#Octo residents answer

[octavinelleresident]

I'm a silly goose and I'm here with gifts for everyone!

Jade: a DIY mushroom growing kit

Azul: Extremely rare Coins from Earth

Floyd : a four foot tall shrimp plushie

Debby: freshly baked lasagna

Goodbye and enjoy your gifts my favourite capitalist mafia fishes 💜

For me?Oh,you shouldn't have. Mhhh what could I possibly give you back?How about you join me at the lounge?We could talk about it in front of a cup of tea.

My,my,what a thoughtful gift. Just in time I might say. I found some new recipees with mushrooms. I can save a plate just for you when the time comes.

Is this a plushie of you shrimpy?What are you trying to say?You want to be squeezed all day by me?I won't mind that

Ah,eh?A gift for me?Fave capitalist fishes?Am I one of them now?!

Uhhh anyway,thanks!I really appreciated it

[ask-the-sagents]

Ask the Agents Masterpost

This is gonna be the post for pretty much everything about the universe and the characters. It'll be updated on occasion and will remain pinned on my profile - more under the cut:

Edit: I've made a lot of changes so consider this an AU

Edit: (also check out the tags. Usually, I'll add in additional info (: )

Discord Server

Most recent update on this post: 10/24/24

Character Pages

What is Sanitization?

Start Reading Here!

Askblog Stuff

The idols will be available for questions sometimes, but not all the time. I'll make a post and update the askbox with whoever is available for questions currently.

Magic Anons are allowed!

Posts will be posted as they are completed and will be a mix of answering questions and random comics!

If a main character (3,4,5,8)is unavailable, you can still ask them questions, but they won't answer it til after they get back

If a character is available but spotty, it just means they won't answer filler questions for the time being

World Info

The Idols:

Marie - Age: 30 - she/her - bisexual

Pearl - Age: 27 - they/she - Lesbian, nonbinary

Callie - Age: 30 - she/they - pansexual, trans

Acht - Age: 27 - they/them - lesbian, nonbinary

Marina - Age: 26 - she/her - lesbian

Deep Cut - Coming soon!

General World Info:

In the beginning, it takes place a few months after the events of Octo Expansion. Currently (as of 8/8/24) it has been a little less than a year

Spawn points don't exist outside of Turf Wars/Ranked battles, etc.

Octavio has been captured and currently resides in a high security prison. He is never getting out.

Octavio had used sanitization and hypnosis as a tool for control and punishment during his reign. He never had any intention on liberating his citizens.

There is only one hospital on the surface that handles Sanitization cases atm. This is due to it being rarely seen on the surface during octavios time, so not many people were researching it.

Squidjumping within city limits is illegal unless if it's an emergency

Instead of sewers, there are tunnels connecting the surface and the underground.

NSS:

Their current goal is to find out where all of the sanitization infections are coming from, helping to acclimate octolings to the surface, and helping to establish a working government/system to the citizens below the surface who are too afraid to leave (works alongside other agencies) Sometimes, they help around the community as well.

To their knowledge, there are no more hypnotized octolings.

Although small, NSS is a publicly known and important government organization

Captain Cuttlefish is deceased, NSS is run by Marie and Callie currently, although marie takes on a bigger chunk of the responsibilities.

There's a temporary housing area set up for octolings new to the surface not far from the clinic. They stay there until homes are found for them, which usually takes just a couple of weeks. They work with social services to help them beyond that as well.

Marina and Pearl are agents 6 and 7, however their role is much smaller and mainly help on the side of helping misplaced citizens find homes.

There is a single clinic near octo canyon as of this point that the NSS helped to establish with Inkopolis Memorial (due to a large chunk of sanitizations being found in that area) It's fairly small and typically only has one person working at a time, usually Agent 5 or another doctor from one of the local hospitals.

Inkling/Octoling Stuff:

They take more after the human side

They bleed actual blood instead of ink

They have claws that they can use for defense - ink will fill the tip of the claws.

Everybody has a limiter, which is a chip installed in their arm. Without this, they could use up too much ink when battling and possibly die due to their bodies not being able to keep up with production. When low on ink, their tentacles will become extremely dull and lose almost all color. They'll become extremely weak and lethargic until their hearts finally stop.

They have more flexible bones, but they can still break

They have 3 hearts

Inklings and Octolings gain their squid/octo form around puberty - they are in human form up until then.

Development of a person's squid/octo form can be stunted during puberty if they have health issues

They are able to swim in any water

It expends energy to change from an ink color that's not the natural one so typically they will dye their ink if they want it changed for longer

Ink burns are rare but can happen. It's caused by consistent exposure to enemy ink in a single area or an extremely strong shot. They can be painful, but they will heal and fade over time - they turn blue in color despite the color of the enemy ink.

When a cephalopod feels intense feelings of romantic love for another, their ink color will subconsciously change to match their partner's. They don't technically need to be together for this to happen.

They cannot fall asleep while in squid/octo form; if they do, they will change back automatically.

They have to use special shears to cut their tentacles or else it would be painful and cause possible damage.

Octolings only have some control over their tentacles, and usually, their tentacles can give hints to their mood. Typically, the older they get, the more control they have, but this isn't always the case. The amount of control changes depending on the person.

Inklings and octolings reach full maturity in their 20s-30s. This is where they develop a secondary color at the tip of their tentacles, and octolings will also have their fingers matching their ink color. Typically, octolings reach this earlier than inklings, but everyone is different.

They can get grey/white ink streaks due to age or extreme stress or anxiety

this will be updated as more information becomes available or as things change!

Updated hylian Font chart

Hylian Font chart (old, ignore this one!)

[katiethekwasolover101]

Link to Chapter 4:

The Heroes of Aeseganora: Part 2 - The Protection Of The Core

Chapter 5: The Journey To An Old Acquaintance

The search for the Core begun as soon as everybody left the Ocalihallan Citizen’s Salvation Centre.

“Right, everyone,” Ollum declared. “Let’s get to work. First of all, we travel south to the land of the Silverwing Hills, so we can meet with a person who I know can help us with the location of the Core, so we can, at the very least, have some idea of its whereabouts.”

Everyone murmured as if to say Yes, your Majesty.

“The Silverwing Hills?” Kwazii folded his arms. “That’s a kingdom we’ve never been to before.”

“Yes” Ollum answered. “But it’s not a typical kingdom, where lots of creatures inhabit it - the Silverwing Hills is a safe kingdom, guarded by its only resident: Old Ira Halibreather.”

“Well, we don’t know this Ira Halibreather,” Pearl frowned. “Do you really think that he would know something about the Core?”

“Yes, yes,” said Natquik. “This Ira fella sounds like somebody to be careful of, in my opinion.”

“Well, it’s worth a try,” Ollum replied. “And why wouldn’t he? He is the keeper of all Aeseganoran knowledge - he knows all about everything here in Aeseganora, from the names of all of the rulers, right down to the names of all its flowers, plants, and trees.”

Pearl nodded.

“Sir Ollum?” Selva asked. “What do we do once we find this Core?”

“She’s right, yer Majesty,” Ryla said, glancing at her blue iguana girlfriend. “We need a plan of attack.”

“Aye, we need to take down this scurvy Oullen crew for good, before they do some serious damage to our world!” Calico Jack said determinedly, and everyone nodded in agreement with him.

“Yes, we shall come up with something once we find the Core,” Ollum said uncertainly. “But I have to warn all of you that the Silverwing Hills is still an unknown kingdom - we don’t know whether it is actually safe or not, so I recommend that we all stick together while we’re there. Understood?”

“Yes, your Majesty.” everyone said.

“OK,” Ollum said, holding up his Gate as he prepared to squeeze it as tightly as he could. “Then what are we all waiting for? Let’s go.”

****************

They all landed on top of each other after being dragged about like rag dolls, their bodies feeling like jigsaw puzzles which had been ruined before being put back together.

“Everyone,” Ollum began. “Welcome to the Silverwing Hills.”

Once they had all gotten themselves together, they looked around at the environment. There were sunbeams shining every colour of the rainbow through some of the thickest clouds in the sky. An uphill jungle lay before them, dark and foreboding. The trees seemed to ascend above, their branches as twisted and gnarled as grasping fingers, appearing even more so than in anywhere else in Aeseganora.

Shellington remembered the Stawalan Forest - this jungle looked very similar, but the Forest was more like a woodland than a jungle, and the air was a lot cooler than in this place; the Hills were just about as hot and humid as the Amazon rainforest.

But that wasn’t the most astonishing thing about the Silverwing Hills - there were way more plants and flowers in the Hills than in any other forest the Octonauts and Octo-Agents had ever been to. The Silverwing Hills just seemed to be a huge exhibition of greenery; like all of the jungles and rainforests in the world combined into one.

“Woah…” Selva gasped; never, in all her time as a botanist, had she seen a forest like the one in Silverwing Hills.

“Sweet sawdust, that is a real forest,” Bud sniffled, as he blew his nose with a handkerchief. “I think I might cry.”

“It really is,” Ollum agreed with him. “And if you want to cry, go ahead. There’s no judgement there - after all, it has been said that this place is so beautiful that it brings visitors to tears.”

Min pulled out one of her many blank pieces of paper and her paintbrush, and started to write a map of the whole of Aeseganora. Similarly, Selva pulled out a sketchpad and drew all the plants and flowers she could see in the forest. There were almost too many types to count - roses, poppies, lilies, daisies, irises, tulips, daffodils…

“I wonder how all the plants and flowers survive here,” she said. “All this burning sun can’t be good for them.”

“Well, there must be regular rainstorms to ensure a good balance between sun and water.” Paani said.

“Actually, there aren’t,” Ollum explained. “All of the water is supplied by a species known as the Flornacimiento - who quite literally create all the plants and flowers in Aeseganora.”

“Really?”
“Yes - while Aeseganora does have its weather spells, like Planet Earth does, it’s magic that does many of the things which modern science normally explains here - it brings wild snowstorms to all the melting glaciers and icebergs, and it brings hot sunshine to heat up the summers.”

“Uh, speaking of hot and cold,” Tracker begun, as he used his hat to fan his face. “I’m getting kinda hot here.”
“Yes, yes,” Natquik agreed, as he wiped his sweaty forehead. “It isn’t ideal for any of us cold-region creatures.” He gestured to himself, Tracker, Barnacles and Peso.

“Don’t worry,” Barnacles assured him. “I have just the solution for that.”

He created a strong, cold breeze which surrounded the four creatures and kept them cool.

“Come on, we should get going,” he said, after Natquik, Tracker and Peso thanked him. “We’ve got a magical world to save here.”

And so, they pressed on, a few of their hearts beating faster with each step, safe in the knowledge that they had to find out where the Core was before the Oullen did, and fast.

Nobody had any clue as to what would lay ahead of them on this journey - almost certainly a level of danger and risk, but also the breathtaking beauty of the Aeseganoran landscapes that they would all discover.

In the world of Aeseganora, anything was possible - even the impossible.

[thepaintedlady00]

I got questions for y'all!

Okay, so I've been working on finishing up our last chapter (17) while also getting the blurbs and stuff ready for the upcoming vote on the next series. But I wanted to come have a mini little Q&A with you guys first because I have a lot of content ideas/plans so I want to get kind of a overall idea of what y'all are interesting in seeing from me and some feedback on some other stuff too. So, here's my questions:

Are y'all interesting in basically being beta readers for my original ideas/books? Is this the kind of thing you'd all be interesting in seeing? (All original characters, worlds and stories)

If y'all are interesting in original works being included in the coming vote, how many would you guys be interesting in me including? (I currently have 4 or 5 that are plotted out enough to write)

What kind of fandoms would you all be most interesting in seeing? (I currently have some of the following: Sweetbitter, Dragon Age, The Batman - 2022, Resident Evil Village, House of the Dragon)

Did you all enjoy the length of the chapters with the Sandman series or would you like me to shorten the length of each chapter a bit?

Do y'all like the format I've been using (fic title at the top, collage or picture, chapter title & number then the actual chapter)? Or would you guys prefer something different?

Now that the Sandman series is over (for the time being), do y'all still want to be tagged in my posts or would you like me to axe the current list and make another?

Thanks so much for all the love and support and for taking the time to answer these if you're comfortable! ❤ Y'all are the best!

Tag List:

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@kittycatcait219

[cactus-flowerstuff]

Now I love Splatoon 2 very much and I'm happy we're getting Splatoon 3. It's interesting that the setting is based off of the final splatfest and how team chaos won. HOWEVER. I got honestly hope we get some extra dlc like the octo expansion in terms of what the story would be like if team order won. The lore of octo expansion with the deep sea residents, the whole test subject thing, and the fact that so many octolings have canonically met their end during the path to the promised land is kinda interesting to me. I felt like we got a whole bunch of lore and not a lot of answers. I would love to see the things established expanded upon in Splatoon 3. Then again the whole salmon run thing is also really interesting and I hope they give us some good lore on where they came from. Anyway those were my rambles for the day lol.

[boomstyle]

Sonic Boom: Friend or Foe

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and settings of Sonic boom. Oh, watch out for OCs!

Robot Apocalypse (Part 1)

As soon as the robot merged, my gang and I set ourselves in a battle.

Time for spin dashes!

I spin dashes cubot prototypes while Amy hits another robot with her hammer.  We noticed a group of villagers escape from the Octopus bot.

Geez, something tells me this is not from Eggman. No one operates the machine.

"Hahaha... Octo-pie Mainstreet!", Orbot laughed. Yeah! Funny, Orbot! (Don't laugh at that!) Orbot is clearly on the right mind.

Male Fennec protects himself from a Mantis Bot with a broom. Lady Walrus runs with her baby Chumley from Bee-Bots.

"It's pandemonium... is what I'd say if we were being attacked by pandas. But in this case, it's Robo-monium. Residents young and old are all falling victims to this mechanical onslaught. [Turns to Mrs. Vandersnout] Ma'am, care to comment?", Soar the Eagle reported.

"Don't just stand there. Help me!", Mrs. Vandersnout instructed while she was struggling to fight off the crab bot. Exactly, Mrs. Vandersnout! There's no point to report news in a life-threatening situation like this, Eagle guy. We've got to do something man.

"Oh, what a sad world we live in. We live in a world where brutal robot attacks elderly woman. Pity...Tsk...Pity....", Soar the Eagle continued a while until one of Eggman's robots fire a minor missile at him and he ran away. Not a good time for news reporting, Eagle guy! Cut the crap, Sonic! You're supposed to focus on the battle, not the news reporter.

As soon as the eagle guy ran away, I give a little help to Mrs. Vandersnout. Not exactly, more like rescuing her but whatever.

"Thank you. You saved my life, young man.", Mrs. Vandersnout thanked then I bowed in reply.

Afterward, I rushed to Octopus Bot only to see Orbot and Cubot coming out of Egghead's lair. Get it? Nah, just ignore them!

Octopus bot soothes inks through every road. The villager nearby walks away in fear while I approached the target and destroys Octopus Bot with a homing attack.

Meanwhile

"ugh... The malware signals are everywhere.", Tails complained.

"Tails, can you reach team cyborg, bolts, and Mighton for help? We're outnumbered right now.", I called. This is just like last time but I am sure this is going to end sooner than last time because we have Team Cybonic, Bolts, and Mighton to aid us. At least that's what we thought

"Let me try! (communicator ringing)....", Tails launched a video call.

"Hey, Cyborg Sonic. Can you guys help us down here? We have a robot situation"

"Hi, Tails. Sorry, but we're full of hands as well. The snake guy sure is powerful. He dodged off all of us(Team Cyborg) at the same time. Ooo... We're toasted(sound of Enerbeam and cage)", Cyborg Sonic answered the video call. What? Lyric was still alive and in Roboken. That's impossible. He fell when Shadow disarmed him and I opened the hatch. Who would survive on that fall? No one will survive from the fall unless there's someone else saving him but he would be severely injured by now.

"HAHAHAHA... You think you could defeat me. You and your foolish friends are wrong. Now, taste my wrath, you fools. Your robot friends can't defeat me. 

HAHAHA", Lyric the Ancient bragged himself. Oh, you think capturing them scares me. If you think so, then you got it wrong, Snakehead.

"You'll pay for this, Lyric.", Cyborg Amy said. Yeah, as interesting as the conversation is, there's a pressing situation to deal with right now.

So, I quickly grab Tails' communicator and shuts it. Tails must be amazed but we don't have time for this. Then, Mayor Fink quickly approaches us. Must be about the campaign or anything. Whatever.

"Sonic, Tails (gasping) Don't just stand there! The town is in the middle of a robot apocalypse while 20% of my campaign contribution came from this town. I need the town or else my future election and campaign will be affected.", Mayor Fink said in despair.

"This is just like last time. The source derived from Roboken and we have GPS coordinate of where the skyscraper lies.", Tails explained.

"Well, you seemed so sure of it. So, have at it!", Mayor Fink replied.

After our conversation, we eliminate some of the robots along the way to request an offer from Shawn, Sticks, Amy, and Knuckles before we left the town again.

"Sonic, Tails", Shawn called.

"Gang, could you guys hold these robots for a bit?", I requested.

"I'm on it, Sonic", Shawn replied.

"No problem!", Amy answered.

"You got it!", Sticks replied.

"Regular force or blanket?", Knuckles asked a stupid question again.

"Tails and I are going to Roboken to address these robot issues.", I explained. Phew, luckily, the town's name has changed. Morristown? What a mediocre name.

Tails and I got into Tail's plane with Tails as a pilot, just as usual. Not that plane, again! I wish for a better ride just to be comfortable or at least just add some amenities.

Sky

"How much longer?", I asked desperately. Ugh! I wish Tails upgraded the plane by adding entertainment, a food counter, or anything fun(grumble).

"Don't worry! Morristown is ahead.", Tails assured me. Oh, come on, Tails. I wanna get out of the plane.

"Uhm... Tails.", I called.

"Yes", Tails replied.

"Would you mind if you offer some in-flight entertainment or a bag of peanuts next time? It's boring up here.", I offered some advice on amenities.

"Sonic, cutting amenities is the only way to keep the budget low. Besides, Roboken is close-by", Tails explained. Yep, it is indeed very close but we have a problem. The place was locked down and worse, the sentry spaceships pursue us just like last time.

"OOO! The place is locked down and the sentry spaceships chase us down."

"Oops, we're doom. The sentries spotted us.", I said out of concern.

"You think?", Tails said confidently.

Speaking of that, the spaceship launches laser attacks at us. However, Tails manage to dodge them by tilting and steering the plane.  It's good that he dodge the lasers off but now, he's lining the plane up to fly-in between spaceship. That's crazy but he knows what to do. Oh, no! What is he going to do now? Wahoo, it great! Tails dodges a laser by pulling the plane upwards. A laser strikes an ally sentry, setting it on fire. The pilot of the burning ship uses his ejector seat to evacuate, flying his way back to Roboken.

"Woohoo! That's totally great. Hey, Tails. You've got a great amenity right here.", I complemented excitedly as I notice the fire lasers.

"Let's do a barrel roll like last time."

And yeah, he barrel roll the plane. OOO..., this is going to be excited.

"Hey Sonic. Wanna pay this guy a visit?", Tails joked sarcastically.

"Oh, yeah! I'm dropping by, baby. Don't try this at home, kid", I am super excited to drop the plane. This is so amazing. Adventure... Action.... Thrills....

Tails rotates the plane upside-down. I jump down onto the sentry, winks, and does a Homing Attack. My homing attack take down the second sentry in the process thus bouncing back off and falling towards the canyon.

"Arghh! Any time now, Tails! Woah!", I am frightened of my life but luckily, Tails' Plane swoops down and manages to rescue me. I am not satisfied with the landing though. Ouch! That hurts

"How's that for in-flight entertainment?!", Tails responded.

"Great, but you still could do the bag of peanuts.", I replied to his rhetorical question

Tails has another 2 sentry behind his back. He flies inside the canyon, steering around a rock wall. Both sentries are confused thus Tails ends up behind the sentry, and aims the target to hit the middle of the radar. Tails fires the Unbolterizer, paralyzing both sentries. The pilot uses an ejector seat to get out. Both ships fall into the sand. Tails' Plane lands on the site of the fallen spaceship. Tails and I jump off.

"What are you doing? Roboken's that way!", I am confused again.

"Yeah, but if there are more sentries, my plane's got no chance of making it through. Time for plan B.", Tails talked back but he got a good point. As soon as we take off the plan, we run toward the sentry's ship and jump of the plane. Hereby, there are 2 sentries behind us, one from the left and the other on the right. We choose the right side and hop in the spaceship. As soon as we hop in, Tails works on setting up the ship, while  I played around with the chair feature. It was great while Tails got to some work, I just seat and watch Tails do the magic.

"Elevator up, elevator down.", I laughed.

"I figured out how to fly this thing.", Tails said while he's repairing the machine. "Great job, Tails! I knew if we work together we'd figure it out. [shaking] Oh, massage function. Ahh...", I said. 

Thanks to Tails, the spaceship boots up, reverses out of the sand, turns around and flies back up towards Roboken.

"Woohoo!", we saluted at each other. We did it.

"I gotta get me one of these!", Tails said.

"Hah, looks like it worked. Those chumps don't suspect a thing.", I replied back.

The Plane's HUD Changes

OOO... What is going on?

"Tails, what's happening?", I asked.

"It's an auto docking sequence. They're bringing us in.", Tails explained. Yep, he's right. The ship closes in on Roboken.

"Here it is. The robot-utopia in the clouds."

"Roboken, here we come!", I said excitedly.

Finally, we reached the entrance of city skyscraper of Roboken. As we enter and land to the skyscraper, we explore Roboken once again. However, our excitement is replaced by shock when we find out this place is deserted and in smoke.

"Whoa, what happened here?"

"Enemy spotted. Engage robot formation attack!", a robot mechanism detected. Whoa, suddenly we're attacked.

Hey, guys. Guess what happen to Roboken and Hedgehog village later? Did Shawn and Lyric has something to do with this? Please answer in the comment section! Until next time!

[agent-7-at-your-service]

Clash of Justice: Starfishes and OctoStripes

((Agent 7, Mimicrow the Stripped Octoling, and Abigail (mentioned) belong to me

Mercury and Ampth (mentioned) belong to @teamuntyblue

Agent Blueshift (mentioned) belongs to @myzzy

Agent 0 / Jacar (mentioned) belongs to @son-of-joy

Homura, Sayaka, Kyoko, and Madoka (mentioned) belong to the Magica Quartet, Aniplex and Shaft ))

Octo-Canyon is highly contested between Abigial’s Inkopolis Family and those opposing her other than the so-called “enemies”. Agents and their allies can barely go around without upsetting Octolings who sworn themselves to the Inkopolis Family.

Agent 7 has come to this place after getting a call from Mercury regarding a certain striped Octoling attempted to kill Ampth. 

Agent 7 suggested to avoid all the sites in Octo-Canyon where Agent 4 and Marie have been. They needed to be somewhere more private, so they picked on the edges of the canyon behind rock formations.

When he arrived on the scene, Agent 7 found Mercury with a tied up stripped Octoling. It was Mimicrow, a hired spy and assassin for the Organization Leviathan. Agent 7 hasn’t forgotten how this master of disguise framed him for assault a Squid Sister. In the end, he was able to prove authorities wrong and arrest the imposter.

Mercury appeared miffed as usual due to her difficult attempts to come in contact with the Squid Sisters. Mimicrow’s attempt to attack Ampth was crossing a line.

“I’m sensing a bit of history between you two.” Mercury crossed her arms. “Care to explain?”

“You can say, he framed me for breaking into the Squid Sister residence, stealing valuable, and assaulting Marie.” Agent 7 isn’t afraid of Mimicrow, but he is concerned about the temper that Mercury has built. He spoke cautiously. 

“Oh really?” Mercury glared down at Mimicrow.

The Octoling scooted away from her. With a closer look, he already has a bruise from a punch that Mercury gave earlier.

Agent 7 couldn’t help but chuckle. “Okay, Mimicrow, why kill her..... friend.”

Out of fear or being beaten up, Mimicrow answered honestly. “Abigial hired me to kill a a bastard child of Octavio who she claims is responsible for creating clones!” He then turned his head away as if flinching from a kick or a punch.

Mercury was giving him dagger eyes.

“Abigail..... what exactly did she tell you?” Agent 7 pressed. 

“She told me to kill him and investigate you and some girl from Mitakihara! That’s all! She’s all paranoid about you all despite her composure.” Mimicrow tried to scoot away from Agent 7.

Mercury looked at Agent 7 with an eyebrow raised.

Agent 7 looked at Mercury. “Some citizens from outside Inkopolis sort of got involved in Abigail’s campaign and whatever the Inkpolis Family’s been doing.” He glared at Mimicrow. “And acting frightened is the horrible thing to do at a time like this.”

“Still scared of the clone bitch. “Mimicrow chuckled, dropping his fearful act. “I was close to get a third of my task done, starting with the turncoat.”

“Watch it...” Mercury cautioned.

“Oh go screw the prince, you soulless inkbag,” Mimicrow taunted.

Agent 7 gestured Mercury to not react to that taunt and sighed. “I’ll have agents come over here to pick him up. For the time being.” He delivered a roundhouse kick to Mimicrow’s face to knock him out.

Mercury sighed heavily. “To think Abigial would go this far...”

“Oh she does mean business,” Agent 7 warned, “She’s been going all out on people to elevate her way to becoming Inkopolis’ Mayor. And it seems she has been targeting a number of people who don’t it into her vision of Inkopolis.”

“It’s not going to stop me.” Mercury is glaring at the unconscious Mimicrow. “If it mean fighting the Inkopolis Family, I won’t let Abigial ruined my life here and in Inkopolis.”

Agent 7 nods, but looked troubled. “Do you have a moment?”

Soon, the unconscious Mimicrow is place near a boulder while Agent 7 and Mercury sit by the edge. He needed to tell her about some messages he received from his friends... or his allies.

“I got word from other Agents about their situation.” Agent 7 sounded as if he has lost a friend. “Agent 0 had to leave Inkopolis due to a mission that Abigail suggested to him. I told him not to go, but he somehow trusts Abigail. I told him he is a coward and begged him not to do what Abigail wants him to do. Sadly, I believe Abigail was too convincing. Then there is Blueshift. When I got his call, he stated to do nothing about Abigail. He argued that despite how Abigail is treating Inkopolis and the celebrities, it’s not right to defy her. He said that there is no split that Abigial is creating in the Inkopolis Community. He even mentioned his encounter with her and her Bettas and almost lost. So, I hung up on him and refuse answer his calls...”

Mercury was listening carefully. As Agent 7 went on and on, she had to say something. “Seven, stop. Why tell me all this?”

Agent 7 closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m feeling like I am losing not only allies but also friends. They all know that what Abigail is projecting, inciting, and lecturing is morally wrong. It’s as if they’re afraid of something.

“Has anyone ever told you that there are just things that are out of your control?” Mercury pointed out. “If Blueshift doesn’t want any part of this, leave him be. If Agent 0 wants to follow her orders, let him.” Mercury gets on her feet. “If you think Abigail is bad, go ahead.”

Agent 7 looked up at her. “What about you?” Do you believe she is bad?”

“Of course, but I’m not letting things like that hold me back.” Mercury cracks stretches. “If there is ever a mission of you regarding Abigial or the Squid Sisters, let me know.”

Agent 7 smiled and nods.

With that, Mercury turns into a cephalopod and super jumps away to leave the premises. Agent 7 would be found by two of his Agents and they would return to Inkopolis with the unconscious Mimicrow.

[thetailorofenbizaka]

Chapter 1–The Tale of the Scissors, Act 2: Exchange; Scene 7

The Tailor of Enbizaka, pages 57-68

It was two days after that. Elluka—you—visited the tailor shop as promised.

“Excuse me.”

The moment you bluntly intruded, Kayo was just in the middle of working.

“Pardon me…I’m at a stopping point just now,” Kayo said, setting the needle and the kimono she was sewing over to the side.

“Looks like you’re hard at work on your tailoring.”

“Oh yes, ever since I had the great fortune to be able to return I immediately started receiving commissions from those who have been providing me patronage from my mother’s time.”

This tailor shop had originally been started by Kagura’s husband, Sudou Nagare.

A skilled tailor, after eloping and winding up in Enbizaka Nagare started a tailor shop with Kagura for their living.

Kayo too helped out with her parents’ work ever since she was ten years old, and Nagare had praised her on how quick she was to pick up the work; when Nagare passed during an epidemic not long after, Kayo primarily did tailoring work along with her mother.

“A tailor shop, hm…Feels as though this is something like the fate of your bloodline.”

Kayo gazed at you with a curious expression after you spoke so movingly. “Fate?”

“Yes. A person from the Okuto family working in a tailor shop gives me that impression.”

“From the Okuto family? Not the Sudou family? The Okuto family line has been one of samurai, hasn’t it?”

“…How much do you know about the Okuto family?”

“Honestly, not much…My mother wasn’t the sort to talk about her past much. I myself only learned that I was related to the Okuto family four years ago, when they took me in.”

Upon hearing that, you adjusted your seated posture and started into a history lecture for Kayo.

“—The Okuto family descends from a samurai that made his name in the ‘Battle of Jagahara’ about three hundred years ago; this Okuto Gaou who fought in that battle was a foreigner—do you know that much?”

“No…I don’t know much history…”

“Gaou was an immigrant from the Evillious region. Furthermore, if you trace his bloodline back it goes to a certain noble man, and a woman tailor. The man was the duke of Asmodean, ‘Sateriasis Venomania’. And the woman’s name was Lukana Octo.”

“My…But how do you know about such a thing, Elluka-sensei?”

“…If I told you it was because I am Lukana Octo herself, would you believe me?”

A normal person would most likely have thought this to be an impossible claim.

And Kayo seemed to think it was a joke too.  She began to giggle. “Ha ha, if that were true then that would make you a witch hundreds of years old.”

“Yes. My true identity is that of a witch—What are those pieces of cloth for?”

You pointed to some cloth scraps piled up a little ways away.

“Ah, that’s just raw fabric leftover from tailoring.”

“Then you no longer have need of them?”

“Well, mostly. Though sometimes I use them as materials for making repairs.”

“…Then I will borrow them for a minute.”

You picked out several scraps from the mountain of cloth, and turned once more to Kayo.

And then you quietly murmured some foreign sounding words.

When you did—despite being inside a closed shop, a strong wind suddenly began to blow through from somewhere.

The pieces of cloth were caught by the wind, and fluttered around inside the building.

“Goodness…”

Kayo gave a murmur of wonder.

In the next moment, you recited something else, and then the fluttering fabric scraps started to burst into flames all at once.

And then, in a flash they had all been burned to ashes.

“Eek!”

Kayo screamed at seeing it.

“It’s alright, the fire won’t burn you or the building we’re in…Though I suppose that wasn’t the issue.”

Kayo was trembling, a terrified expression on her face.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have shown you fire.” You loosely held Kayo’s body to calm her down. “…But with this, surely you believe me, that I am a witch?”

“Y-yes…” Kayo nodded continuously, still trembling. “Wh-why…For what reason did you—”

“One of the reasons that I came to this country was to return the body of ‘Lukana’ to the Okuto family. …Having heard your story, and seeing your appearance, I figured that you would be perfect for that.”

You said you were there to “return” it. That signified that you were not the real Lukana herself, but rather a being who had stolen the body from her. Yet at that time Kayo had not the wherewithal to notice that.

“This body of Lukana’s that you said you were ‘jealous’ of—I shall give to you. And then you will no longer need to fret over your burn scars.”

“B-but…if you do that, what will happen to you?”

“I will take your body as mine in its place. Essentially, we will do a mutual exchange.”

“…Still, won’t everyone think it’s strange that we’ve so suddenly swapped appearances?”

“Don’t worry. I know of a method to keep that from happening.”

“…”

“…You seem unable to make up your mind. Well, I suppose that’s natural.” You released Kayo, and stood upright. “—There was once a man who was troubled by his appearance as you are. I gave to him a certain tool, and he used it to change his appearance. …After that his life completely changed. He discarded his melancholy past, and was able to obtain the joy that he desired.”

“…”

“Right now you are holding onto two sentiments. The feeling that you must forget your past and move forward, and the wish to not forget your family. And, unable to find balance between them, your heart is in chaos. Hence these phantom burn scars coming forward on your body. …You are afraid from the very bottom of your heart that if the burn scars went away, then not only will your memories of the great fire weaken, but also those of the family you loved.”.

“I don’t understand…I really don’t…”

“You must forget. When something painful happens, those who cannot forget it will never be able to walk forward. That does not make you unfeeling, or cold. I am sure that your late family would not want for you to always be imprisoned by your memories of the past.”

At some point, Kayo had started to sob.

“Sometimes I…grow so fearful…”

“…Of what?”

“Lovers passing by the tailor shop…Families walking together...People who have what I’ve lost…When I see them, I realize that I am succumbing to a frightening sense of envy. There are even times when I want to bring the scissors in my hands down on them.”

“…Maybe you have become possessed by the ‘Demon of Envy’.”

You glanced over at the scissors that I reside in that Kayo had set off to the side.

“A demon…Will I be able to drive it out of myself?”

“If you obtain a witch’s body by swapping with me, perhaps…”

The proposal that you were making looked at a glance to be something you were doing with Kayo in mind.

But to me, watching from the side, I couldn’t help but think that you were lying to her.

You just wanted to have Kayo’s body as your own. And for that purpose you were deceiving her with a string of sophistry.

However, I had no way of conveying my thoughts to Kayo.

She nodded as though steadying her resolve, and then declared:

“Please…do it. Give me a new body, so that I might move forward—”

“…As you wish.”

You smiled at her.

To Kayo it probably looked like the smile of her savior.

To me it was the sneering of a demon.

.

It didn’t take much time to complete the “ritual”.

You put your hand on Kayo’s head, and recited a short incantation.

When you did, the two of you were engulfed in a pale pink light.

--Maybe five minutes passed.

Before I knew it, you and Kayo were both lying sprawled out on the floor.

But Kayo immediately stood.

“…Marvelous.”

I knew, as she said such, that it was another being standing there with Kayo’s appearance.

“A body descended from Venomania and Lukana…This, for sure…Is what I have sought for so many years! With this body full of magical power, it’ll hardly take any time at all to recover my true power!”

Kayo—or rather you, in Kayo’s form—started to laugh loudly.

--Next, you turned your gaze on the scissors lying on the tatami mat.

And then you started to gently reach your hand out towards the scissors…but immediately drew your hand back, as though something had just occurred to you.

“…Well then, all the best, Kayo-san,” you said to the fallen Elluka—the woman whose mind was now that of Kayo—and then left the tailor shop.

And so, you had swapped bodies.

Using the “Swap Technique”—

"—I have some questions.”

Elluka, who had been writing something down in a notebook resting on her knees as she listened to my story, suddenly paused.

What are they?

“…How do you know that the name of the spell I used was the ‘Swap Technique’? I didn’t tell Kayo the name of the technique back then.”

…I figured it out. A spell that involves exchanging bodies would probably have a name like “Swap Technique” or something—I just came up with that on my own.

“Hmm...Well, I’ll just leave it there for now. So I have one other question—I understand that Kayo’s parents are dead; for her father I know that he died from illness. But as for her mother…how and when did Kagura die?”

She went missing soon after Kayo was married. After that they determined that she’d died by drowning, as they found her favored scissors on a cliff that overlooked the sea.

“Would those scissors be the ones you’re currently in? Then you must have seen it all yourself.”

Yes…She certainly did fall into the sea. Leaving the scissors behind on the cliff.

“Was it truly an accident? She wasn’t pushed by anyone, it wasn’t suicide?”

…

I didn’t answer her question.

“I guess you don’t care to go into detail on that point. …I get the impression from your story that you detest me quite a bit—and yet you also seem to support Kayo a great deal.”

To me, Kayo is like a master that I have spent a great deal of time with. It’s only natural then, isn’t it?

“A master, huh…Is that the only reason?”

I don’t matter. Right now we’re talking about Kayo. And also…I have several things I’d like to ask you.

“There are questions I can answer, and those that I can’t. Just like you.”

I looked at the notebook on Elluka’s lap.

You’ve been writing something down for a while now…what in the world is it?

“Ah, this…Lately I’ve become a bit interested in writing. Your story is more interesting than I’d expected, so I’m recording the contents here. It might sell if I make it into a novel. Or it could make a good stage play. Or perhaps some other—”

You may do whatever you like with it, I don’t care. …One more question. Were you really looking to heal Kayo’s mind, or—

“You can tell that much without my input, can’t you? …As you guessed, I was merely after Kayo’s body, given that it was full of magical power. Our interests happened to coincide, and I simply took advantage of that. If Kayo had refused, I would have stolen it by force.”

That must be how she has continued to live all these centuries.

“Only…Don’t misunderstand me, but I even though I had no inclination towards helping Kayo, that doesn’t mean I had any malice towards her either. I didn’t do anything to her outside of the body exchange. –That’s why even I don’t know how or why Kayo committed the act that she did afterwards.”

…

“Of course, it is possible that it was some side effect as a result of the ‘body swap’. But that alone doesn’t serve as an explanation. …Though I think that you might hold the key to that question.”

I supposed then it was for that reason Elluka was listening to what I had to say.

“The ‘body swap’ is a spell with a heavy burden on me in the first place. My power grew weaker temporarily. So I really didn’t do anything extraneous for that whole year.”

Is that the reason why you didn’t immediately make a grab for the scissors?

“…Well, something like that. I had thought until today that the ‘Demon of Envy’ was in the scissors. That demon is a little bit particular. It’s dangerous, and I wouldn’t be able to get off lightly if I mishandled it. So I had been leaving it be until I could recover my power—Imagine my surprise to find an entirely different being residing in there instead.”

…Let’s continue Kayo’s story.

“Hmph, guess you’re not looking to reveal your true identity.”

.

--Kayo had been reborn in your appearance…a new person, who had pink hair and fair skin. But bizarrely enough there was not a single person around her who saw that as strange.

As for the reason why, Elluka provided an explanation:

“I have a little bit of power to manipulate the minds of others. Though it’s a meagre power, far weaker than it used to be. However I was at least able to manage convincing all around Kayo that ��she’d looked like that before’.”

I had no way of ascertaining if that was true or not.

But as far as the phenomenon that I had seen, I would have to say that her words were correct.

…Anyway, thanks to that there was no particular disorder right after the body exchange. Kayo lived as she had before, save for that she would no longer worry that there were any burn scars left on her.

However…a new problem began to arise in her heart.

<<prev------directory------next>>

[florianricquart]

Just a theory about Hussie’s next project

Recently, Andrew Hussie, creator of Problem Sleuth and Homestuck, released a Trailer for his next project, that fans dubbed “Four of Diamonds” or “Four Diamonds”. This is going to be a theory about it. I will mention that that theory started as a comment on Makin’s Analysis Post, and while this post is going to be basically the same thing as I’ve said in the Reddit post.

Here is the image that Makin made. Something important to note : This theory started because of the “might not be same character” mention, AKA this theory focuses only on that scenario.

The Bad Guy. Despite appearing only once in the trailer, I’ve had quite a few thoughts. I noticed that he has 8 Diamonds on his face : 4 Reds, and 4 Whites.

(Picture done for proof, expertly done in Paint) The fact that he has 8 Diamonds led me to call him Octo Diamonds. Not the most important stuff, I know. More importantly, there’s a group/cult that seems dedicated to him. Why do I say that ? Here’s my answer :

The first logo is on the Gunslinger’s belt. The second is on Purple’s shirt. Another thought I had, although it has no proof, is that, power-wise, Octo might be like Doc Scratch : Omniscient and really powerful. He wouldn’t be a host like Doc Scratch, however (otherwise, it’d make him too similar) Something else : The trailer talks about the “realm of dreams”. One thought I had is that Octo resides there, and due to the nature of this realm, develops the ability to communicate with another realm’s residents, which could explain the existence of the Cult of Octo : Octo communicated with its founder, the founder, believing Octo was a God (I’m not saying he’s not a God, though), created the Cult of Octo, dedicated to him.

We know three (potential) members of this Cult : The ones labeled Gunslinger and Purple (for obvious reasons), and the one that recieves the Sword, that I’ll call Sword Guy. The reason I have to believe Sword Guy is from the Cult is the Sword he recieves, a Diamond Sword (no, not that kind of Diamond Sword)

The Gunslinger & The Sword Guy I’m going to talk about them in the same section, as my theory makes them pretty similar. I think they are important members of the Cult, probably being assigned important missions. I also think that Octo contact them, to give them Important Missions. And the scenes we see of them in the trailer are them, after they recieved another Important Mission from Octo. And this is where my thoughts concerning both ends. I’m going to talk about them individually now. Let’s start with the Gunslinger. Here is my thought about him : Why does he juggle his guns ? Two possible reasons. The first is he is trying to intimidate someone with his sick skills, which I believe is linked to the Mission (the fact that he juggle, not his sick skills). The other ? The Mission makes him nervous, and juggling his guns relieve his stress. Now the Sword Guy. He recieved the Sword because of the Mission he now has. (Not much thoughts individually, that’s why I talked about them together).

The Protagonists Yup, I’m grouping them too. Like the previous section, I don’t have a whole lot of thoughts about them. Let’s start with Purple. As I’ve said earlier, I believe she is a member of the Cult of Octo. However, she isn’t important in the Cult. She’s probably just a standard believer. (Not a whole lot, right ? It gets worse) Blue : Friend (or more, right shippers ;) ?) of Purple. Cloun : The weird one of the group. Green : The John Egbert of the group. Now, let’s look at something that’s not a character... The Mission Obviously, since I’ve talked about an Important Mission, I ought to have an idea of what it is. Yup, I have. As I mentionned before, I believe Octo is in the realm of dreams. What this means is that the other characters we know are from another realm. Due to this, I have two ideas, and they both revolve around Octo being tired of ONLY communicating : - Octo is trying to bring more people (AKA our protagonists) in the realm of dream, where he could interact more with them (or something more sinister, like controling them for his amusement) - Octo is trying to leave the realm of dreams, and tasks the Gunslinger and the Sword Guy with “helping” the protagonists, which will lead them to create a portal to the realm of dreams, finally letting free Octo. Another idea I had while writing this post is pretty cliche : Octo just wants to corrupt the protagonists, or make them his puppets. You know, cause that’s the only way a Bad Guy (TM) can have fun.

Random Stuff Here is stuff that’s not important to the plot. “What is it ?”, you ask. “Headcannon names”, I reply. Octo Diamonds was already mentionned, so here are the others : Gunslinger : Brett, named after Brett Favre, nicknamed “Gunslinger”. Sword Guy : Jack. Not from Jack Noir, but Samurai Jack. Purple : Maria, from marialite, a purple gemstone. Blue : Celeste, a word related to the sky. Green : Forest, a name I consider to be rather normal. Cloun : Lucille, a feminine name found on Wikipedia’s list of clowns (almost went with Molly, found on a website with “clown names”) Another thing : As I’ve said, I think Green/Forest is going to be our John Egbert stand-in. What I mean by that is, when looking at the Beta Kids, from Homestuck, John is the most normal one of them (Rose is fighting her mom with passive-aggressivity and is kinda obsessed with psycho-analysis. Dave “trains” with his Bro, training that looks a lot like abuse, as well as live with a puppet haunted by a group of souls that will turn into the Bad Guy. Jade lives in an island, alone with her dog, dog that has the ability to travel through time and space whenever he so desires. Meanwhile, John is surrounded by harlequins because his Dad thinks he likes harlequins, and his Dad also bakes cake. Too much cake.)

[dracula-in-purple-story]

From Enemies to Friends

CHAPTER TWO

Author’s Note : All of this is ENTIRELY NON-CANON. I’m still working on my writing skills. Thank You and Enjoy, hopefully.

It was late at the dark, gloomy night. Most residents are deep into their dream wonderland. Some are doing their shady businesses. Unfortunately for the hidden residents of Inkopolis, there were no rest for them.

Multiple alarms blasted out in the massive fortress located deep in the forest of Mount Nantai. Most of the people emerged from their slumber quickly and get dressed before waking up those who are a deep sleeper. After they geared up, they immediately rushed to the nearest kettle in order.

Nicholas, who had just walked through the gate door of the main entrance, heard the alarm and, with a little bit of hesitation, dropped everything he was holding as he rush straight to the emergency kettle at the corner of the front garden wall, where it was hidden by flower bushes. He changed into his other form and swam right into it.

As soon as he emerged from another kettle, the place around him reveals to be an underground base. Full with equipments, gadgets, computers and weapons. He rarely went here ever since he became a co-guardian for his young master but he knew, for a fact, that this place is now chaotic. 

Half of the night-shift people are typing away in their computers and tried to keep track on their task or rushing around, while another half of them seems to be missing, but it soon replaced by bunch of day-shift people fully suited up and lined up right in front of an old but fitted lady, who aged pretty well for a 130-years-old.

“Nicholas, just in time.” the old lady said in a firm authority, “Before we address the situation here, how’s my grandson?”

Fond murmurs were heard among the people before got silenced by the glare from the old lady. Nicholas sighed in bliss, “He’s fine, Mistress! He is still the pure boy who worried over small things.”

She nodded in acknowledgement, smiling a bit, before broadcast a image onto the huge projector screen in front of them. A crashed unidentified flying object. Half of the crowd gasped. “Isn’t that a failed prototype of Thunderstrike? Why is it here?!” Suzuki, another co-guardian of Erek, speaking her mind out in fear. 

“Minale, come here and report on what the Scout Squad D had discovered, please.” the old lady said with simple directness. A three feet being, equipped with a large propeller helmet, zoomed right behind the crowd. “As you can see from the picture,” she started her report while landed on the table with grace, “a failed prototype military aircraft, Thunderstrike, crashed outside the city, with a corpse of a Mini Zapfish that was used to operated the aircraft. Bless its soul.”

“The Scout Squad D previously assumed that it was just a public test run from the underground Oct-”

“Wait,” Nick rudely interrupted Minale’s report, “what do you mean by ‘previously’?”

“It is where I’m trying to get to the point, Mr Nicholas!” she scoffed, “If I may continue, they thought it was just a test run until a power outage happen. It only last for approximately five minutes before the power came back.”

“Ten minutes before we activate the emergency alarms...” Minale continued along with a stressful sigh, broadcast the picture of Inkopolis Tower, “...the Great Zapfish is gone.”

This statement alerted the uneasy crowd as they scanned the picture. Indeed, the Great Zapfish is missing from its tower. The Mistress clapped lightly to gain their attention back to her. She nodded to the Scout captain who zoomed back to her post, giving out commands as she spoke to the microphone that wirelessly connected to the Scout Squad D.

“So far, the conclusion of the report is that Thunderstrike is merely a distraction tool in order to steal the Great Zapfish. Even though we all know that we got more than enough Zapfishes to supply our power source and they have other resources to generate power,” the old lady halted her talk for a few seconds, “why would they want the Great Zapfish for? Any possible answer? Or someone knows exactly why he would need it?”

The absolute silence is eerie until Suzuki shakily raised her hands. The old lady arched her eyebrows before nodding to let her answer. “Twenty years ago, I... I participated the project before I escaped, Mistress Octivia. He’s building some... sort of heavy spherical aircraft with some built-in turntables and mixers... along with some Wasabi supplies...” she gulped, “...the module were estimated to use large amount of energy... but Alivia and Alivia Jr helped me sabotaged the process before aiding me to escape that hell hole!”

“Calm down, dearest.” a tall figure, wearing a set of laser sight goggles, patted her shoulders sympathetically as she cried uncontrollably.

“Go calm your wife, Hayato. I fill in the rest of the details to you two later.” The lady in charge pardoned them as they walked back to the kettle. “Unfortunately, even with their best efforts in sabotaging, the heavy aircraft was built. If he manage to tame the Great Zapfish to do his bidding, Inkopolis is doom to be destroyed.”

“And as Octarians ourselves, we know how Octavio operated behind his DJ set. If we let that happen, we would be back to the starting point! Are you ready to oppose against the hypnotisation once more, my fellow friends?!” she shouted in a fierce tone.

“YES, MISTRESS!”

~~~~~~~~~~

Erek woke up early in the morning, the sky was bright and the sunlight shone through the windows. Lazily, he stretch his body as he get up from his bed and walked out from his bedroom. The birds were chirping and enjoying the cool breeze when he opened up the slide door that leads to the balcony. The dew drops were falling from the leaves of various flowers he potted yesterday. The sun was rising up from the clouds as he water his flowers.

Just as he walked back to his bedroom to take some clothes for his fresh debut, there came a huge knocking and loud ringing on the main door. 

“Must be the neighbours... Cod, I forgot about introducing myself to them yesterday!” the boy mentally slapped himself, “Coming!”

He rushed to the door, not before he tied his tentacles to Topknot, and opened it to see three inklings standing there. One of them, the cyan ‘inkling’ girl, looks familiar but he couldn’t pinpoint on where he seen her before. The middle one of the group, a pink inkling girl, decided to talked.

“Hello there, rookie! The name’s Callie Mac N! Callie for short. On my left is one of my Roller buddies, Mike!”

Mike, an orange inkling boy, raise his Octoglasses and rest it in his forehead, “Hello~!”

“On my right is our little floof of our humble crew, Jewel!”

The cyan girl smiled brightly, “Hewwo, I’m Jewel. Your neighbour at the corner over there! My mommy told me about your arrival yesterday. What’s your name?”

The three of them stared at him with excitement. Nervously, he scratched his head before replying, “Oh... uh... My name is Erek! Nice to meet you all! Want to come in? I’m about to change my clothes and start cooking breakfast.”

“Oh, great! Thanks, buddy. Don’t mind us crash-... WOAH!” As soon as they were welcomed into Erek’s home, they were met with the most freshest living room they ever seen. A bookcase full of the latest video games, a clearly expensive LED TV along with its loudspeakers, limited edition of Chirpy Chips poster with the members’ signature and, is that a freaking CoroCoro hoodie hanging on a coat rack that was supposed to be out in like, next year?

“Umm, guys? You have been standing here for a long time. I made some light breakfast so we could... uh... chat?” Erek, now donning the Starting Gears, was quite concerned about his new friends, who gawked at his living room quite a long time. “Is it weird? My living room?”

The trio snapped out of their daze. “What, no!” Callie exclaimed, “It’s just... woah! My daily earnings couldn’t even pay for this kind of luxuries! Let alone that hoodie! How did you managed to get that?! It was supposed to come out next year!”

“Next year? But I got it for my birthday three days ago. My friend, Kevin, who gave me that just said they have extras so... yeah!” Erek recalled a little. 

“Dude, you don’t actually mean Kevin, the famous trendsetter who just opened a company called Cuttlegear? That guy knows his stuff about fashion!” Mike gushed, “This Octoglasses? Automatically became my favourite headgear after he post some cool model pictures with them. And you know him?!”

“Yes? He works for my Grandmama and he take care of my wardrobe since I was young.”

“Wow! That is crazily fresh! Can I check your closet?”

“Mike, that is rud-”

“Sure, go straight and turn left, you should be able to reach my gear wardrobe.”

Mike cheered as he rushed to the location. Jewel facepalmed, “I’m sorry about my boyfriend.”

“It’s fine. I could give some gears away if he loved it so much. I was planning to buy my own clothes with empty slots anyway.”

“Wait, wha-”

“OH MY GOD! CALLIE! JEWEL! LOOK AT THIS! EREK HAVE SUPER FRESH CLOTHES! EVEN THE SLOTS ARE GOD TIER! I’M IN HEAVEN!”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Gramps, come on... pick up the cells already...” Marie is pacing around the studio. After her cell ended with the monotone message and a beep, she heavily huffed before looked helplessly at her cheerful cousin, which now have a frown on her face as she fiddling with her thumbs. “Nothing?”

“Nothing.” she plopped down to a sofa as Callie sat down nervously beside her. 

“It can’t be... he usually would answer us in a few rings. And now this happens!”

“It’s going to be alright, Cal. Once we finished our broadcast, we head straight down to Octo Valley to check up on him. He’s the strongest squid we have ever known.”

“I know, Marie. But, it’s Gramps we are talking about. Possibilities are limitless! What if his SquidCell is broken? What if he was kidnapped? What if-”

“Callie, calm down!” her cousin smacked her head slightly before caressing it gently. Callie pouted before surveying around the studio. The production team is a hectic mess. Bumping against each other frantically, papers are flying everywhere, the cameras are being thrown left and right.

“Squid Sisters? Five more minutes before we start the Inkopolis News!” a female show betta glided gracefully in front of the two cousins, pointing at her blue watch impatiently.

“Ms Betty!” the Squid Sisters immediately stand up and bow to her. “Sorry, me and Marie were-”

“I know,” Ms Betty halted the black inkling, “I’m not blaming you girls. This is probably the first time we have to broadcast this kind of news. If it weren’t for that Great Zapfish to go missing on us...”

“We understand, Ms Betty. We truly do.” Marie grimaced a bit before following behind their director. Once they arrived at the Inkopolis News Studio, they immediately went into position, just like they had been practised for the last few weeks.

“Don’t be nervous and follow the script. Add some colours into it like you are not reading whatever was written here, okay? That was what made this program famous for.” Ms Betty addressed, “We are ready in three, two...”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Man, you are a really good cook!” Callie complimented Erek as they finally arrived at the Plaza. Jewel nodded shyly, agreeing what she had said while Mike is burping loudly, “Yeah, you should totally teach me that recipe! I could cook for my babs and mother-in-law too!”

“Mike!” Jewel slapped his back softly. They laughed loudly at the interaction. Probably loud enough to cause four certain inklings to turn their heads to them. 

“Oh, you guys! Where have you been?!” a dark blue inkling boy with glasses asked. Callie shrugged it off when her new friend have a questioning look, “Those guys are the rest of my crew. From left to right, we got the ever so quiet Kitty,” she gestured excitedly to a lime green inkling girl who just waved before turning her focus back to her SquidPhone.

“Marcus, the ‘cool guy’ wannabe,” a purple inkling boy just flicked her some fingers before finishing his drink.

“Blitz, my roommate and another Roller Buddies,” the boy with the glasses offered to shake hands. Erek accepted it and shake politely.

“And Marlee! Our new member from last week!” a dark green inkling girl grinned at them.

Once introductions are done, Blitz pondered a bit, “I’m going to assumed you haven't watch the news, yes?”

“No. Why?” Mike asked back, “Are the news reporter some blacklisted musicians?”

“No,”

“Racist?” Jewel cautioned.

“No,”

“Famous enough to actually expect them to report Inkopolis News?” Callie guessed before squinting at the big window where the reporters would be sitting. “Well, yes! But it’s not the point right now! The content-”

“HOLY ZAPFISH, IS THAT THE SQUID SISTER?! I’M A BIG FAN! HEY CALLIE, WE HAVE THE SAME NAME!” Callie Mac shouted enthusiastically as she run up the walkway and squeezed her way through the crowd outside.

“Why do we elect her as the captain?” Marcus scoffed at her behaviour. “So crazy, that woman...”

“I’m a big fan as well... but not as hyper as Callie is.” Erek giggled. The crew laughed it off for a while. 

“So, back to the topic, what do we miss?” Mike questioned with a curious tone.

“You see, well,” Blitz looked at his clueless teammates, and a new friend, with a sense of guilt, “I don’t think we could participate this month Splatfest.”

The trio gasped. They were shocked, especially Erek. His first day of debut had clashed with a horrific news. The kind of news he didn’t expect to happen in the first place.

“Are you serious, mate?” Mike fretted, “We never ever have a Splatfest cancelled before! All they need is to postpone, like they did in that Pencil vs Pen Splatfest!”

“News Flash, brother.” the purple inkling roughly tilted his friend’s head up, the rest of them followed suit, “Our humble energy source had disappeared!”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Staaaay fresh!” was all she last heard before turning off the radio. Furrowing her eyebrows, Tres quietly packed her Splattershot Jr. Before she could even tiptoed towards the old, rotten door, she was hugged from the back. Usually, she would roundhouse that person who dared to risk their life to hug her but there are few exceptions, especially this little yellow figure behind her is her baby sister.

“Paula...” she turned around before kneeling down to hug her back, making the little inkling giggled silently. Tres smiled softly, “Go back to big brother, would you? Breakfast’s ready.”

“Annnd you are going to stay this time, Big Sis.” another yellow figure, slightly smaller than Tres, spoke sternly while pointing a pan to threaten her. Tres smirked a bit before running to the door. She was succeeding before her face got stuck. A freaking clear tape prank. 

“Cielo... Zona...” she pulled the tape immediately before screaming in pain, “Again?”

“It’s ya fault that ya makin this easy for us, Big Sis.” two small orange figures appeared outside the door. They laughed heartily at her before shrieked as their eldest sister hugged them off the ground. It’s not long before the rest of the siblings decided to join their group hug.

They settled down after they finally convinced their eldest sibling to stay back and properly eat her breakfast. Although it’s been a while since they have breakfast together, Tres still wolfed down her share of food. Diego couldn’t stand this any longer as he hit her softly but still painful enough with the very same pan.

“Eat it slowly, Big Sis. It’s not like the Inkopolis Tower is going to run anywhere.”

“I know but the faster I earn some cash, the sooner we can get the surgery to be done.”

“Big Sis...” the small twin-tailed inkling mumbled before she quickly snatched back her small bits of bread from her twin brother. The eldest grinned at this sight before excusing herself from the table. She pecked each one of them before heading out.

“Be careful not to overwork yourself, Big Sis!” Diego shouted. Tres halted her movement before glancing back at the eldest brother of the house. “I can’t promise that.”

She sighed before whispering, “Not when our dad have his life on the line.”

[octavinelleresident]

Floyd, since you really like fashion.. what do you like to add to your outfits to spice em up!?ヽ( ^ ^ )ﾉ

Mhhhh you can never go wrong with a good pair of shoes.Azul once tried to convince me to put fancy pins on my jacket but that's not my style,you know?

[badigeonneur]

Goodness, he’s been incredibly nervous hanging backstage, while the Handmaid was talking. For a moment, he reconsidered his decision, but then...what would he do.

Ever since he recovered from that brain operation, he had this drive to do something, and the fact that he managed to walk into Octo Valley without panicking was proving that he was ready.

Time to take the stage, now. He walked up like he owned the world, and sat left of Handmaid Gallows, before tapping the mic twice or thrice.

--------------------

“A good day to you. My name is Perry Bellwether, head commissioner.” 

Shittiest intro ever. Time to get into more detail to hide the fact that this might be the most awkward moment of his life.

“For people who don’t know me, I got 14 years of experience in the military - and while the bulk of my work was done within the recruitement and octarian ressources department, I have studied in sociology and have a minor in urbanism. 

“I’ve also lived in both Octo Valley - for 28 years, and in Inkopolis for two years - I have to admit that I’ve seen the better and the worst of both worlds. I did...a lot of stuff, but we’re not here to discuss my curriculum.” 

“We’re here to ensure that in a hundred years from now, we’ll still be here standing.”

------------------

“In 12014, I have authored a report concerning the energy crisis in the Valley. My conclusions were that the Valley was then unsafe for most residents, and that we should be considering other avenues for our survival.”

“My original conclusion was complete evacuation - on a 25-year period.”

“Looking back on my work, I do believe that my report is incomplete. Yes, it’s true that some spots in the Valley - the areas that we have identified as Zones 4 and 5 - should not be inhabited. Like Commander Gallows has said, we will be evacuating these areas shortly, and looking into relocation.”

“However, the Valley is still a secure place to remain - 70% of the area are labelled as Zones 1, or Zones 2. Another 16% are zoned in the 3 threshold.”

“Therefore, I will admit that my idea to relocate everyone was wrong, and that I should be going back to the drawing board to see what we can do to ensure that our civilization remains strong, stable - and has a safe space to live in.”

-------------------------

“Starting near the end of next month, the Commission will meet residents of all areas, to recieve their commentaries and input concerning what should be done.”

“I personally want to hear what everyone has to say concerning this. I want to hear the ones that chose to move to Inkopolis, no matter their reasons, just like I want to hear why some people decided to stick here.”

“I want to see how you see our future. I’m not here to judge you, I’m here to go and understand how you feel, and I want you to give input. We have to be transparent and give more power to the people”

“These meetings will be held in both Inkopolis and Octo Valley for the next two years and a half. All dates and specific locations will be left on the website.”

“Now, if you have questions concerning the commission, I’m ready to answer them.”

[whitewitchdani]

The White Witch: Chapter 19

Read Chapter 18 Here

Word Count: 1,694

Pairing: Sam x OC Evelyn Singer

Warnings: language

A/N: THE WRITER’S BLOCK HAS LIFTED! Here is chapter 19 my beauties, I hope you enjoy. As always, please give me all the feedback and let me know if you’d like to be tagged.

The White Witch Masterlist

“Ugh my head.”

Evie stumbled into the kitchen followed by an equally disheveled Dean. Sam had already gone on his run and was busy cooking breakfast when they walked in. It seemed their night of R&R hit Dean and Evie a little harder than Sam and Cas.

“That’s what you get for trying to go drink for drink with my brother.” Sam said with a smirk. He brought his girlfriend into his arms by the stove.

“Hey, she’s the one who challenged me!” Dean retorted as he poured a cup of coffee.

“And I won. No regrets. Ooh gimme.” The huntress pulled herself from Sam’s arms and made her way to the eldest Winchester, pulling the mug from his hand. He looked at her incredulously before rolling his eyes and pouring himself another cup. 

Sam brought the finished food to the table, sitting down next to Evie and across from his brother and Cas. It was obvious they felt like warmed up garbage; he didn’t want to bring up the things they needed to do that day, but it was necessary.

“Are you two going to be alive enough to do everything today?”

At the mention of what needed to be done, Evie perked up immediately. “I’ll be fine. This is what’s important, and it may only split my head open a little.”

Castiel rolled his eyes and placed two fingers to both Dean and Evie’s foreheads. Immediately, the two looked incredibly more alert and the grimaces of pain were gone. The two hunters shot the angel an expression of gratitude, to which Cas rolled his eyes once more.

“I am not going to continuously heal your hangovers, just to clarify. But you two need to be at your best as we make plans for the battle against Sorath.”

Dean sighed, part of him forgot about the amount of work they had ahead of them today. He knew it was necessary though. Going up against a high level demon like this took careful research and planning. 

Evie stood and grabbed her coffee, “I’m going to go look through my mother’s grimoires, see if they have anything to say. You guys look through what the Men of Letters have on Sorath or how to vanquish high-level demons. If you come up with anything, you know where to find me.” With that, she pecked Sam and walked out of the kitchen towards her bedroom.

“God I don’t wanna do any of this reading,” Dean huffed as he followed his brother to the library.

As Dean sat down at the table, Sam sat a giant pile of books in front of him. Even though Sam sat a larger pile in front of himself, Dean felt no better about the situation. He wanted to help Evie, but if he could do it without reading all these, he would.

“I love books!” Dean exclaimed sarcastically, as he dove into the first giant tome.

“I FOUND SOMETHING!”

Evie’s voice echoed throughout the bunker as she ran down the hall towards the boys. Her socks slid across the floor a la Risky Business as she entered the library. She was holding a grimoire that looked older than everyone in the room combined. 

Well minus Cas.

“What is it?” asked Sam as she took up residence in the chair next to him.

“It’s a spell to vanquish a high-level demon. This is the oldest grimoire I have; it’s from like the 1400’s. It says it’d never be able to be performed unless a group of witches did it together because of the amount of power it needs.”

“And you have the power of your whole coven. Are you sure you’re strong enough regardless?” Sam finished your thought.

“Yes Evelyn, it is possible that although you possess the wealth of magic of the White Witches, it was not just the white magic that powered the spell. It was the life forces of the witches involved; you may still not be strong enough to cast it alone.” Cas added.

“It’s our best bet, so I guess I’ll have to try.” 

“We can try to find a different way, Ev. If you don’t have enough power and you try? It could kill you.” Dean gave Evie a thoughtful look, which she returned. Not only did Dean give her a new nickname, but it was obvious how much he had come to care for her in the past few days. 

“I appreciate your concern Dean, but my main concern is stopping him before he hurts anyone else. Especially you guys. Plus I’m more powerful than any of my ancestors; I can do this.”

“What’s the spell?” asked Sam skeptically.

“Essentially I go at him with everything I got; every elemental power I have in my arsenal at once.”

“You can do that?” Dean questioned.

“I’ve never tried, I didn’t even know it was possible.”

“Let me see that,” Sam took the grimoire from Evie and scanned the page the spell was on. “It looks simple enough. No ingredients, no special sigils, just a Latin incantation where you invoke the power of your ancestors. Let’s hope it goes better than the last time you tried a spell.”

“Well that’s our other problem. The last time I tried to find Sorath that way it ended with me flying into a bookcase and I’d really like to avoid that. How do we find him?”

Dean sighed and dropped his forehead into his hand, “I have an idea but I really hate it,” he said as he raised the other hand.

“Care to share?” Evie asked.

“No. Because it’s a bad idea.”

“C’mon Dean, whatever it is, it’s really our only option at this point.” Sam shot Dean the puppy dog eyes he did so well.

“We call Crowley. Sorath is trying to raise Lucifer and take Hell back from him, you know he has to have his cronies keeping tabs on him.”

Evie looked at him with a shocked look on her face. “What, is it that bad of an idea?” he asked.

“No I’m just pissed I didn’t think of it first,” she smirked at the hunter. “Let’s call up the King of Hell, Dean-o. I’m gonna go tamper with the warding so he can come here. If I go outside Sorath WILL come to us armed to the hilt and I’d like that to not happen.” The brunette stood from the table and walked out of the kitchen.

Cas also stood and looked to the two brothers, “I will also take my leave. Not only am I going to search for more options for Evelyn, I also dislike Crowley immensely.” With that, the angel left with a whoosh.

Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “Looks like we’re on the one-yard line.”

“You worried about her?”

“Of course I’m worried about her. There’s really not anything we can do to help her and the spell she’s supposed to do to could kill her. I haven’t felt this way about anyone since Jess, Dean. I can’t lose her.”

Dean looked at his brother thoughtfully, “You won’t lose her, Sammy. I won’t let that happen. That girl has become like a sister to me and I know both you and me will do everything we can do help her. And if Lucifer gets out? Well, we know exactly how to put him back in.” 

Sam gave his brother a small smile, “Thanks Dean.”

Evie chose that moment to walk back into the room, “Well I tweaked the warding; Crowley is the only supernatural thing besides Cas that can get in now. So do we summon him or?”

Dean held up his cell, “Apparently Hell has its own network,” he smirked as she nodded somewhat impressed. The eldest Winchester punched 666 into the phone and put it on speaker, awaiting the King of Hell.

“Squirrel! To what do I owe the pleasure?” Crowley’s signature accent answered.

“Crowley we need you at the bunker ASAP.”

“Do I look like a bloody call service to you? Contrary to your belief, I am not at the Winchester’s beck and call. Out of curiosity, what is it that you need my assistance for? Last time I was under the impression you lot were too good for my lowly demonic assistance.”

“Hello Crowley.” Evie stepped closer to speak into the phone.

“Miss Evelyn, how lovely to hear your voice darling.”

“It’s me who needs you.”

The demon scoffed, “You?? You’re basically more powerful than God, what could you possibly need me for?”

She sighed, “Can you just get here please?”

There was silence for a few seconds before the line went dead. The witch threw up her arms in frustration, “Son of a bitch.”

“Hey, just because it’s accurate doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting.”

The Winchester’s heads shot up and Evie turned around to see the King of Hell standing in the bunker library behind her. A part of Dean was shocked; he didn’t really think Crowley would go for it. They were enemies after all. The library was silent as they looked at Crowley with wide eyes.

“Well? Are you all going to gape at me or is one of you flannel clad nightmares going to tell me what’s so important?”

Evie walked forward and stood toe to toe with the King of Hell, “Sorath wants to release Lucifer from the cage again. That’s why he wants your throne.”

She saw something flicker across Crowley’s face that was somewhere between anger and fear. It was interesting to see him exude anything other than contempt.

“Of course. I’m assuming you lot have some sort of plan?”

“Yeah, me. I can stop him before he opens the cage, I can kill him. But I need your help right now Crowley.”

Crowley contemplated his options. Helping the Winchester’s was the last thing he wanted to do, but having Lucifer loose in the world again was not an option and neither was losing his position in Hell. Plus, having the only White Witch in existence owe you a favor probably wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

The King of Hell smirked, “When do we start?”

Tag List:

@lovesamwinchester @belfbastettia @winchesterxtwo @octo-cow52 @animegirlgeeky @xxdragonagequeenxx

[octariiagent]

aquamarine: where my muse feels most calm/relaxed & quartz: how my muse thinks other people see them !

Gemstones are nice

Aquamarine

This is trick to answer because... well, it’s truly difficult for 8 to relax.

She has a lot to think about, after all. She still remembers how she was an enemy to the Inklings, how she was raised to take them on, yet here she is, making her home among them... she’s constantly worried that her past might come back to bite her, no matter how much her friends assure her that won’t happen. She still remembers the events of the Octo Expansion - how every opportunity that seemed to point to freedom seemed to be yanked away from her at every opportunity, how it felt for many times like she would never be allowed to get to the surface... and while she’s doing her best to put those feelings aside, she’s left with the constant worry that there’s something waiting to pull her away from all of this.

... Still, when there’s nothing going on, and she has enough time for herself, and she’s in a good enough state... sometimes she can simply lay back, and be left to her thoughts. She can think about the fun she’s having, the new life she’s making for herself, her friends that are just too stubborn to let her be hard on herself... and it makes her happy. There are times where her thoughts of guilt and fear are pushed to the wayside in favor of just appreciating what she’s gotten.

And it’s nice.

the better member of Off the Hook, sorry Marina Pearl

Surprisingly, she doesn’t think much of that sort of thing. You’d think she would with her overwhelming anxiety and concerns at times... but really, she’s harder on herself than she worries other are on her.

While she worries about her past coming back, she does genuinely believe the world around her is welcoming her. She couldn’t doubt it if she tried... and believe me, she has. Everyone is very welcoming and friendly, with Inklings who’ve never even met her complimenting her style and allowing her in Turf Wars just like everyone else. She’s even met a few other Octolings, and they’re nice too.

Plus, there’s just the fact that she’s most often residing in her own head when the coast is clear. If the world around her isn’t actively saying it has a problem with her, she doesn’t think it does. She’s harder on herself than anyone else - and she does know it. She wonders if she deserves this kindness, but she doesn’t doubt it’s being given to her.

Honestly, the Inklings are just... too nice for her to doubt them.

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

Splataclysm! - chapter 2

(Hey so uh remember that really weird bizarre Splatoon AU that I was writing for some reason? Well I decided to keep going with it, and in honour of Think Outside The Love Square Month it’s gonna have like every rarepair under the sun in it)

(AO3) (chapter 1)

Marinette had always got along well with Tikki, ever since she had moved to Inkopolis such a long time ago. Over the years the two of them had become close friends, almost like family. That was exactly what she needed right now anyway.

“Still no sign of Nino,” she said once Nath had left the store, dropping her welcoming smile immediately. “I’m starting to think maybe everyone’s right. The pressure got to him and he ran away or something.”

“What are your instincts telling you?” Tikki asked.

Of course she would say that. Tikki was always trying to nudge Marinette into figuring things out for herself, rather than simply telling her all the answers.

“My gut tells me he’s in trouble,” she admitted. “He was perfectly fine! Running Shrimp Kicks with Wayzz and earning a huge profit, battling with me and Alya and Adrien in his spare time for fun… he wouldn’t just leave and go back home without telling us! It’s been a month and we still haven’t heard from him – I’m getting so worried! Something must be wrong!”

“Then maybe it’s time to do something,” Tikki said.

“But what? Where do I even begin? When I told the police they just laughed at me, saying it’s common for Ranked Battle pressures to get to squids enough for them to run away without telling anyone.”

“Maybe it’s not the police who you need to talk to. Maybe it’s someone who will take your concerns seriously, who understands what it’s like to worry about a danger that no one else will listen to.”

Marinette wrinkled up her nose. “You can’t mean Captain Fu, can you? That old guy living down the drain? He’s so old his brain is falling to pieces. Talking about Octarian invasions and stuff. He’s paranoid.”

Tikki shrugged. “I’m just saying talking to him might help.”

“Well, I guess I’ll try…”

“Oh, and that’s not all! I’ve got a little something for you.”

Marinette couldn’t help but smile. Any time Tikki said ‘And that’s not all!’ it meant she was about to offer Marinette a new weapon – something more unique and powerful than before. It happened to her a lot, since she won so many battles these days.

Tikki pulled out a red and black Shooter type weapon. “This design is so new I’ve never even sold one of these before, but I think you’re ready to wield it. It’s called the Hero Shot.”

Marinette took it in her hands. It felt much like holding a good old Splattershot, though it looked a lot more futuristic.

“Decent stats all around,” Tikki continued. “I think that would suit a jack-of-all-trades like you. Unfortunately you won’t be allowed to use it in Ranked Battles or Turf Wars without adjustments.”

“Why not?”

“It has three different types of Sub Weapons that can be switched out at any time. That would give you an unfair advantage over your opponents.”

“Then what am I supposed to use this for?”

“Perhaps for whatever Captain Fu decides you should use it for. And for getting back Nino.”

Marinette frowned. “Are you saying… you think the Octarians kidnapped Nino or something? And that Captain Fu’s right about them?”

Tikki shrugged. “It’s merely a possibility. You should talk to him about it.”

A possibility? A low one, surely. Marinette had never even seen a real Octarian in her life before, only pictures in her school textbooks about the Great Turf War a hundred years ago. If they really were still a threat, then surely more people would be saying so than just some lonely old man who had lost his marbles? Why should she trust him?

She trusted Tikki, though. Tikki’s advice and weaponry had led her to victory in countless battles. She wouldn’t have a rank of S+ without her.

Sighing, she said, “Fine, I’ll go talk to Captain Fu. But I’ll take everything he says with a pinch of sea salt.”

Tikki nodded. “Good, Marinette. Let me know if that weapon comes in handy.”

“How much does it cost?”

“This one’s free.”

She blinked a few times. “What?”

“Completely free. Think of it as a gift for reaching rank S+. You’ve earned it.”

“Tikki, thank you so much! I’m going to go try it out in the shooting range right now!”

She ran out of the back of the store, taking her new Hero Shot with her.

Adrien poked Plagg in the side. “Plagg! Wake up!”

“Shush, I’m on my break,” Plagg muttered, turning over on his crate. “Next match doesn’t start for half an hour.”

“It’s not about that! It’s about something else!”

Plagg sat up and yawned. “Well if it’s not about judging matches then why are you bothering me about it?”

“What can you tell me about Captain Fu?”

Plagg shrugged. “He’s an old sea turtle living in a shack in Octo Valley, and he fought in the Great Turf War. Now let me go back to sleep.”

“Wait!” Adrien turned and glanced at the drain leading to Octo Valley, just a few steps away. “I’ve had a thought, and it’s a bit weird, but… do you think he knows what happened to Nino? I’m just worried Nino got taken away by Octarians or something, and…”

“What are you asking me for? Go ask him!”

“But I don’t even know him! And you’re even older than he is, right? You surely know things about Octarians too?”

“All I know is that they’re slimy and weird.”

Adrien sighed. “Look. I just saw Marinette Dupain-Cheng going down the drain to Octo Valley and that got me thinking about Octarians, and Captain Fu, and Nino’s weird disappearance, that sort of thing. Do you think she knows something important about where Nino’s gone? Is that why she’s going to Octo Valley? It’s Marinette so it must be something important!”

“Just ask her yourself.”

“I can’t! She’s a rank S+, she’s the most elite and fresh of all squids! She doesn’t even bother with Turf Wars anymore!”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “Nino was friends with her, and he was friends with you too. If he could talk to Marinette then so can you. Anyway, have you quite finished yet? I was in the middle of a nap and I’d like to continue it.”

The large television screen in the middle of Inkopolis Plaza suddenly lit up, ready for a news report. Adrien looked up to see the famous Squid Sisters on screen. What were they doing there right now? Surely it wasn’t time for them to announce the new battle stages yet, was it?

“News flash, news flash!” Mireille said, with barely restrained excitement in her voice. “The Great Butterfly, usually residing at the top of Inkopolis Tower, has vanished!”

“How did someone manage to steal something that big without anyone seeing?” Aurore muttered under her breath.

“The Great Butterfly was used to power the city, though. What are we gonna do without it? Will we lose power?”

“Don’t cause a panic, Mireille, I’m sure it’ll be fine. We’ve got other butterflies we can use in the meantime.”

The screen behind them switched to a blurry picture of a flying saucer.

“It might have something to do with this UFO,” Mireille said. “It crash-landed near the city not too long ago. If anyone has any details about it then please put in a report.”

“And please don’t panic. Everything will be fine.”

“I think that’s it for now. We’ll be announcing the battle stages soon, so be on the lookout. Until then…”

The two of them put their arms up in their signature pose and sang in unison, “Stay fresh!”

The screen went back to showing advertisements. Adrien turned back to Plagg, who had managed to keep his eyes open long enough to watch the news report.

“Do you think Octarians stole the Great Butterfly? Does it have something to do with Nino?”

“Just go ask Captain Fu about it already!”

“Alright, I will…”

Adrien walked off and stood in front of the grate on the floor that led to Octo Valley. He had seen Captain Fu pop his head out of here occasionally, trying to trick passers-by into listening to him rambling. Fu was weird, that was for sure. He was the opposite of fresh. But did he know something useful? Marinette certainly seemed to think so, and there was no squid around fresher than her.

Trying not to think too hard about what he was doing, Adrien turned into squid form and dropped through the grate.

The drains took quite a while of whizzing through the ground to reach Octo Valley, a large mountainous region just beyond the outer limits of Inkopolis. It was quiet and cold up here. At least the view was something to marvel at.

Adrien jumped out of the drainpipe to see that Marinette herself had only just arrived – she must have been going fairly slowly. She was looking around in wonder. On the path not too far below them was the small shack where Captain Fu was said to live. Smoke was coming out of the chimney.

Adrien was not sure whether or not he wanted to say something to Marinette and drew attention to himself, but he didn’t need to. She must have heard him.

“Adrien? What are you doing here?”

She had turned to face him, frowning slightly. Huh, so she remembered his name. Surely she must have faced so many opponents in battles before, yet she remembered Adrien?

“I’m looking for Nino,” he said.

“Oh, you too?” Relief flooded her face. “So I’m not the only one who thinks he’s in trouble!”

“And there’s just been a report that the Great Butterfly that powers the city has gone missing – I think that might have something to do with it!”

“So the Octarians are trying to take things away from us? Maybe Captain Fu isn’t so crazy after all…”

“Should we go talk to him?”

Marinette nodded. “Tikki suggested it to me. She even gave me this special weapon, look. It’s called the Hero Shot.” She held up a red Shooter with black spots on it. “Looks like one of those insects, doesn’t it? Ladybugs?”

“Aren’t those extinct?”

She shrugged. “Maybe there are still a few left. Plagg’s still here after all, isn’t he? All the other mammals have been extinct since before the start of the Mollusc Era.”

She knew about all that? Adrien had studied world history a lot considering his father was very strict with his education, but most squids in Inkopolis did not usually care about such things. Marinette, though… she was fresh in more ways than one. No wonder Nino said he had a crush on her.

But wait. If Nino had a crush on Marinette, and she was searching for a way to get him back…

“Is Nino your boyfriend?” Adrien asked before he could stop himself. Marinette stared at him, puzzled.

“No, is he not… is he not yours?”

Adrien shook his head. “No, he’s just my friend, I’ve already got someone I – uh, I mean… I’ve already…”

Whoops, he hadn’t been supposed to tell anyone about his special someone. If news got to his father about it, he’d probably be in so much trouble he would have to leave Inkopolis. No, he would have to wait until his father went back to the countryside before he could properly tell anyone. Until then it was just a secret.

Marinette didn’t seem to care, though. She turned back towards the valley and said, “I guess we’d better go talk to Captain Fu now.”

“Yeah, you’re right…”

The two of them walked down to the shack together. They didn’t even need to knock on the door before a shaky old sea turtle emerged, striding right up to them and staring up at them with his beady eyes.

“Octarians!” he said in a gruff voice, whacking his walking stick on the ground. “They’re up to no good!”

“Er, yes,” Marinette agreed, nodding, though she took a slight step back. “That’s why Adrien and I are here. Our friend Nino went missing a month ago and–”

“No doubt they kidnapped him,” Fu said. “They’ve been looking for squids to experiment on.”

“Experiment?”

“Yes, trying to figure out how to make super-soldiers in order to invade our lands and force us back into the sea! And they needed more power, so they took the Great Butterfly too. Just heard about that on the old television. That UFO people have been talking about, that’s got to be Octarian stuff too. Nasty creatures!”

He shook a fist in the general direction of the valley.

“So,” Marinette said, “do you have any tips on how we can rescue Nino? And retrieve the Great Butterfly, of course.”

“It’s going to be dangerous. The Octarians live underground in what they call “kettles”, and you’ll have to explore their world without getting caught or splatted by their toxic ink. That’d kill you permanently. I’ve got some old armour that’ll help, if you want. And a radio so that I can still stay in contact with you no matter where you go, ‘cause I don’t have one of those telephone thingies.”

“Yes please, that would be useful.”

Fu shuffled back into the shack and returned with two sets of armour, one red and one black, and two walkie-talkies. Marinette put on the red armour and Adrien took the black.

“There, now you look like real warriors!” Fu said proudly, standing back and admiring them. “I can just tell you’re going to do a great job! And since you’re going to be secret agents, you’ll need codenames. Of course we could call you Agents 3 and 4, but…”

“Who are Agents 1 and 2?”

“That’s classified. Anyway, your mission is so special you ought to have fresher names than that. How about… hmm… well, you look like a ladybug with that spotty gun, and you’re just giving off cat vibes to me. So what about Ladybug and Black Cat?”

“Ladybug sounds amazing!” Marinette said, clutching her Hero Shot tightly.

“Black Cat…” Adrien frowned. “What about Chat Noir? I like the sound of that better.”

“Alright then, Chat Noir,” Fu shrugged.

“Thank you.”

Adrien looked down, trying so hard not to think about it, but… Chat Noir was the nickname he had been given by that certain someone, his beloved squid who he couldn’t tell anyone about yet. He did not know how long it was going to take to rescue Nino, nor how difficult it would be, so perhaps having this nickname be a reminder for him would make him feel a little better. Give him strength. After all, strength was something his beloved had a lot of…

“So, are you ready to go?” Fu asked. “It’s better you get going as soon as possible, and I’ll help you out by radio along the way!”

“Wait… now?” Marinette sounded a little alarmed. “But how long will this take? Should we go back to the city first and tell someone that we’re–”

“No, this mission has to stay top secret! And there’s no time to waste – the Octarians could be creating super weapons right this instant! There’s a grate leading down to their first kettle just down that path there – hop in and get going. Remember – splat any Octarians on sight, and don’t let them splat you or you’ll die for good! Now good luck, buckos!”

He pushed them both in the general direction of the first kettle entrance. It was a circular grate that simply went straight down into the rocky ground underneath, leading to who knew where.

Marinette, the fearless S+ rank legend, simply hopped in without another thought. Adrien took a deep breath, steeling himself, reminding himself that he was very good at splatting opponents with his Krak-On Splat Roller, and these Octarians probably wouldn’t be very good at fighting anyway considering that Turf War was an inkling sport. It was going to be fine. They were going to save Nino.

He jumped into squid form and followed Marinette down the grate.

“Rose, it’s just not fair! Nath whined, leaning against the side of Inkopolis Tower with a drink in hand, trying to look as fresh as everyone else around here seemed to be. “I’m just so bad at Turf Wars – even when my team wins, it’s never because of me! Splattershot Jr. is so not my weapon. I think I’ll have a go at using a Roller type weapon, just like you.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea!” Rose said. “Rollers are so much fun!”

“Do you have any tips?”

Rose shook her head. “I’m not very good either, but then again I don’t really battle very often.”

That was true. Out of all the battles Nath had participated in recently, Rose had only been there for two of them. How did she deal with being so casual about it? Battling – and especially being fresh – was a way of life! Not something to be treated like a simple hobby!

“I guess I’ll ask someone else for tips then,” he huffed. “The other day I ran into someone called Marinette, and she offered to help me, so…”

“Don’t count on it,” came a voice from somewhere to the side.

Nath looked to see Alya Césaire standing there, close enough to hear their conversation. He knew about her, though he hadn’t formally met her yet. She was a rank S+. Just like Marinette. Such a legend that Nath almost dropped his drink when he realized that she was actually speaking to him.

“Why not?” Rose asked.

“Marinette’s gone,” Alya muttered, folding her arms. “So has Adrien. They’ve vanished, just like Nino did.”

“Are they okay?”

“Who knows? Maybe they just got sick of it here and ran away. People do that sometimes.”

“Oh no! I hope they’re alright!”

“Yeah, I hope so too. I just wish they’d bothered to say goodbye…”

Nath knew he should probably join in the conversation, but the idea of talking to a rank S+ was too overwhelming to even contemplate. At least when he’d briefly spoken to Marinette the other day he hadn’t known who she was, since he had barely just arrived in the city, but now…

No, it was too much. He wasn’t fresh enough to talk to someone like Alya. Neither was Rose, actually – what was she doing, having a conversation with an S+? There was no way something like that was allowed! Nath avoided the conversation and sneaked away as quickly as he could.

Once he was a safe distance away he burst into Ammo Knights. Tikki looked up at his dramatic entrance, somewhat amused.

“Can I help you?” she asked in that annoying, motherly tone.

“I want a Roller type weapon,” Nath said. “You told me to come back when I’ve got more experience and know what I want, right? Well I want a Roller.”

“Alright,” Tikki said. She pulled one out from behind the counter, one even bigger than Rose’s. “Here’s a Splat Roller. It has Suction Bombs as its Sub Weapon, and Killer Wail as its Special – or ‘Shocking Riff’, as people are calling it these days after Jagged Stone used it in his concert. Anyway, you use Rollers by–”

“I know how to use it,” Nath said, snatching it off her. It was much bigger than he had realized, wider than he was tall. “How much does it cost?”

“1000 coins.”

Phew – he had that much money. He swiped his card through the machine before she could even say anything, then ran off with his new Splat Roller to test it out in battle.

Oh boy. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

Alya was in his team.

This was not a drill. This was not a joke.

Alya Césaire, THE Alya Césaire, was actually on his team for this Turf War.

“You okay?” she asked him as they assembled on the spawn point of Bluefin Depot, a battle stage that looked like an abandoned train station above water.

“Yeah… I’m…”

“It’s okay, I’m not that good at Turf Wars,” she said. “My rank S+ is because of Ranked Battles only. So don’t think of me as some kind of celebrity or something, because when it comes to this, I’m no better than average.”

Nath nodded, hoping he didn’t look too starstruck.

The other team assembled on their base too, and Nath had a look. There didn’t seem to be anyone he knew in particular – oh, except the daughter of the mayor of Inkopolis.

“Chloé,” Alya growled, her eyes narrowing.

“You don’t like her?”

Nath bit his tongue but the question had slipped out before he could stop it. He had heard stories that Chloé Bourgeois used to be a spoiled brat, using her riches to bribe people into throwing matches just so that she could win, but supposedly that had all passed now. Rose had said Chloé was very nice these days. But then again, that was Rose. She was nice about everyone.

Alya looked back at Nath. “Let’s just say… I won’t respect her until she starts respecting me.”

Nath was about to ask what that meant when the signal played for the match to begin. He quickly slammed his Splat Roller down on the ground and began running forwards, inking purple turf in a wide path. Alya ran ahead with her .96 Gal weapon and his other teammates began spreading out from the base too.

Bluefin Depot was annoyingly rickety, and one wrong move would send you spiralling down into the water below. Nath was finding the Splat Roller clunky and hard to manoeuvre, and it took him quite a while to reach the middle of the stage. Alya and Chloé seemed to be ferociously shooting at each other, ignoring everything else that was going on and not even bothering to ink turf. Did they have a rivalry or something? Apparently that happened with people sometimes.

In any case, it was better to stay out of it. Nath continued running around inking turf, trying to stay safe, and whenever anyone came near him he repeatedly whacked the Splat Roller on the ground to fling enough ink at them to splat them. He had seen Rose doing that and it seemed to work pretty well. Maybe this weapon wasn’t too bad, right?

Except that it was. His team lost the match, and he only inked around 350p. Even Alya had done better than him, and she hadn’t been trying at all.

He Super Jumped straight back to Ammo Knights and stormed in. “Tikki, I need a new weapon! This one’s too hard to manage!”

“How many battles have you tried with it?” she asked.

“Well, one… but…”

“Then try some more. Every weapon takes a while to get used to. With some more practice you’ll be able to figure out what works and get the best out of it.”

“But it’s so annoying! This weapon has terrible range and it doesn’t have enough stealth to make up for it! And it’s hard not to ink over turf that your team’s already inked, so you can’t get many points! And–”

“Keep trying,” Tikki said firmly.

“Ohhhh, fine. But I hate this weapon. It’s useless.”

“Why didn’t you test it out in the shooting range first before using it in battle?”

“What, that old place? It’s not very helpful. It doesn’t give me a real sense of a battle situation.”

Tikki sighed. “If you say so.”

“Anyway, fine then, I’ll keep using the Splat Roller for a while. But if things don’t improve then will you please sell me another weapon?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

Nath left the shop again, feeling frustrated. Was this how every newbie started out? Surely not! Maybe some people were just naturally fresher than others. He just wished he could be one of them.

[sylverkitsune]

Revenge of the Humboldt: Hunt Complete.

  A week later, Nebula awoke with tears dried on her face. She lifted her tired head to look at the moon out Emerald's window but she paused, a bit befuddled. The moth that had seemed to be flittering senselessly on the bedside table was on the window in the center of a prestinely bright moon, showing it's beautiful silhouette. She felt the hand underneath hers shift and a groan snap the near silence. All of Emerald's moths flew up at once except for the bioluminecent luna moth on her eye. Nebula looked at her friend and started to cry again.   She embraced her friend and tried her best to speak, choking up, "oh my god, Emerald-hic! you're alive..."   "I'm sorry about that, Nebby." Emerald wrapped her arm around her.

  The sky was surprisingly redder on this night. Jacar looked over a large villa that looked time-worn and nearly dark, save for one or two lights softly glowing from the windows. Camille was beside him, with weapons ready. Jacar's phone rang. It was the president of the agency.   "Yes?" Jacar answered.   The phone blaired with the president's voice, "if you go on this mission, agent 0, you will become the most wanted man in Inkopolis do you understand me!?"   "Yes, Mr. president, but I'm afraid I must disobey. I wont let anyone get away with murder."   The president screamed "Agent 0 dont you hang-!" Jacar ended the call. Jacar moved forward, making sure to stay quiet as he did. Camille followed silently after him. They snuck in one of the darkened windows. A bed was on the left side of the room. Camille crept over to inspect it. All she could make out was a peaceful face and a large, black stain on the blankets. Camille turned to Jacar suddenly. He nodded and ran out of the room, Camille pealed the opposite way. For what seemed like an hour, they searched the house. all the residents, octolings, were dead. they met outside before they heard the motor of a motorcycle roar. The duo rushed to a set of motorcycles nearby, chasing after him. The pursuit lasted for a good few miles before the octoling's fuel was spent and he demounted his bike, running into a feild of tall grain. Jacar's hunter instinct kicked in and he darted into the field. Camille tracked the octoling's path and chased him. The octoling, after a long and frightful run, stopped to catch his breath. He froze as he felt a dark presence behind him. He whipped around, only to feel cold steel against his chest.   Jacar kept his eyes on the octo's as he slowly pushed the claws into his chest, "You wanna know how it felt to lose my daughter?"   Jacar then ripped the octo's heart out, still pulsing in his hand. The octo shivered in fear. Jacar then crushed the pulsing muscle.   "Just like this."   The octo fell to his knees then to his side, lifeless. Jacar's predatory eyes receded back to their normal dark hazel hue. Camille walked up next to him, observing the dead. Jacar just turned around and walked back to the road, Camille right behind him.

eeeey next part’s out yaaay~!

@son-of-joy @inklingleesquidly @agenttwo @myzzy