised. She was someone who did not like to have to repeat herself, and she was running out of patience. The mist climbed higher, around her knees now, thick and clinging like un-spun wool.

The leader of the men stepped closer, not touching her yet, clearly intending to intimidate with his size. She glared back, unimpressed even though he was nearly a foot taller than her, and heavyset with muscle. “Warn me again,” he said, laughing down at her nastily. “I like the sound of your voice.”

The fog swallowed them whole.

The leader was the first to start swearing, and then there was the sound of bodies colliding, and the voices multiplied, accompanied by grunts and the sounds of bodies hitting each other. The woman appeared a moment later, backing out of the fog, an expression of deep concentration on her face. She bumped right into Tycho, and jumped, squeaking with surprise, and the fog disappeared in an instant, revealing the pile of fighting men, who froze in position, realizing that they were attacking each other rather than the slippery little mage.

She looked at Tycho, her eyes wide and wild, and then back at the others, who were beginning to recover from their own shock, and then back to Tycho again.

He wasn’t sure what had possessed him. She could clearly take care of herself. He grabbed her hand, and started walking fast, pulling her along. “Come on,” he said urgently, keeping his voice soft. “Let’s get out of here.”

She had to run to keep up with him, with her much shorter legs, so he slowed once they had taken enough random twists and turns to lose their pursuers, if they had even bothered to follow. Tycho was fairly sure his appearance would have scared them off. He was head and shoulders taller than the biggest among them, and a Breskar*, and his people had a fearsome reputation all across the world.

Tycho let go of her hand and she staggered back a few steps, breathing hard. “Are you alright?” he asked, a bit worried that he had pushed her too hard.

“Oh, yes,” she huffed. “I’m just—” She pressed a hand to her ribs, tipping her head back to look up at him properly. “Goddess you’re big. The legs on you!” She waved her hand vaguely at his lower half, like she’d never seen anyone his size in her life. “I’m Coraline. Thanks for the help.”

“You didn’t need my help,” Tycho said warmly. “I surprised you out of your spell.”

Coraline smiled at him. It said thanks for saying so and I don’t believe you at the same time. “Well, it hardly matters now. They're gone. Or, we’re gone, rather. I have no idea where we are.” She looked up and around, frowning at the brick buildings that loomed up around them, blocking out the daylight and leaving them in gloom. Brighter daylight spilled across the end of their path, where it crossed a much wider, much busier street. People streamed past in both directions, not so much as glancing at the darker spaces between the tall, narrow buildings.

*Breskarians are a sort of half-orc tiefling type of guy. So you know. HOT.

[burningchandelier]

Exactly what I would say about a cursed diamond.

[take-a-dip-in-the-deadpool]

It maybe the marijuana talking but i think one of the most beautiful and poignant scenes in cinematic history is when Moana returns the heart to Te Fiti. The whole thing is breathtaking.

[shadlad24]

The Full Heart and Full Circle

On this anniversary of the Titanic sinking, I’d like to explain Rose’s necklace drop at the end of the movie Titanic. Simply put, it was the culmination of a love story and the fulfillment of a promise. Multiple promises, really.

First of all, why would a frail little old lady who largely gets around by wheelchair scale slippery metal over the Northern Atlantic in the dead of night? Well, you see, ledges were her and Jack’s special thing. When young Rose’s inner turmoil burst outward, chased her to the brink of death, Jack appeared. He saw her. He… extended his hand. A complete stranger not only came alongside Rose but swore to go over after her if need be. Then he pulled her back from that ledge before leading her to another, showing her not an abyss but freedom. Even with the unholy trinity of terror, death, and despair surrounding them, literally clawing at the couple, the impact of what Jack had already done for Rose remained. That place was where he had met her and turned all of the darkness around her into light.

Yes, Jack saw Rose. He cared about her. That change for Rose was so great that she came out of her Titanic experience married as far as she was concerned.

Because in preventing her suicide, Jack gave Rose new life. Opened up a whole new world to her, one filled with bright possibilities. 

And more than blather the empty small talk that Rose hated so, Jack made his words real, made her promise.

But then he was gone. Dark, cold reality nearly took her breath away as it did to Jack. Even a flicker of hope was meaningless without him by her side. So, she watched the sole returning lifeboat drift away from her. Broke down and surrendered to the darkness because Jack was not there to give her light. Until she remembered her promise. The chill became a breath of fresh air, of life, and Rose used it to call for help. Refused to let that lifeboat leave without her.

Yet again, all too soon, her depression reemerged. Her bleak emptiness had gained survivor’s guilt for company. Never letting go of her promise required letting go of Jack’s hand… allowing him to plummet to the black, freezing depths that he had saved her from time and time again.

Nevertheless, Rose spent the rest of her life turning Jack’s dreams for her into reality.

Thus, she reached the end of her journey at long last. “The Heart of the Ocean” became her heart, full of the ocean that held Jack.

There was only one thing left for her to do.

Rose, near the Titanic for the first time in eighty-four years, likely never having set foot on another ship in that time, had come full circle. She made her life count before dying an old lady warm in her bed, as promised, but also took the dive over that ledge. Her heart plunged into the water to meet the challenge of “You jump; I jump.” And finally, finally, was she able to take Jack’s hand again. At last were they wed (note her wedding dress and hair ribbons) in front of all their friends who did not make it out of the ocean alive. They will be together forevermore.

[mygreatadventurehasbegun]

One Dress a Day Challenge- Part Two!

Not a Dress November

Titanic- Kate Winslet as Rose Dewitt Bukater

If we’re using this month to talk about accessories, there’s no way that the Heart of the Ocean won’t make an appearance!  I think if I had to pick one item that defined my pre-teen years, it might be this.  Me and all of my friends were obsessed with Titanic when it came out and we all wanted our own Heart of the Ocean (I actually had one that my Gramma bought me off the Home Shopping Network, lol).  

OK.  I have to confess something.  Until I did my research for this specific post, I thought The Heart of the Ocean was real.  And it’s not.  It was invented for the film, and it’s not a real piece of jewelry that they just borrowed the name for story purposes.  I think because Celine Dion wore it to the Academy Awards, I assumed that they loaned her the real deal...when in actuality, she’s wearing the necklace that they created for the film.  

Just shows how gullible my twelve-year-old self was, lol.

But the Heart of the Ocean was based on the famous Hope Diamond, which was owned by Louis XVI...so they borrowed the story and just adjusted some things.  For example, the Hope Diamond is 45 carats...while the Heart of the Ocean is 56 carats.

Either way, it’s still gorgeous!!

[superkursunaskr]

[melphelia]

Near...far...whereeeeever you are!

[anitalenia]

s u m m e r & o c e a n d i v i d e r s ⋆⭒˚｡⋆⊹₊ ⋆

credits to me. feel free to use and save. of course credit would be appreciated but it is not required. I’m just making these for fun <3 | requested by @justcallmesakira ( I hope these are to your liking, if not don’t hesitate to tell me. I know I said three days but I was up all night and decided to just do them. I gave you a lot of options if you couldn’t tell 😭 and I put some simple line dividers at the bottom, I really hope you like them 🫶🏻✨)

[18crowsinatrenchcoat]

Hello Ride the Cyclone fandom. A line up of the six doomed teens.

[haranikala]

Trains of Ghibli

☛ twitter, instagram, website ✉ art print shop

[sentientcave]

hi charlie! i’m sidling into your askbox because i can’t stop thinking about the snippet of the heart of the ocean (and tycho) that you shared!

if you want to share, what is one of your favourite parts of tycho’s characterisation? what have you found most challenging?

💜 pfhwrittes

Hi! It's P from @pfhwrittes! Everyone say hi to P.

Oh ho ho. It's really exciting that he snagged your attention, because the same thing happened to me when I started this whole thing (a story for another time).

I think my favourite thing about Tycho Mori is that his ass is so inconsistent. He's the kind of guy that reads the room, he pays attention, he makes plans and executes them, and when things don't go well he's got the strength of an orc and the luck of a devil to fall back on. He's smart, he's charming, he's got a cool head-- Until a certain type of woman walks into his life.

Tycho's biggest problem is that he's emotional, and volatile, so when the right person tips him off balance, he swings pretty wildly before he can return to equilibrium, and he's making stupid decisions and saying the wrong things and overlooking traps. Tycho when he's centered is a very different person than Tycho when someone's gotten under his skin. It's probably one of the more challenging aspects of writing his character too, playing up these two major facets and still maintaining clear characterization.

I just think he's neat!

[agirlinteruppted]

- stamps made my me! ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖

[montereybayaquarium]

✨Thank you volunteers✨

🌊 Our fin-tastic volunteers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium have been making waves since before our doors even opened in 1984, cumulatively giving over 4.5 million hours of their time! From sea otter rescues to keeping our exhibits sparkling— underwater, no less—they've truly buoyed our spirits and kept us afloat for 40 years. Thank you, volunteers, for your tireless dedication to inspiring conservation of the ocean! 🐠💙🦦🫂

[amaterasou]

ghibli films

[vangoghcore]

by danielkordan