#splatoon oc aid

[semrielle]

grand festival ft. aiver!!

[dogboyklug]

kinda exhausted but i wanted to draw this

yes those are the crutches. tuyen doesnt know how they work and assumes theyre just fancy canes. hes a bit silly

design by @insert-cephalopod-joke . post i got them from will be in the comments so tumblr doesnt kill me for daring to make a hyperlink

[m1k4-undersc0re]

THINGIE!!

idk how to categorize this because i really put lots of random things together sooo that's fun:3

[chaosduckytoast12]

hello Coroika fandom

I happen to know a somewhat possibility formerly specs x goggles obsessed Tumblr user (reblog this you know who you are) anyways I know almost nothing about Splatoon or Coroika so ask me questions and I'll answer them like I know the answer and everything I say is 100% canon. - Chaosducktoasty12

[ghostie3draw]

Meet my Splatoon Ocs

Attention, some files have been leaked about the members of the NNSS, proceed with discretion.

The New Captain (Silver)

Agent 4 (J.C) and Agent 8 (Specter)

Neo agents 3 (Ghost and Cassia) + Little Buddy (Piña)

The First AIDs team (Kelpie, Coco and Plank)

[gojira67]

Splat oc!!

Dr.Retro is a 30 year old octoling infused with Judd's dna cells, resulting in the new cattolings! Having a daytime job as a nurse to aid toward injured squid kids after their usual turf war matches.

During her free time, she aids in the help of Mr.Grizz, and the return of mammalians. Due to age, she tends to hide in the shadows with her trust charger to stop the new squidbeak splatoon from reaching the rocket to no avail. Her main motivation is to see more variation of fuzzy/animalistic creatures like herself. Money isn't a problem seeing as she's already a doctor.

She finds joy in learning about the old world of human age, visiting human museums, and relaxing at home. From other fresh fish on the street, she has a more sweet personality, like a motherly figure to those.

More of Dr.Retro to come soon!

[auranova26]

Splatoon: Octo Cuentos Lore Bits

As I type this, I am being lulled into a trance by this beautiful remix.

With it, I feel compelled to share some bits of lore I have regarding my AU. Uh, no particular order or thematic, just whatever comes to mind. I am in fact drunk. 🥴

There are effectively five dialects that exist in the world of Splatoon: OC. I guess the term 'languages' could work as well. They are Inkadian, Splatlandian, Octarian, Salmonarian, and Ursine/Alternan. Inkadian is the primary language among those in Inkadia, with Splatlandian being that for The Splatlands people. Octarian is for the Octarians and Octolings of the Octo Domes. Salmonarian is the language of the Salmonids. Ursine is interestingly the human language, as it was Mr. Grizz who would speak this language and 'teach' it to those he had in Alterna. Even named it after his species, the entitled prick. The language would eventually go under a new name and evolution to Alternan after Grizz's death and the liberation of the victims in Alterna from his control.

Among these 5, Salmonarian and Alternan would be the most radically different from the other three. Salmonids, due to the way they are, just created their own language amongst themselves and thus share very little with the others in roots of terms and such. Alternan, as stated, is the human language taken by Grizz and then eventually by the Mammalian Inkfish of Alterna. While it would adapt its own borrowed/influenced terms from the other dialects, it still overall is very different from the others. As for what human language... whatever you want it to be.

Interestingly, Octarian shares roots with interestingly both Inkadian and Splatlandian, despite the divide between both lands.

Inkadian and Splatlandian share enough similarities, but also enough differences to be distinct from one another.

DJ Octavio is more painted as a leader who is trying to do good for his people. Give them hope and uphold his promises of prosperity from the tightrope dance over the abyss of collapse. But, his grudges of the past, with the surface and especially Cuttlefish, do unfortunately cloud some aspects of his decision making. I just don't like this idea of him being portrayed as a villain. Yes, dude can be prideful and such. Yes, he effectively created a militaristic culture for his people that spanned for what can only be about a century. But he isn't some batshit crazy dictator like we have seen in our history who is only in it for himself. The whole aspect of this military culture, in his eyes, was a way to keep a sense of unity and community for everyone. All doing their part to help the Octarians as a whole inch ever closer to that bright future. Even with his rather serious and sometimes intimidating facade, he does what he can for everyone. He doesn't live in opulence; he partakes in rations for food and mandatory blackouts to conserve energy.

The No 9 Gang actually play a role in the story as major supporting characters. Their leader, Inochi, is sympathetic to Octarians and actually has an alliance with DJ Octavio. He and his gang do what they can to provide some form of aid via anything they can provide, information being the greatest asset. In fact, thanks to them, they were instrumental in assuring that the theft of the Great Zapfish went as smoothly as it did thanks to them being able to provide valuable info and aid those who went to get the Great Zapfish.

As far as the water weakness is concerned, I just go with this video done by rassicas:

A lot of what they go over I just agree with and like. Especially this whole thing regarding osmotic pressure.

While I don't have any designs, I do like the thought that Inklings and Octolings from the Splatlands look very different from those in Inkadia. The thing that comes to mind is more... feral? Tougher considering the climate of the Splatlands compared to Inkadia? If you are aware of the artist opal-owl-flight, I want to look to the general shape ideas they go for the way they draw Inkfish.

Speaking of artists coming up with cool concepts:

Would consider this as a concept existing in Splatoon: OC.

Once again with more artist concepts that I agree with and or want to implement for how I will design Inkfish characters in Splatoon: OC:

Salmonids don't have any sense of malice towards the denizens of Inkadia and the Splatlands. Hecc, they don't even hate Grizzco. For the employees of Grizzco, while they acknowledge them as invaders of their turf, they also recognize them as warriors. Sure, they don't like their Golden Eggs being taken, but it serves as another incentive for them to give their all in battle against these 'invading warriors'.

I go with the idea a lot of bird species survived into the new age of the Inkfish. Ancestors of the dinosaurs outliving the dumb mammals.

It wasn't just Octarians that were mutated by Fuzzy Ooze. Grizz basically carefully chose he saw that society wouldn't care about as a whole if they went missing. Vagabonds, homeless and the like. He considers these 'Mammalian Inkfish' to be lucky to be gifted with this new evolution to them.

Mammalian Inkfish, once fully mutated, possess a skeletal structure. With this, they lose their ability to shift forms like they could before. However, with their thicker skin, they no longer need to worry about water killing due to osmotic pressure and stuff. However, they can drown. But due to the mutagenetic properties gifted by the Fuzzy Oozes strange ingredients, they can hold their breaths for quite some time and can quickly learn how to swim in water.

Mammalian Inkfish are still capable of producing Ink, but not at the same rate as they could before. As a remnant of the osmotic pressure aspect, should they have enough ink stored in them and are in enough of a heightened state, they can use a range of Specials. These can be a Killer Wail Roar, a Splashdown, and even a transformation.

This transformation special of the Mammalian Inkfish equates to them bulking out their bodies into a more feral, monstrous state where they are significantly more resilient to damage and can deal much more pain. But like any transformation, it can only last for so long before their ink supply runs out and their 'osmotic pressure' cools down.

There is the idea about whether Mr. Grizz is even the same bear that awoke those several years ago from the Ark of Polaris. Due to the many experiments he performed with the Fuzzy Ooze and its creation, it vastly screwed with his biology. Was it really he who came up with his plan to ensure a lasting legacy of his kind, or the ooze gaining sentience and using what was once Grizz to spread itself about. The answer is never stated, but I like to think of the horrifying implications considering the fact he can like... melt into ink and reform despite having a skeleton.

Mammalian Inkfish mutate in such a way to resemble bearlike creatures. But not just brown bears, but a variety of those in the gene pool of bears.

NO, Octavio didn't brainwash anyone, especially not Callie. In fact, I'll lay down what I have thought about regarding what would spark the Splatoon 2 arc of Splatoon: OC. Callie fled from Inkopolis due to a number factors that left her angry, sad, and hurt. Just to get away from everything, she would eventually head beyond the peak of Mount Nantai. She didn't have a place in mind, just wanted to get as far away. Likely as there might be soldiers performing reconnaissance, they would have spotted her before she reached Octo Canyon. Being informed of her presence, Octavio would decide to personally go see her, along with some Elite soldiers just in case. And while she might initially have been shocked to see DJ Octavio freed, she wouldn't care much about that. If anything, she might have been ready for a fight as she wanted to be left alone considering her messy state of mind. While yes, Octavio certainly had some grievances with her being part of the reasons his plans failed, his anger was more directed at Cuttlefish than her. Plus, he did recognize how the Calamari Inkantation was still in the minds of many Octarians, including his own with it being such a funky tune he can respect begrudgingly. Instead, he sees an opportunity. By allowing her a place to get away from the stress of Inkopolis and her life, he could then show her the life that was for the people that her grandfather labeled as her enemies. As she stayed in in the Octo Domes, she was treated quite well there. Beyond Octavio's orders for her to be treated well, many just were surprised and excited to see her. Really seeing the conditions that these people lived in, she was utterly taken a back how much many who she met did what they could for her. Even the smallest gesture touched her heart. In return, she did what she could to bring that small bit of spark of joy to those she met. Sure, she did encounter those that she did realize were not a fan of her presence, but she didn't push back at all. Her time here not only was helping her chill out but giving her this sense of support that she desperately wanted and needed. She completely lost track of time and even any connection with the surface. She just liked being here, practically seeing the Octarians as friends and family.

With Callie having forged this bond with the Octarians as a whole, as plans were being prepared to get the Great Zapfish of Inkopolis Square, Octavio would decide to test the waters. With her basically experiencing what life was for he and his people, he eventually finds a way to bring up how it isn't fair how the lives of the Octarians have to be the way it is. They were just like the people of the surface yet were forced to basically live in these barely functioning ecosystems all because of something that happened long ago. If anything, the surface was greedy. One Great Zapfish would certainly be enough to fuel the megalopolis, certainly another wouldn't be an issue to lose. And even then, they had access to a multitude of resources that they could use to make up for any inconveniences, to which Callie would genuinely agree on. She basically turned a blind eye to the fact that he and the Octarians pulled off another heist to steal another Great Zapfish. The ultimate test would come when reconnaissance would spot Marie, with a seemingly new Inkling on her side invading the Octo Canyon. When Callie was made aware of this, she stopped to think for a little before coming to the conclusion that she was likely here cause of the Great Zapfish heist. In fact, to Octavio's delight, Callie seemed angry at the mention of Marie's name. Granted, she wasn't made aware of the news regarding her disappearance, but Octavio was careful about what Callie was made aware of. With her basically sympathetic to the Octarians, Callie would willingly aid them from the shadows to stop Marie and this 'Agent 4' from causing any more suffering for the Octarians. While she had no desire to kill, originally trying to menacingly send anonymous radio calls to tell them to back off from what they were doing if they had any sense of empathy, their continued success would cause her to get angrier and frustrated. Not only what could happen to these people that overall helped her in her time of need, but her resentment towards Marie and her family as whole. This boiling rage that would eventually culminate in the final battle.

So yeah, Octavio basically emotionally manipulates Callie. Not only giving her what she wanted but turning her own anger against those that she considered family. I mean think about it, dude is a leader. They need to be able to say the right words to get people to do things. No need for any dumb brainwash crap.

With that said, Callie did help with designing the new outfits for the Octarian Army, even designing her own outfit to fit in more with them. While she had no rank, she basically was treated like an Elite Soldier due to her own skills being formidable. Even with this unofficial rank, Callie never tried to abuse any privileges this would entail.

One of the driving factors that made Grizz initiate his plans was the fear of death. Unlike Judd and Lil Judd, he was not biologically immortal. And with the heightened intelligence 'gifted' to him via the experiments of the humans, he had the existential dread of not only death, but of having no way to pass on a legacy. With no other bears alive, he couldn't continue a lineage as was natural for all creatures to pass on their genetic material. In a sense, this idea of a new age of mammals/bears, the mutations of the Inkfish was his way to leave a lasting legacy on the world. Though however much of that initial spark is left is unknown considering how much the ooze mutated his own biology.

Salmonids have a folk story about 'The beast that came from the night sky ocean.' Basically, it is a recounting of their kind's first encounter with Mr. Grizz when he had just walked out of the wreckage of the Ark of Polaris. Yeah, his first encounter with life on Earth was the Salmonids. Not the best first impression. Even with the tech of the Octarians, many were slaughtered and feasted on by the brown beast.

Yeah... that is about it. I am super tired and trying to sober up before sleep. I hope you enjoyed this Lore Bit. I'd be happy to elaborate on some stuff. :)

[megamicahboo]

Possibly the best drawing of my latest Splatoon 3 OC, Torra-Li. They're a little flushed as their best friend is talking to them, but they can't hear him since they forgot their hearing aids at home instead of putting them in as soon as they woke up. What a silly goose!

Twitch || GoFundMe || Ko-Fi ||

[corgipon]

Some of you may have seen her before, but I decided to give my Splatoon OC a proper ref. This is Queen Lise Cordelia Mardale, also known by her stage name, DJ Royalsea!

Lise is the Queen of Cephaland (literally Splatoon Britain), a group of isles far from the mainland where Greater Inkopolis and Splatsville are located. She is a mixed Cephaling, being one-quarter Inkling, one-half Octoling, and one-quarter Cuttleling. She is also a world-famous DJ and music producer, who has made music for various idol groups around the world. Despite her age, Lise is a friendly, spunky old lady who is very acquainted with modern culture and technology and has a passion for making electronic and pop music of all subgenres. Even to this day, she still plays ink sports from time to time.

In recent years, Lise has been working on the Dreamscape, a virtual reality world meant to harbor many things seen, heard, or felt in the dreams of herself and Cephalings around the world. However, it has recently been corrupted by a rogue AI that had caught a virus from an unknown source, and she had been promptly barred from entering the Dreamscape by the AI after attempting to take it and the corrupted denizens down. Now, she aids Agent 7, a newly-recruited young Cephalandian, to take down the AI before it finds a way out of the Dreamscape to corrupt the real world.

[luvrsagony]

fuuuck just got the hardest boner (not serious) for the idea of a splatoon oc w/ mobility aids

[semrielle]

I feel the rush!

[epic-and-kitty]

New Splatoon OC - Lasirus (LaLa) (They/it/vamp/bat) (Mid 20's) (Pan Greyromantic)

I've been working on them for a bit. They're a Giant Red Pacific Octopus so they're like 7'3. They own a tattoo shop and are possibly in a band but no one can place them. They have hearing aids that they will turn off if they think your music is shit or don't want to listen. They're anemic and will bite people to fix it (like literally drink blood). They also have an allergy to silver so all their jewelry is ethier gold or pewter.

Feel free to ask about them, I'm still working on their personality and backstory!

[legofanguy]

Rustling' up some grub

A Splatoon fanfiction for @yeehawgust event Yeehawgust 2024 day 20 Rustlin' up some grub featuring my Inkling oc Stephanine.

At a farm ranch, a Inkling man ask his daughter, "Stephanine, can you help rust up some grub for me and the other farmhands?" and Stephanine reply, "Sure thing, dad." Inside the kitchen, Stephanine start the stove to make some beans, and the Inkling girl sing her favorite song as she wait for the beans to be done. Stephanine got a bottle of hot sauce and aid it to the beans.

After the food was ready, Stephanine's father and the men head inside to eat. When they take a bite of the beans, the men find that it was a little too hot and Stephanine said to her father, "Sorry about adding a little much hot sauce, dad."

[strorberrysquid]

remember to do your daily clicks!

donate to help Sudan!

hello! :D My name is Strorb. pronouns: it/xe/vamp/boneself/🍄/🍓/🦕/🦇/👾/👻/👁s

current hyperfixations:

imitation (kdrama)

drawtectives

aniteez (ateez's fursonas)

splatoon (game franchise)

love, ghostie (game that you can buy on steam rn :D)

ateez (kpop group)

taxonomy

tags i use that may be confusing:

sparkling posts (posts i really like)

strorbs fermented draft posts (posts that sat in my drafts for a bit too long...)

strorb reblog (reblogs where i added a comment, to differentiate from the ones with just tags)

stardew valley modding adventures (any posts related to me trying to make stardew mods)

ill add more later!

💖i like drawing, writing, making picmix gifs, clay sculpting, and more for my hyperfixations! i dont post this kinda stuff often though but i hope to make it more frequent!💖

🚫do not involve any of my work with nfts, generative AI or nsfw stuff, and dont repost anything without permission or at the very least credit and a link to my account. reddit reposts/shares are allowed with credit and a link. NEVER repost my stuff on tiktok.🚫 thank you!

links:

socials:

youtube

bluesky

artfight

communities:

[snzydarling]

Acts of Care (ocs, male)

Hi! This is my secret santa for @heavyeditsnz 's splatoon ocs. I won't lie when I say this was definitely out of my comfort and knowledge zone and I'm not a fan of how it turned out. I hope you enjoy anyways 😭

Asahi doesn't think he's ever felt worse.

Surely he has, but having woken up before the sun's even risen with a coughing fit that scrapes against his throat Makes it hard to believe. He drags himself from his bed and into the kitchen, fumbling around for a glass of water. He feels feverish. His head is pounding, and there's an itch In the back of his sinus that won't leave.

Part of him expected this. He'd been sneezing all day, and people had been telling him that he hadn't looked good. By the time he got to bed, it was with an exhausted heaviness. But Asahi was fine. He finished his drink and settled back into bed, releasing a few itchy but unsatisfying sneezes on the way. He'd wake up later and be fine, surely.

It takes almost an hour for him to fall back asleep, and he feels worse when he finally wakes back up. He's tangled around the blankets, and he feels like his head has been stuffed with cotton. He's got class, though, and he can't miss it.

He gets up, and the tickle alighted with a new fury. He was stuck gasping for breath, leaning onto the nearest stable surface he could find as he's doubled over. “hiHd'TSCHh!” He sniffles, pawing at his nose. He finishes getting ready, and heads to class.

It passes slowly, and Asahi finds himself muffling desperate sneezes into his clothes, praying they were quiet enough. He looks up once the class is over, met with the face of his boyfriend. He smiles in greeting, giving another discreet sniffle.

“Are you alright? You look terrible.” Ren greets with a raised eyebrow. Asahi muffles a cough into his sleeve, rubbing his nse agaoinst his wrist. “ snf I’m fine. Just a little cold. How are you?” Ren clearly looks uncoonvinced, but doesn’t mention it further, and the two continue to chat. Asahi feels himself beginning to space out as his boyfriend talks, before suddenly a hand is pressed to his frehesd.

Asahi leans into the cool touch, soothing against his pounding head. Ren’s frown quickly dissolves any comfort brought to him, though. “You’ve got a fever. Let me take you home.” Asahi shook his head, gently moving Ren’s hand from his face as he raised a hand in warning. “h’NGt-! I’m okay.” He replied, trying his best to put on an assuring face. Clearly, Ren wasn’t convinced.

He began gently urging Asahi up, packing up his things for him. “You’re clearly not feeling well. Let’s go home and get the temperature down.” Asahi sighs, but bends to his boyfriend’s will. Being home and away from the bright lights and noise of the room sounds nice, and there was no dissuading Ren. With his aid, the two make the trek home, stopping occanisonly for Asahi to muffle fits of coughing.

Once in his house, he’s quickly ushered to his room, where he begins to get comfortable in his bed. He’s stopped mid-way through changing into more comfortable clothes, his body gearing up for yet another fit. He grabs onto a chair for stability, letting the harsh sneezes wrack his frame.

“eH-tSCHh’iew!haH.. hID’GKSTCH’u!” he gives a wet sniffle, pawing at his nose roughly. Despite their strength, the sneezes were far from satisfying, and still left a stubborn itch deep in his nostrils. He muffles a few coughs into his sleeve, then finishes changing. Asahi attempts to settle into bed, but the pounding in his head makes it difficult. He’s left lying down, listening to his boyfriend making food in the other room. As much as he would love to eat anything made by him, he’s not sure his stomach can handle it. He sits back up, the movement making him cough all over again. His throat hurts.

Hearing a soft knock on the door, Asahi lets his boyfriend into his room, carrying a plate of food. He hands it to Asahi with a glass of water, sitting on the edge of the bed while Asahi gets settled back in. Asahi thanks him quietly, finding his voice much raspier than it had been a few hours ago.

“Have you taken anything?” Ren asks, once again feeling his forehead. “You feel a bit warmer.” Asahi shakes his head. He hadn't even thought of it. Ren stands, making his way out of his bedroom once again. “I'll go get you some and- oh, need to sneeze?” Asahi gives a frantic nod, cupping tissues around his mouth. He feels Ren's eyes on him.

“hH’TCH-! hih.. ’NGt-iew!.. hiD'tSCHh!” Once he recovers, he feels Ren's hand on his back, making soothing motions, before leaving and quickly returning With medicine. “These should help with the fever. You have a headache?” Once again Asahi just nods in response, not trusting his voice anymore. It feels like needles every time he swallows, and the small sips of water aren't really helping. He truly feels awful. On top of everything else, he feels bad for burdening Ren with this, even as the other is helping him make a backrest with some pillows so he can eat.

The food is good, simple enough to eat but still flavorful. Asahi wants to enjoy it, but he finds himself struggling to get more than a few bites down between rough, throaty coughs. Ren seems to understand, taking rhe Tray from him and replacing it with the water, which he gratefully sips. They spend a while like this, just quietly enjoying each other's presence, before the medicine begins to work and Asahi feels his eyelids begin to get heavy.

He shifts into a proper lying position, wishing his boyfriend goodnight. He feels Ren lay beside him, and drifts off to sleep happily.

[bluejaybytes]

show us your oc lore!!

I'm so sorry but it's exclusively my Splatoon OCs

I'm not at ALL confident in how legible this is, but this is my Web Of Lesbianism(tm), AKA how (almost) all of my lesbian sploon OCs connect to each other, excluding a few who only connect in small places and/or I don't feel like making icons for. Sorry to Scarlet, who absolutely warrants a place here, but I simply Do Not Want to make an icon for </3

Lore under the readmore because I get extremely rambly. whoops and apologies and this is probably the only time i'll ever let myself get THIS infodump-y in a Tumblr post. I'm writing this after I wrote it all out and I'm so fucking sorry it's literally over 2k words because I have no ability to stop once I've started and I've been outright POSSESSED by these losers for the past month. Here's basically everything about my Splatoon OCs

FOR NAMES. Top right is Basil (Blue tentacles), middle right is Penny (Her name is just written because I haven't drawn her yet), bottom right is June (Pink tentacles), bottom middle is Jake (Blue tentacles), bottom left is Parker (Purple tentacles, also the sanitized icon), middle left is Ruby (Orange tentacles), and top left is May (Pink tentacles)

Everything starts when May, Jake, and Ruby are all around ~16-17, while June, May's little sister, is around ~9. May is VERY into Jake, and Jake's just generally a big flirt and a huge romantic, though it's unsure if he really realizes May's extremely obvious crush on him (He doesn't), or he reciprocates, which is unfortunate, because Ruby, who's May's childhood best friend, is also very into her, but May doesn't realize this. When [UNDECIDED EVENT] happens and May and Jake both come to the realization they need to head to the surface to escape the oppressive Octarian domes, Ruby being with them is very clearly an afterthought, and she knows it. So, her jealousy over Jake being someone May has known for less time yet clearly loves more than her, and the fact that trying to escape being very, very illegal, she turns them both in.

Jake manages to call May before he's caught to warn her that Ruby turned them in and the cops will already be heading to her parents house, which gives May enough time to run home, grab June, and make a run for it. Both May and Jake manage to outrun the cops, with May and June ending up far into the outskirts of the domes, while Jake only gets further and deeper within them.

Around a month or two after their initial escape, May's spotted by a patrol of soldiers stationed right around the way to the surface, with the soldier who spots her specifically being Scarlet, the oldest sister to Ruby (Who's not featured here because I don't want to make her icon), who remembers May from when she was a kid and, alongside that, has been feeling disillusioned with life as a soldier, despite her high ranking, and decides not only to let May go, but to even share rations with her. This only increases as Scarlet realizes May is the runaway who's known to have a young child with her, and it goes from Scarlet sparing her own rations to stealing rations from the squad she leads to make sure both May and June are able to eat properly.

Of course, this doesn't last long, as Crimson, the middle sister to Scarlet and Ruby, and fellow soldier stationed with Scarlet's squad, gets suspicious of the missing rations, Scarlet's dismissal of the issue, and her wandering off frequently, and ends up following her and finds her giving the stolen rations to May. A fight breaks out between the two, with Crimson managing to nearly take Scarlet's eye out in the process, as Scarlet's the only person ever to bring a gun to a knife fight and lose. May booked it the MOMENT Crimson jumped out, so she's long gone by the time the scuffle ends, but Scarlet, having just been caught stealing rations, aiding a runaway, and now attacking a fellow soldier (Even if in self defense), bolts to try and make it to the surface as well, albeit she doesn't know where May ran off to.

May ends up making it to the surface around a month after that incident, after wandering lost for the time between, and, while struggling to try and buy some clothes thanks to the language barrier between her and the commonly spoken languages of the surface, one of the employees working there, Penny, is able to help figure out what May's looking for, and helps her with the whole process, since it's a lot different from how it was in the domes. They don't end up seeing each other after that for around a year, but it's important when they do, as Penny's was the first person on the surface May really had a good experience with, so when they randomly run into each other, May's very happy to be able to tell her how meaningful that was to her, and that she's much more adjusted to the culture and language now.

Meanwhile, Jake! Jake ends up wandering deep within the domes, far away from where the actual settlements and cities are, for over a year, just barely surviving through scavenging and avoiding patrolling soldiers. Still, he's not great at it, and eventually he ends up being held at gunpoint by Parker, who insists he tell her his rank and what he's doing out here. He has no idea, as he was never in the military and lies through his teeth. Luckily for him, Parker is a military deserter, and would've had a much worse reaction had she believed him, instead realizing that he's not a soldier and has no idea what he's talking about. Parker's been hiding out in the area, an abandoned sewer system that's frequented as a supply route for soldiers, for several months at this point, and while she actually enjoys her life of living down there, it's a lot of work to survive on her own, and realizing Jake's a fugitive also means he's a potential survival partner.

The two end up meeting up once every day for around a week before Parker feels confident enough that Jake isn't going to screw her over or try and turn her in or anything, and invites him to live with her at her "apartment", an old maintenance closet that's very secluded and not marked on any military maps, under the agreement that the two of them actually work together. Jake instantly agrees because he's been miserable and awful for the past year, while Parker's doing surprisingly well for herself, she even has multiple sets of clothes that she's stolen from nearby outposts (As well as an entire mattress she stole, and her most prized possession, a full deck of playing cards, and an Octo Shot she definitely killed a man for), as opposed to Jake, who's been going off of only what he had on him when everything went down, which is... practically nothing.

The plot basically slows down and chills out here for a while, May and June end up moving in with Penny after a few months of May and Penny hanging out instead of having to live in the shitty motel they'd been living in before (Albeit, the motel was better than the wilds they'd been living in before that), and Parker and Jake get adjusted to their lives in hiding surprisingly well. May and Scarlet even find each other on the surface again, they run into each other while May's out grocery shopping, and it's a very important moment for the both of them, as they've spent this entire time carrying around the guilt of feeling responsible for what happened, so them seeing the other and seeing how much better they're doing on the surface helps ease those guilts.

And then the events of Octo Expansion happen in the background. Parker and Jake know the routines of the soldiers in the area after years of living together, but the supply lines end up being used by sanitized Octoling soldiers after Kamabo starts massively ramping up production, leading to patrols of sanitized soldiers at seemingly random intervals, and outside of the predictable patterns that Parker and Jake were used to. Parker's out doing the laundry when a patrol finds her, and, greatly outnumbering her, end up nearly killing her, and dragging her back to be sanitized. She's in too bad of condition to be saved and reused as a test subject, so she's just sanitized instead.

Jake, naturally, notices when Parker never comes back from doing the laundry, and proceeds to be missing for upwards of two weeks. Jake does his best to look for her, but he also doesn't want to stray too far from their "apartment", as he's scared she might return home when he's gone, and with the unpredictable patrols, he doesn't feel like it's safe to stay out for as long as he wants to to look for her, so he ends up sticking close to home and just hoping he'll be able to find some clue of her. Of course, when he finally does, finally spotting her hanging around the entrance to the hallways that lead to their apartment, it's Not a good thing. He runs up to her to ask where she's been, and the moment he calls for her she turns and attacks him. It's not even a fair fight, even if he went in expecting a fight, he wouldn't have won, but this was a complete surprise. She quickly attacks him and takes him back to be put into the metro as a test subject, and, since he was brought back in much better shape than she was, he actually can be salvaged as a test subject!

And then he isn't. He's in the process of being readied as a test subject, namely, having his memories messed with, that the entire plot of Octo Expansion actually happens, and he's freed when the entire facility shuts down, and the metro is just a normal transport system again. He ends up wandering around for another month or so, except doing so very poorly, as the effects that being prepped to be a test subject had on his memory is bad, and basically erased all of his knowledge on how to survive on his own. Eventually, and luckily for him, he's found by one of the rescue teams that have been sent out in the aftermath of Octo Expansion to rescue lost and sanitized Octolings, and FINALLY gets brought to the surface, as well as being hospitalized for a whole myriad of problems, mainly being severely dehydrated from not remembering safe ways to find and gather water reliably.

When he's ready to be discharged, he realizes he has really nowhere to go, but since he still remembers May's phone number from when they were kids (As it's been years at this point, May and Jake are both in their mid 20s now, and June's around ~17), and calls her to ask if she can come pick him up and also if he can crash at her place for a bit. May is more than a bit surprised that her childhood friend she was fairly convinced had died years ago, and that she feels guilty for abandoning, is not only still alive, but super casual and chill just. Calling her cell and asking if he can sleep on her couch. At this point, June's already moved out, having been encouraged by both May and Penny to get out on her own and try getting out of her comfort zone, and is living in Splatsville with her roommate Basil, and not really having any major plot moments of her own. She's having fun and coming out of her shell and having silly lesbian shenanigans with her roommate in the background while Jake and May are experiencing the horrors.

Ultimately, this is about where thing stop being decided and I still need to figure out what happens next. Jake is living on May and Penny's couch (The universe will never let them have their house to themselves. Not even 3 months after June moves out, Jake's crashing on their couch), and has no memory of his time with Parker, Parker's MIA and potentially dead, and May's struggling with the idea that Jake's either in denial of some major trauma he must've faced through the years, or that she's somehow uniquely fucked up from what happened to them. To make matters worse, Jake's memory issues become more and more apparent, as he continues to struggle to remember Penny's name, instead repeatedly calling her "Parker", yet getting confused when he's corrected. I'm ultimately unsure what I'm going to do to resolve this plot thread, but May and Penny do realize that whoever Parker was, she was someone Jake knew in the time he was missing, and are trying to figure out just exactly who she was, if not where she actually is

Whether or not Parker is dead... it's up in the air. I initially planned for her to die and stay dead, but I'm the worlds biggest sap and I feel bad about killing her off permanently, as well as the fact I have plenty of silly ideas for what I could do with Parker once she's on the surface, so I'm still debating if it's more narratively satisfying for her to die or not. There's, if you believe it, actually a ton I'm glossing over (The intricacies of Jake and Parker's dynamic, the reasons why Parker left, basically everything about Basil and June, literally Basil has an entire friend group that has their own mini-plot that's not at all connected to this and doesn't get mentioned, Crimson is going to be more relevant once I figure out what I want to do with her, ect), but uh. That's the very long gist of it.

If anyone actually, genuinely reads through all of this. Thank you, apologies, and I love you