sticksandbones | Rooftops, dirty thoughts all I got is twenty bucks

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Rooftops, dirty thoughts all I got is twenty bucks

Who: Mizuki
What: Bad ideas (aka releasing Seaborn into the River lmao-)
When: Like, idk, a day before the family meeting.
Where: the river
Warnings: mild body horror on the third prompt—

I. Nights so breezy, make it look easy

[ Whether you catch the glint of the luminescent lanterns in Mizuki's ~~arms~~ tentacles, or just notice the little guy walking through the Grove, or happen to see him him kneeling by the river and putting the crate down next to him as he takes a seat, he seems too focused to greet you. Rather, the very first thing he does when he takes a seat is start speaking directly to the river. ]

Excuse me, River Guardian? I hope it's not too much trouble, but I have some injured kin here, and We were hoping We could stay in these waters to rest and heal? Would that be alright with you? We won't disrupt anything.

[ He'll wait patiently for a response for the moment, and he'll start pulling out the lanterns one by one afterwards. He pulls open the top off of the lanterns that seems to take a while. They're incredibly sturdy, after all, meant to…??? Keep something inside, it looks like. These lanterns have a soft glow to them, but also seem to have something like black and blue goo or glue-y substance around the inside of it?

…Is there something moving inside them?

Actually, that question is answered fast, as Mizuki opens the first lantern and carefully pulls out a creature from inside. It glows faintly in some areas that also appear to be bleeding, and the creature seems to be some sort of inky black slug with tentacles. This one looks like that, anyway. Peering into the other lanterns you'll see they come in various amorphous blob-y shapes, some with tentacles, some without. Some with shells that mostly cracked and broken.

He carefully runs his hand over the creature, frowning a bit as he wishes desperately he knew how to use moon magic to heal things properly, before lowering them into the water for them to swim off into the current before he reaches for another lantern to repeat the process. ]

II. Knuckle cuts, pizza crust, leave a message on the bus

Mizuki here.

If anyone could make use of a couple dozen empty lanterns, let me know. I have a bunch I don't have any use for.

Also, if anyone fishes up something from the river that isn't fish like, please put it back in the water. Thank you!

[ There's a bunch of cute jellyfish stickers around the page. ]

III. Full moon howling, let's go prowling

[ And if you're not there for the Unboxing Loot Crate of the Seaborn, you may very well be there for supper time. Mizuki knows there's plenty of fish, but he both doesn't want to entirely disrupt the ecosystem here, and also is well aware that some of his kin here are much too hurt to actually hunt for anything on their own. Thus, Mizuki comes prepared, with… a knife and a cutting board? Hm.

If not approached beforehand, Mizuki will simply reveal one of his many tentacles from its camouflage and without flinching or any hesitation, he plants it on the cutting board and slams the knife down to cut it cleanly off. Afterwards, he makes sure to cut it into little bits. Like clockwork, the Seaborn critters in the water huddle closer to Mizuki, just below the surface of the water, and swarm the bits of flesh as he chucks them into the water. ]

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[i need to find a cool fish icon for this guardian, anyway,

The River Guardian isn't able to communicate effectively right now because it is a minor guardian and is still very weak, so Mizuki won't be able to hear it trying to communicate, but it seems to approve of the idea judging by the way it swims in a big circle.

(The Behemoth watches from the sidelines as Mizuki does his thing, but she seems uninterested, and swims off shortly after.)

It will take the little babies under its fins and guide them through the river. It seems like the baby Seaborn have its protection.]

[Elsword is Not Functioning after the disaster. It's a miracle he leaves the house at all... then again, he lives right next to the river, and the porch is right behind him, so if he gets too depressed to exist he might just go back inside.

For now, sticking close to Mizuki makes him feel like he won't get possessed and get someone killed again, so he exits the house with a ratty blanket around his shoulders and finds Mizuki on the shoreline and sits.

Silence. For several minutes. And then, as he watches the little Seaborn congregate...]

Are you feeding them?

[ Feesh…

Anyway, the Seaborn won't be much of a bother. The ones with broken shells will cast them aside in favor of wearing various bones they find — they won't break them or anything like that. It'll just help them protect their wounds.

While they're still healing, they'll glow a bit in the river as well. Hard to miss them. ]

[ Oh… his poor, sweet Elsword. He immediately scoots himself to sit in Elsword's lap when he joins him at the bank. It pains Mizuki to see him like this. He wishes he could just absorb all of his hurt and take it away. It's that damn corruption, too. He could just eat it out of Elsword, no problem! But… he doesn't want THAT to hurt, either.

Ugh.

What if he ate the sun shard, too— ]

Mhm. We can eat fish and stuff, but I'm worried if We'll eat too much, or for those that are still too weak to do that on Our own. I figure this is a solution to both problems.

[Elsword appreciates his lap-Mizuki. He'll hug him close, dragging the blanket up around them even though it's Spring and it's warm and there's no reason to do that. But he is sad and depressed and he just wants to fucking be warm, maybe too warm, okay? Okay.

He tries not to drag it over anything that Mizuki is trying to chop up, at least.]

Yeah.

[...]

They're kind of cute. They're like little fireflies, but in water. [what]

[It's been...a little nerve-wracking to try to go outside right now. The Grove has settled since the monster attack, but there's still a sense of unease and foreboding that permeates the air, and it makes Sesa want to stay inside.

But...noticing the light of the lanterns from his window in his room at the lab, and realizing it's Mizuki out there by himself? He isn't just going to see that and let him go on his own. So, he'll glance over to make sure Elliot is sleeping peacefully before he carefully peels himself out of bed, throws on his coat, and steals away outside.

He happens to arrive just as Mizuki gently deposits one of the little creatures into the water, just in time for him to watch as he reaches into another lantern to pull out a second.]

...Mizuki? What...what is all of this?

Ehe, thank you. We think you're very cute, too. [ How kind of Elsword. They haven't quite come of their own — they're likely to evolve and adapt to their surroundings a little more drastically than Mizuki. It'll be interesting to see, at least, but he just hopes this is the sort of environment they can thrive in.

He tilts his head up so he can give Elsword a small peck on the cheek, and settle back against him. ]

My kin who were born like this will glow when they're hurt or dying. It's not uncommon for weak links within the swarm to allow their bodies to expire during long distance migrations to act as markers and lights for Us.

[ Casual disturbing lore said with a smile. Mizuki doesn't seem to think anything is wrong with this. Likely because We Many probably don't, either. ]

These are younglings, though. So, it's cruel to not give these time to find their call.

[ Honestly, he didn't expect anyone to come talk to him. Not that he was trying to be secretive or anything like that, but he's pretty sure at this point he's just left to his own devices of "doing weird shit" a lot. He's happy to turn around and see Sesa, though. So much as happened lately it almost feels like it's been a whole month instead of just a few days that he's talked to him. ]

Oh, hey, Sesa. What're you doing out? [ He turns back to the lantern and continues to try to open it. He doesn't want to risk breaking the glass and hurting the creature inside, but… ugh, these things are a hassle to open. ] I got these from Miss Ydalir. They're young Seaborn — I was thinking the river would make for a suitable resting grounds. Would you like to help?

I saw you from my window. I wanted to make sure everything was alright.

[You know. Considering!!!

He crouches down at the water's edge, eyeing the lantern that Mizuki is currently struggling with. Hm...

Well, he has claws. Maybe he could use those to more easily pry them open?]

Ah...yes, of course! Here, let me...

[Sesa will hold his palms out carefully to take the lantern, frowning at the strange light coming from within.]

So they are...inside, I assume?

[...yeah that's a little disturbing, but Elsword is self-sacrificing too, so he gets it. He'd do that. He kind of sacrificed himself in the Large El, after all.]

Are they going to get big? Like you? You're big. Kind of.

[wow]

...hey, wait, if they glow when they're injured... but you glow all the time...

[ ???????????????????? ]

Mmh, the glass is very sturdy and thick, as to prevent them from escaping. More than that, though, it's likely if the glass does break, it's going to shatter into the container and kill the vessel inside…

So, um, I know the top is on pretty good, but please try to take it off that way.

[ And Mizuki pops the top off himself, tilting it to let what looks more slug-like then anything else. It leaves behind luminescent blue blood as it crawls onto Mizuki's hand, and just sits there for a moment before he lowers it into the water and lets it swim away. ]

[Sesa watches intently as Mizuki explains, not wanting to do it incorrectly and accidentally hurt the creatures inside. What he sees when Mizuki helps one out, though...his expression shifts from vague curiosity to something far more concerned.

To that end, he's quick to reach for the top of the lantern he'd been holding, using the tips of his claws to get underneath it so he can get it off as seamless as possible. Unlike others, who might be hesitant to touch a Seaborn such as this, Sesa carefully tips the lantern so the little slug inside can come out into his palm.]

They're hurt...

[Is what he ends up murmuring, observing the poor thing as it squirms slowly against his fingers until he, too, gently lowers it into the river current.]

Should we not do something?

[ The creature that schlorps into Sesa’s hand is a little more tentacle-y, and it clearly had a shell at one point but all that falls out are shattered remains of the calcium fortification.

It’s hard to say if it has an eye, but it’s head certainly attempts to look up at him. There’s a noise that sounds very akin to a baby crocodile, and it hangs off his hand for just a moment longer before it lets itself go into the current. ]

Hm? This is something. [ Beat. ] We are not human, Sesa. We have very quick regeneration. We just need to be outside of these little containers and we’ll be okay.

[ We Many would argue that it's not self-sacrificial, as both their consciousness would forever live through the hivemind, and it's equivalent to the Firstborn of just losing a lizard's tail. It'll grow back, etc.

We are also worried about you, Elsword— ]

It's possible, though Seaborn come in all different size. Some of Us can be as big as Moder herself, and a lot of We can be around 8 or 9 feet tall, but for the most part, We take a smaller appearance, depending on Our surrounding. I don't know what We'll look like here, but it's possible We'll be more plant-like. [ He lifts some of his strands of hair to show Elsword the white leaves. ] It's just something to keep an eye on. We will just listen to the River Guardian, and take the time to heal.

And, don't worry, if you think I'm hurt, that's not the case. I wasn't born Seaborn, so a lot of my bioluminescence is just from when I was a cnidarian Aegir, that's all.

[ … ]

I'm glad you came out to see me. I know these past few days haven't been a good time.

Would you like to try feeding them?

Edited 2024-03-08 09:38 (UTC)

I understand that. It is just...

[He frowns as the little creature vocalizes weakly at him, clearly trying to look up at its savior before he lets it free into the current. He'll be more quick about getting the next lantern open, though he's still trying to be careful so as not to jostle the occupant inside too much.]

Upsetting. Seeing them like this.

[Yet, he recognizes this lantern. All of them. It turns an already sour taste in his mouth practically rancid.]

Ehe… you're a very kind person, Sesa. There's no need to be sad, though. We'll be okay.

[ Sesa's claws are certainly more useful to getting these off than Mizuki's tentacles and fingers. He's doing his best, but these were technically made to be sealed shut and never opened again. Once the critter inside died, they just threw these away… ]

It's really not the Inquisition's fault, either. War makes you do awful things, even if you're a good person. We've seen a lot of that, though.

[Once more, he'll gently scoop one of the little Seaborn from its lantern prison. He takes another moment to look them over for injuries (there are a lot) before gently releasing them into the current.]

I know...we have. I suppose though that having them live here is better than what they might be facing back on Terra. Is that why you decided to ask for them?

[ Sesa's so much better at this than he is, he's still trying to pull the lid off his own. Fortunately, there's no real time sensitivity here. Being around Mizuki has soothed them all enough to not feel obligated to smash themselves into the sides of the glass to get out. They're all just resting in their containers and patiently waiting to be freed. ]

Hmm… I suppose that probably has something to do with it, yes. But it's harder to say whether or not this place is better than Terra personally, but I feel as though the creature won't find any interest in Us.

Rather, the Us that aren't "Mizuki".

I simply asked for them because it felt like something I should do. There's been so much bad stuff happening lately, I wanted to do something that felt… good.

This is a very good thing, I believe.

[He remarks softly as they continue to work, looking down into the slowly rushing river as it passes them by.]

And it does feel good to be helping them. Is there anything else we should do once we've released them into the water? Or do they typically take care of themselves?

For better or for worse, I'm still kicking, so... I might as well do something.

[Ouch, buddy.

He nods, though, reaching for the cutting board, sort of around Mizuki's bulk (or lack thereof sorry buddy you're like a twig).]

Sure, I can feed them. You already chopped this up, right? Do I just... throw it in the water like when I feed the fish normally?

[ There’s a very brief flash of worry, but Mizuki shoves it aside to keep on that little smile. The Seaborn, however, still feel that worry. They chirp and make laser beam-like croaks, and a few of them even slither from the water so they can fling little tentacles around Elsword’s ankles. To “ground” him and let him know he’s wanted, probably. He doesn’t like thinking about if Elsword weren’t here. ]

For better, definitely. I don’t want you to stop kicking. If you do, I think I’d just eat all the forest’s “toys” until it gave you back to me. Or just eat you so we’d always be together.

[ A sweet little kiss on Elsword’s cheek. What do you mean “Mizuki, you can’t just say shit like that”? Yes he can. He just did. ]

And yeah! We’ll eat whatever food We find, of course, but it’s certainly simpler if it’s already provided like this.

[Aww, Mizuki's so sweet <---- genuine elsword thoughts what is wrong with you]

That makes sense.

[He grabs the chopped-up tentacles like he would any other fish food, bunched up in his fingers, and tosses it into the water in parts. You know, don't overwhelm the babies, they are very small.]

[ They are very small! They are also very eldritch and share the same vast, insatiable hunger that Mizuki has, so, uh, they just tear apart the food and devour it within seconds. But then they chirp at Elsword happily after. ]

...It's nice like this. I believed there was a world back home where I couldn't do anything like this, 'cause people would just shun Us for being monsters. But, I like to think that even my world can be like this, and that everyone can just coexist together.

...

I hope this world finds its balance, too.

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Rooftops, dirty thoughts all I got is twenty bucks

river guardian establishment-

III. here comes a special (depressed) boy

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sh i know ur not here but I needed another tag-