#asktheanemone

the rebloggable version of @ask-the-anemone ‘s prompt! The coral took me two full days— I need to figure out an easier way to do coral reefs OTL

My part of an art trade with @ask-the-anemone !!!

It took a good minute for Marlin to calm down, shuffling further into the anemone, fins fanned out wide to make himself look bigger. Most predators were smart enough to not invade the anemone, due to the nasty stings it can provide to fish who weren’t used to it- but he’s had a few close calls before. His eyes were wide and glossy, rimmed with tears as his sleep-addled mind kept screaming at him to take shelter. But… the panic fled just as soon as Marlin’s vision adjusted, only to reveal Bruce. While his heart rate decreased, the floodgates opened.

“Bruce, I’m sorry- I didn’t-” he croaked, hiding his face behind his fins so Bruce wouldn’t see him sob so openly. “I th-thought it was- I’m-”

Marlin had gotten over his dread against the great white by now, knowing Bruce would never willingly kill him- the blood was just an accident. But he’d never get over the teeth. It wasn’t Bruce’s fault that he chased him and Dory, it was Marlin’s. Everything was his fault, everything that happened was his fault.

He sinks down to the cushiony disk of the anemone, keeping his fins tight over his eyes.

Not necessarily being one to hide his own tears — and a strong advocate for encouraging members to freely share their emotions during meetings— Bruce could recognize the clownfish’s weeping.

“‘Oi, it’s ‘lright,” the shark crooned; his usual booming voice lowered softly yet stilling carried a lulling rumble. “You needn’t worry ‘bout cryin’, mate. Ye can get it out— it’s okay.”

At the back of his mind, Bruce fretted, wondering if he had anything to elicit such a nightmare. His first meeting with Marlin and Dory hadn’t exactly gone as planned, and the great white spent a good few weeks absolutely devastated, thinking Marlin and Dory had perished in the blast. Thinking he’d killed a determined father hellbent on finding his son. A good father. And a good friend as well, with how receiving Dory had been to Bruce and his friends.

Nemo had been sent out on a field trip with his peers, to observe a float of bioluminescent phytoplankton at a shallower part of the reef, and why they glow. As such, he'd be staying with the rest of his school there overnight, with Mr. Ray and Dory acting as guardians for the trip. He'd been passive of field trips before, knowing his son would be safe- or at least, he knew his son would stay out of trouble... possibly. Nemo knew better. Marlin was perfectly fine earlier... after the sun set below the ocean however, anxiety wracked him. Would Nemo be safe? Would Dory forget again and lose sight of him? Would he wander off with his friends and go off on some "adventure", only to be eaten-

No, stop that.

Nothing was going to happen.

But not even the dark closing in to envelop the clownfish into deep sleep believed that. Horrible screams and growling, the clash of teeth threatening to split him in two, the powerful slap against solid rock. The memories all came back tenfold, and he tasted metal. Terrible, terrible jaws. "-in!" His son. "-okay-" Coral. "-ye hurt?"

Marlin slowly opened his eyes, shuddering as he broke out into a cold sweat, his heart still pounding like he'd swam ten leagues. In his drowsy daze, he looked around for the source of the voice... only to be faced with a monstrous set of unending teeth just outside his anemone.

He screamed.

The great white startled from the sudden scream, before realizing he was the one who caused it. Bruce felt his heart sink a bit, and mentally chastised himself for hovering too close to Marlin’s front door.

“Whoa! Whoa! Marlin, it’s okay!” Bruce said urgently, holding up his pectoral fins in case his fish friend decided to bolt out of the anemone. “It’s just me, mate. It’s Bruce!”

One year fish-free, and he still managed to accidentally scare the daylights out of his own fish friends. The guilt took hold of the shark, and Bruce slowly lowered his head back to the anemone. “Sorry for the scare, mate. I didn’t know whether or not you were hurt! You were makin’ all these noises…”

Bruce paused, as realization swept over him. Had Marlin experienced a nightmare?

Send “They’re ’s a 10, but..” and fill in the rest to call out my muse!

I like to think that Bruce breaks the stereotype of the hulking, toothy tank character being dumb and bumbling. He’s quite eloquent, well-spoken, and versed in group therapy.

But just because Bruce is intelligent doesn’t mean he isn’t occasionally a thrill-seeking dumbass that has navel mines explode in his face

Headcanon questions

[ ⚓ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat does “home” mean to them ?

Home, as a place, would always mean the Great Barrier Reef. Bruce was born and raised there: the shallower areas acting as a nursery for younger pups of his kind. But unlike other great white pups who went on their own or traveled with others of their same age group, Bruce followed his mother after his birth.

Against Adria's better judgment, she raised her pup as best she could, and for awhile, Bruce's home was with his mother. Then humans came and captured her, and Bruce's concept of home returned to just a place. And despite the millions of fish living in the reef, that place felt empty to the young pup.

In the distance, he could spy thin columns of smoke— a campfire? Or a chimney? The hill obscured his view, and he couldn’t see quite as far as he wished. The Olog continued on, this time letting the sun beat against his back and warm his skin.

As was quiet and well for awhile, and had been for quite some time, until Bruce picked up on an unfamiliar scent that stopped him in his tracks. Bruce paused, lifting his enormous head up and flaring his nostrils to better pinpoint the source. The snap of a twig turned his head, and beady blue eyes narrowed in the direction of the sound; the source of whom hidden in the tall grass.

🐱

How intimidating am I? (Specify mun or muse!)

Send 🐱 for moderately intimidating

Oh man, I hope I can change that! I could use some advice to do so ;;