Maybe Kalim always fundamentally understood that Jamil was never going to be his friend in the way he wanted him to be.
Maybe Kalim crying wasn't just from the betrayal. Maybe it was also because he realized that, at the end of the day, he has had no one who was ever truly his friend.
Have u done cookie cutter sharks yet? I love them, so teethy!!
Your daily fish #62
Cookiecutter shark - Isistius brasiliensis
Requested by @2wulf
(I LOVE THEM!!!! 🍪🦈)
They are named after the cookie-cutter shaped bites that they leave on their victims!
They have many peculiarities, besides their bite marks. They have a black collar around their necks, they live on depths from 0-3700 meters AND their bellies are bioluminiscent.
To feed, they just bite whatever creature is not one-bite-sized.
Their bites are not mortal but definitely concerning. If they bite a creature repeatedly, it may die due to bleeding, infection or because of loss of function.
I suggest we bite them back! Just for funsies.
Imagine if a friend comes to you and takes a bite out of you and runs off.
Whumpril 2026 Day 12 (Altprompt): Blood In The Water (Viridis)
Whumpril Masterlist
Viridis Masterlist
This snippet takes place during Y/N's part of the story, a little bit after A Deal With Viridis. It is fairly long, so most of it will be under the cut!
Viridis had insisted they stop for lunch near a coral reef. Y/N had sighed. At this rate, they wouldn’t find any other nagas until next Christmas. Viridis swam about, greeting all the little fish and other critters scuttling on the sea bed. Every now and then, he would stuff something shiny in his little crossbody bag.
“Why hello~”
Y/N stuck her tongue out in disgust as Viridis swallowed a bunch of clownfish eggs. She almost vomited when he offered some to her.
“Well, you’ve got to eat something, Y/N darling,” he said, “maybe we can find you some mollusks?”
“I prefer my food cooked, thanks,” she managed to say.
Viridis finished his snack and wiped his hands in the sand.
“Where there’s a reef, there’s usually a beach,” he said, “pick out a fishy and we’ll set it on fire.”
Y/N rolled her eyes, but she did appreciate the fact that Viridis wasn’t going to force her to engage in his diet. She swam around, looking for a fish that was fit for human, er, mermaid consumption.
She caught sight of a parrotfish swimming around some coral. Her stomach growled. Seriously? That’s what her stomach was going to go for? A random tropical- fine. Whatever. Parrotfish it was.
She lunged, but the fish was quicker. It ducked and weaved between the coral. She swam after it and reached her hand out.
“Argh!”
She recoiled from the structure, cradling her hand. Her palm dribbled green, spilling out into the water. She winced as the salt stung her wound.
Viridis was at her side in an instant.
“Let me see,” he said.
There was an urgency in his tone that Y/N was not familiar with. He took her hand, examining the injury for a split second before closing it. She hissed through her teeth, the movement aggravated the cut.
“We need to go,” he said, “we can patch you up on land.”
“What’s the big-” Y/N’s eyes widened, “deal…”
Swimming in at a length longer than at least two very tall people, its fins cutting through the water like butter, the shark seemed to stare into Y/N’s soul. Its unblinking eyes sized her up. Its mouth was closed for the moment. Its nostrils flared while Y/N’s blood continued to swirl into the water.
Viridis hovered between them, holding his arm out in front of Y/N. He turned in place with her as the shark circled them.
“Striped hunter,” he breathed.
“Huh?” Y/N asked.
“I think you humans call them tiger sharks,” he said, “when I tell you to swim, swim like your life depends on it. Because it does.”
Viridis clawed hands flexed, his fangs were bared, and his pupils narrowed into slits.
“Swim!”
The shark lunged; its great maw opened to reveal row upon row of serrated teeth. Viridis hissed as he reared his head and charged.
Y/N’s fins wouldn’t move; her tail wouldn’t bend. She was frozen in place.
Viridis dragged his claws across the shark’s nose, digging in deep through the cartilage. The shark’s pectoral fin dropped as its tail sliced back and forth through the water. It hunched its back as Viridis grabbed Y/N’s hand and swam off. The shark blitzed after them.
“I said to swim!” he shouted.
He swam for a good few yards, dragging Y/N behind him. He pushed her away from him just as the shark barreled into him. It opened its mouth over his tail. It was almost closed over his scales when Viridis chomped down on the shark’s mangled nose. He let his venom flood the fish’s system. Its great jaws refused to snap shut. Viridis bit the creature again and again, each time depositing more paralyzing venom. He swam out from the shark’s clutches, grimacing as his tail grazed its calcium razors.
The shark floated dead still in the water, its eyes following Viridis’ every move. Its fins wouldn’t move, its mouth wouldn’t close. Its eyes suddenly glazed over, as though a lethargy was coming over it.
Viridis grabbed Y/N’s hand again and made a beeline for the surface. An inky green trail flowed out from behind him.
…
Viridis didn’t stop swimming until they reached the beach. He slithered onto the shore, pulling Y/N onto the sand with him.
“Are you hurt?” he panted.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly. She held her injured hand close to her chest while her eyes fell on Viridis’ bloodied tail. He followed her gaze slowly.
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” he smiled, “I’ll be fine. If it scars, it’ll match my other ones.”
He never managed to catch his breath after escaping, and his shallow panting was becoming more labored by the second. Though he was trying to hide it, it was evident on his face how much pain he was in.
Y/N didn’t know anything about first aid. All she knew was he was probably going to bleed out like this. She scanned the beach for something, anything she could use to bind his tail.
Maybe the palm fronds? Sure, let’s go with that.
She stood to bolt for the treeline. She tried to, anyway. It was rather difficult to stand up with no legs. Her tail was like a dead weight attached to her waist. She grunted, dragging herself up the sand until she reached drier ground.
She twisted and rolled in the sun-baked sediment, hoping to dry off faster. Viridis watched her with furrowed brows.
“What are you doing?” he winced.
Her tail severed into legs a moment later. She was fortunate to wear a cross between a bralette and a short dress. It covered everything important. Not that modesty was on her mind right now all things considered. She ran to the trees, kicking up sand behind her.
After collecting some fallen palm leaves from the ground, she returned to Viridis, who was looking green even by sea naga standards.
“Okay okay okay okay okay,” she muttered, “I guess we just stop the bleeding, right? Viridis?”
The silence that stretched between them had her convinced he was breathing his last.
“Owie,” he finally answered.
“What do I do?” she asked, “I’ve never healed a papercut before, how am I supposed to-”
Viridis pulled something out of his bag. It was a miracle the thing had stayed on this entire time.
He pulled out a few strips of strong kelp, along with a big vial of a greenish-white substance. He also produced a needle of bone and thread of sinew. All of this he set down in the sand at Y/N’s feet.
“It’s just like sewing, I’m told,” he mumbled, “good night.”
“Huh? No, no! Do not-!”
Viridis had barely slung his arm over his eyes before he was out cold. The noise Y/N made was best described as a cross between a groan and a dying animal’s screech.
Nevertheless, she rubbed the ointment into his tail. It twitched at the application, and Viridis’ face contorted in his sleep. Somehow, she managed to stitch the skin shut, being careful not to pierce too many of his scales. It was a pretty messy job, but if he cared too much, he could redo the stitches himself.
She dabbed a bit more of the ointment onto her hand. It stung and burned, but already the cut started to heal a bit. She bound her hand with some of the kelp.
When it was all said and done, she sighed in relief.
Then her stomach had the audacity to growl again.
“Nooooo,” she whined.
She side-eyed the kelp. Maybe she could…? Ugh, no. She wasn’t that desperate. Her head swiveled back to the water.
…
Viridis stirred to the scent of smoke and fish. He gingerly sat up.
“Y/N?” he asked.
“Oh good,” she sighed at once, “you’re not dead.”
She slid a cooked fish onto a palm leaf. The little fire she had set crackled and popped. The smoky scent of fish filled his nostrils. The fire was so warm… so very warm.
The second he tried to inch closer, he cried out.
“Don’t move, stupid!” Y/N scolded, “you’re hurt!”
“Oh. Truthfully, I thought I was dead.”
“I just said you weren’t dead!”
“I thought maybe you were going to break it to me slowly!”
“If we die, and somehow, we end up in the same place, I will be sure to tell you. Now, eat.”
She started nibbling at her own fish. Viridis eyed the meal in front of him. It did look pretty delicious, and it was rare he got to eat human cuisine.
“…Thank you.”
Viridis had a mouthful of fish. He looked up at Y/N.
“Pardon?”
“For… saving me… earlier.”
Viridis swallowed and beamed.
“Anytime, Y/N, anytime!”
His eyes drifted to his tail. Y/N had really gone through the trouble to patch him up. But what on earth was that stitchwork!?
“What’s wrong?” Y/N asked.
“Oh, nothing, nothing!” he lied, “you, er, you saved me, too! And you did great for your first time… stitching someone… back together.”
“Sheesh, a simple thank-you would’ve been fine!”
“Yes, yes, thank you. But, er, next time, if I pass out, just wake me up and I’ll do it.”
“You ingrate!”
As they bickered about Y/N’s medical skills, the waves lapped up against the shore. Beneath them, a drowned shark became food for the various little scavengers scuttling about.
