I have had this image in my files for awhile now. I always thought the fish and his monkey rider had an interesting back story that I would want to incorporate into the mythology of the 'Cave of Cool'. I have only gotten as far as deciding that they are allies in our struggle against the cephalopod menace and not enemies.
I am looking to anyone who follows this blog regularly to come up with background on these two characters and how they ended up working for our noble cause. How did they meet? How do they communicate with one another? Why do they hate the many tentacled ones with a passion similar to my own? Is magic involved in their partnership in any way? Are they only in this fight for the magnificent Sunday buffet we serve around here? You tell me.
I am not looking for a novel here, just a short, descriptive paragraph.
My unlimited love to you all - Cal
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23 comments:
Well the monkey was trained as a diving monkey to find lost treasure but one day happened to find the fish being interrogated by octopuses on the whereabouts of a particularly special treasure. The diving monkey saved the fish if he would lead him to the treasure, however the treasure turned out to be nothing more than a collection of bottle caps. Once arrived the octopuses (who had been following them) became outraged and attacked. The diving monkey once again had to save the fish and once the found safety in a underwater cave it was assumed that the fish owed a life debt to the monkey. They decided that together they would find out the motive of the octopuses and put an end to their evil deeds. They once had to rely on body language and intuition to communicate with each other but after a battle against the psychic octopus Nefarious they somehow became telepathically linked with each other. The brave leader of the Cave of Cool was once rescued by them after being kidnapped by a group of octopuses. Now the monkey and fish work with those who reside at the Cave of Cool plotting against all octopuses. Oh and the fish is clearly magical I mean look at him mostly his powers are to transform into land-residing creatures or octopuses to disguise himself. They aren't particularly interested in the Sunday buffet unless you are serving banana flan and ice-cream.
WOW..that is terrific. Everything you said works well with the current mythology of the Cave of Cool. I especially like the telepathic link between the fish and the monkey that was a by-product of an earlier fight with a specific octopus villain. I never even thought that they would have individual personalities. I always thought of them as one group, like the Borg, who think the same and act towards one goal - the eradication of humanity from the 3/10s of the planet that they didn't control. Nepharious the evil octopus you created needs an identity. Care to create it? I will put out a call to artists to design his look if you don't draw. I don't draw well so I have always relied on other people who do draw well to help me flesh out my vision.
I totally appreciate your contribution my friend. Lots of good stuff there to use.
I would like to write the moment when the monkey finds out that the 'treasure' he has heard mentioned a thousand times in the past 3 days turns out to be a collection of bottle caps that had fallen in the ocean and collected by the fish. To him they WERE/ARE treasure. It also make the octopus look like bigger dorks because they went through all the fuss and all the effort just for a crate worth of worthless bottle caps. This first meeting story also is a life lesson to the monkey - nothing is unimportant because to somebody, the thing that you think is worthless, is another person's entire world.
ooooo that is deep.
I assume the monkey can breath underwater only when touching the fish. The same is for the fish when he goes above the water.
Would the two be able to communicate with everyone or just themselves. Do they speak to us? Is their speaking telepathic or do we hear it?
:D
I can't draw well at all. Though I did draw a picture of an anthropomorphic octopus named Mirage who could also have something to do with it.
Nefarious?
Hm....
He is a vain moustached octopus.
He relies heavily on his psychic power (and coconuts) for his is a tiny 10cm coconut octopus.
He works for both the spy and the attack force of the Octopus Army Division Unit: ARMS
Though once only working for the Army due his family's life being threatened once they were killed in a bombing that was caused by the octopuses, his motive changed. He make a quadruple/triple agent for a small rebel group amongst the wider marine community. Of course the monkey and the fish did not know this and after he was defeated the octopuses had learned of his involvement in the rebel group and they sentenced him to a lifetime imprisonment, though they are considering an execution.
His best friend is a hermit crab but that is another story.
Yes yes the monkey can like bottle caps.
The monkey has a diving helmet for underwater that he keeps in a magic pouch with unlimited space. The fish changes form in order to breathe above water.
They are able to understand English but currently their telepathic link only extends to them, though the monkey is good at writing.
Oh and Nefarious intentionally gave them the link.
A*R*M*S?? That is too good. The members of this group all share one defining feature - a tatoo or oddly shaped burn mark on one of their many tentacles. It's how they indentify themselves to one another. It's proof that the cephalopods are organized and united as a group.
Oh I have more of an idea for the background of the fish, Nefarious and Mirage. But tell me if it is no good.
But that means the fish has to be a girl now... It also means the octopuses menace have being going for quite some time (but perhaps only recently on the surface).
The fish wasn't quite a nice person she'd often transform into a mermaid so she could drown sailors. The octopuses caught her so they could make use of her abilities, but Nefarious freed her. Nefarious and the fish secretly began a relationship which due to the fish's shape shifting magic they were able to have a child, Mirage. They broke up shortly afterwards and Mirage was left in the care of Nefarious' best friend the hermit crab being the only one that knew of the relationship. Mirage grew up at a fast rate and if she had one constant biological form she would probably be a late teenager. She has the shape shifting abilities of her mother and as such does not know her true appearance but she prefers to take one as an anthropomorphic octopus. She also has some of the psionic powers her father has. She works as a receptionist at a hotel by the beach (in human disguise).
I like the shape changing fish. Why would Nepharious free her? How do a fish and an evil octopus break up without one killing the other? Stuff like that happens everyday with these shapeshifting/octopus relationships.
Can we lose the hermit crab - too 'The Little Mermaid' for me. I like the idea of a manta ray raising Mirage. He would glide around with her hanging on to his underbelly in such a way that he maintained his streamlined appearance.
Ooh Manta Ray cool!
He freed her because
A. He fell in love with her
and
B. He was already part of the rebel force by then
They broke up because of Mirage. The fish ran away to her old apartment (complete with chest of bottle caps) and Nefarious went back to his life of triple/quadruple crossing.
Dude this needs to be a comic book or a novel.
I am at my storytelling best when I work with another person. Comic book or novel? Animated Pixar feature in 3D.
Why would anyone work with a ten inch octopus after he had betrayed your side before.
Well before Nefarious was imprisoned he worked for the spy and attack forces, but he gave info to the rebel group.
But he told the army that he was only pretending to be part of the force to give info to them.
But he actually is part of the rebel group (although currently imprisoned he can't do much).
He is a pretty interesting guy for a stinkin' octopus. I don't know how I feel about his good intentions. That runs counter to all I know about the cephalopod and their evil ways.
That is why there is only one octopus going against the grain. Also he is in prison so he can't do much.
You realize you are now focing me to think up an elaborate jail break don't you? Damn. I hate octopus who think they are heroes.
Oh well. But shouldn't you be planning the Sunday feast?
We have a catering company bring us the food. I just give them a theme and they do the rest of the work. Nothing really for me to do.
The parcel monkey looked at the catfish long and hard. Not quite a fish, not quite a cat. A pitiful beast always torn between being sly and being slimy. Surely he couldn't clean himself without getting hungry and possibly tempted to take a bite out of his own scaly hide. The parcel monkey had been clinging to the wreckage of the ship for almost a day and the fish had only arrived in the last few hours. Not a word had been spoken between the two as yet. "So", said the fish, "Getting tired yet?". "A little," replied the parcel monkey. "How about we play a game?" Smiled the fish, "That might pass the time," chuckled the monkey. He had always been good at games and he could see a way to win himself passage from the plank. "I'll ask you a riddle and if you get it right I'll take you wherever you wish to go. If you get it wrong I'll eat you up." The parcel monkey decided that it was the best offer he was going to get today. "Fire away Mt Catfish" The fish smiled his toothy grin, licked his lips and said - "Beulah died in the Appalachians while Craig died at sea. Everyone was much happier with Craig's death. Why?" The parcel monkey put his head in his hand and charged his little grey cells with the task of finding the answer. Eventually it came to him in a flash. He smiled and gave the catfish the solution. The fish roared with laughter. "You have bested me my primate friend, so where do you wish to go?" The monkey hopped on the catfish's back and pointed to the horizon. "The cave of cool you cunning catfish, I have an important parcel to deliver and a recumbentibus meal awaits us!" The catfish agreed that this was an excellent choice and they set off towards warmer waters. Unaware that, behind them, in the deep waters, they were being followed by a creature which propelled itself through the murkiness with it's many arms…
OOOO I love the addition of the riddle in their first meeting even though I can't figure out the answer myself. Does that mean that I am dumber than a parcel monkey?
The answer is that Beulah and Craig were the names of hurricanes. Dumber than a parcel monkey? Hmmm.
The monkey's family were raising the fish in a lagoon on their uncharted desert Isle. It was actually one of the pacific atol's used for nuclear testing. The fed him grubs that were radiactive giving him his massive size. One day a giant squid came along and pulled the island into the see. The giant fish was able to break away but was only able to save one monkey. In their mourning they wandered the see until they found one of the underwater caves of cool, once they met Cal, they knew they had found a compatriot and would finally be able to enact their vengence on the cephaloid menace.
I like scenerio very much Budd. The last minute save, those difficult early days until through adversity the two find a way to work together that makes both of them stronger. It's got a final reel of unbelievably bloody violence. We start filming Monday.
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