#I think he'd be a sea anemone

[goatcheesecak3]

Could you possibly write something small about a beach date with Rodrick 😍

Rodrick x reader

Sorry this took so long! Me mam tried to sell me to one direction so I was slightly preoccupied 🙄

Anyways enough jibber jabber, here's a lil fluff about a beach date with Rodrick :^)

The heffleys had invited you on a trip to the beach, since you and Rodrick had been together for some time now, it was pretty much routine for you to come along to family events at this point.

You and Rodrick drove in his van separately from everyone else, truth be told, you were relieved. You loved the heffleys but you weren't so keen on the music they played in the car.

"You excited babe?" Rodrick turned to look at you

"Can't wait! I was looking up the beach on Google, there's quite a few rock pools so we might see some cool sealife!"

Rodrick's face lit up at this

"Like a crab?!" He asked

"Yes honey, like a crab" you smiled at your easily amused boyfriend.

"Awesome. I fucking love crabs" he said.

Upon arrival Susan and Frank were happy to see the pair of you, they both approached to greet you, when seemingly out of nowhere Greg appeared, flinging his arms around you.

"Hey lil dude! Nice to see you" You beamed down at him

"Great to see you too! I've got all the stuff set up!" He replied excitedly

You were confused for a second, before looking just past him and seeing an abundance of different sized buckets and spades. You finally remembered, last time you'd seen the Heffleys you'd promised Greg you'd be on his team against Rodrick for a sandcastle building competition.

"Rodrick I love you, but you are so going down" you said, playfully poking him in the ribs before running off to the equipment with Greg.

"Hey no fair! You guys don't get a head start!" He called after the two of you.

The sandcastle competition was definitely pretty tense, you and Greg had opted for a "bigger = better" strategy, and had come up with a 3 storey castle.

Rodrick's, while much smaller, was more detail oriented. He'd decorated it with little stones, and even carved out little battlements.

When the time was up, the three of you went to get Susan and Frank to judge, but when you'd returned only one castle was left.  It would appear that Manny had decided that Rodrick's Castle was the perfect race course for one of his toy trucks, and in the few seconds you were all gone, he'd reduced it to rubble.

"Ha! We won!" Greg jeered.

You looked at Rodrick, who seemed genuinely disappointed.

"Aw baby," you stroked his arm, "I think your castle was Manny's favourite at least"

He smiled slightly at this, but still seemed slightly miffed that all his hard work was ruined.

Never mind, you knew exactly how to cheer him up

"How about we go check out those rock pools?" You asked.

Rodrick grinned excitedly, immediately forgetting about the sand castle, "oh yeah! I hope we see something cool!" He beamed, grabbing your hand and eagerly pulling you in the direction of the rocks.

You carefully climbed onto the glistening wet rocks, made just that bit more treacherous by the odd bit of seaweed and sharp barnacles. You held onto Rodrick tightly, fearing that his clumsy self would slip and accidentally keelhaul himself.

(A/n if you don't know what keelhaulling is, look it up at your own risk. It's pretty gnarly).

"What are those things?" Rodrick asked curiously, pointing towards tufts of purple sticking out from the sides of the rock pools.

"Sea anemones! Be really gentle and touch them, see what happens" you encouraged him.

Rodrick looked slightly nervous, but he trusted you. He dipped his finger into the shallow water and felt the tiny tentacles grip his finger. He giggled high pitch and very amused, before pulling his hand away and shaking it dry.

"It was like, sticky?" He said

You laughed at his reaction, he was adorable when he was confused.

"That was it trying to eat you! It thought your finger was a little fish!"

"Really?!"

"Mhm"

"That's so funny," he bent down to look at the anemone, "you're no match for me little bro" he said cockily.

You were unsure as to whether he was joking, or if he was genuinely proud of not being eaten by a gelatinous blob the size of a penny. Probably the latter, knowing Rodrick, but either way you find it endearing.

You spent quite a while trapesing around the rock pools, Rodrick seemingly fascinated by everything- particularly the little clusters of sea snails. He likened their pointy shells to his studded bracelet, affectionately giving them the title of "most metal animal he'd seen all day". His day was made, however, when you called him over to a tiny pool right at the edge of the rocks.

"Baby, come quick!"

He rushed over, abandoning the clump of seaweed he'd been popping like bubblewrap, and turned his attention towards what you'd been pointing at.

There, nestled inbetween a few tufts of seaweed, sat the tiniest little crab, it's body not much bigger than the tip of a pinky finger. As Rodrick kneeled down to get a closer look, his face was graced with a wide, goofy smile. He looked between you and the crab for a few seconds, before blurting out "it's a little baby!", his voice high and girlish.

You let out a chuckle at this, watching your boyfriend's eyes grow in amazement and glee at the sight of such a small crab. His attention was fixed to it for as long as it sat there, until the crab must have decided that staring back at the squealing Rodrick had become tedious, and scuttled away under some pebbles.

Rodrick finally stood once again, and reached out to hold your hands.

"That was so cool," he said, his eyes twinkling and his smile somehow even more loveable than ever.

"You're so cute," you replied, unable to contain your adoration any longer. You placed your arms over his shoulders, while instinctively, Rodrick held your waist.

You leaned in and planted a delicate kiss on his lips. Sometimes it was hard to remember he was a hardcore punk guy with a big beat up van, and an affinity for moshing. At times like this, all you saw was an innocent, precious sweetheart. You just wanted to hold his face and pepper it with gentle kisses, while showering him with compliments like "my handsome boy," and "you're the cutest thing in the whole world". You probably would later, but not right now. He'd never live it down if his family saw him being such a big softie.

You allowed yourself to get lost in his big brown eyes for a moment longer, before you heard Frank calling the two of you to come and get some food.

I love you, you thought to yourself as Rodrick carefully guided you down the rocks. As if he could read your mind, he threw an arm round your shoulder and whispered in your ear

"I love you, y/n"

A/n requests are open! I write hcs and short fics for a couple characters, check my pinned post for details! :^)

(Pls request something I need ideas lol)

[chaosister]

𓏲⋆ ִֶָ ๋𓂃 ⋆ LOVEFOOL , RUGGIE BUCCI.

ruggie was always a nervous wreck around you and how could he forget the partner project the two of you have? this is the worst day ever...

𓈒ㅤׂㅤ𐙚 ࣪ ⭒ 𝓼ummary. gn!reader, ruggie being a nervous wreck, possible ooc?, fluff, and uh second hand embarassment?? maybe??

𓈒ㅤׂㅤ𐙚 ࣪ ⭒ 𝓷ote. THIS IS SO AWKWARD GOODBYE, also- I'm taking commissions (check out pinned for more info) !! not very much romance actions on this one since it's supposed to be awkward for ruggie...

"how 'bout you an' me go on a date sometimes? yeah? we could go to an arcade a relieve those obvious stress you have on your shoulders." ruggie smirked at the random female sitting at one of the tables in monstro lounge, the sea anemone on top of his head that sprouted on his head stood proudly as he tries to ignore the female's not-so-discreet staring at it.

the female that he was making advances on covered her mouth as a pink hue of blush erupted on her face and ruggie knew that he got her hooked, it was now time to reel her in and finally get those donuts he'd been eyeing at that luxurious bakery.

don't judge him, alright! ruggie knew that the motive behind his flirting was bad and that he was taking advantage of the girl's financial state but it was obvious that the lady was rich and he's sure that it wouldn't make a dent on the woman's bank account considering the amount of shiny jewels that adorned her body...

"well, how about you give me you number an-"

"ruggie!"

"whoops..."

just as he was about to pull out his phone so the female could type in her number, his actions was stopped by a loud booming voice that yelled his name and he knew that it was yours- your voice was the only one that can make his ears go back and bombard his mind with questions of what he did.

the sounds of footsteps neared him as he anticipated for the scolding of his life. "ruggie! what are you doing here? you promised that we'll finish the group project that mister crewel assigned to us." your voice came behind him as he whipped around to face you. ah crap, so that was what he forgot about.

"heyyy (name)..." he dragged on your name, one of his hands were placed on his waist as he leaned on the table trying to hide the female behind him- he didn't want you thinking he's a womanizer now!

"I- uhm.. I didn't mean to forget about it! I swear! ya know... I was so busy with monstro lounge stuff and i completely forgot about it- but! I was trying to remember it and uh.. i swear! it was on top of my head but I just couldn't exactly remember what it was..."

ruggie nervously chuckled and a now red hue could be seen on his face as his eyes darted around the room to avoid your scrutinizing gaze at him.

"busy with monstro lounge stuff that you placed upon yourself? also, who's she?"

you peeked behind ruggie's shoulder and waved at the woman who awkwardly waved back at you, she looked as if she wanted to bolt out of here.

"she's my friend! right...? err...? hahahha...." ruggie completely forgot the woman's name behind him and the sight of your eyesbrows scrunching up in suspicion made him break out in a sweat.

"your friend? erm.. okay, well, I'll just sit around here while I wait for you, I'm sure azul won't mind." you shrugged, azul would clearly mind that you're loitering around his restaurant but what can he do? (he can make the twins kick you out)

"r-really? I get off after...hm.. after an hour, are you okay waiting that long?" ruggie looked at the clock on the wall of the restaurant to check the time and he looked back at you again with a guilty expression.

"ya don't have to wait for me that long.. you could just leave the project behind at my dorm room and I'll finish it." ruggie let out a nervous laugh, he hoped that he wasn't embarrassing himself too much in front of you. it was already humiliating enough that you have to go here and approach him just to remind him of the project the two of you have.

"it's no problem, ruggie. I could review the lessons while I wait for you so it's not really a problem." you smiled reassuringly at him and ruggie couldn't help but thank the sevens above that you were his partner in this project, if he was paired up with someone other than you he knew that they would've already yelled at him for being an inconvenience, truly you were sent from above.

"w-well then! in that case I should hurry up before one of the twins see me not running around and tell azul! bye!" ruggie hurriedly walked away from you and left you alone with the woman that you knew he was flirting with, the hyena's voice wasn't exactly quiet...

"so uhm- hi?"

"I didn't mean to flirt with your boyfriend! I thought he was single..." the woman suddenly blurted out and whispered the last part of her sentence, she looked utterly horrified and guilty that you can't help but reassure her.

"It's alright.. wait- boyfriend?!" your face heated up as what the woman uttered sunk in your brain and you couldn't help but be overcome with embarrassment.

"uhm.. yeah, aren't you his girlfriend? he was looking at you with googly eyes and his entire demeanor shifted when you came.." the woman anxiously trailed off and she genuinely seemed to think that the two of you and ruggie were a thing.

"he's not my boyfriend! well, I mean he is my boy friend since you know.. he's my friend that's a boy but uh!" your hands flew around you as you blabbered out random words hysterically.

"It's okay, no need to explain to me. the two of you looks so cute together and I'd hate to be on the way of your story with him." the woman reassured you and tried to calm you down as your yelling was kind of attracting the eyes of other customers...

[mvskedxrtist]

Under the Sea

Wᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: PwP (Porn with plot), Tentacles, Mommy Kink, Overstimulation, and Praise

Nᴏᴛᴇ: I saw a lot of people actually liked the first one I posted so I'm doing one of my favorite first years from Twisted Wonderland! Please enjoy and reblogs are greatly appreciated. I'll also say for this one specifically, NRC is co-ed for this to work.

Azul Sister!Reader x Deuce Spade - Under the Sea

Another day, another deal, another contract. That was normal between you and your younger brother Azul. He had done his usual routine of offering his help with finals, and the numbers were definitely increasing than what happened last year.

"225 new contracts, huh little brother." You asked him with a smile while leaning against the office wall, watching him look over what he gathered. "Much more than last year, dear sister." He told him with the same sadistic smile you had on yourself. The initial idea of offering their help was your idea anyway since your first year which lead to Azul doing it when he joined.

The next day while Azul was talking to a client in his office, you were observing the Mostro Lounge for him. Sitting by the counter, you were ordering some of the people with anemones on their heads, looking into the kitchen now and then so nothing bad happened. When you heard the doors open and saw the Tweels, you got up from your chair and walked over. "Well well well! So these are the new people that got trapped as well.. How hilarious!"

Dᴇᴜᴄᴇ's Pᴏᴠ

Oh we had really gotten ourselves into trouble. And ouch do these anemones hurt. Me and Ace were getting dragged into Mostro Lounge during lunch which I had to deal with Ace's complaints about the pain. When it did stop and we were in front of the Tweels, I had shifted slightly and turned to see the most beautiful girl leaning against the counter.

She was dressed in the same Housewarden outfit Azul would wear but with some things adjusted so students didn't think she was the Housewarden. The pants seemed a bit tighter on her than everyone else, it really showed how thick her thighs were in the pants and- NO! I shouldn't be thinking about my upperclassman like that! I have to stop staring.

Nᴏʀᴍᴀʟ Pᴏᴠ

You had smiled and rested your body against Jade, knowing he'd keep you steady before giving them all a cocky smile. "Finally you showed. Ok Tweels, you can get back to work. As for you two new people.. I'll just have you serve tables for today!" It was a simple task indeed, but anything could be turned complicated in an instant.

Seeing the dark orange haired boy ask his other two friends without anemones to help them with the task was funny a bit. So desperate even though it was easy, just how you usually liked it.

So where did you land when Azul pulled you into his office and explained the deal of a lifetime. And all you had to do was stop the small group not get that picture from the Atlantic Museum? It seemed simple enough.

It was simple enough. Way too simple. So you decided to have some fun. Especially with the boy you caught glancing at you. While you were in your merform (a dark and muted green cecaelia), you had spotted the group of Yuu, Jack, Ace, and your lovely target Deuce along with the Tweels who were also in their merforms messing around with them.

You had stepped back slightly while watching the Tweels play around with them before letting your tentacles wrap around Deuce's arms and pull him back towards your looming figure. "H-huh?! Wait... [N-name?!]" The boy looked in shock by your merform as you chuckled and leaned closer to him.

"You're absolutely correct, cutie~" You whispered in his ear before letting another tentacle take Deuce's pants off. "I've noticed you stare at me a few times when you're called for your job in the Mostro Lounge... So why not fulfill your fantasy?~"

Right after you said that, Deuce started squirming when he felt a tentacle go inside of his ass. This was such a new experience for him, it felt a bit weird but maybe he'd like it. The tentacle inside of him started pump in and out of him like a makeshift cock while you actually did grab his cock an started jerking him off. "W-wait no! Nghhh~" He groaned softly from the pleasure of both sides, looking up at you while he couldn't do much in your grasp.

Another tentacle had slid inside of Deuce which made him moan out softly for you. He was excited for what you'd do next, the pleasure felt amazing to him. "M-mommy~" He moaned out while you kept jerking him off, going fast as your tentacles inside of him matched your speed. "Aww, is my good boy close?~" You teased him an chuckled, leaning forward to kiss his neck and leave your mark on him while stimulating him.

"H-hahh— I'm gonna-!" Deuce shuddered before he came all over your hand, the boy already looking exhausted from his orgasm. "Good job dear!~" You cheered for him and kissed his neck again, seeing the second hickey on him. He thought that you two were now done sinc he had came, but he could still feel the tentacles inside of him move faster, making him whimper and whine for you.

You shook your hand slightly, watching the cum instantly get washed into the ocean before turning to look back at him. "M-mommy..~ I-I'm so sensitive—" Deuce whined and panted softly from pleasure before he had came again in the ocean, feeling hypersensitive of pleasure.

"Oh but we've just begun, baby boy~ and isn't this nice to lose your virginity Deuce? Under the sea?~"

[ideas-4-stories]

Cross Guild AU Romance Prompt: Mermaid Shifter AU where devil fruit users can still swim, everyone can shift into their mermaid or man form. Buggy is part of a pod with his crew and they live together in this wonderful reef. They all have these wonderful tails that fit their personalities, while Buggy's is extra special in that his is this bright white with these pearly scales and fins that no one else has. Yet his is not the rarest tail, the rarest tails are the black tails, and they belong to Mihawk and Crocodile, who live in the shadowy area beyond Buggy's reef. They guard everyone in Buggy's reef, but stay aloof and distant. No one goes near Mihawk and Crocodile's shadowy territory. One day Buggy hears a commotion or sees something off in the shadowy territory. Against his better judgement, Buggy swims to the area and is horrified when he sees Mihawk and Crocodile in a life and death struggle with a wicked looking sea creature, like a sea king or a kracken. Mihawk is fighting hard but Crocodile's hurt. With bravery he didn't even know he had, Buggy joins the fight and actually feeds one of his muggy balls to the creature and blows it up. He gets knocked out cold in the process. When he wakes up, he'd in the dark castle like reef Mihawk and Crocodile call home. The moment Buggy is coherent, his only concern is Mihawk and Crocodile, seeing to their wounds and even swimming out to get specially sea plants and anemones known for their healing properties. Mihawk and Crocodile are stunned when Buggy comes back with his arms full and sets about grinding up everything and treating them with tenderness they've never ever experienced before. This little red nosed white tail captured the hearts of Mihawk with his black and red tail and Crocodile with his black and purple tail and they mean to keep him. Mihawk and Crocodile try to intimidate Buggy, only for Buggy to yank them both with him out of their shadowy reef to his vibrant, colorful one, first for lunch, then the next day for dinner, then again and again until Mihawk and Crocodile are no longer the distant guardians in the shadows, but Buggy's badass mates.

Mermaid Shifter AU is quite interesting, I like that everyone has tails that match their personalities. I wonder types of tails that Cabaji, Mohji, Alvida, Galdino, and Daz have… OH! Richie can be a catfish or lionfish I don’t know.

Question, Mihawk and Crocodile has other colors on their tail, does Buggy have colors other than white?

I like to think Buggy having a clownfish-style tail, that’s probably from all the times in the past that I’ve seen Buggy being a mermaid and he had a clownfish-style tail and stuff. There are clownfish that are mostly white with tips being orange and/or black.

Is the shadowy part of the reef like Kuraigana Island? I really hope so, does that mean there’s fruitwanis or animals much like the humandrills there?

I’m just have so many ideas running through my head. Anyway, Buggy helping Crocodile and Mihawk fight off the kracken (I don’t why I like that better as the enemy) When you wrote ‘actaully feeds one of his muggy balls to the creature’ all I can imagine is Buggy shoving it down it’s throat and didn’t get out of the way in time.

Buggy waking up and only thinking about Mihawk and Crocodile (My heart! So cute and sweet!) I feel like he’s ignoring his own wounds, swimming out to grab the healing plants (probably went out with a gasp or something that makes Crocodile and Mihawk thinking he wouldn’t come back, BUT HE DID COME BACK!) Buggy coming back, treating them with such tenderness that both wouldn’t think of (MY HEART!)

Not the two trying to intimidate Buggy, as soon as both know they want him! Good for Buggy to yank them back to his reef. Buggy must of been quite scared but Mihawk and Crocodile need doctors help to make sure those wounds don’t get infected. Then going out for lunch, then the next day for dinner, what about the day after breakfast?

That must of been a shock for everyone, I see their faces now.

I feel like the shadowy reef would be added into Buggy’s domain now as how the colorful reef is now apart of Crocodile and Mihawk’s domain. Afterall they are mates in the end.

[shoggothslime]

What kinds of merpeople the Termina Contestants would be

(already shared these thoughts on twitter, might as well share them here too)

Pav's a lionfish because they're invasive, they move their spines in a way that's similar to peacocking, and they have venomous stings.

Marcoh's a mantis shrimp because they punch the shit out of their prey. Simple answer.

Daan's a moon jellyfish because of Blank Soul, how they're the most common jellyfish for others to pluck out of the wild for a pet (but often kill them due to them needing specific tanks), and... moon and all... :3

He'd also be really cute as a jellyfish. I'm biased.

Abella's a giant pacific octopus because they're incredibly smart and strong. Also the red reminds me of her hair and it'd be fun to imagine her using all her octopus arms to tinker with stuff.

Olivia's a leafy seadragon because of how they blend themselves into the plant life they make their homes. Mermaid Olivia wouldn't be able to swim strongly but I like to think of her grabbing onto plants to help move herself around in kelp forests. :D

Levi's a spotted garden eel because they live in these little sand holes (trenches :3c) and are rather shy. They can however get used to certain presences such as people in aquariums. I recommend looking at the Sumida Aquarium story.

O'saa is a yellow boxfish because yes yes yellow mage, but these fish also can release deadly neurotoxins into the water which is basically hurting if you think about it.

Samarie is a gulper/pelican eel because I was obligated to make her a deep sea fish and it reminds me of Dysmorphia. Also she'd be a cute eel mermaid.

Tanaka is an oarfish due to them being known for being found dead or dying in shallower waters before earthquakes or tsunamis. Literally the opening kill as a fish. So sorry Tanaka lol.

August is an Orca because of their hunting tactics being so brutal and said hunting tactics being passed from parents to children in a pod, making different pods having different tactics and cultures. Like how Rag's influence can be seen in August.

Karin is an orange-lined triggerfish because of how territorial and aggressive they are despite their appearance. They often catch new salt water tank owners off guard by how willing they are to throw down.

Caligura is a goblin shark because it's a deep sea fish that feasts upon bottomfeeders. I also refused to let Caligura be a fish that even I could find cute. :3

Marina is a clownfish because the anemones are kind of like a warding sigil and she's a silly billy among the horrors at times. :3 They are also one of the tropical fish to be able to change from male to female. They are also my favorite childhood fish. Someone had to be one.

And finally, Henryk is a blue angel because despite how they look, they will poison the shit out of you and it will be painful and suck so much. Not worth touching.

[merakiui]

READER BEING AZULS PAST BULLY HELLO????

YES YES YES >:) revenge plots work so well for Azul because he is so filled with hatred that it is sickening!!!!!! This man absolutely detests you because you thought it would be funny to toy with his hearts and then break all of them in front of everyone when the both of you were little. You asked him out to the school formal and he'd been so excited that he'd told his mother all about it, practically bursting with excitement, and so obviously she made sure her Azul was all dressed up with a cute hat and a coral bow tie and he'd gathered shells and a bouquet of sea anemones just for you. This is the first time anyone has ever been interested in him, so he's really anxious. But you're nice and he's watched you from afar. To think someone as pretty as you would ever like him... He must be dreaming.

And what feels like a dream quickly darkens into a nightmare when he sees you accompanied by a different mer. A mer who has a nice shimmering tail and a lovely voice. Azul is so heartbroken that he can't even look you in the eye when you swim over to greet him.

"You thought I liked you? Seriously? I can't believe you fell for that!" You're laughing at him, pointing with a cruel smirk. Your friends and date snicker in agreement, and he can feel the world close in on him, crushing, crushing, crushing with darkness. "Who'd like a fat, ugly loser like you?"

It hurts when everyone laughs at him and calls him mean names. It hurts when he retreats in a cloud of ink, crying into his hands as he makes the swim back to his home. It hurts when his mother gathers him in her arms and tells him it'll be okay because it's so far from the truth. It will never be okay. Azul hates that day and the rest that follow. He hates you and the rest of his bullies all the way to graduation where, throughout the years, he's found his place and has started collecting contracts. And he thinks he'll finally be rid of his past when that mystical carriage comes to take him to NRC.

But then there's the Magishift tournament, which is the perfect opportunity for business, and he thinks he might just score plenty of potential business partners and deals. But then he catches sight of someone familiar—it's Jade who points you out, your face partially obscured by the many people who surround you. And you're wearing RSA's uniform. And you're laughing and joking with your friends. And all of those school days come rushing back to him. You happen to turn at that moment, and he makes eye contact with you. He wonders if you'll remember him like he remembers you. His memory has always been much better than yours.

Azul realizes at that moment that, as great as new business opportunities are, putting you in your place once and for all is much more appealing. If you fall from your broom and break your legs, thus leaving you vulnerable and incapacitated in the infirmary, don't look at Azul or the twins. They had nothing to do with it. :)

And when you're lying in bed, all wrapped up like a poor, sad mummy, and he walks in like the Grim Reaper with his soul-slicing scythe, poison on his lips and at his fingertips, he'll pull up a stool, seat himself, and finally—after years of torture—finally settle the score.

Who knows what he'll do! That's what makes it so fun! He's had years to hate you, and now this hate is all-consuming. Maybe he ought to curse you so that your every step in your human form is something akin to walking upon glass. So many wonderful possibilities for revenge. He really can't wait, and since everyone's so preoccupied with the games no one will bother checking in on you.

It'll be just you and him in this little infirmary space. You, him, and a years-long hatred that looms over you like the shadow of death.

[octoagentmiles]

Along the lines of my last ask, specifically creatures attacking him because they're afraid. I feel like he'd get almost the same thing as kwazii

Kwazii: I may be a pirate but I'm also an octonaut

Barnacles: it's alright, none is gonna hurt you, the octonauts are here to help

I can just imagine barnacles helping a creature find it's family and once the family shows up they start trying to protect (insert whoever was lost) from barnacles and this creature, even if it's a tiny fish is like "he's not dangerous, he's my friend"

With your idea that barnacles doesn't like to feel unneeded, I feel like the time someone like this happened would give him all the feels

Also, just wanted to mention. I think you're cool 🖤👍

YES I think about how Kwazii and Barnacles are more similar than they seem all the time, and the whole Pirate and Polar Bear thing is a point I've wanted to make for a while:

Barnacles is a Polar Bear, which are very scary and dangerous predators; although the show almost never addresses this. However, there are a handful of times where Barnacles accidentally (or even intentionally*) scares away creatures he meets. Such as in the Enemy Anemones when he scares the crab, the Flying Fish when the fish begs them not to eat him, (*the Lost Sea Star, when he raises his claws and roars at a wolfeel,) and now most prominently in the Red Fox, where the fox goes straight into attack mode when he sees a polar bear.

Kwazii is a Pirate, which are known to be scary and cruel; and the show makes it very obvious that this is something that Kwazii has to deal with. Creatures they meet are constantly terrified of him, going as far as crying and fleeing in terror, or attacking him without reason. See the Leafy Sea Dragons, or the Puffins.

The only difference between Barnacles and Kwazii, is that Barnacles went through intense training since birth, through the Polar Scouts, so that he'd be able to make himself seem as unintimidating and nonthreatening as possible. From the little things, like subconsciously hiding his claws behind his back, to concealing any "big" emotions that may startle smaller creatures;

but Kwazii was completely on his own. He bares his claws, jumps up and down, laughs loudly, shows his true self, and is rejected. He never learned to hide himself to make others more comfortable.

AND on that note: Kwazii probably feels unneeded sometimes too. Octonauts are supposed to protect creatures, not scare them away. Barnacles is usually able to lift his spirits back up when he feels this way, because he knows how he feels, unfortunately, thankfully. But still, y’know?

[ironychan]

A Little Human (as a Treat)

Part 1/? - Un Volontario

Part 2/? - Un Escursione

Part 3/? - Una Complicazione

Part 4/? - Una Famiglia

Part 5/? - Un Aiutante

The underdogs find some possible help.  So does Flavia.  Ercole needs help, but there’s nothing to be done for him.

Alberto, Luca, and Giulia had left the harbour and headed out into San Giuseppe Bay, looking for the sorts of places where sea monsters liked to live.  These would not be so shallow as to be subject to the weather, but also not so deep that their crops wouldn't grow.  No sooner had they spotted a likely-looking area – a gentle sandy slope, covered with seagrass and with sunlight flitting across it – than they started encountering people.

Back home in the waters off Portorosso, Luca was usually the first to talk to people, because everybody already knew him.  The sea monster community there had been aware of Alberto's father, but had considered him a very private herson and he'd kept his son the same, and they were still a bit wary of Giulia and Massimo.  In Napoli, it had been Alberto who'd started conversations, since just about everyone in the Gulf was related to the extensive Scorfano family somehow.  Here, it was Giulia who approached a man gathering sunken driftwood and cleared her throat.

“Ciao,” she said.  “Can you help us find somebody?  Our neighbour, uh...” she looked at Luca.

“Mario Macarello,” he supplied.

Giulia nodded.  “He has a cousin who lives near here.”

“Oh, yes, Antonio,” the man replied pleasantly.  “Him and Felicia live just on the other side of the rise there.”

“Thank you!  Come on, ragazzi!” Giulia swam off.

Alberto shook his head.  “Man, when did she get to be faster than us?”

“You were proud of her before,” Luca reminded him with a smile.

“I'm proud of her when she's faster than people who think she's not sea monster enough,” said Alberto, “not when she's leaving us behind.”

Beyond the sandbar was an extensive, shadowy orchard of tall seaweeds with colourful fish darting between the branches, and in a clearing in the middle was a little house.  Like most sea monster homes, this had been built up from boulders already on the bottom, and its distinguishing feature was the triangular doorway framed by the jawbone of a whale, which had colourful anemones growing on it. In front of the house was a carefully-tended garden of ornamental crinoids and sponges.  Another sea monster was there, trimming one of the sponges with an obsidian knife.  She looked up at them, then did a double-take when she noticed their human clothing.

“Buongiorno!” Giulia called out.

“Ah... hello,” said the woman.  “Can I help you?”

“Are you Signora Macarello?” Luca wanted to know.

“I am,” she said, still cautious.  “And you?”

“Luca Paguro.”

“Alberto Scorfano.”

“Giulia Marcovaldo.  We're neighbours of Mario Macarello, from Portorosso.”

Felicia Macarello nodded in recognition.  “Oh, yes, Tony's cousin Maria.  I've met him.”  She still looked rather unsure about these children, but the polite thing to do was be hospitable.  “Won't you come in?”

She led them through the whale jaw and into the house, where her husband was replacing a stone that had fallen from the edge of a window.  Signora Macarello was sky-blue and veyr thin, while her husband looked much like his cousin, being mustard-coloured and a bit pudgy, and prematurely losing the fins around the top of his head.

“Antonio, these three say they're Mario's neighbours,” Felicia said.  She started sorting through the cupboards, looking for something she could offer her guests to eat.

“Oh, yes?” Antonio asked.  He set aside what he was working on and floated over for a closer look – he, too, looked rather askance at what they were wearing.

Giulia took the lead again.  “My name is Giulia Marcovaldo,” she repeated, “and my friends are Luca Paguro and Albe...”

“Paguro?” Signor Macarello interrupted, as his wife gasped. “The one who goes to school with the humans?”

“Yes, Sir.  That's me,” said Luca.

“So you two must be...”  Antonio pointed at Alberto, then at Giulia, and licked his lips.  “You're the ones who are part human yourselves?”

“Yeah, that's us.”  Alberto puffed his chest out defiantly. “What about it?”

“Nothing, nothing,” said Antonio quickly.

“We were in town with a friend,” Luca said, “but the fountain at the zoo broke and we got wet, and we had to run for the river. Flavia got left behind, so we need somebody to show us the best place to get out of the water again without anyone seeing us.

Felicia had been in the process of filling a large clam shell with snacks. Now she nearly dropped it in horror.  “You left your friend behind in a city full of land monsters?  Why didn't she come with you?”

“Because she couldn't.”  Luca looked at his friends – this was a bit of a complicated situation.  How much could they leave out, and still have it make sense?  If they had to start with the magic books in the Library of the Deep, they'd be here all night.

“She's human,” said Giulia.  “She can't swim.”  It was probably true.  Flavia wouldn't know how to swim the way humans did.

That made Felicia relax a little.  “Ohhh,” she said.  “Well, in that case, I don't see what the problem is.  She's with her own kind.”

“No, she's...”  Luca thought about it, and decided not to elaborate.  “She doesn't know anybody in San Giuseppe.”

“She's one of my cousins from Napoli,” Alberto added.  “She's just visiting Portorosso with one of her Dads.”

“We promised him we'd have her home in time for supper,” said Giulia.

Antonio grimaced.  “Normally I'd say if you have to go up on land, you do it after dark when the land monsters won't be out and about,” he said, rubbing his temples.  “Going up there while the sun's still out?  I don't know.  I just don't know.”

“I would say don't go at all,” his wife declared.  “Land monsters are dangerous.  Even if you are all chummy with them out there on the edge of the open sea, it's not like that here.  If any of them spot you, that'll be it.”

“And then there's the sun,” Antonio agreed.  “If you stay up there too long it can burn you, like sticking your hand in a kitchen vent.  I knew a guy that happened to, and after a couple of days his scales started falling off...”

“We know,” said Alberto. “If you stay in human form your skin peels off instead.”

It seemed that neither of the Macarellos had known that.  Antonio's eyes bulged in horror, and Felicia covered her mouth as if the idea made her nauseous.

Alberto leaned back a little, hands behind his head.  “Well, guys,” he said to his friends, “I guess if they can't help us, we'll just have to find somewhere all by ourselves.  I hope we get it right on the first try.  It sounds like if we don't, we're gonna get harpooned.”

Signor Macarello sighed heavily.  “I know a spot where the kids go to watch the city,” he said.  “I used to do it until my parents caught me at it.  But I will not go there while the fishing boats are out,” he added firmly.  “We'll wait until the humans go back to land for their supper.  You'll have to settle for getting your friend back in time for bed.”

That was considerably better than no help at all.  “Thank you, Sir,” said Luca.

“Do you know where she'll be waiting for you?” Felicia asked.

“No... but we went to a few different places today, and she'll probably look for us at one of those,” Luca said.  He thought for a moment and added, “probably not the pirate museum.  The parrot didn't like us.”

“Maybe the pizzeria or the candy shop,” Giulia suggested. “Unless the pigeon lady took her home.  What was her name?”

“Signora Pepitone,” said Luca.  If they knew her name and had a few coins, they could telephone.

“We'll figure it out,” Alberto said confidently.

--

The house where the Donzella family now lived had once belonged to an elderly man named Terzo Cormorano, but had stood unoccupied since his death a couple of years earlier.  Cormorano had let it get pretty dilapidated, and the Donzellas had done a lot of fixing up, but the house was now livable and it was time to pay attention to the rest of the property.  The barn was in a particularly awful state, with the roof partially collapsed.  While Signor Donzella and Silvio had gone to the shallows around the Island to collect more stones, Signora Donzella and a couple of neighbours were cleaning up what had fallen.

“That's Signor Pianuzza,” said Giordana, pointing to a man who was bringing in curved pieces of wood that must have come from a shipwreck.  “And there's Signora Egelfino.”  She was helping Giorgia Donzella sort the rubble by size, tossing away stones that were too broken or covered with shellfish to be re-used.

“Hello, Giordana!” Signora Donzella called out, waving.  “Oh, is this that boyfriend we've been hearing about?”

“Yes!  This is Francesco.  His friends call him Ciccio,” Giordana replied.

“Ciao,” Ciccio said with a nervous smile.  He couldn't help noticing that nobody seemed to find his presence odd.  Certainly nobody said anything like, wait, wasn't Giordana's new boyfriend a human?

A little girl with red and orange fins, Alessia Pianuzza, swam up for a closer look.  “Have you got sponges growing on you?” she asked Ciccio.

“No.  I've got poison spines and I don't want to stick anybody,” he replied – especially now that he knew what they actually did. Which reminded him... what had happened to their tagalong?

He turned and saw motion in a line of tall purple seaweeds that had been planted to mark some kind of boundary.  Sound carried further underwater, and Ciccio could hear Ercole's voice shout, “give that back, you little thief!”

“Come and get it!” Silvio replied.  “Swim!”  The weeds parted and Silvio dashed out, holding Ercole's pink sweater. Ercole himself emerged a moment later, in hot pursuit.

Watching Ercole swim was something like seeing an inexperienced rider on an excitable horse, except that Ercole himself was both the rider – trying desperately to pretend he was in control of the situation when he was clearly not – and the horse – barrelling merrily along in whatever direction it pointed its nose.  Being bigger than Silvio meant he could produce more thrust, but he had no idea how to direct it.  He caught up with the boy, couldn't stop, and ran right into him, sending both of them into the stony seafloor. There they wrestled a moment before Ercole got Silvio pinned and sat up, the sweater triumphantly in his hand.

“Mine!” he declared.

Alessia saw this, and decided she wanted to play, too.  She swam over and snatched the garment.

“My turn!” she said, and darted away.

“Hey!  Aspetta!” Ercole protested, but the only response was Alessia's giggles echoing back.  He looked up at Silvio.

“Well?” Silvio said.  “You know what to do.”

Ercole growled.  He picked himself up off the bottom and tried to swim after Alessia.  First he hit a rock.  Then he plowed himself face-first into a bed of sponges.  Then he finally managed to get going, and followed the laughing seven-year-old.

Silvio beamed.  “He'll be swimming like an expert in no time!”

Ciccio and Giordana delivered their loads of stones to Signora Donzella, who thanked them and asked if they wouldn't mid helping Signora Egelfino while she got the rafters, made out of the old ship ribs, in place with Signor Pianuzza.  They got to work sorting stones, and were soon joined by Signora Egelfino's daughter Mia.

Ciccio knew Mia.  She was one of Giordana's friends and had been to town a couple of times to try the things they cooked up in the bakery – in human form she had short, light brown hair and freckles.  As a sea monster she was yellow and pink, and it took Ciccio a moment to pick out the telltale traits and recognize her, but once he had he was pretty confident of his identification.  It was gratifying to hear her familiar voice a moment later as she greeted Giordana.

Mia, of course, also knew him.  She looked him over and said, “you're Ciccio, huh?”

“Yeah, that's me,” he agreed, rather relieved that somebody knew he was out of place here.

“What's with the spines?” Mia wanted to know.

“We don't know,” Giordana told her.  “Apparently that's just what he looks like.”

“Huh,” said Mia.

Signora Egelfino was putting the smaller stones they couldn't use into a basket to carry away, but she was close enough to hear this conversation.  “Oh, that's right,” she said.  “Giordana's seeing a boy who lives in the human town, isn't she?  I hope we'll see you down here more often, young man.”

Ciccio looked at Giordana.  She had said if anyone asks, we're just going to tell them.  Now was a moment of truth.

Giordana blinked back at him, then realized Mia was also looking at her to explain.  She swallowed and shut her eyes for a moment.  “Um, no,” she said with an awkward smile.  “This is just for today. Ciccio is... he's a human.”

“Like Luca and Alberto's friend,” Mia agreed.

“Oh?” Signora Egelfino said.  She moved a little, putting the bulk of the stones in between her and the kids.  “So... this is just going to be something that happens now, is it?  I mean, humans coming down here, and...”

“Just for today,” Ciccio assured her.  “The kids had this magic scroll.”

“It was really for Alberto's cousin,” Giordana added.  “She doesn't do the Change, but they found this spell where she could go up on land if she had somebody to trade with.”

“So they asked me if I wanted to try,” Ciccio finished.

He and Giordana both held their breath, waiting for Signora Egelfino's reaction.  If this went badly, it wouldn't bode well for how Giordana's mother might react later.

Unfortunately, her first question was, “does your mother know?”

“We're gonna tell her tonight,” said Giordana, “when he changes back.  I thought she'd take it better if she had a chance to get to know him a little better first.”

“I... see,” said Signora Egelfino dubiously.  She didn't look at all comfortable with the idea, but she wasn't freaking out, either. That wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible.  Could they expect the same sort of reaction from Atinnia Trota?  Would she just be mildly disapproving like this, or would she be outright furious?  Ciccio was starting to get a very bad feeling about the whole project.

“What about him?” Mia asked, pointing.

Ciccio and Giordana exchanged another worried glance, then turned to see what she was looking at.

Ercole was now lying face-up on a boulder, clutching his sweater and panting from unaccustomed exertion, staring blankly at a point somewhere between the surface of the ocean and the edge of the universe.  Alessia and Silvio were hovering over him, concerned.

“Is he dead?” asked Alessia, sounding sincerely worried that he might be.  “Did we kill him?”

“Nah,” Silvio said.  “His gills are moving.  He'll be fine.” He cupped his hands around his mouth and called, as if to somebody at a great distance, “you're doing really great!”

Ciccio turned back to Mia.  “It's pretty obvious, huh?”

She nodded.

“Don't say anything to him.  He thinks he's blending in.”  The last thing Ciccio wanted was Ercole having another screaming fit.

Mia's only response to that was a snort.

A few minutes later, more neighbours arrived.  The first one Giordana pointed out was Ginevra Tartaruga, bringing coils of seagrass rope.  Her young son Milo was following her, but when he noticed Silvio and Alessia dragging Ercole off his boulder, he went to see what was going on.

“Up and at 'em,” Silvio was saying.  “You gotta learn to steer.”

Ercole groaned loudly, but Alessia took his other hand and Milo grabbed him by the tail, and they hauled him into a sitting position.

Only moments behind Signora Tartaruga, Vittoria Aragosta swam up with a basket of barnacles and her five-year-old twins.  She saw the other children gathered around Ercole, and went to deposit her daughters among them.

“This is Gianna and this is Giola,” she said.  “Don't let them confuse you, Gianna is the one with the freckles on her gills.” She gave one a gentle tug so Ercole could see them.  “Now, you two behave yourselves for... sorry, what was your name?”

Ercole just stared at her, not sure what was happening.

“This is Ercole,” said Silvio helpfully.

“Behave yourselves for Ercole,” Signora Aragosta finished, “and I won't be far away.  Okay?”

“Si, Mama,” the twins chorused.  Their mother smiled and nodded, and went to join the rest of the adults.

A moment later, Ercole finally figured out that he'd been mistaken for the babysitter.  “Hey!” he protested, but Vittoria was already chatting with Signora Donzella, and didn't realize he was talking to her.

Using the rope and the pieces from the shipwreck, the adults and teenagers built a frame for the new barn roof.  Then they began building over it with stones, cementing these together with barnacle glue and filling the cracks with sponges that would trap silt and keep cold currents and annoying plankton from getting in to bother the livestock.

As they worked, Ciccio tried to be surreptitious about glancing over to see what Ercole and the kids were up to.  He would never have trusted Ercole to look after a child, and he wasn't sure these children were capable of looking after Ercole, either.  The first time he checked, they had dragged him back to the row of tall seaweed.  The kids were swimming through them, weaving in and out as if for a slalom, making it look very easy to do so without touching the stems.

The second time Ciccio looked, Ercole had tried it for himself and was now tangled in the weeds.  Silvio and Alessia were trying to extract him while the younger children giggled helplessly.

As the adults decided to call it a day and began cleaning up, Ciccio took a third look.  He was just in time to see Ercole starting off towards the row of plants – some of which were significantly shorter than they had been.  Ercole managed to manoeuvre in between the first two, then back, brushing against the third stem but not getting stuck in it.  In and out, in and out, and then he was at the other end.

The children burst out cheering and hurried to give him high fours, which he returned with a grin.  “I knew I could do it,” he said smugly.  “After all, I won the Portorosso Cup race five years in a row!”  He held up his hand as he usually did for this boast, then paused, counted the fingers, and quickly added one from the other hand.

Giorgia Donzella approached Ciccio and Giordana.  “You two and your friend were a big help,” she said.  “I know Silvestro more or less kidnapped you for the afternoon, so can I offer you some supper?  As a thanks for staying?”

“No, thank you, Signora,” said Ciccio politely.  “I'm having dinner with the Trotas tonight, and then my father is expecting me home.”

“Some other time, then,” she said pleasantly.

One by one, the parents came to collect their children.  Signora Aragosta left with her twins, and Signora Tartaruga took Milo by the hand.

“Thank you for entertaining him,” she said to Ercole.  “He does tend to get into everything if he's left on his own.”

“It was nothing, Signora.  My pleasure,” said Ercole, giving her what he thought of as his most charming smile.  It had looked sleazy when he was human and sharper teeth had not improved it.

Signor Pianuzza let Alessia climb onto his back to be carried home, although he did grunt.  “You're getting a little big for that, Starfish,” he said.  “Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah.  We taught Ercole to swim!” she replied.

“Oh, did he forget?”  Signor Pianuzza chuckled, humouring her. “Good job.  Let's go see what Mom and Cosimo have been up to. Thanks, kiddo!”  He waved to Ercole, and headed for home.

Ercole turned to Ciccio and Giordana with a grin.  “Did you hear that?  They love me.  They've got more sense than I thought, these sea monsters.”

Ciccio tried to remember if he had ever heard anyone thank Ercole before.  It wasn't in his character to do useful things, even by accident... today was probably the first time in years.  No wonder he looked so pleased with himself.

“I wonder if they ever have races down here,” Ercole mused. “Imagine the look on those boys' fishy faces if I beat them in their own element!”  He rubbed his hands together.

“There are races at the festivals,” said Giordana, “but they're usually for livestock, not people.  The more important question is what we're going to do with you now.”  She nibbled on a cuticle as she thought about it.

Ciccio realized what she meant.  “We can't take him back to your Mom's place for dinner,” he said.

“Why not?” Ercole asked.  He pointed at Ciccio.  “You got me into this, number one, and number two,” he pointed at Giordana, “you said I can't get out of the water to get any real food.  I think that means it's your responsibility to feed me.”

“And Mom will do it, too,” Giordana groaned.  Hospitality was important to sea monsters, and Attinia Trota took social niceties very seriously.  “We can't sit around and think about it.  I'm surprised she hasn't already sent Arturo to come find us.  We'd better figured it out on the way.  What are we going to tell her?”

“The truth?” Ciccio tried.  He wasn't going to let her forget it.

“About you, sure, but him?” Giordana asked.

“Absolutely not!” said Ercole.  “I am blending in, remember?”

“If we lie about you, it's gonna make telling her about me way harder!” Ciccio protested.

“That's not my problem,” Ercole informed him.

“Yeah, but if we tell her you were an accident, then she'll be even more suspicious about the whole thing!” Giordana groaned, pulling on her own fins in distress.  She shook her head, and took a deep breath.  “Okay, so you can't meet my Mom, then.  You'll have to wait outside... we'll find you somewhere to hide, and I'll bring you something to eat, okay?”

“Fine,” Ercole decided.  “I wonder what sea monsters eat.  I hope it doesn't look as disgusting as you do.”

At Signora Pepitone's apartment, the adults drank coffee and talked about the sorts of things adults find interesting, while Perla took out a deck of cards and taught Flavia to play a game called Straccia Camicha.  The rules were easy to remember and who won was based on luck, with each player putting down a series of cards determined by the last card their opponent had played.  That was fine with Flavia, who was not good at strategy games like chess.

“If it does, you don't have to eat it,” Giordana informed him. “Come on – the kids said you can swim now, so do it.”

-

It was a fun distraction, but every few minutes Flavia would remember the pickle she was in, and would have to remind herself that Papa Leo was coming to get her and it would all be okay.  What about the others, though?  She still didn't know where Alberto, Luca, and Giulia had ended up or whether they would try to look for her.  They had plenty of experience around humans and their spaces so they would probably be okay, but how would they find out that they were supposed to meet her and Papa Leo back in Portorosso?  It would have been better to know.

A while later, Perla's mother arrived.  She knocked and then let herself in, gave Perla a quick kiss on the cheek and then went to sit with Roberto and Signora Pepitone.

“You weren't kidding, Dionisia,” she observed.  “The whole town really is talking about it.  It sounds dreadful.”

Signora Pepitone snorted.  “I told you,” she repeated, to her son.  “Some coffee, Lisa?”

“Yes, please,” Lisa replied.  “Do you remember Graziano?  The fellow who works at the Museum of Piracy?”

Flavia paused in laying down a card, listening.

“Oh, yes,” said Signora Pepitone.  “What about him?”

“He says he saw the same group of kids earlier in the day,” Lisa replied.  “One of the girls apparently had never seen a parrot before, so he offered to let them pet his.  As soon as they touched it, though, the bird started crying out about sea monsters!”

“They were on land when I saw them, but monsters they certainly were!”  Signora Pepitone shuddered.  “Horrid.”

Flavia felt her heart drop.  If the man from the Pirate Museum remembered them, then he knew what the others looked like in human form.  If he'd been telling everybody, then it wouldn't be safe for them to come back into town and find her.  Was there any way she could get them a message to tell them they didn't have to?

First, she would have to find them.  Flavia didn't know her way around San Giuseppe.  She needed someone to help her, but the humans would refuse once they found out the friends she was looking for were the terrifying sea monsters Signora Pepitone had told them about!

Then she realized that Perla was waiting for her to take her turn. She had totally forgotten about the game.  “How many cards did I put down?” Flavia asked nervously.

“One.  You need one more, because I played a Cavallo,” said Perla.  She looked at the adults, then lowered her voice and asked, “did your friends really turn into monsters?”

“Yeah,” said Flavia.

“Were you scared?” Perla asked.

Perla was the only person here who hadn't said sea monsters were scary, but that might just be because she hadn't yet said anything about them at all.  Could Flavia risk telling her?  Even if she did, could Perla help?  Flavia licked her lips, then said, “they're supposed to do that.  That's how sea monsters work.”

For a moment Perla frowned, and Flavia was afraid she'd just made a terrible mistake.  Then, however, she leaned closer.  “Really?” she whispered, intrigued.

“Yeah.  When we get out of the water, we turn into humans, and when we get wet we change back.”  And having already said we, Flavia realized, she now had to tell the rest.  “Except me.  I don't.  I don't know why not, I just don't.”  She could never escape that one exception, not even now.

Perla was fascinated.  She looked over at the adults, then inched even closer to be absolutely sure they couldn't hear.  “So... your parents were sea monsters, but you just turned out as human?”

“Um... not exactly.”  Flavia wasn't sure how to even begin explaining the situation.  “But if the man at the museum remembers us, then he knows what my friends look like...”

“... and he'll tell everyone.”  Perla understood right away. “What are you gonna do?”

“I have to find them before anybody else does,” said Flavia. How could she possibly do that when she couldn't get in the water? All her life she'd longed to get out of it, and now she would give anything to dive back in!  “I don't even know where the sea is from here.”

“I do,” Perla said.  She gathered up the playing cards, and stood.  “Nonna!  I'm gonna show Flavia your bird collection, okay?”

“Careful with them,” Signora Pepitone warned.  “They're not toys.”

“I know.  I'm not a baby anymore,” said Perla.  She took Flavia's hand and led her into the bedroom, explaining on the way. “The birds are ceramic.  When I was little I used to play with them.  I gave them all names and decided which ones were friends and relatives, and they would have adventures.  Then I broke one, and Nonna wouldn't let me touch them again for ages.”  She turned on the bedroom light, and gently shut the door behind them.

[stellamarium]

Reaping What You Sow

RATING: General

GENRES: Drama

WORD COUNT: 971

SUMMARY: Lunaliya asks Jade for his help in getting back at some people, and he accepts.

Jade Leech was someone who always observed his surroundings. If an emergency situation ever arose, he'd be one of the first people to react (if he felt particularly inclined to) due to how attentive he was of his surroundings. So it was only natural that he would notice the group of boys talking and laughing amongst themselves as they stole glances towards a specific patron.

Jade subtly followed their gaze and was unsurprised to find Lunaliya be the target of them. She was easy to pick out in Night Raven College, and while she didn't necessarily have any enemies per se, she just seemed like an easy target to pick on for the guys who had nothing else better to do with their time.

Lunaliya sat at her usual spot, talking alongside Deuce whom she had invited to have a drink with after one of their study sessions. Ace and Grim were a part of the group but were far more interested in doing other things that they had ditched early into the session. Although tempted to join them, Deuce stayed behind as he wanted to improve his grades more. Seeing Deuce working so hard made Lunaliya want to reward him and decided to treat him to something from Mostro Lounge.

The two stood up from their seats to leave, having finished their drinks. They still haven't noticed the group of guys who seemed to be plotting something. Jade watched from the sidelines as Lunaliya and Deuce passed by the group's table, lost in their own conversation. One of the students then suddenly stuck their foot out, successfully tripping Lunaliya and causing her to fall onto the floor with a dull thud. The boys broke out into loud laughter as Deuce helped Lunaliya back up, asking her if she was alright. Hearing them laugh at her expense like that, Deuce correctly surmised that tripping Lunaliya was fully intentional on their part and not just an accident.

"Hey!" Deuce was ready to fight, glaring at the group of students as he balled his hands into tight fists, but Lunaliya prevented him from acting any further by placing a hand on his arm.

"Deuce, stop. It's fine," Lunaliya assured him. "Don't cause a scene. Remember: Mostro Lounge forbids any kind of fighting. And think about it—I highly doubt you'd have the money to compensate any of the possible damages caused to the establishment if you fought now. ...Unless you want Azul to completely wring you dry for your labour?"

Deuce flinched, remembering the sea anemone incident. She had a point, so although he didn't like it, he decided to back down, but he continued to glare at the group. They were unfazed by the hostile gaze and continued to laugh. Lunaliya sighed. This kind of behaviour wasn't new to her, but it was still annoying. Still, she reminded herself that these were just kids younger than her, so she tried not to let it get to her too much.

She turned her head and happened to make eye contact with Jade. He tilted his head to the side, his charming smile ever present on his face. Lunaliya understood that gesture as him asking if she wanted his help, to which she shook her head and rejected him.

A shame, Jade thought to himself. He was feeling awfully bored, and it would have been a great way to pass the time.

---

It seemed as though Jade had nothing to worry about as Lunaliya had decided to visit him later in the evening. She had her arms crossed over her chest, all the while wearing a displeased look.

"Can I ask you for a favour in gathering more information about those group of guys from before for me?" Lunaliya asked, completely unashamed in trying to dig up some dirt to use against them as a way of getting back for what they did.

"Of course," Jade accepted. "I would usually ask for payment, but I'm curious to see what you'll do next, so I'll let it go this time." He paused for a moment, staring at the woman before him before adding, "You're very petty, aren't you?"

"I've always been petty," Lunaliya admitted with a shrug.

"But you usually never act upon it. You always just sit there and bear it, as if you're trying to be the better person by not stooping down to their level. Frankly, I always found that annoying," Jade confessed with a smile that was difficult to read.

The prefect considered his words for a moment, swaying slightly from side-to-side. "...Well, I guess it's because I know I won't get caught if I did something? You make it sound as if I'm some patient and understanding person towards those who piss me off, but that's not necessarily true. I'm just afraid of the consequences if I were to retaliate. It'd be more troublesome if they tried to get back at me for getting back at them, but I have nothing to fear this time since I won't get caught."

"How are you so confident that you won't get caught?" Jade asked, genuinely curious.

Lunaliya grinned, her smile mischievous. "Well, that's because you're going to help me."

"Asides from gathering information, I haven't agreed to helping you," the man pointed out, but he still laughed.

"But you will," Lunaliya replied, her expression not once changing. "Because it seems like fun, and you're curious, aren't you? Your curiousity knows no bounds, after all."

Jade stared at her before flashing her a wide grin. "I hope you'll put on a good show."

"Oh, of course," Lunaliya answered, bringing a hand up to her lips to cover her laugh which would have sounded far too sinister to anybody else who only knew her to be a "kind" and "caring" person. "It's only fair."

[toasteaa]

one of my fave things about mer AUs is the variety of species you can choose from. what type of fish/creature would the bucci gang be? like, let's say a lion fish or an eel for example

Oh god I absolutely love ideas like this because it's like, I really like combining elements of different creatures while making them something entirely new in a sense? Outside of the obvious factors like gills and scales (or lack of scales), I like to think about the less than human parts of them. More than the claws and the too sharp teeth, the real fishy parts of them. Like

Leone's design is one I play with a lot in my head because where I can absolutely see him having lion fish elements, I loooooove the idea of him having a few sea dragonesque elements to him as well! His 'A' belt is probably crafted from some old, gold emblem that he found on a sunken ship that he fastened to himself with reinforced, braided cotton rope from a net he cut himself out of. His fins are a little tattered but he ignores it doesn't mind. Just don't point them out.

Narancia always gives me koi fish vibes but I always imagine him being a little shrimplike as well? Maybe he's even got the additional legs and the little antennae! He's got splotchy orange and white scales all over his body and his got his bandana by stealing borrowing the shirt of a tourist that left it near the shore while skinny dipping and brought it to Bruno to have it fixed into something he'd like to wear.

Bruno's design is...hmm. Whenever I think of him, I think of a design that's part betta and part cichlid because he's strong and a fighter, but also extremely elegant and his pretty, iridescent fins would be the ones to catch the sun rays the most. His barrettes are hand carved by him from some larger cowrie shells he found one day. He spent a few days trying to get them just right and wears them proudly almost every day.

Mista is in the same boat as Bruno because as silly as it is, I can definitely see him with the colors and patterns of a clownfish but also be a little hardier with cichlid elements! His luck also runs along with the fact that he's the only one that can hide in sea anemones.

Fugo is the one that has the eel elements, but that's mostly because I can see Purple Haze being represented by an electric eel. OOOH OR MAYBE EVEN A BLUE RING OCTOPUS!!

Giorno is a jellyfish...for very obvious reasons pfft - Nah but seriously, I think Giorno fits jellyfish vibes very very well! Seemingly innocent but very dangerous and always has a trick up his sleeve - maybe he's got a few man of war or box jellyfish energies in those plush tentacles that look so very soft to the touch.

[ihatethatfuckingfamily]

red campion, yellow iris, white clover, english stonecrop, mouse-ear chickweed, ragged-robin, sea pink, sweet violet, sea campion, wood anemone :O?

red campion: is there anything near you that was a gift from someone? who was it from?

I'm wearing a bracelet from my oldest friend, actually, it's pretty cool

yellow iris: describe your handwriting (or post a photo)

white clover: do you wear perfume? if so, what's your favourite scent?

I do, but I never paid attention, whoops, whatever Leo buys ig

english stonecrop: do you have a favourite tree near your home?

This lovely birch tree across the way

mouse-ear chickweed: immortality: blessing or curse?

Man, I think that depends, but I'm comfortable with my place in the cycle

ragged-robin: did you draw on your hands in school? what would you draw?

Yeah, nothing exciting, though, just doodles

sea pink: what's the first lie you remember telling?

Lying about homework, lmao

sweet violet: what would 13yr old you think of you now?

He'd be STOKED

sea campion: is there a fear you had as a child that you have overcome?

Dark basements, ironically

wood anemone: what's a food you've always wanted to try?

Fried ice cream