Out of the depths it rises, great blue fins, like sails, framing either side of its face and cresting the middle of its forehead. A torrent of seawater rains from the monster's ivory scaled body down onto the deck of your ship as its massive neck climbs higher and higher into the sky, towering over you and blotting out the sun. For what seems like an eternity, it silently regards you and your crew with its milky unblinking eyes, and then, having satisfied whatever alien curiosity compelled it to the surface, the creature arches and plunges back into the briny deep once again, its long sinewy body seemingly without end. Riding the crest of the circular wave created by the beast's departure, your helpless vessel is tossed backwards at a frightening angle as everyone flails about desperately, trying to grab hold of something, anything, to prevent themselves from being flung overboard into the churning waters. Only the Goddess' divine grace keeps the boat from capsizing outright, and, after several very tense moments, the ocean calms enough that your ship returns to floating on an even keel. By the Four Winds, you hate sea serpents!

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Tsunami (Japanese for 'tidal wave') are sea serpents that can be found in Atlus' 2002/2003 Gameboy Advance DemiKids: Light Version/Dark Version roleplaying video games [original Japanese titles: Shin Megami Tensei (Reincarnation of The True Goddess): Devil Children Book of Light/Book of Dark]. The Light and Dark cartridge variations, while similar in the larger sense, feature different main protagonists and storylines, as well as some unique monsters and items--the idea, like in Nintendo's Pokemon, is that players with different versions will connect their Gameboy Advances to battle each other and trade/fuse demons. In other Megami Tensei games, similar aquatic snake creatures are usually referred to as Mizuchi (Japanese water dragons/deities).

Tsunami may be encountered in random battles where they can either be slain for experience points and money or recruited to join your ever-growing Demonary (a demonic bestiary). Once a Tsunami, or any other monster for that matter, has been enlisted, in addition to using it in combat, the specimen can be further augmented by fusing it with other fiends or items, thereby increasing its' powers or potentially transforming it into another creature altogether.


Tsunami are infamous for the havoc they can create. These saltwater serpents are so huge that a single violent snap of the tail can displace thousands of gallons of water. Throughout history, many coastal communities and ships have been utterly obliterated by these creatures. If foolishly engaged in direct combat, a Tsunami can physically attack (usually a head butt to soften up the target followed by a devastating tail slap) or cast water, healing, defense boosting, paralyzing, and confusion spells.

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Materials:
Newsprint, tissue paper, white glue, acrylic paint, and a paperclip (stand only).

Dimensions:
3.3 cm/1.3 in. x 6.3 cm/2.5 in. (widest point x highest point)
(7.8 cm/3.1 in. tall mounted on the stand.)

Time:
Three days: April 10, 11, and 15, 2011. I didn't get around to mounting the finished figure on a stand until May 12 though--partly out of laziness and partly out of indecision about which way I wanted to proceed with designing and attaching a support structure for a figure with this kind of serpentine anatomy.