Fantasy Crystal Cove

[DillyWanderer]

​

Koizuru smiled brightly when Yuri complimented them and mentioned that he has a costume of his own. She knew how fun the event would be that's why she was looking forward to Yuri to experience it as well. She wanted him to see all the good things that the town could offer that will make him realize that staying in Crystal Cove was the right choice.

She let go of Maira while the girl answered Yuri's question then decided to add more information for the excitement, "There will be a lot of variety on food there and some of them you can only taste during this event! Ahhh...I can't wait to eat a lot of them today," she said almost drooling from her imagination. Eating is her second priority after socializing and she can't help herself but feel so thrilled since she can do both during the event, "I should probably find Gill later so we can taste test all the food..." her voice trailed off a bit then she made an "Oh" face when she remembered another thing to look forward today, "Right! Other than the food, there'll be a lot of people too. People from other places visit Crystal Cove to watch the parade so we should definitely wear our best costume to impress them. You will be surprised at how crowded it'll be!" she said, the excitement brimming on her face. AquaMarie & ApfelSeine

​

After a good hour of rest, Ellis decided to take a shower to wash off the sweat from his long trip. He got into a pair of clean clothes - a white button-down shirt and black jeans. He combed his blonde hair with his hands before tying it into a messy man bun. He picked up his phone, put his wallet in his pocket, and hung the strap of his DSLR around his neck. He knew the event would be something interesting and he wouldn't waste the chance of taking good pictures or maybe finally meeting his muse. With that in mind, he went out of his room with great anticipation.

Walking aimlessly down the street he noticed how the town was starting to get lively. He saw a lot of stalls showcasing a lot of varieties of food, clothes, and other merchandise. He was also surprised when he saw people wearing mermaid and pirate costumes and was told that it was part of the tradition. He talked to a few locals and learned that the event was called March of Mermaids, an annual event in Crystal Cove which was supposed to attract the mermaids back to Crystal Cove. The more he heard about Crystal Cove, the more he was gladdened by his decision to pick the town as his next destination.

He took a picture of a couple wearing pirate costumes when he heard a guitar playing not far from where he stood. He turned around and saw the brown-haired man who was playing the guitar. He watched the busker play as he approached and liked how he played songs that fit the town's current ambiance. He learned how to play the guitar when he was in college and can recognize talent when he sees one. He clapped his hands when the song ended, "That was good..." he commented with a smile, "The song choice was perfect for the ongoing event." ADarkAndStormyNight

 

[Mitheral]

Athena and Jonathan

https://assets.olivela.com/products/165000/162306-53613.jpg_2250_3000?imwidth=385
Dress
https://www.dhresource.com/0x0/f2/albu/g9/M01/3E/01/rBVaVV2Wvn6AN0Y5AAtWMLiucVg332.jpg
Necklace
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9d/91/ba/9d91bab4ad89d5e85a61f65180e11818.jpg
Tiara

Unlike Jonathan Rhand - interesting choice of name - Athena had decided to dress up. In her opinion, Rhand would have made a great looking pirate. It hadn’t been hard to track him down. Not many 6’7” men were walking around. And he was one of the least dressed up people at the March of the Mermaids event.

It was still early when she arrived. She didn’t have a car, but used her electric bike as she wasn’t sure what the local town regulations were for driving her ATV everywhere. She would find a place to change into her dress soon enough. She just wasn’t about to try to ride her bike in THIS dress. Not a chance in Hell of that! No, she would wait until it was close to time for the event to start.

In the meantime it wasn’t too late to talk Rhand into changing his mind about dressing up. If nothing else he might be able to buy some kid’s costume eyepatch or something. She found him sitting on a bench looking bored.

She decided to introduce herself. “Hello, Dr Moran.”

Jonathan Rhand did a double take. He hadn’t expected anyone to recognize him. It was always a possibility. “Uhm …?” His eyes immediately went to Athena’s hair.

“James Braxton?” She tried to jog his memory. Then she added. “Vanguard scholarship. You paid for my college. Thank you by the way. You DO look just like him. David Guintoli.”

Jonathan smiled uncomfortably.

“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me,” she reassured him.

Jonathan relaxed a little. “Then it’s Rhand. Jonathan Rhand. So … scholarship … what field?”
“Athena Natsios. Oceanography. I am a writer too. But I do nonfiction. Documentary stuff. Probably not really up your alley.” Athena smiled pleasantly. She noticed he was already visibly relaxing. “So … not going to dress up?”

Jonathan looked down. “I DID dress up! It’s a dress shirt! And new blue jeans. Dress shoes.”

Athena raised an eyebrow. “You DO know the legend here, right. I mean you ARE researching the mermaid legend. Angle on a new book? Let me guess. Alien experiment on humans and create mermaids.”

Jonathan shook his head. “I don’t discuss my books before they are published. But, for the record, mermaids are very unlikely to have evolved - ever. The biology just isn’t there.”

“In your professional opinion?” she smiled. “PhD in oceanography. Thank you again,” she repeated sweetly.

Jonathan snorted a laugh. “Welcome. And no, not MY opinion, but the opinion of other PhD - in biological sciences - like yourself. BUT … I am here to play Devil’s Advocate. I am going to keep an open mind and attempt to prove that mermaids did and may still exist. According to Wikipedia mermaids can’t exist because they don't fit current evolutionary understanding based on:

• thermoregulation (adaptations for regulating body heat);
• evolutionary mismatch;
• reproductive challenges;
• digestive differences between mammals and fish;
• lack of physical evidence.

“In 2008 National Geographic and Nature published articles about the platypus. You should read it. Genome analysis of the platypus reveals unique signatures of evolution Basically the DNA of the platypus shares genomes with mammals, birds and reptiles. I know it is a stretch, but there is at least one precedent. So I am not writing the mermaid theory off completely.”

Athena realized she had just fallen in love with the man. Okay, maybe love was a strong word. But there was something attractive about a man so passionate in his research. So .. how about dressing up as a pirate?”

Jonathan blinked. “You?”

“No, silly. You! Maybe an eyepatch and a sword. And maybe no sunglasses for a day?”

“What about you?” Jonathan asked. His eyes again went to her hair. It was incredibly long. He hated to admit it, he had a thing for darker hair.

She patted her folded garment bag. “Trust me, I will be a feast for your eyes. Well?”

“Fiiiine,” he grumbled. Secretly he didn’t mind. He needed people to force him to be sociable every now and then.

Jonathan worked FAST. The costume store was out. So he hit the local equivalent to Home Depot. He plopped down enough cash to create a not quite fake sword from scratch and ground it down - paying for the grinder, a strip of steel, some electrical tape, patch kit tape, super glue epoxy, a crystalline knob for a pommel. The eyepatch was a simple black piece of canvas with some black leather shoe lacings. He made a pirate’s hat much the same way. The speed at which he worked was amazing.

By the time he was done she had changed into her dress. That had the desired effect. He raised the eyepatch up to get a better look. “Hokay .. not disappointed.”

 

[Superfly47]

Mia

As Mia skipped on her way to the boardwalk, she could hear sounds of others and this energy got her excited. She entered the boardwalk and saw a good amount of people already about. Mia worried that she might be late to open her ice cream stand, but she was often late and it wasn’t a big deal.

Then Mia started hearing music, which was unusual since music didn’t usually start until much later on. She noticed a guy was playing on a guitar on the boardwalk. “I like your enthusiasm, you must really love The march of the mermaids if it causes you to play this early.” Mai said, “I’m Mia, I run the ice cream stand over there.” Indicating the stand that isn’t opened yet. “Well, suppose to be running it.”

Interactions: ADarkAndStormyNight

 

[ADarkAndStormyNight]

Thomas Gray

Thomas played a few warm-ups, it being quite early in the morning for guitar playing, and started his song. After finishing what he guessed was his third or so song, he saw a man slightly taller than himself, with long blonde hair, clapping. Thomas smiled, stood up, and shook the guy's hand. He honestly wasn't that used to people complimenting him, so he felt kind of awkward about the whole thing.

"Thanks," he said to the man. "The name's Thomas Gray- you from around here?" After introducing himself to the blonde man, he also noticed a girl standing behind him. “I like your enthusiasm, you must really love The march of the mermaids if it causes you to play this early," she said, and opened up his mouth to correct her, that he was just there for extra money, but something inside of him made him think it was probably better for him to just agree.

He smiled at her, and said "Well, you know, I like these sorts of events... mermaids and stuff." At her introduction, he similarly shook her hand, and said "Nice to meet you Mia, my name is Thomas- I just moved into town. I'll have to check out that ice cream stand once you get it open- I think I'm starting to get hungry."



Location: Boardwalk
Interactions: DillyWanderer (Ellis) and Superfly47

 

[Yahhah]

William Reed

Location: Reed Aquarium, along the Boardwalk
​

"March of the Mermaids" William muttered as he sat still at the reception desk of the aquarium, most of the other staff were out for the holiday off to prepare for the festival. The holiday was big around here though William had never seen much point in it beyond a big party for the townspeople to take part in and William's idea of fun was some nice slow music perhaps a book and some nice tea. The entry room of the aquarium was pretty well decorated with pictures of many of the Aquarium's many residents. The otters were featured on one display, the aquarium's alligator, Gus was displayed on another. The rays were on another and the final one was of Wendy the biggest shark in the establishment, a nine foot sand tiger. William had chosen the displays because he'd figure they'd be the most popular animals in his little aquarium. It wouldn't be too long until he'd be shutting the place down for the day, couldn't keep it open when there was a parade that big outside. Not to mention it'd be pointless, no one ever visited the Reed Aquarium during the March of the Mermaids, sometimes he got some people coming in if they came early and were looking for something to do while they waited but after the festivities started there was no reason for it to be open. He'd probably head out and watch the parade when things got started at noon, he always at least watched the parade. William took a sip of tea, no reason to head out so soon though, he'd need to do a round on all the animals before he left and shut down for the night anyway, he'd do that before he headed out, but for now he'd have to do the job of greeter and receptionist and he that was perfectly fine by him.
(open).

 

[ApfelSeine]

Yuri

Listening to Koizuru's explanation, Yuri's attention seemed piqued by the mention of how many people there would be. He tilted his head as she spoke about the sightseers who would be coming for the event, processing something internally for a moment before returning his attention to the mixing bowl, getting out the eggs and adding them in and mixing them with the flour. His face was turned away from Koizuru and Maira as he pursed his lips, feeling somewhat conflicted with his emotions. Not that he was about to admit that to anyone else of course. He had already resolved to work out this particular obstacle on his own. Instead, he let his shoulders relax, looking back over at the other two once more with his trademark smirk.

"Hmm... I could do without the crowds if I'm honest," Yuri said. "The food part sounds way more interesting to me than being gawked at by strangers. Though I'm sure it's as fun as you say."

He moved to pour milk and water out into measuring cups, adding them to his mixture gradually as he stirred it together while continuing.

"Sounds like things will get pretty hectic. Will you be sticking together?" Yuri asked, wondering how safe they would be if they stayed out late.

(Mentions: Koizuru DillyWanderer , Maira AquaMarie )

 

[MaddyMadz]

Iris Belle

It was finally here, the March of the Mermaids. Iris has had mixed feelings leading up to the day. She was excited but also dwelling it just a bit. It was the day she was going to force herself out of her comfort zone in more ways than one. Last year was her first March of the Mermaids, but she didn't dress up. She didn't want to make a huge deal out of it and attempted to treat it like any other normal day. That last until she left the house and found almost everyone dressed up, music everywhere, people dancing, small food carts around, decorations everywhere, and the big parade. She was still very knew then, she had no idea what to expect.

This year she was a little more prepared. Iris didn't plan to go all out like some people did, but her clan members did convince her to dress up this year. She decided on an overall theme of the color red and got to work. She had gotten a sparkly, ruby red mermaid skirt that flared out at the knees. Simple enough, to resemble the human's stereotypical mermaid tail. For her top, she gotten a red bra and decorated with with shells and beads she had found. She also cut off the straps and had string tied around her neck which connected to two pendants in the middle of her chest. They were held there by beaded string that attached to the base of the bra so everything didn't fall apart. Honestly, her bra was the most detailed and had the most work done to it. Her hair was in a simple half up and half down style and curled. Her make up didn't stray too far from her normal daily make up, but she did wear a bold red lip to match the rest of her outfit. A simple pair of earrings and some comfortable shoes was the last things she had to put on and she was finished.

She took a look at herself before sighing. "Alright, let's do this." She finally exited her room for the day and made her way towards the kitchen. She was immediately greeted with the wonderful smell of fresh brewing bean water. "Oh, coffee!" She said as she made her way into the kitchen. She noticed some of her clans members there and gave a small "Good morning." As she was lured towards the pot of coffee.

Spoiler: Her skirt, but it stops at her hips and is a bit shorter to make it easier to walk

Spoiler: Her top

 

[DillyWanderer]

​

Ellis had a smile on his face when the guy shook his hand and introduce himself, but before he could answer, he heard a woman spoke behind him. He turned around and saw the brunette who introduced herself as Mia. He had seen a few attractive people such as her who would be attractive enough to be someone's muse, but he knew out of all the people he had met, he hasn't found his muse yet. "I'm craving for something cold as well. I'd love to try your best selling flavor. Do you need help in setting your stall up?" he squeezed into the conversation with a polite smile, "Ah, I'm Ellis Clave. I just arrived in town today as well," he said hinting that he had heard Thomas earlier, "I hope you don't mind me joining you two." ADarkAndStormyNight & Superfly47

​

Koizuru squinted her eyes on Yuri, feeling that something was up with him. She might have been friends with him but she had no idea what had been of him during all the years that they were apart. He seems like the usual Yuri that she knew when they were kids but sometimes he feels a bit distant, "Wel...I guess it can be a bit uncomfortable being watched by strangers but we can't really do anything about it. If you wear a costume then it's kind of natural to attract eyes on you. But I guess your long hair would be enough to catch people's eyes..." she shook her head to dismiss her negative thoughts, "No! You still have to wear that costume! I wanna see it! and it's gonna be fun I promise!" ApfelSeine

She looked at Maira then, "What do you think, Mai? Do you want to go to the event together?" she asked with a smile, "We can eat lots of food and watch the parade together." AquaMarie

 

[Superfly47]

Mia

Mia smiled, “I’ve lived in this small town my whole life.” Her smile went away as she wondered whether it was good that her entire existence was in this small area. This wasn’t the time to ponder this, so Mia said, “Nice to meet you Thomas, you’re new here, where did you come from?”

After another guy introduced himself, Mia said, “Nice to meet you Ellis. Strawberry is my favorite flavor, but that’s just me.” Mia was taken back by his offer to help setup, she’s not used to this much generosity from a stranger. Not sure whether he’s trying to hit on her or if he’s just very nice. “You can help if you want, I guess,” She said.

Mia walked towards the ice cream stand and turned back to Thomas, “Sure you’re welcome to come whenever you get hungry.” It wasn’t long before Mia arrived at the stand, she took a key out to open it up. Mia began to setup. “If you want to help Ellis, you can take out the toppings and set them up." As they setup she asked, “Are you excited about the dance of the mermaids this year?”

DillyWanderer ADarkAndStormyNight

 

[AquaMarie]

ApfelSeine (Yuri) DillyWanderer (Koizuru)

Maira smiled hearing that Yuri did have a costume that he plans on wearing and that he was going to help out on the parade which sounded like so much fun. The short girl nodded to him asking if what she had said about the food and music were going to run all night. “Yes! The music of course….and well most of the food...some get sold out but there are many yummy things to choose from the whole night...oh and then the fireworks! That’s the best part!” she replied her excitement doubling with the mention of fireworks. The girl smiled and nodded at Koizuru’s input also happy that she as well as excited about all the food the event was going to have.

The blue-haired girl watched as Yuri added ingredients to a bowl, her eyes fixated at what he was going. She listens to them both continue to speak about tonight’s celebration. Looking back over towards Yuri as he asked if she and Koizuru were going to stick together during the event. Maira was really not sure who she was going to hang out with tonight. She just figured she would run around maybe hanging out with a few different clan members at times. But really she just figured she would be on her own most of the night.

Maira was brought back from her thoughts of how she was going to spend the night as she looked over at Koizuru. “Really!?” she clasped both of her hands together as she looked at Koizuru with big eyes “YES!” she replied jumping happily “I would love to go with you Koi, we are going to have so much fun!” she happily replied giving Koizuru a hug.

 

[Mitheral]

Johnathan Rhand

Spoiler: ”One Month Ago”

Duncan Moran alias Jonathan Rhand had begun a virtual Investigation Board. He has started a review of the tourist information readily available in pamphlets, newspaper articles, and various media.

“Crystal cove is a unique town in the fact that it was originally settled by pirates.” -Not true at all. There were a number of such towns. Most were in the Carribean or Mediteranean. But just limiting the number to the US coast? Barataria Bay, LA; Ocracoke Island, NC; and Newport, RI. Bath, NC was a sanctuary for Blackbeard. Okay, maybe not unique, but at least the whole pirate theme gave the place a little charm.

After a battle between two rivals sunk both ships, the Poseidon and the Neptune, the surviving pirates escaped to Crystal Cove, set aside their differences and built a small community. The Neptune became a popular diving spot - a tourist attraction for the summer months. The Poseidon has never been found and many believe it’s located at the bottom of the abyss but it’s too deep to dive to.

The Poseidon interested Jonathan. Too deep sounded like a challenge. Maybe too deep for a human. But the local sea terrain was far from being as deep as the trenches. The question was - was an expedition worth the cost? Personally he didn’t much care for pirate treasure except as an archaeological curiosity. And it had little to do with his mermaid investigation.

The pirates decided to stay after becoming entranced with the beautiful mermaids living in the water. Why stay? Men rarely stuck around for pretty ladies for generations unless there was something that resulted from said entrancing. And that brought Jonathan to the next legend.

According to legend after years of coexistence the townsfolk became jealous of the mermaids and tried to capture them to keep them hostage for themselves, but their jealousy instead caused the mermaids to flee into the ocean depths, never to be seen again. Some locals said the townsfolk started hunting the mermaids and killing them off because of their jealousy.

That was the debate among the locals. In Jonathan’s mind the debate was illogical. Love didn’t drive people to kill the objects of their desire usually. It seemed more likely that both explanations were possible.

He found some very basic flaws with the legends. If the townspeople killed any of the mermaids, then where were the accounts. Surely there would have been at least one. The second flaw was the silly notion that pre-20th century humans could have hunted sentient humanoids who lived in the sea. Maybe in the 21st century, but without the advanced hardware available today, it seemed unlikely that any mermaid could have been successfully hunted. Well, maybe if they were baited,

The next puzzle was the matter of the results of entrancement. Were hybrid mermaids possible? There were myths that mermaids could assume a human form. He found that unlikely. But assuming it was possible then mating would be possible. Otherwise the idea was problematic.

Jonathan decided to proceed with the assumption that hybrids existed. Then if so, there was a likelihood that in a town of a couple thousand, there were bound to be oddities in DNA. Or medical records. The question was how to obtain such information. Morgue reports! He would have to look into the legality of accessing those. Some states treated them like medical records.

ID’s. This was a subject he was a little familiar with. If mermaids still lived among humans, they would need ID’s. In older times it was simpler. Now though … He frowned. They would need help to establish ID’s. Mayor? Public records? Historical archives. The Sheriff himself?

Mermaid behavior. Legend suggested they would stay close to the sea - either by habit or necessity. Sheriff would be an ideal position to fill as one of the duties of Sheriffs as opposed to regular police was they got involved in public emergencies, animal incidents and maritime issues. Of course, the Sheriff was a male. Merman? Legends suggested they existed and for a species to continue you needed two sexes generally.

He decided to put himself into the shoes - or rather the fins - or a mermaid. What sort of life would he choose to live as a human on land? Unless he grew up his whole life on land his options would be limited. Unskilled labor was likely. Cultural skills like musician, singer, artist. Jobs involving the sea.

He looked over his address listing for the entire region. He has every single house, apartment, campsite, and boat slip listed. Most were blanks when he began. But in a month he would have at least half of the points filled out with details of names, occupants, jobs, and noted observations of activities. The closer to water, the closer he watched.

Spoiler: ”Two Weeks Ago”

Within two weeks he had mapped the ocean floor over a 50 mile stretch of coastline out to 20 miles - or about 6.4 million acres. He had used bathymetry and gravity mapping from satellites. General sonar was readily available. And he conducted his own back scatter and side scanner multibeam sonar systems to create about as complete a picture as possible. Even now he was refining his scans with small footprint bathymetric LiDAR, but only shallow spots where the water was clear. Sonar based was still the best.

By now he already had the means to locate the Poseidon, assuming certain factors of the location of the Neptune and where a battle might have taken place. Or rather he could predict where a wreckage might have ended up. But it was a very hypothetical model based on ocean currents, typical wind, how long it remained afloat, how much burned, weight of any cargo. All sheer speculation, but he loved the math.

His last project was going to be the release of about a swarm of one hundred nanoprobes inspired by the Starshot project, which would send a fleet of very tiny versions of his own concept. The Starshot probes were about the size of a postage stamp and destined for Alpha Centauri. His probes resembled jellyfish and were about half the size of a cell phone. The Starshot probes cost as much as an iPhone. His were a bit pricier. He was kind of proud of them. This would be a field test.

Before the March of Mermaids
Jonathan Rhand and Athena Natsios
Boardwalk

In general Jonathan was a health nut. He hardly ever indulged in sweets. He never, EVER drank alcohol. He always ate meat, vegetables, and fruit - very little in the way of starches. So anything resembling a Mardi Gras like the March was alien to him. He suffered from demophobia - a fear of crowds. But that was mild. So long as he didn’t get boxed in he wouldn’t run people over.

It was still early and Athena was finding Jonathan hard to connect to. She had his attention briefly with her dress. But he had turned his attention back to the slowly developing event. She decided he was a workaholic and this, to him, was work.

It was music that finally drew Jonathan’s attention. Now that was something he would find of interest - unless it was rap. He preferred Classic Rock, Country, of classical - of the movie theme sort (Hans Zimmer being a favorite). As soon as he heard the sounds he started wishing he had brought his own instrument. But it was too far to go back and get it.

He spotted what was probably the source of the music - before it stopped for an ice cream break - and headed over. His brace kept the limp to a minimum. He gave a smile to the small group gathered. And even though he didn’t usually indulge in ice cream - except at times like his birthday - he wanted to be sociable.

“Arg .. avast? Shiver me timbers? Hand over yer frozen loot, me fair maiden ice cream vendor. ‘Tis the ransom I demand for the release of your good friend…” he paused and pulled out a $20. “Mr Jackson. Rainbow sherbert, if you have it, and I shall hand him over unharmed. Or anything fruity that aint watermelon, coconut, apple, or pistachio - which technically aint a fruit.” Then he glanced at Athena, “and something for this fair mermaid.” He looked Athena up and down, dropping the bad pirate speech. “I’ll carry it for you.” He looked back at Mia.

Athena just rolled her eyes. "I created a monster. Sure. Same thing."

Jonathan nodded. "Don't worry about the change. You may need it before the night is over."

Small gathering of mentions:
DillyWanderer ADarkAndStormyNight Superfly47

 

[Whirlawind23]

• Emillia
• Claud
• Leo

• 
  Mentions: Jasmine
  Emillia could hear the smile in JJs voice as she greeted her, it was refreshing to hear after the strange warning Claud gave her earlier. "I haven't eaten yet so food would be great. I know a pretty good cafe not to far from here." She agreed.
  "Did you bring your cane? Or I can lead you?"
  She hated her cane, her reliance on it was frustrating, but there was nothing she could do about it. People saw it and immediately assumed she needed 'help' in her daily life. The alternatives to a cane were worse in her opinion, but she still resented it. She flashed a cheerful smile regardless of the sting the subject carried.
  "Yeah I have it in my purse, it kind of ruins my costume aesthetic. I would be honored if you would lead me instead. " She explained with a playful wink as she commented on her costume. Emillia reached out and touched her wrist that was held out. She the length of her arm and took hold of her upper arm. "Do you know the cafe I was talking about or should I pull it up on my phone?" She asked.
  MaddyMadz
• 
  Mentions: Erik
  Claud felt a twinge of relief as Erik expressed his own concern over the case, it was nice having his concerns validated. He glanced over to the front door as Erik whistled and commented on Emillias clothes. He let out a deep groan "No, no, no she's not on the market and you cannot be checking her out while I am with you that's not okay." Claud grumbled. She could wear whatever she wanted, he tried not to let it bother him, but hearing others rude comments or 'flirtatious' advances frustrated him beyond belief. "There are certain lines you cannot cross, and my sister is one of them."
  Silence lingered in the car after his final statement regarding him checking out Emillia for a minute, before Erik mentioned her make up. Erik was one of the few people Claud talked to about things he did at home, including doing Ems make up when she wanted something aside from her daily make up routine. He smiled "Thanks." he had to admit it was nice hearing a bit of praise for it.
  They soon arrived at the docks. The water was calm and the docks were fairly quiet, most of the citizens were in the town getting ready for the parade. The police stations boat was kept at the far end of the dock by the harbormasters cabin. The walk from the car to the boat was short and the boat ride out to the spot they were investigating would only take a few minutes. Claud kept quiet despite the questions he could feel bubbling under the surface. Erik had revealed that he was not human about a week ago, and this would be the first time Claud would see him as a merman.
  The left the dock for the investigation location and Claud finally could ask some questions. "So I'm assuming you're going to explore the site as a merman.....do you strip before you get in the water? Because as much as I love you that's not a sight I'd like to see." He joked to Erik, he despite having other questions he felt like this one was a less invasive one to start with.
  Lilliana2
• 
  Mentions: Gill, Blake, Ares
  The door opened partially to a pretty petite woman in a pink mermaid outfit. She gave him an up and down look, as if sizing him up, her gaze was oddly familiar. He smiled politely and was about to ask her name when she spoke"Gill, someone's asking about you at the door." and he realized it was actually Ares. Despite not saying anything that would have given away his mix up he still felt a twinge of embarrassment. Ares made a very attractive and convincing girl in costume, but out of costume he was a very pretty boy with a fiery attitude. He always brought a Pomeranian dog to Leos mind, adorable and perpetually angry.
  "I didn't think you'd be dressing up Ares, you look lovely." Leo said as he heard what he assumed to be Gill approaching the door.
  Gill was the opposite of Ares when it came to demeanor. Gill bounced about as he answered the door and even bumped Ares hip, the door banged loudly as he flung it open. A flood of questions followed his arrival, and his hands reached out towards Leos head. Gill also had make-up on, which was a elegant scaley pattern of greens and blues, all except the smear of what looked like mascara on his cheek. Leo chuckled and tilted his head forward to let him touch it, there was no point in trying to avoid Gills contagious excitement and curiosity. "It is a wax based hair paint, it'll wash out after a hot enough shower. I changing hair color without dye is a mermaid thing."
  He felt his phone vibrate and fished it out of his pants pocket, a message notification was at the top from Blake 'Hello, Leo.' He glanced up and saw that Blake was there to, make up and costumed as well. He smiled a greeting to her "Hey there Blake. Are you all in here getting ready for the parade?" He asked. He appreciated seeing so many clan mates working together on something aside from territory protection or gathering. The clan was like family to him, but they often relied solely on their mermaid instincts and kept their relationships less than affectionate. Humans were far better at developing relationships with extended family, it always fascinated him.
  "Gill, you've smeared some of your make up, are you giving Ares or Blake a hard time?" He asked smirking as he stepped into the bedroom to join the group.
  
  MaddyMadz Shame
  

 

[August]

Ares Siam
Interactions: Blake, Gill ( Shame ), Leo ( Whirlawind23 )

Ares had barely budged from Gillian's hip bump and kept his eyes trained on Leo, except now he was less alert once he was able to see it was just Leo at the door. Still, just being faced with the gentle healer's towering statue almost felt like a challenge to the firey mermaid. His face twisted in disgust at Leo's comment on his appearance, though his glare was rivaled only by his face starting to redden in embarrassment.
"Whatever, you're weird." He grumbled quietly stepping aside to let Leo join them inside of the room. He glanced down at his phone for the time and rolled his eyes.
"Hey keep an eye on Blake you two. Roast her if she tries to hide in a corner, I gotta get set up in the human's poor excuse of a mermaid tail." Ares turned to look directly at Blake, tossing on his cover over his outfit. He narrowed his eyes at her pointed at her,
"Don't even think about bailing on me, I will find you. If I don't see you all dolled up after the parade I am going to beat you with love and kindness till you can't swim anymore!" While this was a threat, it wasn't out of malicious and his posture lightened up towards the end of his speech. Ares gave her a supportive smile for a brief second then snapped his finger again at Gill, "I'll go after you too if you let her runoff. "
With that Ares turned with a huff, closing the door just as roughly a Gill had opened it if not with a louder slam as if to beat Gill in the Door Olympics. Right, he was still covering for his friend on the mermaid float . . . great.
Well if he was going to be made a fool of, he would do it with pride and drag Blake along with him for the ride.

 

[ADarkAndStormyNight]

Thomas Gray

"Where did you come from?" Thomas stopped for a second- a proper answer would probably take a bit too long to deal out, so he just said, "I grew up in a place I doubt you would know, but most recently I lived in LA for a bit. But hey, if you’ve been here for that long, maybe we’ve found a guide to show us around,” he said and nudged Ellis a bit. He let out a laugh, despite the fact that was not a joke, it was instead an observation. He had a low barrier for humor.

He slung his guitar around his back, and traveled with Mia and Ellis towards the ice-cream stand. He didn't have a ton of money, but hey! Ice Cream is Ice Cream, and who doesn't want a bit of ice cream! Besides, it was getting quite hot out, so he figured it was best.
"One scoop of vanilla please," he said, passing her a five and a couple ones, and as he did so, he watched as a couple walked up to the stand.

The man smelt like money. This was of course, mostly a figure of speech, one can’t actually smell like money, but he quite literally smelled like a cologne that likes wasn’t cheap. Besides, Thomas was good at recognizing people like him. He grew up in a place where almost everyone was well off except for him, and he’d seen quite a few of... those types, for lack of a better word, in medical school. He never seemed to get along with them, for one reason or another. He was adorned in a cheaply made eyepatch, and a quite obvious limp. His partner had long dark hair, and was similarly dressed as a mermaid.

As the man walked up to the stand, he began speaking in, what Thomas believed to be, one of the worst pirate voices imaginable. Ok, maybe he was being a little harsh, but it still wasn’t good. He had to contain his laughter as the man spoke, especially at the “Mr. Jackson” line. And of course, just as he expected, the man handed over a twenty for two ice creams.

But hey, Thomas didn’t want to judge so quickly. He decided to introduce himself, reaching out his hand to the strangers. “Hey, I don’t believe we’ve met. My name is Thomas- you two are?”


Location: Boardwalk
Interactions: DillyWanderer Superfly47 and Mitheral

 

[Mitheral]

The tall young man stuck out a hand covered with a fingerless glove. “Jonathan Rhand. I play a little guitar and keyboard. That’s what drew me over.” His smile turned wry and added, “some violin too, but I suspect I’d be violating noise ordinances if I practiced. Cats from all over would form a picket line around my yacht and carry signs that read, Stop the Torture.”

Athena just stood there quietly.

Jonathan answered for her, “And this is Dr Athena Natsios, oceanographer. She’s the one with the small boat.”

Athena narrowed her eyes slightly. “Says the man who’s compensating. My yacht was designed for research. It’s not just some billionaire’s play toy.”

Jonathan smiled. “Mine is a getaway.” He looked back at Thomas. “I’m researching the mermaid legend and the story of the pirates. Not really my usual thing. I am a serious scientist, but I am playing devil's advocate. No, I don’t believe in mermaids. The science just isn’t there. But I am going to keep an open mind.”

Jonathan then lapsed into silence. He seemed lost in thought. Then he added, “would be interesting if they were real though. Then again, I almost hope they aren’t.”

That confused even Athena. “Why? You’d be famous if you could prove they existed.”

“Existed past tense? That would be fine. Exist present tense. I’d hate it. I don’t need the fame. That’s for feeding vanity. Consider the ramifications of their existence and being discovered. I suppose what I would do with such knowledge would depend on their nature.”

Athena was still confused. “How do you mean?”

Jonathan seemed impatient, as if the reasons should be obvious. “Well if they were just animals, they would be a critically endangered species. But if they were sapient it gets really complicated. Depends a lot on their culture. The political ramifications would be disastrous with the potential of igniting WW3. More than likely I would place the information in the category of things Man was not meant to know. The more I talk about it, the more I regret coming here.”

ADarkAndStormyNight DillyWanderer Superfly47

 

[ADarkAndStormyNight]

Thomas Gray

Thomas managed to keep a straight, quite polite face during his interaction with the two strangers, and was quite happy to find out that his presumption of wealth was correct, thank you very much. He smiled, laughed at jokes (no matter how bad they were), and overall tried to be quite friendly to someone he was starting to not like all that well.

He wasn’t actually listening, though. It took him quite a bit of time to figure out what it is the two were arguing about. It was when he did figure out what they were talking about, he burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry, are you arguing the social repercussions of if we discover... mermaids? I doubt learning that some people have tails for legs will cause a world war,” he said, and finally stopped laughing. “Sorry,” he said, and shifted his attention to Athena.

“He does talk a lot doesn’t he. You were an... oceanographer, right? What are you researching right now, aside from... mermaids.” He still couldn’t get that out without laughing.

Location: Boardwalk
Interactions: Mitheral

 

[DillyWanderer]

​

"I like strawberry as well. So I think I'll get that. And yes, I'd love to help. I have a lot of free time in my hands," he said to Mai before following her and Thomas to the ice cream stand. He's not the type to eavesdrop to someone else's conversation but being that close to the other two, he can't help but hear what they were talking about. It seems that it wasn't just him who came from somewhere far. He chuckled when Thomas hinted Mia to show them around and thought that it would really do them good if someone local shows them around. He'll probably look around later and see if someone would be available, but for now he'll have to stick with these two until the event officially starts. ADarkAndStormyNight

He picked up the big umbrella and put it up for Mia when another two joined them at the stand. He caught a bit of the guy's impersonation and found it hilarious. He liked how diverse Crystal Cove was since he gets to see interesting people like them, "Now that it's up, the sun will be the least of your worries," he said to Mia with a smile when Thomas introduced himself to the couple. He observed the conversation from where he stood and found it quite interesting. He was glad to see other people being drawn to the town by the mermaid lore just like him, but not that he went there for the same purpose of proving mermaid's existence. They're interesting, yes, but unless one becomes his muse, then their existence might not mean much to him. Mitheral

He let the other three continue with their conversation as he felt like it might be rude to just butt in. He shifted his attention back to Mia then, "How about you, Mia, do you believe in mermaids?" Superfly47

 

[SpectrumCrow]

Mentions: Lilliana2 / Vivian, AquaMarie / Marianne

[Photo Credit: Unknown, found on pinterest]

With a small smirk, Finley shot a quick 'K' before popping their earbuds in. Grabbing a small bag to store their keys and phone in, they flashed a small smile in the mirror before leaving the small apartment.

The sounds of the ocean were just barely audible, providing a background to Finley's music. The salty smell of the sea was potent, even from outside of the apartment complex. A light breeze flowed through their short blonde hair as they moved to Larimar Cove Cafe, hands in the pockets of their shorts.

Finley smiled slightly as the shop came into view, opening the door and entering the shop with a swagger in their walk. They gave a half wave to Marianne as they glanced in her direction, flashing a smile before turning to Vivian.

"Hey, Viv!" They greeted taking out one earbud and pulling Vivian into a hug. "You look well." Their voice was smooth, quiet as they spoke. "Excited?"

 

[ApfelSeine]

Yuri

As the two girls hugged, Yuri found himself smiling somewhat. It was nice to see how well they got along, and a bit of a relief to know that they would be able to look out for each other during the event. Though things had been relatively peaceful in Yuri's short time at Crystal Cove, he still had not fully determined precisely how safe they really were in this place. Looks could be deceptive after all, so it was hard not to feel edgy about it. Seeing clan members sticking together was reassuring, as there was safety in numbers. Not that Yuri was really one to talk when it came to staying safe. He himself seemed to be a magnet for trouble, which was only sometimes intentional.

Yuri opened one if the cabinets to retrieve a frying pan, beginning to oil the surface as he turned in the stovetop burner.

"It sounds like you two will enjoy yourselves," Yuri remarked with a bit of a chuckle. "At the very least, from all that you've been saying, it sounds like there's no shortage of things to do."

As he let the pan heat up, he moved to finish the mixture, adding in butter and salt and stirring until it was smooth as he continued to speak.

"My costume really isn't anything fancy, so I can't say it'll be worth waiting around for me Koi-chan. It should only take me a couple minutes to get ready, but I'm going to finish making breakfast first."

(Mentions: Koizuru DillyWanderer , Maira AquaMarie )

 

[Shame]

• Blake & Gill
• Kai

• 
  "It is a wax based hair paint, it'll wash out after a hot enough shower. I changing hair color without dye is a mermaid thing."
  "So, you are able to layer paint over your hair to give the appearance that it has changed color when it is open temporary? Like makeup for skin? Could you use the wax based paint for skin? Would it rip off your hair like they do like on tv? If you remove the paint from your hair, will it rip out strands as well? That wouldn't make it very temporary seeing as how it gives a very permanent outcome..." Gill rattled on, rubbing one of Leo's twists gently so that a little paint came off onto his hand, but it didn't mess up Leo's work.
  "Hey there Blake. Are you all in here getting ready for the parade?"
  Blake waved as Leo greeted her, a smile flashing on her face for only a moment before she forced it back down. She really like Leo. He reminded her of why she loved the sun. All the warmth, light, and life it brought. Just being in his presence was comforting. She quickly typed him a new message.
  "We are almost done, but you can get ready with us. I can help with your makeup."
  Blake paused and erased the message before writing it again.
  "You can get ready with us if you'd like to. I'm not nearly as good as Gill at makeup, but I could help you with yours if you'd like for me to."
  She sent the second message before she could erase and rewrite it again.
  "Gill, you've smeared some of your make up, are you giving Ares or Blake a hard time?"
  Blake looked up from her phone to look at the black smudge on Gill's cheek, and slowly moved closer to him to wipe it off.
  "Really, where?" Gill asked, reaching up and rubbing his hand across his face, smearing his makeup even more.
  Blake gave a low sigh of defeat. She would probably have to start all over again...
  "Hey keep an eye on Blake you two. Roast her if she tries to hide in a corner, I gotta get set up in the human's poor excuse of a mermaid tail."
  Blake stopped in her tracks as she saw Ares starting to leave. She fidgeted nervously with her hands.
  He really was mad at her.
  "Don't even think about bailing on me, I will find you. If I don't see you all dolled up after the parade I am going to beat you with love and kindness till you can't swim anymore!"
  Blake blinked in surprise. Was he mad at her? She was confused. She had been threatened many, many times, but Ares was the first one to ever threaten her lovingly. She quickly sent him a message.
  "Thank you, Ares, truly."
  "I'll go after you too if you let her runoff." Ares jabbed a finger at Gill and slammed his way out the door, causing Blake to flinch.
  Gill watched him go, waving enthusiastically.
  "Bye, bye, have fun, Ares!" Gill called after him as Blake finally managed to grab hold of his face and gently wipe away his smudges... and her hard work...
  
  Whirlawind23 August
  
• 
  "Aye matey, ready as ever."
  "Don't you mean, ready as ev-aarrr?" Kai said, bursting out in laughter at his own joke. He laughed so hard he had to stop rolling for a moment so as to not crash.
  "I'm eager to meet this young lass you speak about so often."
  Kai's laughter died as his already red face turned even more red. He was usually cool, collected, and nonchalant, but Marisol seemed to just erase all of that. His stupid comments became even more stupid in her presence. He had never met anyone like her before. So kind, sweet, patient, and caring. However, she also had this very powerful aura around her like she was capable of much more than anybody knew.
  "Aye, she be a fair bonny lass indeed," Kai replied, over enunciating every word, trying to cover up his feelings with a joke. That felt more like himself. He laughed, lightly hitting Flynn's arm when he nudged his shoulder.
  "I actually think you will really like her. She's a lot like you, actually. And despite that, I still think she is cool," Kai teased his friend. He looked up to catch his reaction, but could only focus on his friend happily chewing on the doom waffles like they didn't feel like and taste like burnt rubber. His mom claimed that they had come frozen and all she did was put them in the toaster, but he was still very suspicious.
  Kai looked away, almost being able to taste the doom waffles himself just by watching his friend eat. Taking in his surroundings, he found that they were already near the plant shop.
  He wasn't ready. His heart was beating too fast and his face was still red. Time for another joke to cover up his feelings.
  "Hey, hey, Flynn," He nudged his friend's arm, already starting to laugh at his own joke before he could even say it. "Do you know-" He laughed. "Do you know what my favorite music-" He tried to stifle his laughter, but snorted instead. "-my favorite music is when you and I go somewhere together?" He paused, waiting for his friend's reaction before he jumped into the punchline. "Walk and roll."
  By the time Kai and Flynn made it to Marisol, Kai was almost falling out of his chair laughing so hard at his stupid joke. His heart was still beating too fast and his face was still too red, but at least this time it was from a terrible, terrible joke.
  "H-Hey, Marisol! S-Sorry we t-took so long," He called out to her, trying his best to stifle his laughter.
  Finally managing to stop laughing, he reached up to place a hand on Flynn's shoulder.
  "This is my best friend, Flynn. I told you he was more handsome in person. His pictures don't do him justice," He said, not able to resist teasing his friend again. "Flynn, this is the fair bonny lass Marisol." He flashed a wide joking smile at Marisol.
  "Oh! We also brought you doom waffles. I hope you have no taste buds because you won't have any when you finish them, as evident by my good friend who is almost done with his," He told Marisol as he fished a cup of waffle sticks and a blueberry container of syrup out of his bag and held them out to her.
  "I can't eat and roll, but I will absolutely suffer with you when we get to where we are going." He turned his eyes from Marisol to Flynn and then back to Marisol, his grin widening.
  "Be ye ready to set sail, me mateys?"
  
  SpectrumCrow ApfelSeine
  

 

[Superfly47]

Mia

Once the stand was setup, a strange guy with a mermaid showed up and bought Rainbow Sherbert for himself and something else for his companion. Mia always finds it uncomfortable when someone orders something for someone else but doesn’t specify what that is. Mia would always have to ask what that is. “Here’s your Sherbert,” Mia says as she hands it to him. She turns to the mermaid, “What did you want mermaid?”

The man then went to explain that he is here to explore the origins of mermaids and to find out if they are real or not. Mia at first thought he was joking since he was hanging out with a girl dressed as a mermaid, but he seemed to be serious and was implying it would be earth shattering if mermaids turned out to be true. Instead of trying to dig deeper into his theory, Mia decided for a more playful response. “Looks like you just found a mermaid, seems your quest is over.”

Thomas explained he came from LA, Mia asked “Why did you come here? Must be an adjustment coming from a city to a small town. Sure, I’d love to give a tour. Not that there is a lot here. What did you like to do in LA?”

Thomas asked for a scoop of vanilla, Mia jokingly said, “Do you want it in a cone or should I put the vanilla directly in your mouth.” Mia then put the vanilla in a cone and handed it to him. “The cone is on the house.”

Ellis put the umbrella up, Mia kindly responded, “Thanks, the umbrella is kinda heavy.” Being asked about the origin of Mermids, Mia had only one response. “Of course I believe in Mermaids. If you don’t, I’m sure the event tonight will change your mind.” Part of Mia’s job is to help boost the atmosphere around the event and if she claimed Mermaids weren’t real then it could hurt the vibe. Would a vendor at a Santa Clause parade ever suggest that Santa was not real?

Mia asked, “So Ellis, are you also studying the origins of Mermaids or are you just here to have fun?”

DillyWanderer Mitheral ADarkAndStormyNight

 

[ApfelSeine]

Flynn Riegel

Seeing how flustered Kai became at the mere hint of Marisol, even the typically oblivious Flynn noticed that his friend was feeling worked up. Even though Kai appeared to want to hide his reaction with a joke, and to shift the conversation, Flynn at least knew Kai well enough to see a hint of nerves. As Kai teased him lightheartedly, remarking that Flynn and Marisol were similar, Flynn could not help but smile. At heart, Flynn was more of a romantic than he often let on. That had generally led to his own attempts at romance to come off rather stilted and awkward, but as far as those he cared about were concerned, Flynn wanted nothing short of the best for them. He felt himself growing a bit nervous as well on his friend's behalf. Kai was, in Flynn's opinion, a truly kindhearted and all around great guy. If this Marisol was as genuinely sweet as Kai had told him, then he truly wished for the two of them to grow closer. Though he wanted to meet her for himself to be certain of that.

Flynn walked alongside Kai, pausing a bit as Kai began what was quite obviously the opening of a joke. It was easy enough to tell, particularly since Kai apparently found himself hilarious. Naturally, Flynn could not help but feel both happy and amused by Kai's laughter, so he simply shook his head in feigned exasperation as he began to reply.

"I haven't the faintest idea..." Flynn began, looking skeptically at Kai and chuckling at the rather ridiculous punchline. "You're absolutely ridiculous."

He was not sure if Kai even heard his response with how hard Kai was laughing at himself. As they finally arrived at the plant shop. Flynn gave Marisol a friendly smile, though it faltered somewhat as Kai introduced him as being more handsome in person. A blush began to rise on Flynn's cheeks as well, feeling a bit embarrassed. Still, he reached his hand out to shake Marisol's hand in greeting.

"A pleasure to meet you Marisol," he said, managing a genuine smile once more despite feeling a little flustered.

He looked over as Kai offered Marisol the waffles that Kai's mother had made, shaking his head slightly at the rather melodramatic presentation.

"Honestly, they taste fine to me," he insisted.

Kai was particularly eager to get going, which Flynn was fine with, but he looked to Marisol to gauge her reaction first.

(Mentions Kai Shame , Marisol SpectrumCrow )

 

[Mitheral]

Sea-Bird for CTD

Athena Natsios

Athena allowed a thin smile. “Mermaids. Sorry to disappoint. And I am conducting an environmental impact study on the reefs. Effects of spills and global warming. I am always keeping my eyes open for rare species. The serious research I am doing is a CTD patrol using Sea-Bird methods. CTD is conductivity, temperature, and depth. Unless you are an oceanographer, pretty boring stuff.” She rolled her eyes sideways toward Jonathan. “But who knows, maybe some mermaid will take a ride up and give me a surprise.”

Her humor was short lived though and her smile faded.

*******************

Jonathan and Athena

Jonathan thanked Mia for the ice cream and led Athena away. It wasn’t as if she HAD to stay with him. But she seemed to have attached herself to him - and he wasn’t complaining. But he could tell she was holding back a LOT. He had seen anger in her demeanor. She hid it well, VERY well. The other three had been - mostly bored by the conversation. They weren’t faking that. But that had been expected. The next person he wanted to track down was the Mayor. That was easy enough. When you donate a lot of money, politicians listen. And it wasn’t as though Jonathan had asked for anything questionable.

“Mayor, got a moment. I’ll be quick.”

The Mayor looked like anything but patient. But Rhand HAD made some very generous donations. “What can I help you with?”

“Oh, just wondering if you could arrange a pow wow with the Sheriff and his best deputy tomorrow. Those cars I mentioned should be arriving. I was hoping to present them myself. Not my usual thing. But - and you will hear it from me first - if they catch me speeding, I expect a ticket. Not to worry. It won’t happen. The other matter. There is a large lot of land to the north end of town along the coast. I think I am going to buy it. Might build me a nice home here.”

The Mayor smiled. “Thinking you can find yourself a mermaid and settle down with her?”

Jonathan smiled. “I might do that.” But I need a coastline for my yacht. Anyways, that was it.” Then he caught himself. “Oh, and this is Dr Athena Natsios.”

****************

After they departed the Mayor, who seemed more interested in getting ready for the March of the Mermaids events, Athena followed Jonathan back to his Quad ATV. He had seat belts. That said a lot about him.

“Why don’t we go back to your yacht for a bit until it gets closer to event time?” Athena asked.

Jonathan nodded. “Sure. Then maybe we can talk about this mermaid research you had in mind. Mind your dress; buckle up. This thing is street legal pretty much everywhere. I wanted something I could drive around and get groceries with. But there are a few places that sneak laws onto the book and add stuff like all four wheeled vehicles must have seat belts and use that as an excuse. So I added seat belts. Don’t need them on the water though. I have a friend with an amphibious Lotus - the one from the James Bond movie. I am going one better, not that I am competing. I am building an Amph-X type vehicle for the Dubai 2030 challenge.” He pulled out his cellphone and opened up a pic. “Not that I have ever been bitten by the car bug.” He looked hard at the pic himself and grinned. “The problem is figuring out how to fit it on my yacht with all the other toys.”

https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/NINTCHDBPICT000462385010-e1547822757929.jpg

When they got back to his yacht, Athena asked if she could change back into street clothes until it was closer to the events. It didn’t take her long to change. Truth was, they were both already tired of the festival. They were here for science, not tourism. She found herself a place to sit and think. Then she came to a decision.

“Mermaids aren’t the nice creatures of legend,” she began.

Jonathan shook his head. “Actually, there are very few legends of them being hostile. Most were only hostile if wronged or if humans failed some test. In fact, they are noted for rewarding kindness with prosperity and knowledge.”

“That might have been true once. But look at history. When is the last time you heard of mermaid legends? 19th century? PT Barnum. That was proven to be a hoax. The answer is 2013. Greenland. And in 2009, Kiryat Yam, Israel. There were sightings and the city started offering $1 million for a good photo. Just a publicity hoax. Before that was PT Barnum. Before that, John Smith in 1614. Before that Henry Hudson in 1608.

“My point is that before very recent sightings, the accounts are few and far between. And they taper off as soon as the industrial revolutions began. Instead of wind powered boats, we began building boats propelled by propellers. I think that is when mermaids made themselves scarce.”


Israel sighting

Greenland sighting

(OOC: Boy, are some clan leaders going to be upset!)

“Now, however, they are returning. And they have become hostile.” Athena’s tone was one of warning.

“Hostile? Provoked? We started offshore oil drilling. There is a huge floating island of nothing but trash. We have even dropped poop waste, sewage, and even nuclear waste into the ocean. Could you blame them? You recall what I said about them being sapient? If they are, I suspect their culture would be primitive - like Native Americans or Aborigines. Let’s face it, water isn’t as conducive to technology as air. They are known for introducing medical knowledge. That fits as there are species of sea life that are natural medical factories.”

Athena’s face hardened. “I have seen them in action - killing people unprovoked. They tried to kill me.”

That silenced Jonathan...

***********************

For Jonathan, Athena’s declaration of being a witness to a mermaid attack raised all sorts of red flags. Crazy Lady red flags. But he concealed his disbelief. He had begun this research with an open mind and had prepared himself to listen to stories every bit as unbelievable as some UFO sighting interviews.

He did his best to look interested and asked, “Can you describe what happened? What exactly did you see?”

Athena was silent for the longest time. Finally she began to tell the story of how she survived a mermaid attack. “It happened among the islands between the Aegean Sea, the Myrtoan Sea, and the Sea of Crete - off the isle of Keros. My parents were on an expedition, exploring some underwater ruins. They were really excited. I was excited too. I was a teenager. Then it happened. A storm. A bad storm. That’s when they came. They swam right through turbulent waters. They sabotaged the yacht from underneath. They disabled the props - probably tangled them with chains. Then came the pounding on the bottom until they broke through both hulls. My parents tried to send out a distress call, but I think the radio had been sabotaged.

“Then the fire started. We went for the life raft, but as you probably already guessed, more sabotage. Then the engine exploded and I was thrown overboard. The sinking wreck dragged me under. Last thing I saw of my parents were the flowing forms of mermaids moving in for the kill, then blood.”

Jonathan had a bad feeling that Athena wouldn’t see reason, but he had to try. “Maybe those ruins were their home. Humans have been destroying everything everywhere they go. Look at the history of the West and native Americans or British and the Aborigines. We don’t have a great track record. The menfolk probably saw you as a threat.”

“They could have warned us off!”

“Agreed.” There was no point in arguing. Not now. “How old were you? How’d you survive?”

Athena’s demeanor shifted noticeably to a more guarded mode. “Fourteen.” Jonathan waited for more, but Athena didn’t elaborate at first. Then she continued. “I guess they thought I drowned. The only good that came of it was that my parents cared for me a great deal. I was left with an inheritance in a trust fund. Insurance covered the loss of the yacht. The trust fund kept me in school.”

Jonathan nodded. But he couldn’t help but notice one important detail left out. She had been in the sea with no lifeboat, presumably far from land in a bad storm. She should have drowned. At the very least hypothermia should have killed her. She had already said the radio was sabotaged. So unless there was some miracle.

He knew what it was like to harbor fear and resentment. There was no way to argue with her, no way to console her, not really. No way except --

He reached out and took her hands. “I’m glad YOU survived - whatever happened and please don’t be mad. You know how hard it is for a scientist like me to believe in … you know. Give me a little time.”

Athena’s anger faded for a moment. Again with the guardedness. Then she relaxed just a little. “Maybe we don’t need that much time. Let’s go skinny dipping.”

“What!?” Jonathan flushed. THAT had come out of nowhere.

Athena looked about as stressed as she could get, but the joke clearly helped. “Kidding. Let’s go down to the launch bay. I am going to have to remove my dress though. Tell me you aren’t like most Americans.”

“Uhm .. yes, I am actually. I ---”

“Don’t worry. I can go get a bathing suit if it would make you more comfortable. Or if I could borrow a bath towel or robe. I am going in the water. This won’t take long.”

*******

She stayed under for 5 minutes and didn’t even look like she had to struggle. She rose back to the surface calmly. “I swam back to shore.” She offered Jonathan a hand so he could help her out of the water. She led him back to his bedroom and grabbed her clothing to get dressed in the master bath area so they could continue to talk. “My parents adopted me when I was 9. I was left abandoned at an orphanage as an infant. The only thing in my possession was an abalone shell with my name carved in it. I am not quite human.”

She stepped back out of the master bath looking once more like a million dollars. And she had calmed down a little. “So do you want to head back to the Boardwalk?”

Jonathan shook his head. “No, not really. But I should. It is just that parades just don’t seem to be my thing. Boring as hell.”

“Not at all as exciting as waiting for a rocket launch. You know there are supposed to be fireworks later?”

“Yes and of course. Or standing around getting seasick and waiting for whales to grace you with their presence and maybe spew you with their blowhole.” He smiled though and gave an annoyed sigh. “Yeah, let’s go. And thanks.”

“For what? My aquatic fashion show?” Athena teased.

“No! Yes! I mean for pushing me to be a little sociable. Though, you know we COULD be plenty sociable right here.”

“Or after the fireworks show, and a bite to eat.”

“I have a kitchen on my yacht,” Jonathan sounded innocent.

“You’re missing the point. Parade. Now. Dine, don’t whine. Hermit.”

“Guilty as charged.”

 

[DillyWanderer]

​

Koizuru chuckled seeing how happy Maira when she offered to attend the event with her, "I know! We'll have a blast together," she said and hugged Maira back, "Ah...you're sooo cute, Mai! I can just squeeze you all day!," she squeezed the girl gently before letting go, "We'll watch the parade together and eat a lot of food." AquaMarie

She shifted her attention to Yuri again when he commented, "No doubt! We'll definitely have a lot of fun and you should too. I'm sure you'll find the event very interesting as well. We don't have one of those back home after all..." her voice trailed off a bit but caught herself before her thoughts linger on her past. She smiled again when Yuri mentioned his costume, "Fancy or not, I still want to see it. There's no costume that is not worth the attention you know? So go ahead and finish your breakfast, then get on your costume." ApfelSeine

"And while we wait for Yu and the event...what should we do, Mai?" she asked the other girl with a bright smile.

​

"You're welcome," Ellis replied with a smile and liked how confident Mia sounded when she answered his question, "That sounds convincing. If you're that confident, I guess there's a lot that I need to look forward to later when the event officially starts."

He saw the couple walk away leaving Thomas to himself, "Very interesting conversation you had there," he said to Thomas with a chuckle, "They seem to be an interesting pair. Come on, get under the umbrella or you'll melt your ice cream," he moved a bit to give Thomas some space under the big umbrella. ADarkAndStormyNight

He looked at Mia then when she returned the question to him, "As for my reason to be here...it's not entirely connected with mermaids," he answered shortly, "I might not look like it but I'm a painter and I heard that Crystal Cove has a lot of beauty to offer...I came here for the view and the people." Superfly47

 

[FireMaiden]

Location: Heading towards the Boardwalk
Interaction: Open
Mentioned: N/A
In all honesty, Eleni had zoned out. Moving a bit like she was on autopilot as she fixed herself a cup of coffee and sipped on it slowly as her clan-mates talked and did whatever. As bad as that was for an alpha to be ignoring what was going on, but it seemed to be all chatter about the festival and whatnot. Eleni was going too, but she had a stop or two to make before she got to enjoy herself. But first, as she sat her now empty mug in the sink, she decided to take a walk on the beach down to the boardwalk. So she left after grabbing the shell clutch that has her phone and wallet inside. A part of her just wanted to hurry up, but there was always an off anxiety about going. The previous alpha female berated her each year for this, despite being a fan herself. Eleni apparently made an easy target. Perhaps because of how she entered the clan. Or maybe she had just felt threatened.

Either way, she was gone and Eleni could maybe actually enjoy herself this year.

The smell of the sea was refreshing, the Grecian woman taking a long deep breath as she moved close to the lapping waves of the shallow. Water sprayed on her, dusting her skin with a faint glisten as she walked. Eleni loved this, the simple pleasures. Nothing would compare to Greece, but she had come to love Crystal Cove. The name had always made her wonder if the founders happened to be Scooby Doo fans, but, that didn't really matter now did it? She soon found herself coming to a stop and slipping her sandals off to enjoy the cool of the water lapping at her feet.