єllчѕ' undєrwαtєr muѕєum - wínnєrѕ pg. 6

[xx.]

username; ★ star child ★
sign up post; x
team; octopi
what do you bring Ellys?

antheia doesn't really know what'd be interesting for a museum but she tries. she thinks of as much as she can - paintbrushes, a broom, a clothes hanger, a shovel, a toaster (she decides that's probably a bad idea very quickly) but can't settle on anything!
at least, not until she's packing up her suitcase for the final time and spots it hidden in a pocket.
of course.
it was a gift from someone back home, but looking at it, she feels like the merkals will appreciate it more. so she carefully plucks the rubber duck from it's pocket and hurries back to the shores for the museum.
okay, sure, she frowns, it'll probably float away. is that her problem? well, once she hands it over officially, no, it's really not. she'll have to recommend they weigh it down somehow, some rocks and string. whatever they do, she hopes they'll love it.
the little yellow duckling has a little plastic sunhat and a pink scarf added to it. she doesn't know if they came with the duckling but the hat is glued on - the scarf can't come off because the hat stops it, so she assumes they were added afterwards. maybe her friend realised rubber ducks weren't such great gifts after all.
when she hands it over there is a prickle of guilt though mostly it's relief. she's always hated the duck but never knew how to rid herself of it - at least now it's in good hands and hands that'll appreciate the novelty toy properly. at home it just sat on a shelf and gathered dust. she notes it'll probably never gather dust in an underwater museum. gather sand, maybe. whatever - not her issue. she'll just tell her friend it floated away in the ocean, or someone stole it from her room. hopefully the museum never gets famous. would be awkward for her friend to see it in display.
[319w]

[recherché.]

username; recherché.
sign up post; here!
team; squid!
what do you bring Ellys?


the ancient bubble hath been brought...

[2246]

username; Nikolina
sign up post; Here!
team; Squid!
what do you bring Ellys?

Mac slowly rolls in a TV on wheels on a lone beach, as Ellys stares at him from the sea.
"What's that box for?" She asks, Mac only raises his index finger to his mouth,
"Shh- Observe." he says, and starts searching for the remote through his bag.

"Is.. That box for the museum?" She asks, furrowing her brows, Mac shakes his head "Ha-ha!! No."
he jumps up, holding the remote in his hand, proudly “Something, much, much better.” smiling, he turns the TV on,
a weird commercial pops up-

It’s Mac, dressed in weird clothes, and with fake inflatable muscles, running around in a circle, in some field.
He suddenly stops, removing sweat from his head (you can clearly see someone spraying water from a spray bottle on Mac off screen), he looks up to the sky, and says
“Oh heavens, if I only had my water bottle near me. Look how far away it is!!” he points to the general direction of the bottle, as the camera man zooms in slowly, very slowly (Ellys sighs in the meantime), to the bottle that’s on the other edge of the field.

He falls on his knees, defeated, once again, “Oh what will I ever do?!", he cries out.
There’s suddenly light coming from the sky, a single, red box falls out from heavens themselves, straight onto Mac’s head.
He falls down, seemingly unconscious, but gets up, holding a box in his hands
“Oh wow?!” he quickly unwraps the box, to reveal one and only, #1 water drinking hat ™!!!

“Do you know what this is?! This is the answer to all of my questions ever!! This is- #1 water drinking hat ™!!”
He puts the hat on, and starts drinking water from the straw. Then he gets up, and starts running again.
“Never use water bottles ever again!! I mean just look at this-
It’s a great protection against hot sun! And it holds water in it!!
Water!! Can you believe it?!”

Mac runs away off screen, showing thumbs up, once he fully disappears, words “Buy now!! Call-” appear.

Mac turns the TV off, and seemingly out of nowhere, pulls out the #1 Water Drinking Hat ™!!
He slowly walks over to Ellys, and puts the hat on her head.
“Now you can swim, and drink all of your fave juices. And yes, it IS water proof.”
He pats Ellys’ head, picks the TV up, and runs away into the darkness.

- As seen from the commercial -

[ 1 art and 411 words ]

[Mnemosyne]

username; Mnemosyne
sign up post; boop
team; squid
what do you bring Ellys?

Pip dragged her paw through the sand, making random patterns as she sat on the beach, deep in thought. She'd just had a conversation with Ellys, the curator of the Underwater Museum, and was tasked with the job of finding something that would fit into the museum...that came from land. The sea had so many beautiful treasures, that was true, and Pip had been in awe of the shells, coral, and other trinkets that Ellys already had.

"If I'm doing this, I have to do it right," she announced, pointing at a nearby seagull. It squawked at her and continued foraging in the sand. "I have to pick something that's really...representative of life on the land, right?" So what was a good option? It couldn't be something that might hurt Ellys, so anything electrical was out (even though they probably wouldn't be dangerous underwater, right? But it was better to be safe), as well as anything sharp or broken. It couldn't be something that wouldn't work underwater, like a cell phone or camera, because that would defeat the whole point the technology in the first place. So what was it that set kalons from the land and the sea apart? Pip frowned. Well, the ones on land had legs, right? So... A lightbulb went off in her mind as she bolted upright. "That's it! Pip jumped up from the sand, startling the nearby seagull into flight. Kalons on land could wear shoes, while kalons in the sea couldn't! Maybe Pip could do some digging around and find a couple of shoes that the beachgoers didn't want anymore.

And so the hunt was on! There were tons of shoes laying around, of course, but they all belonged to other kalons. Many flip-flops, some sneakers, some sandals...there were many types of shoes, but nothing that fit with what Pip wanted. Pip had shoes of her own, of course, but she couldn't just go barefoot for the rest of the time! There had to be something...

After a whole day of scouring the beach, Pip was almost ready to give up. Maybe it didn't make sense that there were lost shoes simply hanging out around the beach after all. She heaved a sigh, digging a paw under the sand, when she hit something...pointy. Curious, Pip dug the sand up, revealing something truly unexpected. A single high-heeled shoe, in black patent leather, buried in the sand. It seemed to be in pretty good condition, too! Pip shook the sand out of it and stared, flabbergasted. How did a high-heeled shoe get here?! Well, no matter. It was perfect.

Skipping back to Ellys's museum in the darkening night sky, Pip felt the joy bubbling up through her chest. It wasn't everyday that a merkal got to see something like this, right? Pip made her way back to the music, popping up behind an inattentive Ellys. "I found it! The perfect addition to the museum!" she chirps, holding up the shoe. Ellys starts with a little yelp. "W-when did you get here?" Pip shoves the shoe into Ellys's paws with a grin. "This is something that none of you merkals have use for, so it's perfectly representative of life on land!" "A-a shoe?" Ellys asks, bewildered, but doesn't manage to get another word in before Pip is swimming back towards the beach with a wave. Perhaps Pip should've paid more attention when Ellys actually knew what the item was, but...all's well that ends well? [ 578 / 900 ]

[Lepid]

username; DoubleInfiniti
sign up post; here
team; Octopi
what do you bring Ellys?


An enchanted mirror for creatures under the sea to see their reflection with. This miraculous mirror was once a romantic gift to a fine young lady a long time ago. Fawkes had discovered it at a flea market but looked up its history and found the story of two lovers that were separated by two kingdoms to be a sad but heartfelt tale. It was a shame that it was left to simply rot since it was a beautiful mirror that was made specially for the princess of interest. She gazed into it each night and dreamt of the love of her life coming and taking her someday so they could elope.

Fawkes found this mirror to be a perfect gift for the museum. It would get a lot of use out of it and make the previous owner of this mirror happy. The tale would also draw creatures in Fawkes thought and maybe inspire them to act upon what their heart desires. The thought of it made Fawkes smile. On the back of the mirror is engraved "To: Angelica" in a very fancy cursive. Fawkes ran his paw over the writing a few times before turning it over and looking himself in the mirror for a long moment. When he finally felt like it was time to part with the mirror, he simply left it on an empty desk with the story hand-written along with love letters that were exchanged between the two lovers when this mirror was given to the princess.

(253)

[minutiae]

username; minutiae
sign up post; here
team; squid
what do you bring Ellys?

Kiele thought long and hard about what to bring to Ellys. She paced the trails of Kalokairi looking for treasures and trinkets to bring.But so fair she had only found plastic and wrappers. "Oh well." Kiele sighed, "maybe i should try somewhere else." She picked up her bag and headed to the beach. The wet sand felt good beneath her feet, it was a beautiful tropical day. Perfect weather for treasure hunting, she picked up one of those plastic toy shovels and began to dig. 40 minutes and several seashells and buried toys later, she had still not found the perfect thing. A bit annoyed, Kiele decided to chill off for a while by wading in the water. Stepping in to the ocean, she felt a cold metal pass by her feet. Curious, she picked it up. It was a wedding band, Kiele was surprised and overjoyed. "The perfect trinket!" She couldnt believe it, but she didnt want to be a thief of course. Kiele asked all around the island, but no one claimed it. She finally decided to give it to Ellys, maybe its owner will find it at the museum?
[192]

[sentimental]

username; sentimental_android
sign up post; ♡
team; octopodes ! !
what do you bring Ellys?
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"I found these at the island's antique store. I dunno,
they seem cute for a museum I guess?"


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[Snowlondon]

username; Snowlondon
sign up post; Here!
team; Octopi
what do you bring Ellys? [507 words]

"I know just the thing. All I need to do is grab it," Vardan said to the pink merkal, hurrying out of the underwater museum. He didn't dare to let out a sigh until he was deep in the forest. He had lied. He didn't know the right thing at all. He had no ideas.

He wouldn't normally lie, but for some reason something about the merkal was different. She had wanted a surface item so badly, and he couldn't bring himself to tell her that he didn't really own anything terribly special. But now, what to do? He had bought himself a little time to think, but not long.

The fact of the matter was that Vardan wasn't a collector. His belongings mostly consisted of what he needed, and one or two sentimental items. That was it. He didn't own anything interesting, or cool looking, or one-of-a-kind.

His stomach grumbled, and he was reminded that he hadn't eaten since breakfast. I might think better when I'm not hungry, he realised. Maybe I'll just go back and grab a bite to eat...

Wait. Vardan leaped up from the stump on which he had been sitting. "A bite to eat?" That reminded him of something that was sitting at the bottom of his giant backpack. Something that he'd forgotten there ages ago.

He grabbed his backpack, relieved that he brought it with him everywhere he went. He frantically unzipped the various pockets, trying to remember where it was. "Please let it be there, please let it be there," he muttered to himself, digging through his various supplies.

There it was! At the bottom, just like he had recalled. A packet of none other than Sir Sugarton's Chocolate Cream Cookies. They were nothing special, just your everyday artificial cookie brand made up almost entirely of chemicals. He didn't know how they had ended up in his bag, but he had never eaten them, and thus they had ended up at the very bottom.

He grinned at the packet. Despite the fact that it had been sitting there for who-knows-how-long, the wrapper was still shiny as ever, and the cookies has so many preservatives in them that they probably tasted exactly the same as when they had been manufactured.

It was perfect. It wasn't beautiful or rare, but it was a relic in its own way, Vardan thought to himself with a smile. It was definitely better than anything else he could have contributed. Now, all he had to do was get back to the underwater museum.

Running as fast as his legs could carry him, he raced to where Ellys was waiting. "I'm so sorry it took me so long. I wanted to choose something truly..." Vardan paused, searching for the right word. "Special." he said with a grin.

He presented her with the package. "They're a snack that we - by which I mainly mean the kits - will sometimes eat. And you don't have to worry about them getting soggy in the water. They could probably survive an apocalypse."

[LostInTheEcho]

username; LostInTheEcho
sign up post; here
team; Octopi
what do you bring Ellys? [777]

Floor didn't have much time to contemplate the task he had taken upon himself before he was back to the surface again. The merkal, Ellys, had wanted him to find something for her exhibit. How exciting! However the further he got on his trek back to town, the less sure he got of himself. At first it had seemed like an easy mission to accomplish and his enthusiasm outshone the fact that he had no idea what he was actually doing.

With that realisation, Floor decided to check around the shops to see if he could find some ideas. The souvenir shop was almost empty, most kalons likely opting to be on the beach at this time of day. The only other kalons there were two kits by the ice cream and the cashier who gave him a wave in greeting which he returned before exploring the shelves.

Various knick knacks and memorabilia lined the shelves as well as practical things like sunscreen and medical supplies. He needed something special and unique to above water, so he quickly passed all sorst of things made from seashells. A coffee cup didn't really feel like the best thing either and any kind of textile would get water damaged, Floor reasoned with himself.

It was first when he stood and studied a flower patterned vase that it it him (an idea, not the vase). Grinning like a loon, Floor rushed out of the shop and back to his living quarters. He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of this to begin with but he wasn't always the best logical thinker so he'd let it slide just this once. Right now he had an installation to make for a museum!

He had been collecting and pressing flowers during his time on the island. However, only after making sure that they weren't endangered and that he wouldn't wreck the ecosystem with his hobby. He had kept the plants stored in the bedside drawer with sheets of paper separating them from each other. Now they were carefully laid out on the small table of the room where he could look them over and pick the best ones for the exhibit.

Now you might think "But Floor, pressed flowers are fragile and will be destroyed in the water! Don't you ever think things through?" but this time he actually had a plan. He just had to hope that someone on the island had what he needed. A laminating machine. With the decision made to choose his flowers first and worry over if he'd have the necessary equipment later, Floor slowly went through his collection, carefully turning over each one to look for flaws.

Finally satisfied with his decision he layered them with paper and put them in an envelope to take with him once he had a way to preserve them. Now the scavanger hunt could really begin with a clear quest in sight. But really, how hard could it be to find a laminating machine.

Turns out it could actually be rather difficult.

It took most of the afternoon and asking what must have been close to the entire population of the island but Floor eventually found an older kalon who could help him out with laminating and naming all the plants so they could be labeled. It would after all be rather silly of him when prompted "And what kind of flowers are these?" to answer with "pretty ones".

The ten plants that had been the chosen ones, all in different colours and sizes were all gingerly arranged with a slip of paper underneath where the name of the plant could be written in a neat row. The older kalon helped him with using the machne and making sure he didn't make any errors. Which, let's face it, he definitely would have done without the supervision.

Late evening had arrived by the time they were done and Floor went "home" with a proud feeling bubbling in his chest and ten laminated and labeled flowers cradled in his arms. Sleep came to him easily that night and the next day he'd go to show Ellys his work, which he hoped she'd enjoy as much as he did.

The next morning, bright and early (around ten o'clock) Floor had made his way back to the underwater museum. He showed Ellys his contribution to her exhibit and she did atleast seem happy and interested in what he'd made as she swiftly swam to display the laminated flowers on an uneven cliff wall. She then came back to thank him profusely for helping her with her surface exhibit. Floor, however, is only glad he could help.

[apprentice_]

username; rainichi
sign up post; —
team; octopus
what do you bring Ellys? full


"it's an egg. in a bag. so it doesn't get wet."
you look closer. it's a foam squish toy in a ziploc bag.
seems like something they picked up at an island-equivalent target.