#bism

Her kingdom was only a shallow thing, after all:

A solitary, pale and broken town,

Far from the Upper Lands, not truly Down.

Her minions, like you, a folk to pity,

Wrenched from another world, their hearth and home

Farther away than ever you'd thought to roam,

Until one freed gnome beckoned with bright eyes,

And gestured to a world of richest color–

This scene has lived in the back of my skull ever since, taunting me with the dead gems of the shallow crust. The single most impactful few sentences of the whole book.

Anyway I DESPERATELY want to eat the Treasure Bugs.

From: Junior Diver Program

To: Haruka Nanase

Subject: Junior Diver Program Candidacy

"Dear Haruka Nanase of the Iwatobi Middle School Swimming Club:

Congratulations: We at the Junior MerDiver Program have scouted and selected YOU based on your talents as Iwatobi Middle School Swimming Club Freestyle Swimmer to join our Program and train yourself with your fellow candidates as a future Junior MerDiver Candidate!

We will be waiting for you and hope you will have a splash of a time training and making memories at the Junior MerDiver Program!We and our fellow sponsors have already chosen and sent you your personal custom Junior MerDiver Swimwear and SCUBA Gear in your current swimwear's colors as listed below:

Ties Color Custom Boys' One-Piece Beachbody Racing Swimwear Ties Color Custom Prototype Vacuum Seal Vaczipper MerDiver FinTail Ties Color Custom Silicone Racing Swim Cap Color Custom Lens Swim Goggles Gull Color Custom Mantis Clear Silicone Dive Mask with Custom Colored Lens and Canal Stable Snorkel SCUBAPro Color Custom Classic Zero G Stab Jacket Buoyancy Compensator with Air 2 Integrated Inflator/Octopus Bism Color Custom Black Beans Spec1 360 Degree Swivelhead Regulator and Black Beans Spec2 Octopus Regulator Bism Color Custom Titanium Compact Gauge 10 Liter Cylinder Air Tank

Once again before we go: Congratulations!

Signed,

The Junior MerDiver Program"

Funny. Haruka Nanase doesn't recall being scouted for and selected to train as a Junior MerDiver before. But for the sake of Gou, he will suit and gear up in his new Junior MerDiver Swimwear and SCUBA Gear and dive into the underwater world like he never experienced it before...