#ask-the-lost-octoling

[bixels]

Splatoon 3: Side Order is good, but not great. I still highly recommend it, but if you care about the story, you're going to be disappointed. Quick review: spoilers ahead.

Side Order was the devs experimenting with Splatoon's gameplay loop. The campaign is a rogue-like, and it works amazingly well. Super fun, super challenging, building my deck and fighting through challenges with the stakes of resetting really scratched an itch in my brain. They did a great job with it.

Unfortunately, I feel like priority went to game design rather than story. Much of the mysterious artwork we saw in the first teaser trailer was completely unused; turns out, all of that was just concept art that never made it into the final product. Side Order failed to make me care about what was happening. I don't know why the protagonist had to be Agent 8; it could've been anyone else and the story would've worked the same.

Octo Expansion was the absolute peak of meshing story and gameplay. The campaign's hook is insanely strong; we immediately empathize with Agent 8 because we know from previous lore that octolings like her have been trapped underground for all their lives. We care about her fight to the surface because it's a fundamentally ideological fight for freedom. The plot stuff about Tartar and the Thangs is just nice set dressing; 8's fight for freedom is the real story.

There's none of that in Side Order. I don't particularly care about Marina's metaverse, even if it's tied to Octo Expansion's story. I don't know why Acht is there other than backstory stuff. It really feels like 8 is just told to do something and she does it because she's the protagonist; she has zero personal stakes or motivations in the conflict. This is a story blunder the devs did in Splatoon 3's default campaign––forgetting to give the protagonist a personal reason to fight––that I hoped would be fixed here, but alas.

What makes it worse is that the gameplay and story progression are completely out of sync. I beat the entire game on my third run in 4 hours. With each run, you get up to two keys to potentially unlock bits of story. That means you'll get about one piece of the story every two runs. There are twelve pieces of the story; I got the first and then beat the whole damn game. Now I have to go back and grind to see the remaining story when I've already beaten the final boss and resolved the conflict. I missed the entire story because I never had to reset because I blazed through the gameplay! It's just a real shame that I experienced everything without knowing... why it's happening. The final boss had me asking myself what the hell is going on because I don't know the backstory at all.

Again, I still really recommend. The devs did a great job, but Side Order remains in the shadow of Octo Expansion's incredible success. Like the default singleplayer campaign, there's just a lot of lost story potential here that, while not necessary, would have really elevated this DLC into something amazing.

[eikaprime]

⭐

Assuming this is in reference to this post, <https://www.tumblr.com/nomettesbizzareadventure/180620279121/fanfic-writers-directors-cut>, which encouraged people to ask me to go In Depth about things or send a star for me to talk about Whatever I Want As Fanfic Writer. So, here we go: Octarian relationship with light and energy. For the purposes of this, I'll note that 'Octarian' specifically means people who dwell in the domes underground. It's a nationality, essentially. They're from Octaria, they're Octarian. You can have Octoling Octarians and Tentatrooper Octarians and so forth, like you have Octoling Splatlandians or Octoling Inkadians or whatever the Inkopolis thing is forgive me I don't wanna look it up right now. And Octaria is a nation underground. They lost a war and were presumed wiped out, the whole nation gone, because they literally found Underground Bunkers from Ancient Times and went to live in them. 100 years ago. And have been carving out their lives there, amidst old technology they're taking apart and melting down and reusing to make new.

And they CANONICALLY have an energy crisis. The plot of two games can be summarized as them stealing energy sources, at least in part to power weapons of war, but also to power. Well. We don't actually know what they power. Not the stages, because they stay the same on future visits. So, presumably, neighborhoods, entire locations underground.

Shell, their only known treaty is with Salmonids, where they give Salmonids advanced technology in exchange for power eggs so they can keep things running.

In short, THIS IS NOT A PLACE THAT WASTES ENERGY. This is a place that uses as little energy as possible, at all times, for every purpose. And light? Light is energy.

This is the sort of place where, once Approved Waking Hours are over, the lights go out, and they're underground. They're all out. There are no stars, there's no nightlight, there's nothing. It's black. Shell, it's probable there's very limited light before then, too: we're talking the equivalent of a single LED for a family with parents and two children.

And I think that's wonderful and terrible, because it means their relationship to light is different, because darkness isn't evil, it's comforting.

They were saved from dying out because they went down into the dark. They are protected by the darkness. You can't attack someone in the dark, because they'll know you're coming and from where the second you have any light.

They know how to navigate it. Children know to navigate their houses blind. Kitchens are set up so you can identify every container and cupboard by touch. Schools teach children to count their footsteps whenever they travel from place to place, to memorize turns, because walking away from the only street lamp and being unable to see your feet for twenty or thirty steps is normal.

And if you add in any sort of prevalant hypnowear technology, that increases several times. I believe, canonically, Callie's supposed to be the only one truly controlled by the hypnoshades... but that doesn't mean people aren't wearing them. Glasses or goggles, powered by body heat (possible, but not in my lifetime) with lights embedded in them so as to reflect off the area around you? Red light for the most subtle, barest glow so they have no reason to put ANY lights in locations where detailed sight isn't important? Game changer.

Tell a surface dweller any of this and they'll be horrified. They can't imagine a world without night-lights and stars, at the least. But most Octarians, when they reached the surface?

They don't talk about it, but there's a period of hours, days, or weeks when they're in pain from all the light, but darkness can never hurt them.

[liliotl]

What if you got teleported/switched bodies we an inkling/octoling in splatoon world and you are fucking lost in a random spot in one of the cities, can't speak their language and deadass have no money.

I'd probably walk up to random inkling/octoling kid and ask "INKOPOLISE SQUARE????" "OFF THE HOOK????" "FOOD?" and they just look at me like im fucking crazy😭

Then you find myself suddenly working at grizzco to get my homeless ass some money and die from getting mauled by a giant tribal fish.

I was thinking about this last night while I couldn't sleep. I feel like at first it would be so scary irl cause you would have no idea about their culture and wether or not the night is safe because there's so many sea creatures wandering around and you wouldn't know which ones are dangerous or if they're just fucking normal like people.

And the chances of you actually meeting any of the idols is probably SO SLIM LOL cause they have to deal with fans all day so they'd probs just treat you like one too 😭😭😭😭

What do y'all think? How would you feel/do if you were teleported into their world??

[darkgalactic]

Deep cut were invited to a masquerade party in inkopolis by the squid sisters.

Despite their dislike for anything fancy they decided to go, for maries sake.

they all get there in their best outfits with shiver in a black dress covered in a light blue sash and a decorative face covering. Frye with a black eye mask with decorations and a yellow sleeveless button top and glittered pants with diamond shape cutouts. And Big man with a Black sun hat, black bow tie with polka dots and a golden colored mask.

Once they got to the party it's like all of the musical artists are here, The Chirpy chips, Ink theory, even the latest H2Whoa. The group were in awe of the theme (not some fancy smancy stuff). The group spotted the whole squid beak including Dj Octavio. ever since he help neo agent 3 he has officially become a member and finally made peace with Cuttlefish. (it was all callie’s idea)

Then Big man saw a familiar figure in the crowd. He could believe it at first but it was him, Mr coco. He really couldn't believe it. How is Mr Coco here? Was all of the splatsville invited? Big man approached Mr Coco until he spotted him and his face lit up.

“Big man! it’s great to see you here” Mr coco” big man

“great to see you too” “but I gotta ask,how are you here?”

“Oh harmony was invited and chose me to be her plus one.” Mr coco answered.

“Wow…you must be special to her then”

Mr coco nodded in agreement. “so…how’s the holidays been treating ya” Big man asked. “oh it’s been great asides from the overwhelming amount of customers..w-well i mean that’s good business right?” Mr Cooc laughed. it’s like the ray could go on about his ramblings as if he was lost in his voice or..eyes.

Just then the regular music died down and the sound of creole filled the room. It was time for the main event. Every sea creature on the floor each got a partner to dance with. By instinct Big man turned to Mr coco as he held out his claw. 

“May I have this dance?” Mr Coco offered asides from all the extra shoppers this time around and 

Manta Ray's face was bright red as he was about to experience a magical moment with his lover.

“Yes you may.” Big man accepted

Meanwhile Frye and Shiver were having a chat with the squid sisters until they noticed big man wasn't with them until they saw the ray dancing with the coconut crab

“there he is with that big crab again” the blue octoling uttered

“Come on shiver, let them have it, and besides it has romance all over it” frye gushed. 

“She’s right and besides it’s a little what you both need right now” Marie smirked while callie giggled. 

“Well we’re not the ones dancing-“ Shiver was pulled away by Frye into the dance floor.

“Screw it let’s Dance”

And thus the rest of this snowy night ended like a fairytale.

[shinjiist]

interesting…looks like in that first apocalypse au art Callie has scars in the same place as some of her zombie-isms. Does this mean Callie is cured? Or is that first art taking place before Callie is infected?

YES i was hoping someone would ask about this

Iif you are infected, the disease is curable up to a certain threshold. The longer it progresses untreated, there will be health effects related to infection (ex. with Callie, the affected eye "grew" back, but she's now severely visually impaired and photosensitive in that eye). Both eyes are more sensitive in general because they are less protected from UV rays (lost melanin).

Most people assume that once you're infected it's game over, and the cure is difficult to synthesize, never mind distribute.

Tacking on some more information because I was doing some more writing a while ago regarding the disease and its origin and I like talking

Old sketch mostly for color and concept

Retconned some stuff surrounding Marina and the details of the settlements bc it was kind of broad, the timeline is pushed back a bit further into the past.

Marina and Pearl are still together but since I changed how the disease itself works as well as the timeframe, I don't think they're quite in a spot to open the doors of their compound to outsiders. Marina is still studying the disease and Pearl is infected. Her treatments consist of sitting in a medicated ink solution to slow the progression of the disease and the presentation of symptoms.

Also note their states of dress here. Pearl stays inside mostly because the disease is causing chronic fatigue, but Marina seems hardly equipped to be coming face-to-face with shamblers and definitely not to prevent injuries or micro-abrasions ....

The disease is actually an octarian bioweapon :3 Marina is unable to become sick from it. It wasn't intended to be used just yet. Octolings can be carriers (as I hc they and inklings to be similar species, but it's more of a horse + donkey situation).

I haven't been drawing all that much for the au, so I don't have anything else to attach rn (I've been busy writing a different au and the doc has ~11k words atm). I drafted this a while ago and hoped to have more to share but not yet

[dinomite2]

Fem Agent 3 x Female Octarian Reader (platonic)

Again I asked @sodapoppss for a request and here we are again so enjoy 👍

Also fun fact! if you have the physical copy of splatoon 2 and or 3 behind the logo when you open the case is a special box art which you can flip around at any time

This all takes place after the octo expansion when 8 defeated tarter

● It all started right when after 3 defeated DJ Octavio and all of the Octarians were taken out of their mind control along with yourself

● everything felt so ... free to you being released from mind control and all that but beyond all of that you unexpectedly got lost and ended up in deep sea metro

● 3 was going on a expedition in the deep sea metro after the whole fiasco with Agent 8 and commander Tartar and saving the entirety of inkopolis square and all of its people

● 3 was just looking around hallways and entrances and until that she found you and nearly splatting you because she thought that you were a sanitized octoling but she eventually took you up to the surface and took you in and now you live with her!

● she eventually had to show you the square and what it stores it had what weapons and how things work around here

● now she's a agent who saved a whole entire city from a major power problem and fought a giant robot ridden by old Octarian leader so if you want to she'll train you! By making you do chores.....

"ok so you want to be a Rough and tough agent like me do ya?"

You nodded with eagerness

3 smiled softly

"Ok so I all of my dirty laundry washed and folded by 12:30 am do I make myself clear?"

"Wha-"

She threw you a large pileful of nasty laundry on your hands and the smell of was so stinky your eyes were watering and you held your breath

*Mmhmm!"

● now Don't get her wrong she is training you but in the of way that it will strangely help you in the long run kind of training

● please at some point remind her to take a shower she doesn't focus on her own personal hygiene because she an agent and just cause she pretty much forgets about it daily and if she doesn't make her

● and also she keeps a good watch on you because since you are still kinda new to the surface and i would be dumb of her to not watch you do stuff that is EXTREMELY dumb

" Hey Y/n have you seen the TV remote anywhe- ARE YOU EATING METAL" 3 screamed out

"Yeah 4 said I needed to increase my iron " you said still biting on pure metal

...

"Be right back " she said irritated with gritted teeth and walking backwards as she closed the door

she lectured 4 for 3 hours after that

Now overall she will take care of you but must take of her yourself it's a kind of win win for both of ya.

And Done! Im sorry it's not long as my other ones but I hope you all can enjoy again stay cool stay safe and most importantly be on the nice side Dudes 👍

[ar0rin]

plz infodump about ur agents

Thank you for the ask. I'm so sorry for not answering sooner. I am going to rant about neo 3 and my creative process regarding their character.

My idea for Veronika's parents is that they're either dead or living not knowing of the whereabouts of their eldest child. Initially I wanted Veronika to try to find their birth parents as a set up for some sort of tragic rejected-by-your-own-family scenario, but I realized that sort of defies the "raised by salmonids" statement, so I decided to scrap it.

Instead of developing their ties to their inkling family, I decided to expand on the Salmonids that Veronika grew up around, and what their opinions on them would be. While there are many salmonids who are fine with Veronika, the majority of salmonids don't approve of them living there due to the history behind Inkling and Salmonid relations. Veronika's situation was and still is a hot debate among salmonids. While Veronika is an inkling, they have nothing to do with grizzco's interference with the salmon runs, so there's no reason to be outright hostile towards them; However, some salmonids still hold the belief that an inkling has no place in their society. Given their circumstances, I guess that can't really be helped.

One of the more prevalent arguments for Veronika's case is the "Octo-village", which is a small part of the Salmonid city inhabited by Octarians who were left stranded as a result of the tide rising after diplomatic meetings held between Octarians and Salmonids. Because Octolings also live in the village, a common argument is that Veronika is no different from an Octoling who was left behind by their allies.

Veronika was raised on salmonid values and beliefs, so I always have to remind myself of this when thinking about important events in their life. During their fight against Mr. Grizz, they weren't afraid of dying, but rather letting down the people they love. Mr. Grizz was the one who caused the inkling interferences in the salmon runs, and the main perpetrator of hostility between the two species. Mr. Grizz's plan was to cover the entire world in fuzzy ooze and lay waste to the world as they knew it, which meant that everyone that Veronika had ever known would be lost. Defeating Mr. Grizz was Veronika's responsibility at this point. After all, who else has the capability and means to do it?

Veronika sells scrap metal to make enough money to live in Splatsville. Scrap metal foraging is a talent they've had since childhood, as Salmonids frequently use scrap metal in their buildings. Veronika moved to Splatsville at 15, because the Salmonids agreed that because an inkling doesn't have the necessary capabilities to participate in salmon runs, they shouldn't be encouraged to stay within Salmonid society, which puts emphasis on fighting for the pride of one's clan. I'll expand on this point in the next paragraph. Veronika learned the inkling language (inklish) mainly through their friends, which means they know a lot of slang and not a lot of complicated words. They're pretty content with this.

The Salmonid belief that fighting to the death is honourable and a necessary part of the cycle of life was a huge factor in both Veronika's character and how they interact with other characters. while their peers fight for the sake of "claiming turf", Veronika fights for the belief that it is honorable and unites them with the world. This leads them into getting into a lot of fights around Splatsville, and subsequently claiming a lot of turf because of it.

I'm going to end this here! So long..

[justyouraveragealternanfuzzball]

Hii! I've got two questions: how are the remaining domes structured? How many octarians and octolings are still around?

Hey bestie 👀 Thank you for answering my plea for an ask🙏

1. There are only two domes left in operation, one of which is Octopia, whilst the other one contains all the houses and farms needed to sustain the remaining Octarians. There's also a small, newly dug out dome which acts as a base for Four. Here's a very basic map to visualise it

I tried to do a more detailed one but I still can't draw backgrounds that well ���😭

Essentially, Octopia looks exactly how level 2 of Octo Canyon looks in game, except all the platforms have been shuffled around so that everyone can traverse it easily. But the general look is still the same.

Side note: This is where I got the name of the fic. Cuz the level is called 'Welcome to Octopia'. Get it? Aha. Haha. I'm so funny and creative guys trust

The other dome is less fun, and just has all the essentials like houses and a (makeshift) hospital. It looks kinda like the settlements found at the bottom of certain levels in Octo Canyon.

See those houses down there? Yeah. I think most people don't realise that it's not just the lore that makes the Octarians a developed and civilised species, it's literally in the games. I imagine that the levels we play are situated high above Octarian society so that they could act as a last defence against an Inkling invasion, which also proves how propaganda really affects the beliefs of everyone trapped underground. That's just a headcannon tho!

Every other dome has been all but destroyed. Literally. Every. Single. One.

I mean, that's what happens when two of the campaigns are all about stealing electricity from the Octarians!! Yeah, they stole it first, but they're just trying to survive because they lost a stupid war 100 years ago and are still suffering because of it

*Ahem* Anyways!

2. There's only about 200 individuals altogether, as most Octarians have been splatted or sanitised/fuzzified, and most Octolings have migrated to the surface.

Whilst all sub-species of Octarians are intelligent, Octolings are more autonomous and don't necessarily need a leader to guide them, so there are only about 20-ish Octolings in Octopia. These are the people who were so influenced by propaganda that they refused to leave or the one's that just waited too long to do so and are now trapped once more.

The remaining Octarians are ones who weren't in the army when Grizz attacked, meaning some of them may have military experience and were injured so they weren't taken. Lots of them do want to leave but, as I mentioned earlier, they believe they need someone to lead them, and so far Four has proven she will do anything to protect them, so... they remain content for now.

Thank you so much for the ask!!! I needed to ramble about this sooner or later or I think I would've exploded <3

I still hunger for more asks tho - anyone else who has a question, my ask box is always open!

[the-specter]

What has been happening

Hello Inklings and Octolings of Tumblr! Do not be alarmed, this is not The Specter. This is Lee Illex.

Yes, I am the Inkopolis Inkling that disappeared into the ocean after the Big Run at Inkblot Art Academy. I am amazed that even after my repeated returns to the shore and into the cities, nobody has recognized that I was well and alive. I don't believe my returns were even on the news. But I do not mind.

I am doing well. Do not worry about me. I have found a family in the sea who understands and supports me better than what I had. If people who knew me read this, do not do anything. Just know that I am well.

As for The Specter, it is not doing well. Since the Big Big Run, it has been spiraling into madness. From my confrontation with Coral at Inkblot, it has been panicking. It's been talking about a creature known as 'Mitraphlysis', and how 'they' are trying to summon it. It is also furious with the state of things between the Salmonids and Grizzco, with how things don't change, and especially with that Egg Counter from Grizzco during the Grand Run, it broke. It feels like it has to make a change or else, and it has not been going about these changes in a healthy way.

I apologise to all victims of The Specter's rampage. It has lost it, and I am unsure of how to help it. It's left me with a local Salmonid tribe who have taken me in, and i've grown to really like them. It understands it has gone off the deep end, but it feels like this is the only way.

But for now, I will be running Specter's account for the time being. Feel free to ask me questions about the situation or about myself. My tag is #The Art of Free Will

[commanders-quarters]

Muse Info

(copy-pasted from a page on the ask blog. huzzah!!!!)

This, dear readers, is the vessel you know as Commander Tartar. Its other preferred monikers include but are not limited to: The Telephone, the Messenger Of Humanity, and Denewiah Tartarus- the last of which being its self-given name. Commander Tartar is considered more of a stage name by it, so if you wish to address it more properly, you would ideally call it Mr. Tartarus or simply Denewiah. Despite the informality of being on a first name basis with strangers, he welcomes it, for whatever reason.

Info regarding him will be given sparingly, as I believe the ask blog should do much of the talking as it progresses.

He is exactly 12,010 years old at the time of writing, is addressed with both “he/him” and “it/its” interchangeably though he is entirely genderless, and he stands at a staggering 18 feet tall. 

Its body was painstakingly put together by the three Elite Octolings that survived the blast dealt to the NILS statue, and most of the army aside from them was utterly wiped out.

He would not go as far as to say he HATES the Inkfish species, but he does not feel charitably towards them either and considers them largely lost potential. Has more good things to say about Octolings, but he disdains Inklings and much of what they stand for.

Tartar still plans to wipe out the Inkfish and sow the seeds that will bring about the second-coming of humanity, but it’s still recovering from the losses of its previous defeat.

A trump card may fatefully present themself to him, once the time is right…

[sailorsplatoon]

Chapter 4 coming at ya! What a coincidence that this is the chapter that gets released on the first day of pride month? I didn't plan it like that but it worked out perfectly. Happy pride month, everyone!

First (prologue)

Previous

Next

Read it on ao3!

(Fanfic under cut)

29F. Only one floor until the final fight. Four wasn’t sure if they were ready to fight Order again. Pearl said its name was Smollusk, but they were having trouble getting used to thinking of something so malicious with such a cutesy name. They had lost once, what if they lost again? They didn’t want to focus on it now. They still had one more floor standing between them and that fight anyway. After they set this chip into their palette, they’d have all their memories back. They couldn’t help but wonder what this last thing was that they still hadn’t remembered. They slid the chip in and…

“Oh my cod,” they thought. Acht wasn’t just a random octoling that they’d never met before. They were DJ Dedf1sh. The DJ Dedf1sh. Four loved their music, how had they not recognized them before? Oh, greyscaling. Right. But that didn’t matter right now because they were in an elevator with DJ Dedf1sh. And they had hugged them! Four was sort of embarrassed. Had they been this excited when they first met Off the Hook? Probably. It was different this time though because they met Acht and then they remembered DJ Dedf1sh and it turns out they’re the same person!? It was like finding out your coworker is a superhero. But they had to play it cool. Acht probably didn’t want to face Four’s fangirling right now. After all, they did make most of their music while they were sanitized. Maybe they didn’t want to talk about it. Four had to get out of the elevator before their emotions exploded out.

Four had chosen a rigorous floor with danger in hopes of it taking them longer and delaying reaching 30F. They regretted their choice, having to do Cruel_Sisyphean_Eight-Shaped.Floor with no item drops and no drone. 

They definitely felt like Sisyphus right now. Trying to regain their memories just to feel like they’re going to lose themself again. Trying to climb the spire just to have to face Order again. Trying to hide their feelings for Acht just to find out that they’re DJ Dedf1sh. Trying to defend these zones just to have twelve more Drizzling Capriccioso spawn.

That boulder just kept rolling back down the hill.

Four watched two more Towering Nobilmentes spawn and snapped. They massacred every Jelleton in sight. They claimed the zones and finished the floor within a few seconds. They were ready to leave this Spire of Hell.

“We’re about to reach the last floor. Are you ready, Agent 4?” Marina asked with concern as the elevator slowly began its ascent.

“I have no idea. I’m just going to hope for the best,” they sighed.

“You’ve got this! You demolished that last floor!” Pearl gave Four a little pat with one of her robot tentacle arm things. Four wasn’t sure what to call them.

“If something really goes wrong, I’ll jump in to help.” Eight gave a thumbs up.

“Good luck out there,” Acht said in their usual monotone as the doors opened.

Four took a deep breath and stepped out onto the floor. They boarded the cage and rode over to the platform. Their hearts were pounding so fast they could have been having a heart attack. They couldn’t really see anything out on the platform though. From what they remembered, Order was massive. If they looked closely, they could kind of see a little white octopus floating there. It noticed them, making eye contact. Four felt like they’d just been shot in the chest. Despite looking different, that was definitely the Order they knew. They could feel it in their soul. They dropped out of the cage, landing on the ground below as it began to speak to them.

“Oh, it’s you! I wemember you, Pawawel Canon! But why awen’t you at your post? You should go back now.”

Parallel Canon paused. Maybe they should go back, why had they wandered so far from their post? No, Four wanted to be here, they wanted to get out of the spire, out of the Memverse. Right? What would life be like if they let themself stop thinking again? Would it really be that bad? Yes it would, they didn’t want to go back to that, they’d come so far.

They couldn’t give up now.

It was only then that Four noticed the world had gone pitch black and the deafening silence closing in. Not again. How had they let themself go so quickly?

Suddenly, they felt a cold pair of hands on their shoulders. They were kind, yet firm, as if they were afraid. No, not afraid, but worried. Four raised their own hands to meet them. They were the only thing that they could be sure were real, they had to hold onto them. They couldn’t let go. They could feel something within their ears; a sound trying to push its way through. 

“You… breathe….”

They couldn’t hear the full sentence and the sound was muddled, as if they were underwater, but they trusted the person’s voice. They had forgotten that they had lungs. They let the air fill them up. It was sweet and full of life. Their vision began to return, and the voice kept going.

“… have to wake up… Four.”

Their eyes were focusing now, their ears growing clearer. They could feel the tile of the floor beneath their knees. They hadn’t even noticed they’d fallen down.

“I love you. I haven’t loved someone in so long. Please don’t leave me now.” Acht knelt in front of them, shaking, crying. They looked Four in the eyes. A mix of shock and relief crossed their face. “How much of that did you hear?”

Four just smiled and moved their hand up to one of Acht’s tear stained cheeks. Their hearts fluttered in their chest at what they were about to do. “I love you too, Acht. And I really want to kiss you right now.” They couldn’t help but let out a small giggle.

“Please do.” Acht smiled. It might’ve been the first time Four ever saw them smile. It was warm and beautiful, like the setting sun.

Four pulled them in close, pressing Acht’s lips to theirs. They were cold, but joyful. Like catching a snowflake on you tongue. They wished their kiss could last for eternity, but they had to fight. They slowly pulled away from Acht and got to their feet. “I’m gonna go kick this thing’s ass now.” Then, whipping around towards the battle, they yelled, “Eight! Tag out, I’m good!”

Acht’s face was redder than a rose.

****

Acht watched from the elevator as Four boarded the cage and rode out into the arena. Would they be okay? What if something bad happened? Acht couldn’t imagine what they would do if they had to go head to head with Tartar. They would probably end up losing themself again. But that wouldn’t happen to Four, right?

Four dropped down from the cage and Smollusk noticed them, saying, “Oh, it’s you! I wemember you, Pawawel Canon! But why awen’t you at your post? You should go back now.” 

Four stiffened, their face going blank. Oh no. They were not okay.

“Awthough, you’we wooking more coworful than usual,” Smollusk continued. “I guess I’ll have to fight you again. Hawumph!” Smollusk transformed and the fight began. But Four didn’t move. They just stood there for a moment. Then, their legs gave out and they fell to their knees.

“Eight, follow me. I need you,” Acht said without a moments hesitation, super jumping out of the elevator. Eight followed close behind. As they landed, Pearl gave Eight a weapon and the two began to fight off the hoards of Jelletons. Marina sat on the stage, rapidly typing on her laptop. Acht rushed to Four. Their eyes were glazed over, like they were sleeping with their eyes open. 

“Agent 4! Agent 4 can you hear me?” Acht almost screamed. They put their hands on Four’s shoulders in hopes of somehow stirring them. Four’s hands raised to meet theirs. They were still in there somewhere. “Please don’t leave me. Please, not now. Not after you’ve made it so far. You have to breathe, you have to wake up, Four,” Acht kept talking. They were crying now. They didn’t remember what crying felt like before this. They weren’t sure if they liked it or not. But that didn’t matter. All they cared about was Four. “I love you. I haven’t loved someone in so long. Please don’t leave me now.” 

When they looked up, Four’s eyes were shining. They were awake. Relief washed over Acht, but at the same time, they were horrified. “How much of that did you hear?” they asked, their voice breaking under the lump still in their throat.

Four smiled their beautiful, radiant smile and placed their hand on Acht’s cheek. Their hearts jumped in their chest and their stomach did a flip. Was this really happening?

“I love you too, Acht.” Four spoke softly, letting out a small giggle. “And I really want to kiss you right now.”

“Please do.” A smile broke though Acht’s worry as Four gently guided their face toward their own. They pressed their lips together, pulling the other closer as they did. Four was warm, like kissing the summer sun. Acht never wanted to let go.

After what felt like both an eternity and less than a second, Four slowly stood up. “I’m gonna go kick this thing’s ass now.” They yelled something to Eight and charged into battle.

Acht was blushing and sweating and smiling like an idiot.

Four destroyed the portals that Eight hadn’t. He’d already made it through the first phase, leaving them with only two to deal with. 

“Why are you still fighting me? Did you not enjoy your peacefuw world of order?” Smollusk asked before setting off a stingray.

“That wasn’t peace that was pain! You never even asked me if I wanted it,” Four shouted back. 

“Whaaat? You didn’t wike it?”

“No!” they screamed, firing their trizooka, dealing the last damage they needed to finish the fight.

Their hearts’ beating slowed and their breathing steadied. Acht rushed over and pulled them into a hug. Neither of them let go.

“Smollusk! I didn’t want to believe you would do something like this,” Marina spoke as if she was scolding her child. She was in a way.

“I was just twying to make a world of order,” it whined.

“Agent 4 is a living, breathing, person. Not a string of code that you can manipulate. They didn’t want or deserve any of what you did to them. You need to apologize right now.”

Smollusk looked surprised for a minute, as if only now realizing that Four had a life outside of the Memverse. Then it sniffled like it was about to cry. “I’m sowwy, Agent 4. I never wanted to huwt you.”

“Thank you for saying you’re sorry.” Four took a deep breath, weighing Smollusk’s apology in their head. “I forgive you. What you did to me hurt. A lot. But, I think that you understand now why it was bad. And also because I hate holding grudges. Friends?”

If Smollusk had a mouth, it would have been beaming. “Fwiends!”

Four chuckled to themself at how excited it was. Nuzzling their head into Acht’s shoulder, they said, “Let’s head back down now. I’m exhausted.”

[splatoonpolls]

SPLATOON OC TOURNEY

ROUND 1 BATTLE 2

OC PROPAGANDA

Moon by @ace-octo-pix

an octoling born in the domes. she enjoyed her time with the few friends she made, but her parents constantly moving between domes and her seeing the detoriating condition made her reject it in a teenage moment and escaped to inkopolis, changing her tentacles to blend in with the locals there. a year or so later, she stumbles onto captain cuttlefish, becoming agent 3. as an octoling. she's still fully against anything related to octavio, who she blames completely for the conditions of the domes. of course its more complicated than that but she's 14 and fighting against them. When she beats up octavio, things get complicated fast when the other octolings ask her... how best to escape. when her previous path has been blocked off. and she tries to help them. she remembers a bit of the community, and things get so much more complicated, and she's still trying to hide from cuttlefish by covering up her forehead suctions. this does wonders for her personal schedule and she dedicates herself too much to work. However, when coming across agent 8 (before the memory loss), they reunite before Something attacks them and sends them spiraling into the underground, leaving Moon alone to try and work her way out of something again. she gets taken over. captain cuttlefish learns. and after that, Moon has to deal with having free time again... and during the time of learning how to have personal hygiene and do turf wars for fun again, she falls for agent 8, Sun, once more. And then she becomes captain and at this point i'm still forming things. still trying to keep that balance, which marie and callie help with. yeah. agent 3 octoling oc!

Dapplez by @swimspeedupabilitychunk

shes bi and trans and a traumatised octopus :D very autism and anxiety.she has endured the horrors and is on the way to endure more. yes she stays silly!!

this is the only actual image of her i have, i doodle her so much that her design changes very often. sorry D:

dapplez (who was called alexi at the time) and agent 8 (who is called ezra) grew up as child soilders together. they were both present when og 3 beat up octavio the first time, and because reasons were un-brainwashed and started looking for a way to escape. eventually, they found the deep sea metro. while looking for a way in, a group of sanitised octolings attacked them and alexi kinda pushed ezra onto the train tracks to save him. there was in fact a train car pulling up behind them and ezra fell in. she got splatted and lost all her memories. all she knew was she wanted to get to the surface. after reaching the surface (because after octavio left the whole power vacumm resulted in a breakdown of octarian society) she begins working for grizz co to make ends meet. she just happened to be on shift (with a pair of dapple dualies) when mr grizz kidnapped a bunch of workers (mostly octolings who were in the same situation as her) and fuzzied them. after return of the mamalians cici (neo 3) went around feeding all the fuzzied octolings golden eggs to free them. this included the octoling now known as dapplez. she had fully lost her memories (also this is where she just. gravitated to she/her pronouns. thats how im working the trans into this) but began to learn how to person again. callie retaught her octarian!! she also ended up dating cici. enventually though, she wanted to head back to inkopolis plaza to see if that would jog any memories. train car pulls up. who's on the other side? ezra. insert side order plot but shes helping ezra

[luna-the-ikenuma]

Hi ! My name's Léa, I'm also known as Luna, you can call me Lee or Lunnie or whatever you can call me that, I mostly draw on digital and art traditional ya'll can ask me anything if you can like requests or something or you can simply ask me some questions. Btw do not repost it reblog instead btw feel free to draw one of my ocs

if you wish to draw one of my oc it's all on my Instagram page

If you want to use one of my artworks as pfp or banner please credit me

Oh yeah...there are my 3 sonas I got here

Template credit by Annaswelle

Follow my social if you're interested

Instagram: Luna_The_Zeraora

Twitter/X: LunaSerperior

Discord: luna_the_octoling

Amino: Luna the Octoling

Bluesky: lunatheikenuma.bsky.social (or try search Luna if this works)

Sketcher united: Luna the Ikenuma (I probably don't use it anymore)

Tumblr: you already here !

YouTube: Luna the Ikenuma

Roblox (not sure why I put this here): Luna_TheOctoling (main), Sushi_Veemo (alt)

My Nintendo switch code if interesting (you don't have to)

SW-8492-7640-3809

Fandoms I'm into:

MO4 (Marikin online 4)

Splatoon (1, 2, 3 n Coroika)

Henry Stickmin

Kirby

Object shows (BFDI, inanimate insanity and one)

Cookie run

Most type of anime (it depends of what anime I'm into)

Pokemon

South Park

Garten of Banban

Sprunki

PBF (Pay me back friend/payback friends)

Ori and the blind of the forest/will of the wisps

Number project (Sūji no yatsura)

AVA/AVM (animation vs animator/animation vs minecraft)

Roblox (Dandy's world, Phighting, Regretevator and others...)

Hoyo games (genshin impact, honkai star rail and zenless zone zero)

JSAB (just shape and beats)

Megaman (used to be in this fandom but...I lost all my interest of it)

Bunny Maloney

WuWa (wuthering waves)

Rain world

That's all for today have a nice day

Note to those who are French speakers like me: si vous êtes français et que vous ne comprenez pas l'anglais utiliser un traducteur ou faites un trucs je sais pas

Intro post update: 17/05

[bapzap]

tell us about your favorite oc!!!!

normal length of time to answer an ask anyways

this is my splatoon agent OC (that my boyfriend drew @anjellidolce i love you) thats been stuck in my head since splatoon 3 came out even though she existed before

her name is Kelp and she's an octoling that reeeeeally wanted to be an elite octoling before she got Agent 3'd into the deepsea metro, got lost, saved inkopolis and then never went back because she did not want to explain that she didn't *actually* defect to the squidlings she just so happened to work with their archenemies and a defector to save the world and no she has no proof but believe her really. so she kinda just got stuck on the surface

she also didnt want to backstab pearl and marina after they went through all that to save her from the Metro

she has a complex about living on the surface while everyone else she knows is still trapped underground so she wanders around inkadia and the splatlands because she doesn't feel like she should have the luxuries of things like "a stable power supply" or "a house that doesn't constantly fall on you because it's not a 1000 year old probably-human-nuclear-fallout-bunker"

she has the worlds most dysfunctional relationship with the NSS because she literally and unironically thinks octavio was right so she has a grudge against literally all of them but she hangs out with them anyways because of trauma bonding lmao.

[sanitizedsubject]

on the subject of gmod addons...

the "removal" is blatantly surface level and half assed

every reupload i've seen has stayed up, and thats not even counting alternative sources like gamebanana (oldhead source for source engine game mod stuff, reputable in my eyes), im still rocking rival octoling PM

also i love gmod and i love your stuff ive seen so far!!!! it's way higher quality then i usually expect from posing stuff (as much as I love doing it myself rarely)

First of all: thank you. Using gmod was an artistic choice, at the risk of sounding pretentious?? The uncanny valley source feeling was really intended to draw out just how hollow pistachio felt (in different ways!) throughout the story.

I especially am still VERY PROUD of the Squidbeak’s apartment. It’s actually smaller than it is in narrative, so I tried to use camera angles and deliberately kept doors closed to make it seem bigger. (Really, I think it’s smallness still came across, which actually might’ve made it BETTER?) the map was on the workshop, but I did a lot of texture editing/refurnishing. Pistachio’s room was the most extreme example.

Most people I’ve told are a little scared to learn that I did not use a posing mod. I used the physgun the whole way through. Most of the quality came from an abuse of lighting engines and camera angles. The models are VERY chibi so I was constantly trying to get across in their body language that these weren’t like… little kids, they were teenagers trying their best to rapidly mature.

Favorite example of that is PROBABLY this video from the start of the turning point.

https://youtu.be/jZzIcbDLIto?si=dmSWLedoHnpTKw3r

And, uh, yeah, the “apocalypse” wasn’t that big of a deal. I saved most of my mods and I know how to boot them locally so nothing is LOST, I’d just have to reconstruct everyone’s models and I… don’t wanna do that. I made most of them years ago and I don’t quite remember how I did it.

I’m not sure I’ll be coming BACK anytime soon— I’ve got a project that’s gonna take 3 novels, some (DRAWN) animatics, and a prayer to complete. If I do, it’s getting drawn, with additional chapters and hopefully more time to dig into Squidbeak’s issues. That being SAID, as it stands, if anything was unclear, go ahead and send me an ask and I’ll answer.

[splattales]

((Not sure how many of you are following the Queenie/Eelrune fluff since it's kinda side-story, but as a diehard fan I wrote a little fic a few months back and I want to share it here. Got the go-ahead from @grandpa-cephalopods - since I was experimenting with perspectives too. ))

((It's set before the human rocketship stuff happens, but apart from that it's pretty self-explanatory mushy stuff lol. Under the cut.))

Coughs and Sneezes

It was Eelrune’s day off. Her plans for a family visit had been cancelled due to transport issues, leaving her without much to do. She’d had a shower and watered her garden but was now struggling to find another means of occupying herself. She could read, or watch TV, or even try to study—but none of it felt particularly appealing. Something to drink, perhaps? That could waste about … five minutes…

After making herself some tea, she sat on the sofa to think. It was quiet. Things had been quiet for the past week and a half. Queenie hadn’t been visiting the clinic lately. She usually showed up every other day after work—Eelrune always finished much later. But recently, the human hadn’t shown up at all. Or called, or texted. Perhaps she was busy, but Eelrune had been contemplating the possibility that her friend had simply lost interest. After what she’d shared of her life; the little she did in her free time … it was highly possible Queenie found her boring.

Eelrune glanced at her shellphone. She could initiate a call herself, but knowing someone as talkative as Queenie, if she’d wanted to chat they’d be on the phone already. Then again …  the human was prone to stumbling into dangerous incidents. What if something had happened to her?

Before Eelrune could begin wording her message, the phone rang. Startled, she answered at once, barely registering the caller ID—but it was someone she knew. “Hello?”

“Oh, Eelrune—” The high-pitched, teary warble of a voice reminded the nurse of Marina’s first visit to the clinic, where she’d burst through the door crying like Queenie had died. “It’s Queenie, she—”

“Has something happened?”

“Well—sort—kind of? I know you don’t know everything about human illnesses, but T’s phone is engaged, I don’t know who else to ask, I really need your help…”

“Okay, try to calm down. What’s the problem?”

Marina took a long, whimpering inhale, trying to control herself. “Ohhh… She says it’s fine, but you know how she downplays stuff all the time. She’s really sick, she only gets out of bed to throw up, she keeps sneezing and snuffling, and she can’t stand up for long…”

“That certainly doesn’t sound good…” Eelrune considered where she left the human handbook. This didn’t seem like a situation where she’d have to operate, but the details on human anatomy and bodily functions might help with a diagnosis. While it seemed like Marina was overreacting, it had been worrying enough that Queenie had kept this to herself. “I’ll come over and see what I can do. Where do you live?”

Silence fell on the other end at Marina’s pause. Not a snivel could be heard. As Eelrune was about to ask again, the octoling finally said, “I’ll meet you at Grizzco Industries and we’ll go from there.”

Once she’d collected her things, Eelrune set off to meet Marina. She hadn’t picked up much, most of the useful equipment was at the clinic, but the handbook and a purse-full of medicine would be enough until she could determine which to use.

Grizzco Industries wasn’t hard to reach, but the octoling wasn’t prompt about appearing, and it was an unpleasant place to stand around. When Marina finally did arrive, Eelrune was losing her patience, but she held her temper for the fretting girl. Besides, she’d used the time to revise human anatomy. It had some surprising similarities to other species.

“Sorry, I … got lost,” Marina mumbled. “I can find my way back, though. For sure. We can’t take too long.”

Eelrune nodded. “Lead the way.”

Marina seemed certain of her lead, though some of her turns felt a bit directionless, making it clear to Eelrune why she’d become lost. Eventually, though, they arrived at the outskirts of Splatsville, where a large lone caravan stood.

“Here we are.” Marina gestured before stepping closer.

“Where—the caravan?” Eelrune’s eyes darted around. “You both live here?”

“Yeah,” Marina confirmed, not registering the confusion in her voice as they started up the entrance. “It’s real close to the dig site I work at, so it’s a pretty great location – can you make the step? There aren’t too many, but it’s the only way in, so…”

Inhaling deeply, Eelrune tried to focus on the matter at hand. “Yes, not to worry.”

Once inside, it was clear they’d entered the kitchen. It was a lot tidier than the eel was expecting; clean kitchen surfaces and a neat dining table for one. There was another room leading to the right, but Marina seemed more interested in the one on the left.

“Queenie, I’m baaaack…” She motioned for Eelrune to stay put for now. “How are you feeling?”

A response drifted from within the room, nasally and pathetic. “Awful. Did you get me the tea I asked for?”

“Yes—and something better.” This time, Marina motioned for Eelrune to come through instead.

The moment she laid eyes on Queenie, a look of pure horror graced the human’s visage, and she pulled the covers of her bed up to her face. Her hair was unkempt, the bed itself was strewn with tissues, and there was a (mercifully empty) bucket next to the side-table.

“No, don’t look at me—!” Queenie squirmed, curling her legs up beneath the covers. “Marina, why did you bring her? Seeing me like this … it’s just a cold, I don’t need medical attention. Now she knows what squalor we live in!”

The octoling didn’t take this very well, and her concern flared into anger. “You can sleep outside if you want! I didn’t have to get you anything, or anyone, but I was worried about you! Shows me!” She stormed out into the kitchen, and Eelrune was left to deal with the situation.

“Well, it’s nice to see you too,” she huffed, sliding further into the room. “Marina said you’d been throwing up, and that sounds worse than a cold to me.”

“I’ll be fine, I prom—prom—hatchoo!” Queenie’s condition made this entirely unconvincing. “I’ll get better within a week on my own.”

“You might be right, but I’ve been asked to make sure.” Eelrune tightened her grip on her handbag. “I also brought a decongestant and some painkillers, but I’d like to make a diagnosis before I risk giving you any medicine.”

“Alright, fine. What do you want to do to me?”

“I’d like to take your temperature, listen to your breathing, and look at the inside of your mouth. There’s not much I can do without equipment…”

Queenie glowered at the floor, reluctantly lowering her blanket shield. “Do what you must, but I don’t like the sound of that last one.”

“I don’t have any tongue depressors on-hand, so you might escape it.” She didn’t have a sterilized thermometer either, so she placed her hand on Queenie’s forehead instead. It was warm. Humans were hot-blooded, but not THAT warm. “I think it’s safe to say you have a fever.”

“I could’ve told you that,” Queenie muttered. “How are you going to listen to my lungs without a stethoscope?”

Eelrune gave her a look, barely stopping herself from saying ‘How do you think?’ by maintaining her bedside manner. “I’ll put my head on your chest. The stethoscope’s purpose would be to amplify that sound.”

“You—you’ll—” Queenie was flushed already, but now she looked hotter. “Ohhh, hurry up then...” She took a sharp intake of breath as Eelrune rested her head against her.

“Exhale slowly, please.”

Queenie tried to do as she was told but was interrupted by her own cough. “Ugh… I hate having you see me like this.”

“Oh, please. I met you in a much more compromising situation.”

“At least that was spontaneous and dramatic.”

Eelrune rolled her eyes. Queenie’s pride always came from an unusual perspective. Maybe it was a human culture thing. “Yes, well … I can’t listen when you talk to me, so take another breath.”

This time, Queenie managed to subdue her cough. She shut her eyes, savouring some unspoken feeling as Eelrune listened.

The nurse soon lifted her head, adjusting her hair-tails. “It doesn’t sound like you have much liquid in there, which is better for you than it would be for seafolk.”

“I don’t like how you said much instead of any.”

“Well … your breathing is laboured. But it could be far worse. I can safely confirm that you’re not dying, as Miss Marina feared.”

Queenie pouted. “I told you I was fine.”

“That’s the problem—you’re not fine, either.” Eelrune folded her arms. “Is it true you’ve been throwing up? Can you stand for me? Can you walk?”

Trying to prove her point, Queenie struggled out from underneath the sheets and emerged from the bed, holding her hands out to steady herself. She teetered, attempting to set one foot forward, all with a defiant look on her face.

Eelrune put her arms out to catch her when she inevitably fell forward. “That settles it. I think you should stay in bed and rest.”

Queenie clung to her, hiding her face in her shoulder. She shook slightly, and Eelrune felt the fabric of her clothes dampen, but the human didn’t make a sound.

She patted her on the back. “I’m trying to help because I want you to get better. I’m not trying to hold anything over you—everyone gets sick.”

“Please can I have the medicine you brought now?” Queenie’s voice was much meeker than it had been.

“I’d like to give you it – but I have one more question to ask. Have you had our medicine before? I wouldn’t want to cause further complications by giving you something that wasn’t designed for your species’ intake.”

“Well, nothing else I’ve had has killed me yet … I’ll have a look at the packaging though, for your sake.”

“For my sake…?” Eelrune helped Queenie back into the bed, where the human sat up and grasped onto the blankets. She didn’t elaborate at this confusion and was still sulking. Before Eelrune could prompt her further, Marina re-entered with a tea-tray. It seemed she’d let off some steam with the kettle, her concern greater than any offense she’d taken. There were two cups.

“I’ve brought your tea.” She offered the tray to Queenie, who silently took one. Marina turned to Eelrune. “Sorry, I didn’t ask if you wanted one, but I made some anyway. If you want, there’s some sugar in the kitchen.”

“Oh—thank you.” The eel slid her cup off the tray, placing it on the bedside table. She watched as Marina tucked the tray under her arm. “Aren’t you having any?”

“Mine’s in the kitchen. I don’t really want to interrupt whatever it is you’re doing in here. Um, how’s it going?”

“I was just about to give Queenie something for her sickness. She should be alright, as long as she keeps resting and drinks plenty.”

“That’s a relief…” Marina rubbed at her brow. “Anyway, I’ll leave you be.”

Eelrune passed over the decongestant she’d taken out of her handbag. “You can’t take both medicines at the same time. But do make sure this hasn’t got anything toxic to humans…”

“I’m familiar with most medicinal components, I assure you,” Queenie reassured her as she studied the packaging, taking a quick sip of tea with her other hand. She thought it best not to mention her poison studies again. “This should be fine.” A pause. “Thank you.”

As Queenie took the medicine with her tea, Eelrune dipped out to put sugar in hers, mostly unnoticed. On her return, she rolled a chair over from Marina’s desk at the back of the room and sat at the bedside.

“I’m not much to look at right now,” Queenie grumbled, blowing on her tea.

“I assumed you’d want some company. But I can go—”

“Don’t go,” Queenie sighed. She put her tea aside. “Let me be plain with you, Runey.”

The tip of Eelrune’s tail twitched at the nickname, but she turned her head away in a demure manner. “I’m listening.”

“I am quite guarded with my emotions. Preserving my ego is … excruciatingly important to me.” She stopped to raise a tissue to her nose, sneezing before she continued. “As such, I find myself unpractised with expressing how I feel. About people, about my passions—I am often at war with myself, and as a result, I tend to put my foot in my mouth...”

Eelrune didn’t think that sounded healthy, exactly, but she left room for Queenie to continue.

“Which brings me to what I’m trying to say now. You … are very dear to me. You’ve done a lot for me, and I enjoy my time in your company.” The human fought her nerves, swallowing. “So … please don’t ever think I want you to leave, or that I’d want to leave you, er, ‘high and dry’. If I’ve been acting strange, it’s because…” Well, she didn’t have to admit the whole truth. “I’m struggling between long-dead social expectations and being a good friend.”

Hearing that Queenie had finished, Eelrune exhaled a long sigh. The human’s hand was flopped on the bedsheets, and she took it gently. She probably couldn’t catch it, but she’d definitely be washing her own hands later...  “I understand. Well—more accurately, I understand what you’re trying to say. Your situation is practically unheard of. A fish out of water, if you’ll pardon the expression.” She looked down. “That must come with a lot to learn. Not just about Splatsville, but about yourself. I had a taste of that when I first moved here, but for you, well…” Eelrune looked up again to see how Queenie was reacting.

The human was regarding her with intense interest, patiently waiting for her to continue, so she did.

“It’s not surprising that you’d feel overwhelmed—nor will things magically fit into place.” She squeezed her hand, hoping to reassure her. “But if you want me here, then I’ll stay. I want you to get better.”

Queenie’s mouth half-opened, but she seemed to think better of whatever she was going to say. Eventually, she asked, “Is that because you’re a nurse, or because you’re my friend?”

“Well, take your pick.” Eelrune drew her hand back, reaching for her tea. “Because I’m both. But I didn’t come all the way here on my day off just because some patient of mine had the flu.”

The edges of Queenie’s mouth curled upward for the first time that day. It was weak, but the smile was there. “So … tell me what gossip I’ve missed while I’ve been sick in bed.”