splattales

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

"A dangerous…..??” Eelrune muses, confounded by the interest if only because of her time in the Metro. “Oh, well, good…” She breathes a sigh of relief, shaking her head. “It sounds like you have complex feelings about your stabber.” Eelrune frowns. She’s not sure where exactly her disappointment is really stemming from, but it’s there. Queenie’s reaction began to make the Eel feel stupid herself. She thought she’d been direct enough, but… “Mm, not as often as you think.” “Oh, Queenie..” Eelrune chuckles, before blinking. “Ah. Well… I had a crush on an anemone girl once, I guess. Though that was back when I was a fry, so I guess that doesn’t really count. My nose was usually in medical studies all of my life, so I missed out on most of that embarrassing history to share stories about. ..Unless you would find missing out on prom night suspenseful..” She pouts in genuine thought, looking up. “Well… maybe helping deliver for a Mafia boss’s wife would sound more intense? I guess it would with hindsight- those kinds of stories are pretty common for the Metro, but sound crazy out here. Anyway- That’s how I was able to afford moving out here, in case you were curious.”

-

“Yes, though…” Queenie fidgets. “It’s less to do with fanciful feelings and more to do with human extinction. We’re still killing eachother—” But keeping Tara alive would easily have ended more human lives. Their encounter alone was proof. But, if it could just have been different … Queenie claps her hands, eager to move on. “—anyway!”

Eelrune’s answers to her vague line of questioning has the human’s full attention. “Maybe it doesn’t count, but it’s still adorable~” It was a tiny piece of information, but it’s massively bolstered Queenie’s confidence. “I promise you graduation parties aren’t all that. I spent mine scheming ways to initiate a breakup—I was an evil little witch—but were you still studying for higher education? Or was it not worth your time? Did ... no one invite you?”

The next subject garners even more interest. “Now that is extremely engaging—” She leans over intently. “You did that?? I’m not surprised they’d pay a fortune with the death rates, but that—surely you have some protection from the family?! What were they like with you?”

-

#RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopodsrp

[splattales]

[Previous]

By the time Finn had joined the group, the sun was at its highest point in the sky – a very bad time to go out into the desert. Instead, he and Marina spent some time practicing as Queenie paced around with her thoughts. Getting paint on a human wasn’t going to do much good as retaliation, but she supposed it made it harder to move, and if nothing else the weapons could be used for bludgeoning. There wasn’t any guarantee things would get hostile, but the dread that had settled in her gut wasn’t budging. She felt for the cold metal inside her jacket’s inner pocket.

Finn wasn’t as rusty with his Herobrush as he claimed, and soon felt prepped enough to head out. After a quick meal, the group set out into the desert, carrying enough supplies for an emergency. The coordinates led them a little ways out, but with a clear destination it only took twenty minutes for them to arrive on foot. The human ship had come to rest behind an outcrop of rock, visible only by its fin and what appeared to be a laser canon.

“Do you think this is it?” Marina asked, her mouth agape.

“No, I think it must be some other human ship abandoned in the desert,” Queenie snipped. “Of course this is it.”

“Hey now,” Finn cautioned, though with nothing to back it up. “Let’s go.”

None of them really knew where the entrance was, so they sidled around the ship until they discovered a door.

Finn looked over his shoulder at the others. “Should we knock?”

His question was met with shrugs and eyerolls, so he opted to ta-pa-tap on the metal door. There was no answer. Unable to cope with the suspense, Marina pulled on the handle instead – it wasn’t locked, and the door came open with a tug and a chunk sound. Casting a glance at the others, the octoling motioned for them to follow.

Brightly lit, electricity was already running onboard the ship, and there was a zesty chemical smell as if someone had recently cleaned the floors. The door had opened out into an airlock, though this too was open, allowing easy passage to the rest of the ship. A figure was standing by the exit. Whoever it was caught sight of the newcomers, and they bolted further into the spacecraft.

“Wait!!” Marina called out.

Queenie put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s no use. They won’t understand you anyway.”

“If we follow now, we might catch up.” Finn gestured ahead, before taking his own suggestion and hurrying through the next door. The others followed suit.

It was hard to navigate the interior of the ship without a map. There seemed to be doors everywhere; ones with handles, ones that opened diagonally, ones with windows...

“If you think about the shape outside,” Marina noted, “the front of the ship should be in that direction.” She pointed to their right, at one of the larger diagonal sliding doors.

“Do you think that’s where they went?” Asked Finn, wishing he’d acted fast enough to catch them leaving.

“If not, it should at least be where the control room is. I figure the captain would be around there.”

Marina was correct about the ship’s layout, as the next area was a long corridor. Queenie peered through a window on one of the doors off to the side. It was wall to wall with cryo pods. She pulled away quickly, following the others.

“Hang on,” Marina held up one arm to stop her friends, clutching her Octoshot. A small white robot on wheels, about knee-height, had rolled out of a panel on the wall. It turned its singular camera lens at the visitors before continuing to trundle down the hall.

“Well … it seemed harmless.” Finn, who had reached for the Herobrush strapped to his back, lowered his hand. “Wonder where it’s going…”

“It’s probably for cleanup or some other menial task.” Queenie shrugged. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get on with this.”

At this insistence, they all proceeded down the corridor and entered the next sliding door, which indeed led to the control room.

Two human women in grey coveralls stood conversing in the centre of the room. One was older, with an unshakeable posture, and the other was youthful and frantic. Their outfits were printed with the ship’s logo. The younger of the two must have been the figure they spotted in the airlock, as she pointed fearfully at the group, gesturing as she talked. Looking over, the older woman froze. She locked eyes with the only other human there, losing her reply mid-sentence.

“No,” Queenie was the first to speak. “It’s not possible—of all people—” She took a stumbling step backward as the other human advanced. Unfortunately, the door had automatically locked itself behind them.

With forming tears, the human captain spoke in a language Marina and Finn could not understand. She wrapped her arms around Queenie. “My daughter! After all this time…”

Queenie’s posture was stiff, her face a picture of disgust, pain, and terror. “Don’t—” she got out, speaking her first language, “Don’t touch me.”

Serafina Ono relinquished her grip, forlorn and frowning. “Do you not remember your own mother?”

“I remember you all too well,” Queenie sneered. “Where was this love and desperation when I was a child?”

Marina and Finn exchanged glances, with eachother and with the uninvolved human, who looked just as bewildered.

“You’re right, Queenie. I was young, then, and foolish. But with what little is left of humanity … can you find it in your heart to hear my story?”

Queenie didn’t offer a reply and remained stock still, clutching her folded arms.

“The others can’t understand,” the younger woman piped up. “We can have STORM translating with the file from—”

“Yes, you’d better do that.” Serafina handwaved her. The young woman pulled up a tablet and began typing something in.

A calm, masculine voice spoke from somewhere above, ‘Ready to translate.’

“Very well—as you should know, I’m the new captain of this ship—Serafina Ono.”

As she made pause, STORM relayed her speech in Inklish for the rest of the group.

“Damn, that’s going to be annoying…” she scorned, before continuing, “With me here is Nami Ono, my stepdaughter. I presume this … red octopus creature is Marina Salt? Who’s your third?”

Queenie shot Nami a piercing look, which made her stare down out of fear.

But Marina answers, and STORM translates her speech too. “I’m Marina, yes. I’m, um, a humans expert. This is Finn, he’s here to help. Sorry, I’m not sure I follow—do you know each other after all?”

“Oh, right. You wouldn’t have heard. Queenie is my biological daughter, yes,” Serafina attempted to clarify.

“It’s complicated. I’ll explain later,” Queenie muttered. “I don’t believe it, of everyone in the world…”

“But—the cryo chambers for the rest of your family—they were empty?”

“I wasn’t part of their little family anymore,” Serafina elaborated, a bitterness dripping from that standalone statement, “but let’s not dig up those painful memories… I remarried, and my new husband, Aoto Ono, was the lead developer of this spacecraft and its AI. The ship was designed to keep us away from Earth until it was safe to return.”

“That doesn’t sound like it went exactly to plan.” Finn adjusted his spectacles. “What happened to your husband?”

“During his most recent centurial checkup, he took his own life.”

Nami Ono’s hand flew to her mouth, an audible gasp escaping her. STORM didn’t translate her utterance, “Dad, he—why would he?”  But it was clear this was the first she’d heard of how they lost him.

Finn immediately felt awful for prying. “I’m sorry—I didn’t realise.”

“These things happen, unfortunately.” Serafina bowed her head but didn’t seem all too moved by her husband’s passing. “He was a great man. We marked a grave for him not far from here. But his death was the reason STORM decided to wake us up … after his next 100-year interval.”

“One hundred years…” Marina brooded over this information. “We’re very sorry for your loss. Is that why you came back to Earth?”

“In part. But we have the other humans to think about, too—the ones still in stasis.” Serafina nodded slowly. “As the new Captain, I’ve decided it’s best not to wake them up until we have somewhere safe to live, with renewable resources. We have plenty of rations to keep us fed, but the desert isn’t a good place for survival. And from my husband's space observation notes, I understand overpopulation and territory disputes were already an issue before we arrived.”

“So,” Queenie finally spoke up again, deliberately choosing the cephalopod’s language over her mother’s. “What do you need us for?”

With a small crack in her patient façade, Serafina gritted her teeth. “To the point? Very well. We need information about the nearby settlement. Preferably a map—infrastructure. We’ve observed plenty from local television, but only now do we have a means to translate. If it’s safe, an escort would then be useful for surveying the landscape.” She pauses momentarily to let STORM’s translation catch up. “As stated - I don’t want anyone to leave cryostasis until I am certain this city can sustain human life.”

“Oh—well, we can do that, but do you not need other supplies?” Asked Marina. “Like more food? Or fuel?”

“A water source if anything. STORM is capable of running on solar energy, though fuel is necessary if we are to return to space.”

“You don’t need MY help, then.” Queenie shook her head. “I haven’t lived in this future long. There’s no reason for us to talk.”

“On the contrary, my dear! Humans should stick together. A shrewd, sharp-witted girl like you would be a massive help communicating with these … squidlings.” She opened her arms with a casual shrug. “I know I’m not your favourite person right now. But would you help for the sake of the other hundred humans on board?”

Cold and stiff, Queenie replied, “I’ll think about it.”

“We’ll help you gather information, Miss Captain,” Finn hastily agreed. “If that’s going to help you get your footing. We can bring things as you need them.”

“Yeah, I can send you data through our communication system—through ORCA,” Marina agrees, though with a cautious glance at Queenie. She looks back at Nami, too. The young woman had become even more withdrawn than before.

“Wonderfully kind of you both. We can keep communicating the way we have, yes. I’ll give you time to think, Queenie. You’re always welcome to return to the ship. But the rest of you—I’d appreciate it if you kept quiet about all this for now.”

Finn got the uncomfortable feeling that they were being shooed out. “Right. A bit of a major news story if we didn’t, I understand,” he mumbles, nodding once.

Queenie shook her head. “You’d be surprised how little Splatsville cares about real humans.”

“Yes,” Marina sighed. “But we’ll keep the secret all the same. It’s an honour to be the first to make contact with you! I’ll send across any information sources you might find useful.” She bobs a short bow.

“Much obliged. See them out, will you, Nami?”

The group slowly trudged out of the ship. There was an awkward air of silence—things seemed to have gone well, there were more humans, and they’d agreed to help them. But there was an obvious strain in the way all three humans interacted with each other. What would happen with more of them?

“I’m sorry about your dad.” Marina put her hand on Nami’s arm as they reached the exit.

STORM wasn’t listening anymore, so after a moment’s hesitation, Queenie bothered to translate instead. Spanish didn’t seem to be Nami’s first language, but she understood it well enough. “She’s sorry about what happened with your father.”

“I am alright.” Nami smiled at them all weakly. “But please return soon.”

#(oops sorry it took me a literal month to get to this second bit) #tw suicide mention #long post #plotpost #Finn #Queenie #Marina #Nami #Serafina #STORM

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

Eelrune snorted, humoring Queenie and checking her temperature. "Hmmm… Nope, seems like you’re completely fine.” “Really….?” Her eyebrow perked curiously, frowning. “Hm. Well, it’s only normal you would seek comfort like that, given the situation. …Of course, I don’t think anyone would expect to walk out of a conversation cut open like that.” Eelrune shakes her head. “Did you report them…? I’d hate to have another fish cut up in the clinic…” She let Queenie escape the topic, smiling coyly before rolling her eyes at the comment. “Well, thank you. …You know that’s the first thing patients always say to me after they leave, right?” Eelrune chuckles, shaking her head. “You don’t owe me anything, it’s my job. You wouldn’t owe that ice cream fish for buying a scoop, would you?” She smiles slyly. “Honestly, just having someone to talk with is good enough for me. It gets lonely living way out in Splatsville. …And dry. Very dry.” Eelrune jokes.

-

Queenie has trouble hiding her glee at the contact, the corners of her mouth twitching. “You think so? All the better that you checked, it could have been serious.”

She nods more sincerely at the Tara-centric discussion. “Yes, I suppose … there was a dangerous air about her, but I thought it was the safe kind of dangerous—er, if you know what I mean.” Queenie fusses with her hair, avoiding eye contact on that one. “You’re right, though. Ah—I didn’t, but … it wasn’t long after that an enemy of hers informed me she had died due to some other incident.” Her rather distant expression doesn’t change. “Perhaps I should feel glad, but … ah well. Another piece of trauma for me to unpack later.”

After attempting to express her feelings, Queenie is a little put-out by her own inability to get her emotions across—but at the same time, she’s relieved. “Mgh… You’re quite welcome. I mean what I say, not every nurse picks their patients off the street. Nor does every ice cream salesperson hand out bath coupons. But it must feel cliché if you hear it often…” …and foolish of her, perhaps, to think she was the only one smitten with the eel post-op.

“If I could change the climate for you, I would. But as I can only provide you with my companionship, I will continue to do so.” She forces a laugh out of herself. “With that said, enough about me. If I’m spilling my guts, I want to hear something from you. Some secret, or harrowing event … not that I’d expect something like a stabbing. Maybe a future hope, or past love. Or perhaps—” She covers a yawn. “—you could tell a nosey human to shove it and talk about your favourite blend of tea.”

-

#RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopods

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

Eelrune pouts internally at that ‘sometimes’ comment, but keeps it to herself. There’d be no point in arguing back and forth over it the whole night. "You’re welcome. That’s…. good to know.” Eelrune shakes her head, helping Queenie up the sofa. “…That will be… difficult, yes.” The eel sighs. “Well..” She shakes her head. “Perhaps not that long ago. I recall having one after I left the metro, but…” Eelrune shrugs. “I forgot what it was even about. I’m.. not exactly keen on remembering my nightmares. I fear it may invite them into my head again.” She quickly glances at Queenie to gauge her expression before looking the other way to answer. “Well.. I’m off tomorrow, so it’s no problem for me, Queenie. Personally- this is nothing compared to the sleep I lost over medical school, and…” Eelrune smirks slightly. “..You’re still unwell, and it wouldn’t be professional of me to leave you like that, would it?”

-

“You did? … Ah, that’s quite sensible.” Even back when Queenie had normal nightmares, she couldn’t help picking them apart. But those weren’t quite as scary when she was awake…

The human perks up a bit. “You mean it? Oh, well…” Queenie puts her hand to her cheek, failing to cover a blush. “Yes—you’d better take care of me. I’m still feeling a bit out of sorts, and … sensitive.” She crosses her legs. “I might have hit my head when I fell – and I feel feverish – here, you should check.”

Despite her attention-seeking, Queenie does attempt to further their conversation. “Do you remember the day you found me? It’s a bit of a blur, what with me bleeding out, but … I remember how I felt.” She twitches a smile, both wanting to elaborate and wanting to keep everything to herself. Getting out all that negative energy had loosened her lips. “I felt vulnerable, mostly. I’d just thrown myself at the first person to show interest in me, which was proven rash enough by my own wounds. I’m extremely fortunate that you found me when you did.”

The rest is harder to admit. “I thought that that was why … after you stitched me up, I thought perhaps I was just…” No—she can’t continue, she shakes her head. “…but Eelrune, if I’ve learnt anything, it’s that you’re very important to me. Whether it’s kindness, or duty—I hope someday I’ll find a way to repay you.”

-

#Queenie #RP39 #grandpacephalopodsrp #(Sorry Tails if this looks gay to the viewers)

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

“Hm?” She looks down at the chocolate again before looking off to the side. “Well- sugars are important, even Doc understands this. They help prevent patients from fainting from injuries like blood loss…” Eelrune stresses, though it’s clear she doesn’t mean any harm. “Hm..” The eel just nods her head, letting Queenie continue. She isn’t able to wait after the human’s pause before hugging her, patting her back. “Oh Queenie.. I had no idea.” Eelrune frowns, before continuing. “No one deserves to go through that- most certainly not you.”

-

“Mm, I’m sure it’s all very practical and serious…” Queenie slowly shakes her head, before explaining everything.

“H—heh,” she utters nervously, overcoming this shyness to cling back to Eelrune. She buries her head in her shoulder like she’s bracing for impact. Muffled, she replies, “Sometimes, I wonder … but I’m glad you think so.”

She doesn’t say anything else for a little while, just wanting to be held. Physical contact, she missed it altogether, but it was especially comforting coming from Eelrune. After what must have been at least a solid minute, she loosens her hold to speak clearly. “...thank you. I'm still relieved, of course, to be here—I've met wonderful people like you. It was difficult for me to explain, but … not as hard as I thought. I think I’ll find it easier to tell the others now.” She sighs gently. “Getting back to sleep, however, might not be so easy. I suppose I should get off the floor.” Despite saying this, Queenie only moves when there’s some indication that Eelrune will. She slumps onto the sofa.

“I suppose the last time you had a nightmare was a long time ago … ? Still—it’s late—I should let you go back to bed.” She didn’t want to be alone, and she can’t quite meet her eyes. “I’m sure I can find some way to bide my time for the next, oh … five hours."

-

#('just me. your tv. the soap opera channel at 3 volume. destroying my circadian rhythm and weakening my immune system') #Queenie #RP39 #grandpacephalopodsrp

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

“A nightmare?” Eelrune blinked, though that was her base assumption, anyway. She sighs patiently, letting her sit back up. “…Many people suffer night terrors, Queenie, it doesn’t make you any weirder or weaker to have them.” “Well…” She manages a smile. “I think telling at least someone might help. Being one of the few humans probably doesn’t help, I imagine…” Eelrune muses, taking her hand and sitting off to the side, digging into one of the pockets of her first aid bag and pulling out a small bar of chocolate, offering it to Queenie. “Here- it should help a little bit.”

-

“Mnggh…” It wasn’t much of a response, but Queenie didn’t want to argue if Eelrune didn’t think any less of her.

Grateful to have her hand held, she manages to calm down a bit more, and finally cracks a smile on sight of the chocolate bar. “You keep that for emergencies, then…? You and Doctor Takowasa…”

They’d given her chocolate after her stitches, she remembered that much. Queenie wasn’t sure whether it was just for comfort, or because it was supposed to boost endorphins, but she accepts. She’s slow to nibble on it, mulling over her words as much. “To start in an easier place … myself, my family—we were preparing ourselves for cryostasis. An expensive, exclusive technology, we weren’t certain of our survival. Would it work? For how long would we be frozen? Would the future be kind to us? … Still, with our war-torn world and the rising tides, it was preferable.” She pauses to eat a little. “The dream often ignores that part, it can interrupt anything. But a bit of context for you.”

“There was a scientist overseeing the procedure, Doctor Justin Cain—he was meant to ensure there weren’t any problems going forward. He was quite avoidant, stiff, and made little of himself … until, as a matter of urgency, we were meant to enter. Behind a locked door, he had to brief us—” Queenie’s throat tightens, and she has to stop again, taking the time to finish all of the chocolate. All the while she doesn’t let go of Eelrune’s hand with her other, squeezing tighter. Eventually she continues, “Cain didn’t explain the procedure. It was some speech about … how entitled we were, and how we deserved to die, and …” She shook her head. “Perhaps it was calculated. Perhaps he had gone mad. He didn’t think through an exit for himself, and I don’t particularly care. But he must have trailed some flammable substance through the room, because he dropped a match and set it ablaze.”

Queenie swallows, staring ahead. “The details that follow are … a bit much, but … I struggled with him, and I fell backwards into one of the cryogenic chambers. In the heat of the room, its delayed activation prolonged my misery. Imprisoned, I saw everything, heard everything—that was the worst part, they were all screaming—” With her free hand, she covers her face. That was quite enough. She had died, too, quite painfully inside the malfunctioning machine, but it ultimately had not changed the outcome. “…anyway. That’s what I dream about. A horrific memory, a constant reminder that I’m the last.” Hand removed, she shuts her eyes. “If you don’t mind … the best medicine you can give is open arms.”

-

#(sorry i was born to paragraph block text) #RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopodsrp #ask to tag? #content warning

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

The loud noise had definitely woke Eelrune up. She'd initially assumed the worst case scenario and grabbed her first-aid bag, though after approaching the slumped Queenie it seemed more clear it wasn't a physical health issue. Eelrune settled for kneeling down and patting the human's shoulder for the time being. Psychological wounds were trickier to deal with than physical wounds. "...No human stomach ulcer, I hope..?" She manages a small joke.

-

“N—nnn…” Queenie tries to respond in turn, ultimately failing. It helped immensely that Eelrune had come to her aid, and the contact was helping, but her own perceived helplessness momentarily makes her sob harder. After a moment or two, she sits up, heavily dabbing her eyes with her fluffy sleeves. “I ff—I fell. I was just … having a nightmare.”

It was very obviously more than a bad dream, but she’s at least aware of how this sounds. “…sorry. It happens every so often. I just didn’t think—” She chokes back a whimper, stopping the waterworks from starting up again. “—I didn’t expect you to find out that I experience night terrors over one stay. I must look a sight…”

Indeed, Queenie’s nose is running, her eyes are puffy, and her hair was tousled by her fall, but did it really matter? “I’ve never … I’ve never told anyone what the dreams are about. About how my family died. Marina knows something, but … I’ve not told her either.”

She bows her head, taking a long, snivelling breath. Tentatively, she puts her hand out, hoping for it to be held. “But you—I’ll tell you if you think you can listen. I promise to spare you the imagery, but … ” She didn’t want to admit keeping it all to herself was driving her mad, but … “I trust you, and … well, it can’t make things much worse.”

-

#RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopodsrp

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

“Sounds good.” Eelrune giggles at Queenie’s flustered reaction, nodding. “Ooh, I see…” She rubs her chin. “That’s good- it should help you get a head start into that field. I hope it works out.” The eel nods, continuing with her bowl. “Oh no, I’m fine.” Eelrune shakes her head, stacking their bowls and leaving them at a return counter before stepping back. “You won’t be passing out on my watch, come on now.” She stated, patting the human’s shoulder. The trip back to the bus was fairly uneventful, mostly because the station was right next to the mall when they got out. Eelrune stared out the window again when the ocean came to pass, managing some small talk over things that helped her with nursing classes when it got hard. When the bus stopped at the Splatsville station, Eelrune offered another hand to help lead Queenie back to her house.

-

“If you say so,” Queenie trilled, following her lead. She spent most of the trip back silently reminiscing on what a wonderful day it had been, though made herself available for small talk when prompted.

When they arrived at Eelrune’s home, it was quite late, so Queenie got ready for bed in her new pyjamas and bid her host goodnight. She wasn’t used to sleeping on the sofa, but with the wonderful day she’d had, she was expecting a blissful night’s sleep regardless.

She was not quite so lucky. At around two o’clock in the morning, Queenie woke up screaming.

“No! No!!” Thrashing awake, the human fell off her perch with a resounding thud and lay curled in shocked silence until tears pricked her eyes. She began to sob. It had been bad enough that she had yelled out; the whole neighbourhood had probably heard it. But no grandmother was there to comfort her, no Marina, no stupid computer—it made it so much harder to block out the memory, the images. She found it frustrating, most of all, that her past still crept up to haunt her like this. Times when she thought she was doing well. Logically and psychologically, it was very understandable, but Queenie held herself to an impossibly high standard and didn’t like that she couldn’t ‘get over it’.

She didn’t move from the floor.

-

#RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopods rp #(top ten saddest anime moments)

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

“Oh, I’m glad we have the same taste then..” Eelrune manages a small smile, holding her own bags of clothing as Queenie browsed around the mall. She briefly focused on eating her rice bowl before Queenie spoke up. It seemed like shopping would be the obvious way to go for any good future dates, Queenie seemed much more in her element discussing fashion at the mall than trying to attend fancy parties. Maybe she could recommend a spa day, or something more girly like practicing make-up. ...Oh, well, there’s that spa opening. The eel wasn’t expecting Queenie to be so forward compared to her previous texts.

“Oh- I’d like to, but only if you’d be interested…” Eelrune leaves an opening, before nodding. “I think that would be good for you. I’m… personally a little more interested if you look into the medicine career. There’s a lot of interaction between medicine and practitioners, and I’d like to understand why it works or doesn’t a little more than seeing it as a tool. Of course- whatever path makes you happier is good enough for me.” She comments.

-

Momentarily, Queenie’s reply catches in her throat as she gives Eelrune her full attention. That expression again, the sweetest thing—she blinks, righting herself and nodding. “I am—it would be a waste not to go. It’s a date.” She pauses again at her own wording, but doesn’t bother to correct herself, smiling instead. “After I check my schedule, I’ll find a good time for us.”

Casually returning to her meal and taking a few mouthfuls, she considers the eel’s input. “It would be nice to have that to discuss with you... I’d seriously consider it. I’ve been studying antidotes lately, just for leisure, so it might be the closest thing. But I’ll give it a little more thought.” Medicine, then. Definitely medicine. She would poke around and look at a few other courses, but she liked the sound of sharing her studies.

Eventually, she polishes off the rest of the bowl and then shuts her eyes for a while, sighing softly. “Well … if you’ve finished here, I’m ready to head back. If there was something you thought about getting and didn’t, we can make time—but I’ll need you to show me where I’m sleeping before I pass out on your doorstep, hmhm~”

-

#RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopodsrp #(SWEETIE -- rest in pieces ellie)

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

“It looks good,” Eelrune giggles, before blinking in thought. “Well… I only have a few dresses.. and I’ve been considering hats and sunglasses since summer is coming up in Splatsville…” She mumbles to herself, browsing the next outlet and deciding on a patterned sundress. She’d turned up less lucky on the hats and glasses front- the shop offered bowler hats, but those wouldn’t help with the sun on her face, and sunglasses would be elsewhere.

-

“I’m glad you agree~” Queenie hums happily. She has a carrier bag, now, making her haul more manageable.

“Let’s get you some, then. Keeping the sun off is just as important as looking good, after all.” She browses with Eelrune, much less focused on her own wants, pointing out several things she thinks would suit her until a decision is made. She gladly pays for it. “Ah, and it’s such a pretty one.”

After visiting a few more shops, Queenie had ended up buying a necklace for herself, and a ring, but managed to stop there, saving her purse for the last little things Eelrune was looking for. She’s thoroughly enjoying the shopping experience, but finally insists on getting something more savoury to eat before they head back. Urging Eelrune toward a place that serves rice dishes, she’s happy enough to sit outside with a shrimp bowl.

“This … is the nicest day I’ve had in a long time. Visiting Inkopolis Hall was entirely unnecessary, it seems.” Queenie laughs quietly. “We should do this again sometime. Perhaps you’d consider joining me another day to use that Brinewater coupon?” She’d been hesitant before, but right now, she felt like she’d be able to handle it. “...You know, I’ve been thinking about going back to school. I was considering mortuary science, or medicine. Vastly different fields, I know—and either would take a long time, but … I don’t want to be a tour guide for the rest of my life. If I have to work, it might as well be something interesting.”

-

#((I kinda speedran that mall visit there whoops--)) #RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopodsrp

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

“Seems like it.” Eelrune yawned, shaking her head. “It was fine- I was never too interested in turf war, so most of those weapons were new to me..” “Hmm… looks like it’s about 3pm, we still have plenty of time.” She answers, before blinking briefly at the offer and closing her eyes. “..Yes, that’s still fine with me. I’m not keen on sending you off by yourself at midnight, Queenie.” Eelrune walks the human back to the southern side of the city, where there was a large outdoor mall for them to explore. She made sure to note which exit lead to the bus station back before idly checking the storefronts with Queenie. “There’s a few new shops since the list time I checked…” The eel mumbled to herself.

-

“Only 3? That’s good.” Queenie clears her throat, tidying her hair and looking away. “Yes—of course … just checking.” She had a toothbrush in her little bag, but she neglected to bring any pyjamas over her initial excitement. She makes a mental note to look for some today.

“Ah, so many things…” The human is filled with glee as they look around the outdoor mall; particularly distracted by jewellery shop storefronts but attempting to focus on clothing outlets. Eventually she’s determined enough to enter one, quickly taken by a long blue nightdress, which she tries on and purchases in a matter of minutes. It doesn’t appear to be made for someone with mammaries, exactly, but this only furthers her decision. To accompany it, she gets herself a fuzzy dressing gown, and has to exercise a lot of self-restraint to not buy slippers and a dress and a scarf and a bracelet from the same shop before leaving and looking for more.

“Wonderful~” Queenie seems exceedingly pleased from just a little taste of retail therapy. She turns to Eelrune, eyes bright. “Oh, but I should get you something! Is there a particular shop you’d like to enter? Anything you’ve seen and want yet? I want to buy you something, since you paid for the bus, and the cinema, and came with me today~”

-

#RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopodsrp

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

An eyebrow perks somewhat in interest at Queenie’s choice in wording, but she otherwise covers it up. “Mm, of course. I figured I should just make it clear it won’t be judged here anymore.” “Oh no, Killer Wail looks just fine.” Eelrune idly giggles, choosing to not press about the space thing when she started to look uncomfortable. “I’ll pay for the tickets this time, ok? I figure it’ll be better to save yours for shopping.” She asks, though already seemed determined to make sure of it by the time she was at the ticket desk. The eel helped lead Queenie to the theater room the movie would play in, taking a seat in one of the middle rows and making sure to save a spot for Queenie again as she sat down and licked at her ice cream cone again.

- “Really? We’re in agreement, then.” Queenie smiles at her, though is surprised by the next offer. “Oh? But I should—” she starts like she wants to argue, but Eelrune is already two steps ahead of her. She’d just have to buy her something later as thanks.

She follows her into the cinema, sitting down and making smalltalk until the film starts to play. The premise is about upgrading special weapons to the point of no return – particularly the titular ‘Killer Wail’ – at which point respawns are impossible and even non-inkfish are affected. It was a stretch to call this a ‘story’, as most of the plot revolved around the unintentional murders of various characters, albeit with a few creative setups, but the ammonite tampering with the weaponry saw his comeuppance at the end by the hand of his own killer crabtank.

When the lights come back on, Queenie has long finished her ice cream, and looks puzzled. “That film director … rather fond of exploding people, hm?” She'd taken a bathroom break at one point, and there were still people dying onscreen when she came back.

She stands, stretching her arms out briefly before looking back at Eelrune. “What time is it, do you think? Still time to window-shop? … Er, I’m still coming back to sleep at yours afterward, aren’t I? What with things not quite going as planned…”

-

#RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopodsrp

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

“Well, there you go~ If you happen to watch me over there, it’s another ice cream selling venue of mine, so feel free to ask.” He waves. “Have a good day, you two~” “It would make it a little easy to carry our things, yes..” Eelrune nods in agreement, slowing her pace to give Queenie enough time to abandon the weird scoop of ice cream. She blinks in surprise at the question, rubbing her nose to hide a blush before answering. “Inkopolis Hall and council are just a… rare case. Interspecies couples are incredibly common here, and have become more common since Octolings and Metro inhabitants started to walk on the surface.” Eelrune motions. “That seadragon, for example- Syngnathidae don’t usually show up in inkling cities-” She starts, before reading Queenie’s face. “…Seahorses and Seadragon-morphs. I’ve never seen such people even inside the metro, so I’m willing to bet they’re married to a different species if they’re in Inkopolis.” The eel elaborates, unknowingly explaining why she was quick to approach that weird ice cream stand in the first place. “Anyways- It shouldn’t be any trouble to find love with any sealife out here.” Eelrune smiles harmlessly, looking up and pointing once they were at the cinema. “Oh, that’s it- see anything that sounds interesting?”

-

“Mm, I see…” Queenie idly tugs at a ringlet, before looking a bit bemused. They were still speaking the same language, right? Oh—well, now she felt silly. “That’s sweet, then. I suppose I hadn’t seen a seadragon until now—though there’s a lot of things I haven’t seen.”

Slowly, she nods. “It’s a relief. That is—I wasn’t exactly expecting to find true love among the slim pickings of human women I know.” Queenie blanches, remembering her own stance on how futile romantic endeavours were, and how she was meant to think they were a waste of time. She sounds a bit unsure as she adds, “Not that I’m really … of the romantic kind.”

Returning to her ice cream, she licks it quietly, looking over the posters when they arrive. “Let’s see … ‘Love’s Tide’, ‘Flingzilla … Three’? ‘Fresh Fish: The Movie…’” By her tone, it doesn't sound like many of them were capturing her interest. “Ooh, ‘Killer Wail’ looks fun—er, but if you’re more of a ‘Flingzilla’ kind of eel, I won’t press.” She makes another glance over at her options. “Or the space one. I had a thing for—well, never mind.” She thinks better of whatever she was about to admit.

-

#RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopodsrp

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

“If- if you’re sure…” Eelrune relents, mentally planning to step in if any accidents happen. “N-no, no, I’m fine with my own cone.” She squirms, squinting at her own before trying a few licks of it. …Huh? Eelrune blinks down at it, anxiety turning to delight, then confusion. Ice cream wasn’t normally this sugary for her- but it wasn’t an overpowering flavor, either. It’s almost exactly what she would’ve wanted from a regular scoop of ice cream- almost a theoretical perfect fit for her taste palette. “It’s… pretty good.” She mumbles, trying to undersell her confused delight. Alamgir stifled a chuckle at Queenie’s confused reaction, adjusting his bow tie idly as she got familiar with the flavor. Eelrune’s later muted reaction got a genuine chuckle out of him. “Well~ That’s good~” They hum with a stretch, before straightening up. “Ah, before I forget…” The leafy seadragon produces two cards between his fingers, offering them to Queenie. “One business card for my tailoring work- should you need something like a wedding dress made, and…” He motions. “A free bath coupon from my husband’s hot springs- if you need to take a load off after work.” Eelrune blinks, peeking to look at the text. “…Is it Brinewater Springs? "It is indeed Brinewater Springs~” He hums, bobbing his head idly. “Huh… you’re being oddly nice.” “You mean I’m being a nice salesdragon~” Alamgir corrects, grinning.

-

Chuckling lightly, Queenie retracts her offer—“More for me, then~”—before watching Eelrune taste her own. Her reaction doesn’t betray much, but maybe she didn’t like being watched. “You like it? Good.”

The human accepts the coupons with some strain between her finger and thumb, looking them over herself and burying her embarrassment at Gir’s emphasis on wedding dresses. “I did want to visit Brinewater at some point… This gives me an excuse.” And their husband had a hand in such a large business? Who knew?

 After a brief pause, Queenie smiles. The events seem to have cheered up her dampened mood. “It’s good business, isn’t it? I can’t complain. Thank you~” After saying this, she turns to nod brightly at Eelrune. “We’d better go. I should try to eat at least one of these before we get there, though…”

She opts to finish the chilli-lime first, surprisingly enough, but only gets about halfway before disposing of it and switching over. It’s not because she doesn’t like it, but holding and eating two ice creams proved cumbersome. The lemon meringue is infinitely better; but surely just about anything tasted good when she was in a good mood.

“Oh, er—I've been sort of wondering, after that ... confusion, earlier—do interspecies couples happen often?" Queenie had met Ribbon, she knew it happened, but she was fishing for opinions.

-

#RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopodsrp #((hhuhh...what...who...wishwayspoilers? ff...fish? fishway?))

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

“Oh, maybe a little experimental~ I’m more a fan of experimenting with vegetable flavors myself~” He hums, smiling at Queenie’s request. “Chili and lime? Coming up~” Alamgir turns around to dig into his freezer, pulling out a mixed green and red scoop, and putting it on a cone for Queenie. “Enjoy~” He quickly turns back to grab the girl’s proper orders, Eelrune stink-eyeing the cone before looking at Queenie with concern. “..Are you sure you want to eat that, Queenie….?” “She’ll be just fine~” Alamgir reassures, handing out their proper orders for Eelrune to hold as Queenie paid for her second cone.

-

“There’s no way…” Queenie takes the cone that’s offered her, blinking down at it in surprise. Well, there was only one way to find out if it really was chilli and lime. “I fully intend to taste it, if nothing else.”

She gives it a cautious lick. Piquant lime is the first thing she tastes, before the spiciness of the chilli makes itself known—but the cold cream helps mellow out the flavour, and she finds that it isn’t entirely unpleasant. “It’s … not bad. I’d finish it.”

Fearing that this makes her sound as strange as the salesperson, she soon continues, “Not that I’d start having it regularly, but—it’s not the worst thing I’ve eaten, and it really is the flavour I asked for. Are you sure you don’t want to try it yourself?” She smiles sweetly, tilting the cone in Eelrune’s direction, though with the combination of a ridiculous flavour and an already licked scoop, she isn’t expecting her to accept.

At the very least, Queenie takes her other order from Eelrune when her second hand is free. With how flavourful the first one is, she’s looking forward to it. Addressing Alamgir, she says, “Well, if we ever find your stand again, I’ll be sure to challenge you with something more unusual.”

-

#RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopodsrp #((just wait 'til you hear about magic--))

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

“Oh..” Eelrune tilts her head. “Waffle fish? I think they call them taiyaki in my town. They’re like vanilla pancakes… Well, I would hope someplace sells strawberry.” She chuckles. “Hmm, yes, a date~” Alamgir teases, grinning. “Of the ice cream variety, of course~” “You’re mistaken-” Eelrune starts, though Queenie’s fumble gave her a hint of dark green across her cheeks, making her shake her head. “….Yes. An outing. Anyway- I’d like the chocolate swirl, but yes, what does the any option mean?” “Anything of your choosing, not mine~” The seadragon hums, clasping his hands together. “I specialize in making a very, VERY wide array of flavors- if you’ve ever wanted to taste something new, it can be arranged~” Eelrune blinked back dryly. “…What, so if I wanted salmon flavor, you’d have that?” “Yup!” He grins back. “Anyways- because you’re my first customers today, your first scoops will be free. Consider it my treat to celebrate your little outing~” Gir offers, obviously lying on the ‘first’ front, but being amused enough by Queenie’s reaction to let them off easy.

-

Queenie cringes at herself inwardly, but the redirection had been successful enough. If they really made that many flavours, she supposed it was easier to print ‘any’ than adding another six pages to the menu.

…wait, they actually had salmon flavour?! “That many, hm? Must be experimental...”

She hadn’t expected to be offered free ice cream, but she wasn’t about to complain, as strange as it seemed. “If you can really do any flavour, I’d better ask for something completely out there, hadn’t I? Something like … chilli and lime?” She smiles to herself, doubting the vendor would’ve actually covered this base before continuing, “but I’ll purchase a second scoop of something sane, like lemon meringue…”

As curious as she was about spicy ice cream, if they really had it, it would be best to have something to ground herself with afterward. She takes the money for the second scoop out of her purse, infinitely more coverable than bribing a bouncer.

-

#((Come on Queenie that's tame. Ask for mercury and plutonium flavour. might as well have asked gir for vanilla)) #RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopodsrp

[splattales]

grandpacephalopods-rp:

“Well… ok.” Eelrune replies, unconvinced. “I won’t- I’m not a nutritionist, anyways.” “Oh, that could be a good idea. The regular cinema is fine with bringing in your own food, for once…” She nods. Keeping up with Queenie’s pace, the eel looked up. “Hmm… I like chocolate and hazlenut flavors a little more than the fruity ones. Apricot sounds interesting, though..” Eelrune mumbles to herself, before continuing. “Oh. Didn’t they do a whole silly splatfest thing about flavors? ..It’s a shame they don’t have many flavors over there.” Eelrunes thoughts were cut short when she noticed an ice cream stall off to the side of the road, motioning Queenie to come with her to check the menu out. She skims the menu items, brow scrunching in confusion at an ‘Any’ flavor option before making eye contact with the seadragon running the stall, who seems to have been staring back during her browsing. …Not that she could exactly see their eyes, but the nose was definitely pointed at her. “…Is there something on my face?” Eelrune asks directly. “No, no, I was just wondering if I’ve seen you before?” They tilt their head, resting their chin on their thumb. “Deepsea Metro, maybe? I knew a lot of people down there.” Eelrune notes, a little more invested in the confusion now that she understood. “…Never been there, I live over in Octocountry.” He muses, motioning freely with his hands. “Alamgir. I do tailoring for the Takowasa royal family, but I like to sell ice cream on the side~” “Takowasa? Well, that could be it.” She crosses her arms, nodding. “My family used to work as their personal doctors before we moved to Deepsea.” “Ah, I see. That makes sense, then..” The leafy seadragon tilts his head to the other side, smiling at Queenie. “…On a date then, I assume?~”

-

Queenie claps. “Oh, even better~”

After making a mental note of Eelrune’s preference, she casts her mind back. “Ah, they did … I remember being confused as to why standalone chocolate wasn’t included. But I don’t think I participated…” She’d been sulking that day. “Yes,  I think Marina brought me home one of those waffle fish with things inside instead. Next time, I’ll look around for strawberry…”

There’s something … off about the ice cream stand that Eelrune discovers, but Queenie doesn’t want to voice this observation and criticize her decision. She looks over the menu herself as her companion chats with the vendor, and it’s more expansive than she expected.  But then she’s addressed.

“A date?” Queenie dry swallowed, trying her best to react like a normal person under a normal misunderstanding. “Nono—just going out as girlfriends—I mean, not going out—as friends. We’re on a friend outing.” Objective failed. Her eyes flit over to Eelrune for half a second before blatantly changing the subject, “What does it mean, ‘Any’? Do you choose?”

-

#RP39 #Queenie #grandpacephalopodsrp #(('or does it mean you have every possible flavour in the universe? just joking haha it could never be that--'))