Not so short story for Trubbol's Monthly Theme, though tbh I just wanted an excuse to write a wholesome Finley TF. He deserves it, being the most underrated member of Indigo Park, just because he's not as extroverted as the others.

Justice for my friend, he just wanted to invite you over to show you his seashell collection.
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An Oceanic Odyssey

You'd applied for a job at Indigo Park, one of, if not the grandest theme park in all the world, specifically one with your favourite character, Finley the Sea Serpent. He'd inspired your fascination in the ocean and all the life that dwelled within, causing you to train in becoming a professional diver and marine biologist, something that ended up being extremely helpful in your resume. You'd expected to just get a job behind the scenes, acting as an attendant, a consultant, or even just a tank cleaner. What you hadn't expected was being given the role itself, performing as Finley in front of everyone.

“Are you sure about this? I mean… I'm not even an actor. I'm honoured, truly, I just feel like there would be better people for the job, right?” You'd question for the second time that day, even as you followed the lady up the stairs to the top of ‘Finley’s’ Tank, wetsuit already zipped up tight, and air-tank strapped firmly to your back.

“Well, yes, but not many actors are trained in diving, or marine life. Besides, that passion for the ocean, and lack of experience in performing is perfect for Finley. You'll be fine. The higher ups certainly think so. But I'll leave it until after you've finished your tour before anything concrete is signed, alright?”

“Alright… so I'm just taking a look around? I don't need to wear the costume?”

“Nope! Just what you're wearing currently. We can leave the issue of a costume until after you've gotten used to swimming about down there. But enough about that. I'll leave you to explore the tank and get used to your new role. I hope you enjoy it. I think you will though.” The woman would say as she gave you a curt wave, before heading back down the steps, leaving you alone atop the tank. Well, this was it. Time to explore.

You tightened your mask as you approached the edge, before diving in, the chill of the water immediately seeping into your skin as you swam down, bubbles from your respirator streaming past you. You made a mental note to ask the employer why they couldn't afford to at least heat up the water a little, especially if you were going to be performing in here daily. This was Indigo Park after all. If there was one thing they had, besides outlandish ambition and a stranglehold on the cartoon landscape, it was money. Gosh… you could still feel it through your wetsuit. Hopefully the costume would provide a bit more insulation…

Transitioning into breaststroke, you swam your way down to the bottom of the tank. Unknown to you, the deeper you dove, the more your body started to change, your skin gaining the beginnings of scales, small patches of turquoise hidden beneath your wetsuit, webbing slowly inching its way up between your toes. However the changes remained unnoticed to you as you swam your way down to the bottom of the tank, peering around the mock ocean floor. Ah, there was Finley's cave, and they'd even included some rocky structures and a cute little reef for decoration!


You slowly swam your way around the tank, marvelling at how much effort they'd put into this. It felt more like an actual habitat than an underwater stage. I mean… filling the floor with actual sand and shells was one thing, but incorporating live fish and crabs was another. and was that real coral? How did they manage to pull that off?

As you looked around, your eyes were naturally drawn to Finley's shell display resting next to the entrance. Whether they had been knocked over during a previous performance, or simply dislodged over time by the subtle currents, the display currently lay scattered on the sea bed. Without even thinking, you compulsively set about picking up the shells, setting them back in their proper order on the rocky shelf, feeling an internal sigh of relief at the now tidy display. Much better… Now, what were you doing again? Right, exploring the tank.

You first decided to check out the cave. After all, that was where you'd be spending most of your time, right? You started to swim your way over, only to notice your arms weren't feeling very responsive. Maybe you'd strained them too much with all that movement? Perhaps it'd be best to rest them for now, keeping them by your sides as you focused on just kicking to propel yourself forwards through the large opening, noting the little lights styled after colourful algae that dimly illuminated the path through in phantasmal hues, drawing your attention away from your arms slowly starting to shrivel, the once tight sleeves starting to loosen.

Movement became easier as you settled into a dolphin kick, flicking your legs up and down as you darted through the tunnel like a torpedo. Huh… maybe you were better at this than you thought? Your legs felt a bit odd, but perhaps it was just the adrenaline. You hadn't exactly done this much swimming before.

The tunnel soon opened up to reveal a small yet roomy cavern, also illuminated by that same fluorescent algae. It was honestly pretty empty, in fact there was nothing to note besides some equally empty shelves carved into the rock walls. You did, however, notice a small enclave at the back where you could surface. Swimming up and doing exactly that, you found a small platform on dry land, alongside a door. Ah… this must lead backstage, and where you're supposed to enter from when performing. Duh. They wouldn't actually expect you to have to dive all the way down every single time, right?

Part of you wanted to get out now, but you hesitated. The outside air was chilly, and your drying skin felt itchy and wrong. Maybe because it had already been completely covered by serpentine scales? In either case, you hadn't finished exploring the interior of the stage, and you had more than enough air in your tank to keep going. So you submerged, feeling an odd sense of comfort as you swam your way back through the cave, unaware of the roots of your hair turning a golden yellow.

Re-emerging from the darkness of the cave, you once again found yourself in the bright and colourful oceanic world that lay outside. It was honestly a bit odd how familiar the tank was starting to become for you. The water, once biting cold, now feeling comfortably warm against your scales. It felt good, right even. Part of you wanted to stay down here, where it was calm and quiet and peaceful, but that was silly. You couldn't stay here. You'd drown!... right? During your musings, you failed to notice your ears slowly flatten against the sides of your skull, turning a murky green as they warped into tiny fins either side of your head.

Right… you should probably wrap this up soon, before your oxygen runs out, and so you could get this respirator off. It was starting to dig into your skin a little. Perhaps you'd tightened it too much? Regardless, all that was left now was the little reef. You swam off, failing to notice your legs had fused into a singular limb that swished behind you as you made your way over towards the colourful coral.

The reef was beautiful, and teeming with life. Honestly, if you weren't aware of the truth, you'd hardly have believed this wasn't natural, fish darting into small crevices as you passed overhead, golden mane swaying and rippling behind you as it made its way down your neck, feeling that sense of peace you felt earlier once more as you watched this microcosm of the sea floor in action, watching the different fish swimming around, feeding on algae and bits of coral, or burrowing into the sand to create their own little dens. It was like its own self contained community. You moved slowly, as to try and not disturb them as you took the time to just… watch, imagining actually being amongst a real full sized reef, with octopi, eels, and sharks swimming about, losing track of time, and your own slowly lengthening body, as you drifted off into your own little world.

However, there soon came a point where the dull pressure in your respirator became too much to ignore, you needed to do something about it. You put a hold on your daydreaming to swim over to the tank window, reaching up to grab and adjust the mask, only for nothing to happen. You felt your arms moving, but there was nothing. You couldn't even see your arms! Gazing into the window, you saw piercing yellow eyes reflected in the glass. It was only then that you finally took notice of the rest of your body, the golden mane and finned ears attached to your head, the vacant sleeves of your wetsuit drifting in the gentle current of the tank, your long swishing tail where your legs had once been, feet replaced by large yellow fins.

You weren't just playing ‘as’ Finley, you WERE Finley! Part of you was shocked. Who wouldn't, seeing themselves having become a Sea Serpent. But another part of you… didn't mind too much. Finley was your favourite character, and getting to be them, to entertain children and introduce them to the wonders of the sea, to give them that same sense of awe and wonder that made you grow attached to this lovable Leviathan… did that really sound so bad?

As you stared at your reflection, you witnessed the straps keeping your respirator attached finally snap under the building pressure, your face stretching out into a muzzle, nose pushed to the forefront before being squished down and flattened into nostrils adorning your new flat snout. There was an ache in your incisors as they grew longer and sharper, as soon you had a pair of serpentine fangs poking out from your upper lip.

And then, your wetsuit burst, as the rest of your body began to grow in turn. Oh, right… Finley was like… massive. Way bigger than a human at least. How could you have forgotten? Well… it was a bit late now, your cylindrical body expanding further and further, the tears in the wetsuit growing and growing, until finally… it could bear it no longer, and what remaining threats snapped from your large serpentine frame, scraps of fabric littering the water as you finally saw confirmation of what you had predicted, and also somewhat dreaded.
Where your arms had once been was… nothing. No stubs, no fins. Just smooth scales. You were completely armless, just a head, long snake-like torso, and finned tail. Guess you'd have to get used to using your mouth and tail for everything, just like the real deal…

A forked tongue briefly darted out from your lips as you stared deeper at your body, specifically your new face… even after confirmation of your arms having vanished something was still wrong with this image… bubbles slipping through your vacant mouth as you pondered hard, trying to figure out what you’d missed… wait… the respirator! Your gaze darted around to try and locate it, but the device had already long since sunk to the bottom of the tank, alongside the rest of your diving equipment.

If it had fallen off though, how were you still breathing? Actually… you hadn't even felt short of breath this entire time… sensing something on your neck, you went to go feel it, discovering… Oh, right, no arms. Improvising, you instead stretched your legs, er, tail, to try and feel the area, your new body long and limber enough to accomplish the task with minor difficulty, feeling them pass over your neck, before coming across some ridges either side. Gills? You have gills now? It was hard to deny it, you really were Finley the Sea Serpent now. Looks like you wouldn't be leaving this tank any time soon… not that you minded that too much. If anything, you were excited for what was to come.

The opening day for your new role was something to behold, the quiet rocking of the waves nudging you awake to the soft beams of light illuminating the mock sea floor that made up your stage. The warbling sounds of the announcer through the other side of the glass wall, waiting for your cue to swim out and introduce yourself to the park goers, often to their surprise and delight. The children loved you, even in spite of the shy persona you had to put on to ‘stay in character’, or perhaps it was that persona that allowed them to feel more comfortable and at ease, a beacon of calm amongst the loud and high energy extrovertedness that the other mascots had in spades.

In the end, many of them just wanted a friend to talk with, listening to you telling stories and sharing facts about the ocean, while having an ear to listen to them sharing their own experiences. It truly made their day when you'd offer them one of your ‘precious sea shells’ to take with them as a memento of their time in the park, so much so that ‘Shell Trading’ became its own event during the day, for kids to bring shells they themselves had found to give to you in return.

Sure the calm silence of the Ocean was blissful, but nothing compared to the cheerful
gasps and cheers of children when they came by to visit. You might have lost your humanity, but in your eyes, you'd gained so much more. This really was the performance of a lifetime