Hi readers! Sapphire here. Thanks for stopping by to check out this fic, I appreciate it! This note isn't very long but the one at the end has more substance to it, I'd appreciate it if you read that one too ~
Thalassophobia
A forest green gaze was fixed; the subject it was settled on, however, was itself not settled. It never was, or would be. It was constant, always in motion, whether it was calm or furious. Never static, never still.
She stood against the light winds, gusts tugging notably at her waves of hair as she stared at a different kind of wave. The sea wasn't fully at peace today, the blue of the water swelling up to fall onto the beach of gold, spreading white foam as far as it could before it all trickled back to do it all again. Sophie still watched, the smell and taste of the sea resting easy on her tongue and nose for now. Her observations made it clear to her why so many seemed to love the ocean. It could be so many rich shades of blue, so easy to get lost in the gentle crashing of each wave.
However, her fear sits past this charm. It's beyond those delightful crests that, in her eyes, the real threat lurked. Her gaze steeled upon the the point on the horizon where the sky and sea seemed to touch. It was out there.
If you asked her, Sophie would tell you it's the creatures in the hidden depths that made her skin crawl. They could be dangerous, she would claim. There could be hideous, ungodly things in there, just waiting for her. While yes, the thought of horrifying sea creatures displeased her to an extent, this isn't was she was truly afraid of.
In all honesty, for a while Sophie couldn't quite fathom what exactly it was that did frighten her about deep bodies of water. If she was ever in or near enough to one during her youth it instilled a sudden dread that only just overshadowed her interest. It was only as Sophie grew and matured that she learned to recognise the truth in her fear.
The ocean was deep, endless, mysterious. She knows fine well that mankind has yet to unveil all the secrets that the vast beast contained. Even what we do know of it makes her heart anxious. It was as powerful as it was intriguing, capable of bringing as much chaos and destruction as it could joy and fun. She'd seen the news stories of tsunamis and the like. To think of such a massive force could just sweep you away or drag and hold you down into it's depths until the light left your eyes and the air abandons your lungs -
Her breath catches, the sound missed against the fall of yet another wave. Sophie's fingers curled around the fabric of her dress that the wind pulled at. It wasn't just a threat. The ocean was so much more than that, to her at least.
It's a symbol. A symbol of things she wants and fears to equal extents. She stands for the power it possesses, and, despite her agitation revels in the fact that with her White Cetus, she can harness and control that exact power. She will always be proud that such an impressive, beautiful yet deadly force of nature was something that she truly feel and belong to. She connects with it, yet, it scares her to no end.
It was eerie and breathtaking and constant and compelling and... lonely. She blinked, eyes shifting to scan the ever-moving water. Sophie faintly noted how the wind seemed to have dropped entirely, the waves slowing considerably as a result. A strange hush seemed to have landed like an unwelcome seagull. For a moment, she was at a loss. Sometimes the ocean seemed like it was so much, held so many qualities that held so much promise and then there were times like this were it seemed almost devoid of all feeling.
Sophie stood against the hollow atmosphere, almost glaring at the waves that were now meek, falling lower and quieter than before. She hated it when this happened, when the ocean went quiet like this. She would much rather see it rage and spit and hear it scream because then at least it struck a steady fear into her. This weird lull filled her with an odd fear, like she was fearing a possibility of something that could happen or was going to happen, yet she didn't know what. It left her fearing, but it didn't tell her what to fear, like drowning or just being swept away.
She almost laughed. It was the ocean. It shouldn't make her feel so many things, so strongly, or so she'd been told several times before. How utterly strange, that she was in love with the same thing that could flood her with complete fear. How can a love leave one feeling so conflicted?
Of course one of the Cetus Duo had to have a phobia to do with water, how could I miss the chance for the mild irony behind it? I wanted emphasise Sophie's fear both in the literal and metaphorical sense, so maybe this was a bit weird, especially the end but I kinda like how it turned out?
So this was a bit of a vent, apologies if it was a bit all over the place but I haven't got my trusty editors for this fic, as this first chapter was written suddenly on a whim in one sitting. Again, apologies for any errors, and as always constructive criticism is welcomed!
Each Excalibur member is being done (yes, even Klaus) in no particular order, although Julian's will probably be last because his one is the most obvious. I have already decided what phobias will be used but they might be changed. Who do you think would have what phobia, and maybe why? Feel free to leave a review on your thoughts if you like Excalibur as much as I do (or any MFB character, I just love MFB send help). Signing off for now though, see you in the next chapter if you decide to stick around!