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subzeroiceskater · 1 year

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The Man Who Married a Whale

Tundra was an old man. Never married. He lived together with his brothers.

He says to the lads, “Let’s go get married.”

So they went looking.

The others quickly found themselves spouses, who were looking to settle down. Tundra found himself an old whale-head of empty metal bones.

The head trembles, moves toward the sea. Tundra wants to break away and struggles, but his hands clings to the head.

His brothers run after him and pull him back, but they couldn’t. Tundra keeps clinging.

It’s deep now. The whale-head dives, carrying Tundra into the water. To the open sea, where they arrive at the opposite shore.

They’re going far, to the cliffs that shut together, passing through the cliffs, arriving at a village, and they lay down to sleep.

The whale-head became a whale; he was covered with barnacles. Tundra, the whale’s husband, constantly scratched the barnacles with his fingers, pulled out worms, and wore his fingers down to the bones.

Tundra’s brothers were still at home. They got the Cossack Catcher. They test it all the time. Up, down, up, down, the claw goes. All the time redoing it.

Not fast. Up, down, up, down.

Then they flew out in the Cossack Catcher.

Birds are flying above, and the brothers are competing with them. The birds are leaving them behind.

The small white bird katajalin flies quickly–and with her, the brothers are competing. They’re sailing together with her.

They left searching for tracks of Tundra. By the sea-road, arriving at those cliffs. Gone as far as the country of Tundra's husband.

Eight brothers are traveling there, only two walked out into the country. (Two brothers, Ring and Skull, left others in the Cossack Catcher.)

On the road, these two brothers are killing. Each a seabird, each an ermine.

The two arrived and they hid themselves. Since Tundra saw them coming, he says: “Hide yourselves, you’ll be killed!”

Tidal Whale says to Tundra: “How strange–something smells! Someone’s come!”

“Who could have come? You carried me so far away!”

“It smells, it smells! Where are they? Let them come out!”

Tundra told them to come out. They did.

“Kako! So you’ve made it?”

“Yes!”

He says to the whale-husband, “Bring the fanciest oil out! Let’s eat!” They are eating. Having finished, Tidal Whale says to Tundra, “You go out. I’ll enjoy ourselves with our guests!”

The fanciest oils, all different kinds, Tundra brought it out.

Tundra went out. The two brothers followed him…

With their teeth, they bit the dried skins of the birds they had just killed.

They go back in. Water and ice come through the door–the whole sea.

Ring and Skull put on the bird skins and walked on water like birds. Tidal Whale was not able to destroy them. The water and ice left.

They lit the lamp. They were sitting as before. The brothers took off the bird-dress and sat in the house. Tundra’s husband says, “Kako! They came here in spite of everything! I couldn’t kill them!”

The whale-husband told Tundra, “Carry out the lamp!”

Tundra carried out the lamp. With their teeth, they bit the ermine skins. The whale-husband brought in a spinning-top, then Tundra went out. As Tundra went out, they put on the skins, and hid themselves in cracks like ermines.

Tidal Whale started spinning the spinning-top. In all directions of the house, he’s spinning, whirring, he can’t get at them. He says, “Carry in the lamp!”

Tundra carried it in. It became light. The brothers took off the ermine skins. They’re sitting in their former places.

“Kako! In spite of it all, they’re still here!”

Ring says, “Let’s go out! Visit the boat!”

Whale says, “Well, I couldn’t kill you!”

Skull says to the Tundra, “Put your whale-husband to sleep, lull your whale-husband at night!”

Tundra danced and sang and caressed Tidal Whale well into the night.

Before daybreak arrived, Tidal Whale wanted to sleep, so fell into a light sleep. He’s now fast asleep.

The brothers arrived. Skull and Ring said to Tundra, “Bring your clothes with you!”

They arrived at the boat, soon sat down, ran out, abandoned the sleeping whale-husband. Now hid themselves.

Tidal Whale woke up, searching for the husband, saw the track and went after him.

He reached them on the sea–swimming, barely touching the water.

They flung Tundra’s ice skate in the water. He stopped to look at it there.

Again, Tidal Whale overtakes them.

They flung the other skate in the water. Tidal Whale slowed down a little.

Piece by piece they threw away all of the outer armor. The hard exterior pieces. For a long time, Tidal Whale’s there, looking at them.

They began to near land, and Tundra has completely stripped down. The brothers threw away the rest of his armor. Tundra is naked. Tidal Whale’s looking at the armor pieces, for a long time sniffing at it. They smell like Tundra and the storm. Again, he follows them to the land.

The rest of the brothers stood on shore, ready with all their weapons. They stab, shoot, aim the whale-husband. Killed him.

At home, a small whale-head appeared in Tundra’s hands. It clung to his hands. Becomes a small whale. The whale says to his father, “Put me in a bowl of water!”

Tundra put him there. Whale is swimming there.

Tundra collects all sorts of worms, bringing them to the child, raising him.

He grew up–it’s tight for him in the old tub–so they took him away to a lake. When he wants to feed, leans his head out from the lake–and his father feeds him with oil.

Again, there’s not enough food in the lake–worms. Whale says to his father, “Carry me to the sea!”

“O, you’’ll run away!”

“No!”

Whale grew up. He’s leaving, going out and bringing the whales back, the family are killing those whales.

When he was still not completely grown, the family started to say: “Look, if we don’t recognize him, we’ll kill him! We’d better give him a mark on his back.”

So they gave the mark of family on his back. A crescent moon with a star.

Then the whales stopped coming.

He remained there alone.

A blue stranger stole in. Killed him.

His uncles are saying, “Ah! Where did Tundra’s whale disappear to?”

Other robots are walking back and forth along the soul-passage. The robots told the uncles about it. The uncles found out about it.

They stared to fight with the blue murderer. They arrived there and all of them fought the blue bomber. They were killed one by one.

The idea behind this is simple: fairytale retellings but from the Arctic. I get the impression that most people think the Arctic was pretty much lifeless and devoid of culture and history, at least before white people came in and discovered it in the 1800s. Or maybe they have this general image of Indigenous or Native peoples but nothing beyond a general “Eskimo” image (use those words as you would the word “Indian”--meaning don’t use it at all, unless you’re part of those tribes or using it in a historical context).

I wanted to highlight different Arctic cultures’ stories. This story is based on the Chuckchee (or Chuckhi) story of “The Girl Who Married a Whale'' from the book “Northern tales : stories from the native peoples of the Arctic and Subarctic regions”. From all the stories I’ve read or seen through in the book, this was the most striking in that this formatted pretty much like a poem. Very short, terse sentences, grouped into stanzas. Subjects dropped, tenses changing all the time. If I remember correctly (I’m working on months old notes), what’s in the book went through several translations: one from the oral traditions translated into Russian and written down, and from Russian, translated into English. Maybe I could’ve done a better job adapting this tale into more cohesive but I really wanted to capture the feeling of listening to the Chukchi elder recounting this tale–pausing, recollecting and going on–through the lens of several adaptations.

See also “When the Whales Leave” by Yuri Rytkheu, a Chuckhi author’s take.

#megaman shitposting #Tundra #fanfic #I lost the subscriber shortly after posting this.#While I doubt it was because of this story it would be funny if #this was the straw that broke the camel's back of me being unfollowable

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ryssbelle · 3 years

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Was playing around in GMOD and looked into the mirror I just shot at and I was like “That would make a good shot,” so I took some screenshots and I think they look cool and I’m right

I took a few more but they’re off center cuz when I took a screen shot my mouse appeared so I thought I had to be way off to the side to make it work, It didn’t look as good as these two

If you’re wondering what model I’m using it’s a mixture of models, its a Hyrule warriors set of npc models, then the ragdolls/player models which is needed for the npcs, then a transformation swep which turns your current model into the fierce deity with the change sound effect. I have a collection of all my addons if you don’t want to go searching for it I just started playing GMod so it’s not a lot, nor is it very organized lol. Also if you have any good addon suggestions please tell me, I’m trying to get all the addons my friend has (so her stuff doesn’t pop up as errors anymore) but I also wanna get more than that for when I’m playing on my own

#fierce deity #fierce deity link #majoras mask #gmod #i can't remember why i shot the mirror but im glad i did #i think i was just trying to see if it would break #also I have a botw link player model #and he's so much shorter than the fierce deity model #i also have an ocarina of time model but i haven't tested the sizes on those two #but im going to guess deity is taller #botw link is super tiny tho #and I kept switching between the two to see the sizes #also I had to crop out the ceiling a bit cuz it had barnacle juices all over it #and behind me are skulls #i was testing out the barnacles and how quickly you could kill them #and then i made a circle of barnacles and put an npc in the center and watched them freak out #cuz they were trapped #and then I walked away and death happened #i did not think they were gonna follow me #also i found out if an npc dies before the barnacle can eat them and there are too many barnacles trying to grab them their ragdoll #will begin to kill all barnacles in the vicinity #and its p funny #and its why there are a bunch of skulls behind my player model

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nerdneeniya · 3 years

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I know that there is no established time frame beyond the large range of 50-50,000 years that Chell was in cryosleep, but what if it was only for 15 years.

Aperature is somewhere in the US, and by this point the United States is already a big red X on the map. I can only assume its ravished and desolate and if any humans still exist there, they are few and far between. So Chell comes out into a world where she is essentially all alone.

There wouldn't be much around to help piece together what happened, maybe a couple quickly scribbled notes left on kitchen counters saying sorry we can't wait for you to come home we have to leave now, or blocky graffiti on alley walls screaming of the end times, or faint chalk markings pointing to escape routes and hidden safe houses. It is undeniable though that an alien invasion occurred, and Chell really doesn't want to unpack all that after what she's been through in Aperature, but her life is already pretty weird, so this might as well happen.

Since its been 15 years zombies aren't a huge issue. There are a couple here and there, but with all the humans gone, they are in short supply. Headcrabs can still be found in the rubble of broken cities and suburban homes, scurrying around trying to scrounge up even the tiniest morsel. In a world where they're not equipped to prey on most of the local fauna, they quickly become prey themselves.

Houndeyes and barnacles are more prevalent, having an easier time of integrating themselves into the local environment, but they're not the only creatures Chell encounters in the empty cities. Like all those quarantine memes say, nature has healed (somewhat). The cities aren't bustling with wildlife, but Chell isn't as alone as she would initially think, so she always ends up moving around so as not to make herself too easy a target. Plus she kind of wants to find more people.

Chell travels south, heading for Mexico. Or what's left of it. Graffiti on the sides of telephone booths and gas station bathrooms tell her it's safe down there, that there are cities still full of living people. She doesn't know how old the messages are, but it's her only lead.

Chell only considers going back to Aperature Science once after months of traveling alone. At least the facility had some other sentient being she could sort of talk to. She scraps that idea pretty quickly though, realizing even if she did go back, she still wouldn't give Glados the satisfaction of responding to her. And the AI would most definitely try to kill her.

Eventually she thinks she passes into Mexico, if the street signs are anything to go by. The graffiti and wall messages are different here. The further south she heads, the more they urge her to turn back, the US is the only free place left. She doesn't turn back though, she knows what's back there and she'd rather brave what's ahead than face the loneliness behind.

It's not until she meets her first group of humans that she finally understands what that message meant. She supposes that that graffiti held some truth, if it considered desolate hellscapes devoid of humanity freedom. But after months of being alone and traversing through empty expanses, Chell is ready for a little caged living. Though she quickly comes to despise that too, never one for being confined.

A couple years pass and Chell acclimates to this new world she's found herself in. She learns about the Combine and the downfall of humanity. She also learns that it's all Black Mesa's doing and she's sure if Cave Johnson were alive he'd be laughing his ass off at their monumental failure. Much like her time as a test subject, Chell is defiant of the authority figures and does everything in her power to undermine them. She teams up with local resistance groups and quickly climbs their ranks, earning notoriety on par with Gordon Freeman. However, the Combine are not low on power and lacking in resources like Glados was and in a raid gone wrong Chell is captured and sent on a transport vehicle straight for Nova Prospekt a couple months prior to when Gordon is scheduled for the same.

In what must surely be a planned encounter, Chell is stopped by Barney for a closer inspection when she reaches City 17. Chell thinks the worst is about to happen and promptly kicks his ass and makes her escape. Barney, for his part, knows his way better around the city and is able to corner Chell again and removes his helmet and explains himself. She asks him why he stopped her specifically and he, much to her suprise, responds with ASL too and tells her there was something about her orange jumpsuit (which for some reason she's kept all these years) that brought up some memories of an old friend and he felt like he had to stop her from getting any closer to Nova. She's predictably suspicious but Barney assures her that if he were lying she could just beat him up again, he really doesn't stand a chance.

Barney brings her to Kleiner's lab and without introducing himself or learning Chell's name he is immediately drawn to her portal gun. It may not be the kind of teleportation he and the other scientists are trying to build, but it sure as hell would help with moving people and supplies. Chell is hesitant to part with the gun, it's been her main defense for years now, but when Alyx shows up, equally eager to take a look at the gun she relents.

Alyx and Chell are quick friends and Alyx learns pretty quick who Chell is, her reputation preceding her. When they make it to Black Mesa East, other resistance members joke that Chell must be the second coming of Gordon, they even wear the same colors. Chell once again gains status as a resistance leader and greatly helps with the underground railroad now that the portal gun has been enhanced to work on other surfaces besides moon paint.

When Gordon finally arrives in Black Mesa East, he meets Chell and is pleasantly suprised that she is also mute. They are quick to bond over their supposed savior of humanity status and weird time displacement. Chell fills Gordon in on everything that's happened and he's not left wondering what the hell is happening for the next week because no one else will tell him what the hell is going on at any given moment.

I could keep going with this idea, but this post is already hella long, so I'll stop here.

#half life #portal #gordon freeman #chell #someone talk to me about this cross over #long post

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yikesharringrove · 4 years

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Hello! I absolutely love you’re writing, it’s always so creative and fun to read! If it’s not too much trouble could you please do 1 and 7 from the fluff prompt?

Thank you so much! 🥺 getting nice comments about my writing seriously makes my heart so happy.

1: “how much did you drink?”

7: “wait, no, don’t take kissing away from me.”

Prompt List! Request Stuff! Please!

Read on ao3.

So this is actually something from a longer fic I am going to start. I have so many WIPs right now it’s a mess.Modern College au where everyone is queer and everyone is happy. This was super fun to write! The gang plays Never Have I Ever.

Billy knocked on the apartment door.

He had gotten out of work later than he had hoped, shitty customers demanding service a minute before closing, pushing back his closing and cleaning duties almost an hour. It’s fine. He’s fine.

So, he’s the last to arrive at the party.

Jonathan opens the door for him, obviously high as a kite, with a Billy! Hey man! Billy claps him on the shoulder, shuffling past him in the little entryway.

He can hear footsteps running from deeper in the apartment, Steve appearing at the end of the hallway, muttering billybillybillybillybillybillybilly with every step. He jumped into Billy’s arms wrapping his legs around his waist.

“Hi.” His eyes were glazed, and he had a big dopey grin on his face. “I missed you.”

“Yeah, Baby? I missed you too. How much did you drink?”

“Robin’s been making me drinks!” Robin made the best drinks out of the gang, but they were deadly. She could hide copious amounts of the cheapest alcohol ina pretty good cocktail. It helped too that Steve loved the sugary stuff. Billy once made him a daiquiri and he about lost his damn mind. “I’m a drunky little skunky.”

Jonathan was laughing behind them as Billy carried Steve into the kitchen, fixing himself a drink before heading into the living room with the rest of the gang.

“You two make me ill,” Robin deadpanned as Billy sat down in Steve’s empty spot, Steve settling into his lap.

“Rob, if you could quit being home of phobic, that’d be great.” Billy grinned at Robin. Steve was giggling, resting his head on Billy’s shoulder, shoving one of his hands up Billy’s shirt, resting it against his tummy.

“I think they’re sweet together!” Nancy cooed.

“That’s because you dumped Steve in high school and still feel bad about it,” Barb interjected, everyone howling with laughter as Nancy’s face went red.

“Okay, okay. We had a pretty good game of Never Have I Ever going on, we need to get Billy caught up.” Jonathan winked at Billy from across the cozy living room.

“Oh, that’ll be easier. There isn't a lot I haven’t done. Is that why Stevie is so sloshed though?”

“Yeah, Robin may have been targetting him a little.”

“That’s his own fault for telling me SO many DETAILS about all the sex you two have. We also made him take a shot every time he called you ‘Daddy”.” Billy threw his head back and laughed, Steve making a disgruntled sound at Robin.

“Okay, well I’ll join in. Whose turn is it?”

“Mine.” Barb squinted at him. “Well, never have I ever been born in California.” Bily raised his glass at her, tipping it back and taking a drink. It was her girlfriend’s turn next. Alicia didn’t know Billy all that well, so she was silent for a minute, trying to rack her brain until Barb grinned and leaned over to her and whispered something into her ear.

“Never have I ever had a mullet?” She said it as though she was hoping it wasn’t true. Everyone roared with laughter.

“It was only a mullet for like, two months. It was growing out weird!” Billy still took a good-sized gulp. Steve ran his fingers through Billy’s long hair.

“I like the end result just fine, but those two months were, not awesome, Bill.” Billy tried to look as offended as possible. He knew the mullet was a poor moment for him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side!” Steve laughed, putting his hand back in Billy’s shirt. “That’s okay, I forgive you.” They kissed lazily and sloppily.

“Can you two not suck face for like, five seconds?” Robin yelled over them.

“I have an idea!” Jonathan was practically vibrating in his seat. “If they can go one hour without kissing, we all take a shot, if they kiss, they both have to take,” he counted everyone quickly “three shots each.”

“Wait, no! Don’t take kissing away from me!” Steve shrieked indignantly.

“That many shots are gonna fuckin’ kill Steve at this point, I think,” Billy said.

“Then split it up differently, but either way, six shots must be taken.” Jonathan leaned back in his chair and smirked at Billy. “Should we vote on it?”

Robin raised her hand, grabbing Heather’s arm and shooting it into the air as well. Barb laughed and raised hers, Alicia following suit. Jonathan counted hands, Nancy laughing with hers in the air.

“You all are bullies. Mean, homophobic, bullies.” Steve was pouting in Billy’s lap. He was clingy, totally physically affectionate. If taking three shots didn’t kill him, going one hour without kissing Billy certainly would.

“So it’s a deal. Let’s keep playing then! And you two, now kissing.” Robin winked at them, taking her turn. “Speaking of which, never have I ever kissed a boy.”

Everyone except Barb drank, her and Robin high-fiving.

“Fine, fuck you, Buckley. Never Have I ever kissed a girl.” Billy raised an eyebrow. Everyone drank.

It was Steve’s turn. This should be a mess.

“Billy, what’s something I haven’t done?” He loudly whispered. Billy smirked wickedly, leaning forward to whisper into Steve’s ear, throwing a wink to Nancy.

“Never have I ever had a pregnancy scare.” Jonathon and Nancy when matching shades of deep red while everyone laughed.

“I forgot about that! God, you two are straight.” Robing hooted through laughter.

“That was cold, Billy.” They had both joined in on the laughter, Nancy’s breakdown about a missed period well in the past. “I can get you right back though. Never have I ever, had a chlamydia scare.”

“Well played, Byers! I didn’t know I told you about that!” Billy threw back his drink, shifting Steve off his lap to get a refill. Steve whined and clung to Billy tighter. Steve was a fucking barnacle when he was sloshed. Billy sighed and picked him back up, just taking Steve with him into the kitchen.

“When the fuck did that go down?” Heather yelled into the kitchen.

“Before I knew you all. Some guy I had been fucking around with in California told me he had the clap and I had to get tested, but I was fine,” Billy shouted back.

“Whore!” Robin called as he waddled back into the living room. He couldn’t flip robin off, holding two cups in one hand, the other support Steve’s ass. They flopped back onto the couch with very little grace.

“Never have I ever,” Nancy was thinking, biting the inside of her cheek, deciding who she wanted to fuck over. “Um, never have I ever dated someone with blue eyes.” Steve reached for Billy’s fresh drink, but he lifted it out of reach and pressed the water he had brought for Steve into his hand instead.

“Oh, thank you, Bill.”

“Just ‘cause I don’t wanna deal with you yaaking all night.” Steve huffed. “I’m just kidding. I don’t want you to get sick, though.” Steve drank about half the cup, leaned in and kissed Billy.

“YES!” Everyone was cheering.

“We fuckin’ got ‘em!” Jonathan and Nancy high fived.

“They couldn’t even go twenty fucking minutes!” Robin was shrieking.

“I forgot! I forgot!” Steve was red, Billy was just laughing his ass off.

Barb began lining up shot glasses on the table, taking the bottle of shitty vodka Alicia handed her.

“Okay, you can switch it up any way you want, but six must be taken. That was the deal.” She grinned at Billy, he just rolled his eyes.

Billy ended up doing all six shots.

#yikes writes #harringrove #steve harrington #steve harrington x billy hargrove #billy hargrove x steve harrington #billy hargrove #prompt fic #prompt fill #harringrove prompts #harringrove prompt fill #harringrove prompt list

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evolutionsvoid · 4 years

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The Elmis Spires are a rather bizarre species that are found in equally bizarre places. The ecosystems they live in are rather rare and many people don't even know they exist! This may be in part because they share a name with another type of habitat. The place these strange critters live in are known as Volcanic Deserts, but they probably aren't the ones you think! Most volcanic deserts are barren places where vegetation struggles to grow. This is due to volcanic activity, which leads to large amounts of tephra and acidic rain. If you visited these regions, you wouldn't think too much of them. It would look like any other dry, rocky desert, save for the nearby volcano. The volcanic desert I am referring to is a much more imposing beast. These places are more like the sandy deserts made of great dunes and ergs. Except here, the sand is black. This is because the sand is made from the hardened lava that pours from the volcano. Wind and weather slowly breaks these rocks down to fine obsidian sand. Dunes made of darkness would already be interesting on their own, but that isn't all of it. The volcanoes that form these rare ecosystems must be active, and they are constantly oozing molten lava. So it is a desert that has rivers and streams, but not any you would want to drink from! These white hot flows travel throughout the desert, slowly cooling into the rock that will turn to sand. I feel that this habitat is what people think the Underworld is, a land of pitch black rock and rivers of burning lava. However, these are places you find right here on the surface, but they aren't easy to find and are even harder to survive in. It seems like every bit of these volcanic deserts (or obsidian deserts) is designed to create misery. The many dunes and ergs make travel difficult, as you sink and slip with practically every step. While the sand itself is very coarse and awful, it pales in comparison to the juts of volcanic rock you may find. These stones have the nasty habit of forming razor sharp edges that can slice through skin or bark with hardly any effort. Going near any of these rocky formations will guarantee a slicing, be it your clothing, equipment or your own body. And don't forget that these rocks can break into small pieces and get buried in the same colored sand! So you might just step somewhere and get a shard jabbed into your foot! How lovely! Then there is the issue about water. Since most of the landscape is sand, you won't be finding many pools or sources of groundwater. Your best bet is to get it from the storms that frequent these lands, but best of luck to you on that! Many of the storms that hit these deserts don't create rain, just crazy winds and an absurd amount of lightning. It currently isn't known why these ecosystems get so many of these powerful storms, but some think it may be a result of the landscape and mountains. Regardless, when one of these suckers hit, you want to be in shelter or literally anywhere else in the world. High winds churn up the sand and create dust storms of ludicrous proportions. A mixture of ash, obsidian and sand will fill the air, making it difficult and dangerous to breath. Even with proper breathing protection, the high speed of these aerial particles will make it feel like you are sliding down a mountain of sandpaper. Any exposed part of your body can have thin layers worn off, leaving some painful wounds. And if that doesn't sound bad enough, just wait til the lightning comes in! The storms that form in these areas seem to generate a crazy amount of lightning, which rain down on these deserts like explosive arrows. The whole sky will crackle and glow as webs of energy slither through the clouds. Bolts will plunge forth and strike the dunes with devastating force. Though these storms only last for minutes, it feels like hours when you are trapped in the middle of one! So if I haven't made it obvious enough yet, volcanic deserts are rough places. Some say they look like places where some villain would make their evil lair, but I assure you that even they would hate these habitats. I mention all of that to stress the point that these ecosystems are incredibly dangerous and harsh, which makes it astounding to realize that life is found there. Despite the storms, the razor stones and whipping sands, there are a number of species that call this place home. The Elmis Spire is one of those denizens, and they are perfectly built for such a rough place! Their body is coated in a thick exoskeleton to ward of the stinging sands and sharp rocks. Their many skittering legs allow them to move quickly across the dunes as well as scale any rocky formations they encounter. They are also capable of burrowing in the sand, using their legs and lower barb to dig themselves downward. The barb that protrudes from the bottom of their body is often mistaken for their mouth, as many see it as a toothy beak. Since their eyes are also down there, it make sense for that to be their mouth, right? In actuality, their mouth is located on their "abdomen." The vertical slit in their body is an orifice that they use for both respiration and feeding. It can open and close like any other mouth, but it is instead built for filtering rather than biting or chewing! Strainers and web-like membranes lie within this orifice, sifting through the air and sand for bits of food. Some may wonder what sustenance could be found in this dry air, it turns out that the answer is: spores! While green vegetation is almost nonexistent in this land, their role has been taken over by fungi! The most common fungus found here is the Fume Stalk, which is actually a keystone to the whole ecosystem! These large chimney-like growths are found lining the "banks" of these lava "rivers." These fungi seem to feed off the heat and gas that comes from these molten flows, turning it all into mass and extra growths. Other fungi species have taken up this role too, but none as plentiful as the Fume Stalk! They honestly look like some coral formation you would see in the ocean, not in some scorched desert! Though these towering stalks are many and fleshy looking, they themselves are awful food sources. Due to their diet and surroundings, their flesh is inedible to most creatures, perhaps even poisonous. I heard someone say that biting into one is like "trying to eat a crusty moldy apple that is filled with glass." Since I have no desire to test their description, I am going to say it is an accurate one! No idea how they know that, but I am going to guess that it isn't a happy story.

Though the Fume Stalk itself is rather inedible to most, it does provide an alternative food source. As they feed and grow, they release plumes of spores from their chimneys, filling the air with their young. These spores are meant to land near the molten rivers and grow into new stalks, but many don't get the chance. Wind and weather can spread these clouds in many directions, sending them to all corners of the desert. Though many may land in the cold black sands, their loss is insignificant. Fume Stalks pump out thousands if not millions of these spores a day, fueled by the constant heat of the lava. Any spores that land away from the rivers are trivial to the Fume Stalks, but they are blessings to the local wildlife. These clouds are what many of the lower members of the food web feed on, and the Elmis Spire is one of them. Their gaping mouths suck in these spores and then filter them out from the non-edible particles. The air and waste is released through the pores on its backside, allowing the Elmis Spire to have a constant flow of food and air through its body. Surrounding this area is a cluster of tendrils that its uses to taste and smell the air. These help it detect areas that are dense with spores, as well as smell danger before it can attack. After learning more about these creatures, I really wonder why something would even dare do such a thing! Though small and thin, Elmis Spires are not easy prey. Their spiky armor is not pleasant to bite, and they can scurry away quite quick! If escape is not possible, they will burrow into the sand and hide their body down below, leaving only the large yellow spike exposed. This at first seems like a simple defense, but that is until you realize the power they hide within themselves. When one of these storms sweeps through the desert, the Elmis Spires will seal their mouths and scramble to the nearest rock formation. They will climb to the top and anchor themselves with their clawed feet. There they will raise their tall spike up high and wait. While others run and hide from the winds and lightning, these little guys welcome it. By doing something strange with their internal anatomy, they are able to boost their chances of being struck by a bolt, which somehow doesn't kill them. Instead, their bodies have a way of taking this energy and storing it. These guys essentially use lightning to charge themselves up! You will see their bright spikes gain a faint glow when they have filled up, as it stands out quite obviously against the black sands. When they are charged, they are capable of releasing this energy when need to be, and that perfect time is when something is trying to bite them. Touching the rear spike of a charged Elmis Spire is a good way to get blasted off your feet. They release a powerful shock from their stored energy to fry their attackers and it is a potent weapon! However, this defense can only be used when they have energy stored up. After multiple shocks, they will be depleted and will have to wait until the next storm to recharge. Predators of theirs have learned how to trick them into attacking and draining their buildup, finally going in for the kill once they are dry. It is a risky maneuver though, as one slip up can wind up giving you jolt straight to the face! There is a current theory that the Elmis Spire may be distantly related to barnacles. With that in mind, many have wondered if they are also related to the Selsillik that live in the temperate rainforests. It is hard to say, as these two live in wildly different environments, but they do have some similar features. I would say that future research is needed to truly know, but that would make it sound like I was volunteering for such a thing. It is not because I dislike barnacles, I quite like them! Then again, researching them for years and years would be quite maddening. Some of the greatest minds have endured such tortures, but that isn't my point! The reason I wouldn't want to be a part of this project is because working in the volcanic deserts is quite miserable. Each ecosystem I have ever visited have their own negatives, but volcanic deserts are some of the worst for me. Pretty to look at, but absolutely wretched to experience. The grating sands, the knife-edged rocks and those awful storms that turn the whole land into a nightmare. I spent four weeks in one of those deserts, and it was four weeks of weary research and pondering my life choices. Just wondering how I wound up in such an awful place and why I was still there. It was curiosity's fault as usual, as I just couldn't pass up an opportunity like this! Its strangeness and uniqueness hypnotized me, and I fell face first into that siren's call! As I hunkered down in pitch black spiky caves, hoping the lightening wouldn't blast me to pieces, I just wondered: why here? Why couldn't I be a researcher that studied only nice places with good weather and wonderful locales? Like when I spent two months in a rainforest with the Furceros as I looked into local insect populations. Seeing rare colorful creatures, collecting new specimens for my bug collection, then ending it off with fig wine and festivities! Or when I buried myself in the archives for three weeks delving into the historical records of Bone Dragons! Losing myself in decades of knowledge, enjoying herring pie and falling asleep on a mound of books! Or when I went to literal Hel in the Underworld and found out that it had wonderful restaurants! The local cuisine is to die for and the Isodon Gumbo is a taste of perfection. Any of those places besides this storm ravaged wasteland! I have been in some pretty rough spots before, but being in a volcanic desert really made me wonder about retirement. But in the end, I do it all because I love research and discovery. Volcanic deserts are a rare and unique ecosystem filled with utterly bizarre creatures. As a lover of nature and natural history, I cannot resist the wonders that emerge in such a place. Though I curse its existence now, I bet you anything I will be back there again. Chlora Myron Dryad Natural Historian ------------------------------------------------------------ If I didn't have enough on my plate already, I just had to make another ecosystem. This one is a bit implausible, but this is a world that has magic in it already, so it is probably fine. This land was made from the mental image I got when I first heard of "volcanic deserts." It sounded so cool and crazy, but then I found that they are just rocky arid places around a volcano. Not so crazy. So I decided to have fun with it!

#monster #creature #art #drawing #lightning rod #volcanic desert

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ask-de-writer · 4 years

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DARING DO and the ADVENTURE of the X'IBIAN VASE! : MLP Fan Fiction : Part 6 of 21

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DARING DO and the

ADVENTURE of the X'IBIAN VASE!

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck) @ask-de-writer

And

Carmen Pondiego @askcarmenpondiego

Cover Art by

Doctor Dimension

52630 words

Writing begun 08/26/15

//////////////

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions, provided that such things are done without charge. I will allow those who do commission art works to charge for their images.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fictions is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

Daring Do, being a pegasus, really had little magic. It was all small and strictly practical. Truth testing, safe grip that allowed the picking up of cracked or damaged things without losing any parts or causing further damage, fast read (handy but you had to know the language fairly well first) and a few other spells of that sort. They were all Non Equine Magic learned from the Non Equine University.

Truth testing was simple and unobtrusive. First, it showed her that what they saw was real. She could have sworn it was staged for effect!

“I am Captain Getsthere, of the Sea Sage. Ship’s a bit obsolete, mixed sail and steam paddle wheeler. She is sound, though, and will get you there. I hear that you want to get to the Chineignese Empire. Main port at Singapone and then up the Dunn See river to Cantrot.”

The Guardian said quietly, “Not to cast a doubt on your honorable self but all the docks are occupied by ships with Lading Deposits. None are loading, however.”

Captain Getsthere smiled, showing yellowed teeth, some with gold or silver crowns. “Legal trick there, Honorable One. If we have cargo to load and a paid Lading Deposit, the Harbor Master HAS to move a vessel that is not loading out to the roadstead and let us have the dock space.”

Daring Do invited Captain Getsthere to sit and said, “Order what you wish. We have the Lading Deposit in Gold and the cargo is in Dock Warehouse #4. So, you can get us to Singapone? What about river barge connections to Cantrot?”

The Captain was briefly busy with the waiter and then replied, “Sea Sage is shallow enough draft that we’ve been up to Cantrot six times. At low water, too. Make that whole run for you without transshipping once.”

Truth testing passed him completely, to Daring Do’s amazement. She saw Cy nodding approval. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the bag of gold that was the deposit for the previous vessel.

Captain Getsthere carefully counted it out. He shoved back a substantial sum. “Sea Sage’s Lading Deposit is well known. Won’t overcharge you first thing.”

Daring Do considered carefully. “Make us a proper receipt. Make us another for any refits that you think good. We want the ship under us to be as sound as possible.”

At that he nodded acceptance. “I can do that. Got a list, in fact. Was going to use the deposit money to get it.”

He left to make arrangements with the Harbor Master and order his refitting supplies from the chandlers.

The group of them were sitting outside, watching the gulls fly and the coming and going of smaller boats. The docks were full of idle ships. Most of them had the wisp of smoke at the stack that indicated operational steam up. That was required by the Royal Maritime Commission. It let docks be cleared quickly for emergencies, a precaution that had paid off handsomely in the past.

“Look!” Cy exclaimed. “They are bringing up a tug to Dock and Warehouse 4!”

The Guardian said softly, “The Rising Whale does not have steam up as required. They are pulling her out. Her captain is protesting. From the looks of the longshore ponies with axes to cut the hawser lines it will be a useless protest.”

He was right. The captain had to get a gig to catch up to his idle ship, being towed out to the roadstead.

The Sea Sage was in place and ready to load in only a half hour or so. Maneuvering a ship, even a smaller one, near a dock is tricky business and has to be done with care.

Their supplies were being loaded and the Sea Sage was taking on coal while they watched. Daring Do called on her Magic Net mirror. Looking up, she explained, “We will have three others from the Royal University joining us in a short time. I sent them ahead and told them where to wait. They are all experts in conservation and collection of delicate artifacts.”

Sure enough the three came trotting up in a little while. One, a pale mauve pony, introduced himself, “I am Senior Graduate Student Horace. These others are Jeremy, the orange guy there, and the big white mare is Soree Bea Shann. She is a Saddle Arabian exchange student.

“I don’t know why they are along. Jeremy barely made the cut for the program and HER? Her folks back in the desert are RICH. Her only qualification.”

The two were about to protest when Daring Do cut in, “THEY are along because I personally sent for them. YOU muscled your way onto the team without my consent. I am most curious as to WHY?”

Cy simply pounced. She used a right foreleg thrust to the side of Horace’s neck. He was not only knocked down, he was driven over a meter from where he had been standing a fraction of a second ago. Cy was sitting on his neck to keep him down while she explained, “Horace, here, is in ROT’s pay. He was smart enough to demand gold up front and no written contract.

“His job is to report your expedition’s progress and the exact location of the tomb. ROT will then swoop in and steal anything of value. If a few ponies have to die, including you, Doctor Do, no big deal, as he sees it. He will have money and perhaps fame.”

Daring Do considered for a moment. “How can you know these things? I have noticed other times that you knew what you really had no way of knowing.”

Going perfectly serious, Cy replied, “That is a matter of ERIS Supreme security, Doctor. The Guardian knows. In a private setting, he may tell you what he deems fit.”

With a pluck of her sleeve, the Guardian led her inside the Rusty Barnacle. Looking about to be sure of not being overheard, he told her, “You have seen her eye and mane. More was changed in her inheritance after the Mage Weapon Blast of two generations past than only her body. The Watcher of the Most Exalted One can read minds. More it is unwise to say.”

Daring Do, thinking back saw answers to many things. “Her precise combat moves. She knows were the enemy is without looking. The trick with the sewers and fire fighting mains. She was near enough to somepony who knew it! I am glad that she is a Watcher for Eris. So many try to harm her.”

They went back out where Cy was passing time by lightly popping Horace’s head against the ground. She looked up brightly as Daring Do approached. “Can I? Please? We know everything that he is aware of about the plot. I would love to kill him!”

The eager puppy look to her single eye left no doubt about Cy’s sincerity. Daring Do hated to disappoint her. “I am afraid not, Cy. I do believe you. One test, though. How was he to communicate with ROT?”

“Empty his left saddle bag. There is a hidden flap on the inside. Lifting it will reveal the pocket holding a World Wide Magic Net mirror. A small one but with plenty of reach. We at ERIS cracked that algorithm about two years ago. That type of mirror was still in development when we got it.”

Horace sort of gave up. “Those are supposed to be totally private. You heard my signals when I called them to say we were going to the ship.”

Cy looked down at him. “Something of that sort. I waited to be sure that I had what you knew before I moved, that is all.”

Slumped even flatter, Horace asked, “Since I am not going along, can’t you just let me go? I can’t hurt you now.”

Serenely digging out the mirror, Cy poked some codes. “Hello, are you Mister Robber or Mister Overthrow? Oh, you are Mister Tyrrany! I am Cyrene Clopes. I work for ERIS, Inc. I just wanted you to know that we have taken your spy for Doctor Do’s expedition.

“What? No. We are letting him go for now. The Royal Road Police will be handling the charge of Criminal Taking of Royal Funds. We thought that since you are a law firm and have him on retainer, that you would likely want to defend him in the courts.

“This was purely a courtesy call, you understand. Good bye.” She closed the mirror and handed it back to Horace.

“Do be so good as to pack your things and leave, young pony. We really don’t want you along.”

As Daring Do watched Horace go, she had a pang of conscience. She turned to Cy and said softly, “They will kill him, won’t they?”

Cy smiled calmly, watching gulls wheel overhead. “Almost certainly, Doctor Do. I might have handled things differently if this was the only bad thing that he has done. It is not. He has cheated and trampled others for most of his life.”

Soon they were all picking staterooms aboard the Sea Sage. They all rushed up to the deck to wave good bye to Cy, staying behind on the dock as the ship was towed free and the huge, nearly antique paddles began to churn the harbor’s water. Her big whistle let loose a piercing scream and crewponies worked to unfurl the sails.

Heeling gracefully, the Sea Sage rounded the breakwater and swept out onto the swells of the open sea.

Soree, the Saddle Arabian, who had never been to sea before, was happily trotting all over, looking at all of the wonderful new sights! She drew in deep breaths of the amazing salt air, the scent of smoke and lubricants from the massive two cylinder walking beam engine and the pitch on the rigging ropes.

Poor orange Jeremy was hanging his head over the rail and wishing that his heaving tummy would stop. It was emptied long ago!

Daring Do and the Guardian had a low table set up on the poop deck and were happily playing Mah Jongg, to the rattle of dice and the clacking of tiles.

Daring Do felt a deep contentment. She was on the way; another expedition to find the unknown and learn the secrets of the ancient past.

The weather, which at sea, was native and wild, untamed by Cloudsdale or any other such authority, held fine. Jeremy got over his sea-sickness. Both he and Soree began to learn the ins and outs of Mah Jongg. It is an excellent four hoof game.

The weather did not prove to be a problem. The pirates, on the other hoof …

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#DARING DO AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE X'IBIAN VASE #Part 6 of 21 #MLP Fan Fiction #Written by De Writer and Carmen Pondiego

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tommybaholland · 6 years

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Beneath the Reef Part 2 | mermaid!Tom AU

(images not mine)

INTRO // PART 1

Pairing: mermaid!Tom x siren!Reader

Summary: after escaping from all the siren pressure, you get to know the boy with the pretty green tail

Word Count: 4K

(sorry if that gd cut doesn’t work!!)

“We got a good one for you.”

Here you are again, swimming to the strait to lure with Circe and two other sirens. Except this time, you were going to sing.

“Your birthday is tomorrow, Y/N. It won’t be long until it really counts,” Circe reminded you.

You reached your normal spot, already spotting the ship coming down the channel, which was almost like a cue for the other sirens as they immediately began swimming to the surface.

You, however, stayed behind, reluctant to go.

“Y/N!” Circe called from behind you. “What’re you doing? Go!”

You looked up at the ship, swallowing hard before joining the other sirens. Your head breached the surface, looking up at the large vessel. You began singing, trying to stay on pitch with the others. The boat soon veered into the rock, the bow crashing on impact. Some men fell off the masts while others began to jump overboard upon hearing your hypnotic song.

At this point you were supposed to stop singing and start attacking the bodies, like your fellow sirens were demonstrating now. But you just stopped singing and watched them with a vacant look on your face.

“What the hell are you doing? Look at all these bodies in the water, kill one!” Circe yelled out to you.

The effects of the song were wearing off, the remaining men trying to swim to the surface, to safety. You grabbed one closest to you but he struggled against you, eventually kicking your tail to escape your grasp. You groaned in pain, hearing Circe yell at you again.

“C’mon, Y/N, you can do better than that!”

You looked around, trying to find the slowest, weakest one. You spotted one not too far away, who was sinking faster than he could swim. You swam over to him, grabbing him by his shirt, looking into his half-lidded eyes, which were brown. He also had dark hair.

He looks like Tom.

“That’s it, Y/N, you got him! Now just claw his eyes out!” Circe continued providing commentary on your performance.

You looked back at her before looking back at the man, whose eyes were fully closed now. You couldn’t let him die.

You dragged him up to the surface as fast as you could, grasping onto the front of his shirt. You breached through the surface again, bringing him above as well, trying to look for the other men that made it back above water.

One finally swam over to you, taking the body from you hands. He looked up at you, nodding in gratitude. You quickly ducked back underneath the water, swimming back down. You looked around, not seeing the other sirens or even Circe, thinking they may have already gone back and left you there. You swam over to the rock where you normally sat and watched, thinking about how furious Circe was gonna be after what you did.

However, you were saved the anticipation as you heard a whoosh behind you. Next thing you knew, Circe had you by the shoulders, slamming you against the rock.

“Why did you do that? You would’ve been dead by now if this was your test!” She yells in your face.

“He...he was dying,” you replied in pain, your head and shoulders throbbing.

“Well, yeah, that’s kinda the point, barnacle head,” she insults. “We’re not mermaids, we don’t save people! Can’t you see we’re trying to help you!?”

You grew angry at her words. “Maybe I don’t wanna be a siren! I didn’t ask for this!” you said in a firm tone.

Circe let go of your shoulders, shaking her head.

“This isn’t a punishment, Y/N, this is your life. This is your life now. And it’s your decision on whether you want to keep it, but you should know….” she trails off, pausing for a beat.

“It’s not a painless death.”

When you got back to the cave, Circe told you to go to your room and rest, to which you gladly complied. You sat on the edge of your bed, your mind racked with competing thoughts.

Why can’t you just do it?

But I don’t want to kill anyone.

But do you want to live?

Not if it means continuing my life like this.

You started to get upset, not knowing what to think. You felt weak and powerless. You couldn’t understand why you didn’t have the same capacity to kill like the rest of the group but at the same time, you didn’t want to be like them.

Well, maybe this life wasn’t meant for you.

Wanting to forget about what happened, your thoughts shifted to yesterday, when you met your first mermaid.

Tom.

You wondered what his everyday life was like, as a mermaid. But you could guess it was probably a million times better, since you saw him happily playing with his friends. You wanted to see him, to talk to him again.

You moved over to one side of your room, where a large rock was placed in front of the wall. Normally this rock was used for sitting, in the small chance that someone else was present, but it was mainly to hide an escape route.

You pushed the rock slowly, careful not to make too much noise. Once you saw the wide hole, you held the rock back with one arm while you maneuvered yourself through the opening, letting the rock gradually lean back on the wall. Once your tail and body were out into the open sea, you shifted the cover a bit so that the hole was out of sight but still allowed you to easily move it so you could get back in.

Once the rock was back in its strategic place, you started your usual route to the Reef. You had gotten better at being discrete and quicker at getting there, especially since you started going so frequently. But now you had a reason to go.

To see Tom.

You reached your normal stakeout spot, your eyes scanning the coral for a green tail. Some merman finally came into view, whom you recognized as some of Tom’s friends from yesterday, the purple tail and the blue tail. They seemed to be looking for something, swimming in and out of the coral beds near the drop off. You were so focused on watching them, you didn’t sense someone coming up behind you.

“.....So I see you’ve come back.”

You jumped, gasping at the sudden voice. You turned to see brown eyes, floating close to you.

He chuckled at your reaction. “Sorry, love, couldn’t help myself.”

You had an unamused look on your face, turning back to look at the Reef. His friends were out of sight and you hoped they weren’t going to come popping out of nowhere.

“Do you always watch us from over here?” He asked honestly.

A beat passed before you spoke up. “Not always. Sometimes I just swim by, but no one’s usually out. I just like to look at the Reef,” you shrugged, still looking out at the structure.

His eyes followed yours as he looked out at his home before speaking again. “But do you like mermaids?”

Like is an understatement.

You paused again. “I’m intrigued, yes,” you answered, giving him a soft smile.

His heart fluttered at your words. You seemed genuinely interested in his people. He didn’t really know too much about sirens, except that they didn’t do much to contribute to the commonwealth of the sea and wanted nothing to do with mermaids. But you seemed different to him, just like when you first saw him.

His friends came back into your view in front of the Reef, calling Tom’s name.

Tom scoffed out a laugh. “Those divs. They’ve been trying to find me for over a half hour now.”

You smiled at his comment on his friends’ obliviousness. He turned back to you, speaking up again.

“C’mon,” he reached his hand out towards you. “Let’s let them keep looking.”

You looked at his hand, curious as to where this would go.

It’s not everyday a mermaid lets you hold his hand.

You took his hand, feeling the warmth as he closed it around yours. He started leading you out into the open water with a moderate pace. You watched the movement of his mesmerizing tail in front of you, admiring the graceful waves it created in its path.

“So you’ve seen the Reef,” he spoke up, looking back to you. “Where do sirens live?”

“Uhh…” you paused, quickening your pace to catch up to him. “We live in this cave, not far from the Reef, actually.”

“It’s not nearly as big or colorful…” you added, trailing off.

“Sometimes it’s too big and a bit too much,” he chuckled.

You turned your head to look at his pretty profile. “I think it’s beautiful,” you replied, making him look at you, smiling.

You looked forward, continuing to swim with him.

“....where are we going?” You spoke up after a few minutes.

“Remember that drop off we went to after….after we slayed the beast…” he joked, referring to your battle with Scylla. You laughed out loud at his exasperated tone. He made it seem like you both fought her, when he was the one who saved you from her wrath.

He smiled back at you, enjoying the sound of your laugh ringing through his ears.

“Race ya there!” He said, letting go of your hand and shooting off, knocking you back with the power of his tail.

You flinched back, trying to block the force with your arms, squeezing your eyes shut. You opened them after a few moments, gasping at how far ahead he already was. You quickly started flapping your tail and gliding your hands out in front of you in attempt to catch up with him. You weren’t sure if you were going to beat him but you knew you were fast. You pushed harder with your movements, seeing the glimmer of his tail, coming up behind him.

You examined his movements, following his sharp turns and spirals, until two large twin rocks came up ahead. There was a small space between them, but it was big enough for Tom to fit through. You decided to swim up and over, knowing it would be quicker for you, as you take the same route on your way to the reef.

Once you got to the top, you saw the drop off straight ahead, trying to pull out your fastest sprint to get there. You didn’t see Tom but you also didn’t slow down to look behind you. You slowed down a few feet from the edge of the drop off, fully confident that you had beat him. You reached the sandy plateau, breathing heavily and smiling wide to yourself.

You had never beat anyone at anything before, but then again you never really got the opportunity. This might’ve been the first time you felt proud of yourself for accomplishing something since becoming a siren, even if it was just a silly race.

You suddenly heard a whooshing sound followed by a voice behind you.

“Look ouuuuuuutttt!”

Tom flew towards you, seeming to have underestimated his stopping distance, and crashed right into you. You landed on your back into the sand, feeling dead weight on top of you. You heard a laugh from beside your head.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. Guess I was going too fast.”

He picked his head up, looking down at you with his endearing eyes. “Wow, you are fas–are you alright, love?”

You didn’t know whether you were still dazed from the impact or from hearing his voice say your name, but you didn’t say anything for a few moments. When you finally came back to your senses, you noticed an uncomfortable feeling that went down your backside.

“Um, you’re...crushing my fin,” you finally spoke in a pained tone.

“Oh! Sorry, I’m so sorry,” Tom said, while getting off of you.

You sighed in relief as the pressure came off your back. Tom quickly reached out to you, putting his hands on your shoulders to pull you up out of the sand.

“Ah, I’m sorry, love,” he said as he ran his hands down to your upper arms while you rubbed your hands over the small fin that ran down the back of your tail.

“Are you okay?” he asked again, wanting to make sure you weren’t hurt even more from his body colliding with yours. His hands felt warm against your skin, feeling soothed by his thumbs rubbing small strokes.

You nodded, giving him a small smile, looking into his concerned eyes. He smiled back, giving your arms a small squeeze before letting go. You suddenly felt cold at the loss of contact.

He looks up at the surface of the water, beginning to swim up towards it.

“C’mon!”

You followed his lead up to the surface, your head breaching above the water. You turned to see him wading towards the shallow end, that was formed by sand and rock. You swam closer to him, while he looked around small area that was partially closed off by tunnel-like cave.

“Have you ever been above the surface before?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah, before I was a siren,” you answered, making him turn to you with a puzzled look on his face. “I, uh, drowned when I was 16 but the colony took me in…” you explained, trailing off at hearing the morbidness of your story.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” he expressed. “But….at least you have a second chance!” he exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood.

Yeah...an unfortunate one.

You just smiled, indulging in his attempt to make you feel better.

“But, no, we can’t survive on land,” you replied, to his original question while gesturing to the gills on your sides, right near your rib cage.

“That’s a shame, really. The world’s….truly amazing. So much to explore,” he commented. That’s probably what you missed most, being able to explore different parts of the world. You were alive and well, but confined to underwater jail.

Siren hell.

“So what do sirens do, exactly?”

Wow, he’s just...full of questions.

“Um...we’re really not that interesting,” you answered.

“Ah c’mon, surely you guys take pride in something, especially with such a small group,” he pressed.

“Well….” you started.

Don’t tell him.

“.....we hunt...for food.”

“Oh, wow. That’s mad, must be a big job,” he observed. “What do you eat?”

“Well, I eat mostly fish and small aquatic plants, but the others….” you trailed off. “...the others have more of ah….an acquired taste.”

He looked at you for a moment with a blank look on his face. But then a smile grew, making him chuckle a little. “Sounds interesting to me, love.”

Your heart skipped at the pet name, liking the way his voice said it with a smile on his face. But you were disheartened that you had to be so vague with him.

He couldn’t find out.

He’s the first mermaid you’ve met and he didn’t run away in terror when he saw you, when you revealed to him what you are.

But that’s because he doesn’t know.

And you didn’t want to be the one to let him know now.

He leaned back against the bed of the sand, slightly pulling himself out of the water so his torso was completely exposed. You followed next to him, but just propping your elbow up onto the top of the hill. You took a moment to admire him as he closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh air. You noticed his hair had a bit a texture to it when out of the water and you wondered what it looked like completely dry.

Your eyes moved down his body, scanning over his fit physique. His arms and abs seemed to have been sculpted by greek gods. You felt your face grow warm, flushing at the thought of feeling his strong arms around you, embracing you close to him.

“What about you? How did you die?” you asked, wanting to turn the focus on him.

“How did I—what, sorry?” He stammered, puzzled by your question.

“Oh I’m sorry! It’s just….I thought mermaids were created from peaceful deaths….” you explained, your voice getting quieter.

His face softened at your statement. He thought you were cute when you got all shy around him.

“Well, yes, but pure mermaids are born from other mermaids, like me and my brothers,” he clarified.

“My father is the King of the Reef, and overlooks all of the creatures of the sea, mostly our people, to make sure there is a consistent balance and peace,” he added.

Your eyes widened at his words. “That sounds like a big job...lot of responsibility,” you emphasized his statement from earlier. The mermaids were actually doing something, something altruistic and helped others, unlike your own group, who only worried about their own survival.

He scoffed a laugh. “Yeah, it is….” He trailed off, pausing. “I’m next in line for the throne and it’s just...a lot of pressure already.”

You frowned at his long expression. You knew what he was talking about. That feeling of people expecting you to succeed. You felt a large amount of pressure from your own situation, maybe even more considering your life was on the line.

You decided to change the subject, not wanting to press him further.

“How did you do that yesterday? With Scylla…” You remembered his hands, open palms with the ability to force her back into her cave.

“Oh, you mean this?” he replied as he brought his hand up, making the water in front of your mirror his hand movement, rising out of the body.

“All pure mermaids can do it, they’re gifts that help us to keep things...together.” He waved his hand to make the water move into an arch, bringing up his other hand and opening his palm. The water froze in its place, hanging there, out of place in the middle of the flowing water.

“I can also do this…” he continued as he brought his hands up again and slowly brought them down, making the water steam and melt back into the body.

You watched in amazement at his talents, thinking that he deserved these gifts for being so kind and gracious. He enjoyed watching your face light up from watching him show you what he could do, as merpeople weren’t as impressed by powers that some had while others didn’t.

“But, y’know, I could’ve beat her without using my powers,” he says, flashing a charming smile.

You laugh at his comment. “Yeah, well, what you actually did was much cooler.”

He chuckles at your reply, admiring your smile for a moment before speaking again. “Do sirens have any abilities?”

Your face fell at his question. “We uh….we can sing,” you said, not wanting to lie but trying to spare the details.

“Wow...can I hear something?” He looked at you expectantly, his eyes pleading for you to show him more of yourself.

“I’m uh, not really that good,” you laughed nervously, rubbing your arm.

“Ah, c’mon! A pretty siren like you, can’t be that bad,” he flirted, waving his hand towards himself, creating a small wave to push you closer next to him.

You gasped at the sudden force, your hands pressing into his side and abdomen as his hand gently touch the side of your head, making you look up at him.

You weren’t used to gestures of affection, but you also weren’t complaining. You looked right into his brown eyes, which looked a lot lighter under the sunlight. You were unsure of what to do as he brought his other hand up to your face, his fingers brushing under your chin. He began to lean in, a smiling growing on his face as he got closer. You panicked a bit, bringing your hands up to his chest to push him away.

“Y-Y’know, it’s uh, it’s getting late so um, I better go,” you stammered while you began to wade away from him. You quickly ducked your head back underwater to start swimming away when you heard a splash behind you, and Tom’s voice calling out.

“Wait, Y/N!”

You almost kept swimming, acting like you didn’t hear him but you turned around slowly anyway. He was just a few feet away from you, a straight look on his face.

“Will….will I see you again?” he asked with pleading eyes.

You looked at him for a moment, taking too long to respond. “Uh...if you...if you want to…”

He swam closer to you, a small smile on his face. “It’s just...I really... like talking to you,” he spoke honestly.

You softened at the adorable look on his face, with his brown eyes and soft features. You waded closer to him, now only a about a foot away from him.

“Then...I guess I’ll see you later,” you said, a smile growing on your face. He smiled at your affirmation, internally sighing in relief that he didn’t scare you off.

“Bye, Tom,” you added, before turning to leave. Your tail brushed his slightly as you did, making him smile to himself at the small gesture.

You swam back to the cave, your heart skipping with joy for the second night in a row.

You entered through the hole in your wall, solidifying your alibi so know one would know you were gone. You exited your room, going into the kitchen to help make dinner with Phoebe.

Phoebe was one of the oldest sirens in the colony, next to Persephone and Circe. She was your only friend in the colony despite the fact she was a lot older than you. But she was sweet and was really the only one you could turn to when you needed to talk to someone. She was the closest to a ‘mother figure’ you would have while living in the colony.

But most importantly, she hated the siren lifestyle as much as you did. You were glad at least one person had common sense around here.

“Oh, hello, Y/N,” she greeted with a warm smile.

You smiled back. “Hi Phoebe!”

She was busy cutting up what looked like some sort of meat, presumably a major organ from one of the bodies that were caught. It used to bother you, watching her harvest human bodies, but it was just one of the sights you had grown used to from living here for almost five years.

You got to work making you own dinner. It was something you did sometimes to help Phoebe out, since you didn’t eat like the rest of the group.

“So, your birthday is tomorrow right? 21, that’s pretty big!” Phoebe exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood about what was to come after your birthday.

“Yeah, really big. So big, I might just die!” You said sarcastically.

“Oh c’mon, Y/N, you’ll be fine,” she responded.

“Well, how did you get through your test?” You asked, needing some advice besides Circe yelling at you.

“I just went out there, thinking that nothing else in this moment matters more than my own life, and did it,” she replied honestly.

“But….you don’t like what they’re doing?“

“Of course not. I hate that they do this, especially putting all the pressure on you,” she consoled, turning towards you.

“Listen, Y/N. You’re so young. I know you don’t wanna do this or live like this but you just need to get through this and it will get easier, I promise,” she said as she soothingly rubbed your arm, much like Tom had done earlier that day.

You pondered her words, but let another question surface in your mind. “Phoebe, why do sirens hate mermaids so much?”

She thought about it for a moment before turning to look at you again.

“Because mermaids have hearts.”

A/N: op i decided to post early anyway....here’s the second part!! still just expositional stuffs but i actually sat down yesterday and (roughly) outlined the next three parts....it’ll get interesting i promise!! but tell me what ya think so far! how do you like the reader? how to you like tom? what/who do you want to see more/less of in future parts? what do ya think is gonna go down in future parts??? i wanna hear your thoughts!! hope you enjoyed and stay peachy!!

much love, tommybaholland 🌺

part 3? issa yes from me..