Popping Back In For A Couple Seconds, Because I Am Obsessed With These Two Throwaway Characters From

— " SO MEAN SHRIMPY ! " Suggestive / Fluff / Gender neutral reader | Another fic I'm not proud of [ Merform!Floyd }

The coldness of the water embraced your legs, as you let out a hitched breath, feeling your body cool down. It was incredibly scorching outside, your uniform was no help in the factor either, your thoughts trailed off as you felt something slightly spiky yet smooth, wrap itself around your legs. “How’s my little shrimpy, doing?”, Floyd perks up from the water, in his merform. 

Floyd lets out a small chuckle, noticing your initial shock; his thorny teeth on full display, you assume the object around your legs was his tail. It wouldn’t be the first time you’d see Floyd’s merform, his webbed hands and predatory appearance of sorts coming as no surprise to you. 

You let out a heavy sigh of annoyance as Floyd lays his head on your lap; drenching the rest of your clothing; “What do you think you’re doing?” you mumble out, too tired to cause a fuss, sadly the eel ignored you, coddling further into your embrace, snuggling into the fabric that was already damp with humid, you felt the warmth of his breath under the cloth; as he continued with his movements, trying to fit into a comfortable position. You could feel his body relax as he finally eases into your grasp.

You let out a heavy breath, you suppose you should give him the attention he so desperately, craves; you reach out towards him, tracing the heart shaped outline on his back slowly, the sink in your fingertips, caused his breath to hitch ever so slightly, as he let lose a breathy chuckle of sorts, you could feel the sharp sting of his fangs through the fabric of your clothes, ‘God those were sharp’, you thought to yourself, giving Floyd a light tap on his head, your way of telling him to stop with whatever he was planning. 

He raised his head, giving you a playful pout of sorts, “So mean shrimpy!”

© cupids-chamber, do not repost, plagiarize, translate, or adapt my work without prior permission and or confirmation.

Random compilation of that scattered clothes meme thing I did with twst characters, but with just the outfits I kinda liked from both attempts. And yes, I don’t have any sense whatsoever 😉 Rip to the ones that were originally too small so now their resolution suffers horribly lmao that’s my bad 🤡 480p ahh art

the other guys

Ko-fi

Certified dungeon meshi moment

you know where to find me (and i know where to look)

✍︎ damnation [ the diviner ]

– Summary: When you commit a crime, you receive a punishment. This is especially true in your society. No matter the crime, your punishment is the same: banishment. But to where you will be sent in exile and how miserable will it be? No one knows, because no one has ever returned.

– Warning: Yes, this is a yandere thing. Gender-neutral reader.

– Characters: Floyd Leech, Jade Leech, Azul Ashengrotto.

– Note: I’m actually not super proud of this result. Out of the three out so far, this one is probably like my least favorite. Maybe that’s why I’ve been putting this off for a while and also rewriting Scarabia’s result a lot, just because I don’t want to feel like I did a bad job on it once I do complete it. Currently, at the time this is being posted, Scarabia’s result is like halfway done. Here’s to hoping its a good result. 

– Pages: 40

– Not satisfied? Try looking here for the quiz to take it yourself and see where you end up banished!

The Hyena Chieftain   |   The Diviner   |   The Vizier’s Vassal

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Gift-Giving

Summary: Floyd gives Yu a gift. It does not go unnoticed. Word Count: 3.2k Warnings: none! :) A/N: Merry early Christmas, everyone... I present to you the longest fic I've written in the past few months and it's self-shipping nonsense. And it doesn't even take place around Christmas...💀💀 Welp. No beta, we die like men. Enjoy!

—

Like all things do, it starts with Floyd approaching Yu right before class.

—It’s a relatively quiet, warm morning that day as Yu heads to the alchemy lab, his freshly-washed lab coat folded and draped over one arm. He’s yet to run into any brawling students or scratched egos, or any disruptiveness in general. It’s a wonderful balm on his drained mind, and there have been no interruptions to this lovely morning yet.

Keyword: yet.

Yu is just thinking, Wow, this is really nice, when an all-too familiar voice sings out to him:

“Li’l Kooooiii~”

He looks back over his shoulder to see none other than Floyd approaching. The merman has forgone wearing his blazer entirely (both since it’s warm and because, right, doesn’t his class have Alchemy first today?) and is down to just his vest and shirt. For some reason, his arms are folded behind his back. 

Yu squints at him suspiciously. “…Good morning, Floyd.”

“Mornin’,” Floyd replies happily, shoulders wiggling a little as his hands fidget behind him. “It’s nice and warm out today~ must be nice for all the little fishies.”

“Uh-huh. What do you have behind your back?” 

Floyd blinks, as if he wasn’t actually expecting Yu to cut straight to the chase. “Eh? Well… Nothing… What’s up with you?” He shifts his weight from one leg to another.

“That’s… not what I…” Yu trails off. Something feels really off. “…okay, then.”

He wonders what it could be. Is it Floyd’s outfit? No, that sort of unorthodox fashion is pretty much par for the course. His posture and body language? Well, he does seem a little more nervous… but that’s probably not it. Is it?

“…Hey, Li’l Koi,” says Floyd all of a sudden, shifting his weight again. It looks a little like he’s chewing the inside of his cheek.

Yu tilts his head. “Yeah?”

“Close your eyes for a sec.”

“Uh…” There’s about two seconds in which he internally debates with himself before replying with an “okay” and closing his eyes.

With the world absent for a moment and his other senses heightened, Yu hears Floyd approach and his clothes rustle as he moves his arms. There’s a faint jingle—jewelry?—and then a little pinch through the neglected pierced hole in his ear. An… an earring, maybe?

“Done?” Yu asks when he feels like enough time has passed.

Floyd hums his affirmation with no small amount of satisfaction, so Yu takes that as a good sign and opens his eyes. The eel mer is beaming down at him, reaching out to hold Yu’s hair where he put on the presumed earring. 

“Cool. Now, let’s get to class; I can’t be late as the TA, you know…” Yu frowns half-heartedly. “And there’s no need to play with my hair.”

It’s tempting to pout and complain more about it, since he was going to feel for himself what the thing was, but he supposes it’s not that big of a deal. It’s probably hidden by his hair, so no one will question it, hopefully. And then he can go back to his dorm later and check for himself in the mirror.

“Okay~” Floyd cheerfully replies, sounding even more bubbly and ecstatic than usual. He then proceeds to mess with Yu’s hair all the way to the lab, much to the TA’s exasperation. 

—

People do, in fact, end up noticing.

—

1-B is the class that follows 2-D that day. 

During a pause when the students have to wait for their potions to settle in the vials, Yu stands by Jack and Epel’s station. Between the two of them, their potion-making seems to be going along well and their sample is starting to resemble the textbook example, so he sees no harm in idly chatting with them.

That is, until—

“By the way…” Jack looks down at Yu. “Where’d that earring come from?”

“What earring?” It takes Yu an embarrassingly long few seconds to remember, and he reaches up to feel it. “Oh. Oh! Well—Floyd gave it to me this morning. I’d honestly forgotten I was wearing it, it feels so normal…”

Epel squints to notice it. “Wow, Jack, you noticed that? I can barely see it past his hair—...wait a minute.”

Jack seems to share the same sentiment as Epel, whatever it is, because his ears twitch straight upwards and he holds up a hand. “Back up for a second. Floyd gave it to you?”

“The temperamental, violent Floyd?” Epel adds.

Yu frowns a little. “Uhh… I don’t know any other guys named Floyd. And he was being super nice today, if a bit nervous. Is there something wrong with that?”

“Everything,” the two reply in unison without missing a beat.

“Aren’t you two prejudiced? It’s just an earring,” Yu says, crossing his arms. “I still don’t know why he just gave it to me all of a sudden, but I don’t think he’s the type to scheme for the long run, so it’s probably not anything meant to kill me or something.”

Epel furrows his brows. “Well—yeah…”

“Still, that’s kind of unexpected,” Jack remarks, ears relaxing somewhat. “Keep your guard up, okay? Since you don’t know what he intended with it.” When the other two give him a look, he huffs. “I’m just saying that so you don’t end up roped into a deal of some kind! It’s not like I’m that worried about you.”

Yu smirks, knowing better, but Crewel stands up and calls out instructions for the class to continue before he can respond properly.

—

“Thank you for letting me borrow the lab,” Chrysos says politely to Crewel as he walks in, shrugging on his lab coat. 

Crewel huffs in approval, looking pleased at the freshman’s punctuality and neatness. “Good, hardworking boys should be rewarded for their performance in class. Just make sure to start cleaning up ten minutes before your free period ends. Now, I have business to attend to—I’ll leave you in here with Yu, he’ll lock up when you’re done.” With a billowing flourish of his coat, he steps out.

Yu finally looks over from the ingredient shelves then, spotting Chrysos and waving to him. “Yo. What are you making?”

“Nothing much.” Chrysos makes a beeline for the higher-level ingredients, only sparing Yu a passing glance on his way by. “Azul gave me a recipe I wanted… to try…” He trails off all of a sudden and whips his head back around to look at Yu.

“Is something wrong?” Yu asks, because he doesn’t think he’s committed any serious offenses against Octavinelle recently. He’s pretty sure, at least.

Chrysos doesn’t say anything, just steps closer to the TA and narrows his eyes. He then moves to get a look at him from the side, which is when his expression morphs into one vaguely resembling horror. “Wait. Don’t tell me…”

“What is it?”

But he goes ignored. 

“No wonder his earring was missing a scale,” Chrysos mumbles to himself, almost completely inaudible. His usually flat tone is full of disbelief. “I didn’t think he’d ever settle down like that, but—or he could just be playing around—”

Yu waves a hand in his face. “Uh, Twisted Wonderland to Chrysos?”

“Ah—” Chrysos blinks, caught off-guard for once with his eyes wide, but quickly schools his expression back to its normal stoicness. “Forgive me. It’s just… that earring is new, isn’t it?”

“Oh, this?” Yu asks, reaching up to feel the dangling earring in question. “Yeah. Floyd gave it to me this morning.”

That must have been the wrong thing to say, because somehow Chrysos goes even paler than he already is. “I… see.” He steps back and returns to looking for ingredients, although there is an unmistakably conflicted aura about him.

Chrysos pointedly avoids making eye contact with Yu for the rest of the period.

—

After grabbing his lunch, Yu finds his usual table and sits down, ready to just eat up and not think for a while. The cafeteria is loud, as per usual, so he almost doesn’t notice his friends until they place down their trays and slide ungracefully into the seats across from him.

Deuce nods to him. “Hey.”

“What’s up, Yu?” Ace asks with his usual grin. 

Yu daps him up from across the table out of habit. “Not much,” he replies, opting to not talk about the sore subject for Ace that is Chrysos. “How did your classes go today, you two? No fights?”

“No fights,” Deuce confirms proudly. “It’s been a good day so far.”

Ace raises an eyebrow at him. “For you? Yeah, right. Anyway—” Before an argument can start, he narrows his eyes at Yu to change the subject. “I saw it on the way here, but is that an earring you’re wearing? The locket is one thing, y’know, but I didn’t take you as a jewelry kind of person.”

“You’d be surprised,” says Yu dryly. “And you’re the third person to ask me about this today, excluding Crewel giving me the bombastic side-eye. Seriously—” 

He’s cut off by Deuce leaning diagonally over the table to get a look. The card soldier purses his lips. “Hey, doesn’t that look kind of familiar to you? The design, I mean.”

“Yeah… Yeah, you’re right,” Ace realizes, “Where’ve I seen that before…?”

The two squint and observe Yu for a few moments, creating a very awkward bubble of silence. Yu is tempted to reach over and clap in their faces. Instead, he just tries to say, “Guys—”

“It’s part of Floyd’s earring, isn’t it?” There’s a pause as Ace brings a hand to his chin. “Or Jade’s…”

“Stop fucking interrupting me,” Yu demands, reaching over and flicking Ace on the forehead. It elicits a disproportionately loud yelp. “Yeah, Floyd gave it to me. Now that I think about it, it does feel like a scale… Anyway, as I’ve said, you’re the third person to ask me about it today, and more than the third person I’ve had to explain it to, so calm down. Please.”

“He actually gave you something?” Deuce asks like he didn’t hear that last part to calm down, eyes wide. “Do you know why? Or if it’s, uh, cursed or anything?”

“He could also be trying to take advantage of you by making you owe him,” is Ace’s contribution. “If I were you, I wouldn’t wear it.”

Yu rolls his eyes. “You guys are just repeating what Jack and Epel said. I’m sure it’s fine, he was kind of nervous when he gave it to me, so I’m gonna assume it’s nothing actually harmful. If that makes sense. And, nothing has happened so far, so I’m gonna keep wearing it.”

“Yu…” Deuce looks at him with obvious concern in his eyes. “Are you really, actually sure? If you get into any trouble, you know you can call on us, right?”

“Yeah, what he said. Unless we have to actually fight Floyd…”

“Guys, seriously, it’s fine.” Seeing their faces, though, Yu hesitates. “...Fine, I’ll keep it in mind. But I’m still not taking this earring off just because you think it’s cursed or something.”

Ace snorts and starts digging into his food. “Worth a shot. I’m gonna get to say the most satisfying ‘I told you so’ of my life soon.”

Yu flicks him again. “In your dreams.”

—

The subtropical zone of the botanical garden is always unpleasantly humid. Yu rolls up his sleeves as he walks, looking around for the plants Crewel told him to collect for the next day’s classes. 

It’s through pure luck alone that he manages to stop himself right before stepping on an unmistakable tail, spotting it stretched out onto the pathway from the grass. He stares down at it for a moment, two moments, and then looks over to where a nearby tree covers the grass in comfortable shade. And, of course, a certain someone is lounging in that very shade.

“Leona,” he mutters under his breath, carefully stepping over the lion’s tail. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?”

The grass rustles beneath Leona as he sits up, grumbling to himself. “How’s that any of your business?”

“Because you’re here instead, leaving your tail on the path. Again.”

“You didn’t step on it, right?” Leona yawns, not even bothering to cover it with his hand. “I don’t see the problem then.”

Yu raises an eyebrow at him, before deciding that this is hardly worth his time. He turns away, about to go back to the task he came here to finish—

“Hold it. One of the eels gave you that earring, didn’t they?”

For fuck’s sake.

“No, I beat them up and took it by force,” is Yu’s sarcastic response. At Leona’s unimpressed look, he rolls his eyes. “Of course Floyd gave it to me.”

“And you’re not making a big deal of it?” Leona asks, something akin to amusement starting to seep into his voice.

Yu shakes his head. “Everyone else is. Am I supposed to?” 

There’s a long pause in which Leona stares at him, grass-green eyes and slit feline pupils observing him from the shade. If looks could kill… Well, Yu wouldn’t be dead yet, but he doesn’t quite like the pressure that comes with being watched by this guy.

“You really don’t know, huh,” Leona comments finally, lips curling up into a smug smirk. 

“No…?” Yu narrows his eyes at him. “Whatever happened to ‘minding one’s own business’?”

“Guess I won’t tell ya what it means, then. I’ll let that moody eel do it himself.”

“Wait—”

Leona lies back down, rolls over onto his side so his back is to Yu, and falls right back asleep. As if out of spite, he snores exceptionally loudly, like an unspoken middle finger. 

—

After school, Yu is working on his homework in a corner of the lab—Crewel always insists that even someone in his position, a non-student at a secondary school, shouldn’t forget to study too—when the door opens. Azul and Jade peek in.

“Professor Crewel?” Azul calls out.

“Oh—” Yu sets down his pencil and stands up. “He’s not here right now, he’s getting something. Do you need something? Though, I thought neither of you have him until tomorrow…”

The two Octavinelle students turn to look at him. 

As per usual, Yu and Azul lock eyes—however, rather than glance away as he normally does, Azul stares at the TA oddly for a few moments. Jade is equally silent, a hand brought up to his chin.

Yu tilts his head a bit. “Uh, guys…?”

Jade is the first to shake out of his stupor, mouth curling in a smile. “My apologies. It’s just, your earring…” He chuckles into his gloved hand, not mocking or pitying but a secret third thing.

Oh, right. Yu had almost forgotten about it once classes were dismissed and people stopped bothering him about it. Only for it to be noticed yet again, he thinks with no small amount of irritation and embarrassment. And by the two closest to Floyd, at that.

“It’s about time you two got on my case about it. So many people have asked me about it today,” Yu grumbles, sitting back down and self-consciously rubbing the singular scale attachment between his thumb and index finger. “Floyd gave it to me and didn’t elaborate.”

Azul, finally tethered to reality again, coughs into a fist. “Yes, well—that… was to be expected, he probably doesn’t feel like explaining himself yet. Though he meant no harm with that gift, I assure you.”

“Yes. Absolutely none at all,” Jade echoes, his smirk somehow growing. A little part of Yu dies inside when he notices the eel is totally getting a kick out of this situation. “In fact, I would argue it’s the complete opposite. You see, under the sea, we often give gifts to those whom we like—”

“That’s enough from you.” One of Azul’s hands not-so-subtly reaches up for Jade’s shoulder to steer him away while the other rubs at his temple. “Seriously, you and Floyd are both far too giddy about this… Anyway, thank you for your time, Yu,” he says, so politely it seems a little awkward. “If the professor isn’t here, I may as well ask him our question tomorrow. See you later.”

The two leave as abruptly as they popped in, Jade still chuckling when he walks out the door.

Just leaving me alone to process that? is all Yu can think, still reeling. Rude.

—

If any Octavinelle students have questions or concerns about the way that Yu storms into the Mostro Lounge, they know better than to voice them. Instead, they simply clear a path for him and go about their evening, quietly turning a blind eye to the way he marches right up to Floyd.

It’s answers he wants, and answers he intends to get. 

“About those earrings,” Yu begins, “what did you—”

“Li’l Koi, you’re wearing your dorm uniform again!” Floyd cheers, shoving his serving trays onto some poor fool and lifting Yu up into the air by the waist. The TA, in a panic, has to grab onto Floyd’s shoulders to stabilize himself. “It looks really good with the gift I gave you, doesn’t it~?” 

“Y—” There’s a moment where Yu almost tips over and he tenses up in a panic, noticing how far away he is from the ground, but he relaxes with the feeble hope that he won’t be suddenly dropped. “Yeah, I guess… The sturgeon scale does pair nicely with the patterns on my clothes… Ah, but that’s not the point.”

Floyd beams. “Uh-huh? Should I fight another merman and get you some different scales, then? Oh, but teeth would be way cooler…!”

“Uhh, not right now,” Yu answers, trying and failing to ignore the way Floyd lights up even more at not being straight-up rejected. “I, um, wanted to ask you about why you gave me the earring. It was a part of yours, right? One of the scales from when you got into that fight.”

“Yeah.” Tellingly, Floyd averts his gaze for just a moment too long. “It was ‘cause I wanted to. I just wanted to give something to ya.” The way he lamely finishes it suggests it’s definitely not the whole reason, and Floyd himself knows it.

“Yeah, but…” 

Yu’s mouth feels dry; he knows what he wants to ask, sort of, but can’t bring himself to say it. Even though it’s just them around. Something he heard a while back pops into his mind—eels are cowards—and it sure shows with the way Floyd decided to go about this. If he even meant it like that. 

It somehow feels like he’s the bigger coward, though—

Floyd gives Yu’s sides a gentle squeeze. “Stop thinking about it so hard,” he complains lightheartedly. “I’m gonna shower you with gifts, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

“Huh?” Heat floods Yu’s cheeks. “Wait, that won’t be necessary!”

“Too late! I’ve already made up my mind,” declares Floyd. “I wanna see you make more interesting faces like that, so be ready to accept a tooooon of gifts, ‘kay?”

“Oh—oh, okay,” Yu says quickly, as if speed will hide how flustered he is (it, in fact, does the exact opposite). Besides, receiving a lot of silly yet thoughtful gifts doesn’t exactly sound like a bad thing—

“Cool.” There’s an almost giddy energy to the way Floyd sets him down and then immediately takes his hand. Yu can actually feel him trembling a little from excitement. “I’ve got some stuff in my room I was saving up to give you, so let’s go.”

Yu blinks, and suddenly he’s being tugged along down the hall while trying to keep up with the pace of Floyd’s long legs. “Now? Wait, Floyd…!”

SSR Floyd Leech - Platinum Jacket Vignette

"Happy 100th Anniversary"

Part 1

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Floyd: Honestly, before comin' here, I was only expecting to see paintings of the Great Seven…

Floyd: But there's actually a ton of unusual and cool lookin' stuff, like paintings of all their underlings.

Floyd: What should I check out next…? AH!

Floyd: It's the eels who worked for the Sea Witch. Look at those glowing eyes and those sharp fangs… So cool～

???: Hey, hey, don't you think these two look alike? Are they brothers?

Kalim: Also, kinda feels like they're similar to you and Jade.

Floyd: Oh hey, it's Sea Otter-chan. Yeah, I guess we might have similar color scales 'n all.

Floyd: But it's not like Jade and me think we're actually similar to each other at all.

Kalim: Eh, really?

Floyd: Yeah. Sometimes people'll mess me and Jade up and can't tell us apart, but I really don't get how they can't figure it out.

Floyd: Back when I first came to the surface, there was this one time that I got some funny looks in a hair salon that I went into for a haircut.

Floyd: They cut it just the way I asked, but what they were saying just wasn't adding up. And then, when I went to pay, they said this:

Floyd: "Leech-san, your hair grows back very quickly. I only just cut it a moment ago, I'm so surprised that it grew this long already."

Floyd: Yeaah, I'd say I was the one who was more surprised. This was my first time, but they said "a moment ago." Isn't that weird?

Kalim: Eh? What does it mean? Did you lengthen your hair with magic?

Floyd: Nah, come on, think. It was my first time in the shop, but…

Kalim: Ah, no way…!?

Floyd: Did you finally figure it out, Sea Otter-chan? Yeah, basically, Jade went and got his hair cut from the same place right before I did.

Kalim: I get it. So basically, the stylists there thought you two were the same person.

Floyd: Yup. Guess they didn't realize it because we both made the reservation under the name "Leech."

Floyd: Before that, even, when I went to get my passport photo taken to come to the surface, something similar happened.

Floyd: I'm like, seriously, how do they not realize it? Everyone's so bad at details.

Kalim: Wooow. I thought it'd be fun to have a twin sibling, but I guess it's not always great.

Floyd: Not really? Just like you said, there's a ton of fun that comes out of it.

Floyd: I'm never bored when Jade's around. Also…

Floyd: If I ever randomly feel like wearing something completely different from my usual stuff, I can just borrow stuff from him, from the clothes down to the shoes.

Floyd: Me 'n Jade like different colors and styles of clothes, and even go to completely different clothing stores.

Floyd: I can swap up my style in a snap, so it's actually pretty cool.

Kalim: Ahaha, yeah, that sounds like a blast!

Part 2

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Kalim: The King of Beasts here looks like he's relaxing, what a great painting～!

Floyd: Oh, there's an explanation next to it. It says, "This depicts the scene where the hornbill chamberlain is soothing the King of Beasts with a song."

Floyd: Huuuuh. So even lions relax while listening to music, huh.

Floyd: They say that this king was always strategizing, so maybe it was important for him to have his relaxation time, huh.

Floyd: Y'know, Sea Lion-senpai's the same, but aren't lions always just sleeping?

Floyd: I thought they were supposed to be ferocious, but even when I went to the zoo as a part of our land boot camp, they were all asleep… That was a major letdown.

Kalim: Hm? What do you mean by boot camp? Did you attend somewhere else other than Night Raven College?

Floyd: Yeah. Uh, so basically, the land boot camp is basically where the merfolk that're lookin' to come up to the surface go to study and practice stuff about land.

Floyd: You live there for a month, and they do a ton of different lessons, like how to walk, or how to live on land.

Kalim: Wow, that sounds really cool! So, what kind of stuff did you learn at the zoo?

Floyd: Uhhh, something about figuring the differences out between land animals? I have a super hard time telling apart animals that look similar, so.

Floyd: At first, I thought a giraffe was just a horse with a long neck, and I couldn't even tell the difference between foxes, dogs, and racoons.

Kalim: FOXES AND DOGS AND RACCOONS～!? BUT THEY'RE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!?

Floyd: Are they? They're all fuzzballs to me.

Floyd: But I could tell that an elephant was different from horses and the like, because it wasn't all fuzzy.

Floyd: Oh yeah, and the lions too. I thought all those cats I'd run into would one day grow large like them.

Kalim: EEEHH!! You'd mix up cats and lions too? I don't think I've ever seen cats with a mane…

Kalim: Ah, but… I guess I can't say anything. I used to think that when dolphins grew up, they turned into whales.

Floyd: Huuuh～? No way that'd happen. Why'd you think the name'd change like that?

Kalim: I don't really know, but I think I can get how someone who was raised in the ocean could believe that a cat would grow into a lion.

Floyd: Yeah, yeah. I bet if one of you surface dwellers came to the ocean floor, there'd be a ton of stuff you don't know, too.

Floyd: ―Oooh! That painting over there looks awesome. I'ma go check it out.

Kalim: Oh, which one? …HEY, FLOYD! WAIT FOR ME, I'M COMING TOO!

Part 3

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Floyd: The color composition in this painting's super amazing. The blue sky with the golden bug is a perfect combo.

Kalim: It's a painting of the Sorcerer of the Sands and a scarab! Both his posture and expression is really cool.

Floyd: I heard that this golden bug thing was the key to finding a magical cave… Why'd they make it look like a bug?

Floyd: Wouldn't that be hard to figure out? Insects and keys look nothin' alike.

Kalim: Hmmm, well, maybe… Maybe they tried to make it hard to figure out on purpose.

Kalim: They say there was some legendary treasure inside the cave. So I guess it's because no one would ever think a little bug would be the key, right?

Floyd: I get it. So then, if this was the ocean, the key might've been in the shape of a shell, or a crab.

Floyd: I bet it took the Sorcerer of the Sands a long time to find that magic cave because of that key.

Floyd: Or maybe, he was actually enjoying the treasure hunt?

Floyd: I know I get more excited tryin' everything I can to get my hands on something. The more difficult the better.

Kalim: What, have you gone treasure hunting too, Floyd?

Floyd: Not really treasure, but a ring.

Floyd: I once found this silver ring online that looks like an eel is wrapped around your finger.

Kalim: Woah! I've never seen a ring that looks like that before! I bet it'd look good on you.

Floyd: Riiight? But the manufacturers had already discontinued it. I wouldn't be able to find it so easily.

Floyd: And when something is hard to get… doesn't it just make you want it more?

Floyd: So, after that, I went looking for it, big time.

Floyd: I went 'round to a bunch of second-hand shops that carry the brand, and even asked my pops to reach out to some of his connections who'd know about stuff like that.

Floyd: I get bored pretty easily, so I usually don't try that hard trying to find just one thing. Cool, huh?

Kalim: You must have really wanted it, then! So? Were you able to find it?

Floyd: Yup. One of pop's connections was able to find it and get it for me.

Floyd: When I put it on, it totally felt like the ring was made just for me! And I got super attached to it.

Floyd: So then, I wore it pretty much all the time after that, even when I exercised or took showers…

Floyd: It ended up getting a ton of scratches, and got all tarnished, man～

Floyd: Silver stuff tends to degrade pretty quickly if you don't take care of it, but the ring's design was a bit complicated, so it was way too annoying to clean.

Kalim: Then, what if you remake it in platinum or white gold? They don't tarnish that easily. I can introduce you to one of my family's craftsmen!

Floyd: Naaah.

Kalim: Eh, why? I thought that was a pretty good idea…

Floyd: C'mon, Sea Otter-chan. I was all happy because it was hard to get my hands on.

Floyd: If I had someone make it for me, then that's not the same thing.

Floyd: It's 'cause it took a ton of hard work and searching for it was fun that I like that specific ring.

Floyd: Maybe it's a pain to clean, but I like it. So I'll use it until it breaks.

Kalim: Searching for it was fun, huh. I guess I never thought of it like that.

Kalim: Okay then, well, let me know if you're ever in a bind again. I'll totally help you then!

Floyd: 'Kaaay. I think I'm bored of this floor. I'm gonna go somewhere else. Bye, Sea Otter-chan.

Kalim: Yeah! See you later, Floyd.

Floyd: Hmmm, what should I look at next… Ooh. I've seen this painting of the Mer-King before, back in the ocean～

Floyd: I think they said that he was a super good guy, but could be unreasonable, too… Ugh, stubborn leaders like that sound like a paaain.

Floyd: Yeaaaah... The best kinda boss's gotta be someone like the benevolent Sea Witch.

FELLOW HONEST SHAKES

SSR Jade Leech - Platinum Jacket Voice Lines

When Summoned: A museum that has been standing for 100 years is a wondrous thing. My heart leaps for joy at the prospect of encountering exciting works of art!

Summon Line: What a perfect suit to wear to such a long-standing museum. Fufu... What say you, does it look good on me?

Groooovy!!: The ocean is rife with danger. Who knows what may have befallen this happy little crab afterwards...

Home: Time to celebrate their 100th Anniversary.

Home Idle 1: I often see rather strange flora in paintings that depict the Queen of Hearts. I would love to see some of those with my own eyes someday.

Home Idle 2: Every painting of the Fairest Queen depicts her flawless beauty in such a flattering light. It's no wonder that Rook-san admires her greatly.

Home Idle 3: Down in the ocean depths, the Sea Witch's favorite lipstick is very popular. The container is even shaped like a seashell... I recall gifting it to my mother once, as well.

Home Idle - Login: If any of the paintings depicting ocean tales interest you, please don't hesitate to let me know. Perhaps I can help increase your appreciation of them.

Home Idle - Groovy: Riddle-san is even knowledgeable of the tales that come from the ocean. I should follow his example and widen my own knowledge of tales from the surface.

Home Tap 1: I've been improving my own sketching skills each day, of course, so that I would be able to more accurately describe the things I encounter in the mountains.

Home Tap 2: Sebek-kun declared that he would like to test his strength against the supernaturally strong young man that was said to be a child of a god. I know could never possibly consider challenging such a person, indeed.

Home Tap 3: I could hear Ruggie-san's stomach rumbling as he stood before a painting of some apples. They were drawn so beautifully that I can certainly understand how it would invigorate his appetite!

Home Tap 4: The paintings here on the surface are very colorful and I enjoy gazing at them very much. Colors tend to fade the closer they are to the ocean floor, you see.

Home Tap 5: You think that I resemble the moray eel that served the Sea Witch? In all honesty, I also felt a sort of kinship with them too. Especially with our mismatched eye colors.

Home Tap - Groovy: The museum shop has tea blends inspired by all these great people? Thank you for that wonderful news. I must go buy some.

Duo: [JADE]: Riddle-san, is this not an opportune moment? [RIDDLE]: We seem to be on the same page for once, Jade.

Birthday Login Message: Is that supposed to be a present for me? ...Ah, no need to shirk. I will wholeheartedly accept this from you. You see, there are those who would attempt to startle me with trick boxes and the like, so... I was simply wondering what it was that you were planning on giving me. Fufu, I am looking forward to opening it.