Motley Manifestations Pt. 5

With as long a body as Oceanus had, travel on land was remarkably difficult. Having resided in the deep sea before all the banishment business, Oceanus was still quite unused to being on dry land. He hated going out, hated having to look up accommodations for someone his size and his bulk. At one point, he’d vowed never to venture outside again, that was until he met Nanami Peryl. 

He was the sort of Crook Oceanus normally hated upon first sight. His appearance was cutesy, with those big liquid yellow eyes, small triangular ears and pleasing coloration. However, Nanami’s attitude did not match his looks, and Oceanus’s first attempts at interaction failed so spectacularly, it left him in awe… in something else too. He wouldn’t quite call it love. There was a non-selfish thing to love, a compromise that Oceanus just didn’t think he could come to. At least, not on his own. 

It took a few more fumbling attempts before Nanami would even think to address Oceanus. The result was glorious, it was everything Oceanus hoped it would be. There were the scathing remarks, the unbridled truth brandished like a blade, and overlaid a thin disgust masking something else. Interest, perhaps? 

The unfortunate thing was, however, Nanami was incredibly active. A dedicated socialite of sorts, Nanami was often out being his idol self, selling merchandise, mixing and mingling. It was necessary in his line of work, after all. That meant the only time Oceanus could interact with him was very sparingly at events he could get to, that did accommodate him. 

On one such event, after listening to him bemoan his fate, Nanami turned to him and leveled a particularly withering glance. “Why don’t you just shapeshift into a more amenable size?” 

Shapeshifting should have been Oceanus’s first go-to for ease of access and travel, but for some reason it just had never occurred to him to do it. The revelation struck him like a brick, leaving him open-mouthed and at a loss for words. 

He then followed it up with: “You truly are a fool among fools.” 

Normally that kind of barb would have stung, but to Oceanus it was endearing. Were Nanami so sick of him and his foolishness, the other Crook would just abandon him. Nanami didn’t seem the type to engage with anyone or anything he didn’t want to. 

With a new goal in mind, Oceanus tried to get Nanami to agree to help him figure out his humanoid form; the one with the easiest access to most public venues and transportation. There he met a dead end. Nanami was not interested in helping Oceanus further. He found him tedious, like a puppy always looking for a pat. Also, he was just irritating to look at. 

Left to his lonesome, Oceanus ended up having to attempt research. He’d only ever really been himself, having never transformed into any of the other forms available to Crook kind, for lack of desire. There’d never been a reason, after all. 

His research took him all over the web, from social media to streaming sites to blogs. He soaked in all the internet had to offer, but still came away uncertain. He knew, now, the regular makeup of a humanoid body, but he still had reservations. 

Firstly, Oceanus would have to relearn how to walk. He was used to a crocodilian gait, swinging his bulk in a serpentine motion while his limbs paddled against the ground, his forelimbs and hindlimbs working opposite each other. 

Then there was the matter of getting used to skin, how much to have and where to leave fur. What to do about his tail and tendrils? 

Lastly, dreadfully, what to wear? 

It took Oceanus almost an entire year to figure out what he wanted to look like, and how to operate and dress himself whilst in that form. He didn’t understand how it came so easily to others, but ultimately was proud of what he was able to accomplish. 

Taller than most humans, but slender, with fair almost silver skin, and his hair a generous, well-taken care of mop of waves cleverly incorporating his tendrils, Oceanus knew from engagement that his humanoid form was alluring. It had taken a lot of research and getting used to wearing clothes, but he’d found the right look, the one that made him seem like an ethereal being come out of the water. 

That was why it was so disappointing when all he got was a huff from Nanami upon revealing his new look. 

“What, did you expect me to fawn over you? That’s what the internet is for, is it not,” had been his response. 

He couldn’t understand it, didn’t know what would turn the smaller Crook’s head. Nanami played everything so close to the chest, that despite having gone out with him on several occasions, Oceanus couldn’t say with confidence what Nanami's favorite food or drink was. 

It wasn’t until, several years later, that he would meet Isra and finally know at least one thing Nanami liked. 

And it made no SENSE. 

He couldn’t say that this form of Isra was alluring in any aspect. He was hulking, displeasing in coloration, with that awful tail and such veiny skin. His clusters were atrocious, and his fashion… hideous. But there was Nanami, treating him well, dragging him around by his hand, leaning on his arm, demanding to be carried. 

Despite desperately wanting what Isra had from Nanami, Oceanus just wasn’t willing to stoop to Isra’s level. He just couldn’t be that ugly. The gray body paint, the plucked chicken wing ears, the marbled raw meat look, the greenish yellowish hair reminiscent of puke, and all those eyes looking like an infection; no no he couldn’t do it. 

Upon foolishly trying to disabuse Nanami of the notion that somehow this version of Isra was anything but repulsive, he was firmly put in his place. 

“You want to be involved with me, but you won’t cater to what I like. You know now what I like, and you’re recoiling from it. You’ll always be like that Aquarius.” 

The nonchalant delivery coupled with a grin from that hideous tail-thing made Oshy grind his teeth. 

“But I just don’t understand it,” Oceanus foolishly blurted. “You know he’s conventionally hideous.” 

The cool look from Nanami was colder than any depths Oceanus had ever swum. 

“What’s conventionally hideous is the way you conduct yourself. A pretty face and an ugly attitude, constantly controversial with no real substance behind you. If you were a food you’d be cotton candy, good to look at, but full of air and lacking in nutrition.” 

The last part had struck him with such venom, Oceanus retreated on the spot, leaving the pair to enjoy what was left of their day. 

Over time, his desire to have what Isra had; Nanami’s attention; soon became a desire to have what they both had. Sadly, though, the infamous skutuber lacked the ability to see beyond his own snout. 

He never did change his outward appearance, preferring to look attractive to most, because true to Nanami’s measure of him, he wanted all eyes on him, to want him because he was pretty even if he was an awful person.