#🧁————v: default

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

[As the group prepares to go their separate ways, Ursula approaches Cerrin...]

"Oh? Did you need someth--"

[Ursula pulls him into a tight hug, her face buried in his shoulder.]

"You'll never know how happy I am to have found you, to finally see you after everyone else said you were gone..."

[Cerrin pauses for a moment, before returning his sister's hug.]

"I'm glad, too. I thought getting my memories back would reveal some horrible past, but with what little I know now I... I'm not as afraid anymore."

[Ursula smiles a little before she pulls away, taking her phone out of her pocket as she does so.]

"We should keep in touch. I'd like to help you find more of your memories."

"Of course!"

[The two quickly exchange phone numbers, right as Kori decides it's time to pull Ursula away.]

"Ready to go?"

"...I suppose."

[The pair then both give Ruby and Cerrin a "See you later!" and a wave as they walk off. Ruby and Cerrin wave as well, after which she turns to him.]

"So, what'd you think?"

"It went a lot smoother than I thought it would... And I got a sister out of it, haha!"

"Good! Maybe she'll be able to help with your memories better than Koa and I can."

[The two then walk off as well, heading back to their home to just chill. Meanwhile...]

"Was I right, or was I right?"

"Yes, you were... Cerrin said things that I've never told anyone, that only he and I would remember. I have no doubt in my mind that he's my brother."

"Good! I'm glad you finally found him, Urs. Wait 'til your parents--"

"I have no plans to tell my parents."

"Huh? But I thought you'd want to rub how wrong they were in their faces?"

"If they found out he's alive, they would try to take both of us back underground. I don't want that for either of us, and I'm sure Cerrin would feel the same."

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

"The last 30 seconds of a Turf War match is the only time that actually matters."

That was an almost unspoken mentality among many Turf players, and Cerrin was no exception. Sure, these types of matches were largely considered to be casual for the pink Octoling, but he still took them pretty seriously. He had just taken out a member of the opposing team, and was pulling back a bit to charge another barrage of shots from his Heavy Splatling Deco, his gaze laser-focused on a certain opponent that was across the map...

...Until a loud scream sounded from above, pulling his and a few other players' attention away from the match and to the strange figure that seemed to be falling from the sky.

"Is... Is that a per--" Cerrin didn't get to finish his thought -- The mystery person plummeted straight onto him, causing him to let go of his weapon and hit the ground right as the final seconds ticked down and a whistle signaled the match's end.

He let out a small groan as his teammates cautiously surrounded him, the three of them both curious and a bit wary about the mystery girl who had nearly crushed their star player.

Squids and Androids

@orbitaldeathwoomy​

The Turf War was heating up in the middle of the Mahi-Mahi Resort, the spectators were absolutely going wild! The other team was attempting one last push to gain the center stage, trying to slather the map with as much ink as they could before the last minute was up! No one wanted to give the other team an inch, all eyes on the battleground…and all unaware of a strange portal opening up right above the stage. 

Fortunately this breach in the space-time continuum wouldn’t last long, as all it took was one small figure falling through before it closed up. But who was this newcomer? Was it an invader? An eldritch horror? No, it was….a certain android lass currently trying to think of a way to break her fall. All she needed to do was stay calm and-

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” Nevermind, she’s just freaking out…fortunately for her, there was something below that was gonna break her fall. Just a certain unlucky octo-boy….Cerrin! Iiiiincoming~! 

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

[Ruby returns a few minutes later with everyone's food. The group eats in silence and after they've finished, Mochi hops into Ursula's lap, earning a soft headpat from her before she looks to Cerrin.]

"I've been meaning to ask -- Is there anything you remember clearly?"

"Not really... The most I get is what I can only assume are fuzzy memories, in my dreams..."

"...That's rough, buddy."

"Though now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure the clearest one I've seen was like... The two of us were with a couple other kids our age, and you were, well, bragging about me. Then one of the other kids got angry with me and hit me, and I, uh..."

[Ursula pauses for a moment, before a small laugh escapes her.]

"Oh, I remember that! You tackled him to the ground, and I had to pull you off of him to get you to stop... Stop... Ah..."

"Whaling on him??"

[Ursula laughs again.]

"Yes, that."

"Wow, Cerrin, I never thought of you as the type to lash out like that."

"Well, the other boy was... upset that Cerrin was humble and modest about his abilities, and thought he had it easy..."

""Easy?" But judging from what you said before, it was th eexact opposite for both of you!"

"No kidding."

"Was that a normal thing? Me getting into fights, I mean..."

"In a way, yes. Other kids kind of shunned you, because they thought your humility was insincere. A lot of them started arguments with you, and while you never started any fights, you always finished them and were the one who got in trouble."

"Cod, I guess bullshit like that is just a universal constant, no matter where you went to school..."

"Is there anything else like that that I should know?"

[Ursula sighs, causing Mochi to warble in confusion before she pets his head again.]

"No. We've discussed the most important things I can think of. But, do you have more questions? I would be happy to answer them."

"Haha, no, not right now. All this is a little overwhelming..."

"Oh, alright..." [She carefully hands Mochi back to Cerrin.] "Did you want to stop for now?"

"That might be best..."

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

"Cyren, our parents were... um... They were..." 「Damn it, what's the word...?」

"Awful? Shitty? Abusive?"

"That's it... Abusive."

"I... How so?"

"Well... When either of us fell out of line, misbehaved, showed any kind of weakness or did anything they didn't like, Father would hit us. A lot."

"Are you serious...?"

"Mother never stopped him, she even seemed to agree with his actions, and you... You got the worst of it."

[Ursula sighs, a pained expression on her face.]

"Father was always disappointed in you. You see, he was... is a blue-ringed Octoling, and he expected us to be like him -- venomous and deadly. But, when he realized you were born without the ability to produce venom, he began treating you as if you were inferior. He pushed both of us harder than any child should ever be, but any time you cried or pleaded for help he just..."

[She falls silent, hesitant to continue...]

"...He just hit him harder, didn't he?"

[Ursula nods.]

"That explains why you never ask for help, even when you need it..."

"Y-Yeah..."

[Cerrin takes a moment to think, before he looks at Ursula.]

"Do you... think he caused this?"

[He then rolls up the sleeve of his shirt all the way to his shoulder, revealing a few faint, bluish scars that run across his left shoulder and down his arm a bit. Ursula's eyes widen.]

"If he did... I think it would have been when you left."

"When he left?"

[Ursula nods again.]

"The last time I heard his voice was when we were about to try and escape the underground. I was packing the last of my things when I heard him scream, but when I left my room to see what happened, he was already gone, and Father's claws were covered with what I can only guess was his venom and Cyren's blood..."

"Oh my cod..."

"So, he tried to poison his own kid? What a prick!"

[Cerrin rolls down his sleeve, a pensive look on his face. A moment passes before he speaks again.]

"Hey, uh.. This is probably really selfish of me, but, could I ask you one more thing?"

"What is it?"

[Cerrin sighs.]

"Could you... maybe not call me 'Cyren' anymore?"

"What...?"

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

"Heeeeey!! Kori, Ursula!"

[Ruby waves to the two Octolings, who are sitting at an outdoor cafe table just a little ways down the street. Cerrin is with her, carrying a sleeping Mochi in the small backpack he wore.]

"Ruby, you're attracting too much attenti--"

[Kori gets up at the sound of Ruby's voice, and excited look on her face as she pulls Ursula to her feet and over to Ruby and Cerrin.]

"See, see? I told you it'd be the guy from before!"

[Ursula gives her friend a skeptical look, before she looks over at Cerrin.]

"You..."

"Uh... hi?"

"You definitely look like him..."

"Um..."

"Hey, let's not do this here. Ursula and I got a table and everything, so we can chat there!"

[Ursula's head hangs a little, before she walks back toward the table. The other three follow in silence, all four sitting down as an uncomfortable air falls over them.]

"So, um... I think a reintroduction is in order..."

"I have a question for him, first."

[Cerrin adjusts Mochi's bag so it's safely on his lap.]

"Oh, uh, sure."

[Ursula sighs, before her focus shifts to him.]

"Before we came here, Kori told me your friend said that you lost your memories. Do you... remember anything from before the time you disappeared...?"

[Cerrin's gaze shifts downward. He's not sure where to start, or if he should mention the dreams he's been having. He looks back at Ursula after a moment.]

"Well... I believe your name is Ursula, and mine is Cyren. We're siblings, and, uh, I was being trained as a spy before the fight between Agent 3 and Octavio."

[Ursula's eyes widen a bit. There was no way a random stranger could know that. Hell, she hadn't even told Kori such details about her brother!]

"Go... Go on..."

"Sure, but... Could I ask you something now?"

"...Of course."

"So, I have this fuzzy... memory. Let's call it a memory. Anyway, I think it's of two kids, with ink colors the same as ours. The purple one seemed to be trying to protect the pink one from an angry adult. Do you have any explanation for that?"

[Ursula falls silent for a moment, a serious expression forming on her face.]

"I do, but I don't think you'll like it..."

[orbitaldeathwoomy]

The other's "wounds" didn't go unnoticed by Cerrin, though the wires and lack of blood didn't faze him -- He just assumed her leg was a fancy prosthetic or something of that sort, nothing worth panicking over. There was something else that seemed off about her, though, but he couldn't quite place what...

"Hey, you don't have to apologize. It was an accident..." he replied as he brushed the dirt off of him and his clothes. The Octoling didn't actually have any bones to break, and the past had given him far worse injuries than a few scrapes and bruises, so as far as he was concerned there was no harm done. He was more concerned about his Heavy Splatling, in all honesty, but that didn't seem to be damaged at all either. "I'm... Not entirely sure how you got all the way up there, but as long as no one's hurt everything should be fine, right?"

"Oh t-thank goodness.." Symphony breathed a deep sigh of relief, she wouldn't forgive herself if she had injured an innocent boy over an embarrassing blunder like that. As for her own wellbeing...

"U-um...I'm ok, it's nothing r-really just a scratch or t-two it's fine, really." That was an almost convincing lie...if she hadn't winced in discomfort as her leg ached. She had few deep gashes on her leg but strangely enough she wasn't bleeding...in fact if one were to look closer you could have seen a wire or two....

"A-Again, I apologize deeply for w-what happened. I-I'll do what I can to m-make up for my m-mistake." She stuttered hastily, looking embarrassed.

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

[Late at night, Cerrin is lying in his bed, lost in thought. Mochi the Smallfry is sitting in his stomach, simply enjoying Cerrin's company.]

"I don't know what I'm doing, Mochi... What if I'm the person that girl is looking for, but talking to her doesn't bring any of my memories back? Or worse, I'm not, and we just led her on a wild goose chase?"

[Mochi garbles curiously at him.]

"But those dreams I keep having... They have to mean something, right? There's no way it's just a coincidence that I started having them right after I met her..."

[Mochi garbles curiously again, causing Cerrin to laugh softly before he pets the Smallfry on his head.]

"...Yeah, I know you probably can't understand me, but talking about it to you just... make me feel a little better, I guess."

[Mochi is silent for a moment, before he hops up to Cerrin's face and gently bumps the Octoling's chin with his nose. Cerrin laughs again and ruffles the Smallfry's little mohawk.]

"Haha... Thanks, little buddy."

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

[Ruby and Cerrin are sitting on the couch. They ate breakfast a couple hours ago, and are now contemplating...]

"Are you sure you're ready? I can't take it back once I call her."

"Yeah. Those dreams have to mean something, and if they're memories like I think, I feel like that girl would be able to clear them up."

"Okay. Calling now..."

[Ruby then dials a number into her phone, putting the call on speaker as it rings...]

"Hello...?"

"Kori? It's Ruby, that girl from--"

"Oh, hey! I had a feeling you'd be calling soon! What's up? Did you find any clues?"

"Uh, yeah. A lot, actually. One of them's sitting right next to me, and--"

"No way... Don't hell me you actually found him??"

"We did! Remember the pink guy you bumped into? He's been living with me this whole time, and we're pretty sure he's the guy you're looking for!"

"C'mon Cerrin, say hi!"

"Uh, hi?"

"Oh my cod, no way!!" [She then turns away from her phone and calls out, in Octarian,] 「Ursula! You're not gonna believe this! We might have a lead on finding your brother! And it's a big one!!"」

[The call goes quiet for a moment, the sound of two voices talking in the background barely audible. A couple of minutes later, Kori returns.]

"Okay, Ursula said she's willing to meet up with you and see where this goes! Are you free this weekend?"

"You know it! We can meet for lunch in Inkopolis Square on Saturday! My treat!"

"Sounds good! See you then!"

[Both girls then hang up, Ruby giving Cerrin a bright smile as she turns to him.]

"Isn't this awesome? We might actually get somewhere with this!"

"Y-Yeah..." 「What even is going on...」

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

So hey remember that fight vs mind-controlled Agent 3 at the end of Octo Expansion? And how Koa was Agent 3 and Cerrin was Agent 8?

.

.

.

Yeah guess how many times she splatted him before he managed to subdue her. :3c

[orbitaldeathwoomy]

"If you're okay with telling me."

Ah, she was talking without thinking again. The second after she spoke she realized how unsure Sylvia was about telling her about that scar, and wanted to take what she said back... But, part of her wanted to hear the story and, more important than that, maybe let Sylvia get some things off her chest.

Really, all she wanted was for her friend to feel better, even if it was only for a little while.

"And if you want, I could show you one of mine after. You know, because I... kinda backed you into a corner here..."

"...I can’t be proud of a stupid mistake I made that could’ve cost me my life. Any other one, maybe, but this one..."

Sylvia shakes her head, looking at Koa. She smiles, though it’s very melancholic looking. She pauses, trying to find exactly what she wants to say, "but... It's a thought I’ll try to keep in mind..."

She wiped her eyes, tugging on her hoodie sleeve. She absentmindedly dragged her fingers against her tattoo, subconsciously following it down to her wrist.

"...Do... you want to know what happened? It's not exactly a pretty story, but... I mean... You've seen part of it already, and... I mean you don't have to, I just... yeah..."

She stops, trying to keep herself from rambling. That, and the fact she offered to even share the story surprised herself, considering she's only shared the story once, and that was with a friend who was basically family to her...

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

"Valentine's day..."

"You sound disappointed... What's up?"

"I mean, we're all single. She's probably just tired of seeing all the couples around doing their couple stuff."

"Okay, but, you wanna know the best thing about Valentine's day, even for single people like us?"

"Not really...?"

"Is it the sales on candy the day after?"

"IT'S THE SALES ON CANDY THE DAY AFTER!!"

"I... guess??"

"Haha.. Never change, Ruby..."

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

Anonymous asked: Mun, since you love Disgaea, how would a 'Next Episode' skit with Koa, Cerrin and Ruby be like?

‖ ♥︎ 》 Aw hell, y'all really gotta put me on the spot like this? j/k I do really love Disgaea this just took me like forever to come up with lmao

"A shadow looms over the mind of an innocent Octoling, the past coming back to haunt him..."

"Wait, are you talking about me?"

"But the memories are too much! The Octoling cries out, and his latent psychic powers awaken in a burst of raw energy!"

"What?? I'm not a psychic..."

"The Octoling goes berserk! Unable to control his power, he lays waste to everything in his path, leaving nothing but destruction in his wake!"

"Ruby, what are you--"

"Just when all hope seems lost, a shining star appears, ready to stop her friend! Using her powerful magic, she challenges him to a fight, hoping to put an end to his rampage without putting him or anyone else in more danger!"

"Are you even listening to me??"

"Next time on 'Super Magical Princess Ruby X'! Cerrin's Hidden Power! Psychokenesis vs Magic?! Don't worry Cerrin, I'll save you!"

"I am so confused..."

"That was actually pretty good, for someone who's never played the games before..."

"I guess??" 「Why make me a rampaging psychic though??」

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

[It's early in the morning. Ruby is just finishing her breakfast when Cerrin walks into the kitchen, a pensive look on his face.]

"Hey, is everything alright? You look concerned about something."

"Well... I've been doing some thinking..."

"Oooh, what about? Tell me, tell me!"

"It's... the stuff you found about me."

"O-Oh..."

[An awkward silence falls over them, before Cerrin lets out a small sigh.]

"I was thinking that maybe... It might be best if I knew. That it might ease my mind about my past a little."

[Ruby pauses for a moment, the pulls a black phone out of her pocket and quickly dials a number.]

"Hey, Steph, it's Ruby. Could you do me a favor and clear my schedule for today? [Pauses.] ...Yeah, I know I had a lot of stuff going on, but something really important just came up. [Pauses.] ...Yeah, dad will understand. Tell him to call me if there's any issues. [Pauses.] ...Okay, thanks."

[She hangs up and puts the phone back into her pocket... Only to reach into her bag and pull out another, red phone. She then hastily texts Koa, Cerrin watching in confusion.]

"...You didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, I did. You're more important right now, than some meetings where only my dad will listen to what I have to say anyway."

[Ruby's phone buzzes, indicating that Koa has texted her back.]

"So, Koa will be here around 3:00 with her laptop. We'll show you what we found and you can decide what we do from there. Okay?"

"...Sounds good."

[orbitaldeathwoomy]

Cerrin had been wandering around Inkopolis Square for a while now, unsure of what to do now that he had played Turf Wars all morning. He didn't quite know the area as well as he wanted, having only come to the surface less than a year ago, but had no idea where to start.

Soon enough, something caught his attention as he walked down the street -- A person who looked lost and completely out of place, like they had no idea where they were or how they got here in the first place. They seemed different from everyone around, too, but from this distance Cerrin couldn't quite place why.

The other people around didn't seem to notice them, and the pink Octoling felt bad...

After a few moments of thought, he approached the other, a friendly smile on his face.

"Hey there." he said. "Are you new around here? You seem lost..."

Closed starter for @orbitaldeathwoomy!

...Something about this place - at first glance, it would be easy to simply think he was in Tokyo, still in Japan but there were small signs that suggested otherwise - like what was all with of the fish and squid imagery and the letters he couldn't quite read?

How had he even found himself, here...? You didn't exactly stumble your way into an unknown place. Bringing a hand to his head, he scratched idly as he tried to take in his surroundings and figure things out but try as he might, no answer, no explanation emerged.

"Just...where is this place? How do I get out of here...?!"

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

[Ruby and Cerrin are at home, having a late lunch together.]

"Hey, Cerrin... What would you say if I told you that Koa and I found some information on your family and your past, and had some evidence to prove it?"

"Uh... I'd say you're crazy and that's impossib--"

"Because Koa and I found some information on your family and your past, and have evidence to prove it."

"I... What??"

[The two sit in silence for a moment, after which Ruby explains everything -- Her and Koa's trip to Octo Canyon, Koa hacking into the Octarian military database, and the information they found.]

"So you're telling me you risked your lives stealing information in hopes that it might reveal something about a past I can't even remember?? Are you insane?!"

"Probably. But we just wanted to figure out what was with that girl from a couple weeks ago, and maybe if she knew anything about you! Turns out she's--"

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe I don't want to know? That I'd rather live in the dark and not have any idea where those weird nightmares come from or why there's always this nagging feeling in my head that if I ask for help I'm gonna be punished, instead of digging up my past and possibly making things worse?!"

"Wait, nightmares? Nagging feeling...? Cerrin, what're you talking about?"

"Just drop it, okay? None of this will help anyone."

[Cerrin leaves.]

"..."

[Ruby takes out her cell phone and calls Koa. It rings a few times before she picks up.]

"Let me guess: He wants nothing to do with anything we found."

"Bingo. He got really mad, then started talking about nightmares and this bad feeling he gets whenever he asks for help. But, he left before I could get an answers about that out of him."

"Give him time. He's probably more in shock than he is angry."

"...Yeah."

[orbitaldeathwoomy-a]

[It’s late at night, and Ruby and Cerrin are sitting on the couch. Ruby is playing Pokemon on the large TV mounted on the wall on the opposite side of the room, while Cerrin is scrolling his Squidder feed on his phone.]

"Did I tell you about the weird... thing that happened to me yesterday?"

"Nope. Tell me."

"Well, this girl came up to me, said something about how I looked like someone, then ran away to grab her friend and bring her to me..."

"...Yeah, that's pretty weird."

"And that's not even the weirdest part! The girl she brought over did look like me, and after she stared at me for a second, she called me "Cyren". Then, when I asked her if I knew her from somewhere, she apologized for mistaking me for someone else and left!"

"...Did it even occur to you that she actually might have known you?"

"Uh... Should it have?"

"Oh my cod Cerrin are you serious? She could have been someone from your past!"

“Oh, c’mon! There are a lot of Octolings out there. Who’s to say she didn’t actually mistake me for someone else?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!! How could you pass up an opportunity like that?!”

“I had other things on my mind!”

“Well, do you at least remember what either of them looked like?”

“I mean... The girl who looked like me had curled purple tentacles and a ponytail, and blue eyes just like mine. And the girl who started all of it had long yellow tentacles in pigtails and light pink eyes...”

[Cerrin stands up and stretches, a yawn escaping him a second later.]

“But, ah, whatever... I’m going to bed.”

“Okay, g’night.”

“Night.”

[Cerrin then disappears into his bedroom, leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts...]

“...Guess I’m gonna have to take this into my own hands.”