#nautilus rambles

[nautilus1954]

Everyone wants this mf dead

[fleshdyke]

little comic of my seawing pirates based off of conversations with my friends. tbh

[limboraptor]

Giving my Cookie Run OCs birthdays because why not

Ventresca: April 2nd

Seaguana: August 18th

Red Reaper: July 12th

Captain Nautilus: January 15th

Moonstone Caviar: October 9th

Golden Alga Dragon: May 30th

White Ganache: June 13th

[rev-velvet]

I love Marlin Airport it really encapsulates the "Im lost and have absolutely no clue as to where Im supposed to be" feeling a real Airport gives. Like Im talking from spawn onwards I just choose a direction and pray it doesn't lead to me falling.

[ruleofvee]

(little piece i wrote based on an AU ive been discussing with @satorustan. This concept seized me in a vicelike grip, shook me upside down and stole my lunch money. Ahem)

“Excuse me, Ma’am,” Kaeya says with a winning smile. The lady at the front desk seems unmoved. ”Do you know where a certain Diluc Ragnvindr would be?” Now she's looking at him like he's just grown a second head. Kaeya opens his mouth to try and course correct (not that he knows what misstep he made) at the same time that the loudspeaker to his left crackles to life. “Attention all personnel,” Diluc’s voice says, smooth and professional - like this is just a normal part of everyday life. “Your assignments today are: Unit One to Floor B, Two to Floor D, Three to Floor A, Four to Floor C. As always, be on the lookout for suspicious behavior, or packages, boxes, or bags left unattended.” Kaeya can't breathe. He's stuck in place, staring at the speaker like it could save his soul. Diluc’s voice continues, merciless. “The ambient water temperature today is fifteen degrees. Pressure indicators are well within acceptable parameters. You may proceed as normal with your daily tasks.” It's unfair how easily he punches Kaeya in the face with just a few seemingly routine words. But that's the horror of it, isn't it? That this is routine, normal, expected, that this reality has become banal to Diluc, and yet Kaeya is scrabbling for a hand hold. “On behalf of the Fortress of Meropide,” Diluc finishes, “we thank you for your service. Diluc out.” Kaeya is left with ringing ears and a confusion that lingers, even when the lady glares at him to leave.

[birdo-is-here]

sorry guys the ladt two minutes of Vulture by Bear Ghost did something to me

[cherryistired]

You can spot the exact moment that I realize we’re not going to win this match

[noxtivagus]

MUSIC N FFXIV MAKE ME SO HAPPY

[than487]

after hundreds of hours I've managed to have a save with a Y1 CC completion and I find it important enough that I won't shut up just yet

[gibbearish]

eggecutive vp 270 infested with three flyfish im deperately trying to bomb but theyre all out of range and the person with the inkjet only bothers to pop it when theyre the last one alive, revives us all in one shot and then doesnt bother to go after them after. bb girl its a special youre supposed to use it in special situations and a flyfish infestation is literally what you are made for youre 270 you should know this

[nautilus1954]

[pongnosis]

i love tom in devil but why isnt sabina in it too? was she ever suppose to be? and will you ever write a fic with her?

(Under a read-more for rambling and mild wip spoilers:)

The easy answer is that Tom wasn't supposed to be in Devil in the first place, either, beyond an outsider POV in the interludes. The original (and very vague) plot outline had Alex choose to take down SCORPIA when Yassen gave the ultimatum, so long before Tom got added. Then the plot changed and everything got personal and Tom (and Jack) got tangled up it in, too. By that point, I was juggling too many characters and plotlines to want to add more if I wanted any chance of wrapping up the fic. Plus, at the point where it might have been relevant to add her, SCORPIA had already targeted her (journalist) father and the last thing Yassen wanted was something like that to mess up his careful plans any further. Sabina would have been justifiably furious to find out who Alex was working for now.

I have no plans to add her to Nautilus for the moment - or Tom, since I've got enough characters to juggle already. The original plan, before Nautilus grew an actual plot, was actually to add Tom to the general chaos, but with the current developments with Chase, Alex has every incentive to keep his friends well away from things.

I've got no solid plans for a fic with her, but since I read Nightshade Revenge, I've really wanted to write her and Alex as adults in the middle of their respective careers. Sabina as a war correspondent or similar, something that will let her help keep the world of power accountable, Alex with a nebulous job as a 'problem solver' and just - coming in and out of each others' lives as their schedules line up. They love each other but neither are the type to settle down and they both respect that sometimes the job comes first. Maybe they only see each other a few weeks every couple of months, maybe more and maybe less, but they understand each other, they have shared traumas and a vicious distrust of people of wealth and power, and - they make it work. A stable home base in otherwise busy, unpredictable lives. Run it parallel with flashbacks to John and Helen's lives, both the similarities and the huge differences, and give Alex and Sabina the happy ending that Alex's parents didn't get. That's the Sabina and Alex fic I really want to write.

[jessamine-rose]

bro i am eating ur work like a full course meal fr THE MERMAID AU OMG IM DEVOURING IT my motavation to draw them now 📈📈📈

i was wondering if u could have any examples i can use to draw them? or try to explain how u see them if u cant dont sweat it! ALSO CONGRATS ON 1.4k FOLLOWERS!! 🥰🥰💕

Read my Yandere Mermaid AU here ϵ( 'Θ' )϶

Aahh I’m excited to hear that!! Thank you for allowing me to ramble, dear <3

First of all, read this ask. It has important notes for everyone, specifically Pantalone and Dottore. Pls don’t feel pressured to follow all of my headcanons btw :’0

Capitano’s appearance is based on these two designs. (Their art actually inspired this AU!!) Since my version isn’t a royal guard, the armor isn’t necessary unless you want to add it He has his canon hairstyle and mask + more scars.

Pantalone’s jellyfish tail is like this but the top part is slimmer, less like a skirt and more like a classic mermaid tail. His mermaid colors are translucent violet and black + lavender when bioluminescent. He wears his canon jewelry acquired from sunken ships and human victims.

Dottore’s octopus body is shaped like Azul Ashengrotto’s with longer, thinner tentacles. I can’t decide on a color so just pick from black, gray, or deep blue lol (with deep blue suckers if black). He wears a Nautilus shell necklace get it, reference to Ursula the sea witch

For Pierro, just look at the Capitano references and replace the tail + fins with an orca’s. He has the most scars and wears his canon earring. I’d also suggest his blue diamond neckpiece worn as a necklace if you’re up for that :>

It’s up to you if all of them or only Capitano wear their Fatui masks/ glasses. Thanks again for deciding to draw them and requesting my input!! I can’t wait to see how they turn out~

[chunkfunkgunk-offishal]

I decided to ask around on all the fish/ocean blogs I follow: how do you learn more about the ocean?? I love the ocean and I really wanna learn more about my favorite sea creatures and beyond but I have no idea how to get started. Are there documentaries or shows your recommend? How do you go about doing research for fun (the American school system has failed me, go figure)? How do you even remember it all? I crave to learn but where I could possibly start is as vast as the ocean itself.

I am probably the least helpful source for this specifically haha

I don’t know as much about the ocean, I just love aquatic creatures! Most of my posts have very little facts or information about the animal themself because I truthfully don’t know much. I google the animal’s name and a few different key terms and check at least 6 different links (Typically 4-5 aquarium/conservation sites or scientific papers and then Wikipedia)

However, I am also from America, so maybe I can be a little helpful!

Most of my in depth information comes from talking with scientists, aquarium staff, and locals and/or fishermen on beaches. I like talking to people about things that they’re passionate about, and asking questions in person can help you quickly and easily get the answers you want. Plus people tend to be more interesting to listen to than a documentary or a scientific paper since they can make more jokes and/or give you little stories from real life about the subject. I adore the Georgia Aquarium, the staff there are amazing and the animals are incredible too!

For documentaries, I’ve watched the BBC’s Blue Planet a lot of times in my life. I also believe that there’s a scientific crew that do a livestream annually of various ocean life and provide commentary as they go. (The streams are Nautilus Live - you might have seen them if you’re familiar with the video of the shy dumbo octopus that hid in its tentacles.)

Last but not least: how I go about research for fun and remember it! It’s actually a little silly, but I actually used to make research slideshows about different animals when I bored and had time in class. I tend to do things like that—get interested in a topic and then go through different sources taking notes for really no reason other than that I want to.

It’s for that same reason that I can remember it, just that it’s interesting to me. When I enjoy learning about something, it sticks and doesn’t disappear. I have ADHD, though, so I can’t say if that’s good advice for someone without it.

I hope this was at least somewhat helpful! Sorry for rambles!

[crystal-lillies]

a rambling retrospective on the last year as a new Critter

So, it's been about a year (a little over) since I fully dipped into the Critical Role fixation.

Last year around this time, we got the other Halloween episode in Whitestone, just before the Mighty Nein Reunited two-parter, and gee, we just got a Halloween episode in Whitestone and we're about to go into a Mighty Nein Reunion this week! And a LIVE show at that, the first one since pre-COVID!

And last year at this time, I was just starting into a work D&D group and I'd just gotten my first set of dice at a renaissance festival, and I'd just bounced around a bunch of compilation videos, several oneshots, and some out-of-context Campaign 2, along with The Legend of Vox Machina season 1. I was just barely dipping my toe into the wider CR + TTRPG world.

So much has happened since then.

Every Thursday since that Halloween in Whitestone last year with Bells Hells, I've been tuning into the stream (despite the ET time difference) and sometimes even making it through all the way (for some exhaustion points that are still worth it). I watched more of the oneshots (the Call of Cthulu one and Nautilus Ark being particular favorites I've seen in 2023). I've also watched a lot more of Campaign 2 and even went back into Campaign 1, bought myself some merch (I'm actually wearing the Hot Topic Ashton shirt, haha), and I got friends into The Legend of Vox Machina before and after Season 2 dropped on Amazon.

I even wrote a little fic when Matt slammed us all with the Apogee Solstice on the 8th anniversary session :)

And, as anyone who's been following me has noticed, I got the Exquisite Exandria cookbook and have been making the recipes from it whenever I can, and that's also been amazing.

Plus, I've watched some Dimension 20 (Mentopolis was incredible and Burrow's End rn is fascinating) and dipped into Worlds Beyond Number thanks to that.

My work D&D group has since dissolved, but I took a leap of faith and I joined a pickup oneshot game of D&D5e in April, and around late June/early July, the DM of that game invited me with a few others to a campaign set in that homebrew world the oneshot was based in.

We started playing at the end of July, and I've been having such a blast. Each session is so much fun and the highlight of any given week we play. I cannot believe I went so long in my life without having D&D until this point, honestly. But I'm so glad I have it now.

All of this to say, a lot has happened in the last year, and I'm so glad to have stumbled into the Critter community and gained knowledge of Critical Role and the wider TTRPG sphere as a whole. The fandom has been so welcoming and supportive in a way I haven't felt from many fandoms in my experience. It feels like it's been more than just a year of being invested in Critical Role, but I suppose that the fervent intensity of the story and the people involved and the genuine excitement in front of and behind the cameras.

I guess, just... thank you for everything. And here's to many more years of Critterdom to come :)

Love y'all very much, and is it Thursday yet?

[shalpilot]

What happens ate Port Anaty...?

you've opened the flood gates. Mildly tipsy, this is gonna be a ramble.

So for my oc crew I have a few arcs vaguely planned out/set into a timeline. Port Anaty takes place after the ~seeeeeeconddd~ish... arc/saga where they've picked up one extra crewmate. begrudgingly. Like, he's not even official by the time the arc starts but he definitely earns his place by the end I can tell you that much.

To set the stage: We are already on the Grand Line. Tyro (left) + Kuri (right)

are the sole (official) members of the Nautilus Pirates and have pretty much just set off. They made a brief stop in Alabasta where they got roped into burning down the records room at Rain Dinners by Habba

who kinda owes like. a lot of money to the casino. and is also a very recent ex-member of baroque works. So they cut their trip a little short because there's assassins after them for helping this guy out and also maybe a warlord??? for some reason????? why is he involved???????

So they make a very quick getaway. they pull up in Port Anaty, which is attached to a large island with a pretty odd landscape. Sheer cliff faces out of nowhere, steep drop offs, and four seasons on one island? at once?

they reunite with Habba and are yelling at him when all of a sudden they. get mugged.

this is Roethbar. (with a slightly different design- he won't have the white tuft in the rest of the images!)

He politely asks for all of their valuables, and when Tyro explains that they don't have anything; they're just researchers (lie via omission- they just also happen to be pirates. and habba is also there.) he gets VERY excited and brings them to see his daughter, who is in a tower that looks over the port town. "brings them to see" is a little misleading, though. basically what he does is

yeah !

When they regain their bearings, Roethbar insists that they tell Odette, his daughter, stories from their travels.

after a little bit of discussion,

Tyro takes over. She doesn't tell a story from their past travels, though, and instead gives a story about a queen who cried pearls and her escape from the king. Roethbar questions her about where she heard that tale, and she waves it off as just being an old fairy tale she heard growing up. Roethbar concedes that they've done what he asked of them, especially since Odette enjoyed listening to Tyro. Before he escorts them out, Odette asks if she can invite the trio to the play tomorrow night.

Roethbar is ultimately swayed and agrees to let them come watch the show.

He then throws them off the tower.

Kuri catches everyone- (His Devil Fruit lets him change the state of matter of his body- so he can make himself liquid/gas/some weird in-between states) and him and Tyro grumble about whatever the hell it was that just happened. Habba, who's been surprisingly well-behaved this whole time, is like... you guys. We Have To Go To That Play. Kuri (who does NOT like Habba, like, at all, ever since he almost got his sister killed in a fire (sort of on accident)) scoffs and insinuates that he wouldn't peg Habba as the kind of guy to be interested in plays. Habba says he's not, but that guy was Roethbar. You don't just turn down Roethbar. He gets two blank stares in response. ...C'mon, guys, Roethbar? Captain of the Eclipse Pirates? You- oh my god you are newbies. Habba gives them the gist- you don't want to piss this guy off. His mood changes on a whim, and he is an incredibly powerful Devil Fruit user. You cannot let him get the upper hand on you, no matter if you're in a fight or not. Honestly, it was probably a good thing that Kuri and Tyro had no clue who he was- if they'd known and been afraid of him, he could've used that to his advantage. But yeah, they have to go to that play so Roethbar doesn't get pissed and completely annihilate them all. Also, they should do their absolute best to not piss him off in any other way, so its time for an outfit change, baby!!!

While out outfit shopping, Tyro actually runs into someone familiar- but when she tries to say hello to Odette, she shushes her and pulls her into an alleyway. See, she's not supposed to be out here, especially not when she has a performance tonight, but Tyro's story was just so inspiring she had to give freedom a shot. Odette's mostly talking to herself, justifying sneaking out, promising herself that she'll be back in the tower before she has to start getting ready for the play, clearly stressing herself out, and Tyro asks if Odette's... ever? been out on her own before? Odette tells Tyro that no, when she does go out it's only for very short walks and she's always accompanied by someone on her father's crew. For her own safety, of course! She's so beautiful that who KNOWS what could happen to her if the wrong person saw her. (Tyro admits to herself that yeah, she is pretty.) Tyro then offers to escort Odette around the port town- they probably have about the same amount of knowledge about it, so they'll both have fun exploring together! And they do :D The whole time, Odette is switching between having the time of her life and fretting about getting caught. Odette's also dumping quite a bit of info about her dad- he's barely home, and when he is, it's to see how Odette's rehearsals are going and barely anything else. He usually sets right off back to sea as soon as her performances are done. The whole situation has been setting off alarm bells for Tyro since they got launched into her tower, but what finally cements that she wants to do something for Odette is when she spots someone from her Father's crew out on the town and runs away to keep from being seen. When she catches up to her, Tyro offers to take Odette along with Kuri and... nope, just her and Kuri! No One Else Is On Their Crew. I mean, Roethbar leaves as soon as the play's done, right? And then he won't be back for how long? By the time he finds out Odette's gone, they'll be halfway to the New World. Odette balks at the suggestion, but says she'll consider. Tyro does tell her that her life here is safe, but it's not right. In the end, it is her decision, and Tyro wants her to do what she wants.

Odette doesn't realize, but that's the moment she made her choice.

The play that night goes pretty well. It's a massive spectacle piece, the auditorium is packed. Odette is a star. Tyro is completely enraptured by her acting, Kuri is also having a good time, and Habba hasn't fallen asleep! Probably because he's on edge about Roethbar being in the audience, but heyyy a win's a win. Everything is coming to a close in the play, then Odette stumbles over her line. Instantly, everyone can feel a shift in the atmosphere.

Someone very, very strong, is very, very mad.

Odette scrambles to get back on track, and though she's nervous, she pushes through and doesn't make any more mistakes. Once the play is over, Tyro rushes backstage to find her to see if she's made up her mind. While she's looking for Odette's dressing room, she overhears Roethbar yelling. He's angry and disgustingly disappointed in his daughter for making a mistake- clearly, she needs more time to practice, and less time running around outside. Odette is trying to apologize to him this whole time, but she can't get a word in and is clearly upset. Tyro barges in on them, not caring (or believing, at this point) how "dangerous" Roethbar is. She yells at him for not appreciating what a talented girl his daughter is, and for locking her away like she's some treasure to be kept in a chest.

Roethbar laughs.

That's exactly what she is.

He draws his sword, and as he does, back in the auditorium, audience members rise from their seats and surround Habba and Kuri.

Roethbar explains to Tyro that his Devil Fruit allows him complete, total control over anything he owns. He conquers so he can control everything. The people on this island? All his. The islands themselves, smashed together from four different original locations? All his. And his daughter, of course, is his. And he's not going to let a little pirate fill her head with thoughts of freedom.

Obviously, there's a fight. Kuri and Habba are fending off the audience members and members of the Eclipse Pirates while trying to find Tyro. Tyro is face to face with Roethbar, who's daughter is begging him to let her go. Odette gets shaken off to the side, and Tyro is barely able to dodge Roethbar's attacks while she grabs Odette's hand and runs.

Obviously, they try to run. Unlike the port, Odette knows the auditorium like the back of her hand. It's directly connected to the tower, so she's spent countless hours inside. They run into Habba and Kuri, and keep up the pace through the halls while looking for the exit. Odette directs them, and finally, they reach the doors. Habba breaks them open and tries to push everyone through, when suddenly the floor shatters and they're separated again. Kuri and Habba can only look on from above the massive sinkhole that's opened up as Roethbar descends on Tyro and Odette.

Obviously, there's no way they could win. They've only just started their journey. And now it seems like it's going to come to an end. Roethbar hisses at Tyro. How dare you try to steal my daughter away from me. How dare you fill her head with thoughts of freedom. How dare you try to escape. Tyro tries to fight back, but her harpoon gets shattered and cast to the side. It's all over. Roethbar raises his sword.

And Odette takes the blow.

Both Roethbar and Tyro scream. The ground quakes again, but this time, it's not from Roethbar's Devil Fruit. No, this time, in a burst of shock, rage, and absolute terror, Tyro has unleashed a power she didn't even know she had. Roethbar collapses.

Habba and Kuri struggle to keep their footing and consciousness. Habba tells Kuri to run, which he refuses to do until his sister is safe. Habba refuses to let him go down in the now ever-expanding pit and scooping up a still wailing Tyro. She screams at him to let her go, to take Odette with them, but Roethbar is already starting to stir. Habba apologizes, truly, deeply, but he can't let Tyro go back.

There's no saving her.

Habba grabs Kuri as well and gets them all far, far away as fast as he can. They're back on their ship and setting off before Tyro can even begin to process. She's furious at Habba and screams for them to turn around, but Kuri stops her. Kuri hates, hates that he has to tell his sister that there's nothing they could have done, but it's true. They're new. They're weak. There's only two- No, only three of them. Truly, there was nothing they could have done except not go in the first place. And now all they can do is run.