No- No! It does matter, you are meeting with humans!! Humans, Choromatsu!
[His voice is at a pitch that it punches through Choromatsu like a solid wall, and it causes everything in the grotto to shake and tremble, some items even falling from their perches because of it.]
This is precisely why I could not ever risk you going to the surface again!!!
[ Okay that REALLY makes him flinch, but the instant he realizes some of his things are falling again he dives to catch what's nearest to him: a comb from Dia.
But his father's words confuse him ]
Wh... What do you mean, AGAIN?! What are you--
[ But then suddenly, while cradling the comb in his hands and thinking of Dia... things start to click together.
The feeling of an important memory he couldn't recall, Dia insisting that they'd met before and been friends, that he SAVED her, his brothers mentioning something similar...
His father is a god. He very often forsakes this, doesn't think about it much. ]
Father...
[ His voice is cold and loveless ]
...Are you the reason I forgot her?
[ His father could, theoretically, do almost anything. ]
[The leap in logic is long, but he doesn't have to think hard to know why. For you see, Poseidon never knew who it was Choromatsu was seeing when he went to the surface. He has no way of knowing it's the same person...and perhaps by pure coincidence he ran into her again. That seems to be what's happened here, and now.
Well. Everything has come full circle in the most vicious of ways, yet he can't say he feels any regret or remorse when his feelings on humans haven't changed. No, what does hurt is that tone to Choromatsu's voice...but unlike his son, he steels himself and replies in a tone that is measured and direct.]
You would have returned to the surface, despite nearly losing your life to it. No matter the circumstances, I refuse to let that happen.
[ He's shaking again but this time for a different reason. He can't remember the last time he was this mad, and certainly not at his father. His hands wrap tightly around the comb until they hurt... but then he puts it away in one of his sleeves. ]
Did you know? She waited for me every day.
Every. Day.
Until finally she told herself she just made me up. The person that saved her life. Her best friend. Just a figment of her imagination.
[ His hands find his way to the pendant again, clutching it once more and thinking of both of his beloveds' faces... and then he finally looks at his father.
...There is no fire under the sea but there is certainly fire in Choromatsu's eyes ]
You took her from me and me from her!! You... you...
[ and his eyes also sting, sting with the tears he can't shed. ]
What about her, huh?! What if she had tried to look for me?! Gone out in the water and drowned?! Huh?!
[ She didn't but he knows Dia now. He certainly wouldn't have put it past her, that girl would punch a shark for him. ]
[He questions in a voice that is...scarily calm. It's scarier than the yelling with the way it's clipped, but the rest of his body language is more telling of how he really feels, from his whipping tail to the literal sparks of energy starting to twist and crackle their way up his trident, reflecting off his eyes when they reach the tip and splinter off.]
What about you? You, who went out to see her, got caught in a net, trapped, left for dead. If your brother had not found you, if he had not told me where you were, you would have DIED. And still, still, you would have gone back! In spite of everything, you would risk your life for a HUMAN.
[Or....humans, he's realizing. And the more he thinks on it, the more he realizes just how much he's been lied to...his gauntlets, his stones, his power.
All in human hands.
His lip curls, and he towers over Choromatsu with his eyes blazing.]
You call a human your friend, even dare to say best friend, but would you leave the ocean and destroy yourself on the shore for their sake? When they could very well be taking advantage of you?! You would wish to claim yourself to be an adult, but you are no more mature than a small child who knows better than to even breach the surface of the water!
[ He should be scared. He should be REALLY scared. He's never seen him like this before, at least not aimed at him.
But he stands his ground. He won't back down. ]
YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THEM!! THEY WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING!!
Do you know that you almost lost a child to a net again?! That was how Takumi found me! It wasn't in rocks, it was in another net! And he set me free! Protected me until I could swim on my own again! Made sure no one would hurt me! If he hadn't you really would have only five sons! AND YET YOU WOULD SUGGEST SUCH A THING?!
And Dia had plenty opportunity to take advantage of me too!! But she hasn't! ALL THEY'RE EVER DONE IS LOVE ME, DAD!!
[ and at that he throws his hands out to gesture, releasing the pendant... and revealing its heart shape.
Perhaps this is not just a present between "friends" ]
And I love them! I'd sooner DIE than never see them again...!!
[Choromatsu probably doesn't realize that telling his father he almost lost him to another net again isn't really helping his case, because a few helpful humans does not a safe surface make. Not in the slightest. But that isn't even the worst part of it.
Because it's all connecting, now. Choromatsu's talk of crushes, even love...and well. Now straight up admitting as such, and showing it at the same time.
More than anything...it hurts. It hurts to hear Choromatsu say such a thing, that he would prefer death over seeing two....HUMANS that he'd only known for, what, a few weeks? It was absolutely disgusting, something Poseidon could not comprehend, yet it was crushing all the same. He would just leave all of his brothers, and his own father...
And really, that's what tears it.
Without warning, Poseidon lifts up one of his hands, causing the current to rush up beneath Choromatsu and force him to rise in the grotto, up to face his father eye-to-eye. He keeps his hand held beneath him, his eyes cold and piercing as the moonlight reflects off his fiercely glowing pendant. Pretty much every part of him is reflecting some kind of energy right now, just barely contained anger, and hurt.]
Choromatsu, I forbid you from EVER visiting the surface again.
[Rather instantly, Choromatsu will ever forcibly blasted by the water either away from the grotto's exit if that's where he tries to go, or washed away from the walls if he tries to get away from Poseidon. He's effectively created a sort of contained vortex that will keep bouncing the mer back and forth no matter how hard he tries to swim out.
But he won't let that go on forever...because sooner rather than later, he reaches out with a gauntlet covered hand with the intent to grab him.]
[Poseidon commands as he holds Choromatsu in his fist, firmly but not tight enough to hurt him. But with all of that squirming he's doing, he's afraid he will hurt himself...so he moves to bring his other hand down over his palm, intending to use his fingers like a cage to keep him in place, unintentionally leaving a small split-second window where there is a gap when he opens his hand.]
[ That small window is enough for Choromatsu to take advantage of-- he bolts immediately, swimming out of his father's grasp.
He doesn't try to swim out of the grotto again though, learning from trying to fight the vortex already, but he's not turning his back to Poseidon, watching him like a cornered animal ready to bolt at any movement. His heart's racing. ]
[To Poseidon's credit, he doesn't reach for Choromatsu again...at least not yet. He seems to be taken aback by Choromatsu's lashing out at him, demanding that he not come any closer. All of this is happening so fast, like a whirlwind of information and pieces being put together, that it's hard for him to actually process it all. He's so angry and upset over what Choromatsu is insuating that it's almost impossible for him to think of anything more than how baffling it all is.
He grits his teeth and moves to place both hands on his trident this time. The angrier he gets, the more energy it gives off...and the more Choromatsu's grotto really starts to fall apart...]
[ And very quickly, Choromatsu realizes what's happening... that the grotto is falling apart, that his collection is going to take even more damage than it already.
Panic sets in. This has been his safe haven for years. This place didn't just house tokens of love and friendship, but years worth of treasures he found on his own with his own hardwork. Treasure chests he carried on his own, things he put back together... it'd been a place for him to safely enjoy his hobby and interest in peace, without teasing or prodding or disapproval. And now it was coming apart. ]
Dad stop...!
[ He attempts to dart towards one of the crumbling walls, intending to try and save what he can. ]
[Telling Poseidon, God of the Sea, to stop doing anything is like trying to break down a brick wall with a feather. It's just not going to happen. And now he's been frothed into a rage of the likes that Choromatsu has never seen...nothing compared to when he would scold them, or even when he would catch them doing things they really knew better than to do. No, this is anger in which it cannot be controlled. Poseidon's normally calm and gentle demeanor has bubbled up and overflowed into expelling all the earth shaking power he's ever had into his surroundings.
It's not even that he wants to destroy it...it's just that he's so enraged that he can't stop what's already begun.
And...it's made this grotto a very dangerous place to be as more rocks come crashing to the sea floor, some of them nearly hitting Poseidon himself on their way down. Realizing what's happening, he reaches out and intercepts Choromatsu with a massive hand once again, though he only blocks him as opposed to outright grabbing him this time.]
[ and that's when his voice finally betrays just how scared and ready to start crying he is.
he covers his mouth with his hands as he watches the destruction. but he doesn't move. not because he doesn't want to or wants to disobey: he can't. he's frozen stiff.
Without any further argument, Poseidon sweeps forward and quickly grabs up Choromatsu in his hand before he could protest, though he doesn't seem to be in the mind to swim away anymore. With his son in his grasp, Poseidon swims upward through the hole in the grotto he created, looking down as he watches one of the inner walls start collapsing in on itself. Due to the nature of a structure like this, he doubts that the entire thing will just fall to rubble, but...a lot more damage is happening to it than he ever intended.
But he keeps swimming, moving away until they are at a relatively safe distance and his power will no longer be shaking the place apart.]
[ Choromatsu doesn't squirm this time... he's still, deathly so, though even through his gauntlets Poseidon may be able to feel the way his son's little heart is pounding. He doesn't protest either, he just watches the grotto collapse as they leave, unable to take his eyes off of it even as they get further from it.
When they finally stop Choromatsu still isn't speaking or moving, save for the way his hair, ornaments and pendant gently flow in the current around his hung head. ]
[Yeah, the fact that he's not doing anything at all right now is a little more than concerning to Poseidon. His fury momentarily forgotten, he lifts his hand to peer at his son, keeping his grip loose, but not loose enough for him to swim off.]
[ And at that Choromatsu begins to shake again. He doean't answer right away, but eventually he whips his head around to look up at his father, rapidly, eyebrows furrowed and eyes stinging with tears ]
[ His necklace had snagged on a groove in Poseidon's gauntlet and when he turned his head so quickly it was enough to snap the delicate chain.
Once he realizes the weight gone from his neck, Choromatsu has enough time to look down and see the pendant plummet through the water, already out of his reach.
That's when he starts to squirm, managing to get at least his arms out and reach for it futilely ]
[...he doesn't. He doesn't let Choromatsu go. He holds him fast, watching as the pendant sinks. Just seeing the thing fills him with disdain he never knew he could feel, and it would be so easy to let it slip away, lost to the sea forever.
...but. In spite of what Choromatsu said about rather being dead than with his human companions, Poseidon is not in the position of wanting his son to outright hate him, even though he figures he might just end up doing so if he really banishes him from the shore.
Wordlessly, he reaches down and catches the necklace in his palm before it can fall too far. But instead of handing it back to his son, he keeps his hold on it as he turns in place and starts to swim back home.]
[ Choromatsu feels relief for just a moment, relief that it won't be lost to the sea and that it didn't break when it lands.
But then Poseidon doesn't give it back and Choromatsu starts to panic as they head home, arms futilely reaching out and flailing in the direction of the other hand. ]
Give it back...! Dad, give it back to me!! Dad, PLEASE...!!!
[ He's choking on sobs he can barely contain anymore, pleading desperately through his heartache ]
[Poseidon can feel his heart breaking when his son cries, and honestly...he very nearly hands it back right then. But over the years he's gotten somewhat better about giving in to his children and their demands, and this is...wholly different than simple misbehaving. His jaw sets, his expression hard and stern as anything, and his grip completely envelops the pendant, hiding it beneath his fingers as he swims away from the grotto.]
You may have it back when I believe you have learned your lesson about the surface.
[ That's definitely the way Choromatsu takes it at least.
It's too much. With him being forbidden from ever seeing the humans he loves again, his grotto being destroyed and now his pendant taken from him, it's too much. His face contorts as his heart breaks, a hiss of a whimper escaping him, before he finally just breaks down into loud sobs and wails, face down with only his arms to comfort him against cold gold. ]
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[His voice is at a pitch that it punches through Choromatsu like a solid wall, and it causes everything in the grotto to shake and tremble, some items even falling from their perches because of it.]
This is precisely why I could not ever risk you going to the surface again!!!
no subject
But his father's words confuse him ]
Wh... What do you mean, AGAIN?! What are you--
[ But then suddenly, while cradling the comb in his hands and thinking of Dia... things start to click together.
The feeling of an important memory he couldn't recall, Dia insisting that they'd met before and been friends, that he SAVED her, his brothers mentioning something similar...
His father is a god. He very often forsakes this, doesn't think about it much. ]
Father...
[ His voice is cold and loveless ]
...Are you the reason I forgot her?
[ His father could, theoretically, do almost anything. ]
no subject
[The leap in logic is long, but he doesn't have to think hard to know why. For you see, Poseidon never knew who it was Choromatsu was seeing when he went to the surface. He has no way of knowing it's the same person...and perhaps by pure coincidence he ran into her again. That seems to be what's happened here, and now.
Well. Everything has come full circle in the most vicious of ways, yet he can't say he feels any regret or remorse when his feelings on humans haven't changed. No, what does hurt is that tone to Choromatsu's voice...but unlike his son, he steels himself and replies in a tone that is measured and direct.]
You would have returned to the surface, despite nearly losing your life to it. No matter the circumstances, I refuse to let that happen.
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Did you know? She waited for me every day.
Every. Day.
Until finally she told herself she just made me up. The person that saved her life. Her best friend. Just a figment of her imagination.
[ His hands find his way to the pendant again, clutching it once more and thinking of both of his beloveds' faces... and then he finally looks at his father.
...There is no fire under the sea but there is certainly fire in Choromatsu's eyes ]
You took her from me and me from her!! You... you...
[ and his eyes also sting, sting with the tears he can't shed. ]
What about her, huh?! What if she had tried to look for me?! Gone out in the water and drowned?! Huh?!
[ She didn't but he knows Dia now. He certainly wouldn't have put it past her, that girl would punch a shark for him. ]
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...what about her?
[He questions in a voice that is...scarily calm. It's scarier than the yelling with the way it's clipped, but the rest of his body language is more telling of how he really feels, from his whipping tail to the literal sparks of energy starting to twist and crackle their way up his trident, reflecting off his eyes when they reach the tip and splinter off.]
What about you? You, who went out to see her, got caught in a net, trapped, left for dead. If your brother had not found you, if he had not told me where you were, you would have DIED. And still, still, you would have gone back! In spite of everything, you would risk your life for a HUMAN.
[Or....humans, he's realizing. And the more he thinks on it, the more he realizes just how much he's been lied to...his gauntlets, his stones, his power.
All in human hands.
His lip curls, and he towers over Choromatsu with his eyes blazing.]
You call a human your friend, even dare to say best friend, but would you leave the ocean and destroy yourself on the shore for their sake? When they could very well be taking advantage of you?! You would wish to claim yourself to be an adult, but you are no more mature than a small child who knows better than to even breach the surface of the water!
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But he stands his ground. He won't back down. ]
YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THEM!! THEY WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING!!
Do you know that you almost lost a child to a net again?! That was how Takumi found me! It wasn't in rocks, it was in another net! And he set me free! Protected me until I could swim on my own again! Made sure no one would hurt me! If he hadn't you really would have only five sons! AND YET YOU WOULD SUGGEST SUCH A THING?!
And Dia had plenty opportunity to take advantage of me too!! But she hasn't! ALL THEY'RE EVER DONE IS LOVE ME, DAD!!
[ and at that he throws his hands out to gesture, releasing the pendant... and revealing its heart shape.
Perhaps this is not just a present between "friends" ]
And I love them! I'd sooner DIE than never see them again...!!
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[Choromatsu probably doesn't realize that telling his father he almost lost him to another net again isn't really helping his case, because a few helpful humans does not a safe surface make. Not in the slightest. But that isn't even the worst part of it.
Because it's all connecting, now. Choromatsu's talk of crushes, even love...and well. Now straight up admitting as such, and showing it at the same time.
More than anything...it hurts. It hurts to hear Choromatsu say such a thing, that he would prefer death over seeing two....HUMANS that he'd only known for, what, a few weeks? It was absolutely disgusting, something Poseidon could not comprehend, yet it was crushing all the same. He would just leave all of his brothers, and his own father...
And really, that's what tears it.
Without warning, Poseidon lifts up one of his hands, causing the current to rush up beneath Choromatsu and force him to rise in the grotto, up to face his father eye-to-eye. He keeps his hand held beneath him, his eyes cold and piercing as the moonlight reflects off his fiercely glowing pendant. Pretty much every part of him is reflecting some kind of energy right now, just barely contained anger, and hurt.]
Choromatsu, I forbid you from EVER visiting the surface again.
AM I CLEAR?
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His voice is as level as he can manage it. Not a yell nor a scream, just a level: ]
No.
[ Before trying to swim away from his father ]
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But he won't let that go on forever...because sooner rather than later, he reaches out with a gauntlet covered hand with the intent to grab him.]
You dare disobey me?
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Not that he's taking that calmly though. No he is squirming about, trying to get free. ]
Let me go!!
[ He's convinced his memories will be taken from him again. ]
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[Poseidon commands as he holds Choromatsu in his fist, firmly but not tight enough to hurt him. But with all of that squirming he's doing, he's afraid he will hurt himself...so he moves to bring his other hand down over his palm, intending to use his fingers like a cage to keep him in place, unintentionally leaving a small split-second window where there is a gap when he opens his hand.]
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He doesn't try to swim out of the grotto again though, learning from trying to fight the vortex already, but he's not turning his back to Poseidon, watching him like a cornered animal ready to bolt at any movement. His heart's racing. ]
S-Stay away from me!!
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He grits his teeth and moves to place both hands on his trident this time. The angrier he gets, the more energy it gives off...and the more Choromatsu's grotto really starts to fall apart...]
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Panic sets in. This has been his safe haven for years. This place didn't just house tokens of love and friendship, but years worth of treasures he found on his own with his own hardwork. Treasure chests he carried on his own, things he put back together... it'd been a place for him to safely enjoy his hobby and interest in peace, without teasing or prodding or disapproval. And now it was coming apart. ]
Dad stop...!
[ He attempts to dart towards one of the crumbling walls, intending to try and save what he can. ]
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It's not even that he wants to destroy it...it's just that he's so enraged that he can't stop what's already begun.
And...it's made this grotto a very dangerous place to be as more rocks come crashing to the sea floor, some of them nearly hitting Poseidon himself on their way down. Realizing what's happening, he reaches out and intercepts Choromatsu with a massive hand once again, though he only blocks him as opposed to outright grabbing him this time.]
We are getting out of here. Now!
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[ and that's when his voice finally betrays just how scared and ready to start crying he is.
he covers his mouth with his hands as he watches the destruction. but he doesn't move. not because he doesn't want to or wants to disobey: he can't. he's frozen stiff.
this time you might have to grab him Poseidon. ]
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Without any further argument, Poseidon sweeps forward and quickly grabs up Choromatsu in his hand before he could protest, though he doesn't seem to be in the mind to swim away anymore. With his son in his grasp, Poseidon swims upward through the hole in the grotto he created, looking down as he watches one of the inner walls start collapsing in on itself. Due to the nature of a structure like this, he doubts that the entire thing will just fall to rubble, but...a lot more damage is happening to it than he ever intended.
But he keeps swimming, moving away until they are at a relatively safe distance and his power will no longer be shaking the place apart.]
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When they finally stop Choromatsu still isn't speaking or moving, save for the way his hair, ornaments and pendant gently flow in the current around his hung head. ]
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Are you alright? You are not hurt...?
1/2
Of course I'm not alright!! You--
[ and then he freezes ]
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Once he realizes the weight gone from his neck, Choromatsu has enough time to look down and see the pendant plummet through the water, already out of his reach.
That's when he starts to squirm, managing to get at least his arms out and reach for it futilely ]
No... no, no, no, no, no...!
Let me go...!!
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...but. In spite of what Choromatsu said about rather being dead than with his human companions, Poseidon is not in the position of wanting his son to outright hate him, even though he figures he might just end up doing so if he really banishes him from the shore.
Wordlessly, he reaches down and catches the necklace in his palm before it can fall too far. But instead of handing it back to his son, he keeps his hold on it as he turns in place and starts to swim back home.]
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But then Poseidon doesn't give it back and Choromatsu starts to panic as they head home, arms futilely reaching out and flailing in the direction of the other hand. ]
Give it back...! Dad, give it back to me!! Dad, PLEASE...!!!
[ He's choking on sobs he can barely contain anymore, pleading desperately through his heartache ]
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You may have it back when I believe you have learned your lesson about the surface.
[...it might mean he'll never see it again.]
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It's too much. With him being forbidden from ever seeing the humans he loves again, his grotto being destroyed and now his pendant taken from him, it's too much. His face contorts as his heart breaks, a hiss of a whimper escaping him, before he finally just breaks down into loud sobs and wails, face down with only his arms to comfort him against cold gold. ]
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