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voids-colourful-creations · 7 months ago

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Take it With You -- A Pearlina Fic

[Read on Ao3!]

Rated: T Relationships: Pearl/Marina Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion Content Warnings: Standard Octarian Propaganda stuff, Knives in kitchen context. Words: 3.8k

Summary: Even after all the time she's spent up here, there's still more than a few things Marina finds strange about Inklings. Even when she thinks she understands everything, Pearl finds a way to flip her world upside down. (Now that Pearl knows everything Marina's been hiding, maybe that's fitting.)

Inklings were… strange, in their pride. It was one of the things Marina found herself endeared by from the start.  When she’d been in training, when she’d been working, designing— it was all in service of the Greater Goal. The work had been glorious, their task virtuous… but the technicians? Their value was defined by what they could produce, for the sake of their future.  

Inklings weren’t like that, and Marina was enthralled. Oh, they were vain and selfish, she had known that from the start. Octolings were everything Inklings weren’t, Marina had heard growing up.

“There’s no in-between. You are one of us, a righteous Octoling soldier, and they are Inklings.”

Even the name itself was an insult, when spoken in the right mouth.

“Where they are lazy, we are diligent. Where they are scattered, unorganised and listless, we are driven, unified.”

Yes, yes, just as she’d been told.

But with laziness came freedom and relaxation. A lack of unity could just as easily been seen as a beautiful cocktail of different ideas and expressions.

Startlingly, Inklings were self assured. That, Marina hadn’t been prepared for. Inklings were bold and brash and bright. Inklings could be wrong , all the time, without a care in the world. They’d laugh and joke, no regard to their errors beyond a minor correction, if any. It took a while for it to sink in for Marina, but to be wrong was no failure, no stain on an Inklings pride. Shame instead, came in different ways. One’s appearance was important, as was skill in turf, general “vibes” so to speak. But mainly, an Inklings pride came in the same thing that drew Marina to them in the first place.

It was so starkly different to what she’d been accustomed to. A pride you chose for yourself? Unthinkable.

“You must wear everything you do with pride, ours is a noble cause, our work as a collective.”

The flooders weren’t Marina’s to be proud of, so much as her teams. Not that she was all too proud of those things nowadays…

 To do whatever you want, whenever you want. There would be no one to answer to, and nothing to hide. Was that what it meant to be an Inkling? Everything about yourself was to be flaunted, everything you do something to be proud of, or at minimum entertained by.  Inklings simply… did as they wanted.  

Pearl shone so brightly in that regard. She never apologised. She never backed down from her desires, from displaying herself in the most vivid manner possible. Pearl was always doing whatever she wanted, how she wanted, when she wanted.  It was strange how Marina found she didn’t mind it, mainly.  Inklings were selfish, yes, but Pearl was selfish in a way Marina couldn’t help but admire. And Pearl, her Pearl? Her selfishness was pure in the end. How could anyone fault her for living as she pleased? Even otherwise, it would be hypocritical to say a thing. At least, in Marina’s eye.

Wasn’t it her selfishness that pushed her here? The call for more, for the sun on her face and a thousand new colours she’d never seen before?

That same selfishness caused her to be ever enthralled by Pearl’s own.  All’s to say, Marina had seen Pearl apologise maybe twice in the three years she’d known her. Always a casual, though sincere thing, quick and easy and done.

That’s all there was to it… but .

Now, Pearl knelt at Marina’s feet. Head down, voice muffled, the only words she spoke were simple.

“I’m sorry.”

At that moment, the first thought that struck Marina hit her straight through the chest.

“Oh. She really means it.”

Quickly followed, naturally, by Marina’s own flustering reply.

“W-what for? Pearlie, stand up, it’s– what are you saying? Come inside at least!”

Tentacles brushing against the door frame, Pearl looked up to meet Marina’s eyes. Despite this, her posture remained the same, body pressed against the floor.

The edges of sunrise settled on her back, lighting her up in rosy hue. Had it really been that long? A full day then, since Eight had surfaced– 24 hours. Marina could’ve sworn it hadn’t been that late she’d been working, but the night was quickly slipping away from her grasp.

Pearl didn’t say anything, biting the edge of her lip. Slowly, she brought herself up to standing, though wavering still in the doorway.

Despite her height, Pearl’s figure shielded Marina from what little sun shone in. A soft ring of light surrounded her, blurry at the edges.

“You sure?” Pearl asked, tentative.

Marina opened the door wider, as far as it would go.

“Come in, let’s... let’s talk over breakfast.”

***

The kettle hissed and whined on the counter, but Pearl remained silent, perched up on the bar stool at Marina’s kitchen island. Marina busied herself, fretting around this way and that. A fruit might’ve been good, if she had any left that weren’t starting to rot. Maybe some muffins were left over? No, all gone…

The past few days had been a whirlwind, As Eight grew closer and closer to the surface, Marina’s time became more and more consumed by her rescue.

Now, she could breathe easy knowing Eight was breathing fresh air. That she’d made it safely, fully and completely free. With their dedication, all of theirs, Eight was safe. Inkopolis was safe.

...But Marina’s kitchen hadn’t been quite as lucky.

Tip-toeing around the counters, Marina swept up crumbs and shuffled about cutlery, trying to make things look ever so slightly more presentable. It helped very little, but at least Pearl would see her making an effort? The last thing she wanted was to look lazy in front of her...

Pulling open the fridge, she fished out the last two apples, and set them on the island behind her. She shut the door with her body, leaning against it as she moved towards the drawers. From the top, she retrieved two knives, serrated. From the second, a large wooden cutting board, heavily marred with jagged lines.

These followed the apples, gently set down beside them.

Dragging over another stool, Marina sat herself across from Pearl, pulling the basket of oranges set on the table's edge between them.

“Alright.” She said, taking a deep breath, “How about you take the oranges, and I’ll cut up the apples?”

Pearl nodded, quiet, and took an orange from the basket, alongside one of the knives.

Content, Marina took the remaining knife, and placed her apple down on the cutting board.

“So...” Marina began, carefully cutting her apple exactly in two, “What’s wrong?”

Pearl seemed startled for a moment, tearing her eyes away from the orange and over to Marina.

“What?”

“...Inklings don’t usually come apologising on hand and knee at daybreak because things are going peachy,” Marina said, ‘and you don’t usually come apologising at all.’ She thought, but kept the rest of it to herself.

From the way Pearl shifted in her seat, Marina almost wondered if she’d heard it anyway.

“I... it was just– Earlier, there was more important shit goin’ on. With Eight, and all the helicopters and... you get it.”

Marina nodded quietly. Methodically, she began to slice her apple halves into thirds, a total 6 pieces.

“But I wasn’t gonna just... Worm my way outta apologisin’!” Pearl’s thumb dug into the slit in the orange she’d created, tearing open a seam.

“For what?” Marina asked, voice faint.

Pearl made a quiet noise, neither a groan nor a breath. Just something… caught. By now, a sense of dread had begun pooling in the back of Marina's throat. She could tell where this was going, but she was still hoping she might be wrong. If she played dumb, then luck might favour her. She could delay this a little longer.

“For chattin’ ‘bout you with Cap while ya weren’t there.”

Just a little longer... even a few more moments.

“And lookin’ through that file,”

Even if she’s only lying to herself, only pretending things could stay the same...

“Digging into all your past junk. Everythin’ you didn’t wanna tell me ‘bout.”

Please, don’t say any more. Don’t say it.

“Finding out you’re an Octoling. And that you used to be in the military, I guess? And all of it. I really am sorry, Marina.”

Ahh...

Now she’d done it. The facts spilled out and sticky, laying on the table between the apples and the oranges.

No more going back.

“You’re sorry?” Marina asked quietly. She pulled an apple slice forward, singling it out from the rest. Cupping it in her palm, she began to score the surface of the skin.

“Hell you take me for?! ‘Course I am! I’d already made up my mind I wasn’t gunna go digging into ya shit if you weren’t gonna tell me yourself, then I find out all this stuff anyway. I shoulda kept my mouth shut or sumthin’.”

Marina shook her head, tentacles bouncing lightly.

“No, no, that’s-- I can’t blame you for that. You weren’t digging into anything, it all just kind of... happened.”

Pearl rolled her eyes.

“Sure, I guess. Feels like ya cutting me way too much slack.”

Chunks of orange peel began to pile up on the counter, Pearl’s peeling the furthest thing from even.

“I couldn’t… It wouldn’t be fair to blame you for that. Not for just… reading the information you were given. I- you don’t have to worry about it.” Marina’s voice had grown to a whisper, somewhere along the way.

“I wasn’t worried ‘bout that!” Pearl bit back, a frustration audibly growing in her throat as she half rose out of her seat. Calming herself just as quick, she sat back down, “Gaah, you’re so off. You’re too nice, ‘Rina… It wasn’t that. I just…”

Pearl sighed, dropping her partially peeled orange onto the counter. She leaned over the table, propping herself up by the elbows and leaning her head in her hands. Staring towards the marble countertop, puddles of orange juice reflected her expression.

“You were so skittish when we met. Can’t tell if ya remember that. Back when you were new here, new to the fucking– surface, I guess. Cod… You were so eager to learn about all my shit, everything about Inkopolis and Inklish and whatever junk. But whenever I asked you about your stuff, your town or family or whatever…”

Pearl’s palms shifted forward, covering her face as she finished speaking.

“Your expression… it broke all my hearts, I guess. Like, a little sad and sorta scared? I hated it every time. I never wanted to make you feel like that, so I just– stopped asking. Was never my business anyway.”

Pearl took a deep breath, pulling her hands back to reveal her face once more. She looked over towards Marina, seeking her eyes. Marina remained focused on the apple slices in her palms.

“I meant what I said an’ all.” Pearl continued, “Back in the chat with Cuttlefish, but like… when we met, too. I don’t care where you’re from or what you’ve done. But still, I’m sorry. For finding everything out that you didn’t want me to know.”

Marina cradled an apple slice in one palm, carefully running the knife up under its skin.

“It— it’s not like I didn’t want you to know, exactly… It’s just…”

She trailed off again. The feeling infuriated her even as the words remained caught on the tip of her tongue.

“’S’cool.” Pearl mumbled, “I get it an’ all. It’s my bad anyway, even if I don’t know what I did exactly. Just… I’m sorry— ”

The strain of the past few days was audible, Pearl’s voice unable to withstand the weight of her words.

“I’m sorry you didn’t think you could trust me with this.”

With that, finally, Pearl was entirely silent, satisfied.

The orange lay long forgotten on the table.

“I trust you!” Marina pleaded, her voice cracking ever slightly, “Pearlie, I promise I do.”

Her fruit was quickly abandoned, callously dropped from her hand as Marina reached across the table. Towards Pearl’s hands, towards Pearl .

“You don’t have to!” Pearl replied, but it sounded less confident than she had hoped.

“You don’t have to,” She repeated. “I just… never wanted to make you feel like you couldn’t— ”

“Pearl! ”

Marina snatched up Pearl’s hands, yanking them close. Pearl jolted forward, nearly bumping heads with Marina over the table.

“I never thought I couldn’t trust you. It isn’t your fault. It’s all mine.”

Pearl only looked at her, face unreadable.

Marina squeezed Pearl’s hands for a moment.

“At first, I just didn’t know how to say it. Forget the right way to explain, I could barely string an Inklish sentence together properly! But after that, I started to… I started putting things off. I was never scared of what you would say, Pearlie… I was scared– I.”

Marina grit her teeth, looking away from Pearl’s face and downwards. Staring at the discarded fruits on the table, she whispered,

“I guess I was scared of me.”

She didn’t look up at Pearl, but she felt her grasp tightening, a deep tug at her. Pearl remained silent, as Marina began to speak again.

“Seeing everything up here, being up here, with you and the light and everyone. It felt so fresh. Inklings invent themselves again and again, everyday! We— I never thought I had that, I guess. It felt like a dream, becoming someone entirely new. Someone loved for her music , someone who spent every day in the sunlight, someone who was partners with someone like you…”

Marina teared her eyes away from the table, and back towards Pearls. If Pearl saw the tears edging Marina’s eyes, she didn’t say anything.

“If I told you everything, I’d break what I built here. I’d have to admit everything I was, everything I did. A-And not just that… I didn’t want you to pity me. I didn’t know if Inkopolis would still like me, if I would even be safe…”

Marina’s breath hitched for a moment, but her words just kept tumbling out of her mouth without her even thinking.

“Once you leave, you can’t ever go back. I betrayed everyone by leaving, my friends, my family, all of them. And the worst part is I would do it again, without a second thought. But even if I knew you would stand by me, no matter what… I just didn’t know if I could, too. I’m sorry, Pearl.”

Marina heard her hearts pounding in her ears louder than anything else, all her words coming out in a rush. Everything she’d been afraid of saying aloud, of even thinking about for so long; everything all unravelled before the sun had even fully risen.

She took a breath, focusing on the feeling. Absentmindedly, her fingers stroked Pearls, still held in her grasp. Pointed tips skimmed against blunt edges.

“Cod, ‘Rina… how long have you been holdin’ onto that? Well, actually never mind, I get it. Just...”

Pearl’s fingers ran along Marina’s, repeating her motions back to her.

“You know I’ll accept ya, no matter what. But that’s not ‘cuz like, I think you’re some perfect angel, or something. Where ya came from, what you’ve done, that shit matters , yeah? But like, it matters cause it’s part of you. And I love you. So it’s… fuck, I’m not good at this kinda thing.”

Pearl bit her lip, pulling Marina in closer.

“It’s just you at the end of the day. I like the you in front of me the best outta all of them. I like that you’re a perfectionist, even if I also kinda hate it sometimes. I wanna know shit about ya, cause it’s you. But you’re still fucking you , even if you’ve done a bunch of stuff, or been through a bunch of stuff. Probably both. You’re still my ‘Rina, who has awful taste in movies and drools when she sleeps, even if you were ‘Combat Engineer Iida’ before.”

Marina leaned in further, closing the gap and pressing her head against Pearl’s, eyes closed.

“And I’m glad you’re here. I don’t care if it’s selfish, I want you up here with me , making music and goofing off. If your family and friends are anywhere near as nice as you, I bet they’re glad for ya. That you’re up here, doing what ya want and being happy. …I mean I think you’re happy? I hope so.”

Pearl sighed, and Marina could feel the air brushing against her face.

“If you don’t think you can forgive yourself, you don’t haveta. I’ll always love ya enough for us both. I think Lil’ ‘Rina deserves to catch a break though, so maybe give her that. If it wasn’t for her, I mean, I never would’ve gotten to meet the you I have today. And you today is fucking awesome, so she must’ve done something right.”

And that was what ended up breaking Marina, so when the tears began to streak down her face she was so close against Pearl’s that they ran down hers too.

“Aw ‘Rina,” Pearl murmured, “That can’t be the thing I say that makes you cry, that’s gotta be one of the lamest compliments I’ve ever given you…”

Marina laughed, still slightly starved for air, still crying. She pulled back, leaning away from the table.

Pearl mirrored her, a soft smile on her face.

Without words, she opened her arms up, inviting Marina closer.

Stumbling slightly as she slid off her stool, Marina tiptoed around the island. Gently, she walked into Pearl’s awaiting arms, still standing as Pearl perched on the seat. As Marina made contact, Pearl’s arms pulled her in close and tight.

Marina rested her head on Pearl’s shoulder, and Pearl tilted her head against Marina’s.

“Thank you,” Pearl whispered in Marina’s ear, “For telling me that. You never have to but— thank you.”

Marina squeezed her tighter.

“Oh, Pearlie… I really never wanted to hide it all from you. But I wouldn’t trade being up here, being with you— not for anything. And if being on the surface means letting go of my history, I was more than ready… if I can only have one, I chose you.”

Pearl scoffed, warm breath against Marina’s back.

“Well that’s stupid, who told you ya had to do that? ”

Marina suddenly froze.

Who had told her that? Who had gotten it so ingrained in her mind, created this inalienable truth?

It had been just another part of growing up, hadn’t it? A fact as true as the cruelty of Inklings, the unobtainable sun.

But a stream of sunlight glittered through Marina’s window just to get in her eyes. Pearl's grip around her was warm and comforting.

It wasn’t true, was it?

“No one, I guess. Or everyone. Inklings and Octolings are just… too different… they don’t mix. You were either a noble Octarian working for the cause or… or…”

And she’d known it, all along she’d known, but never before had she really said it aloud. Let herself believe it.

“Or you were against them. A traitor.”

The words she’d been afraid of didn’t sound scary anymore. Even as she spoke them, Marina didn’t find herself believing them.

Pearl laughed, sharp and biting.

“The biggest thing you could do to betray them would be to go against that black-n-white style in the first place. We got a whole rainbow of colours to work with!”

And Marina knew it, because she'd truly seen light for the first time when she’d come here. But Pearl had been the first person to really show her a rainbow.

Overcome with emotion, Marina lifted Pearl right into the air, still clinging onto her tightly.

“Whoa– ‘Rina!”

On instinct, Pearl clung tighter, wrapping her legs around Marina’s waist. In tandem, the tentacles on Marina’s head enveloped around Pearl, winding around to support her back.

“You are nothing like they said you would be,” Marina said, smiling down at Pearl.

“Hard to capture this much greatness in words, I know,” Pearl smiled back.

A beat. Only the call of birds in the distance as the sun crept further into view. The rhythm of heartbeats, 6 all in unison.

“We alright?” Pearl asked.

“We’re all right. We’re wonderful.” Marina replied.

Pearl sighed heavily in relief.

“Well thank Cod for that. Don’t know what I woulda done if I’d really hurt ya like that.”

Marina’s smile shifted to a smirk.

“Mm~? Cried maybe?”

Pearl blushed ever slightly, ink crowding her face before she could hide it. She tore her gaze from Marina’s.

“Nu-uh! Don’t say that, you’ll ruin my image.”

Marina spun around in place, twirling Pearl along with her.

“Hmm~?” Marina said, bouncing on her heels, “I think you’ve already done quite a bit of that yourself, no? I mean, apologising to me on hand and knee right at sunrise?”

Pearl shrugged.

“That’s the way Octolings do it, ain’t it? Or did Cap steer me wrong?”

Marina leaned forward, kissing Pearl on the forehead.

“Exactly how we do it.”

Pearl tilted her head up, pecking Marina on the cheek as she pulled back from her own kiss.

“You know me, always acin’ it first try.”

Marina’s tentacles wrapped around Pearl tighter, bringing her in ever closer.

“Wanna put that to the test? Now that everything’s out in the open, there’s a million things I’ve got to share with you~”

“Mm, looking forward to it. But uh… first… Much as I hate to say it,” Pearl glanced over towards the island.

Long since abandoned orange pieces lay atop one another in a pile, alongside half carved apple sea-bunnies. Apple and orange blended together into a sizable lake of juice on Marina’s kitchen island.

“Should we finish up all… that?”

Marina took in the mess on the counter, surveying it alongside the general disarray of her kitchen.

Dust particles sparkled slightly as they drifted through the air, gliding through a beam of light coming in through the kitchen window. Pearl shifted slightly, holding onto Marina tightly with seemingly no intent of leaving her arms soon.

“Let’s leave it. I’m sure Eight would appreciate some company for their first proper breakfast on the surface. We can introduce them to waffles.”

Pearl sighed contently, “Sounds good to me. But let’s be real, Eight definitely gonna be a pancake kind of gal.”

“Ha! You wish. We’ll just have to get both and let her choose.”

“Should we throw some toast in there to be safe?”

“Let’s give ‘em a full buffet! Bring Cap and Three along too, it’ll be fun.”

Words exchanged and punctuated with laughter echoed in the apartment as Marina and Pearl headed out the door, Pearl still clinging onto Marina just for the hell of it. A vibrant selection of colour danced across the early morning sky as they proceeded out, a dozen hues of pinks, purples and oranges. Ebbing and flowing, no colour stayed quite the same for long, all mixing and merging before streaking out in distinct colours. Climbing ever higher, the sun cast brightly upon a new morning in Inkopolis.

As Marina and Pearl headed out to greet it they left discarded fruit and cutlery in their wake, alongside a singular, merged shadow.

[End]

#voids fic #splatoon #pearlina #pearl houzuki #marina ida #marina iida #off the hook #octo expansion #splatoon 2 #splatoon fic #splatoon fanfiction

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gingerlee-holds · 6 months ago

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Tinkering Hearts

This is a birthday fic for @cxra-melty! It's a Splatoon tword fic about lesbians lesbianing all over the place lmao- DISCLAIMER: i have never played splatoon nor do i know anything about it so if i get something wrong, lemme know!!

Word Count: 2,028 Reading Time: about 8 minutes Warnings: none that i can think of!! enjoy!!

The evening was Marina's favorite time of day since it's among the few times in Inkopolis when it's quiet. All the little critters settled down to sleep, but the sun still bathed the earth. Warm streams of light flowed into her studio, seemingly transforming the rather plain skyrise apartment into the inky aftermath of a turf war, awash with vibrant oranges, pinks, and yellows. The scent of grease that usually filled the studio was, at her girlfriend's strongly worded request, replaced mainly by a citrusy aroma, courtesy of an air freshener of her own design.

Marina Ida leaned back in her desk chair, smiling as she set down her screwdriver. Wiping her hands on her apron, the mechanically adept Octoling sighed in contentment at seeing her new invention: a speaker with a 23% longer battery life, petitioned by her girlfriend for her characteristically prolonged singing sessions in the shower. Marina's personal speaker, her 'precious baby,' sat on a bookcase next to the door, playing her mellow vaporwave beats while she worked. Swiveling slightly in her chair, she gazed out the large windows of her tinkering studio. She had always counted herself incredibly lucky to live in an apartment like this one, with a tremendously gorgeous view of the sunset.

'It's so pretty,' Marina thought to herself. 'The setting sun gives the undersides of those clouds a beautiful pink color, like cotton candy. Like bubble gum. Like…' She suddenly looked down, feeling her face warm up a bit. 'Like Pearl.'

Marina heard a loud groan from her girlfriend, Pearl Houzuki, as if on cue. Turning again in her chair, she smiled at the mess of a girl crashed on her couch, lounging, as she often did, to periodically pester Marina while she worked. Today, though, Pearl had kept mostly silent as she lay on the sofa, idly kicking her feet behind her as she played on her phone, the nightcore blaring from her headphones only barely audible from across the room. However, the Inkling was face-down on the cushions, shamefully holding up her phone as she removed her headphones.

"'s dead," Pearl mumbled, making the Octoling smile fondly.

"Well, I did recommend you bring a charger in with you a few-" Marina stopped her 'told you so' when she broke into giggles at the sight of the death glare her girlfriend gave in reply. The pouting Pearl huffed and rolled over onto her back, staring at the ceiling as Marina returned to her desk. Her next project was to begin right away, so without wasting any time, she opened her drawer and pulled out the sketches for a marginally more efficient Splattershot.

It took less than a minute for Pearl to become restless.

"I'm boreddd…" she grumbled.

Marina chuckled. "Go charge your phone, then, silly squid. I also have those graphic novels you like somewhere on the shelf." She gestured vaguely toward one of her bookshelves without looking away from her work. As she focused back on the task before her, she failed to hear her girlfriend slowly rise from the sofa and sneak across the room, muffled by her fuzzy socks and the carpeted floor. Just as Marina put the tip of her pencil to the page, a rapid, simultaneous poke to each side elicited a squeaky yelp, making her hand shoot back to protect herself.

The Octoling whirled around, trying her best to glare at her adorable girlfriend's smug smirk, unable to suppress the smile on her face.

"There is one rule in this studio! One! I know you can count to one!" Vainly trying to sound authoritative, Marina ended up sputtering out her warning. She accidentally drew a sharp, dark line across her page with her pencil.

Pearl giggled and innocently rocked on her heels. "You know I'm garbage at math. But hey, you can't blame me! Golden hour makes your skin look even prettier than normal! I was just checking that you were real and not some sort of hologram!"

The clever Inkling's flirt had its intended effect: Marina lost her entire train of thought as her face heated up like an overclocked CPU without a cooling fan. Instead of playfully scolding Pearl about the sacred 'No Shenanigans' rule of her tinkering studio, Marina hid her face behind her tentacles and let out what she intended to be a growl but became a flustered whine. Pearl waited patiently for her girlfriend to regain her composure, smiling from ear to ear.

"Y-you know that I haven't been able to build one of those yet-!" It was a lazy rebuttal born from her genuine vexation with holographic devices.

Pearl hummed, tapping her chin. "Well, you can never be too sure! I'm not worried, though, cuz I have a surefire method of proving you're my Marina~!" At that, she teasingly wiggled her fingers at the poor Octoling. "My little Marina is deathly ticklish~!"

Pearl's 'little' Marina leaped to her feet with a squeak, standing two full heads taller than her girlfriend. A determined expression entirely replaced her flustered countenance. "G-glass houses, babe! I know for a fact that you, of all people, shouldn't be throwing out accusations of ticklishness since you're a walking tickle spot!"

The smaller girl stammered, her cheeks turning as pink as the tips of her tentacles. "B-bullshit!"

"Ooo, strong words from such a wittle Squid~! Are you gonna pout me to death~? Or do I have to ticklEEEK-!" Marina's cocky taunting was interrupted by about 100 pounds of Inkling suddenly slamming into her torso, almost bringing the tinkerer to the ground. Thankfully for her knees, Marina managed to get turned about, letting herself be pushed across the room and onto the couch by her growling girlfriend.

"You," Pearl huffed, now that she pinned the Octoling, "deserve every friggin' second of what you're about to get!"

Before Marina could reply, a wave of giggly laughter poured out from her lungs as Pearl began scribbling up and down her sides. "NohOhoHO!!" was all she could get out as Pearl's nimble fingers skittered and poked each inch of skin from her hip to her ribs.

"If anything," the Inkling said over her girlfriend's laughter, "this is your fault! I mean, for such a clever girl, it's awfully silly to keep one of your most ticklish spots so exposed like this~! Not that I'm complaining, though - makes it sooooo much easier for me to tickle the shit outta you!"

“ShuUHuHUhUT UhuHUHUHUP!!!” Marina cackled, kicking her feet. She brought one arm over her eyes while the other wrestled with Pearl's surprisingly agile hands.

"Oh, believe me, I've been shut up for the past few hours! Gotta get this energy out somehow!"

Marina bucked, desperately trying to squirm out of reach or pry her girlfriend off, but Pearl was stuck to her like a mussel, mercilessly exploiting the Octoling's ticklishness.

"PleHEhEHehheASe!!! PeHEhEhehHEARL, IhihhIhI’M BEHEEHEHEGGING!!” Marina threw her head back when Pearl began drilling her fingers into her hips. Her pleas, however, made Pearl slow down her tickling just enough for Marina to launch her counterattack.

Marina's hands shot down past Pearl's, landing on her thighs in one swift motion. The Inkling's eyes widened with shock for a moment before she was sent into peals of ticklish gleeful laughter from Marina's squeezes. She fell onto her back, hugging herself around the middle. The tinkerer took her chance, pulling herself upward to continue her onslaught.

The mellow vaporwave from her speaker was drowned out by a different sort of music, which Marina enjoyed far more: the snorts and hiccups of her beloved bratty squid when her thighs were squeezed. Pearl waved her arms around like an inflatable tube man, giving Marina access to her underarms. Scribbling in each underarm, Marina had successfully invented liquid cuteness.

Nevertheless, despite her thrashing around like a fish on land and babbling through her hiccupy laughter, Pearl had concocted the perfect scheme. When Marina stopped for a moment to readjust her position, Pearl leaped upward and wrapped her arms around Marina's torso, planting her face in her girlfriend's exposed belly. Paying no heed to the panicky warnings, the smaller girl deposited a big, wriggly raspberry, transforming the tall attacker back into a cackling girl, unable to hold back the mountain of melodic laughter. Pearl, determined to get revenge and with her competitive streak shining bright, resolved to continue raspberrying Marina's belly button until the latter had no more laughter left in her. However, true to form, she made one vital miscalculation: she hadn't removed her girlfriend's hands from under her arms.

She was immediately aware of this flaw in her plan before delivering a second attack when Marina resumed wiggling her fingers. The small Inkling squealed through her raspberry, which did less to dampen its ticklishness than Marina had hoped. Both now were squealing and laughing, both because of the tickles and the ridiculousness of the situation.

The two were locked in a stubborn tickle war of attrition: could Pearl withstand the curious wiggling fingers in her underarms before Marina inevitably gave in to her raspberries? Regardless of the outcome, Pearl was happy to finally have her girlfriend to herself after not being given any attention for so long. As silly as it seemed to be jealous of a toolbox, she felt pleased to finally have all of Marina's focus exclusively on her. She'd never admit it out loud, of course, but Pearl was more than happy to lose this battle if it meant spending more time with her favorite Octoling.

As it happens, the winner of the tickle war would not be determined that day, as a particularly devious raspberry to her side sent Marina rolling off the couch and onto the soft carpet, dragging a hiccupy Pearl down with her. The two girls squealed with delight as they landed, their legs getting tangled together in the confusion. Slowly, the laughter died down, and the two pairs of eyes opened to look into each other. Their faces melted with fondness, wobbly lovestruck smiles replacing helplessly plastered grins. As they gazed into each other's eyes, arms wrapped around each other, legs intertwined, and so close… It was poetry worthy of Sappho herself.

Pearl broke the silence first. "You oughta be more playful. It's fun to see you like this."

"What, you mean it's fun to see me all disheveled and a mess?"

The Inkling giggled, nodding. "Yep! I don't see you so unraveled often, so it's always a fun gift to witness!"

Marina's smile widened slightly before she shyly said, "Then feel free to unravel me as much as you'd like, babe."

Led by the profoundly influential force whose origin lies beyond scientific scrutiny and which has always guided the hearts of two lovers throughout countless millennia, the two cephalopods pressed themselves closer and stole a sweet, blissful kiss. When they finally pulled apart, the sun had sunk under the horizon, swapping vibrant oranges with soft purples as the stars began to appear above.

"Welp," Pearl said after a moment, "can't sleep on the floor." With that, she untangled herself and stood, picking up the surprisingly lightweight Octoling from the floor and plopping her onto the couch.

Marina giggled. "The couch isn't much better for your back, y'know-"

"Shush, genius, or else I'll make you shush." Pearl poked her girlfriend one last time as she sat beside her, forcing the tinkerer to concede.

With that, the two relaxed into the cushions, holding hands. Unable to prop her head on Marina's shoulder, Pearl nestled into her bicep, making the taller girl coo silently and wrap her other arm around the Inkling.

Yawning, Pearl said, "Can we, like, go to a karaoke bar or something tomorrow?"

Sighing fondly, Marina nodded. "We'll make it a date."

Pearl giggled victoriously. “Just us, right? You’re not gonna bring an Allen wrench or something?”

“Why on earth would I bring an Allen wrench with me on a date?”

“Not sure, but if anyone were to, it would be you.”

After a few seconds to consider, Marina nodded. “You’re probably right. No tools, I promise.”

So, with the gentle accompaniment of Marina's speaker, the two lovebirds drifted off to sleep, smiling all the while.

#kayde wrote something woah #off the hook #marina x pearl #kayde's in a lee mood tag #splatoon #splatoon fic

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octo-artist · 9 months ago

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Calm before the Inkstorm

Pre-war yan! Octavio x reader x platonic pre-war yan! Craig

Chapter 1: Sunny days…

TW: Possessive relationships, toxic mentalities,slight abuse of power, Typical Yandere shenanigans on both sides

I do not condone any of the actions in this series! If you are in a relationship like this please seek out help!

Certain parts are heavily inspired by Dissonant melodies by DriftingNova

Y/N=your name

T/C=tentacle color

E/C=eye color

Masterlist Next chapter

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

Where did everything go so wrong… Why did things turn out this way… This war should never have happened, how many signs did I ignore to reach this point…

~Four years prior~

The day was a sunny one, hardly any clouds in the sky, in a castle overlooking a quaint seaside village two figures converse in the garden, an Octarian prince and an inkling gardener. The prince, Octavio, is seated on a platform beneath the tree, his octobrush leaned up to the platform and an instrument laid out in front of him, the inkling meandering about tending to the various flora around the yard. Octavio watches them with a bored expression leaning his dead against one of his fists, it does not take long for the boredom to win him over.

“y/n, come sit with me I know you’ve already finished your duties for the day so why not take a break?”, the prince calls out from his seat, patting the space next to him with his free hand.

“Your highness that would be improper of me to do, i’m just a gardener after all not a noble”, Y/n replies, a small tinge of amusement in their voice hearing the young prince groan in exasperation.

“As if, don’t make me have to order you to take a break.”, he argued back, a bit annoyed at the Inkling’s refusal to sit with him.

“Prince Octavio with all due respect I need to finish pruning these flowers, if I don't remove the withered buds the plant won’t redirect that energy to the healthy ones.” Y/n calmly explained.

They continued their work not hearing the prince stand up and begin to walk up to them until he wrapped his arms around their waist and lifted them up and carried them over to the platform despite their protests.

“Your highness put me down! We could be seen! What would your advisors think if they saw this?!”, y/n scolded the young man who merely laughed in response.

“Ah let them! They can’t say shit to me, I’m the crown heir so they have to listen to me!”, Octavio laughed as he sat back down, not releasing the inking, setting them in his lap, “besides you’ve been working all morning and haven’t stopped once to take a break, so now i’m making ya take one. Been working on more music and I want you to hear it.”

“And you couldn’t play it while I was working?”, y/n questioned not believing that to be his only motive.

“Nope, you’re gonna stay right here and listen”, the cheeky grin could practically be heard as he let go and let y/n move to the spot next to him before beginning to play, a beautiful tune filling the space with a calming atmosphere. Closing their eyes y/n lightly swayed listening to the prince play. Their bond was a mystery to those who saw them, but it was clear to many they were close, both having grown up together despite their very different lifestyles.

The peaceful atmosphere was quickly interrupted when an unknown voice speaks up from behind the duo, “Wow you play really good!”

In response Octavio whirls around grabbing his weapon and pointing it at the intruder, an inkling male with white tentacles and gold eyes, he’s fairly scrawny wearing travelers gear. “Back off! What do you want?! Are you a burglar? An assassin?”Octavio demanded, positioning himself between the stranger and y/n.

Stuttering the inkling replies, “a-an assassin? N-No I’m a… I’m a fan of your music?”

Lowering the brush slightly the confused prince looks at the inkling saying, ”My what?”

Recomposing himself, the inkling smiles and explains, “I heard a heavenly melody in the wind, so I followed your song to this courtyard! You have some real talent!”

“But how did you get security clearance?”,Octavio asks, relaxing a bit but staying on guard a bit, keeping his position between the two.

Holding up a peace sign with a confident smile the inkling states, “Oh, I just snuck in!”

Both look at him deadpanned before Octavio calls for the guards to throw the intruder out. Unfortunately dropping a notebook in the process which the prince picks up curiously when the courtyard quiets once more.

“Oh no, poor guy must've dropped it when he was being dragged out. Maybe I should bring it to the front doors to retu-”, Y/n starts but is interrupted not long after.

“No i’m sure he’ll be back for it, kinda curious what's in it.” Octavio says, still looking at the journal.

“That feels like an invasion of privacy, your highness”, Y/n says concerned.

“The guy jumped the wall just to tell us he was a fan of my music, I think that warrants reading it to know exactly how he got in”, Octavio says back, not swayed by their concern, opening the book to take a look inside.

“I’m just going to get back to work… I don’t feel comfortable looking through some poor soul’s personal property”, Y/n states, picking the pruning shears back up to continue pruning the plants around the courtyard.

“You’re too nice y/n, you gotta know when to make the tough calls for the safety of yourself and others”, Octavio states not looking up from the page he’d landed on. Y/n doesn’t reply to his comment, focusing on their work. Naturally as the prince had predicted, the inkling came back for his journal, jumping the wall like the day before. Octavio waited with his arms crossed, a deadpan look on his face as the other male climbed down the wall, “So being tossed out once wasn’t enough to teach you a lesson?” The inkling spooked by Octavio’s statement pleads with him, “I know I know i’m sorry! But I lost my journal and I was hoping-” Not letting the inkling finish Octavio tossed the journal at him, it landing square in the poor guy’s face.

”Here, I wrote a couple of verses. Some parts could use some more work, but all in all your lyrics ain't half bad.” Octavio responded.

“You…” the inkling began, “You like my songs?”, his eyes now twinkling.

“I think they’re acceptable. Craig. Don't get too full of yourself.” Octavio replied a bit annoyed.

Reeling back in shock Craig stammers “H-HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!”

“IT’S WRITTEN ON THE COVER YOU AIRHEAD!” Octavio yells back. From the door to the castle a laugh can be heard, the duo turning to see that y/n had arrived just at the tail of the conversation. This distracts the two long enough to calm down a bit before continuing as y/n walks over to join them.

“I-I see! Well Craig’s fine and all but I prefer to be addressed as cap’n”, Craig says, a sweat drop falling from the embarrassment of forgetting he’d written his name on his journal. “What are you the captain of..?”

“Captain of fresh rhymes!” Craig states striking a pose making y/n chuckle at the silly antics of the man. Octavio gets a slight frown before eventually cracking up at Craig’s antics as well.

“Alright then if THIS is what we’re doin’… I guess that makes me the Sovereign of Spicy Beats! You can call me Prince Octavio” holding his hand out for Craig to shake, which Crain initially goes to grab saying with a smile “It’s always a pleasure to meet a fellow music lover! I…” he freezes mid sentence pulling away a bit like he’d just thought of something confusing both y/n and Octavio.

“I, ah…”, Craig stammers lost in thought, “hmmm”

“Hellooo, what are you-“, Octavio starts before being startled by Craig grabbing Octavio’s hand in both of his hands with a grin before exclaiming, “Let’s start a band!” To the surprised Octavio who looks to y/n in confusion. “I mean it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try tav, it might be fun!”, y/n says trying to assure Octavio, Craig taking note of the nickname before asking, “are you two a-“ to which both end up growing flustered before Octavio pulls Craig close to whisper sternly, “you are not to tell a soul ok? They’d lose their job if we got discovered by the council, got it?”

“Crystal clear, secret is safe with me!” Craig states making a zipping motion over his lips.

“Good, then I accept the proposition. I don’t have anything better to do and it can get pretty boring around here.” Octavio says releasing Craig who’s now once again grinning.

“Oh this is gonna be great!”, he exclaims, excited to have a new friend and band mate.

#splatoon 2 #splatoon #splatoon 3 #yandere dj octavio x reader #yandere dj octavio #dj octavio x reader #dj octavio #craig cuttlefish #Craig splatoon #captain Craig cuttlefish #dissonant melody #yandere splatoon #yandere splatoon x reader #splatoon x reader #calm before the inkstorm #splatoon octoling #splatoon fanfiction #splatoon inkling #splatoon fic

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coralpolyp · 6 months ago

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I'm not dead!

Hey look here's a redraw of the really terrible bit of digital art I did for last year's Mar13 day as proof! Apparently I didn't even finish the first one on time! Yikes!

I'm well aware that it's been a minute or two since I last posted anything on here or on AO3 - to be more precise, it's been since Splatoon 1 died and I wrote that 8000 word depressing thing - I don't know why 8000 words always seems to be my sweet spot, but it's good to know that I have one. That being said, and with Side Order: Dark Side Mix currently MIA, I thought it'd be a good idea to to have what it is that I'm doing right now on-record in some capacity, for the one or two people who were wondering.

The next few weeks are exam season, so I don't think it's going to be smooth sailing per se, but Dark Side Mix will be completed. After running into a snag with the opening act - namely with the fact that it sucks - I started reworking the entire fic from top to bottom under a new name...and then I lost motivation to do that because perfectionism set in, and I haven't really touched it in a little while.

In the time that I've been away from it, I feel like I've become increasingly aware of how that perfectionism negatively effects me and my work - namely the fact that very little of it actually exists. I mean, sure, people seem to like the stuff that does exist, but there isn't much, and a lot of things are unfinished - usually because I placed too much value on the potential of "the idea", and spent so long labouring over the start of it that by the 10,000 word mark I had realised the flaws of the idea and lost interest in it.

I can't help thinking that's a bit lame. Every other writer has 100s and thousands of words of terrible amateur works they can go back to and laugh at, before they created the masterpieces they're known for now, and my story is that I just kinda show up every once in a while.

I think there's a real beauty to that - creating for the sake of creation, with no fucks given. Maybe this isn't the finest example, but I finally started listening to My Dad Wrote a Porno recently and...I mean... the sheer lack of fucks given is well and truly a gift that keeps on giving. Same goes for Philosophy of the World. Or SMG4 back in like 2014. Or old Eddsworld stuff. There's just a certain carefree joy (or existential dread in the case of the Shaggs) to it all that you never get anywhere else. It's like the difference between a 30 second gesture drawing and 6 hours of carefully-deliberated-over anatomy.

All that is to say - Dark Side Mix is a fundamentally flawed story. It is not high art, it never will be. I should probably just get it out there in it's entirety for the world to see in the time I have available to write, and then move on to the next "brilliant-idea"-that's-actually-just-ok. Nobody likes an "idea guy" - what good is it to spend one's entire life going around saying "I never finished this story, but it was great in my head, and the bit that you can actually read was alright too,"? Creativity should be about getting in there, making a mess, and having fun - let fanfiction be fanfiction, with that being addressed to nobody but myself, because nobody else needed to hear it.

Oh, also, another reason for my absence besides creative block and exams - I'm getting into comics! That, and practising my art fundamentals a whole bunch - I don't think my drawabox is particularly interesting to look at, so I haven't exactly been posting it. I've decided that I want to try giving an idea I had for what would've been another depressing Squid Sister 8000-worder the comic treatment, although you shouldn't expect to see that anytime soon, considering how long it's gonna take, and the fact that I would want to release something like that in no more than two parts.

#splatoon #beginner artist #marie splatoon #splatoon 3 #splatoon fanart #fanart #squid sisters #splatoon fanfiction #splatoon fic #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 #vent #writer problems

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vindextra · 8 months ago

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M4rie stories!

Big Masterpost of all my M4rie stories involving, well, Marie (who is 20), and my Agent 4 OC Nora (who is 19)

Stuck inside Tentakeel Outpost due to a storm, Marie learns some stuff about the agent she's taken under her wing.

But that's not all, I made another story last week that I forgot to link here, that's basically a squeal this one!

Marie's just a bit to careless while directing Agent 4 on a mission, tipping her off to just how tired she really is. Naturally, no self respecting agent could let their boss continue as she is.

Enjoy! Happy Mar 13!

Edit from the future: There's more!

Sisyphean Task

Nora rubbed her face as she tried to figure out how to approach the issue. This was clearly some kind of test. Surely. No one person could be that bad at operating a computer. "Oh no..." Marie quietly gasped. That broke Nora's train of thought entirely. "Huh, what?" Nora asked with worry. "You don't think it's used up all of its computing already, has it?" Marie asked, her voice filled with muted concern.

#vin's writing #splatoon #marie #Agent 4 #m4rie #Nora (oc)#splatoon fanfiction #splatoon fic #Marie day #Mar13 day

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echolocating · 8 months ago

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/before the dive/

full version under the cut (+ an update on my yet unnamed story series ooh)

oh it's been a While since i've posted actual words

first of all, apologies for the radio silence since twitter hit the shitter. (points at all my major life events)

next year it'll be 10 years since i've started working on my ocs (especially these two bastards like who tf are they? eating up my attention span like this all the time...) i'm very happy that the 10 year mark didn't creep on me while i was still wondering where the hell to take the story. well I FINALLY FOUND A START AND END FOR IT. closure feels so sweet, and i'm even more excited to keep writing it

i've got parts of the series already published on ao3, though i was handling these as self standing stories. i still think these can be read individually, but i hope it'll be fun for others to watch how these all connect in the end.

so here's the current state of my unnamed series (ordered chronologically by story events):

barred from heaven - started, on hiatus

anthologia - complete

midnight is muddling our senses again - in progress

(tbc. i'm calling it "nightbreak effect" atm) - the finale. i've had it on my head nonstop since finishing side order. i have fun things prepared for it :) :) :) hence the art

if you're new here and i've piqued your interest, i recommend starting with mimosa, afterwards if you want more romance, then read anthologia. if you want something more intense (gang wars! interspecies politics! romance but fucked!), then check bfh. (if more people seem interested in bfh than i expected, i'll probably take it off hiatus sooner)

i feel like the finale won't make much sense without the background of all three, so now's a great time to catch up 🙏

that's it that's all i wanted to say <3 wish me luck

#bianccart #splatoon oc #splatoon #splatoon fic

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jemaniacreates · 9 months ago

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Splatoon AU or Fan-canon?

So, I was thinking about my fanfic for a while, and I'll be honest with you:

I felt it was an overstatement calling it an AU.

An alternate universe in my opinion means overhaul of entire or part of canon. While I want my story to have its own spin, with new characters and story arcs, I still focus heavily on what happened in true canon. Hence all the rewrites I have to make.

I want to set a boundary to make the fanfic my own while keeping it familiar to the lore enough for anyone in the Splatoon fandom to follow, so Dual Complexity is technically a fan-canon in my eyes.

Anyway, enough of me rambling. This is probably some of you after reading all that:

See ya in the next post!

#splatoon #splatoon 2 #splatoon 3 #return of the mammalians #octo expansion #splatoon fanfiction #splatoon fic #side order #dual complexity

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sillybayo · 1 month ago

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Snippet of a Callie focused calf1sh fic

#fanfic #fanfiction #splatoon #callie cuttlefish #callie splatoon #Splatoon fanfic #splatoon fanfiction #Fic #Splatoon fic #tw addiction #cw addiction

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venofthevoid · 1 year ago

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I’d like to think that Neo 3 and the Captain are cousins but they have no clue until Neo tells the captain she has to go to inkopolis for a week because of family reasons [yearly reunion] and Captain’s like “wow what a coincidence. Me too” and Neo convinces them to let her tag along so they go together. They go by train but the atmosphere progressively gets heavier as neither of them discussed where they were going but they’re still heading in the same direction. The two of them assume they’re following the other until Captain leaves to pick up Eight and they [finally] part ways.

Then the reunion actually happens and they just

#please note that this user has never been to a family reunion #are family reunions actually a thing or has late 2000’s television tricked me #Splatoon #Splatoon 3 #agent 3 #neo agent 3 #captain 3 #does this count as a Splatoon fic? I think it does #Splatoon fic #more of a short drabble than anything but cope I guess #splatoon headcanon #me thas me

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t1meslayer · 9 months ago

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We're full steam ahead on edits for my Splatoon Pearlina fic — I'd expect to see something out tomorrow!!

In the meantime, here's a teaser for all the good squids and kids out there:

#I'm a 'Pearl as ancient they/she who goes to bed early' truther #Marina's the terminally online upstart who can't go to bed because she's too busy watching a 15-hour lecture on bulldozer design #Anyway I do some fun stuff in this one please look forward to it!#fanfiction #fanfic #writing #teaser #nintendo #splatoon fic #Splatoon #Marina #Pearl #Pearlina

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downthedraincomic · 2 months ago

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CHAPTER TWO IS HERE!!! SQUID FIGHTS!!!

This one is LONGER! Also, it was rewritten a lot so sorry if theres a ton of errors/inconsistences/etc, guhh

Quick warning for some homophobic language + implied ableism + sexual jokes (I dunno if this is counterintuitive since it's not a lot, but just a heads up y'know)

#I'll probably just add the warnings at the beginning of chapters tbh #splatoon fic #fanfiction #extras #splatoon ocs

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voids-colourful-creations · 3 months ago

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Ring Around an Iris - A Splatoon 2 Marie Fic

[Read on Ao3!]

Rated: T Splatoon 2 Story Mode Words: 5.6k

In the corner of Inkpolis Square is a grate, with a woman standing over it. Twirling a parasol in her hands, scanning the crowd for just the right Inkling to pass by. And above her head, every two hours, the same new bulletin plays. The same two voices laugh together like clockwork, and Marie continues to stand, alone. (Or, another one of Marie's days before she finds Agent 4, standing across the street from Inkopolis News)

It had been a warm and restless summer night. The chirps of nocturnal insects echoed out into the countryside composing a natural lullaby, a tune for Marie to drift asleep to. Slowly, she could feel her thoughts blurring, mind sinking into her dreams. She’d almost made it, almost, but not before hearing tapping at the window.

It’s always the same rhythm when it’s Callie; one knock, then two knocks in quick succession against the glass. Before Marie had even fully pulled herself out of bed, Callie had already slid the window open, sticking her head inside.

“Mar…” Her voice was audibly damp with tears, “Are you awake?”

Marie, even as young as she was, just rolled her eyes. “Mghhn... Am now.” She replied, crawling out from the covers and heading to the window.

They were up late that night, or at least late for their ages. Still blobby at the edges, not quite mastering the art of permanent physicality.

Callie climbed in through the window, as she had many times before, lugging a large backpack behind her. Despite the size, it hung loosely on her shoulders. The canvas was deflated with hardly anything inside to keep its form.

“What are ya doin’ here, I was sleepin’.” Somewhere in the back of Marie’s mind is a little voice that tells her to be more cautious with what she says. It goes ignored.

“I…” Callie said, pausing for dramatic effect, “--Am running away. I’m going to Inkopolis to become a star.”

“Got in a fight with your mom again ?”

Callie whimpered quietly in response, which Marie took as a yes.

 “Well, what’re you taking with you?” Marie asked, flopping down to sit next to Callie on the edge of her futon.

“Important stuff,” Callie replied, still sniffling slightly.

Marie, unimpressed, took the bag from her cousin and turned it out on the floor.

A few things spilled out, but only a few. Some colourful ribbons to tie her tentacles back, a pair of pyjamas and a spare outfit, some flip flops, and a bright pink plush shaped like a little squid.

“You’re going to need more than this,” Marie said matter-of-factly. “You can’t get on the train without money.”

Callie pouted.

“I already spent all of my allowance.”

Marie sighed and stood up, stretching out as she went. She tiptoed across the room to her dresser. Carefully, Marie pulled open the top drawer, rummaging around for a moment before fishing out a small drawstring bag. Blindly, she reached in, feeling for the coins by their shape. The bag jingled as it swung around.

They’d been on the train to Inkopolis a dozen times together with the rest of their family, so Marie knew the fare by heart. Just nine of the biggest coins.

Marie pulled them out one by one, willing her fingers to stay solid instead of melting down into ink.

One, two, three.

It’d be so easy to forget a coin. The little voice in her head whined. Leave one behind.

Four, five, six.

It would be easy to keep her from leaving.

Marie tiptoed back over to the futon, sitting down with one big flop backwards.

“Here ya go,” Marie said, dropping nine coins into Callie’s lap, “For the train.”

Callie, somewhat surprised, began scooping the coins up and tucking them into the bag.

“Is that everything?” She asked.

Marie shrugged.

“I dunno. Maybe?” She said, while the voice in her mind protested louder. A growing feeling of dread welled up in her chest, ignored by her lips.

Callie squinted, but Marie made no move to fetch any other items, or speak any further on the subject. Her heart protested more and more, and yet her mouth still remained shut.

“Then I guess I’m leaving now. Next time you see me, I’ll be in a big stadium with thousands of adoring fans.”

Marie just scoffed, despite the voice in her mind protesting louder than ever.

“Sure.”

Callie stuck out her tongue.

“You should be nicer to me! I’m leaving! What if you never see me again?”

It really makes Marie sick to her stomach, but the only reply she gives is a little laugh, a giggle she tries to cover with her lime green tipped fingers.

Callie whipped around, tentacles flying outwards with her twirl. Standing up and moving back over towards the window, she sighed.

“Well… thanks anyway.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Marie replied, “Good night.”

Callie simply rippled in place there, for a moment. As she sat out on the windowsill with her legs dangling off the ledge, she looked over her shoulder. A final glance towards Marie. When their eyes meet, Callie’s mouth jarringly warps into an otherworldly smile, with teeth far too sharp and teary eyes that Marie doesn’t recognize.

“Goodbye.” Callie replied. Before Marie can do anything else, Callie is diving backwards. Falling, falling, tumbling over and over into inky darkness with no end, to an unseen underworld– Marie lurches– beyond reach– Marie falls– beyond help– and finally Marie wakes up as her body collides with the ground.

A steady stream of sunlight falls across her face. Morning has arrived in Inkopolis yet again.

It doesn’t take Marie long to collect herself from last night’s dream. Nightmares aren’t new to her, by this point she’s more annoyed than disturbed. This is what she gets for sleeping at the apartment for once.

That memory mangled into dream was something Marie already remembered quite well. For one, she hadn’t had enough money to give Callie for the train anyway. She’d given her… half the price? Maybe? It was ages ago now, but Marie still remembers that part at least.

She drags herself into the bathroom, pulling the green toothbrush out of the holder. The pink one still lays abandoned at the edge of the sink and Marie makes no effort to move it. She stares blankly in the mirror as she goes through the motions of brushing her teeth, not particularly registering her appearance. It didn’t matter much, she wasn’t going to work anyway.

Despite herself, the dream and memories remain at the forefront of Marie’s mind.

Mainly, she remembers snippets. Callie’s knock at the window, the chill of the breeze as she climbed in. Callie’s face, the tear tracks that sparkled in the glow of Marie’s tiny lamp. How she’d looked so determined.

And Marie remembers how she wasn’t scared.

No matter what Callie had said, she wouldn’t just disappear like that. Marie knew, so Marie had nothing to be afraid of. They had dance practice tomorrow, and the festival was next weekend. There was nothing to worry about, and so Marie didn’t.

She leaves the bathroom, ducking back into her room to put on her clothes for the day. The motions are near mechanical now, habit enough that her mind wanders as she pulls the layers on.

Back then… When she’d woken up that next morning, Callie’s mother had already come over to bother them. Sure as Marie had been, Callie was back home again. Safe and sound and grounded for the rest of the week.

Marie hadn’t batted an eye as Callie’s mother recounted the whole story to her own mother. As both women chatted profusely at the kitchen table, Marie paid them no mind. Preparing breakfast as if they weren’t there.

Marie muses about her breakfast for today as she closes the bedroom door behind her. It’s already quite late, she’ll just grab something on her way to the square. With that set, Marie headed towards the entryway to grab her sandals.

That whole dream, that whole “incident”... It had all been so silly. There wasn’t really anything to worry about. They had gotten all worked up but everything had been fine. Like Marie knew it would be.

Silently, Marie slips out the door to the apartment, locking it behind her.

What a stupid childhood memory. Back then, Callie had only been “missing” for about 3 hours.

***

It’s been 3 weeks since the announcement of Callie’s disappearance hit Inkopolis News. That doesn’t mean it’s been 3 weeks she’s been missing necessarily, just how long people have been talking about it. Talking about her as if they understood anything that was going on.

Marie herself isn’t sure exactly how long it’s been. It scratches at her. The precise moment, the specific location and the exact method are all a mystery. Callie had been here and now she’s not. That’s all Marie had to go off of.

…That, and a bit more, of course. More that the rest of Inkopolis had no idea about, and hopefully never would. It’s not substantial really. It’s not enough to bring her back, to make this any easier. Everything she knows is just enough weight to bother her, watching people try to solve the puzzle of Callie’s disappearance knowing she’s got half the pieces shoved deep into her pockets.

It still bugs her, everyone talking like they understand, but there’s no room for those kinds of feelings, so Marie tries to push them aside.

Another scorching hot day in Inkopolis Square, and Marie’s starting to hate the place. Not that she’d been all too fond of it to begin with, more so that it hadn’t been on her radar.

Nevertheless, spending her free time lingering in the square was certainly not endearing it to Marie any faster. If it helps bring Callie home though, Marie supposes she’ll forgive it. With every day that goes by, that forgiveness grows a little harder to earn. Case in point, those new girls who’d taken over as news casters.

In all honesty, Marie had barely registered the new duo taking over when she and Callie left. One of them was short, the other was tall, and that was about as much as she’d cared at the time. A whole myriad of projects were lining up, both her and Callie’s schedules becoming more and more crowded by the day. They’d outgrown Inkopolis News. Marie didn’t have the time to feel sentimental about it, even if she’d wanted to, not with the kind of scheduling management had her under at the time.

Right now she almost wishes for that back.

She gets the feeling her whole production team’s on some kind of order to treat her like glass. They all look at her like she’ll burst into tears any moment, all the interns speaking in hushed tones every time she’s near like they think she doesn’t realise.

For the first time in months, Marie’s gotten some of the free time she’d been wanting. All it took was losing the person she’d actually wanted to spend it with.

But it’s more time to stand here, to keep waiting and watching, until the right someone falls into her lap. Scanning the crowd while maintaining every air of mystery she’s managed to cultivate, gaze brushing against strangers to find one with that “look” she’s supposed to find. Whatever that was meant to mean.

Lately Marie’s taken to lingering at this one corner. It’s a good spot, not in the dead centre of everything, not too far into the shadier back streets. Deca Tower’s shadow loomed over her for much of the hour, but most of the turf hungry squid kids passed her by. Good, Marie thought, because the last thing she wanted was just some random splat happy teen.

The only real drawback is the current Inkopolis News building. It sits across the street from her; massive window proudly displaying the new hosts inside as they air their reports.

Sure enough, every other hour like clockwork, the cacophony of advertisements above her head shifts to the live broadcast, displayed proudly on several of Deca Towers' many screens.

Overlapping audios all harmonise for a brief window, and the trill of a pair of voices Marie’s come to recognise.

Today the news starts as it always does, 2pm on the dot.

“Y’all know what time it is!”

“It's Off the Hook, coming at you live from Inkopolis Square!”

The two voices don’t blend together like hers and Callie’s used to. One is shrill almost, rough slang tumbling out of a high pitch. The other is even toned, polite and calming. There was a lilt of an accent there, almost unnoticeable.

Marie notices.

The rotations are the same as always, and Marie begins to tune them out automatically. Sorry as she was to disappoint; it was just… a tad difficult to care about turf war right now.

As the transition music plays for the 3rd time this broadcast, the first speaker's tone changes. Pearl, her name was, if Marie remembered right.

“Callie Cuttlefish, beloved Inkopolis idol, is still missing. If you have any information regarding her whereabouts, please contact the number down below.”

Which is the same thing they’ve been saying every other day for two weeks now. Marie stares blankly ahead and doesn’t let her gaze turn towards the screens or the news building.

“Oh, uh~!” The younger idol– her name slipping Marie’s mind at the moment– stumbles over her line.

“We’ve got a statement here to share as well,” She says, regaining her composure. Marie knows that kind of cadence from experience, her words coming straight from the teleprompters mouth. “So here’s a message from Callie’s fellow Squid Sister, Marie.”

Oh, right.

That.

Marie begins echoing throughout the square, or something like her. She never sounds quite the same in recording as she does in real life. Part of that she blames as persona, her voice changing cadence every time a camera’s trained on her regardless of whether she intends to or not.

So then her own voice saying everything expected of her right now. Half the statement was written by management anyway. What was she supposed to say? Help us find Callie? Call the number on screen if you have any leads?

That, yes, and she had said it all. The futility of it grates at her.

Marie knows where Callie is. She knows why she’s disappeared. It’s the how that eludes her. How it happened, how she’ll find her. How she can fix all of this.

“For the time being, I will be withdrawing from public appearances,” Her voice continues, “Such as live performances, meet and greets, or award shows. No new projects or music will begin production. I��ll be continuing some activities in limited capacity, following a short hiatus. Thank you for your support, I hope we will both be able to thank you all soon.”

And then finally , it’s over.

First time they’d shared that little piece on the news, but Marie knows it won’t be the last. Reprieve for now, but in 2 hours time it’d return just the same.

“So keep an eye out, y’all! The sooner she’s found the sooner Inkopolis’s best idol gets back to making music!”

Marie feels herself tense ever slightly on that line. It doesn’t matter, but something about the barb of competition never seems to let them free.

It doesn’t bother Marie so much, but maybe that was just because she won? There she was, getting full of herself again.

Marie bites her tongue and focuses back on the newscasters banter.

The younger idol's voice lilts upwards, shyness fading away.

“Best idol, hmm~? Are you so sure about that?”

Pearl laughs, loud and rough.

“Aw, ‘Rina, have you finally come around after your pick in last year’s Splatfest?”

‘Rina’ gasps loudly.

“Absolutely not! And dear viewers I hope you know Pearlie is a little sneak because she knows full well I was a proud Marie queen.”

“Weeeere you?” Pearl says, stretching out her words in mock confusion. “It was soooo long ago, I can’t seem to remember…”

“You were so shocked to lose you've completely forgotten?! But never fear Pearlie, I’ve still got my shirt to prove it!”

“Pretty sure Squidforce makes ya return those things at the end of the festival, Marina you didn’t—“

Marina hastily cuts Pearl off, “Oh, lookit that, we’re short on time. Well, keep an eye out everyone! Now, speaking of Splatfests–!”

And the transition music sweeps over their words once more. As the girls debate the pros and cons of movie genres for the 8th time this week, Marie lets her gaze drift over to the recording studio.

A cluster of excited Inklings crowd around the massive window, patterned with Off the Hook logos across its entire expanse. It’s awfully gaudy, or at least so says Marie.

With the mass of fans plastering themselves against the glass, Marie can’t get a good look at the idols inside. There’s the tips of Pearl’s crown she thinks, but the girl’s height certainly isn’t doing her any favours here.

Marina is a good head taller, but one awfully persistent Inkling keeps hopping up to get a better look over his taller friend, so Marie can’t make out her face. Just the edges of her tentacles, seafoam green and curling at the edges as she speaks.

Enough. There’s no point in standing around if all she’s going to do is make the most basic possible observations of their replacements. That’s not why Marie’s spent what feels like years lingering in the Square.

She’s supposed to be trying to find… someone.

Some look.

Gramps had tried to explain it to her once, a late night at the Cabin over in Octo Canyon.

A long day of setting up a new outpost, though a sizable portion of junk, Octavio included, remained over in the valley.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, light fell across the uneven stone in odd shapes, obscured by floating stones.

Marie sat carefully, watching the shadows shift while trying to move as little as possible.

Three had, as they were prone to doing, pushed themself to frankly unnecessary levels and wound up exhausted. Again. Callie at least had some form of excuse, a long morning of shooting refusing to deter her from coming by in the afternoon to help out. But regardless, the both of them had wound up drifting off only a few moments after sitting down for a “short break”. Marie, having made the unfortunate mistake of sitting beside them, now remained stock still.

Three’s head lulled to their right, ear poking Marie’s neck slightly and one of their longer tentacles spilling over into her lap. Callie was worse, but at least she was spilling onto Three. Her tentacles, taken down from their typical bow for the sake of the role, had never gotten tied back up again. Instead they were tangled in Three’s left arm, and pinned under the weight of Callie’s shoulder as she slid slightly forward in her sleep. Her head landed somewhere between Three’s shoulder and chest, a precarious position from which she could fall at any second.

And hyper aware of all of it, Marie. Wide awake.

Cuttlefish’s voice echoed over the canyon, just finishing rigging up some cord or another he’d been fiddling with on the other side of the cabin.

“How’s it going over there, kiddo?” He asked, taking a glance over at Marie and the others.

“Great,” She replied, deadpan, “Getting a ton done.”

Cuttlefish had laughed at that— laughed at her! — turning to rummage around in his pile of junk.

He wobbled over, towing along a couple paper lanterns Marie vaguely recognized, if not from where.

Shakily balancing on his wooden sandals, Cuttlefish strung the edge of the lantern on the handle of his cane and painfully slowly, reached up to hang it on a hook above Marie’s head.

“Gramps,” She pleaded, “You cannot be serious.”

Cuttlefish, the absolute bastard, just looked down and giggled. At his age too, the nerve.

“I’m hanging the lanterns.” He said, like it wasn’t extremely obvious what he was doing. The yellow strings hanging from the bottom of the lantern skimmed across Marie’s face and she worked very hard to keep a blank expression. Thank goodness for media training.

“I can see that. Do you have to do that now? ”

The lantern successfully slid into place and Cuttlefish, slowly , pulled his cane back, leaving the lantern’s tail hanging right in front of Marie’s face.

“Well, it’s got to get done, don’t it? I can’t be waiting around for the right moment at my age!”

Marie rolled her eyes.

“You better not hang that other one. If you wake up Three I won’t be responsible for what they do to you.”

In the few years Marie had known Three she’d only learned a handful of information, a drop in the ocean compared to her lifetime of knowledge on Callie. One of the things she’d learned right away was that waking up Three before they were damn well ready to wake up was not how you got on their good side.

“ Pwahh, I wouldn’t worry, kid loves me.” Cuttlefish said, but he put the second lantern down on the bench anyway.

Marie stuck her tongue out, one of the few things she could do without risking waking anyone.

“I can’t believe this. Giving Three special treatment over your own granddaughter. Next you’ll tell us Three’s your favourite agent.”

Cuttlefish smirked.

“Three is my favourite.”

“How could you do this.” Marie replied, zero hint of any real upset in her voice.  Carefully, Cuttlefish lowered himself down to sit on the stone, leaning back against the edge of the bench.

“Now don’t you start with me. Besides, I have it on good authority you’re pretty fond of them yourself.”

Marie looks away from Cuttlefish and over towards an odd plant, poking up out of the cracks in the rock.

“No idea what you’re talking about.”

“Ha, says the squid with them curled up against her right now!”

“This means nothing to me.”

Cuttlefish just smiled, looking over at the trio.

“Mar’, you can lie to your parents, your cousin and friends and coworkers, but you can’t lie to your old gramps. I see right through you. Always have.”

Marie sighed, turning her head to look over.

“I was only joking. No need to make things all serious.”

Cuttlefish isn’t looking at her anymore, letting his gaze wander out towards the training dummies they’d started setting up. The leftmost one is deflating slightly and the one in the centre hasn’t been filled at all. There’s still a lot of work to do.

“I suppose I don’t. You do a pretty good job of that all on your own.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Marie spat back, frustration bubbling out, “I get you’ve got the whole cryptic old man shtick going on, but keep this up and I’ll think you really have lost it.”

“Ha! Ya’ always were set like a hair trigger. Part of why I recruited you. Makes for a good sniper.”

Marie didn’t have any reply to that, so she let them both sit with the silence.

“I always knew you’d be good at it, you’ve got that look to ya.”

“Look?” Marie asked.

Cuttlefish tapped the edge of his cane against the stone as he spoke.

“There’s a look about ya, all of ya. It’s in you, and Cal, and Three too. S’How I knew they’d be the right one for the job.”

Marie scoffed.

“I thought you chose Three because they were the first kid who didn’t think you were completely off your rocker.”

“Joke all you like, kiddo, but there’s a trick to these things. You can tell the sort of squid someone is in their eyes. What they’d be willing to do, how far they’d go. Whether ya’ can trust them to do what’s right when it comes down to it.”

Now who’s making things too serious, Marie thought, but she didn’t say it. What she would’ve said now given the chance to talk to him again. Scour for a little more info on this supposed look , this way of reading people just right. A way to tell who to rely on when you need them.

But then, Marie had just rolled her eyes like always.

“Whatever you say, Gramps.”

Cuttlefish chuckled as Marie’s gaze wandered back over to Three and Callie as they continued to sleep.

“You’ll get it someday, when the time’s right.”

But if there’s ever a time isn’t it now? Nothing suddenly makes sense. Marie just grips onto an old parasol and lingers between an alley and a trash can, waiting for something to click into place.

Just like how to be a good sister, how to smile for cameras so they don’t know you’re faking, and how to fire a charger without having your hands shake. Another thing Marie’s just going to have to figure out, because no one will be able to explain it to her.

If Cuttlefish were here, things would be easier. She could balance the media a bit more, let him take the reins on finding another new recruit. They’d train the newbie together maybe, but Marie doesn’t let herself daydream anymore than that.

Because he’s off somewhere and won’t respond to any of her messages.

If Three were here things would be so much easier. She wouldn’t even have to say anything, they’d be halfway to the bottom of Octo Canyon already. They’ve always liked Callie better, most people do, and they’d jumped at any chance to patrol or train or whatever , if it was for the NSS. Marie’s pretty sure she could get them to clean her bathroom if she claimed it was some kind of training, but she won’t get the chance to test that, because Three isn’t here.

They’re off somewhere, with Cuttlefish, and won’t pick up their phone.

If Callie were here…

Well.

If Callie were here, right? If Callie were here.

Marie tightens the grip on her parasol, rolling it clockwise and back again. It won’t be much longer. She won’t let it be much longer.

Definitively pulling herself away from the memories, Marie forces herself to focus on the square, on the crowds. She can’t be getting caught in her own head now , not when any passerby could be the person she’s looking for.

She sweeps her gaze along the crowd, turning with a swath of teens heading towards Deca Tower. Laughing with each other they all head inside the open elevator doors, disappearing from Marie’s view in a split second.

She stays staring, left alone with just her reflection in the glass dividers outside the entrance.

It’s odd to say even she doesn’t recognise herself, but then that’s the point. She doesn’t need someone who’s here for Marie from the Squid Sisters . She needs…

Marie squints, looking over herself. What is it about her that has this so-called look? Where is she supposed to find all those little things that make a person right for this?

The only look she sees in her eyes is a lack of sleep and a bitter after taste.

Sunlight fades into the skyline, dipping just low enough to reflect off the glass and bounce back towards Marie’s face.

She looks away, casting another glance into the crowd.

Nothing.

She’s spent so long in a reverie that the sun’s starting to set. Even the Inkopolis News reports on the screens above were over now, just non stop ads until morning came.

Frustration bubbles up in the back of Marie’s throat. It’s another day nearly gone and she’s no closer to getting Callie back. How long of this? How long of waiting, of searching for something she doesn’t even know how to look for?

Marie bites the edge of her lip, hard, enough to know it’ll split. Makeup department would throw a fit, but then she’d have to be actively performing for that.

She’ll have to leave soon. There’s not much point to sticking around as the nights go on. Crowds thin out, most people who come out late at night wouldn’t have the time to devote to something of this scale anyway. Much as she’s loath to admit it, Marie does need to sleep at some point, so she can’t just stand here forever. During a festival, maybe, when the crowds make up for the sleep deprivation, but tonight she has no excuse.

Marie drags her sandal across the manhole, trying to find any reason to idle a bit longer. She’d have to make up her mind on where to go tonight at least, before she left.

Back to the apartment again, practically untouched since she’d first returned home? It’s a bit of a mess, but Marie can’t bring herself to move anything that wasn’t in danger of actively rotting. Callie’s comfortable shoes are still thrown across the living room from where she’d kicked them off last time she was home. Her laundry is still in the dryer, a bowl of dry cereal Marie can’t stand just sitting on the kitchen table.

The other option is the cabin, the old sofa with the out of place spring. At nights Marie spends in the cabin she keeps her radio on, trying to get any hint of where to even start looking in the crackling static that drones endlessly on. She doesn’t sleep much those nights, ears straining for anything hidden in the white noise.

She’s spent most nights at the cabin.

With the clouds over the (now empty) Inkopolis News building growing an ever more vibrant magenta, there’s not much daylight left.

Marie takes a breath. It’s time to go.

But as she lifts her foot her gaze sweeps out into the crowd one last time.

...There’s someone. Frozen in place, staring Marie dead in the eye.

A moment passes, Marie unable to tear herself away. A breath, and then she’s moving , the woman in the distance is approaching Marie. It’s only a few steps, just enough for them to be within earshot of each other, but it’s the closest anyone’s been to Marie in weeks. She feels like she’s suffocating.

“Excuse me…” The woman says, toned, polite and calming. The slightest lilt of an accent. The voice that Marie’s heard every few hours, ringing out above her head like clockwork.

Marina from Off the Hook looks towards Marie and says nothing, words seemingly caught in her throat.

She’s so much closer now. Marie’s eyes flick downwards, to her beat up sneakers, then upwards, to her tied back tentacles, cups facing the sky.

Heavy headphones tuck her ears away, and a snug teal and cream coloured hoodie hides much of Marina’s body. Not enough for her to be unrecognisable. Not enough for Marie to not take one look and know.

Marie’s breath gets caught in her throat.

“Yes?” Marie hears herself ask, voice more distant than every recording she’s ever made.

However she speaks must have some kind of effect , because she watches Marina’s gentle smile chip in real time, media training washing away to an anxious expression. Marina clutches her pointed teal fingertips to her chest.

“I’ve… um… I see you hanging around here a lot! F-from the news building. On my break,” Marina’s head whips around, pointing at the obvious glass room behind her. “I- I recognise you.”

That’s my line, Marie thinks. What’s that supposed to mean? She’s without the charger, sure, but if she’s already been recognised she’s more than happy to provide. It would be nice, even, to do a bit of agent work. Relieve a bit of stress.

“Do you now?” Marie says in reply. She can’t meet Marina’s eye, so she settles for looking at the small tentacle curling out above her forehead.

Marina nods profusely, practically bowing over.

“I- I just… If… If there was anything I could help you with—“ Marina says, and before she’s even finished Marie is already caught entirely off guard. “I’d be happy to. If there’s anything I can do for you. Either of you.”

Somewhere in that sentence she’d screwed her eyes shut, now peeking one open to look over at Marie for her response.

Marie just stares. Deep into pale seafoam and pastel pink. The shape of a figure eight, watery and waiting. She feels a bit sick.

“…No.” Marie answers finally, voice thick and heavy. “There isn’t.”

Marina seems almost surprised for a moment, but she hides it well.

“W-Well then! I… I wish you the best of luck.”

And Marie just breathes, because if she says another word she’s not sure what they would be anymore. A moment to collect her thoughts, but by now she can’t think of anything but how much she wishes nothing had happened to get her this far deep in the first place.

More than a minute, silence between them and Marina’s awaiting face, until Marie finally replies the only thing that feels right.

“You as well.”

Then melts away, lets herself dissolve into ink right then and there down into the grate and away from any eyes. Only about a metre down she drops before shifting back, sticking her arms out to brace herself against the inside of the drain. There’s just barely enough space for her here. She stares upwards, the small beams of light filtering in through the grate. There’s a clanging, shadows flickering as Marina steps over. Marie holds her breath for a moment, but Marina doesn’t move to follow her.

Another bang, then a high pitched voice echoing downward, filtered through the metal.

“Hey, ‘Rina! Sorry, the fans got me, yada yada, whatever— who was that you were talking to? Someone you know?”

Even from this distance, Marie can hear the sharp inhale Marina takes. That small moment of hesitation.

Marie doesn’t need to hear this. Pulling herself away from the sides of the drain slowly, she lets herself spill downwards again, back towards the cabin. To radio static and waiting, a sleepless night until daybreak, when she’ll try all this again.

So she only hears this last bit as she’s already leaving, Marina’s ever-so-slightly shaky voice as it’s swept away.

“No,” Marina says, “I guess not.”

[end]

#splatoon #splatoon 2 #marie cuttlefish #marina ida #marie splatoon #marina splatoon #squid sisters #callie cuttlefish #splatoon fanfiction #splatoon fic #voids fic

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