Victor glances at him, then at his watch, slightly concerned. He supposes he canât blame his friend for staring -- the sub theyâve come to examine, bobbing gently at the top of the water, IS pretty amazing with its delicate fins and gleaming metal. But the way Docâs looking at the machine, Victor half-expects him to get the train and a rope and tow it back to the shop. âEr -- youâve been standing here for two minutes,â he offers up tentatively.
âIâm sorry, I canât help it! Thatâs the Nautilus, Victor!â Doc cries, bursting into sudden, delighted flailing. âFrom Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea! My favorite Jules Verne title! The Nautilus, here in the -- well, metal, I suppose!â
Victor chuckles. âI did notice a resemblance to your train.â He goes to knock on the hatch. âBut we are here on a job. . .and if we donât pick up the pace, youâll never get to see the inside.â
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đ” Â - for my muse to catch yours singing in secret .
He hears the soft voice, singing. It catches his interest, making him stand up and follow the singing. He hums softly to himself, a small smile forming on his lips when he sees her. He stays quiet, not wanting to startle her.
'  you  know  you're  not  supposed  to  be  here.  '  gaze  raises  to  her,  and  a  tilt  of  their  head.  '  how  did  you  even  get  here  ?  '  that  doesn't  make  him  any  less  excited  to  see  her.  the  only  remaining  part  of  his  family  that  hartley  gave  any  care  about.  but  he's  currently  got  his  hands  in  some  less  than  legal  cookie  jar.  '  are  you  okay  ?  '
"We're like geese," Mary declared, tilting her head back, legs dangling 50 feet above the glittering water. "South for the winter."
For a moment she was content to enjoy the sun; the wide brim of her hat shaded her shoulders and arms, and the cackle of seagulls caught up on a breeze and trailed off out of earshot. Looped back as the birds circled far overhead.
Then she clicked her tongue, brow furrowed. She pulled herself to her feet and strolled past Jerrie - inside, an array of seafood had been laid out, cocktails and sauces and delicacies from the mainland.
"Can't you just enjoy anything? You know, I bring you all the way out here--" Mary stopped in the doorway and turned to look at Jerrie out on the deck over the top of her sunglasses. "--And you're just gonna sit there and ask me how I paid for it?" As if the bank robbery hadn't been all over the news anyway. "It's offensive."
@hamelinboundâ   /   winter is starting to hit detroit already. white flurries dance through the air and dust the city scope. itâd be a magical sight if the inner city had any whimsy. instead, pedestrians continue their brisk pace as always, even as ice speckles their coats.Â
detroitâs nonchalance doesnât dampen shellyâs yuletide spirit, however, nor should it hinder jerryâs. âhey, what do you say we get a hot chocolate? itâs getting cold out here.â
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@hamelinbound asked for a starter in Timâs merfolk!verse.
He knew he wasnât supposed to be this close to the shore, especially not a city shoreline, but he couldnât help it. Humans were fascinating and he had long since realised that what he was taught about them werenât always true. Tim had to know more and he could only do that by observing.
Carefully, he swam as close as he could, feeling his fin touching the rocky bottom. Wide eyed, he silently watched a human close by. So close that he easily could be seen, but his curiosity won over his fear and he remained in the shallow water.
@hamelinbound I have fic for you, based around one of our recent conversations regarding the versions of Jerrie and Hartley that live in Secundus and have a very book-accurate version of the Nautilus sub! You know, the one that you then suggested we turn into a thread. ^^; I figured youâd still like the fic, though. XD Plus some additional inspiration from that cool âCephalopodopteraâ picture you shared with me earlier. Hope you like!
----
âThis is amazing!â
Jerrie blinked, looked between Doc and Victor, then laughed. âDid you mean to do that in stereo?â
âNo, it just â sort of happened,â Victor said, glancing at Doc with a blush and a smile. âI meant it, though!â He waved at the tank, watching a squid flap past on butterfly-thin wings, tentacles trailing. âThese little creatures â theyâre incredible! I thought I was doing amazing things with butterflies, but thisâ!â He fumbled in his jacket pocket for his travel sketchbook. âIâve got to take some notes â do you mind?â
âNot at all!â Jerrie assured him, grinning. âThatâs why theyâre on display, after all â so people can enjoy them!â
âThey are quite something,â Doc said, watching as a moth-like cephalopod swam in circles near the top. âBut I admit, as a Touched whose own specialties tend to lie in physical engineering, Iâm most impressed by the submarine. I know I keep going on about how well made it is, but â I swear, the way youâve done it? Itâs practically exactly like I pictured it when I first read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea! I canât imagine the amount of time it took you to make it this book accurate!â
âArenât you a flatterer,â Jerrie said with a little wink. âHonestly, I came up with the plans, but it was Hartley who did most of the work of building it. Heâs the mechanical genius here.â
âAnd donât think I donât appreciate the compliments,â Hartley said from his chair. âIt was a hell of a lot of work.â
âOh, Iâm sure! Especially with making it watertight. . .â Doc ran his fingers over a line of rivets. âHonestly, I donât think I could have done better myself.â
âEh, Iâve seen your train â you could have given it a solid go,â Hartley said with a little smile of his own. âIâm surprised you havenât converted it for underwater use.â
âAir travel is a bit more convenient when you have a lot of electrical devices on board,â Doc said, shaking his head with a chuckle. Then he frowned. âThat being said. . .â
âOh dear, now youâve given him ideas,â Victor said, bending over before the aquarium, pen flying as he made hasty sketches of the creatures within. âMartyâs going to find us both insufferable when we get back.â
âHeâs used to it,â Doc replied with a careless wave. âItâs what I pay him for, after all.â
âHe might need a raise after this trip.â Victor looked back at Jerrie for a moment. âI assume youâve always liked the ocean?â
âWell, it took me a little while to warm up to squids and such, but â that got easier after I went creative,â Jerrie informed him. âItâs more I want to explore the unknown! See what lurks in the places most people donât dare look! Like, I know almost everyone else hears the word âabyssâ and goes âoh boy, donât want to go in there,â but my first thought is âI wonder whatâs down there! I want to know what everyone else is missing!ââ She folded her arms. âWhy does everyone assume itâll be bad?â
âI â I donât know,â Victor admitted. âI guess because itâsââ a deep crack in the center of his mind, full of the dark, twisting, awful thoughts he knew he was capable of â they couldnât get out, but they sure as hell could drag you in if you didnât watch yourself ââd-dark and scary?â
âIt doesnât have to be,â Jerrie insisted. âThe whole point of exploring is to shine a light in those places.â
âI donât think most people share your affinity for poking into the blackness,â Hartley pointed out, raising an eyebrow at Victor. âEspecially not him.â
Victor offered a weak, embarrassed smile in return. âOld childhood fear,â he said softly. âMy i-imagination tends to run a bit wild.â
âYeah, and we know Touched imaginations can get pretty wild indeed.â Hartley grinned at him, uncrossing his legs. âBut, you know, if you stuck around long enough, Iâm sure I could get you to loosen up.â
Victor blinked a few times. What the â was that â he looked at Doc, who stared back in equal surprised. Had he really â âAhââ
Jerrie slapped her hand across her face. âHartley â he has a girlfriend.â
âOh.â Hartley sat up straight, frowning. âDonât the cute ones always just.â
âIâm â flattered?â Victor said, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly. âBut, um, yes, v-very taken.â And here I thought those days were over after Victoria and Emily both found love. . .how have my romantic prospects improved this much after giving myself over to mad science?
Hartley just sighed and turned away. âHeâll get over it,â Jerrie assured Victor, before tugging his arm and pulling his attention back to the tank. âHere â Iâll tell you how I made a couple of these. . .â
@hamelinboundâ asked:  âmy whole life is a dark room.â   /   BEETLEJUICE SENTENCE STARTERS
not long ago, shelly would have commented that jerrie is a little young to have such a grim view on life  . . .  then she met sarah.  she is well aware now that life is not always kind, even to the ones that deserve it most.  âiâm sorry,â  with camera clutched in hand, the photographer kneels to the childâs level.  âtell you what  â  you help me decide what to shoot today.  then, iâll take them to my darkroom and when our photos are done?  theyâre all yours, jerrie.â