songerein | [open] under the sea darling it's better down where it's wetter

Entry tags:

[open] under the sea darling it's better down where it's wetter

Who: Anyone!
Which: Interactive Dream
Where: Sora's dream of Disney's Atlantica
What: It's May and Sora is dreaming of an under the sea oasis. Turn into mer-creature and explore the Kingdom of Atlantica!
Warnings: Finny Fun

Dreaming of underwater oceans and deep dark depths of the sea could be anyone's dream. But the dream that opens here is one that is uniquely vibrant and full of magnificent colours and glowing corals. Playful schools of fish and seahorses that swirl around while singing songs. Crabs and lobsters clack away to a beat of a song and whales fill the waters with long sweet notes. Dolphins kick and play and push for others to join in. Jellyfish gloop about and nest in hair and whisper secrets. And devoted sharks prowl and patrol around a large standing castle in the distance.

You might find yourself in this dream surrounded by a school of baby guppies that poke and prod at your new form. Half of your body seems to have changed to help you with your new underwater situation. Perhaps you have a powerful dolphin's tail or several long octopus-like tentacles in lieu of where your legs were. Or perhaps you've gained gills and water-cutting fins on your forearms or flippers for feet. Maybe your hair has been littered with starfish and your eyes glow with the ability to see through the darkness in the water. No matter what happens to your body here it seems you're now referred to as Merfolk.

A. Forest of Seaweed. Upon arrival you may find yourself lost in a forest of long strips of green and blue seaweed. The green is almost dizzying as you try to navigate through the wispy plants with your new body. The seaweed seems to easily attach to you or wrap around a limb if you're not careful. Perhaps you need to find a weapon or sharp piece of broken coral to get yourself through it? Or can you adapt quickly to your new fins and are able to dodge your way through the forest?

B. Singing Seahorses. Once free of the slippery pieces of seaweed the ocean opens to a deep and beautiful chasm of glowing rocks, crystals and plants. Schools of fish swim by and all of them seem to be heading towards that beautifully lit castle in the distance. But before you can proceed several dragon seahorses swarm up to you and demand to know your name. They kiss at your cheeks and forehead as if trying to coax information out of you. Asking you all sorts of personal questions like what is your favourite food or asking you to sing them a song or tell them what the real use of a Dinglehopper is. They won't leave you alone until you indulge them!

C. Emotional Seashells. Along the seabed there are several glowing seashells that can catch your eye. If they are picked up they tend to glow a certain colour to reflect your mood or personality. They will look very nice in your water-swept hair! But be careful because if a broken or chipped seashell is picked up and worn it might induce the wrong or opposite emotion into you.

D. Sharky Noctaere. A dream isn't complete without the presence of noctaere. Make a wrong turn and you might find yourself face to face with a noctaere in the shape of a very strange looking shark. These huge beefy sharkmen are not happy to see you and look like they might make a snack out of you if they can get their hands on you. Swim or fight!

E. Atlantica Castle. Upon swimming into the castle grounds you will be greeted by a plethora of merfolk happy to bring you into the castle. They will make sure you are fed with all sorts of underwater treats like fresh scallops, crab bits or kelp cookies. They will shower you with bits of gold jewellery and pearl bracelets as welcoming gifts. There seems to be an entire festival of some sort going on to welcome in all the dreamers. There is a big hustle and bustle about a music performance coming up and they are missing some key players to sing, dance or play instruments. And they want you to do it. A pretty mermaid might try to pull you to her as a dancer or a merman may hand you a set of handheld drums or a coral horn.

"Swim this way, we'll dance and we'll play now it's very easy, come on in! Just take a chance and shake a fin!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Unfortunately no. Neither my knife nor Flamek appeared upon entering this dreamscape. [Though his gun would have been useless regardless unless it turned into some kind of harpoon gun—]

I did notice some large seashells and rocks on the floor, so maybe breaking one of those would work.

[Tifa looks down, apprehension crossing her expression.]

... Down there?

[Beneath all the seaweed? It's one thing not being able to control her movements very well in clear, open water, but a whole other thing to have to journey down into the depths of this thick forest to fetch something from the ocean floor.

He'll feel her fingers squeeze his hand a little tighter before she slides it away. She's not going to just leave him here? So...]

I'll... be right back. Don't go anywhere—oh.

[She realizes as she says it that yeah, he's not going anywhere, before she tries to move herself downwards. It's... not easy, and she feels like she's making a fool of herself, bending this way and that to try and turn herself over. And mid-circle, she spares Eustace a bashful glance.]

... Don't look.

[It is a bit far... And he wonders if he should have her try and unwrap all this seaweed off him, but it would be worse if she got stuck with him. So he'll let her go...and find her bashfulness cute.]

Hard not to.

[He's always watching her after all. But more seriously—]

Instead of swimming, grab onto the kelp and pull yourself to climb down. As long as you don't move your tail and keep it slightly away it might be safer than trying to swim.

[Since she keeps going in circles.]

[Ah, right! Considering she'd just done that, she should've thought of it.

With a small, slightly lopsided grin, she takes a handful of the seaweed in her hands again and pulls herself down. She does accidentally flick her tail now and then and it sends her jerking to the left, but the seaweed is resilient (how unfortunate for him) enough that it holds against her awkward movements.]

If I don't make it back up in five minutes, call for help.

[And then she disappears into the seaweed. He'll see bubbles as she tries to fight her way through, a couple of small shrieks of surprise when one brushes up against her in the wrong way, and a few groans when she does get her arm wound up in one.

She returns with only two minutes to spare with a single clam.]

This was all I could find, but if I could just...

[With both hands, Tifa tears it clean in half, and the sudden motion jerks her again, this time right into him. Oops!]

Think this'll be enough?

[He's wondering how he would call for help, but he just nods before he watches those bubbles and listens to her little adventure. A few times he cringes as he can only imagine what's going on, getting a little worried and wondering if this had been such a good idea. He has half a mind of trying to pull himself down instead and just drag all this seaweed with him when she finally returns.]

Just take it easy—!

[And then she's suddenly up against him. Not that he minds, but this time there's a much more noticable buzz of electricity. Still not enough to be harmful, but a little stronger of a static shock to Tifa.]

...It'll have to. Are you all right?

[That little jolt is enough of a shock that it sends her reeling backwards a little, doing a slow rolling flip in the water before she straightens out again, the seashells in her hair drooping this way and that as she looks at him with a furrowed brow.]

Y-Yeah... I'm fine.

[What was that...?

No time to ask. Best to get him out before the seaweed starts gaining a mind of its own and consuming them both, so she tucks the other half of the clam beneath her arm while her free one reaches for Eustace's tangled wrist, although there's a touch of tentativeness, like she knows that a small shock is coming.]

Hold still...

[But she steels herself and wraps her fingers around him, braving that zap she feels coursing through her arm so that she can cut him loose with only a small, pained noise in the back of her throat. Tifa pulls the seaweed taut and with a single downward strike, the clam manages to snap the seaweed in half, freeing his arm from its clutches.]

[He's confused when she suddenly pulls back from him—and then his eyes narrow when he hears that sound.]

Hold on. Did you hurt yourself somewhere?

[Thinking she might have gotten cut or something, he reaches out to grab her hand to stop her from continuing, as well as to prevent her from flipping back again.]

No, it's—

[She's not fast enough, and when he takes her hand, he'll feel her muscles tense, and no matter how hard she tries to stifle it, a tiny "ow" somehow manages to escape her. Well... There goes that. At least it's only on contact so she doesn't pull back, but they're getting more powerful each time.]

You keep... shocking me?

[His eyes widen as he realizes what's happening and he hastily releases her.]

That—

[He stares at his hands before snapping his head to his tail, and now he can see the faint lines of electricity forming along his body.]

...Shit. I didn't realize it—my body is part electric eel.

[He had guessed he was part eel, but electric? He hadn't felt anything until now. But why now??]

[Oh... Oh no, don't do that—she's starting to float away, and when she jerks her tail, she only darts forward again towards him... which isn't helping! She has to flick away the seaweed that's rustling at the end of it, threatening to trap her, too. One victim is enough.]

Electric eel? [Her eyes look him up and down, widened slightly with alarm.] How are we supposed to—

[Hold hands? Be near each other in that case? Is he going to zap all of the water around him!? What's going to happen to her? She shakes her head, and that train of thought away.]

Here, just... help me get the rest of these.

[She'll offer him the other half of the clam in the meantime. They'll worry about the rest once he's out of there.]

[He wants to grab her when she starts to float away, but has to hold back because he doesn't want to shock her again. What if it's stronger this time?

There's a bit of a frustrated, conflicted look as he can only watch helplessly before she stabilizes and he carefully takes the clam, making sure not even their fingertips touch.

...]

...If you move below me, you can hold onto the bottom half of the kelp. I'll cut myself from the top and you can work from there.

[That way she'll have something to root her down once he's free. Fortunately, he already has an idea of how to help her once he's out.]

Edited 2022-05-19 16:06 (UTC)

[Her eyes linger on his hands when he takes the clam, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of her stomach and an ache in her chest, but she needs to shift her focus back to the problem at hand and does when he brings it up. But then he's suggesting she moves back down again, and she looks to the seaweed warily before agreeing.

The fact that she needs to hold onto anything at all just to keep from floating away is silly!!!

At least with the little flips in the water, it helps for her to make that small descent to the end of his tail where the seaweed is thickest and coiled tightest. She does her best not to touch his tail, knowing that it'll shock her if she does, so she's careful as she wraps her hands around the seaweed again, wincing at the slimy feel of it on her skin.]

Okay, here goes nothing—

[And she gives a good, strong pull and strikes again with the clam, and there's an ungodly snapping sound as he'll come loose. It's still wrapped around but at least he's free from the grapples of the ocean floor and can shake it off once he's managed his end. Hopefully he doesn't start to float away...!]

[He'll start cutting away at around his chest, the kelp slowly floating free just as Tifa gets in position. He'll then slowly work on the ones around his tail, keeping an eye on her progress before stopping just before he's completely cut loose. Immediately most of the seaweed falls away, with only a few still wrapped around his tail, but he can easily cut through those.

However, he still keeps hold of one particularly long strand and looks down at Tifa.]

Thanks, I should be good now.

[He can at least keep himself stationary, his tail lowering so that it's more vertical.]

I've had some practice with movement before I got entangled, but it's still a work in progress.

[Much to his frustration.]

But I think if we're both to get out of here safely, we should use this to tether to each other. It doesn't seem to conduct electricity, so it should be safe.

[This is where he holds out the long piece of kelp towards her.]

[Tifa looks between the long strip in his hand, then up at him, a pout forming with each passing beat.]

Feels more like a leash...

[It's murmured quietly to herself, the frustration of not being able to just swim on her own yet getting the best of her, but... it's a pragmatic approach to an odd situation, so she takes it with a small nod.]

You're right. Here I was hoping that you could help me practice, but... [Her eyes land on his hands, almost longingly.] It's probably safer this way.

[Because even now, as she tries to flick her tail this way and that to at least drift in the right direction, she finds herself slowly spinning out of control again, and she just gives him a flat look, like she's accepted her fate.]

[He also watches her with a bit of resignation.]

I'm not sure if I really would have been that much better. Once we're out, I'll see if I can figure out how to control the electricity.

[Since it's going to be a pain with or without Tifa.]

Let's try swimming up. If we can clear the forest it'll be easier to see where we're going.

Uhh, right.

[Getting out of the forest of seaweed would be a good thing for both of them and practicing so close to it would prove to be a hindrance—of that she has no doubts. So, with a look of puckered concentration, Tifa moves her tail in a way that she thinks should propel her up. Just a simple kick up and down, and it does, thank Shiva, but it propels her forward, shooting her past Eustace so fast again that it startles her and pulls their string of seaweed tight.]

Well, at least I'm getting a hang of the direction... [she points out with a weary laugh as she tries to slow herself down.] Just a matter of getting the strength of the kicks just right.

[He's surprised when she flashes past and he's pulled along with her a bit before she stops. He had to stop himself from pulling her back as he feared that would just send her flying back into him—which is the last thing he wants right now...as painful as that sounds.]

What if I take the lead and pull you along first while you slowly flex your tail? Since your legs are now more of a dolphin tail...try imagining as if you were swimming normally.

Yeah, that would work...

[She can't even look at him out of sheer embarrassment, and little bubbles seem to rise around her as a show of it as she floats among them, her long hair billowing in the water like ink as she slowly allows herself to turn. There's the tiniest frustrated flap of her tail that allows her to right herself again.]

I thought that, too. Guess I don't know my own strength even underwater. Have you seen this thing?

[Whether he's started to pull her up towards the clearer water or not, she'll do a little spin for him to show off the massive tail.]

[He sees those bubbles and can sense her embarrassment, which only makes him soften his gaze and smile a little.]

I think it suits your body well.

[Said innocently. ~~Not so innocent.~~]

You think so?

[She's awkwardly threading her fingers through her hair, fiddling with the seashells when she feels a flush to her face. She thought the tail was too much—too big, really—but if he says he likes it, then his is the only opinion that really matters.

It's Tifa's turn to look him up and down as they float upwards away from the seaweed and into the clearing of the sea.]

I like yours, too... Even if it tries to zap me when I get too close. No way to control it, is there...?

[He glances down at this tail... He really can't feel too much one way or another about it, but it is still a bit annoying that it's harder to adapt his muscle movement. The tail swinging side to side... Still awkward.]

There should be. If not I'll make it so.

[He will not be denied of his ~~wife~~ girlfriend, dammit. This isn't even about being intimate. She's clearly struggling, and how can he help her if he can't touch her without hurting her? And it would be good for other people, too, of course.]

[It's almost strange how much easier it is to breathe once they're in the clear, surreal as it is just to be breathing underwater. It feels a little more free, and from up here, she can get a better look at their surroundings at last, having inconveniently spawned within the forest on the sea floor. There's a castle in the center of it all, gold and striking against a backdrop of blue, and sea creatures of every size imaginable flitting about, along with others who are just like them. Merfolk, she supposes... moving so easily through the water as if it's all second nature to them.

And she feels a twinge of jealousy.

She's always wondered what it would be like to be a mermaid... dreamt of it as a little girl, but this so far, this isn't meeting any of her childhood expectations. It could be worse, she supposes, but she feels so useless trying to flap her tail around and getting nowhere.

Giving a light tug on the seaweed, Tifa pulls herself closer to Eustace, rising up until she's eye-to-eye with him, and she offers a steady hand.]

Well, we can both practice then. Together.

[It's certainly quite the sight. He recalls his time in Avalon when he went on some deep dives, including a few into that ship to retrieve those personal artifacts... It was certainly a test of animal magic at the time. Though he feels as if there's something else familiar about this, too... More memories he can't remember? Briefly he recalls how he apparently was in that story world where the Story Eater originated, but he never regained those memories. Not yet, anyway, and not that it matters. But he won't think too deeply on that lest he accidentally triggers another return.

When Tifa pulls herself closer to him, he stares at her for a moment before he slowly reaches out... But the moment he sees the electricity sparking around his hand, he snaps his hand back right before it can reach her. She'll likely feel the buzz of it regardless, but it could have been a lot worse if he had touched her.

Clicking his tongue he glares at his hand for a moment—specifically the electricity that continues to make itself known.]

...Let's get your movement down first.

[No matter how hard she chews on the inside of her lip and braces herself for the little shock she knows will come, Tifa still flinches when she feels the spark pass between them. It's small and she's suffered through far worse pains in her life than a small static zap to the finger, but it's still startling enough that anxious, frustrated bubbles appear around her.

But when he pulls away and grumbles, she takes his hand and snatches it back with a patient smile, prepared for another shock when she does.]

What, you thought you were gonna drag me around with the seaweed?

Hey—

[When she takes his hand, he can feel the electricity rushing to the point of contact and he desperately tries to pull back, both physically and the electricity. But he is also quick to realize that if he behaves too erratically his emotions might affect things so he tries to keep calm.

Which is difficult when he really doesn't want to hurt Tifa, and while not strong, there is definitely a strong enough current to sting and visibly crackle around them.]

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