#this was not related to the aquarium I just want them to see my orca pod
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medievalwitch · 8 months ago
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No one knows how close I was to orcas yesterday
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"But SeaWorld doesn't talk about the Southern Residents!" Sorry but I know and have heard trainers talk about the Southern Residents during Inside Look, Encounter programs and during Dine with Orcas. They've discussed their research projects like the drone studies and milk composition studies, which have directly and indirectly assisted with monitoring the population more accurately. And they have discussed specific threats that orcas face in the wild.
Could it be mentioned more specifically in shows? Sure. But it's funny how anti caps in the notes shrug off Blackfish not mentioning it, or don't criticise "conservation" groups, which just yell about captivity to their tens of thousands of followers daily, but are critical of SeaWorld for not throwing Breach the Dam messaging to tourists at a theme park. Those "conservation" groups are literally primed for action - they'll sign whatever petition you shove in their face if they think it'll make orcas less sad.
But we also need to think about target audience. For example, tourists going to a theme park are less likely to be receptive to radical conservation action messaging than members of a anti captivity focused Facebook group/page who tend to do a lot of ego stroking about who can do the Most for orcas (usually without doing a whole lot, except for signing a petition).
I remember when I used to reach the conservation part of my keeper talks at the aquarium with the threatened to almost endangered dugong species - one of the only dugongs in human care, which is a huge privilege to get to see up close. And people just... left. Some people stayed and I hope that they understood some of the messaging. But unfortunately intense conservation messaging doesn't really work in that sort of setting.
It's a lot more subtle, like signage or interactive exhibits. The best moments are usually when you can engage people one on one or guests are curious enough to approach and ask questions or when you have a more captive audience who wants to know more.
In SeaWorld's case, I would say that Inside Look, Dine with Orcas and Orca Interaction Programs are a lot more likely to be effective in conveying specific conservation messaging. Whereas the theatrical shows start to plant the seeds of conservation thinking, while being entertained and hopefully inspired to learn more.
The general public is extremely saturated by anti captivity messaging. It's clear on every comment thread you read. For whatever reason, someone has linked an image of a wild orca to anti SeaWorld/Blackfish related propaganda and said how glad they are that the animal is "free!"
Whale watching companies also feed this sort of egotistical "you're doing a good thing by seeing them in the wild." rhetoric, which reinforces this idea that they're making a Difference. When they're just seeing orcas from a boat (and sometimes harassing them hooray)
It's clear because of how much the algorithm feeds you anti SeaWorld/anti captivity crap if you so much as like a video of a wild orca. Because it's rage bait - its gets views and comments and that's what the algorithm likes. So more people are getting saturated over and over with this message of SeaWorld being the biggest threat to a killer whale over anything to do with dams, salmon populations, fishing gear entanglement ect.
It's just: #saveorcas #fuckseaworld #blackfish
Well done, you've done an Activism by doing Nothing. You did it.
There are 58 orcas in captivity worldwide (19 of which live at one of the three SeaWorld parks). There are 74 Southern Resident orcas left. Do with this information what you will.
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dammitadolfnomorecake · 4 years ago
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Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 155
155
What Lance didn’t know was that Keith was also having a hard time focusing solely on the fish. The aquarium part wasn’t hugely fancy. Nice, but a little repetitive with the main attraction being the big tank you went past when you came in. The place used to breed stock for international and domestic populations, with some fish way cooler than others. The sharks were cool. Kids in awe as they came near the glass wall of the tank that arched up and over the walkway. Keith could have totally dick punched a shark of the glass wasn’t in the way. Irrational fear of the glass breaking had him holding his breath until they’d passed from under the tank. Even Lance seemed jumpy as he flinched as the hugest stingray Keith ever seen turned the tunnel black as it passed overhead.
Tank after tank sat alcoved in the walls. The amount of colours and shapes were ridiculous. Everything was amazing, still Lance managed to bombarded his field of vision. Keith wished Lance hadn’t hidden his face away behind sunglasses, he wanted to see Lance’s eyes, see if his boyfriend was mesmerised by all the thousands of fish or if he was hiding his disinterest. He knew his boyfriend loved water. He loved all things ocean related. He also knew Lance was secretly addicted to documentaries. He hadn’t predicted Lance would be caught up watching him in his date plans. God. How was his heart supposed to cope with this? He felt flustered and way too happy to be the centre of Lance’s focus.
Holding Lance’s hand, Keith interlaced their fingers together so Lance couldn’t wander away. Sometimes he swore his boyfriend did it just to scare the crap out of him, and he never wanted to feel the way he had when they’d gone to the shopping centre together. Dragged away from the lower tanks and crowds of families, Keith was off in his own head taking a long moment to realise they’d stopped in front of a recreated set of jaws
“What the fuck is that?”
Meaning the painting behind the jaws that were kind of intimidating as hell with those big fuck off teeth and a whole lot of nope
“It’s the jaw set of a Megalodon. In front of it is the jaw set from a Great White”
Documentaries were one thing. This... was... Keith wasn’t sure how he’d look at the beach again. Megalodons better bloody be dead. There was no way he was letting kids in the water at any beach with those huge bastards swimming around
“You know how I said I’d punch a shark for you... I would, but those teeth...”
Lance snorted at him, his boyfriend tugging his hand free
“I’m the only one who gets to sink their teeth into you... plus, I won’t tell if you punch it. I’m going to punch it”
Keith panicked hard. Punching an exhibit seemed a good way to be booted out
“What?! Babe, you can’t... They’ll kick us out!”
Shrugging him off, Lance waited until no one was close to them before walking over to the set of jaws. Covering his face, Keith didn’t want to look, but that didn’t stop him from peaking through his fingers, watching as Lance punched the lower jaw with all the aggression of a leaf. Grinning at him, Keith realised he’d been had. Lance obviously wouldn’t punch an actual exhibit. Groaning, Keith dropped his hands as Lance covered his toothy smile. What the heck had he been thinking? Why was he acting so totally lame and uncomposed
“You can touch you know. Because it’s not an actual jaw set. Didn’t I mention that?”
“No. You conveniently forgot to. Stand still, I’m going to take a photo and tell Pidge you’re being mean to me”
Moving his hand to his forehead, Lance faked a staggered swoon
“Oh no! Not the Gremlin! How ever can I apologise?”
Talk about dramatic. His boyfriend should have been an actor
“You fear the Gremlin as much as I do”
Keith pulled out his phone to snap a few shots as Lance posed as if scared he was about to be eaten. What an idiot. A big dorky idiot that was his
“I do, but it’s a healthy fear built up over the years and smothered in love”
“Oh, so no love for Hunk?”
“Excuse you. Hunk is the embodiment of sunshine. Now come over here and let’s get a photo together. You can even punch a shark in the mouth”
“I’m not into destroying the displays like you are”
Lance rolled his eyes at him, holding both hands out until Keith finally started moving towards his boyfriend. He’d gotten a good spread of Lance. He’d be screwed if his boyfriend wanted to look back at today’s photos. Ninety-nine percent of his photos were of Lance
“You break into a school once and they never let you forget it. Lotor never did bother clueing us in on that. A bit like how I still have no real idea about Rome”
Posing for photos with Lance, Keith didn’t know what to say about Rome or why they were going back to that again
“Rome is done with”
“I know. I still don’t know much about what happened though. I know. Today’s not the day to ask”
“Nope. I can’t even remember what I’ve told you, but I don’t know how much that matters when the most important outcome is that you’re safe”
“And Curtis is all demony. Do you think he’s stronger than me now?”
Keith stowed his phone away. Curtis shouldn’t have to feel obligated to tell him more than he was ready to. So he hadn’t pushed it
“Maybe. Does he feel different to you? I mean, you can like tell can’t you? About the demon?”
Humming, Lance looped his arm around Keith’s, the pair of them starting to move away from the fake jaws
“A bit. He’s still Curtis though so that’s all I need to know. I’ve given up on me ego being a weirdo. I mean, Matt and Rieva sometimes set it off and that’s whack seeing they’re family”
“Our family is weird as hell”
Lance nodded with a laugh
“Our family is close to hell. Seriously. A vampire who senses death and sees fuzzy things. Pidge who is a raging gremlin with no coffee. A demon from hell. Matt and Rieva are much more powerful under the light of the moon. You’re all dark and broody...”
“What about Shiro?”
Lance’s tone was strained and reaching, words slightly spaced
“He’s got dark hair?”
“That’s all you’ve got?”
“Yep. I know. I’m lame. I don’t know. Sometimes I did want to shake him, but he’s your brother and he’s family. I can see why he’s such a weirdo after meeting the Blades. I can’t imagine a whole bunch of them. It scares me”
That hurt. To Lance they’d always be distant and weird... then again, that was the truth, even if him being a Blade was what brought them together. They’d let a mark be put on his head, he’d always be a case on their files that someday someone might change their minds over
“Then it’s a good thing you don’t have to. How does Hunk work into this?”
“Ummmm... The sun is hot and the flames of hell are? I don’t know. He’s like all the good things in one... Didn’t I tell you I was low on brain cell power?”
Turning to face Lance, Keith pretended to feel for a fever, teasing his boyfriend lightly as he did
“You’re not warm... I think you got away with using that brain power but you should probably give it a rest. I don’t know how to explain to people that your head exploded from thinking”
Lance gaped at him, then huffed as he pouted
“You’re so mean. It’s not my fault. I’m like smart and stuff. It’s happened before”
“Maybe. Maybe not. How will we ever know?”
Lance hummed lightly, before clicking his fingers
“Oh! I’ve got it! If I’m so dumb, why did I choose to spend the rest of my undead life with you?”
Keith shrugged, cheeks warm as he tried to play down how happy he was that Lance had
“I’ve been asking myself since the moment you liked me back. Maybe your dumbness wore off on me?”
“This coming from the guy who thought I’d turned him after he punched me in the mouth. You were such a cute little anger loaf. All broody and pouty...”
Ugh. He’d never ever live that down. Lance would drop it in an instant if Keith asked
“Like you’re any better you idiot crumpet. At least I had my reasons”
Because vampires had been the sworn enemy and had robbed him of the most family like family he’d known. He’d loathed them. Thrown himself in recklessly and nearly lost his life, only have everything he’d taught be wrong
“I know. I’m really glad you opened up to me. This is much nicer than jumping out of windows to avoid you, or rescuing you from would be muggers”
“That happened once”
Did Krolia really count? They hadn’t known it was her soooo maybe?
“Ahem, twice. First at the cinema. Or did you forget my manly attempts to save you”
Keith snorted. Oh. He barely remembered that. He’d been pissed at being forced to move at Lance’s speed
“Manly? I thought you were the biggest moron ever”
“Rude! I was very manly and stuff. You’re breaking my heart”
That was lie, Keith biting back with
“Better than staking your heart”
“Don’t go staking my heart!”
Lance sounded like he was singing something, Keith staring at him blankly
“Elton John? Babe, you do know who that is, right?”
“A singer?”
“Oh babe... oh, my sweet idiot. I have so much to teach you”
“If you say so”
“I do. He is legend. I’m shook. I’m shook and going to need to educate you on the way of Sir Elton”
Of course he knew who Elton John was. He kind of knew the song yet was sure the lyrics didn’t go like that. Keith muttering under his breath
“I’ll shake you”
“Nooo. No shaken vampires. It’d be like shaking one of these tanks. Our little cupcakes are gonna be all swished up”
“Fine. You get a free pass for now. Where do we go next?”
“They’ve got an exhibit on Orcas. Did you know they’re not a whale but a dolphin?”
“Yeah, and that they attack moose. They’re like the family member you don’t invite anywhere”
Lance nodded quickly
“I know, right. Dolphins are supposed to be all cute and then you’ve got killer whales. They’re nasty. Man, jelly fish have the right idea with no brains”
Keith wasn’t about to be “out facted”. Not when he knew stuff about stuff
“Did you know people used to stand in whales like it was a magical cure”
“Well, did you know Moby Dick was based on a real whale named Mocha?”
Keith wanted to protest that one. Mocha was a delicious coffee drink... instead he moved onto his next fact
“Did you know a Blue whale can live up to 90 years?”
“Mhmm. Like how their tongue can weigh the same amount as an elephant. You know people think Nessi is a sturgeon”
“Nessi can’t be explained. Nessi doesn’t need explaining”
“Just like Mothman?”
“Yep. Somethings just are”
“You’d make a cute Mothman. Jumping off balconies and all”
“That wasn’t my fault! I blame Shiro”
“Suuuure. Blame your brother. Let me know how that works out for you”
Keith huffed in defeat. He had no one to blame other than the bottle of tequila
“Whatever. Which way to the Killer Whales?”
“To the left. You know, they can weigh up to 6 tons”
“And that they’re teeth are like 4 inches long. And sharks don’t even like eating humans”
Keith felt kind of smug being able to match Lance fact for fact, until he found himself choking on air as his boyfriend delivered the final blow and Keith without a comeback
“If you want 4 inches, I’ll give you the longest four inches of your life”
Whelp. There was nothing smart he could say back to that. He had nothing. His brain had short circuited and his blood was fast draining down to his other brain. Laughing, Lance tugged him along, Keith stumbling as he let himself be moved. How did he reply to that? He didn’t have a reply for that. Now he was popping a semi in his jeans and he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to look at whales the same way ever again.
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lifeofclonewars · 4 years ago
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Plo Noon, Compet, Sinkspur, Dooffe, and Spewst
Part 2 to Wolffe Koon and the Missing Aliit Members (Sequel to Zoolffe, Stinker, Zoost, Gonet, and Glo Koon. I recommend you read that first). Part 6 of Pun Wars (I’d appreciate if you read those first, but not required for understanding).
As always, AO3 link is below if you prefer that.
Summary:
*hacker voice* I’m In Petition to get GPS trackers for Wolffe for his aliit
Jurassic Park I second
Keeling Over Same
Thorn In Your Side Definitely Sorry Boost and Sinker
T-Mobile No, I totally get it
Werewolf? There Wolffe! I hate you all
--
In which Plo gets lo-- er, sidetracked-- around noon, Comet attempts to adopt a penguin, Sinker spurs on the group chat, Wolffe makes a doof of himself, and Boost continues to spew facts.
----
Chat: Fett Dynasty
Jurassic Park
Wait, seriously?
Wow, that was less time than I thought
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
Yeah, same
But we’re 100% sticking together this time
T-Mobile
Yeah, cause some of us can’t watch a 10 y/o properly
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
Boost
T-Mobile
Yeah?
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
Shut it
Think Outside The Fox
Lol
----
Two weeks after the Zoo Incident, the Koons were headed out in public again. Destination: the aquarium. Buir insisted they’d be able to handle it, as long as they didn’t split into groups this time. Boost agreed readily, excited to put his new zoology book facts to the test. Comet was most enthusiastic about seeing more penguins. Sinker and Wolffe? Well, they were looking for a chance to prove their trustworthiness when watching Comet again. Even if they weren’t splitting up. 
Wolffe had a feeling his brothers’ increasingly chaotic shenanigans from staying at home is what pushed his dad into planning this trip. 
(Probably somewhere between Sinker and Boost screaming while threatening to re-dye each other’s hair and Comet sneak-attacking Sinker and causing them to almost stumble into Mom’s favorite vase. Or maybe between Comet trying to get Warthog and Meerkat to let him set Vandor on their backs and Boost reciting his zoology book up the staircase to bug Wolffe. Actually, likely after ba’vodu Alph’s kids visited one day and created more chaos in two hours than the four of them had managed to make in a week.)
The aquarium was across the city from the zoo. While it was smaller in perimeter, it had multiple floors, something the zoo was unable to do. Three levels in all, plus a sort-of-a-stadium where they held demonstrative shows, and seemingly more crowded than the zoo.
Given the space differences, the number of people was likely the same. But due to the closer quarters, staying together and not splitting up— intentionally or not— would present itself as a challenge. 
The entrance had been filled with people packed like sardines. Somehow, the Koons had made it through without incident and then were off to the nearest bit of wall to plan. Immediately, Sinker slumped against it. Boost had been the one to grab a map this time; he took his time making a show out of unfurling the paper. 
“This place looks sofishticated,” buir stated. More puns, because what is a Koon family trip without them, apparently. Not that he was wrong; the place was an odd cross between neoclassical and modern architecture. Like someone mashed Ancient Greece and the city’s downtown into one building and somehow pulled it off.
“Why yes, yes it does,” Boost responded with a dramatic flair. He scanned the map, then folded it up, tucking it under his arm. “We’re going to the sharks first because I said so.”
Buir leveled him with a look but when his other three sons shrugged their shoulders, off they went. 
The sharks weren’t in the immediate vicinity. Instead, it was across the building and on the second level. A quick trip through the nearest staircase and a walk across, and they were there. A plastic reef greeted them as they walked into the exhibit. 
Once inside, glasses lined both lines, holding a rainbow of fish, flora, and other marine creatures. Sharks swam about, minding their own business and going about whatever giant fish did on a daily basis. Some of the tanks only held certain species of sharks, while others (the larger ones) held a wide array. 
Informative signs stood wedged in corners and in front of the glass. Comet spent his time pointing out things mentioned on signs in real life. Sinker simply observed, and Boost began to talk their ears off once more. The zoology book he had gotten at the zoo had just added fuel to the fire.
Chat: Fett Dynasty
Banana Sink
Boost stop talking and let me enjoy the killer fish in peace challenge
Hunter-Gatherer
...what
Thorn In Your Side
You good there, Sinker?
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
We’re by the sharks. Boost is flaunting his zoology brain again
Green Man
I approve
Banana Sink
You don’t get a say in this, Mr. Biologist
We’ve been at the aquarium all of 10 minutes and he hasn’t shut up once
Sixes
r.i.p. your ears
Have fun
Banana Sink
Gree please adopt him, kidnap him, something!
It’ll do both of us a favor
Old Man Dad Bly
Gree, vod, Do Not
Green Man
Sorry, ori’vod, that sounds like a good plan…
Lakes
Have fun, Gree
I’ll be ready if you just so happen to need bailing out
Regardless of what was happening between the cousins, Boost ignored the notifications and continued to talk more. Honestly, not that that was a surprise. He probably couldn’t even feel the phone buzzing over how fast his vocal cords were working. 
As they moved towards the exit, buir turned, stated, “Stay jaw-some,” and continued on. Sinker shared an exasperated look with Wolffe before following after him. Comet raised an eyebrow, grabbed his eldest brother’s hand, and dragged him along. 
They exited and Boost once again took charge, leading them to the nearest exhibit. This time: whales. 
“Whale, whale, whale, what do we have here?” buir questioned as they entered and turned towards the first set of whales. Behind the glass was a trio of dwarf sperm whales— the smallest whale species, according to both the plaque and Boost’s running commentary.
“Is anyone going to keep a running number this time?” Wolffe suggested.
“I do every day,” Sinker admitted, “but not because I want to. It’s like a permanent fixture in my head to try to keep me sane as I listen to them.” At that, Comet snickered into his free hand. “He’s only at three but that’s bound to rocket sooner rather than later.”
“Tell me when he hits ten,” Comet said. Sinker rolled his eyes and nodded. They were all vulnerable to Comet’s requests and they knew it. Try as they might, it was hard to say no to him. Stupid baby brother effect.
The aquarium didn’t have as many kinds of whales as they did sharks. Besides the dwarf sperm whales, they had belugas, orcas, and a few others Wolffe didn’t bother reading the plaques of. At one of the tanks, one of the employees was feeding the whales. 
Buir’s face lit up in sudden comprehension. He listened to Boost chatter on, and, after a pause where Boost caught his breath after an exclamation, opened his mouth. “You’re krilling me right now! That’s super cool!”
Sinker looked dead inside. 
“Hey, cheer up, Sink,” Comet chirped at him. “Sometimes life can be over-whale-ming. It’s okay.”
“Not you, too,” he mumbled, dropping his head into his hands. Comet just laughed and skipped over to buir.
As Comet began to recount what just happened, Boost turned to the other two. “Did I just hear Comet make his own whale pun?” The look on Sinker’s face said enough. Boost laughed. “I’m so proud of him. You’ll be fine, Sink. Everything whale be okay. Whether that’s once we leave the exhibit or the aquarium is up to debate, though.”
“You stink.”
“No worse than you.”
They continued through the end of the exhibit with more bickering and teasing. The exit opened up into a hallway filled with people. Seeing the crowd, they stayed by the doorway but not blocking it. Buir turned toward his silver-haired son. “Is there anywhere you’d like to see? I fear we’ve been leaving you out of these decisions.”
He shrugged. “I’m fine with it. But seeing sea otters again would be cool.” 
Consulting the map told them the sea otters were on a different floor. Once again, they wormed their way through the crowds, hands and arms grasped, until they came across a staircase and made their way to the third floor. 
Unsurprisingly, the third floor had as many people as the other two floors did. One crammed walk and they made it to their destination. These exhibits were different from the ones they had seen so far. The sharks’ had been tanks filled almost completely to the ceiling. The whales’ had the same height of tanks but had been half-filled, leaving room for air and whatever tricks the smaller ones felt like attempting.
Instead, there was a shallower pool and many rocks for the sea otters to climb around on. All things considered, it didn’t look too different than the one they had seen at the zoo. And just like at the zoo, Comet began to wave. 
A small otter wandered their way closer to the glass. It waved and Comet’s face split into a grin. How the Force was he this lucky with animals? He must radiate some pure, shiny, approachable vibes to them because this was uncanny. 
“Aww,” buir said, watching the little bugger and his new friend wave at each other. “How otterly adorable.”
Whether he was calling Comet or the otter cute didn’t matter: either way, Sinker groaned. 
“Oh, no!” Boost exclaimed. “Not an otter pun!” His raised voice and exaggerated gestures as he said it led Sinker to reaching over and punching him.
“Stop making fun of me.”
The maroon-haired teen’s face scrunched up. “I didn’t say anything related to you.”
“It was implied.”
“Would you rather I start listing facts about otters?” He raised an eyebrow at his younger brother.
“I’m good.”
“So I thought.”
Wolffe rolled his eyes as the duo turned back to the otters. Comet had made his way to the plaque and was scanning it for names. Continuing with his tradition of trying to find individual ones and waving to each, he exuded elation. His joy appeared to be rubbing off as other groups, both passing and watching the otters themselves, smiled at his antics and even beginning waving themselves. 
Once done, he climbed on top of the plaque.
“Comet—” buir started but didn’t get far.
“I’m fine!” The ten-year-old flung himself off of his perch and onto Wolffe’s back. He slammed into him, immediately wrapping himself around his older brother’s torso and beaming.
“A bit of warning would’ve been nice,” Wolffe grumbled as he readjusted his vod’ika. He should’ve seen this coming, especially given how many times he’d carried around the stinker at the zoo. And his non-diminishing penchant for monkeying around. 
Snickers came from behind them. Sinker and Boost, for sure. Probably some bystanders, as well. He turned just in time for Sinker to yank his phone down. The odds of a picture landing itself in the cousin chat and everyone teasing him grew higher with the grin spreading across the brat’s face. 
His phone buzzed once in his pocket, then a fast-paced fourteen following it. Yep. 
The look he threw his brother must’ve instilled some sense of fear in him. The thirteen-year-old gulped, then turned to their dad. “Let’s go somewhere else.”
“Dolphins!” Comet blurted out from behind Wolffe.
Boost nodded. “Yeah, let’s see the dolphins.”
And off they went once more.
Banana Sink
Attached: piggyback-time.jpeg
Think Outside The Fox
Aww
Having a smiling kid on his back cancels out the scowl
Jurassic Park
Wow
It really does
Lakes
Petition to pay Comet to live on Wolffe’s back to cancel it out forever
Zzzzzz
Seconded
Green Man
I would pay to see that
Lakes
Smh Gree can you read I said that
Green Man
...
T-Mobile
I can pay him candy to stay until lunch
Lakes
Beautiful, ty
*hacker voice* I’m In
You’re a miracle worker, Boost
T-Mobile
Why thank you
It’s a talent of mine
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
@T-Mobile friendly reminder I’m missing an eye, not an ear
And I have never heard you whisper once in my life
Including 2 minutes ago
Neigh
That was so passive-aggressive I love it
Thorn In Your Side
😂 aliit, I love you guys so much
Think Outside The Fox
We know, Thorn
You remind us every 10 minutes
Lakes
So did it not work?
Werewolf? There Wolffe?
You’re really asking?
Getting to the dolphins was a quick trip on the level they were on. With no workers throwing out puns, buir, once again, took the responsibility upon himself. As they watched the mammals flip and goof off, he told them to his sons.  “That was flipping fantastic” and “They have a legasea” came first. 
When Sinker, predictably, groaned, he turned. “My son, I must have you know, all of my puns are on porpoise.” 
Sinker groaned louder. “I know, buir. I know.”
While watching the flips and tricks, buir’s attention was drawn toward a flyer posted by the glass. It announced the daily presentation times, where the dolphins, seals, orcas, and other animals put on a show. Looking at the times on the paper and the one on his watch, he called his sons over. 
“If we eat now and quickly, we will have ten minutes to make it to the stadium for the next show.”
With nods of agreement in response, the Koons set off for the restaurants. Seating outside of the food court-esque area allowed guests both buying and bringing their meals to stop and enjoy their time. Tables and booths packed with people spanned the area. After a few minutes of careful checking, Boost pointed out an empty booth for them to settle into.
Like at the zoo, the Koons brought their lunches. Sandwiches, cheese sticks, fruit snacks, and whatever else Comet and Sinker had snuck into the bags. The fruit snacks — dinosaur and shark themed —  felt fitting for the occasion. 
Sinker and Boost fell into their normal routine of bickering as they ate. Comet made comments at such precise moments there was no way he wasn’t trying to instigate a fight. The little stinker was too impish for his own good at times.
In fact, the bickering lasted so long and escalated so far that they missed the show. Bickering had overtaken eating, lunch extended, and suddenly buir noticed it was ten minutes past the show’s start time.
Comet pouted at the news; the two teens glared daggers at each other. If looks could kill, they’d both be dead.
With a sigh, Wolffe asked when the next show started. Buir thanked his eldest for reminding the group of the other opportunities and proceeded to look it up. In two hours, the search told them. With that, everyone finished eating, conversation now switching to more facts from Boost.
They packed up the remnants of their food and headed back inside the rest of the aquarium. People continued to mill about, many also coming off a lunch break. Their group gravitated towards a — somehow — empty bench and set the bag down. Comet plopped himself on the seat between the bag and the end. Sinker sat on the other side of the bag. 
“I’m going to the bathroom. Anyone else need to?” buir asked. Shaking heads answered him. “Alright. Stay here, I’ll be back soon.”
“Yes, buir,” Wolffe responded for his brothers. The rascals already zoned out and started doing their own thing. Their father set off in the direction of the bathrooms and Wolffe turned his attention to his vode.
Comet examined the map, though he appeared to be looking at the times of the demonstrations more than the building. Boost made himself comfortable on the far end of the bench, phone in hand. Sinker had his own phone out and — yep, there was a buzz. Sighing, Wolffe settled himself between Sinker and Boost and pulled out his own.
Jurassic Park
Fives, stop trying to convince people your full name is Fivestones
Sixes
Never!
Neigh
Did I read that right?
Jurassic Park
And stop trying to convince people Echo’s name is Echocardiography
ECHO Echo echo
It’s their fault for falling for it
Lakes
I’m sorry WHAT
Sixes
You see, when you have cousins named Pontius and Fox and literally all the names of the Koons and Unique and so on, it’s not that difficult to trick them
ECHO Echo echo
It really isn’t
Lakes
Wow, thanks for that
T-Mobile
I like my name a lot, thank you very much
Banana Sink
That’s not fair. I think subclan 2 has the weirdest names of all of us, not my subclan
Think Outside The Fox
I didn’t ask to be named this
Lakes
Mood
*hacker voice* I’m In
Yeah, but neither of you have changed it despite being legally able to
Green Man
CODY
*hacker voice* I’m In
What kind of name is Gree anyway
Green Man
DUDE 
The texting continued, as it was bound to in the Fett clan. Wolffe frowned when he glanced at the time. It had been about fifteen minutes since buir had left. If there was a line, that’d be about right. Not too odd, but if it got any longer… eh, they’ll cross that bridge if they get to it. He shot off a quick text to buir, asking to text him when he was on his way back.
“Comet, stop poking Sinker.”
Said little brother stuck his tongue out but stopped. He moved on to poking and picking at the bench instead. 
Thorn In Your Side
… aNyWay
I have news!
Think Outside The Fox
Is it really news if we all can guess what it is
Thorn In Your Side
Shevi
I have the privilege of announcing that the Annual Fett Family Gathering is happening in exactly a month and 3 days from today!
Think Outside The Fox
Why couldn’t you just put the date like a normal person
Thorn In Your Side
Because I knew it would bug you
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
I gotta say, that’s reasonable
Thorn In Your Side
Ty Wolffe
At least someone’s on my side here
Think Outside The Fox
I despise you all
Green Man
Aww we love you too Fox
Think Outside The Fox
Why do I even try anymore
Thorn In Your Side
So, yeah, further info to come
Keeling Over
Let’s avoid another Mud Incident this year, thanks
Hunter-Gatherer
I second that
Orange Gal
Lol of course you two do
But I agree
Zzzzzz
I still have pics if anyone wants them 
Neigh
So evil, Zari, so evil
Zzzzzz
They include you, ori’vod 😁
Neigh
I Resent this
It had been over half an hour now. While the chat was always a source of amusement, it didn’t stop the concern seeping into Wolffe’s mind. Sure, the aquarium was busy, but not that busy. Thirty minutes was pushing it for a single bathroom; this place had multiple. He hadn’t gotten a text back yet, either.
“Hey,” he said, grabbing attention away from phones. “It’s been half an hour since buir left. Something’s up, don’t you think?”
Boost frowned. “That is an abnormally long amount of time.”
“Should we try calling him?” Sinker suggested.
“That’s a bit awkward to answer in the bathroom.” Boost crossed his arms as he made his point.
“Yeah, but he could always decline it and text us a response instead,” Sinker argued. 
They did that, to no avail. No response, calling or texting. This was not a good sign.
The boys stood up, corralled themselves together, Boost putting on the backpack, and headed over to the bathroom to see what was up. Hopefully, nothing bad happened. 
When they got there, there were a couple of people at the sinks, but that was it. No sign of their dad anywhere. There wasn’t a sign of an accident or kidnapping or anything, either. 
“What,” Sinker stated.
“I have no clue,” Boost responded. They turned toward Wolffe.
He shrugged his shoulders. “I have as much of a clue as you do.” They stood in silence for a moment, Comet glancing between the other three, waiting for a reaction. “Let’s check the other bathrooms. Maybe he went to a different one?”
Buir didn’t show up at any of the bathrooms on the level. Again, there were no signs of struggle or of anything bad that could’ve occurred. They agreed it wasn’t likely he’d gone to another level. As they went back to the bench they had occupied earlier, the irony of the situation fell on Wolffe. They had stayed as a group specifically so they didn’t lose Comet and in the process ended up losing their dad. Shi kaysh jate‘kara.
“We lost buir,” he said simply. Comet frowned; Sinker looked like he was holding in a laugh. 
“That we did,” Boost agreed. “Have fun trying to get your way out of this one.”
Wolffe rolled his eyes and turned to the silver-haired teen. “Any ideas, provided you’re going to keep your promise?”
Sinker’s eyes widened. “I was hoping you forgot about that,” he mumbled like it hadn’t been only two weeks. He cleared his throat and said, louder, “Uh, how about the front desk?”
“They’ll have the announcement system to call him over,” Boost pointed out.
“Great. Front desk it is.” He took a hold of Comet’s shoulder in one hand, Sinker’s shoulder in the other. Boost led the way through the exhibits and rooms until they reached the entrance. A Visitor’s Services desk stood behind the ticket desk and they made their way over.
After the person in front of them left, they stepped up. Comet directly in front of him, Boost to his left and Sinker to his right. “What can I do for you boys?” the elderly lady behind the desk asked.
“We got separated from our father,” Wolffe said. Saying it out loud to someone who wasn’t one of his brothers increased Wolffe’s awareness of everything going on around them. Great. He pushed the urge to shift his weight away. This was fine. They were doing the responsible thing, after all. 
The lady peered at them over the top of her glasses like she belonged in a movie with a judgemental librarian and not on an aquarium staff. She was definitely taking stock of how old he and his brothers were. “Is this a frequent occurrence?”
“No, this is the first time.”
“Well, as parents get older, things like this can occ—-”
“He’s not that old,” Wolffe cut her off.
“Yeah, he’s like, forty-something, right?” Boost piped up.
Wolffe turned to the teen and frowned. “You didn’t need to share that.” He got a shrug in response. His phone buzzed and he turned toward his other teenaged brother. “Give me your phone.”
Sinker narrowed his eyes at him. “Why should I?”
“No repeats of the zoo.” He held out his hand expectantly. Sinker rolled his eyes and handed it to him. He turned and did the same to Boost, just in case.
All the while, the lady watched them with a sharp eye. “Has your father had memory problems?” she said, bringing their attention back to why they were there. 
Wolffe scowled. “No, and I don’t see why that’s pertinent information. Can you help us locate our dad or not?” Comet leaned back a smidge and gave his chest a headbutt with the back of his head. Wolffe glanced down and Comet gave him a small smile. 
They stood in silence as they waited for a response. Again, it seemed like the lady was trying to nitpick details about them and what they meant by observing them. Finally, she pushed her glasses up her nose and sniffed once. “I can make an announcement and try to call him here.”
“That’s all we’re asking for.” 
After giving the necessary information, the Koon boys were shuffled to the side. They waited near the desk as the intercom stated Plo Koon to the Visitors' Services Desk. Your children are waiting for you. The lady continued to help other people. Everyone seemed to be getting the same supercilious treatment they had received. 
The minutes passed slowly until a frantic movement from by the entrance to the aquarium-proper caught Wolffe’s eye. It was buir, politely not-quite-rushing his way through the crowds to his sons. 
Comet looked at Wolffe, then in the direction his ori’vod was looking. He perked up, a grin stretching across his face. “Buir!”
“Comet! Wolffe, Sinker, Boost.” He came to a stop in front of them. 
“Where were you?!” Boost exclaimed. “We looked, but you weren’t in any of the bathrooms.”
Buir’s eyes widened in dawning realization. “I didn’t go to the bathroom,” he admitted. “I got sidetracked by the jellyfish. They are quite fascinating to watch.” 
The jellyfish? That was some detour. He must’ve seen the sign for them and forgot his original plan since they were smack dab in the middle of two of the bathrooms. Boost had almost gotten sidetracked when they were searching for buir, but Wolffe had kept him on track. Like father, like son, it seemed. Maybe if he had let Boost get sidetracked, they’d have found buir themselves.
“How about we all go to the bathroom this time, and then the jellyfish?”
“Yes, that sounds like a better plan,” buir agreed. Then, they were off, phones given back, and hoping nobody else got lost.
Banana Sink
We lost buir this time
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
This is exactly why I took your phone in the first place.
Think Outside The Fox
Fjadskldfsa
Guys, we found Wolffe’s talent
Losing his family members in public
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
Gee thanks
Lakes
Any details to share?
T-Mobile
He was going to go to the bathroom but got sidetracked by the jellyfish
Which,,, fair enough
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
So nowhere near my fault this time
Banana Sink
He had to explain to this scowly lady what happened
It was super funny
*hacker voice* I’m In
You actively tried to avoid it and it still happened
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
Again, not my fault
*hacker voice* I’m In
That has got to be the funniest thing I’ve heard all day 😂
Green Man
Wolffe,,, Wolffe, buddy
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
Don’t
Green Man
How?! 😂 
*hacker voice* I’m In
Petition to get GPS trackers for Wolffe for his aliit
Jurassic Park
I second
Keeling Over
Same
Thorn In Your Side
Definitely
Sorry Boost and Sinker
T-Mobile
No, I totally get it
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
I hate you all
----
The jellyfish were as enrapturing as buir claimed and Boost had anticipated. One more pun was given as everyone (even Sinker) stood preoccupied by them: this has been a jelly good day! There was something mystical about watching these creatures with no heart or brain swim around and just exist. Comet even made a reference to Finding Nemo when he saw some smaller ones. Sooner than they expected, buir’s alarm had gone off. Close to an hour had passed and none of them had noticed.
Finally, the family made their way, on time, to the show. They snagged seats approximately halfway up the stands. No splash-zone to worry about this time, either, the workers assured. The front walkways had to be accessible for wheelchairs and a surprise in the show. As a result, the stands themselves were closer and they ended up with about the same view as they had at the zoo.
Comet somehow got his hands on the flier buir had passed over on their way in. The flier about ‘adopting’ various animals at the aquarium. “Look at this!” he exclaimed, shoving the paper towards Wolffe. 
Adopt a penguin! Yep, that was why buir had avoided it earlier. And likely not quite what Comet thought it was.
Assured Wolffe got a good look, he pushed it towards buir, nearly bouncing in his seat. “Can we please adopt a penguin, buir?” he asked, pulling out the big guns. And by big guns, that meant his cutest puppy dog eyes. “Gedet’ye, buir.” And switching to Mando’a, so it seemed. 
Buir considered his options for a moment. “Do you have any money to help pay for it?” he asked gently.
Comet pouted. “Nayc.” He swiveled toward Wolffe. “Ori’vod, tion’nari gar gan—”
“No.”
The pout deepened. Buir reached out and patted his youngest’s back gently. “I’m sorry, ad’ika, but we don’t have the money for that. While it would be quite the experience to adopt one, we don’t have the money to have a dog, cat, and penguin.”
“Okay.” He crossed his arms, only to immediately uncross them and sit up straight as the show began. 
Dolphins, seals, and beluga whales performed various tricks while the trainers spouted facts and puns. Sea otters tottered around the ground level and interacted with willing audience members. With every pun, Sinker’s vexation increased and Comet’s and Boost’s elation skyrocketed. 
A loud gasp escaped Comet when they brought the rockhopper penguins out to waddle around. “Buir, buir, buir,” he chanted, shaking their father’s arm. “Can I take pictures of them on your phone?!” Chuckling, buir complied and the ten-year-old spent the rest of the penguins’ appearance captivated.
Once the show finished and provided plenty of entertainment, Comet proceeded to drag the family to the penguin exhibit. He couldn’t get enough of them. When they got there, buir leaned in close and said, “Why did the penguin hop across the street?”
“I dunno, why?”
“To get to the other rock!” 
Comet burst into giggles and proceeded to take over what had essentially become Boost’s job in overflowing with facts about penguins. Although he loved all penguins, it was clear rockhoppers were his favorites. His earlier disappointment over not being allowed to adopt one had dissipated. 
“Buuiiiiir,” Sinker whined with all the gracefulness of a disgruntled thirteen-year-old. “Stoooop, you’re being worse than the workers during the show.”
“Sorry, Sinker. I’ll try to play it more cool from here on out.”
The silver-haired teen slumped into his older brother, Wolffe’s chest muffling the groan he gave. “Why is this my life.”
Wolffe patted his back as he watched Comet have the time of his life. He was in his element here, surrounded by his favorite animal. It would be interesting to see how long this particular interest lasted. Wolffe could picture a future-Comet attempting to become a scientist just to go to Antarctica and see the penguins if it lasted long enough. 
Once Sinker picked himself back up, he made his way to Comet. “By the way,” he said, tapping the ad’ika on the shoulder, “the rockhopper pun was the tenth of buir’s. He’s at eleven now and overall we’re at thirteen.”
“Thirteen?” Boost perked up. “Give me a minute and I can make it fifteen.” 
Sinker rolled his eyes as Comet smiled. “I can help!” he offered. “I may have looked up penguin puns at home one day. I’ve just been letting buir tell them.”
“Go ahead.”
“Boost, waddle I ever do without you?”
“Let’s hope you never end up too icesolated to find out.”
Buir looked on the verge of tears of happiness; Sinker on the verge of tears of frustration; Wolffe rolled his eyes. “Alright, if that’s all, let’s go somewhere else.”
Comet protested and they stayed another ten minutes. Following that, they found themselves in the general area containing fish from all over the world. As the day dragged on, fewer people crowded the area, each having their fill of sea creatures and leaving. With that, buir allowed them to wander wherever they wanted, provided they stayed within the larger section. 
Once Sinker wandered off to find a bench in a different area, buir turned toward Boost. “Any fin is possible, just don’t trout yourself.” 
“There’s some-fin special about you. I’m glad you’re my dad.”
“Why thank you, Boost. If you think of a better fish pun, let minnow.”
“That’s a fintastic idea. Will do.”
Half-twirling around, the maroon-haired teen wandered off to examine more tanks. Comet quickly followed him and the two struck up a quiet conversation as they observed crabs and fish. Wolffe stood next to his dad, watching them for a while. Eventually, they split up to visit different exhibits, leaving their ori’vod and buir standing there. 
Inside the section of the exhibit they stood in, nobody else was in. When the family had entered, it had been as crowded as rooms were getting at this time of day. Now, all the other guests — like the three youngest Koons — had left for other ones. 
Side by side, they watched river fish swimming around. Bluegills and walleyes and trout and more. Without anyone else around, bubbling could be heard from the tanks. That, and the faint whir of the air conditioning. Minutes past and neither dared break the peace which had settled.
A fish started zig-zags when Wolffe cleared his throat. “I think Mom would’ve enjoyed today.”
Buir hummed, hands folded and resting on his torso. “She would have. Especially Comet’s newfound love for penguins and Boost’s for zoology. She was always so excited to watch you boys learning and growing.”
Wolffe remembered her enthusiasm when he and Fox figured out how to rush-attack Bly, Gree, Ponds, and Keeli without them suspecting and had dashed over to tell her and ba’vodu Courey when they were six at a family reunion. Their older cousins had been fourteen, twelve, ten, and eight respectively, and hadn’t even been close to seeing it coming. She had responded with so much joy and happiness to his excitement that six-year-old Wolffe couldn’t help but bask in the warmth of her smile and praise. 
There was also that time when he was nine, Boost was five, and Sinker was three, months before Comet was born. Sinker had been preoccupying Dad with something in the corner while Mom had, ever so patiently, helped Boost and Wolffe create customized magnets for NiNi’s birthday. She encouraged their ideas and helped with the difficult steps and shapes. Her hugs when they finished rivaled only those from NiNi. Full of love and warmth and care for her sons.
Most of his memories of her involved that warmth in some shape or another.
“Sinker would be surrounded by even more puns.”
Buir chuckled. “That he would. That he would.” 
Memories overtook the two as they remembered just over a decade ago. Silence stretched between them once more while they reflected.
That is, until Sinker came barrelling back into the room. “Did you know they have stingrays here?! Let’s go!” He grabbed their hands and attempted to drag them along while walking backwards. 
Right as he appeared to be getting the hang of it, Comet popped up behind him. “Sinker, watch—”
Wolffe lurched forward as Sinker and Comet hit the ground, but managed to stop from falling himself. Buir, having let go in time, watched on, concern and amusement mixing in his eyes. 
“Well.” Sinker stood up.
“Thanks for that,” the ten-year-old said, frowning. He pulled himself into a sitting position. 
“Sorry. Did you see they have stingrays here?”
“That’s why I came back here, actually.” 
They shared a look, then looked at buir. “We were headed that way, weren’t we?” he intoned.
Boost emerged from the doorway. “Did you see the stingrays?”
Sinker pushed him back through the door as Comet picked himself off the ground. “You’re the third person to say that. Let’s go.”
The other two cheered and raced after him. Wolffe shook his head at his brothers’ antics and followed after them, buir not far behind him.
----
Part of the aquarium experience allowed guests to touch the stingrays, provided they washed their hands properly beforehand. The Koons followed procedures and participated. Sinker loved it so much he doled out his only pun of the day: this is a stingray of sunshine today. Buir was so proud, he ended early to take pictures of Sinker and the stingrays. 
After that, they collectively decided they had seen enough of the aquarium and they were ready to head home. Buir announced that, like at the zoo, they would stop by the gift shop. This time was for small items only. If they did everything quickly, they’d be home in time for him to prepare dinner by the normal time. That got the brats moving quickly. 
Comet somehow found a tiny stuffed Cape penguin that he immediately claimed was Vandor’s best friend and named Atoa. Boost got a small jellyfish squish-thing that seemed like half-stress ball, half-figurine. Sinker found a stingray magnet, of all things, and got a shark one for Wolffe when he didn’t look for anything.
Outside the aquarium, buir stopped them on the steps to take a picture. 
“Great! We’ll print this one out, too, and then you can switch it out with the zoo one if you ever want!” Comet told Wolffe. Then he had used the stairs to climb on his shoulders once more and demanded to be carried to the car.
As they settled into the car and began the journey home, Wolffe pulled up the cousin chat and shared some of the news before either of the other teenagers did and completely exaggerated it. 
Werewolf? There Wolffe!
Did I mention Comet tried to adopt a penguin earlier?
Zzzzzz
Fdsjldk that’s so cute
Werewolf? There Wolffe?
Not when you’re the one he asks for money to pay for it
T-Mobile
It was cute
I was there, I saw it happen
Werewolf? There Wolffe?
Shush
T-Mobile
He even switched to only Mando’a
Idk why he thought that’d help him but it was cute
Old Man Dad Bly
Now that’s a Fett kid move, all right
Banana Sink
There was a total of 21 puns today
I almost died
ECHO Echo echo
If I didn’t know you, I’d be concerned those were 2 separate events
T-Mobile
Ignore Sinker
He said one of them, so he has no place to talk
Banana Sink
BOOST
T-Mobile
I am so glad you’re shotgun and I’m in the back
Thorn In Your Side
You guys heading back already?
Werewolf? There Wolffe?
Well, Boost managed to drag us around the whole place this fast, so yeah
T-Mobile
😁 I have no regrets
Banana Sink
YOU SHOULD
Green Man
Speaking of regrets
I regret to inform you that Bly is being a sap again
Old Man Dad Bly
You were the one who asked
Green Man
I have No Idea what you’re talking about
Old Man Dad Bly
Attached: screenshot0345.jpeg
Neigh
I know this wasn’t a surprise to me since Gree’s my ori’vod but are any of you surprised?
Hunter-Gatherer
No
Jurassic Park
Not really, no
T-Mobile
Nope
Orange Gal
No
Green Man
Alright, alright, I get the point
Thorn In Your Side
Oh, is it Expose Your Vode time?
I think Fox just crashed after staying up for 3 days straight
That’s why he hasn’t said anything lately
It’s been a few hours and even Rys and Corsica together couldn’t wake him
Werewolf? There Wolffe?
Oh, again?
*hacker voice* I’m In
Wolffe
Wolffe what do you mean by again
Werewolf? There Wolffe?
Happened a few times these past 2 semesters
Too much work not enough hours
Thorn In Your Side
...this makes so much more sense now
Lakes
What does?
Thorn In Your Side
He’s sent me some incoherent messages when he’s really sleep deprived this past year
I just thought it was one of his friends who stole his phone sometimes
Lakes
This just makes me glad Wolffe and Fox are going to the same college
At least someone’s there we know to look after him
Werewolf? There Wolffe?
Yeah, his roommate and I complained about him together a lot
Orange Gal
LOL
The chat continued the typical Fett brand of chaos up until about five minutes before they got home. When they did, everyone went about, putting stuff away. Wolffe turned to head off to the kitchen to help buir start dinner when his phone started vibrating — consistently, not the odd pattern from the group chat, so it must be a call. He pulled it out, read the contact name, rolled his eyes, and answered.
“What do you want?”
“Well, hello to you, too, Wolffe.” Cody sounded much too amused on the other end.
“Fine, hi. Get to the point.”
He could practically hear Cody’s grin growing. “What would your dad say about you guys joining us for the Coruscant Deltas’ game against the Serenno Clankers?”
----
Mando’a Translations
Buir: Parent
Ba’vodu: Uncle, Aunt
Vod: Sibling
Ori’vod: Older Sibling
Vod’ika: Younger Sibling
Aliit: Family, Clan
Vode: Siblings, plural
Shevi: Silent (Shev'la is the adjective, so this is my approximation of the verb form)
Shi kaysh jate’kara: Just his luck
Gedet’ye: Please
Nayc: No (negative answer)
Ori’vod, tion’nari gar gan-: Roughly “Big brother, do you have” but it’s cut off halfway through have
Ad’ika: Little one, son, daughter
----
And that's part two! Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about the Fett Clan in this AU, feel free to leave a comment, ask, or message. Also, fun fact: Cross is the only one in the cousin chat who didn't say anything! (That's because he mostly lurks lol). There are more cousins than featured here, they're all just too young for a phone. They'll all be featured in part four. Also also: it has come to my attention that kih'vod is most likely the more accurate term for "younger sibling" and vod'ika is more of an affectionate term. For the sake of continuity in this series, vod'ika will still be used as "younger sibling" but my works outside of this will begin to use kih'vod.
Up next: Cody's, Rex's, Fives', Echo's, and Tup's brand of chaos meets the Koon's brand of chaos during a basketball game. Coming eventually!
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kookoosbunnynose · 5 years ago
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𝔹𝕋𝕊 𝕒𝕤 𝔹𝕠𝕪𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤 || 𝟙
They take you on a date to an aquarium.
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Kim Seokjin:
Jin would spend a great deal of the trip making silly aquatic related jokes as he does.
You walk to to a big tank of fish and he points to one of the bigger fish “Y/n, do you know what this is?” You shake your head at the unfamiliar species. “It’s obviously a fish, you idiot.” 
You’d have to practically drag him to the tank where you can touch the small animals.
“They’re gonna bite me!” 
“Jinnie, it’s just a star fish you’re fine!” You laugh and reach down to softly pet one. “See.”
He remains unconvinced.
While he’s apprehensive to petting them, he gets lost in the big smile the small creatures bring you. 
“Look! The anemone is holding my hand!” You say as the small animal wraps it’s little limbs around your finger. 
“Hey there Mr. Anemone, get your hands off my woman.” Jin says putting his acting skills to use with a stern look and raising his fists.
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Min Yoongi:
Aquarium type dates aren’t so much Yoongi’s thing but when he knows how much your eyes light up when you see animals. So he decides this would be a nice surprise.
While he loves animals he gets way more joy at watching your smile get bigger with every attraction you visit.
“Aww! Look how little this one is!” You say pressing your finger against the glass trailing the path of a tiny fish.
“He would make great bait.” He says flashing his stupid cute gums
“Min Yoongi!” You whisper yell with a smack to his chest. He just laughs harder at your playful anger.
You walk through the exhibits with Yoongi following close behind with his fingers laced in yours. 
“They’re so colorful, they’re gorgeous” You say at a particularly vibrant tank.
“Very gorgeous.” He says with his eyes never leaving your face.
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Jung Hoseok:
Hobi is fond of the pretty fish, the small ones, when it comes to the hall in the back with the creepy eels he couldn’t shuffle his feet out of there fast enough.
You lead the way with with your boyfriend pushing you through the corridor as you laugh at his antics.
“Holy shit! It’s Nemo! I found him!” You roll your eyes at his lame joke
But quickly give in when he sucks in the corners of his lips and starts imitating the fish.
You rests his head on your shoulder as you admire the tank of fish in front of you. Equally as enthralled with their patterns and quick moving fins.
“We should get big fish tank for our place, yeah?” He suggests admiring the way you watch the fish swimming around their small habitats. 
“Oh! can we? I’d love that!”
“Of course, anything for you.”
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Kim Namjoon:
Being the smarty pants that he is Joon spends most of the time spouting various facts as you walk through the humid air.
“Did you know that through natural selection the biggest whales survive most often so whales are progressively getting even larger?” 
“Yes Joonie, we watched that documentary together.” You say with a smile wrapping your smaller arms around one of his.
“Oh right” his face turning into a shy expression.
“But tell me again, I prefer learning it from you.” His cheeks are dusted pink after your comment and he continues telling you facts you two learned just a few nights ago. Not reminding him that, that documentary is actually the reason you decided to go on this date to begin with.
As you’re leaving the aquarium he pats his pockets and turns to you. “Babe, I think I left my phone on that bench. Can you go start the car, I’ll be right there.”
You take the keys not thinking much of his forgetful habits.
He returns a few minutes later with a smile on his face. “surprise!” He says gleefully as he climbs into the car and hands you a small stuffed orca from the gift shop you had eyed as you were entering an hour ago. 
“Aww! I love him! I didn’t even say anything.”
“I saw you looking at him when we walked in, you’re not slick Miss y/n.” 
“Thank you, Joonie.” You smile and lean over to kiss him.
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Park Jimin:
Jimin spends most of him time with his arms wrapped around your waist and his head resting on your shoulder taking in the beauty of the small animals with you.
Occasionally parting from you when a certain tank catches his eye.
He pulled away from you and you spent a few more seconds looking at the fish in front of you before going to find him.
When you find him you find him with his hand pressed against the glass and he was speaking softly to the fish.
“I hope you’re happy in there little guys, please return to the ocean soon.” he says with a little bit of worry in his voice.
“Don’t worry Jiminie.” You say as you wrap your arms around him. “this aquarium takes in animals that are a little sick and then releases them once they’re strong again. They’ll be okay.” You reassure him.
You did a little research on the topic of zoos and such before hand as you wouldn’t want to support a business that would hurt animals either. You learned that nowadays most zoos and aquariums only take in animals who need it.
You feel his shoulders relax at the new information, and his smile returns.
He spends the rest of your visit naming the various fish you find and watching you enjoy the beautiful creatures.
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Kim Taehyung:
When it comes to animals Tae is like a little kid, he can’t get enough of them.
You walk into a hallway with several small tanks on each side and he immediately gets to work peering into each small habitat with his boxy smile shining brightly.
You follow closely behind him smiling at him and the cute fish.
You’re looking at a tank watching a small school of fish make their way across the glass when you hear foot steps stomping toward you.
Tae grabs your hand excitedly and pulls you with him. “Come look at these! They’re so beautiful!” He rambles, nearly pulling your feet from under you.
You can’t help but laugh even though the only thing keeping keeping you upright is his tight grip on your hand.
“Wow!” He says as you’re met with a large cylindrical tank of jelly fish.
“Baby, look they’re glowing!” He watches them float with large eyes.
His large hand still holding yours and he squeezes and brings you into his embrace resting his chin on our head while you both watch the jelly fish slowly shift color with the tank lights.
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Jeon Jeongguk:
The first thing you do when you walk in is go to the spot where you can pet the sting rays. He snaps a few pictures before joining you with his arm around your waist, while your arms are wrist deep in the water waiting for the string rays to come close.
He leans down slightly and whistles in attempt to call them closer. 
“They’re not dogs, I don’t think they respond to whistling, Kookie.” You laugh.
“Oh really? Then why is that one coming closer?” He smirks and tilts his chin toward the water.
“I stand corrected.” You say as you run your hand across the smooth expanse of the string rays back.
As you’re walking through the rest of the aquarium you laugh at your boyfriend mindlessly singing “just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming.” While he watches various fish around the two of you. 
He spends most of his time watching you smile and snapping photos of you every so often. 
He sits down at a bench for a minute while you’re walking around close by, when you get a instagram notification.
He posted of photo of you surrounded by blue with the caption “She though the fish were pretty, but I thought she was prettier.”
You turn to where he’s sitting, his eyes watching you expectantly.
“I hope I’m prettier than a fish, you shit.” You both laugh and you walk over to sit in his lap.
A/N: I hope you liked it! I’m pretty happy with it! I am officially taking reaction requests, so lay them on me lovelies!
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discoveringthebible · 7 years ago
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What I Wanted to Be When I Grew Up
Today marks 15 years since I felt a call, by God, into ministry. On one hand it seems like it was a really long time ago, on the other, it seems that it was much more recently. As I was thinking about this day, I also was thinking about my childhood and what I wanted to be when I grew up. And it seemed every year I had a different career I wanted to do when I was old enough. 
One of my earliest dreams was to become a professional singer. I had a tape player, and headphones, and I would belt out along with Hansen, pretending I was on stage with them. But the problem was that I was tone deaf, I couldn’t sing in tune to anything. 
During this time, I also wanted to be an Olympic speed skater. I would practice on my roller skates, going up and down the sidewalk as fast as I would go to try and develop my speed. (This included a lot of crashing, bruises and scrapes.) And there was another issue, I had never been ice skating. So that was a challenge. 
Then I went to an aquarium for the first time with my grandparents. That was all it took for me to want to become a Marine Biologist. I wanted to study and learn about the ocean and the creatures that inhabited it. I wanted to focus most of my attention on the Orcas, and the Great White Sharks. I had such an interest that my parents bought a few books about these creatures. To this day, I am still fascinated about these sea creatures.
One of the other earliest dreams of mine was to become an actress. I had a very vivid imagination (I think I still do) and I always thought it would be cool to star in movies and TV shows (I mean, let’s face it, who wouldn’t)? 
And then of course, I saw a circus performance once. I thought it would be really cool to join the circus and be a circus clown to bring smiles to people’s faces. This one didn’t last very long, because my mom let me see the movie ‘It.’ (If you aren’t familiar, It is a character by Stephen King, Pennywise the Clown, a terrifying killer clown that stalks children. It was a 1,000 ish page book, which I read when I was 10 or 11. There is also a remake to the movie coming out next month.) 
Then when I got to middle school, I started in band and I became interested in music and thought it would be fascinating to be a professional musician and get paid to play music, especially in orchestras that played music for movies and TV shows, but I wasn’t a good flute player. I was okay, but I didn’t put in the practice to be able to get to the professional level needed for such a job. 
It was about this time that I was called by God into ministry. I had never thought about working in a church full-time or teaching or anything like that. When I was first called, the elders in my church, for reasons I can only speculate, suggested that my call was to become a missionary and be a missionary. Since my call was related to the Deaf community, they suggested that I learn sign language and get to a place where I can travel and evangelize to the deaf community. And I spent 10 years doing what I could to work toward that. 
And even during that time, I also wanted to join the military, and become a Marine in the Marine Corps Band. With certain medical issues, I was disqualified. So I tried calling every branch in the military and was even in JROTC 2 years in High School. But I couldn’t even get in with the Air Force (who at the time had the most lax rules for joining the military.) 
Missionary opportunities fell through and I was getting frustrated. I had an opportunity shortly after my call to go to Mexico. I then had an opportunity to go to Kiev, Russia, but that was right around the time of the suicide bombers in 2005 and I wasn’t able to go. Then there was an opportunity to go to Nicaragua, but that didn’t work either. 
So I was getting frustrated. 
But, 
Almost 10 years after I was called into ministry, I had another call from God, well, it was more like a correction from God. I do not believe that God wanted me to become a missionary, He wanted me to become a pastor. My initial call from God 15 years ago was, “Cody, I want you to minister to those who cannot hear.” When I expressed my call to the elder men of my church, it was something that was concerning to them because in the denomination we were a part of, women couldn’t preach behind the pulpit. But this went directly against my call from God. 
So to say all of that, I knew of a direction my life should go, I didn’t have any idea what I still wanted to do and I was 1 year away from graduating college. So after I graduated, I worked at becoming a pastor and I am still on the road to becoming a full-time, pulpit preaching woman pastor. And since I decided to follow this call, things have fallen into a place that had never happened before. I didn’t have the problems I did when I thought my calling was a missionary. 
Obviously, I know that not everyone feels or hears a call into church ministry or ministry at all, and that’s totally awesome. We need Christians in all fields and talents around the world. Marine Biology, the military, in Hollywood, in the Olympics, doctors, nurses, Archaeologists, and all the other options available for work out there. We need people who are able and willing to stand up and represent Christ no matter where they are or their professions. 
Paul wrote to the Ephesians in chapter 5:1-2 “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (NLT). 
So no matter what you do, represent Christ in your work and in your life. 
Peace and blessings,
Cody Marie    
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