2318/The Aqua Pot Mix-up

The Aqua Pot Mix-up
Date of Scene:	15 February 2025
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	When Laura tries to teach Hotaru how to make Kururun's favorite cookies, they have a bit of an... accident. However, instead of spilled ingredients, they swap bodies. How much trouble could Hotaru POSSIBLY get into as a mermaid and Laura with the outers?
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Laura La Mer

---

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe happily hummed as she set out the ingredients and the pot and the step stool so she could properly reach the stove. She was going to learn how to make FAIRY COOKIES! Eeeee! This was going to be the coolest thing EVER! Sure, they apparently needed like... special flowers from Laura's home, but Laura was bringing those so all she had to do was get the other stuff she was told to get.

In retrospect, the fact the cookies that are made underwater don't use flour and used a lot of ingredients found underwater made a LOT of sense...

The counter was filled with things like seaweed and different plants that were edible and bowls and such.

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura knows Grand Ocean like the palm of her hand, and that goes doubly true for the directions to the garden of Bubble Flowers, as her favourite place in the whole kingdom, so it doesn't take her long to go and come back. When she is back, she is carrying a bowl filled to the brim with the flower berries. Perhaps she might have gotten a little too many in her excitement to show Hotaru how they bake things in Grand Ocean. It wasn't a small bowl by any means.

"Good job, Yokina-chan", Laura smiles widely upon seeing the ingredients the dark-haired girl has gathered. She is admittedly going to great pains not to show the concern she still feels for her to honour her request. Even if she could never bring herself to ignore the existence of the problem.

Once there, she places the bowl and Aqua Pot on the countertop, hopping inside briefly to grab her apron. The magic of it all means the fabric is completely dry to the touch. "So, are you ready?", she turns to the other girl after fastening the apron.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe says, "pose actually clapped her hands in excitement when she saw Laura come in. "Laura-chan!" she said happily, a massive grin on her face. She reached out, grabbing her own apron! It... it had some weird little... garbage-cans with plunger arms and the words 'Eggs Stir Mix Bake' under them. It was Setsuna's.

"Aye aye, captain!" 'Yokina' said, going from mermaid to sailors, apparently. "So, first..."

And she followed directions... perfectly, actually. Dicing things as directed, stirring, mixing things. She WAS Riventon's number one assistant, after all.

Though, Laura would likely be able to realize something about Hotaru, soon. While she was great at following directions, she was a bit... cemented in her thinking. She wasn't good at 'Add X to taste'. If she was directed to cut up an ounce of seaweed and mix it in, then there was an OUNCE of seaweed. The girl struggled a lot with the concept of like... adjustments.

However, as she worked, one of the towels she'd set some seaweed on to dry got the corner on the aquapot... And as it started to get sucked in, she reached out. "Wait!" she told it, too late..."

Laura La Mer has posed:
Eh, Laura is perfectly fine with doing some rebalancing herself if that's what the situation demands. She is just happy to be there with Hotaru. Even if she may complain a bit every once in a while, she knows this recipe enough that it isn't going to explode in their faces. Probably at least. Kururun meanwhile has been preparing separate towels for the two girls, in case they are gonna need them later.

"That's a curious design for some garbage cans", Laura muses while she mixes manatee milk and jelly Hotaru will find is not too dissimilar from egg yolk. "They seem like you would use them like telescopes, is that what they are?" They did look quite weird, and she definitely hasn't seen anything like them around. Are there many things she has to learn about humans still?

In a case of two minds thinking alike, Laura tries to make a grab for the towel too when it's about to be sucked inside. It would be quite annoying to have to go inside and break up the flow they have had. "Wait, Yokina!", Laura shouts once she realises they have both been aiming for it, eyes barred open in realisation of what it's going to happen.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gave a nod. "Yeah. Setsuna-senpai adores them. I think it's cause of one of her shows about doctors." She hadn't really seen it much, admittedly.

Of course, as they both grabbed the towel with dried seaweed, they both found themselves sucked in, the aqua pot bouncing a few times before falling off the counter to land on the ground and...

Then the two girls were sitting on the ground. Hotaru blinked a few times and lifted a hand, rubbing her head. "Ohhhh... that felt... weird. Sorry, I... huh?"

... She could... feel... her hand? It felt...

She lowered her eyes, looking at her hands. They were REAL hands. THEY WERE REAL?! WHAT?!

... And wait. Was... she in front of a mirror? And why did her voice sound...

"... Oh... oh no..."

Laura, meanwhile? She'd feel... odd. Her hands and arms would be tingly, kind of numb. Cold. And there was a strange, oddly freaky sounding voice which she'd recognize as Luminous Titan's voice, in her head. Asking if she was okay. And she... was kneeling... across from herself?

Laura La Mer has posed:
A show about doctors? What need do doctors have of telescopes? Humans sure are weird sometimes. And Meiou-san is the school nurse, isn't she? Does she use those on the regular? The pinkette tries to imagine the green-haired woman hiding under one of those to peer at her patients.

Shouldn't have imagined that. Too weird.

Being thrown out of the Aqua Pot afterwards isn't a very great experience, and moreover with it come the thoughts that was dumb of her, that she should have known better than to just leave it where accidents could happen. Darn it, Laura.

But she has bigger troubles to think of now that her thoughts are taken in two different direction by the odd sensations of her body and that voice that keeps bouncing around in her head. 'Would you keep quiet for a moment, please?' she thinks with a groan, looking across the room to... herself.

She looks down at her arms and legs, trying to make sense of the numbness, and how different the room feels too. Arms that get crossed together, noticing the subdued sensations she gets now, and legs that stand up shakily, not really what she is used to from when she goes around as a human.

A hand reaches for the top of her head, a strand of brought forward so she can look at it. Black hair. Which means that she is... And the one in her body is... "Hotaru?" she asks, a voice that makes her grimace when it doesn't produce the sound she expected. It's indeed as bad as she thinks.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe - Laura blinked and reached up to grab her hair and move it in front of her and... Oh my gosh there was SO MUCH OF IT! She had SO MUCH HAIR! And it was PINK and she had PINK hair and eeeee! This was so cooool! It was...

"... Ummmm..." She slowly crawled forward and got to her feet, shakily, before she gently reached out to poke 'Yokina's' shoulder. "You're... me? And... and I'm you? Ohhhh. Wow. I didn't know that the aqua pot can do that! That's cool! Is there like... a special trick to turn us back? Have you done this a lot?" 'Laura' asked, an excited, giddy look on her face.

Aside from the numbness, though, 'Yokina' would likely feel fine. She'd feel... off. Not very hungry. And Luminous Titan was freaking out, but was running SO MANY TESTS! And now... Laura would have a HUD. Like she was in a game. All kinds of readings in the bottom right. That was likely new.

Laura La Mer has posed:
"We really shouldn't have done this, it shouldn't be happening. I don't know how to turn back", 'Yokina' bites her lips nervously in reply to 'Laura', trying to ignore the HUD she now has right in front of her eyes. Why was it there? Can't she just look at the world normally at least? And all the information on it made her feel like she was going to get a migraine.

'Would you turn that off?' she thinks irritably, counting the seconds while she still sees that thing stay in her vision. Why isn't it replying!? 'I said... Would. you. turn. that. off? It's giving me a headache', she tells with a bit more annoyance, and this time the message would get through to Luminous Titan.

Then Laura gets approached by herself and poked in the shoulder, and she gazes at Hotaru in her body, blinking once, twice, thrice, when she notices that she is looking up at herself. "You are so short! Err... I am?" she amends. She had always known that about Hotaru, but not like this!

In the meantime, Kururun would be drawn out of the Aqua Pot by the commotion, and she would stare at the two girls, saying her usual variations of her name to communicate. "I am over here, Kururun!", Laura immediately protests, to the fairy's confusion.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
On the upside, the image would... disappear. And there would be nothing impeading her vision.

<< Apologies >>

This time, at least, it was audible and not in her head. "Yeah, I am pretty short..." Hotaru said. "Or maybe you're just really tall. no. I think I'm just short. I don't grow much. Do... you feel bad, or anything?" All things considered? The way that Hotaru acted like she usually felt? Laura likely felt fine. There were some dull aches, but she wasn't really... bad. "I wouldn't worry about Luminous Titan. He's really, really good and can help you with any issues as you, ummm, get sorted."

"... And... wait. It... shouldn't... oh. Ohhhhh. This is new? Well.... ummmmm... I guess it's like the kit kat situation! Ohhhh, I should call Takashi and..." She trailed off and the lights in her eyes dimmed a little bit. "Oh... no... I can't... maybe.... Mamoru-senpai... or..." She frowned... then shrugged. "Eh. I'm sure it'll wear off in a day or so. I wouldn't worry about it too much. But, ummm... what hurts? If anything?" She, admittedly, was concerned about that.... but honestly? Laura likely felt fine, if a bit tingly. And small.

"I'm Hot-- Yokina, Kururun. She's Laura. It-- OH! Oh does this mean I can be a mermaid?! Oh my gosh I've never been a mermaid before! Eeeeee, Laura, how do I become a mermaid? Can I try swimming like this once? Please please please before we swim back? OH! And um, don't go swimming like this," she said quickly. "The ummm... the prosthetics don't handle getting... too wet... well. So I usually only do it in henshin."

Laura La Mer has posed:
An audible sigh of relief comes from Laura when her vision gets normal. "Thank you. Tell me directly if there is something I have to know. That was a bit much to deal with", she says aloud as well. "Do you have that grid too sometimes? In front of your eyes."

Laura shakes her head when Hotaru wavers between who is short or tall. It doesn't feel really that nice. She knows it's not Hotaru's intention, but she feels belittled. "Yeah, well, I will probably going to be wearing elevator shoes if you have a pair", Laura grumbles. Even if she already had them in henshin, so relatively to that it wasn't going much better.

"I feel fine, I guess. Just a bit numb and disorientated. Hearing your voice when I speak is so weird too. I don't even know where you live. I am really going to need him." She is not sure she likes trading him with Kururun and the Aqua Pot. "If you have problem steering the Aqua Pot, Kururun can do it for you", the now shorter girl tells Hotaru in turn.

Laura pouts a bit when she realises that not only Hotaru is likely right and she can't get back in her mermaid form like this, but that her body has problem swimming even. "Well then, I will be spending a lot of time transformed", Laura tells her friend. "How do I do that?"

"Transforming into a mermaid is... I don't know, I just did it. Maybe try focusing on thinking about what I look like as a mermaid", she tentatively suggests. It really was like second nature to her. "You can stay a mermaid as much as you want if you stay out of trouble. I know you like it." And she can't blame Hotaru. Being one is great. Which makes it all the more annoying she is stuck one way.

Kururun looks the two girls and points at 'Yokina'. "Yes, Kururun, it's me, Laura, I don't know why, the Aqua Pot swapped us! I am going to be looking into things, you do too, ok? And I leave Yokina in your care, make sure nothing happens to her!", Laura orders, and the fairy bring a fin to her forehead in a salute, exclaiming a cheerful "Kururun!"

"What's this about a kitkat anyway?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe - Laura gave a shrug. "Eh, sometimes. It's just like.... to help me when I need to cast spells, or if Luminous Titan is warning me about attacks and stuff. It's only up during important moments or when he needs to show me things. I like it, it's like I got a magic robot friend." ... Because it WAS a magic robot friend.

"OH! Yeah, I have elevator shoes! Lots of them! And a bunch of other things! Don't worry, Luminous Titan knows everything about me. He'll be able to give you maps and tell you where to go and how to access them and even how to henshin! He has a tutorial system. It's. So. Cool!" She, at least, was excited...

"As for the kit kat... well... I ate this kitkat, but it was from Obsidian and it swapped my height with Setsuna-senpai. It was *so tall* and she was *so cute and tiny*. It wore off after a few days, so I wouldn't worry. Luminous Titan is likely gathering readings and stuff to see if he can reverse it, too. He's useful like that! So I wouldn't worry, we can just have some fun! As for, well... mermaid..."

She tried to focus on it... and well... it worked!

She was a mermaid.

And on land. She squeaked, crashing to the ground and kind of fish flopping. "Ack! I'm stuck! This is a lot less cool on land!" Fishy fishy flop flop. She flopped around a few times. "K-Kururun, halp!" she squeaked.

... She'd be fine in a minute. But... but it was likely not giving poor Laura much confidence that the other girl was going to not make a bit of a reputation for her the next few days...

Laura La Mer has posed:
"I see..." Laura's eyebrow twitches when she hears what kind of hijinks Hotaru went through with Setsuna. Is she a magnet for chaos? Was this always destined to happen? Maybe it was. Then again, it wasn't Hotaru who got them in the mess with the mallet.

Still, seeing Hotaru so excited admittedly went a long way in making Laura a bit less annoyed. Not that she still wasn't, but if Hotaru is having so much fun, what harm is there if she enjoys herself a bit? "Well, then, if you need to know things, you can reach me too", she smiles at her friend.

She really has to do something about her friend's sense of balance. "We really should have seen that coming. Are you alright?", she gives her friend a hand to help her up. Then she breaks into an explanation. It might feel like a lecture somewhat.

"A mermaid would be able to keep herself balanced on dry land even if she can't really walk around, and now I am going to teach you how. Are you ready?" This wasn't going to be easy, was it?