#yes all three are orca mers

[zestyderg]

POSTING MER AU BB BRIGADE

(The brigade itself doesn't exist in this au, but these three are still out here being menaces)

#fossil fighters #fossil fighters champions #the mer au #ff lola #ff lester #ff cole #my doodles #yes all three are orca mers #in canon they're likely young adults but in this au they're teens (and they've got a lot of growing to do) #in the meantime... they like teasing the patrol team #that's not all they do but they find it funny to get a rise out of the younger merfolk #especially rupert who's a seal mer #they don't listen to Terry Stella and Kent #ONLY Joe #and unfortunately for them Joe doesn't approve of their behavior #also Lola dared Cole to go into the Bonefields and while yes I mentioned previously that the orca trio dont know much about the Bonefields #they know that it's resident kraken mer zongazonga is a powerful necromancer and more importantly: a cannibal #Cole is terrified lmao

[waddlebouncefloof]

Leviathantale MerMay 2021 - Day 8: Depths

Negotiations between Leviathans start out petty before it gets a little...heated.

Warning(s): Suggestive Content, Ink knowing no boundaries

Established Afterdeath and BEI, hints of past(?) DestructiveDeath, Pre-Afterdeath+BEI poly…maybe

“Stinky.”

“Stop insulting my datemate!”

“Stinky squid.”

“S-S-S-Stop it!”

This was supposed to be a mature negotiation between Leviathans to loosen up territory lines for the sake of the baby selkie currently taking their nap. Unfortunately, the “mature” part of this entire interaction is noticeably absent. Geno and Blue, who were overseeing this entire interaction from a distance, share matching looks of exasperation and sigh.

“Immature idiots.”

“Agreed.”

Despite being so deep in the ocean’s depths, the two mortals remain unaffected by the lack of air and untouched by the pressure thanks to the magic of their lovers. There is no issue in Geno and Blue’s ability to see in the depths since the lights that their respective lovers give off in their Leviathan forms does well enough in keeping away the darkness.

Their titainesque forms would have made a majestic sight but…

“Grrraghh! I-I-I’ll K-KILL YOU, REAPER!!”

“Hah! As if your noodle body can pin me long enough to do that!”

…well, squabbling like three-year-olds always look ridiculous no matter the appearance. The unamused selkies watch as the fight starts to escalate into a physical one with Error trying to wrap himself around Reaper to hold him in place while he tries to strangle the other Leviathan.

“I’m sorry about my mate,” Geno apologizes to Blue. “Reaper is still upset about Blank’s first mer transformation. Still, it’s no excuse for his behavior.” He shakes his head. “By the way things are going, we’re going to have to go back to Antarctica with Blank to prevent any more fights.”

“Okay, okay, no more fighting!” Ink finally intervenes after overhearing Geno’s comment. He tangles up his fellow Leviathans with his tentacles and breaks them apart. “Especially you, Reaper. I don’t mind that you think I’m stinky, but you’re making Ruru upset and that’s not good.” He tilts his head and blinks innocently. “Just because Blank thinks we’re more interesting than you doesn’t mean you have to be so salty!”

“Ink,” Blue gasps in the background, scandalized at his datemate’s words.

Reaper bares his teeth at the giant squid. “Shut up, you slippery bastaaaaaaah. Ah.” Ink blinks in surprise at the reaction. He’d only given the other Leviathan a friendly, warning squeeze. It takes a moment for him to realize that he’d accidentally wrapped Reaper up in a pattern reserved for more fun and private activities. Old habits die hard.

Instead of being embarrassed about his mistake, Ink’s smile shifts into a knowing smirk, teasing his fellow Leviathan. Reaper flushes with humiliation and looks away.

“Whoops, I slipped. Sorry!” Ink’s apology sound completely insincere even to himself. Not that it matters. Ink’s interest is piqued and that isn’t always a good thing for others when he gets like this. He looks down and his smirk grows wider. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? Seems like the Harbinger of Death is sensitive.”

“Oh,” Blue flushes when Ink moves a tentacle aside. “That’s…impressive.” Geno, you lucky selkie, was unsaid but heavily implied.

Error is in a worse state. He’s a flustered mess, unable to cover his face with his arms tangled up in Ink’s tentacles.

“You’re actually really pretty, Reaper,” Ink says with a giggle. “You know, I used to be so jealous of your past relationship with Ruru, but I’m beginning to see why he was so taken with you.”

Reaper and Error immediately start spluttering at Ink’s words.

“That’s not–!”

“I-I-I-INK!”

“Those two have a history,” Ink stage whispers to the witnessing selkies with a wink. “You should’ve seen them. They had a sexual tension so thick that you’d think it’s fatty tuna.”

“SHUT UP, INK!” Reaper and Error cry out in unison.

Ink laughs at their reactions. “It’s not like I mind about you two now, you sillies! It’s a good thing! Don’t you see? We can make this work! You can have two – maybe three! – more datemates and Blank can stay as long as they’d like! We don’t need to worry over the boundary lines!” He reaches out with both hands and cups Reaper’s cheeks with a tenderness that contrasts sharply with his careless air. “What do you say? Doesn’t that sound great?”

“I…”

“Stop terrorizing my mate with seduction,” Geno appears right in front of Ink’s face, making all Leviathans jerk back. He doesn’t look the slightest bit amused by the entire thing. “If you’re trying to steal my mate away from me in order to make Blank stay, then it’s a terrible idea.” Ink flinches at the severity in Geno’s eyelights. His grip on Reaper immediately falls away, freeing the dazed Orca. Geno settles on Reaper’s shoulder, snapping him back to reality. “Negotiations are going nowhere. We’re done here for tonight. Let’s go back up, Reaper.”

“Yes, darling.”

Geno and Reaper start to leave when they’re stopped by a single tentacle. Ink reels them back in. “What do you mean stealing your mate because of Blank?” Ink asks. Behind him, Error and Blue hiss at him to shut up. “I’d steal him even without Blank in the picture! I’d steal you too! I think you’re both pretty! Be our datemates please!”

It’s Geno turn to flush.

“We’re!! Done!! For tonight!!” he shouts as he pushes Reaper to leave faster.

(“Hmm, maybe he didn’t accept because I didn’t come with courting gifts?” “Shut up, Squid.”)

#leviathantale mermay prompts #day 8 #leviathantale #little selkie #mod berry

[muppenthings]

Giant merman au masterpost - No longer active!!

Everything in the au is found under #giant merman au including asks and fanworks.

◽ Click here to view ALL POSTS chronologically 

⚜ Art

First drawing  

Second one

Baby Virgil 1   |   Baby Virgil 2  | Baby Virgil 3 

Virgil reference/size chart 

Art + writing: Anger

Comic: Stay Away from Virgil’s whales 

Comic: Stay Away from Virgil’s whales pt 2

⚜ First Meeting Comic - Logan’s first encounter with Virgil

Page: One | Two | Three | Four | Five  | Six | Seven | Bonus

Comic: Catching the mer’s attention

Comic: Stay on the beach

Comic: The lemoning

Comic: No tickle

Comic: Huffing for attention

Art: Surprise?

Art: Hiraeth

Art: Virgil sketches

Comic Promise:  One | Two | Three

(Main comic/story is in progress I swear)

⚜ Random things inspired by Asks but are canon 

Written: Patton discovers neckscratches are a thing 

Comic: First happy rumbles 

Comic: Zone out 

Comic: Don’t sleep and swim

Written: Dented Destiny

Written: Continuation of Dented Destiny

Ask Answer: How Logan and Virgil became friends

---

⚜ Asks

Asks for the au are under #gma ask 

◽ Click here to view ALL asks chronologically

Or choose between a few below 

⚜ About Anatomy

Eyes/vision | What’s he based on? | Skin/barnacles yes or na? | Lifespan? | Hearing (kinda) | How lungs/gills work | Genderchange? | Ears | Voice | Skin texture | If the gills were closed + skin thickness | Warm/coldblooded? | How Virgil beaches

⚜ About hunting/feeding 

Kelp | Diet | What he would/wouldn’t eat | How he eats underwater 

⚜ Regarding other merfolk

One | Two | Three 

⚜ About Logan, Roman & Patton

How they know each other | Their jobs /diving | Ages |  Hobbies 

⚜ Are the other Sides in the au?

Yes 

⚜ Misc. Drawings in replies to Asks

Long boi (outdated) | How he sleeps | No English ;) | Neck scratch | Crying | Logan is soaked | Roman’s frizzy hair | No Remorse Remora | Hissy fit | Playing with sharks | Baby Logan & Virgil | Dress that impressed (a bebe) | Virge vs squid | Virge’s first snow | Baby with blanket 

----

⚜ Martha the Orca - silly mini comics 

Gathered under the #Martha the orca comic

These are a continuation from: 

Stay Away from Virgil’s whales   

Stay Away from Virgil’s whales pt 2

◽ Click here to view them all chronologically

Martha returns |  Now with Knife | Lost knife :(  | Stalker Martha | The Last Straw  | Hunting | The Ultimatum | How Not to apologize | Try Again | Realization | Spooky Orca | Did she do it? | Yep? 

Martha Returns

Part 1 | Part 2

---

⚜ The #ask doodle  aka the characters replies to followers (On hiatus!)

◽ Click here to view them all chronologically

Or one by one

One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve | Thirteen 

---

❤ FanWorks ❤ (Yes please you may :D)

All found under the #giant merman au fanwork

◽ Click here to view them all chronologically

Art: Virgil | Hydrophone call | Patton no! xD  | Virgil in Kelp Forest | Virgil | Fem!Virgil | The Christmas tree | Cute Virge | Graceful | Pretty tail 

Fic: Not-deleted Preview | Angsty Beach Bois | Preview 1 | Net Fic preview | Net Fic preview 2 | Constellations | Nets to the Shore | Sandy days preview | Cleaning day | Discovery | Bad Squid? | Headache | Something was there |  Listless |  Counts this as a win | Missing You | Customers are like Dolphins | PURPLE | Watermelon Wish | Goodbye Old Friend | What If Virgil Was Human?

Misc: Incorrect quotes

#Sanders Sides #Giant merman au masterpost #giant merman au #let me know if this is a mess #*whispers* it is isn't it

[thiswasinevitableid]

Could you combine 15 transformation and 18 amulet for Sternclay nsfw, please? Joseph can’t get close enough to any mers to study them because of how deep they live beneath the surface. Thanks to a treasure he found on the beach that’s about to change and a world he couldn’t have imagined is about to open wide.

Here you go! Barclay is an Pacific Octopus in this and Joseph is based on an Orca.

It’s such a small thing. A piece of eight, pierced and strung on a corroded silver chain; the treasure he’s searched for the last two years.

Joseph’s never been so close to tears in his entire career.

He promised his superiors he wouldn’t experiment with occult objects while working alone. But he knows for damn sure that all of them think his beliefs in the occult, or the city beneath the sea, is foolishness, the price they have to pay for an otherwise talented agent.

It’s only due diligence to see if the amulet is dangerous while he’s alone on his boat, rather than near fellow agents or innocent bystanders.

Joseph strips down to his swim trunks, climbs down into the water, amulet wrapped around his fingers so he won’t drop it. Treading water, he slips the chain over his head. His legs twists, heat engulfing his body, and he sinks beneath the waves.

--------------------------------------------------------

“Dani, how’s table five doing?”

“Good!” Dani picks up the two plates of seaweed salad, “think it’s slowing down finally.”

“Thank fuck.” Barclay murmurs, turning back to the cutting board. He falls into his rhythm as guests gradually filter and flit away from their tables back onto the street and towards Atlantis proper. His focus is broken by a body colliding with a chair.

“Ouch.”

“Are you okay sir?” Dani, on top of things as always.

“Oh, yes, better than if I’m being honest. I’m just, um, having some trouble with my tail.”

“Right. Uh, here, we only have room at the counter right now, but if you want a table-”

“This is perfect, thank you so much.”

A clamor, and out of the corner of his eye Barclay sees an eight top swim in the door.

“I got him, Dani.” He turns and all eight tentacles freeze mid-task. Sitting on the stool is the most incredible merman he’s ever seen. His short, black hair dusts his forehead, leading his gaze to eyes as blue as the open sea. His torso is lean, a small tattoo on either arm, two scars on his chest, and a stomach that suggests his job requires a great deal of athleticism.

And his tail?

His tail is black and white, smooth rather than scaled, and Barclay wants to wrap all eight tentacles around it while he sinks his teeth into the mers neck.

The other mer notices him, smiles politely, and goes back to studying the menu.

“Do you need a few minutes to decide?”

That perfect brow creases, as if the other mer can’t make sense of what he’s looking at, “Um, what do you recommend?”

“I mean, I like to think everything on the menu is good, but the crab rolls are really good this time of year.”

“I’ll have those then, please and thank you.”

Barclay nods, returns to his station, churning out orders as Dani and Jake bring them, and calling directions to Thacker when the older mer returns from his ten minute break. The entire time, he aches to turn around and watch the newcomer. But even though he can move through his kitchen blindfolded, he’d rather not take off his own tentacle. Sure, it’ll grow back, but last time one got bit off, it threw his whole cooking routine out of whack.

The new mers face lights up when Barclay sets the plate in front of him, and he eats with an enthusiasm that is the sexiest thing Barclay’s seen at work in years. Now and then, the mer starts to float away from his stool, or accidentally takes out the nearby furniture with his tail.

When he’s finished, he compliments Barclay profusely, smiling right up until Barclay tells him how much it will be.

“Oh no. I, I don’t, I can’t pay that.”

“If you’re a few coins short I could discount it-”

“No, no that’s not it. I, I didn’t bring any money with me. It didn’t even occur to me.” He says this last part to himself, carding his hand through his hair, “I’m so sorry, this is entirely my oversight. Is there anything else I can do to cover the meal?”

Barclay bites back his first thought, schooling the tentacle creeping towards the mers hand back into line, “Uh, you know how to wash dishes?”

“Yes. In fact, I’m pretty good at it.”

This does not turn out to be a joke. His new dishwasher is somehow meticulous and efficient, leaving not only the plates but the entire kitchen spotless by the time Barclay tells him he can go. He’s still bumping into things, his tail obviously not doing what he wants it to.

“If you don’t mind waiting a bit, I can swim you home. This neighborhood isn’t as bad as most mers think, but it’s still not a great place to be drunk and alone.

The mer blinks, taken aback, “I’m not drunk.”

Barclay raises his eyebrow.

“Really, I’m not.”

“No offense, but your tail only works like sixty percent of the time and, going from those bruises on your side, looks like you’ve been having that problem most of today.”

“I mean, I have but, um, not for that reason. I’m just very clumsy.”

“O-kay” Barclay’s about to reiterate his offer, but the other mer is already swimming out the door.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry, thank you again for being so understanding about the meal!”

Barclay’s not about to chase down a customer, but his tentacles go a little pale the rest of the night whenever he remembers he never even got his name.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

“My, my good sir, this is quite a treasure trove you’ve brought me!” The merman with a gold and orange tail who introduced himself as Ned Chicane, preeminent archiver of human items. Were they on land, Joseph would be positive that Ned has several warrants out for his arrest. For all he knows, that’s the case down here too, but he hasn’t gotten to learning about the Atlantian legal system yet.

“What can I say, I’m an expert on humans.” Joseph smiles.

“I can make a whole new wing of the museum for these. Now, about your payment, I can give you, hmmmmm, two hundred coins?”

“Five hundred.”

“Two fifty.”

“No.”

“Three hundred.”

“I can just take it all back.”

“Fine, fine, four fifty but now higher.”

Joseph flicks his tail, pleased, “Deal.”

Ten minutes later, he’s cresting the subterranean hills, Atlantis glittering in the distance. The ruins of the sunken city form the skeleton of it’s current incarnation. The whole city is now a reef, a rainbow of coral growing from once proud columns or taking the place of formidable walls. The buildings are made of stone or glass which, upon further research, he learned was made by enchanting sand, in much the same way the coins are. But even there, the stones are speckled with sea plants or coral.

It’s beautiful, and if he has his way he’ll explore every street. He’s already swum the length and breadth of it, half to build up his skill with his tail and half to create a map of it in his mind. The center of the city shines like sunken treasure, unmistakably built and maintained by forces other than nature. The outer neighborhoods are rougher around the edges, more of the houses built into the environment rather than from it. That doesn’t make it any less beautiful.

Besides, it has the best food in the city.

He’s used the same trick of asking what his cook or server recommends to hide the fact he can’t read the language on the menus, and after selling a few things second hand, he stumbled on Ned’s museum and knew he could make enough in one go that he won’t have to surface for several days. None of the places he’s gone can even compare to the first establishment, but he’s been unwilling to go back to it until he’s damn sure he can pay the handsome cook what he’s due.

“Hello again.” He waves politely from his spot at the counter.

The cook turns, tentacles still sitting and chopping and flipping away, “Hey! Good to see you again.”

“I even have money this time.”

“Dunno, might just make you do dishes again. Cutlery’s never looked so good.” He winks. One tentacle sets down a spoon, creeping towards Joseph. Barclay notices, pulls it back, and asks, “what’ll you have?”

“What’s good today?”

The answer is shrimp wraps, seasoned so perfectly Joseph wishes it was customary for merpeople to lick their plates.

“So good” He sighs, more to himself than anyone else, as he watches Barclay work. Do all tentacled mers take up this kind of profession? It seems like mechanics or other hands-on jobs might also benefit. Do they use them to show affection? Is that allowed?

“All done?”

“Yes. It was incredible, just like last time.”

“Glad to hear it. So” his tentacles clear the counter as Barclay continues talking with him, “you enjoying Atlantis? Seems like you’re pretty new here.”

“Very. I’m from a ways away. I...I’ve never seen anything like this place. It’s breathtaking. I’m even getting better at not just bumbling my way down random streets, hoping to find something interesting.”

“Uh, if, if you want, I’m happy to show you around, Can’t get you into hip parties or anything, but I know where all the good food is, and some of my friends work at some really cool places.”

Joseph tries not to squeal with glee, “That would be fantastic!”

Barclay grins, blush creeping up his cheeks, which Joseph sincerely hopes has the same meaning it does for humans, “I get off at sunset.”

----------------------------------------------------------------

“You know, when I asked you to take me to your favorite place, I suspected it was food based, but I never envisioned this.” Joseph stares at the massive marketplace, the woven seaweed ceiling studded with glowing shells and the floor is filled with miles of stalls, piled high with all kinds of ingredients and delicacies.

As they swim deeper into the market, Barclay stops to examine different foods, chatting with vendors and buying Joseph so many snacks he jokes the mer will have to carry him home.

“Happy to” Barclay rubs his cheek against Joseph’s own. This startled him the first time it happened, but he hid it well enough to not reveal his secret. It seems to be a general expression of fondness between mers, but he gets pleasant chills whenever Barclay’s beard tickles his skin.

The first time it happened, Barclay had taken him to see the massive aquatic gardens that form one of the central rings of town. Barclay’s friend, Duck, is head gardener and was more than happy to answer Joseph’s many, many questions. At some point, Joseph apologized for asking so much. Barclay swam closer, rubbed their cheeks together, and told him not to be sorry for being excited about something.

“I don’t know, I’m not a small mer.” He teases; his height stayed with him when he put on the amulet

Barclay twines three tentacles around his waist and yanks him closer, “Trust me, I could carry you and the groceries home without getting the least bit tired.”

“I see that.” He whispers.

The mer leans in a millimeter then stops, letting Joseph go, “C’mon, gotta show you the place with the best sea blossom wine you’ve ever had.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

“This was incredible, thank you so much for bringing me.” Joseph bumps their shoulders together as they swim out of the Atlantis History Museum. The other mer’s face lit up when Barclay showed him where they were, making him so handsome that Barclay nearly missed his tentacles trying to pet his tail. Joseph will swim arm in arm with him, rub their cheeks together, even dance with him the one time they went to a party that didn’t involve Duck eagerly teaching Joseph new board games and Aubrey beating him at them. But getting felt up is a conversation they haven’t had yet.

At least he finally got an explanation for why Joseph seems so lost at times; apparently, the town he’s from is so remote, the dialect of Atlantian he knows is different enough from the standard that he can’t read the signs in the city. Which meant Barclay read the informational plaques in the museum to him. His throat is a little sore from all the talking, but Joseph’s delight is more than worth it.

They say goodnight, Joseph keeping them cheek to cheek in order to hug him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He’s nearly out of sight when Barclay realizes he still has the robe Joseph bought as a souvenir in his bag, so he swims after him, using his tentacles to track his trail when he loses sight of him. Soon he’s outside the bounds of the city and wondering where in the hell Joseph even lives, because the homes out here are sparse.

When Joseph turns surfacewards, Barclay wills his tentacles to propel him faster; doesn’t the other mer see the hull of the boat above them? Someone could see him, hurt him, or he could get sliced by a motor.

Barclay’s about to call his name when Joseph breaks the surface. The words die in his mouth, their corpses floating out and away in the tides as his friend’s tail turns to legs. He swims upwards, and when he peeks into the air a human with an unmistakable face is drying himself off on the deck of the small boat.

“What the fuck, Joseph?”

“SHIT!” Joseph jumps backwards, startled, then seems to register who Barclay is, “shit, Barclay, I can explain everything.”

“You don’t need to, it’s pretty fucking obvious you’re human and you’ve been pretending to be a mer for, for what? So you can tell the other humans where we are? How to catch us?”

“No” Joseph drops to his knees, shuffling to the edge of the ladder, “no, never. I’d never let anyone hurt you, or any other mer. I’m an FBI agent, with an assignment to learn whether or not merfolk exist and, if they do, what that means for humans. I...I’ve searched for some kind, any kind of proof that mers exist, and that led me to this” he holds up the necklace he always wears, “which transforms me into a mer.”

“So I was what, a research subject?” Barclay crosses his arms to cover the crack he’s certain his forming in his chest.

“A guide. A friend. Barclay, I thought Atlantis was more incredible and wondrous than anything else in the world. Then I met you, and saw it could be even more wonderful when seen through the eyes of someone I care about.”

“If you care about me, why did you lie to me?”

“I didn’t want to blow my cover. Even if I told you, if the word got out that I was really human, everyone else may have barred me from the city. Kept me from all the things there are to learn. Kept me from you.”

Barclay wants to say it’s fine, that he understands and isn’t angry, that he’ll see him tomorrow. But his heart feels like it’s been dragged across miles of jagged rock.

“Well, good news, Joseph. The rest of the city won’t keep you from me, because I don’t wanna see you for a long, long time.”

He sinks before Joseph can reply and trawls the sand all the way home, too tired to swim.

------------------------------------------------------------

Joseph stays out of the water for two weeks. He sails into port, stocking up on supplies and using the wi-fi in the little library to send in his reports. He’s never lied in a report before. First time for everything.

When he finally slips the amulet on again, the plan is to swim the opposite direction of Atlantis, looking for new pockets of mers to learn from (and how aren’t angry with him). The trouble is, he’s only submerged for a few minutes when his whole body shudders and his head aches. He feels feverish, frantic, like he’s on the edge of the panic attack. Then he’s in the center of a panic attack because he realizes his foggy and pounding head has led him the wrong direction and he’s now floating aimlessly through a familiar neighborhood. Then his abdomen cramps and he doubles forward with a groan.

“Joseph?”

He manages to turn, finds Barclay peering out his door, worried.

“H-hi. I, I didn’t come here on purpose, I swear. I, I don’t know what’s happening. I feel sick.” He closes his eyes as another shudder rattles his spine.

A tentacle gently wraps around his wrist, guiding him into the house, “Joseph, I-”

“Wait, please, let me say something first. I, I’m so, so sorry Barclay. I should have told you sooner, should have trusted you, you deserved to know I was human. I never meant to hurt you, but I did, and I hope you know I regret it with every fiber of my being.”

Strong arms loop around his shoulder and a coppery beard tickles his cheek, “Apology accepted. Yeah, it fucking sucked to find out you’d been lying but, uh, I realized I didn’t want to lose you. I just couldn’t figure out how to reach out again and I didn’t wanna fuck things up.”

Joseph clings to him, “Thank the lord. I have no idea how severe this illness is, and if it turns out to be fatal I didn’t want to die without you knowing how much you meant to me.”

Barclay laughs, the most confusing reaction possible.

“You’re not dying, Joseph. You’re in heat.”

“.....I didn’t know that was a thing that could happen. How could you even tell?” He pulls back, finds Barclay’s pupils so wide his eyes look black.

“I can smell it. Most mers can, but these suckers are especially sensitive to it” he wiggles his tentacles.

“So I need to get off and I’ll stop feeling like this, right?”

“Basically, yeah. You’ll probably be really horny for a few days, but the aching and stuff will stop. Oh, that probably feels like you’re dying; if you didn’t know this was a thing you could experience, your body probably thought all the adrenaline you’re supposed to use to help you have a bunch of sex in a short amount of time was a sign something was seriously wrong.”

“That makes sense.” He tentatively rubs his stomach, trying to make the muscles ache less, “uh, how should-”

“Oh fuck, right, uh, I’ve got a little guest room. You can hole up there if you want.”

He’s so sweet. He’d be such a good mate.

“I’ve got a few toys too. I could, uh, clean ‘em so you can use them.”

He’s thoughtful too.

Joseph shakes his head to clear his increasingly Barclay-focused thoughts, “Thank you. I’ll use the room but not the toys. The problem is I, um, literally don’t know what to do.”

“.......”

“......I figured out how to go to the bathroom but that was the extent of my exploration of that area.”

“.......you didn’t get the least bit curious?”

“I had lots of other things to focus on. I didn’t have time to masturbate when there was an entire civilization to learn about!”

Barclay full on guffaws, draping his arms around Joseph’s shoulders, “That is the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever, babe.” He nuzzles Joseph’s hair, several tentacles gently stroking the tip of his tail.

“Barclay? Will you, um, will you help me?”

A darker chuckle, “That’s cute too. My favorite interloper needs me to help him find his dick.”

“Ohmylord” He shivers as the hold on his tail tightens.

“Got yourself the best fucking body I’ve ever seen on a mer but not idea how to make it feel good.”

“Barclay please” He whines, only for a tentacle tip to press against his lips, shushing him while Barclay firmly but tenderly rubs his back.

“I’ll help you babe, don’t worry. First you gotta tell me how you like it.”

“I, um, I like being tied down. And given orders. But, but we don’t have to do any of that if you don’t want to. All I want is to be with you.”

“I wanna be with you too, babe. And I’ve got an idea.” The mer guides them into his bedroom; it’s so charmingly Barclay-like, pictures of food and friends on the walls, deep green and blue in the windows and the glass containing the lights.

“Lay down for me.”

Joseph wriggles down onto the bed. Barclay opens a carved coral dresser, pulling out two lengths of seagrass rope. He settles at the foot of the bed, begins tying one rope around the base of Joseph’s tail as his tentacles caress the black and white skin, “I’ve wanted to touch your tail since we met.”

“I c-could tell.”

“That why you were always waving it in my face?” Barclay ties the rope to one of the bedposts.

“I did no such thing.”

A tentacle tightens around his waist, “Don’t lie, babe.”

“Okay, I did it once or twice.”

“That’s better. Wrists in front of you.”

He obeys instantly. Soft green rope twines around his wrists, Barclay checking to be sure it’s not too tight before lifting his hands to his mouth to kiss each in turn.

“Now, here’s what you’re gonna do. Since you’ve got no idea how to get off, I’m gonna tell you exactly what to do. Then you’re gonna reward me like the well-behaved mate I know you can be.”

“Holyshityes.” He strains up to kiss him. Barclay obliges, kisses slow and deep until heat rippled up and down his tail.

“Let’s see” Barclay continues kissing him, cupping his face in his hands, as two tentacles tease the upper part of his tail, “guessing you don’t know what kind of set-up you have.”

“Not at all. You’ll have to explain it to me. Which is in stark contrast to how I usually have to explain my dick to partnersOH, ohshit” He bucks his hips as one tentacle presses a sensitive patch of his tail.

“There it is. Start touching there, you should be able to reach it.”

Joseph slides his hands down to where the tentacle is still tormenting him with pleasure. Barclay pulls back, watches hungrily as Joseph rubs himself. Whenever the sensation intensifies the tip of his tail curls, so he chases those sensations.

“Go faster.”

He moves his fingers in swift circles, gasps as a slit begins opening beneath them.

“That’s it babe, open up for me.”

“I, it’s, ohwhatthefuck?” small tendrils emerge from the slit, three of them curling around his fingers. He tugs experimentally and moans when it sends a wave of delight from head to tail.

“Oh this is gonna be fun” Barclay watches his hand toy with the tendrils, the thicker ones hardening when he rubs them, “you’re doing so good, Joseph, you’re getting the hang of it real fast.”

“ThaAAAAnk you.”

“Get some of those fingers inside, babe, fuck yourself for me.”

He pushes two fingers in, his body slick and oddly ridged the further he gets. Joseph has to curl forward to go deeper, whimpering as the tendrils catch and tug on his hand.

A tentacle wraps around his tail and twists, making him cry out in surprise and delighted pain.

“What part of fuck yourself was unclear?”

He moves his fingers faster, adds a third one and hears Barclay growl in reply.

“How’s that feel?”

“Good, so good, fuck, Barclay, I think I can cum from this.”

“You better. Keep playing with those upper tendrils, they’ve got more nerves in them.”

“Nnngh” following Barclay’ instructions sends a spike of pleasure into his stomach, “shit, I never cum this fast.”

“Could be the heat” Barclay swims closer, “or being a mer instead of human. Or maybe” a slit opens in the fold between his front tentacles, “maybe you just needed someone to tie you up and boss you around the right way, because you’re a horny little thing who needs to be put in his place.”

“Ohfuck.” He cums, tightening around his fingers, tingling from the slick they’re now coated in. It’s much slower than a human orgasm, and as he shakes and whimpers Barclay uses all the appendages he can to soothe his burning muscles and caress his too-sensitive skin.

“That was so good babe. You pick stuff up so quick, you’re so smart, love that about you.”

“Lord almighty” he gulps down oxygen, “if it’s that good on my own, I can’t wait to see how it is with you.”

“You still wanna do that now? We don’t have to, you can rest, I can bring you lunch-”

“Barclay, if you do not claim your reward right now I’ll, I’ll” he searches for a threat, but all he comes up with is, “I’ll find someone who will.”

A tentacle yanks his wrists up and back, pinning them above his head.

“Not a fucking chance, babe. Why do you think I tied you down? You’re all mine” another tentacle drapes across his neck, “and you’re gonna do what I want, for as long as I want you to.”

“Yes” Joseph arches off the bed, allowing Barclay to loop an arm beneath his shoulder blades. His free hand rests on Joseph’s hip, keeping him in place as a long, ridged cock presses into him, “shit, Barclay, that’s incredible, fuck that feels good.”

“Glad to hear it, handsome, because that’s where my cock is gonna stay for at least the next hour.” He rocks his hips, and Joseph’s tendrils cling to the base of his cock, making Joseph moan with every motion.

Barclay pauses, looking down with a thoughtful expression, “You know one of the best things about this kind of set-up?”

Panting, he shakes his head.

“You can take a whole hell of a lot at once.” With that, two tentacles shove in alongside his cock.

“SHIT!” He thrashes as Barclay snaps his hips, his cock driving deep with every thrust and the tentacles writhe and press and stroke, and at this rate he’s certain he’ll lose his voice

Barclay brings them face to face, “H-here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m gonna kiss you, and you’re gonna kiss back like a good mate, and you’re not gonna stop kissing until I cum. If you’re gonna scream and beg like a needy little mer, it’s gonna be only me that hears it, not the, fuck, the whole fucking neighborhood.”

Joseph nods and Barclay smashes their mouths together. To his joy, he discovers that gills mean you can kiss for as long as you want without stopping to breathe.

When Barclay comes it’s with the most delicious sound he’s ever heard. The two tentacles alongside his cock press Joseph further open, which turns out to be very necessary because Barclay immediately begins fucking his cum back into him. At that sensation, Joseph cums a second time, wrists twisting in the rope.

Barclay grins at him, “You see how things work now?”

“Definitely. But, um, I think I could use as many demonstrations as you’re up for.”

“In that case, babe, it’s time for your next lesson. Open your mouth.”

-----------------------------------------------

“Hey Barclay, Dani asked me to drop--woah, what the fuck happened to you?” Aubrey takes in his disheveled state and the bite marks covering his chest.

“Joseph and I made up.”

“Clearly. Didn’t know humans bit during sex.”

“I think that might just be a him thing. Uh, what did Dani want?”

“We made some cookies! They were supposed to be a feel-better present, but I guess now it’s a” she bounces her eyebrows “congratulatory one.”

“Get outta here you” Barclay smiles, “and tell Dani thanks.” He waves goodbye, shuts the door, and carries the treats into the bedroom where Joseph is fucked out and fast asleep. He knows Joseph has to go to the surface today for work, but they can eat these when he gets back. After all, they’ve decided they’re mates now, and Barclay couldn’t be happier.

He should probably get him a guide to learning Atlantian, though. He;s gonna flip his shit when he finds out about the Atlantis Library.

#sternclay #agent stern/ Barclay #mermay #mermay fills

[ask-sincerely-sea]

A rundown of the Mermaid AU

Here’s a bullet list of my Mermaid AU and most of the content I have imagined for it! These are taken from three different posts on my main blog, but for simplicity, I compiled them all here! It is long, but feel free to read and get a feel for this universe!

All the Murphys are sharks, but they’re all different types of sharks.

Science doesn’t exist in my world so don’t expect genetics and aquatic ancestry to be something that is strict. Most families tend to stay within the same family and/or genus.

Connor is a Shortfin Mako Shark.

Zoe is a Blue Shark (Fun fact: Blue Sharks are a species of Requiem Sharks).

Cynthia is a Whale Shark.

Larry is an Oceanic Whitetip Shark.

Evan and Heidi are both octopus.

Evan is a Coconut Octopus.

Heidi is a Mimic Octopus.

Alana is a Pacific White Sided Dolphin.

Jared is a White Spotted Pufferfish.

Although intelligent like humans, mermaids will exhibit behaviors akin to their aquatic ancestry.

Evan being a Coconut Octopus will hide within ocean debris as a form of camouflage. This is often triggered by spikes in anxiety, but he also uses it to avoid interaction.

Jared absolutely puffs up. It’s usually caused by elevated emotion. Sometimes he’ll puff up because he’s upset, other times he’ll accidentally cause himself to puff up just from laughing too hard.

The Murphy family is a family a predators. They all have an acute and accurate sense of smell. Larry, Connor, and Zoe are active hunters, and when they are in hunting mode it’s hard to break them out of it until they are satiated.

Merpeople do form societies and interact with each other. They don’t hunt each other and unlike their aquatic ancestors, they don’t all follow migration paths. Some merfamilies will migrate.

Now I’ll give you all the cute and fun and interesting stuff…

Connor loves to explore any wreckage he can find. He’s super fascinated by human life and loves finding shipwrecks, plane wrecks, and even leftover skeletons.

He frequents the wrecks of military vessels most often and collects dog tags from fallen soldiers. He refurbishes them as much as he can because he likes to see the names of the men and women lost.

He often spies on humans who are boating as well. Be it a wedding boat, fishermen, or just vacationers, he just loves watching them from afar. However, the moment they spot him (usually only his dorsal fin on his tail), he dives away

.Hes accidentally becomes and ocean cryptid when a group of divers got a photo of him, albeit it fuzzy/blurry.

He’s obviously not aware of human cryptid culture.

Redditors think his viral photo is photoshopped.

Zoe isn’t as curious about humans. She is curious of the sky above and loves to watch birds as they fly around and feed on fish.

She goes stargazing a lot against her parents wishes. It’s dangerous at night and her parents (and most merpeople) fear poachers.

Zoe collects starfish on her tailfins. Since they are living creatures, she always communicates with them and makes sure they are okay with it.

Connor will leave jewelry and funky human artifacts he finds in Zoe’s room. She doesn’t know Connor is the one that leaves her random items and just assumes it’s Cynthia.

Cynthia is fascinated with human artifacts and frequents a lot of merpeople who are traders for human trinkets.

However, she is terrified of humans and doesn’t dare go near them. When she was younger, she got tangled up I’m a fishing net that belonged to poachers.

Larry is also fascinated with human trinkets, but not as much as Cynthia. Being an Oceanic Whitetip, he loves the tale of the USS Indianapolis.

He and Connor used to search shipwrecks together, but they’ve since grown apart and haven’t hunted or scavenged together in a long time.

I already said a bit of this in my last post, but being a Coconut Octopus, Evan uses physical objects to hide in and behind as a form of camouflage.

Though camouflage isn’t really necessary for merpeople being that they are able to fend for themselves and create/use tools, weapons, utensils, etcetera.

Evan’s camo is more of a reflex with his anxiety. If he’s nervous, anxious, or embarrassed, he’ll find the nearest Evan-sized object and fold himself up to fit. His tentacles can fold together tightly, he just has to account for his upper body not being as flexible.

Heidi is a Mimic Octopus as uses her camo as more of a fun party tricks. Mimic Octopus are able to disguise with many backgrounds, but are also able to contort and arrange their tentacles to resemble other species.

When Evan was little, they would travel to shallow banks along islands where the sun shone through the water really brightly. She’d contort her tentacles and do little shadow puppets of other species for him on the sand.

So, Jared is a pufferfish and not a porcupine fish. He has spines, but they’re very small and thin. They usually only show up when he’s inflated.

He HATES being inflated but it’s happens a lot.

Basically any elevated emotion inflates him. He’s angry? Puff! He’s playful? Puff! He’s excited? Puff! He’s sad? Puff! He’s [redacted]? PUFF!

He doesn’t care too much about human culture, but he is aware of this cursed video. He was hanging around a boat with a bunch of spring breakers and slipped a phone for a few minutes, stumbling across Youtube. Connor thinks it’s the funniest thing ever.

Oh, yeah, so merpeople don’t have any sort of electronic technology, but some of the most curious ones will snatch devices from boats. They are aware they don’t work underwater, so it’s usually like a dramatic spy scene of mermaids hanging out by boats with phones and tablets and messing around as much as they can for five to ten minutes.

Alana is super social and during vacations from school she’ll travel with merpeople and regular aquatic life and migrate around the world.

She’s traveled literally everywhere and has been doing it since she was a child. Her whole family used to go, but now it’s just her. Her parents trust her to be alone.

Alana has come across Sea World and other marine parks with Orcas and it makes her incredibly angry. There have been a few instances where animals in captivity have… Mysteriously escaped back into the wild…

She does have a super playful side and is very curious of humans despite often having a negative judgement/attitude towards them. When she just wants to have fun or relax, she goes bow riding along the wake of boats. She’s clever enough to not be seen.

Yes, there is merpeople high school because why not.

Again, science doesn’t exist and this au honestly doesn’t have rules.So just go ham and make mermaids, y'all!

I’m still deciding on how I want to portray Miguel, but right now I’m thinking Red Lionfish or Pacific Seahorse.That boy is something very colorful and proud!

So previously I mentioned there being an education system for merpeople as they do form societies.

So all the teens (minus Miguel) go to school together.

Their school, as well as most of the buildings in their particular society, is made up of scrapped parts from shipwrecks and other human debris. There are also some buildings and landmarks carved out of the landscape, but they gotta keep it fresh, keep it interesting. They’re still discovering and learning technology, but in their own unique ways.

(Okay, you probably didn’t even care about that fact but as an enthusiast for a “rebuild from the remains” aesthetic, I have to sprinkle in my little funky twists.)

The particular “town” of merpeople they live in isn’t very large and is constantly changing size and population due to some mers moving in and out.

Evan broke his arm over summer break in a coastal accident.

Seeing that merpeople don’t fully abide by the living standards of their aquatic ancestors, they tend to mix, mingle, and migrate without too much structure. Obviously certain families with stay together and there are some pockets of merpeople who live by more strict cultural rules. But for the sake of au, Evan and the gang live in a more relaxed mer civilization.

So, over the summer Evan was working with a group of mers that focus on coastal wildlife. Evan in particular focused on coral health and how it was being affected by human activity.

But our boy is depressed and lonely, so one day he strays from his usual group of coworkers and ventured toward a cluster of fishing boats. The general rule is don’t go near humans, especially when on the job.

He noticed that some of the boats were anchored, so he grabbed one of them from the seabed, hoisted it up the surface, and launched it above water for his to come crashing down with force behind it.

His arm got pinned under the anchor, thus breaking it.

Now, the rest of the AU at the moment is more freeform and doesn’t follow the plot of the musical, but I did want to included how Evan broke his arm.

Connor is not dead in this particular version of the AU, but feel free to craft multiple storylines and arcs with different outcomes!

Connor does paint his nails!

As previously mentioned, he is very fascinated by human society and like to get a little too close.

So, one day he came across some spring breakers and watched as they went about their activities sunbathing and painting their nails. As soon as they looked away, he stole several bottles.

It’s rare for him to find nail polish, especially since he ruined his first bottle by opening it up under water and losing the contents. But whenever a party boat or a boat of spring breakers rolls by, especially with a bunch of girls, he always has to check.

He quickly learned that whenever he wants to do his nails he has to make a whole thing about hauling himself up to surface and propping on a rock or a beach for some time.

He’s collected his signature black as well as a metallic purple, glittery pink, and bright turquoise. He wears the black and purple the most. He loves the other two colors, but poor baby is insecure and wearing nail polish as a mer is already enough to cause stares.

Jared also thinks that human legs are hot.

When Jared is puffed up, other mers will bop him around like a volleyball. It’s an unfortunate thing for any and all puffers.

Evan’s dad is a Barracuda mer, which for a Barracuda and an Octopus to mate is incredibly rare. It’s a wonder that Evan didn’t come out a totally wack and new sea monster.

But like I said, science doesn’t really exist here! Anything goes! Be whatever mer you wanna be! Love whatever mer you wanna love!

#mermaid au #mer au #deh #dear evan hansen #dear evan hansen au #evan hansen #connor murphy #jared kleinman #alana beck #zoe murphy #cynthia murphy #larry murphy #heidi hansen

[crazycat-88]

Male Orc Raum x Female Reader Part 2 (NSFW) Complete

The continuation of my orc story that I did in part for the Ok:Cryptid Collab by @thetravelerwrites 

Part 1 - Here

I’m not particularly happy with this one, but I think it’s as good as its going to get. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

This story also introduces you to West Oaks, a small town that has been mentioned in a previous story. I will be writing more stories that feature this town. NSFW at the very end,  for those who don’t like it but still want to read the story.

Wordcount:2,257

The following Friday you find yourself on your doorstep with a packed bag, waiting on Raum to pick you up. Pulling up in his car, you get in only to be accosted by Buster, the dobermann that’s meant to be in the back seat. Laughing, you give him some attention before telling him to lie down.

‘‘Hey, got everything you need?’’ Raum asks, grinning at you.

You nod, before giving him a kiss in greeting. Pulling back, you ask, ‘‘How long will it take for us to get there?’’

‘‘About four hours.’’ he smiles. ‘‘Feel free to put the music on.’’

Fiddling with the music player, you eventually find something you like. Looking back at Buster, you see he has already settled down to sleep, and smile. ‘‘So… tell me what your hometown is like and who I’m all going to meet.’’

‘‘Well… the travel guides will tell you it’s an idyllic little coastal town, with picturesque views, sandy beaches, a forest further inland… A lake, quaint little houses and a market every Wednesday and Sunday with stalls, where the townsfolk sell a variety of things.’’

‘‘And what would you tell me?’’ you ask.

‘‘The same,’’ he laughs. ‘‘No seriously, it is all that and more. It’s the perfect location for non-humans and always has been. Three hundred years ago all that was there was an orc compound and monster folk hiding in the forest. Eventually more people came, starting with humans who had mated with monsters and it built from there. Now it’s the most monster populated town there is I believe.’’

‘‘Certainly sounds idyllic,’’ you smile.

‘‘It is for the most part. I mean it’s not perfect, no town is… it has problems like everywhere else. Old prejudices between the different species and such, but for the most part it’s good. It’s home.’’ he says, with a fond smile.

‘‘What about your family? Who am I going to meet?’’

‘‘Well there’s my mother Eivor, she’ll love you, my dad John, my older brother Dane and his wife Naria and their two children. My younger brothers, Sigmar and Halden, Halden’s the birthday boy,’’ he says, looking over to you briefly. ‘‘Then there's cousins, aunts, uncles and family friends,’’ he laughs.

‘‘That’s a lot of people,’’ you say, nervously frowning.

‘‘They’ll all love you, don’t worry so much,’’ he smiles giving your knee a squeeze.

You spend the rest of the journey, talking about his family, and he lets you know what you can expect from certain folk. You learn that his dad John, a human, is technically his step-father but he’s been a dad to Raum since he was five and he thinks of him as his real dad.

You make one stop on the journey, to grab lunch and let Buster out to run. Soon enough you're seeing the signs pointing to West Oaks, looking around you notice the surrounding area is mostly countryside and woodland. As you enter the outskirts of the town itself, you see exactly what Raum meant when he said the town was picturesque. With rolling hills, lush greenery, a few scattered white houses and the coastline in the distance with crystal clear blue water. It’s beautiful you think gazing around in awe.

‘‘It’s so beautiful here,’’ you say, turning to look at Raum, before gazing back out of the window.

‘‘Nothing like the city eh?’’ he says, chuckling.

Not at all, you think, shaking your head. Seeing you’re now entering the central part of town, you can see the townsfolk strolling the streets and loads of little shops and housing, some of which are painted in bright colours, making you smile. Along the coastline there are little cottages and you can just about spot a lighthouse in the distance. What a place to call home you think to yourself.

‘‘I booked us a beach house for our stay here, do you want to go there first or shall we go let my folks know we’re here?’’ Raum says, looking at you before looking back at the road.

‘‘We aren’t staying at your parents house?’’ you ask, slightly confused. You had just assumed you would be and are a bit surprised he’s booked a place to stay.

‘‘No, my folks house will be packed as it is and while I know my mother would fit us in, I didn’t want to overwhelm you…’’ he says. ‘‘I also thought for our first… vacation together, we might like some privacy.’’

You see him throwing you looks, looking a little nervous, waiting on your reaction. You smile and squeeze his thigh, ‘‘Thank you,’’ you say. ‘‘Let's go see them first then, so when we get to the beach house we can just relax for the evening.’’

Nodding, he gives you a smile. You continue to gaze out the car window while he drives to his folks house. As soon as you have parked, you see an orc rush out the house and throw herself into Raums’ arms. She’s clearly an older orc but still very beautiful. As she finishes fussing over Raum, she looks over at you and gathers you up in her arms in a hug.

‘‘Look at you! Aren’t you a pretty one…’’ she says looking at you.

‘‘Um… thank you…’’ you say chuckling, feeling flustered.

‘I’m Eivor, but feel free to call me Mum.’’ she says, as she leads you into the house. ‘‘Come meet my John, and the rest of my brood.’’

Looking back, you see that Raum is shaking his head in despair, obviously embarrassed but wearing a small smile. He lets Buster out the back of the car and the dog runs straight into the house, taking over all of you. As you get inside, you see the Buster has jumped up on another orc, who’s clearly one of Raum’s brothers.

Spending the afternoon with Raum’s family is a lot more fun than you ever thought it could be. All of them are so friendly and welcoming that your nerves soon settle. You end up spending the whole time laughing flustered as you watch Raum’s brothers tease and badger him over how he managed to find a catch like you. When Raum tells his folks, it's time for the two of you to leave, you actually feel reluctant to go so soon.

Knowing you’ll be returning tomorrow, you say your goodbyes and Raum drives you both to the rented beach house. The house is beautiful, you think, as you wander around exploring it. With three bedrooms, living room, kitchen and a porch out back that gives you a stunning view of the beach and water, you think you could happily stay there forever.

Deciding to take Buster for a walk along the beach, you and Raum casually stroll down the beach holding hands. He points out some of the different shops and where some of his favourite places are. At one point you think you see orca breaching the surface but soon realise it's actually a mer-orca and smile delighted.

You and Raum end up at one of the beach front restaurants, named The Shark Tank, for dinner, sitting outside as you have taken Buster along too. Your served by a pretty blonde girl who looks human at first glance but you see as she serves you that she has webbing in between her fingers and very pointy sharp teeth. Raum informs you that she is one of the rare mer-sharks that can take human form.

‘‘Does she own this place?’’ you ask Raum questionly.

‘‘Yes, her and her brother do, most of the staff that work here are mer-folk too,’’ he replies.

After your dinner your feeling very full and very tired, heading back to the beach house, Raum asks if you want to share a bedroom or use one of the others. You think about it briefly, quickly deciding to share, you tell Raum and he smiles widely and pulls you into his side with his arm around you. As both of you are really tired, you go straight to bed, and cuddling in to each other, share soft slow kisses before eventually falling asleep.

In the morning, you and Raum take Buster for a walk along the beach again. He takes you to a little cove, which is empty of other people, and you play fetch with Buster, running about and falling in the sand. Laughingly Raum takes you in arms and thoroughly kisses you, wandering hands explore each other and just before things escalate, Buster starts barking.

Looking up, you see a couple of mermaids have joined you in the cove and they’re leaning up on the rocks watching you both grinning. When they spot they’ve been seen, they slip back into the water, waving goodbye as they go. Laughing, you and Raum get up to leave the beach.

You spend the afternoon in the town, Raum takes you round all the shops, telling you the stories about some of the buildings there. You fall in love with one shop in particular, that sells little figurines of all types of creatures, all hand painted and beautiful. You wish you had the money to buy them all, but settle for one of an orc, who you tease looks just like Raum.

Wanting to get Halden a birthday present, you pick up a figurine of a small tortoiseshell cat that Raum assures you that he will love. That done, you head back to the beach house, with a few hours to spare before the party.

‘‘What do you want to now?’’ Raum asks, sitting beside you on the couch.

‘‘Take a nap?’’ you laugh, feeling tired from all the walking.

‘‘Hmm… in bed?’’ he asks.

When you nod, he picks you up and carries you into the bedroom and puts you in bed. Getting in beside you, he strokes your cheek and leans forward to kiss you. Swiping his tongue along your lips, you allow him entrance, sucking on his tongue. As his hands start exploring your breasts over your top, he bucks against you and you can feel he’s already hard.

Groaning he asks, ‘‘Do you want to…’’ before cutting off with a whimper as your hands trace his erection through his trousers.

‘‘Yes,’’ you say, moving away to remove your clothing. You watch as he rushes to get his own clothes off. Watching as he strips, you see his body as just as you expected, lean and fit, with fine hair on his chest. His cock is a good length and decent girth, with a mushroom head, not to big but bigger than you’d ever taken before.

Taking you back in your arms, he leans over you kissing you again, before moving down your body. Kissing and sucking your breasts, he fondles one with one hand, feeling it’s weight before playing with your nipple. His other hand trails down to your slit, finding you wet, he spreads your juices along your folds before entering one of his fingers inside you. Working it in and out of you, he slowly adds another. With two fingers inside of you, you beg for him asking for his cock.

‘‘You’re not ready for that yet…’’ he groans, moving his fingers faster.

Moaning and writhing on the bed, you cry out as he adds a third finger and uses his thumb to circle your clit. ‘‘Please… please,’’ you moan.

‘‘Come for me,’’ he says, before nipping at your breasts. As he crooks a finger, just in the right spot, you come hard, squealing his name. You watch moaning as he raises his hand, covered in your cum, and sucks his fingers.

‘‘God… you taste good,’’ he says. Rising up on to his knees, you see his cock is already weeping, and taking it in his hand, he spreads your cum over it with a groan. Lining himself up, he pauses to look at you, ‘‘Tell me if I hurt you,’’ he asks.

Nodding, you groan as he slowly enters you, to slowly for your liking. Grabbing at his waist, you tilt your hips up, taking him in to you completely. He groans and swears, as you wince, it’s not painful but your filled so full it’s slightly uncomfortable. Wrapping your legs around him, you hook your ankles around his waist, holding him still.

‘‘Oh god…I feel so full,’’ you say, catching your breath, ‘‘Move... please Raum,’’ you plead.

Raum slowly pulls out and pushes back in, thrusting gently. ‘‘Fuck! Your tight,’’ he gasps.

Starting to move faster, he grunts as you tighten around him, moving his hand down he starts stroking at your clit, pleading for you to come.  Inhaling sharply, clutching at his shoulders, you come with a cry, scratching your nails down his back.

He comes inside you with a grunt, back arching, and hands tightening where he holds you. Collapsing to the side of you, you both pant harshly, trying to catch your breath.

‘‘Wow,’’ he starts breathlessly. ‘‘That was… I’m not sure I’m going to be able to walk anytime soon.’’

‘‘Me either,’’ you laugh breathlessly, turning to face him, throwing an arm around him. ‘‘How long until the party starts?’’

Groaning he sits up slightly to check the clock, ‘‘We’ve got an hour and a half before we have to be there,’’ he says collapsing back onto the bed. ‘‘Time for a quick nap,’’ he laughs, pulling you to lie half on top of him.

Nuzzling into his chest, you agree and soon fall asleep with a smile on your face, listening to his heartbeat.

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My Masterlist

#exophilia #male monster #male orc #female reader #orctober #monster/reader #monster/human #orc boyfriend #orc/reader #my writing #My OC’s

[monstersandmaw]

Well, g’night folks!

Thanks for an absolutely awesome Skyrim stream today - I’ll definitely be doing another one soon!! It was too much fun with our kitty mage not to!

I hope those of you on Patreon enjoy changeling boy Dunnock’s part three which went up this evening on early release - Part One, Part Two  (Tumblr links)

Coming up for Mermay still we’ve got Viggo, the orca mer mentioned in shark boy Tai’s story (yes Tai’s like King Shark - Tumblr link to his story), and last of all in Mermay 2020 we’ll have a leopard seal selkie boy in a high fantasy setting this time, rather than modern.

Previously for Mermay we have:

male tiger shark mer Fáinn,

nb octomer Mottle,

female kelpie Jonna, which amounts to 22,118 words so far!!!

Plus separate art and bio posts for Fáinn and Mottle.

There’s also a male vampire story Chpt One going to go up as a WIP on Patreon soon on the $1 tier. Busy busy!!

Anyway, thanks for being sweet and awesome and supportive and engaging!

Take care of yourselves as best you can, stay shiny, and may all the right monsters bite.

x

#update #exophilia #mermay #mermay 2020 #merman #mermaid #octomer #shark mer #selkie #kelpie #female monster x male reader #female monster #male monster

[deejayers]

Peaceful

Warning: it’s just fluff. Straight up cutesy fluff because I live for that shit.

Pairing: established 1x2x1 

Inspired by a prompt I found by @merprompts (Mer Prompt #6) which is as follows: 

Mer A will braid Mer B’s hair while they’re sunbathing on the rocks. Everything is calm with the gentle push of the waves on the rocks, the air is warm and there’s a light breeze.

All the hugs and thanks to @janaverse and @robo-rad for their encouragement and help figuring out what kind of sea creatures the boys should be based on! <3 <3 <3

The gentle burble and crash of the waves breaking on his sunbathing rock was easily one of his favorite sounds. He had been there, delightfully warm, for the past several hours while he waited for his mane of auburn hair to dry enough to rebraid and replace his jewelry. Duo really didn’t like having to go through all the trouble sometimes but after the storms last night that whipped his braid into a mess of hair, jewelry, and varying kinds of sea debris he just didn’t have a choice. Before he had painstakingly untangled it all, pieces of it had been folded up and pinned against itself in ways even he was surprised by.

With a small huff, he readjusted himself and let his tail dip into the water. The fins of his long black and white tail lazily rocked with the waves and he was unsurprised to feel them brush gently against the smooth skin to rough scales of another mer. He cracked one eye open and glanced off to his left in time to see the darkly striped dorsal fin of Heero break the surface of the water just a moment before his head. Dark chocolate hair plastered itself to his face as the water trailed back down into the ocean.

“Everything is back in order,” he said by way of greeting, propping himself up on the edge of Duo’s large rock. “And everyone is fine. You hair appears to have been the only casualty… As expected since you decided it would be fun to roll in the undercurrent.” That earned a grin from Duo as he rolled onto his belly and dropped his head onto his arms.

“C'mon, Heero, you had fun too! Don’t try to lie to me. I saw it on your face!” Duo snickered, grin cheeky. Heero simply rolled his eyes and pulled himself out of the water to sit beside Duo, careful to not fling too much water on him and his mostly dry hair. Not that Duo would have really minded, distracted as he was by water trickling over Heero’s muscled form. He liked watching it roll over the olive skin and darker stripes that crawled across Heero’s back and shoulders.

“I didn’t say it wasn’t fun. Just that your hair being as it is now is your fault.” Replied Heero. After shaking off as much of the water on his hand he could, he reached over to run his fingers through the meticulously brushed locks. “It’s dried well. Do you want it totally dry before I braid it?” His hand continued the slow, easy motion as they talked.

Duo glanced up at him with a pleasantly surprised smile and shifted so he could press his cheek into Heero’s side. “I figured I’d wait until it was totally dry but if you’re going to do it for me, well, I won’t complain about whether you braid it damp or dry. Thanks, Heero.” He rubbed his cheek against him again and asked, “Do you want me to sit today or is lying down okay?”

Heero looked at him for a moment then around the large rock they were on. Surely there was plenty enough room for the both of them on it. “Laying down is fine. I’ll just sit next to you. Scoot over.” With that statement, he lightly poked Duo in the direction he wanted him to move and waited while the Orca mer get settled again.

When Duo was finally settled on his stomach with his head on his arms Heero pulled himself up beside him and gathered the several feet worth of hair across his lap. He brushed his fingers through the length of it to get rid of any tangles trying to take hold and then began parting it all into three sections. Duo let out a pleased hum and relaxed further into the rock.

Hair evenly separated, Heero started the over-under process of twining the locks around itself. With each successful plait he straightened out the rest of the separated pieces in order to keep the braid smooth. Over, under, over, under, over, under. Again and again, Heero wound the silky strands around itself into Duo’s customary braid. As he worked he admired the way the strands glowed in the full sunlight, hints of red and blonde mixed in with the brown to make the gorgeous auburn that was Duo’s hair. 

A couple times he had to pick up the braid and set it farther on Duo’s back so he could continue braiding it without it bunching up and each time he set it down he would stroke a hand down the soft skin of Duo’s back for a moment. With each caress, Duo let out another quiet, pleased hum. Occasionally, he would mumble out a sleepy, “Mmm, thanks ‘Ro.” and Heero would smile just a little. 

By the time Heero had all of Duo’s hair braided and had grabbed the small woven bag holding all of his jewelry, Duo was fully asleep and looked so peaceful it made Heero want to curl up beside him and do the same. He refrained because while this was a generally safe area for merfolk, sometimes humans were stupid and sometimes larger merfolk would come by and decide they wanted the spot. He couldn’t defend them if he was asleep. 

So instead he dug around Duo’s bag for the latest bit of ribbon he had acquired from a human for tying off the braid and wound it around the end with a solid knot. It wouldn’t be coming loose anytime soon. He glanced into the bag of jewelry again, briefly debating setting them in their places within Duo’s braid, but decided against it in favor for gently running the braid through his hands over and over. 

He readjusted himself so that he was pressed up against Duo’s side with just the very tips of his tail fins in the water and pulled Duo’s braid back across his lap. Gently, so as not to pull any of the hairs out of place by accident, he wrapped and unwrapped the braid around his hand, turned it this way and that in the light, and used the short bit that he couldn’t braid to lightly brush Duo’s back to pass the time. No way was he going to wake Duo when he was sleeping so peacefully, especially after the storms last night. 

Because while yes, it had been Duo’s idea to go out during it and he had wanted to have fun in the end, the main reason had been because he wanted to make sure none of their smaller friends had been caught unawares in it. Luckily none of their friends had been caught in it but they did manage to catch some debris from a shipwreck nearby and prevent it from crashing into the coral reef, in the process getting rolled into a mess that had caused most of the problem with Duo’s hair. After getting rid of the debris they had returned to the open sandy area to let the undercurrent roll them around for a little while before heading back home to their cave in slightly darker waters to curl up and sleep. Heero had gone to check on all their friends earlier in the morning while Duo had set off to untangle the mess that was his hair.

A low hum alerted him to Duo waking slightly and he released the braid in favor of setting a hand on Duo’s back, next to his dark dorsal fin. His fingers gently massaged the skin, always careful of the sharp claws on his fingers. The sleepy Orca mer cracked his eyes open to look over at Heero and mumbled, “Done already, ‘Ro?” before letting out a wide yawn. Heero nodded slightly, shifting again so he was facing Duo better. 

“I didn’t put any of your jewelry back in today. I just wanted to play with your hair.” He said, holding up the closed bag for Duo to see before carefully setting it down on Duo’s other side so it didn’t get rolled on and crushed. Duo chuckled, smiling as he stretched his arms and tail as far as he could before letting everything drop unceremoniously back down. His tail fins hitting the water splashed both of them, making Duo snicker and Heero roll his eyes. “Do you want to stay here for a while longer or go back home?” Heero asked, setting his hand back down on Duo’s side once the mer stopped moving. Duo hummed and looked to the sky, clearly thinking, before a wicked grin split his face and he abruptly tackled Heero into the water surrounding them with a whoop of glee. 

Heero let out a brief shout of surprise as he suddenly hit the water but quickly recovered, wrapping his arms around Duo and dragging him deeper into the water only to pin him down against the sandy floor. Duo face was split in his trademark mischievous grin and Heero had to chuckle a little at him. This was his Duo after all and he usually expected nothing less from the mer. 

With a small grin on his face, Heero nuzzled his face against Duo’s briefly before pressing a kiss to his lips and quietly saying, “Race you home. Loser has to help Trowa with his pets next time.” He had shoved off of Duo and was swimming as fast as he could in the direction of their home when he heard Duo shout, “No fair, Yuy! You left my bag on the sun rock on purpose!”

The last thing Duo heard from Heero was his laughter traveling through the water as he raced away.

@thisweekingundamwing

#my writing #mermaid au #gw mermaid au #gundam wing #1x2x1 #heeroxduo #01x02 #heero yuy #duo maxwell #gw

[metalotaku-da]

Ryan and Lance week 5 mermaid au

i’ll probably do more of this later on ao3. but the first part is already 12 pages.

“Everybody up! We got to move now! Up! Up! Get your gear.” James yells tearing down the narrow hallway below deck. Slamming on the doors to the rooms to wake people as he passes. A few people falling from their bunks to the floor.

 Ryan is up on his feet in no time pulling on his clothing quickly. Once his pants and shoes are on, he grabs a shirt off the wall and his camera bag from his cubby and heads into the Hall. Nadia is seconds behind him hoping on one foot at time to get her shoes on. “What the hell is going on. We just hit the hay a few hours ago.”

 “3 hours and 38 minutes ago.” Ina says calmly leaving her shared room with Nadia.

 “Ok yeah, well close enough. It's the middle of the night. What the hell is the emergency?” She huffed falling a few places behind Kinkade to give him the arm room he needs to get his shirt on. Even if he doesn't button it.

 “Don't know we just need to be prepared.” Ryan answers pulling his camera bags strap over his head to secure it before digging out his waterproof video camera just as they get to the stairs to get on deck.

 Once Ina is on deck with her own bag on and waterproof tablet in hand she takes a cursory glance at the sky and down to the horizon. “We have changed course and have increased speed since retiring for the night.” The three ignored the other crew members stumbling up behind them to head for the bridge.

 “Why? I thought we were going to follow the current with the migrating shoals till we spotted a pod?” Nadia asked as Ryan continued to lead the way now filming as he went. His camera's auto balancer working perfectly as he ascended the stairs nearly two at a time with his long legs.

 “About time you lot got here, hurry up and gather up cadets.” Iverson yelled as soon as the door opened. Already packed around the high-tech holo-gps table was captain Iverson, Sam and Coleen Holt their son Matt as well, first mate Adam west, navigator Veronica McClain, and their marine biology specialist Slav. The one who stood out the most to Ryan was their ships medic Coran also being at the meeting. That was never good. Before their trip could complete the trip to the table James comes bursting in behind.

 “Everybody is up and getting to stations sir. All hands should be on deck shortly.” James Sames with a halfhearted salute to the captain who has a soft spot for his old military protocol.

 “What is going on? Are we sinking or something?” Nadia asked annoyed at having been woken up so abruptly.

 “There is an emergency, but not our own.” Colleen said gently before Iverson could snap at her impatient.

 “We got a call from a nearby coast guard vessel.” Iverson said looking around the table. “They intercepted a poaching vessel.” He paused. “In the middle of a hunt.” The room exploded with questions.

 “Everyone quiet and wait. See if your questions are answered after he gets out the pertinent information.” Adam shouted over the group till the ceased.

 “The coast guard was unable to engage the ship in time to prevent them from harming one of their targets. The good news is they seemed to be after live specimens. The bad news is, they were targeting mers.” Iverson gave a second for that to sink in. As that was exactly the target of their ship, but for research and study in the wild. James had been brought in specifically to collect video for a documentary for added awareness and generate funding for their ongoing research to the public. “And from what the coast guard described of the pod. And their doubt of their own observations. The pod that was attacked is believed to be subject group ap27v, Voltron.”

 There was a clatter as Matt dropped his tablet. “Voltron? Poachers found and cornered our legendries?”

 There was a groan from Veronica. “they aren't Pokemon Matt.”

 “You right I could log on to pogo out here and catch something. They are rarer than Pokemon. They are like finding the lochness monster. We've only had the first-hand privilege to witness them 4 times in 4 years. And the handful of sightings by other vessels is shoddy at best. We can't even get close enough to tag any members.”

 “To a seedy bunch of poachers, they probably didn't notice or care about how odd the pod was. They saw a small easy target of variety. Good easy money.” Ryan spoke up his mouth pulled slightly in anger. “It's just about a quick buck.”

 Ina carefully placed a calming hand to Ryan's back. Knowing how much her friend hated poachers. Specifically, mer poachers.

 “Yes, and we are going to take this opportunity to tag one of the pod.” Iverson said once Ryan was done. “After we have contained and corralled them. We have permission from the government to seize and relocate members of the pod as we deem necessary, though if that does not pan out.”

 “What? Why? How?” Nadia asked in confusion. They hardly ever took in living specimens and the mers in particular we're highly protected under international treaties and the U.N.

 “The pod's alpha male was severely injured by the poachers. The pod managed to free him, when the coast guard arrived. But there was a lot of blood. They don't know what other injuries we're incurred by the pod. But the male orca breed was observed to be missing an arm from the elbow along with other lacerations. He was also not swimming well on his own the pod was keeping him at the surface and pulling him along as they swam.” Colleen gave the run down from her notes on her tablet.

 “We also want all hands-on deck not just because we are cornering injured mer to sedate for medical treatment. Possibly multiple. If it's not treatable on site, we will have to move pod back to the coast for rehabilitation. The unique make up and study of this pod has allowed is this opportunity. Even if our goal should be immediate release. If anyone mer won't survive their injuries above a 90 percent.” Iverson looked to Ina to make sure she made notes on her tablet. Which she was. As that call would most likely fall to her and Slav. “We are to collect them all, till they can be rehabbed and reintroduced.” he gave out a long sigh and then gestured to James to finish for him. Having been the one he first called when the transmission came over. And had caught the tail end and most unbelievable part of the report.

 “The other reason is…” James looked around the table at everyone with the most serious of looks he could. “They had advanced weapons.”

 “Well of course they did James. They are poachers of mer. Sure they have top of the line instruments of torture.” Nadia sassed at him.

 “Yeah seriously.” Matt answered.

 “No, the pod did.” James stated back. His tone and eyes showing the seriousness of the information and that he was not joking.

 “Like they stole from the poachers?” Coran asked with a twirl of his mustache. Though his tone was curious his face gave way to his worry.

 “A wet gun isn't going to fire.” Veronica pointed out.

 “No.” James said again rubbing his eyes in exasperation. “Their own they made. The descriptions were vague. But...” He looked around the table at the shocked and agape faces of the team. “The pod got members of it on board the ship to free their member. They were witnessed dragging him over the side and engaging the crew of the ship with primitive projectile weapons. Including firing on the coast guard ship when they tried to corral the pod to hold for us.”

 Ryan nearly dropped his camera at that information. Matt dropped his tablet a second time. “That's not possible.” Sam said in his shock. “mer have only ever been observed with basic tools, a coral club, or a sharp shell used for cutting a sharped bone spear. Maybe a shark’s tooth imbedded in a wood handle for the most complicated. You’re talking about…”

 “This odd mix matched shouldn't be natural in the wild pod is…” Matt said. “Evolving. If not experimenting and inventing. Like…”

 “Humans.” Ryan said in pure shock. This was new. This was ground breaking. This pod alone was unique and ground breaking based on no two subspecies was the Same. It was a mixed pod. and had funded this crew for many years now when they were first spotted. If they could get proof of this, show just how much more human these creatures were. They would not only stun and enlighten the scientific community but maybe even get more funding for protection for these creatures. Or communication. Ryan and Ina's own side project and theory. In attempts to learn their complex languages. “This is..”

 “Amazing.”

“Exciting.”

“Ground breaking.”

“Dangerous is what it is. All you little nerds get the stars out of your eyes and buckle down.” Iverson said annoyed. “They attacked the coast guard, who was trying to help and only contain.”

 “We will be engaging in a closer and more direct nature. If the reports on the weapons is true. They could use them on us, not understanding we are trying to help.” Adam tried to sober up the group of scientists. “So, we need to proceed with caution. We are headed just ahead of their last know location on the direction they were seen headed. It’s dark, and we have a lot of unknown variables. We have 7 different species of mer to prepare to Capture, subdue, and asceses. And they are already stressed, and in the middle of their fight or flight instinct, and possibly we now have the added danger of distant weapons. We need all hands-on deck sharp and alert. This isn’t going to be easy.” Adam relayed for the group.

 “I’m not having anyone die on my watch. The rich bill payers don’t tend to like that. And it looks bad on my record.” Iverson had to get in the last word a wry smile on his face. “So get some coffee and get to your stations. We should be in the strike zone in an hour so long as they didn’t change directions. You are dismissed.”

 James grabbed his team on the way out. “Kinkade, can you set anything up for night filming with Ina? I know it’s last minute.”

 “It is, I have one camera we can…” Ryan started.

 “I’ll have the program ready for it within the hour limit.” Ina answered.

 “I’ll switch it to a mount with an auto leveler on the front of one of the go ships.” Ryan finished.

 James jerked at that. “I don’t know if i want you on a go boat. That’s, that’s a risky spot if the information is true.”

 “Uh griffin, this is like the kind of discovery that makes names. Gets you in a college textbook, maybe even a high school one.” Nadia quipped back. “If you don’t think Kinkade is going to make sure his camera is on the first ship to intercept the pod. You are delusional.”

 “She’s right.” Ryan said with a smirk.

 “I don’t like it. But if you are going to do it. I want you dressed in full gear. Your thick wet suit, the white one so we can see you if you go over.” James said with a sigh. “Ina, I want…”

 “I’ll collect live feed from all camera’s Ryan sets up, and catalog as much data as I can from the feeds before bringing the mers into the slings. That way Slav has adequate data for tranquilizers based on preliminary data to lower risk.”

 “Yeah that.” James said with a pout. “I’ll let you to get on what you need to do. “Nadia, coffees, for everyone. We meet back on deck once Ryan and Ina have all the gear they need. And we set up whatever they need help with. We are kind of useless till the mers on in the slings. Then we move fast. If… and only if we really feel they need greater medical care, will we transfer then to the tank. If that happens this trip is over, we head back immediately to the aquatic reserve facility.”

 ***************

 “Alright we are close to the estimated area the mers should be in. keeps yours eyes peeled, and the sonar drones have been dropped along with two ariel drones with heat signature detection. Once they have been spotted, we will deploy the net boats to secure then and lead them back towards our main ship for tranquilizing and medical assessment. No sling leaves the water unless Slav or Ina gives the go.” Iverson said as he stood in his old military position in front of the crew on deck. “We need to look alive people and keep alert, we don’t know what to expect, this is anything but a routine bag and tag. Watch each other’s backs. The safety of this crew comes first.” Iverson then gave the floor to James.

 “The pod we are looking for is the Voltron pod. It consists of a large alpha male orca whale type mer who was the one reported with the most severe injury. He is also the largest. He’s estimated at 30ft long. He’s been named Shiro. The female alpha is an 27Ft long oarfish type. She is the second largest in the group. Named Allura. Next in size we have a female coelacanth, the largest one ever recorded, and it’s just an educated guess based on photos at 15ft. She is the slowest and cataloged as shay. Then we have on second most dangerous after the orca. A bull male elephant seal he is 12ft long, and huge. One of the largest we’ve seen. We believe him to be Over 7,000 lbs. and if he feels like it, he can get around on our ship if we aren’t careful called Hunk. Third dangerous is a crossbreed. Mako, and bull shark mer cross breed. He’s 10ft long. Male. he’s got the speed of a Mako and the most aggressive in the pod. He’s also been recorded with a large black coral knife in every sighting. So, keep an eye out. He’s going to be the hardest to predict. The shark mers are usually solitary or pair. And this one is not. And is normally protective of his pod. Attacking ships that get to close. With the recent attack and alpha male injured he’s going to be worse he’s been named Keith. The smallest female is an octopus type. So, another who will be able to get around on deck easily. She’s also pretty young based on her size. She’s 9ft long if she’s streamlined. She has reach and can be kind of aggressive too. Matt stupidly named her Pidgeot, we call her Pidge. Lastly is a young male, who appears to be a lancetfish type, or at least a crossbreed of one. We just don’t know what with, or if he is a new species. He has a frill with barbs that can extend down his back. He will be the easiest to spot Out here in the dark, he has bioluminescent spots and stripes that flash. He’s just longer than the shark, 11ft and originally named lance. He’s also sometimes seen with a spear. Our goal is to collect them quickly with the least amount of stress. It’s going to be tough. But I know we can do this. These mers are counting on us.”

 Matt took over next. “Alright I’m calling out teams for the net runners. I want you sitting pretty and waiting for the drop. Ryan will be joining one of the lead boats with his camera, so he’s just an extra body.” Matt then began calling out the four groups.

 *******************

 More ships, more humans. Why couldn’t they just leave them alone. The pod had had to slow down. When their leader Shiro had lost consciousness. Pidge had done her best to stop the bleeding from his stump of an arm, tying a band of seaweed around it. But while they had been resting trying to catch their breathes and gills at the surface the next boat of humans had shown. Larger even still than the first two. Then it had broken up into many. 4 smaller, louder boats had come towards them. They had tried to flee. They couldn’t dive with Shiro like this. He’d drown. But they weren’t fast enough pulling his large mass along with them. The humans in their unnaturally quick boats had gotten ahead of them. Encircling their family with a net. It dropped to deep for them to go under even if Shiro could dive and he couldn’t. Keith was becoming more agitated if that was even possible. Slashing at the net with his knife, his claws his teeth even. It wouldn’t break though. And with each passing wave the bigger ship drew closer to them. Allura drew her long body up protectively around Shiro at the sight. Shay holding his head. Pidge i tried tugging on the top of the net to push it down so maybe we could swim over it. We were having very little luck. Then in his frustration Keith slashed one of the hard jellyfish at the top of the net with his knife. It shrank in size and that part of the net dropped lower in the water. Pidge puffed up at the sight of it excitedly. And I flashed my tail. I waved Hunk over placing his hand to my throat I made the vibrations that went with my lights and the words with my hands, so Hunk would know what we wanted. Pidge making the Same gestures a few more with her tentacles pulling at the net Too. Hunk dove down just enough to build some speed then cleared the surface enough to land on the top of the net with his body. I took my last arrow from it’s hold and flashed at Keith. The two us began to slash the jellies on either side of Hunk to get the net to lower more. Pidge darted quickly to shay and Allura to help them guide Shiro out the deepest part above Hunk. I flashed another pattern to Keith, so he knew to go help them. Then i joined Hunk in swimming down holding the net.

 ********************

 “Are you seeing this?” Matt said excitedly to James as they watched the feed from the boats laying and tying off nets while their ship pulled them in.

 “Yeah I am. And as cool as it is, to see their tools and problem-solving abilities in person. They are going to get out and we are going to need a new plan to catch them.” James complained. “Can we real the nets in any faster?”

 “A little.” Nadia “But we can pull it.” She snapped her fingers. “See if Iverson or Adam can reverse direction. Put tension on the net make it narrower.”

 “On it.” Sam said with a smile calling up to the bridge.

 They watched the net jerk on the video feed just a few seconds to late, most the mers getting clear outside the net, the seal getting the net pulled out from under him like a rug falling to the outside of it. But under him was an unbroken buoy. Once his weight was removed it added to the lift of the net. Leaving only one mer the lancet trapped inside. His weight to light. Flinging out of the water and a few feet back from the net seemly stunned for a minute before he dived under. The shark disappearing from the surface along with the octopus and seal.

 “So, we got one at least. Even if his pod flees I don’t think they’ll go far, do you?” Nadia asked.

 “We don’t know how they will behave. Oar and lancet leave week and injured behind. Sharks eat them. So, we don’t know what they will do. This pod already defies all we know about mers. Anything could happen.” Ina said looking at an underwater feed of the scene.

 *********

 I swam up to the net and watched sadly as Keith once again frantically attacked it with everything he had Hunk pulling on it and pidge trying to analyze it. I have them a sad smile and at them to go. I was trapped. Shiro was injured. They needed to flee before the human’s big ship was to close. Keith shook his head and tail violently in the water eyes sad and terrified. It’s ok I signed him. Along with escape. Later. Shiro. safe. I reached my hands through the net Hunk and pidge each taking one. Hunk let out a mournful wail into the water. Pidge signing, they will come back. For me. Not leaving. Back. soon. Keith reached threw the net to grab my head and pull it forward pressing the bridge of his nose to the top of my head, so I could feel the small pulses. Back. safe. Not leaving. Not alone. I flashed my lights back. Love. family. Safe. ok. Go. go. Go. I fight. We pulled away from each other and the net. I watched my pod swim away. To safety to freedom. Then turned to face the big human ship. I had lost my arrow. Only had the bow left draped across my chest. But I still had my teeth, my claws and my barbs. I would fight. To give my pod time at least to get away.

 ********

 “Ryan did you see….” Ina asked after having witnessed the underwater scene thanks to the lights of the ship coming closer to the net and mers.

 “Yeah I did.” He said his own small feed on this tablet of all the camera’s. His words tinged with sadness.

 “But they still left him.” Nadia said sadly.

 “I… I didn’t think they were going to after that.” Colleen said a hand cupped over her mouth. The small group on deck watching as the sad lone mer began to frantically move about the shrinking space shoving at the enclosing net. Bright lights on his body flashing randomly. Suddenly shining like a light bright with its paper pulled back to just some twinkling lights. Or pulsating down his body. Intermittently when a boat would get to close he’d flare his spines and flash his teeth. His world slowly shrinking.

 “Saddle up team. We still have a job to do. I know it’s hard. Ina assessment.” James sadly got them on tract.

 “Subject named lance, untagged, estimated length 11ft long male lancet. Coloring brown, blue white. Gill breather self-pumping. Estimated weight 225-250 pounds Warm blooded. Scale density estimate 6mils back. 2-3 stomach area. Appears to have several fresh lacerations, and a piece of harpoon embedded in his back just under his dorsal ridge between his shoulders. From his movements I believe it to be embedded in the skins connective tissue. I don’t believe it’s in his spine. Due to agitation level, he needs to be tranquilized through the softer underbelly before slinged. Or he could break off spines in it with his thrashing. Or dig the harpoon in deeper putting his spine at risk.”

 “Good call.” James patted her on the back. “you’ve got the assessment Slav. Start working on some tranquilizers for him. We’ll hit him once the net is tight enough to control his movements more.”

 “on it. right away.” Slav called to him with a thumbs up. Loading the cartridges from his station near the platform.

 “Ryan can you get back to the ship? I’d like to get more shots from the platform when we bring him up. If that’s alright.” Matt asked. “his lights and the display look controlled a little bit. And maybe we can get a better identification on his subspecies.”

 “sure.” Ryan said. His boat already heading back to the main ship as the others helped guide the mer closer as the net closed in.

The slings were dropped down just before the mer was corralled above it. a mere 10ft ring. Not even enough room for it lay flat at the surface without touching the back of the ship and the net behind him. His thrashing becoming worse. They didn’t have a clear shot though for the tranquilizer. And then the creature started ramming the net. Getting a few spines stuck on the netting. Tearing a few of his fins. As the sight of the pooling blood building in the water, Ryan had had enough of the mer’s fear in his viewer. He grabbed a rope off the deck floor and tied it to this belt. Then set down his hand-held camera. Only his small go pro still clipped to the front of wet suit.

 “Kinkade what are doing?” James asked once he saw Ryan set down his camera. Then he saw the rope a second of shocked panic before he rushed his friend. “don’t do something stupid Kinkade!” however Ryan jumped into the net with the panicked thrasher mer before James could get to him. He grabbed the rope to tie off to the deck though to keep him with in reach. “Ryan! You idiot!”

 “what is he doing?!” Nadia screamed running up to James to try and help him pull Ryan back towards the ship. Ryan popped up at the surface directly in front of the mer it had turned at the splash.

 The creature charging him as Ryan held his arms to brace himself. The mer grabbed his arm unable to get any moment built to throw him. Ryan bit his lower lip hard to hold in his own yell of pain as the mer clamped down hard on his forearm. Its sharp teeth piercing threw the thick wet suit and into his flesh. Claws cutting deep into the suit to shred it. but the thick fabric giving his arm some protection. His pain almost drowning out his friends shouts of fear and worry from the ship. But Ryan could feel the mer’s full body tremble threw his arm clamped tight in the creature’s mouth. Like it was to afraid to let go. But didn’t have the energy left to tear his arm from him. Barely had the strength to flail it’s tail about. It is catching and pulling on the too close net. Ryan carefully and slowly brought his free hand up to the side of the mer’s head and neck the back of his hand brushing the area up and down. Just like he had recorded the sea lion mers in California do to their young. Fingers and nails curled away from the mer’s face and sensitive eyes. The mer flinched at the touch but opened his eyes to look up in shock at Ryan. Mouth still clamped tight. Then Ryan opened his mouth and began to chuff, moan and warble the tune he had heard and memorized from watching the recordings over and over again with Ina to catalog. To his and everyone on the ship’s amazement the mer froze at first and just watched. After a few seconds with the growing silence of the people around them, the only sound from the machines. the mer released the hold on his arm with his teeth. Ryan didn’t stop his ministrations or the sounds he was making, keeping his eyes locked with the mer.

 “what the hell is he doing?” James whispered to Nadia hoping she had a clue. She shrugged in response.

 Ina however answered. “it’s a call sound sea lion mers in California use to calm their young. Along with the hand motion. It was used by 87% of the observation group. With very small variables in the sounds. It also included the hand motion and touch.” She kept her voice low.

 “he’s not a seal type mer.” James grit out. “why would he take a risk like that? How does he know it’s even working? That it’s not just confused at the dumb human touching him and is going to snap any minute.”

 “there is a seal in their pod though.” Matt whispered back joining the group by the rope to quickly tug him back should the mer snap out of his trance. James just rolled his eyes.

 “can anyone get a shot with the tranquilizer?” they heard Adam ask as he joined them down on the deck. Iverson must have sent him down after seeing the shit show it was turning into.

 “no! god no!” Nadia growled out. “trying to get him killed. It takes a minute to work. In that time, he could rip Ryan apart.”

 The group watched as the mer brought it’s face closer to Ryan’s before clicking its teeth hard enough for the sound to echo around. Its mouth shaking and teeth rattling. The lights on it’s tail starting to pulsate is a slow soft pattern lighting the waters. Its brows started to scrunch up mouth pausing when Ryan kept up his tune. The mer jerked it’s head up sharply lowering its self in the water before grabbing Ryan’s hand that was on his neck and pressing it in the Same position to the exposed column of his neck with the back of his hand. The mer’s grip nearly bruising on his hand despite it being much slimmer and smaller than his own. The action so fast it freaked out Ryan’s friends jerking on the rope pulling the two a little closer to the ship positioning them over the submerged sling before they realized it wasn’t attacking Kinkade. The mer then repeated the light pulse pattern and the clacking of its teeth.

 “I’m sorry.” Ryan whispered careful not to move to much and startle the mer. “I don’t understand.” He kept his eyes locked with the mers. Though he could feel the vibrations threw the hand pressed to the mers throat. The mer stopped again before it looked even more frustrated. It dropped both of hands and surged forward. To grab his head. Pressing the bridge of his nose to the mer’s forehead. However, that didn’t seem to sway the crew on the ship.

 “no!” James had shouted at first pulling on the rope again at the initial surge with his team. Once he realized the mer wasn’t trying to rip Ryan’s head off, the group relaxed a bit again. “oh my god. I’m going to kill you when you are back on this deck Kinkade!”

 Ryan ignored his friends to carefully place the back of his curled hand to the mer’s face and neck again. Making the calming seal song again. The pressure on his nose growing a bit as the flashing became faster and once again a bit frantic. Claws of the creature digging in ever so slightly to his scalp before backing away.  The mer was trembling again.

 “Ryan, Ryan you need to get out of there. It’s not working anymore. It’s going to attack.” James said to his friend bracing himself on the lip of the deck to pull as soon as he needed too.

 “he won’t. some one get me a fish. Slav put the tranquilizer in the fish.” Ryan paused in his tune to instruct the others. He poured as much calm certainty into it as he could into his words. Though he was fairly certain the mer wouldn’t. it was just frustrated and scared. Slav stumbled on the deck in his bid to do as asked. The pulsating stopped the water going dark for a few seconds before it started again at something more reminiscent as a throb if Ryan had to put a word to it. the mer took one hand off his head releasing some the pressure on his nose to press the hand once again to the mer’s neck. As it tried to make clicks and sounds it wasn’t capable of producing. Ryan stayed still in the water and repeated the seal song again while they waited for the fish.

 The human was singing Hunk’s song. It knew seal. It knew at least some seal. But he couldn’t make the Same sounds. He tried, he tried so hard to get the human to understand. The human who didn’t attack him even when he had lashed out with the last of energy to bite him. The human who was telling him it’s ok. You are safe little one. He didn’t understand. The humans never talked to them. They made loud indescribable noises. Angry ugly faces at them. Some smiled and waved their arms. But none ever spoke to them in one of their languages. Till this human. This human who couldn’t understand him. As he begged for help. Begged to be freed. The other humans around them had their eyes locked to him, but they didn’t attack. Unsure if it was because they worried of harming their own or that he would attack the strange human if they did. None of it Matter. This human spoke like Hunk. Hunk who was so mournful at having to leave him behind. But Shiro and the pod needed Hunk. They’d come back for him once it was safe. Just like they had for Shiro. This human was trying to make him feel safe. Even if he was anything but. He’d hold onto the that for as long as he could. Till these humans cut him to pieces or jabbed him with their barbs that made their kind sleep. That’s all that was left to do was wait. And hold onto this what little bit of peace this human was offering him. Letting him pretend it was Hunk singing to him and consoling him.

 My eyes catch movement behind the human. We’ve drifted closer to the big human ship. The human bumping into the ridge that sits in the water. Another human was leaning over to hand the seal human a fish and make some noises at him. The seal human took the fish with the hand I had injured. I could see and smell the blood flowing from it. mingling with the water and my own. All my injuries from the previous humans starting to burn and ache the more tired I got. It felt like torture. The seal human slowly moved the fish between us to just in front of my mouth. He stopped speaking while pressing the fish to my lips.

 When the merman locked eyes with him again pulling away enough to look at the fish and sniff it before locking eyes with Ryan again. Ryan smiled at the mer sniffing the fish exaggerated the noises a bit of it. and pressed his lips around it like he was eating it before pushes it back at the mer till the mer took to understanding the gesture of him wanting the terrified thing to eat the fish. The mer closed his mouth around it and Ryan pulled back that hand once more. Giving the mer some space as it moved away a bit to hold the fish and bite of cHunks chewing and swallowing it much slower than Ryan expected. Once the mer had finished eating Ryan once again continued to caress the mer’s cheek and sing to him till he slowly drifted off in his arms. The tension of the team around him dissipating with each in the creature had sagged till, he could hear the collective sighs.

 “Jesus Christ. Raise the sling. Please somebody.” James said with a head falling back sigh. “on three we hoist this idiot back on deck.” He said to Nadia and Matt who waited for his countdown to pull Kinkade back on the deck. Once he was within reach of the rail Ryan grabbed it with his good hand to help pull himself up.

 Adam was there drag him over and start cutting away the shredded wet suit around his arm. Coran coming up behind with his medical kit ready. “do I need to tell you how much trouble you’re in now or should I wait?” Adam asked.

 “wait.” Ryan answered with a snort.

 “yes at least until I finish treating this wound. Though it’s not nearly as bad as it could’ve been. You are one lucky duck there Kinkade.” Coran said getting to work cleaning the wounds for bandaging.

 “I call dibs on strangling him first.” James said. “that was immensely stupid.

 “it worked.” Ryan answered.

 “it did. That video will help with proving our theory on communication skills and intelligence of mers.” Ina said looking at Ryan’s go pro.

 “yes, because your theories are worth dying for.” James spat back. “whatever. Get cleaned up and below deck Kinkade. You’re off this deck till Iverson or I say otherwise.” Then he stormed off.

 “give him a few hours. He’ll calm down.” Nadia said with a smile and a shrug. “you scared the shit out of him. He was worried you were going to die. And he’d have to watch.”

 “probably would’ve blamed himself too. Since it’s his operation.” Matt said.

 “yeah. I owe him an apology coffee.” Ryan answered. But he wasn’t looking at any of his friends. He was watching the mer being taken out of the ocean and moved with the crane to the holding tank. His mouth fell into a heavy frown.

 “the mer tired himself out. Even if we treated his injuries and released him now. His pod is to faraway. He’d be stranded alone, and likely wouldn’t make it unless his pod found him. It is better to contain him, treat him and allow him time to rest.” Ina informed him.

 “yeah, plus what good is it to release him to catch him again. We need to get the rest of pod for treatment too. Specially the orca.” Nadia said. “they kept one of the drones on the pod as it left.” She informed him at the look of confusion.

 “he’s not trapped.” Ryan said with a breath of relief.

 “no. he’ll be ok.” Matt said with a pat to his arm.

 “and so, will you lad. Now that you are all treated. Better listen to the deck master’s orders. Chop chop below.” Coran teased helping Ryan to his feet with Matt. Matt grabbed the camera Ryan had dropped and took it with him to walk Ryan back down to his room.

#ryan and lance week #voltron #mermaids #mermen #Lance #ryan #kinkade #mermaid au #kinkance

[nix-writes]

Thominho Week Day Three- Sharks and Orcas and Mermaids, oh my!

@thominho-week

Minho walked along the beach, eyeing the storm clouds rapidly forming in the distance. Newt had warned him, but Minho hadn't listened. He'd wanted to take a walk because he'd never been on this beach before and there were rumors of mermaids. Mermaids were rare creatures, but they seemed to live much longer than humans. No one knew for sure. "Well, there are a lot of caves around here, I just have to find one." Newt had mentioned that when he first arrived. Of course, Newt couldn't have shown him where any of them were, or be bothered to come with him. Minho checked his phone: It was still at ninety percent. He'd charged it before coming out here, thankfully. So he wasn't a total idiot, and he told Newt so. Over text. Because otherwise, Newt would yell. 'You're still going to have to sit in a cave during a thunderstorm and hope your phone doesn't die.' 'I know, I know. Now give me directions to the nearest cave.' Newt did, and Minho knew that he was being laughed at. 'Maybe you'll meet one of the mermaids you're so obsessed with.' 'Go die in a hole, Newt.' 'And leave you to suffer in the storm? Never.' Minho followed his directions and made it safely to a cave. 'I'm here, Newt, and I'll see you as soon as the storm lets up.' 'You better.' Minho sat just beyond the mouth of the cave to watch the storm until the incoming rain drove him deeper. As he walked, careful not to go too far, he noticed something... glowing, seemingly through the rocks. He followed it, and the cave opened up into a large cavern, with shelves of rock along the walls and deep blue water taking up most of the space. As Minho scanned the room, he noticed someone- half-naked, just laying on the rocks. Their lower body was in the water and they weren't moving. What if they'd been trying to pull themself out and had run out of energy? What if they were dead? Minho made his way across the slippery rock as quickly as he could. When he got close, they looked up at him. "I thought you were dead or injured," Minho explained. The stranger smiled. "Neither of the two. Just resting." "Half in the water?" Minho asked. "I had not even noticed!" They laughed, a clear, carrying sound, echoing in the cavern. "I thank you for your concern." Minho didn't think he'd heard anyone talk like that before. "Did the storm drive you here? Most people don't come this far back." "Yes, it did, but it was actually a glow that led me here. What's your name?" Minho crouched on the rock. "I am Thomas. You are?" "Minho. Minho Park."

Thomas stared at the human before him. He'd seen them before, but after Princess Ariel disappeared, no one took any chances. He was lucky he had his conch earrings; they allowed him to communicate with Minho. "Come, sit. That position cannot be comfortable." The human was crouching. Thomas had never done it, being unable to, but he didn't want to anyway. "Only if you join me up here." "I cannot do that." "Why not? Does something have hold of your legs?" Thank the goddess he couldn't see beneath the water. "Do you have a bunch of scars or something? It won't bother me, Thomas, don't worry." "I fear you do not know what you are saying." "You don't talk like any teenager I know." Thomas wondered if the shells were translating his contractions as such. Likely not. "No, I suppose I would not." He said. "Wait- could it be?" He did think, then. "Are you... live around here?" The conch shells shouldn't be losing their magic so fast. "I live around here." "Do you have a head wound or something? I don't think you caught my whole question." Thomas shook his head. "I am sorry, I am not well-versed in... English." He said slowly, no longer relying on the shells. "Oh. I'm sorry." "It is not your fault." Thomas, without the conch shells, spoke haltingly. He hasn't studied English since his younger years. His mother had insisted he stop. "Maybe I can help you? I mean, since we're stuck here awhile." "That would be nice, thank you," Thomas said. He focused on the conch shells, tuning their magic to the lowest possible level. "Did you have something translating for you earlier?" "Yes. It... changed my words to your understanding." Thomas said. "It's not on now." "So it's not helping you speak or understand me?" Thomas stared at him. He'd heard about three words in that sentence.

With the way Thomas was staring at him, Minho was sure they'd get nowhere with this. He didn't know any English. "Babies pick up new languages just by hearing them." He said aloud. "Maybe we can do the same thing with you. I have some videos on my phone," He held it up. "Or I could just talk to you and see what sticks."

Thomas stared at Minho's lips, trying to figure out what he was saying. Of course, he couldn't. Minho waved his hand in front of his face. "Hey, shank, you wanna kiss me or what?" At least that's what Thomas thought he said. He shook his head and dialed the magic on the shells back up. "It's not working, Minho, I can hardly hear you." "Wait, are you deaf?" "I don't think so. I've always been able to hear fine." Well, except when he took out his earrings to recharge the magic. "Are you sure? Cause you turned your translator off and suddenly you couldn't hear." Minho raised an eyebrow. "Turn it off again and try speaking. I want to see if you know English but don't think you do." That didn't make sense. Of course, he didn't know English. Thomas turned it off anyway and then spoke. He knew what he meant to say, of course, but no idea what he'd actually said.

It was Minho's turn to stare. Thomas had just spoken in what had to the most beautiful language ever- words moving with the easy flow of water and then crashing against each other with the force of waves against stone. He repeated himself, in English this time. So he did know it, then. "What language was that? The first one you spoke in." Thomas shook his head. "I couldn't hear it, Minho. I don't know." "It... it sounded like the ocean." Minho tried to explain. "I suppose it would have. It is an ocean language, after all. So, I am deaf, then? Why did I not notice? Why did no one tell me?" "There are ocean languages?" Minho asked. He figured Thomas was a mermaid, not that it was hard- he wore actual conch shells as earrings and wouldn't get out of the water. "Yes, there are many. You know, then." Thomas said. "You're a mermaid." "Yes, I am." Thomas pulled himself up on the rock, revealing a long shimmering tail. "I come here to be alone. My sisters and brother can be quite annoying." "How many sisters do you have?" Minho was an only child; the closest thing he had to brother was Newt, and Lizzy had been like a younger sister, but then she'd drowned. "I have five sisters. Brenda is the oldest, then Harriet and Miyoko, Teresa is older than me by ten minutes, and Sonya and Chuck- my brother- are the same age." "What are they like?" "Brenda is smart but she is also really sassy and tough. My mom adopted her, she had been living in the... desert of the ocean, I guess you can say. Harriet comes off as really tough and kind of mean, but once you get to know her she is really fun. Miyoko is the sassiest of all of us, but she can really sweet, too. Teresa is super sarcastic and she and Chuck are my only biological siblings. Sonya has not really opened up to us yet. We adopted her officially about a year ago after we saved her from drowning. Chuck is a sweetheart. He is very adorable." "Your family sounds fun. I don't have any siblings, but my friend, Newt, is British." "British?" "He comes from Britain. You live off the shores of Great Britain." "What is he like?" "He's become... I don't know, quieter, I guess, since his sister drowned, but he's always been sarcastic and kinda Mama-bearish." Thomas flicked his tail thoughtfully on the rock, the colors shifting. Purple, teal, a hint of gold, silver streaks on the fins. "Can I..." Minho stared, and Thomas laughed gently. "Yes, you may. Come down here." Thomas offered his hand and guided Minho down to the rock he was on. Minho ran his hand over the scales lightly. They didn't feel quite like any fish he'd felt before. "How are they so soft?" He asked, still stroking them. "I've never caught any fish with scales like these." "Most fish do not actively clean their scales. My maternal line, for generations, has been bred for softer, prettier scales." Then Minho had an idea. "How well does your translator work on sign language? Because I could teach you ASL." He signed as he said it. He'd had two deaf teachers in growing up, and another at college. Thomas responded with a different sign. "I know a sign language, but I don't think it's the same as yours." They tried a few more signs. "They seem to be very similar," Minho said. It was enough to communicate effectively, anyway. Minho's phone buzzed, then it buzzed again, insistently, so he checked it. He had ten missed calls from Newt and fifty texts. "It's my friend, Newt- he's been calling me for a while." He explained to Thomas. Minho called Newt back. "Minho, where are you? The storm let up six bloody hours ago." "I'm- in the cave still. I didn't realize it had stopped." "Well, get home. It'll be too dark to see soon and you're not staying in a cave overnight, Minho, no matter how tough you think you are." "I'll start walking now. See you soon." "I better, you bloody shank." Minho hung up and turned to Thomas. "Can I meet you here tomorrow?" "Only if you bring Newt," Thomas said. "I will. I promise." As Minho left, he swore he heard a soft, "Someday I will show you my court."

Thomas was freaking out. All mers had a signal that told them they had met a potential mate- and Minho had all the signals flashing. "Brenda!" He would have screamed, but he was in the palace, and such behavior was not tolerated in a prince. "Yes, my brother?" "I have something of import to tell you, and also am I deaf?" "So you finally realized. Yes, you are deaf. Come, my room is closer." "Brenda, I believe I've met my mate. A human boy, my age. I'm meeting him again tomorrow, and one of his friends." "Oh, Thomas. You know we can't touch him." Brenda sighed. "But you'll go anyway." "I must. I must see him again. To confirm it. And we rescued Sonya. If I can convince him..." "Take Sonya with you. She's younger than you, but perhaps it will be good for her to see humans." "I will, Brenda." "You'll have to talk to Mama soon." "Come with me, please." "Anything for you." Yes, his sisters would do anything for him. He was not the baby of the family, but rather the one who had almost died more times than they wished to recall. They could hardly deny him anything. "Would you like to go now?" Brenda asked. Thomas nodded. "First, let's get you dressed." Thomas had forgotten that he'd lost his shirt. Brenda handed him a flowing shirt she knew he adored, one of her own. She poked her head out the door. "Tell the Queen that her children ask for an audience." Brenda turned to Thomas. "Come on. She won't deny us." They left a minute after the guard, walking leisurely compared to his pace. "My queen." Thomas bowed while Brenda spoke. "Rise, my children. I hear you need to speak with me?" "Yes, Mother." At her nod, Thomas continued speaking. "I believe I have found my soulmate- a human boy, my age. His name is Minho." "So you wish to bring him here." "Yes. He figured out I'm a mer. I'm meeting him tomorrow, and his friend, Newt." "Convince him, and I will assist you. The friend, though, I can do nothing for." "Mother, Sonya talks of her human brother often. His name is Newt. Thomas is bringing Sonya with him tomorrow." Brenda spoke quickly. "I see. Thomas, be careful. You know you tire so easily." Their mother smiled at her oldest son. "I'll be fine, Mama." Thomas flushed. "Eat a good dinner tonight, and go to bed early. We cannot have you getting ill." Thomas nodded. "If you can convince him to return with you, send Sonya back and I will come myself." "Of course, Mama." "Brenda, teach him the rules of courting. Thomas, make this boy of yours a favor. And wear something nice." "Yes, Mama." They said at the same time, bowing quickly before leaving. "A favor, Brenda?" Thomas asked as they began walking to the royal children's collective sitting room. "Something you make, preferably, to remind him of you. It's rather old-fashioned, but Mama insists. You make the loveliest handkerchiefs. Don't bring him food. The rest of us will work on something for you and Sonya to wear." "He's seen me without a shirt, Brenda." "That doesn't matter. You and Sonya must make an excellent impression on Newt. She at least knows English; she won't need her conch shells turned up very much. You, however, need to keep them on all the time." Brenda threw the doors open dramatically. "Siblings mine! We have a mission! Thomas is going to work on a favor for his soulmate, and the rest of us are working on clothing for him and Sonya to go meet his soulmate tomorrow." Thomas sat down in his favorite seat and set to weaving some silk. It would be dark green, almost black, because Minho had been wearing a green shirt, with designs of blue, teal, and white waves on it, and a cave in the background. He finished it and set it aside, hands trembling. "You need to make something else. Make him a black kerchief, with flames, and a white kerchief, with fruits." Brenda instructed him. If he was kept busy, he wouldn't have time to worry. Thomas took a look around the room first. Brenda, Miyoko, and Teresa were working on a long, flowing silk shirt- it was blue and teal and purple, matching his tail. Harriet was helping Chuck and Sonya with a shirt of the same style, red and black and yellow for Sonya's tail colors. "Princesses, Princes, your mother wishes you to come to dinner. Dressed presentably." Thomas was still in Brenda's shirt, and none of his sisters were dressed for a state dinner. "We will be ready in a few minutes," Brenda said smoothly. They all spent so much time here they had clothes in a small dresser. Thomas changed his shirt, then helped Sonya and Chuck lace their shirts. They weren't quite old enough for unlaced shirts yet. "How do I look, Teresa?" Thomas turned to his twin sister. "You look fine. Now come on. We've got to line up in order of position." Ah yes, their order. It put Teresa at the front, as the heiress to the throne, because the council refused to allow Brenda or Harriet to be named heir. Then Thomas and Chuck. His other sisters went in order of age. "Presenting Their Royal Highnesses, Princess Teresa, Prince Thomas, Prince Chuck, Princess Brenda, Princess Harriet, Princess Miyoko, and Princess Sonya." "Thomas, you simply must have the appleweed stew. It's delicious." Queen Amethyst spoke lowly. Thomas ate as he was instructed, and left the court early, for his mother insisted he rest.

Minho woke up and dragged Newt out of bed. "You have to meet Thomas." "Minho, what I need is to get you in a mental institution. You didn't see a mermaid." "I did. His tail is beautiful and so is he. You'll see him today." They'd had conversation three dozen times since Minho had returned last night. "Fine. I'll go with you. But we're packing a nice lunch, and having a bloody long talk about why eating mushrooms you found in caves is a horrible thing." Newt said firmly. "Now help me pack." Three hours later, the two teenagers were sitting in the cavern where Minho had met Thomas. "He's not coming, Minho, let's go." Newt kept his voice soft. Minho just stared at the water, sure there was something there.

Thomas urged Sonya to the surface. "If we don't hurry, they'll leave, and you'll never know if Minho's Newt is your Newt." They broke the surface a second later. The blond-haired boy jumped back, while Minho offered his hand first to Sonya, and then to Thomas. They arranged themselves on the rock, skimming the water. "Thomas! And who is this?" Minho asked. "This is my youngest sister, Sonya. And this is Newt?" Thomas said. "Yeah, I'm Newt. Her name isn't Sonya, it's Lizzie. And she died years ago. I don't know what kind of bloody trick you're playing, Minho, but I hate it." Newt gestured widely as he spoke. "It's not a trick, Newt." Sonya's voice still had the high, clear timber of childhood. "I did drown. But Thomas, Teresa, and Miyoko saved me and brought me to their mother- to my mother." "You already have a mother, and she's here, on dry land!" "I cannot live on dry land anymore. I am a princess, Newt, a daughter of the sea. Minho, Thomas wants the same for you." "Thomas wants Minho to drown? And you're a princess?" Newt was freaking out, but Sonya was handling it well, so Thomas signed to Minho and together they got onto a different rock. "I have something for you." Thomas held out the handkerchiefs. "Thank you, they're beautiful." "I made them myself." Thomas grinned. "I'm glad you like them." He'd had Sonya help him practice that phrase all the way here. "What Sonya said... do you really want me to drown?" "No! And it is not really drowning. Let me explain the whole thing, please." Thomas told Minho how he thought that Minho was his soulmate, that the signs were all there. Minho nodded along. Humans didn't have the same markers mermaids did, it seemed. "And if you become a mer, we will know for sure if we are soulmates." "And if we aren't?" "Then you will remain a mer. The process cannot be reversed. But I am sure we are." Minho took a moment to think. He had taken a gap year, and worked three jobs, but he didn't have nearly enough for college- he'd be in debt for years. Meanwhile, he could go with Thomas, who was interesting and different, and said they were soul mates. Thomas wouldn't lie; he didn't have that air about him. "I'll come with you. Should I get my stuff from Newt's house?" "We will make you all new things." "If Sonya's trying to convince Newt, she'll fail." "She just wanted to see him." Sonya slid off her rock and swam to them. "Newt's not going to like that you've agreed, Minho." "Newt doesn't like 95% of my decisions, he's learned to live with it." Thomas grinned and flipped off the rock, spinning in midair, making his shirt fly out around him. Newt turned and watched, giving Sonya time to dive under and swim for home. She was getting their mother. "Wait, where'd Lizzie go?" Newt asked after Thomas had landed and climbed back up on the rock. "She is going to see our mother. If you stay, you can meet her." "Where would I go?" "Home, Newt. You might want to. I'm staying. I'm going with Thomas. Thomas, do you want something to eat?" Minho dug through the picnic basket and came up with a sandwich. "Thank you, Minho." Thomas smiled at him. "Minho- you're staying? You're bloody staying?" Newt asked. "I'm not just staying, Newt. I'm going with Thomas." "Sonya told me I could go with her, but I said no. Minho, you've got a life here. Don't leave it behind." "Newt, I can't go to college, my parents are dead, I have no siblings, and you're my only close friend. You can visit anytime you want. Thomas is surrounded by his siblings, by friends. He can go to school, and I'd like that too." "Minho, you can't actually be considering this." "I've already decided." Minho's voice was firm. "You can stay and see me off, or you can leave."

Minho had known that Newt wouldn't want him to go. This the only the second time he'd met Thomas, and Thomas had hidden that he was a mermaid at first. But that had to be a rule. As soon as he'd figured it out, Thomas had told him. "Newt, Minho will be treated well among my people. Our sister, Sonya, is doing very well. She is healthy and happy." Minho noted Thomas's choice of words. 'Our sister'. Not my, not your. "That doesn't mean I have to like it. Minho, don't do this. Don't leave me here alone." Newt begged. "You're not alone. You have Alby and Fry, and Zart. I'm normally across the ocean anyway. I'll be closer to you here." "I'll stay and see you off. But I really don't think this is a good idea." Newt said, voice tight with emotion. “You don't like most of my ideas, Newt, this nothing different.” Minho smiled. Sonya swam up. “Mama's coming, Thomas.” Thomas straightened. “It's good to see you, Thomas. And you must be Minho.” Thomas's mother greeted them. “Yes, ma’am,” Minho said. “And you want to change to see if you're my son's soulmate?” Her eyes were hard. “I certainly hope that I am, ma'am.” “Good answer. Well, then, step into the water, Minho.” Minho obeyed, and Thomas gripped his forearms tightly to keep him from sinking too far in. “Thomas, you know more of magic than Sonya and I will need your assistance. Take his place, Sonya.” Thomas leaned up and kissed Minho’s forehead. Sonya swam up and took his place. “Thomas, go gather seaweed.” Thomas dove into the water. “Minho, do you know who I am? I am Queen Amethyst.” “It's nice to meet you, Your Majesty.” Minho said. The queen laughed. “You, Minho, will do my boy well.” Thomas resurfaced. “Speak the blessing, Thomas.” Thomas began speaking in that beautiful language again. Minho wondered how he was able to hear it this time. “Now, wrap his legs tightly with seaweed, starting from the hips.” Thomas flushed and began to his work. Soon he was weaving the extra seaweed into a tail fin at the bottom. “More seaweed, Mama?” “Yes, enough to wrap his neck three times.” Thomas nodded and dove again. He came up with less seaweed. “Change the words for the blessing, say gills instead of tail,” Thomas repeated the blessing and wrapped Minho's neck. “Sonya, come here.” The queen ordered. “Thomas, you'll perform the blessing. Minho, don't worry about drowning- the change will be finished before you die. Thomas, be ready to assist Minho to the surface.” Sonya let go of Minho and Thomas took her place, speaking quickly. Minho’s head was underwater by the time he finished.

Thomas watched the water where Minho and his mother disappeared. After a few more minute, the water rippled and his mother came up. “Thomas, go help Minho. He hasn't quite got the hang of it yet.” Thomas nodded and dove in eagerly. He pulled Minho to the surface and helped him onto a rock. Newt and Sonya gasped when they saw his tail: Dark purple at the hips, red in the middle, and burnt orange at the fins. A beautiful gradient. “Don't stay out of the water long, Minho.” His mother warned. “Thomas, Sonya, see him home safely.” “Of course, Mama.” They bowed to her, and she left. Minho and Sonya said their goodbyes to Newt, and he even hugged Thomas. Then they swam for home.

Three Months Later Minho hadn't seen half of the palace, according to Thomas. He'd been to the throne room, his quarters, the siblings’ sitting room, Thomas's quarters (he wasn't allowed in), the dining room, and on one memorable occasion, Brenda's quarters. Brenda, Harriet, Miyoko, and Teresa were scary enough on their own; together they could take over the world in five minutes. They were still waiting for their tails to change color: They'd take on a swirl of their soul mate’s tail color on their fin. As he swam, Minho thought on what Thomas had said: “Minho, I'm the second-born. My mother will have to arrange a betrothal for me. Our tails need to change soon.” He didn't want Thomas married to someone else. “Minho! There you are!” Sonya called. “We're all meeting in the sitting room, you should join us.” “Anything for you, Princess Sonya.” Minho grinned. She swam up and leaned close to his face. “Thomas's tail changed color.” Sonya swam ahead of him. “I'll see you soon!” Minho swam as fast as he could without being suspicious. When he entered the sitting room, Thomas sat alone, weaving a cloak of seaweed. Minho sat down and checked his own fin; He couldn't see Thomas's. There was a swirl of blue and teal and purple and gold and silver. He looked up at Thomas. “I see you finally noticed.” Minho’s heart dropped. He seemed so… uninterested. Did he want to marry someone else? Minho had thought they'd only grown closer over these past months. Maybe Thomas didn't think so. Thomas was still talking. “- Don't expect me to be doing all the work for this wedding.” Thomas flicked his tail at Minho and he caught a flash of a gradient swirl on the fin. Thomas barely had time to set his work down before Minho picked him up gently and spun him around. “How soon? How long will it be until we're married?” Minho asked. “At least a year, Minho. My mother has to announce that I have a soul mate and that I am betrothed, we have to plan the wedding, make the outfits- it will all take time.” “Well, it will be the longest year of my life,” Minho said grandly. “But I shall spend it, and every other year, with you.” Thomas laughed as his sisters and Chuck entered the room, all with grins on their faces. “Come on, Minho. Teresa will help you pick a ring. You're lucky their fingers are the same size.” Minho stared at them. “Do you plan to marry Thomas without asking him first?” “I've already agreed, Brenda, don't hassle him,” Thomas said. “You still deserve all the pretty things. I'm sure Minho agrees.” Minho nodded quickly. “Good. Then go with Teresa.” Minho followed Teresa quickly- Thomas's sisters were very protective and he didn't want to get on their bad side when he was a year away from becoming their brother-in-law.

Thomas thought he was ready. He had his dress on- that was what Minho called it, anyway- and his waist, arms, and tail still had to be wrapped in the colorful belts of silk. The strips for his waist were as wide as Minho's palm when wrapped correctly, centering on his belly button and coming up to his mid-chest and down below his hips. He wore white trimmed with gold, as was royal custom, but he had personalized as this was not just a royal wedding, it was a soulmate wedding. “Thomas, are you ready for us to come in?” Teresa asked through the door. He spun the silver band on around his finger, running his hand along the jewels. “Yes, come in.” His four older sisters swam into the room. “You don't have your silks on yet.” Brenda glared at him. “Well, I guess we'll have to change that.” Brenda grabbed the largest bands of silk- for his waist. “Miyoko, come help me with this.” The silk was in two strips, and Brenda and Miyoko each took one. They wrapped them so they crossed in the back and pulled tight, forcing Thomas to suck his stomach in. Miyoko and Brenda wrapped it around until the strips spanned their full width, then crossed over in the back again and pulled tighter. Thomas cursed his decision to have it wrap around his waist three times; at this point, Brenda and Miyoko would get it to five. They started from the outside this time. When they reached his belly button, they crossed on the back again and pulled even tighter. “How many times are we supposed to wrap this?” Miyoko asked. “Three,” Thomas said. “It's going to be more than three, we pulled it so tight,” Brenda said. “You can still breathe, right?” Thomas took a deep breath, and Brenda and Miyoko had left enough slack that it settled to a comfortable tightness. They wrapped it the third and final time and wove the ends together before letting them hang free. “Are you ready for the arms, Thomas?” Teresa asked. “Yes.” Harriet and Teresa took Brenda and Miyoko’s spots and began buttoning the silk onto his sleeves. They would appear to be wrapped loosely around his arms, trailing over his hands and covering them. “How does this go on?” Brenda asked, holding the thrice-split silk for his tail up. Thomas laughed and took it. “Like this.” The topmost part- the connector- settled below his hips, leaving a white strip between his belt and his ‘train’. Thomas buttoned the strips manually: Left side, right side, and the third in a circle. He waved his hand, and the strips started flying around his tail, weaving a loose pattern. When they finished, Thomas buttoned them again: Right, left, a circle. They ended up behind him, longer than the white silk. “You look amazing, Thomas. If Minho wasn't enamored with you already, he would be now.” Teresa said. “Now come on. Mama's waiting.”

Minho took a deep breath. He watched as Gally swam down the aisle with Brenda, with Ben and Harriet right behind them. Teresa swam alone, and Chuck and Sonya were behind her, with the rings. Thomas and his mother waited a moment, then a moment more, before entering the grand hall. Thomas's dress (he'd never heard of them until Minho had told him what a dress was) was no longer the plain white silk he had seen a week ago. Now it had colorful silks- Minho inhaled sharply when he realized they were their colors, mixed together- wrapped around the arms, waist, and tail, trailing behind. The gold designs seemed to glow next to them. The queen, whose beauty had been praised since she was a child, looked less beautiful than her son. Of course, Minho might be biased. They reached the dais, and she began to speak. “I give my son to you, Minho, and pledge that he has come of his own free will.” She placed Thomas's hand in his, and Thomas closed his fingers. Minho didn't know what it meant, but those assembled cheered. They turned to the officiant, hands clasped together. “Thomas, do you come of your own free will?” She asked. “Yes.” “Minho, do you come of your own free will?” “Yes.” “Then, unless any have an objection, a union shall proceed today.” No one spoke. “Hold out your hands.” Thomas and Minho linked their outstretched hands. “The standard vows. Do you, Minho, promise to be faithful?” “I do.” “Do you, Thomas, promise to be faithful?” “I do.” “Do you promise to be loyal and loving, this life and beyond?” “I do.” They answered at the same time. “Do you, Minho, promise to be understanding?” “I do.” “Do you, Thomas, promise to be understanding?” “I do.” “Do you have any prepared vows?” “Yes.” They said as one. “Who would like to begin?” “I will,” Minho said. He knew this had to be good. An entire kingdom was watching, waiting to see if he was worthy of their darling prince. “I offer to you that which is mine, for as long as we both wish it. Command me as you wish, for though I am free I shall serve you in the ways you require, and the angular jellyfish-” Thomas's favorite food, very rare- “will taste sweeter coming from my hand. I pledge myself to you, Thomas. I pledge myself to us.” “Thomas, do you have any prepared vows?” “Yes. That was beautiful, Minho.” He said that last part lowly, so only they could hear. “Your eyes will be the ones I smile into the morning, your name the one I cry at night. I shall serve you, as a partner serves another, all you desire. I am, for you, myself and nothing other. My life will be tied to yours.” “Do you have any joint vows prepared?” “We do.” Their joint vows were the only part of this they had written together. They spoke together, as it required. “I pledge to you the first bite from my plate, the first drink from my cup. I pledge to you my life and my death, all in your keeping. No strangers shall know our faults, our disagreements. This is my wedding vow to you. This is a marriage of equals.” They stared at each other for a moment, Thomas's eyes filled with tears. Minho had to fight the urge to pull him close. “The rings, please.” Chuck and Sonya stepped forward, each carrying a silver pillow with a gold ring on it. “Minho, do you take Thomas to be your husband?” “I do, as sure as the moon controls the tides.” Minho slid the gold ring on Thomas’s finger, the jewels- amethyst, emerald, chocolate diamonds- glinting in the light. “Thomas, do you take Minho to be your husband?” “I do, as sure as the sun rises in the east.” Thomas smiled at him, placing his ring on his finger. Topaz, emerald, opals. “Then, before all here today, I declare you married, husband and husband. From this day forward, you shall be each other's and your lives shall be intertwined, but you shall also be your own. Your arguments will end in compromise, your fights in forgiveness. May you live not separately but as friends, as lovers as well as confidants. Your lives of before are honored here today; your life of tomorrow is celebrated.” A dramatic pause. “You may kiss.” They did, and when they parted they didn't go far. Forehead to forehead, grinning. As they turned to face the crowd, Minho finally felt ready to begin his life under the sea.

#my work. #thominho week 2018 #thominho week #thominho #thomas #minho #sonya #newt #harriet #brenda #teresa #chuck #miyoko #maze runner #au #scorch trials #death cure

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La Times: Revised orca shows, new virtual-reality swim with whales and new rides coming to SeaWorld San Diego

SeaWorld San Diego will debut a new “less theatrical, more natural” killer whale show this summer that may change orca shows at the marine theme park for decades to come.

Besides the Orca Encounter show, additions coming to SeaWorld this summer include a themed land with six attractions and a light show.

Controversy has surrounded SeaWorld’s Shamu show since a whale named Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau during a 2010 show in Florida.  “Blackfish,” a 2013 documentary, cited the treatment of Tilikum and other captive whales. (The 36-year-old killer whale died of bacterial pneumonia in January at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida.)

After demands by animal rights groups and the California Coastal Commission, Seaworld halted its orca breeding program and ended theatrical killer whale shows at all U.S. locations.

Orca Encounter will take a “live documentary” approach that emphasizes natural behaviors related to hunting, social interaction and communication, said Marilyn Hannes, president of SeaWorld San Diego.

“You won’t see the whales mimicking human behaviors, kissing each other or shaking their head yes and no,” Hannes said in a phone interview. “If you don’t see a front flip in the wild, then you won’t see it in Orca Encounter.”

The stage in San Diego’s 5,500-seat Shamu stadium will be transformed with a Pacific Northwest theme featuring natural rock work, faux trees and man-made waterfalls surrounding a 138-foot-wide high-definition infinity screen.

Trainers will use hand signals and whistles to “ask” the whales to perform behaviors during the narrated 22-minute show.

“They will still be breaching because whales breach in the wild,” Hannes said. “Whales hunt in the wild, and they do movements where they flap their tail to stun their prey or they splash them or they come out of the water to grab a seal from the beach.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, describes the latest changes to the orca show as “smoke and mirrors.” The organization calls for SeaWorld to retire the killer whales to seaside sanctuaries.

“SeaWorld’s above-water decorations are marketing ploys designed to impress visitors, but they do nothing for orcas,” Tracy Reiman, PETA executive vice president, said in an email. “A ‘less theatrical’ circus is still one in which animals will be forced to perform for a reward of dead fish.”

The San Diego park has 11 killer whales; 52-year-old Corky is the oldest, and 2-year-old Amaya the youngest. After more than 50 years of orca shows, the stadium shows will continue to evolve over the next half century, Hannes said.

“We’re going to have whales for decades to come,” Hannes said. “Society has changed and we have changed with it.”

Theatrical orca shows at SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Antonio are expected to end in 2019.

But the whale shows aren’t the only things changing.

Submarine Quest, the marquee ride in the new Ocean Explorers land coming to the San Diego park, will take visitors on an interactive exploratory mission through various ocean depths while traveling through the new themed land.

Seaworld officials have been quick to point out that Submarine Quest is not a shoot-’em-up dark ride. Using digital touchscreens mounted in the ride vehicles, riders will play games and score points as they spot ocean creatures during the indoor and outdoor journey.

Other attractions in the new land will include the Tentacle Twirl wave swing, a kiddie drop tower, a spinning flat ride and a motorized swing set. Three aquariums will feature moray eels, Japanese spider crabs and giant Pacific octopus.

An up-charge virtual-reality experience in the new land will allow visitors to virtually swim with orcas and come nose to nose with killer whales. The five-minute “Orca One-on-One” short film uses real footage of SeaWorld killer whales without digital enhancements.

“You’re up so close you can see their eyes,” Brian Morrow, SeaWorld creative director, said in a phone interview.

If successful, the orca VR experience is expected to expand to SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Antonio.

The new Electric Ocean nighttime spectacular will transform the San Diego park into a canvas painted with light as part of a “kiss goodnight” show.

Lasers and lights will create an underwater experience similar to the Northern Lights, with bioluminescent animals floating through the sky. While still in development, the plan is to use projection mapping technology on the Journey to Atlantis water coaster buildings to tell the story of the rise and fall of Atlantis.

“Electric Ocean is a reinvention of what a nighttime experience in a theme park can be,” Morrow said.

As part of the nighttime experience, the Cirque de la Mer acrobatic show on Mission Bay will transform nightly throughout the summer into Cirque Electrique.

In 2018, SeaWorld San Diego will add the Electric Eel triple-launch roller coaster to the new Ocean Explorers themed land.

Riders will pass through a queue with an aquarium filled with moray eels. The ride starts with a forward-backward-forward launch that whips through vertical twists and loops as well as a towering 154-foot-tall barrel roll that ranks as one of the world’s tallest inversions.

Identical versions of the Premier Rides SkyRocket II coaster can be found at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Tempesto) and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Superman Ultimate Flight).

The top 60 feet of the coaster track will be painted sky blue to minimize the visual footprint of the ride. SeaWorld expects to seek approval to install the ride later this year from the California Coastal Commission.

“We’re still going to be focused on inspiring our guests to help save the planet that we all share with these animals,” Morrow said. “The world needs places like this, now and even more so in the future. And we’re poised to be that place for the world.”

SeaWorld remains focused on inspiring visitors to make a difference in the world, Morrow said.

“The core essence of the mission will never change: to inspire people to come into our park and leave a better person and make the planet a better place,” Morrow said.

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La Times: Revised orca shows, new virtual-reality swim with whales and new rides coming to SeaWorld San Diego

SeaWorld San Diego will debut a new “less theatrical, more natural” killer whale show this summer that may change orca shows at the marine theme park for decades to come.

Besides the Orca Encounter show, additions coming to SeaWorld this summer include a themed land with six attractions and a light show.

Controversy has surrounded SeaWorld’s Shamu show since a whale named Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau during a 2010 show in Florida.  “Blackfish,” a 2013 documentary, cited the treatment of Tilikum and other captive whales. (The 36-year-old killer whale died of bacterial pneumonia in January at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida.)

After demands by animal rights groups and the California Coastal Commission, Seaworld halted its orca breeding program and ended theatrical killer whale shows at all U.S. locations.

Orca Encounter will take a “live documentary” approach that emphasizes natural behaviors related to hunting, social interaction and communication, said Marilyn Hannes, president of SeaWorld San Diego.

“You won’t see the whales mimicking human behaviors, kissing each other or shaking their head yes and no,” Hannes said in a phone interview. “If you don’t see a front flip in the wild, then you won’t see it in Orca Encounter.”

The stage in San Diego’s 5,500-seat Shamu stadium will be transformed with a Pacific Northwest theme featuring natural rock work, faux trees and man-made waterfalls surrounding a 138-foot-wide high-definition infinity screen.

Trainers will use hand signals and whistles to “ask” the whales to perform behaviors during the narrated 22-minute show.

“They will still be breaching because whales breach in the wild,” Hannes said. “Whales hunt in the wild, and they do movements where they flap their tail to stun their prey or they splash them or they come out of the water to grab a seal from the beach.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, describes the latest changes to the orca show as “smoke and mirrors.” The organization calls for SeaWorld to retire the killer whales to seaside sanctuaries.

“SeaWorld’s above-water decorations are marketing ploys designed to impress visitors, but they do nothing for orcas,” Tracy Reiman, PETA executive vice president, said in an email. “A ‘less theatrical’ circus is still one in which animals will be forced to perform for a reward of dead fish.”

The San Diego park has 11 killer whales; 52-year-old Corky is the oldest, and 2-year-old Amaya the youngest. After more than 50 years of orca shows, the stadium shows will continue to evolve over the next half century, Hannes said.

“We’re going to have whales for decades to come,” Hannes said. “Society has changed and we have changed with it.”

Theatrical orca shows at SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Antonio are expected to end in 2019.

But the whale shows aren’t the only things changing.

Submarine Quest, the marquee ride in the new Ocean Explorers land coming to the San Diego park, will take visitors on an interactive exploratory mission through various ocean depths while traveling through the new themed land.

Seaworld officials have been quick to point out that Submarine Quest is not a shoot-’em-up dark ride. Using digital touchscreens mounted in the ride vehicles, riders will play games and score points as they spot ocean creatures during the indoor and outdoor journey.

Other attractions in the new land will include the Tentacle Twirl wave swing, a kiddie drop tower, a spinning flat ride and a motorized swing set. Three aquariums will feature moray eels, Japanese spider crabs and giant Pacific octopus.

An up-charge virtual-reality experience in the new land will allow visitors to virtually swim with orcas and come nose to nose with killer whales. The five-minute “Orca One-on-One” short film uses real footage of SeaWorld killer whales without digital enhancements.

“You’re up so close you can see their eyes,” Brian Morrow, SeaWorld creative director, said in a phone interview.

If successful, the orca VR experience is expected to expand to SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Antonio.

The new Electric Ocean nighttime spectacular will transform the San Diego park into a canvas painted with light as part of a “kiss goodnight” show.

Lasers and lights will create an underwater experience similar to the Northern Lights, with bioluminescent animals floating through the sky. While still in development, the plan is to use projection mapping technology on the Journey to Atlantis water coaster buildings to tell the story of the rise and fall of Atlantis.

“Electric Ocean is a reinvention of what a nighttime experience in a theme park can be,” Morrow said.

As part of the nighttime experience, the Cirque de la Mer acrobatic show on Mission Bay will transform nightly throughout the summer into Cirque Electrique.

In 2018, SeaWorld San Diego will add the Electric Eel triple-launch roller coaster to the new Ocean Explorers themed land.

Riders will pass through a queue with an aquarium filled with moray eels. The ride starts with a forward-backward-forward launch that whips through vertical twists and loops as well as a towering 154-foot-tall barrel roll that ranks as one of the world’s tallest inversions.

Identical versions of the Premier Rides SkyRocket II coaster can be found at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Tempesto) and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Superman Ultimate Flight).

The top 60 feet of the coaster track will be painted sky blue to minimize the visual footprint of the ride. SeaWorld expects to seek approval to install the ride later this year from the California Coastal Commission.

“We’re still going to be focused on inspiring our guests to help save the planet that we all share with these animals,” Morrow said. “The world needs places like this, now and even more so in the future. And we’re poised to be that place for the world.”

SeaWorld remains focused on inspiring visitors to make a difference in the world, Morrow said.

“The core essence of the mission will never change: to inspire people to come into our park and leave a better person and make the planet a better place,” Morrow said.

This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link

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La Times: Revised orca shows, new virtual-reality swim with whales and new rides coming to SeaWorld San Diego

SeaWorld San Diego will debut a new “less theatrical, more natural” killer whale show this summer that may change orca shows at the marine theme park for decades to come.

Besides the Orca Encounter show, additions coming to SeaWorld this summer include a themed land with six attractions and a light show.

Controversy has surrounded SeaWorld’s Shamu show since a whale named Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau during a 2010 show in Florida.  “Blackfish,” a 2013 documentary, cited the treatment of Tilikum and other captive whales. (The 36-year-old killer whale died of bacterial pneumonia in January at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida.)

After demands by animal rights groups and the California Coastal Commission, Seaworld halted its orca breeding program and ended theatrical killer whale shows at all U.S. locations.

Orca Encounter will take a “live documentary” approach that emphasizes natural behaviors related to hunting, social interaction and communication, said Marilyn Hannes, president of SeaWorld San Diego.

“You won’t see the whales mimicking human behaviors, kissing each other or shaking their head yes and no,” Hannes said in a phone interview. “If you don’t see a front flip in the wild, then you won’t see it in Orca Encounter.”

The stage in San Diego’s 5,500-seat Shamu stadium will be transformed with a Pacific Northwest theme featuring natural rock work, faux trees and man-made waterfalls surrounding a 138-foot-wide high-definition infinity screen.

Trainers will use hand signals and whistles to “ask” the whales to perform behaviors during the narrated 22-minute show.

“They will still be breaching because whales breach in the wild,” Hannes said. “Whales hunt in the wild, and they do movements where they flap their tail to stun their prey or they splash them or they come out of the water to grab a seal from the beach.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, describes the latest changes to the orca show as “smoke and mirrors.” The organization calls for SeaWorld to retire the killer whales to seaside sanctuaries.

“SeaWorld’s above-water decorations are marketing ploys designed to impress visitors, but they do nothing for orcas,” Tracy Reiman, PETA executive vice president, said in an email. “A ‘less theatrical’ circus is still one in which animals will be forced to perform for a reward of dead fish.”

The San Diego park has 11 killer whales; 52-year-old Corky is the oldest, and 2-year-old Amaya the youngest. After more than 50 years of orca shows, the stadium shows will continue to evolve over the next half century, Hannes said.

“We’re going to have whales for decades to come,” Hannes said. “Society has changed and we have changed with it.”

Theatrical orca shows at SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Antonio are expected to end in 2019.

But the whale shows aren’t the only things changing.

Submarine Quest, the marquee ride in the new Ocean Explorers land coming to the San Diego park, will take visitors on an interactive exploratory mission through various ocean depths while traveling through the new themed land.

Seaworld officials have been quick to point out that Submarine Quest is not a shoot-’em-up dark ride. Using digital touchscreens mounted in the ride vehicles, riders will play games and score points as they spot ocean creatures during the indoor and outdoor journey.

Other attractions in the new land will include the Tentacle Twirl wave swing, a kiddie drop tower, a spinning flat ride and a motorized swing set. Three aquariums will feature moray eels, Japanese spider crabs and giant Pacific octopus.

An up-charge virtual-reality experience in the new land will allow visitors to virtually swim with orcas and come nose to nose with killer whales. The five-minute “Orca One-on-One” short film uses real footage of SeaWorld killer whales without digital enhancements.

“You’re up so close you can see their eyes,” Brian Morrow, SeaWorld creative director, said in a phone interview.

If successful, the orca VR experience is expected to expand to SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Antonio.

The new Electric Ocean nighttime spectacular will transform the San Diego park into a canvas painted with light as part of a “kiss goodnight” show.

Lasers and lights will create an underwater experience similar to the Northern Lights, with bioluminescent animals floating through the sky. While still in development, the plan is to use projection mapping technology on the Journey to Atlantis water coaster buildings to tell the story of the rise and fall of Atlantis.

“Electric Ocean is a reinvention of what a nighttime experience in a theme park can be,” Morrow said.

As part of the nighttime experience, the Cirque de la Mer acrobatic show on Mission Bay will transform nightly throughout the summer into Cirque Electrique.

In 2018, SeaWorld San Diego will add the Electric Eel triple-launch roller coaster to the new Ocean Explorers themed land.

Riders will pass through a queue with an aquarium filled with moray eels. The ride starts with a forward-backward-forward launch that whips through vertical twists and loops as well as a towering 154-foot-tall barrel roll that ranks as one of the world’s tallest inversions.

Identical versions of the Premier Rides SkyRocket II coaster can be found at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Tempesto) and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Superman Ultimate Flight).

The top 60 feet of the coaster track will be painted sky blue to minimize the visual footprint of the ride. SeaWorld expects to seek approval to install the ride later this year from the California Coastal Commission.

“We’re still going to be focused on inspiring our guests to help save the planet that we all share with these animals,” Morrow said. “The world needs places like this, now and even more so in the future. And we’re poised to be that place for the world.”

SeaWorld remains focused on inspiring visitors to make a difference in the world, Morrow said.

“The core essence of the mission will never change: to inspire people to come into our park and leave a better person and make the planet a better place,” Morrow said.

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La Times: Revised orca shows, new virtual-reality swim with whales and new rides coming to SeaWorld San Diego

SeaWorld San Diego will debut a new “less theatrical, more natural” killer whale show this summer that may change orca shows at the marine theme park for decades to come.

Besides the Orca Encounter show, additions coming to SeaWorld this summer include a themed land with six attractions and a light show.

Controversy has surrounded SeaWorld’s Shamu show since a whale named Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau during a 2010 show in Florida.  “Blackfish,” a 2013 documentary, cited the treatment of Tilikum and other captive whales. (The 36-year-old killer whale died of bacterial pneumonia in January at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida.)

After demands by animal rights groups and the California Coastal Commission, Seaworld halted its orca breeding program and ended theatrical killer whale shows at all U.S. locations.

Orca Encounter will take a “live documentary” approach that emphasizes natural behaviors related to hunting, social interaction and communication, said Marilyn Hannes, president of SeaWorld San Diego.

“You won’t see the whales mimicking human behaviors, kissing each other or shaking their head yes and no,” Hannes said in a phone interview. “If you don’t see a front flip in the wild, then you won’t see it in Orca Encounter.”

The stage in San Diego’s 5,500-seat Shamu stadium will be transformed with a Pacific Northwest theme featuring natural rock work, faux trees and man-made waterfalls surrounding a 138-foot-wide high-definition infinity screen.

Trainers will use hand signals and whistles to “ask” the whales to perform behaviors during the narrated 22-minute show.

“They will still be breaching because whales breach in the wild,” Hannes said. “Whales hunt in the wild, and they do movements where they flap their tail to stun their prey or they splash them or they come out of the water to grab a seal from the beach.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, describes the latest changes to the orca show as “smoke and mirrors.” The organization calls for SeaWorld to retire the killer whales to seaside sanctuaries.

“SeaWorld’s above-water decorations are marketing ploys designed to impress visitors, but they do nothing for orcas,” Tracy Reiman, PETA executive vice president, said in an email. “A ‘less theatrical’ circus is still one in which animals will be forced to perform for a reward of dead fish.”

The San Diego park has 11 killer whales; 52-year-old Corky is the oldest, and 2-year-old Amaya the youngest. After more than 50 years of orca shows, the stadium shows will continue to evolve over the next half century, Hannes said.

“We’re going to have whales for decades to come,” Hannes said. “Society has changed and we have changed with it.”

Theatrical orca shows at SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Antonio are expected to end in 2019.

But the whale shows aren’t the only things changing.

Submarine Quest, the marquee ride in the new Ocean Explorers land coming to the San Diego park, will take visitors on an interactive exploratory mission through various ocean depths while traveling through the new themed land.

Seaworld officials have been quick to point out that Submarine Quest is not a shoot-’em-up dark ride. Using digital touchscreens mounted in the ride vehicles, riders will play games and score points as they spot ocean creatures during the indoor and outdoor journey.

Other attractions in the new land will include the Tentacle Twirl wave swing, a kiddie drop tower, a spinning flat ride and a motorized swing set. Three aquariums will feature moray eels, Japanese spider crabs and giant Pacific octopus.

An up-charge virtual-reality experience in the new land will allow visitors to virtually swim with orcas and come nose to nose with killer whales. The five-minute “Orca One-on-One” short film uses real footage of SeaWorld killer whales without digital enhancements.

“You’re up so close you can see their eyes,” Brian Morrow, SeaWorld creative director, said in a phone interview.

If successful, the orca VR experience is expected to expand to SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Antonio.

The new Electric Ocean nighttime spectacular will transform the San Diego park into a canvas painted with light as part of a “kiss goodnight” show.

Lasers and lights will create an underwater experience similar to the Northern Lights, with bioluminescent animals floating through the sky. While still in development, the plan is to use projection mapping technology on the Journey to Atlantis water coaster buildings to tell the story of the rise and fall of Atlantis.

“Electric Ocean is a reinvention of what a nighttime experience in a theme park can be,” Morrow said.

As part of the nighttime experience, the Cirque de la Mer acrobatic show on Mission Bay will transform nightly throughout the summer into Cirque Electrique.

In 2018, SeaWorld San Diego will add the Electric Eel triple-launch roller coaster to the new Ocean Explorers themed land.

Riders will pass through a queue with an aquarium filled with moray eels. The ride starts with a forward-backward-forward launch that whips through vertical twists and loops as well as a towering 154-foot-tall barrel roll that ranks as one of the world’s tallest inversions.

Identical versions of the Premier Rides SkyRocket II coaster can be found at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Tempesto) and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Superman Ultimate Flight).

The top 60 feet of the coaster track will be painted sky blue to minimize the visual footprint of the ride. SeaWorld expects to seek approval to install the ride later this year from the California Coastal Commission.

“We’re still going to be focused on inspiring our guests to help save the planet that we all share with these animals,” Morrow said. “The world needs places like this, now and even more so in the future. And we’re poised to be that place for the world.”

SeaWorld remains focused on inspiring visitors to make a difference in the world, Morrow said.

“The core essence of the mission will never change: to inspire people to come into our park and leave a better person and make the planet a better place,” Morrow said.

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La Times: Revised orca shows, new virtual-reality swim with whales and new rides coming to SeaWorld San Diego

SeaWorld San Diego will debut a new “less theatrical, more natural” killer whale show this summer that may change orca shows at the marine theme park for decades to come.

Besides the Orca Encounter show, additions coming to SeaWorld this summer include a themed land with six attractions and a light show.

Controversy has surrounded SeaWorld’s Shamu show since a whale named Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau during a 2010 show in Florida.  “Blackfish,” a 2013 documentary, cited the treatment of Tilikum and other captive whales. (The 36-year-old killer whale died of bacterial pneumonia in January at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida.)

After demands by animal rights groups and the California Coastal Commission, Seaworld halted its orca breeding program and ended theatrical killer whale shows at all U.S. locations.

Orca Encounter will take a “live documentary” approach that emphasizes natural behaviors related to hunting, social interaction and communication, said Marilyn Hannes, president of SeaWorld San Diego.

“You won’t see the whales mimicking human behaviors, kissing each other or shaking their head yes and no,” Hannes said in a phone interview. “If you don’t see a front flip in the wild, then you won’t see it in Orca Encounter.”

The stage in San Diego’s 5,500-seat Shamu stadium will be transformed with a Pacific Northwest theme featuring natural rock work, faux trees and man-made waterfalls surrounding a 138-foot-wide high-definition infinity screen.

Trainers will use hand signals and whistles to “ask” the whales to perform behaviors during the narrated 22-minute show.

“They will still be breaching because whales breach in the wild,” Hannes said. “Whales hunt in the wild, and they do movements where they flap their tail to stun their prey or they splash them or they come out of the water to grab a seal from the beach.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, describes the latest changes to the orca show as “smoke and mirrors.” The organization calls for SeaWorld to retire the killer whales to seaside sanctuaries.

“SeaWorld’s above-water decorations are marketing ploys designed to impress visitors, but they do nothing for orcas,” Tracy Reiman, PETA executive vice president, said in an email. “A ‘less theatrical’ circus is still one in which animals will be forced to perform for a reward of dead fish.”

The San Diego park has 11 killer whales; 52-year-old Corky is the oldest, and 2-year-old Amaya the youngest. After more than 50 years of orca shows, the stadium shows will continue to evolve over the next half century, Hannes said.

“We’re going to have whales for decades to come,” Hannes said. “Society has changed and we have changed with it.”

Theatrical orca shows at SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Antonio are expected to end in 2019.

But the whale shows aren’t the only things changing.

Submarine Quest, the marquee ride in the new Ocean Explorers land coming to the San Diego park, will take visitors on an interactive exploratory mission through various ocean depths while traveling through the new themed land.

Seaworld officials have been quick to point out that Submarine Quest is not a shoot-’em-up dark ride. Using digital touchscreens mounted in the ride vehicles, riders will play games and score points as they spot ocean creatures during the indoor and outdoor journey.

Other attractions in the new land will include the Tentacle Twirl wave swing, a kiddie drop tower, a spinning flat ride and a motorized swing set. Three aquariums will feature moray eels, Japanese spider crabs and giant Pacific octopus.

An up-charge virtual-reality experience in the new land will allow visitors to virtually swim with orcas and come nose to nose with killer whales. The five-minute “Orca One-on-One” short film uses real footage of SeaWorld killer whales without digital enhancements.

“You’re up so close you can see their eyes,” Brian Morrow, SeaWorld creative director, said in a phone interview.

If successful, the orca VR experience is expected to expand to SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Antonio.

The new Electric Ocean nighttime spectacular will transform the San Diego park into a canvas painted with light as part of a “kiss goodnight” show.

Lasers and lights will create an underwater experience similar to the Northern Lights, with bioluminescent animals floating through the sky. While still in development, the plan is to use projection mapping technology on the Journey to Atlantis water coaster buildings to tell the story of the rise and fall of Atlantis.

“Electric Ocean is a reinvention of what a nighttime experience in a theme park can be,” Morrow said.

As part of the nighttime experience, the Cirque de la Mer acrobatic show on Mission Bay will transform nightly throughout the summer into Cirque Electrique.

In 2018, SeaWorld San Diego will add the Electric Eel triple-launch roller coaster to the new Ocean Explorers themed land.

Riders will pass through a queue with an aquarium filled with moray eels. The ride starts with a forward-backward-forward launch that whips through vertical twists and loops as well as a towering 154-foot-tall barrel roll that ranks as one of the world’s tallest inversions.

Identical versions of the Premier Rides SkyRocket II coaster can be found at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Tempesto) and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Superman Ultimate Flight).

The top 60 feet of the coaster track will be painted sky blue to minimize the visual footprint of the ride. SeaWorld expects to seek approval to install the ride later this year from the California Coastal Commission.

“We’re still going to be focused on inspiring our guests to help save the planet that we all share with these animals,” Morrow said. “The world needs places like this, now and even more so in the future. And we’re poised to be that place for the world.”

SeaWorld remains focused on inspiring visitors to make a difference in the world, Morrow said.

“The core essence of the mission will never change: to inspire people to come into our park and leave a better person and make the planet a better place,” Morrow said.

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La Times: Revised orca shows, new virtual-reality swim with whales and new rides coming to SeaWorld San Diego

SeaWorld San Diego will debut a new “less theatrical, more natural” killer whale show this summer that may change orca shows at the marine theme park for decades to come.

Besides the Orca Encounter show, additions coming to SeaWorld this summer include a themed land with six attractions and a light show.

Controversy has surrounded SeaWorld’s Shamu show since a whale named Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau during a 2010 show in Florida.  “Blackfish,” a 2013 documentary, cited the treatment of Tilikum and other captive whales. (The 36-year-old killer whale died of bacterial pneumonia in January at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida.)

After demands by animal rights groups and the California Coastal Commission, Seaworld halted its orca breeding program and ended theatrical killer whale shows at all U.S. locations.

Orca Encounter will take a “live documentary” approach that emphasizes natural behaviors related to hunting, social interaction and communication, said Marilyn Hannes, president of SeaWorld San Diego.

“You won’t see the whales mimicking human behaviors, kissing each other or shaking their head yes and no,” Hannes said in a phone interview. “If you don’t see a front flip in the wild, then you won’t see it in Orca Encounter.”

The stage in San Diego’s 5,500-seat Shamu stadium will be transformed with a Pacific Northwest theme featuring natural rock work, faux trees and man-made waterfalls surrounding a 138-foot-wide high-definition infinity screen.

Trainers will use hand signals and whistles to “ask” the whales to perform behaviors during the narrated 22-minute show.

“They will still be breaching because whales breach in the wild,” Hannes said. “Whales hunt in the wild, and they do movements where they flap their tail to stun their prey or they splash them or they come out of the water to grab a seal from the beach.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, describes the latest changes to the orca show as “smoke and mirrors.” The organization calls for SeaWorld to retire the killer whales to seaside sanctuaries.

“SeaWorld’s above-water decorations are marketing ploys designed to impress visitors, but they do nothing for orcas,” Tracy Reiman, PETA executive vice president, said in an email. “A ‘less theatrical’ circus is still one in which animals will be forced to perform for a reward of dead fish.”

The San Diego park has 11 killer whales; 52-year-old Corky is the oldest, and 2-year-old Amaya the youngest. After more than 50 years of orca shows, the stadium shows will continue to evolve over the next half century, Hannes said.

“We’re going to have whales for decades to come,” Hannes said. “Society has changed and we have changed with it.”

Theatrical orca shows at SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Antonio are expected to end in 2019.

But the whale shows aren’t the only things changing.

Submarine Quest, the marquee ride in the new Ocean Explorers land coming to the San Diego park, will take visitors on an interactive exploratory mission through various ocean depths while traveling through the new themed land.

Seaworld officials have been quick to point out that Submarine Quest is not a shoot-’em-up dark ride. Using digital touchscreens mounted in the ride vehicles, riders will play games and score points as they spot ocean creatures during the indoor and outdoor journey.

Other attractions in the new land will include the Tentacle Twirl wave swing, a kiddie drop tower, a spinning flat ride and a motorized swing set. Three aquariums will feature moray eels, Japanese spider crabs and giant Pacific octopus.

An up-charge virtual-reality experience in the new land will allow visitors to virtually swim with orcas and come nose to nose with killer whales. The five-minute “Orca One-on-One” short film uses real footage of SeaWorld killer whales without digital enhancements.

“You’re up so close you can see their eyes,” Brian Morrow, SeaWorld creative director, said in a phone interview.

If successful, the orca VR experience is expected to expand to SeaWorld parks in Orlando and San Antonio.

The new Electric Ocean nighttime spectacular will transform the San Diego park into a canvas painted with light as part of a “kiss goodnight” show.

Lasers and lights will create an underwater experience similar to the Northern Lights, with bioluminescent animals floating through the sky. While still in development, the plan is to use projection mapping technology on the Journey to Atlantis water coaster buildings to tell the story of the rise and fall of Atlantis.

“Electric Ocean is a reinvention of what a nighttime experience in a theme park can be,” Morrow said.

As part of the nighttime experience, the Cirque de la Mer acrobatic show on Mission Bay will transform nightly throughout the summer into Cirque Electrique.

In 2018, SeaWorld San Diego will add the Electric Eel triple-launch roller coaster to the new Ocean Explorers themed land.

Riders will pass through a queue with an aquarium filled with moray eels. The ride starts with a forward-backward-forward launch that whips through vertical twists and loops as well as a towering 154-foot-tall barrel roll that ranks as one of the world’s tallest inversions.

Identical versions of the Premier Rides SkyRocket II coaster can be found at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Tempesto) and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Superman Ultimate Flight).

The top 60 feet of the coaster track will be painted sky blue to minimize the visual footprint of the ride. SeaWorld expects to seek approval to install the ride later this year from the California Coastal Commission.

“We’re still going to be focused on inspiring our guests to help save the planet that we all share with these animals,” Morrow said. “The world needs places like this, now and even more so in the future. And we’re poised to be that place for the world.”

SeaWorld remains focused on inspiring visitors to make a difference in the world, Morrow said.

“The core essence of the mission will never change: to inspire people to come into our park and leave a better person and make the planet a better place,” Morrow said.

This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link