#Plotpost

[splattales]

That sure was a Side Order, huh.

[askthepaldeanpassenger]

((Some time later…))

((Would you like to play with Prince? Cyrus is still available for asks, too!))

[branches-in-a-flood]

So, I got you into Silent Planet, and I think you’re getting me into The Plot In You. I had started listening to a few of their songs after you and Shatters saw them, and I am now going through their discography with great interest 🌿

:chants quietly:

Join us, join us, join us!

I cannot explain why I love the band as I do, but I do consider Dispose and Swan Song no-skip albums. Happiness in Self Destruction is close. The EPs are pretty damn good as well (Tank asked me to pick a favorite Volume recently and I wanted to cry. They're all so good.) And the covers and features. I just kinda love them??

Landon's voice is so unique to me, especially the amount of pain he portrays, and how raw his screaming can be. I know I've talked about Crows on here before, but. 🥹 (Especially the "goddamn, I'm everything you think I am" UGHHHH) And then, this fucker can have the smoothest ethereal vocals too? How dare.

Anyway. Happy listening, Z 💚

[custardcove]

First Memories

Chapter One - Custard Cove

Roaring shoreline. Lapping waves. Warm sun, salty air, chirping seagulls. Drifting in and out of consciousness, these were the sounds and senses Alice recognised.

Movement was impossible, her limbs felt like they were full of cement—or perhaps sand, as plenty lay beneath her. Somehow, she wasn’t damp. Perhaps the sun had dried her out. She didn’t feel sunburnt. All she wanted to do was sleep, though the pull of the sea was a real threat. In this state, it was difficult to feel strongly about anything.

“Alice?”

Was someone there? There was a blurry, indistinct shape peering over her. Yes, it was probably a person. It was too much of a strain to keep her eyes open, so they fluttered shut.

“Can you hear me? Alice!"

***

Alice awoke in a warm house, surrounded by cushions. A large stuffed owl sat nearby, presumably for her comfort. There was sand in her hair, and she felt like she needed a wash, but the blanket she’d been covered with was still clean. Something about the room she was in was familiar, but she wasn’t sure what it was. It wasn’t just the floral-patterned wallpaper, or the lavender and earthy wood scents, or the comforting babble of voices from beyond the door. The familiarity came from a combination of all three.

Pansy’s.

This wasn’t the same house she knew. Or was it? Moving her limbs was still somewhat strenuous, but Alice forced herself off the guest-bed, inching forward with the hope of confirming her suspicions. She didn’t want to make a fuss. Poking her head around the bedroom door, she saw a hallway, some few doors on her left and the banister and stairs to her right. This was the furthest room upstairs, then. Feeling nosy, she shuffled out and opened the first door to her left, which was revealed to be a bathroom. To decide on how to proceed, Alice glanced back over to the stairwell. There was nothing she wanted to do more than take a bath right now. It didn’t seem like anyone was coming, so she entered, locking the door behind her.

The bath did well to ease her exhaustion. Soap, shampoo, and conditioner were conveniently available, and there was enough in the containers that she didn’t feel guilty about using them. Midway through her wash, there was a tap on the door, making her freeze. A familiar voice brought her relief again.

“You in there?”

“Having a bath,” Alice replied with haste.  

“Oh, sorry—that’s alright. I’ll see if I can find you somethin’ to wear. I’ll put it outside the door, okay?”

“Okay.”

Footsteps that had to belong to Pansy tromped down the hallway as Alice resumed her bath. She hoped she wasn’t being a bad guest; she hadn’t even spoken to her host face-to-face, but Pansy didn’t sound like she minded. Besides, the circumstances were already unusual. Alice borrowed a towel from the cupboard to dry herself, though remained in the bathroom until she was sure Pansy dropped clean clothes by the door.

Once Alice slid the clothes through the door and put them on, she was ready to go downstairs. Her host had provided a pair of pyjamas and a dressing gown to cover herself with, both of which were slightly too large, but clothes were clothes. Alice tied the gown’s belt tightly around her waist so that nothing would fall down, then carried her sandy outfit to the living room. She was surprised by what she saw. Her deduction had been correct, this was indeed Pansy’s house and the pyrokinetic pseuman was sat on one of the living room’s sofas. What Alice hadn’t accounted for was the infant settled on Pansy’s lap.

Before she could think to say anything, Pansy noticed her. “Alice! I’m so glad you’re okay. Seein’ you lying on the beach like that frightened me something awful.”

“Oh, um…” Alice shuffled further into the room and sat on the adjacent sofa, putting the clothing-load beside her. “Sorry.”

“Not your fault—I’ll wash those for you when I’m done with Prim here.” She nodded, adjusting her hold on the child. “How’d you end up there?”

Alice frowned, trying her best to recall. How did she end up on the shoreline? What was she doing before that? The more she thought, the less she understood. She didn’t want to admit how patchy her memory was. “I don’t … remember.” Before Pansy could express concern, Alice directed her attention to the baby and asked, “Where’d you get that?”

Pansy’s troubled frown morphed into a grin. “My daughter? Gave birth.”

“You married?” Alice prompted.

“No, unfortunately. I’ll tell you the whole story sometime, but for now let’s just say I, er, found Mr Wrong.”

“Ah, um, okay.” She rubbed her neck. “Her name’s Prim?”

“Yeah! Short for Primrose. She’s a psychic.”

“But I thought—” Alice paused, blinking, thankful that she could still remember facts she’d picked up about pseumans. “—that your kind didn’t develop powers until you were twelve.”

“Prim’s kinda like Mom,” Pansy explained. “Got her powers early. Gonna be some effort to train her, but I couldn’t be more proud.”

“I see. I’m not the biggest baby enthusiast, but she’s cute. Eyes like yours.”

“Aww, thanks.” She smiled warmly, before returning to an interrogative stare. “But hey, this isn’t about me. Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you said just now. You can’t remember how you washed up here?”

“I can’t.” Alice recoiled in her seat. “If you don’t mind me asking, where exactly is ‘here’ anyway?”

“This place? Erryton.” Pansy nodded. “Costal town near Glimmer City, moved here only recently m’self. And while I’ll admit I’m concerned about you, hon, that bout of amnesia isn’t uncommon for folks here.”

The human’s eyes widened. “It’s … common? Isn’t that worrying for the townspeople?!”

“Well… nah. It’s not big stuff usually, it’s more or less a memory-gap. Only what they were doing before they got here—not where they came from or how to get back home. Some folks can remember how they arrived, but not how long they’ve been here. And apart from that, it’s the ideal neighbourhood.”

“You’re taking this very calmly, Pansy,” Alice squeaked, nearly standing until her exhaustion dragged her back down. “If everyone is forgetting, I’d want to leave before it gets any worse—”

“Well, that’s the thing—it doesn’t get worse.” Pansy shrugged her shoulders. Primrose squirmed in her arms, but she was only stretching. “Nobody forgets any more ‘n that.”

“I just think it’s something someone should be looking into,” Alice huffed, shaking her head. “But anyway, there’s one small thing I do remember.”

“What’s that?”

“I think I’ve lost something. Or that I was looking for something. Not always the same thing.” She scratched behind her ear, glancing over at one of Pansy’s many potted plants. “But I don’t know what it is.”

“Hmm…” Pansy thought for a moment, before snapping her fingers with inspiration. Her daughter stared at her hand in surprise. “Actually, I think Queenie found something of yours! I haven’t seen you around for ages, so I didn’t think much of it at the time, but she was showin’ it off and stuff.”

“Queenie?” Alice searched her memory banks for the name. Yes, she knew Queenie. Somehow. Rich, lived in a mansion, part dragon, had an affinity for blue roses, was … dead? Evidently not. “What’s the something?”

“A necklace. A sort of, you know, one of those heart lockets?” Pansy gestured at nothing. “Can’t prove it is yours or nothin’, but I remember you had one, ‘cause it was enchanted for your HP. And it doesn’t look like you got it no more.”

Alice pondered this. It wasn’t leaping out at her as the thing she’d been looking for—there was no ‘aha!’ moment. But there was no question about it, she’d lost her locket too. “It could be. Maybe she even knows what happened to me.” Or, heaven forbid, she was what happened. “What should I do? I can’t just walk into her house, can I?”

“Nah, you’re right about that. Queenie’s villa isn’t someplace you can just waltz into. But you could always write her a letter? I know she reads ‘em.”

“A letter.” So they were playing the long game. “Better than nothing, I suppose. Ugh…”

“You okay?”

“I’m just exhausted.”

Pansy stood up, carrying Prim over her shoulder. “A’ight, I think it’s about time I made you something to eat. I’ll wash those clothes for you, and you can rest here as long as you need. Though I reckon we should call your parents sometime soon, let ‘em know you’re here.”

“Okay. Thank you.” Alice hesitated before adding, “I’m glad you’re the one that found me.”

“Me too!”

---

|| Next ||

[snowy-doe]

Psychedelic Neopets plot poster graphics ~ https://ko-fi.com/snowy_822/shop/plotposters

[eldritch-cat-thingsdotcom]

Lt. Avery 'ares' Riley-Jones

so ares is one of my longer au characters created purely to redaw the silly memes with cod character and an oc. she was from the erra of fanboy konig x ghost erra inspired by blugari and umikochanart.

but dont worry ghost x soap is a thing soaps jsut fine with polyamory

so thats a thing.

she was the chaos character so some early storyline plotposts are very vauge to leave open for these shananigains

like she has 'a father higher up that gives her lost of leeway in many situations'. this plot point i think i created jsut so i could cannon her breaking into freindly military bases and doing shit

one of the main plotpoints is that she broke into the military base where kortac and specgru were (they are allies and at same base for plot reasons). she snuck into ghosts room and stole his clothes and locked him in the bathroom whike he was showering with soap.

she dressed up as ghost and impersinated him for an unknown amount of time before konig caught her and as the fanboy he is noticed because she didnt walk the exact same and her glare was off. he threatens her thinking ghost is injured and she an enemy.

she then perwades that in fact she knows ghost and all is good, somehow calming the fanboy and he gives her a tour.

its later ghost comes out half dressed and using one of his anchient baclavas that he picks avery up by the collar dose the hand signal for hand it over, her responce 'heya ghostie took you long enough' before she takes everything off handing it back to ghost

(it was mainly the jumper, baclava and gloves so she had stuff under. her shoes n pants are basically idential)

you see the shitpost in the story yet?

[octowussabi]

What’s been happening?

The About and Muse pages have finally been updated! The last thing to do is cover the recent story developments. 

After Tay went through his identity crisis, there was still a lot to take care of.

  Octarian Politics:

Some members of the Royal Octarian Council (R.O.C.) had been deliberately excluding Tay from their meetings. Some were following his father’s last orders, some were in the dark, and others were attempting to usurp the system.

In what I’m sure would’ve been a really cool and interesting arc, Tay and Sabi rooted out an old friend of their father—Rock Finbar—a member of the council that was responsible for putting Tay on the throne. He had been using his authority as the late Octavio’s ‘trusted friend’ to take over. Finbar threatened to out Tay as a fake as a final act of sabotage, but Tay did it first, revealing his identity as a clone to the underground.

This … went surprisingly well! Many of the underground’s inhabitants were born from tentacuts already, so finding out that their Emperor had been succeeded by one was A-OK. For the most part.

Because Finbar was under fire as the one keeping this from the public, it was easy to remove him from the R.O.C. board. There was a re-election for council members, but the newest additions and a few others were voted to stay.

Splatoon 3:

 While octarians had been going steadily missing for years due to Tartar’s interference, a large section of the octarian military disappeared all at once during an investigation. They’d been looking into some fuzzy growths taking over a kettle in a broken-down district.

Back on his feet and officially in charge, Tay built a cool new Vacuum Octobot in his plan to find and rescue the missing soldiers. Unfortunately, this mission went poorly when a misunderstanding led him to being beaten up by a 12-year-old.

That said, Octavio came in clutch during the final showdown with Grizz, aiding Molly and Deep Cut to stop the rocket before it took off. After the incident, Ribbon told him a cool dream she had about him building a Vacuum Spaceship. He’s considered making it.

Even though he found the troops scattered around Alterna, they’re fuzzy amnesiacs now—he’s not sure what to do about it yet.

Sabi is also here!!! Moral support!! After Deep Cut chilled out, he got to discuss music with them.

  Misc.:

 Tay is looking to appoint a new Shogun, because having both titles doesn’t seem right when he doesn’t ‘remember’ any of his father’s wartime feats.

The fact that the Great Octoweapons are filled with failed clones hasn’t come to Tay or Sabi’s attention yet. The weapon pilots have caretakers, who would possibly have made this known … if Tay hadn’t left the palace and rushed headfirst into the Splatlands.

Reed was adopted by one of Tay’s housekeepers, but still has him visit sometimes. In Tay’s then depressed and inexperienced state, he didn’t think he would be a good parent for the tiny octotrooper.

[hitherto-and-henceforth]

if i drew the next pages you would have more context for this comment but. Manon “Child Welfare” Delaforêt: cannot stop arguing with this teenager

[rozecrest]

25!

25. did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? describe one.

I DID DO THIS!! for my advanced fiction class i had to start on a novel concept and i made a world called mycelia i’ve been chipping at sincezzz one of the characters in that world is meraki, the secret protagonist, the brother of my main girl* kariko, who’s dead* before the story begins ! he was an experimental electrical innovator in a world that’s just harnessing the uses of electricity, and a boy who loves legends, and believed in them more than he maybe ought have… it just enough :)

[ohsweetflips]

me: i wanna put julian devorak in a jar and shake him around for a while

julia: yes bestie give us nothing

[ask-the-evermore-syndicate]

Arc 1 - Chp 5 - Fallen Star (Part 2)

It did not take long at all for Teiden and company to reach. Serenade was able to easily teleport all of them, Jack, Teiden, and Traizey as well as himself, to Seika’s team near instantly without much hassle. When they got to the other team’s camp, they were in for quite the sight. Seika, Mesa, and Refi were all huddled around Stellon’s side. Seika looked to be quite annoyed about what happened, Mesa seemed a bit confused, but Refi was the most concerned however, the zoroark really was hoping he could have done something for his boss.

“So... tell me what happened.” Said Teiden as he approached the four, causing them all except for Stellon to give him attention (As he was just aimlessly looking around confused.)

“Well, we encountered your old pal Alexandrite. The weavile got him right in the face with that weird paint.” Seika explained, holding her hands behind her back. “I feel stupid not going out with him, I should have figured out that the Gang Leader was going to be in the area. Now looks like he’s going to be confused for awhile...”

“So what do we do now Teiden?” Jack asked, moving over to get a closer look at the Hawlucha and his messed up stained face. Serenade moved in closer as well, lightly pushing Mesa and Refi aside so he could examine Stellon’s condition.

“I agree with Jack this time Pops, if we know where that creep is what are we doing still stickin’ in teams eh?” Trailblazer questioned, pacing around a bit sorta nervously. Teiden stopped her however by placing a hand on her shoulder to attempt to reassure the vixen of what was going on.

“Well, It’s a bit dangerous to be all alone, Seika i think you should always be together when searching these those marks out.” The blue bisharp reminded the taller one. “Why on earth would you send him out to do this alone hmmm?” He was looking at her quite sternly with his hands behind his back, Seika was never that thoughtless enough to send a lone man out to search out these marks on their own, so he was honestly rather curious as to why Stellon was out doing that by himself without at least taking Mesa or Refi along.

“Teiden, Stellon insisted that he go out on his own. Saying he needed some time to think about performances? I don’t know why but he just walked off before i could say anything.” The tall woman responded with a light sigh under her breath. “I should have done more yeah...” That thought REALLY made her disappointed in herself.

“...Its alright, at least you got there when you did.” Teiden reassured Seika, before walking past her to check on Stellon. “Doc, how’s he doing?” 

“...Well he’s not dying, those wounds are pretty bad, but with a bit of care here he should be able to walk it off in a few days. However he appears to be stuck in some sort of trance, likely induced from inhaling that paint... this is like what happened with Minuet.” The Gallade explained. “The best we can do is let him rest it off and hopefully. He’ll be babbling on for awhile and might try to get up... I wouldn’t try to keep him in bed, but I would be mindful of what he’s doing while he’s in this state. Unfortunately that means we’re going to have to make sure he keeps up with some of the necessities while he’s like this.”

“So making sure he eats and drinks?” Mesa chimed in, looking at the other mon with a concerned look.

“Preetty much yeah.” Serenade said, taking the wrapped coat off of stellon and replacing it with actual bandages. “There...” He finished wrapping him in bandages around the wounded area, but not before putting some medicine on those wounds. 

“Alright, I need to think of what to do next.” Teiden announced starting to walk a bit. “Why don’t you all talk about plans maybe while I think about what to do next. Its been awhile since all of us Alphas have been around and I’m sure Mesa and Refi would love to speak with some of you as well.” With that last thing, Teiden walked away.

Night fell rather fast upon the forest, despite the shakeup with Stellon it was quite peaceful, until Teiden arrived back and announced a pretty big change that was about to occur.

“What?!?!?!?!?”

The same word rang throughout the six others. Stellon was asleep when this happened

“I think It’d be best to merge our teams. From what happened to Stellon today it had me thinking. Maybe we aren’t even safe in groups of four. It would be much better to stick as one large squad and split up temporarily when the time comes.” Teiden explained to the group, his hands in his lab coat’s pockets once again as he looked out among everyone there. “To add to it, we also have the concern of Stellon now, who we might need to keep an eye on as we travel until he returns to his senses... Stellon is strong but I don’t feel very comfortable leaving this guy alone for the time being. From tonight onward we travel all together and search for Xander and his gang, destroying marks as we pick up the trail.”

“...That’s a plan I guess I can get behind.” Jack shrugged, looking up to the starry sky through the trees.

“But what if he’s moved on, Dad?” Traizey brought up, sort of concerned. “He could have left the area today.” 

“That might not be true though Traizey, which is why we move in a larger group and split up to search a larger area. Now that we know where he is... we can finally begin closing in on the truth.” Teiden responded, starting to pace a little bit. “This event shook me too, so we need to stay vigilant and tenacious to these guys. I understand all of you are super concerned that we’ll miss some marks, but the faster we snag that spiky haired guy, the quicker this will stop happening. Now... enough questions fellas, we have to get some rest, everything is all set up?” He looked around the camp and nodded. seeing everyone’s sleeping bags all set up as well as some small tents.

“Good... now get some rest all of you. We got work to do tomorrow.” Teiden concluded, smiling a bit at everyone.

((They groups have merged, now anyone may show up durring another’s ask)) ((Stellon has been drugged and may not respond very intelligently when asked a question))

[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.”

[askthepaldeanpassenger]

Cyrus: "With a glance at our surroundings... We should arrive at Madame Sylvania's castle by noon. It seems Maria traveled further than originally anticipated.”

The Espeon reaches down and carefully picks up the sleeping Sprigatito. They move slower yet more precise than that of Maria previously. After placing Prince on their back, the Espeon glances out to the morning sun before turning to face forward.

Cyrus: "Come now, young Master. We haven't a moment to waste."

((Cyrus has been added to the Character Page and is now available for asks! Maria, on the other hand, is currently unavailable for asks.))

((Also, help with the posing and framing of much of this comic goes to my partner, @splotchi / @ask-enchantingdelights !! They helped suggest some things as well with how this turned out!))

[branches-in-a-flood]

ALSO someone yelled "Landon I love you" and he said "I love you back" or something I WISH I RECORDED IT SO BAD HE'S PRECIOUS such a cool guy

He seems like a good dude!

Also did you see the reel posted to their insta today???? New music????!!!

[eemasu]

gee, that must have been a really difficult decision to make after already having multiple Japanese friends and mentors to practice with

[tragicquartet]

((ngl I’m really happy with how this most recent plotpost turned out and the symbology and fun stuff I’ve worked into it/the wider plot for Mallew’s character going forward. 

I have 

many fun things planned))