ㅤintroductions

at first donnie's call to paradisi had been simple - work. it wasn't for love of the island, or a sense of adventure. he was often too tired to even marvel at the dark morning waters and layers of fog covering the streets as he trudged uphill to the paradisi aquarium. exploring the island came after work, when the golden sun was still high in the afternoon sky and the ocean glimmered like a thousand turquoise gems. maybe it was the sight of all that blue, stretched out beyond his imagination, rippling and shining and hiding thousands of plants and creatures underneath, that eventually lead to him moving from his hometown of athens to paradisi.

he came for work, and stayed for the ocean.

and donnie knows that unlike athens, or anywhere else he's been in the world, terrans and thalassans live a lot closer in paradisi - whether by choice or simply by circumstance. he hadn't really been thinking about that when he moved. never cared much for politics or generation-long grudges in the first place. the thalassans he's met have been nice to him for the most part, though he does wonder if it has anything to do with his left eye, or if he's finally mastered the art of being social after all these years (and most of the terrans are pretty nice too, so maybe he's just lucky in who he's met so far). but, well, either way, no matter what the reason is donnie was never very motivated by people. it's the sea creatures he loves most!

juniper was simply frustrated that if she wasn't so worried about wrinkles she would've been caught frowning. she rushed to her vanity and grabbed her jewelry box, opening it up rashly, to pull out some earrings she bought using some terran's life savings. her head was pretty occupied imagining different methods to torture said terran after calling her out and arguing with her about finances. it wasn't like she crossed a line, he said to buy whatever she wanted after all. her hand landed back into the pool of jewelry as she sighed heavily. once she lifted her hand to prop them on the table, she accidentally found her fingers entangled around a pearl necklace.

it once belonged to her mother. without meaning to, memories of her suddenly popped up. she was born in golden province alongside her mother and brother. things were well until her father had eyes on someone else. a mistress on land as many of the rumors like to address her. she felt for her mother but they were taken away to an orphanage as soon as people caught wind of the impact her father's actions had on her mother. fortunately, they didn't have a hard time and lived with a generous yet wealthy family in galini. the rest was history.

she threw the pearl necklace back into the box and shut it close. forget it, she wasn't even worth remembering.

I wasn't born in Paradisi but I might as well have been. We're nearing the 15th anniversary of me moving to the island soon I believe. Anyway, my family is from South Korea in the Golden Province. That's where my father's company's headquarters is also based. I was 10 when my family decided to fly here to celebrate the launch of a new company branch, and my mother fell in love with the island. Seeing that they wanted my older brother to take over this branch in the future, we decided to make this our permanent home. Father was already living a lifestyle of flying around the world for business meetings so it was no difference for him on where we were living.

I didn't really have a choice on whether I wanted to stay or go back to the motherland since I was just a kid back then, but even now I would say in Paradisi. It's my home now. Even when I was abroad for college, I was missed the clear waters that surrounds our beautiful island. No other place on Earth can compared to the beauty that is Galini.

I actually haven't met that many Thalassans. They don't really seem keen on being around folks like me, but I'd love to meet some. I'm quite uneducated on our neighbors actually so it'd be nice if I could have an actual conversation with one of them without getting splashed in the face. I believe it's important for everyone to be open minded towards others if we're to live next door.

the young thalassan let the water lap at his skin, his pale blue eyes staring up into the night sky. he was just letting himself float, the waves taking him wherever they wanted to. it was as he was staring up at the stars, though, that he spoke his questions out loud.

"do you see a lot of the world?" he spoke to the stars, his fingers scooping through the water as he moved. "i wish i did. i grew up in fin fields-- you know, the place, its underwater-- and so my eyes are a different color than most people's. that's okay, though. i like it. but... i didnt really get to see a lot of the world. my parents and i moved up and around a bit, and when we were up closer to the surface -- when we moved to galini-- i... i met a girl."

caspian felt his cheeks heat up, and he even dared look away from the stars. glancing back up, he watched them twinkle as if they were smiling, or maybe even laughing, at him. "a terran girl, actually. we really hit it off, too. we were happy-- until... well, she left. she just... left. i guess i cant blame her, i mean. a lot of people dont really like thalassans, especially when they date terrans. but i miss her sometimes. she made me happy, you know? there's a part of me that hopes i can see her again, maybe get some closure if she doesnt want to be around me anymore. but overall-- i guess im learning more about terrans. they're not the worst, but they're definitely not the best. but my parents..." caspian trailed off for a moment, looking along the stars with a soft sigh leaving his lips. "let's just say, i really want to prove my parents wrong. not all terrans are awful. i know it."

Days were she questioned who she was, and what her purpose was and /why/ she was here in Galini were seldom, but they did occur nonetheless. Today was one of those days. Whether it was nostalgia of home and what she knew, or perhaps fear of the unknown and possible failure— perhaps a mix of both, it was a day where the young Thalassan was pensive and oddly quiet. She had taken a seat by the shore, the sun would set soon, and the waves came by, sea foam kissed her feet, then shyly dissolved, and the process repeated all over again.

By her side she had found a beautiful conch, one she picked up and pressed her ear close to its marbled curvatures and she could hear the song of the sea. “I hope you do not mind…that I share some of my burdens with you, because I know you will keep them as secrets of the sea…you know, I wonder at times, why did I come here, was I even prepared to make the leap, to come here miles away from home….ah home. I suppose I should tell you about home. Like you, I traveled with the waves all the way from my home! I was born in a very, very small teeny tiny village in the underwater settlement of Atlantis, just near the northern coast of Corsica in France. Oh my, now where are my manners? C’est un plaisir de vous recontrer, je m’appelle Sage (It’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is Sage). My mother had lived there all her life, she and my grandparents had the cutest little seaberry farm! But one day, mama fell very sick, and a handsome doctor treated her and saved her life. That dashing young fella was my papa, and he had recently come to our village all the way from Bangkok Below, another underwater settlement in Thailand. They fell in love and then got married and had me…”

Sun kissed visage lit up, rosy tiers curling upwards into a toothy grin that displayed her pearly whites. “My parents they…they worked so hard to provide for everyone, not just our family but everyone else in our small village that needed it. We did not have much but, we had each other and to me, it was enough…They are, part of the reason why I came here to Galini, and although I miss them every day, they are the reason I stay. Here, I am sure I will be able to reach the hearts of my fellow Thalassans, because I want to help our people live better and be accepted as we are. And I want to reach the hearts of Terrans…they are really not much different from us. Maybe Galini was not my original home, but it is home now, and with the blessing of Galene, I will do it. The Terrans, I guess they also have had a huge part to play in all of this, but not all are as awful as some Thalassans make them out to be, and most of my experiences have been…positive— I suppose. They are quite funny creatures haha…”

Sage had no idea how long she had been talking for, but by the time her eyes met the horizon, the sun had already bid its goodbye for the day and night began to fall. She stood, a hand dusting off some sand that had stuck to her denim shorts and another still holding the conch. “Thank you for listening. I hope one day, my secrets will no longer belong to just the depths of the seas…” Sage lightly tosses the conch into the water, and soon it is carried away by the waves, holding a song of the sea, and secrets told by a girl from the sea.

I suppose you could say my reasons for moving to Galini are a combination of things. My mother had spoken about it since I was a little girl, but found herself too scared to travel there herself. I think my father passing six years ago is what gave her the courage to go through with it. Of course, being only a teenager, I was dragged along for the ride. I'm originally from Neptune's Deep, which seems to surprise most of the locals here. Then again, they see my eyes and it seems to give me away.

I can't really say it's the people who make me stay. It's more of the fact that I have no where else left to go. My mother passed a few years after our arrival here and it's not like there's anything left for me at my home settlement. This was our grass is greener place, so why return to the darkness? My job does make the days go by easier though. Meeting the families of those who have passed reminds me of just our quick life passes us by. In a way, it keeps me humble and in another, reminds me that I should work harder to live a more fulfilling life...maybe.

And if you must know, terrans haven't had much of an influence on my decision. We weren't around them much back home, so my interactions with them have been rather minimal. Maybe one day one may change my mind one way or the other, but not today.

It's been a while since I've had to think about it, but I was originally born in the Golden Province. My dad was a priest but lived a lot of his life here in Galini. I think he was on a trip at the time and met my mom in one of the temples underwater near South Korea. Long story short, she was on the run from terran slave owners in Vietnam and was hiding out in the Golden Province for a while. Long enough to fall in love with my father and have me... Shortly after, though, she had to leave again or else they'd find me and my father and do who knows what. My dad never said it directly, but I know it broke his heart to leave without her and raise me mostly on his own. And I know he left for my protection—our protection—but maybe things would have been okay if we stayed, you know?

Anyway, kind of off topic. I originally came from the Golden Province, and I mostly stay here in Galini because, on top of trying to become anointed and high priestess of the temple, I can't really risk going back home. It's too dangerous for me there and frankly I don't like the achy nostalgic feeling I get from being there. Especially without my mom.

...If it weren't for the terrans that own my mother's life threatening to "claim their lost property" and harm my father, I'd probably go back and live there happily. Terrans have taken and continue to take so much from me though, so until things change, I'll be here in Galini.