santa--mozzarella

[santa--mozzarella]

Giulia nodded, telling a complete lie. She had to be incredibly careful when she was getting out of the water, because it wasn't exactly the quickest process in the world to take off her seal-skin. Usually she would swim a full lap of the lake, looking for the most secluded spot that didn't involve a huge hike back to town. Often enough there were trees leaning down into the water that would shield her behind their evergreen branches, and she would be able to haul her sleek body out of the water and begin the process of shedding it.

Sometimes she had to wait. Sometimes she had to throw herself head first, seal-skin still covering her legs, back into the water. She did whatever she had to do to avoid being spotted, even though she hated that in-between state where she was half woman and half seal, belonging to neither world.

For now she would wait until Luca was long gone, and then find herself a spot. There was no point in trying to take her seal-skin off underwater; it was far too slippery when wet, and it felt wrong to take it off in the place where it belonged. She could be patient for a little while, even if she felt guilty about it, knowing Luca's secret whilst guarding her own.

She raised one front flipper as best she could, waving it in response to Luca's wave. Giulia shifted, hind flippers to the floor so that she floated horizontal in the water, large black eyes watching Luca as he retreated. Guilt, yes - that was exactly what burrowed into her stomach and made her feel a bit sick. Either that or the crab she'd eaten off the lake floor before Luca had shown up. Deciding to shake it off, Giulia flipped herself forward, disappearing under the surface and swimming to the other side of the lake, hopefully to find a place to return to land.

@lucathedreamer

Middle of the Deep End || Underdogs

[santa--mozzarella]

Giulia did not know what on earth was going on. She had thought, last year, that it was some kind of fluke. Italian summers were hot, especially where she had grown up, the sun reflecting off the bay and the colourful stucco buildings, concentrating the heat right onto the pavement.

But if you told Giulia that hell had opened up right here in Swynlake, and that was why it was so hot, she would've believed it. Because whatever was happening here was, quite frankly, disgusting.

Which was maybe why, instead of going home to make herself a light supper after work like she usually did, she was at Chippamunka's. Because she could not face the thought of standing over the oven, or doing anything that would cause the kitchen to fill with steam. She wasn't even entirely sure what she wanted, but when the person behind the counter suggested a milkshake, she nodded emphatically. "That would be great, thank you. I dont know why all of summer had to come today, but I don't appreciate it."

@jere-me--oh-my

Shake Shake Shake - Open

[santa--mozzarella]

Giulia’s prom 2025 outfit: Night at the Museum

“We are moved by the Egyptian hippo because it is a mammal like us, because it is amphibious, and because the figurine gives it a clumsy air—but faced with the blue animal in the Louvre we forget that this is a ferocious and dangerous beast. The Egyptian artist of the Twelfth or Thirteenth Dynasty has tamed it for us.”

- Antoine Compagnon

[santa--mozzarella]

Giulia was having a bad day. Most days, hostessing at Gustea's was absolutely fine. It tended to be pretty easy, in fact, given that she was a generally smiley and welcoming person. But some days...

There was some kind of rush on, which meant there was a queue out the door because the restaurant was fully booked up for lunch. People generally don't like to wait, but especially not for food, and so everyone started getting cranky, and then they started taking it out on Giulia. Why she had no idea-- she couldn't control how long it took someone to eat a plate of duck confit! But she was the one making them wait, at least as they saw it, and she had spent the entire lunch period try to put out about 20 different fires.

She didn't have to be back for the evening shift, thankfully. But she had decided that she deserved a treat for her hard work, and had been heading to get an ice cream when someone stopped her. Usually, taking the back streets was a good way to avoid any chit chat, but Giulia ddn't really mind; if anything, he looked worse off than she did.

"Do you often ask people you meet in back alleys to get a beer with you?" She asked, smiling ever so slightly.

@dodgerxjones

Back Step Blues | Open

Dodger slumped down against the back wall of the bakery as if the day had personally offended him. He set his bag beside him with a tired thump. He reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a lighter, only to stop, squinting at the flame like he was trying to remember why he'd even bothered in the first place. "You ever have one of those days?" He asked, to nobody in particular, grateful to be heard by anybody who was willing to hear. 

"Where the only thing that went right was not trappin' yourself in the walk-in freezer?" He snapped the slighter closed, leaning his head back against the wall. Then, after a quick beat, he cracked one eye open and looked over at the person who'd stopped.

"Tell you what," he said, leaning forward slightly. "If you've got spare time, and a tolerance for cheap beer, I know a place what don't ask too many questions. You look like you could use it too. What do you say?"

[santa--mozzarella]

Giulia’s experience on tinder depended entirely on what sort of mood she was in and what she had planned that day. If she had an entirely free day, no work or farmer’s market or plans, she might look for a nice date; a picnic by the lake, a stroll through the forest, a real excursion type of thing.

But then there were evenings like tonight, where she’d had a pretty long shift at work and felt wound up and tense. Sometimes slipping into her seal-skin and going for a swim was enough to make her feel better, but sometimes…

Well, Giulia had never had any trouble asking for what she wanted. And she still had yet to understand the British tendency to be indirect. Taking five sentences to say what could be said with five words. So Giulia smiled coyly, and said, “Thank you. It’s actually my housemates’ place, but they’re both out for the evening. So — would you like a glass of wine? Or are we skipping to the fun part?”

@knightley--phillip

Vuoi dormire con me stanotte? || Phiulia

[santa--mozzarella]

Giulia had no idea if Luca needed to surface to breathe or not. She presumed not, given the gills that she could see along their side. And she wondered... would they even want to surface? Sure, a seal wasn't meant to be in this specific lake, but they were still typically found in the water. If Luca surfaced, and someone caught sight of them... Well, Giulia didn't think that was common knowledge.

But her lungs were beginning to burn around the edges, and so she pushed herself upwards, breaking the surface and taking a deep breath in. The air above the water felt ice cold and refreshing, and she took another few deep lungfuls of it. Her sense of smell was good, about the same as a domestic dog, or so a textbook had once told her, yet there was never normally much to smell when floating in the middle of the lake. Thick pine sap from the trees of Enchantra, occasionally the musky fur of an animal that came to lap at the shore, and then any other animals that were hiding below.

As Luca broke the surface alongside her, though, Giulia noted the unfamiliar scent. More ocean than lake, she thought, briney in the way that all of the seals back home had smelled. She did her best approximation of a smile, nodding her sleek head emphatically to show her agreement.

Giulia looked up at the sky; long ago her mother had taught her how to read it, so that she knew when to return for supper, or when the fishermen would be rising in the morning. She knew that time was getting on; she had to go. She looked at the shore, and then back at Luca, expression softening somewhat.

@lucathedreamer

Middle of the Deep End || Underdogs

[santa--mozzarella]

@knightley--phillip

For a relatively small town, Giulia had found that Swynlake's tinder was honestly pretty good. Her tiny little coastal village had been a tinder graveyard. Once you had either hooked up or gone on a date with the five or six other people on it, you had pretty much gone through the whole roster. Occasionally tourists would pass through which would spice things up a little bit, but that didn't happen very often, and it ended up being a pretty useless app to have on your phone.

Here, though, Giulia was always meeting someone new, and she was glad that some of them cut right to the chase. Like, for example, Phil. Whom she had invited round pretty much as soon as the conversation had allowed it, because why waste time? One of her roommates was away at some kind of dental student convention and the other was staying with her boyfriend for the weekend, so she had the house entirely to herself. If she didn't strike fast, she'd miss her chance.

She had worked the lunch shift at Gusteau's and had picked up a few bottles of wine on her way home - not that she thought they would get through them or anything, just that she liked to have something for everyone's taste. She was only just pulling the cork out of the bottle of rosé when she heard the knock at the front door, and so she set the corkscrew down, doing a quick check to make sure her hair was fine in the mirror by the door before she answered it.

"Phil," Giulia said with a smile as she pulled the door open, stepping aside to let him past. "Come on in."

(outfit)

Vuoi dormire con me stanotte? || Phiulia

[santa--mozzarella]

Giulia absolutely would chase after them, pointing her nose downward and tucking her foreflippers in against her sides, making herself as streamline as possible. She had always thought that there were drawbacks between her seal-self and her human-self. Most people didn't see it, but seals were designed for speed, at least in the water. In the water she felt agile in a way her human body never did, able to take fast turns and move quickly without over-exerting herself.

But, then again, look at how clumsy her seal-self was on land. Giulia rarely spent too much time out of the water in Swynlake, not wanting to draw attention to herself, but she had sometimes joined the rest of the colony on the small island in the middle of the sea back home. It took considerable effort to undulate herself up from the shore for any sunbathing, and by the time she got to whre she was going, it always felt like a bit of a waste of time. Plus, y'know - hands were very helpful.

Whatever Luca was, though - and it was somethign Giulia had never encountered so close before, that was for certain - they seemed to have the best of both worlds. She could see how the scales would be good for camouflage, how the tail helped with streamlining, whilst still having hands and feet to help with small things. She was almost a little envious - almost. Giulia had never felt uncomfortable in her seal-skin, and wouldn't change it for the world.

As much fun as swimming with Luca was, she was feeling the familiar burn in her lungs. She pushed herself a little harder until she could catch up to Luca, patting their leg with her fore-flipper, careful not to scratch. She looked upward, indicating her plan, and then began to ascend, assuming they would follow as she breached the surface.

@lucathedreamer

Middle of the Deep End || Underdogs

[santa--mozzarella]

Giulia hadn’t been able to have a proper swim with someone for ages. Since coming to Swynlake, in fact. Before then, back home in Baia Foca, the local seal population were easy enough to join in with. Giulia was quite sure they knew she was different, their black marble gaze just a little sharper when looking at her sometimes, but they didn’t treat her any differently. They would race around tall towers of seaweed and through old shipwrecks, enjoying the warmth of the water and the easy way they moved through it.

Swimming by herself was still nice. She likened it to a nice hot bath at the end of a long day; the feeling of something unfurling as she slipped into her seal skin, anxiety and tension releasing. But it was far more fun to have a partner. So when Luca told her they could keep up, Giulia didn’t need any more prompting. She sped away, diving down deep and arching towards the surface, stopping short of breaching water and instead turning around again, her hind flippers splashing at the seam of the sky and the water as she did so.

@lucathedreamer

Middle of the Deep End || Underdogs

[santa--mozzarella]

People worked on all kinds of things in coffee shops (and outside of coffee shops, Giulia supposed, though you did tend to see a lot of people typing on laptops or writing in notebooks in cafés), so Giulia wasn't too surprised to hear that whatever she was working on, it wasn't school work. Though she was a little bit surprised about what it actually was.

An apology for someone she doesn't really like. So presumably, and apology she doesn't really mean. Giulia pursed her lips, humming softly.

"Well... I can find it pretty hard to apologise, sometimes. I can be quite stubborn. But I can have a try." She smiled, scooting a little closer. "What exactly are you apologising for, if you don't mind me asking?"

@pepper-doyle

How To Apologize | Open

[santa--mozzarella]

Giulia shook her head. No - no, she didn't feel like talking. She knew she couldn't exactly talk. She could make the noises that seals made, the barks and grunts and honks and growls, which was always interpreted as she meant it by other seals - real seals, too, not just other selkies. Not that she had come across another selkie in a while...

But how would Luca interpret that? Would it sound like Giulia's voice, or would it just sound like... well, a generic seal, she supposed. She was nervous about that. That she might give herself away, sounding like herself.

Though, if there was anyone she could trust with this, it probably was Luca. Especially given that Giulia was looking at them right now, not a human at all. She wasn't sure she had ever seen this kind of creature before, but she could say for certain that it wasn't a plain old human being. Luca had never mentioned it before, not at home or at the aquarium. Maybe that was why all those fish had been good friends with them; or tried to be, anyway.

She could understand why they would keep this a secret. If life was as dangerous for Luca as it was for a selkie, then Giulia wouldn't try to create any waves, so to speak. She would keep this close to her chest; it was only fair, really.

She nodded her head, a bit over-dramatic maybe, but hoping to get the point across - yes, she was okay, but yes, she understood. And to save any more conversation, Giulia turned, shooting off a few yards away. She looked back over her shoulder, hind flippers wiggling, inviting Luca to follow. It would be nice to have someone to swim with, Giulia thought.

@lucathedreamer

Middle of the Deep End || Underdogs

[santa--mozzarella]

NAME: Giulia Marcovaldo HOMETOWN: la Ciudad, originally from the coast of the Stargazing Plains OCCUPATION: Shop girl at Starbird Bread & Bake shop YOUR WISH: To always have good luck WHAT YOU GAVE UP: The pearl necklace she was given as a child YOUR UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE: Her good fortune seems to cause others around her to have bad luck, or to at least have worse luck than she does LOYALIST/REBEL/OTHER: Neutral

BIOGRAPHY: On the day she was born, Giulia's mother presented the little girl with a string of pearls. Too big for her now, of course, but it was tradition to give them - pearls collected by herself, and by other selkies in the deep seas off the coast of the Stargazing Plains. Giulia had never ventured out that far before, and still hasn't to this day. Spending too long in her seal-skin is a risk. The life of a selkie isn't quite as bad as that of the mer-folk, but it's still better to keep it a secret, her mother used to say.

So when it was time to make her wish, Giulia was torn. She had magick already, but she was reluctant to share that with anyone. So what did you wish for, so that people didn't begin to wonder? Life in the Stargazing Plains was not always easy. But with some good fortune, things might be a little easier for herself and her parents.

And so Giulia gave away that pearl necklace. She returned home. And that was when the disasters started.

Small things at first - her mother burning the supper, her father not catching much when he went out fishing. But when an accident on the boat cost her father his hand, Giulia knew her own good fortune was dragging down those around her. Without very many other options, she decided to leave for la Ciudad. She found herself a job, and she sends back as much money as she can to her parents whilst still making ends meet. She likes life in the city, but she misses home, and she misses the sea even more. If, perhaps, there was a way to reverse her wish, then maybe she could go home. But surely to do so would be an act of treason...

[santa--mozzarella]

This is Sealvester

[santa--mozzarella]

Maybe it was stupid of her to have her break elsewhere when she worked in a restaurant, but sometimes Giulia just needed a proper break. To get away from Gusteau's very polite string quartet and carefully curated lighting. Besides - she was only on a short shift today, so no proper lunch break, and no free meal. It stood to reason that she might as well go somewhere else.

She had got herself a cappuccino and a nice looking pastry from Hatter's, and was ready to tuck herself away in a corner somewhere to read a book or scroll mindlessly on her phone or something. There were a few open tables here and there, but there was a lot of loud conversation and furious laptop typing going on, so she decided to look elsewhere.

She was just about to sit down when she noticed the girl with her head on the table. Giulia blinked, wondering if she should maybe just settle for the keyboard warrior instead, when the girl spoke to her.

Smiling slightly, Giulia slowly sat down, putting her coffee and pastry down on the tabletop. She looked at the girl and then at her table, and said, "Oh, that's fine. Are you working on something? I get that, speaking aloud helps me work things out too, sometimes."

@pepper-doyle

How To Apologize | Open

[santa--mozzarella]

Giulia blinked. Usually colliding with things didn't hurt too much as her seal-self, insulated as it was, but a direct bump to the head? That one did make things fuzzy for a second. Fuzzier than they already were, under the surface of the lake. All the damn silt... well, it would settle soon enough. By summer the visibility would be perfect, she was sure.

Though even through the clouds of grit and schools of fish, Giulia could see exactly what was in front of her. She wasn't entirely sure what it was, but she could see it - them - whoever they were, clear as day. Flashes of colour, green and blue and somewhere in between and so many different colours, shifting and changing as the light rippled through the water. And their face - a face Giulia was so sure she knew...

And then they opened their mouth. Luca!

At first, Giulia was ecstatic, and then her excitement turned almost immediately to cold, slimy concern, clinging to her like grimy sea foam. If Luca was here, and Luca wasn't just Luca but also some kind of sea-Luca, did they know what she was?

Maybe not. The questions were pretty vague. Giulia blinked, wondering if she should try to answer - she didn't usually do too much, as her seal-self. The grunts and clicks and some strange noises of pinnipeds came easier to her in this form... deciding not to give herself up so soon, she simply nodded, bringing her fore flippers as close together as she could around her smooth middle.

@lucathedreamer

Middle of the Deep End || Underdogs

[santa--mozzarella]

A flash of bright green in the murky depths of the lake. Giulia knew that eventually, the water would become clearer, and the visibility would get better. What good was her exceptional sight down here, if she couldn't even see two feet in front of her for all the murk and gloom? At least it kept things interesting, she supposed. There was nothing dangerous down here - that she knew of - so anything new would be an exciting mystery!

And there it was again. Another flash of greeny-blue, zipping around the rocks and the tall stalks of weeds. Giulia tried to follow, foreflippers tucked in tight against her sides to make her as streamlined as possible. She twisted and turned, nosing her way through groups of fish, winding easily around the debris at the bottom of the lake. But whoever it was, they were very quick, quicker even than she was, maybe.

So she paused, tipping herself back a little so that she could just float, verticle in the water. She could hear something - laughter, maybe? She listened, trying to determine if it was coming towards her or moving away from her. When she was pretty sure it was headed her way, she set off again, pushing forward until she collided head first. At first she wasn't sure what she had hit; she fell back a small ways, blinking round, black eyes to shake off the dazed feeling that came over her for a second. When the stars finally faded from her vision, she stared. She wasn't sure she had ever seen anything quite like it...

@lucathedreamer

Middle of the Deep End || Underdogs

[santa--mozzarella]

Spring was in full swing, or so it felt to Giulia. Swynlake was already unfurling, the matte, flat grey of a long winter giving way to vibrant green leaves and soft pink cherry blossoms, and the lake - the lake was no longer frozen!

The lake being frozen hadn't really stopped Giulia from swimming. It was a fair bit of effort to hack away at the ice and create a hole big enough for her seal-self to slip inside of it, but she had done it at least once a week anyway. It was too long to be away from the water.

She had rented a car one week and driven the hour or so to Bournemouth, just to get back into some proper salt water. If she stayed on land for too long... well, she didn't know if it actually did anything to her. She knew all the horror stories, selkies who'd had their seal-skins stolen by men, hidden away until they promised to marry them and bear their children. They had been half-mad, but they had survived years on land, if those stories were even real. But Giulia's skin started feeling too tight if she was away from the water for too long, like it was draped wrong over her frame, pinching in the wrong places. She had to get back in the water, whether that was the beach or the lake.

And thankfully, despite being better adapted to warm weather, her seal-skin had managed to last the freezing cold of the lake, well prepared with its insulative layer of blubber. The water wasn't exactly warm now, but it was better than before. Giulia zipped through it, twisting and turning through the underwater foliage, until she sensed a ripple. The slightest disturbance in the water, as if someone else had just gotten in. She should probably take a breath soon, but for now she paused, looking around for the source of it.

@lucathedreamer

Middle of the Deep End || Underdogs