fandomhigh | Myths and Legends of the Deep {Thursday, Period 2}

Summer had set up today's class in the Danger Shop and let her students know with a ~~handwavily~~ e-mail.

The Danger Shop was set up to replicate the open ocean. As soon as the students entered the room, they'd find themselves aboard a ship that might have been found from the 1800s or earlier.

"Today, we're talking about sea serpents. They are mythological sea monster that is either partially or wholly serpentine. Sightings of these creatures have been reported for hundreds of years and continue to this day. Even though numerous sightings have been reported over the years, there has been no physical evidence recorded," Summer explained.

"It's entirely possible that people have mistaken sightings of whales and oarfish for strange sea serpents. Some cryptozoologists have suggested that these sea serpents could have been are relict plesiosaurs, mosasaurs or other Mesozoic marine reptiles, an idea often associated with lake monsters such as the Loch Ness Monster."

Summer wasn't so sure about that but it did make some sense.

"Many cultures have varying myths about sea serpents. In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr, or 'Midgarðsormr' was a sea serpent so long that it encircled the entire world, Midgard. Some stories report of sailors mistaking its back for a chain of islands. Sea serpents also appear frequently in later Scandinavian folklore, particularly in that of Norway," she continued. As she spoke, the waters around the ship stirred and if the students looked over the side, they could see dark shapes swimming below the surface.

"Sea serpents were known to sea-faring cultures in the Mediterranean and Near East, appearing in both mythology (the Babylonian Labbu) and in apparent eye-witness accounts (Aristotle's Historia Animalium). Better known today are the Biblical references to Leviathan and Rahab, from the Hebrew Tanakh. In Greek and Roman mythology, a pair of sea serpents killed Laocoön and his sons when Laocoön argued against bringing the Trojan Horse into Troy," Summer said.

There were a good chunk of myths about sea serpents and Summer could have gone on for the entire class. Instead, she looked at her students and posed a question to them. "What are some sea serpent myths that you know of? After answering that question, feel free to explore the ship."

[OCD up!]

{Syllabus & Class Roster}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Actually, here was something Leda could sort of identify with. "I've noticed the same thing in old buildings." she said. "When most of the mortals fled when Faerie returned, they left a lot of cool stuff behind."

~~Ariel should meet Billy, who will soon be in a position to agree with her.~~

"Ooooh," Ariel grinned at that perspective. "Oh, I'll bet! I'd bet that'd be all sorts of fun, exploring those!"

"It really is. Some of the buildings aren't in the best shape, so you have to be careful where you step though." And listen for telltale sounds of imenent collapse.

"You get the same with ships, too," Ariel said with a grin. "What's the neatest thing you ever found?"

Leda decided not to mention the collection of porn she'd found.

"Well, I once found some first edition books, but I think the neatest thing was an entire hazmat suit."

"Hazmat suit?"

It's this outfit that covers your entire body, with it's own enclosed air system, so people can walk into areas where the air is poisonous. Hazmat stands for Hazardous Materials or something."

"Oooooooh," Ariel said, "I think I've seen stuff like that one television before. Maybe."

"I think I've seen them too. Or something similar." She wondered what ever became of that suit.

"How about you? What's the coolest thing you've ever found?"

"Well, at the time?" Ariel said, giggling a little at the memory, "I thought it was the dinglehopper, but it seems a little silly now. They call them forks here; we don't have them where I'm from, so when I found one, I thought it was the most incredible discovery ever..."

Leda tried to imagine what that would be like. But she'd heard so much from folks from the World that almost every artifact she'd found, she knew what was.

"You don't have forks? Do you use chopsticks?"

Ariel shrugged a little, breathing in the wonderful sea air. "We mostly just ate food with our hands, really..."

"I've done that. Really grossed some of the rich kids out."

"Which is funny," Ariel pointed out, "because even the rich kids do it where I'm from!"

Herself being one of them, of course.

"Oh the rich kids back home are so easy to freak out. Specially the Elf Bigots."

"Elf Bigots?" Ariel asked, and then laughed, just slightly. "Your world sounds just about as different as mine. Hopefully, you wouldn't find the rich kids back home too bad...."

Leda thought this conversation was going to too heavy a subject. She tried to lighten it up. "So what did you think the fork was for?"

Ariel bit her lip a little at the not-so-subtle subject change, but she wasn't going to push it. She smiled faintly. "My friend Scuttle told me it was how hu--people took care of their hair. Like a brush!"

Leda noticed the near slip, but likewise didn't push it. She was curious though. "I could see that. Specially since there's some combs that really look like forks."

Ariel nodded. "I kind of prefer them to brushes, too, even if it takes forever." Then she started to giggle. "You should have seen Scuttle when he showed me how, if puffed out his...well, puffed it all out, like this!" Her hands went to her head to show the poofball that Scuttle's head had become.

Leda snickered. "I do believe that's the style most people who use fork combs are going for." Of course she didn't know that Scuttle was a seagull.

"Oh, gosh!" Ariel gasped, cringing despite her smirk. "I've been doing it all wrong!"

"Ariel with hair like yours, if you got the puffball look I'm not sure you'd be able to fit through any doors."

"Now that would be a great excuse on why I missed class. 'I'm sorry, Miss Pitt, I couldn't fit into the door!'"

"Maybe we could get gel and spike your hair. Like a sea urchin!"

Re: Explore the ship

shes-got-legs.livejournal.com - 2011-02-12 03:28 (UTC) - Expand

anarchist-queen.livejournal.com - 2011-02-12 06:10 (UTC) - Expand