"Ye be trollin us," said Dood. The class laughed and nodded.
"T'story's prompt is aboot human, octopus, n'crow cultures livin togeter. We be a class o humans, wit one octopus, n'wit a professor crow," said Omigaw. "Too much coincidence."
[Raven,] corrected professor Nevermore McCaw. [I find it Poe-etic.] The class groaned. Yomamma chatted to Shiheed what was funny, he chatted back, then she groaned too.
"We doona match t'prompt," said Friggin. "'Tis no 2021, tis 2316. Octopi crow n'human did no evolve language together, humans reached language first n created implanted logic n internet."
[It is not our fault some of us took to it better than humans,] posted Watifa the octopus.
"Tis pure chance we ha no raccoon nor parrot in t'class," continued Friggin.
"But t'story," said Shiheed, "is marvelous. Tis no plated plastic, tis a pure metal."
"I still say ye be trollin, professor" said Dood. "It doona feel like 21st century intlit. Too calm, too relaxed, too comfortable wit itself."
[I found it uncanny too,] posted the professor, [but I assure you both the prompt and the story are legitimate.]
The professor eyed Yomamma. Yomamma had tuned out, and was trying to quickly skim the story to catch up. All those words had looked intimidating and she had hoped to gloss over today's story, but it looked like perhaps she should put in the effort.
"Tis an internal narration," said Omigaw. "No random steam o consciousness, tis laying out t'backstory. Unafraid to explore, consider, yet directed."
[The octopus feels real,] posted Watifa. [In comparison I myself feel like a crude cartoon. I am more just an alien among humans. But THIS, this is a true octopus.]
[Examples!] posted the professor.
["no shoreline of sand always looming just a few yards in the distance,"] posted Watifa. ["Made more and more emphatic swirls the more vibrant the hues became."]
"Tis true, you be colorblind?" asked Friggin.
[No,] posted Watifa, [Colors are obvious to me. But they are how the light bends, not a separate kind of light.]
"Yes," said Shiheed, nodding. "t'story feels real. No. No no. Tis no cartoon, true. Cartoons be line drawings. All sharp. T'story, tis more splotches o color n'texture. No lines. Tis still a sketch, though a different kind. Pastels. T'imagination fills in t'details."
[Examples ...] posted McCaw.
"'But I tink there’s someting aboot them that doont feel gravity. No just real gravity, metaphorical gravity.'" said Shiheed.
"T'worldbuilding is subtle," said Omigaw. "Males doona interfere in fights twixt females. T'filter isna changed, though t'seals olways fail. Tis only hints o t'shape o t'world. T'narrator doona know much himself. Twas better than explicit description."
"T'narrator is a Him?" asked Friggin.
"True, doona ken," answered Omigaw.
[There were hardly hints of octopus culture,] posted Watifa. [Though it seemed due to the narrator's ignorance, not lack of it existing.]
"Watifa ... can ye see polarization?" asked Friggin.
[Of course. It can almost drown out color.]
"Crows were no so solid," said Shiheed. "I got little sense o them."
[Me too,] posted the professor, shifting sideways on her perch. [It was unclear to me why crows would always have humans, if they evolved culture independently. It might be the narrator's ignorance again. But it is not at all how OUR crow culture has developed.]
[Humans flying with wings was questionable,] posted Watifa. [There have been human-sized critters who fly. They were pterodactyls. They had 50-foot wingspans. There's a reason humans don't fly. They're too fat. Just look at Yomamma over there.]
Yomamma looked up, adjusted her army boots on the chair in front of her, spread her arms, and smiled, so the class could bask in her full Yomammahood.
"What aboot Coral?" asked Omigaw, concerned. "What happened to her?"
"P'raps old age?" said Friggin. "Wild octopi live aboot two years."
[Parasites,] posted Watifa. [We live much longer now that parasites can be cured.]
"Predators?" suggested Dood. "Tis a wide world, plenty t'story could explore."
[Why would octopi let predators be a danger?] posted Watifa.
"I liked WHO NAMES THEIR CHILD TODD," said Yomamma, reading again.
"'T'sea in my veins' tis autism," said Shiheed. "'Light in his eyes' tis ... what? a jock? a con? They refer t'octopi n'crows. But they be existing human variants. No story specific. Me tinks."
"Na jock. Social animal?" said Dood. "Doona tink autism is quite right either."
"I like t'story," said Yomamma, finished, reluctantly impressed. "Tis like a calm sea. Tis a good change from our normal fare."
This was a comment on a story replying to a prompt on r/WritingPrompts: "It is current year in a different time-line. Somehow, Octopi and Crows evolved along side humans. The 3 live in different worlds. The Crows claimed the skies and mountains, The Octopi claimed the waters, and The Humans claimed what was left. All have advantages and disadvantages to each other."